Since so far ZOS hasn't shown any interest in making overland content harder than what a brand new player can face in the Chapter zone they just bought, I've got three methods I use to help questing stay fun:

1. Play the newest chapter on a new, no cp character using found gear and weapons. This closely mimics the new player experience, with the caveat that I know what I'm doing.

2. When I want to destroy quests with a DD character geared out for group content, I roleplay my Silencer. It only makes sense that an assassin would be the most murderous person around, right? This way, enemies dying in seconds is immersive!

3. When I want to savor the fights, I quest on my main character, Varanis Arano, who usually plays as a tank. She's not going to die, but at least the boss fights last long enough for me to see all the mechanics.

Even if there was a vet overland option, that's the last thing I would want to use. Overland is for getting from point A to point B. For me, the story and fun is at those points of interest, not in the travel. I don't want to be held up by random mobs that turn into annoying battles with their stuns and ccs. In the playerbase, there are lot of different opinions about what is 'fun'

My CP1450 likes overland the way it is. Traveling or farming for mats is irritating with significant enemies everywhere. And detracts from enjoying the view. If I want hard content, there is plenty of it out there.

The way I like to approach basic delve or questing on a strong character is to focus on how elegantly I can do the job. For example, my bowsorc hopes to go through a delve in the shadows with every foe being dead before they really know she is there. Her goal is literally to take zero damage and it is great fun to try and pull that off.

That said, if something like an optional difficulty slider that debuffs your character was available, I wouldn't use it but appreciate that many might like to.

In the case of new content I never get invested in the story because nothing poses a challenge. Everything in ESO revolves around power, if you tell a story and this doesnt match what I experience while I fight its of no importance to me. I dont exactly know the solution but I hate the fact that new quest content doesnt mean anything because there is zero challenge. If I had the option to fight quest bosses on veteran mode I would 100% of the time pick that option.

Overland world bosses are a nice solo challenge for example, it takes a while to kill them and you can die to some of them if you mess up.

Please don't make it harder. I've started a new tank character. At the moment I think twice, if I fight some rats for an ore resource. It takes way too long. My sword hits like a fresh salmon. Tanks need love too.

Again...

I prefer overland being casual. If I'm just going farming on my tank waiting for my group members to be ready, I don't want to miss every cornflower because it takes me 10 minutes to kill the wolf standing on it.

Overland is for ultra casuals, the ones who don't understand what food/potions/sets/gear quality are. If you're on the forums, you're already too good of a player and overland content is not for you.

Yes, the story bosses are easy. They're not going to go and change them, but the newer bosses are starting to come in with mechanics (look at Greymoor's bosses - some have damage shields you need to get down or mechanics that aren't in other bosses). Yes you can still roast them if you have 100k DPS, but for someone more on the order of 10k, it's more challenging that the base story bosses.

How do I keep interested? One, I play a tank so I do get to see the mechanics, but mainly it's that I use my RPing to fill in the gaps. I'm writing my character's story and taking screenshots as I go along, so a lot of fights are me holding block and trying to line up a shot more than actually fighting back. The actual fight is happening in my head. I just finished writing up the fight against Lob the Cleaver in Cradlecrush, and I'm really happy about it - it went from a short fight to an intense battle between my main and his long lost brother that he didn't know he had.
(also because it makes for an awesome picture)


The one thing I'd like is that zone boss areas should be instanced. It's difficult for even me to explain away some other person running in and nuking the boss I'm trying to pace for screenshots.

Septimus_Magna wrote: »

In the case of new content I never get invested in the story because nothing poses a challenge.

I stopped doing quest even if I love the lore, but the immersion is awful when you just oneshot everything... I really tried but I cannot stand anymore and I find myself bored after 2 secs. I dont want questing diffcult to be like vSS HM, but something a little bit harder than now.

Septimus_Magna wrote: »

DukeCybran wrote: »

Try to withdraw your CP and to run without a set, or go to Craglorn or craft yourself a set of level 5 gear.

Gimping yourself is not the same as more difficult content unless you get a reward for it. I want to use the gear that took hours/days/weeks/months to collect. I am not withdrawing my CP every time Im doing a quest, then have to allocate them for a dungeon run and having to withdraw them again for doing a quest. Ive done Craglorn mostly solo but thats just one zone, the new quests are often not in Craglorn.

I would be fine with an item that equips in my costume slot that lets me take more damage, deal less damage while gaining more XP/loot/gold for example.

And every one of these threads always goes to the same place.

"I'm too powerful because I built myself specifically to be powerful, so you need to give me harder content that matches my elite skill level, and then give me good rewards for beating it so I can get even more power so I can set myself even further above the other noobs in zone!"

It really makes me wonder what the average DPS of players on the forums is versus what it is in game. If the average DPS in game were what it was on the forums, we'd never hear any comments about failed PUGs since people would be able to DPS anything down without effort.

I get wanting more out of the story. I'm one of those people who'd love to be able to solo dungeons for the stories. Give me back the quests, get rid of the 'you need two people' mechanics like the second Direfrost plate or the pins, and just let me see the dialogue. No rewards, no bonus XP, no gold, nothing. My reward would be finally getting to see the storyline. I get that this is probably one of the points of the Companions system. But Companions won't reset the dialogue for the quests I've already done.

Also remember they had adventure zones, and they failed since people said it was too hard. Yes, now we have the benefit of CP and power creep, but there's also a decent nerf to DPS coming up in the next patch. Besides, there are enough people who need help and nobody wants to go do it - I know so many people park their characters in Vivec/Alinor/Rimmen, but how many new players in those zones can actually find people to help with the WBs? Even though there are quests to get them, I very rarely see people taking on WBs in Vvardenfell or NElsweyr, or dealing with any of the dragons outside of the one by the wayshrine. As a result, new Lv. 25 players with white gear, no sets, and no consumables are getting one shot by these, not getting help, and then think that overland is too hard. Sure, we could have the 'veteran' instance of a zone, but then that still leaves all the noobs together so they can't complete anything unless they go to the vet when they're not ready.

Mostly there's just no incentive for the devs to do that - I doubt people would want to pay for overland versions of the same zones, and that would take as much work to redo all of the overland encounters as it would be to make a new chapter. People are already complaining "is that it?" with the antiquities, and now there are more complaints about companions and how that one feature isn't worth the cost of a chapter. How would people react if ZOS came out and said "hey, $60 and you get the same game, but all we did was buff Bittergreen the Guar to be on the level of Z'Maja!"

ZOS really needs to come up with a FCT list.