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Zenimax Accessibility Changes (Oakensoul HA)
Dreaders123
✭✭✭
In the gaming community, inclusivity and accessibility are essential aspects that enable all players to enjoy their favorite games. Recently, The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) announced an upcoming change to the Oakensoul HA build, which has sparked concerns about its impact on disabled players.
Relatively recent changes made a special type of Heavy Attack buildcompetitive in PVE (Player vs Environment) content. This has led to many less dextrous players, such as older players and those with disabilities, to take advantage of the build to compete effectively in content that they were previously excluded from. “While my love for gaming never gets old, sadly I do” said one player. “With Oakensoul I am finally able to clear content others were always able to, and I’m not kicked out of groups because my damage is too low”.
The key to the build working is a physically easier playstyle where players are able to hold down a button for their major attacks, rather than quickly use a variety of keystrokes and buttons to switch between many skills across multiple weapon bars, especially using a technique known as Light Attack weaving where, with the right timing, players can cancel intended animations and skill delays in order to dramatically increase their own damage output. This itself has been the target of shifting statements from Zenimax with many describing it as an exploit but, for now at least, Zenimax appear to be supporting the weaving function as the way to play.
The damage output of the Oakensoul HA builds is near the top end of what can be achieved, but is not the most powerful which remains with builds using multiple bars and rapid skill weaving, making it unclear as to the specific reasons that this build has been targeted for reduction in effectiveness of, by some reports, up to 30%. The builds were brought to the attention of Zenimax by YouTubers who were exploiting the mechanics to achieve extremely high results with mixed credibility as to the actual in-game potential for the average player.
The ability to play has been widely lauded by those with accessibility issues as well as those with other challenges such as high ping. “My hands don’t function as well anymore due to nerve damage and light attack weaving and bar swapping can be a challenge. Oakensoul makes playing the game and content I love possible again. I hadn’t played in 4 years because of my hands. Able bodied people really just gloss over accessibility when anyone can become disabled at any time.”
Whilst there is a large amount of community support for those concerned about the change, another clue as to why ZoS may have targeted this build comes from a vocal section of the playerbase who feel that the simpler playstyle should not be able to reach the range of outputs that can be achieved by those who invest the time and effort to master the more physically demanding 2 bar weaving styles. “I get that some people have problems but it’s their problems. No way they should be anywhere near a proper player in terms of damage output. Oakensoul needs this nerf.”
The reaction of supporters of the Oakensoul HA build are unsympathetic to these points of view “ There’s nothing wrong with Oakensoul (HA), never has been. All the complaining is done by people who want to gatekeep and prevent others from being able to complete content due to personal insecurity and other reasons.”
Zenimax have not yet provided clear statements over the accessibility concerns of this game change but did appear to confirm their intended direction in a recent Twitch livestream discussing the new Arcanist build where they confirmed that whilst simple playstyles would be an option, those who were physically able to weave in additional skills and actions could expect significantly higher outcomes, while patch notes to date refer to changes as game balancing which is a process intended to ensure fairness across character types and builds. For those who have benefited from this build for physical reasons, it remains to be seen whether a change that, they argue, affects them negatively and disproportionately feels fair or inclusive.
Edited by ZOS_Icy on May 28, 2023 1:59PM Relatively recent changes made a special type of Heavy Attack buildcompetitive in PVE (Player vs Environment) content. This has led to many less dextrous players, such as older players and those with disabilities, to take advantage of the build to compete effectively in content that they were previously excluded from. “While my love for gaming never gets old, sadly I do” said one player. “With Oakensoul I am finally able to clear content others were always able to, and I’m not kicked out of groups because my damage is too low”.
The key to the build working is a physically easier playstyle where players are able to hold down a button for their major attacks, rather than quickly use a variety of keystrokes and buttons to switch between many skills across multiple weapon bars, especially using a technique known as Light Attack weaving where, with the right timing, players can cancel intended animations and skill delays in order to dramatically increase their own damage output. This itself has been the target of shifting statements from Zenimax with many describing it as an exploit but, for now at least, Zenimax appear to be supporting the weaving function as the way to play.
The damage output of the Oakensoul HA builds is near the top end of what can be achieved, but is not the most powerful which remains with builds using multiple bars and rapid skill weaving, making it unclear as to the specific reasons that this build has been targeted for reduction in effectiveness of, by some reports, up to 30%. The builds were brought to the attention of Zenimax by YouTubers who were exploiting the mechanics to achieve extremely high results with mixed credibility as to the actual in-game potential for the average player.
The ability to play has been widely lauded by those with accessibility issues as well as those with other challenges such as high ping. “My hands don’t function as well anymore due to nerve damage and light attack weaving and bar swapping can be a challenge. Oakensoul makes playing the game and content I love possible again. I hadn’t played in 4 years because of my hands. Able bodied people really just gloss over accessibility when anyone can become disabled at any time.”
Whilst there is a large amount of community support for those concerned about the change, another clue as to why ZoS may have targeted this build comes from a vocal section of the playerbase who feel that the simpler playstyle should not be able to reach the range of outputs that can be achieved by those who invest the time and effort to master the more physically demanding 2 bar weaving styles. “I get that some people have problems but it’s their problems. No way they should be anywhere near a proper player in terms of damage output. Oakensoul needs this nerf.”
The reaction of supporters of the Oakensoul HA build are unsympathetic to these points of view “ There’s nothing wrong with Oakensoul (HA), never has been. All the complaining is done by people who want to gatekeep and prevent others from being able to complete content due to personal insecurity and other reasons.”
Zenimax have not yet provided clear statements over the accessibility concerns of this game change but did appear to confirm their intended direction in a recent Twitch livestream discussing the new Arcanist build where they confirmed that whilst simple playstyles would be an option, those who were physically able to weave in additional skills and actions could expect significantly higher outcomes, while patch notes to date refer to changes as game balancing which is a process intended to ensure fairness across character types and builds. For those who have benefited from this build for physical reasons, it remains to be seen whether a change that, they argue, affects them negatively and disproportionately feels fair or inclusive.
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thorwyn✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭I'm not entirely sure what you are even trying to say with your post. Basically it is just a (quite biased) summary of the arguments that came up during the oakensoul debate, including some random quotes of random people. And like so many pro-OS people, you decided to not even mention the fact that oakensoul builds are not just an accessibility mechanism for disabled people anymore, but that this item is used by the majority of players these days and just a fraction of these people are in need of accessibility support. Just take a look at the raid logs on esologs.com if you don't believe it. So yes, ZOS had to make adjustments to encourage those people, who are not disabled to play builds with higher DPS potential while keeping oakensoul strong enough to keep disabled people in the position to contribute to a raid team.Edited by thorwyn on May 28, 2023 9:07AMAnd if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon12 -
HappyDan✭✭✭This just shows how toxic casual HA sorcs are (not saying all of them but most).
It was proven with MATH that you lose around 2-5% dps at most, which is more than fine for any build in any MMO. I still remember when U35 rolled in and people had their dps gutted by like 10% all the toxic casuals were laughing and having a grand time, but when they get a slight 2-5% nerf "Oh no how have you betrayed us".
It really blows my mind that people managed to play without this build for many years just fine, and now that this build getting a slight tune up everyone with their pitchforks up zos's bum.
I mean this is ridiculous, I swear to god if all the people complaining about the sorc nerf on the forum spent that time actually playing the game on non HA sorc build they'd be 10 times better players.
PS any content you done on your HA sorc will still be able to be completed on necrom post the nerf, you will lose very little damage your build isn't getting a 30% nerf.
Edited by HappyDan on May 28, 2023 9:27AM10 -
Dreaders123✭✭✭So to be clear, you are saying that higher DPS builds are available but the build that players who need accessibility use is also proving popular with many who do not need accessibility and therefore it needs to be reduced in effectiveness to the point where most people would not choose to use it.
So what do you recommend for those players who do not have a choice to use a less accessible build?2 -
HappyDan✭✭✭Dreaders123 wrote: »So to be clear, you are saying that higher DPS builds are available but the build that players who need accessibility use is also proving popular with many who do not need accessibility and therefore it needs to be reduced in effectiveness to the point where most people would not choose to use it.
So what do you recommend for those players who do not have a choice to use a less accessible build?
That build is over performing like crazy, people who deny are the one's who profit from it or the ones who are new to the game and can't see it.9 -
Dreaders123✭✭✭Dreaders123 wrote: »So to be clear, you are saying that higher DPS builds are available but the build that players who need accessibility use is also proving popular with many who do not need accessibility and therefore it needs to be reduced in effectiveness to the point where most people would not choose to use it.
So what do you recommend for those players who do not have a choice to use a less accessible build?
That build is over performing like crazy, people who deny are the one's who profit from it or the ones who are new to the game and can't see it.
So is it overperforming because it is used by these casual (or new to the game) players you refer to, because it is accessible?I mean this is ridiculous, I swear to god if all the people complaining about the sorc nerf on the forum spent that time actually playing the game on non HA sorc build they'd be 10 times better players
Which equally accessible build do you recommend that allows the same access level to game content for long term players?
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PrincessOfThieves✭✭✭✭✭
✭"Accessibility" doesn't mean being able to breeze through everything easily, btw. It just means that you can participate, and for that you don't need 100k dps on a tank build.5 -
Braffin✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭Btw, I just finished a guide for how to efficiently play sergeant brokensorc:
1) Do NOT press the red button. It's for blocking and only elitists do that. You don't need it anyways, given your resistances.
Never get between a cat and it's candy!
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Overland difficulty scaling is desperately needed. 9 years. 6 paid expansions. 24 DLCs. 40 game changing updates including One Tamriel, an overhaul of the game including a permanent CP160 gear cap and ridiculous power creep thereafter. I'm sick and tired of hearing about Cadwell Silver & Gold as a "you think you do but you don't" - tier deflection to any criticism regarding the lack of overland difficulty in the game. I'm bored of dungeons, I'm bored of trials; make a personal difficulty slider for overland. It's not that hard.8 -
Elsonso✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Dreaders123 wrote: »So to be clear, you are saying that higher DPS builds are available but the build that players who need accessibility use is also proving popular with many who do not need accessibility and therefore it needs to be reduced in effectiveness to the point where most people would not choose to use it.
So what do you recommend for those players who do not have a choice to use a less accessible build?
You continue to use the build. It's not like ZOS invalidated it or removed it from the game. In the meantime, you work on becoming more reliable with the heavy attacks in actual content. It is easy to get into a state where the HA is not firing, and that is going to be a larger nerf to damage than what ZOS did.
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markulrich1966✭✭✭✭✭
✭people are like "it is drastically overperforming, and will only be nerfed very slightly, and suddenly it is not overperforming any longer".
Weired logic.
Edited by markulrich1966 on May 28, 2023 1:16PM4 -
Galeriano✭✭✭✭✭
✭Dreaders123 wrote: »So to be clear, you are saying that higher DPS builds are available but the build that players who need accessibility use is also proving popular with many who do not need accessibility and therefore it needs to be reduced in effectiveness to the point where most people would not choose to use it.
So what do you recommend for those players who do not have a choice to use a less accessible build?
Two things.
One, top overreacting.
Two, use the same build after changes go live since it will be still more that viable.1 -
Galeriano✭✭✭✭✭
✭markulrich1966 wrote: »people are like "it is drastically overperforming, and will only be nerfed very slightly, and suddenly it is not overperforming any longer".
Weired logic.
Is it though? DK is only few percent ahead in DPS over other classes but when You will look at top score leadeboards they are full of DKs because nobody that want to play to the full potential will pick slightly weaker option. In ESO the line between something doing fine and being overperforming is really thin.3 -
Elsonso✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭markulrich1966 wrote: »people are like "it is drastically overperforming, and will only be nerfed very slightly, and suddenly it is not overperforming any longer".
I don't think that ZOS will be fooled. This adjustment down was only the first one. My guess is that the 3Q or 4Q updates will have additional changes to HA and Oakensoul.3 -
ZOS_IcymodGreetings,
As this thread has derailed with non-constructive and back-and-forth posts, we've decided to close it down. Please be sure to keep our Community Rules in mind when posting on our forums.
Thank you for your understanding.3
This discussion has been closed.