For this patch, yes, but theoretically by the end of it, every class will have a base-class-only restricted skill that’d make it be more of a difficult choice. Imagine whip buff requires dk, radiant oppression execute scaling requires plar, bow proc requires nb, flail debuff requires arc, etc etc. I think the big thing though is what they make arcanist’s base-class feature be, to stop the “I have a plar base arc and a dk base arc and a nb base arc” future.

Wait, slapping on another system that is going to do more proc effects and lag the game more is a bad idea? Who would have guessed?

I genuinely hope it's a temporary thing they toss out after the class reworks are done. If it isn't, class change tokens are now a must. It isn't fair to players who have had characters for up to a decade to potentially have build options in subclassing gutted due to their base class in ways the player couldn't have predicted. It also isn't fair that some classes may be reworked in ways that no longer fit the character's identity for a player.

I still genuinely hope their statement on stream that classes will still get changes after their major rework and adjustments is true and this dumb idea goes in the bin eventually but even now it still doesn't sit right with me. It doesn't protect monoclass in the way it's meant to, it just brings rigidity that I would love to see in this game's past for class choices. There are plenty of other ways to balance that don't harm build diversity and freedom and helps monoclass. Again, I remind that subclassing rp builds are also drowning compared to the more optimized subclassing builds and it's not just a monoclass thing.

It's a personal rub for me because my favorite character is my main who is a nightblade base. I have played her in everything I can and have 14.5k hours on her more than my second highest played character. When I first got into trials I had to play alts over here to get my clears and achievements and I hated that. When I finally had the option to play her more, I was a lot happier. I don't want to go back to when I feel pressured or restricted off of my main due to poor balancing decisions. Most of the endgame raiders I know that quit did so because they felt their main character was no longer viable in endgame due to balance changes. I know not everyone in endgame thinks like this but a lot of people still do or would consider coming back if there was more build diversity/freedom there. Please don't put things in the game that punish people for wanting to play their main/favorite character.

I know it's probably too late on this going live but I'm hoping it at least gets removed eventually. It just feels like a step backwards in balance and freedom and shortsighted of the longterm effects it has on the game.

keto3000 wrote: »

Personally, I feel the game should either embrace pure classes and really refrsh and develop their signature unique skills or completely scrap the whole class thing entirely and allow everything to be a skill lines & 'pathways' to be added, subtracted & refined as the player sees fit.

All this back and forth refreshing, and rebalancing to make up for some other 'not intended' consquence, etc has been going on for years and leaves us half-in and half-out of balance all the time.

...Never feels 'quite right.'

I agree with this, and I know which one I personally prefer (more choice/creativity), but I have had many a discussion with friends who play about the reason things feel so painful right now is the limbo and feeling the system is noncommittal. I've pointed out in other threads rp based sublcassing builds also have power problems compared to the min maxed builds but no help seems to be coming for them which is sad and disappointing. I know a lot of people who will feel cheated if subclassing becomes an overland "for fun" system and nothing more. I also know people who feel burned by subclassing and want their monoclasses back. A few of us as I mentioned above are like "well at least I can play my nb/sorc/etc main and have a raid build and a for fun overland build but I would like to see the build I like to play more viable." It's really a mess.

I also worry because a lot of the people I know who feel this way either don't have forum accounts or don't interact as much with zos. Most people who are ok with or happy with things will be playing the game not taking breaks to come to the forums or social media to talk or vent. I admit, I'm happier with the game than I have been in prior years despite problems and I've largely upped my forum activity in the past few months because they're listening to feedback and I feel my voice and opinions and insight matter again. A game developer I follow who talks about his work a lot in another game talks about the dangers of getting too lost in data or feedback of players who are more likely to be vocal/social. He also talks about concepts such as how players feel about something can sometimes contradict data saying it's fine, and sometimes it's better to not ask players leading questions and ask "why do you feel this thing sucks despite data showing us it's strong in game?" Maybe I should add this to the PTS feedback survey thread because I think it helps understand a bit more about why some players are feeling disgruntled and unheard. I also am yet again going to point out ESO is great at drawing players of all gaming types/personalities but struggle to keep many of those groups lasting content which is the heart of the game's problem in general (see image for light reference to this concept):

I have literally heard players I know say every single one of the things in this chart is what drew them in and made them want to play and enjoy eso, and I often hear them say their main draw is also the same reason they feel disgruntled/frustrated too. I know it is for me as well.

Either way, game development is hard and complicated and messy, especially for games with a wide/diverse audience. I just want to see them do better and hope some of my talks about what I want to see + talking about game development concepts help the team in some way.