But you can have the same weapon in both slots...so you truly can have 10 for a specific weapon focued type build...and even if you put different weapons, you can still have 10. The things you were talking about, such as wanting defensive abilities and such can easily be accomplished within the means they gave us. I do feel your pain. I am coming from EQ2, where you have 3 kajillion abilities and can easily, with good reason, run 10 hotbars. It will be a huge change in my play style...and I think the biggest frustration will be the struggle with the feeling of not being able to slot all of the things I want to. But I'm actually looking forward to seeing how this will play out. I see myself making more focused builds, or builds that have switch between two very different "styles" or weapon sets to accomplish two different tasks; Such as healing and a healing/utility. I am also forcing myself to be try and be comfortable with the fact that the abilities are still there waiting to be switched onto a bar if needed before a group run/solo run/harvesting run/raid. I agree with you in that it is limiting...but I am looking forward to the meta game that such an environment forces on me.

You can't swap the skills in combat, so their use is very limited.

Yeah i hear ya, i had 8 hotbars for EQ2. It took me forever after taking a very long break from that game to figure out how to play again. No more, enough is enough i say.

i prefer the current setup, to the 50+ abilities and 5 hotbars filling up my screen, and i really hate the cool down's from other games

when that is said 1-2 extra slots, or maybe a slot or 2 for toggle on/off abilities would be nice

I guess its safe to say that the console/balancing issue is nonexistant then, so maybe the playability? You would have to stop and look down to find anything beyond 6 within reason, a few might not have to but it is rare, but honestly I would perfer more slots. I think Scape13 gets me, that we abandoned exploring other spells/abilities in favor of "better" or more useful spells just because of the 5 slot limitation. If it does have sound reasoning behind it, it doesn't outway the pro of players unlocking more abilities and putting them to good use. If the game was bad I wouldn't care, but this game is so awesome, and a whole multitude of unique builds will never see play because it is just not possible to get the most out of the abundant skill lines without more of their respective active abilities in the bar. Sure, you can make a cute little build, but I personally would have utilized more if I had at least 2 more slots. Players with toggle spells like magelight and others, and my build with Restoration aura, benefits most from having that spell in the hotbar. I think it is ineffective if you have to swap to use it, unless it still counts, but I doubt it. These spells might have created a balance issue but anyone can use them so I don't see why not.

Again, I love this game so far, and wouldn't care if I felt otherwise, and I will play whatever Bethsada puts in or leaves out regardless, but that detail drastically effects my build choices and in my opinion, defeats the purpose of "Play how you want to play" and forces me to place limitations on my character based on the lack of available slots for spells. Whats the point of having so much choice when you must optimize due to lack of UI? Most people won't care but for me it hurts. I spent the Beta with the Prayer heal, Aura of Restoration, and Critical charge on the bench, and I loved those spells. I also passed up on Uppercut in the 2 hand line and Solar Flare in Dawn's Wrath for this reason, along with everything from the Fighter's, Mages, and Undaunted skill lines, all because I had no room, and felt I would lose something I needed and liked.

Now, I understand this is apparently part of the choice in ESO, but most of the fun of RPG gameplay is having alot of power at your fingertips and by level 50, I am sure I would be tired of the same 5 spell rotation. I am sure this is a balancing issue to keep players from being a walking Holy Trinity, or a "One man Army" but resource management still only allows so many spells to be cast and being spread too thin still has an effect on player choice, and I can't see people refusing to play this game because "Everyone has too many spells slotted" type complaints. It may have been a concern though and I am just trying to find the reasoning behind NOT adding the extra slots, and in no way hating on this game. This game is by far the greatest MMO, gameplay wise, I have ever played. Its an opinion, and I only got to level 16, so only time will tell what my final verdict is, but the game is definatley fun to play. It is just frusterating to rule out spells, not because they are not useful, or because they don't fit in your particular build, but because there is no room in your hotbar and I came into this game from skyrim where you manage it all, it just didn't feel right. Why can't I decide what fits and what doesn't? Yes, characters would wield more power at any given time, but is it that hard to make the game challenging enough for multi faceted builds? You still run out of magika/stam/health and I think this keeps the players honest. I realize the implications of PvP builds with EVERYTHING at players disposal but again, players are limited by their respective resource and we should be able to spend our magika/stamina on whatever we want. That is why we all love The Elder Scrolls and it should be why we love Elder Scrolls Online. I didn't say this to start a "But its an MMO" argument, and "you cant do that in MMORPG" , I just can't see why they only use 5 slots, and I can't see any gamebreaking argument why players can't have more access to abilities without a weapon swap. It is the opposite of what I expected pre-Beta when Bethsada announced "Play how you want to play". I was so excited, and was eager for Multiplayer Elder Scrolls, and when I leveled to the point where my hotbar got cramped, I was simply disappointed.

I still love the game, and Bethsada did an amazing job, I mean this gameplay is amazing and it is breathtaking. The world is engaging and the quests were unique, some were dark, and the AI was innovative and fun. All in all, I would have to say ESO is brilliant, therefore, I applaud Bethsada's genius in bringing us another gem of a RPG. Hopefully they add it in and I will be playing this game for many years whether they change it or not, but ultimately I vote for at least 2 more slots and thats me trying not to be greedy. The more I think about it the more I lean towards it being a balancing thing, to protect the Holy Trinity of gaming, forcing players to specialize in one role per hotbar, and preventing "One man Army" builds, or PvP powerhouses, but we will see after launch I guess. Maybe after I get some more experience with the weapon swap mechanic, it will be sufficient, especially if the same weapon can be slotted twice (not two different of the same type) and then I could probably get by with that and be content.

@ OP What initially might look as only 5(6), is more like: 5 + pot + ulti + WepSwap + 5 + pot + ulti + dodges (all 4) + block/parry + interrupt + CCbreak + sneak/crouch + powerAttack + sprint + ...am I forgetting something? (That is if we assume that your gear/spec is fixed - I plan to respec and try various combos often, diversifying my ′only 5′ further. Even when I settle down on few preferred combos, I′ll prolly be swapping between these a lot depending on situation). I know how it looks like to someone coming from WoW (I played my Shammy/Lock/Rogue 2005-8), but you will get used to it quickly.

PS It is possible that a slot (or two) will be added @ some point down the road. Unnecessarily IMO, but I wouldn′t mind. I don′t see ESO controls as less complex/challenging than WoWs anyway.

PPS Sorry if someone already pointed this out, I didnt read all 5 pages.

Thats funny. It just reminded me that when I played WOW, (launch v.1.0 to Wrath of the Lich King expantion) I remembered thinking " I have all of these spells on like 3 hotbars and really only use like 5 in my DPS rotation for the most part, what a waste..." and here I am wishing I had more! Truth is, I think ESO did a great job at making all the spells useful and really am only asking for more of a good thing. Not all games can do that and I can see a need for limits, but this games builds and myself as a gamer, could really benefit from the extra freedom. And I also agree with the fact that there is a lot already there, I love the active block and active light/heavy attacks. This combat system is pure genius. Never had so much fun leveling an MMO character as I did on Beta weekend.

Wow you're babbling!

The 5+1 slots were made ONLY because of consoles.

ONLY.

You do know that it was not because of consoles right? Sony had to basically beg to get the game brought to consoles. Also the fact that FFXIV has more actives and is on consoles proves that the decision was not made for consoles but as an overall design of the game.

As to the OP the reason for that, I'm guessing is both so console players aren't at a massive disadvantage, and because this game is literally balanced around only having 5 abilities per action bar.

Though it would be nice if they added combos, or some more action bars which console gamers could also use- which I doubt they'll do.

I really like that combo idea.

Having lots of skills is passe, whether it comes back vogue over time in the MMOs world or not, we'll see...

These days there's more emphasis on when you use your skills (e.g. to counter, interrupt.) I for one like that. And I had no problems with my characters defeating enemies with 5 skills in beta so far. And we have a lot more than '5' skills, just limited in the number we can use at any one time. They could have given us no skills you know, in the traditional Elder Scrolls style. I think we should be thankful for what we have, rather than constantly wanting more.

OP: you do mean 10 slots, right?

Haha you're really that naive to think that Bethesda/Zenimax didnt go for the greedy route?

ESO has a chance in the PC market if they dont f' it up ... but an mmo in the console market is just plain stupidity!

Considering that this game has been in development for 5+ years and only last year was convinced to go with the console, no the decision was not because of consoles. Again FFXIV has more skill bar slots and is on console. The number of skill bar slots is not to do with the console.

Could careless if they based their decision on consoles or not, fact still stands that with all those skills we can achieve, and such a small bar, the basis of being only able to pick a select few for that current situation, is what gives us such variety. I freakin love that. out with the 30 different skill slot bars idea(s) i say, all it does is turn ESO into easy mode allowing everyone to use everything at hand.

I can tell you i know for sure ill be swapping skills out ALL the time for the situation at hand. (Solo pvp, solo pve, group pve, group pvp, dungeons, collecting crafting items, etc, etc).

& when i say crafting items i mean switching out allot of my main attacks for more defense / CC / self healing, incase im collecting in cyrodiil, i can simply CC and try to run if i have to.

My only problem with picking skills is the Nightblide shadow disguise and veiled strike (the invisible cheap shot combo). 2/5 of my skills gone using that combo and veiled strike isn't amazing on its own. Have to make so cuts, I suppose.

I have heard that ffxiv multiple times. The problem is if thats the only example of lots of buttons being implemented on a controller, its likely patented. And before anyone goes on about how that'd never be patented, mass effects dialog wheel was even patented. I can *easily* see a sweet interface being patented. And there are only so many buttons on a controllers to make a nice setup.

Ha yeah I feel your pain. Ambush and killer blade is my own poison. I can't make myself give those up.

There are other ways to bind more than 6 skills to a controller than what FFXIV does. The choice for the limited skills was a design one, not a hardware one.

12 skills with weapon swap.

*shrugs* It'd also probably matter how a patent was worded. Apple for example got a patent on a rectangle with rounded corners. So there might very well be another broadly worded patent floating around. Like user presses controller button, menu appears and presents user with additional choices.. So it could very well be a hardware problem, and not wanting to engage in a patent fight.

There are 10 slots for skills. Weapon swap opens up 5 more skills. You can choose to not use them, but your choice does not reduce the actual number of slots which is 10.

The reason for the limited number of slots is for character diversity. If you could slot all of your skills on hotbars, then the character diversity comes only from your class and gear choice. In that situation, artificial means of diversifying must be implemented. Such as traits, feats, enhancements, attributes, etc. The complexity of character design and growth which makes each character unique in many familiar MMOs is supplanted by a large number of skills with a small loadout in the case of ESO. The end effect, it is hoped, is to have characters of the same class with very different capabilities depending on which skills are slotted at a given time.

It is obvious that players will want to find the "best" skill selection, and that they will share their thoughts which can lead to cookie cutter builds. This is where balancing comes into play. If the skills can be balanced in such a way that there is no best way to arrange them, then character diversity can be achieved. This is a challenge. Some players do not believe that true balance can exist. I prefer to hope that the devs can get it close enough that many loadouts are viable.

Even with a large number of variables in character creation and growth, DDO or PoE for instance, there are still cookie cutter and "best" builds for each class. Adding more skill slots won't have any affect on the player's search for the best, but it will have an affect on how unique each character is. I give the following example for your consideration:

- If there were only 2 skill slots allowed in ESO. Character diversity would be at almost it's highest, dependent upon which 2 skills you chose. Which skills would you value the most? Survival, instant damage, DoT damage, heals, buffs, debuffs, etc. A tanky nightblade might value survival skills while a damage nightblade could choose DoTs to do the most damage in long fights. The damage nightblade would not have as good of a chance of surviving in the tank role without those survival skills, and the tanky nightblade would not be able to do as much damage. Characters in this situation can be very unique and are defined by their skill choice.

- If there were an infinite number of skill slots available to all players, character diversity would depend upon gear worn and attribute dispersion. Every nightblade would have the same skills (all of them). They may still fulfill different roles, the tanky nightblade might not use his damage skills when tanking, but the skills are still there, and can be used at any time. That tank nightblade can be your DD simply by pressing different buttons. He can start healing if the healer goes down simply by pressing different buttons (yes, limited by weapon choice [see above where I said diversity depends on gear]). Now you have a situation where every character is much closer to being the same, able to do everything others of the same class can do.

I understand the feeling of needing more choices during combat. I believe adding more skill slots will reduce the uniqueness of each character, and I would prefer to keep the number we have now.

I do believe someone said this earlier but you need to reassemble your bar fight to fight. Certain bosses are only really kite able others are tank and spank depending no the pvp you are doing warrants changes to your bar are you solo? small little group stealth fighting? Defending/attacking a keep?

I can only speak on tanking up to lvl 26. I only use my main weapon (sword and shield) for 1 skill after that I am swapping weapons to put out as much support/damage I can.

There's only 5 skill slots because ESO is porting to Xbox 1 and PS4 which can't handle a dozen skill slots. Personally I would have liked to have seen the PC version of ESO get more skill slots too. It just feels so limiting to only have 5, I know after awhile the game will start to feel a little dry because of it. I think giving players more choices is inevitably a good thing, more mix and match, more diversity more experimenting. There's always one or two abilities that I just wasnt able to EVER take off my bar during beta and it only felt like I only had like 2 or 3 slots at more to "play around with". I know there's the weapon swap too, but it's not the same. I need to be able to see all my abilities right there in front of me, adding that switch weapon button is just jumping through another "bullsh*t hoop" that just is one more needless step I have to take in order to access to more quickbar slots.

It's one of those things that really detracts from ESO feeling like an authentic MMO. Players love to customize their characters with all sorts of crazy loadouts that make them different and unique. I know there's going to be a lot of nightblades who won;t be able to ever take ambush off their quickbar, me included. It makes my character feel less unique when I know every other nightblade and their mother have probably a pretty similar setup to me except for maybe one or two really noticeable slot variations. If people want to have 5 ability slots they should be allowed to do that. But if a player wants 20 ability slots, I think they should be allowed to do that too. Placing artificial limitations and constrictions on the game just impedes an enjoyable experience. Instead I end up agonizing for 20+ mins over what is going to go into my quickslot bar rather than just play the game.

And I don't want to spend 20mins having to decide what's going to go into my quickslot bar everytime I get a new skill. I just want to be able to play the game without having to jump through hoops every time I want to change my setup.

I REALLY hope they give more ability slots in the future, I would say it's definitely in the top 3 things that's bugging me with ESO so far.

False, FFXIV proves your thoughts wrong. This was done as a design decision not a hardware one.