Details for AoE Testing in Cyrodiil

ZOS_GinaBruno · September 2020

Hi everyone,

Starting next week, we’ll be running a series of tests in Cyrodiil on the live PC megaservers focusing on Area of Effect (AoE) abilities to identify how we can improve and make a more positive impact on PvP performance. To read more about what brought us to determining the need for these tests, we posted a full explanation back in July here.

Below is a list of all the tests we are currently planning for Cyrodiil on PC, along with the dates and a short summary of what to expect. Note that each test is independent of each other, and tests are subject to change. We’ll post in this thread once each test has started or ended, or if anything changes, and will keep it locked from comments so it’s easier to follow the current status. Remember that you’ll be able to earn double AP in Cyrodiil during all the tests!

Once all these tests are complete, we’ll spend some time analyzing the data and determine next steps, which we’ll be sure to share with you.

September 8-14: Shared global AoE cooldown, 3 second timer
- For this test, all AoE abilities will have a shared global 3 second cooldown. This means when you cast an AoE, you will not be able to cast another AoE for 3 seconds. For example, if you cast Ritual of Retribution, you won’t be able to cast Puncturing Sweep for 3 seconds.
September 14-21: Individual AoE cooldown, 3 second timer
- For this test, each AoE ability will have an individual cooldown. This means when you cast an AoE, you will not be able to cast that same AoE ability for 3 seconds. For example, if you cast Puncturing Sweep, you won’t be able to cast Puncturing Sweep again for 3 seconds.
September 21-28: No cooldown, global ramping AoE cost
- For this test, each AoE cast will have a global ramping cost. Each stack of the debuff increases the cost of any AoE cast, similar to how streak or dodge roll works when casting an AoE, and you receive a debuff for 5 seconds.
September 28 – October 5: Individual AoE cooldown, 3 second timer and global ramping AoE cost
- Each AoE ability will have an individual cooldown from Test 2, but also combines that with a global ramping cost from Test 3.
October 5-12: Group size is limited to 12 in Cyrodiil, and any ally-targeted abilities are only applied to group members
October 12-19: Group size is limited to 12 in Cyrodiil, and if a group contains 6 or more players, everyone’s AoE abilities will go on individual cooldowns and have escalating cost similar to the tests above

Thanks in advance for participating in these tests. The more players that jump in, the more data we’ll be able to collect and analyze, which will ultimately give us better results!

ZOS_GinaBruno · September 2020

Test 1 has officially begun on PC NA and EU in Cyrodiil. Starting now until September 14, all AoE abilities will have a shared global 3 second cooldown. Also just a reminder that you can earn double AP in Cyrodiil for participating in this test.

ZOS_GinaBruno · September 2020

Test 1 has completed, and Test 2 is now live. From now until September 21, AoE abilities will have an individual cooldown of 3 seconds. Additionally, we have also hotfixed an issue with double AP earned not going toward your AvA skills or Leaderboard rank - this should now work as expected.

ZOS_GinaBruno · September 2020

Test 3 began this morning around 7am EDT. From now until September 28, each AoE cast will have a global ramping cost.

ZOS_GinaBruno · September 2020

Test 4 has started! From now until October 5, each AoE ability will have an individual cooldown from Test 2, but also combines the global ramping cost from Test 3.

ZOS_GinaBruno · October 2020

This morning, we started Test 5! Group sizes are currently limited to 12 in Cyrodiil, and any ally-targeted abilities are only applied to group members. This will be ongoing until October 12.

ZOS_GinaBruno · October 2020

Earlier today, we enabled our final scheduled test. From now until October 19, group size is limited to 12 in Cyrodiil. If a group contains 6 or more players, everyone’s AoE abilities will go on individual cooldowns and have escalating cost similar to the tests above. We'll let you know when we have a plan in place moving forward once this test concludes.

ZOS_GinaBruno · October 2020

Thanks to everyone for participating in our Cyrodiil tests the past few weeks. We know it’s been challenging to battle with ability functionality changing so often, but being able to gather live data has been invaluable.

As we approach the end of our scheduled tests, we’ve determined that we’d like to run at least two more tests to gather additional data, which are outlined below. Our goal here is to see how a combination of changes from previous tests affect the performance, as we’ve found they have not had a significant impact individually.

October 19 - 26:
- Shared global AoE cooldown with a 3 second timer
- Group size limited to 12 in Cyrodiil
- Ally-targeted abilities only applied to group members
October 26 – November 2:
- Shared global AoE cooldown with a 3 second timer
- Group size limited to 12 in Cyrodiil
- Ally-targeted abilities only applied to group members
- Global ramping cost per successive AoE cast by 50%/100%/150%
- Regen decrease per successive AoE cast by 33%/66%/99%

Our current plan is to disable all tests and double AP once Update 28 launches for PC on November 2. At that time, we’ll need to take some time to analyze the data collected from all the tests and determine next steps. Once we have a better idea of what that entails, we’ll let everyone know.

ZOS_GinaBruno · October 2020

We enabled the next test about an hour ago, which will run until October 26. Currently, all AoE abilities have a shared global 3 second cooldown with group sizes being limited to 12 in Cyrodiil, and any ally-targeted ability will only apply to group members.

ZOS_GinaBruno · November 2020

Hi everyone,

Thanks again for participating in Cyrodiil the last couple months while we held the various tests with AoE abilities. We know it was challenging to play at times, but running these tests on a live environment was the best way for us to test various hypotheses.

In reviewing the data for all the different tests, we did see some marked improvements in performance – on average, there was approximately a 25% reduction in the magnitude of server frame spikes and a slight reduction in the frequency of those spikes. While these improvements look good on a spreadsheet, they do not have a significant enough impact on improving the overall player experience. As a result, we will not be making any major changes at this time.

That said, there were a few elements from the various tests that we’ve decided to enable for both PC and console for the foreseeable future, as we liked the behavioral changes they brought. Starting on Monday, November 9 for consoles and November 16 for PC, we will be limiting group sizes in Cyrodiil to 12 players, and all ally-targeted abilities will only apply to those in your group.

As for next steps, we’re going to take some time to consider future tests we’d like to run; none of these will occur until sometime after the new year. We’ll be sure to let everyone know what types of tests we’ve decided on next and will reconvene here in early 2021.