Happy or Unhappy with the games direction

Galwylin · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

STEVIL wrote: »

item 2: balance - I always saw the Nb as more stealth-utililty and not DPS, though with big upside in PVP related issues due to stealth features (again not necessarily damage.) Whether or not they make one-percenter pve dps trial/group or not to me has little to do with their overall class balance.

I'm sorry but I had to stop here. Seriously, that's your idea of a class. Stealth mixed with utility. Not so much dps. Well, I think the devs must be reading your mind. What's the point of PvP stealth if you don't bother with dps. What role do they take? Tank? Healer? Already ruled out dps so that leaves.... buff bot! Come on. I believe in letting your fanboy freak flag fly but do you really believe this? And why shouldn't every class have the chance to be 1%. Is this like if your banker or merchant were turned a class? So, maybe in the future we'll have Charlie the Nightblade? I'd actually rather have the merchant turned into a class.

Ashtaris · May 2017

Unhappy

My wife and I have been with the game since beta and have seen quite a few changes over the years, some good, some bad. This is our first MMO after coming from playing Skyrim so we don't have much to compare it with, but the general feeling from both of us is that ESO is going the wrong direction.

Here is the list of what we both feel are problems that need to be corrected:

1. The current sustain changes were a bit too much at once. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just the CP tree, but they had to go and change almost everything that had to do with sustain, armor passives, repentence, shards, siphoning strikes, etc.

2. The dungeon finder. Wow, what can you say? That thing has been so bad since launch that if I was the programmer in charge of that, I would be ashamed of myself. Lets just get it fixed, make it functional, and something that makes grouping fun instead of a PITA.

3. Nightblades. Almost the class that you will now see on the street corners begging for raid action because they sure as hell won't be invited. Both Stamblades and Magblades need some serious love from the developers to be viable DD's.

4. Crafting. One of my favorite things in the game was crafting, but it's in need of some advancement and changes. The last big thing was the Master Crafting writs, but that's just getting to be boring and too dependent on RNG to be fun anymore. Crafted sets need a complete revamp across the board as I would say 80% of them are not being utilized. And we need some new types of crafting like Jewelry, Spell crafting, etc. And where is the armor previews we have been asking for since launch?

5. Their recent change to their business plan was a slap in the face to subscribers. Morrowind should have been a DLC and not a paid expansion, which is debatable on whether or not it deserves that title. There are quite a few indications showing that it doesn't.

6. Housing was a disappointment because of it's lack of functionality. Serously, no storage? How about gardens where we can grow our own alchemy plants, or plant some fish in those ponds, etc? Another thing that bothers me is the lighting is terrible in most of the homes. You have to almost burn the house down to get a decent light

7. Lack of new dungeons. Most of the group dungeons have been here since launch, and they are getting to be quite boring. There should have been at least two new group dungeons INCLUDED with Morrowind, but they decided to make them a future DLC instead. Lame. And although we have the Shadows Of The Hist dungeons like COS and ROM, for the most part they are unobtainable for us in Vet mode. And what can you say about the crappy RNG loot system? The most unmotivational part of doing the dungeons. I hate it.

There are a lot of other things that I could list, but lets just say that I can only hope that ZOS will look at some of these replies and reflect on what it could mean for their franchise if we are continued to be ignored. The poll speaks for itself.

QuebraRegra · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

the direction is ok, the balance changes are toxic.

time to rotate out those currently doing balance changes and let some fresh eyes look at it.

playsforfun · May 2017

Unhappy

Ashtaris wrote: »

My wife and I have been with the game since beta and have seen quite a few changes over the years, some good, some bad. This is our first MMO after coming from playing Skyrim so we don't have much to compare it with, but the general feeling from both of us is that ESO is going the wrong direction.

Here is the list of what we both feel are problems that need to be corrected:

1. The current sustain changes were a bit too much at once. It wouldn't have been so bad if it was just the CP tree, but they had to go and change almost everything that had to do with sustain, armor passives, repentence, shards, siphoning strikes, etc.

2. The dungeon finder. Wow, what can you say? That thing has been so bad since launch that if I was the programmer in charge of that, I would be ashamed of myself. Lets just get it fixed, make it functional, and something that makes grouping fun instead of a PITA.

3. Nightblades. Almost the class that you will now see on the street corners begging for raid action because they sure as hell won't be invited. Both Stamblades and Magblades need some serious love from the developers to be viable DD's.

4. Crafting. One of my favorite things in the game was crafting, but it's in need of some advancement and changes. The last big thing was the Master Crafting writs, but that's just getting to be boring and too dependent on RNG to be fun anymore. Crafted sets need a complete revamp across the board as I would say 80% of them are not being utilized. And we need some new types of crafting like Jewelry, Spell crafting, etc. And where is the armor previews we have been asking for since launch?

5. Their recent change to their business plan was a slap in the face to subscribers. Morrowind should have been a DLC and not a paid expansion, which is debatable on whether or not it deserves that title. There are quite a few indications showing that it doesn't.

6. Housing was a disappointment because of it's lack of functionality. Serously, no storage? How about gardens where we can grow our own alchemy plants, or plant some fish in those ponds, etc? Another thing that bothers me is the lighting is terrible in most of the homes. You have to almost burn the house down to get a decent light

7. Lack of new dungeons. Most of the group dungeons have been here since launch, and they are getting to be quite boring. There should have been at least two new group dungeons INCLUDED with Morrowind, but they decided to make them a future DLC instead. Lame. And although we have the Shadows Of The Hist dungeons like COS and ROM, for the most part they are unobtainable for us in Vet mode. And what can you say about the crappy RNG loot system? The most unmotivational part of doing the dungeons. I hate it.

There are a lot of other things that I could list, but lets just say that I can only hope that ZOS will look at some of these replies and reflect on what it could mean for their franchise if we are continued to be ignored. The poll speaks for itself.

very nice write up and i agree

Rex-Umbra · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

I like the content but always been uncomfortable with crown store and crown crates. Makes game feel a bit cheesy

Violynne · May 2017

Currently, I'm quite happy with the game and its elements, even with the problems it has. No game is perfect, and ESO is, technically, only 2 years old + 1 for PC. It's young, and there's plenty of room for growth.

I will not make a decision on things I read on paper, or by people who fly off the handle with their idiotic "sky is falling" rhetoric. I will wait for the changes to be applied, then see how they affect my game.

Then, I'll make a decision.

Didgerion · May 2017

Unhappy

Here is my opinion:

1. The classes are unbalanced now on two fronts:
- resource management
- dps outcome

2. The grind in this game is not fun and it takes lots of play-time and with the new patch the grinding will become even longer.

3. New players and casual players will become weaker compared to veteran ones and it will require more time for them to catch up (see p2).

It is a FAIL to me.

Bam_Bam · May 2017

Unhappy

I think its AMAZING that so many people are happy that EVERYONE will be running heavy attacks AND ARE EVEN DEFENDING IT.

A challenge - play the next few days as a heavy attack build (do it properly, no cheating!). Then come back and tell us how awesome its going to be.

Elsonso · May 2017

Happy

Baranthus wrote: »

I think its AMAZING that so many people are happy that EVERYONE will be running heavy attacks AND ARE EVEN DEFENDING IT.

A challenge - play the next few days as a heavy attack build (do it properly, no cheating!). Then come back and tell us how awesome its going to be.

I doubt that EVERYONE is going to be running heavy attack rotations.

pema · May 2017

Unhappy

So the reason I'm unhappy is that the game is going more towards a cash heavy game.
I find the content released often very short spanned, and it leaves me back to grinding the usual dallies.
As a player since beta a lot of the content has been done, and with the totally inhalational of my stamina main character the effect is not much fun to play in this game.
The roller-coaster of class and skill changes does a lot.
I feel two winds in the game:
1. we want to provide easy gaming for casual players, therefore content is to easy for the more invested players.
2. High end content is only available for people who follow the meta of the moment and play magicka with vMA weapons.

I enjoy the game at moments, but those are becoming less and less and I really regret that.

Sosderosii · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

Stuck on the fence because I will have to see if this makes stamina NB more squishy or more survivable in pvp fights.
My only hopes are that the brawlers will have to use heavy attacks instead of anilities for damage and I will be able to get in a fight, kill my mark with a quick barrage of instant abilities, dodge all heavy attacks from the brawlers and run away in stealth towards a hideout to regenerate my resources while observing the fight and marking new targets.

It could intead go all wrong with my stamina pool not being big and/or effective enough to eliminate my target.

This ofcourse would mean that I will have to choose between trying in vane to survive the insane amount of damage I would take while my heavy attack charges or quitting ESO.

Pixel_Zealot · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

I want the game to be my main-game, you know? Like I want to get home, Friday after work, and just binge until Sunday.

But then I enter a random veteran and get auto-removed from area every second dungeon.
Get out dps'd by a lvl 50 80CP sorcerer, 'cause Sorc FTW.
Then I decide get out of being competitive and start questing, and bots and quest bugs makes that pretty unappealing.
Then I contact support regarding bugs, and they come back to me, strictly copy-paste respond and close the ticket.
Then I try to work on improving my gear, but the RNG demands I grind for months.
Then I get bored and start browsing CS, but I can buy Mass Effect Andromeda for the same price as a house?

Like what's the point? I have pre-ordered Morrowind and I'm sure the content is going to hook me for the next few months but after that.. I'll probably end up cancelling my subscription and continue playing the real Elder Scrolls.

I think the only reason it still feels fun is because I want it to. I believe, I could be wrong, that ZoS has realised that they we're digging their grave and started trying to climb out of the deep hole, but I can't decide if they're trying to get of the whole or just making it look pretty.

Axoinus · May 2017

Needs an I don't know option. Cause a lot of people don't.

lardvader · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

I'm looking forward to Vvardenfell - I've been enjoying testing Morrowind on the PTS so far because it's nice to explore new areas and questing again.

Otherwise I've stepped back a bit from the game to do other stuff for some time. I'm neither happy or unhappy - just needed a break after several thousand hours.

Been on live last week and enjoy myself. Just hanging with friends and being social - random dungeons, a pledge or two and maybe some PvP to help others with AP and unlocking skills.

After some tinkering on the PTS the incoming changes don't worry me to much. I'm sure we'll see some buffs and adjustments over time. Maybe a new reign of NBs? Who knows

Flameheart · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

Stuck on the fence.

Many skilled players with top scores might not like the new system which will decrease - in opposition to the official statement - speed and action-heaviness of combat.
The changes will lead to heavy attack builds with easier rotations, so it might close the gap between top and bottom, but there is no guarantee.

The issue is that PvE content will not get newly scaled, the inherent encounter difficulty remains the same with now somewhat lower dps scores and more sustain issues and - most important - the changes won't help any stupids in PUGs who give a *** on knowledge about game mechanics, builds and synergies. You will still see the 300 CP+ heavy armor, bow light attacking or hard casting frags player (I call them "anchor specialists") which ruins your game experience.

Rickter · May 2017

Happy

MagnusBlackmane · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

To be honest with myself I'll stick with "stuck on the fence", with more "I'll tolerate that" vibe. Changes and balancing are ok and needed, in small steps. To quick too much and the balance tips the other way.

Elsonso · May 2017

Happy

MagnusBlackmane wrote: »

To be honest with myself I'll stick with "stuck on the fence", with more "I'll tolerate that" vibe. Changes and balancing are ok and needed, in small steps. To quick too much and the balance tips the other way.

If they are ok, and needed, then it becomes a matter of "ripping off the band-aid", in my mind. Stressful, yes, but often they have been criticized for small steps that never seem to end. Let's see if they can do it in fewer steps.

snakester320 · May 2017

Unhappy

Getting to greedy with the bs charges with scam crates and crown store prices .. other things that should be changed eg a auction house better class set ups for dungeons and so on ..but these thing I guess can be ignored eventually.. but more and more greed is bad really bad!
Ohh and bugs and lag should be fixed much quicker!

ereboz · May 2017

Unhappy

I love the game, but from an mmo perspective what is there to be happy about? They add content that we blow through in a week, then we're back to grinding the same stuff over and over for the endless rng grind. The CP system was a complete failure because you can accumulate points even after you hit cap, making expansions worthless because you just assign points you already have when they increase the cap. This game desperately needs a rep system for pve, because right now the only end game is PvP which not everyone is into

terovian2000b14_ESO · May 2017

Happy

Very happy at the moment as I'm enjoying the heck out of the story and questing. Granted, I'm back after a couple of years away so any changes that are happening are not something that are going to overly impact me at the moment. When the changes do drop, I'll probably be more likely to adapt and overcome so to speak than people who have been playing longer.

One item of interest about this poll itself; there have been 600 responses over the course of a week. Right now Steam is showing 6,900 people currently playing with a peak of 11,000 for the day. That means that the respondents to this poll are about 9% of the peak Steam users for the day. Unhappy respondents are half of that, so about 4.5%. And that's only Steam users, of which I am not one and, I assume, many others.

Personally, if I were ZOS, I'd make my own survey and release it a couple of days before the expansion hits and then another survey a couple of weeks after the expansion has been out. I'd love to see the results of something like that...

Edit: Because my numbers were wrong initially.

playsforfun · May 2017

Unhappy

Axoinus wrote: »

Needs an I don't know option. Cause a lot of people don't.

that's the on the fence option

FrancisCrawford · May 2017

Unhappy

Northern_Eve wrote: »

Very unhappy. I will list some reasons that first come to mind (I only play PvE so all my comments are PvE related):

* Class skills and class identities becoming redundant/useless. I for one don't wish to play a game where class choice becomes mostly cosmetic. If every class is meant to fill every role, then they should develop the classes in interesting and unique ways instead of just making them all bland and generic.

* Class balance getting worse and worse. Even though I don't play a NB I feel very sad about the treatment the class is getting. I main a Templar and we are not in a good place either, but at least the class will still be somehow useful. NB won't. Not in any end-game content.

* Too much superficial new content. Housing is a good example. I really enjoyed it at first - even though having and decorating a house is just cosmetic/RP stuff. However the item limits are ridiculously low, even with ESO plus. So for now housing content is done for me, and it took only a few months to reach the limit. Very disappointing. Until they raise the item limit/add more functionality to housing, it's game over in that department. And no, I don't want to buy a second house to furnish. I would like to be able to concentrate on the one I have. Even the Hlaalu furnishing documents are going to be ridiculously expensive come Morrowind. Not good.
Both TG and DB dlc were extremely superficial too, imo. The quest-lines were short and uninspiring, the areas small. Not much point to return to those either.

* Guild tools are lacking and haven't been developed further. No in-game events calendar, no LF guild system in-game, guild bank options have no variety, just a tabard to try and form some kind of visual guild identity. Etc.

* Lack of communication between devs and playerbase. This has been pretty abhorrent all the time, but with Morrowind patch the problem has become even more obvious and distressing. Feedback seems totally wasted, and generic posts "we are listening" seem condescending since they mean nothing in practice. This is one problem that for me is pretty impossible to ignore. I pay for this product, I know I am not entitled (there is very little entitlement in life, after all) but customers shouldn't be ignored and disrespected either. It's bad business and public relations no matter how one tries to spin it.

* "Lowering the ceiling and raising the floor" sounds good, but that's not what's happening in reality. Maybe the ceiling will be lowered, I don't know since I have never reached it. However the floor is not getting raised, quite the contrary. Both total newbies and more casual end-game players will suffer a lot. The game won't become more fun, it will become more tedious. Work and real life can be very tedious, a game should be fun. Progression is fun for most people. Now it's being destroyed on too many fronts.

* RNG is horrible. I don't want stuff handed to me. But the current RNG is just too random and daunting. Some sort of token system should be placed. I wouldn't care if I had to repeat some content many many times to get the token for the item I need. As long as I knew there was a certain possibility of all that repeating and practicing to actually pay off, I would do it. But as it it now, it's just too much with limited play-time (like most people have). Again, a game should be fun.

So yeah, I'm not a happy camper atm. I've been googling and searching for another MMO option. ESO has taught me to love MMOs, so at least I can take that with me if I leave this game.

I agree with most of this.

The fun is being taken out of combat.
Housing was a good start with lousy followup.
In a large exception to the "good start" compliment, making furnishing very grind-y was a terrible choice, sapping much of the possible enjoyment from what otherwise were some great ideas.
The rest of crafting isn't much fun these days either.

FrancisCrawford · May 2017

Unhappy

Akevoriath wrote: »

I wish they would stop nerfing vampires too,

They're nerfing everything that was fun and unique about skills.

victorhrpereira · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

I'm not unhappy with the general game direction, but I'm VERY upset about how balance changes are being handled. (unnecessary nerfs, destroying class identity, very poor communication with the players testing content).

Troneon · May 2017

Unhappy

Achievements bugged can not progress, 6 months of being ignored by ZOS with NO ETA on every answer
Other bugs that make game unplayable, trials, pvp, dungeons, LFG Tool etc etc etc etc
Putting in the anti bot patch ruining latency, pvp, lag and performance which did not even get rid of bots
LFG Tool bugged forever on and off
Class balance is worse and worse with sweeping nerfs every patch only to spend 3+ months getting back to where you were BEFORE the nerfs....
BOP changes ruined the fun of build diversity and makes everything nothing but grind repeating content over and over
All the focus on selling crap housing with no functionality at all, fluff in the crown store being greedy *** that ZOS are
Nerfing of classes to get as many people as possible to want the Warden / Fake DLC Expansion pre orders
Bait and switch LYING by ZOS changing subscriptions from "all downloadable content" to "all downloadable DLC content" and then creating a new category with no warning of "Expansions" and "Chapters" not included in subscriptions, LIES AND BAIT SWITCH
Constant downtime on servers even after days of maintenance
PTS server feedback ignored and bugs still making it to live even though they KNOW about them and did nothing with player feedback
ZOS crap communication and disconnection with long term players base
Sorcs getting preferential treatment for years now above other classes
Crafting investment and time is HUGE in this game for almost no reward...
Unbanning players that exploit or cheat
Guild Trader Alliance monopolies given free reign to act and do as they like giving other smaller guild almost no chance, crap trader system.

and this was just from thinking for 2 mins... I will be back with more...

eirinnpryderi · May 2017

Unhappy

Unhappy, I think ZOS got too greedy and the whole deal with the current business mode and the bad decisions with Morrowind; im sure it will result in a good percent of the player base being lost

llSRRll · May 2017

Unhappy

I feel that the changes are forcing us to use heavy attacks and if anyone uses a Lightning staff like I do knows that they are glitchy as ***. These changes will make the game play slow, less exciting and will make combat sluggish and boring. Still on the fence as to whether or not I'm actually going to buy Morrowind ( still have not pre-ordered).

seedubsrun · May 2017

So far we've got 25% Happy, 53% Unhappy, 22% on the fence. That doesn't bode well...

Vanthras79 · May 2017

Stuck on the fence

On one hand they are making the game feel more like an Elder Scrolls game. Which is good.

But.

On the other hand they are not talking about:
1. Spell crafting
2. Jewelry crafting
3. and Murkmire

Which leads me to believe that they may be not cashing in on this game's true potential and abandoning projects without letting the public know. Which I have an increasing suspicion that ZOS cares less about quality content design (chapters aside), and more about cash shop design, which disturbs me.