PTS Update 40 - Feedback Thread for Infinite Archive

RaddlemanNumber7

The best loot is in the urns...

code65536

oogaboogaoogabooga wrote: »

J18696 wrote: »

oogaboogaoogabooga wrote: »

So after finishing solo whole non repetative circles up to the circle 7 I can assure you the maraderus that are spawning midfight are way overtuned. It's basically the most difficult bosses right now, harder than the final ones, almost every time if you are soloing it's a guaranteed death. I think you should tune down them a little, especially the one that casting tornadoes, it had 9kk hp, I doubt there is a way to kill him fast enough before he casts 300 tornados everywhere. Make him cast tornado 1 at a time, imho

I've managed to take down the tornado marauder it's the other one I have issues with forget it's name but it looks very similar to magma incarnate hitting me for 22k hits in a duo it's not to bad but solo that particular marauder is a certain death so far for me

At some point they are getting so much damage and hp that it's just getting ridiculously hard, you basically are not allowed to take any hits and have to kill trashmobs as well at the same time
https://imgur.com/a/6TAyf4x

34K light attack, haha.

Yea, to answer the question from someone earlier, EA is clearly best done with a tank and damage dealer duo. When they demonstrated it on ESO Live, Lauren who is a well-known healer, was on a tank, not a healer. Simply put, it's more important to mitigate the damage (by directing it to someone using block and heavy armor) than to heal that damage unmitigated, because if someone gets whacked by a 34K light attack, they're dead and you're not healing that.

Note, however, that I said "best done". Yes, you can do EA solo or as 2x damage dealer or as damage dealer and healer, but it won't be as easy as tank and damage dealer, and you won't get as far as a tank and damage dealer.

code65536

oogaboogaoogabooga wrote: »

https://i.imgur.com/rJT8feK.mp4 Like idk, this marauders are griefers, I'm scared of them spawning more than any other boss lmao, they stole all my lifes

@oogaboogaoogabooga BTW, I'm curious about how long it took to get that far solo?

AstroST

I just think that duo content are a very bad idea and will bring a lot of toxicity.
Happy for people that play with a partner or very close friend but for everyone else will be very tough.

code65536

One thing that I've noticed is that the cycle 4 boss is always a "major" boss: a trial boss or a dragon, and this creates the situation where the Arc is no longer the primary determinant of difficulty; e.g., the Arc 3 Cycle 4 boss could turn out tougher tougher than the Arc 5 Cycle 3 boss. (Unless you get the dragon in Cycle 4; the dragon is noticeably easier than the trial bosses.)

Capricas_Kirito

Day Two Testing

Run 3: wave 0 stage 1 cycle 1 arc 1
Complete *** up failure due to lack of time to recover resources. Felt like the difficulty was still set to the furthest I made it yesterday which was wave 1 stage 1 cycle 2 arc 1. Also mechanical issues with the mouse switch bars due to having to kite too much as I try to avoid all the fecking AOEs.

Run 4: stage 1 cycle 2 arc 1
I was forced to abandon the run due to UI Error that would not spawn the first wave of stage 2 and would not let me go back to the lobby. Reloading the UI failed to fix the issue.
Verses: Archival Weaponry, Sequential Shield, Frenzied Zeal, Tomwfoolery,
Visions: Resolute Mind,
Bosses: Cycle 1 - Iceheart


Additional thoughts

• Clicking on close does not close the summary.
• Forcing the players to reenter the dungeon when the instance is reset is rather ridiculous. It should be an easy thing to just port them out and right back into a new instance. Forcing them to go through the process of manually reentering feels like another punishment and will guarantee that they will just go do something else where they don't have to click through 7 or 8 screens to get back in.

[EDIT]
here is a video of this test

Also, I wanted to add before abandoning this feature until the next cycle that I feel the Endless Archive has fallen into that uncanny valley where it is too hard for what my guild master calls 'Trash Players' and far too easy for End Game Players to find rewarding. I'm thinking that if you, the devs, can get it balanced properly, The Endless Archive could be an effective gauge of a players abilities, much better than a trial dummy at any rate.

AlterBlika

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

What level were you when you went through Endless Archive?

3600

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Did you play solo, with a companion or with another player?

with a companion

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

What Stage, Cycle, and Arc did you reach?

4/4/2

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Which bosses were the toughest?

Tho'at is somewhat difficult as I don't know the mechanics yet. Even had to switch to my best defensive-wise solo build with pearlescent, but even still got beaten. Apparently a skill issue

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Which Verses did you find the most and least effective?

actually, I almost always ignored them. Damage ones are nice (can't bring up names as I only ran it once), sustain ones aren't needed imo (at first arcs at least), defensive ones might be worth it on bosses

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Which Visions did you find the most and least effective?

I liked the visions that boost my resources recovery, no need to do anything like in case with verses. Haven't encountered all of them though. Damage ones I welcomed, but once I got 2 unwanted visions (block cost reduction and something else I would never use), so it kinda sucked

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Did you use any Portals to the Unknown?

I did. My first portal was with levers which I hated, because EA for me is only an arena with endless foes, not something like this. The second one was with a boss. Can't say anything about the rewards because I haven't even seen the shop yet, but it's likely I won't do any such portals. There are probably other minigames without fighting and it's just not my thing

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Did you use any Verse Scrolls?

don't even know what they are

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Did you have fun?

no

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Do you have any other general feedback?

Coming from someone who enjoys soloing hard vdlc content. My expectation with EA weren't met. It takes forever to get to somewhat reasonably hard, you only have 3 attempts, you may encounter bosses that you haven't fought and so lose a thread.
Soloing and learning hard fights takes time, some wipes. So I lost to Tho'at, she wasn't difficult it was just me unfamiliar with the mechanics, as I somehow lost nearly full my hp (25+10 shield) with pearlescent active which is quite huge resistances. I'd really like to give it more attempts but it would take time to get back there.

EA really needs an option to start at the stage you want because I don't feel like wasting about an hour to get to the point when things only start to become interesting. Or reduce stages and cycles at least. I'll probably give it another shot but my first impression is quite bad to be honest. If I want to solo something hard I'd go to vbrp and not ea if it goes live this way

oogaboogaoogabooga

code65536 wrote: »

oogaboogaoogabooga wrote: »

https://i.imgur.com/rJT8feK.mp4 Like idk, this marauders are griefers, I'm scared of them spawning more than any other boss lmao, they stole all my lifes

@oogaboogaoogabooga BTW, I'm curious about how long it took to get that far solo?

like 3 to 4 hours

Toxic_Hemlock

AlterBlika wrote: »

...snip
Coming from someone who enjoys soloing hard vdlc content. My expectation with EA weren't met. It takes forever to get to somewhat reasonably hard, you only have 3 attempts, you may encounter bosses that you haven't fought and so lose a thread.
Soloing and learning hard fights takes time, some wipes. So I lost to Tho'at, she wasn't difficult it was just me unfamiliar with the mechanics, as I somehow lost nearly full my hp (25+10 shield) with pearlescent active which is quite huge resistances. I'd really like to give it more attempts but it would take time to get back there.

EA really needs an option to start at the stage you want because I don't feel like wasting about an hour to get to the point when things only start to become interesting. Or reduce stages and cycles at least. I'll probably give it another shot but my first impression is quite bad to be honest. If I want to solo something hard I'd go to vbrp and not ea if it goes live this way

This does not bode well at all for the casuals like myself although your input is welcome. If a player that is able and willing to die over and over again to learn the mechs of vDLC content (and still possibly fail due to lag etc) , this is a big red flag for me.

If they added the ability to remove yourself from the leader boards and start further down would that be an option?

I personally just wanted a relaxing pastime that I could lose myself in while killing hoards of monsters (like in a public dungeon) and it seems ZOS wants to put hard challenge above all. That is fine for those that want it, but I'm retired and getting old enough to enjoy it was challenge enough IMO.

Wildberryjack

One of the bosses chain stunned my character. Break free did nothing. Chain stun shouldn't happen. After getting killed that way for the sixth time I just logged out. I'm not wasting my time on something that makes it impossible to progress.

AlterBlika

Toxic_Hemlock wrote: »

If they added the ability to remove yourself from the leader boards and start further down would that be an option?

Something like training mode would be a great option, or just an arena only with bosses. Better than having 3 attempts per long runs anyway

code65536

Cireous wrote: »

Not seeing those 71 furnishing plans on either vendor. Or all the books. Confused.

They're random drops that you get in the reward chests as you progress. I wasn't paying attention to the loot during my run, so I didn't realize until now that I had gotten a couple during my Monday run.

On the upside, they are tradeable and not bound.

oogaboogaoogabooga

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YtebttpNJk&lc=UgwGtIFOPi9aXK1PRd54AaABAg

thepandalore

SasserClubb wrote: »

Just finished killing Yolnokrin did not receive
a chest nor did I get a portal out

The same thing just happened to me.

Wildberryjack

Yeah I've taken multiple characters in and can't get past the 2nd level boss. They tear me up every time. I'm not vet geared and just get melted. So this content is clearly not for someone like me. Yall enjoy it though if you can but I won't be messing with it on the live server at all.

kensan62_ESO

220 fortunes per cycle is nowhere enough. Either bring down the cost of items in the store or raise the amount of fortunes. Took an hour inside and only earned 1100 fortunes, not enough to buy anything really. Also got to the 4th big boss and had looted literally junk. For the rising difficulty and still not looting anything worth while doesnt really make me want to spend hours in there. I mean, how long do u guys expect us to be in there? 4 or 5 hours everytime seems alittle too daunting to have the longevity your looking for. Some trials dont last that long and feel more rewarding. Also each piece from a set is 10,000 fortunes? thats 10 hours for one piece approximately. so 50 hours for a full set? noooooooo thank you.

OtarTheMad

Wildberryjack wrote: »

Yeah I've taken multiple characters in and can't get past the 2nd level boss. They tear me up every time. I'm not vet geared and just get melted. So this content is clearly not for someone like me. Yall enjoy it though if you can but I won't be messing with it on the live server at all.

I am kind of leaning this way too. I thought of a build today and was going to log on to gear up and try it but I just thought of my last runs, the trial bosses I ran into and decided hard pass.

Sucks because I wanted that Hermaeus Mora furniture but oh well. Maybe it’s tradable and I can just buy it from a guild store.

FrancisCrawford

I hoped the Endless Archive would be something like LOTRO skirmishes -- a fun activity with some variety to it.

Instead, it sounds grindier than arenas, and generally inferior in every way to soloing or duoing dungeons.

Blech.

Or am I misunderstanding the feedback?

maitrescott_ESO

I'm an 1100CP Magicka Templar Argonian. I played with an underwhelming companion. I got to 4 4 2

I ran through the Archive multiple times. I have done several side quests, enough to get the full new deck in Tales of Tribute.

I like the buffs that gave me a boost to my Templar abilities. I also like the boost that gave me an extra thread (life), allowing me one extra death to learn a difficult boss mechanic. I was able to beat most bosses after trial and error. I struggled with several Trial bosses, but was able to conquer a few, don't remember all the names. My last run, I got dominated by Molag Kena. While familiar with the mechanics, it felt overwhelming.

I don't like the rewards after each boss fight. I don't feel compensated enough, especially after defeating some really tough bosses. I would either like a unique set piece or a set piece related to the boss fight.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience, but definitely would like to get more than a "junk" piece of equipment after each boss fight.

swickelb16_ESO

As EA was anounced I was happy, as I was under the assumption that this would be the feature for me, a casual solo player.

I do not do trieals or vet dungeons and my gear represents this. I do solo farm normal dungeons.

I had hope that EA would give me a chance to get transmutation stones, other than doing a random dungeon once a day. I also hoped to really have something to grind for forever (you know because it should be endless).

I do not care one bit about a leaderboard, why has this to be a part? Why is this not optional?

You wanted us to do arc one each day with a repeatable quest.... well arc one is way to hard to do this each day nad it takes to long.

The option to use a companion is also not an option, as no companion will manage the boss mechanics and day very soon.

In my first run, I had a boss that spawned 2 lighning fields on the ground and you have to run into them. This will drop you through the floor and let's you fall back to the arena. In the air you need to use a synergy to reduce fall damage.

No way will a companion do this.

I lost 2 "lives" here as the mechanic was unknown to me and normally you do not wish to stay in any field that looks suspicious.

Companions do not get any upgrades via verses or visions so latest in arc to they will be a hinderance.

The endboss of arc one ended by run as I was running from a strike, thinking running out of the zone was an option instead og blocking.

I do nat have an issue with learning bos mechanics. I just don't think I want to learn and memorize ? 70 ? boss mechanics.

Currently, I would strongly say this is not ballaced in any way. It is way harder to do it solo and if you are unlucky with the bosses you are basically done for.

Please make leaderboard optional and give us a way to save progress to enter later on again. Without leaderboard, get rid of the three lives machanic and let us lean the mechanics.

The better players will most likely skip arcs 1-x and start at arc xx. That is fine. But as it is, the EA is just another end game feature geared to already overgeard raiders.

A casual should be able to clear the first 1-2 arcs without getting a lot of white hair.

The rewards are aso not really enticing. In the time to do arc 1 I can do a solo run of unhallowed grave with all hidden bosses.
Sure, after I finish my set, there is no reason to go there any more, but at least every run I see that I make progress. This is not true for EA. In the treasure chests until the final boss of an arc is absolutely nothing. The only thing you want, is the new currency. This however is not enough, as it will take really 'endless' time to get something to buy from a vendor that way. Also the stuff the vendor has, is only a short time enticement. The trial players will buy the stuff in a reasonably timeframe, and the casual wont bother, as it would take month to get something.

Currently I would again skip this feature, and play something else.

It is way to frustrating and has no real reward for the massive amount of time I had to play for anything.
It also hurts that companions again are not really an option

I also do not want to do this for 3-4 hours in one go. If I wanted this I would still do WOW-raids.

Most casual can not play more than 1-2 hours without any form of interruption. I do not want to go to the toilet and after my return the game has logged me out and my progress is lost.

tsaescishoeshiner

The issue with higher level Arcs requiring a DD + a tank is that tanks are already the most in-demand role. I suppose there's no fixing it now, but it would suit the most players if tank specs were viable but less necessary. The lack of speed being a score modifier is a good move in that direction, but with the incoming damage ramping up so high, then running as 2 DD will potentially cut you out of higher runs/a more efficient farm.

Maybe this could be solved with role-based verses and visions? DDs would get defensive verses, while tanks and healers would get ones that let them deal damage. (I imagine healers will always have to be healer/DPS hybrids tho)

Also, there should be an achievement that lets you skip Arc 1 in future runs, because it's a slog having to redo it. Imagine if, before doing a dungeon hardmode, you first had to clear the dungeon completely on normal, completely on vet, and then restart again to do hardmode. A lot of roguelikes that escalate in difficulty offer partial skips like this, or difficulty modifers (with increased rewards). This is especially true here, because EA exists in MMO reward structure, so making players slog through easy content with low rewards is extra punishing. Plus, it's already a long endeavor.

It would also be nice if someone leaving group didn't force-end your run. Maybe they want to tag along for a bit then leave and let you run a few more levels.

OtarTheMad

I feel like this was a huge missed opportunity when it comes to rewards. I mean this is the Daedric Prince of Knowledge. You can put all kinds of things in these chests as rewards like transmutation stones, tel var, leads, motifs, style pages, class set piece, random dungeon set piece, random furniture design etc. Even stuff from the past like stuff related to Lilmothiit, Akavir, or Snow Elves.

J18696

Yeah the time investment required to reach the bosses and the arc boss are not being rewarded enough for the time it takes todo it
Maybe more currency or a small chance to get class gear from boss chests rather than only from marauders and arc bosses

couriersix

The more challenging bosses (trial, vet dlc, etc) should drop transmute crystals, style pages, gear, double currency, etc IMO. The amount of time, effort and skill it takes to kill them especially solo absolutely warrants something more meaningful. It just doesn't make sense how I can go from parsing a quest boss to killing Yolnahkriin who has a large AOE one shot, lava pools, multiple adds, etc and they drop the same rewards as if the same effort went into fighting them.

J18696

I think nearly all the bosses I've fought besides the marauders are reasonable for soloing the problem is less skilled/knowledgeable players will run into is not being able to learn the mechanics because you get 3 attempts and are kicked out if they let you continue to push through the rounds after losing all threads and just not score it would give players a way to learn by letting them continue

Toxic_Hemlock

couriersix wrote: »

The more challenging bosses (trial, vet dlc, etc) should drop transmute crystals, style pages, gear, double currency, etc IMO. The amount of time, effort and skill it takes to kill them especially solo absolutely warrants something more meaningful. It just doesn't make sense how I can go from parsing a quest boss to killing Yolnahkriin who has a large AOE one shot, lava pools, multiple adds, etc and they drop the same rewards as if the same effort went into fighting them.

I could get behind this so long as those bosses are (much) further down in the dungeon. If, for instance, I am on arc 1 and get a trial boss not only am I going to study the ceiling until my threads run out but I will never even finish the daily.

Will I ever get those transmutes etc.?

Unlikely, but I only want to have fun; leave the challenge to those that want it. Added bonus is that they will deserve the better loot.

Edit: clarity

OtarTheMad

J18696 wrote: »

I think nearly all the bosses I've fought besides the marauders are reasonable for soloing the problem is less skilled/knowledgeable players will run into is not being able to learn the mechanics because you get 3 attempts and are kicked out if they let you continue to push through the rounds after losing all threads and just not score it would give players a way to learn by letting them continue

Here is my issue, while I do agree that they should allow players to continue on but just not score it I am not sure it would matter in some cases.

I’ve watched some streams of players doing EA and I see that while they are solo they are running into tough bosses but not anything crazy for solo… they make sense.

However, in my case I am not sure what I could have done differently. Out of the 3 different runs I did I ran into the Serpent twice as I’ve mentioned a few billion times. During the second time I got it… kill the one shot sword, block and heal or dodge out of the poison AOE or whatever it was. But then The Serpent summons adds and these weren’t dinky little adds… no it was a Mantikora and a Lamia… could have sworn there was a third but I don’t remember right now and these didn’t tickle. So here I am positioning myself to take on these adds but distance myself from the boss… then I explode… apparently another one shot sword dropped down and I didn’t see it. This all happened in like 15 seconds maybe… how can I, as a solo player, fight that? The game was basically wanting me to fight tough adds, the boss, and kill the one shot sword thing all while healing through damage, blocking and other stuff… nah man. I’m just solo…

It’s so weird to me the different experiences players are having. Some solo are hitting hard bosses but ones that make sense for solo and some, like me, are hitting hard bosses but ones made for multiple players which does not make sense for solo.

J18696

OtarTheMad wrote: »

J18696 wrote: »

I think nearly all the bosses I've fought besides the marauders are reasonable for soloing the problem is less skilled/knowledgeable players will run into is not being able to learn the mechanics because you get 3 attempts and are kicked out if they let you continue to push through the rounds after losing all threads and just not score it would give players a way to learn by letting them continue

Here is my issue, while I do agree that they should allow players to continue on but just not score it I am not sure it would matter in some cases.

I’ve watched some streams of players doing EA and I see that while they are solo they are running into tough bosses but not anything crazy for solo… they make sense.

However, in my case I am not sure what I could have done differently. Out of the 3 different runs I did I ran into the Serpent twice as I’ve mentioned a few billion times. During the second time I got it… kill the one shot sword, block and heal or dodge out of the poison AOE or whatever it was. But then The Serpent summons adds and these weren’t dinky little adds… no it was a Mantikora and a Lamia… could have sworn there was a third but I don’t remember right now and these didn’t tickle. So here I am positioning myself to take on these adds but distance myself from the boss… then I explode… apparently another one shot sword dropped down and I didn’t see it. This all happened in like 15 seconds maybe… how can I, as a solo player, fight that? The game was basically wanting me to fight tough adds, the boss, and kill the one shot sword thing all while healing through damage, blocking and other stuff… nah man. I’m just solo…

It’s so weird to me the different experiences players are having. Some solo are hitting hard bosses but ones that make sense for solo and some, like me, are hitting hard bosses but ones made for multiple players which does not make sense for solo.

I fought it earlier today and it's just about stacking it all together and aoe the manticores and lamia down with the boss so it might just be a dps check

This boss also has a mechanic where you need to pick up a pink/purple orb off the ground of the arena somewhere otherwise you will get one shot from memory the orbs spawn with the lamias

dcrush

Looking at the feedback here it’s the same issue as with every new update - cool idea in theory but bad execution with bad rewards. It’s almost like ZOS doesn’t want players to enjoy the game.

RaddlemanNumber7

I'm getting to 4:3:1 maybe 4:4:1 and then wiping. My armour repairs are way more than the loot I'm getting.

So, maybe I'll just do 2 cycles, with one of the side quests, then quit before I die even once. See if that works for me.

Edit:
Result: 20 minutes to get loot totalling net 200 gold and 440 (useless) AF. For those that don't have PTS, 1000AF e.g. gets you a bound Wrothgar Treasure map.
By comparison a Daily Delve quest takes less time, is far more rewarding and much more fun.
So, that's it, the Endless Archive has ended for me.