The Gold Road Chapter – which includes the Scribing system – and Update 42 is now available to test on the PTS! You can read the latest patch notes here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/656454/
Maintenance for the week of May 6:
• PC/Mac: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – May 6, 4:00AM EDT (8:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
• Xbox: NA and EU megaservers for maintenance – May 8, 6:00AM EDT (10:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
• PlayStation®: NA and EU megaservers for maintenance – May 8, 6:00AM EDT (10:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
• PC/Mac: NA and EU megaservers for patch maintenance – May 6, 4:00AM EDT (8:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
• Xbox: NA and EU megaservers for maintenance – May 8, 6:00AM EDT (10:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
• PlayStation®: NA and EU megaservers for maintenance – May 8, 6:00AM EDT (10:00 UTC) - 9:00AM EDT (13:00 UTC)
So ESO officially a single player MMO?
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vestahls✭✭✭✭✭
✭How are they different from the summoned pets though, like the Sorc pets or the bear? It's just that apparently they have dialogue, and you don't spell-slot them.
They probably won't make that much of a difference, ESO is mostly played solo as it is, outside of trials and the occasional pledge.“He is even worse than a n'wah. He is - may Vivec forgive me for uttering this word - a Hlaalu.”luv Abnur
luv Rigurt
luv Stibbons
'ate Ayrenn
'ate Razum-dar
'ate Khamira
simple as2 -
thorwyn✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭A system that will significantly make solo content easier is "optional"
I am not a big fan of an army of NPCs either, but let's just wait and find out how big of an impact those companions are to the game. Frankly speaking: if a player is struggling with the current solo content (with the exception of the veteran arenas), he/she would probably not want to group anyways. At best it is a damage pet for tanks and healers who don't want to run a separate build for solo dps.And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon1 -
thegreat_one✭✭✭✭Well, It would be nice to have a "Hide other players" Option.
Elder scrolls has been a single player experience primarily and if i'm going to be grinding a story line I would rather not see a (or many) tiny-fat-gnome looking things running around in a bathers towel with a jesters crown on it's head.
7 -
Vanya✭✭✭✭✭It was ever since Tamriel Unlimited, I cannot see any other major impossibly solo friendly MMO other than ESO with limitless options ability to go anywhere,anytime and has ultimate RP,story,lore,exploration,features,combat that would satisfy anyone. ,also ability to become extremely OP later with right class,build etc
The size of ESO is blowing my mind by each day3 -
etchedpixels✭✭✭✭✭
✭A lot of people I know play the game as if it were Skyrim + group roleplay and want to play it as if it was Skyrim, or Skyrim + group role playing. Companions, romance and the like fit right into that so to me makes a lot of sense and are really just bringing more missing Skyrim elements into ESO.
The concern I have is more in the other direction - if all the elite folks start running super-optimized dungeon/trial teams with companions all slotting perfect gear and other setup to boost the group then they'll have to make the hard content even harder, and effectively you'll only be able to complete a vet trial with 12 companions precisely tuned - which will suck for those who don't want to do that.
So I'd really like to see companions excluded from group content, except for solo "walk in the door" dungeoneering - and then mostly because the badly conceived "anti-solo" mechanics in some dungeons like Direfrost need a spare muppet to stand somewhere to open a gate.
Too many toons not enough time4 -
Vanya✭✭✭✭✭P.S. New generation of MMOs tend to please SP base. It has it prons and cons,but too be fair when you see OP demi God char clearing entire zone solo including world bosses,public dungeons pulling so many monsters,foes and clearing dungeon or area, you know something is wrong.
I loved Vanilla WoW and Vanilla LOTRO in eons now past from 2004-2008 you were literally forced to group , the enviroment was much more deadly with WAY less options or builds,freedom,totally different era, just gave a comparison.
However desipte that ESO is legendary masterpiece, for me quests,lore and exploration and more than enough to keep me occupied ,havenn't even included anything else.
I loved classic MMO's example of must have group content or limitiatins on how much can solo, I know for instance in Vanilla WoW i never felt so miserable, its hard to say where I stand for good I love freedom independence of gameplay ESO is perfect there but also I feel they gave us far too much power.Edited by Vanya on January 27, 2021 4:44PM0 -
AcadianPaladin✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭As a soloist, I don't mind getting (and totally ignoring) 2 new group dungeons and a trial a year because I know that many who like to group enjoy them. Similarly, I don't mind the existence of Cyrodiil or battlegrounds even though I choose not to PvP. All I ask is the same courtesy when it comes to optional features that are designed for the large number of us who happily explore and adventure as soloists. I am chagrined by the close-minded lack of tolerance regarding play styles that do not match what some tell us they should be.
I look forward to companions - not for the 'combat edge' but for the roleplaying value of a companion whose schedule 100% mirrors my own and who always stays totally in character.
As far as single player games being a dime a dozen, I welcome recommendations to replace ESO as my game home. Specifically, a single player game that offers all the following: Massive scale (Oblivion and Skyrim are woefully far from massive), open world, ability to create your own character (unlike the Witcher etc) , no need to recruit a 'team' to succeed (unlike Baldur's Gate etc), medieval fantasy environment. Travel by horse. I am constantly on the look for such a game but, for now, ESO is as close as I can get. That it is multiplayer is a drawback I live with because ESO is reasonably friendly to soloists.Edited by AcadianPaladin on January 27, 2021 4:43PMPC NA(no Steam), PvE, mostly solo17 -
Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo✭✭✭✭✭
✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »The_Old_Goat wrote: »Are you saying that there wasn't already single player content in the game?
Having solo content=/= being a solo focused game
It's not a solo focused game, though.
It's more 'solo play' than it was when it first came out. *Context*
On the contrary. When the game first came out, there were no trials and no veteran dungeons. Those came after launch.
What you had was zone after zone of quests. They did focus more on groups when they added vet dungeons, trials and pledges. Along with the DLC zone world bosses that packed a punch.
We did everything together from my experience. I remember some soloish players who would want to challenge themselves to content made for 4, but it was very rare as it was much harder back then as you say.
Eso used to be a learning curve with difficulties, period.3 -
Tandor✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »The_Old_Goat wrote: »Are you saying that there wasn't already single player content in the game?
Having solo content=/= being a solo focused game
It's not a solo focused game, though.
Where's the group focused content for Blackwood?
There's one chapter which includes a Trial for 12 players as well as delves and world bosses among the new zone content, and there are two DLCs each of which has two group dungeons. Together with a story-based DLC that will doubtless have delves and world bosses among the new zone content there is a good balance of content between solo and group players.4 -
Tandor✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »The_Old_Goat wrote: »Are you saying that there wasn't already single player content in the game?
Having solo content=/= being a solo focused game
It's not a solo focused game, though.
It's more 'solo play' than it was when it first came out. *Context*
On the contrary. When the game first came out, there were no trials and no veteran dungeons. Those came after launch.
What you had was zone after zone of quests. They did focus more on groups when they added vet dungeons, trials and pledges. Along with the DLC zone world bosses that packed a punch.
We did everything together from my experience. I remember some soloish players who would want to challenge themselves to content made for 4, but it was very rare as it was much harder back then as you say.
Eso used to be a learning curve with difficulties, period.
The problem with having content that is designed to be played by people together is that it's fine when it launches, but then the initial crowd moves on and anyone new coming along is stuck because there's no-one else about to make the content doable. That was ultimately the problem in Craglorn as originally designed.3 -
Raideen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭I don't think ESO will ever be a single player MMO, but I would hazard a guess that most folks do not always have the luxury of scheduling their play time with others. So it's good to allow them to consume content without the need of others.
I don't think anyone expects or even wants to run a trial solo, or maybe even a vet but some normals and world bosses and even public dungeons are desired to play often if anything for farming gear sets. I know that many of the best players can solo vets, normals and have no problems with world bosses etc, but that is not the case for everyone, or even most folks I would guess.
So I think the companion NPC's have their place. I would have never guessed ESO would implement something like this (kinda feels played out to me because of SWTOR, but that is my experience), but none the less I am curious to see how this plays out in game.
There will still be a need for trial groups and people gathering for harder content. I don't expect that to change any time soon.3 -
Thealteregoroman✭✭✭✭✭
✭Darkstorne wrote: »All modern western MMOs are predominantly single player. That's what the market wants. The vast majority of us spend 95% of our MMO time in solo experiences like questing/exploration, and like optional group content for the other 5% like dungeons, trials, and PVP.
Forced group content in zones never goes down well. A lesson Craglorn learned well...
I think the next big "MMO" advancement for the genre will be to make solo content truly solo, so you don't even run into random players on the map unless it's beneficial to you (ie, world bosses, dolmens, public dungeons). Seeing other players around you when you're questing or delving actively detracts from the experience since it necessitates MMO tropes like respawning mobs and simpler quest structures (can't have set pieces and big changes after quests in a shared world). It's not a thought many players want to face though - they'll defend seeing players everywhere and say "that's how an MMO works" as though MMOs have stayed the same and never evolved, and as though modern MMOs like Destiny and the Division aren't half way to this position already. But it's almost certainly going to happen, and I think that 95% chunk of players will love it for the increased quality in AI, level design, and quest structure as a result.
finally, someone gets it.****Master Healer...****0 -
Uvi_AUT✭✭✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »Shootsfoot wrote: »They sound optional to me, so...don't do it?
A system that will significantly make solo content easier is "optional"
Highly doubt that [snip]
[edited for baiting]
What I dont understand is for whom is this System for? I mean we pretty much delete every kind of Overlandcontent in a Second already. Most mobs dont even survive a global cooldown.Registered since 2014, Customer Service lost my Forum-Account and can't find it.....0 -
Ghanima_Atreides✭✭✭✭✭
✭Thealteregoroman wrote: »Darkstorne wrote: »All modern western MMOs are predominantly single player. That's what the market wants. The vast majority of us spend 95% of our MMO time in solo experiences like questing/exploration, and like optional group content for the other 5% like dungeons, trials, and PVP.
Forced group content in zones never goes down well. A lesson Craglorn learned well...
I think the next big "MMO" advancement for the genre will be to make solo content truly solo, so you don't even run into random players on the map unless it's beneficial to you (ie, world bosses, dolmens, public dungeons). Seeing other players around you when you're questing or delving actively detracts from the experience since it necessitates MMO tropes like respawning mobs and simpler quest structures (can't have set pieces and big changes after quests in a shared world). It's not a thought many players want to face though - they'll defend seeing players everywhere and say "that's how an MMO works" as though MMOs have stayed the same and never evolved, and as though modern MMOs like Destiny and the Division aren't half way to this position already. But it's almost certainly going to happen, and I think that 95% chunk of players will love it for the increased quality in AI, level design, and quest structure as a result.
finally, someone gets it.
SWTOR is already 90% like that; all story missions take place in personal phases (with the option to invite a friend, but they would be just a spectator) and other quest phases are group-instanced; no random people allowed in them. Most of their "dungeons" also have a Story mode that can be soloed (along with hardmode for those who want it) and you only really come across other players in rest areas and the few overland sections of the map which have diminished as the game evolved.
Personally I WISH ESO's story content took place in group-instanced areas (a group of 1 is still a group of course), there's nothing more anticlimactic than encountering a story boss only for some rando to kill it before I even got a look in.Edited by Ghanima_Atreides on January 27, 2021 5:10PM[The Beauty of Tamriel] My collection of ESO screenshots
Show me a completely smooth operation and I'll show you someone who's covering mistakes. Real boats rock.4 -
Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo✭✭✭✭✭
✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »The_Old_Goat wrote: »Are you saying that there wasn't already single player content in the game?
Having solo content=/= being a solo focused game
It's not a solo focused game, though.
It's more 'solo play' than it was when it first came out. *Context*
On the contrary. When the game first came out, there were no trials and no veteran dungeons. Those came after launch.
What you had was zone after zone of quests. They did focus more on groups when they added vet dungeons, trials and pledges. Along with the DLC zone world bosses that packed a punch.
We did everything together from my experience. I remember some soloish players who would want to challenge themselves to content made for 4, but it was very rare as it was much harder back then as you say.
Eso used to be a learning curve with difficulties, period.
The problem with having content that is designed to be played by people together is that it's fine when it launches, but then the initial crowd moves on and anyone new coming along is stuck because there's no-one else about to make the content doable. That was ultimately the problem in Craglorn as originally designed.
I agree and see the logic, but it was implemented everywhere.0 -
JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO✭✭✭✭A system that will significantly make solo content easier is "optional"
I am not a big fan of an army of NPCs either, but let's just wait and find out how big of an impact those companions are to the game. Frankly speaking: if a player is struggling with the current solo content (with the exception of the veteran arenas), he/she would probably not want to group anyways. At best it is a damage pet for tanks and healers who don't want to run a separate build for solo dps.
Another said thing is there will be a companion tier list so everyone will be running around with the exact same npc just flooding the world.
We see this in SWTOR.1 -
Raideen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »A system that will significantly make solo content easier is "optional"
I am not a big fan of an army of NPCs either, but let's just wait and find out how big of an impact those companions are to the game. Frankly speaking: if a player is struggling with the current solo content (with the exception of the veteran arenas), he/she would probably not want to group anyways. At best it is a damage pet for tanks and healers who don't want to run a separate build for solo dps.
Another said thing is there will be a companion tier list so everyone will be running around with the exact same npc just flooding the world.
We see this in SWTOR.
from what I understand, we can change their armor/outfits and class type, along with slotting their abilities. This can help with not seeing the same NPC. Someone suggested to allow to change the race as well, and I personally think their name should be able to be changed.
It was definitely immersion breaking to see the exact same companions, especially in the early days of SWTOR. It's not so bad now because you can change their outfits with armor not to mention the customization slot though.0 -
AlnilamE✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »Daemons_Bane wrote: »JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »Darkstorne wrote: »All modern western MMOs are predominantly single player. That's what the market wants. The vast majority of us spend 95% of our MMO time in solo experiences like questing/exploration, and like optional group content for the other 5% like dungeons, trials, and PVP.
.
You can't get to certain ilevel or light level in destiny or WoW without other players so idk where you got this illusion that the west prefers single player content
You mention Craglorn but ignore craglorn want a bad zone but the timing was bad... it was for only veteran 10 players which was an absolutely minuscule amount of people by the time of its release.
Unless they changed something, you can certainly get to max level in WoW as a solo player.. ilvl is not something you need, if you don't want to.. so yes, it could be a sign that most people prefer a single player experience
ilevel is something you need because you can't solo layers in Torghast(maelstrom arena) without certain ilevels.JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »The_Old_Goat wrote: »Are you saying that there wasn't already single player content in the game?
Having solo content=/= being a solo focused game
It's not a solo focused game, though.
It's more 'solo play' than it was when it first came out. *Context*
On the contrary. When the game first came out, there were no trials and no veteran dungeons. Those came after launch.
What you had was zone after zone of quests. They did focus more on groups when they added vet dungeons, trials and pledges. Along with the DLC zone world bosses that packed a punch.
Veteran dungeons were there on launch.. also VR zones at launch were so difficult you needed to group for Craglorn and Cadwell's gold/ silver or you would take forever doing simple quest.. I remember being killed by VR mudcrabs
Craglorn came out two months after launch. I know because I had already joined my guild by then and we went on an excursion. You are correct about vet dungeons before Crypt of hearts, which also came out with Update 1.The Moot Councillor0 -
TheInfernalRage✭✭✭✭✭It is better to test the system first before proclaiming things out of one's fancy.2 -
Iccotak✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭etchedpixels wrote: »A lot of people I know play the game as if it were Skyrim + group roleplay and want to play it as if it was Skyrim, or Skyrim + group role playing. Companions, romance and the like fit right into that so to me makes a lot of sense and are really just bringing more missing Skyrim elements into ESO.
The concern I have is more in the other direction - if all the elite folks start running super-optimized dungeon/trial teams with companions all slotting perfect gear and other setup to boost the group then they'll have to make the hard content even harder, and effectively you'll only be able to complete a vet trial with 12 companions precisely tuned - which will suck for those who don't want to do that.
So I'd really like to see companions excluded from group content, except for solo "walk in the door" dungeoneering - and then mostly because the badly conceived "anti-solo" mechanics in some dungeons like Direfrost need a spare muppet to stand somewhere to open a gate.
Question is how effective they are in combat
It may be that you can take them into a dungeon, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are going to be as good or better than a player.
So to those were worried about being outmoded, I would not bet on that just yet0 -
Kiralyn2000✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »Darkstorne wrote: »All modern western MMOs are predominantly single player. That's what the market wants. The vast majority of us spend 95% of our MMO time in solo experiences like questing/exploration, and like optional group content for the other 5% like dungeons, trials, and PVP.
.
You can't get to certain ilevel or light level in destiny or WoW without other players so idk where you got this illusion that the west prefers single player content
And that iLvl/Light Level is only needed for group content. So if you're soloing, it's fine.
As for "where you got this illusion the west prefers single player content"... how about the fact that Western MMO games keep adding more single player content, and keep reducing the amount of group required content and/or trying to make their endgame/group content "more accessible"? (Like WoW did with their raids, when they got tired of seeing statistics that only ~3% of the playerbase was doing that stuff. Of course, the "h4rdc0r3" raiders threw a massive fit over every step of that "accessibility", crying that their raid gear was "worthless" if the peons were able to get their grubby mitts on it.) If you have to keep trying to bribe & cajole people into going into your group stuff, that's a pretty good sign that it's not their preferred content.Edited by Kiralyn2000 on January 27, 2021 5:44PM7 -
SeaGtGruff✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭JoseDelgadoCub17_ESO wrote: »Veteran dungeons were there on launch.. also VR zones at launch were so difficult you needed to group for Craglorn and Cadwell's gold/ silver or you would take forever doing simple quest.. I remember being killed by VR mudcrabs
It sounds like you're saying that Craglorn ("VR zones") was there at launch, but I think it was added after launch:
2014 April 2 -- Version 1.0.1 [source: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Patch/1.0.1]
2014 April 4 -- The Elder Scrolls Online PC/Mac release date [source: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Online]
2014 May 22 -- Version 1.1.2, or "Update 1" -- Craglorn added [source: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Patch/1.1.2]Adventure Zones were a type of Veteran-only content area in which all the gameplay was geared towards groups of four high level players. [...]
The only Adventure Zone to see release was Craglorn, which was added in Update 1 and expanded in Update 4. However, the Adventure Zone model was scrapped in Update 12 in order to make Craglorn more accessible.
source: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Adventure_ZonesI've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than me!0 -
Jacozilla✭✭✭✭✭Trials as one feature does not make ESO a PVE group-only game.
Cyrodil amd BGs as features do not make ESO a PVP-only game.
Adding companions as feature do not suddenly make ESO a “officially a single player MMO”
7 -
Iccotak✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Ghanima_Atreides wrote: »Thealteregoroman wrote: »Darkstorne wrote: »All modern western MMOs are predominantly single player. That's what the market wants. The vast majority of us spend 95% of our MMO time in solo experiences like questing/exploration, and like optional group content for the other 5% like dungeons, trials, and PVP.
Forced group content in zones never goes down well. A lesson Craglorn learned well...
I think the next big "MMO" advancement for the genre will be to make solo content truly solo, so you don't even run into random players on the map unless it's beneficial to you (ie, world bosses, dolmens, public dungeons). Seeing other players around you when you're questing or delving actively detracts from the experience since it necessitates MMO tropes like respawning mobs and simpler quest structures (can't have set pieces and big changes after quests in a shared world). It's not a thought many players want to face though - they'll defend seeing players everywhere and say "that's how an MMO works" as though MMOs have stayed the same and never evolved, and as though modern MMOs like Destiny and the Division aren't half way to this position already. But it's almost certainly going to happen, and I think that 95% chunk of players will love it for the increased quality in AI, level design, and quest structure as a result.
finally, someone gets it.
SWTOR is already 90% like that; all story missions take place in personal phases (with the option to invite a friend, but they would be just a spectator) and other quest phases are group-instanced; no random people allowed in them. Most of their "dungeons" also have a Story mode that can be soloed (along with hardmode for those who want it) and you only really come across other players in rest areas and the few overland sections of the map which have diminished as the game evolved.
Personally I WISH ESO's story content took place in group-instanced areas (a group of 1 is still a group of course), there's nothing more anticlimactic than encountering a story boss only for some rando to kill it before I even got a look in.
Easy main story bosses about are another issue that I think the developers need to address.
I have said it before in the past, I do think the main story boss should have a group mode and/or a veteran mode - especially after all the build up they give them.0 -
Klad✭✭✭✭Well it's going to make some folks mad, because they liked the fact that they could act jerkish to players and said player didn't have much choice if they wanted to see the ends of dungeons.
Gone are the days of screaming fake Tank
Gone are the days of Git GUUD Scrub.
A couple players now can take their companions and run anything but veteran trials and PVP, they can take their time and never hear GOGOGOOGOGOGO again.
And best off the parser crowd won't have to deal with the lowly player who isn't in it for world first and bragging rights.
Now if the will just make story mode instance versions of Delves and Public Dungeons the game will be perfect.
0 -
Mythreindeer✭✭✭✭✭Well it's going to make some folks mad, because they liked the fact that they could act jerkish to players and said player didn't have much choice if they wanted to see the ends of dungeons.
Gone are the days of screaming fake Tank
Gone are the days of Git GUUD Scrub.
A couple players now can take their companions and run anything but veteran trials and PVP, they can take their time and never hear GOGOGOOGOGOGO again.
And best off the parser crowd won't have to deal with the lowly player who isn't in it for world first and bragging rights.
Now if the will just make story mode instance versions of Delves and Public Dungeons the game will be perfect.
We sure the companion system is going to be that intrusive?1 -
Faded✭✭✭✭✭An MMO with long-term infrastructure problems that cause abysmal performance in group-specific content is smart to keep their solo players happy.
ESO is already known for being casual- and solo-friendly. It would be interesting to see them lean into that, as long as it's still easy for people to group up with friends when they want to.
Gaming evolves.
Edited by Faded on January 27, 2021 6:15PM0 -
Klad✭✭✭✭Mythreindeer wrote: »
We sure the companion system is going to be that intrusive?
Nope I just think we will have folks that use the companion system and folks who group...and both groups will have less to be upset about. Me I'll probably slide between the two, as I thing that folks making the group the old fashion way will be much less fussy about things, because group player numbers will drop.
It's sorta a win win win
0 -
SeaGtGruff✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Gone are the days of screaming fake Tank
Gone are the days of Git GUUD Scrub.
I'm just guessing, but I doubt that companions will be allowed in queued dungeons-- walk-in dungeons, yes; but probably not queued dungeons. I mean, how would that even work? But who knows; perhaps they'll figure out a way to handle it.
So it seems likely that players are still going to have to put up with obnoxious OP players if they want to queue for a dungeon to grab their daily transmute crystals.I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than me!1
https://youtu.be/b2l2ZxNhCSg