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Day 1 of Vengeance, my thoughts so far

Sallymen
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Note: I have played Vengeance on a Sorc, DK, and Arcanist.

Vengeance has been a lot of fun. After the first hour of playing it, I quickly realized how unique each class played and it reminds me of how I felt when i first played Cyrodill many years ago.

Even though we are limited to class abilities, it gives each class unique play styles. I've seen DKs use chain to pull enemies out of position so they can be killed by their allies, I've seen Templar and Arcanist be effective duelists by stunning and executing enemies, nightblades playing in the back or doing hit and run tactics. Vengeance feels like it is bringing back Class Identity that people were craving

Pros:
+Fair combat with class identity
+Less lag and DC, experienced none.
+A lot of player participation
+No more sinking AP into Cyrodill perishables
+Siege matters and its hurts
+Able to mount right after combat

Cons:
-Slow Mounts / no keep recall makes traversing Cyrodill annoying.
-Lack of essential skills for Cyrodill such as Siege Shield
-Lack of unique siege weapons like Coldfire sieges or meat bags

Final thoughts, I really enjoy this version of Cyrodill a lot. Fights feel fair, classes seem to have their dedicated roles that can help their groups and the lack of disconnects has sold me Vengeance. I REALLY hope after testing is done, they keep it as a separate campaign for people to enjoy.
Edited by ZOS_Hadeostry on March 31, 2025 3:10AM
Current Undaunted Key Count: 4,902
  • RealLoveBVB
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    The focus with this campaign is to test the quantity of players, not the combat balance.
    This means, that you have unlimited sieges just for the test- you have to buy stuff with AP in real campaigns again.
    Same counts for skills and sets etc

    There is no lag, but it surprises me, that players actually like this combat as it is now. For me I just got bored after an hour and just finished the pursuits. Won't enter the campaign anymore as the test lasts.
  • colossalvoids
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    It's not as fun on other classes apart from sorc, arc or even dk. But luckily that's not what's being tested, at least I hope they aren't.
  • MJallday
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    insightful. i think your "pro" comments confirm what the devs were hoping
    the "con" comments are all impacts of the things they removed because of vengeance

    so in a roundabout way, this test sounds like its delivering what was intended.
  • Joy_Division
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    The focus with this campaign is to test the quantity of players, not the combat balance.
    This means, that you have unlimited sieges just for the test- you have to buy stuff with AP in real campaigns again.
    Same counts for skills and sets etc

    There is no lag, but it surprises me, that players actually like this combat as it is now. For me I just got bored after an hour and just finished the pursuits. Won't enter the campaign anymore as the test lasts.

    Sure, some players have indicated they like the combat.

    But I think a lot of us more like the temporary reprieve from the unkillable builds, Rush of Agony ball groups, having actual fights nonstop, and being stuck in said combat. We have serious reservations about the balance, about that Vengeance is a numbers game, that there is hardly any thinking or diversity in our builds. That certainly to me is a breath of fresh air since the current iteration of Cyrodiil has made me quit the game for months on end. So I'd say it's more about liking a temporary situation and hoping ZOS might actually learn something.

    There are also some players who have mentioned they dislike the combat
    Make Rush of Agony "Monsters only." People should not be consecutively crowd controlled in a PvP setting. Period.
  • kojou
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    The focus with this campaign is to test the quantity of players, not the combat balance.
    This means, that you have unlimited sieges just for the test- you have to buy stuff with AP in real campaigns again.
    Same counts for skills and sets etc

    There is no lag, but it surprises me, that players actually like this combat as it is now. For me I just got bored after an hour and just finished the pursuits. Won't enter the campaign anymore as the test lasts.

    Sure, some players have indicated they like the combat.

    But I think a lot of us more like the temporary reprieve from the unkillable builds, Rush of Agony ball groups, having actual fights nonstop, and being stuck in said combat. We have serious reservations about the balance, about that Vengeance is a numbers game, that there is hardly any thinking or diversity in our builds. That certainly to me is a breath of fresh air since the current iteration of Cyrodiil has made me quit the game for months on end. So I'd say it's more about liking a temporary situation and hoping ZOS might actually learn something.

    There are also some players who have mentioned they dislike the combat

    There is that, and the fact that I can just jump in with any character in my roster and not worry about setting up a pvp build. Not having to deal with the arms race makes pvp a lot more accessible.

    I would like to see them introduce things in an iterative way. Maybe next round put Alliance skills back, and then weapon skills, etc. See how it impacts the experience and performance make adjustments and re implement another thing. This way they can monitor the impact one change at a time and pull something back out and rework it if it creates a negative impact.
    Playing since beta...
  • Melivar
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    Farmed some stuff up while I waited approx. 30 mins for the que (was 210 when I logged in)

    Once I got it was a ton of fun, certainly interesting with the limit skill availability but fun anyways.

    I followed the AD mob for about an hour before getting into a group and am just smidge of damage done away from completing the golden pursuit.

    Fights were huge and chaotic but I enjoyed not running into any of "those" guys with the skill loadouts and sets so limited. Died a lot but there were always camps up or friendly people rezzing even when not in a group, so the horse simulator was limited.

    I will definitely be hitting up and joining the que each night to participate and have fun as much as I can.
  • RaikaNA
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    I played in the new campaign last night as a sorc... and one of the cons that I've experienced is that some classes do not have a good spammable.. for sorcs... It was highly annoying that I had to spam Crystal Frags (the nonmorph version). I do not enjoy playing a pet sorc so I had to rely on crystal frags as a spammable.. it was annoying...

    So far I'm enjoying the new cyrodill.. even if it's temporary.. I'm enjoying the new atmosphere.

    A big PLUS...

    No ballgroups
    no bombers
    No unkillable vigor stack healing groups
    It's fair for EVERYONE.
    Edited by RaikaNA on March 25, 2025 3:11PM
  • wolfie1.0.
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    The ap gains are great too. Had one defence tick last night that almost hit 70k ap. Only took an hour or so to get 500k
    Edited by wolfie1.0. on March 25, 2025 3:12PM
  • Minnesinger
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    Lots of stuff that is a very fresh look in pvp. Many mentioned here but one of the first things to notice no in combat bug. Also the laggy fights are much less to the point that huge fights appear to run smoothly.
    A is for Atronach.
    B is for Bungler's Bane.
    C is for Comberry.
  • Joy_Division
    Joy_Division
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    kojou wrote: »
    The focus with this campaign is to test the quantity of players, not the combat balance.
    This means, that you have unlimited sieges just for the test- you have to buy stuff with AP in real campaigns again.
    Same counts for skills and sets etc

    There is no lag, but it surprises me, that players actually like this combat as it is now. For me I just got bored after an hour and just finished the pursuits. Won't enter the campaign anymore as the test lasts.

    Sure, some players have indicated they like the combat.

    But I think a lot of us more like the temporary reprieve from the unkillable builds, Rush of Agony ball groups, having actual fights nonstop, and being stuck in said combat. We have serious reservations about the balance, about that Vengeance is a numbers game, that there is hardly any thinking or diversity in our builds. That certainly to me is a breath of fresh air since the current iteration of Cyrodiil has made me quit the game for months on end. So I'd say it's more about liking a temporary situation and hoping ZOS might actually learn something.

    There are also some players who have mentioned they dislike the combat

    There is that, and the fact that I can just jump in with any character in my roster and not worry about setting up a pvp build. Not having to deal with the arms race makes pvp a lot more accessible.

    I would like to see them introduce things in an iterative way. Maybe next round put Alliance skills back, and then weapon skills, etc. See how it impacts the experience and performance make adjustments and re implement another thing. This way they can monitor the impact one change at a time and pull something back out and rework it if it creates a negative impact.

    Absolutely. I haven't played my main in years. Was nice :P
    Make Rush of Agony "Monsters only." People should not be consecutively crowd controlled in a PvP setting. Period.
  • Rogue_Coyote
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    Overall from the guilds I am in, the results have been positive. Many folks like the "back to basics" battles. The major complaints are the pace and speed of our players, some QoL issues regarding travel, and the queue times. Yesterday evening at 4pm cst the queue was 205, which was longer than prime time Saturday during MYM.
  • Gankform
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    RaikaNA wrote: »
    I played in the new campaign last night as a sorc... and one of the cons that I've experienced is that some classes do not have a good spammable.. for sorcs... It was highly annoying that I had to spam Crystal Frags (the nonmorph version). I do not enjoy playing a pet sorc so I had to rely on crystal frags as a spammable.. it was annoying...

    So far I'm enjoying the new cyrodill.. even if it's temporary.. I'm enjoying the new atmosphere.

    A big PLUS...

    No ballgroups
    no bombers
    No unkillable vigor stack healing groups
    It's fair for EVERYONE.

    No ballgroups
    no bombers
    No unkillable vigor stack healing groups

    SO? you dont like eso but u play eso and u want to chenge it in something else? This is the Gameplay and this is why some of us are still playing ESO PvP and we keep all this years the pvp part alive...omg. [snip]

    [edited for baiting]
    Edited by ZOS_Icy on March 25, 2025 4:39PM
  • Gankform
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    I know the truth hurts sometimes and nowadays it is called baiting!
  • Kahnak
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    Gankform wrote: »
    I know the truth hurts sometimes and nowadays it is called baiting!

    No, baiting is called baiting.

    No ballgroups
    no bombers
    No unkillable vigor stack healing groups


    If most people don't like these things, but you're advocating for these things to the point that you're claiming ESO PvP is defined by the above, I think it's obvious who/what the problem is.
    Tombstone Reads: "Forgot to get good"
  • Sarannah
    Sarannah
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    Playing Cyrodiil to complete the vengeance campaign pursuits, I have to say I really enjoyed this version of Cyrodiil!

    Biggest pro's to me were:
    -More level playing field.
    -No siege/repair equipment hassle(love unlimited!).
    -Easier access to sieges due to unlimited siege equipment.

    This is the way Cyrodiil should be, and should always have been! Atleast in my opinion.

    PS: Lagwise to me this campaign felt the same as always, no major issues.
  • cyclonus11
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    I first logged into Vengeance and immediately hopped into an epic, long-lasting battle. After a while, though, I realized that all I was doing was just spamming frags. It got boring, and was hoping for the fight to hurry up and end.

    That said, this is just a test. Nothing to get worked up over.
  • old_scopie1945
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    Managed to join today, and pure and simple I found it great fun. I love the level playing field.
  • kargen27
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    I only have one complaint so far and it is unrelated to the test. I have three more characters I wanted to get to tier 1 before the end of the campaign and now I won't be able to do that. My own fault for putting off getting them there earlier.

    I had two disconnects last night and one forced me to close the game manually. One was right before we flipped the flags after a really long fight. Fight was fun though and I was on a character I rarely take into PvP. I was thinking the siege could hit a bit harder but I was on a character with self heals so maybe it is fine.

    I'm curious how the fighting would be with smaller fights. Maybe around twenty per side at the keep. I enjoyed the huge numbers of players but would be interesting to see how these changes affect smaller battles. Maybe I can get in during non peak time and find out.

    So far it has been fun.
    and then the parrot said, "must be the water mines green too."
  • Syrusthevirus187
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    It's still annoying how no one splits up, there are 3 giant zergs roaming around everywhere.
    Class skills are much more fun then everyone using ele sus and vigor on everything.
  • YandereGirlfriend
    YandereGirlfriend
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    I would add that people loved the first week of No-Proc as well... but then that format quickly fell into abandonware status as the actual marketplace of players voted with their queues and chose not to play there. So take all of this hype with a huge grain of salt.

    Human nature crave novelty and this is the new thing. If we had to play like this for the next year, however... I don't think that people would be so effusive about it.
  • jcaceresw
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    I finished the golden pursuits on my main yesterday but I am unable to do them in my alternate accounts because of the long queue. Wish they enable a second server.
  • Elvenheart
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    RaikaNA wrote: »
    I played in the new campaign last night as a sorc... and one of the cons that I've experienced is that some classes do not have a good spammable.. for sorcs... It was highly annoying that I had to spam Crystal Frags (the nonmorph version). I do not enjoy playing a pet sorc so I had to rely on crystal frags as a spammable.. it was annoying...

    So far I'm enjoying the new cyrodill.. even if it's temporary.. I'm enjoying the new atmosphere.

    A big PLUS...

    No ballgroups
    no bombers
    No unkillable vigor stack healing groups
    It's fair for EVERYONE.

    I agree, I gave it a try myself, and I really liked it. It felt like what PVP used to be in Cyrodiil when the game first came out and Cyrodiil was young and new. It was sad how over the years things like ball groups, bombers, and unkillable vigor stacked healing groups became a thing and ruined PvP for everyone else.
  • kind_hero
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    I am playing a NB, and the single thing I feel like I am missing is some good heal (or I haven't figured it out yet).

    There should be campaigns like this all the time, probably with at least 2-3 templates for each class. No farming, questing, other objectives etc makes players focus on one activity. What I would add is the keep recall stone and some temporary buffs like in some battlegrounds.
    [PC/EU] Tamriel Hero, Stormproof, Grand Master Crafter
  • SeaGtGruff
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    Day 1 was a lot of fun for me. I got 9 Golden Pursuits plus 1 Weekly Endeavor completed on PCEU, and 10 Golden Pursuits plus 1 Weekly Endeavor completed on PC NA. Both servers were packed and had queues to get in, but I went to Imperial City to do a district daily quest while waiting.

    Once in, choosing which Class skills to slot on my two bars was not much fun, because I like to organize the slots a certain way as far as what types of skills (single-target, multi-target, self-heal, AOE, DOT, buff, debuff, etc.) go in which slots, and it was sometimes difficult to find a suitable "best fit" for each slot. I might add, I normally rely heavily on Weapon skills, so the lack of any Weapon skills was painful for me.

    I didn't mind the lack of gear set bonuses and procs, because I don't rely on proc sets the way so many other players do. And it was really nice not to get plowed down by ball groups using proc sets to wipe out everyone.

    But the lack of any CP bonuses was painful, since I like to leap my mount over terrain and off of ledges while racing to keeps to attack or defend them, and the first time I leapt off of a ledge was abruptly fatal. Fortunately, I was able to resurrect on the spot since I'd died to environmental damage.

    Day 2 was a lot different. I went online on PCEU much later in the day, and the population was much, much lower than it had been the day before-- 2 alliances (including mine) were each at 1 bar, and the 3rd was at 2 bars. The smaller population meant that battles were a lot more lopsided, and I ran into what seems like the usual behavior in my alliance when the population is low-- namely, I was running into the thick of battle to try to burn the enemy's siege, whereas most of the other players in my faction seemed to be hanging out inside the keep instead of pushing out to try to stop the attackers-- so as usual that led to a lot of frustration on my end.

    I didn't check out the campaign on PCNA on day 2, because it was very late and I needed to get to bed, so I don't know how large or small the populations were at that hour.

    I did take some time to change my two bars around on PCEU on day 2, since my performance on day 1 hadn't gone as well as I'd wanted-- and it really showed on day 2 when I wasn't part of a zerg. After tinkering with my bars a bit, I was able to hold my own in a 1v1 encounter which ended in a draw-- the other player decided to run off since both of us were evenly matched (we were both Nightblades I think) and the fight was dragging on with no end in sight. And shortly after that I was able to stop a small group of a half dozen or more enemy players who were trying to flip a resource. Nearly half of them were already dead-- apparently killed by the NPC guards, since there were no friendly players around, unless someone else had been there, got killed, and resurrected back at the keep-- and the 3 or 4 enemy players who were still alive were at low health, so I was able to kill them 1 by 1 (with help from the guards). Both of those encounters ended in victory for me, which is pretty much never the case in an actual campaign, so it was fun for me and gave me some hope that I'm not quite as terribad as I'd thought. Earlier in the evening I'd been getting wiped out in 1v1 and Xv1 fights, especially against certain classes.

    With smaller populations-- especially when the numbers are lopsided in favor of 1 or both enemy factions-- the fights usually come down to a numbers game, although the classes involved also make a big difference, as well as how organized and (let's face it) brave the players involved are. I suspect that the other 2 alliances often feel the same way as I do, but often it seems to me like my alliance has too many players standing around inside of keeps instead of pushing out or at least attacking from the walls, and that the enemy alliances are always much more organized and bold than we are. But it isn't always like that, so I'm sure a lot of it is a case of seeing what one wants to see (and not seeing what one doesn't want to acknowledge) when I get frustrated because I feel like I'm the only player stupid enough to go running into a crowd of enemies hoping to burn their siege, knowing full well I'm not going to last very long.

    One thing that bugs me about the design of Cyrodiil PvP in general is the issue of not being able to resurrect at keeps that are under attack, having to resurrect at a forward camp (if one is nearby and isn't under attack), and then having to wait several minutes before being able to resurrect at another forward camp. It isn't so bad if there are friendly players around and we can get resurrected by somebody, but it gets really frustrating when all of the friendly players (if there even are any) are all inside of a keep's walls playing it safe. One self-resurrection at a forward camp, then after that I'm stuck waiting on a lengthy timer, or forced to resurrect at a distant keep and try to ride back to the fight. Not going to lie, when I run into that scenario I usually just leave Cyrodiil in frustration and disgust. I'm not sure what could be done to improve that sort of situation, but shortening the cooldown period on using forward camps would be a welcomed start.
    I've fought mudcrabs more fearsome than me!
  • Getsugatenso
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    I played for a few hours and was already saturated
  • CatoUnchained
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    wolfie1.0. wrote: »
    The ap gains are great too. Had one defence tick last night that almost hit 70k ap. Only took an hour or so to get 500k

    166k tick at chal last night.....and the performance was not good at all. Tons of rubberbanding and lag. Took several attempts to use doors or swap bars. And even one disconnect back to a nearly 200 person queue.
  • Deimus
    Deimus
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    This is the most fun Cyrodiil has been in 5+ years and most of the players I've talked to agree. The few vocal naysayers are the ones usually griefing and driving players away from Cyrodiil in the first place upset that it's an even playing field.
    • Huge keep fights with hundreds of players are smooth and they're actually fights! Not a 2-3 minutes skirmish before a roa spamming ball just ult dumps and runs away heal stacking.
    • The combat is extremely simplified, but smallscale fights are all skill based instead of crutching on gear procs to do the damage or move players around.
    • Healing is in a much more balanced place compared to regular Cyrodiil campaigns.
    • No lag or disconnects at all the first day for me there were moments of everyone getting server lag on the second.
    • No bugs
    The feels of the fights during this test is what the majority of the PvP crowd that left ESO are nostalgic for and wanted back. So many players giddy like a kid on Christmas morning saying this feels like early Cyrodiil.

    If ZOS is able to add some things back while maintaining the Vengeance vibe in the regular campaigns along with improved performance and population caps that could be the key to reviving the ESO PvP community.
    Grave Robber - Robbed
    Harmony - Shattered
    Stalking Blastbones - Sacrificed
    Corpse Consumers - Buried
  • ZOS_Hadeostry
    Greetings,

    Because there is a thread already open on this topic, we're going to close this one down so that all feedback can be consolidated in one place.

    You may continue the discussion here.
    Staff Post
This discussion has been closed.