As some of you know, at least those who play PvP in Cyrodiil, every now and then Volendrung spawns.
Volendrung is a very powerful item that causes great mayhem in Cyrodiil, and everybody wants to grasp it. I am pretty sure that Daedric Prince Malacath is very happy with this.

As soon as Volendrung spawns, a massive zerg forms around this hammer. People all are attracted to its location and everybody wants it. This type of effect reminds me of the chaos ball in the similarly named Battlegrounds game mode. The chaos ball, however, has a negative area of effect for the team that carries the ball. This disincentivizes players to stick too close to the ball when it is carried by a friendly player, and also makes it harder to carry the weapon for a longer period of time.

This made me think about Volendrung. Why does Volendrung not have such a mechanic? Why does Volendrung only provide positive effects to surrounding friendly players? For example, Pariah's Resolve (A Volendrung ability) gives Major Brutality, Major Endurance, and Major Expedition to the carrier and nearby group members.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't want to nerf Volendrung. I want ZOS to disincentivize players to form a massive zerg around an already powerful item.
I don't think that Volendrung should deal damage to players within a certain radius of the carrier. I think that would take too many calculations for the server to handle. Instead, I rather see that, for example, using one of its abilities, applies a negative status effect to players within a certain radius, such as major (or minor) vulnerability or defile. This may not be an ideal solution but it may disincentivize players from balling around the hammer because it also gives a negative effect to the group balling around it.

I know, this may be a stupid idea. But I am just kind of 'thinking out loud' here to see what other people think about this idea and how Volendrung adds to (or removes from) the fun in Cyrodiil.