Does anyone know if any add-ons exist that will automatically mark certain targets with symbols above their heads if they are present? I’d assign one to the fabled flameshaper and different ones to each of the marauders if we could do that.

So.. I made a full heavy armored mage build designed solely for EA and tested it out this morning, sometimes you just have to think outside the box.
https://youtu.be/aGmgpcPfbTk

(I ended up dying to Dragon phase on Arc 6 Tho'at)

Xandreia_ wrote: »

Sirona_Starr wrote: »

Pelanora wrote: »

LikiLoki wrote: »

I can't even pass the first round. I am a simple player who enjoys quests. There are a lot of people like me. This archive is not suitable for us.

Nope. But that has to be OK too. If you enjoy quests then that's your thing and EA just is not. And that's OK too.

It's NOT ok if you sub, and lose a dlc zone with this. As a person who subs used to be 2 dlc dungeons that were/are rarely run. Now it's sub but get absolutely nothing for it. Top tier players get all the benefits. That is NOT right.

im a lil confused, you dont lose a dlc zone, its base game

We have had mini zones 4th quarter. Sooner or later players get them for free, but not initially. We also got 2 dlc dungeons for subbing. This year, we got what? One dlc dungeon for subbing. That is my point. The archive replaced the 4th quarter mini zone.

Eliahnus wrote: »

Someone said in this thread Arc 1 is "too easy".

I wonder, are you playing with a 'companion' or with another player ?
Because there is a big difference : a companion is really worthless form the Arc 1 boss onwards, whereas with another player Arc 1 is 'easy'.

ive done arc 1 solo (no companion), with a companion, and 2 player

even without a companion entirely i can make it to arc 3 on a slightly tanky dps build

to me it doesnt even feel like enemies start applying any pressure until at least arc 3 (using some of the verses ive actually almost 1 shot bosses in arc 1)

having a 2nd player definitely does help make it easier at least for later arcs

my experience running with a companion is that they are virtually useless for any boss fights that have large aoes or any kind of mechanics (like a tank companion will 100% die against tho'at, even non tank companions will end up dying in that fight because they cant deal with the mechanics)

Syldras wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

I just dont think it makes any sense until level 10 when they have some skills to use. It wouldnt do them any favors. They wont even have a self heal. They wouldnt have a companion.

They could have another newbie friend with them No, honestly...

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Literally nothing. I didnt even figure out how to start the main quest til lvl 10. I had no idea how to use pots in combat even at lvl 4. There is a reason you cant use dingeon finder until 10. You cant manage anything sustained of any kind beyond a delve which are short in starter zones. A public dungeon is out of the question. I wandered into the forgotten crypts on my first baby toon and got mowed down almost instantly. I think you forget what it was like to be brand spankin new. I came out of skyrim, like many players did. I remember well. If anything i think they would just be overwhelmed.

Okay, one could argue if it had to be level 4 - but how long does it take to reach level 10 anyway? You're right, it's been a few years since I started playing ESO, so I can't remember for sure, but I think it took me only a few hours. Playing a Pact Dunmer, the first group dungeon I entered must have been Crow's Wood. Quite early, too, as its portal is close to Davon's Watch (and if I see a treasure chest, or something that looks like a treasure chest, somewhere, well...). I remember I found bosses relatively hard (and the group boss really hard, that one probably undefeatable alone at that level), but mobs were okay. And finding the main quest was still easy back then... Anyway, I think a kind of optional training arc for players who still have a low-level character wouldn't be bad. Not neccessarily as the very first activity to do in this game, but when they've already gained a few levels and skills.

Thats correct, you can theoretically reach level 10 relatively fast and do dungeons. The main difference is you have 3 other people there to support you. In many cases there is atleast one player that is either fairly high cp or is simply on a new baby toon that they are leveling and can carry the dungeon if you wipe. Archive doesnt have that at all so there is a big difference.

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Syldras wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

I just dont think it makes any sense until level 10 when they have some skills to use. It wouldnt do them any favors. They wont even have a self heal. They wouldnt have a companion.

They could have another newbie friend with them No, honestly...

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Literally nothing. I didnt even figure out how to start the main quest til lvl 10. I had no idea how to use pots in combat even at lvl 4. There is a reason you cant use dingeon finder until 10. You cant manage anything sustained of any kind beyond a delve which are short in starter zones. A public dungeon is out of the question. I wandered into the forgotten crypts on my first baby toon and got mowed down almost instantly. I think you forget what it was like to be brand spankin new. I came out of skyrim, like many players did. I remember well. If anything i think they would just be overwhelmed.

Okay, one could argue if it had to be level 4 - but how long does it take to reach level 10 anyway? You're right, it's been a few years since I started playing ESO, so I can't remember for sure, but I think it took me only a few hours. Playing a Pact Dunmer, the first group dungeon I entered must have been Crow's Wood. Quite early, too, as its portal is close to Davon's Watch (and if I see a treasure chest, or something that looks like a treasure chest, somewhere, well...). I remember I found bosses relatively hard (and the group boss really hard, that one probably undefeatable alone at that level), but mobs were okay. And finding the main quest was still easy back then... Anyway, I think a kind of optional training arc for players who still have a low-level character wouldn't be bad. Not neccessarily as the very first activity to do in this game, but when they've already gained a few levels and skills.

Thats correct, you can theoretically reach level 10 relatively fast and do dungeons. The main difference is you have 3 other people there to support you. In many cases there is atleast one player that is either fairly high cp or is simply on a new baby toon that they are leveling and can carry the dungeon if you wipe. Archive doesnt have that at all so there is a big difference.

if you are running solo maybe, if you are running in a 2 person group, you could still have someone carry you

for example i could easily carry something to at least arc 3 on a dps toon, if i was on a tank toon it would take longer but im positive i could carry through arc 4

Speaking of difficulty, how bad is this thing with a duo partner with not the best experience? I've only run EA solo/with a companion and I'm contemplating introducing a buddy to it this weekend and I was wondering if I should be prepared for them to be happy or just abandon the idea completely. Also, what are the mechs on threads as a duo?

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Syldras wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

I just dont think it makes any sense until level 10 when they have some skills to use. It wouldnt do them any favors. They wont even have a self heal. They wouldnt have a companion.

They could have another newbie friend with them No, honestly...

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Literally nothing. I didnt even figure out how to start the main quest til lvl 10. I had no idea how to use pots in combat even at lvl 4. There is a reason you cant use dingeon finder until 10. You cant manage anything sustained of any kind beyond a delve which are short in starter zones. A public dungeon is out of the question. I wandered into the forgotten crypts on my first baby toon and got mowed down almost instantly. I think you forget what it was like to be brand spankin new. I came out of skyrim, like many players did. I remember well. If anything i think they would just be overwhelmed.

Okay, one could argue if it had to be level 4 - but how long does it take to reach level 10 anyway? You're right, it's been a few years since I started playing ESO, so I can't remember for sure, but I think it took me only a few hours. Playing a Pact Dunmer, the first group dungeon I entered must have been Crow's Wood. Quite early, too, as its portal is close to Davon's Watch (and if I see a treasure chest, or something that looks like a treasure chest, somewhere, well...). I remember I found bosses relatively hard (and the group boss really hard, that one probably undefeatable alone at that level), but mobs were okay. And finding the main quest was still easy back then... Anyway, I think a kind of optional training arc for players who still have a low-level character wouldn't be bad. Not neccessarily as the very first activity to do in this game, but when they've already gained a few levels and skills.

Thats correct, you can theoretically reach level 10 relatively fast and do dungeons. The main difference is you have 3 other people there to support you. In many cases there is atleast one player that is either fairly high cp or is simply on a new baby toon that they are leveling and can carry the dungeon if you wipe. Archive doesnt have that at all so there is a big difference.

if you are running solo maybe, if you are running in a 2 person group, you could still have someone carry you

for example i could easily carry something to at least arc 3 on a dps toon, if i was on a tank toon it would take longer but im positive i could carry through arc 4

Right but you suggest 2 newbies or one solo newbie could do it my guy. I could probably carry a newbie through arc 4 on my dps or tank as well but that wasnt what was suggested. In dungeons getting 3 other people is automatic as well not for ea.

These replies are giving me hope that he'll have fun. Also, kind of off-topic, do the mini-games get harder with 2 people and also, whose difficulty of minigame are we getting? The highest difficulty of the group or the difficulty of the leader?

Also, how does the goat minigame work with 2 people?

After trying EA myself for the first time, here are my first impressions.

Arc 1: good start, didn't feel too difficult and most bosses felt doable until I got to a dragon.

I'm sorry, but I have to agree with a lot of other people here that the dragons need a bigger arena.

What was also frustrating is that he Fus Ro Da'd me, and apparantly you can neither block this nor dodge (I tried both; one for each time he did this to me) so you ALWAYS fly off the edge of the arena. When it did this, it warped me back up without a loss of life....except it did not warp me to an actual platform but thin air. Which meant I inevitably fell back down again...and then the second falling took my life. This was incredibly frustrating because I lost a thread through no fault of my own...only for the dragon to do this a second time again. So I lost two threads...for no reason.

I feel like dragons really need to be looked into.

I got to Tho'at in the first arc. She was difficult, but doable for me. She did feel like a step above the other mobs, but I didn't feel like the step was too high.

I go check out Arc 2:
I did get a marauder, and I have a better understanding when people say they feel out of tune with the rest of the mobs. I felt like I was barely able to solo it. Not only did it feel significantly harder than the surrounding mobs, it also felt significantly harder than the bosses I faced in Arc 2. I really don't think an optional mob should be harder than the bosses of the same arc.

Those were my thoughts. I'll check out the archive again some more and see if I have more thoughts.

The dragon has a cheap and unfair mechanic. I wouldn't call the dragon difficult because I was able to do all his other mechanics just fine. The lack of being able to recover or block or dodge his Fus Ro Da attack is not an acceptable mechanic if it always forces you to die if you get hit with it. It is not "difficult", but rather "impossible". I lucked out in that the third time I fought him he did not use this mechanic.

EdjeSwift wrote: »

You can actually avoid the shout if you move far enough to their flank, their necks won't reach that far, but then you risk a knockback from the wing, but I did find that knockback blockable.

Didn't know this. When I tried dodging or moving out of the way, the dragon seemed to follow me with their attack, which made me feel like it was unavoidable too.

daemondamian wrote: »

Any thoughts and tips on the EA side quests?

Several of them seem to have worse mechanics than Tho'at Replicanum and most of the bosses in EA - so I've only completed them successfully 1-4 times each.

1. collecting the ghost lights the time restraints is tight especially if you get 3-4 lights to collect - yes even wearing Adept Rider, Fiords and Ring of the Wild Hunt- could slot Celerity but not sure if would matter

2. crossing the corridor with tentacles in the floor only worked like twice with selecting buttons from 1 to 5(?) from left to right and having a speed build but now they're out of order and you only get once chance & it then says you can't do it anymore.

3. completing the filer's Archive - I've maybe been successful 2-3 times, but now keep getting killed by skeletons(?) - trying to kill them doesn't work, self healing sets don't seem to work so I tried Plague Doctor with Ironblood, Oakensoul & 1 Piece LW for more health which only helped a little.
I notice you do heal but very slowly so does anyone know if health recovery sets work - Beekeepers etc?

I have 240-300 ping always which doesn't help but I don't know what else to do or try with these side quests as they seem to rely on being faster than seems possible or on random luck.

1. Don't gather all at once, you can do 2 at a time and you'll be fine. There's plenty of time, also you might actually be moving TOO fast, take off half of that stuff and just relax.

2. If you're solo, check which side has the last pool clear and click the buttons from the other side to it and run for your life.

3. Your gear doesn't matter, just avoid, use the 5 to slow and 4 to stun them. I've never been able to heal.

Now that I’ve gone back several times, I would agree that the bosses in arc 1 should be limited to those with reasonable adds and mechanics. I ran into Z’Maja who I’m not unfamiliar with, but even in arc 1 she summons a bunch of adds and I have NO idea how one is supposed to deal with this solo and imagine this could be very off putting to someone encountering her or other bosses on another level of difficulty just in arc 1.

tarsie wrote: »

...SNIP
I am sure that there is a high concentration of people soloing, farming, housing, trading etc.
SNIP...

Raises hand then goes back to overland.