Inspecting Other Players should be a core mechanic for PVP

Asdara · February 9

Disclaimer: This article is written from a PvP perspective and focuses solely on the importance of inspecting other players within PvP scenarios in ESO.

Inspecting other players should be a core mechanic of PvP because it directly supports the competitive nature of the game.

Atm you're forced to guess, which is not only frustrating but puts you at a disadvantage compared to those who have access to detailed information. Without an inspection feature, you’re left in the dark, guessing at the opponent's build, making it impossible to develop an intelligent counter-strategy. Moreover, with the increasing number of players using cosmetic skins for spell and scribing, reading a player's build or determining their skill usage has become nearly impossible. This makes the already difficult task of understanding an opponent’s build even more challenging. What’s the point of even trying to study an enemy player at this point? Why should I waste time fumbling around trying to guess what your setup is?
It’s like playing a game of “guess the ability” when you're already at a disadvantage. The cosmetic skins may look cool, but they add an unnecessary layer of confusion that hinders any meaningful competitive interaction, especially when combined with the lack of an inspection feature.

Oh, and I can hear the people in the back screaming, "You can just ask them lol."

Well, let's be honest here, most PvP players don’t want to share their builds. They’ve spent hours perfecting their setups, testing what works best, and putting in the work to gain an edge. Asking them for that info? You're not likely to get a response, or if you do, it’s often vague or unhelpful. The reality is, many players keep their builds to themselves to maintain their competitive advantage. That's why having the ability to inspect their gear, abilities, and buffs is so essential. It’s not about interrupting the flow or bothering anyone, it's about leveling the playing field and ensuring that knowledge is accessible, not just hoarded by the few who are willing to share.

Then, there’s the issue of player knowledge and growth. Inspections are not just about "checking out" your opponent they’re about learning. How did that player do so much damage? Why are they healing so much? What set are they using that gives them that insane defense? These are questions that should drive us to improve our own gameplay. Instead, without an inspection feature, we're left to guess, or worse fall into a toxic loop of trial and error. If I could see what gear, traits, or abilities you're running, I could adjust my own strategies and builds to actually learn and evolve as a player. Isn't that what PvP is about? Testing your skills, adapting, and getting better?

I've also heard the argument about the fact that it will "promote elitism"

The very idea that inspecting someone’s gear or abilities somehow promotes elitism or a sense of superiority is a weak excuse. If anything, not being able to inspect gear only helps the truly elitist players: those who have the best setups but refuse to share their knowledge. Let’s be real here: someone with better gear should be able to showcase that gear without fear of being judged for it. If a player is running a top-tier build, they should want others to see it because it’s the result of their effort, knowledge, and investment. But without an inspection feature, players with suboptimal setups are left to assume that everyone has the same opportunities which is far from true.
Furthermore, not having an inspection feature ruins the sense of community and cooperative learning. When players can’t inspect each other, it fosters an environment of secrecy and isolation. Yes, players can ask each other what they’re wearing, but that depends on the willingness of the other player to actually share this information. And if they don't want to? Tough luck. The game should provide the means to encourage communication and shared learning without having to jump through hoops. If I see someone kicking butt in PvP, I should be able to inspect them, learn from them, and potentially even mimic or adapt their tactics. Instead, without that feature, it feels like we're stuck in the dark ages of MMO design, where players only succeed through trial, error, and pure luck.

Finally, nowadays content creators have become the only reliable sources of build knowledge and PvP strategies.
But here's the catch !
These creators are becoming increasingly rare. Fewer and fewer players are willing to pour their time into creating guides, builds, and tutorials. This is especially problematic for new or casual players who rely on these creators to understand the game's complex mechanics. Without an inspection system in place, players are left at the mercy of these rare guides, which may not always be up to date or easy to find. It's frustrating that the game itself doesn't support this kind of learning through basic features, forcing players to jump through hoops or rely solely on outside sources, which is neither efficient nor sustainable in the long run.

Nathanbreakfast · February 9

[snip] That being said I wouldn't mind an inspection feature but the amount of the importance you're trying to apply to it is nuts.

[edited for baiting]

Asdara · February 9

Nathanbreakfast wrote: »

[snip] That being said I wouldn't mind an inspection feature but the amount of the importance you're trying to apply to it is nuts.

Funny point about personal build time, but it's not just about copying builds it's about understanding and adapting to different strategies in PvP. Without the ability to inspect other players, we’re left guessing, i'm just so tired of it...

[edited to remove quote]

TX12001rwb17_ESO · February 9

A lot of people simply do not want you to know what sets they are using.

wolfie1.0. · February 9

Given the recent news and related drama regarding a similar addon in another game that allowed users and the mod creator to obtain private account information I don't think now is a good time to explore that idea in eso.

Nor do I think it's really all that necessary. The vast majority of builds for pvp you can find online and in forums both as build ideas and hate posts. If people hate a build then it's the meta to run in pvp.

Sarannah · February 9

No thanks, privacy is important! Both in PvE and PvP.

We actually should be able to completely turn off other player's add-ons touching our accounts/characters/gear/stats/loot/anything in any way.

spartaxoxo · February 9

I actually agree that knowing someone's gear shouldn't be a big deal. It helps people to learn what hit them so hard and how to counterplay. The only good reasons to hide it are people don't want others to know how to counterplay them, or they're nervous something broken but flying under the radar due to the sheer volume of sets would get nerfed.

But balance and counterplay should be part of a game. Transparency should be part of competition.

Erickson9610 · February 9

I would settle for a client-side toggle that hides other people's Skill Styles, Polymorphs, and so on from showing up on your screen, if readability is an issue. I do not think that our builds should be public knowledge, because many of us design our own builds and would not like others to use our builds for themselves, even if they're not on an enemy team.

Treeshka · February 9

I think developers do not want this. When we look at the group finder, you can not check anyone's gear. You can not check the group composition before applying.

moo_2021 · February 9

Doesn't Combat Metrics show you enough? Mine is based something I stole from there

Four_Fingers · February 9

Yeah, stop and inspect me by the time you do your dead.

spartaxoxo · February 9

moo_2021 wrote: »

Doesn't Combat Metrics show you enough? Mine is based something I stole from there

Combat Metrics not available for console. Although maybe that will change.

pecheckler · February 9

Damage meters and required parse numbers are bad enough for PvE. Introducing your suggestion to the game would only bring similar elitism to PvP.

ganzaeso · February 9

@ZOS_Kevin

I think this is a good opportunity to remind players of the hard "No" stance that ZOS has had on adding this feature for the last 10 years.

CrazyKitty · February 9

Would this be anything like the x-ray glasses that used to come in boxes of cracker jacks?

Seriously though, this is not the best idea for a few reasons, a couple of which have already been pointed out. You'll be dead if you pause to "inspect" another players build and it's just kind of an invasion of privacy. Not to mention how much server resources would something like this use up?

Stamicka · February 9

I don’t think this sort of thing would be healthy for the game. It’s really up to ZOS to balance sets better so that one build isn’t 100 times better than another.

With that being said, the people who try to be secretive about their builds must be insecure about their skill anyway. It’s basically a confession that they are scared to be on the same footing as others. Usually it’s cause there’s people out there who will utilize the build better due to skill differences. Let these types of people expose themselves.

VoxAdActa · February 9

How do you plan to examine another player's full gear and skill loadout in the middle of a pitched battle?

If you're taking your focus off the fight to try and peer at an enemy's daggers and determine what set they come from, that might be a bigger factor in your K/D ratio than just not knowing what equipment they're using.

Varana · February 9

It's essentially, a question of priorities - there's reasons for both approaches.

For PvE, we have logs (on PC).

As logs don't work for PvP, and they haven't opened up the possibility for addons to gather that information, it can safely be assumed that ZOS have thought about this, and come to the conclusion that they don't want this.

xylena_lazarow · February 9

Varana wrote: »

As logs don't work for PvP, and they haven't opened up the possibility for addons to gather that information, it can safely be assumed that ZOS have thought about this, and come to the conclusion that they don't want this.

You can use the CMX addon to see PvP logs by disabling "light mode" and often figure out an opponent's general build from there, as you'll be able to see all their outgoing debuffs on you and names of any set procs. I don't care if players see my PvP build, I give it away to anyone who asks, you would still need to be able to pilot it correctly.

Asdara · February 9

moo_2021 wrote: »

Doesn't Combat Metrics show you enough? Mine is based something I stole from there

Again from a pvp standpoint, combat metrics give you nothing, you need to be in grp with the other player to get info

Asdara · February 9

ganzaeso wrote: »

@ZOS_Kevin

I think this is a good opportunity to remind players of the hard "No" stance that ZOS has had on adding this feature for the last 10 years.

@ZOS_Kevin A 'hard no' for 10 years doesn’t mean it’s the right decision—it just means it hasn’t been re-evaluated properly. The game has changed a lot over the years, especially with things like cosmetics masking builds and new mechanics being introduced. Just because something was shut down in the past doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discussed again.

If anything, the fact that this conversation keeps coming up should tell ZOS that players still care about it. A competitive PvP environment benefits from transparency, learning, and adaptation—not secrecy and guesswork.

So please explain how leaving player in the dark and guessing, is any way shape or form healthy for the game

Asdara · February 9

TX12001rwb17_ESO wrote: »

A lot of people simply do not want you to know what sets they are using.

I get that some players want to keep their setups hidden, but is that really what competitive PvP should be about? Competition should be about skill, strategy, and adaptation—not secrecy. Right now, PvP often feels like a guessing game, where those with insider knowledge have a huge advantage over those who don’t. That’s not real balance, that’s just gatekeeping.

If someone’s build is strong, it should be because of how they use it, not because their opponent has no way of knowing what they’re up against. Inspection wouldn’t take away the skill gap; it would just make PvP about actual counterplay rather than blind guessing. At the end of the day, players improving and adapting makes the game better for everyone. So why hold onto a system that only benefits those who already have the knowledge?

Asdara · February 9

Four_Fingers wrote: »

Yeah, stop and inspect me by the time you do your dead.

Sorry for trying to actually understand the game and not having infinite knowledge at lvl 1

Hapexamendios · February 9

What I'm wearing is my business, not yours. If I want to share, I will. If I don't, I won't.

Asdara · February 9

Hapexamendios wrote: »

What I'm wearing is my business, not yours. If I want to share, I will. If I don't, I won't.

That’s fair, but PvP isn’t just about YOU it’s about competition. When you step into a competitive environment, the expectation should be that players have access to the same level of information to strategize and counterplay.

Right now, those who already know the meta or have insider knowledge have an unfair advantage over those who don’t.

No one’s asking to ‘invade your privacy’ we’re asking for a way to make PvP less about guessing and more about actual skill-based adaptation. If the only reason a build works is because opponents can’t figure it out, is it really strong, or just hidden?

Lady_Lindel · February 10

Demanding to know what other people are doing or wearing smacks of entitlement. Your rights don't supersede mine.

Asdara · February 10

Lady_Lindel wrote: »

Demanding to know what other people are doing or wearing smacks of entitlement. Your rights don't supersede mine.

Entitlement would be expecting to dominate PvP while keeping your setup a secret from everyone else. Competitive games thrive on knowledge, adaptation, and counterplay not on withholding basic information to maintain an artificial advantage.

No one’s demanding anything personal; this is about making PvP fairer and more strategic. If you truly believe in skill-based competition, why be so afraid of transparency? Shouldn't good players be able to win even when their setup is known?

VoxAdActa · February 10

While we're at it, it's super unfair that the Eagles can't see the Chiefs's playbook and know what plays they're calling during the game. Competition does not entitled anyone to secrecy!

TaSheen · February 10

I've always really disliked games which allow inspect. It's one of the things that (added to other issues) caused me to drop both WoW and RIFT. Haven't touched either one in a decade....

[edit for typo]

Asdara · February 10

VoxAdActa wrote: »

While we're at it, it's super unfair that the Eagles can't see the Chiefs's playbook and know what plays they're calling during the game. Competition does not entitled anyone to secrecy!

While we're at it, let’s make football players wear masks and hide their jerseys so no one knows who’s playing what position. After all, competition doesn’t entitle anyone to information, right? Guessing is just part of the game!

See how ridiculous that sounds? In every competitive game, players have access to basic information to strategize and counterplay. But in ESO PvP, you’re forced to play blind while others hoard knowledge for an unfair edge. That’s not competition, that’s just people clinging to secrecy because they’re afraid of actual counterplay.

TaSheen · February 10

Um. My husband and I could figure out teams just by how they play the game (even without insignia or jersey colors).... Seriously, some of us do get that amount of detail (not to mention how players move, their body style and bulk etc.)