If only ZoS had gone with the same approach as Skyrim, where different races start with an advantage to some skills but cap at the same value...
Still, I do like racial passives, I only wish they could be changed.
DocFrost72 wrote: »Hey all!
After reading the latest datamine, it would appear ZOS is tinkering with the idea of the barbershop/racechange!
While data mining is not necessarily confirmed, it does mean that they are at the least considering developing these datamine entries. I have a single request for ZOS: Make 'Race change' only affect passives for races and not appearence, or give an option between the two.
The big reason behind racial changes (but not the only one) is to gain stats that are conducive to one's build. For example, as an Argonian stamina templar, I may long to have the racial passives of an orc, or an imperial, or a sleek khajiit. Their passives are more beneficial to damage dealer builds on the whole.
BUT, we cannot forget about RPers. One concern I instantly had when I saw "race change" was- Cool! But...will my imperial suddenly become an Orc? How will I explain that in RP?
To be clear; I would not stop race change for the above, but I would love to see options that help both sides. Perhaps if we allow individuals to change their race if so desired (some RPs may actually use this feature) alongside racial passive change (which helps us explore new options as a gold and crown sink), I think we can satisfy most everyone.
As to the lore aspect of this, that is where the passives change comes in. Not every orc is a great warrior, not every altmer is a mage, and certainly not every bosmer is an archer. Some folks from all races stick out as outliers, but they may have natural talent. For a perfect example, look at Farengar Secret Fire from TESV. He is a nord, but is an accomplished mage. Shalidor, also a nord, was the leader of the mage's guild! And an Argonian led the fighter's guild. Probably because of her OP swim speed, but still.
TLDR- As a fan of options, I'd like to see racial passives change alongside or replacing Race Change. Thoughts?
TheShadowScout wrote: »Every lorelover would HATE passive change. because we grew to love the TES lore where redguards are better at swordplay, and altmer better at spell slinging, nord are tough and bosmer sneaky hunters, bretons magically adept and argonians, uhm... anphibeous?
If they added that kinds stuff, they really should first remove the "Elder Scrolls" from their game title...
If only ZoS had gone with the same approach as Skyrim, where different races start with an advantage to some skills but cap at the same value...
Still, I do like racial passives, I only wish they could be changed.
Wreuntzylla wrote: »psychotic13 wrote: »Am I the only one who doesn't want race change? I think it's illogical, you chose a race you have to commit to it, don't like it roll another character?
I would totally agree if ZoS would commit to a static game. Commitment is a two-way street.
I leveled many Argonians to cap (4 are V501 now), and through Cadwell's gold and silver because: (1) if you could get enough potions, Argonians were a top 5 race in the beginning; (2) no male of any race looked better in a dress and carrying a stick; (3) I dug the Argonian-hippy culture; and (4) I wanted one of each class to weather the cycle of nerf-storms that is inevitable in a poorly designed MMO (or in this case, an initially well designed game that is changed every 3-6 months...).
Then they nerfed Argonian passives through the floor. ZoS' rampage included, in sequential order: (1) raising the softcaps; (2) removing the softcaps; and (3) changing the excellent Argonian potion passive, which synergized with nightblade potion passive, to hands down the worst passive in the game (as part of the switch to major/minor buff system).
Roll another toon? Please. People with the time to get their new character through to the same progression level as the old character are not spending money in the cash shop. I'll just wait for the inevitable race change feature...
I really wish the Elder Scrolls enthusiasts and "got commitment?" crowd would read back through the patch notes and understand a little history before jumping in with comments that are inane in view of the history of ESO.

psychotic13 wrote: »KoshkaMurka wrote: »psychotic13 wrote: »Am I the only one who doesn't want race change? I think it's illogical, you chose a race you have to commit to it, don't like it roll another character?
Its all about choices.
Some people have limited playtime, not enough to level an alt, some just want appearance change, some got screwed by ZOS' nerfing everything... There can be a ton of personal reasons.
But reasons for not having this option? I've seen 2: "I dont want it so no one is allowed to ask for it" and "pug elitists". The latter can cause some issues at times probably, but in fact the majority of players are casuals who dont care about optimized builds that much.
Ok, here's a reason for not having this option, it's a *** stupid idea.
ZOS just stopped you having to do the VR1-VR16 grind if you already have a main, that's a huge amount of time saved but people are never happy enough. Levelling an alt to 50 doesn't take long.
Sorry if this is an ad hominen, but it really sounds like people who don't want it are just trying to make things less fun for those who do. There aren't really any reasons to wish it does not happen.
DocFrost72 wrote: »
1) Creates an issue where race selection is based of stats, not the race's lore
KoshkaMurka wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »
1) Creates an issue where race selection is based of stats, not the race's lore
I wonder how many people actually choose race based on lore? Most just pick whatever looks cool or has the stats for their preferred playstyle...
DocFrost72 wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »I suppose the lens I see it from is that there are some concessions to TES title for it being an MMO. I don't really even consider this storytelling fully canon unless I get some okay from Bethesda, the actual creators.
So where is your line? Where is the step-too-far where you would prefer them to take the ES out of the title rather than make more and more concessions?DocFrost72 wrote: »Back to the original point though, in a single player game racially bound abilities are AWESOME, but I can also mod it if I need to. There is far less incentive to do so, however. In ESO, I want to be competitive. Any edge I can get, I will take. I don't mean that in a, "forget lore" way, but a "Meh, my Breton learned from age 6 to swing a sword" way.
And when you aren't the only one with this backstory? Racial mechanics offer an identity for a race as a whole. Not just on a one-by-one basis. How would you prefer to see the Breton natural tendency towards magical and intellectual pursuits carried on if it isn't embodied in the mechanics? Honest question. No sarcasm or unpleasantness meant.
See that is the thing. The line in the sand for me is any story or in character development that goes against lore. To me, game mechanics are just that; game mechanics.
I have a huge issue with sorcerors cornering the market on Daedric summoning, since in TESV all breton started with the conjure familiar spell, and were proficient in conjuration.
The only reconciliation I can make here is that in the leap from RPG to MMO, certain things will be changed, much like things will be changed in between the single player games. I do not honestly think that every single Redguard is a better swordsman than every single breton, or that every single altmer is a better mage than every single bosmer. In the agragate, yes!
But a game mechanic invisible to us as players such as racial passives is not a core, or even (imho) important discussion of lore unless suddenly these NPCS in ESO start saying things like, "Heh, he's a breton...they're natural archers."
THAT is a lone I will never cross. Lore established by Bethesda is canon, and in the agragate Breton will be casters. But that is IC. OOC, I made plenty of breton swordsmen in TESV, but where I was not competing to kill thongs in a certain time or push the very limits of my character, similar passives would not have bothered me.
The original draw to this game was the Elder Scrolls Title. I wanted to be in Tamriel, playing in the Mundus trying to make a story before finding Aetherius and packing it up. I stayed because of the nostalgia I still get to this day.
But I also enjoy killing, a lot (that sounds dark...lol). So when I learned my favorite race would gimp me of a small, but important amount of raw power...yes, I found that frustrating and yes I wanted it changed. Otherwise, we'll (some of us) not be choosing our characters for their Elder Scrolls importance to us, but their mechanical functions. And I don't want that.
KoshkaMurka wrote: »Well, "they should be sent to reservation, I dont wanna see them" sounds quite hateful. Not to mention that your "true TES fans" and "number fans" labels are also far from truth. There's a lot of different people in this game, and maybe for some you are not a "true TES fan".
KoshkaMurka wrote: »If you "dont play the same game" why would you bother? You dont have those players in your contact list, you will probably never get to talk to them even briefly. Yet, they offend you so much, you want them to be locked away from the rest of population. You know, some people find RP cringeworthy, does that mean that all rpers should be sent to reservations without being able to interact with the rest of playerbase?
KoshkaMurka wrote: »Speaking of casuals... Yes, there are people who want a group that would carry them. But considering that there's not many "hardcore" players and even less are willing to carry, its not possible for them to get an "easy run" group anyway. And there's one more thing. I'm one of those "hardcore" players (I guess), but I play less than some of casual gamers. So I dont think its related to playtime really.
KoshkaMurka wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »
1) Creates an issue where race selection is based of stats, not the race's lore
I wonder how many people actually choose race based on lore? Most just pick whatever looks cool or has the stats for their preferred playstyle...
KoshkaMurka wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »
1) Creates an issue where race selection is based of stats, not the race's lore
I wonder how many people actually choose race based on lore? Most just pick whatever looks cool or has the stats for their preferred playstyle...
Me.
I picked every single character I have entirely based on their racial background and history. I have 4 Dunmer, by the way, one for each class.
DocFrost72 wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »I suppose the lens I see it from is that there are some concessions to TES title for it being an MMO. I don't really even consider this storytelling fully canon unless I get some okay from Bethesda, the actual creators.
So where is your line? Where is the step-too-far where you would prefer them to take the ES out of the title rather than make more and more concessions?DocFrost72 wrote: »Back to the original point though, in a single player game racially bound abilities are AWESOME, but I can also mod it if I need to. There is far less incentive to do so, however. In ESO, I want to be competitive. Any edge I can get, I will take. I don't mean that in a, "forget lore" way, but a "Meh, my Breton learned from age 6 to swing a sword" way.
And when you aren't the only one with this backstory? Racial mechanics offer an identity for a race as a whole. Not just on a one-by-one basis. How would you prefer to see the Breton natural tendency towards magical and intellectual pursuits carried on if it isn't embodied in the mechanics? Honest question. No sarcasm or unpleasantness meant.
See that is the thing. The line in the sand for me is any story or in character development that goes against lore. To me, game mechanics are just that; game mechanics.
I have a huge issue with sorcerors cornering the market on Daedric summoning, since in TESV all breton started with the conjure familiar spell, and were proficient in conjuration.
The only reconciliation I can make here is that in the leap from RPG to MMO, certain things will be changed, much like things will be changed in between the single player games. I do not honestly think that every single Redguard is a better swordsman than every single breton, or that every single altmer is a better mage than every single bosmer. In the agragate, yes!
But a game mechanic invisible to us as players such as racial passives is not a core, or even (imho) important discussion of lore unless suddenly these NPCS in ESO start saying things like, "Heh, he's a breton...they're natural archers."
THAT is a lone I will never cross. Lore established by Bethesda is canon, and in the agragate Breton will be casters. But that is IC. OOC, I made plenty of breton swordsmen in TESV, but where I was not competing to kill thongs in a certain time or push the very limits of my character, similar passives would not have bothered me.
The original draw to this game was the Elder Scrolls Title. I wanted to be in Tamriel, playing in the Mundus trying to make a story before finding Aetherius and packing it up. I stayed because of the nostalgia I still get to this day.
But I also enjoy killing, a lot (that sounds dark...lol). So when I learned my favorite race would gimp me of a small, but important amount of raw power...yes, I found that frustrating and yes I wanted it changed. Otherwise, we'll (some of us) not be choosing our characters for their Elder Scrolls importance to us, but their mechanical functions. And I don't want that.
In games, or perhaps in any interactive medium, I believe that mechanics are a part of the narrative. A part of the way the story of the world is told. Perhaps that is the physicist in me, the laws of the universe define many of the ways in which the stories of our own lives unfold.
In the previous, single player, games I have always felt that the racial mechanics were intended to illustrate and make manifest the experience of playing a member of that race. In Morrowind my character experience as a Dunmer was enhanced by his ability to navigate the heat-drenched wilds of Vvardenfell with little difficulty, or his tendency to summon his Ancestor Guardian even if he wasn't directly in combat. The mechanics helped with the story telling. There was no line of dialogue that I remember that spoke specifically about these things but they formed a part my experience playing him.
In a movie, book or other non-interactive medium, I wouldn't worry so much about this as there are other avenues available to convey narrative. However, since games already seem to have a comparative lack of words-per-minute story space, I guess I don't see why mechanics ("show, don't tell") can't form a part of that.
The difference seems to be that, to you, the lore is only what is said or read. For me it is also what is embodied in the world itself.
KoshkaMurka wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »
1) Creates an issue where race selection is based of stats, not the race's lore
I wonder how many people actually choose race based on lore? Most just pick whatever looks cool or has the stats for their preferred playstyle...
KoshkaMurka wrote: »DocFrost72 wrote: »
1) Creates an issue where race selection is based of stats, not the race's lore
I wonder how many people actually choose race based on lore? Most just pick whatever looks cool or has the stats for their preferred playstyle...