Maintenance for the week of September 8:
• [COMPLETE] PC/Mac: EU megaserver for maintenance – September 9, 22:00 UTC (6:00PM EDT) - September 10, 16:00 UTC (12:00PM EDT)
• [COMPLETE] PC/Mac: EU megaserver for maintenance – September 9, 22:00 UTC (6:00PM EDT) - September 10, 16:00 UTC (12:00PM EDT)
Overland Content Feedback Thread
-
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭sans-culottes wrote: »sans-culottes wrote: »sans-culottes wrote: »spartaxoxo wrote: »sans-culottes wrote: »Thanks for posting this. Given all the tools available for playing with difficulty, this comes as no great surprise. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with—especially if the self-imposed difficulty that may or may not happen takes a page from IA or LotRO.
I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a page from IA and allows us to impose debuffs on ourselves in a similar fashion as we can accept verses/visions in infinite archive personally. But, we won't know exactly what they'll do until they do it! I can't wait until they finally show us something. Making us wait until April is so frustrating. But, I also understand they wouldn't want to tease something that ultimately doesn't make the final cut, either. Like, I get it. But, the waiting is agony haha.
For me as well, because I'm sorry to say that I have some real doubts that whatever they choose to do will be anything that will make my gaming situation easier. And in fact, though you might like to believe streamer vaporware, I don't believe it. I'm expecting that I will be returning to Skyrim and Oblivion permanently once the bomb detonates in April.
What is it you’re expecting? It’s just as speculative to assume that there’s going to be a massive, universal increase in the difficulty. If you need new game recommendations, then do know that there are many wonderful games released every year, too.
I have YEARS of experience with the devs. None of that experience gives me any feeling that this is going to work out well for me or others who are perfectly happy with overland as is.
I don't play anything but TES. It's my home universe, has been since Arena released. So, I'll quite happily go back to Skyrim and Oblivion. I didn't mean that statement to sound as if it would be onerous.
I mean, I’ve also got like a decade of experience with them. Have I agreed with everything they’ve done? No, definitely not, but I also don’t think they’ve made lots of bad choices.
If you’re not happy with the direction of the game and are content with the alternatives, then that’s great. However, even Frances discovered that other things beyond bread and jam were tasty, too.
Uh. Who's Frances?
Lol Bread and Jam for Frances was one of a series of old children’s books. I’ve never forgotten that one, because she only easts bread and jam in that one.
Ah. My early books (around 4th grade I guess - before we started school, my parents read things like Winnie the Pooh to my brother and me, along with all of the Andrew Lang fairy tale books) ran to Burton's The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, Elizabeth Goudge's Pilgrim's Inn, and Rumer Godden's Black Narcissus.______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....1 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭spartaxoxo wrote: »spartaxoxo wrote: »sans-culottes wrote: »Thanks for posting this. Given all the tools available for playing with difficulty, this comes as no great surprise. Looking forward to seeing what they come up with—especially if the self-imposed difficulty that may or may not happen takes a page from IA or LotRO.
I wouldn't be surprised if it takes a page from IA and allows us to impose debuffs on ourselves in a similar fashion as we can accept verses/visions in infinite archive personally. But, we won't know exactly what they'll do until they do it! I can't wait until they finally show us something. Making us wait until April is so frustrating. But, I also understand they wouldn't want to tease something that ultimately doesn't make the final cut, either. Like, I get it. But, the waiting is agony haha.
For me as well, because I'm sorry to say that I have some real doubts that whatever they choose to do will be anything that will make my gaming situation easier. And in fact, though you might like to believe streamer vaporware, I don't believe it. I'm expecting that I will be returning to Skyrim and Oblivion permanently once the bomb detonates in April.
In my experience with streamers, they often get sneak previews or are let in on discussions prior to things being built. They tend to not know finer details because things change in development. But they are usually accurate about the broad strokes of future plans, especially ones that are very near future. Companies let them get a taste of what's to come to help with advertisement and hype building.
He's already been accurate about the incursions coming up. So, I don't really have reason to doubt him this time.
I think a lot of the skepticism is rooted in fear of being pushed out. I think a lot of people are nervous that the upcoming plans are going to ruin the game. So, I really think they should tease something rather than let people's fears run rampant. It is creating the opposite of hype. It's killing enthusiasm.
Having a zone I'm in turned into a "war zone" (as happened various times with WoW and RIFT, and was ultimately one major reason I left them both) wouldn't make me happy at all. Seriously, I hope you get what YOU want, even if I don't. Because I will be quite happy to return to the older games....
It's not a war zone. It's more like an update to the dark fissures. That's those little mini dark anchors that make the shoooom sound.
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Dark_Fissure#:~:text=A Dark Fissure in Elder Scrolls Online is,may spawn when you approach the fissure's location.
ETA
Here's a preview of what it entailsAll I know for sure is that we'll get a new encounter in locations where Dark Fissures appear in the base game (it's on the PTS). Judging by this video of someone doing that encounter, it doesn't appear to be difficult though.
From the PTS patch notes:Reaper Strikes – New Worm Cult Themed Encounters
Strange new devices, known as Soul Reapers, have begun to surface across Tamriel, coinciding with the resurgence of the Worm Cult. Engage in these events to rescue their sacrifices and thwart the Worm Cult’s growing threat. Successfully completing Reaper Strikes will unlock the ability to purchase a unique furnishing from the Achievement Vendor and collect fragments to acquire a new Skill Style.
Keep an eye out for these Reaper Strikes in locations where Dark Fissures once appeared throughout the base game of Tamriel.Edited by spartaxoxo on March 1, 2025 12:25AM0 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries.... and without damage to my wrists.Edited by TaSheen on March 1, 2025 12:30AM______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....3 -
VoxAdActa✭✭✭✭✭spartaxoxo wrote: »Personal debuffs are not a "slider," and come with a wide set of their own implementation problems (which we're supposed to assume will take no extra dev time or attention to implement, and will have no impact whatsoever on server performance).
The null hypothesis is actually that they can do what every other game can do.
So, capes and jumping puzzles when?
2 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭sans-culottes wrote: »I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries....
Right? Now this example would probably be the worst of all possible worlds. Or at least the more annoying one.
Well, it's not that the current iteration is difficult, it's that it's throwaway combat. See.... I want combat to MEAN something - which is why I want to actually be able to defeat zone story bosses.... *sigh*______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....1 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭spartaxoxo wrote: »Personal debuffs are not a "slider," and come with a wide set of their own implementation problems (which we're supposed to assume will take no extra dev time or attention to implement, and will have no impact whatsoever on server performance).
The null hypothesis is actually that they can do what every other game can do.
So, capes and jumping puzzles when?
The null hypothesis is the assumption that there is no difference between two samples. This is deemed true until proven wrong based on data/evidence.
So, the default assumption when it comes to industry standard game features is that they are feasible in all similar games until evidence or data shows otherwise. We should assume there is no difference between what two MMOs made around the same time are capable of until proven otherwise.
Flowing capes are impossible in this game, as explicitly stated by the developers. So, we can reject the null hypothesis when it comes to capes. There is zero evidence that this game cannot handle letting you place debuffs on yourself. In fact, we have debuffs being placed on ourselves in other contexts. Therefore, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected based on the evidence available to players at this time.
Unless you have some actual evidence to cite, such a developer talking about how something is impossible, the most reasonable assumption is that this game is not different to other MMOs (unless that MMO is much newer).Edited by spartaxoxo on March 1, 2025 12:48AM2 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries.... and without damage to my wrists.
They're being updated to be harder in Update 45, FYI. It doesn't appear that they are trial level as the streamer thought they'd be though. So, the streamer was right about the broad strokes but not about the finer detail.0 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭spartaxoxo wrote: »I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries.... and without damage to my wrists.
They're being updated to be harder in Update 45, FYI. It doesn't appear that they are trial level as the streamer thought they'd be though. So, the streamer was right about the broad strokes but not about the finer detail.
You mean the sweeper groups I hope, and not zone story bosses....? If sweeper groups, I'll drag out my map with marks for where they spawn so I don't have to deal with them.______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....0 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭spartaxoxo wrote: »I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries.... and without damage to my wrists.
They're being updated to be harder in Update 45, FYI. It doesn't appear that they are trial level as the streamer thought they'd be though. So, the streamer was right about the broad strokes but not about the finer detail.
You mean the sweeper groups I hope, and not zone story bosses....? If sweeper groups, I'll drag out my map with marks for where they spawn so I don't have to deal with them.
Yeah, the sweeper groups not the zone story bosses. The dark fissures in particular. They've been renamed "reaper strikes" and someone showed what they looked like in the video that I edited in to my previous post alongside the patch notes.0 -
SilverBride✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭@TaSheen If you have the Map Pins add-on you can filter it to show the dark fissures on the map so you can avoid them if you want to.PCNA0 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭SilverBride wrote: »@TaSheen If you have the Map Pins add-on you can filter it to show the dark fissures on the map so you can avoid them if you want to.
Huh. That's one I don't have. I'll grab it, thanks!______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....1 -
SilverBride✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭It's great! You will love it I'm sure. Just go to the Filter tab of the map and check mark what you want to see.PCNA1 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Yeah.... wow. How did I manage to miss this one?______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....1 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭sans-culottes wrote: »I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries....
Right? Now this example would probably be the worst of all possible worlds. Or at least the more annoying one.
Well, it's not that the current iteration is difficult, it's that it's throwaway combat. See.... I want combat to MEAN something - which is why I want to actually be able to defeat zone story bosses.... *sigh*
Also, I just want to say I totally feel you on that. I do too! This is the precise reason that I'm not excited for the reaper strikes and why IA doesn't work out as a substitute for me. I mean yeah, rewards are nice and all. Infinite Archive is fun and feels rewarding from a loot perspective. But, they aren't a replacement for the combat feeling like it means something in the narrative of the game. I like the phrase you used here "throwaway combat." as I think it really sums up my issue well with the alternatives. Great post.3 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭spartaxoxo wrote: »sans-culottes wrote: »I know what those are. I've had them spawn on top of me numerous times. I don't find them engaging content at all.
You know what would be engaging content for me? Zone story bosses I could actually manage to kill in under 10 tries....
Right? Now this example would probably be the worst of all possible worlds. Or at least the more annoying one.
Well, it's not that the current iteration is difficult, it's that it's throwaway combat. See.... I want combat to MEAN something - which is why I want to actually be able to defeat zone story bosses.... *sigh*
Also, I just want to say I totally feel you on that. I do too! This is the precise reason that I'm not excited for the reaper strikes and why IA doesn't work out as a substitute for me. I mean yeah, rewards are nice and all. Infinite Archive is fun and feels rewarding from a loot perspective. But, they aren't a replacement for the combat feeling like it means something in the narrative of the game. I like the phrase you used here "throwaway combat." as I think it really sums up my issue well with the alternatives. Great post.
Thanks. Always happy to have a commonality of reference - and I do, with you, much of the time.______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....2 -
Muizer✭✭✭✭✭
✭Overland is only the core challenge of the game once, for a few months.
You have correctly identified the problem this thread is concerned with. Facetiousness aside, I think we can take the entrypoint function overland has in the context of the game as a whole as given. I don't think anyone's seriously arguing that should be jeopardized. So what then? I do not think it can be argued there is no demand for replayability in open world RPGs, or that increasing the difficulty is an integral part of it. That leaves speculation about feasibility in ESO. You seem to be saying that discussing the future of any and all aspects of the game is pointless. After all, we cannot know if anything we wish for is feasible or whether ZOS will want to implement it. Well, as to that, I respect that is your personal opinion and would not hold it against you if were to decide to act accordingly. It would seem to be the consistent thing to do. You'll have to do more to convince me to do the same though.
Please stop making requests for game features. ZOS have enough bad ideas as it is!7 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Overland is only the core challenge of the game once, for a few months.
You have correctly identified the problem this thread is concerned with. Facetiousness aside, I think we can take the entrypoint function overland has in the context of the game as a whole as given. I don't think anyone's seriously arguing that should be jeopardized. So what then? I do not think it can be argued there is no demand for replayability in open world RPGs, or that increasing the difficulty is an integral part of it. That leaves speculation about feasibility in ESO. You seem to be saying that discussing the future of any and all aspects of the game is pointless. After all, we cannot know if anything we wish for is feasible or whether ZOS will want to implement it. Well, as to that, I respect that is your personal opinion and would not hold it against you if were to decide to act accordingly. It would seem to be the consistent thing to do. You'll have to do more to convince me to do the same though.
I'm not thinking anyone's trying to convince anyone else to leave the game? I suppose it's possible, but in general that sort of massaging is rather a non-starter.... because people will do what they feel they need to, mostly without input from others.
Seriously - no one in any part of my world and life has ever been able to convince me of ANYTHING. I know what I know, I do what I do, and other people can just.... um.... shut the hell up about it.
______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....3 -
Dahveed✭✭✭✭✭
✭I just got finished fighting a mini-boss in the Deadlands.
The mechanics were actually really interesting, indeed challenging. I made some pretty major blunders.
Unfortunately nothing hurt me, at all. I didn't drop below 100 percent for the entire fight.
A difficulty slider/self debuff which increased my damage taken would be perfect for this scenario (it was in a solo instance, too.)
It got to the point where I was literally alt-tabbed looking up the fight on google because I couldn't find the "pool of power" that Lyranth was talking about, and I was alt-tabbed for a solid 2 or 3 minutes outside ESO with no stress at all, because I knew nothing would hurt me.
It was truly sad.9 -
DeathStalker✭✭✭✭✭@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_Kevin
I haven't played since the announcement of the difficulty increase out of fear. The silence by ZOS has just increased my fear. So, now that the update has launched. Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
2 -
SilverBride✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭DeathStalker wrote: »I haven't played since the announcement of the difficulty increase out of fear. The silence by ZOS has just increased my fear. So, now that the update has launched. Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming
They are going to announce what the experiment is in April. We don't know what it is going to be yet, but nowhere was a massive forced difficulty increase mentioned. It is also going to be an experiment that may never make it as a permanent feature.PCNA1 -
Franchise408✭✭✭✭✭
✭DeathStalker wrote: »@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_Kevin
I haven't played since the announcement of the difficulty increase out of fear. The silence by ZOS has just increased my fear. So, now that the update has launched. Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
There's literally nothing to fear. It's a video game. If it does end up being a little more difficult, and you find yourself struggling, it's easy to take a break and find something else to do. It won't harm you. If it does end up being not too difficult, then you are avoiding something that you like because of something that might not even happen.
At the end of the day, it's not that serious, and certainly not something that warrants "fear"5 -
disky✭✭✭✭✭
✭DeathStalker wrote: »Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
Who said it was going to be a massive or forced difficulty increase? Making unsubstantiated claims like this contributes to disinformation and panic, and calling out the devs for it seems ill-advised. What evidence do you have? What do you know that we don't know?5 -
DeathStalker✭✭✭✭✭DeathStalker wrote: »Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
Who said it was going to be a massive or forced difficulty increase? Making unsubstantiated claims like this contributes to disinformation and panic, and calling out the devs for it seems ill-advised. What evidence do you have? What do you know that we don't know?
Any difficulty increase, in my opinion, will be massive since they have always used a sledgehammer for the small tweaks. Forced is what I fear it will be because, otherwise, they could have easily dispelled any concern a long time ago by simply stating that nothing would be forced. Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.4 -
disky✭✭✭✭✭
✭DeathStalker wrote: »DeathStalker wrote: »Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
Who said it was going to be a massive or forced difficulty increase? Making unsubstantiated claims like this contributes to disinformation and panic, and calling out the devs for it seems ill-advised. What evidence do you have? What do you know that we don't know?
Any difficulty increase, in my opinion, will be massive since they have always used a sledgehammer for the small tweaks. Forced is what I fear it will be because, otherwise, they could have easily dispelled any concern a long time ago by simply stating that nothing would be forced. Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.
It mustn't be anything, you have no idea what you're saying, and making definitive statements like that is harmful. I understand that you're nervous, but until we hear from the devs there is no reason to expect anything at all. The best we can do is speculate and discuss solutions.4 -
SilverBride✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭DeathStalker wrote: »Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.
They also haven't said that it will be forced, so does that mean by the process of deduction it will not be?
I'm worried about what they have planned, too, but it's almost April and we will have our answer soon.PCNA1 -
sans-culottes✭✭✭✭✭
✭
I am sorry you are fearing an incredible swing in the other direction. However, I do not think this fear will pan out. The argument you’ve made where absence of evidence means the worst possible conclusion for you does not follow.DeathStalker wrote: »DeathStalker wrote: »Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
Who said it was going to be a massive or forced difficulty increase? Making unsubstantiated claims like this contributes to disinformation and panic, and calling out the devs for it seems ill-advised. What evidence do you have? What do you know that we don't know?
Any difficulty increase, in my opinion, will be massive since they have always used a sledgehammer for the small tweaks. Forced is what I fear it will be because, otherwise, they could have easily dispelled any concern a long time ago by simply stating that nothing would be forced. Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.Edited by sans-culottes on March 10, 2025 7:34PM1 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭DeathStalker wrote: »DeathStalker wrote: »Can we please get an update on the massive forced difficulty increase that is coming?
Who said it was going to be a massive or forced difficulty increase? Making unsubstantiated claims like this contributes to disinformation and panic, and calling out the devs for it seems ill-advised. What evidence do you have? What do you know that we don't know?
Any difficulty increase, in my opinion, will be massive since they have always used a sledgehammer for the small tweaks. Forced is what I fear it will be because, otherwise, they could have easily dispelled any concern a long time ago by simply stating that nothing would be forced. Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.
They don't typically tell us such details about new features ahead of time. It's because there may be some changes between announcement and launch and they don't want to make promises they can't keep.Edited by spartaxoxo on March 10, 2025 7:49PM1 -
DeathStalker✭✭✭✭✭SilverBride wrote: »DeathStalker wrote: »Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.
They also haven't said that it will be forced, so does that mean by the process of deduction it will not be?
I'm worried about what they have planned, too, but it's almost April and we will have our answer soon.
they could have eased fears and concerns anytime and have chosen to let them run wild. When they "adjust" abilities, it's almost always way op or nerfed until nobody uses it. Pick any part of this game you want. It's almost always thermal nuclear bomb to kill a fly approach with adjustments. So, until they confirm otherwise, massive, forced difficulty increase5 -
sans-culottes✭✭✭✭✭
✭DeathStalker wrote: »SilverBride wrote: »DeathStalker wrote: »Since they refuse to say it won't be forced, then it must be forced.
They also haven't said that it will be forced, so does that mean by the process of deduction it will not be?
I'm worried about what they have planned, too, but it's almost April and we will have our answer soon.
they could have eased fears and concerns anytime and have chosen to let them run wild. When they "adjust" abilities, it's almost always way op or nerfed until nobody uses it. Pick any part of this game you want. It's almost always thermal nuclear bomb to kill a fly approach with adjustments. So, until they confirm otherwise, massive, forced difficulty increase
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Extraordinary claim? Check. Extraordinary evidence? Lacking.2