Infinite Archive Reset Timer

MedicInTheWild · May 12

Speaking for my own thought, Could we not get an extension on the timer to reset Infinite archive as in I have kids and needed to make them food which took 25-30 minutes and BAM!!!! lost all progress in IA. I feel that you could extend the reset out a few hours ~~~~2 tops to give the elder scrolls fans that have families, are single parents, that need to make themself some food so they don't perish a few second break to do those without loosing progress in IA.

I feel more than myself has to agree with this.

vsrs_au · May 12

I haven't entered the IA yet, and the main thing discouraging me from doing it is the lack of any mechanism to save completed stages, so we can return to the IA later (after IRL stuff has been sorted out), and continue where we ended last session. This, in my opinion, is the single worst design feature of IA. It basically forces players to spend unhealthy spans of time playing IA if they want to make any significant progress in it.

tsaescishoeshiner · May 12

I think that would be fair and good, especially given that there's a reset button for players who want a faster reset.

I would even request a rework where we could work on the same IA run for a whole week. It would take some technical detail-hashing, but I don't have 3 hours every night to grind through the easy arcs (for me) just to get to the rewarding and challenging ones.

NoSoup · May 12

Just pull out your banker/merchant/decon assitant and talk to them, in the past this has been enough to stop you from being kicked due to inactivity.

Dragonnord · May 12

This question/request has already been responded by Devs stating they have no plans to add a Save option to IA.

MedicInTheWild · May 12

They could easily encourage IA play time by simply extending it slightly, Im not talking 24 hours just 2 hours, It gives people that don't have 24 hours set aside eating chips, pizza rolls and mountain dew in someone's basement a chance to actually progress in there. The way they make it for those that make content for a living and those with no jobs that can dedicate the time is such a push away from this game.
Weather those agree or not when you have 2 kids and work 40+ hours a week you cant dedicate 8 solid hours toward a game and I am already to the point of moving on from this game after 10 years. I have played other games more than this game in the past 5 months and I am enjoying it due to little adjustments they could make like the complaint.

katanagirl1 · May 12

I see why they don’t have a reset, that is the way they designed this arena.

I’d rather have some way to speed it up and not have to spend hours in there to get leads. I can only do one arc before I need to quit. It’s definitely not healthy to do much more.

EdjeSwift · May 13

MedicInTheWild wrote: »

They could easily encourage IA play time by simply extending it slightly, Im not talking 24 hours just 2 hours, It gives people that don't have 24 hours set aside eating chips, pizza rolls and mountain dew in someone's basement a chance to actually progress in there. The way they make it for those that make content for a living and those with no jobs that can dedicate the time is such a push away from this game.
Weather those agree or not when you have 2 kids and work 40+ hours a week you cant dedicate 8 solid hours toward a game and I am already to the point of moving on from this game after 10 years. I have played other games more than this game in the past 5 months and I am enjoying it due to little adjustments they could make like the complaint.

I don't quite understand where this mentality that you NEED that much time in IA to "progress". I'm a solo IA runner and I pretty much do Arc 4 max solo and that's rare, I usually clear 2 and maybe check 3.1.1 for a Maruader and then call it. I have progressed through IA pretty much as far as I want to and have everything I want/need from it from just doing 15-60 minute clears of the place.

The higher arcs don't give you anything other than more fortunes and even then it's really not worth the slog that it is most of the time. Everything can be earned/looted in Arc 1 & 2, so going further is a choice, not a requirement. The only things that matter in 3+ are a handful of achievements.

MidniteOwl1913 · May 13

EdjeSwift wrote: »

MedicInTheWild wrote: »

They could easily encourage IA play time by simply extending it slightly, Im not talking 24 hours just 2 hours, It gives people that don't have 24 hours set aside eating chips, pizza rolls and mountain dew in someone's basement a chance to actually progress in there. The way they make it for those that make content for a living and those with no jobs that can dedicate the time is such a push away from this game.
Weather those agree or not when you have 2 kids and work 40+ hours a week you cant dedicate 8 solid hours toward a game and I am already to the point of moving on from this game after 10 years. I have played other games more than this game in the past 5 months and I am enjoying it due to little adjustments they could make like the complaint.

I don't quite understand where this mentality that you NEED that much time in IA to "progress". I'm a solo IA runner and I pretty much do Arc 4 max solo and that's rare, I usually clear 2 and maybe check 3.1.1 for a Maruader and then call it. I have progressed through IA pretty much as far as I want to and have everything I want/need from it from just doing 15-60 minute clears of the place.

The higher arcs don't give you anything other than more fortunes and even then it's really not worth the slog that it is most of the time. Everything can be earned/looted in Arc 1 & 2, so going further is a choice, not a requirement. The only things that matter in 3+ are a handful of achievements.

I'm glad for you that it doesn't take you that long. You are not me. It's takes me at least a half an hour to clear arc 1, and it doesn't get easier than that. I don't know if I can clear arc 3 or not because I've never had enough time in one chunk to find out. And I know at this point I never will. I don't run out of threads I become threadbare. (out of time)

MedicInTheWild · May 13

I myself usually go to arc 4 solo every run I can, but when I step away for 20 minutes to feed the kids or stretch and come back and its reset it kind of sucks, I'm not saying its promoting unhealthy habits but you should be able to get up and refresh without the worry of reset.

Heck they could deduct points for all I care, I am just farming for the mythic and have managed to run this to arc 3-4 every other day for a month and not got a single lead for the torc mythic and cant walk away to refresh for a few without having to start over.

code65536 · May 13

MedicInTheWild wrote: »

Speaking for my own thought, Could we not get an extension on the timer to reset Infinite archive as in I have kids and needed to make them food which took 25-30 minutes and BAM!!!! lost all progress in IA. I feel that you could extend the reset out a few hours ~~~~2 tops to give the elder scrolls fans that have families, are single parents, that need to make themself some food so they don't perish a few second break to do those without loosing progress in IA.

I feel more than myself has to agree with this.

Back when Maelstrom Arena was first released, there was no save feature.

My very first clear of Veteran was a 13-hour run. But I wasn't at my computer for 13 hours. I went to bed, got a good night's sleep and finished it the next day when I was refreshed.

It was a simple, crude trick. Place a heavy object on my keyboard to hold down the up arrow key, so that my character spent the entire night walking into a wall.

As for an official save feature, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. Maelstrom is easy, since the only information that needs to be saved is how far you're in, which was already encoded in the quest progress, so all the necessary information was already being saved.

IA is different, though, because you need to save the vision choices (plus other important details like how many threads you have left, how many side areas you've completed in the arc, and whether you've seen that arc's marauder). Once you get past the first few arcs, visions will matter more than your actual build and loadout, so it's not something that can just be handwaved away. So whereas Maelstrom needed just a single piece of information (which stage you're at), IA requires many pieces of information (your progress, threads, special encounters--side areas and marauders-- and finally every single vision choice you picked). And to make matters worse, there's the other problem of how you'd handle the extra complications arising from players who play as a duo.

So while the whole save progress thing sounds like a nice thing to have (and I've myself asked for it), once you sit down and think about how they'd do it, you can see why they wouldn't. It's not because they want to be inconsiderate of players, but because it's a complicated thing to do.

I'm not expecting it to happen any time soon (or ever), so I'd suggest looking around for a heavy object to place on your keyboard.

MidniteOwl1913 · May 13

code65536 wrote: »

MedicInTheWild wrote: »

Speaking for my own thought, Could we not get an extension on the timer to reset Infinite archive as in I have kids and needed to make them food which took 25-30 minutes and BAM!!!! lost all progress in IA. I feel that you could extend the reset out a few hours ~~~~2 tops to give the elder scrolls fans that have families, are single parents, that need to make themself some food so they don't perish a few second break to do those without loosing progress in IA.

I feel more than myself has to agree with this.

Back when Maelstrom Arena was first released, there was no save feature.

My very first clear of Veteran was a 13-hour run. But I wasn't at my computer for 13 hours. I went to bed, got a good night's sleep and finished it the next day when I was refreshed.

It was a simple, crude trick. Place a heavy object on my keyboard to hold down the up arrow key, so that my character spent the entire night walking into a wall.

As for an official save feature, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it. Maelstrom is easy, since the only information that needs to be saved is how far you're in, which was already encoded in the quest progress, so all the necessary information was already being saved.

IA is different, though, because you need to save the vision choices (plus other important details like how many threads you have left, how many side areas you've completed in the arc, and whether you've seen that arc's marauder). Once you get past the first few arcs, visions will matter more than your actual build and loadout, so it's not something that can just be handwaved away. So whereas Maelstrom needed just a single piece of information (which stage you're at), IA requires many pieces of information (your progress, threads, special encounters--side areas and marauders-- and finally every single vision choice you picked). And to make matters worse, there's the other problem of how you'd handle the extra complications arising from players who play as a duo.

So while the whole save progress thing sounds like a nice thing to have (and I've myself asked for it), once you sit down and think about how they'd do it, you can see why they wouldn't. It's not because they want to be inconsiderate of players, but because it's a complicated thing to do.

I'm not expecting it to happen any time soon (or ever), so I'd suggest looking around for a heavy object to place on your keyboard.

Interesting, I would assume that leaving something open this way consumes a fair bit of resources. Hmm maybe if enough people did this ZOS would figure out a way to save progress for the IA as it would be a big save for them... Something to think about anyway. I'm on the console but I could probably come up with something like this, maybe if the PS5 wouldn't time me out...

vsrs_au · May 13

If the save feature is that complex to implement, perhaps ZOS should have included it in the original design. The lack of this feature is discouraging me from trying IA, and I wonder how many others it's discouraging? I don't want to play IA until my body's yelling at me to stop, instead I'd prefer to play parts of it, then return when I feel like it.

Malyore · May 13

Something else about the 5 minutes is that feels like it cuts things really close on time in order to leave the archive to change my build at an armory station. I don't have any of the armorer NPCs yet because I don't want to spend $50 on a random orc to fade in and change my loadout. I personally am still waiting for a cooler NPC and a discount as well.

So if I have a high DPS build starting off, I can burn through arc 1 really quickly, but by arc 3+ it's not very survivable. But if I start with something more tanky, it makes the early arcs sooo slow to get through. I've got a pretty decent balance rn at being a tanky dps, but I still can't get past arc 3 usually unless I'm lucky. If I felt I could comfortably leave the archive to change my build and get back on time without the risk of losing progress, I'd be all for it.

EdjeSwift · May 13

Malyore wrote: »

Something else about the 5 minutes is that feels like it cuts things really close on time in order to leave the archive to change my build at an armory station. I don't have any of the armorer NPCs yet because I don't want to spend $50 on a random orc to fade in and change my loadout. I personally am still waiting for a cooler NPC and a discount as well.

5 minutes is more than enough time to port to a home you own(Many for free), hit the station and then hit a wayshrine or port back to the Archive. What are you doing that it takes more than 5 minutes to do these things? Or are you going about the travel differently?

code65536 · May 13

Malyore wrote: »

Something else about the 5 minutes is that feels like it cuts things really close on time in order to leave the archive to change my build at an armory station. I don't have any of the armorer NPCs yet because I don't want to spend $50 on a random orc to fade in and change my loadout. I personally am still waiting for a cooler NPC and a discount as well.

So if I have a high DPS build starting off, I can burn through arc 1 really quickly, but by arc 3+ it's not very survivable. But if I start with something more tanky, it makes the early arcs sooo slow to get through. I've got a pretty decent balance rn at being a tanky dps, but I still can't get past arc 3 usually unless I'm lucky. If I felt I could comfortably leave the archive to change my build and get back on time without the risk of losing progress, I'd be all for it.

You can't use the armory NPC inside IA.

Porting out, hitting the Armory, and porting back in takes about a minute.

Maybe 2 minutes if you want to be generous.

It's nowhere near 5 minutes. I know, because I do this every time I run IA: I use one spec for the lower arcs and another for the higher arcs.

ESO_player123 · May 13

Malyore wrote: »

Something else about the 5 minutes is that feels like it cuts things really close on time in order to leave the archive to change my build at an armory station. I don't have any of the armorer NPCs yet because I don't want to spend $50 on a random orc to fade in and change my loadout. I personally am still waiting for a cooler NPC and a discount as well.

So if I have a high DPS build starting off, I can burn through arc 1 really quickly, but by arc 3+ it's not very survivable. But if I start with something more tanky, it makes the early arcs sooo slow to get through. I've got a pretty decent balance rn at being a tanky dps, but I still can't get past arc 3 usually unless I'm lucky. If I felt I could comfortably leave the archive to change my build and get back on time without the risk of losing progress, I'd be all for it.

You absolutely have enough time to go to a house and use the armory to switch your build. I do it all the time (sometimes multiple times during the same run) because the Goat side portal keeps removing the Steed Mundus stone from my build. So, I have to go my house to reload the build from the armory. Never had any issues with returning on time.

I just asked in Players helping Players forum if an Armory assistant can be used inside IA (I do not own one). The answer was NO.

sharquez · May 13

Weight on the keyboard trick is the way to go. They probably aren't touching the place for another 6 months. But don't be afraid to go in it. it's a transient repeatable experience. Go as far as you want and don't sweat it as you can always try again.

BretonMage · May 13

Is it really that hard for them to save vision and verse choices for a run? I can understand the complications of saving a duo run, but solo runs should be able to be saved.

Ideally I'd love it they could save progress indefinitely like VMA, but I'd settle for a few hours so I can take a break, have lunch/dinner, or whatever.

As it stands, I usually run out of time and patience in Arc 3. And I don't think we should be forced to sit and game for hours upon hours, it's really not very healthy.

furiouslog · May 13

code65536 wrote: »

Maelstrom is easy

hoo that almost triggered me until i realized what you meant.

EdjeSwift · May 13

BretonMage wrote: »

As it stands, I usually run out of time and patience in Arc 3. And I don't think we should be forced to sit and game for hours upon hours, it's really not very healthy.

This seems to be a recurring trend in all the IA discussions, if you don't want to go deeper, then don't.

Going deeper into the Archive only nets you more Fortunes v. more time spent in there. Every item/lead/recipe can drop in Arcs 1 & 2, going any further than that is a choice. I regular end my IA runs with all 4 threads remaining because I just can't be bothered to slog through Arc 3/Arc 4. You don't HAVE to go deeper for anything other than maybe a few achievements.

vsrs_au · May 13

EdjeSwift wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

As it stands, I usually run out of time and patience in Arc 3. And I don't think we should be forced to sit and game for hours upon hours, it's really not very healthy.

This seems to be a recurring trend in all the IA discussions, if you don't want to go deeper, then don't.

Going deeper into the Archive only nets you more Fortunes v. more time spent in there. Every item/lead/recipe can drop in Arcs 1 & 2, going any further than that is a choice. I regular end my IA runs with all 4 threads remaining because I just can't be bothered to slog through Arc 3/Arc 4. You don't HAVE to go deeper for anything other than maybe a few achievements.

As I mentioned, I haven't entered IA yet, so I have a question: are the "arcs" different? In other words, will I see anything different by doing multiple arcs, or are they all the same arc with difficulty increases?

EdjeSwift · May 13

Arcs increase difficulty and add a sprinkling of change but nothing too insane. The only difference in Arcs is Tho'at who adds difficulty via [redacted] in the first 4 Arcs but after that nothing changes.

Each of the first 4 stages pulls from the same pool of bosses so there isn't much of a change either.

BretonMage · May 14

EdjeSwift wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

As it stands, I usually run out of time and patience in Arc 3. And I don't think we should be forced to sit and game for hours upon hours, it's really not very healthy.

This seems to be a recurring trend in all the IA discussions, if you don't want to go deeper, then don't.

Going deeper into the Archive only nets you more Fortunes v. more time spent in there. Every item/lead/recipe can drop in Arcs 1 & 2, going any further than that is a choice. I regular end my IA runs with all 4 threads remaining because I just can't be bothered to slog through Arc 3/Arc 4. You don't HAVE to go deeper for anything other than maybe a few achievements.

While I foresee that most times I'll only run the first 2 arcs, I do want to be able to complete Arc 3 when I have the time and energy to do so. For more fortunes and drops, at least, because one hardly gets anything in Arc 1.

If I was doing it in a group, like say a trial, I wouldn't mind setting aside a block of time for it. But I don't think it's reasonable to have to choose between my well-being/RL obligations and doing the content I want to do, especially if it doesn't impact anyone else.

Even in VMA, it actually feels less tedious to spend 2 hours in there because the content is more varied. But we're able to save progress in VMA, we should be able to save progress in IA if solo.

MidniteOwl1913 · May 14

My main use of the IA is testing a new build. I find it useful for determining the survivability. And the random set drop can generate a tidy bit of gold.

Other than that it's boring and repetitive, and the grim color palate doesn't help.

code65536 · May 14

vsrs_au wrote: »

As I mentioned, I haven't entered IA yet, so I have a question: are the "arcs" different? In other words, will I see anything different by doing multiple arcs, or are they all the same arc with difficulty increases?

That's basically the point. The difficulty ramps up, and the primary thrill in running IA isn't about seeing new things that you hadn't seen before, but rather to see how far you can go before those difficulty increases overwhelm you.

And along the way, you pick up permanent powerups called Visions, and by the time you get deep into the archive, those Visions will usually overshadow your build and change how you play (e.g., damage dealers in double-digit arcs are built like a tank with over 40K health and wearing heavy armor, because at that point you're relying mostly on the strength of your Visions to do damage). This is the secondary draw to IA: that the Visions can allow you to play around with the kinds of builds and playstyles that would never work anywhere else in the game. But this really doesn't become a thing until you've gone deep enough (I'd say... uh... past arc 7?) to have collected enough Visions, and this is a big part of what makes the higher arcs fun to play (aside from the challenge and significantly richer rewards).

Unfortunately, IA is really balanced for duo play, and it's exceptionally hard for solo players to get to those deeper arcs that are the really fun parts of IA. But if you got a buddy who you like to spend time and hang out with, IA can be a lot of fun. And I guess that's the third thing I like about IA--it's chance to do something with a friend. I frankly hate running IA solo; I've run a lot of IA and have been to the double-digit arcs countless times, yet I still don't have the solo and companion achievements in IA because it's just such a miserably lonely experience running it by myself (but hey, maybe solo might be your cup of tea; but it isn't for me).

Necrotech_Master · May 14

code65536 wrote: »

vsrs_au wrote: »

As I mentioned, I haven't entered IA yet, so I have a question: are the "arcs" different? In other words, will I see anything different by doing multiple arcs, or are they all the same arc with difficulty increases?

That's basically the point. The difficulty ramps up, and the primary thrill in running IA isn't about seeing new things that you hadn't seen before, but rather to see how far you can go before those difficulty increases overwhelm you.

And along the way, you pick up permanent powerups called Visions, and by the time you get deep into the archive, those Visions will usually overshadow your build and change how you play (e.g., damage dealers in double-digit arcs are built like a tank with over 40K health and wearing heavy armor, because at that point you're relying mostly on the strength of your Visions to do damage). This is the secondary draw to IA: that the Visions can allow you to play around with the kinds of builds and playstyles that would never work anywhere else in the game. But this really doesn't become a thing until you've gone deep enough (I'd say... uh... past arc 7?) to have collected enough Visions, and this is a big part of what makes the higher arcs fun to play (aside from the challenge and significantly richer rewards).

Unfortunately, IA is really balanced for duo play, and it's exceptionally hard for solo players to get to those deeper arcs that are the really fun parts of IA. But if you got a buddy who you like to spend time and hang out with, IA can be a lot of fun. And I guess that's the third thing I like about IA--it's chance to do something with a friend. I frankly hate running IA solo; I've run a lot of IA and have been to the double-digit arcs countless times, yet I still don't have the solo and companion achievements in IA because it's just such a miserably lonely experience running it by myself (but hey, maybe solo might be your cup of tea; but it isn't for me).

thats kind of how i am with it, i dont enjoy running it solo, but i do like having someone to chat with while going through the arcs

its one of the reasons i didnt really enjoy the full solo arenas past getting the gear (maelstrom/vateshran)

i dont usually go too far past arc 4 anymore, mostly because like others have said theres not much there except additional fortunes and more challenge

Necrotech_Master · May 14

MidniteOwl1913 wrote: »

EdjeSwift wrote: »

MedicInTheWild wrote: »

They could easily encourage IA play time by simply extending it slightly, Im not talking 24 hours just 2 hours, It gives people that don't have 24 hours set aside eating chips, pizza rolls and mountain dew in someone's basement a chance to actually progress in there. The way they make it for those that make content for a living and those with no jobs that can dedicate the time is such a push away from this game.
Weather those agree or not when you have 2 kids and work 40+ hours a week you cant dedicate 8 solid hours toward a game and I am already to the point of moving on from this game after 10 years. I have played other games more than this game in the past 5 months and I am enjoying it due to little adjustments they could make like the complaint.

I don't quite understand where this mentality that you NEED that much time in IA to "progress". I'm a solo IA runner and I pretty much do Arc 4 max solo and that's rare, I usually clear 2 and maybe check 3.1.1 for a Maruader and then call it. I have progressed through IA pretty much as far as I want to and have everything I want/need from it from just doing 15-60 minute clears of the place.

The higher arcs don't give you anything other than more fortunes and even then it's really not worth the slog that it is most of the time. Everything can be earned/looted in Arc 1 & 2, so going further is a choice, not a requirement. The only things that matter in 3+ are a handful of achievements.

I'm glad for you that it doesn't take you that long. You are not me. It's takes me at least a half an hour to clear arc 1, and it doesn't get easier than that. I don't know if I can clear arc 3 or not because I've never had enough time in one chunk to find out. And I know at this point I never will. I don't run out of threads I become threadbare. (out of time)

my avg clear time for arc 1 is 10-25 minutes, it depends heavily if im going full dps or not at the beginning lol, it also varies a good bit depending on bonus portals that show up (a tank build in the arcanist duel one is like a 5-10 minutes endeavor itself)

my avg time to clear arc 4 with a partner is usually about 2 hours or less (fastest is probably 1 hour 20 minutes, avg is probably closer to 1 hour 45 minutes)

for comparison dragonstar arena takes about 45 minutes to an hour on normal with 2 players and 2 companions