@ZOS_GinaBruno, do you feel this is a feasible to have done for players to have more freedom and choice in this RPG? As well as opening up a reason for old players to return to the game to explore a new skill line comprised of 3 unique skill lines


The arcanist skill line:
Apocryphal Soldier

Curative Runeforms

Herald of the Tome

Each providing what they normally would but open to all players similar to vampire or psijic skill lines. Falling more inline with the lore as well with how Herma Mora augments and expanes his patrons ability like the first and last dragon born had their abilities augmented and expanded instead of becoming a whole new class.

The beauty of the franchise TES is the open rpg aspect of choice. The removal of classes and the ability to choose if one wants to start over with a new build or expand their current build with new abilities, armor sets such as miiraks set, or other spells like ash tomes and ect.

Please give this poll a review and the post a consideration for a more inclusive new chapter, thank you.

I would prefer the skill lines as well but they have already advertised this globally with a new class and they can not go back.
I even think they can not go back legally after that global reveal.

Treeshka wrote: »

I would prefer the skill lines as well but they have already advertised this globally with a new class and they can not go back.
I even think they can not go back legally after that global reveal.

They can change it how ever they want, legally as well. Its in our user agreement and they do it all the time. Hence the constant nerfs and complete game overhauls, changes to dungeons ect.

However this change wouldn't take away from what's been advertised. There will still be a new class, it just wouldn't be exclusive to one character and instead inclusive to all players.

Lastly, the chapter is not complete and won't be for 5 months including the pts review which has everything subject to change.

Nope, definitely prefer a new class over adding new skills to an existing class.

Meiox wrote: »

If it would be better to scrap this class and just make new skill lines.
Wouldn't it also be better to scrap all classes and transform them into skill lines too?

And then people would cry, since every build would be exactly the same, aka meta^^

That's not true. Such statement assumes there is only 1 meta build.
If so, everyone would already be playing the exact same class with the exact same gear, and that's not the case.

Please look at optimized trial groups, and you will see that each person in such 12-man group has to slot a specific skill or gear to give the group access to specific group buffs (minor brutality/savagery/sorcery/prophecy comes to mind first, but a truly optimized trial group is way more complex). Such configuration is also to be considered in smaller PvP groups.

You also don't build the same for DPS, tank, heal, BG, or Cyrodiil PvP.

There are also niche solo or group builds that can face said-to-be meta builds (ie gank, werewolf, or mist-form builds can be surprisingly potent with group interactions if the ennemy is not prepared for such trick).

Even in each specific class/role combination, you will find several builds in the current "meta", so it's unlikely that adding more skill lines would lead to a single meta build that would completely negate everything else.

Just consider what would be such "meta" if every character would have access to all skill lines right now, and you'll see that you'll find 80% of your build as "flex spots" between equally performing or different effects combinations, all viable.

Adding more skill lines accessible to everyone adds variety, not its opposite.

A new class is a way to make us shut up about new content for a while and replay the existing stuff we haven't touched in years, and I'm fine wih that, frankly I would actually like replaying the story content.

The reason I haven't started a new character in years is the horrendous grind (or expense) to get horse riding and the non-class skill lines "back" to the level I'm used to on my main(s).

Expecting the Arcanist to be turned into a bunch of skill lines is unrealistic. What is realistic, though, is a class change token. (and, yeah, why not a story-reset token?)

@ZOS: If you want us to replay the existing content, give us a better deal than spending 45K crowns on riding and skill lines if we want to play the new class immediately, rather than spending half a year grinding stuff we already have on our mains.

Meiox wrote: »

If it would be better to scrap this class and just make new skill lines.
Wouldn't it also be better to scrap all classes and transform them into skill lines too?

And then people would cry, since every build would be exactly the same, aka meta^^

No one said anything about scraping the class. Just make the class skill lines for all players to use Instesd if starting all over with a new character.

If you or anyone wants to start a new character and play as a new class that option is still available to you, just slot the skills and passives just like the vampire or mages guild. This change offers a win win for all players instead of just those that have the time or enjoy replaying through tutorials over and over.

Grandsheba wrote: »

Holycannoli wrote: »

But if we keep getting new skills lines for our existing characters but never new slots for our front and back bars it becomes a waste. It already mostly is.

We have a free Armory to make up for character slots now. So we don't have to keep spending IRL money for new character slots if we make new builds.

Also expanding past the current 2 bar set up would crash the game and become to difficult to play. Imagine swapping your bar 3 or 4 times in a trial, middle of a boss fight or in pvp. Now imagine that same difficulty with lagg or a bar stuck bug. Just not feasible imo.

No I don't mean that. I mean increasing the amount of slots per bar so you can use more than 5 or 10 abilities at a time.

All these spells and abilities and we can only choose 10 of them and have to bar swap, when in many other MMORPGs you can add ability bars all over the place. You want to load up your UI with 30 abilities to click on? Go for it.

Mind you I'm talking about PC and am bitter about the limitations due to consoles.

TheValkyn wrote: »

ESO is a role-playing game at its core. Each character is different. Really, this is the best option in the absence of a class switch token that would solve most folk's issue with rerolling while still respecting that others might want an entirely new class.

Whilst I personally would not want to use a class change token, it actually would make sense for the reasons stated above.

I stated elsewhere I am looking forward very much to rolling a new Arcanist and playing the WHOLE game again, maybe I'm odd but it has been a while! 🤪

To the OP, please for the love of God consolidate your responses into one post.

Now, I personally wouldn't have minded if the new class were instead new world skills. That said, your point about it being easier to balance feels way off base. The reason the classes we have now are so hard to balance is exactly because there are so many unrestricted skill lines (Not to mention sets). It's incredibly difficult to balance, say Sorc against Templar, when either one of them can still access all the buffs, damage, and utility the other can.

DMuehlhausen wrote: »

I guess Arcanist skill line would be my choice. All the classes basically play the same anyway and so will the Arcanist most likely. So why have it be a class, should just have been skills that people could choose to use.

And this is exactly how that balance plays out. All the classes DO essentially play the same now, because every unique element of each class was removed after someone complained about it. See: NB Haste, Sorc Crystal Frags, Templar Jabs/Beam, 2H Uppercut as things that actually worked differently from their counterparts but were changed/removed to make things fit better with the meta playstyle. Or hey, Elemental Succession anyone? Remember when that was actually a unique set that required a unique setup/rotation to use properly?

The good news here is that because it is a new class and not just a skill line, they actually can (and are) adding in mechanics to make the class feel unique. The "combo" system they're implementing is certainly different than any other class or skill line currently, and hopefully will be woven throughout the entirety of the class. Similar to the Necromancer's unique corpse mechanic, such defining elements are harder to incorporate into smaller, more generic skill lines.

Stx wrote: »

Are we playing the same game? There aren’t too many skills, there are too few and more options are always a good thing.

Also, using the psijic skill line as an example doesn’t make sense…. If the psijic skill line isn’t being used, it’s not because the game has too many skills, it’s because the psijic line needs work and should be made more appealing. ZoS needs to put work into their game.

There may not be too many skills exactly, but they hardly need to add more skill lines to remedy the lack of choices. Simply making morphs more meaningful, making more sets viable, or even expanding on existing skill lines are all simpler ways to add more options to the game. That said, what would be the point? Despite your protests, I think the Psijic skill line is a perfect example of why we don't need more skills, particularly world/guild skills. Who is using that line, especially in PvE? Pretty much nobody. I certainly haven't seen it in a build video in the past two years after Elemental Weapon was no longer meta. And why did that change even happen? Because people didn't like generic skill lines taking over class skill lines. They like the element of each character feeling different rather than everyone running the same generic setup. So just buffing the line isn't helpful either, because all it does is push people into using that one line instead of something else, leaving us right back in the same boat.

It's also worth noting that the game exists in a state currently where it's still common to slot generic active skills solely for their passive benefit. If all the other skills in the game aren't worth it, what makes you think another basic skill line would change anything?

My first preference is to have new skill lines because I've already made 12 characters. Leveling them to the point where they're fully enjoyable can be tedious, so I'd rather not have a new class.

But I'm excited to see a new class because it breathes some new life into the game. It is something I've wanted, maybe not first on the list, but I'm happy that ZOS has released it.

Skill line until there's a class change token. As it stands they'll just be an alt I'll abandon soon after hitting 50 and experiencing them.

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

Ragnarok0130 wrote: »

I think a whole new class is better and more fleshed out because previous new skill lines like the Psijic skill line were unnecessarily grindy and added little to the actual game play loop. A new class will certainly affect the meta more in PVE and PVP content than a new skill line based on the recent past.

Yeah, psijic line left a really bad taste in my mouth. I think I did the actual quest paying attention once, the grind 7 times and bought 4 of them, so all my DPS toons have it. And basically it was for 1-2 skills. Channeled acceleration is really useful for prebuffing, especially for PVP, trash fights, or arenas, and ele weapon makes the best spammble a lot of the time. That was really about it, but if you are someone that runs in a min/max group, it had to be done. I would join a group, and they would be like, oh we need a Magcro, crap gotta go grind psijic real fast. Nothing but a pain. I dont see how it added anything meaningful.

There wasnt anything all that unique about it, it was basically two skills that do something we already have, just a hair better.

Soooo... making the arcanist 3 skill lines that has never been done before would bring something new and meaningful. Pretty much remedying your issue with the past lack luster skill lines...