The Road Ahead - December 4

Rydik · December 2014

How about solution for our main enemy - More Lag Bal?

eventide03b14a_ESO · December 2014

jackleminer55 wrote: »

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom‌ @ZOS_GinaBruno‌ with the addition of the cgampion system will the NPCs finally get more realistic behaviors and go yo sleep at night or will that come in later?

They have already said that's never going to happen. It's a nice idea but when I log in on lunch break I don't have time to wait till dawn.

Davadin · December 2014

AWESOME!!!!!

But now i can turn off my subs until 6 is released.... lol

Can't wait for the 2 systems though, even at this stage. No imperial city? Meh....

liquid_wolf · December 2014

Good update.

Champion System will be a good addition to PvP, and I'm looking forward to the Justice System testing to bring out the PvP update for that.

I see a lot of complaints from PvPers, but it really only seems like a bunch of short-sighted individuals who can't see beyond their tiny area.

Champion System = PvP
Justice System = PvP

Not right away... but many PvPers have always had a tough time when it came to the long-game. It's why Arenas became a big deal, and why so few people play Civilization 5 style-games for PvP fulfillment.

They play for the moment, not for the development.

And Yes... I have been Emperor, and thoroughly loved my time there.

reagen_lionel · December 2014

I like everything I see.

No mention of the spell crafting feature yet unfortunately.
It looked like they had alot of that completed months ago.

GorraShatan · December 2014

liquid_wolf wrote: »

Good update.

Champion System will be a good addition to PvP, and I'm looking forward to the Justice System testing to bring out the PvP update for that.

I see a lot of complaints from PvPers, but it really only seems like a bunch of short-sighted individuals who can't see beyond their tiny area.

Champion System = PvP
Justice System = PvP

Not right away... but many PvPers have always had a tough time when it came to the long-game. It's why Arenas became a big deal, and why so few people play Civilization 5 style-games for PvP fulfillment.

They play for the moment, not for the development.

And Yes... I have been Emperor, and thoroughly loved my time there.

You don't really get it. Cyrodiil is just plain broken. If you can't play there because of the massive lag, people who enjoy Cyrodiil aren't going to be pleased by some new passives from the Champion system.

Voodoo · December 2014

This is the semi monthly road ahead. I dont think it needs to keep talking about ideas that have been mentioned n the past such as , housing, horse races, spell crafting, solo content. ....if the road ahead was a quaterly even then maybe but it is a monthly thing and there for should consist of whats around the corner. ...maybe they should chang ethe name to "whats around the corner".

Cillion3117 · December 2014

This is awesome! I am so ready for all of this.

Natjur · December 2014

So we have a whole month were we can kill NPC's and no player can attack us back. So a large guild could keep killing (grieving) town NPC's and only have to worry about guards but not players......... That's going to be interesting

liquid_wolf · December 2014

GorraShatan wrote: »

You don't really get it. Cyrodiil is just plain broken. If you can't play there because of the massive lag, people who enjoy Cyrodiil aren't going to be pleased by some new passives from the Champion system.

I understand that - It is one of the reasons I don't spend as much time there as I used to.

But I also understand that there doesn't seem to be any other game on the market that has that style of PvP with all these same features. It is one of the reasons I purchased and continue to play this game... and understand that the PvP is probably going to be a pain in the ass to fix when it breaks.

Massive-battleground lag/crash has been a long-time mistress to me, and it is one of the reasons so few developers really try to tackle it.

So when ESO came up... I had no illusions as to what would happen after playing many other MMORPGs before it. I still remember DAoC, and chuckled when people said Alterac Valley in WoW was the best thing ever.

So I get it... I just accept that this was going to happen and I'd have to live with it for a while.

And I support ZOS for even trying it in the first place.

Unlikely_Ghostbuster · December 2014

Sounds like I'll finally be rolling a NB with the first phase of the Justice System being implemented. But that's more than good with me, I was *anticipating* it, thanks to the open communication between players and ZOS. Namely, the ESO Live broadcasts and the Road Ahead articles. The heads-up is always greatly appreciated.

As soon as I heard the basics of the Justice System, I knew I'd be waiting until 2015 to play a sneaky, stealthy, stalky, stabby Nightblade.

What I'm most enthusiastic about is the third phase of the Champion System including the ability to spend earned champion points. I was certain the final phase would be giving us the constellation UI and awarding points to spend. Incredible news, but it raises a few important questions -- there was talk from the guild summit that all stats/numbers were going to be scaled by 10 so that the "diminishing returns" of champion point passives would still feel meaningful, even when the buffs are measly (a buff of less than a 10th of a percent, for instance, would be unnoticeable with the current scaling of health regeneration).

Makes me wonder if there's still ongoing dialogue at ZOS about the x10 stat scaling and/or the diminishing returns of earned passives as more champion points are spent. Neither idea was written in stone -- maybe both ideas got scrapped.

The number of possible champion points mentioned at the summit was 2100 -- is that still the case, as well? The guild summit also loosely hinted that it'll take "an hour" to earn a single champion point -- is that still the case, and what'll be the criteria for earning a single point in terms of XP? And what will be done about veteran ranks earned with veteran points before they were replaced by experience points -- how will that be translated into champion points, exactly, or will players get stiffed for ranks/achievements earned with veteran points before the change?

So many questions! What's the story, Hand of Glory? Like I said before, the "heads-up" is always *greatly* appreciated.

eventide03b14a_ESO · December 2014

Natjur wrote: »

So we have a whole month were we can kill NPC's and no player can attack us back. So a large guild could keep killing (grieving) town NPC's and only have to worry about guards but not players......... That's going to be interesting

I'm pretty sure that essential NPCs will not be effected.

imakescribbles · December 2014

Can't wait! Time to prepare!

Ghenra · December 2014

Lettigall wrote: »

STOP IGNORING PvP!!!

WE AREN'T SECOND CLASS CITIZENS!!!

+10000000000000000000000000000000

Garwulf · December 2014

So after upddate 6 all that is left to do is Grinding for anyone one who is Vet Level unless you want to do LAG-BALL PVP . And I say Grinding as The Undaunted Pledges and The Trials are essentially 'organised' Grinding . (The crafting writs are gee how can we add pointless content easily. Crafting needs a dramatic boost to it's usefulnss. Who are the master crafters turning out the great gear ... certainly not Players who are 'master' craftsmen . After 9 months of researching they cannot make armour as good a drops. And why not ring crafting?
Who thought up Lower Craglorn and the Grouping requirement. I have given up doing it. Do much like Hardwork for little gain. This is a Game not a 'police state'.

I know a lot of PVPers who were waiting on the Champion system and exspecting the Imperial city.
PVP is currently on it's last legs with only one server campaign , Thorn blade being used . Apart from Emperor Grinding that in itself is pointless, the PVP content game has not changed since the game started and when fighting gets interesting the LAG-BALL begins .

Meanwhile why do we have to grind characters over the same content if we want to play a different class. How about a respect system to turn a DK into a NB into a Sorc into a Templar same as the change in attributes and skills currently. (Make it a choice for those that disagree) . There are many out there unhappy with there current character choice because of all the changes but are stuck because of all the effort put into their character. My main character is 9 months old.

Consider Combing the Achievment system and crafting of all the characters , the same as for the dyes. Why do each of our characters have to religiously research the same things over and over again in pointless repetition. (Yes some like it just as some people are into sadomasochism .Give them the option to opt out.)

Personally I do not think your long term PC customers are getting a fare deal.

eventide03b14a_ESO · December 2014

Garwulf wrote: »

Personally I do not think your long term PC customers are getting a fare deal.

I completely agree. They really are doing a stellar job making sure that the console versions are polished. They even delayed the release. Meanwhile they consistently release rushed, broken updates and ineffective patches to the PC/Mac version. I have wondered for some time why we seem to get such shoddy QA and it's finally clear. They really are devoting all their resources into making sure the release of the console version is as near perfect as possible. This upsets me because that means we have been paying to beta test the console release this whole time. First we get shafted with the Steam release and now this.

Enodoc · December 2014

Rydik wrote: »

How about solution for our main enemy - More Lag Bal?

All of the Awesomes for you

Natjur wrote: »

So we have a whole month were we can kill NPC's and no player can attack us back. So a large guild could keep killing (grieving) town NPC's and only have to worry about guards but not players......... That's going to be interesting

Guards will be getting a crazy buff as well - it's not going to be easy to be on the wrong side of the law

Anyone who is complaining about consoles getting their own UI - that was always the intention. While I agree the current PC UI could be better (or at least have more options within), it was never designed like it is because of the consoles.

eventide03b14a_ESO · December 2014

Enodoc wrote: »

Rydik wrote: »

How about solution for our main enemy - More Lag Bal?

All of the Awesomes for you

Natjur wrote: »

So we have a whole month were we can kill NPC's and no player can attack us back. So a large guild could keep killing (grieving) town NPC's and only have to worry about guards but not players......... That's going to be interesting

Guards will be getting a crazy buff as well - it's not going to be easy to be on the wrong side of the law

Anyone who is complaining about consoles getting their own UI - that was always the intention. While I agree the current PC UI could be better (or at least have more options within), it was never designed like it is because of the consoles.

The point is they are really trying to make it as good as they can. They haven't even touched ours or acknowledged how much we hate it.
Before I get flamed, I am mostly talking about the menu, not the HUD. Just like you see in the screenshot.

Xsorus · December 2014

The lag in Cyrodiil will hopefully get fixed when they do the class rework next patch and i'm thinking they'll be removing the aoe caps then.

Once AoE caps are gone, you won't have people stacking for long periods of times in one spot spamming Impulse or whatever...because that fight is going to be over very quickly.

Rune_Relic · December 2014

GorraShatan wrote: »

liquid_wolf wrote: »

Good update.

Champion System will be a good addition to PvP, and I'm looking forward to the Justice System testing to bring out the PvP update for that.

I see a lot of complaints from PvPers, but it really only seems like a bunch of short-sighted individuals who can't see beyond their tiny area.

Champion System = PvP
Justice System = PvP

Not right away... but many PvPers have always had a tough time when it came to the long-game. It's why Arenas became a big deal, and why so few people play Civilization 5 style-games for PvP fulfillment.

They play for the moment, not for the development.

And Yes... I have been Emperor, and thoroughly loved my time there.

You don't really get it. Cyrodiil is just plain broken. If you can't play there because of the massive lag, people who enjoy Cyrodiil aren't going to be pleased by some new passives from the Champion system.

Everyone does get it..... but road ahead = bug fixes... isnt really a road ahead. Thats a gimme with any patch. As can be seen with every single patch update.

Thaumic · December 2014

Is there going to be a skill / skill line for pick-pocketing or will it be like stealth and lockpicking where there isn't (but really, reeeeally should be)?

Unknown_poster · December 2014

Yep, they want my money like a AAA sub game, but aren't doing much besides rehashing old content that they "mis-identified" on release. The champion system only reworks a broken concept. The Justice "phased rollout" will take them ages to get out if champion is any indication. While Craglorn was a content update, they scrooed the pooch on the implementation of almost everything and have now made it a ghost zone comparable to the other vet zones. After having run up multiple toons to v14, once in each "class" and a couple others, over 10k achievement points on main, multiple max crafters, and running trials a couple hundred times, there is really nothing in game for me to do besides besides log on a couple times a day to collect crafting mails that doesn't bore me to tears. It does look like they have spent alot of resources on their hail mary pass of getting console out to keep them financially viable. The Road Ahead reads to me, "No actual questing/gameplay content coming till mid-spring/early summer. Just over 30 days left on this sub. They won't be getting any more of my money till maybe 2016. Which is too bad, since I will have moved on by then. Just like an old girlfriend, I may remember a couple of the good times, but the overall bitchiness is going to linger longer.

timidobserver · December 2014

Natjur wrote: »

So we have a whole month were we can kill NPC's and no player can attack us back. So a large guild could keep killing (grieving) town NPC's and only have to worry about guards but not players......... That's going to be interesting

It will only bother those people that are obsessed with immersion/roleplaying.

OtarTheMad · December 2014

I am happy that they released some information about Update 6 and even happier that it won't hit until January, which means more work is being done on it by ZOS. I think that the Justice System and Champion System are going to be awesome and game changing features that will also increase the number of play-styles and builds by players and also make some unique. It also will probably separate the classes a bit more and define them a little bit which imo is nice. This just pushes me to level my NB more and get him ready. I can't wait to test this out honestly!!!

With that being said PvP is going to be hurting without any updates to it and without Imperial City I feel the population will just continue to go down. I just hope that you patch up the extremely frustrating lag taking place in Thornblade so that December isn't an even worse month for ESO than it already it shaping up to be. I just hope that by the time you guys at ESO introduce some stuff that I am excited for (Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Imperial City, Wrothgar, Spell Crafting) that it's not too late and the game is basically r.i.p. I personally think the game has too much potential to fail but who knows.

Skullemainia · December 2014

so what happens with the skill and attribute points when the veteran system dissapears?? will people who aren't VR14 yet miss some points?? or will we get skillpoint's for Champion points (every 100 or something like that)??? or will VR14 players loose there 14 skillpoints and attribute points?? I guess not but you never know

I'm very excited about the champion system, and I can't wait till I can try it out. will it be on the PTS in January or will it be live in January.

and one more thing; is there somewhere a list of all the passives of the Champion System?? I would really like to know that so I can make my build already

Sylvyr · December 2014

I play a balance of PvE and PvP as a V14. I enjoy both pretty equally but for different reasons.

#1 thing between both realms from my perspective would be to focus on the issues in Cyrodiil.

Yes, I think the champion system sounds really cool.
Yes, I think the Justice system sounds awesome and will add a cool dimension to the game.

IMHO this time should be used in a different way. You're polishing things up for console, should be polishing things up for PC. Got cool content not but it's not fun when there are so many outstanding issues both large and small.

Every time you introduce new content, things start fall apart. I both am excited about and dread patch days.

Can we just take a break from this cycle and JUST do polishing? Give your coders a chance to clean things up, get to know the code better, let us enjoy the world for a bit without wanting to pull our hair out from new glitches?

It's actually the perfect time to do this. Instill confidence in your PC users, and clean up the game for both PC and console.

Also would help retain new-ish players.

I was in a guild group in Cyrodiil last night, a few of the players were new and excited. We got into our first decent sized fight at a keep. At first you could hear them ecstatic- "oh this is awesome!" "check out the siege!" "I never thought it would be this cool!"... but that changed to. "How come my abilities aren't working?" "Why am I not taking any damage?" "I'm hitting E at the door and can't get out!" "How come I can't use the siege I put down?" "What is this s____, this is rediculous?" "What do I do? Should I relog?" "You guys really play like this?"

Completely, utterly, and totally embarrassing.

On another note, I don't mind being a beta tester for console release, I hope you make tons of sales in console and with it bring in more revenue (and use it wisely). I wish I could say bring in more players to fill dying guilds but I hear they will be on a whole separate server. But overall I think putting focus on the console release is a great call but it will need to be in good condition because this game already has a pretty dismal rep. And while polishing console, really, should consider polishing the PC, give a break to bringing new breaks. Bring new stuff a little later. Let those people that rushed to v14 on 4 chars wait just a little longer.

ms_behaved · December 2014

voice chat for pc version too please!

pretty please!

Orchish · December 2014

Question for anyone that knows. When the justice system is fully implemented, say i want to be a outlaw and slaughter all the NPC's, but then a month later have a change of heart and want to become an enforcer, is this possible?

MrGhosty · December 2014

Orchish wrote: »

Question for anyone that knows. When the justice system is fully implemented, say i want to be a outlaw and slaughter all the NPC's, but then a month later have a change of heart and want to become an enforcer, is this possible?

If it works like Skyrim as they've been saying, as long as you've paid up your bounty or had it otherwise cleared I can't imagine you won't be able to. I just have one character I will dedicate to villainy and the rest will either stay neutral or be enforcers.

Elloa · December 2014

I'm still amazed and impressed by the number of negative comments?
[snip]

We are having such an amazing Update. 2 of the most expected improvement at once! Justice System and CHampion system! OMG! I'm soo thrilled by this!
I was waiting for the moment I could bring back my boyfriend to the game and tell him: look, this game has really improved, enjoy it now! And I was not expecting this moment to arrive so soon!

This is really a GREAT news!

[snip]
[edited for trolling]