One Big easily fixed annoyance to ESO for those who enjoy the single-player games.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

As I'm yet again trying to get back in to ESO and identifying the things that just irritate me to no end while playing, I have to point out one of the biggest annoyances for me.

And that is, OTHER PLAYERS in my space.

Ha! Okay, well this IS an MMO after all. And while I'm fine having other players running hither-and-tither in public spaces, looking all sorts of crazy ways and doing all sorts of crazy things, I absolutely HATE it when I'm doing some quest for an NPC and I'm in a place that requires going through a loading screen, where it would be sensible that I'm the only person that would reasonably be there, and other random players come running through.

This has happened to me in numerous quests and locations.

For one example.... I'm sent in to someone's home to search for some clues. Of course I'm reasonably sure (knowing how these things go) I'll find it in the furthest reaches of the house. Still I want to enjoy the experience. So I'm methodically going through the house searching. Find some bad-guys hanging about and dispatch with them. Make my way up to the 2nd floor. Dispatch with some more bad guys while I search in crates, sacks, desks, wardrobes.

I get through the final henchmen before the main bad guy, and right before I get to him, some other player has now entered the house, runs to where he knows the main guy is, kills him, grabs the objective and runs off. Now, having witnessed this, already ruining my experience and immersion, I have to wait for the guy to respawn. Well I don't really need to wait, because the objective is to get the clue. Still part of the experience is supposed to be taking out this bad guy, even if its not required for the quest.

Anyhow I wait, because I do want to kill this guy. And meanwhile I'm hearing someone ELSE coming through the house. This time the earlier mobs have respawned and so I'm listening to battling as he makes his way up. He gets to and kills the last set before the main guy, which is when he finally respawns. In fact, it appears killing those 2nd to last guys is what triggers his spawning.

Well... I WANT to be the only other person in here on this secret breaking and entering to find some clues, and kill the bad guy by myself. So I let him run up battle and kill the main guy, get the objective and run off. Ugh. So I wait again for the respawns. Finally get to kill the 2nd to last and last guy myself, and grab the objective. By the time I'm making my way back out, the earliest NPCs have respawned and I have to fight them again. So dumb.

So my question is WHY? Why can't these types of quests, where you have to go someplace, where you ought to be the only player there, which sends you through a loading screen anyway, can't these be private instances? So you can do them solo or a group if you're in a group. And not only that, once you kill NPCs as you go along, they don't ridiculously respawn for other players to kill when it makes no sense.

ZOS could so easily improve this game for those who enjoy the single-player Elder Scrolls games by just making this one change. Give us more private spaces when questing, particularly in places and situations where we ought not be seeing other players doing the exact same thing WE are doing for some other NPC that sent us on a quest.

I've noticed they already do this for encounters with the Prophet. I was sent in to the Harborage and it said it was 'Solo'. You go in there and THANKFULLY there are not six other players standing there talking with the Prophet. Or worse, opening portals to Coldharbour for each person as well. Ha.

Please ZOS make this so. These sorts of quests, where you ought not be encountering random players just rushing through to the objective, should always allow you to be in a private instance for just you and your group.

Thanks!

adeptusminor · November 2018

Don't worry, if they keep on the combat balance path they are on it will be a single player game soon enough

TheCyberDruid · November 2018

GLP323b14_ESO wrote: »

ZOS could so easily improve this game for those who enjoy the single-player Elder Scrolls games by just making this one change.

The funny thing is that this was what made me put the game away for over two months after I bought it. When I got back into it I noticed that there are bits of the game that are solo (Fighters and Mages guild and the main quest), but that most of the time you would be around other players.

Either you can stand or even embrace the 'clutter' that an MMO adds or you might just want to move on.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

TheCyberDruid wrote: »

Either you can stand or even embrace the 'clutter' that an MMO adds or you might just want to move on.

Well, as you noted, it's obviously possible for them to make these types of quests and spaces private.

So... another alternative is to get on the forums, make your gripes known, and ask ZOS to implement this change.

The developers knowing that for every person that complains about something on the forums, which might push new players away from the game before they even really get in to it (like these experiences), there are probably hundreds more who didn't speak up and just left.

And therefore deciding this is a reasonable change to make to the game, which would make it more appealing to people.

There are those who want to do things like this solo. Others who want to do it with a friend or small group. But I can't imagine that there are many who actually WANT to run into other players in these types of quests and situations (where you really ought to be the only one there and not have a stream of other players filing through). Except for those who have already done it, are leveling an alt, and hope someone has cleared out the mobs for them. Heh.

zaria · November 2018

I like to run into randoms in public dungeons, I tend to group and they accept. now we get xp bonus and xp from others kills and our group dps is doubled in average.
Delves you leapfrog, but got one healer who gave orbs who was pretty smart,

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

Sure, those are reasonable places to run into other players. I'm not really talking about public dungeons or delves. Those are places where you might like a bit of random help along the way.

I'm talking about quests and situations like the one described in my original post.

idk · November 2018

GLP323b14_ESO wrote: »

So my question is WHY?

Because they are not. It is really that simple that Zos chose to design the quests as they are.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

idk wrote: »

GLP323b14_ESO wrote: »

So my question is WHY?

Because they are not. It is really that simple that Zos chose to design the quests as they are.

Super helpful and insightful. Ha!

I hope your Level 10 isn't from lots of posts like this.

DMuehlhausen · November 2018

Skyrim is that way ->

alanmatillab16_ESO · November 2018

DMuehlhausen wrote: »

Skyrim is that way ->

I think you might find it is a bit North of here.

BWS2K · November 2018

I imagine all the instances would mean tons of server space? I don't know anyone who likes when this happens but it's just part of the burden. Some like to RP but there's other people. Some like to get all that high-level l000tz but it means either grinding or gold (arguably the same thing). Some like to PvP but... well, there's a lot going on there but I think you get the point. It is what it is. *shrug*

_Salty_ · November 2018

There are lots of single player games available. If playing with other people isnt your cup of tea, perhaps you should try one of those rather than complain on an MMO's forum about it being an MMO.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

_Salty_ wrote: »

There are lots of single player games available. If playing with other people isnt your cup of tea, perhaps you should try one of those rather than complain on an MMO's forum about it being an MMO.

Why so salty?

In any case you obviously didn't comprehend what I was saying.

qbit · November 2018

I got about two thirds of the way through. Lol. New level of entitlement. Yeah I will wait to burn down a boss if someone is near by. But st some point you’ll just have to wait a few minutes like the rest of us do. Sorry it breaks your immersion. /s

OFFL1MIT · November 2018

it's pretty dumb design, when all npcs have not much health at public places , 3 guys gets in the same place and kills it in less than in 3 seconds. The AI is pretty weak, this is mmo but it feels like it was designed for solo runs, even public dungeons at later levels seems too easy. They should make AI system better, for example increase NPC health and register from how many players it receiving attacks and increase physical and magical resistances accordingly, so it would feel like NPC is strong enough like you solo it. But oh well current combat system is better, no point to improving it, right?

qbit · November 2018

And it ain’t “easily fixed”. You’re talking hundreds or thousands of new solo server instances. It doesn’t scale. Period. Not with the current state of the game. Maybe you didn’t realize that. If not, sorry for my snark. But I read your post as admitting it’s an MMO as complaining that other players dare enter your instances and burn a boss down or make sound.

VaranisArano · November 2018

ZOS only instances certain quests, mostly the fighters guild, mages guild, and main quest. They've chosen not to instance most quests in things like houses and castles outside of some specific quests mostly dealing with actual cutscenes or status changes. Judging by the way they continue to not instance this stuff in new DLC, its not going to change even they technically can do it.

So I'm sorry, but your immersion will continue to suffer as other players on the same quest run around in the same in closed area as you. I recommend never questing in the first weeks of a new chapter or DLC if this really bothers you.

DanteYoda · November 2018

I friggin hate public delves and dungeons... Nothing says enjoyment like standing at the end of a dungeon waiting for a delve boss to respawn...

Or attempting to complete a public dungeon full of bot farmers killing everything... yes so exciting..

AcadianPaladin · November 2018

I agree completely with the OP. The game was marketed to both single player elder scrolls types and the MMO crowd. It is big enough for all and can certainly adjust to accommodate. Enter a delve and choice comes up: Solo or public? I generally would choose solo because I would like to take my time, kill all foes, look in all containers etc and don't really want to stroll through an empty dungeon behind race-aheads, have mobs spawning on my head because I'm looking into corners and containers. All so I can reach the boss in time to get a glimpse of his demise from others. . . .

As far as the oft-heard 'If you don't like MMO, go play Skyrim'. . . been there, done that. I came to ESO 2 years ago after 4000 hours in Skyrim preceded by 4000 hours in Oblivion. Yes, I love those games but they are too small if you play them a long time. The reason I play ESO is for the massive scale; the fact that it is multiplayer is a drawback I put up with.

I am anxious for recommendations regarding a game that is: single player, massive scale, open world, medieval fantasy, rpg.

That said, I would advise caution in inviting soloists to leave ESO. There are an awful lot of soloists - just like there are a lot of group enthusiasts and PvP players. If you lose any of those three constituencies, I doubt the game could continue to self-sustain.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

Ah gaming forums.

Some are better than others, but you still always find the same kinds of people.

You know I've often wondered why it is that some people can't seem to help but scoff at (or worse) the ideas put forth by other players for improvements to the game which are largely no skin of their nose.

My suspicion is this.... They have their own desires which they want the developers to focus on and are impatient or otherwise concerned that any other things the developers might work on will take away resources from doing what THEY want the developers to be doing for them.

For my part, I've never had this reaction to the suggestions of other players, even when it's not something I'm remotely interested in or concerned about. All ideas are welcome and the developers can decide if they are worthwhile or doable.

But then again, I'm a liberal, and we tend to take into consideration and empathize with the needs and desires of those other than ourselves. Except of course where those desires are for discriminating against or otherwise harming others. (e.g. Sorry you're a business of public accommodation, your imaginary friend doesn't take precedence over real people, bake the damn cake.

)

Sylvermynx · November 2018

Eh, I agree to a certain extent. I too (like @AcadianPaladin) played Oblivion and Skyrim for years and years. I also played WoW and RIFT, both of which were fine for soloing for a long time (7+ years in WoW, 3+ in RIFT) but they both eventually went directions I couldn't stomach, so I left, and went back to Oblivion and Skyrim.

But the wish for a larger, more "alive" less "static" world drew me here. Now, due to my lag (satellite is the only "broadband" I have) I don't really do much of anything but solo play. I did figure out during the last event that my level 32 warden could actually solo Divad's Chagrin - that was sort of a revelation. Generally, in delves I'm not fussed with others around, as many times whichever girl it is needs the help!

Then again, I'm not too much fussed either about quests where they're not solo, so you have to mess with others in the space with you. It's a trade-off: in Skyrim, it's just you - but the world goes nowhere; in ESO, the world lives, and you deal with other players.

*shrug* Works for me.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

The reason I play ESO is for the massive scale; the fact that it is multiplayer is a drawback I put up with.

I am anxious for recommendations regarding a game that is: single player, massive scale, open world, medieval fantasy, rpg.

The great thing about MMOs is that not only do you have the ability and option to easily group up with other players, random people and friends, and otherwise enjoy the benefits of having other people in the same gaming world (like buying and selling things among each other, socializing, social events, role playing, etc..) , but also that the gaming world tends to always be expanding and changing with new content being put in on a regular basis.

But you're correct. ESO was marketed as a game that would appeal to both the MMO crowd AND those who enjoy the single-player Elder Scrolls games.

And here is a perfect opportunity for ZOS to make that idea even more of a reality. Simply allow players to have more private experiences (within instance content), particularly where the quest / story suggests that you are on a special assignment or quest by yourself. Rather than making it appear that the quest giver didn't trust that you'd do what they asked so instead sent 50 other people to do it as well. (Maybe they could have the NPC say when you get back with what they wanted... "Thanks, but never mind one of the other people I sent to go get that already brought me it. I gave the reward to them."

)

If it's a server resource issue, that's a simple fix. You create available slots for players to use for their own private instance. If all slots are filled you have to wait in a queue, or you can choose to do the public instance right away. In older instance content you'll almost never need to wait in a queue. That's how session play in LotRO work. There are 250 slots available, and if they are all used (rarely if ever) you get queued. For older session play encounters there is almost ALWAYS 250 of 250 slots open. Ha!

jainiadral · November 2018

This is why I never touch the game at prime time. Every quest area is insanely crowded and your chances for actually getting a hit on a boss during an open instanced quest before the game decides it's dead in your journal is virtually nil. If you sit and wait around for the boss to respawn so you can kill it for authenticity's sake, you're probably going to ruin someone else's story experience too.

It's a lot better to play when most of the US is asleep

Not only that, but you avoid getting stuck in the wake of the horde 'em up super high CP players who aggro an entire public dungeon or half a delve then kill everything in one shot. Nothing says "fun" like having an entire dungeon room spawn at the same time and aggro on top of you when you're halfway through it.

There are a couple of things that could ease the problem:

1) Stop your quest journal from updating if you haven't actually touched the boss.

2) Create more instances of each zone with smaller populations.

I'm guessing neither of these will happen.

purple-magicb16_ESO · November 2018

A lot of people will tell you to suck it up, it's an mmo but clearly the quest you are describing was not made with the intent to be completed by grouping. IMO these quests are put in place for the very reason you cited, immersion. This is what makes this game so unique, that it recognizes and caters to a wide range of players. I agree with you these quests should all be solo instanced. Doing anything else defeats the purpose of even having them. Not everyone wants to everything blow up as soon as they enter an area. Some take the time to play the game the way it was written. Both kinds of players appreciate the game, just for different reasons. I myself am not a 100% combat player but also appreciate the time and effort that goes into writing lore and quests.

Taleof2Cities · November 2018

I stopped reading here:

Ha! Okay, well this IS an MMO after all.

GLP323b14_ESO · November 2018

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

I stopped reading here:

Ha! Okay, well this IS an MMO after all.

Umm... Congratulations?

Chicharron · November 2018

GLP323b14_ESO wrote: »

I have to point out one of the biggest annoyances for me.

And that is, OTHER PLAYERS in my space.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DfmDuOxcN8

yodased · November 2018

The entire ethos of the genre is to share the persistent world with other players.

Further forcing separation of players beyond what is specifically required for quest checks and balance would be against the very idea of what this game is.

If you don't want other players messing with "your" space, then a single player game is the only option for you.

idk · November 2018

GLP323b14_ESO wrote: »

idk wrote: »

GLP323b14_ESO wrote: »

So my question is WHY?

Because they are not. It is really that simple that Zos chose to design the quests as they are.

Super helpful and insightful. Ha!

I hope your Level 10 isn't from lots of posts like this.

You can be as snarky as you choose to be with your replies, but it does not change the fact that my post was totally correct.

Zos chose to design the quests, and the world. as open as possible. It is a choice. They did not want quests that flow through narrowly defined paths. Probably also wanted to feel more like the exploration we have in the TES single player games.

it is a good design. Granted, no design is perfect, but heck, if quests on rails in private instances are your cup of tea there are probably many games to choose from.

Colecovision · November 2018

Quests that are written for one hero to take care of a situation should get a separate instance. The writing should match the environment. If they want us to zerg overland quest bosses, write a story that uses that. Work with your limitations.

When you are with other people to steal a unique item or wait for a key player in a story to respawn, it's crap writing or crap execution of the story. "It's an mmo" doesn't change the fundamentals of rpg questing or story telling. You're just delivering the canned excuse for why it's bad.

Imo the best questing in ESO is soloing dungeons. If you haven't done some of them, don't speed run with a group. Get a solo build and take care of business on your own. Then end your quest by fighting a real boss.

yodased · November 2018

@colecovision the fundamentals, as you refer to are nonexistent concepts that change with each persons perspective.

"purists" probably would say that virtual rpg should be analogous to tabletop, which was the inspiration. Every modern open world non turn based non random encounter break those fundamentals.

Also, making seperate instances for every player node would be hell on the server, adding to longer roundtrip data which increases latency.