Is Dual Specialization a possible outcome for ESO?

Wolfpaw · November 2018

Dual specialization in other/some MMORPG's becomes the natural go-to for reasons like financial gain, QoL improvements, currency sinks, a second wind in a mmo life-cycle, alleviate role disparity in LFG/content, etc..from my experience.

Is this on the developers mind as a possibility to go live? I don't have any social media accounts to #this question directly.

Some context to my playstyle, I always play just a main. I enjoy to build/play on one character in the mmo I currently play, and for other reasons like balancing this hobby with RL. In ESO every couple months I swap champ, skills, stats to play a different role. My preferred play style/role is a stamina dps in open world content, healer or tank in dungeons, and a healer in WvW/BG's.

As you can read I enjoy to take on different roles for different content, and in this particular playstyle I would be the player that helps alleviate lfg queue times, and groups that form just to have a tank/healer drop group once inside.

Is Dual Specialization on the radar?

Thanks.

For clarity, Dual Specialization is the opportunity to swap specializations while out of combat. To have two premade setups (stats, champs, & skills).

edit: spelling

Everstorm · November 2018

Don't know if it's possible but it sure would be welcome.

robpr · November 2018

It's already doable via addons (except stats or morphs). If there would be a good tool for it in-game, then I'll welcome it and console players would be happy.

Wolfpaw · November 2018

robpr wrote: »

It's already doable via addons (except stats or morphs). If there would be a good tool for it in-game, then I'll welcome it and console players would be happy.

Basically premade armor setups you can swap out of combat? That would be welcomed, pulled from bag or bank. When I played other mmo's on PC I would have macros setup for that.

Out-of-combat swap from a stamina to magicka setup, PvP to PvE, etc...is what I'm mostly interested in, armor & weapons would be the frosting on the cake!

lokulin · November 2018

As someone who has pretty much stopped doing PvP due to the time and gold cost of constantly respecing between PvE and PvP setups the ability to have at least two loadouts plus the ability to purchase more is high on my wishlist as well. The reason I don't create multiple characters: I like my main and I like working towards achievements on her so getting PvP achievements on an alt tends to remove some of the motivation to PvP at all. Am sure there are people who don't PvE much for the same reason.

Elwendryll · November 2018

I want to buy build loadouts like I buy Outfit slots. And totally change from DD to Tank by clicking in a drop-down list. CP, SkillPoints, AttributePoints, and Mundus Stone. I love playing tank, but in solo it's a pain, and it's too costly to swap.
Oh, and I don't play my alts, and I don't want to.

(Every time I slot TBS I have to go take an other stone... I can't conveniently swap gear for just a BG)

TheShadowScout · November 2018

I hope not!

I personally like it when choices matter and people have to make choices!
So I dislike any such "give us a way to not have to choose", and like it that people have to think about how they want to optimize this or that character - make them PvE-optimized, PvP-optimized, or half-half...

Asardes · November 2018

I've ran out of keys on numpad to map out my setups in Apha Gear for a few characters already. All have at least 1 PvP setup, multiple PvE DD setups, at leas one support role setup, one even has both healer & tank setup. Things you can do with 370+ skill points ...

PouletRico · November 2018

Dressing Room addon is simple to use too. You can switch equipped gears and skills (from bag only) with on click, but you need to respec CPs + Skill points + Attribute points manually.

Elwendryll · November 2018

TheShadowScout wrote: »

I hope not!

I personally like it when choices matter and people have to make choices!
So I dislike any such "give us a way to not have to choose", and like it that people have to think about how they want to optimize this or that character - make them PvE-optimized, PvP-optimized, or half-half...

... Yes but nop. I already do that. But most people just reroll an other character for a specific purpose and they change depending on content.
But I'm a one character player. I already did a choice by selecting a race and a class. That's not like I can efficiently become a top tier mag DD with my khajiit...

That's not like I can't already change from one build to another, it just costs me 30k+ golds if I want to be somewhat optimized.

But, for your information, I already did some theorycrafting, by forcing myself to keep the exact same point allocation, and just changing the gear, between a DD and a Tank build. And what's the point? Someone else can just log in on an other character, and be fully optimized.

I want to be able to join the vet trials of my raiding guild, I want at the same time to be able to tank when I want to.

Pvp is problematic because of the pvp specific morphs. Like. Who takes DBoS in pve? I play in no-cp so that's already one less thing to deal with.

And I think it would help reducing the dungeon finder queues and such. Why? Because I love tanking. I really enjoy it. It's awesome. But playing a tank outside of a dungeon run? It's just such a chore. And I don't want to level up a specific character only for dungeons...

Being a tank, it's too much commitment for me. I can't be one at all time, only to be useful during half an hour a day. So, I don't play tank. But if I were able to be a tank just during a dungeon run, and a DD the rest of the time, I'm quite sure it would reduce the waiting time for a lot of people. And I could enjoy a role I love.

Just lock the ability to change from a build to an other while in an instance (dungeon/arena/trial). And that's it.

ghastley · November 2018

If you want a character with a different play style, why don't you just swap characters? You have 8 (or 15 if you pay more) to choose between.

Because it's more work that way. And you want it easy.

Elwendryll · November 2018

ghastley wrote: »

If you want a character with a different play style, why don't you just swap characters? You have 8 (or 15 if you pay more) to choose between.

Because it's more work that way. And you want it easy.

It's not about work. It's about the bond I have with my character, the time spent on it. I just don't want to play an other one, it's just like that, I can't just associate each character to a role... Because games should be about having fun, that's why I'm playing a khajiit instead of a redguard, I enjoy my character as a character, not a spreadsheet.

And that's all about convenience, what would this take away from you? You could keep playing like you do, how would this hinder your play style in any way?

Edit: I want to specify I theorycraft a lot, and I min max too, but I always do my builds on the same race and same class, and I have some other self imposed restrictions. Because I just want to play my main. Just to clarify I'm not some roleplayer or casual player, I do some vet trial and I have ~35k dps.

Wolfpaw · November 2018

Elwendryll wrote: »

ghastley wrote: »

If you want a character with a different play style, why don't you just swap characters? You have 8 (or 15 if you pay more) to choose between.

Because it's more work that way. And you want it easy.

It's not about work. It's about the bond I have with my character, the time spent on it. I just don't want to play an other one, it's just like that, I can't just associate each character to a role... Because games should be about having fun, that's why I'm playing a khajiit instead of a redguard, I enjoy my character as a character, not a spreadsheet.

And that's all about convenience, what would this take away from you? You could keep playing like you do, how would this hinder your play style in any way?

Edit: I want to specify I theorycraft a lot, and I min max too, but I always do my builds on the same race and same class, and I have some other self imposed restrictions. Because I just want to play my main. Just to clarify I'm not some roleplayer or casual player, I do some vet trial and I have ~35k dps.

Players like ghastley are not worth a response. They don't read or comprehend other players posts, and somehow equate "work" as sitting behind a screen doing the same exact things/content you already accomplished on a main. They also can't understand the overall better experience this will be for LFG queue, trials, ,PvP, game, & community.

I can only hope devs are already a few steps ahead of us!

2c

Acrolas · November 2018

I don't know if Dual Specialization would be the gold-saving mechanism that some hope it to be. There would probably still be a comparable gold cost to swap between specs, making it more of a situational convenience. Like revising roles after you enter a dungeon or adapting to a group in Imperial City.

Wolfpaw wrote: »

I can only hope devs are already a few steps ahead of us!

You've been able to purchase Attribute and Skill reset scrolls in the Crown Store for a while now. Like the recent Vampire/Werewolf cure, likely intended to make significant modifications to a character who is in population-locked or time-consuming content and cannot quickly access the game world Attribute and Skill reset.

lokulin · November 2018

ghastley wrote: »

If you want a character with a different play style, why don't you just swap characters? You have 8 (or 15 if you pay more) to choose between.

Because it's more work that way. And you want it easy.

For me, after sinking thousands of hours in to my main, and hundreds into alts that I rarely use it is because achievements are account wide. Easy is nothing to do with it. And of course here is when people start saying, "Well you got such and such achievement or title on one character so of course the other one can't have it or wear it." You start to see the problem with not having either 1) loadouts or 2) account wide achievements?

Having loadouts doesn't mean you won't need to build an alt if you want to play another class or race. It doesn't even help make your sorc a meta tank. It doesn't take away enjoyment from other players. It does make the game more enjoyable for achievement hunters and people that only have time to play a main.

lokulin · November 2018

Wolfpaw wrote: »

Elwendryll wrote: »

ghastley wrote: »

If you want a character with a different play style, why don't you just swap characters? You have 8 (or 15 if you pay more) to choose between.

Because it's more work that way. And you want it easy.

It's not about work. It's about the bond I have with my character, the time spent on it. I just don't want to play an other one, it's just like that, I can't just associate each character to a role... Because games should be about having fun, that's why I'm playing a khajiit instead of a redguard, I enjoy my character as a character, not a spreadsheet.

And that's all about convenience, what would this take away from you? You could keep playing like you do, how would this hinder your play style in any way?

Edit: I want to specify I theorycraft a lot, and I min max too, but I always do my builds on the same race and same class, and I have some other self imposed restrictions. Because I just want to play my main. Just to clarify I'm not some roleplayer or casual player, I do some vet trial and I have ~35k dps.

Players like ghastley are not worth a response. They don't read or comprehend other players posts, and somehow equate "work" as sitting behind a screen doing the same exact things/content you already accomplished on a main. They also can't understand the overall better experience this will be for LFG queue, trials, ,PvP, game, & community.

I can only hope devs are already a few steps ahead of us!

2c

Totally agree. They are the same ones that complain about (insert build, class, race) too easy and need nerfing. The easier I can switch my build between dps, tank or healer loadouts the faster some ungrateful dps is going to get their random queue to pop. The other option is I decide I can't be bothered and either close the game or do something else.

idk · November 2018

I have not heard of Zos mentioning they were considering such a thing. Zos has made it much more complicated than with other games being we have 4 different aspects that make up our characters build.

Further, even on PC they cannot have builds saved for changing CP and that is totally manual, one point at a time.

I would be happy if we had field respect (changing morphs and attributes) and ESO+ had it for free, as it really should be.

Wolfpaw · November 2018

Acrolas wrote: »

I don't know if Dual Specialization would be the gold-saving mechanism that some hope it to be. There would probably still be a comparable gold cost to swap between specs, making it more of a situational convenience. Like revising roles after you enter a dungeon or adapting to a group in Imperial City.

Wolfpaw wrote: »

I can only hope devs are already a few steps ahead of us!

You've been able to purchase Attribute and Skill reset scrolls in the Crown Store for a while now. Like the recent Vampire/Werewolf cure, likely intended to make significant modifications to a character who is in population-locked or time-consuming content and cannot quickly access the game world Attribute and Skill reset.

I don't think dual specialization would be a gold-saving mechanism, actually more of a additional gold sink for me. I can easily see myself have a healer (bg's & dungeons) and a stamina dps (overland) for a few months, and switch to a tank (dungeons) & frost mage (pvp, overland) for a few months.

Oh the possibilities!

Odnoc · November 2018

ghastley wrote: »

If you want a character with a different play style, why don't you just swap characters? You have 8 (or 15 if you pay more) to choose between.

Because it's more work that way. And you want it easy.

Or because achievements are character based and people don't like repeating content?

leeux · November 2018

I have 7 max capped characters some for PvP and some for PvE, and I realized that I don't like playing them that much... I feel somehow "out of place" when playing them. That's why I always stick with my main. And I tried to "get into" playing my mNB (specially because there was a time when it was like "be NB or get out" was the norm for trial progression runs) or my non-pet mSorc seriously, but I couldn't... they don't "click" with me.

I would personally welcome any additions that allows me to dual-spec as DPS/Healer on my main. As it is now, I can switch gear and CPs somewhat quickly using addons. But those addons didn't always worked correctly in the past for some periods of time, specially after a patch, and there's no guarantee that the authors will keep them updated in the future.

And this it's such a basic QoL that has to be provided by the game itself, IMO.

Itacira · November 2018

Which is why I come back to a class change token. My main is a pet sorc and I think I'd feel a lot more at ease as a pet warden and I can't... because hell if I'm doing again everything I've done with my original character.

I mean, if I had to option to change classes I'd of course roll a pet warden long enough to get a feel of it and make sure I don't regret such a change but for that SUCH A CHANGE WOULD HAVE TO BE POSSIBLE

Kurat · November 2018

Triple specialization is already possible if you're on PC, have enough cp and skill points. No need to change attributes or cp. For sure it wouldn't be optimal and you wouldn't be really good at any role but its doable. Even if you fully spec and optimize your toon for some role theres someone still better than you somewhere. As long as you can fulfill that role and have fun who cares. Ofc this wouldn't be good enough for most vet trials.
I have magdk toon set up like that. I have done all roles in vet dlc dungeons and norm trials. Also no problems in easier vet trials like AA and HRC. I use the Dressing room addon. It let's me change skills and gear in 2 sec. I have all attribute points in magica. As a DD I pull 35k self buffed, which is enough to complete any content. When i switch to tank I have to use selfish sets tho. I get 20k ish mag and stam and 40k health. Max resists. Have to use different food. If I do harder content I change mundus stone also to lord. Switching to healer is the easiest to do because I'm mag toon so only gear and skill change. DKs may not be the best healers but again I have healed in all content with this setup.
So unless you belong to some hardcore elitist trial guild its totally doable without any dual spec slot system. Just be creative and find some middle ground.

Ps. I'm not against spec exchange system. I would totally love it if they implemented something like that.

Elwendryll · November 2018

Kurat wrote: »

Triple specialization is already possible if you're on PC, have enough cp and skill points. No need to change attributes or cp. For sure it wouldn't be optimal and you wouldn't be really good at any role but its doable. Even if you fully spec and optimize your toon for some role theres someone still better than you somewhere. As long as you can fulfill that role and have fun who cares. Ofc this wouldn't be good enough for most vet trials.

I'm in your exact same situation. But I'm at a point in the game where I want to complete vet trials, after barely touching them for 3 years. That's the point. I want to have fun and play casual content, and vet dungeons. But at the same time, I want to progress in order to reach the 40k dps I consider I need as a stamina sorcerer, for endgame. Why? because I'm at end game, I spent 3 years on the same character. There is no place for a middle ground in this context.

I could totally switch from a build with 30k dps to a tank build with 40k and max resists. And it would probably be enough to be more efficient than the vast majority of the group finder peoples in both roles. But I would severely lack group support as a tank. And it wouldn't be enough for trials. The thing is, I'm just starting to get into trials, and I don't often do dungeons, I don't really need to do them. I don't want to commit entirely to an aspect of the game.

I'm not even talking about healing. Khajiit Sorcerer. I can't do that without a full respec or I'll end up being kicked.

That's just about convenience. In my case, I'd like to play tank, but it's really inconvenient, and I'm not willing to go through all the constraints, so I don't play tank at all.

I'm already paying a subscription, and I'm willing to pay more If it means I can change back and forth between to roles, to actually have fun.

PS: I already challenged myself to create a DD, tank, and healer build on my Khajiit sorcerer with the exact same template, so I just have to swap gear and abilities (same morphs). Well. Let's just say It was kind of satisfying, if we don't look at the "healing" part. But I wouldn't be confident enough to tank for a trial with that, while I would be with a fully optimized build.