The Meta Isn't Always Fun - Do Your Own Thing

Eocosa · October 2016

As I'm sure you can piece together, the game is essentially two schools of thought for players.

One is those who look to be the best, scoreboards, winning duels and 1vXs is the fun of the game to them. To these players if you aren't doing everything you can to pull the best numbers you're dead weight and are lessening their fun. This is why you see threads discouraging all tanks that aren't DKs or healers that aren't Templars, and such. If doing a dungeon, not only do they want to finish it, but any extra trash pulls, or any extra time taken to finish the dungeon is very frowned upon.

The other is those who play more for the story and the basic gameplay itself. They may very well be able to complete the hardest content or do well in pvp, but will most likely NEVER be the scoreboard leaders or able to take on 4 players at once in pvp. To them, making it through the dungeon is the goal, and so long as people are learning and not just doing dumb things to die they're fine.

Of course there are different shades in between the two, but more often then not they'll lean one way or the other more.

Myself, I agree with you OP in most regards. I played a magsorc Orc tank for the longest time. I enjoyed wearing heavy armor (before te buff) and wielded a healing staff in pvp. Admittedly I was probably not the best healer, but I enjoyed being in the thick of it and this allowed me to do that. Would I have been better off in robes on the wall or behind the siege line? Possibly, even probably, but I liked healing and rezzing the dps pushes past the walls, bubblin seige equipment, and being more of a support role then a straight dps or healer. That's what was fun for me and I helped my alliance waaaay more doing that and having fun then not having fun being the "best spec" and not playing at all because I didn't enjoy my time.

kylewwefan · October 2016

It might be a meta thing, but once you put the VO 5 piece on a stam toon, feel like you're ultimate warrior mode. I imagine IA has got to be close to same feeling. I'm even contemplating making my less desired pieces legendary just to make it better.

I don't buy into the "play how you want" thing for a second either. Because I tried it. MagBlade Orc....it's just not good, even with good gear. You want a magic toon, pick a magic friendly race. You'll be much happier and satisfied with the end result.

The BiS gear the number crunchers come up with is just that. With rotations executed like a robot, and best gear and perfect traits, well.....they're the best. If you can pull it off...having the gear isn't gonna turn you into an eso pro overnight....and good luck acquiring all this best gear before a new FOTM comes out.

CultOfMMO · October 2016

Masel92 wrote: »

I've done everything except vMoL and all of my chars as tank, heal and DD and i dont use meta builds, because it's just not creative and boring to copy someone else's work. I never pulled more than 35k dps, even in vet trials. I simply refuse to use vMA weapons on stamchars (MAster weapons ftw), because i don't want to use what everyone else uses, it's boring.
I have a fully golded TBS-VO-vMA Weapon stamblade rusting on his Wolfmount because i don't like the Metabuild. Most content in ESO is easily doable with 20-25k DPS, as long as you follow mechanics and know what to do. With T1 you need to follow mechanics anyway. Think outside the box guys!

Think outside the box as in stop worrying about pulling the top possible dps numbers? thats essentially what you're saying if you didnt think it through.

everyone here is saying dont follow the meta build, be creative and ***, but no one has come up with a completely alternative build that can pull even half the damage.

might as well change the name of the thread to forget about end game content!

Fallen_Ray · October 2016

WuffyCerulei wrote: »

A lot of times, I see 99.99% of builds for ESO are very much meta and dry-cut. Magicka builds: you HAVE to be Altmer, Breton, or Dunmer. Stamina builds: you HAVE to be Orc or Redguard. Yes, these races all have decent passives for their builds, but it leaves everything feeling the same. You don't see much with creative builds anymore. It's all Twice-Born this or Vicious Ophidian that. People, get creative with your builds. Wanna be a butt-kicking khajiit magicka templar with high damage or a tanky altmer, you can find many ways to get that build to work. Heck, I'm getting a magicka khajiit sorcerer with 40k magicka and 20k dps. Don't let it seem you have to do a meta build to be good. ESO has many many possibilities with builds, especially with One Tamriel.

I was starting to feel like i was the only one who thought screw the meta. Glad to think I'm not! Yeah The problem is that people want to be the very best, like no one ever was. So long that competitive, closed, try hard way of thinking exists we will continue to see the same builds multiplied by the number of sweaties out there.

These competitive sweats do ruin creativity and variety by always looking up for the highest numbers which is sad. I'm taking this post and will show it to a friend of mine that has the same closed way of thinking like the sweaties do. Hopefully it will light and expand his closed dark mind.

Sallington · October 2016

There's Vet Trial builds, vMA builds, and PvP Proc builds.

And then there's everything else. I just posted a TemplarFrost Mage build on my guild's forums that is a heck of a lot to play. I'm not topping any DPS charts at around 20-25k DPS, but it's a nice change of pace form the meta build atmosphere, hilariously fun in PvP, and can hold it's own in 95% of PvE content.