I don’t want you to address my “sentiment.” I want you to address the current and future state of the game. I went from playing literally every night for hours to canceling my subscription and not logging in for weeks because of U35. You’re not going to win me back by talking about my feelings. You could win me back by fixing the game.

FluffWit wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

honestly, I'd rather they not spend dev time on a "romance system" for Companions. We don't need more niche content *cough* ToT *cough* when PvP and unique zone design has been neglected for so long

PvP can't get new content until the server re-architecure and server replacements are done, and Fargrave was one of the most unique zones we've had in the entire history of ESO. High Isle is gorgeous. Don't know what you mean by unique zone design has been neglected. Now is exactly the time for already said to be coming new niche content, so that when they can focus on that other stuff it can be their sole focus.

I agree- last couple of zone dlcs were pretty good.

He might mean getting away from the cookie cutter 6 delve/ 6 world boss/ 1 trial zone design into something.... different. Like Imperial City. Just using that as an example.

Personally I really like heists and sacrements and would enjoy something like that again.

That's a good point. I thought it was like setting lol. Oops. Yeah I'd like to see some variety in that regard too. In addition to the U35 Q&A, I wish they'd give us an Q&A update on outstanding features and issues that are commonly discussed haha.

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

honestly, I'd rather they not spend dev time on a "romance system" for Companions. We don't need more niche content *cough* ToT *cough* when PvP and unique zone design has been neglected for so long

Fargrave was one of the most unique zones we've had in the entire history of ESO. High Isle is gorgeous. Don't know what you mean by unique zone design has been neglected.

Fargrave was ... fine aesthetically, but High Isle is a wet fart of mechanical uniqueness.

At this point, when ZOS announces ESO: Southern Hammerfell, I can already tell you what it will contain:

• 5-6 World bosses
• 5-6 Delves
• 1-2 Public Dungeons
• an overland "Harrowstorm" mechanic
• a main city, with roads/paths linking everything and quest givers waving hands for help
• Some skyshards

YAWN! This is the copy/paste they use on EVERY ZONE DESIGN. Now, zones are sooo predicable and BORING mechanically. Everything is designed flat/linear. No interesting zone design that makes the zone worth coming back to after the story is done.

The most interesting, unique elements recently are wandering World Bosses and/or deadlands oblivion portals? Even those are only "meh" mechanically.

They don't make zones like Hews Bane anymore, where the Thieves guild and justice system is everywhere. Where a large portion of the city is set aside for thieving and the city is multi-level designed for running on rooves. Can they not design complex zones with interesting mechanics and layered cities (ya, Fargrave was a nice step in the right direction with rope bridges)? When does fall damage even matter anymore in zone?
Give the zone a PvP area (colosseum or sewer or bounty system), develop an interesting mechanic like sailing (we had an archipelago in High Isle for christs sake) or hang gliding or siege weapon integration or a brotherhood mechanic or thieving support. SOMETHING that isn't ... some world bosses ... some delves ... some public dungeons ... a harrowstorm event ... roads and quest givers ... [snip]

Edited for bait

Billium813 wrote: »

[…]It takes time IF they are doing something; […]

Agree to that. I simply want to add that regarding the Q&A, it shouldn’t take that long. They could simply parse the pts threads and forum threads and log questions:

1. Why did we (ZoS) think a nerf to dps was necessary?
2. Do we think the result of our patch and the vision for said patch are in line and if not, how do we want to address that in future?
3. How do we view the heavily distributed dot and aoe timers in light of accessibility and are there plans to mitigate the damage done and if so, can something be shared?
4. What led to the redesign of the Templar Jabs and as some in the community criticise the daedric spear motif being used, do we intend to change that?
5. There are HA-Builds available which outperform full 2-bar rotations. Is that an intended design choice to stay or do we consider that as your strategy to provide accessibility to less-rotation-able players?
6. Do we consider endgame a future part of Elder Scrolls?
7. What is our vision for combat in this game and where do we want to take it?
8. Is U35, metric-wise, considered a success in ZoS?

Q&A-wise, 8 quick questions I now formulated on mobile. Cluster these, slap better English over them and provide honest answers. And I think the community can easily provide dozens of additional and better questions.

I can’t see how the Q&A could be that hard and taking that much time. The severe delay still tells me that there was no vision in which’s light U35 was conducted. Else a lot of the “sentiments” could have been answered rather easily IMHO.

Or of course, they simply don’t see that as a priority and it falls of the table at the end of the week.

Suspects that the delay is due to internal disagreements and a lack of leadership.

Feels sorry for Kevin having to be the messenger.

SammyKhajit wrote: »

Suspects that the delay is due to internal disagreements and a lack of leadership.

Feels sorry for Kevin having to be the messenger.

It has been a long time since I felt the current team had any passion or vision for this game. Since leaving ESO, I've found time to play a couple of other games that were in my backlog. It was refreshing to feel like the devs weren't optimizing for this thing or that other thing, but mostly optimizing for FUN. The current team has lost any sight of what that means in this game. Asking for "objective" feedback rather than subjective (fun is always subjective) is a sure sign they have lost their way. I think some folks there need to pass the torch.

I really don't get why this take so long, actually why you have to prepare at all....just answer questions about your product to your customer, I'm doing it almost everyday.

Only thing that scare me here is that show king of amateurism and that they are afraid of their player base feedback

I don't think this Q&A is ever going to happen. At this point, it's really too late for it be relevant.

It was a pretty simple request, it would have done a world of good in regards to community and customer engagement, and it was asked for and voiced repeatedly.

In the end, ZOS chose not to engage with us. They were either unwilling or lacked the organization to make it happen - neither paints a pretty picture.

Volckodav wrote: »

I really don't get why this take so long, actually why you have to prepare at all....just answer questions about your product to your customer, I'm doing it almost everyday.

Only thing that scare me here is that show king of amateurism and that they are afraid of their player base feedback

The fact that they are still working on addressing player feedback about U35 two months after the fact is likely because of one of two things: Either there's internal disagreement or debate about what to say, or else it's just not important enough to get done in a timely fashion. They seemed initially eager to let us know during the PTS that questions would be answered, but since then it's been mostly just vague 'they'll let us know if there's any updates' statements.

The irony is that the issue seems to become even more of an issue than if there had been a quick response, like we got with account wide achievements. The more mystery that is created, the more interested players are in seeing what ultimately occurs.

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Jaraal wrote: »

The fact that they are still working on addressing player feedback about U35 two months after the fact is likely because of one of two things: Either there's internal disagreement or debate about what to say, or else it's just not important enough to get done in a timely fashion.

Or they want to be able to point to specific changes they have made in light of the feedback

The only combat changes they've made recently are more nerfs with Update 36. So I would assume that everything they could address regarding U35 has already been achieved.

It's not like there's some huge list of changes that they have to go through. Most players want to know why damage across the board was nerfed (primarily hurting the less skilled players), when their stated goal was to "reign in the obscene damage at the top end." Why the top end got a break when their focus content got a 10% health reduction, but the normal content folks didn't. And why the game is less accessible to the lower tier players than it was before and why the skill gap is larger, when those effects run contrary to their originally stated intentions. Also why beloved animations were replaced with mostly undesirable and lore challenged replacements. And some class nerfs, that are either good or bad, depending on which side of the issue you're on.

So the talking points have been set for months. I wouldn't know what they were waiting for to happen.

Not to rude and crude but I think ZOS was caught with their pants down with the feedback about update 35. Personally know of one person that left the game and not come back due to update 35 specifically.

When the community ask for a goal or plan about the direction of the game that they could share with us ZOS had nothing. From the outside as a player, it looks like they are just throwing ideas on a wall and seeing what sticks.

They were caught off guard about the request for a Q&A and I figure someone spoke out of turn about doing a Q&A or ZOS correctly figured there was no upside to doing one. No matter what they said or didn’t say in a Q&A session the community respond was going to be negative considering how many are unhappy with update 35. Plus, I really don’t think they had any answers, or they would have at least given a response by now.

My wish is ZOS has been looking/working internally on a direction and plan for the game they can share with the community. Hopefully they will be willing to accept the community’s feedback about it and not bury their heads in the sand over it. If it is a plan, I do hope that they realize that a goal/roadmap needs to be updated and reevaluated at least yearly to remain effective and shared with the community.

Wish the best and success for ESO as I do love playing the game. No doubt the team works hard, and it is dishearten for the community to take a dump on all their hard work. We just ask to be informed and involved to help make ESO the best it can be for everyone. Let us fail or succeed together.

Stay safe

Hotdog_23 wrote: »

Not to rude and crude but I think ZOS was caught with their pants down with the feedback about update 35. Personally know of one person that left the game and not come back due to update 35 specifically.

When the community ask for a goal or plan about the direction of the game that they could share with us ZOS had nothing. From the outside as a player, it looks like they are just throwing ideas on a wall and seeing what sticks.

They were caught off guard about the request for a Q&A and I figure someone spoke out of turn about doing a Q&A or ZOS correctly figured there was no upside to doing one. No matter what they said or didn’t say in a Q&A session the community respond was going to be negative considering how many are unhappy with update 35. Plus, I really don’t think they had any answers, or they would have at least given a response by now.

My wish is ZOS has been looking/working internally on a direction and plan for the game they can share with the community. Hopefully they will be willing to accept the community’s feedback about it and not bury their heads in the sand over it. If it is a plan, I do hope that they realize that a goal/roadmap needs to be updated and reevaluated at least yearly to remain effective and shared with the community.

Wish the best and success for ESO as I do love playing the game. No doubt the team works hard, and it is dishearten for the community to take a dump on all their hard work. We just ask to be informed and involved to help make ESO the best it can be for everyone. Let us fail or succeed together.

Stay safe

With combat changes, I agree, there seems to be a very experimental approach to changes. I think it's made worse by the frequency of changes - they don't have time to see things play out like they do on a live server. Combat - while fun - will always be both this game's bane and blessing.

As for the Q&A - if they're surprised by it, then they need to make some talent changes. The community writ large was in an uproar over U35, and they're already aware of our collective change fatigue. Of course people will have questions. I think if they let the stream team gather questions and ask them to the devs, it'd go a long way. I don't respect scripted Q&As where it's all too obvious it's just another chance for a giveaway. Those don't help anyone.

As for a roadmap, I don't trust them to keep it updated. Look what happened with the performance updates, or when players tried to compile this list ourselves. We have very visible examples of defensiveness from the developers, and it just seems to be their culture.

Chiaroscuro wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

Well... it appears we are not getting a Q&A; instead we are getting "something to address sentiment"

Let us hope it comes in the form of a bloody rollback, and an apology of some sort.

peacenote wrote: »

The reason we don't hear as much about it on the forums now is because many people who wanted to feel heard quit the game. And some of those folks are swearing off all Bethesda games, period, due to how badly these last few controversial updates have been handled. Also.. how much more is there to say, after asking over and over for feedback to be acknowledged? Eventually you just give up, either by quitting or just permanently lowering your expectations and opinion of the game without outright quitting. The Q&A and follow up responses are as much for the people who quit, but might come back, because they are going around spreading criticisms (which in my opinion are pretty valid) of the company for its silence, as it is for those of us who are still here despite the lack of the communication.

Oh hey, look. It me.
Kinda tragic, as I been playing TES in some form or another more than half my life. But yeah, ngl there's a lot of us who fall into this category. Guilds rn are skeleton crewed. I guess at least that means they're Halloween themed? There's that.

Destai wrote: »

This is what irks us off man. Simple requests for community management feel like they're being dismissed/ignored and what we get instead is some sanitized language that leaves you guys a lot of wiggle room. I'm not blaming you personally, but it's all too obvious this is the tactic. It doesn't take close to 2 months to organize something. And if it does, there really should be better damage control. At the very least, you should be looking at the temperature of this thread and explain what challenges ZOS has in setting these up rather than vague mentions of some plan we have no reason to believe in.

YUP. The sanitized language is just kind of insulting at this point, especially after the infamous "knee-jerk reaction" thing.
Y'all really did think we had the memory of fruitflies huh? I'm not saying outright management thinks the fanbase is just a bunch of idiot livestock to fatten and slaughter for crowns, but hooo boy does it feel that way lately. It really, really does.

Get it together.


Someone, I can't recall who, said something in these forums to the effect of being grateful people were willing to care enough to be a nuisance to you guys, ZOS.
That it's the dawning silence you should be concerned about. Summat like that.

The quiet that's falling finally isn't because people have adapted; we've bloody seen the writing on the wall and all but given up on you lot. What were impassioned pleas have turned sour. I don't really know why I keep checking here, even if it is only rarely now. I guess this "sentiment addressing" when it drops will be the key whether I'm out for good. Bet you ten Boethiahs I'm not the only one.

Hope y'all make it count, no pressure!

That was probably me, lol.

Me personally, I remember most of the fiascos. When Gina posted on her Twitter that one time about "what's communication" I had a whole slew of forum posts to use as examples where she or her team could've stepped up. This is my problem - the community's constantly trying to legitimately help them and we get their one-liners like Kevin's "update" here and "knee jerk reactions".

FluffWit wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

We are still working on this. It was not missed. We are making sure we work to address core issues overall. We'll have more info on this soon.

I believe it's now been 55 days since you said this. If the team has decided not to just own it.

You may have missed it but he gave an update a week ago.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Just wanted to update a brief update here. We are still working on something to address sentiment around U35 combat changes. That is the current plan right now. Once we have something more specific to share, we'll update accordingly.

Elsonso wrote: »

Jaraal wrote: »

Volckodav wrote: »

I really don't get why this take so long, actually why you have to prepare at all....just answer questions about your product to your customer, I'm doing it almost everyday.

Only thing that scare me here is that show king of amateurism and that they are afraid of their player base feedback

The fact that they are still working on addressing player feedback about U35 two months after the fact is likely because of one of two things: Either there's internal disagreement or debate about what to say, or else it's just not important enough to get done in a timely fashion. They seemed initially eager to let us know during the PTS that questions would be answered, but since then it's been mostly just vague 'they'll let us know if there's any updates' statements.

The irony is that the issue seems to become even more of an issue than if there had been a quick response, like we got with account wide achievements. The more mystery that is created, the more interested players are in seeing what ultimately occurs.

If they repeat what they did for Account Wide Achievements, I fear we won't be getting anything useful. Maybe they answered your questions, but most of what I learned about AwA came from the community, not ZOS. Some if it was only addressed when it appeared in a patch note months later.

I was never in favor of having achievements stripped from my alts, and having them forever locked out from attaining them. So, the AWA Q&A didn’t satisfactorily answer any of my questions. Likewise, I know that any Q&A about U35 combat changes will be a scripted PR piece that will be minimally informative about their reasoning behind the changes.

The real issue here is trust. Trust that they will do what they say, and being forthright about why they are putting it off. It’s a good opportunity to connect (or further disconnect) from the player community. And based upon the evidence given by many regarding the accelerated exodus from the game, it’s important to the future of the game itself.