Infinite Archive First Month Stats

ZOS_Kevin · January 5

Hi All! We've heard many of you are enjoying the Infinite Archive? With that in mind, check out what everyone has accomplished in the first month of exploring Mora's Archive. What's your favorite stat from our infographic?

SeaGtGruff · January 5

That's awesome! Kudos to the players who got the highest solo arc and highest duo arc!

Jaimeh · January 5

Thank you for the stats, it's really cool of ZOS to do presentations like these. I don't know if Zhaj'hassa should have been counted though, because the fight had many bugs with the spawning timer and location of the pillars, as well as the pillar mechanic itself, so the death toll was probably influenced by that. Also, there is a small typo with the name of that boss on the graphic (an H is missing) in case you wanted to correct it

Araneae6537 · January 5

I was thinking to try IA on my warden — now I definitely will! (I’m still trying to reliably get to arc 4 — one very good run got to arc 5 — it’s the 3rd mobs with multiple infusers that get me more than the bosses now.) I’m surprised that the Serpent makes the top three deadliest bosses when other have so much more going on and hit harder (Zaudrus, for instance).

RaddlemanNumber7 · January 5

Thank you, Fire Orb, for killing Tho'at while I was mostly just running away

ZOS_Kevin · January 5

Jaimeh wrote: »

Thank you for the stats, it's really cool of ZOS to do presentations like these. I don't know if Zhaj'hassa should have been counted though, because the fight had many bugs with the spawning timer and location of the pillars, as well as the pillar mechanic itself, so the death toll was probably influenced by that. Also, there is a small typo with the name of that boss on the graphic (an H is missing) in case you wanted to correct it

Thanks for the feedback here. We've seen a few ppl mention the bugs with Zhaj'hassa. We'll take that into account in the future. We felt it was still appropriate to add Zhaj'hassa based on some of the specific data points we have, but we understand the player perspective on this as well. We'll take that into consideration in the future if this scenario pops up again.

Also we'll leave Zhaj'hassa with a nerfed name. Call the missing "H" the cost of any extra kills they got.

Jaimeh · January 5

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Jaimeh wrote: »

Thank you for the stats, it's really cool of ZOS to do presentations like these. I don't know if Zhaj'hassa should have been counted though, because the fight had many bugs with the spawning timer and location of the pillars, as well as the pillar mechanic itself, so the death toll was probably influenced by that. Also, there is a small typo with the name of that boss on the graphic (an H is missing) in case you wanted to correct it

Thanks for the feedback here. We've seen a few ppl mention the bugs with Zhaj'hassa. We'll take that into account in the future. We felt it was still appropriate to add Zhaj'hassa based on some of the specific data points we have, but we understand the player perspective on this as well. We'll take that into consideration in the future if this scenario pops up again.

Also we'll leave Zhaj'hassa with a nerfed name. Call the missing "H" the cost of any extra kills they got.

Heh, fair enough, Kevin

And thank you for the elucidation, it's good to know there were other considerations for the eligibility of this boss (I'm guessing the data pointed to deaths that were unrelated to the bugged parts of the fight). It's interesting to have insight like this!

Destai · January 5

Oh cool, love these infographics! Love seeing Wardens doing so well!

Braffin · January 5

Awesome summary! Thank you very much.

So, by assuming players are spending approximately 2 hours per run on average, that's 767.098 runs within the first month. That's quite some participation. Glad to hear that!

kevkj · January 5

Please compile more stat sheets like this more often for other parts of the game as well, they are always fun to see.

ZOS_Kevin · January 5

kevkj wrote: »

Please compile more stat sheets like this more often for other parts of the game as well, they are always fun to see.

We certainly want to do more of these. It's just finding the time! But we will have more throughout the year for various parts of the game.

XSTRONG · January 5

Really cool with this info stats! Im happily suprised ' thumbs up'

Erickson9610 · January 5

From my experience, it's completely understandable why Gothmau, Zhaj'hassa the Forgotten, Focused Efforts, and Dragonknight + Warden got the attention they did. It felt like there wasn't much competition for their respective spots on the statistics leaderboard.

I wonder how much these statistics would change given a year's time?

Billium813 · January 5

> Top 3 Verses: Fire Orb, Flame Aura, Exsanguinate

It makes sense that these Offensive Verses would be the top picks. I'd be curious what the Defensive and Utility top 3 are as well. I really think that Fire Orb is too powerful IMO too. I'm fine with some Verses being strong, but getting Fire Orb can be the difference between passing Tho’ at Replicanum and not. Feels bad when Verses only last 1 Stage and it can be RNG if you pass the whole Arc or not.

> Top 3 Visions: Focused Efforts, Piercing Perfection, Scorching Support

Curious. How was this information compiled? Are these the top 3 chosen Visions, including being chosen multiple times? The transform Visions can only be picked once over the whole IA run, but the others stack and be chosen multiple times. Even with that consideration, it's interesting that a transformation Vision was included. Scorching Support IS one of the best ones IMO, so it makes sense. I always chose that one if I see it and it does seem to show up quite often...

Overall, great job on compiling this information! Glad to know you are watching and collecting data. Curious to know how you interpret some of that data though.

Dagoth_Rac · January 5

Billium813 wrote: »

Even with that consideration, it's interesting that a transformation Vision was included. Scorching Support IS one of the best ones IMO, so it makes sense. I always chose that one if I see it and it does seem to show up quite often...

It synergizes well with Focused Efforts. It has a cooldown and even then does not always proc off cooldown, but it ticks fast, which is extra opportunities to proc burning. My 2H Stamplar's only active source of fire damage is Reflective Light, which I think ticks every 2 seconds. It procs burning significantly less than Scorching Support. Swift Gale is another one that synergizes well with Focused Effort. It splits into 3 little ice storms every half second, and any one of them can proc chilled. And again, my 2H Stamplar doesn't have much other access to chilled. Poisoned and hemorrhaging? Sure. But burning and chilled not so much, so the right visions and verses help.

Billium813 · January 5

I wonder what will happen from ZOS analyzing all of this data and how they will interpret their findings. I do wish Visions took your specific build into account and removed Visions that are not applicable to my build.

For instance, Well-Trained Command is almost useless to me without a Class combat pet. Lessons Learned and Full Coffers are similarly blanks that I won't choose considering I'm 2200 CP with 20 million Gold in the bank.

Plus, there is this obvious split on Martial damage vs Magic Damage Visions. Buffing my Physical, Poison, Disease, and Bleed Damage doesn't mean much to me when I don't have any of those, and vice-versa with Magic, Flame, Frost and Shock damage. That makes it Brawling Advantage, Brawling Blitz, Persistent Pain vs Lethal Sorcery, Thaumic Boom, Thumping Thaumaturgy. If I'm running 2H/Bow, getting one of the Magic buff Visions is almost a total blank. Same is true for something like a HA Lightning Staff build that sees Brawling Advantage offered over and over.

I get that there are interactions within Visions/Verses (like Swift Gale Verse's Frost Damage being buffed by Thumping Thaumaturgy), but that minor interaction isn't going to make me want to pick Thaumic Boom on my melee Stamina character that has almost no Magic damage. I'm not gonna want to take Brawling Advantage just to make any Exsanguinate Verses better if I'm not built for Martial damage. These Visions are all stacking too, so we get offered the same "blanks" over and over when we really just want to collect all of the transformation Visions asap.

Galeriano · January 6

Incorrect info when it comes to highest solo arc. Both nightblade and warden reached arc 15 and nightblade actually got a bit further than warden (15:4:1 for nb and 15:3:3 for warden)

Dojohoda · January 6

Fun stuff!

I, too, like those verses and visions.

I_killed_Vivec · January 6

Billium813 wrote: »

For instance, Well-Trained Command is almost useless to me without a Class combat pet. Lessons Learned and Full Coffers are similarly blanks that I won't choose considering I'm 2200 CP with 20 million Gold in the bank.

On one round I had the worst possible options.

I had the choice between a useless combat option (useless to my build) and full coffers for a boss round... I chose full coffers, simply because you need to make a choice (I too have millions in the bank).

When I defeated the boss there were a couple of "puddles" of coins on the ground - each containing 100g.

Wonderful

Elsonso · January 6

Galeriano wrote: »

Incorrect info when it comes to highest solo arc. Both nightblade and warden reached arc 15 and nightblade actually got a bit further than warden (15:4:1 for nb and 15:3:3 for warden)

In the time frame that the graphic covers?

(edit typo)

Galeriano · January 6

Elsonso wrote: »

Galeriano wrote: »

Incorrect info when it comes to highest solo arc. Both nightblade and warden reached arc 15 and nightblade actually got a bit further than warden (15:4:1 for nb and 15:3:3 for warden)

In the time frame that the graphic covers?

(edit typo)

I don't know what time frame the graphic covers but the moment it was released nightblade was already a top score class. It's actually the same player that got both arc 15 runs so I guess he won't care that much since it's still his achievement that is mentioned.

Varana · January 7

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

For instance, Well-Trained Command is almost useless to me without a Class combat pet. Lessons Learned and Full Coffers are similarly blanks that I won't choose considering I'm 2200 CP with 20 million Gold in the bank.

On one round I had the worst possible options.

I had the choice between a useless combat option (useless to my build) and full coffers for a boss round... I chose full coffers, simply because you need to make a choice (I too have millions in the bank).

When I defeated the boss there were a couple of "puddles" of coins on the ground - each containing 100g.

Wonderful

The synergy that produces the gold puddles (Shakedown) does some damage (40k+ for me iirc), so it's at least doing something.

Araneae6537 · January 7

Varana wrote: »

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

For instance, Well-Trained Command is almost useless to me without a Class combat pet. Lessons Learned and Full Coffers are similarly blanks that I won't choose considering I'm 2200 CP with 20 million Gold in the bank.

On one round I had the worst possible options.

I had the choice between a useless combat option (useless to my build) and full coffers for a boss round... I chose full coffers, simply because you need to make a choice (I too have millions in the bank).

When I defeated the boss there were a couple of "puddles" of coins on the ground - each containing 100g.

Wonderful

The synergy that produces the gold puddles (Shakedown) does some damage (40k+ for me iirc), so it's at least doing something.

Yeah, that’s the verse, Gilded Sleight — it does damage and the dropped gold is scaled per archive level. But the vision, Full Coffers, is never worthwhile.

Billium813 · January 7

It'd be cool if there was a "Gold" build you could do. Like, the gold you collect during your IA run is stored and you could use that gold to purchase extra upgrades. It'd make the pittance of gold you get from Full Coffers and Gilded Sleight worth while. Or maybe those Visions/Verses could just be changed to drop Archival Fortunes instead.

vsrs_au · January 7

When I looked at the deadliest marauder stat, my very first thought was "Holy smokes, Batman!", then I looked more closely at the spelling.

On a more serious note: I'd be interested in the stats for how LONG these achievements took, because I get the impression from this forum that this dungeon is very time-consuming and can only be done in one continuous run.

Ashtaris · January 21

Today the wife and I were doing the archive and came up against the Serpent in Arc 2. We were doing fine until we got the boss down to 90% and then suddenly it stopped taking any damage, at all, not one point, no matter how hard we hit it. We were taking out all the totems and adds quickly, but it didn't make any difference. We both finally decided the boss was bugged and had no choice but to commit suicide so we would reset the boss. After that, then we were able to take him down without any issue, but it was annoying as hell to lose a thread because of a stupid bug @ZOS_Kevin

Also, I think you need to back off a bit on his health, resistances, or whatever. It's not that you can't take him down if you keep at it, but it's also the most tiring and long boss fight in the archive.

MoonPile · January 24

Is Zhaj'hassa still broken?

It's really frustrating, I wanted to just do one quick Arc 1 run before logging off, and got him just before Cycle 5. Seriously almost done and spent all four threads on him. I've been able to DPS him down before needing to do the buggy mechanic before but tonight I'm just tired, this sucks.

LouisaB75 · January 29

Not sure if that boss is still broken but I do wonder if he would make the list of deadliest if he was fixed and working properly.

I have also had that same issue with The Serpent on one occasion. Very strange one and also defeated him right away after wiping.

On a side note, my three favourite verses are the top three ones there. I hope that they are not nerfed, especially since for some of those those verses at the right time can make all the difference between progressing and wiping.

Billium813 · January 29

Zhaj'hassa can still bug where the pillars spawn RIGHT at the edge of the arena, so you can't quite get behind them.

But more importantly, Zhaj'hassa (and bosses like The Serpent) expose an issue with ESO gameplay as it pertains to Boss design, and when players expectations don't quite align with gameplay.

IMO, the Zhaj'hassa fight is a bit difficult for players for a couple reasons, aside from bugs:

1. Random "one-shot" mechanics - MANY players often take the line that they ignore boss mechanics until they matter. That means that MANY players will end up dying once or even twice on a boss like Zhaj'hassa before begrudgingly asking "what am I supposed to do?". They forget the boss for several weeks when it doesn't show up, then have to relearn over and over, wasting Threads.

Sometimes this is the fault of the player for ignoring mechanics and trying to brute force a solution, but it's also the fault of design for not keeping mechanic designs consistent and easy to read by players. I mean, MOST bosses don't even have a "one shot" mechanic. So, when a player stumbles upon one that does, a player can be caught off guard at a sudden difficulty spike! The game doesn't have a good way of letting the player know WHY they just died, or that it was because of a mechanic. It creates confusion for the player as the death summary screen offers NO help.

2. Poor directions - I have noted repeatedly that ZOS is inconsistent with their usage of combat cues; and it's getting worse over time. Having colored AOEs on the ground is a great way to tell players where TO stand and NOT to stand. However, I have seen MANY fights, with mechanics that require players to have specific positions, that ZOS fails to use combat queues correctly.

Zhaj'hassa and The Serpent are great examples. During the Zhaj'hassa fight, the screen goes dark as the player is debuffed with Grip of Lorkhaj. MANY players I have played with have NO idea that they need to run to one of the light pads at the edge of the arena! Having ZOS place a Green AOE cue at those pads would be an excellent combat cue to let the player know what to do. The same thing happens during The Serpent fight when the boss drops Pink Orbs. There are no combat cues letting the player know what to do.

My issue is when a game over-relies on Youtube videos and third-party website guides. If a player feels that they have to leave the game and google a boss in order to figure out what is going on, then the game has failed the player.