PTS Update 45 - Feedback Thread for Combat & Classes

Maintenance for the week of February 17:
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – February 17
• PC/Mac: NA and EU megaservers for maintenance – February 19, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 12:00PM EST (17:00 UTC)
• Xbox: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – February 19, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 12:00PM EST (17:00 UTC)
• PlayStation®: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – February 19, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 12:00PM EST (17:00 UTC)
• ESO Store and Account System for maintenance – February 19, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 12:00PM EST (17:00 UTC) https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/673215
We will be performing maintenance on the PTS on Wednesday at 4:00AM EDT (9:00 UTC).
  • Udrath
    Udrath
    ✭✭✭✭
    I’m all for the changes cause pvp isn’t fun anymore. I might come try out vengeance, but no way will I play this game again without serious changes and make the game how it was in the early years.

    The changes that in my opinion made pvp worse:

    Hybridisation - No more sets that are for either tank, magicka, and stamina. Everyone has a burst heal and the strongest skills for their class, doesn’t matter if you’re stamina or magicka. No more stats for your designated archetype because now all abilities scale from the highest stat; so naturally this created huge class imbalances because some sets are better on some classes than others, while making all builds and playstyles the same across most classes. ( vate/master dw meta that lasted years) Throw in base 1000/1000 spell & weapon damage because why not and some other stats.

    Race against time/snare immunity - Used to be very limited to 2H swords, medium armor, and nightblades. Also cleanse for removal, but that was it. Then one time everyone was playing magsorc and naturally snares/roots counter them. Big fuss about roots and they made changes. Then RAT gave snare immunity and became the best skill in the game. Melee and magicka had big differences, and one of those reasons was because one had snare immunity and the other did not, but they played different and had separate strengths and weaknesses. This is gone and now everyone can kite forever while burst healing.

    Continually releasing gear that is overtuned and everyone uses the gear because it is a huge upgrade - New sets used to be minor upgrades or added flavour to certain classes. Now a new item can come out and make pvp miserable for months (or years). Snow treaders OP on ballgroups for one example.

    Proc sets that proc to much and have no visual - Caluurion used to be the only proc set I was really worried about, but it could be dodged and had a huge and loud visual. Now it’s has gotten a bit out of hand alongside all the other changes, to the point where you’re having a “mini-burst” every so and so seconds. Also hybrid made more proc sets viable that were always meant for stamina or magicka, and to some degree were balanced better before hybrid changed everything.

    Loads of other stuff like DOT changes, major and minor buffs changed, harmony changes, necromancers dead class literally, pull sets, weaving, armor changes, weapon changes (no more axe bleed), loaded skills that give 3 or more benefits and buffs.

    I could list a ton of stuff but what’s the point. Community is in shambles and toxic because they’ve been brewing in the same content forever. My advice is to go back to your rpg roots and bring more immersion, cause this game has been feeling less and less like an elder scrolls game each chapter and more like one giant self-insert more often than not.

    Put role play back into this RPG and a reason or the motivation to why we are PVPing in the first place. The whole game needs this not just PVP. You made a new Daedric prince for what? To introduce a glass breaking sound effect that’s terrible? Tons of lore and you choose to do this lmao
    Edited by Udrath on January 16, 2025 1:39AM
  • Aldoss
    Aldoss
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Arcanasx wrote: »
    It seems like the Way of Fire change is mostly for "appeasement" considering the incredible lack of much needed PvP balance changes needed in general.

    Anyways, while I don't mind them toning down sets proccing off of "fire and forget skills", it would be far more reasonable to change the proc condition to "When dealing direct damage with a weapon" instead. There's no good reason why someone using their actual spammable weapon ability should suddenly not work to proc Way of Fire anymore after nearly 10 years of it working this way...

    While we're at it, they should also extend these changes of toning down "fire and forget" proc activation to other sets as well, such as sheer venom (deal direct execute damage), and tarnished (deal direct critical damage). At least be consistent...

    Completely in agreement here.
  • React
    React
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Arcanasx wrote: »
    It seems like the Way of Fire change is mostly for "appeasement" considering the incredible lack of much needed PvP balance changes needed in general.

    Anyways, while I don't mind them toning down sets proccing off of "fire and forget skills", it would be far more reasonable to change the proc condition to "When dealing direct damage with a weapon" instead. There's no good reason why someone using their actual spammable weapon ability should suddenly not work to proc Way of Fire anymore after nearly 10 years of it working this way...

    While we're at it, I also don't understand why they also wouldn't extend these changes of toning down "fire and forget" proc activation to other sets as well, such as sheer venom (deal direct execute damage), and tarnished (deal direct critical damage). At least be consistent...

    I do actually agree with this for most cases, direct damage only would be fine for way of fire, and would be a much easier general rule to then apply to more proc sets like those that you mentioned, and any with a similar function. Most of the problem cases really are just tied to dots repetitively proccing sets (+status effects).
    @ReactSlower - PC/NA - 2000+ CP
    React Faster - XB/NA - 1500+ CP
    Content
    Spoiler
    Twitch.tv/reactfaster
    Youtube.com/@ReactFaster
  • Alchimiste1
    Alchimiste1
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    I agree with most of what decimus was saying. Also there is very little if any actual proposed class changes and therefore very little feedback that can actually be given.


    Give me 1 week to make all the decision/balance making.

    I promise to Make Cyrodiil Fun Again
    #MCFA
  • Erickson9610
    Erickson9610
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭
    Here, I have compiled a new spreadsheet which showcases the new possible and theoretical Companion ability cooldown values:
    n8iapi9kq3qo.png

    Here is the largest possible cooldown bonus, when using Telvanni Efficiency with a Companion who has the 3% cooldown bonus in their racial passives and a Quickened setup of 11 Epic and 1 Legendary:
    08dbpfy70rxy.png
    Note that Quickened and Companion racial passives are still additive. Telvanni Efficiency is calculated after the additive values, so it will always cut the cooldown in half.


    Compared to Live, this nerf to Telvanni Efficiency results in approximately a 2x increase to the cooldown. Here's the old chart:
    a2siqlw8xw7p.png
    Edited by Erickson9610 on January 16, 2025 7:51PM
    PC/NA — Lone Werewolf, the Templar Khajiit Werewolf

    Werewolf Should be Allowed to Sneak
    Please give us Werewolf Skill Styles (for customizing our fur color), Grimoires/Scribing skills (to fill in the holes in our builds), and Companions (to transform with).
  • OtarTheMad
    OtarTheMad
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭
    My issue with the Q1 combat and balance changes is that we had pretty much none. In the past Q1 was reserved as the combat update, where major changes happened. Now I realize the game is going through a huge transition but this is just another box checked in the column of us needing more information.

    So, what is the major combat update now?
    Is it spread throughout all the seasons?
    Will combat overall be less of a focus and is it more on improving other aspects (older zones, stories, systems etc.)?

  • ESO_Nightingale
    ESO_Nightingale
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭
    OtarTheMad wrote: »
    My issue with the Q1 combat and balance changes is that we had pretty much none. In the past Q1 was reserved as the combat update, where major changes happened. Now I realize the game is going through a huge transition but this is just another box checked in the column of us needing more information.

    So, what is the major combat update now?
    Is it spread throughout all the seasons?
    Will combat overall be less of a focus and is it more on improving other aspects (older zones, stories, systems etc.)?

    I believe the team is spread too thin and are mostly focusing on pvp.
    PvE Frost Warden Main and teacher. Come Join the ESO Frost Discord to discuss everything frost!: https://discord.gg/5PT3rQX
  • Wolfshade
    Wolfshade
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Dawnbreaker misses Animation
    This comment is awesome! It`s just a test comment!

    **End of the Internet**
  • i11ionward
    i11ionward
    ✭✭✭✭
    Arcanasx wrote: »
    It seems like the Way of Fire change is mostly for "appeasement" considering the incredible lack of much needed PvP balance changes needed in general.

    Anyways, while I don't mind them toning down sets proccing off of "fire and forget skills", it would be far more reasonable to change the proc condition to "When dealing direct damage with a weapon" instead. There's no good reason why someone using their actual spammable weapon ability should suddenly not work to proc Way of Fire anymore after nearly 10 years of it working this way...

    While we're at it, they should also extend these changes of toning down "fire and forget" proc activation to other sets as well, such as sheer venom (deal direct execute damage), and tarnished (deal direct critical damage). At least be consistent...

    Your proposal seems rational, I support it.

    EDIT
    I would like to clarify that I support everything except Sheer Venom, this set already has a special trigger condition.
    Edited by i11ionward on January 17, 2025 12:46PM
  • Rkindaleft
    Rkindaleft
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    There’s not much to say about Relequen that hasn’t been said already but I will reiterate that this is one of those changes that nobody who uses it in PvE or plays PvP actually wants - as previously mentioned, the changes to the set mean it’s nerfed in PvE and buffed in PvP.

    PvE players don’t want the set nerfed in PvE when it’s one of the few viable DPS sets for classes that aren’t Arcanist in a meta that’s still largely dominated by Arcanists and PvPers don’t want the set buffed in PvP when the set on live is already considered to be extremely strong and now on PTS is becoming downright oppressive in 1/Xv1.
    Edited by Rkindaleft on January 17, 2025 10:08PM
    https://youtube.com/@rkindaleft PlayStation NA. I upload parses and trial POVs sometimes.
    Spoiler
    Have cleared all trial hard modes.
    6/9 trial trifectas.
  • Savagejack
    Savagejack
    ✭✭✭
    No more rush of agony and immortal ball groups.
  • System_Data
    System_Data
    ✭✭✭
    When combat is a huge part of your gameplay experience and there's barely any combat changes when the state of the game needs it. It's really off-putting and turns people away from your game when there are multitudes of games available. You are literally fighting for people's time and it's even harder for a game that's 10 years old.

    Combat feels floaty and lacks impact.
    Animations are outdated and uninspired.
    Classes are played very similarly when optimized and lack uniqueness.
    So many sets in-game only to have a few that are viable without feeling that you are shooting yourself in the foot.
    Still stuck with the same set of weapons and even then only some of them are used, like dual daggers.

    There's little reason for players to come back this patch, especially for those who value combat, just to do the same thing again last patch.
  • francesinhalover
    francesinhalover
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hi, i would like to give my thoughts on the set Monster Mask – Squall of Retribution

    For context the stats are the shown

    1 – Adds 1206 Maximum Health
    2 – When you take damage, gain one random effect for 6 seconds:
    Gain Minor Protection, reducing your damage taken by 5%
    Gain a damage shield that absorbs up to 5835 damage.
    Gain a heal over time that heals every 2 seconds.
    The heal over time scales off of your Max Health. This effect can occur once every 4.5 seconds.

    I disagree with the set having Minor protection. it's a passive that is really easy to have access to and make one of the bonuses on this set useless for the most part.

    I would instead really like if the set had Stamina/magica regeneration bonus or something more usefull than minor protection.

    thank you.

    I am @fluffypallascat pc eu if someone wants to play together
    Shadow strike is the best cp passive ever!
  • Alaztor91
    Alaztor91
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    1ew7j0oggerb.png

    There hasn't been a single tweak made to Grave Lord's Sacrifice other than making it castable out of combat(something that every self-buff skill in the game can do btw).

    When U45 releases it will be literally a year after this morph was implemented. I know you made some changes to the ''Vengeance Campaign'' Necro skills, but for the ''Core'' game I haven't seen anything related to Necromancer in these PTS Notes(so far).

    Can you throw us a bone?
  • sans-culottes
    sans-culottes
    ✭✭✭✭
    Alaztor91 wrote: »
    1ew7j0oggerb.png

    There hasn't been a single tweak made to Grave Lord's Sacrifice other than making it castable out of combat(something that every self-buff skill in the game can do btw).

    When U45 releases it will be literally a year after this morph was implemented. I know you made some changes to the ''Vengeance Campaign'' Necro skills, but for the ''Core'' game I haven't seen anything related to Necromancer in these PTS Notes(so far).

    Can you throw us a bone?
    I see what you did there! Also, yes, please.
  • Aldoss
    Aldoss
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Alaztor91 wrote: »
    1ew7j0oggerb.png

    There hasn't been a single tweak made to Grave Lord's Sacrifice other than making it castable out of combat(something that every self-buff skill in the game can do btw).

    When U45 releases it will be literally a year after this morph was implemented. I know you made some changes to the ''Vengeance Campaign'' Necro skills, but for the ''Core'' game I haven't seen anything related to Necromancer in these PTS Notes(so far).

    Can you throw us a bone?

    It's too late. If they were going to deliver any combat updates, they would have had to have been in week 1 PTS notes.

    ZOS is communicating to us that they are not willing to invest in their combat team. Instead, the combat team was pulled to put all their energy into this new test - a test that very likely might not prove anything, just like the weeks of testing that was done back in 2020.

    It's sad to watch. The state of combat is awful and they didn't even feel the need to put a couple of people on the task to try and calm down the terrible meta that's been stagnant and unchanged for over a year.
  • Wolfshade
    Wolfshade
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ZOS_Kevin wrote: »
    This is the official feedback thread for any combat or class changes coming in Update 45. After you have a chance to try out different combat scenarios, let us know what you think of the current balance and changes.

    This views to "Vanguard" combat + classes and or the Class Abilities from PN v10.3.0 ?

    If it is already decided that they will come then actually on PTS, they are awesome! Balance, changes and the way ZOS asked for help and feedback from Pts while it seems already decided, awesome business as usual.

    This comment is awesome! It`s just a test comment!

    **End of the Internet**
  • xylena_lazarow
    xylena_lazarow
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    10.3.2 latest Rushing Agony update: Rushing Agony still not nerfed. ZOS please nerf Rushing Agony in PvP.
    PC/NA || Cyro/BGs || RIP ground oils
  • katemedina666
    katemedina666
    ✭✭✭
    Please please please, move the Vengeance Arcanist portal to live. It would be so much better and reliable than it is now.
    Also I begging ZOS to rework Necro class, cause it’s need more reliable burst dmg and spam. Perhaps BB need to be reworked like Vengeance Skeleton mage (appears near enemy- hit - disappears). Sculls-spam animation really slow, they can roll dodge twice before sculls could hit. And Necro obviously needs buffs “while slotted on either bar”.
  • Orbital78
    Orbital78
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/668300/marauder-gothmau-is-bugged-with-companions#latest will companion combat bugs with some enemies finally be fixed in U45? It feels like the topic is being avoided.
  • Decimus
    Decimus
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Just a few patches to go before patch goes Live, this still stands unaddressed and remains probably the biggest issue regarding PvP in next patch:
    Decimus wrote: »
    Why exactly was Relequen, one of (if not the most) disgusting 1v1/Xv1 sets buffed by providing it with far better 2-4p lines?

    Meanwhile Way of Fire, which does half of its damage in a 1v1/Xv1, receives a nerf for being "too oppressive" in PvP???


    Please look into Relequen 5p line as well, perhaps add an "against monsters" modifier like on so many other sets... as it stands, you've just buffed it in every PvP scenario with the 2-4p changes and enabled its use with sets like Draugrkin without losing any value due to mixing/matching stamina and magicka lines.

    One week of Cyrodiil tests is nothing compared to an entire patch cycle of being run down by oppressive dueling 1v1 sets that get huge unnecessary buffs to make them even more broken in PvP.


    It would be nice to get some insight on why this set was buffed for PvP and nerfed for most groups in PvE, considering Way of Fire (again, half the damage of Relequen in PvP) got a nerf and a Developer Comment explaining why.
    PC/EU @ DECMVS
  • sans-culottes
    sans-culottes
    ✭✭✭✭
    @ZOS_Kevin, necromancers have been saddled with the unwieldy, unused Sacrificial Bones/Grave Lord’s Sacrifice for over a year. You claimed the developers would be keeping a close eye on this ability. Can you offer any insight into this? Players would surely appreciate this being brought up with the team.
    Edited by sans-culottes on January 28, 2025 12:58PM
  • BasP
    BasP
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    I imagine that much of the developers' time has been spent on the Cyrodiil test, which I assume is why there are no meaningful combat or class changes to test during this PTS cycle. That said, a few aspects of the current balance stand out to me, so I'll share my feedback on those instead.

    Some class ground AoE skills could use a buff
    Spoiler
    I compared the ground AoE skills of a few classes (without factoring in passive abilities) and believe that some skills could benefit from a buff or adjustment to make them more viable. Hopefully, the fancy table below makes sense and helps to illustrate my point:

    c2dna6wn8mrr.png
    The skills that stand out to me most are Twisting Path and Lightning Flood. Given that the Nightblade’s class kit doesn’t offer many good AoE damage options, I believe that it would be great if Twisting Path dealt more damage. Perhaps its base damage could be slightly increased, or it could gain a (possibly self-activatable) Synergy that deals damage similar to (Avid) Boneyard? I do realize that the Dark Veil passive increases Path's duration to 12 seconds, making the damage per cast nice, but that doesn't change the DPS.

    Lightning Flood, on the other hand, has a good Synergy, but the skill itself feels underwhelming. It doesn't apply any Major or Minor Buff/Debuff, nor does it have an additional effect that synergizes well with the Sorcerer's class kit - unlike the Warden's Winter's Revenge, which has a higher chance to apply Chilled. Given that pet Sorcerers already deal more damage than non-pet Sorcs, I think it would be beneficial for the class if Lightning Flood received a buff. Perhaps it could make targets take increased Lightning Damage or have an increased chance to apply Concussed?

    When it comes to Winter's Revenge, I still find it a bit silly that its damage is increased by 30% when cast with a Destruction Staff equipped. In my opinion, that additional damage could simply be added to the base skill instead.

    The Necromancer's Skeletal Mage is underwhelming
    Spoiler
    The Skeletal Mage and its morphs received a significant nerf in U35, and in my opinion the skill could definitely use a buff. I've included only the Skeletal Arcanist morph in the following table, but the Skeletal Archer isn't great either.

    tnzhx873opow.png
    The skill most mechanically similar to the Skeletal Arcanist, Dark Shade, deals 30% more damage per second and has a larger radius. I understand that Dark Shade doesn't grant a Major Buff, so I suppose it's fair that it deals more damage than the Skeletal Arcanist...

    ...but the Dragonknight's Flames of Oblivion not only deals direct damage to multiple targets over its duration but also grants a Major Buff just by slotting it on either bar. So why does FoO deal twice as much DPS as the Skeletal Arcanist and 54% more DPS than Dark Shade, if my calculations are correct? And no, I’m definitely not advocating for a FoO nerf. I'd rather see both morphs of the Skeletal Mage - and to a lesser extent Dark Shade now that I think of it - to be brought up to par.

    The Warden's Arctic Blast could use some more attention
    Spoiler
    I actually made a post about this last month, so I suppose this is somewhat of a pet peeve of mine. I just feel that the current iteration of Arctic Blast leaves something to be desired. The healing was made conditional because of PvP, but as far as I know, the change primarily impacted PvE players who relied on Arctic Blast's healing (while most PvP'ers already used the other morph, Polar Wind).

    Aside from that, I agree with everyone who's said that Grave Lord's Sacrifice could use a rework - or at least some adjustments to improve its viability.
  • Morvan
    Morvan
    ✭✭✭✭
    Please consider giving a buff to Null Arca, with the bug fixed it will be completely outshined by much older sets like Relequen.
    @MorvanClaude on PC/NA, don't try to trap me with lore subjects, it will work
  • ZhuJiuyin
    ZhuJiuyin
    ✭✭✭✭

    Removing the 5 second cooldown on Null Arca and increasing the damage by 5-10% should make it competitive with older sets like Relequen.
    "是燭九陰,是燭龍。"──by "The Classic of Mountains and Seas "English is not my first language,If something is ambiguous, rude due to context and translation issues, etc., please remind me, thanks.
  • YandereGirlfriend
    YandereGirlfriend
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Please give us:

    Lightning Flood -> higher chance to apply Concussed status effect

    Twisting Path -> higher chance to apply Overcharged status effect

    For some additional class flavor via elemental affinities.
  • Tannus15
    Tannus15
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭
    Honestly this is the thing I find so confusing. There are obvious skills on classes that are under performing which could have simple buffs that literally no one will complain about.

    Sorc cleave sucks. Buff lightning flood. It's not hard or complicated.
  • Meridiano
    Meridiano
    ✭✭
    Null Arca was acceptable only with this "bug", I call it multi-proc. W/o it we have 1 weak hit at random target (last target hit = random target because of DOTs and AOEs) per 5 sec. Even if ZoS increase its damage x2 (x3 will never happen) Null Arca goes to the lowest trial sets tier, farming it is no longer worth it.
    Contact me if you want.
  • MurkyWetWolf198
    MurkyWetWolf198
    ✭✭✭
    Null Arca seems to be underperforming in power now. It isn’t worth using over dungeon sets like pillar of nirn or aegis called, even for pure single target fights. Can it get a compensatory buff so it performs in comparison to sets like Relequen’s, or at least as strong as Whorl?
  • xylena_lazarow
    xylena_lazarow
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    10.3.3 Rushing Agony still not nerfed, despite overwhelming support for its removal from PvP.
    PC/NA || Cyro/BGs || RIP ground oils
Sign In or Register to comment.