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I think Vengeance has real promise, but I do not think it should be treated as a full replacement for traditional Cyrodiil in its current form.
The best thing about Vengeance is that it lowers the barrier to entry. Performance felt better, fights were easier to understand, siege mattered, and newer or more casual PvPers had a place to participate without immediately running into the full weight of proc sets, optimized ball groups, mythics, and years of buildcraft knowledge. That part is good and worth preserving.
But the current version also strips away too much of what makes ESO PvP feel like ESO. Character identity and buildcraft matter in this game. If Vengeance becomes too template-driven, too slow, or too dependent on numbers, then it risks becoming a zerg mode rather than a PvP mode with depth.
My main concerns:
Population balance needs to be addressed before launch. If one faction can stack the map, the mode stops being a useful test or a fun campaign. Dynamic population caps, shorter campaign lengths, or some form of faction commitment would help.
Movement is too slow for a map this large. Baseline mount speed and better player mobility would reduce the “ride forever, die, repeat” feeling.
Siege should matter, but it may matter too much right now, especially when counterplay is limited. Keep siege impactful, but make sure attacking and defending still involve player combat rather than just siege spam.
The 6 healing / 12 damage AoE cap sounds like the right direction. Healing should not create endless stalemates, but damage also needs to feel impactful enough that organized groups can actually push.
Class balance still needs work. Nightblade and DK seem to have tools that fit this environment much better than some other classes. If Vengeance is going to use its own ruleset, then every class needs a viable identity inside that ruleset.
Most importantly, Vengeance should be an alternative campaign with a clear purpose, not a simplified replacement for all PvP. Let it be the more accessible, performance-conscious, large-scale version of Cyrodiil. But do not erase the more open-ended buildcraft version that many players still care about.
So my opinion is: keep developing Vengeance, but do not launch it as “done.” It needs population controls, mobility improvements, better class parity, and enough build choice to feel like ESO instead of a prebuilt PvP minigame.
First time I have been able to join vengeance, I’ll give my 2c.
Accessibility (5/5): Having a quick and easy way to jump into PvP, as well as change playstyles on the fly is such a breath of fresh air.
Population (2/5): Map control tends to feel like it balances into who happens to be on at the time.
Fights (4/5): I have had a few decent battle of 6-12 per side and it felt pretty dang decent from a healers perspective. No lag on my end and everything seemed real responsive.
QoL (4/5): Love having a pre given set of siege and repairs. Wish we had options for more potions but I can get the fear of skewing the balance from that perspective, and honestly even just having the Tri potion is nice.
Total 15/20, overall it has been a good experience. Looking forward to more. I know people have opinions about it starting as a test and evolving into more, but heck look at how light attack weaving happened. Sometimes you create something accidentally.
Closing Point: I would love to see a form of vengeance battleground. Give the pregame time to setup skills etc, and have the same level playing field. Would be much better then the nightmare that is sub 50 currently.
Why is ZOS still referring to vengeance as a "test". It's never been a test. The only thing left to find out is whether ZOS keeps Grey Host or not.
Tip: They wont. Crossplay can't come until the Cyro population/performance issues are resolved. GH is not the solution, it's the problem to them rushing crossplay by EoY.
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