They did a racial passive balance patch just recently and PvE end game is pretty much 100% Magicka -so yeah, nah.

I don't trust them, period.

But they do play, they probably can’t put 6 hours a day in but we know they at least play to a decent level. Do I trust them to balance it as I prefer? No. Have they kept the game fairly balanced between PvP and PvE and CP and no CP and casuals and top tier players? Yes.

If it weren’t for a few really bonheaded suggestions like sloads, shield cast times and incap silence things would be relatively okay albeit moving a LOT slower than most of us would like. Idk if I’ll ever see the stamina Templar changes I’d like. But I’d any class viable at this time? Yes. So as far as balance goes there is a good measure of it.

Haha nice one

Before "Silencap": Mixed
After "Silencap": Hell no!

Vapirko wrote: »

But they do play, they probably can’t put 6 hours a day in but we know they at least play to a decent level. Do I trust them to balance it as I prefer? No. Have they kept the game fairly balanced between PvP and PvE and CP and no CP and casuals and top tier players? Yes.

If it weren’t for a few really bonheaded suggestions like sloads, shield cast times and incap silence things would be relatively okay albeit moving a LOT slower than most of us would like. Idk if I’ll ever see the stamina Templar changes I’d like. But I’d any class viable at this time? Yes. So as far as balance goes there is a good measure of it.

You are right. But it is not about promoting my characters. They can buff stamblades as much as they want, as long as the game stays healthy. It is about common sense and this particular change isn't part of something I would call "good measure".

Tryxus wrote: »

Before "Silencap": Mixed
After "Silencap": Hell no!

Exactly.

This topic isn't really about trusting ZOS with balancing, is it?
This topic actually is just another of those 'I don't like my favourite class being nerfed' whining topics, isn't it?

They are taking much more feedback than before and most balance changes came with a lot of whining by lots of people. Looking back at all the balance changes since open-beta, the game has improved significantly in terms of balance since then. So, yes, I do trust them when it comes to balance because they seemed to have learned from balancing mistakes in the past and how it can backfire on them.

I trust them. It just takes time.
And when I see the results on the dummy when comparing classes/races, I'm not worried. I can play whatever I want with way much less consequences than before.

Kalixte wrote: »

Vapirko wrote: »

But they do play, they probably can’t put 6 hours a day in but we know they at least play to a decent level. Do I trust them to balance it as I prefer? No. Have they kept the game fairly balanced between PvP and PvE and CP and no CP and casuals and top tier players? Yes.

If it weren’t for a few really bonheaded suggestions like sloads, shield cast times and incap silence things would be relatively okay albeit moving a LOT slower than most of us would like. Idk if I’ll ever see the stamina Templar changes I’d like. But I’d any class viable at this time? Yes. So as far as balance goes there is a good measure of it.

You are right. But it is not about promoting my characters. They can buff stamblades as much as they want, as long as the game stays healthy. It is about common sense and this particular change isn't part of something I would call "good measure".

They don't buff/nerf to bring about common sense improvements.
They do it to make the players have to keep redoing their character's skill sets, and in so doing forcing the players to have to burn up time remaking weapons and armor which also uses horded materials, as well as paying to buy points back to reinvest in 'new' skill lines which also burns up time relearning tactics interactions.
On top of that, they nerf the stuff we like and have grown accustomed to to prepare us for the 'new/better' stuff coming out in the DLCs to try to gain back the advantage we lost in the nerfs.

DTStormfox wrote: »

This topic isn't really about trusting ZOS with balancing, is it?
This topic actually is just another of those 'I don't like my favourite class being nerfed' whining topics, isn't it?

They are taking much more feedback than before and most balance changes came with a lot of whining by lots of people. Looking back at all the balance changes since open-beta, the game has improved significantly in terms of balance since then. So, yes, I do trust them when it comes to balance because they seemed to have learned from balancing mistakes in the past and how it can backfire on them.

I can smell a fanboy a mile away, but with you I could probably extend my range to a hundred miles.

Open beta doesn't count. It's the purpose of a beta to balance things. Forget open beta. Start with launch.

And more importantly, let's look at the changes made recently, like update 20 and 21, for instance. 20 was a balance of classes, 21 a balance of races.

Except it wasn't. Some classes got nerfed badly, because, yeah, they do take more feedback. Feedback from PvP whiners who just want some +win to their favorite character and others be damned. Such is the mind of most PvP <insert expletive here> that they don't care about fair fight, they care about them winning. And unfortunately, since skill balance affects both PvP and PvE, people who don't give a damn about PvP get shafted. As usual, Nightblade took a hit for no reason at all.

I mean, if they were being honest, I wouldn't mind so much. If the reason was "we noticed this skill is OP in PvP so we're nerfing it", I'd say "I don't care about PvP, but hey, I guess it has to be done". Instead, they veil their PvP balance behind false reasons and bad lore. Nightbaldes' path of shadow was nerfed from a skill that both heals and hits to a skill that either heals OR hit, and even starts completely useless with only a speed bonus. Because "each class neeeds to bring something unique to the party". So of course, the templar's skill that does exactly that, lay an area of effect that both heals and hits, was unchanged. It's ok if Nightblades get shafted, but Templars ? No way.

Playing favourites isn't something a game dev should be doing, ever.

Now, to update 21 and racial changes. Bosmers have been stealthy for about 25 years. So now, they become guards, because "it fits the lore". Worst reason ever. Oh wait, there was another : "it was confusing, with them and Khajiits being both stealthy". It was confusing if you had the IQ of a pebble, maybe. As someone who plays in PvE only a Bosmer Nightblade, you can imagine how happy I am with those changes. But hey, I suppose snipers were really bad in PvP, right ?

So, am I complaining about how my class got shafted and so on ? Am I proving you right ? Not quite. Look at that.

This is essentially the same passive racial trait, for different races. Only difference is the resist it is focused on, and the ressource it improves.

Argonians : Gain Immunity to the diseased status effect / Increases Max Health by 1000 and Disease Resistance by 2310

Bosmers : Gain immunity to the poisoned effect / Increases your Max Stamina by 2000 and Poison Resistance by 2310

(note that, lore-wise, if you keep only one resist per race, argonians and bosmers should be switched)

Dunmers : Gain immunity to the burning status effect / Increases Max Health by 600 and Flame Resistance by 2310

Nords : Gain immunity to the Chilled status effect / Increases your Max Health by 1000 and Cold Resistance by 2310

So, how balanced is that ? This is the same passive, with the same amount of one resist being buffed, the same immunity effect to one type of effect being buffed, but the amount of ressource being buffed varies greatly from race to race. One gets +2000 (I suppose it's to make up for the terrible theirs racial passive that has no use in PvE whatsoever ), one gets 600, others get 1000. And then, you have the Imperials and Redguards, which get +2000 to some ressource, but without any immunity or resist.

That's not balanced at all. And don't even start me on how the lore was *** when Bosmers became guards and Altmers began regenerating stamina with something called SPELL recharge.

So... No, I don't trust them. Not at all. The way they balance things is to me akin to what whining kids would do if they were given the power to do so. And the super-OP necromancer seems to confirm that they don't give a rat's bottom about actual balance.

In the end it's their call to make.

The longer I play the less I seem to care.

Well PvE really isn't that bad right now, some things lack balance but overall its good.

PvP *shrug* the main trouble here is that they simply can't decide to do CP or no-CP and just balance around that. Make a choice, stick with it and balance it better over the next year.