Do you like the 'balancing' changes all at once or would you prefer smaller incremental patches?

Montayva · October 2018

Creating this poll out of boredom and because its something my friends and i discuss quite regularly come every balancing patch. I feel that a large part of the issue with balancing changes being made is that so many changes are made all at once. Despite the fact we have PTS testing for weeks before they go live, not everyone gets on to give things a thorough testing. Henceforth we get an abundance of broken 'OP' builds, over performing classes, and tonnes of skills that aren't even worth slotting.

I've always felt that smaller, more target specific patches would enable better testing and feedback (say for eg, just CP balances one month, class balances next month, gear changes next etc etc) though I also realise this might not be within ZOS's capability.

erliesc · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

I do know that everytime there is an update...my add-ons and half the game don't work very well. Do realize that keeping the addons up-to-date is probably a lot of work...but they ARE very helpful.

You'd think the people upgrading the game would give the add-on people a heads up and some help?

UPrime · October 2018

idec im too casual

erliesc wrote: »

You'd think the people upgrading the game would give the add-on people a heads up and some help?

They do. The problem is that the creating addons is a hobby. Not a job.

Starlock · October 2018

idec im too casual

I'm not really a casual player considering how many hours I spend playing this game, I just don't play the game in such a way that I really care about the non-existent hypothetical state referred to as "balance." The only reason I care about it at all is because changes for this mythical "balance" sometimes impact my characters and storytelling in small ways. Occasionally in larger ways that are quite annoying, but that's rare.

Montayva · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

UPrime wrote: »

erliesc wrote: »

You'd think the people upgrading the game would give the add-on people a heads up and some help?

They do. The problem is that the creating addons is a hobby. Not a job.

Agreed. Add ons aren't the issue with balancing anyway. Plus 6 weeks to update them while PTS is active is a decent amount of time imo

UPrime · October 2018

idec im too casual

Montayva wrote: »

UPrime wrote: »

erliesc wrote: »

You'd think the people upgrading the game would give the add-on people a heads up and some help?

They do. The problem is that the creating addons is a hobby. Not a job.

Agreed. Add ons aren't the issue with balancing anyway. Plus 6 weeks to update them while PTS is active is a decent amount of time imo

And big changes they actually made posts about it a month before the release. So there was 3 months total of heads up.

Montayva · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

Starlock wrote: »

I'm not really a casual player considering how many hours I spend playing this game, I just don't play the game in such a way that I really care about the non-existent hypothetical state referred to as "balance." The only reason I care about it at all is because changes for this mythical "balance" sometimes impact my characters and storytelling in small ways. Occasionally in larger ways that are quite annoying, but that's rare.

Well obviously people that don't use the games mechanics aren't going to be bothered by how they do and don't perform. But for those of us that do like to use them, patch days can be overwhelming and/or frustrating.

I am curious though how it would negatively impact a roleplayer even if they are rare scenarios

Kadoin · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

Smaller patches. Having some bugs not fixed in combat and go abused until a major update is pretty annoying. However, I understand it might have to do with how they manage their code and patches, so I can't really get angry about it.

Hamish999 · October 2018

All at once

I'd rather have them all at once. Then it's just a week or so of adjusting and getting used to the changes.
If it was smaller, more frequent changes the game would just be in a constant state of change and having to adjust.

rfennell_ESO · October 2018

Montayva wrote: »

Creating this poll out of boredom and because its something my friends and i discuss quite regularly come every balancing patch. I feel that a large part of the issue with balancing changes being made is that so many changes are made all at once. Despite the fact we have PTS testing for weeks before they go live, not everyone gets on to give things a thorough testing. Henceforth we get an abundance of broken 'OP' builds, over performing classes, and tonnes of skills that aren't even worth slotting.

I've always felt that smaller, more target specific patches would enable better testing and feedback (say for eg, just CP balances one month, class balances next month, gear changes next etc etc) though I also realise this might not be within ZOS's capability.

They announced their balancing in update 20 like 4-5 months ago.

Obviously it was a cumulative type thing of things they wanted to change for a while.

Montayva · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

Hamish999 wrote: »

I'd rather have them all at once. Then it's just a week or so of adjusting and getting used to the changes.
If it was smaller, more frequent changes the game would just be in a constant state of change and having to adjust.

Valid point, but i feel like they would reach a state of actual 'balance' or as close to it as we could achieve if they didnt lump so much together all at once. So yes, maybe frustrating for the short term but better for the long term is my thinking

VaranisArano · October 2018

ZOS wants you to have just enough time to grind for the carrot of the new meta and enjoy yourself.

Then the next update comes with a new meta to chase after and a new grind so that you can enjoy yourself again. And again. And again. And again.

Until you slowly realize that you've been playing this game for months after the fun has slowly drained away, and you finally decide to stop grinding and stop chasing the meta. But all that time, ZOS was making money off of you, hence why they have this constant cycle of meta changes and grinding. Its designed to keep players playing ESO for a long time, even though it may not be as enjoyable as before.

Montayva · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

rfennell_ESO wrote: »

Montayva wrote: »

Creating this poll out of boredom and because its something my friends and i discuss quite regularly come every balancing patch. I feel that a large part of the issue with balancing changes being made is that so many changes are made all at once. Despite the fact we have PTS testing for weeks before they go live, not everyone gets on to give things a thorough testing. Henceforth we get an abundance of broken 'OP' builds, over performing classes, and tonnes of skills that aren't even worth slotting.

I've always felt that smaller, more target specific patches would enable better testing and feedback (say for eg, just CP balances one month, class balances next month, gear changes next etc etc) though I also realise this might not be within ZOS's capability.

They announced their balancing in update 20 like 4-5 months ago.

Obviously it was a cumulative type thing of things they wanted to change for a while.

Yes, I am aware of that. And it has been this way since the beginning. Yet we are still plagued with balance issues. Even if they made smaller changes every major update instead of leaving the balancing for a specific time of year i think the community could give better feedback on specific changes instead of only focusing on getting the drastic and/or unnecessary changes looked at

rfennell_ESO · October 2018

Montayva wrote: »

rfennell_ESO wrote: »

Montayva wrote: »

Creating this poll out of boredom and because its something my friends and i discuss quite regularly come every balancing patch. I feel that a large part of the issue with balancing changes being made is that so many changes are made all at once. Despite the fact we have PTS testing for weeks before they go live, not everyone gets on to give things a thorough testing. Henceforth we get an abundance of broken 'OP' builds, over performing classes, and tonnes of skills that aren't even worth slotting.

I've always felt that smaller, more target specific patches would enable better testing and feedback (say for eg, just CP balances one month, class balances next month, gear changes next etc etc) though I also realise this might not be within ZOS's capability.

They announced their balancing in update 20 like 4-5 months ago.

Obviously it was a cumulative type thing of things they wanted to change for a while.

Yes, I am aware of that. And it has been this way since the beginning. Yet we are still plagued with balance issues. Even if they made smaller changes every major update instead of leaving the balancing for a specific time of year i think the community could give better feedback on specific changes instead of only focusing on getting the drastic and/or unnecessary changes looked at

They do enact smaller changes in every other major patch.

They just did say this update would be a more major overhaul.

Personally I think the overall "balance" isn't so bad. Some of the current crop of changes obviously address them.

Lord_Hev · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

Game definitely needs smaller incremental balance changes. This lumping and "all at once" routine is a mess.

jcm2606 · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

erliesc wrote: »

You'd think the people upgrading the game would give the add-on people a heads up and some help?

They do. Several of my addons were already updated to Murkmire, days before it released.

Ruckly · October 2018

All at once

I liked most the changes in this patch. Omnipotent mageblade gankers might be a problem. The nerf to swift potions seems harsh. Wild Impulse looks good for overloading ball groups with debuffs but the increase to impulse damage seems unnecessary. Rune prison looks iffy. It doesn't say whether or not you gain cc immunity if you dodge it. Might be a problem with timed damage spikes there. Removing the third bar from overload looks questionable. I don't play a sorc but taking away their extra bar when pets take up slots on both bars seems harsh. The reduction of major expedition up time from quickcloak looks harsh. Dual wield doesn't have a gap closer and you typically want to back bar a bow to build ult. The change to Reach I don't understand. Removing crits from siege will hurt fire ballista/oil. Inner keeps might become indefensible unless you have greater numbers which makes the point of a keep superfluous because of stacking heals.

Everything else looks like an improvement to game play.

WreckfulAbandon · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

The forums have been unusually quiet the past week or 2, and also today on a patch day. Personally I can't wait for Cyberpunk 2077 but Fallout 76 will be fun to play with friends too. ESO is my first MMO and while I understand nerfs happen, ZOS is really steering me away from MMO's in the future if I have to expect a game of Russian Roulette every major patch.

Ruckly · October 2018

All at once

WreckfulAbandon wrote: »

The forums have been unusually quiet the past week or 2, and also today on a patch day. Personally I can't wait for Cyberpunk 2077 but Fallout 76 will be fun to play with friends too. ESO is my first MMO and while I understand nerfs happen, ZOS is really steering me away from MMO's in the future if I have to expect a game of Russian Roulette every major patch.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ have been shaky. Although the price of oil has dropped 5 dollars over the same period which might account for the Dow's loss. People might have real live socio-economic challenges. Or maybe people were bored and depressed up to patch day and now everyone is playing the game instead of forum posting dusting off their stamplar and getting what they can out of it.

dem0n1k · October 2018

smaller Incremental balance changes

less chance for the changes to break other unforeseen things.
less chance of players feeling like their chosen class has been completely gutted.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Do you like the 'balancing' changes all at once or would you prefer smaller incremental patches?

Do you like the 'balancing' changes all at once or would you prefer smaller incremental patches? 59 votes