Are you using Overland Difficulty?

Reivax · June 16

I have used all of the difficulty options

I've done most of the Vestige achievement, just need the dragons and the one that is not even available yet.
I tried Master and Seasoned.
I will probably stay at Seasoned for the new normal. I wouldn't say that Seasoned adds a huge level of challenge, but it does make things more interesting.
Master was not so fun. As normal Adventurer, I can one-shot mobs like wolves, and that was satisfying and fun. Master level wolves aren't going to kill me, there's no threat of it, but now it just takes 10 swings to take the pack down.
Vestige is kind of exciting, but I wouldn't use it for overland. Monsters are very overpowered. Group content as Vestige was fun.

In honor of my first Skyrim death oh so long ago, I began attacking Mudcrabs on Vestige mode. I didn't die though, but it was fun.

Jeremy · June 16

I have used all of the difficulty options

Munkfist wrote: »

Have only been running through Vestige, welcome change!

Same.

It's actually fun to do quest now. Things do not die when I look at them, and there is actually some back and forth to make it feel like I'm engaging in virtual combat.

Probably the best change since One Tamriel.

agelonestar · June 16

I have not used any of the Overland difficulty options

No, and I have to be honest, I just really don't see the point. I would not have spent developer resources on this.

I've no issue with difficulty options being a "thing" - I just don't want time spent on gimmicks for the minority instead of great new content (of which we're seeing precious little right now).

karthrag_inak · June 16

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

Khajiit has been running vestige since the system hit, for giggles mostly. Dying to mudcrabs never gets old

frogthroat · June 16

I have used all of the difficulty options

Onomos wrote: »

I've tried them all. It was fun getting one-shotted by a world boss on Vestige difficulty. I still won't use challenge difficulty if I'm just harvesting or wandering.

While I don't really care about the difficulty levels because I want my overland easy (so I can pick flowers and dig up chests in peace) and my dungeons hard, I have to say killing a dragon on Vestige is actually pretty interesting. Two ticks from Soul Tear is enough to flatline my tanky solo build, so a purge is a must. That was the first "hm, this is actually pretty fun" moment.

JeroenB · June 16

I have not used any of the Overland difficulty options

agelonestar wrote: »

No, and I have to be honest, I just really don't see the point. I would not have spent developer resources on this.

I've no issue with difficulty options being a "thing" - I just don't want time spent on gimmicks for the minority instead of great new content (of which we're seeing precious little right now).

While I have no interest in more difficult combat myself, I welcome the option being available for those who do. And if this thread's poll is in any way representative of the wider player base, the majority of players engage with the difficulty system. (Though as OP pointed out the poll is not about whether respondents like the system, only whether they have used it.)

Tra_Lalan · June 16

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

Vestige

it fixed the overland for me. Thank you ZOS.

Usureki · June 16

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I love Vestige difficulty, finally it makes sense to play PvE. Before it was very boring and ridiculously lame to see that the "dreadful and powerful" daedra harassing the mortal realms are easier to delete from this game than deleting icons from my PC desktop. Now the story has actual sense and value.

I'd love to see Vestige difficulty players segregated from others in a dedicated instance though. It makes zero sense to combine Adventurer and Vestige playerbase. Is this an MMO ZOS says? Yes I agree and I wish I could play with people with similar mindset and same ruleset I like.

olsborg · June 16

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I play mainly in master and vestige. Its cool. Tho the rewards are somewhat lacking

frogthroat · June 16

I have used all of the difficulty options

olsborg wrote: »

Tho the rewards are somewhat lacking

They have to be.

See this post from Finn explaining why separating Adventurers and Vestiges is not possible.

As such, you can't give too great of rewards to Vestiges, because that would open a door to much exploiting. Just group with an Adventurer and let them carry. There has to be something. Like you do when you complete RND for the second time that day. Or a trial quest second time this week - it's just a bit of gold and some XP. You know, it has to be something, but nothing to go crazy about. And as the difficulty mode has been so requested, they did that. And added some similar rewards, a bit of extra gold and XP but nothing to go crazy about.

SolidBeast · June 16

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I am playing on Vestige now. It makes the story quests more engaging. The world bosses are overtuned on Vestige, so I switch to Seasoned for that. I just completed Blackwood on Vestige and the final battle was really cool. I've only run into one miniboss instance where they didn't get to complete their dialogue because I killed them too fast.

Orbital78 · June 16

SolidBeast wrote: »

I am playing on Vestige now. It makes the story quests more engaging. The world bosses are overtuned on Vestige, so I switch to Seasoned for that. I just completed Blackwood on Vestige and the final battle was really cool. I've only run into one miniboss instance where they didn't get to complete their dialogue because I killed them too fast.

Yes, if a dragon sneezes you're dead. But you get the achievement dead at least. I'm not sure how they can balance it when it is such a flat system. It is amusing how a iron atro in AOE spit phase at the vents can kill you before you're even at the event.

AlnilamE · June 16

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I played with all of them, but I'm getting smoked on Vestige with my current set up. Not particularly interested in it other than the achievements, though.

DrMedBorn · June 17

I have used all of the difficulty options

what do you mean? I am having actual fights with mobs and most of the other players are just cheating.

majulook · June 18

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

Today (6/172026) I got the Title: Battle Scarred

Now I just need a Dynamic Encounter to finish the achievements.

agelonestar · June 19

I have not used any of the Overland difficulty options

JeroenB wrote: »

agelonestar wrote: »

No, and I have to be honest, I just really don't see the point. I would not have spent developer resources on this.

I've no issue with difficulty options being a "thing" - I just don't want time spent on gimmicks for the minority instead of great new content (of which we're seeing precious little right now).

While I have no interest in more difficult combat myself, I welcome the option being available for those who do. And if this thread's poll is in any way representative of the wider player base, the majority of players engage with the difficulty system. (Though as OP pointed out the poll is not about whether respondents like the system, only whether they have used it.)

More than 40% of players in this poll haven't touched the system - and let's be honest, lots of players will take a look at anything new introduced the game.

I'm not sure I could call that a great success, given it was one of the leading headlines for U50.

People want content. Not gimmicks.

JohnnyJimmy · June 19

Yes.

Rufusstan · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I've only tried seasoned so far, originally to complete the Golden Pursuits, but it doesn't seen that much harder. I may have to upgrade again to see a real difference.

So far most creatures are dropping items, not money so not seeing much benefit.

ssewallb14_ESO · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

Currently slowly replaying the game on Vestige with my main characters.

Honestly the best experience I've had in ESO in a while, it's nostalgic playing the overland like I remember it.

Erickson9610 · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I'm glad to see that the majority of people have used the new system! I personally don't see the point in doing anything easier than Vestige, but I suppose those options help people to find a comfortable balance in their gameplay experience.

SeaGtGruff · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I was able to claim the apex reward in the new Golden Pursuits on day 1, on both PCEU and PCNA, after an hour or two of play on each server.

I played on all three settings-- Seasoned, Master, and Vestige-- on PCEU, but could not solo or duo a boss on Vestige due to being one-shot by their first attack; I even got killed pretty quickly by a Dwarven mob in a public dungeon. But I had fun killing dreughs in Vvardenfell on Vestige, in the area west of Balmora where I used to kill dreughs to help me level when I was still new to ESO.

On PCNA, I decided to start out on Vestige, rather than starting on Seasoned and working my way up to Vestige. I couldn't kill a world boss or public dungeon boss by myself, but I had fun killing "trash" mobs in various zones, including Craglorn.

zenonuk · June 19

I have used all of the difficulty options

I've used all of them - a few of us pulled a guild group together to run on Vestige for the achievement - lots of fun, though we did die a lot.

Generally though, I've stuck all my characters on seasoned for now - there's little difference, and it just makes overland feel a bit more worthwhile without having to go to the effort of unslotting CP points and wearing low-powered sets (which is what I was doing to make stuff feel a bit more meaty).

shadoza · June 19

I have used all of the difficulty options

I have tried them all. Not really interested. After the test period, I forgot they even existed. I should probably go back to look since I do not know where I left them on any of the characters.

ESO_player123 · June 19

I have not used any of the Overland difficulty options

My answer has changed since the new GP came live. Since I wanted the crates, I did turn on Seasoned/Master/Vestige for about half and hour. That is how much time it took to finish the pursuit. Back to Adventurer.

Tariq9898 · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

Only playing on Vestige and I’m loving it.

It’s not perfect of course, but quest bosses actually feel like a threat and the stakes feel monumental. Even the environment—especially Oblivion realms—feels “heavy” due to the added level of immersion through gameplay difficulty, as befits the lore, mythology and worldbuilding.

Wildberryjack · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

I tried it out just to see. Not worth it.

SeaGtGruff · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Only playing on Vestige and I’m loving it.

It’s not perfect of course, but quest bosses actually feel like a threat and the stakes feel monumental. Even the environment—especially Oblivion realms—feels “heavy” due to the added level of immersion through gameplay difficulty, as befits the lore, mythology and worldbuilding.

I haven't done any questing yet, but tangling with overland mobs on Vestige brought back memories of dying a lot to overland mobs back when I first started playing ESO.

Bosses are too one-shotty on Vestige for me to enjoy at all, because I immediately die as soon as they make their first attack; I don't even have a chance to roll-dodge completely out of the way (since I use melee attacks and need to stay in their faces), and trying to block the damage or heal through it is a joke. But Master seems a tiny bit more doable for bosses, once I start to get used a change in tactics. Seasoned for bosses seems more my speed for now.

emilyhyoyeon · June 19

I have used all of the difficulty options

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Only playing on Vestige and I’m loving it.

It’s not perfect of course, but quest bosses actually feel like a threat and the stakes feel monumental. Even the environment—especially Oblivion realms—feels “heavy” due to the added level of immersion through gameplay difficulty, as befits the lore, mythology and worldbuilding.

I haven't done any questing yet, but tangling with overland mobs on Vestige brought back memories of dying a lot to overland mobs back when I first started playing ESO.

Bosses are too one-shotty on Vestige for me to enjoy at all, because I immediately die as soon as they make their first attack; I don't even have a chance to roll-dodge completely out of the way (since I use melee attacks and need to stay in their faces), and trying to block the damage or heal through it is a joke. But Master seems a tiny bit more doable for bosses, once I start to get used a change in tactics. Seasoned for bosses seems more my speed for now.

Side quest bosses (as in bosses of quests for zone locations like settlements and stuff) have always been on another level of weak compared to any other content, other overland included. From my experience vestige does not help fix that.

These quest bosses have like 100-150k HP. They attack very slow, and go through their ''mechanics''/attacks very slow. Vestige, or any difficulty setting, doesn't really do much here, other than, yeah, you can hear their dialogue line before they die.

I redid the whole Summerset zone since the update dropped, so it's not a base game issue. Side quest bosses are fundamentally, so, so weak.

Personally I'm still really happy to have the difficulty options though.

SeaGtGruff · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Only playing on Vestige and I’m loving it.

It’s not perfect of course, but quest bosses actually feel like a threat and the stakes feel monumental. Even the environment—especially Oblivion realms—feels “heavy” due to the added level of immersion through gameplay difficulty, as befits the lore, mythology and worldbuilding.

I haven't done any questing yet, but tangling with overland mobs on Vestige brought back memories of dying a lot to overland mobs back when I first started playing ESO.

Bosses are too one-shotty on Vestige for me to enjoy at all, because I immediately die as soon as they make their first attack; I don't even have a chance to roll-dodge completely out of the way (since I use melee attacks and need to stay in their faces), and trying to block the damage or heal through it is a joke. But Master seems a tiny bit more doable for bosses, once I start to get used a change in tactics. Seasoned for bosses seems more my speed for now.

Side quest bosses (as in bosses of quests for zone locations like settlements and stuff) have always been on another level of weak compared to any other content, other overland included. From my experience vestige does not help fix that.

These quest bosses have like 100-150k HP. They attack very slow, and go through their ''mechanics''/attacks very slow. Vestige, or any difficulty setting, doesn't really do much here, other than, yeah, you can hear their dialogue line before they die.

I redid the whole Summerset zone since the update dropped, so it's not a base game issue. Side quest bosses are fundamentally, so, so weak.

Personally I'm still really happy to have the difficulty options though.

I don't know if it was a "boss" per se, but when I was playing through the Ashlander portion of the Morrowind questline on my first character, I had a very difficult time completing that portion because I kept getting killed by the NPCs in Skar. It may have been largely my own fault, because on my first character I held back on using my Skill Points to purchase skills while leveling up, since I wasn't sure which ones to pick and didn't want to get locked into any bad choices, hence I was primarily relying on just light and heavy attacks when fighting. Also, I was trying to evenly distribute my Attribute Points between Health, Stamina, and Magicka, as I do when playing Skyrim. I think I also had problems completing one or two of the quests in Sadrith Mora, so eventually I just created a new character and did things differently while leveling, which helped immensely. That character is now my main character, and my initial "just trying to figure out how things work" character is one of my several alts.

AScarlato · June 19

I have used some of the difficulty options (please list the ones you have used)

After playing around with this, I have decided this is something I will use during MSQs and quest chains for the drama but not for standard gameplay.

Most bosses in DLC zones are already challenging for me, so I don't need to debuff myself. I also don't want to debuff myself if I'm a tank or healer because my damage is already low.

For my optimized solo builds it's appreciated while doing important quests though.