I would like to say up front that the current Ultimate gain system is usable and sensible. However, I feel that there is a real opportunity to address a few issues that PvP in ESO has by changing it. I am not proposing this because I think the current system is BAD, but because I see an opportunity to make it considerably better in regard to other related mechanics.

Many players do not like the dominance of zergs. In a vacuum, I don't mind them myself. I like to roam and to be a part of skirmishing groups, or to solo. I consider getting rolled by a zerg to be a logical outcome. More players should equal more winning. No big whup, and I can take my lumps no problem.

But for a large contingent, this is a very problematic issue. And they have points. In a game with a competitive focus, many players want their personal skill level to be the primary arbiter of victory or defeat. That's not unreasonable at all, but the effectiveness of zergs makes this academic at best. I could go on for days about the merits of organization and how numbers need to be important, but I won't here because I think the disgruntled have a point in this case, specifically in a game where zero organization needs to happen to form a zerg. It just happens naturally because objectives are not varied enough and players just clump up.

In addition to the aforementioned disparity between player skill and the dominance of zergs, many of these same players lament the lack of dynamic Ultimate gain. It is one more example of player competence mattering LESS, which again does not sit well with competitive players. They merely want ways to make playing smarter to equal more winning. I am far from an esports type, but I don't think that's an unreasonable desire at all, even as a filthy casual.

Now, this is a war game in a competitive sense, not an arena game. So I understand fully that putting harsh and artificial penalties in place to address zergballs is not realistic. However, let me propose a sort of first step solution that might encourage players by letting them know that the issue is one that is being considered:

Make Ultimate gain dynamic again in Cyrodiil/Imperial City (and any future PvP content,) but reduce the gains for every ally within 50m. As a solo character, the gain should be as rapid as it once was. As someone in a roaming group, it should be about as fast as it is now on average. As a zerg member, it should be very slow. This could be a very simple reduction like 4% per ally in the area (50m or whatever distance tests better.) If dynamic gain is in, players could still increase their base gain, but it would be harder to build in large groups (zergs.) Smaller groups would be able to drop Ults more frequently, and since many Ults are very useful vs large groups, this would be a way for anti-zerg play to be facilitated while not instituting an overly-artificial and/or over-balanced solution.

Note that this is only sensible for PvP. In PvE it would be unworkable for various reasons. For PvE I feel that equalizing Ult gain across the board is a good thing since it renders Ult use a safer variable by which to balance content. In PvP there is less focus on content balancing since the main threat is other players. Giving smaller groups a higher Ultimate gain rate would be a sensible and small step toward providing reasonable tools with which anti-zerg play could become viable.

I you made it this far, thanks so much for reading, and please add your thoughts!