Day 3 for me and I'm still screwed on this quest. I was told a potential fix is to have another player with this quest abandon it and then pick it up again and share it with you.. My problem is I canot find anyone willing to do so so I cannot test and see if that is an actual fix for the issue.

As for the fact that this quest is buggy, it is also griefable. My quest was stuck when a player figured out that he could drop the quest after drinking, pick it back up, and then time drinking the chalice while another player is on the phase of watching the ceremony. When a player is drinking the chalice while you are on the phase before, it will most likely bug out and break for the character on the phase of watching the ceremony. This is the source and will bug you most of the time and is PLAYER EXPLOITABLE and has been used to GRIEF unsuspecting players. The player that did this to me and the like 6-7 players after me knew this and intentionally griefed myself and the players afterwards for (I imagine) kicks and giggles.

The only word I've had from support is as follows.

Greetings!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team! I am sorry you cannot progress in the quest 'The First Step'. I understand your frustration and thank you for your patience.

I will forward your query to our team of specialists who can help you further. You you should receive a reply as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued interest and support!

Kind Regards,
Aisling,
The Elder Scrolls Online Team

And I have not received any word from their coveted team of specialists. Nor do I expect to.

OMG a phasing issue with a quest...who would have thought!?!?!?!

No kidding, right? At least there's a discernible source to the issue, which means there's a quick way to fix it.

Honestly, if they made interior main quests private instanced, it would fix 600% of the issues like this. Especially the people who know about these phasing issues and use them to mess with players. The end game community so far as has been (mostly) solid, but it sucks when griefing exploits like this come out of the woodwork for people to abuse. Especially moments before you're ready to move to 50++ Content.

Well, I will admit I was a little skeptical that other players were intentionally phase bugging out players on this quest. But I just witnessed in myself!

@ZOS_GinaBruno‌ Something needs to be done about this...NOW!!

Quick little update - I was contacted by support twice in the matter of 5 minutes on the matter. You'd think that would mean something is about to get done with the matter, don't hold your breath. Both representatives did not even read my ticket as neither of them answered my ticket with responses that were appropriate or pertinent towards the exploit.

Response By Email (Jourdan)

Greetings!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team.

If a player abandons a quest in the middle of a dungeon, it is very likely that some objectives won't be available anymore, and therefore, the NPCs won't give the quest again in the current instance. The only solution is to leave the instance for five minutes, and re-enter the dungeon.

You can also find this information in our knowledge base, which we consistently update with any changes. Use the following link for the most up-to-date information regarding your question:

http://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/home?region=US/track/AvPalQq7Dv8S~YF7Gk4e~yILnPUqIC75Mv~I~zj~PP8B

Currently, the best way to keep an eye out for upcoming news about The Elder Scrolls Online is to watch our official page and social channels:

http://elderscrollsonline.com
https://www.facebook.com/ElderScrollsOnline
http://www.twitter.com/TESOnline
http://plus.google.com/+ElderScrollsOnline

Thank you for your continued interest and support!

Warm Regards,
The Elder Scrolls Online Team

Response By Email (Derrius)

The Golden eye shines upon ye Matt!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team.

Answer Link:What can I do if my character gets stuck or seems to fall through the world?

You may wish to try abandoning the quest and reaccepting it, as well as logging off and back on.

If you cannot abandon the quest, it is likely considered a main story quest. We are currently working to fix this issue. In the meantime, you can progress to the next chapter of the storyline by moving ahead to the next area.

It is our hope that you will be able to return and complete the affected quest shortly.

You can find more information about The Elder Scrolls Online on our website and social channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Google+).

Thank you for your continued interest and support!

May Molag Bal bring you glory in your conquest,
The Elder Scrolls Online Team

GMs. Please READ your tickets before you respond to them. Players are running around knowingly preventing other players from progressing from 50++ content for the fun of it. This should not be possible.

Kristov wrote: »

Swiftly wrote: »

Well, I will admit I was a little skeptical that other players were intentionally phase bugging out players on this quest. But I just witnessed in myself!

@ZOS_GinaBruno‌ Something needs to be done about this...NOW!!

People should be perma-banned for this. Hoping you reported the person you saw doing this?

Oh LoL, I tried, but that also bugged out when submitting...

While we are talking about this quest, I'd like to throw out there that the 'fix' for motes in the moonlight doesn't seem to have worked for me. I got past the purify SW part of the quest but when I get to the Dark Mane, I can get him down to half health before he disappears, and tigers appear. Then, I'll kill the tigers and suddenly when there's like 1 or 2 left they will disappear and the Dark Mane will respawn once again but with full health. Repeat, drop him to half health, disappear, tigers appear... Over and over and over.. I haven't tried abandoning the quest yet, but I will as soon as I get home.

I am stuck on 'The First Step' as well. I managed to drink from the chalice ok, but I've become stuck on the part where it says 'Survive the Dead'. The zombies spawn inside of this ledge and are stuck. I can't kill them, they can't move. Not going to bother with a support ticket, they can't help...Going to try abandoning quest I guess.

Day 10, No fix, all communication has stopped from ZOS. Cancelling subscription.

I have had no communication after day four when my ticket was escalated.

Usually I would assume that escalation of a query would mean that the subject matter would be addressed swiftly, especially on a matter that (at this point in time) is affecting strictly hardcore and loyal players. You would think that people in 50+ content and above would be one of the most vital player-bases to cater to at this point in time. People are looking towards Veteran Ranked players to learn about how the game at high to end game content is. It does not bode well for ZOS, ESO or their (already atrocious) customer service reputation that an exploitable issue this serious is being completely skidded across by ZOS employees, including @ZOS_GinaBruno - Who's job, I would assume, is to scan the forums in which you administrate to pick up on serious game issues, this one especially.

I love this game and want to continue playing it and contributing to ZOS but I am finding less and less drive to play the game, support the company, and spread the good word about the game that I am beginning to regret doing.

This is a simple problem with a simple fix that creates major problems for Veteran Ranked players. Especially since malicious players are able to exploit this knowingly and intentionally.

ZOS, this is one issue that NEEDS immediate attention.

Bump, hearing a lot of people with this issue and it's a critical one.

Arathane wrote: »

I have done everything under the sun to attempt to make this known.

I have contacted support and had support contact me via phone.
I have emailed, messaged, and private messaged multiple ZOS administrators directly. This includes @ZOS_GinaBruno.
I have submitted over 100 bug reports (not that I expect this to yield any results at all)
And obviously I have been vocal on a variety of mediums to express that this is a problem.

What does it take to get this issue noticed?

What's more is malicious players are still intentionally exploiting this to hinder progress on unsuspecting players for the laugh of it.

I really love this game and want to continue doing so, quit making it so hard to do ZOS.

Yup, and unlike vampirism etc. this is REQUIRED TO PROGRESS and NOT an intended game mechanic, that people are using DIRECTLY and PURPOSEFULLY to harm other players, from the sound of it. Vampirism complaints which in no way block gameplay and can be bought from other people even, has had many dev posts, but stuff like this is being ignored seemingly ?

@Arathane, yeah, I'm noticing a troubling trend of podcasters being the main feedback given any heed on important issues a lot of the time... PR instead of meat . UI? MMORPG.com guy complains, boom it's changed. Vampirism "needed" (and I use the term loosely) but players want to charge for their bites? HUGE publicity. Etc.

Arathane wrote: »

Attorneyatlawl wrote: »

I'm noticing a troubling trend of podcasters being the main feedback given any heed on important issues

Without naming those involved, I have contacted a few of the largest ESO related players who are large in the community and they have all said roughly around the same thing: "Sucks for you, hasnt happened to me, contact support if its that big of an issue."

Time will tell with this issue I guess, unfortunately.

EDIT: Of course I also intend to be vocal towards the developers and on the forums with this exploit until it gets fixed.

Yup, I sometimes wonder if I should have done a site/podcast instead of actually submitting feedback and pvp'ing for glory and bug/mechanic testing. /joking

Just sometimes though.:)

You need a more sensationalistic title... see this for an example:

http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/comment/709436

Your title lacks emotional character and attention-grabbing hyperbole.