Puzzles

Mashille · May 2015

Ok, so in ESO almost NO dungeons or Alyleid ruins have any puzzles in them to open doors and such which is a shame because I think that would be really cool rather than ALL of them ONLY involving combat. Especially when in Skrim (2011) most dungeons had some sort of puzzle door or some other thing like that. I think more puzzles in dungeons could work well, especially in groups. (Such as the Temple Of The Morning Springs in Khenarthi's Roost) So much of this game is dominated by combat, it would be nice for you to be able to achieve objectives through other things as well.

P.S: I know that there are some dungeons and ruins that involve puzzles but they're pretty scarce.

SeñorCinco · May 2015

Yes, lot's more puzzles. I don't mean the cheesy little wheels and hidden pullchains. I'd like to see complexity.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO · May 2015

The few puzzles they have in the game have all been dumbed down to the point of being absolutely ridiculously easy, some after launch because of complaints from players. Most are now like the round doors in Nord ruins in Skyrim, where the solution was written on the key. Pointless.

Still, I have seen lots of people running around like headless chickens using /yell to ask for help with incredibly easy puzzles like "match these three colors to those three other colors right behind them" and "press these four buttons in order from longest to shortest timer activation".

I choose to blame "kids these days" for the sad state of what passes for puzzles in this game.

RazzPitazz · May 2015

They can't do complex puzzles because apparently a decent amount of players can't be bothered to stop moving for two seconds to actually think about a solution. Probably the same players that can't be bothered to think of why their builds don't work in PvP.

Sylvyr · May 2015

Best puzzle in game has to do with ESO and PVP

UrQuan · May 2015

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

The few puzzles they have in the game have all been dumbed down to the point of being absolutely ridiculously easy, some after launch because of complaints from players. Most are now like the round doors in Nord ruins in Skyrim, where the solution was written on the key. Pointless.

Still, I have seen lots of people running around like headless chickens using /yell to ask for help with incredibly easy puzzles like "match these three colors to those three other colors right behind them" and "press these four buttons in order from longest to shortest timer activation".

I choose to blame "kids these days" for the sad state of what passes for puzzles in this game.

The puzzle in the Temple of the Mourning Springs on Khenarthi's Roost seems to give a lot of people trouble... Which makes me think that people don't learn anything about the phases of the moon these days, because I thought it was ridiculously obvious the first time I saw it. And yet, it seems like every time I take a new character through there I see 4 or 5 people fruitlessly choosing the wrong order over and over and over again. I'll usually use /say to tell them the order, but it seems that few people pay any attention to that, and they just keep trying over and over without thinking it through.

SeñorCinco · May 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

The puzzle in the Temple of the Mourning Springs on Khenarthi's Roost seems to give a lot of people trouble... Which makes me think that people don't learn anything about the phases of the moon these days, because I thought it was ridiculously obvious the first time I saw it.

This is indeed a better one of the easy puzzles. I know people have trouble with some of these but if one takes just a few seconds to browse the area, there are clues etched in stones, walls, statues, floors, doors...

Every room I enter, I fall into an Indiana Jones mindset and start going over every scratch and rock in the room.

Fleshreaper · May 2015

The puzzle at the end of Bankori is a pretty good one.

UrQuan · May 2015

SeñorCinco wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

The puzzle in the Temple of the Mourning Springs on Khenarthi's Roost seems to give a lot of people trouble... Which makes me think that people don't learn anything about the phases of the moon these days, because I thought it was ridiculously obvious the first time I saw it.

This is indeed a better one of the easy puzzles. I know people have trouble with some of these but if one takes just a few seconds to browse the area, there are clues etched in stones, walls, statues, floors, doors...

As long as you know how the phases of the moon work in real life, you don't even need to look at any of the clues...

SeñorCinco wrote: »

Every room I enter, I fall into an Indiana Jones mindset and start going over every scratch and rock in the room.

Heh, me too, me too. I really wish there were more puzzles in the game in general, and specifically puzzles that weren't incredibly easy to figure out.

If people complained that they were getting stuck on quests because they couldn't figure out the puzzles, then just make the puzzles secondary to quests. Put in puzzles that have nothing to do with progressing a quest, or making it through a delve or dungeon. Instead the puzzles unlock secret side-areas that are completely un-needed for progression, but which have interesting rewards. Maybe it unlocks a door to a treasure room with a chest. Maybe each room unlocked by a puzzle has its own unique collectible artifact in it, and there can be new collectibles achievements related to getting all of them across all factions (ie. a DC artifact collector achievement, an EP artifact collector achievement, a DC artifact collector achievement, a Cyrodiil artifact collector achievement, and a Tamriel artifact collector achievement).

Shunravi · May 2015

rajaniemiorama_ESO wrote: »

They can't do complex puzzles because apparently a decent amount of players can't be bothered to stop moving for two seconds to actually think about a solution. Probably the same players that can't be bothered to think of why their builds don't work in PvP.

They say it themselves 'I want to play how I want' or 'I don't want to work during my free time' as if thinking is a chore or something.

SeñorCinco · May 2015

I think the lack of complexity spawns from input of players that are focused on powerleveling a new character to get into PvP as soon as possible. Some players don't have much time during a secession and they may feel as if they are having their time wasted. I can understand that but the game has to provide some kind of median.

Osteos · May 2015

It is amazingly sad how many people can't solve the puzzles but it seems the majority of players skip through dialogue. I'm the weirdo that actually listens...

UrQuan · May 2015

paleobonesb14_ESO wrote: »

It is amazingly sad how many people can't solve the puzzles but it seems the majority of players skip through dialogue. I'm the weirdo that actually listens...

I listen to all of it the first time through. If I've already done a quest before on a different character I just click through because I already know the whole story. Well, unless it's a quest where you make a choice and I want to try out the other choice. Or it's a quest where I don't really remember what happened. For some reason I've got a pretty good memory for those things though.

c.p.garrett1993_ESO · May 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

The few puzzles they have in the game have all been dumbed down to the point of being absolutely ridiculously easy, some after launch because of complaints from players. Most are now like the round doors in Nord ruins in Skyrim, where the solution was written on the key. Pointless.

Still, I have seen lots of people running around like headless chickens using /yell to ask for help with incredibly easy puzzles like "match these three colors to those three other colors right behind them" and "press these four buttons in order from longest to shortest timer activation".

I choose to blame "kids these days" for the sad state of what passes for puzzles in this game.

The puzzle in the Temple of the Mourning Springs on Khenarthi's Roost seems to give a lot of people trouble... Which makes me think that people don't learn anything about the phases of the moon these days, because I thought it was ridiculously obvious the first time I saw it. And yet, it seems like every time I take a new character through there I see 4 or 5 people fruitlessly choosing the wrong order over and over and over again. I'll usually use /say to tell them the order, but it seems that few people pay any attention to that, and they just keep trying over and over without thinking it through.

TBH, I barely know them myself. There's a big stone pillar right by the door that had the phases in order, though. Since that was there I solved it in all of like 6 seconds.
I would have actually liked to have had to remember them, though, as that may have taken a couple tries.

Ley · May 2015

I was able to guess most of the puzzles in the game without reading any of the context made to help you solve them. If they do make puzzles that actually require some effort, I'd expect to be rewarded for that effort accordingly, at the very least with some fun content. If they did add more difficult puzzles, it should probably be optional content that falls under its own category of achievements because not everyone is going to be willing to devote the time needed to solve it and it shouldn't holde them back from progressing in game or force them to solve it using a google search.

Edit: oh and the moon is easy ( -> (| -> O -> |) -> ) -> X -> ( -> (| -> O -> |) -> )... makes sense to me anyways.

Savetti · May 2015

Yea, and with the puzzles hey do have are really not puzzling. They are just too obvious and essentially give you the answers. They don't make you work for it at all.

BuggeX · May 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

The few puzzles they have in the game have all been dumbed down to the point of being absolutely ridiculously easy, some after launch because of complaints from players. Most are now like the round doors in Nord ruins in Skyrim, where the solution was written on the key. Pointless.

Still, I have seen lots of people running around like headless chickens using /yell to ask for help with incredibly easy puzzles like "match these three colors to those three other colors right behind them" and "press these four buttons in order from longest to shortest timer activation".

I choose to blame "kids these days" for the sad state of what passes for puzzles in this game.

The puzzle in the Temple of the Mourning Springs on Khenarthi's Roost seems to give a lot of people trouble... Which makes me think that people don't learn anything about the phases of the moon these days, because I thought it was ridiculously obvious the first time I saw it. And yet, it seems like every time I take a new character through there I see 4 or 5 people fruitlessly choosing the wrong order over and over and over again. I'll usually use /say to tell them the order, but it seems that few people pay any attention to that, and they just keep trying over and over without thinking it through.

even if they dont learn somthing about the moon, the solutionof this puzzle is on the wall, you cant miss this sign...

Danikat · May 2015

I suspect it's more a case of people not reading the text than not being able to work it out from the clues. A lot of people skip text and dialogue even on their very first play through because they seem to think it gets in the way of the game.

I remember reading an article on different approaches to games where the journalist used the example of his kids playing GTA 4, watching the scene where the main characters cousin gets killed and then saying "Dad, who was that?" they'd been skipping dialogue as fast and frequently as they could throughout the entire game and as a result didn't even know one of the major characters.

Compared to that not knowing to select the phases of the moon in order is a minor issue.

TheShadowScout · May 2015

I too would enjoy more puzzles. And more thinking with the puzzles. Most are way to obvious... just "press tile in order of wand icons" isn't really a puzzle after all. The "press tile in order of constellations named in nearby book" are a bit better... and the "switch" puzzles like in sancre tor, Seogoraths holiday mansion or the end of the shadowfen questline are an refreshing thing, and I enjoyed the ones in the hall of heroes in Bangkorai...

I can see why they made the puzzles in your questline easy as to not hold up people, but... they could add optional content hidden behind more difficult puzzles. Add extra mob-and-treasure filled rooms to some dwemer or ayleid ruin only accessible through a puzzlegate, for example.

And while we're at it, more riddles. I really enjoy those as well, and kinda miss the magic mouth type things from The Bards Tale....

And more minigames too, it vexes me a little that there are only locks to pick, and no magical barriers/curses to dispel, or that disabling complex traps with a minigame is not doable...

SHADOW2KK · May 2015

I really fail to understand how the alleged "puzzles" can even remotely be accorded the dubious honour of being a puzzle.

They are so easy that a half dead amoeba struggling to come ashore to find itself in front of a instance of a said "puzzle" could conquer with no problems.

They have seriously been dumbed down, and I am of the ilk that would prefer going through a maze with an axe lol.

Just saying:P

Mettaricana · May 2015

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO wrote: »

The few puzzles they have in the game have all been dumbed down to the point of being absolutely ridiculously easy, some after launch because of complaints from players. Most are now like the round doors in Nord ruins in Skyrim, where the solution was written on the key. Pointless.

Still, I have seen lots of people running around like headless chickens using /yell to ask for help with incredibly easy puzzles like "match these three colors to those three other colors right behind them" and "press these four buttons in order from longest to shortest timer activation".

I choose to blame "kids these days" for the sad state of what passes for puzzles in this game.

more puzzles like the shad astula school of magic that crap was hella hard if you werent familiar with directions and the water orbs

SeñorCinco · May 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

Put in puzzles that have nothing to do with progressing a quest, or making it through a delve or dungeon. Instead the puzzles unlock secret side-areas that are completely un-needed for progression, but which have interesting rewards. Maybe it unlocks a door to a treasure room with a chest. Maybe each room unlocked by a puzzle has its own unique collectible artifact in it, and there can be new collectibles achievements related to getting all of them across all factions (ie. a DC artifact collector achievement, an EP artifact collector achievement, a DC artifact collector achievement, a Cyrodiil artifact collector achievement, and a Tamriel artifact collector achievement).

TheShadowScout wrote: »

I can see why they made the puzzles in your questline easy as to not hold up people, but... they could add optional content hidden behind more difficult puzzles. Add extra mob-and-treasure filled rooms to some dwemer or ayleid ruin only accessible through a puzzlegate, for example.

I emphatically support all of this.

Danikat · May 2015

I think making them optional side-quests (or even simply puzzles you come across in caves and things off the beaten path, with no quest to direct you) would be a good compromise.

There's quite a few puzzles in Guild Wars 2, maybe not particularly advanced ones but enough to confuse many players, at least at first. This one for example is in one of the starting zones and involves matching stones on pads on the floor to patterns on the wall: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Tears_of_Itlaocol

But in spite of that (and the less than stellar intellect of some players) it's rare to see anyone complain about it. People who can't figure them out can use the wiki, or video walkthroughs, or hey ask someone to help! (Crazy as that is in a multiplayer game.) People with a burning hatred of puzzles which means they cannot bear to even attempt them can simply ignore them because none are required for anything except a few achievement points.

dafox187 · May 2015

i want some twilight princess s***

Shunravi · May 2015

dafox187 wrote: »

i want some twilight princess s***

Pffff

Give me Myst s***!

leeux · May 2015

There is one I remember in one of the AD zones (Grahtwood or Greenshade... maybe Malabal Tor...) that requires you to read some books very thoroughly in order to save people from dying.

Also, the quest on Bangkorai that requires you to solve a logical problem is pretty good too

The ones with the tombstones.

And the puzzle for opening one of the final areas in Bangkorai (the one with the colored ghosts) always gives me trouble because there is no context w.r.t. their actual positions in the real room.

TheShadowScout · May 2015

leeux wrote: »

There is one I remember in one of the AD zones (Grahtwood or Greenshade... maybe Malabal Tor...) that requires you to read some books very thoroughly in order to save people from dying.

Also, the quest on Bangkorai that requires you to solve a logical problem is pretty good too The ones with the tombstones.

Malabel Tor, final leg of the "stop the hound" questline.

The tombstones in Bangkorai are a fun one, indeed. More like those would be appreciated!

helediron · May 2015

The end quest with the Mnemic Egg had nice puzzle and dialog needed attention, very good!

But my previous MMO was DDO, and it had tens of times more puzzles and much more complex ones. The "hard" 3x3 matrix puzzle with the Hist is one of the simplest in DDO. Also the game has locks, traps and hazards, which were deadly to many classes. My rogue was so busy in raids...

Kelleton · May 2015

puzzles are meaningless in MMOs unfortunately as before you get to do it, it will be posted on the forums which someone in your group is bound to read

Ojustaboo · May 2015

I remember buying 7th Guest many moons ago, some of those puzzles really made you think.

tengri · May 2015

I am one that actually gets upset with a lot of the puzzles... because they are too easy or even childish so I dont want to be bothered with them at all.
Dont get me wrong here... big, complex puzzles: yes, gimme, gimme.

But a lot of them are just... well, yes. Lame is the word I am looking for.
For example in Auridon there is one during the quest Wearing the Veil called Trial of Intelligence where some dude tells you a few lines and you have to pick out the object he was referring to from the table behind him.
What Am I? Seriously?
Cant get any worse than this... that's... beyond pathetic for a mature rated game. Actually I feel insulted by stuff like that.
And there are lots of others on a similar "quality" level.
Ah, just get me outta here, really...