Can we have some more challenging quests and puzzles please?

InvictusApollo · September 2019

I know that there are people who struggle even with a Skyrim-like puzzle. I've seen it. I helped them. And no - it weern't all cases of "I won't bother thinking so I'm just gonna press buttons untill it ticks".
But all the puzzles in ESO feel extremely easy. It's allways the same thing: copy a pattern that is shown on a wall or described in a book.
How about something more complex? More satisfying?
I know that this game has to be suitable for all audiences and including a riddle or a puzzle that only few can solve without Google, might not be in line of this policy. But then again it would be nice if we had something harder than flipping switches in correct order.

The same goes for quests. Do you remeber quests in Morrowind? Now we have quest markers everywhere and turning them off isn't allways viable since the conversations weren't designed for that. It is even satirically criticized by Razum Dar in his report to the Queen about his dealings with Psijics.

Not all quests and puzzles ofcourse, since we can't expect 85% of playerbase to Google solutions. But a few here and there would be nice.

MaleAmazon · September 2019

Agree. The "Quarry Conundrum" quest made me bring out my pen and paper which felt great. Like old times.

ESO, of course, contains the worst puzzle in the history of gaming - the 'Last King of the Ayleids crystal spinning puzzle'. Which makes me hate myself every time I do the MQ on an alt.

IMO it´s better to have no puzzle than a pointlessly easy one. While we´re at it, remove the "find secret object which we will immediately mark with a giant arrow because we are lazy designers" quest parts.

Raisin · September 2019

200% agree. More puzzles please. They don't even have to be harder, just take out some of the quest markers... We have a good bit of content that would be a puzzle if we weren't supplied with the solution.

But yes, a little more creativity with them would be really nice.

InvictusApollo · September 2019

MaleAmazon wrote: »

Agree. The "Quarry Conundrum" quest made me bring out my pen and paper which felt great. Like old times.

Oh I forgot about that one. I think there was some math involved to get the right solution. It's been so long since I've done it, that I might enjoyu doing it again. Thanks for reminding me.

Kaunas · September 2019

As a complete moron i 100% agree there needs to be more puzzles.
2 days ago i did a weird quest where you need to use switches on a big tuba to tune its sound. It took me much longer than needed (not joking.. am dumb k) but after i made it its that good old feeling yano.

VaranisArano · September 2019

The Summerset Crows puzzle in Ebon Stadimont had enough variables that I remember it being really annoying.

Like, the poem was obvious enough that it felt a little bit clever, but then I start looking at the arches going "So, crow statues count, but what about the crow heads? Are those the same?" The art design made it more trial and error than it needed to be.

Likewise, the Elsweyr Prologue puzzles were fun, as long as you can figure out which tile is Waxing Moon vs Waning Moon either by knowledge or trial and error. I had a leg up on that one thanks to being a science teacher, so I was able to skip the plaque hints and work from the riddle.

Whenever I do a puzzle now, I try to record the results and put hints on the forums because often someone winds up completely stumped. And that's okay! I was completely lost about what I was supppsed to do during the Clockwork City pipes puzzle. Once someone's helpful post told me what I was supppsed to be accomplishing by turning the pipes, I figured out the puzzle easily.

TheShadowScout · September 2019

I myself enjoy puzzles that are a little more involved then just "find correct sequence which is depicted right next to the puzzle so you just have to look instead of think" - at least hide the hints in some text that required a minimum of thinking, I say!

I also often wish the game had more involved mechanics then "click it while crouching" for disarming some more complex traps... a minigame for that would have been neat! As would have been another minigame for magical wards (one that relies on thinking rather then reflexes!), and then a lot of magical wards to use it...

I also wish there had been more randomized puzzles, which would randomly be different for each playthrough, so you get to puzzle over them anew with each new character instead of remembering the solution from your last playthrough... riddles that are randomly selected from a bunch or stuff like that...

Oh, well. Maybe in new DLCs... though I really, really wish they woudl refit stuff to old regions as well, raise the game quality throughout the whole...

MaleAmazon · September 2019

I also often wish the game had more involved mechanics then "click it while crouching" for disarming some more complex traps...

You mean "run obliviously into trap, cast healing spell"? That´s my preferred method.

I found the Ebon Stadmont puzzle pretty good, the AD one where you have to answer a riddle while in disguise as a Veiled Inheritance member is pretty good, too.

Would really like to see more.

(Sidenote: I can really recommend 'The Turing Test' if you like puzzles. Not everyone´s cup of tea, but I found it a gem of a game, pretty cheap too.)

Saucy_Jack · September 2019

Nevermind puzzles for a single quest - I'd love to see meta-puzzles that span multiple zones that it takes the community a long time to crack. The kind you need a reddit thread for - like, Fez-style.

redlink1979 · September 2019

Mind game n puzzles? Yes, please. But it needs to be challenging imo.

FierceSam · September 2019

Great idea.

Especially for side quests or non-main story ones. Here creators could be slightly more ingenious and challenging as the satisfaction of solving a really good puzzle is a great feeling.. and for those who don’t like them (or are stumped) there could also be a hints mechanism so no one is prevented from progressing.

Getting a puzzle/riddle/challenge right is a real art, especially when the puzzle isn’t intended to block progress, but to enhance the journey.

InvictusApollo · September 2019

The idea with disarming wards is awesome. Imaigne it implemented in world dungeons just to enter an area with a boss.

Haenk · September 2019

I'd really welcome a (mentally) challenging DLC, with lots and lots of riddles - with variables, so you cannot google the solution.
Unfortunately, this takes a lot of development manpower, so it won't happen. I wish it would, though

AcadianPaladin · September 2019

I'll toss in what seems a minority opinion. I like ESO puzzles. My elf is really pleased that she can solve most puzzles in ESO on her own - and that keeps us immersed in the game. I very much dislike games where the puzzles pull me right out of the game to seek an internet walkthrough to solve - if the choices are easy puzzles, getting frustrated or going to a walkthrough, I'll take easy puzzles anytime.

Dusk_Coven · September 2019

SWL had a lot of puzzles. I mean *** real puzzles where you needed to do research outside of the game sometimes. There was one where they had you listen to morse code and if you think that's easy, they slowed it down and most people still had to use a walkthrough.

What's going to happen is very few people will actually do it solo.
Most people will use a walkthrough.

BUT for the few people who do it solo, it will be extremely satisfying. IF ZOS can actually do it, AND especially in a deeply lore-related way, I say go for it.
They have lots of NPCs investigating/tinkering with this-that-and-the-other-thing. Those missions that are just Fedex or smash-and-grab could instead be expanded into something much more.

StarOfElyon · September 2019

Some of the quests should be called "follow the quest marker to pick up the thing it's pointing to and then spam the A button to get through the pointless dialogue and complete your quest."

I really do feel sorry for the people who want to create better quests but probably aren't given the chance to. But I feel worse for us players who spend money on something we can autopilot through.

mongoLC · September 2019

If you want a puzzle game go play candy crush the puzzles in the quest now annoy me.

Acrolas · September 2019

Even on fairly simple challenges like in Fortnite, I find myself pulling out my smartphone and figuring out the fastest way to accomplish them all. It's not a new issue, per se; I still have some old NES strategy guides because they too colorful and fun to browse through to throw away.

But it's definitely a challenge to make content that is both obstacle-based and rewarding. And with this many concurrent players, even something random and unpredictable eventually has a pattern.

Prologue quest assortments don't seem to be all that popular. PVP challenges have their own unique issues. Fishing gets tedious rather quickly. Google scavenger hunts.

Personally, some of the more challenging content has come from guild events where the ideas and the rewards are catered to a larger group but not the entire game population.

Darkhorse1975 · October 2019

I had fun figuring out a puzzle in Craglorn outside of the entrence to Shada's Tear group dungeon. I heard the puzzle used to be part of a dungeon quest but was removed when ZOS overhauled Craglorn but you can still do the puzzle outside the dungeon to summon a mini world boss to fight.

KyraCROgnon · October 2019

The only mmo that ever had real challenging puzzles was Secret World. They were a specific type of mission, always optional for main story line, and you had 0 help ingame. Some included decoding morse light signal, folding origami, searching on bogus websites on the "real" internet for passwords...
Was one of the truly unique aspect of that game, i'd love to see something simular in ESO but not sure how it would be received.

The one thing ESO had and should work hard on keeping is quests with a real mood, and where you can't tell who's good or bad or ugly. Like that side quest where you start helping a grieving ghost get her remain reunited with the ones of her daughters . Who as you move along you discover have been killed by their father. Except that things are not as it seems...
Love quests like that, where the story reads like a good novel, with plots, twists, and more to it than "bring a bag of potatoe to me and i'll pay you"

bmnoble · October 2019

I tend to hate puzzles in games in general, got no problem with them being added so long as there is an option to skip them.

Glurin · October 2019

Yeah, the only time I've ever had any trouble with the puzzles in ESO is when I got distracted by something IRL and wasn't even paying attention to what I was doing so I was just more or less pushing random buttons.

But the thing is, I honestly don't know if people could handle anything more complex these days. I think most are just going to google the solution and get frustrated if they can't find it.

Everstorm · October 2019

I'm pretty sure my IQ drops a bit every time I do the Rending Flames "puzzle" in Stonefalls.

Grianasteri · October 2019

InvictusApollo wrote: »

I know that there are people who struggle even with a Skyrim-like puzzle. I've seen it. I helped them. And no - it weern't all cases of "I won't bother thinking so I'm just gonna press buttons untill it ticks".
But all the puzzles in ESO feel extremely easy. It's allways the same thing: copy a pattern that is shown on a wall or described in a book.
How about something more complex? More satisfying?
I know that this game has to be suitable for all audiences and including a riddle or a puzzle that only few can solve without Google, might not be in line of this policy. But then again it would be nice if we had something harder than flipping switches in correct order.

The same goes for quests. Do you remeber quests in Morrowind? Now we have quest markers everywhere and turning them off isn't allways viable since the conversations weren't designed for that. It is even satirically criticized by Razum Dar in his report to the Queen about his dealings with Psijics.

Not all quests and puzzles ofcourse, since we can't expect 85% of playerbase to Google solutions. But a few here and there would be nice.

Absolutely YES. I have fed this back across various forums.

ESO needs more puzzle content. I do not understand why this is not more a part of the game. It can be implemented in a way that means folk can either do it, or not bother with the content.

Another area that is sorely missing is assault course type content. Jumping, balancing, timing, dodging etc your way through an area. I can only think of one instance of anything approaching this kind of thing in one of the story missions. The scope for this kind of enjoyment is wide and easy to implement. Add it to dungeons and trials. For all its faults, Destiny did this exceptionally. It doesnt all have to be about kill kill kill.

craybest · October 2019

Absolutely! Add some more and harder puzzles please. They could even add some kind of punishment if you get them wrong. For now it's just "try as many times as you want without repercussions, until you get it out of pure luck" which can work for some but for others it feels cheap.
Also for any puzzle quest the markers should go off.
Of course some people will say "but I don't want to think I want easy quests and do them all without an inch of difficulty" but that's why we have Google for those not interested in doing them.

randomkeyhits · October 2019

If you want challenging puzzles then ESO isn't the place to find them.

Go to Historical Source on github, its got the source for all the original Infocom adventures freely available. Zork, Enchanter, HHGTTG and many others.

JusticeForJilarga · October 2019

This One thinks if they add more complex puzzles, they should go into a dedicated quest line specifically for the puzzles. Most people won't want to be taken out of the action all the time for these complex puzzles.

craybest · October 2019

JusticeForJilarga wrote: »

This One thinks if they add more complex puzzles, they should go into a dedicated quest line specifically for the puzzles. Most people won't want to be taken out of the action all the time for these complex puzzles.

not needed. most puzzles are in sidequests. if soeone doesn't want to do puzzles they can just drop the quest.

JusticeForJilarga · October 2019

craybest wrote: »

JusticeForJilarga wrote: »

This One thinks if they add more complex puzzles, they should go into a dedicated quest line specifically for the puzzles. Most people won't want to be taken out of the action all the time for these complex puzzles.

not needed. most puzzles are in sidequests. if soeone doesn't want to do puzzles they can just drop the quest.

This One is willing to bet most people would drop the quest. At that stage what's the point?

InvictusApollo · October 2019

JusticeForJilarga wrote: »

craybest wrote: »

JusticeForJilarga wrote: »

This One thinks if they add more complex puzzles, they should go into a dedicated quest line specifically for the puzzles. Most people won't want to be taken out of the action all the time for these complex puzzles.

not needed. most puzzles are in sidequests. if soeone doesn't want to do puzzles they can just drop the quest.

This One is willing to bet most people would drop the quest. At that stage what's the point?

It is... sad that so many people would just drop a little harder puzzle than what we have right now.

JusticeForJilarga · October 2019

InvictusApollo wrote: »

JusticeForJilarga wrote: »

craybest wrote: »

JusticeForJilarga wrote: »

This One thinks if they add more complex puzzles, they should go into a dedicated quest line specifically for the puzzles. Most people won't want to be taken out of the action all the time for these complex puzzles.

not needed. most puzzles are in sidequests. if soeone doesn't want to do puzzles they can just drop the quest.

This One is willing to bet most people would drop the quest. At that stage what's the point?

It is... sad that so many people would just drop a little harder puzzle than what we have right now.

This One hopes you can get the content you like. JusticeForJilarga thinks it would be best in a quest designed just for these harder puzzles.