Solo Infinite Archive, Simply Not Fun

El_Borracho · January 3

I keep giving solo IA chances, and each time IA never fails to disappoint. Went back to farm the last lead of the Ayleid King mythic. Same old complaints:

No save points, despite the intent that the content take hours
An old one, but at this point, no save point in IA would be the equivalent of making you do the Main Quest or every zone story quest in one sitting. As in, if you stop, you have to start all over at the beginning quest. Every. Single. Time. There is no logical reason for no save point. You don't get a higher score for time, unlike the arenas, so why?

The game design is atrocious
Its pretty much a 3D version of a sidescroller with no end. I'm okay with the increase in difficulty, as there should be an increase in difficulty, otherwise it would be infinite. I'm also okay with the bosses being random. But Sun Eaters for adds? Ugh. Lightbringers and the Brewmasters are too much. It feels like "difficult for the sake of being difficult." Heck, why not throw in Bitter Knights, Crimson Knights, Tidebreakers, Stormcallers, Keelcutters, Firestorms, etc. while we're at it.

The game design is ATROCIOUS
"Hey, I know, lets put in fall damage. Oh, and then, let's put a dragon as a boss who will slap you off the platform. Yes, you could conceivably block or roll dodge the wing, but it won't work for a variety of reasons. Lag. Bugs. Apathy. FUN!!!" It feels like I've never seen a dragon before when one of them pop up. Sigh. Fall damage in anything with limited lives is dumb.

Increased difficulty of side quests
The asinine quests like catching books using unresponsive controls. Or catching lights by walking backwards, but not too fast! Because I said when I did it the first few times, "This would be awesome if it were harder and more unrewarding for completing." With the rewards being some IA money. Yay. The only one worth doing is finding pages of a book.

Continued unfixed bugs
Can't taunt certain bosses. Block drops. Bashing won't interrupt no matter how many times you bash the target. Heals and skills not firing. What is this, Cyrodiil?

The Tho’at Replicanum fight is a mess
Ooh, more adds and shards and colossi as you continue. Neat. Oh, and a random Vision, which I will likely not get 3 of a kind in this run. Thank you. And lets not forget about that piece of gear I will never use. Speaking of which...

The rewards are useless
They keep introducing sets to get players to play IA (i.e. Pyrebrand) then immediately nerf them. Why? Its the only reason players who do not love IA do IA.

Look, I understand there are players who love IA and can't get enough of it. But I don't think that is the majority of ESO players. In the guilds I am in, you're better off trying to get a vet DSA run together than trying to get one guildie to run IA with you. Because its long, boring, and unrewarding. More than DSA. Which says a lot.

bruta · January 3

it's a great remedy for insomnia

FabresFour · January 3

It's funny how two people can have completely different perceptions. I have a lot of fun in the Infinite Archive solo; I usually make it to Arc 5 or 6, and the runs tend to be really enjoyable. I still do them, even though I already have all the IA achievements.

About the Adds: I don’t get it—they’re part of the increasing difficulty and only add a few simple mechanics to deal with during gameplay. If you understand how they work and how to handle them, it’s pretty straightforward to deal with their encounters.

As for the Dragon, I play in Brazil with a constant ping of 180 to 240, and it never goes lower than that. If, in all this time doing the Archive, I’ve died 2 or 3 times, it’s a lot, honestly.

The fight against Tho’at is the one I enjoy the most in the entire game, especially after Arc 4 LOL.

I think out of your entire text, I only agree with the Save Points, although I feel they might take away part of the Archive’s fun.

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

Other than that, it’s just about knowing the mobs and their mechanics. If something confuses you, asking another player or looking it up online always works.

Vonnegut2506 · January 3

You could remove solo from your title, and I would agree completely. If it wasn't for Tales of Tribute, Infinite Archive would be the most pointless activity they have added to the game in my opinion.

valenwood_vegan · January 3

I liked it at first, but it gets stale very quickly;

the lack of save points or any consideration of any type of progress saving severely limits many players' enjoyment (I simply do not have hours at a time to play eso uninterrupted, nor would I risk my health by doing so even if I had the time, so I can never reach an appropriately challenging arc);

it can be buggy;

and the rewards are not great yeah.

It has potential, but it feels like it was left in a beta state, and it needs more frequent updates to continue to hold peoples' attention.

PapaTankers · January 3

Agreed. To add to this IA is imo the most unabalanced mode in the game.
I used to go Arc 9-10 solo a lot in the past. Now I only do IA if there is a monster style page there that week which I want.

Save point is the biggest offender in my opinion. Getting to high arcs can take 5+ hours solo. In no way is this healthy.

To get to higher arcs you are essentialy forced to run 2 builds. Either weakening based build or perma magma shell. With all higher arc builds you are highly dependant on focused efforts or you might aswell turn those 5+ hours to 10+ hours.
Would be nice to have more viable build paths along with rerolling visions like other roguelikes have. Maybe even able to banish visions.

Also Im bothered that instead of making higher arcs harder by making them mechanically more intense, instead they triple x all the damage and turn enemies into bullet sponges.

IA has a lot of potential and it's not too late to make big changes. You can see how little people engage with it via weekly leaderboards.

Amottica · January 3

FabresFour wrote: »

It's funny how two people can have completely different perceptions. I have a lot of fun in the Infinite Archive solo; I usually make it to Arc 5 or 6, and the runs tend to be really enjoyable. I still do them, even though I already have all the IA achievements.

About the Adds: I don’t get it—they’re part of the increasing difficulty and only add a few simple mechanics to deal with during gameplay. If you understand how they work and how to handle them, it’s pretty straightforward to deal with their encounters.

As for the Dragon, I play in Brazil with a constant ping of 180 to 240, and it never goes lower than that. If, in all this time doing the Archive, I’ve died 2 or 3 times, it’s a lot, honestly.

The fight against Tho’at is the one I enjoy the most in the entire game, especially after Arc 4 LOL.

I think out of your entire text, I only agree with the Save Points, although I feel they might take away part of the Archive’s fun.

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

Other than that, it’s just about knowing the mobs and their mechanics. If something confuses you, asking another player or looking it up online always works.

I had a similar thought since so many players enjoy IA. Granted, everyone has different interests.

I also commend you on offering great advice. There is more information out there that can be helpful for those who seek it.

I understand the issue about being unable to save progress, but I do not think there is a means to save progress with any group content in the game. That is likely the reason why it is not available.

Good luck to the OP

Ragged_Claw · January 3

El_Borracho wrote: »

"This would be awesome if it were harder and more unrewarding for completing." With the rewards being some IA money. Yay.

This gave me and my partner a good laugh. We had fun in there yesterday when one of the dragons slapped us off the edge literally as we were emerging from the portal and aggroed again before we'd even come back to life. Ah good times. *wipes tear*

LPapirius · January 3

IA is just recycled content, that's the problem. It's nothing new. It's just the same things we already have in game in a different organization. That's why I don't even consider IA a new feature. Almost nothing in IA is new.

Desiato · January 3

I dislike IA and have absolutely no desire to play it.

The worst part about it is the infinite part. If an optimal session could be completed in 30-45 minutes, it might be tolerable.

But really, I hate everything about it. I hate that it starts overland-ridiculously-easy instead of having a vet mode. I hate how repetitive it is. I hate the random elements because they tend to be less than the sum of their parts and cannot match crafted gameplay.

I don't like the side rules. ESO has SO MUCH content and SO MANY systems that we don't need more content-specific gimmicks.

Most of all, I feel like it's not a product designed to be fun, but rather it is engineered to consume time.

Tandor · January 3

El_Borracho wrote: »

I'm okay with the increase in difficulty, as there should be an increase in difficulty, otherwise it would be infinite.

Right. It's not like "infinite" is in the title, after all! Oh, wait...

o_Primate_o · January 3

El_Borracho wrote: »

I keep giving solo IA chances, and each time IA never fails to disappoint. Went back to farm the last lead of the Ayleid King mythic. Same old complaints:

SNIP

The game design is ATROCIOUS
"Hey, I know, lets put in fall damage. Oh, and then, let's put a dragon as a boss who will slap you off the platform. Yes, you could conceivably block or roll dodge the wing, but it won't work for a variety of reasons. Lag. Bugs. Apathy. FUN!!!" It feels like I've never seen a dragon before when one of them pop up. Sigh. Fall damage in anything with limited lives is dumb.

Increased difficulty of side quests
The asinine quests like catching books using unresponsive controls. Or catching lights by walking backwards, but not too fast! Because I said when I did it the first few times, "This would be awesome if it were harder and more unrewarding for completing." With the rewards being some IA money. Yay. The only one worth doing is finding pages of a book.

Continued unfixed bugs
Can't taunt certain bosses. Block drops. Bashing won't interrupt no matter how many times you bash the target. Heals and skills not firing. What is this, Cyrodiil?

The Tho’at Replicanum fight is a mess
Ooh, more adds and shards and colossi as you continue. Neat. Oh, and a random Vision, which I will likely not get 3 of a kind in this run. Thank you. And lets not forget about that piece of gear I will never use. Speaking of which...

Get good.
I never experience the problems you have.

Yes it is quite boring and non-boss fights are unnecessary. I farmed corpse buster and haven't been back since.

IncultaWolf · January 3

The rewards aren't useless. Corpseburster alone is making necro dps viable again competitively. The style pages are awesome and you can use archival fortunes to buy leads, skill styles, and monster set motifs. There's a tales of tribute deck you can get, a really strong mythic, and there's even a mount you get from doing enough IA. Being able to earn a fancy mount in the base game is a good thing.

Oceanchanter · January 3

FabresFour wrote: »

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

If they target and taunt Marauders that is.

Part of my frustrations with IA is that the Marauders always target you, and always spawn alongside other monsters.
As much as enjoy my Zerith-var tank, he sometimes sundowns and really wants to beat up, tank, and taunt that skeleton with 30% while I run away from a massive minotaur coming at me like a truck in isekai anime.

A suggested change to that would be to Companion's script to target Marauders. Or at least when they have sword-shield and/or taunt.

DenverRalphy · January 4

Oceanchanter wrote: »

FabresFour wrote: »

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

If they target and taunt Marauders that is.

(Snip)

A suggested change to that would be to Companion's script to target Marauders. Or at least when they have sword-shield and/or taunt.

You can tell your companion to target the marauder. On PlayStation it's Hold (L3+R3) + Tap R2 while targeting the Marauder. XBox and PC have the same command but I won't guess the button/key bindings.

spartaxoxo · January 4

Tandor wrote: »

El_Borracho wrote: »

I'm okay with the increase in difficulty, as there should be an increase in difficulty, otherwise it would be infinite.

Right. It's not like "infinite" is in the title, after all! Oh, wait...

Infinite doesn't mean that you never go up in difficulty in pretty much any game I have played. It means it is designed to end eventually by getting increasingly difficult but theoretically a person who is talented enough could go on forever.

spartaxoxo · January 4

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Oceanchanter wrote: »

FabresFour wrote: »

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

If they target and taunt Marauders that is.

(Snip)

A suggested change to that would be to Companion's script to target Marauders. Or at least when they have sword-shield and/or taunt.

You can tell your companion to target the marauder. On PlayStation it's Hold (L3+R3) + Tap R2 while targeting the Marauder. XBox and PC have the same command but I won't guess the button/key bindings.

You can also use a heavy attack or Daedric Prey (if you're a sorcerer).

SeaGtGruff · January 4

I don’t do the Infinite Archive regularly, but I usually enjoy soloing it once in a while. But I almost never make it to the first Tho’at, let alone to Arc 2, since I generally stop as soon as I get killed.

I have to agree about the fall damage; I hate getting knocked off of the platform by a boss. And the increasing difficulty of side quests is also disappointing. I think it would have been nicer if the increasing difficulty of side quests were based on the Arc number, rather than a “forever” increase.

Overall, I enjoy the Infinite Archive as an occasional activity, since I’m not skilled or powerful enough to get very far with it. The randomness of the mobs and bosses keeps things interesting.

MidniteOwl1913 · January 4

I loath everything about IA. I don't even bother with the side quests anymore. I can never complete them. If it an endevor I can't avoid I do the daily, arc one and stop. I used to at least try to get to arc 2 but the new marauders make that impossible now so I don't bother with that anymore either. So arc one and done, but only when I can't avoid it.

So frustrating so boring so pointless. So many better ways to spend my time.

That said I'm happy for the people who enjoy it. Finding content you like is nice.

katanagirl1 · January 4

I’m still slogging through this content to get the furnishing leads. I must stop and highlight this. I want furnishings for my house, not just one lead for one item, but several different furnishings and some of them have a dozen leads. For that I am doing 2 arcs and getting zero side boss rewards because I am stuck at the duel one at level 5 and just keep repeating it but can’t win.

I am so burned out but I have many of them with less than one lead. I keep getting style pages instead, or no leads per run..

The combat issues that really get me are the Tho’at arc 2 has the frost atro teleporting about this gigantic area and losing stamina chasing him down. Also, some of the areas have inherent super low frame rates that make it hard to get skills to work, it’s like a slideshow in there.

All this because someone wanted arena type content for their tank. As if watching paint dry was too exciting so becoming a damage sponge and taking forever to kill something is better because it’s more low key.

fall0athboy · January 4

FabresFour wrote: »

It's funny how two people can have completely different perceptions. I have a lot of fun in the Infinite Archive solo; I usually make it to Arc 5 or 6, and the runs tend to be really enjoyable. I still do them, even though I already have all the IA achievements.

About the Adds: I don’t get it—they’re part of the increasing difficulty and only add a few simple mechanics to deal with during gameplay. If you understand how they work and how to handle them, it’s pretty straightforward to deal with their encounters.

As for the Dragon, I play in Brazil with a constant ping of 180 to 240, and it never goes lower than that. If, in all this time doing the Archive, I’ve died 2 or 3 times, it’s a lot, honestly.

The fight against Tho’at is the one I enjoy the most in the entire game, especially after Arc 4 LOL.

I think out of your entire text, I only agree with the Save Points, although I feel they might take away part of the Archive’s fun.

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

Other than that, it’s just about knowing the mobs and their mechanics. If something confuses you, asking another player or looking it up online always works.

The biggest issue with Tank Companions is keeping them have their taunt on the damn Marauder.

spartaxoxo · January 4

fall0athboy wrote: »

The biggest issue with Tank Companions is keeping them have their taunt on the damn Marauder.

Use Azandar until the fix they're working on is in. His class taunt works fine for some weird reason. I found that from someone on here and it's been a game changer.

LootAllTheStuff · January 4

I see what was meant about the dragon - had that one today, and it knocked me off twice. Talk about being in the wrong place at the wrong times. IA really brings home the difficulty difference between base game and subsequent chapters/DLC.

Imza · January 4

fall0athboy wrote: »

FabresFour wrote: »

It's funny how two people can have completely different perceptions...

I use Isabel with:
Vigorous gear
and these skills
Provoke - Holy Ground - Solar Wind - On Guard - Blessed Sacrament and her ulti Baneslayer

She tanks the Tho'at very well.

Altho with my ping being 360 on EU I haven't make it to the Tho'at in Arc 3 yet

joergino · January 4

Vonnegut2506 wrote: »

You could remove solo from your title, and I would agree completely. If it wasn't for Tales of Tribute, Infinite Archive would be the most pointless activity they have added to the game in my opinion.

This pretty much sums up those two years in ESO. I had thought there couldn't be anything more pointless than Tales of Tribute, but then we were "given" that Archive.

o_Primate_o · January 4

fall0athboy wrote: »

FabresFour wrote: »

It's funny how two people can have completely different perceptions. I have a lot of fun in the Infinite Archive solo; I usually make it to Arc 5 or 6, and the runs tend to be really enjoyable. I still do them, even though I already have all the IA achievements.

About the Adds: I don’t get it—they’re part of the increasing difficulty and only add a few simple mechanics to deal with during gameplay. If you understand how they work and how to handle them, it’s pretty straightforward to deal with their encounters.

As for the Dragon, I play in Brazil with a constant ping of 180 to 240, and it never goes lower than that. If, in all this time doing the Archive, I’ve died 2 or 3 times, it’s a lot, honestly.

The fight against Tho’at is the one I enjoy the most in the entire game, especially after Arc 4 LOL.

I think out of your entire text, I only agree with the Save Points, although I feel they might take away part of the Archive’s fun.

Recommendations: If you’re doing the Archive 100% solo and finding it hard, I highly recommend building a Tank Companion. Tank Companions in the Archive can handle even high-Arc Marauders with ease, making the gameplay much easier. When I want to do a no-brain run or push a bit further, I usually activate a Companion for that.

Other than that, it’s just about knowing the mobs and their mechanics. If something confuses you, asking another player or looking it up online always works.

The biggest issue with Tank Companions is keeping them have their taunt on the damn Marauder.

Slot two taunts on companion so it can retaunt during cooldown of other taunt

Mathius_Mordred · January 4

I only really agree with the save mechanic. until that is added I won't do it again, not done it now for at least 6 months and have no interest in starting again from scratch, far more rewarding things to do in the game.

liliub17_ESO · January 4

I haven't gone into the Archives yet. To be honest, there's no real interest - I heartily dislike Necrom in general, consider it one of the worst releases, content- or otherwise, and am forcing myself to play an arcanist to lvl 50 because I'm a completionism* with story stuff. If not for that and the companion Sharps, I'd have foregone it altogether.

But that's me. There are many who adore the Archives and its mechanics. Reading those experiences here, good and bad, help to form a better idea of what is needed when/if I ever do decide to venture forth and give it a try. So I thank you for sharing.

*to be clear, I'm not including vet dungeons, trials, PvP or added "games" as main story content. I have my own opinion about the inclusion of ToT and the Archives.

Sarannah · January 4

Love the archive, both solo+companion and duo!

The only two problems in the archive are the companions not holding aggro on marauders, and the ghostlights often not following very well in the side area. Other than that, I love the archive!

PS: Currently sitting at 1.5M fortunes, this is after buying everything I need like leads, style pages, companion gear, upgrades, etc.

Artim_X · January 4

ZOS should permit peeps to keep running it once all their lives are spent, but your score does not change after losing that last life. It should also save your progress as long as you don't turn in the quest (like in other arenas, you no longer can place on the scoreboard once you leave the instance for too long).

Adaarye · January 4

Desiato wrote: »

I dislike IA and have absolutely no desire to play it.

The worst part about it is the infinite part. If an optimal session could be completed in 30-45 minutes, it might be tolerable.

But really, I hate everything about it. I hate that it starts overland-ridiculously-easy instead of having a vet mode. I hate how repetitive it is. I hate the random elements because they tend to be less than the sum of their parts and cannot match crafted gameplay.

I don't like the side rules. ESO has SO MUCH content and SO MANY systems that we don't need more content-specific gimmicks.

Most of all, I feel like it's not a product designed to be fun, but rather it is engineered to consume time.

But that's all MMO's. Engagement is what it's all about. I don't like IA either because I actually have a life.