Hate to start off with such a bad title.
I have played ESo and subbed for many months now, i think 11. I started off purely PVE, to learn the mechanics and experience the game. Got maxed VR16, nearly maxed all research traits, done all the dungeons, instances and dailies, writs and gold/silver keys etc. Doing this daily, i got very bored of it, felt just like farming as the PvE content here is generally super easy for a maxed char. I always thought, build up lots of gold (700k), go into PvP where the REAL adventure begins as this content should be hard but rewarding.
Started Azura for a bit, didnt really like it as i found almost all players there were maxed in experience and skill. Server was a bit laggy, disconnects and the general stuff. Started Trueflame after for a bit, it was basically unplayable. Lag everywhere, long loading screens (3mins) and was the same experience as Azura.
After all this, i stupidly thought it was me, i was no good at pvp and needed to learn. I have played many pvp games in my time, so i know mechanics and having to invest time to learn them and practice. So i started a new character and decided to learn pvp by joining BwB.
Lag was generally OK here although the loading screens are constant at ~3mins a go upon death/teleporting to another castle. Alot of disconnects, espeacilly when a wall being rebuild and it gets to being built up, i get hit with a loading screen can last any minutes, or i go invisible, or my game still plays but noone is around like keep empty for minutes then i disconnect. Played the end of last campaign and now 3rd in this campaign so doing well, helping, buying siege and everything, learning tactics and whats to be done and when. With the addition of slow horse and above, it meant i was loading and running to fights almost as much as loading.
From here on, this is where my eyes got opened on this game.
I bought banker. Only reason was i was using my mules to store the mad amount of random stuff in this game. All chars had around 160 bp space, with horse upgrades and i buy bp up to 100. Usually i had to run all mules from bank to horse, then back again but using banker i just stand mules at stables now and mule/upgrade horse. I was forced to do this playstyle, if i wanted to collect the items the game provided me. Took up much time not playing to do this, so when i did play, i could have access to everything i had earned/collected.
So Banker merchant was out how many weeks until a player let Zenimax know, in which they emergency hotfix it, which needed to be done, i just question why so long. Just reinforces releasing BETA content to let players do the companies testing. Since i subscribe i am actually paying Zenimax to beta test there game it seems, not a good thought.
Animation cancelling. I was completely unaware of this as a PvE'er. I just took the game as i see it and used my skills/attacks as they were meant to be used and i watch the animations as they complete as it looks nice and has nice feel to the game. Cancelling these to massively increase DPS happens. A good friend showed me some tips to do it, but i was just thinking to myself, why am i being forced to do this style?, or i play PVP gimped out. In addition to this, some have macros set up, to cancel/go next attack on a millisecond basis. I was unsure of this so i tested myself briefly and yes, i think it was around 140ms after attack i can move to next one. So me playing legit maybe hit 3 times in 5 seconds. Using macros and ani cancelling, maybe could double that number.
Unless you buy the adventurers pack off crown store, which i stupidly did, i couldn't play a Kajhit NB in EP. So unless some bankroll it, they will play different factions with different characters (Which doesn't make sense as you cover all content in Cadwells Gold). Basically limiting content unless you pay, never sat well with me either.
Loading screens in Cyro lasting 1/2/3+minutes long. My PC is 5820k/32gb RAM/8GB GPU. Connected to LAN, in which i am no more than 2miles from my fibre exchange. I update all drivers, GPU and otherwise daily. To even imply a problem on my side, is madness. I can log onto Diablo3 and other intensive games running all ULTRA and have no latency issues. Lag once and a while, its no problem, constant lag and i have problem.
Cyrodill in general. Seems the IC and Cyro share player base. Say a server is low population. Me and a team join it, then go into IC to play its content. Means this player base isnt playing cyrodill but we are still counted that we do. So when server is full and no more can get in, the numbers wouldnt be equal as any number of people from any side could be in IC. I would of thought, 100 players in each campaign, thats fair. Having this anyway else doesnt work in my eyes. How can 70 fight the both 100 if 30 of them are in IC doing nothing to help Cyrodill map.
I have watched both AD and DC chase me down, to kill me and run away together and not fight. I have seen crossfaction whispering to give the other team an advantage. I have also seen on zone chat someone saying a medic camp is somewhere, for it to be burnt down a minute later, even hidden and in random place. I cant believe such crossfaction stuff is so easy to do. I have witnessed factions helping each other/boosting to gain massive AP points for leaderboard and such, this can be easily cheated with and won which totally devalues doing it in the first place. So the solution is not to use zone chat, which isnt a solution in my eyes, as the game provides that means of communication for the faction to work as a team.
Last few days of me trying and learning PvP i have been whispered multiple times. Calling me names, calling my family names and general insulting. I have reported some, only to see them back again saying the same things. This was one reason i lost faith in the game as with all above, i now have to take daily abuse from randoms i don't know, who i killed in a game. Add this to everyone wants to duel, or solo battle because the zerg is so high in PvP campaigns. I didnt log into Cyrodill in a MMO pvp setting, to duel 1 person, i can for sieges and fights, small or big no matter. Seems i get ridiculed a few times also for chancing across people fighting, i join in to kill enemy and then its like, we were fighting etc etc and then i get more abuse.
Only the other night, AD and EP sitting by bridge, just want to duel. I dont blame them, as ESo has provided no real place to do this, but to slow down the game for others as people want to duel and if you interrupt it all go crazy.
So i stop sub and basically stop playing ESO for above reasons
@ZOS_GinaBruno . I think they are more than justified and to be honest, there are plenty more points that can be added to my post, but i only relate my experience. Since PvP is such a fail, going back to PvE just feels like farming gold and its boring. I did feel let down when nothing was done about threatening behavior and harassment. Outside a game setting, those people could be prosecuted and/or buried in the ground.
Hope Zenimax can take something good from this post and try to improve this series. Just feels like im paying to BETA test a game that gets little investment in anyway. For those who said HOTFIX at Friday night was good idea, think of how long this particular glitch was out and when they decided to start working on it. They were told and threw a band aid fix on it. What happens to the smart exploiters who used 1 account to spam and send the mats, or sell the mats, to another. 1 account locked no doubt with the coding script, but anyone smart sending those to a friend, or another account. Those materials are now in the economy like the heaps of perfect roe from Wrothgar BETA DLC so i fail to see how anything was really addressed other than the ~3 hours game time.