Do you still want spellcrafting?

Cously · April 2018

Since ZOS is introducing jewelcrafting and two slot weapon two set bonus items, that we know so far, it indicates they are not so shy of introducing wild cards to the balance of the game. As it is known and shown on Quakecon, spellcrafting system is basically in there, developed just not enabled. The person behind the system left the company but that doesn't mean it's the end, after all the system belongs to ZOS. In my opinion, probability of Spellcrafting making a solid return to the launch table increased. My question to the community is: are you for or against the introduction of such system? For sake of simplicity there will be only two options and I'd ask you throw your opinion there. I'm a firm believer we as customers can push companies to tailor products for us, as long it make them money I don't think they will be too much worried what it is.

EDIT: Attaching a video of what it was. I oversight that many new players to ESO don't even know what I'm referring to. It was showcased in Quakecon 2014.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0al01e7ClE

xaraan · April 2018

Wish there was an 'other' option. I kind of would like to see a proposal on adding it, but with the difficulty in balancing the game the idea scares me that it will add more problems. But if done right it would be cool.

Casul · April 2018

xaraan wrote: »

Wish there was an 'other' option. I kind of would like to see a proposal on adding it, but with the difficulty in balancing the game the idea scares me that it will add more problems. But if done right it would be cool.

what this person said is how i feel

Avran_Sylt · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

I'd like it, but I doubt it would be something easy to implement as others have said. So it would be a long term project.

Kanar · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

Never have wanted it, and never will.

Oreyn_Bearclaw · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

I have never wanted it. Plenty of single player games for that. My belief is that it will either be broken OP or completely useless. Either way, it's a lose lose.

Fleshreaper · April 2018

I think it will add a fun new aspect to the game. Sometime to look for. I wonder though, will it be like enchanting, where you have to have the ingredients? If so, how are those going to be farmed and how many uses will you get out of the spell before it's destroyed. Or is it going to be more like motif chapters. Want the legendary chapter, so you have to farm that chapter, no thanks.

MLGProPlayer · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

Never wanted it. It makes no sense in an MMO.

gnarlyvandal · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

One of my favourite memories of ES4 Oblivion was the day I realised spellcrafting existed. I think it really added to the immersion of the game and the actual progression with your skills getting stronger / bigger radius / lasting longer.
It’d be a really nice feature to have and would definitely make this game pretty much perfect for me. As said above though, it’d have to be implemented well enough so it doesn’t wreck the games balance.

Kadoin · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

Nope. It will just be another thing the devs will begin to balance the game around, which is the wrong direction if you ask me.

VyersReaver · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

I know Spellcrafting was a big thing in other TES games, but honestly, I didn't see the appeal in Oblivion, and I don't see it now.

Ananoriel · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

I loved it in the other Elder Scrolls games. I think it may add some more versatility in builds. But implementing it in a MMO would be very difficult, so I think they could make it in a different way. Perhaps a skill line, or traits/buffs added to spells.

jedtb16_ESO · April 2018

other...

ok, spellcrafting... i have magika based toons.

on the face of it it looks like a sound idea. but how does it work?

if it's like oblivion, meh.

no thanks.

MisterBigglesworth · April 2018

██ Yes, I want spellcrafting because it will cause more problems.

Kadoin · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

MisterBigglesworth wrote: »

██ Yes, I want spellcrafting because it will cause more problems.

Well, at least you are honest about it! The whining on the forums would be entertaining

I changed my mind! We need spellcrafting after all!

Aebaradath · April 2018

I never wanted it.

Sting864 · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

What do you mean by "spellcrafting?" Do you mean "enchant your weapons and armor however you want them...." Or do you mean craft magic that you can shoot at people to prevent them from coming and hurting you in game?? Don't we have that already with the robust enchanting ability and transmog stations?? There is a glyph for everything you could want... You just need to figure it out and put it on a staff...

Cously · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

xaraan wrote: »

Wish there was an 'other' option. I kind of would like to see a proposal on adding it, but with the difficulty in balancing the game the idea scares me that it will add more problems. But if done right it would be cool.

Depending on the result of this poll, I or others can make further polls on the subject, caveats, implementation. I'm looking for a definitive answer if is even worth to make a move to lobby for this system. Whilst the forum is not the majority of players, it is one of the feel metrics we players have to gauge opinions of others.

wenchmore420b14_ESO · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

I have been "Pro Spellcrafting" ever since I saw it presented in July 2014.
No, there won't be that big a balance issue. (See Nick K.'s discussion. He stated balance will not be a issue).
Any one who has seen how it will work knows that yes, to do it, it will be a grind, so no, no one will be OP right off the bat.
The new skill lines or "Schools of Magic" will make it feel more like a TES game, i.e. School of Alteration, School of Summoning, etc.
So, yes. I look forward to it.

Just my 2 drakes.... Huzzah!

Cously · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

Sting864 wrote: »

What do you mean by "spellcrafting?" Do you mean "enchant your weapons and armor however you want them...." Or do you mean craft magic that you can shoot at people to prevent them from coming and hurting you in game?? Don't we have that already with the robust enchanting ability and transmog stations?? There is a glyph for everything you could want... You just need to figure it out and put it on a staff...

I linked a video that explains what I meant.

srfrogg23 · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

More than anything, I’m just having a hard time figuring out how it would work without being insanely OP or just plain useless.

It’s not that I don’t want it, I just don’t know if it’s a realistic expectation.

wenchmore420b14_ESO · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

Cously wrote: »

Sting864 wrote: »

What do you mean by "spellcrafting?" Do you mean "enchant your weapons and armor however you want them...." Or do you mean craft magic that you can shoot at people to prevent them from coming and hurting you in game?? Don't we have that already with the robust enchanting ability and transmog stations?? There is a glyph for everything you could want... You just need to figure it out and put it on a staff...

I linked a video that explains what I meant.

OMG! Thank you for that video!
I have reposted the "QuakeCon" vid SOOO many times I know the time stamps by heart!! Lmao!!
1,000 Huzzahs and a awesome for you my friend!!

Raraaku · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

Nope. I'll just paste my usual response to these threads:

Spell-crafting seems like an absolute nightmare in terms of balance with regards to both PvP and PvE. I just don't see there being a remotely good way of implementing such a system in a MMO.

Also, I would have to imagine it would make the existing classes/guild skill lines kind of pointless, if a player can make a better tailored/powerful skill than the existing ones, what's the point of classes then? A player can already viably make any role (tank/dps/support) out of any of the classes; allowing them to create spells, assuming there being restrictions based on class to simply keep the flavor of each class intact, would also lead to probable further imbalance. Oh, and I do like the traditional 5 actives, 5 passives per skill line; which helps each skill line achieve a particular functionality.

Spell-crafting would either essentially rend class/guild skill lines useless, or the system wouldn't be worth it since a specific base skill could do it better.

The only thing I can think of in terms of being spell-crafting, that's not creating new skills, would be a way to either further enhance the effectiveness of current skills, i.e. DragonKnight's talons being able to immobilize for a longer duration, or a mild increase in effectiveness/damage to skills in exchange for greater cost. Or, to add an extra effect to a skill from a very limited pool options, much like morphs.

Both seem like a massive headache to implement and properly balance.

TL;DR: Nearly impossible to properly balance, and could possibly render classes useless.

Gilvoth · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

of-course we do.
we have wanted and asked for spell crafting now for a long time.

Aarlur · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

Nope. Make no sense in mmo.

starkerealm · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

xaraan wrote: »

Wish there was an 'other' option. I kind of would like to see a proposal on adding it, but with the difficulty in balancing the game the idea scares me that it will add more problems. But if done right it would be cool.

Pretty much this. To be fair, some of the ideas that were floated back in the day probably wouldn't work now. The idea of having a rarity material with white through gold variants of a skill would be a bad situation.

I'm also sympathetic to the part where this would be a huge number of actual abilities in game, meaning a lot of potential balance issues.

So, yeah, cool, I'd love to see it, but I understand it's probably not a viable possibility.

josiahva · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

Spellcrafting was balanced in Oblivion just fine...you either had a spell that would do good damage and you could cast once...or you had something more utilitarian. The big difference between Oblivion and ESO is that there was no magicka regen in Oblivion...you had to rest or drink a potion to get it back. I honestly don't think balancing it would be any more difficult than other skills. I do think that it might actually promote hybrid builds though, at least for PvP where someone will open with a powerful magicka-heavy spell, then be forced to swap to stamina spells to continue the fight. My prediction is that in PvP initial burst damage would be higher, followed by weaker abilities, which would force people to change the way they play, with possibly damage reduction spells that last x amount of time cast between fights to prevent the initial burst...running into a fight without proper preparation would be more dangerous, but properly done they could make effective counters for every conceivable combination. Gankers increasing burst damage? The counter would to to have an AoE stun field around you that would trigger when a stealthed opponent came in range. Maybe they would craft some jesus-beam like spell for non-templars...a possible counter spell could be some type of channeled ability reflect that would reflect it back at the caster. The idea is that the possibilities are endless and that anyone in PvP would need to have an extensive library of spells and counters, which they would tailor to the fight at hand...they die to a particular setup...change skills, then easily overcome that setup...causing the defeated opponent to reconsider and change skills. The fights would be far more interesting with anyone able to change their toolkit dramatically from one fight to the next. In practice most people would run the same half dozen spells and their counters because Meta, but there would be much more flexibility to deviate from that path. Also...skill-crafting would also provide counters to existing abilities people complain about constantly like Zaan, or such and such a class having no mobility, or too squishy, etc.

ToRelax · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

josiahva wrote: »

Spellcrafting was balanced in Oblivion just fine...you either had a spell that would do good damage and you could cast once...or you had something more utilitarian. The big difference between Oblivion and ESO is that there was no magicka regen in Oblivion...you had to rest or drink a potion to get it back. I honestly don't think balancing it would be any more difficult than other skills. I do think that it might actually promote hybrid builds though, at least for PvP where someone will open with a powerful magicka-heavy spell, then be forced to swap to stamina spells to continue the fight. My prediction is that in PvP initial burst damage would be higher, followed by weaker abilities, which would force people to change the way they play, with possibly damage reduction spells that last x amount of time cast between fights to prevent the initial burst...running into a fight without proper preparation would be more dangerous, but properly done they could make effective counters for every conceivable combination. Gankers increasing burst damage? The counter would to to have an AoE stun field around you that would trigger when a stealthed opponent came in range. Maybe they would craft some jesus-beam like spell for non-templars...a possible counter spell could be some type of channeled ability reflect that would reflect it back at the caster. The idea is that the possibilities are endless and that anyone in PvP would need to have an extensive library of spells and counters, which they would tailor to the fight at hand...they die to a particular setup...change skills, then easily overcome that setup...causing the defeated opponent to reconsider and change skills. The fights would be far more interesting with anyone able to change their toolkit dramatically from one fight to the next. In practice most people would run the same half dozen spells and their counters because Meta, but there would be much more flexibility to deviate from that path. Also...skill-crafting would also provide counters to existing abilities people complain about constantly like Zaan, or such and such a class having no mobility, or too squishy, etc.

It wasn't "balanced" in Obvlivion, though not the level of Morrowind's and earlier game's brokeness.
Oblivion also had magicka regen, you're thinking of Morrowind I guess, which, again, had a spellcrafting system that was akin to godmode.
That being said, what we saw in 2014 was nothing like the systems in other TES games.

KanedaSyndrome · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

Definitely still want it.

We can avoid it being OP by having a budget of points that we can put into the spells.

Storm_knight22 · April 2018

Yes, I want and/or think Spellcrafting will be beneficial to the game in the long term.

YES!

Spell crafting would add some much needed complexity to the game. I would also add some sort of physical stamina techniques for balance. A sort of dojo where stamina/hybrid build could go to learn new techniques, like the leaping technique used by some enemies in Wrothgar or the shield toss used by the final boss in Hel ra Citadel.

Also I seem to recall a developer saying something about a group taunt in spellcrafting. YES PLEASE!

temjiu · April 2018

No, I don't want and/or think Spellcrafting will bring more problems than what it is worth.

Nope. The effort required to put it in the game for the people who would take advantage of it isn't a good trade-off. I personally like the idea, but not in an MMO like this one. There are already plenty of balance issue they need to deal with, adding an entire realm of new balance challenges would IMO literally break the game. or they'd have to put off many important game changes for quite awhile just to put it in the game.

It's not some simply "tack on" kind of idea, were talking major mechanical changes to how the game works atm.

However, if you take that concept out of the picture (and balance), I would not only love the idea of it, but I'd also love to see melee skill evolution via training arts. I could see groups like the Order of the Blades having really exotic and different interpretations of the basic sword and/staff movements, leading to different morphs. Stuff like that.

My imagination explodes when I Brainstorm stuff like this, and I love it, But realistically I know it won't happen in an MMO like this. Not 4 yrs into release. Early development is where this stuff needs to be hammered out, when the game mechanics and engine are still being coded. Unless were just lucky, and all spells and skill are already coded to be flexible enough to do this Kind of thing, otherwise it's back to the drawing board to re-code every spell in the book.

I don't see the Dev's being willing to do that.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Do you still want spellcrafting?

Do you still want spellcrafting? 338 votes