Should the PvE ( "old" open world) area difficulty be increased?

Smasherx74 · May 2019

Aliyavana wrote: »

This games main demographic is casuals tho.l or those who want to feel godly/instant gratification.

No gear, No CP...

able to easily burn through PvE like it's nothing. The argument its f or casuals is fine, in fact I want to play PvE casually... its just too easy, enemies die too fast, and there is 0 threat.

russelmmendoza · May 2019

All tes games have difficulty tab, which you can change on the fly, why not put 1 in eso.
Change the difficulty before choosing a character.
Normal to very hard, lets not make it too easy with a easy mode.

Vandril · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas somewhat.

I'm all for casual content. I am one step short of as casual as they come in ESO, as far as the content I consume (I do BGs occasionally, but it's otherwise all overworld content). I've rolled alts, refused to apply CP, and light/heavy attacked enemies dead in gear 5-10 levels lower than my own level. And came out alive. I'm not even exaggerating. This shouldn't be possible. You should not be able to kill a single normal overworld enemy (mudcrabs and critters aside) without using any abilities at all. As it is now, overworld content is too easy for the newest of new players. Even vanilla Skyrim was far harder.

Overworld damage would benefit from just a little bit of an increase, maybe by as small an amount as 10-15%. A good way to do that would be...

DKMaestro wrote: »

Difficulty would increase, if we would just allow NPC's to be able to crit as well.

...that. ^

Give NPCs a modest crit chance at 50% crit damage, and overworld content would be appropriately balanced for new players.

Edit: For reference, back when ESO was new, Overworld content used to be much, much more difficult. Level 1-50 overworld elite mobs would end you if you weren't careful, Molag Bal was a major end-of-questline skillcheck that could actually hurt you when he hit you, and Veteran overworld content was woefully overtuned to the point of 1-shots through blocking (this last bit was a bug). The game survived that level of difficulty. A small increase to overworld difficulty now would be nowhere near that level, and very few if any players would be lost over such a change.

Sylvermynx · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

jainiadral wrote: »

.

Kalgert wrote: »

TequilaFire wrote: »

Start from scratch on a new virgin no cp account, then come back and discuss.

And if anyone honestly thinks that "A game that is too hard will drive away players", are really giving people not enough credit. Granted, a game that is a stonewall is definitely not gonna sit well with people, but it ain't gonna leave a lot of people satisfied if it doesn't challenge people either.

Solution? Give a sort of difficulty slider, or something like that. As it is right now, the world of the base game/overall ain't all that challenging, and it'd be nice to have something that allows for tailoring the game to your liking.

I'm game for a slider. I'd even like an easier mode to be added to overland.

Making the game more difficult by default will drive ME as a vet away. And that's using all my CP. I don't play games for a challenge. I play them for story and to chillax in an immersive world. I don't play to have an adrenaline rush-- well, maybe if I find the combat enjoyable. But then only in small doses. And only if the game has a gentle learning curve.

Seriously, this. Said a mouthful, and I'm happy to agree with you. Yes, I do have problems with combat in this game (and yes, it's due to mega-ping - for which there's no solution in my current life....) It's not easy, overland, for me.

russelmmendoza wrote: »

All tes games have difficulty tab, which you can change on the fly, why not put 1 in eso.
Change the difficulty before choosing a character.
Normal to very hard, lets not make it too easy with a easy mode.

I'd love that.

Mik195 · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

I would be okay with a on-the-fly difficulty adjuster. So if I die to something overland 3 tines, a prompt pops up to let me get a buff to make it easier. So something that lets me try, but if it's too hard, lets me ratchet down the difficulty until I can win rather than give up.

AcadianPaladin · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

I prefer to spend time in the original alliance zones instead of the new chapter zones and part of the reason is that the trash mobs in the chapter zones are irritating/annoying and distract me from simply enjoying the zone. The WBs in the alliance zones are perfect because I can fight most of them. I simply ignore the WBs in the chapter/dlc zones because I'm not interested in wasting my play session trying to herd cats into a group to fight them.

I'm primarily a solo player; my 'end game' is basically alliance zone WBs and a fair number of the alliance zone dungeons on normal difficulty. Content that tries to force me to group simply goes on my ignore list. I like the spectrum of difficulty that the game currently offers - something for every desired level of fun/challenge ranging from delves and public dungeons to vet dlc group dungeons and trials. I believe, however, that basically all players (from casual to elite) should be able to successfully complete the main and side questlines for all zones (Cyrodiil and Craglorn excepted).

Ogou · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas somewhat.

Voice_of_Chronicles wrote: »

I don't think upping the difficulty by a certain degree will scare new players. Because they, like us who have alot of exp and know when to heal, block, shield etc will come to appreciate eventually, that this change was made to keep rest of the vast world which they haven't explored yet, interesting, entertaining and a tad challenging gameplay-wise, besides being grind with an amazing story.

You say that, yet, we did have a similar situation when early on when the game first launched. And people were calling for nerfs on some of the question bosses (anyone remember Doshia and, to a lesser extent, Faolchu).
And in case you think that the situation has changed since then, I remember seeing a request to nerf the Wraith of Crows from the Summerset prequel quest. And I had to help guildies kill the sload boss from the Summerset main quest.

Nemesis7884 · May 2019

The problem is the vertical progression

yes its too easy when you are fully geared cp 810 - at the same time on that level you are usually not looking for a challenge on the overland content but rather want to enjoy the story to move over to trials, dungeons etc....

At the same time - playing my 810-tank - it takes ages to kill stuff on overland.... and non max cp non well geared toons it's probably a huge difference and you can't just look at everything from an end-gamep-players perspective...

This is simply the issue with vertical progression and power creep... and i am glad ZOS is looking into it by reworking the cp system which as a side effect hopefully flatens the power curve, makes overland a bit harder for max cp guys but keeps it the same for underleveled players.

Runkorko · May 2019

Yes, but not to the point you cant solo it.
Everything on open world should be soloable. (outside grp bosses)

oddbasket · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

The adventuring part of the overland zones in the base game is casually fun for everyone. Don't make it a chore.

I won't mind increasing the DLC zones' difficulty slightly to make it a progression for players who have already grown comfortable with the game. However, it does go against letting any player go anywhere, do any quest, and there is really no point since those zones don't offer repetitive challenge unlike dungeons and trials and are more of a do once over or grind for alts.

Morgha_Kul · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas somewhat.

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

The problem is the vertical progression

yes its too easy when you are fully geared cp 810 - at the same time on that level you are usually not looking for a challenge on the overland content but rather want to enjoy the story to move over to trials, dungeons etc....

At the same time - playing my 810-tank - it takes ages to kill stuff on overland.... and non max cp non well geared toons it's probably a huge difference and you can't just look at everything from an end-gamep-players perspective...

This is simply the issue with vertical progression and power creep... and i am glad ZOS is looking into it by reworking the cp system which as a side effect hopefully flatens the power curve, makes overland a bit harder for max cp guys but keeps it the same for underleveled players.

Actually, I've said this more or less before, and was shouted down. The real problem is what was said, the difference between low level gear and dps and high level gear and dps is SO huge that people at the top level find most of the game entirely trivial, meaning that the harder areas of the game (like Veteran Dungeons) are completely beyond most players. I've been playing for some time, and I find the open world content pretty trivial. World bosses are still beyond me, with a couple of exceptions, so I think of my level of competency is fairly close to what I think of as being the top end, ideally. However, as it stands, I'm entirely unable to participate in Veteran or PvP content.

It's the players' top end capability that needs to be reined in, then the open world content will be more reasonable for everyone without any need for further changes.

idk · May 2019

Voice_of_Chronicles wrote: »

Also increasing PvE open world difficulty will have ppl grouping and supporting each other more and help shape players up for PvP content and new HMs/trials.

What is interesting about this comment the OP made is how we did have a zone that pretty much encouraged grouping. Skilled players could handle trash mobs solo. Delvs mostly required grouping.

In the end Zos had to make changes because players balked at forced grouping. Then Zos had to nerf it more to appease more players.

I understand what OP is getting to overall, but those who are interested in running raids will do what they need to do to improve their playstyle. Those who do not could care less about what OP wants and they tend to be the majority of players

wishlist14 · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

I myself prefer to leave it as it is thank you. My reasoning behind that is that it is very easy to forget how much harder it is for beginners in green gear who are starting out and trying to learn how their skills work, builds etc. The overland npcs get a lot easier as we level and our gear gets stronger and we become familiar with our skills etc but that takes time.

Another reason I prefer to keep things as is, is because I like to farm and having to spend extra time fighting off mobs would just slow me down and put me off an activity that I need to do regularly as I am a crafter.

There is plenty of difficult content to get your teeth into for those players that love the constant challenge.

My main reason to leave content difficulty as is, is because I feel empathy for new players and it's a lot more fun to see beginners enjoying eso as they quest and explore Tamriel rather than seeing them die easily and struggle and have to wait for help to complete quests etc.Also, lot of guilds are very helpful but not all and many higher level players get busy with pledges and trials and crafting and this and that and can't be constantly on newbie guard duties.

For the love of our newbie, beginner players I say a solid NO to upping the difficulty of pve overland npcs.

Also, don't forget that there are many players that enjoy playing solo and don't want to be forced to join groups when they just want to relax and quest. Can I also point out that not everyone wants to pvp or even do hm trials. Some players just quest or do housing or they mainly farm and trade.

mocap · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas greatly!

just add personal debuf difficulty (scroll of glorious overland battle lol). It will be like all that BS advices like "play naked, reset CP", but you don't need that and still get a bit of overland challenge.

And pls, stop that idiotic nonsense about Craglorn difficulty:

This is a main quest boss in Craglorn. It has 67k HP.
67 bloody K hp, ok???

Isojukka · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas greatly!

TequilaFire wrote: »

Start from scratch on a new virgin no cp account, then come back and discuss.

Well, i did, and overland content was still too easy, but i already had experience in this game.

zyk · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas greatly!

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

yes its too easy when you are fully geared cp 810 - at the same time on that level you are usually not looking for a challenge on the overland content but rather want to enjoy the story to move over to trials, dungeons etc....

It's easy with no CP or gear. I've leveled alts without allocating CP, it only slows things down a *tiny* bit -- things still melt and there's no risk. I haven't leveled an alt with no gear, but it's normal for my alts to go 20+ levels before armor upgrades and it's never anywhere close to a problem.

It's basically designed to be completed with any build, any bar config and no knowledge of mechanics.

It should be noted that Normal dungeons used to be much more difficult than they are now too. They had one-shot mechanics so they were useful for preparing players for vet dungeons, at least.

Outside of PVP and the most difficult of trials, ESO is super ezmode.

Linaleah · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

on forced grouping. you cannot "encourage" players into grouping for quests. they would rather leave. every modern MMo that tried? has found out just how detrimental to their population that was. grouping needs to be optional, NOT necessary.

a LOT of people who play this game are working adults. often with children. they simply do not have the scheduling capabilities to play a game with forced grouping, they want to be able to log in for a bit and actualy feel like they have accomplished something in game, in a limited time they have to play. and this game is great for that feeling. you can relax in it, or you can seek out group challenge, or you can challenge yourself by soloing group content. you do NOT want to push away above people becasue guess who spends the most money on this game? rhetorical question btw.

RaptorRodeoGod · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

Should have added a poll option for having a setting that only affects the person changing it. Make it like a reverse battlespirit or something.

vesselwiththepestle · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

just add veteran option to delves and public dungeons, and make a new dlc area similar to craglorn in terms of difficulty.

Ashtaris · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas somewhat.

TequilaFire wrote: »

Start from scratch on a new virgin no cp account, then come back and discuss.

I have, created an account on the EU megaserver and played there up until I was about CP400. If you know the game, what kind of gear is available, how to do rotations, etc., it’s still pretty easy going up against open world NPC’s even with no CP’s. Although they don’t need to go back to the old Vet difficulty level, which was brutal at times, it wouldn’t hurt if they turned up the difficulty a bit.

zyk · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas greatly!

Things have changed a lot since 1T. In 1T, the ESO playerbase was still very green and it seemed like hardly anyone knew how to play. Most players I would encounter in PVP did not weave and it wasn't uncommon to be accused of cheating just for weaving!

For whatever reason, ESO seems to have been the first MMO for many of its players. Probably because so many of its players came via Skyrim.

1T was more than two and a half years ago. Target skeletons alone de-noobed most regular players and animation cancelling has long been normal in Cyrodiil. We have a much more experienced playerbase than the one that did not prefer the original Craglorn.

I think it would be perfectly reasonable for ZOS to release a "challenging" DLC overland zone with encounters of similar difficultly of those found throughout Imperial City when it was released. The zone could be advertised as difficult so those choosing to go there would know what to expect.

In future DLCs and expansions, it would also be nice if ZOS could implement vet versions of all instanced content like Delves and Public Dungeons.

A problem with current overland content isn't just that it's easy, but it's actually awkward to play with others because mobs evaporate with just one player attacking. I would love to feel compelled to play with a partner, even if ungrouped, in a public dungeon.

mague · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas somewhat.

Been here before One Tamriel and the open PvE part was quite hard. But.. it was a real rush when you finished one of those main questlines and when doing a delve. I felt like the told story.

We lost the instanced content and the mobs dont really hit. A slight increase in danger would help the storytelling and immersion.

wishlist14 · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

Starlock wrote: »

Voice_of_Chronicles wrote: »

Sevn wrote: »

It would lose way more current players if they gave in to the minority that wants to change the open world. Now that is a fact.

This is the wrong game for anyone seeking a challenging overworld.

Please explain further... why you think players would quit the game if the old PvE areas' difficulty was increased? Do you think that this would keep people from playing? I am not saying it should be "un-progressably difficult"

I know you weren't asking me, but as someone who would seriously consider quitting the game if PvE areas all became like, say, Craglorn?

This game is a spin-off from the Elder Scrolls franchise, which is known for producing excellent role playing games that prioritize storytelling, immersion, and lore. For this crowd, our gaming experience is not, as I said earlier, about the combat. We aren't here for difficult gameplay experiences, we are here to experience the game world, it's lore, and tell stories. When content becomes too difficult, we just opt out of it entirely. We quit.

I almost did this when I first started playing the game a few years back. This was in the days before One Tamriel, when there was no battle scaling worldwide and zones had real levels to them. With generic gear, few skills, and no damage shields or healing abilities, the game felt too difficult. I don't know how the new player experience would feel now, but it's probably pretty similar. I've seen what appear to be new players struggle from time to time.

If difficulty were scaled up presently, I wouldn't like it either. When I create characters, I'm not interested in creating "builds" I'm interested in creating characters. I use sets the competitive gamers call "trash" and abilities they claim "no one" uses because it fits the character and is fun. "Build diversity" exists in spades for players like me because overland isn't punishingly difficult. If overland difficultly was upped to Craglorn level, it would restrict what I could create for characters that work for the content I like doing (which is overland, world bosses, and occasionally 4-person dungeons).

I hear you and your vote is important as are all our votes and opinions just saying i appreciate what you wrote.

Michae · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

Nah, if I want a challenge I go do some vet stuff or pvp. Overland is for doing quests and getting mats. It'd be really annoying if I had to fight my way through every area just to do some surveys. There's a variety of content for each type of player, let's keep it like that.

cyberjanet · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

A lot of things are being increased in difficulty to suit long time players who continually get better at the game.
But some people don't play 24/7.
And you know, there are always new players coming in.
If you want the content to be harder, just zero all your CP and wear mismatched white armour.

SnowFeather · May 2019

I found some things pretty challenging but still dueable as a solo player as i lvled my 1st character, but now that im maxed lvled an not even cp300 yet, im Already finding it very easy to do just bout anything on my own. Id be all for a difficulty increase.

RaptorRodeoGod · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

cyberjanet wrote: »

If you want the content to be harder, just zero all your CP and wear mismatched white armour.

Even without wearing any armor or allocating CP, it's still pretty easy. It'd be neat if there was an overland difficulty setting that applied a debuff to the player.

MikaHR · May 2019

No thanks, PvE difficulty is fine as it is.

I agree, high end needs to be nerfed (gear+CP) SIGNIFICANTLY to increase the difficutly for high end players. Power creep is INSANE in ESO and has to be dealt with.

OTOH, content is is fine and doesnt need any changes, probably need some nerfing too because new players are struggling.

OTOH, you dont want difficulty, unless you soloed all vet dungeons/world bosses naked+no CP....PLENTY of challenges to be had....that is IF you actually WANT difficulty and challenge.

MaleAmazon · May 2019

There's a variety of content for each type of player, let's keep it like that.

No there isn´t. Once you´ve learned vMA properly, there is no hard solo content.

alanmatillab16_ESO · May 2019

Agreed, please increase the difficulty in PvE areas greatly!

TequilaFire wrote: »

alanmatillab16_ESO wrote: »

TequilaFire wrote: »

Start from scratch on a new virgin no cp account, then come back and discuss.

Already have done a character not using any CP and only using gear from quest rewards or random drops that character got and open world pve content was still too easy.

What do you suggest? level naked and punch mobs to actually have some challenge?

Play end game PvE or PvP, you are done with overland.
You can't expect to play the same thing over and over and not get good at it.

That is irrelevant, the discussion here is about overland content. PvP is little about skill and more about picking the fotm class and going round in a blob steamrolling people then coming here crying for nerfs when it doesnt work. I doubt anyone is after every fight with a wolf being an epic encounter but there is no need to block or dodge large mob abilities or traps in delves, you know, the stuff that in instances later on you DO need to avoid.

Why not get players used to that through the levelling process instead of dropping it on them in dungeons for them to be exposed to the abuse from "veteran" players because they stood in the fire?