Are patches ruining the game?

Naftal · September 2019

Olupajmibanan wrote: »

Gilvoth wrote: »

we have to adjust our builds to accommodate the changes, this is nothing new, been this way in eso since beta, and is in ALL mmo's for the past 10 years +
go with the changes, or you will not remain strong.

Not that often. Name one MMO outside of ESO that does drastic metashift every 3 months.

Do other games have gear like ESO or is your gear dependant on how far you have progressed? Do you have choices between gear or do you just go for the next thing that has higher stats?

Don't other games also increase level cap every so often which will make everything you have so far useless and you have to grind everything again?

Number_51 · September 2019

I actually kinda like the patches (change in general), but I'm also one of those weirdos for whom character development is "end game". There's nothing more boring, in my opinion, then to finish a build and then run the same content over and over, doing the same rotation over and over, never changing anything. Stagnation isn't something enjoyable. The changes made every patch, good or bad (and I'm not saying there have not been bad changes), forces you to adapt and overcome. To maybe learn something new, or see something from a different perspective. Ultimately, hopefully, making you a better player and not just a robot programmed to press the same sequence of buttons, lather, rinse, repeat.

Austinseph1 · September 2019

Content and balance wise it has honestly been a step in the right direction, but stability and flow of combat get worse with every patch. Constant bugs without fixes just because they aren’t game breaking, and even the game breaking ones take a week to get hotfixed. Flow of combat ruined constantly by then and it’s pretty immersion breaking. I like the game but it definitely needs more quality control for fixes.

Ozazz · September 2019

Tamriellnes wrote: »

I am not questioning any spesific patch, change, nerf or buff made to the game during the years it has been out. I question the reason. Some nerfs are obvious, most patches has legit reasons to, its all about balancing the playstyle and all right, and hotfixes must be made, fair enough.
But for players like me, having played the game since release its very clear that 90% of the changes made are to please new players, decreasing the gap to vet players. While we, the vets are left with a charcter or eight thats no longer op, after spending so much time and effort to finetune it. Does not zos/bethesda care about us?
More and more of my old eso friends have left the game now. I think its sad, but maybe Im just too old at the age of 25, maybe this is just me lacking the ability to go with the flow and the changes, I dont know..
I just miss "the old days"

same age as you, and someone who cares deeply about the game, it's in our best interest to move on!
zos is disingenuous and lacks transparency as a whole when it comes to each patch etc.
they don't care about the fundamentals the game was built on nor what made it iconic!
they will seek the pursuit of what they think is ideal, for a more popular business model, this is in regard to pvp.

Katahdin · September 2019

I hate the constant and frequent meta shift.
I just get comfortable with the current and start to get improving then it changes.

Always seems like 2 steps forward, 3 steps back every 3 months. I'm sick of it.

Maximilian · September 2019

The only constant is change.

Vhozek · September 2019

Enemy-of-Coldharbour wrote: »

It's not the patches ruining the game:

That guy always gives me a negative feel.
"10 million trillion players" *stares into the crowd with a FaceApp smile*

kargen27 · September 2019

Is it cheaper to walk to work or take your lunch?

Is it colder in the mountains or in the winter?

Edziu · September 2019

Naftal wrote: »

Olupajmibanan wrote: »

Gilvoth wrote: »

we have to adjust our builds to accommodate the changes, this is nothing new, been this way in eso since beta, and is in ALL mmo's for the past 10 years +
go with the changes, or you will not remain strong.

Not that often. Name one MMO outside of ESO that does drastic metashift every 3 months.

Do other games have gear like ESO or is your gear dependant on how far you have progressed? Do you have choices between gear or do you just go for the next thing that has higher stats?

Don't other games also increase level cap every so often which will make everything you have so far useless and you have to grind everything again?

gw2 for example, you have always this 80lvl as max and thats all and there is even better thing in gear to use - you dont have any gear sets, you just have gear with its stats and this endgme gear which you earn you can also change stats if it if you dont want to farm new but even, gaining new endgame gear with different stats for other build isnt that big pain in ass like in eso to gold your gear or farm from dungs etc lol

and you have sigils in your gear as set which you can change whenever you want and these are cheap af even those in meta in compare to golden gear in eso

and btw, have you named any popular game which "does drastic metashift every 3 months"?

mitchtheelder · September 2019

since last one I have serious fps issues CMON ZOS

@Gina Bruno

nickl413 · September 2019

Tamriellnes wrote: »

I am not questioning any spesific patch, change, nerf or buff made to the game during the years it has been out. I question the reason. Some nerfs are obvious, most patches has legit reasons to, its all about balancing the playstyle and all right, and hotfixes must be made, fair enough.
But for players like me, having played the game since release its very clear that 90% of the changes made are to please new players, decreasing the gap to vet players. While we, the vets are left with a charcter or eight thats no longer op, after spending so much time and effort to finetune it. Does not zos/bethesda care about us?
More and more of my old eso friends have left the game now. I think its sad, but maybe Im just too old at the age of 25, maybe this is just me lacking the ability to go with the flow and the changes, I dont know..
I just miss "the old days"

SydneyGrey wrote: »

90% of the nerfs and buffs happen just to balance PvP. It's necessary for PvP players, and endlessly frustrating for everybody else. It seems like PvP players get prioritized in this game. I don't think that most of the changes happen because of new players at all. Some of them, yes, but mostly it's just to balance PvP.

Wrong and wrong. Obviously the dot buffs were not made to help PVPers. They're crying buckets these days. And until the most recent patch with dot and AoE timers homogenized, I really havent seen much in the way of helping "raise the floor" for new players.

No, most of the nerfs and buffs are done to give players something to do. Work on builds, new rotations, farm gear, etc. Its called "horizontal progression". Basically, they can't churn out new content quick enough, so they nerf this or buff that so you, the player, will have new stuff to play with. I'm not saying I agree with how extreme they are with their nerfs and buffs, but that's whats going on.

Lylith · September 2019

nickl413 wrote: »

Tamriellnes wrote: »

I am not questioning any spesific patch, change, nerf or buff made to the game during the years it has been out. I question the reason. Some nerfs are obvious, most patches has legit reasons to, its all about balancing the playstyle and all right, and hotfixes must be made, fair enough.
But for players like me, having played the game since release its very clear that 90% of the changes made are to please new players, decreasing the gap to vet players. While we, the vets are left with a charcter or eight thats no longer op, after spending so much time and effort to finetune it. Does not zos/bethesda care about us?
More and more of my old eso friends have left the game now. I think its sad, but maybe Im just too old at the age of 25, maybe this is just me lacking the ability to go with the flow and the changes, I dont know..
I just miss "the old days"

SydneyGrey wrote: »

90% of the nerfs and buffs happen just to balance PvP. It's necessary for PvP players, and endlessly frustrating for everybody else. It seems like PvP players get prioritized in this game. I don't think that most of the changes happen because of new players at all. Some of them, yes, but mostly it's just to balance PvP.

Wrong and wrong. Obviously the dot buffs were not made to help PVPers. They're crying buckets these days. And until the most recent patch with dot and AoE timers homogenized, I really havent seen much in the way of helping "raise the floor" for new players.

No, most of the nerfs and buffs are done to give players something to do. Work on builds, new rotations, farm gear, etc. Its called "horizontal progression". Basically, they can't churn out new content quick enough, so they nerf this or buff that so you, the player, will have new stuff to play with. I'm not saying I agree with how extreme they are with their nerfs and buffs, but that's whats going on.

i.e. 'busy work.'

no thanks. i retired from that garbage years ago.

ZarkingFrued · September 2019

Protossyder wrote: »

Someone plays a class that's killing it this patch lol

ZarkingFrued · September 2019

nafensoriel wrote: »

Tamriellnes wrote: »

I am not questioning any spesific patch, change, nerf or buff made to the game during the years it has been out. I question the reason. Some nerfs are obvious, most patches has legit reasons to, its all about balancing the playstyle and all right, and hotfixes must be made, fair enough.
But for players like me, having played the game since release its very clear that 90% of the changes made are to please new players, decreasing the gap to vet players. While we, the vets are left with a charcter or eight thats no longer op, after spending so much time and effort to finetune it. Does not zos/bethesda care about us?
More and more of my old eso friends have left the game now. I think its sad, but maybe Im just too old at the age of 25, maybe this is just me lacking the ability to go with the flow and the changes, I dont know..
I just miss "the old days"

Not patching an online game is like not breathing for a human. Both with identical results for the subject matter.

Also 25 aint old enough to be nostalgic. Seriously you are barely off your parents' couch. Not meant to be an insult we've all been kids. It's just that people assume they are old because something changed.. thats a bad way of viewing it. My generation was born before publically accessable computer games existed. I've lived the entire PC game evolution and have a bloody Tandy down stairs. I still don't feel nostalgic because the future is change and embracing change is choosing to live rather than simply exist.

Keep the discussion game relevant lmao

CrimsonGTX · September 2019

The consistent lack of direction is making the game not worth investing time in. Buffing something just to nerf it weeks later shows it. The game no longer felt like you're progressing due to skill, it's more like you're testing the Devs new ideas.

Olupajmibanan wrote: »

Gilvoth wrote: »

we have to adjust our builds to accommodate the changes, this is nothing new, been this way in eso since beta, and is in ALL mmo's for the past 10 years +
go with the changes, or you will not remain strong.

Not that often. Name one MMO outside of ESO that does drastic metashift every 3 months.

I agree with you on this, it's one of the reason I just decided to stop playing this game along with classes losing their identities. The only other MMO I play is BDO and although it has it's flaws, one thing I love about it is that the classes I play will maintain it's identity and the meta don't take rapid swings back-and-forth like ESO. If I choose a caster(Witch/Wizard) I want to play and feel like a caster, all classes should not play alike and should feel different from each other.

zyk · September 2019

No, updates alone do not ruin games. They are a necessity in games like this. It's like asking if car repairs are bad because you have a bad mechanic.

With that said, I don't think ZOS devs, individually, are bad either.

I think the underlying problem is that ZOS is trying to please too many different types of disparate gamers. From ultra-casual single player Skyrim fans to hardcore PVE raiders and PVP players. It results in a lot of dissatisfaction for all parties.

This doesn't only apply to adjustments, but the massive feature bloat that makes the game practically impossible to balance.

idk · September 2019

Tamriellnes wrote: »

But for players like me, having played the game since release its very clear that 90% of the changes made are to please new players, decreasing the gap to vet players. "

This is not correct by any stretch.

First. Starting with Morrowind Zos has made changes that drove a wedge between top dps and bottom dps. You can still find people who struggle to breach 20k dps, probably even 10k at full 810 CP but top dps keeps climbing.

If what you said was correct the opposite would be happening. What is probably tripping you up is that Zos is trying to make the game easier for them to manage since they have failed at every change to bring balance and have made server performance worse.