VaranisArano wrote: »

So you want to look at the U23/Scalebreaker patch where it happened.
Patch Notes: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/488626/pc-mac-patch-notes-v5-1-5-scalebreaker-update-23

According to the patch notes, Scattershot got placed in the "Utility" category for balancing.

"Scatter Shot: This ability is now part of the utility category, with the below changes affect all 3 versions of the ability.
Increased the cost to 3780 from 2970.
Reduced the damage by approximately 10%.
Reduced the range to 22 meters from 28 meters.
Increased the knock back to 8 meters from 5 meters.
Magnum Shot (morph): This morph no longer knocks the caster back. Instead, it deals 20% more damage than the other morph, and reduces the cost to 3510.
Draining Shot (morph): The heal from this ability will now trigger upon dealing damage, rather than when the target is knocked back. Also decreased the heal by approximately 20%."
(Note that Draining Shot lost its knockback in the next patch, Dragonhold)

Okay, so what's that mean?

In context, ZOS was in the middle of their ability audit in 2019. They were recategorizing skills and adjusting skills that didn't fit neatly in to their assigned category. On the U23 PTS and Live, they state: "Our ability audit also continues in this update, with the goal of having abilities be more consistent with one another and how they interact with combat as a whole. You’ll find we’ve made a fairly substantial number of fixes and adjustments to combat abilities to support this goal." (Unfortunately, we don't have a Combat Preview for U23/Scalebreaker explaining it further that I could find, likely because a class rep leaked the patch notes early in protest.)

Okay, so let's look into this ability audit.

Fortunately, that's fairly well explained in the Update 22 Combat Direction post: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/466792/update-22-combat-direction/p1

It doesn't specifically explain the "Utility" category, but I suspect it's describing it here:

"Some abilities contained a LOT of functionality (Incapacitating Strike), and others not as much (Teleport Strike) when looking at abilities across the board. Moving forward, abilities within the same “Category” should have a base level of performance but also have something that makes it unique. In doing this pass, we found abilities that had components which were above or below base functionality and made adjustments to bring them in line. In some cases, base damage/healing has been increased make up for the removal of additional functions. In other cases, base damage/healing has been reduced to make up for adding in additional functions."

Given that one update later Magnum Shot had its damage increased in exchange for losing the self-knockback functionality, I suspect this is the best explanation you'll get for why the Devs changed it that way.

Hope this helps!

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

I do know that once before it was changed, my character was knocked back 'through' the surface of a wall requiring ZoS intervention to get her out. She dropped the skill from her bar after that.

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

I wasn't using that skill back then (I do now, though), so I was unaware of that component.
Seems like a very strange behavior to add to a player skill. I'm glad they removed it, because I wouldn't be using it if it still worked like that.

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

chessalavakia_ESO wrote: »

It was useful at times back in the day for keeping a gap between yourself and your target while also dealing damage.

It does that now. Did it not knock-back or damage your target back then?

I certainly don't need help getting stuck in inescapable places.
I was running through Auridon the other day and jumped up on some rocks at the edge of a waterfall, and somehow in the process found a hole in the game environment into which I fell. I landed in the water, INSIDE the solid rock-face behind the waterfall and couldn't get out without using '/stuck.'