ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Below is a transcript of our questions and answers from the January 16th ESO Live show for any who were unable to tune in. Thank you for the questions!

What positive changes do Sorcerers have to look forward to in Update 6? All I see is another nerf bat, and the Surge changes seem to be the icing on the cake.
The primary goal of all these changes is to promote build diversity through buffing instead of nerfing. Some notable Sorcerer improvements are a reduced cast time on Crystal Shard, increased damage on Daedric Curse, and pets now inherit their owner’s critical strike rating. We would like Surge to continue being a key weapon in the Sorcerer’s arsenal, and will be monitoring PTS feedback on this ability.

So heavy armor will mitigate all damage types OTHER THAN SIEGE better with Update 6? Pretty sure metal plate protects a person from rocks or shells better than cloth.
Currently, siege damage is not mitigated by armor. Note that we want siege damage to be impactful against all players without one-shotting those who wear Light Armor.

In Update 6, you said we’ll be able to block magicka-based AoEs. Does this also affect the new Magicka Bomb skill?
Yes, it does.

With the changes coming in Update 6, will Fear still go through block?
Yes, Fear will still go through block. We like that Fear has a unique role on the battlefield, but we’ll continue to monitor how this interaction affects balance.

Will armor scale linearly or logarithmically? The reason I ask is because linear armor scaling results in exponential damage reduction growth as armor is added.
Armor in ESO scales logarithmically, and the damage reduction caps at 50% for physical and spell resistance.

We’ve heard that Wall of Elements will not be blockable after Update 6. Is that true? Similarly, will Caltrops remain blockable or will this stamina draining issue be fixed?
Currently, both Wall of Elements and Caltrops will be blockable with Update 6. That said, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be blocking an effect on the ground and we may be updating these skills based on PTS feedback.

Are you guys planning on looking at Racial passives again after Update 6? Because some of the better Racial passives are going to be vastly better after that patch.

Absolutely, and we may even have time to get some changes made on PTS if you have specific feedback for us.

The damage-over-time for the Bow ability Venom Arrow will pretty much apply even if the target is blocking, but the damage-over-time from the Dual Wield ability Blood Craze will never apply if the target is blocking. I think it’s like the only damage-over-time that doesn't apply when you block. Is this intended?
This is intended behavior and now applies to Venom Arrow’s damage-over-time as well.

Since Skills that use Stamina after the patch will be based off Weapon Damage/Stamina/Weapon Crit, does this mean Fighters Guild abilities will now be good for Stamina users? Or is it just class skills that are being changed? Also is there any way we can get the 0.5 cast time removed from Dawnbreaker? It’s a pretty good Ultimate, but the fact that it can be interrupted fairly easy makes it basically used for the passive and nothing else. Other than the Templar’s channeled heal Ultimate, I don't think there is another Ultimate in the game with a cast time.
We have changed all skills in the game to conform to these standards, so yes Fighters Guild abilities will be more useful for stamina-based characters once Update 6 is live. We’ll look into the cast time for Dawnbreaker; also in Update 6, Dawnbreaker has received a substantial damage-over-time component.

Quick Siphon says it will heal any player that is attacking the target of the siphon, but in reality no healing happens unless the attacker also damages the target of the siphon (meaning, shielded target=no healing). Intended?
Yes and this is one of the unique things that makes damage shields different than a standard heal.

Will we be able to bash/interrupt heavy attacks in 1.6?
Not currently, however we have been planning an update where only the ranged heavy attacks can be interrupted (bow, restoration staff, and destruction staff).

If all Magicka-based AoEs will be blockable, will the Nightblade's Aspect of Terror be too? Because if so, block casting is going to be getting better and better in Update 6. Also, will this change affect skills like Dark Talons, or Dragonknight Standard, the Siphon Ultimate, Sap Essence, etc?
Aspect of Terror will not be blockable. Here are a few other examples of how this change will impact some of the other abilities mentioned:

• Dark Talons – Damage is blockable, the immobilize is not
• Dragonknight Standard – Blockable
• Soul Shred – Blockable
• Sap Essence – Blockable
• Drain Power – Blockable (The caster still gains the Major Brutality buff as long as the ability deals damage.)

Note we’re looking into making all of the ground-based AoEs not blockable.

What is the status with Shadow Cloak and its morphs? Can we expect any fixes in Update 6? How about the whole stealth gameplay, any new mechanics/skills for that in Update 6 that players enjoying rogue type characters might like?
We are continuing to fix bugs with Shadow Cloak. With Update 6, we’ve introduced new quieter sound effects for sheathing and unsheathing weapons while stealthed. We’re also working on a new skill line associated with the Justice System that reduces the cost of sneaking. You can now stealth while in an NPC’s notice area, as long as you are not within their detection area. The stealth “hidden” eye also provides a more accurate indication of when you can and cannot be detected.

How will major and minor buffs be determined in 1.6? Will the order the buffs are applied determine which is the major/minor buff or is it something you "set" out of combat? – Jahosefat
We went through every ability in the game that provided a buff to player characters and replaced it with either a “Major” or “Minor” buff. The buff and whether it’s a Major or Minor one is determined by the ability; the buff also corresponds with the ability’s desired gameplay. For example, the Sorcerer’s Lightning Form ability now gives the Major armor buff, while Bound Armor gives the Minor armor buff. The armor bonus from these abilities scales based on your character’s level, so the Major buff might grant 5,120 armor while the Minor buff gives 960.

How do you keep a level playing field in the game when Vet players can pour Champion Points into newly created alts, while brand new players to the game cannot? – Caroloces
Champion bonuses scale based on your character’s level, so the passives will be much more effective at VR14 than at level 5. Additionally, most of the Champion bonuses increase your stats by a percentage. So increasing armor by 25% when you have only 100 is a much smaller value than when you have 20,000 armor. With Champion Points your alts will feel more powerful, and we think it’s going to be a lot of fun for high level players to make a new character and crush the monsters.

Separate key binds for weapon 1 and 2 were reported as being worked on. Any status update? – heroofnoneb14_ESO
Yes, this change is coming in Update 6. In addition to the weapon toggle keybind, you’ll be able to set keybinds for Weapon Set 1 and Weapon Set 2 in the keybind window. So three total keybinds. The ones for Weapon Set 1 and 2 are not assigned to any key by default. It's just there for those that want to use it.

We tweaked weapon toggling so it's less likely to double swap if you press the key binds in quick succession, too. There's a tiny delay built in before it registers another swap.

We also made weapon swapping feel more responsive; it can now be activated to interrupt a cast or while on cooldown.

So basically weapon swapping should function better in Update 6—we hope you’ll help us test it on the PTS!

Will the pet Critical Strike coming in Update 6 scale off of my Spell Crit or Weapon Crit? – NordJitsu
All pet summons are magicka-based abilities, so both their damage and critical strike rating are based off your Sorcerer’s spell stats.

When will the vendors in Cyrodiil sell blue VR14 mystery boxes? – LonePirate
Not in 1.6, but we do have a comprehensive loot update planned for PVP players in the future.

When the new class ability morphs are introduced, will our morphed ability levels be preserved and/or carried over, or will we have to re-level our morphed abilities? – Muizer
When Update 6 goes live, all the experience you have previously accrued (including progress in ability morphs) will be preserved.

Can you confirm, once and for all, for the record, whether or not Nirncrux can be found in Upper Craglorn while harvesting ANY node... like herbs and runes, and not just ore, cloth and wood... no matter how slim the chance may be? – Stonesthrow
Nirncrux is not found from alchemy and enchanting nodes in Craglorn, as those tradeskills do not use it. If you are hunting for Nirncrux, the smithing, woodworking, and clothier survey reports have a higher drop rate than normal nodes. We recommend doing those!

When will we finally get an option to disable the obnoxious notifications when guild members complete trials? – Samadhi
The option to turn off in-game notification mails is a request we’ve gotten often. We are working on adding the option to turn them off that will be introduced in a future patch or Update.

For the revamp and consolidation of the buffs and debuffs: Will we get a list of the changed effects in advance, and will we get a free respec to change our builds? – Menelaos
We’ll have a full list of the effects in the Update 6 patch notes, and yes everyone will get a free respec.

Will Naryu Virian be involved in the introduction of the Morag Tong? I want to see her again. – MercutioElessar
We want to see Naryu again, too! We’re talking about how best to use all of the various recurring characters in the future. There are ideas floating around for Naryu, but nothing has been nailed down quite yet.

What’s the highest amount of gold a player character can carry? – MercutioElessar
The absolute maximum gold a player character can carry is a little over 2 billion gold. Better hope that’s not all in copper!

xsorusb14_ESO wrote: »

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Below is a transcript of our questions and answers from the January 16th ESO Live show for any who were unable to tune in. Thank you for the questions!

What positive changes do Sorcerers have to look forward to in Update 6? All I see is another nerf bat, and the Surge changes seem to be the icing on the cake.
The primary goal of all these changes is to promote build diversity through buffing instead of nerfing. Some notable Sorcerer improvements are a reduced cast time on Crystal Shard, increased damage on Daedric Curse, and pets now inherit their owner’s critical strike rating. We would like Surge to continue being a key weapon in the Sorcerer’s arsenal, and will be monitoring PTS feedback on this ability.

So heavy armor will mitigate all damage types OTHER THAN SIEGE better with Update 6? Pretty sure metal plate protects a person from rocks or shells better than cloth.
Currently, siege damage is not mitigated by armor. Note that we want siege damage to be impactful against all players without one-shotting those who wear Light Armor.

In Update 6, you said we’ll be able to block magicka-based AoEs. Does this also affect the new Magicka Bomb skill?
Yes, it does.

With the changes coming in Update 6, will Fear still go through block?
Yes, Fear will still go through block. We like that Fear has a unique role on the battlefield, but we’ll continue to monitor how this interaction affects balance.

Will armor scale linearly or logarithmically? The reason I ask is because linear armor scaling results in exponential damage reduction growth as armor is added.
Armor in ESO scales logarithmically, and the damage reduction caps at 50% for physical and spell resistance.

We’ve heard that Wall of Elements will not be blockable after Update 6. Is that true? Similarly, will Caltrops remain blockable or will this stamina draining issue be fixed?
Currently, both Wall of Elements and Caltrops will be blockable with Update 6. That said, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to be blocking an effect on the ground and we may be updating these skills based on PTS feedback.

Are you guys planning on looking at Racial passives again after Update 6? Because some of the better Racial passives are going to be vastly better after that patch.

Absolutely, and we may even have time to get some changes made on PTS if you have specific feedback for us.

The damage-over-time for the Bow ability Venom Arrow will pretty much apply even if the target is blocking, but the damage-over-time from the Dual Wield ability Blood Craze will never apply if the target is blocking. I think it’s like the only damage-over-time that doesn't apply when you block. Is this intended?
This is intended behavior and now applies to Venom Arrow’s damage-over-time as well.

Since Skills that use Stamina after the patch will be based off Weapon Damage/Stamina/Weapon Crit, does this mean Fighters Guild abilities will now be good for Stamina users? Or is it just class skills that are being changed? Also is there any way we can get the 0.5 cast time removed from Dawnbreaker? It’s a pretty good Ultimate, but the fact that it can be interrupted fairly easy makes it basically used for the passive and nothing else. Other than the Templar’s channeled heal Ultimate, I don't think there is another Ultimate in the game with a cast time.
We have changed all skills in the game to conform to these standards, so yes Fighters Guild abilities will be more useful for stamina-based characters once Update 6 is live. We’ll look into the cast time for Dawnbreaker; also in Update 6, Dawnbreaker has received a substantial damage-over-time component.

Quick Siphon says it will heal any player that is attacking the target of the siphon, but in reality no healing happens unless the attacker also damages the target of the siphon (meaning, shielded target=no healing). Intended?
Yes and this is one of the unique things that makes damage shields different than a standard heal.

Will we be able to bash/interrupt heavy attacks in 1.6?
Not currently, however we have been planning an update where only the ranged heavy attacks can be interrupted (bow, restoration staff, and destruction staff).

If all Magicka-based AoEs will be blockable, will the Nightblade's Aspect of Terror be too? Because if so, block casting is going to be getting better and better in Update 6. Also, will this change affect skills like Dark Talons, or Dragonknight Standard, the Siphon Ultimate, Sap Essence, etc?
Aspect of Terror will not be blockable. Here are a few other examples of how this change will impact some of the other abilities mentioned:

• Dark Talons – Damage is blockable, the immobilize is not
• Dragonknight Standard – Blockable
• Soul Shred – Blockable
• Sap Essence – Blockable
• Drain Power – Blockable (The caster still gains the Major Brutality buff as long as the ability deals damage.)

Note we’re looking into making all of the ground-based AoEs not blockable.

What is the status with Shadow Cloak and its morphs? Can we expect any fixes in Update 6? How about the whole stealth gameplay, any new mechanics/skills for that in Update 6 that players enjoying rogue type characters might like?
We are continuing to fix bugs with Shadow Cloak. With Update 6, we’ve introduced new quieter sound effects for sheathing and unsheathing weapons while stealthed. We’re also working on a new skill line associated with the Justice System that reduces the cost of sneaking. You can now stealth while in an NPC’s notice area, as long as you are not within their detection area. The stealth “hidden” eye also provides a more accurate indication of when you can and cannot be detected.

How will major and minor buffs be determined in 1.6? Will the order the buffs are applied determine which is the major/minor buff or is it something you "set" out of combat? – Jahosefat
We went through every ability in the game that provided a buff to player characters and replaced it with either a “Major” or “Minor” buff. The buff and whether it’s a Major or Minor one is determined by the ability; the buff also corresponds with the ability’s desired gameplay. For example, the Sorcerer’s Lightning Form ability now gives the Major armor buff, while Bound Armor gives the Minor armor buff. The armor bonus from these abilities scales based on your character’s level, so the Major buff might grant 5,120 armor while the Minor buff gives 960.

How do you keep a level playing field in the game when Vet players can pour Champion Points into newly created alts, while brand new players to the game cannot? – Caroloces
Champion bonuses scale based on your character’s level, so the passives will be much more effective at VR14 than at level 5. Additionally, most of the Champion bonuses increase your stats by a percentage. So increasing armor by 25% when you have only 100 is a much smaller value than when you have 20,000 armor. With Champion Points your alts will feel more powerful, and we think it’s going to be a lot of fun for high level players to make a new character and crush the monsters.

Separate key binds for weapon 1 and 2 were reported as being worked on. Any status update? – heroofnoneb14_ESO
Yes, this change is coming in Update 6. In addition to the weapon toggle keybind, you’ll be able to set keybinds for Weapon Set 1 and Weapon Set 2 in the keybind window. So three total keybinds. The ones for Weapon Set 1 and 2 are not assigned to any key by default. It's just there for those that want to use it.

We tweaked weapon toggling so it's less likely to double swap if you press the key binds in quick succession, too. There's a tiny delay built in before it registers another swap.

We also made weapon swapping feel more responsive; it can now be activated to interrupt a cast or while on cooldown.

So basically weapon swapping should function better in Update 6—we hope you’ll help us test it on the PTS!

Will the pet Critical Strike coming in Update 6 scale off of my Spell Crit or Weapon Crit? – NordJitsu
All pet summons are magicka-based abilities, so both their damage and critical strike rating are based off your Sorcerer’s spell stats.

When will the vendors in Cyrodiil sell blue VR14 mystery boxes? – LonePirate
Not in 1.6, but we do have a comprehensive loot update planned for PVP players in the future.

When the new class ability morphs are introduced, will our morphed ability levels be preserved and/or carried over, or will we have to re-level our morphed abilities? – Muizer
When Update 6 goes live, all the experience you have previously accrued (including progress in ability morphs) will be preserved.

Can you confirm, once and for all, for the record, whether or not Nirncrux can be found in Upper Craglorn while harvesting ANY node... like herbs and runes, and not just ore, cloth and wood... no matter how slim the chance may be? – Stonesthrow
Nirncrux is not found from alchemy and enchanting nodes in Craglorn, as those tradeskills do not use it. If you are hunting for Nirncrux, the smithing, woodworking, and clothier survey reports have a higher drop rate than normal nodes. We recommend doing those!

When will we finally get an option to disable the obnoxious notifications when guild members complete trials? – Samadhi
The option to turn off in-game notification mails is a request we’ve gotten often. We are working on adding the option to turn them off that will be introduced in a future patch or Update.

For the revamp and consolidation of the buffs and debuffs: Will we get a list of the changed effects in advance, and will we get a free respec to change our builds? – Menelaos
We’ll have a full list of the effects in the Update 6 patch notes, and yes everyone will get a free respec.

Will Naryu Virian be involved in the introduction of the Morag Tong? I want to see her again. – MercutioElessar
We want to see Naryu again, too! We’re talking about how best to use all of the various recurring characters in the future. There are ideas floating around for Naryu, but nothing has been nailed down quite yet.

What’s the highest amount of gold a player character can carry? – MercutioElessar
The absolute maximum gold a player character can carry is a little over 2 billion gold. Better hope that’s not all in copper!

Quick question, why is Venom Arrow being changed to be similar to Blood Craze? Since it and BC are now the only two dots in the game that follow that logic. Every other Dot will go through block in terms of applying..but will do reduced damage while the target is Blocking