First, I would like to say that I'm really happy that ZOS finally is adding content for PVP players. As an avid BG enjoyer over the course of my gaming life, battlegrounds in MMOs have always been my favorite. Yes, we can all agree that 7+ years for any sort of meaningful update reminds us that most of the player base enjoys PVE, the same was with WoW, but I think with more open communication and some constructive criticism. We could see players really try to get more into PVP with just a few changes. I'm someone who spent 14+ hours a day for months to get Emperor when the game first came out on Wabbajack, quit when there were bugs that didn't get fixed. I came back when they added BGs, quit when they didn't care about solo/group play for years. Now I'm back this summer and when they announced a "rework" for BGs I was VERY excited since they also added a few other things on the PVE side I have been enjoying. The forums are full of good ideas and posts about this update so I'm going to narrow it down to 3 things I think ZOS did good, the bad, and changes I would like prioritized or implemented.
The good-
1. They made chaos ball a lot more fun for people who typically ignore objectives. Turning into the WW or Vampire is fun and exciting.
2. I LOVE all the new maps, the designs and layout are great
3. They did a great job ( on some map/modes ) for instance dominion for 8v8 on certain maps is a blast, reminds me of old school Battlefield games where people were all over fighting for the same goals
The bad-
1. Tech issues/bugs. There are many and they already have most listed to be worked on, I personally have had 28 games not start with the not full lobby
2. Role Que- This needs to be implemented, in my opinion ,as fast as possible. I play support and during a 4v4 if there is 1 more support, no one dies on either side. I know it will take time but I think having a system similar to the PVE side of the game, when you que just put "Support" vs "DD". Yes, there are many different types of support but this I think is a great first step. Then have a system to where in 4v4 each side gets 1 support and in 8v8 each side can get up to 3max on each side. People can troll it and it won't be perfect but that seems like a good starting point and it would show ZOS is actively trying to make it a more enjoyable experience.
3. Cross healing. One of the most requested things in PVP has been to look into cross healing. My idea for a possible thing to try is if they implement the "support" role (as stated above) when you que into a match your healing would work as normal, but if you are DD it is cut by an even bigger amount with the battle spirit debuff. If not this, than each new target that heals you it is 50% less effective after your own healing.
Changes I would like to see sooner than later-
1. ZOS having a PVP or community member that is active weekly with the player base. Either someone we see in game playing with us, streaming the game, or a forum admin that all they do is talk about the PVP side of the game. When you look at these forums and there are posts from 5+ years ago, it makes it seem like they don't care, or lack of communication and updates. We just want someone who actually engages with us weekly or even monthly to let us know what they are working on and that they care about the health of the game.
2. I think many people dislike the "leaderboard" and if you go to any post about it there are many good ideas on how to make it better, I personally think they should copy/paste WoW's mmr style where you have a rating that you can actually see. Everyone starts at 0 and it goes up to... whatever they decide. You could have different unlocks for cosmetics at different thresholds that would give people incentive to grow as a player and try to win matches more often. Speaking of medals, I personally think they should be removed entirely from leaderboards and only go off of win/loss and you get more or less points depending on the other team.
3. This last change may not be popular, but I've been asking the players who are very active, veterans and new players, and a lot of people miss the 4v4v4 format. My idea would be the following... Only have 2 ques for BGs. One is Casual and one is Ranked. Casual has the option depending on how many people are queing to be the new 8v8 format OR the old 4v4v4 maps and game modes. Ranked would strictly be the 4v4 modes that they choose to leave in the game. I also have heard group queing is dead again on arrival so I vote for allowing DUOs for both modes and at least you can rotate with the friends you play with. The player base doesn't have a massive pool of players so I understand why they don't allow certain group/solo play, but I think duos would be the healthiest way and just having 2 things to que for.
I have a lot of thoughts on IC and Cyrodiil as well but for this post I mainly wanted to address BGS. My hope is ZOS and players both don't get discouraged and look at all the changes and together create a fun experience for all players. There are so many other topics I would cover surrounding the BG scene but this is already a lot of info to read over.
-BG Addict Smashadamz