With every release, patch, update, announcement or utterance ZOS comes up with, there are always those vocal naysayers who apparently can't be pleased no matter what... and boy do they let the world know, again and again, ad nauseam. So to shed a little light in this darkness, and spread a little cheer that I think many of us feel regarding this latest update, 1.6, I'm posting here many of the facets of the update that I enjoy. Anyone is free to disagree with me, and be as frustrated and unhappy as they wish to be, but honestly, if playing this game makes you so unhappy, there are a *horde* of games out there waiting to take you and your money. Maybe one of them can bring you some happiness if you can't find it here. But enough of that!

I began playing at the beginning of June 2014, so I didn't experience the Beta, the launch, or the first couple of updates, and didn't hear enough good about any of those to make me feel that any would stand up against this release as being better. From my own experience, 1.6 has been, hands down, the best update ZOS has released since I've been playing, from the minimal number and intensity of bugs, to the actual content. Yes, there have been bugs, but NOBODY writes bug-free code. Not unless you're just writing "Hello, World," and some people can't write that bug-free.

I've been looking forward to the provisioning revamp since I first read about it shortly after I started playing. Since I had already maxed provisioning on 8 characters for the hirelings, and was using a HUGE amount of storage space for ingredients, a reduction to 50 ingredients was just what the chef ordered. At first, I was disappointed (and I think I was the only one) that they took out alliance-specific recipes. I liked it for three reasons: 1. It encouraged people to play other alliances, and not just as part of the vet zones, 2. Low-level recipes from one faction sold well on other factions, and 3. It gave each race and nation its own taste and flavor of its own. But those issues were minor, and at least they renamed many of the recipes to keep the idea that they came from specific zones even if they don't have to be found there. So it worked out well. And who can beat reducing ingredients from infinity to 50? Another great thing, and totally unsuspected (at least on my part), was when, halfway through PTS, they massively boosted the buffs given by drinks, making them actually competitive with food buffs in certain cases. That was a great move, and a great time to do it.

Other than the provisioning revamp, I was initially not very excited about any of the other changes coming with this update. It really didn't hit me until I got onto PTS (solely for the purpose of checking out the provisioning). That was when I came head-on with the Justice System, and it was a blast! I've always had a tendency to play stealth characters in games. I played an assassin in Diablo II, a rogue in WoW, my Skyrim character was primarily a stealth bowman, and so on. So my only VR14, a Nightblade (of course), was in hog heaven until they swapped characters out with the EU megaserver. They've slowly added first one, and now a second, dye for Justice achievements, another nice perk. For those who aren't excited, ok; it's there if you want it sometime. No point sneering at it, as some do. Anyway, the Justice System was so fun on PTS, I could hardly wait for it to go live, and every delay made me feel like a junky who needed a fix. And THAT has never happened to me with any previous update, not only of this game, but of any game.

There was also the Champion System, which during the implementation, granted those with fully leveled VR14s (or combinations of lower veteran characters that equaled a fully leveled VR14) 70 champion points, as a way to start us off toward the big goal of 3600 total champion points. I think the thing I like about the Champion System the most is that it's so flexible that players can customize it however they want on their way to maxing it, and so long-term it can take years to max. And some of the passives that are activated on spending a certain amount of CP in each tree are really nice. It feels like getting a free ability, since you're spending points on something else and BAM! you get another ability too.

Many of the things that were done weren't as big or as noticeable, but were possibly even better:. ZOS changed stack sizes from 100 to 200 for most items, which is the same as giving us extra bank space. They also renamed the old Collectibles section to Trophies, I assume to avoid conflict with the new Collectibles section where they put our mounts, pets and costumes, as well as a display of our account upgrades. This also saves us some bank space by taking our pets out of our bags, and makes them available account-wide, as are our mounts now. Another good deal, since now once you've bought a mount, you no longer need to buy another unless you just want a different look. Another thing I've considered is that a couple of my characters always rode a horse trained in speed, although I also had a carrying horse for each of them. With the transfer of mount training to the characters, they now get the benefit of all the horses they trained, no matter which horse they ride. So in their cases, they get the benefit of a lot more bag space, without sacrificing the speed I felt was necessary on them.

Oh, and if you haven't started a new character since the update, do it! They changed the beginning Coldharbour quest, and it flows a lot better, makes more sense, and is really nice. ;-)

I would talk about the Crown Store, since that was on the PTS, and will be opening soon, but it hasn't gone live yet, so I won't, even though I'm excited to see it come.

If I missed any of the cool improvements or new features, feel free to add them in your comments, or expand on what I've written. If, on the other hand, all you have are negative comments about these features or changes, I think there are plenty of other threads where you can use to vent your disappointment. I figure that there are enough people willing to nitpick every little thing they don't like about ESO (and about any other game), and that as hard as they worked to put this update together, they deserve at least some kind of positive feedback to show their efforts are appreciated. Thanks for reading!

@charlmgn/@CadwellsGhost