Veteran Rank

vyal

So, this may be way off, but my impression so far is...

The ideal course, with a view to Veteran Ranks would appear to be..

Grind mobs only from 3-49. Ignore all quests.
Then go back, do the main quest only to unlock VR zone access.
Then return to your 3-49 questing zones, do those quests.
Then do all the VR questing areas in the two alliance areas that are unlocked after you are done the main quest.

Is that accurate?

Xnemesis

dsaras wrote: »

I don't care about the time needed to achieve veteran ranks too much, tho i think that current exp rates are a bit overkill. I don't like that you have to do other factions quests to level veteran ranks. I hate this to be honest, because i want to save those quests for leveling my alts. If there would be a different zone not related to opposing factions like the coldharbor zone is only for lvl 50 + players that would be ok. But now i have to choose between leveling my main character to veteran 10 and not leaving any fresh content for my alts or to halt progressing with my main character to conserve opposing faction quest lines for my alt.

So go level a few alts to VR1 and then you can take them all into craiglorn and quest there for your VR ranks

matthewameluxenub17_ESO

^
Isn't that conflicting? If you argue that your character isn't progressing in power, you can't also argue that the dungeons are too difficult because they are tuned for higher veteran ranks. If ranks don't increase power, then dungeon difficulty doesn't change. It is one or the other.

As for the vet content in general, I think if people put a bit more thought to it they would realize the actual complaint is there is no end-game content. If you've gotten to V1, you've beat the game. Going back to experience the entire thing again but this time with no leveling and very little gear change or rewards. Of course it isn't enjoyable! It is the equivalent of playing through the game the first time, but you are stuck at level 1 the whole time, your skills don't level, and 99% of what drops you don't need, not even to sell.

In other words, vet content isn't really end-game content. Progressing from V1-V10 is more of an illusion of progress. When you finish 50+/50++ you will be where you left off at V1.

Yankee

Through beta and live I have a Templar to VR2 and a Nightblade just shy of VR2 and a DK to 43. Then I start thinking "I wonder how that other class is to level?" and I start all over again. All went through EP.

So now my Sorc is level 25. Going through EP again. Hardly even need a map anymore. But the classes play different enough to still make it interesting for me. I guess I have low standards for entertainment.

By the time I get anything near VR5+ there will probably be "end game" VR content out. If not yet, then I will PVP.

And I figure when they have something for high level VR's to do then they will loosen up the VR leveling curve.

Mie87

Sounds like an alternative to the questing for VR is needed :-D
It's the main thing I hope for at this point.

LonePirate

I suggest everyone use the /feedback and /bug options in the game to report or complain about the incredibly and ridiculously low XP from VR mobs and the lack of alternatives to questing when it comes to VR (and PVP) leveling.

rylixav

Jice wrote: »

Who'da thunk it, a game system that rewards persistance in a game that wasn't meant to be complete in a weekend.

But people did complete it in a weekend.

Organic

Genev wrote: »

I'm padding my VR gain with what I get from PvP, but I'm in a hardcore PvP guild and my average gain per night is 500k to 1mill VP, so thats not too bad.

That's SUBSTANTIALLY more than you can possibly earn doing quests in PVE. I've seen lots of zerg PVP videos and livestreams and if you break up a zerg, you get anywhere from 3-4k VP. Per zerg. There's a vid that's less than 5 mins where the player gets over 20k VP. That's essentially like 8 side quests or four main quests at VR2. That'd take me probably two hours or longer and he got it in 5 mins.

It seems PVP is far superior to quick VP gain than anything doable in PVE, unless you're able to grind dungeons?

I don't PVP, so it's frustrating that my progress is extremely slow by comparison for spending far more time at it.

500k is more than VR1-2. VR2-3 is only 940k or so. Essentially, in two nights, you're VR3.5 or so. It's taken me a few *days* of solid play to get through to VR2.25 or so.

I definitely agree with the other posters who mentioned it's rough solo and progress feels unrewarding. You really do need a relatively cookie-cutter build to manage mobs, especially the packs of 3 or more. I leveled as heals/support (with all 3 gear crafts at level 40+) and don't have enough skill points to remake into some uber solo-friendly build. I've made a fairly capable build out of what I had available, but it's certainly not optimal.

Crafting my VR2 gear got me all of 30 (?) more armor than I had at VR1 and another 4 points of damage on my weapon. That's it. It doesn't feel like as big of an upgrade as I had even between levels 10-12 and I don't suddenly feel like my character is equipped well enough to manage a brand new island.

I do know that if I had a solid questing partner, the journey would be FAR more enjoyable. However, my guildies are all far more casual than I and are a ways behind me and my efforts to ask folks in the trading guilds I'm a member of have returned expletives in my direction for not soloing.

Dragos

Lots of narrow minded individuals in here. If you like the quests, good for you. Personally, i find them about as interesting as watching paint dry.

I did some quests on my first char. They were very uninspired. I like to read books, as in real books, so maybe i just have a different perspective on what good story, characters and dialogue are. Either way, when i created my second character, i skipped EVERY SINGLE QUEST IN THE GAME. I grinded my levels and am currently lvl 21. I like to watch south park or load up a twitch stream of someone playing an old school game like Zelda: A Link to the Past or Chrono Trigger and enjoy that while engaging in conversation with the viewers or streamers while i grind.

Are you saying that my way of enjoying the game is inferior to yours? Is my playstyle so abhorrent that you feel it's OK for 2/3 of the leveling process to exclude those like me who enjoy grinding mobs as a way to relax and unwind after work while simultaneously advancing my character at a reasonable rate?

If you do feel this way, then you at least owe me an explanation as to why exactly it should not be allowed. No, "because it's not intended to be played that way" is not a viable response. Give me specifics. Why am i alienated? Why do i have to play it your way? Imagine if the tables were turned. How would all the questers feel if once you get into VR content, there were no quests and you were forced to grind mobs to level from then on. How would you like it if i came into your thread where you are asking to be able to level throughout the VR zone as you did from 1-50 and told you that your playstyle is wrong and you should just grind because i like it therefore the problem lies with you?

Something tells me you wouldn't be very happy with a response like that.

Furian

I understand that you get 1VR per zone, and I'm good with that, but whats up with the 151 gold for quest rewards? Why did my quest rewards go from OK levels 40-50, to completely boring after I hit my veteran rank?

I agree with the OP... I'm finding it very hard to stay motivated in veteran ranks. I think this is due to the game just being unpolished.... everyone will agree there are many things missing, and this is typical for newly released mmos... I'd much rather be playing an unpolished ESO, than not playing at all.

I'm sure things will get better with time.

Dominulf

I'm struggling to stay interested after reaching Veteran 1. I should have ridden the exp imbalances like all the other Vet10 people before it was patched.

Drudging through Aldmeri Dominion content at a snails pace is trying my will.

What's the point? It's exactly like playing the as an Aldmeri soldier (I did not want to do that) as a new character except the numbers are higher, there are less people around, the rewards and drops are less, and it feels out of place.

Exivus1

patrikblb16_ESO wrote: »

If the difficulty stays when my 30 days is out I certainly wont continue, it's not fun enough to pay for anymore.

And we had a cake made and everything for you...

Ragefist

I think most of peep here are having trouble to grasp the concept. Veteran rank is an alternative to 10 levels of normal content. And thats with increased difficulty. 3000 mobs is perfectly valid should you choose to grind. 5 VRs are supposed to be same hard work as entire 1-50 experience (again remind you, with increased difficulty).

If we got ezmode stuff it would not only take away any sense of achievement, but have very same here yelling about lack of content

Kroin

The are going the right way with veteran lvl, it should take time, yestersay i lvl half of my VT2 i played for about 4 hours i think thats really ok. And its a challenge, i make a mistake and i proberly will die i really like that, lvl 1-50 was really easy not one hard moment for me, now in vet zones i need to consider if i survive a group of 3 or if i should try to avoid them.

LonePirate

Ragefist wrote: »

I think most of peep here are having trouble to grasp the concept. Veteran rank is an alternative to 10 levels of normal content. And thats with increased difficulty. 3000 mobs is perfectly valid should you choose to grind. 5 VRs are supposed to be same hard work as entire 1-50 experience (again remind you, with increased difficulty).

If we got ezmode stuff it would not only take away any sense of achievement, but have very same here yelling about lack of content

You might want to check your math. The mobs in the VR zones give 80 Veteran XP from what I hear. (I have also heard 40 Veteran XP but we'll use 80 for this point.) you need 426,000 Veteran XP to move from VR1 to VR 2. That is over 5,300 mob kills, which is almost double your estimate of 3,000. VR10 requires ten times the VR XP that VR2 does. How in the world can anyone grind over 53,000 mobs?

VR mobs are substantially more difficult to kill than non-VR mobs, but the XP rewards are nowhere near proportional to the difficulty level or the VR XP level requirements. Killing VR mobs fails the risk vs. reward test which effectively removes it as a VR leveling option, which I think is completely ridiculous and a very bad, freedom-stealing and alienating design decision. It certainly does encourage players to play how they want.

Frail_Old_Man

Let's be honest here, vr is just a hidden leveling curve, it's not 1-50, it's 1-60. With the last 10 levels being a boring grindfest. With lessened exp.
If you say that the vr1-10 is not actually leveling...the power of the equipment you can make goes up with each level. It's equipment progression tied to leveling.

Furian

Are you saying people don't have a valid complaint here? Do you think its OK to get level 1 rewards after you hit VR1?

Many here are not concerned with the time it takes to get to VR10, but we ARE concerned about the lack of thought they put into the progression.... and that is obvious.

Btw, VR1-10 is really just levels 50-150, from a time and content perspective. Why call it something else, when its not? I'd much rather have that, and decent quest rewards, or experience, than hit this great milestone to see my quest rewards go to junk. Its.... boring.

Ragefist wrote: »

I think most of peep here are having trouble to grasp the concept. Veteran rank is an alternative to 10 levels of normal content. And thats with increased difficulty. 3000 mobs is perfectly valid should you choose to grind. 5 VRs are supposed to be same hard work as entire 1-50 experience (again remind you, with increased difficulty).

If we got ezmode stuff it would not only take away any sense of achievement, but have very same here yelling about lack of content

UnderKingRhun

my only concern with vet is, the build i had was perfectly fine, and in fact fun and enjoyable from 1-50, i could "play my way" and still be able to hold my own and provide a more than adequate support given my specific role in dungeons/group content( dps numbers were great)

But upon hitting vet status, my entire build and playstyle went completely out the window. respecced 3 times trying to find a build that suited me ( apparently we were told we could do that ) but eventually had to digress back into the same old cookie cutter formula so many other mmos have. vet is a lot easier now, but then the lack of incentive and rewards become another wall.

balancing needs to be addressed, and i am sure it will come. As someone who does like questing, story and lore AS WELL AS the mmo aspects of it, i think they just need to fine tune things a lil bit more.

patrikblb16_ESO

Not a single word from Zenimax on this, wow...
I wonder how many subs they will lose because they refuse to comment on this.

UnderKingRhun

patrikblb16_ESO wrote: »

Not a single word from Zenimax on this, wow...

I wonder how many subs they will lose because they refuse to comment on this.

I'm sure they are aware of it, considering the game has not even been out a month yet, give them the benefit of the doubt, if after 2-3 months and still no word on these issues, i would likely move on to better things, with an eye ever on their progress. I want this game to work. Been waiting 15 years for an Elder scrolls to run about with friends.

jakenaftalb14a_ESO

Furian wrote: »

alright slow down there partner

patrikblb16_ESO

9 days left, still no word from Zenimax if it will be fixed or not before that, they must really hate us since they edit posts in here without replying to the concerns many players have.

If they dont want me here they can just tell me to gtfo and I'll never set my feet here again...

UnderKingRhun wrote: »

I'm sure they are aware of it, considering the game has not even been out a month yet, give them the benefit of the doubt, if after 2-3 months and still no word on these issues, i would likely move on to better things, with an eye ever on their progress. I want this game to work. Been waiting 15 years for an Elder scrolls to run about with friends.

You mean I should keep paying them when I dont want to play the game because of the veteran ranked content?
The problem I have with it is that it's too harsh, it's just not fun to do quests when you die all the time to normal trashmobs. I've been waiting a long time for an Elder Scrolls Online aswell, but that doesnt mean I will just keep on paying for something that is broken.

Furian

They are reading this, and you are correct, they are not concerned with us right now. However, as more and more people hit VR1, they will become concerned, because they will start losing subs. It's a shame it has to be this way, but money talks.

patrikblb16_ESO wrote: »

9 days left, still no word from Zenimax if it will be fixed or not before that, they must really hate us since they edit posts in here without replying to the concerns many players have.

If they dont want me here they can just tell me to gtfo and I'll never set my feet here again...

UnderKingRhun wrote: »

I'm sure they are aware of it, considering the game has not even been out a month yet, give them the benefit of the doubt, if after 2-3 months and still no word on these issues, i would likely move on to better things, with an eye ever on their progress. I want this game to work. Been waiting 15 years for an Elder scrolls to run about with friends.

You mean I should keep paying them when I dont want to play the game because of the veteran ranked content?
The problem I have with it is that it's too harsh, it's just not fun to do quests when you die all the time to normal trashmobs. I've been waiting a long time for an Elder Scrolls Online aswell, but that doesnt mean I will just keep on paying for something that is broken.

AlexDougherty

Dragonetti wrote: »

Yes, they should make everything happen quickly so that no achievement means anything.

I think the OP was just complaining that it's no fun, alot of games have elder-game (post-game/etc) content which lacks some of the fun the earlier game has.

Furian

This is precisely what a lot of people are saying. I'm sure some complain that it takes forever as well.... not everyone will have the same opinion on it. But, when something is FUN, the race to the finish is not always that important.

Think of this.... You already quest in your own faction, up to level 50. Level's 1-10, you get a few pieces of candy for each quest reward, 20-30, you get a little more candy, 30-40, and 40-50 you get quite a bit more candy than you did at earlier levels.

Then, you hit VR1, and you are back down to just a few pieces of candy for each quest.... and drops seem lower too. I'm not sure how anyone can argue against this - its simply no fun! The only fun part about VR1 is that you get to visit a new area.... and to be honest... that is simply not enough, especially since they herd you like cattle with the natural barriers in what seems to be every single zone.

AlexDougherty wrote: »

Dragonetti wrote: »

Yes, they should make everything happen quickly so that no achievement means anything.

I think the OP was just complaining that it's no fun, alot of games have elder-game (post-game/etc) content which lacks some of the fun the earlier game has.

Sut4sueb17_ESO

Dont like it - dont play it, cancel ur sub or whatever.
I felt leveling to 50 was way too easy and fast. U are not supposed to reach endgame in MMO playing few hours a day in a week.
This game wont fit everyone. And I feel sad that they allowed people to grind their way to lvl 50.
And yeah, I thing this game is quest-oriented so don't expect anything more than more questing ahead, after all its Elder Scrolls.

Menacer

Sut4sueb17_ESO wrote: »

I felt leveling to 50 was way too easy and fast. U are not supposed to reach endgame in MMO playing few hours a day in a week.
This game wont fit everyone. And I feel sad that they allowed people to grind their way to lvl 50.
And yeah, I thing this game is quest-oriented so don't expect anything more than more questing ahead, after all its Elder Scrolls.

Hate to break it to you guy, but Elder Scrolls games have never been about quests. You actually do not level at all from them. They only give money and story advancement. So grinding to max level in ESO would model the Elder Scrolls games perfectly.

And really act more like a 5 year old kid please. "Dont like it - dont play it, cancel ur sub or whatever." Makes you sound like a baby, and really ur? Who says that?

With that attitude, you will be the only one left playing. Actually no, you will have unsubbed well before that. I guarantee it.

Menacer

UnderKingRhun

Sut4sueb17_ESO wrote: »

Dont like it - dont play it, cancel ur sub or whatever.
I felt leveling to 50 was way too easy and fast. U are not supposed to reach endgame in MMO playing few hours a day in a week.
This game wont fit everyone. And I feel sad that they allowed people to grind their way to lvl 50.
And yeah, I thing this game is quest-oriented so don't expect anything more than more questing ahead, after all its Elder Scrolls.

the issue is not really the difficulty, the issue is, "play how you want"works well till level 50, vet relies on a more traditional mmo philosophy, and once applied vet is actually fun and engaging, although i had to forsake my weird ass nightblade death knight lock build and go a more traditional route lol. that is the issue, classes become pigeon holed to be able to progress, now outside min maxes, which im afraid to say are the minority these days, especially in this particular mmo, the sudden change of pace between the two , regular 1-50 and vet will be a brick wall to casual gamers, and im afraid the casual gamer will decide if this succeeds or not.

Although i doubt they care much for the pc side of things, i expect Q&A, support for console users to be far superior and on the ball, this is not a bad thing or a criticism, merely an observation on recent gaming related trends.

Furian

Not sure you read the subject, or any of the posts.... we are talking about veteran ranks here, not levels 1-50. There are many things wrong with VR1-10... mainly boredom in my opinion.

FYI - it took me over 5 days played to reach level 50... and I'm perfectly fine with that. It's also on par with many MMOs.

You feel sad they allowed a certain play style? I'm not sure how to take that... laugh, cry, or just pawn it off as a brainfart.

You are right though, we should all just quit, rather than expressing our concerns. Or... maybe, we should lie and say what fun veteran ranks are?

Sut4sueb17_ESO wrote: »

Dont like it - dont play it, cancel ur sub or whatever.
I felt leveling to 50 was way too easy and fast. U are not supposed to reach endgame in MMO playing few hours a day in a week.
This game wont fit everyone. And I feel sad that they allowed people to grind their way to lvl 50.
And yeah, I thing this game is quest-oriented so don't expect anything more than more questing ahead, after all its Elder Scrolls.

kofixb16_ESO

The problem with Veteran ranks is not the desire to be max rank in a day like some people claim. The problem is the way it was implemented. The way xp-vr points happened felt awkward and left me disappointed. I couldn't understand why mobs were giving me 42 vp when I use to be getting 400+ xp. At first, I thought it was a bug with my addon till I realized they just reset your character back to level 1 with more stats. I don't think quite as many people be complaining about the veteran ranks grind if instead of VR1-10 they saw level 50-80. It's a psychological thing, video games are about that constant mountain climb where you never get to the top. I understand why Tera had 400 mil xp needed to level but quests gave 100k xp per quest...it still took a ton of time to hit max but somehow the psychology of it made me feel like I was always stepping forward not back..my xp gains went up not down, but the time it took to get a level was still greatly increasing. And before anyone says Tera leveling was a joke...it's Korean.

P.S. The North American mmo-rpg market does not like grinds, the few of you who do are not the ones paying the bills. The millions of people that want a race to level 50 are and that's who successful companies will always cater to. So enjoy this while it lasts but the masses will have their cake when the stockholders look at their wallets and find themselves wanting.