Class Balancing: My Idea on how to provide balancing in ESO

MEBengalsFan2001

The approach I would do is the following.

Stripe all classes/skills down and set a baseline for damage and healing for abilities.

Using a modifier the damage and healing is adjusted if the skill is a DOT/HOT, AOE or Single Target, a targeted skill or a ground skill, buffs, debuffs, CC effects, etc...

All damaging abilities basic morph does more damage but requires more resource to cast and does not offer CC effects or buffs. Morphs provide CC effects, buffs or debuffs at a cost of damage reduction.

All classes within class skill have access to three major buffs: Major Resolve, Major Sorcery / Brutality, and Major Prophecy / Savagery.

All classes have a class skill that is a finisher with a 300% damage increase.

Each class would have a group healing/shielding ultimate that provides a major buff to their group: Major Protection, Major Berserk, Major Courage, etc...

All classes would provide a minor group buff from using specific abilities:

Cross Class ultimate major buffs: Two classes use specific damaging ultimate and hit the same target both players get a major buff

Cross Class skill minor buffs: When two classes uses specific damage skills and hit the same target they both get a minor buff.

Casting/Channeling Time: Skills with instant casting time do significantly less damage. Skills with a casting/channeling time can easily be interrupted but are top damage dealing abilities.

Weapons skill morphs contain debuffs, no class skill can do debuffs. Each weapon will have access to one major debuff and one minor debuff.

Vampire and Werewolves: Make them the same expect one is magic and one is stamina driven. Both would have Major Resolve, Major Sorcery / Brutality, and Major Prophecy / Savagery when transformed and each would be able to provide a major buff and minor buff to the group along with being able to get the additional class cross minor buff skill. There is one morph from a skill for each that offers a major debuff. WW and Vampires cannot be in the Fighter Guild.

Guilds: Static stat boost and additional skills.

This idea is my initial thought on how to fix the game. Maybe each class should have one major debuff from an ultimate and minor debuff from a class skill that isn't found within the weapon skill line and is not shared among the classes.

Best way to ensure balance is limiting buffs and debuffs and ensuring that all classes have a role in groups and can be effective in PVP.

Right now DK, Wardens, NB are over tuned due to their self buffs. As for Debuffs its Wardens, DK, and Necro lead the way. Right now Templars and Sorc especially are on the lower end of group utility in the buff and debuff and it greatly impacts group balance and how many players play a class.

I don't expect anything to change other than more minor adjustments here and there causing further imbalance in the game between all the classes. But at least a change like this would greatly improve balance in the game and make each class unique and add to the game class interaction making it important to bring along different classes.

Ksariyu

Alternatively remove classes from the game, because that's pretty much where you'll end up with this. For what it's worth though, a lot of this stuff has already been done. Skills having standardized damage/healing based on Cost, Cast Time, Utility, DoT, and AoE, was the main purpose of all the sweeping changes made prior to U35, and even still you'll see them mention these standards in present patch notes.

Sadly though, balance is not something that's likely to ever be achieved in this game. Even in most games where there aren't several layers of unrestricted build customization, class balance is hard to nail. In ESO, where classes have access to SO many non-class skills and sets, there will always be one that's better positioned to take advantage of those options.

Marto

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

Stripe all classes/skills down and set a baseline for damage and healing for abilities.

Using a modifier the damage and healing is adjusted if the skill is a DOT/HOT, AOE or Single Target, a targeted skill or a ground skill, buffs, debuffs, CC effects, etc...

This is already how ESO functions.

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

All damaging abilities basic morph does more damage but requires more resource to cast and does not offer CC effects or buffs. Morphs provide CC effects, buffs or debuffs at a cost of damage reduction.

This sounds like a disaster for min-maxing, and would just encourage players to run less interesting, less personalized, less unique builds for the sake of extra damage.

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

All classes within class skill have access to three major buffs: Major Resolve, Major Sorcery / Brutality, and Major Prophecy / Savagery.

Many of the classes are balanced and identified by their lack of buffs like Sorcery/Brutality or Prophecy/Savagery. Granted, I think ZOS does agree they should be more accessible, and that's why many weapon and class skills have been receiving them over the years.

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

All classes have a class skill that is a finisher with a 300% damage increase.

Different execute abilities having different advantages and disadvantages makes for more interesting builds based around your playstyle. Sorcerer execute sticks to targets, Two-Handed is AoE, Dual Wield is passive and applies to all skills, Nightblade execute is stronger, Templar execute has a cast time, DK has no execute, etc.

Having them all work the same would make for a more dull game.

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

Casting/Channeling Time: Skills with instant casting time do significantly less damage. Skills with a casting/channeling time can easily be interrupted but are top damage dealing abilities.

This is already how ESO functions.

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

Weapons skill morphs contain debuffs, no class skill can do debuffs. Each weapon will have access to one major debuff and one minor debuff.

This would shoehorn PVP players into using more weapon skills. And it would just reduce the creativity in class design. Why would you want to limit yourself with such a rule?

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

Vampire and Werewolves: Make them the same expect one is magic and one is stamina driven. Both would have Major Resolve, Major Sorcery / Brutality, and Major Prophecy / Savagery when transformed and each would be able to provide a major buff and minor buff to the group along with being able to get the additional class cross minor buff skill. There is one morph from a skill for each that offers a major debuff. WW and Vampires cannot be in the Fighter Guild.

Just... no.

Tandor

This isn't meant specifically with the OP in mind, but it bemuses me that forum posters seem to spend one half of their time complaining about the frequency of combat and skill changes, and the other half of their time setting out requests for further combat and skill changes. I often wish we could all just feel able to get on and play the game the way it is, and be allowed to do so.