Just from my perspective why I don't play this campaign much:

• I dislike having a different ruleset from the main game and having my character play differently. Battle-Spirit is bad enough; AZ is too much.
• I dislike having to farm more gear than I already do. I'm still running around in bad trait stuff and all my armor is purple as it is.
• I know what 1.5 played like and I know there was power taken away from the base game and put into the CP system that I do not have. Thus I know it's not 1.5. Perhaps this doesn't bother people, it does me.
• I did earn those CP and I want to use them.
• I'm never satisfied with my builds as it is, I don't have the time to theorycraft an additional one.
• I hear a lot how AZ is the more "skillful" campaign. Perhaps it is and people are entitled to their opinion. That sort of egotism is not something I wish to be associated with, however.
• I don't have as much time to play as I would like. Get me to the pop-locked campaign where I can quickly and easier find constant fights.
• As a magicka character I do occasionally like to block and roll-dodge. The changes ZoS made since 1.5 to these mechanics coupled with no CP are too much.
• In my experience, wearing something like Seducer's is almost mandatory. If I play a templar that already doesn't have much (un-channeled) burst, actually killing people is too much of a chore. Especially with shield stacking. It's not 1.5.
• I know ZoS makes the rules and game mechanic changes around CP.
• If I play with friends, I don't mind AZ too much on my Sorcerer that still has easy access to burst damage without CP. Occasionally. But I just have more fun on the normal campaigns.

I've done it enough to know it's just not for me. Maybe it's because I played before the CP and know what it was like or maybe it's because I PvE too and dislike that the base mechanics are very different or simply because I just have a different preference.

AZ is what it is and even with more incentives such as AP or experience, it's not actually changing the rules so it would not incentivize me to go there. I already have 25 million AP and nothing to spend it on, what am I going do to with more? If I was a newer player, I'd still probably home TF simply because there is always a lot more action, it's easier to find groups/guilds, and if AZ really "much tougher" as you say, then I as a newer player probably do not belong there.

**************

I strongly disagree with this:

it weren't for the fact that veteran mode drops monster helmets, purple jewelry, and potentially two keys; no one would do them

I have not willingly done a normal dungeon since I reached VR1 way way back in like May 2014. In normal PvE, you do not even have to pay attention to monster mechanics. It is so mind-numbingly easy, I find more of a challenge staying awake than actually playing. Maybe not every ESO player enjoys being challenged or pushed to their limits, but I would venture to say that most of them at least want content that would make them actually block against a final bosses's strongest attack. In short, I run them because I found them more enjoyable and ran them regularly even before the Undaunted helms came out.

Ultimately, that's why I logged in and play the ESO content that I do because it is fun for me to do so. It's not AZ's diffiuclty level that is prompting me to log into TF. And placing a proverbial carrot of more AP or XP is not going to change my opinion of the gameplay in it.

How dare you all slight AS, we are truly the pinnacle for ESO PvP.

Surely the only proof you need is knowing that AS PC NA has been graced with a BWB super guild that has crowned "a 1000 emperors". The guild leader is truly formidable:

Vurian97 wrote:

My faction hates me because I control if they crown or not.

Truly there is no purer PvP!

---

In all seriousness though:

1) Going between AS, TF and PvE is just a matter of changing food or having a single jewellery pieces with regen or HP, for me anyway, very little adjustment needed.

2) Does TF lag so much worse (for people with already bad ping, 300 ping here *cries*) because of CP calculations or just because of generally more population?

3) Every time I go to TF I feel way more powerful, 1v6 defending a resource multiple times a day when on AS it will only happen like once a week. Sooo many peoples first reaction to being attacked is to start heavy attacking with resto staff (in TF). TF seems to have a massive player gap, brought about by CP (obviously) but also skill and gear, put these same people in AS and I guarantee the difference will be significantly less stark. Apart from proc sets being OP in AS, it otherwise acts as curtailing the power of fully optimized builds being played by skilled player, it brings them down a lot more than it would bring down unskilled/ungeared/non-cp players down. Most of this is from less damage and less regen, each kill is harder and longer.

The only thing I find more difficult about TF is the guild play and legitimately orgainsied voice comms group, TF absolutely has that over AS.

Yep, cp is a crutch.

nah what they need to do is remove the failed server, you think it takes higher skill but most see it for what it is, a bad experiment

Derra wrote: »

Azuras star needs to be closed so the devs can focus on working on abilities in only one environment.

That CP gap for new players is harsh though.

Azura's Star is at population cap on EU during primetime most days.

-Almost no lag at all (main reason I play there)
-Proc sets no more dangerous than on CP campaign
-Not unlimited resources

Only real disadvantages I see:

-Need to build different than on CP campaign, can't just take a CP char and move it over without adjustments
-Abit harder to 1vX due to sustain issues

Minalan wrote: »

I stopped playing AZ when the proc sets came.

Without CP, every nightblade gank on Azuras is instant death no matter what. With CP into hardy and elemental defender, you get a chance to react at least.

It's a good thing overall, because I discovered how much fun PVP is on a populated campaign like TF.

Hardy is kinda nullified by Mighty on CP campaigns....

Strider_Roshin wrote: »

Chuga_Rei wrote: »

I like az because resource management is a challenge for a change.

The differences alone should be incentive.

Should be, but unfortunately that isn't the case for the majority of the player base. It gets pretty boring when the majority of PvP in there consists of taking resources, and empty keeps.

I guess it depends what platform/location you play

glavius wrote: »

Azura's Star is at population cap on EU during primetime most days.

-Almost no lag at all (main reason I play there)
-Proc sets no more dangerous than on CP campaign
-Not unlimited resources

Only real disadvantages I see:

-Need to build different than on CP campaign, can't just take a CP char and move it over without adjustments
-Abit harder to 1vX due to sustain issues

Exactly. Azura PC EU is capped during primetime. Its harder to make viable build, but on the other hand you can ignore CP campaing meta and get crazy with builds, and be succesful.

last week i tried diferrent set combinations - trainee+clever alch/ravager/bone pirate/spriggan, spriggan + clever/seveth legion/draugrhulk, crafted sets like willows path etc. experimenting and combining different sets, jewelry enchants and food/drinks to make viable suistainable build with enough damage to kill people(when you play solo its hard, in small group with templar shards its lot easier).

In CP campaing you just go full damage and invest CP to get suistain - In Azura you have to incorporate suistain INTO gear.
*off topic* Cant wait to procs sets get nerfed - especialy on azura star people will know the difference.
With proc sets you could basicly ignore weapon damage, go full suistain and still have great burst(i tried it, stamplar build with 22k stamina, 2,5 weapon damage and over 3k stamina regen with pot activated, and still one of most harder hiting set-ups). All those one-hit-wonder players will be basicly worthless.

Azura star is best campaing - and gameplay there is closest to old times in cyrodiil.

Manoekin wrote: »

They should just increase the XP gain there. This helps the newer players who choose that campaign because they don't want to deal with the CP difference in other campaigns. A populated Azura's is already a lot of AP waiting to be made. If you doubled it I don't think people would like what it would turn into.

Was about to suggest the same thing.

Double the XP gains in Azura's, helping people to play CP catch up.

Joy_Division wrote: »

Just from my perspective why I don't play this campaign much:

• I dislike having a different ruleset from the main game and having my character play differently. Battle-Spirit is bad enough; AZ is too much.
• I dislike having to farm more gear than I already do. I'm still running around in bad trait stuff and all my armor is purple as it is.
• I know what 1.5 played like and I know there was power taken away from the base game and put into the CP system that I do not have. Thus I know it's not 1.5. Perhaps this doesn't bother people, it does me.
• I did earn those CP and I want to use them.
• I'm never satisfied with my builds as it is, I don't have the time to theorycraft an additional one.
• I hear a lot how AZ is the more "skillful" campaign. Perhaps it is and people are entitled to their opinion. That sort of egotism is not something I wish to be associated with, however.
• I don't have as much time to play as I would like. Get me to the pop-locked campaign where I can quickly and easier find constant fights.
• As a magicka character I do occasionally like to block and roll-dodge. The changes ZoS made since 1.5 to these mechanics coupled with no CP are too much.
• In my experience, wearing something like Seducer's is almost mandatory. If I play a templar that already doesn't have much (un-channeled) burst, actually killing people is too much of a chore. Especially with shield stacking. It's not 1.5.
• I know ZoS makes the rules and game mechanic changes around CP.
• If I play with friends, I don't mind AZ too much on my Sorcerer that still has easy access to burst damage without CP. Occasionally. But I just have more fun on the normal campaigns.

I've done it enough to know it's just not for me. Maybe it's because I played before the CP and know what it was like or maybe it's because I PvE too and dislike that the base mechanics are very different or simply because I just have a different preference.

AZ is what it is and even with more incentives such as AP or experience, it's not actually changing the rules so it would not incentivize me to go there. I already have 25 million AP and nothing to spend it on, what am I going do to with more? If I was a newer player, I'd still probably home TF simply because there is always a lot more action, it's easier to find groups/guilds, and if AZ really "much tougher" as you say, then I as a newer player probably do not belong there.

**************

I strongly disagree with this:

it weren't for the fact that veteran mode drops monster helmets, purple jewelry, and potentially two keys; no one would do them

I have not willingly done a normal dungeon since I reached VR1 way way back in like May 2014. In normal PvE, you do not even have to pay attention to monster mechanics. It is so mind-numbingly easy, I find more of a challenge staying awake than actually playing. Maybe not every ESO player enjoys being challenged or pushed to their limits, but I would venture to say that most of them at least want content that would make them actually block against a final bosses's strongest attack. In short, I run them because I found them more enjoyable and ran them regularly even before the Undaunted helms came out.

Ultimately, that's why I logged in and play the ESO content that I do because it is fun for me to do so. It's not AZ's diffiuclty level that is prompting me to log into TF. And placing a proverbial carrot of more AP or XP is not going to change my opinion of the gameplay in it.

This, 100%. I'd love a 1.5 campaign, but Azura's Star isn't that.

Manoekin wrote: »

WhiteMage wrote: »

Sallington wrote: »

Manoekin wrote: »

They should just increase the XP gain there. This helps the newer players who choose that campaign because they don't want to deal with the CP difference in other campaigns. A populated Azura's is already a lot of AP waiting to be made. If you doubled it I don't think people would like what it would turn into.

Was about to suggest the same thing.

Double the XP gains in Azura's, helping people to play CP catch up.

You mean, lure in MORE PvEers for me to 1vX? Yes please!

Manoekin wrote: »

ChrisXO wrote: »

Derra wrote: »

Azuras star needs to be closed so the devs can focus on working on abilities in only one environment.

That CP gap for new players is harsh though.

Give every player in PvP max CP. Create a single baseline for balancing and remove a barrier for new players.

It would be far better to just remove CP entirely. CP, while not the chief cause of cancer, enables it far more than anything else (until Wrobel graced us with proc sets. Remember when a maluplar was the worst thing you could be?) The only other way to balance a 25% increase to stats is to drop base stats down the hole in an outhouse. I suppose that is doable, but...

I love buffs. Everyone loves buffs. But it is time for the Age of Nerfs, because too many things are just too darn OP. Like burst, healing/damage.

As Joy said when CP came out, part of our base stats were taken and put into CP system. Non-CP is not the same game players want back.

Now I'd love to make an intelligent counter-argument to that, but the introduction of CP was long before I started playing ESO so I know very little about the actions and motivations of the devs from that time period. Do you know roughly what patch that was so I can comb through the natch potes of that era?

I'm not one to be satisfied by that however, so here is my ill-informed reply:

Frankly I can't imagine what stats had some oomph taken out of them because stat bloat (aka power creep) seems to have given back what was allegedly removed in spades. With my CP (all the CPs!) I don't have resource management issues even without the use of any potions or heavy attacks or otherwise regenerative actions or skills, I have solid damage, and beyond sufficient heals to solo vet dungeon with ease (most of them). This is all in my PvP spec spamming jabs. I play in azuras and I feel like I am coming close to the limit of what is reasonable in terms of balance with my characters' capabilities. Luckily, there is little room to improve my gear outside of golding out the odd belt or glove. That's with no CP. It doesn't make much difference when I come across a new player whether I have CP or not, but a 25% increase to all relevant stats puts me (and anyone at the CP cap) that much further above a new player in terms of capability. The power creep in that is just unreal.

Echoing certain above posters, CP is a crutch. It'd be better for overall balance if it just goes away.