Dear ZOS,

As a long time endgamer, raid lead, and trials player, there are obviously a large number of concerns with the incoming changes.

First, I completely agree that damage is too high. Six minute gryphon hearts, immortal redeemers, etc. are a bit much.

However, that being said, the high damage IS necessary in the top tier content. XS in particular has insanely high damage checks. There are only 72 players on Xbox with planesbreaker. Very few have even seen Xalvakka. Despite trying and progging since release.

I want to lay out the frustrations that I am hearing from my guild members that I lead, my core members, and other raid leads I have talked to. I hope this post will help you understand why people are so upset, and help you address this hostility towards the update.

First, trials players are constantly trying to hit a moving target. The meta for the most efficient group compositions changes every 3-4 months. The best classes change every 3-4 months. For the top tier content, and to be competitive, it is quite literally a constant grind of gold, crowns for race changes, talents, gear sets, and time. It is a constant cycle of relearning your rotation, buffs to keep up if a support, while also adjusting to the content because of a new playstyle. Change fatigue is driving players away in droves.

Second, I think there is a MAJOR disconnect between the encounters team and the combat team. If the purpose of this update is to make the game more accessible, it fails. Here are just a few specific instances of content that may be much harder, if not impossible on console next patch. I would test it, but console has no access:

-Third Floor VKA HM due to healing changes (not enough heals for the constant damage).
-Whirlwind phase last boss VDSR hard mode (not enough heals for the constant damage).
-Xalvakka HM shade phases - due to dots not ticking fast enough, not enough BURST damage to burn the shade down.
- Oaxito HM - won’t be able to burn fast enough to keep poisoned people alive for planesbreaker during second half of the fight.

There have been no talks of adjusting the content that was designed FOR power creep while nerfing the the damage of these high end teams. The encounter team designs the dungeons and trials based on power creep, but the combat team is getting rid of the power creep. You CANNOT have it both ways. This disconnect is why so many end gamers are concerned.

Next, let’s talk about playstyle. It is NEVER a good idea to make a playstyle less engaging. It leads to complacency, boredom, and lack of motivation to play the game. Mastering a dynamic rotation on console was one of the most rewarding experiences. Mastering it on MULTIPLE classes was even more rewarding. DPS have worked countless hours to attain the high level of damage you are trying to curve. With the new system, we will either:

1. Not be able to use dots in content in burst damage or mobile situations, thus ONLY using spammables…
2. Be forced to hit our spammable 10-20 times in between re applying our dots.

This playstyle does not appeal to the majority of DPS that i have talked to. It takes away a lot of the freedom of class versatility, and quite literally makes every class feel the same to play. People get attached to their playstyle. They get attached to their characters. This update will shred all of those attachments.

Finally, while this will hurt the top tier teams quite a bit, it will hurt the mid to low tier teams even more. A flat damage nerf across the board does not improve accessibility for all players. The teams at the top will find ways to work around the update, while the average joe’s will struggle to be able to complete their basic vet trials. It will be a frustrating experience for all, many teams will disband, and most importantly we will LOSE a TON up and coming raiders. I have seen SO many people heartbroken that after they finally hit 80k, it won’t be possible. There are a LOT more casual raiders than top tier raiders, and this will do irreparable harm to up and coming teams just getting started.

The endgame community on xbox has gotten smaller and smaller over the years. It’s disheartening to see many of my friends, guildies, and raid leads say they will be leaving in september when the patch hits console. This is not the standard pre patch panic. This feels different. And I worry that the game I love the most is about to be too far gone to save.

Please roll back some of these changes so you don’t make the trial community even smaller.

Please stop changing the meta so much so we can actually get our feet under us rather than relearn the game every patch.

Please come up with a long term plan for where you want combat to go, because none of us see the long term goals.

Because in the past few years, there just has been no consistency, constant changes, and a game that doesn’t quite seem it knows what it wants to do.

Thanks for reading.