Upcoming Racial Balance Changes for Update 21

KuroDark · January 2019

Anoregon wrote: »

Weper wrote: »

I think racial passives should be removed so we can play with our favorite race. With the racial passives we are forced to play with the meta or at least with a viable race. Or maybe they could nerf the passives so they give only low stats like 1% Stamina Regen, 1% Magicka regen, etc ...

Honestly I wouldn't hate this, but I think the best option is just to overhaul existing racials so that one of the two options happens:

-All racials have morphs that allow the player to focus on magicka or stam

or

-Most racials are chosen from a unified pool available to all races, with the only traits being locked to race being the more thematic things like swim speed, elemental resists, weapon line XP, and stealth detection.

I understand that it's important to adhere to lore concerns, but the current model is skewed too heavily in that direction to the detriment of just being a satisfying gameplay experience. Every race should be capable of playing every roll without feeling like they are gimping themselves by playing the "wrong" race. I just don't see lore/RP concerns as a good enough justification for reducing player freedom/choice to the degree that the current racial bonus setup does.

I really like your second suggestion. That would be awesome and we'll be finally able to play any race we like visually. Of all the NPCs and enemies in the game there are mages and warriors of any race, so why can't a Bosmer be a powerful mage

Toc de Malsvi · January 2019

Il3rotherhood wrote: »

Some of these seem pretty inconsistant... for exemple:

Wood elves previously had a 6% max stamina increase. Now, it will be a 2000 max stamina increase.
Breton previously had a 10% max magicka increase. Now, it will also be a 2000 max magicka increase..!
High elves previously had a 10% max magicka increase. Now, it will also be a 2000 max magicka increase..!

I mean... why ? this is really inconsistent.

Also, lore wise and with the dev comment you put under Breton, they should clearly have the highest base magicka pool of all races. So why do they have the exact same bonus than Altmer ? And why did you nerf the spell resistance ? they are not even more resistant to spells than Nords..! this does not make any sense

Because it wasn't purely about equating to prior stat bonuses. The racial's were re-balanced as well.

Spiritrush · January 2019

I do like the overall idea behind the changes - the lore approach, for the most part, is really quite good. The race variety is now more attractive and generally stronger, but there are a few clear issues. In particular, I had hoped you would develop at least 1 or 2 morph-able passives per race (perhaps a 'natural propensity' or 'strengthening with maturity'), which would provide for a better framework to address all concerns. There is no reason why an individual's focus or disciplines do not indirectly strengthen one natural ability over another (perhaps even at the expense of atrophy or less advancement in another natural ability), so that might be worth considering in the future. As an example, I think the Dunmer should have continued with some additional flame damage buff expertise (given the subterranean/lava connection) - which could be easily served with a passive morph.

KuroDark · January 2019

Lord_Dexter wrote: »

Cravalllo wrote: »

Feedback from an endgame PvE perspective:

The changes seem quite alright, not taking into account that it is a nerf to most builds, however. We lose some ressources but overall it looks more balanced. I personally don´t really like the fact that % values were changed to flat numbers since it only simplifies the game mechanics and takes away some of the unique passives, this, however, is only my personal opinion and is not really essential for objective feedback.

Two of the changes seem out of place though. Looking at the Dunmer changes first:
The fact that Dunmer are now forced into a sort of hybrid role makes them lose a lot of combat power against High Elves, which were both viable in endgame pve (Dunmer providing slightly more damage compared to High Elves being the 'rounder' class which also targets sustain issues, etc.). The lost combat power is also not outweighed by the gained stats which only benefiit stamina builds. Thus, Dunmer are neither competitive when it comes to magicka builds nor can they compete with the various stam races.

The second change is affecting the Khajiit. I like that they are granted spell crit and some magicka, however, 75 stam regen is definitely not doing the job. There are two options to target this issue. Either increase the max stamina they receive up to 1000-1500 or remove the health recovery (which is btw. the most useless stat in the game, not even valuable for tanks) and change it into a higher amount of stam (and magicka) recovery (100-150 ish).

Other than that I think the changes are well done, providing more balance across different races and giving some new options. This, however, is only possible if Dunmer passives get adjusted, because otherwise we have a High Elf only meta for magicka builds. Also, one race change token is definitely a meme if changes go live like this.

@ZOS_Gilliam @ZOS_GinaBruno

Dunmer currently beating behind every stam race currently in PVE DPS and very good for PVP too

nine9six wrote: »

RIP Dunmer

Best Stam DPS race and RIP?

Is it because of the fire damage? But now it's gone.

SodanTok · January 2019

mr_wazzabi wrote: »

lihentian wrote: »

ZOS_Gilliam wrote: »

Wood Elf
Increases experience gain in Bow Skill Line by 15%, decreases fall damage taken by 10% → No changes

Y’ffre’s Endurance: 21% Stamina Recovery → Increases your Stamina Recovery by 258.

Resist Affliction: 6% Max Stamina and 1485 Poison and Disease Resistance → Increases your Max Stamina by 2000 and your Poison Resistance by 2310. You are immune to the Poisoned status effect.

Stealthy: Reduces detection Radius by 3m and Increases Damage Done in Stealth by 10% → Hunter’s Eye: Increases your Stealth detection radius by 3m. After you use Roll Dodge you gain 20% Movement Speed for 3 seconds.
A quick note on why we changed the Stealthy passive: Previously this passive was shared between Khajiit and Wood Elf, and didn’t help them feel distinct enough from each other. Additionally, since Sneaking isn’t a universal mechanic to the game (many enemies in Tamriel can’t be bothered sneaking about!), we wanted to take away some of the focus from the passive and build that into their other passives instead. We still want to support that game mechanic however, so we kept parts of each the Wood Elf’s and the Khajiit’s version of these passives.

Developer Comment
The thick forests of Valenwood have imprinted the importance of the ability to hunt in the Wood Elf race, and as such they have a natural adeptness for detecting potential threats. Quick to react and well versed in the poisons of nature, they can outlast and outwit their opponents. These traits are demonstrated with their natural speed boost when tactfully engaging combat, and their unparalleled Stamina Recovery.

wood elf look terribly useless...

10% fall damage is just a sick joke. usually people only take fall damage out of combat. which make this tiny damage reduction meaningless

Y’ffre’s Endurance- this is a nerf... imo 21% is much more then 258.. at least on my build..

Resist Affliction- not bad.. but poison damage is not very common in both pvp and pve.. at least when comparing with other elemental such as fire and ice...

Hunter’s Eye: ??? stealth detection? really??? why the hell does anyone want this? there is mage light, in pvp. and in pve no one ever need this thing...

both khajiit and wood elf are been known for their sneaky and thievery culture. why only the cat get everything that is useful???? please at least give one trait to the wood elf, for gum's sake this is the only reason i ever choose wood elf... because i can stealth better and i don't have to have a tail on my rear end..

my suggestion

change 10% fall damage to 15% movement speed while stealth.

change stealth detection to chance of getting better result from pickpocket.

You're right. Just did the math.

Before adding g racial passives, if you run anything more than 1230 recovery on your bosmer, this change is a nerf. Please increase the flat value to 350 recovery at the LEAST.

Redo your math, It seems to have some errors in it

Lord_Eomer · January 2019

KuroDark wrote: »

Lord_Dexter wrote: »

Cravalllo wrote: »

Feedback from an endgame PvE perspective:

The changes seem quite alright, not taking into account that it is a nerf to most builds, however. We lose some ressources but overall it looks more balanced. I personally don´t really like the fact that % values were changed to flat numbers since it only simplifies the game mechanics and takes away some of the unique passives, this, however, is only my personal opinion and is not really essential for objective feedback.

Two of the changes seem out of place though. Looking at the Dunmer changes first:
The fact that Dunmer are now forced into a sort of hybrid role makes them lose a lot of combat power against High Elves, which were both viable in endgame pve (Dunmer providing slightly more damage compared to High Elves being the 'rounder' class which also targets sustain issues, etc.). The lost combat power is also not outweighed by the gained stats which only benefiit stamina builds. Thus, Dunmer are neither competitive when it comes to magicka builds nor can they compete with the various stam races.

The second change is affecting the Khajiit. I like that they are granted spell crit and some magicka, however, 75 stam regen is definitely not doing the job. There are two options to target this issue. Either increase the max stamina they receive up to 1000-1500 or remove the health recovery (which is btw. the most useless stat in the game, not even valuable for tanks) and change it into a higher amount of stam (and magicka) recovery (100-150 ish).

Other than that I think the changes are well done, providing more balance across different races and giving some new options. This, however, is only possible if Dunmer passives get adjusted, because otherwise we have a High Elf only meta for magicka builds. Also, one race change token is definitely a meme if changes go live like this.

@ZOS_Gilliam @ZOS_GinaBruno

Dunmer currently beating behind every stam race currently in PVE DPS and very good for PVP too

nine9six wrote: »

RIP Dunmer

Best Stam DPS race and RIP?

Is it because of the fire damage? But now it's gone.

With new changes, Dunmer may perform best PVE Stam DPS race.

KuroDark · January 2019

GeneralSezme wrote: »

Dark elf change is bizzare, why health increase and loss of magic?

I think this will further solidify one race as the obvious highest magic dps character as high elves with the homogenization of the 2 last racial passives.

Trying to force Dark elf to be a hybrid race is a terrible idea, what they should have done is have different, for the lack of a better word, “morphs” for racial passive, to better fit into ones particular playstyle, because I understand that some races are good at both spell and sword, but you should have to chose which one to be better at, not just innately have both

Let me end with this:

A jack of all trades is a master at none

Totally agree. Why make versatility a racial advantage? Dunmer won't be good for magicka dps anymore, and Altmer is now superior...

kuhjo · January 2019

I see all the races got a mix of changes, good and/or bad, but why do Bosmers have to lose their stealth for a passive that is only good in PVP? Unless I read it wrong, no other race racial is pigeon hole into one specific gameplay. If we need to keep to lore, how about a passive with bow damage, or cost reduction with bows, or even some resource return with using bows. I can understand they're removing the stealth passive, but replace it with something useful for that anyone can use in either PVE and PVP. 3m to see stealth does nothing in PVE, and they state they know it too.

KuroDark · January 2019

Dark Elves are a sophisticated race that can thrive in the harshest conditions. Intelligent and quick, they are well versed in blade or magic, giving them a keen advantage in juggling between the two. By giving them a balanced bonus of Weapon and Spell Damage, as well as Magicka and Stamina, their natural cunning and versatility will be demonstrated as they can fulfil any role.

I don't want to respec all the time to feel that I'm playing a Dunmer...

Supernatural · January 2019

So, let me get a few things straight here.

Redguard gets a massive buff of 8% reduced cost of weapon abilities? Are you even serious? This means that abilities such as Steel Tornado, Rending Slashes, Endless Hail and Poison Injection (ultimates too?), which are utilized by all stamina builds in PvE end-game, will now be much cheapier, and on top of that, Adrenaline rush gets a buff. The removal of stamina recovery means very little to nothing. Stamina builds do not even focus on recovery nowadays.

And what do Khajiit gets? Spell Critical and some minor stat and recovery buffs? So essentially, a jack of all trades, but master of none.

Long story short, the disparity between Redguard and Khajiit is now even bigger than it was. Really well done.

automatony · January 2019

Imperials still left out of the Magicka pool.

Bummer

grannas211 · January 2019

Il3rotherhood wrote: »

Some of these seem pretty inconsistant... for exemple:

Wood elves previously had a 6% max stamina increase. Now, it will be a 2000 max stamina increase.
Breton previously had a 10% max magicka increase. Now, it will also be a 2000 max magicka increase..!
High elves previously had a 10% max magicka increase. Now, it will also be a 2000 max magicka increase..!

I mean... why ? this is really inconsistent.

Also, lore wise and with the dev comment you put under Breton, they should clearly have the highest base magicka pool of all races. So why do they have the exact same bonus than Altmer ? And why did you nerf the spell resistance ? they are not even more resistant to spells than Nords..! this does not make any sense

In games with boosts to their Max Magicka which is the last three games from Bethesda, High Elves have always had a bigger increase. Skyrim Bretons didnt even get a boost, just the spell resistance. So following you, High Elves plus 2000, Bretons plus 1500.

Anoregon · January 2019

I think there are two underlying facts that ZOS needs to accept and address that these changes don't really impact:

1 - People want to play their favorite race as any role they want without it feeling like an explicitly "wrong" choice due to racial traits

2- Multiple game systems make hybrid builds non-viable at a high level, so any tweaks that promote that style of gameplay are largely not going to be very worthwhile.

Point 1 is still a serious issue when looking at most races, especially Imperial and Argonian. Point two is less of an issue overall but definitely key for Dunmer (and Khajit to a lesser extent). There are multiple ways to change racial bonuses soa s to alleviate these issues, and there are at least signs of moving in the right direction here, but it still misses the mark overall.

KuroDark · January 2019

Also why should all Breton players be magicka based? There are Breton knights in heavy armour with swords seen all the time in the game.

AbbyMeowCat · January 2019

Race Choice for Tanking

I am happy with changes as a tank player and because lore-wise all races will now be able to tank uniquely in various own styles and possibilities:

- Dark Elf in my opinion will be the ideal race for my playstyle as I play a warrior hybrid tank in PvE and PvP and I play mostly 4-man content. I love the change to increase max health as Dark Elves were also great resilient hybrid warrior spellswords in the lore and not only dedicated to magic, making them great hybrid warriors. They will have strong Coagulating Blood and Vigor heals with the weapon and spell damage and a tri-stat pool. Very nice change for me.

- High Elf will be a great tank class with Meditate and Temporal Guard slotted with that reduced damage channel racial. I like that they can gain resources back using any skill every few seconds. High Elves in Skyrim were also Thalmor warriors and using a magicka skill and gaining back stamina reflects their prowess in the battlefield. High Elves will also be viable stamina characters that use magicka buffs like igneous shields or skills for extra stamina and classes that do not have Earthen Heart stamina passive return. I will most definitely also play High Elf Tank next patch.

- Wood Elf honestly does not need the reduced fall damage but I like their new roll dodge speed boost. They will make the ideal tank with well-fitted gear for DLC dungeons and vBRP that involve a lot of roll dodging and 1-shot mechanics to move to safer areas quickly. They can make great kite tanks too that move around without having to stand still and take damage. I think this will also help dps characters whether magicka or stamina in the same areas that involve a lot of dodging and avoiding AoEs. Very smart change and I am very happy with this but Bosmer are also known for their spinners in lore. No magicka benefit like Khajiit?

- Khajiit is the way ZoS should have made them a long time ago. They will be very good all rounder sustain tanks. Khajiit were also great spellcasters back in Skyrim and they are supposed to be very versatile characters. I am very happy with this. My nightblade tank will have strong crit heals from Dark Cloak and Vigor.

- Argonians ahhh finally the nerf. The most common and broken tank race. They are a good beginner race for tanking but they had way too many good racials and almost every tank was an Argonian. This patch will see tanks of different races!

- Orcs in Skyrim had Berserker Rage. Doing a melee attack should heal and regain stamina. This is a very good upgrade for warrior-tank players. I am very happy with this and I think they will be warrior tanks that can tank and fight and contribute with dual wield and 2h offbar, not only easy mode permablocking and war horn. They will be on par with Redguard for Stamina characters.

- Redguards will make amazing and great defensive tanks this patch with cheaper Pierce Armor and Heroic slash and will have great stamina sustain to block more after doing a heavy attack. This should have been the racial benefit a long time ago as they are warriors. I feel tanks will benefit from Master One Hand Shield and Knight Errant sets as well. They have no weapon damage and health buff due to their stamina regen and sustain which is fair in comparison with other races.

- Imperials will be the new permablock. Sadly nothing interesting because Imperials also had great battlemages and magic sorcerers like Abnur Tharn in the Elder Scrolls lore.

- Bretons, good-good buff for tanking. Cheaper costs and recovery, still having more resistant shield casts and possible permablock ice staff tanking with cheaper magicka cost! Reflects their half-elven blood nature. I am happy with this change for my Breton Templar Tank!

- Nords. Great change for tanking with that Ulti Generation passive and resistance upgrade but sad that the changes only are catered to tanking and not a damage perspective as in Skyrim, Nords were brave and great warriors that kill and fight. They will however be a strong PvP race.

Good and unique changes for tanking for all races. To Oblivion with Argonians! Thank you, good job! Looking forward to this!

Raudgrani · January 2019

nouagea wrote: »

All I'm saying is that we get 1 race AND name change token per account (I'd say per character but I don't think ZOS would let it slide) to maintain the lore continuity of naming conventions. This will be one hell of a cash-grab by ZOS if they think some of us are going to pay 35 bucks for race and name changes per how ever many toons might be changed.

This all sounds like some "Will you at least get me some lube before you *** me, you know it could hurt quite a bit otherwise". I'm more like "How can we avoid all this", instead of thinking of a financial way to make all my stamina toons Redguard, if I want to keep them...

The_Yellow_King · January 2019

MakoRuu wrote: »

As a StamDK Orc, I am happy now.

I made my character on launch day, and I've been sticking with him through everything. Even if I haven't played ESO every day since then, I always come back to it. It's good to be viable again.

Same exact thing here haha. Although pvp they are nice because of health recovery combined with troll king. I'm not sure if this is a pvp nerf or not.

Carbonised · January 2019

@ZOS_Gilliam

You really need to do some more explaining regarding the Dunmer changes. How can it possibly be justified to pull down Dunmers from a shared 1st place for mag specs along with Altmers, to now, at best, a 4th place behind Altmers, Bretons and Khajiit?

Arguably Dunmer is now converted from a predomitably magicka oriented race to a primarily stamina oriented race. Despite several of us having invested years and years in our Dunmer magdks and other mag specs.

Dunmer have not been "balanced" like altmer have, or bretons, or all other races. Dunmer have been completely swapped around from a mag race to a stam one, or even worse, a "hybrid" one that has no place whatsoever in this min/max meta that you yourselves have created.

You have absolutely no respect for the people who invested in their Dunmer magicka specs, and who now will either be forced to race change and thus throw away all lore investment in their race, appearance and flavour - or stick with a very sub-par 4th place race and gimping themselves and get refused for any type of progressive content.

SewerFairy · January 2019

What are you doing to Khajiit??? Make the stats so low, that they don't fit for stam or magicka builds???
Release a Elsweyr-Chapter and make Khajiit unplayable

Raudgrani · January 2019

katorga wrote: »

Why don't the conversions from percentage resource to static amount scale the same. 10% is 2000, yet 9% is 1000? etc. Overall nerfs to max health and health regen builds. Will be interesting to see how these align with Necromancer. Will be interesting to see if Percentage stat/regen increase class and armor passives stay the same.

High Elf - huge buff. Just wow for Templar with Cyrodill's light, channeling Mist form. Probably best healer, dps magicka race.
Argonian - nerf
WoodElf - probably a buff, only good for stam.
Breton - huge buff. New magicka DK race.
DE - max staf nerf, still best hybrid race
Imperial - meh, max health nerf.
Khajit - big buff. viable as magicka now.
Nord - not sure, nerf to rugged, but Ult regen might be best passive. Nord Wardens will spam ults.
Orc - huge buff.
Redguard - huge buff

A dazzling ulti generation up to 30 ulti per minute, that's game changing! Or... was it?

automatony · January 2019

Carbonised wrote: »

@ZOS_Gilliam

Arguably Dunmer is now converted from a predomitably magicka oriented race to a primarily stamina oriented race.

I dont see this at all, what I see is a race that was handicapped for PVP and forced into a fire mage role which in PVP does not much. I welcome the opportunity to run an Ice build on my Dunmer in and not be penalized for it in my passives.

The extra Stamina is just extra roll dodges, breakfrees, and Vigors which I also welcome.

And hey I may just try out a hybrid Stampire build. The future is so bright.

Sabretusks · January 2019

It seems like my Orc tanks are going to be taking a hit with the Brawny passive rework. I'm not sure +500 Health/Stamina is enough to compensate for the 6% loss. Just looking at the numbers for just about every other class, it should probably be raised.

Altmer went from 10% max Magicka to +2000 Magicka.
Argonian went from 9% max Health to +1000 Health.
Bosmer went from 6% max Stamina to +2000 Stamina.
Breton went from 10% max Magicka to +2000 Magicka.
Dunmer went from 6% max Magicka/Stamina to +1250 Magicka/Stamina.
Imperial went from 12% max Health to +2000 Health and 10% max Stamina to +2000 Stamina.
Nords went from 6% max Stamina to +1500 Stamina.
Redguard went from 10% max Stamina to +2000 Stamina.

Hopefully this gets bumped up a bit.

Carbonised · January 2019

automatony wrote: »

Carbonised wrote: »

@ZOS_Gilliam

Arguably Dunmer is now converted from a predomitably magicka oriented race to a primarily stamina oriented race.

I dont see this at all, what I see is a race that was handicapped for PVP and forced into a fire mage role which in PVP does not much. I welcome the opportunity to run an Ice build on my Dunmer in and not be penalized for it in my passives.

The extra Stamina is just extra roll dodges, breakfrees, and Vigors which I also welcome.

And hey I may just try out a hybrid Stampire build. The future is so bright.

Sorry but you seem to be quite clueless here. Dunmer were perfectly viable on live with both frost and shock, did you even read the passive? Sure, rejoice at playing an ice mage after the change, and know that all altmers, bretons and khajiit will do it better than you ever can.
Dunmer has never been handicapped for pvp, that's about the most clueless thing i have ever heard, but certainly dunmers are going to be very handicapped in both pve and pvp after the change, if you stick with any type of magicka spec.

ShadowHvo · January 2019

While I love these changes as a very Dunmer focused player, I do believe that its a shame that Altmer seems to be reigning far supreme over all else. I definitely think that Altmer might need to be taken down a notch to allow both Breton, Khajiit and Dunmer to actually compare in DPS potential.

Though, again while I generally love these changes wholeheartly, you're still limiting the player choice and freedom severely in terms of endgame content, which currently is pretty hard as it is. Wouldn't it be more beneifical to include some sort of "Background" system for each race, that would determin the passives you get? That way everyone could tailor their race to their given playstyle, regardless of combatitive role.

Beyond that... yeah, please buff the less potent races like Breton, Imperial and Nord, while balancing out the Altmer a bit better in particular. Having one nr 1. race that is so far superior to anything else in a magicka category is rather dishearting.

automatony · January 2019

Carbonised wrote: »

Sorry but you seem to be quite clueless here.

So aggro. And wrong.

ShadowHvo · January 2019

Carbonised wrote: »

Dunmer has never been handicapped for pvp, that's about the most clueless thing i have ever heard, but certainly dunmers are going to be very handicapped in both pve and pvp after the change, if you stick with any type of magicka spec.

You're aware that you're talking about 750 magicka (and thus in addition 75 spell power) in difference right?

Thats really not that crazy significant. Dunmer allows you to break free, roll dodge, block and interrupt - all essential elements of gameplay in endgame content better than the Altmer with this nice balancing of the Dunmer racials.

Plus... we're getting a resistance buff to the nr 1. widely used element in this game: Fire, as well as immunity to its status effect. Thats a sweet buff, even more so vampires too.

Its not doom and gloom for the Dunmer with these changes, never have and never will be.

EDIT: I still think that it sucks however, that Altmer clearly is -better- in the magicka department. But... come on, lets not pretend that its so significant that we no longer can reach our 50k+ numbers.

KuroDark · January 2019

Currently there's no reason to choose any other magicka DPS race than Altmer. Previously Dunmer and Altmer were mostly the same, Dunmer having a little more damage and less sustain. And now Altmer has the same damage (or even more because of larger recource pool) and way better sustain.

pocketdefender · January 2019

I thought the purpose of these changes was to add versatility to each race's strengths... but instead, Bosmer has just been further pushed into a PvP Stamblade niche.

Carbonised · January 2019

ShadowHvo wrote: »

Carbonised wrote: »

Dunmer has never been handicapped for pvp, that's about the most clueless thing i have ever heard, but certainly dunmers are going to be very handicapped in both pve and pvp after the change, if you stick with any type of magicka spec.

You're aware that you're talking about 750 magicka (and thus in addition 75 spell power) in difference right?

Thats really not that crazy significant. Dunmer allows you to break free, roll dodge, block and interrupt - all essential elements of gameplay in endgame content better than the Altmer with this nice balancing of the Dunmer racials.

Plus... we're getting a resistance buff to the nr 1. widely used element in this game: Fire, as well as immunity to its status effect. Thats a sweet buff, even more so vampires too.

Its not doom and gloom for the Dunmer with these changes, never have and never will be.

You're completely ignoring the altmer mag regen that comes ON TOP of their increased magicka pool.

And yes, it's shoving dunmers even more into the pigeonhole of having to go vamp to be remotely relevant. Well some of us don't want to ruin our character's appearance and flavour feel with vampirism, as a pretty much forced choice, to not be overly gimped.

The numbers have already been crushed, Dunmer is now one of the better stamina races and below both altmer, bretons and khajiit as a mag race. It's not just "small tweaks" its a complete game changer.

gamerratic_ESO · January 2019

Anoregon wrote: »

Honestly I wouldn't hate this, but I think the best option is just to overhaul existing racials so that one of the two options happens:

-All racials have morphs that allow the player to focus on magicka or stam

or

-Most racials are chosen from a unified pool available to all races, with the only traits being locked to race being the more thematic things like swim speed, elemental resists, weapon line XP, and stealth detection.

I understand that it's important to adhere to lore concerns, but the current model is skewed too heavily in that direction to the detriment of just being a satisfying gameplay experience. Every race should be capable of playing every roll without feeling like they are gimping themselves by playing the "wrong" race. I just don't see lore/RP concerns as a good enough justification for reducing player freedom/choice to the degree that the current racial bonus setup does.

Perhaps something along the lines of a Racial Birthright system? Something that balances both Lore and freedom of choice that you mention @ZOS_Gilliam ?

At Level 1 - you receive your Racial Legacy passives. For example...

High Elf - Increases Experience gain in Destruction Staff Skill Line by 15%, extra 1% Generic Experience gain
Argonian - Increases experience gain in Resto Staff Skill Line by 15%, extra 50% Swimming Speed
Wood Elf - Increases experience gain in Bow Skill Line by 15%, decreases fall damage taken by 10%
And so on...

At Level 10 - you receive your Racial Birthright passives.

Aldmeri Perfection (High Elf) - Restore 575 Magicka or Stamina, whichever is higher, after activating a Class Ability, once every 6 seconds. Reduces damage taken by 5%, while you are using a cast time or channel ability.
One with the Hist (Argonian) - Increases your Healing Done by 4% and your Disease Resistance by 2310. You are immune to the Diseased status effect.
Roots of the Valenwood (Wood Elf) - Increases your Stamina Recovery by 258 and your Poison Resistance by 2310. You are immune to the Poisoned status effect.
High Rock Ancestry (Breton) - Gain 2310 Spell Resistance and 100 Magicka Recovery.
Will of the Tribunal (Dark Elf) - Increases your Max Stamina and Magicka by 1250 and your Max Health by 625.
Child of the Red Diamond (Imperial) - When you deal Direct Damage, you have a 15% chance to heal for 1750. Reduces the cost of your Block and Bash abilities by 5%.
Rajhin's Luck (Khajiit) - Increases your Weapon and Spell Critical Chance by 8%. Reduces your detection radius in Stealth by 5m.
Ysgramor's Boon (Nord) - Increases your Max Health by 1000 and your Cold Resistance by 2310. You are immune to the Chilled status effect.
Malacath's Vengeance (Orc) - Increases your Healing Received by 4%. When you deal damage with a Weapon Ability you restore 380 Health and Stamina. This effect can occur once every 4 seconds.
Yokuda Heritage (Redguard) - When you deal Direct Damage, you restore 950 Stamina. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds.

At Level 30 - you receive your first Divine Blessing passive. For example, you can choose ONE from a number of options such as...

Increase your Max Magicka by 2000.
Increase your Max Stamina by 2000.
Increase your Max Health by 2000.
Increase your Weapon or Spell Damage by 258, whichever is higher.
Increase your Physical and Spell Resistance by 3960.
Increase your Healing Done by 4%.
And so on...(obviously creating balanced choices; these are just suggestions based on the proposed changes)

At Level 50 - your receive your second Divine Blessing passive. For example, you can choose ONE from a number of new (or previous) options such as...

Increase your Max Health, Magicka, and Stamina by 750.
Increase your Stealth detection radius by 3m. After you use Roll Dodge you gain 20% Movement Speed for 3 seconds.
When you take damage, you gain 5 Ultimate. This effect can occur once every 10 seconds.
Reduces the cost of your Weapon Abilities by 8%.
Increase your Flame damage by 5% and your Flame Resistance by 2310.
Increase your Shock damage by 5% and your Shock Resistance by 2310.
And so on...(obviously creating balanced choices; these are just suggestions based on the proposed changes)

Yes, certain races would still have an edge in certain archetypes. High Elves for magicka dps. Redguard for stamina dps. Argonians for healing. Imperial/Nord for tanking. However, the disparity in creating an Orc magicka dps would not be as significant a dps loss as it is given the current racial passives.

And yes...I do realize that the passives would have to be balanced out to ensure there is no stat bloating...rofl.

Moreover, as with resetting your skill and attribute points, an additional Shrine can be added in the main hubs where players would be able to reset their TWO Divine Blessing passives for a significant cost.

Finally, I feel that this suggestion would give players the freedom to create the characters and character types/roles they want - tank, healer, dps, raiding, pvp, etc. - while hopefully maintaining a balance with the Lore passives.

Please feel free to riff on this!

(Apologies if something like this was already suggested. My eyes started getting blurry 20 pages of forum responses in...rofl)