My thoughts so far on ESO and Phasing & group play. : Othor Games

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:17 pm

There are a lot of things I like about ESO. I think it has a good artstyle. The graphics are quite beautiful in my opinion. It has great music and the voice acting is really great, even better than previous elder scrolls titles! I think the combat is okay but I cannot judge that too much since i have not yet tried PvP or end game combat. The customization is vast and varied and the game is great at giving choise to roleplayers. There's tons of emotes too which is a very welcome addition. These are the things I don't like about it, however:

The phasing and group gameplay. I was trying to do some questing with some mates in the beta and we were very often phased out and unable to see eachother. And even if we rarely did see eachother our quests were still completely separate. We had our own quest NPCS doing their own things and our objectives didn't sync at all. In my opinion this is pretty bad. I'd prefer it if as long as you are in a group you shouldn't be phased out and our quests should syncronize. If we are escorting a quest NPC, we should all see the same NPC, not each our own. If one of us pulled a lever we should all get our quest objectives updated. To my knowledge ( But I might be wrong,) WoW did this right. For a game that is supposed to be about playing with your friends, I don't think they are doing it very well.

Another thing that irritated me about it was constantly seeing many other random players doing the exact same quest you were in the area. It breaks immersion to be in some distant cave with 6 other players killing the same enemies and picking up the same objects that you are. I know its an MMO but its also an Elder scrolls. I think they should focus a little more on the latter in this regard. I'd suggest being able to chose wether you want to see random players in questing areas and maybe they can always appear in towns. I wouldn't mind seeing them every now and then in the landscape. Just not in quest areas! I definately believe there is something that could be done with this and keep it balanced that everyone could be happy with.

I'm not sure if the developers have talked about and given a reason to the things I listed here or are intending to change them, so forgive me. What do you think about these things?

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:54 am

Agreed, I was trying to party with just 1 other person and it was a confused mess. Even when we were on the EXACT same quest we had different versions of it running side by side. Phased NPCs to guard, phased enemies coming, phased worldstate. I really hate phasing. Guys, either let us affect the world, or don't. Don't freaking pretend.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 9:01 am

There are some bugs to fix with that.

I know my friend and I had the same quests yet we didn't see each other until we relogged like 5 times, other times we were doing different quests, he gets to my bit, and I can't see him since I already spoke to the NPC, but then he would appear to me once he finished talking to the npc, so the idea works, its just that it has some bugs in some places.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:58 am

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:13 am

My wife and I found the same problem -- very frustrating. Especially since, at level, some of those end-quest bosses are nearly impossible to solo (Dorshia being a prime example).

I do hope this is going to be adressed and fixed. As noted, this isn't a single-player game; don't force us into single-player instancing.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:35 pm

I like the phasing a lot while soloing. It makes it possible for the world to be transformed by my actions, which is very cool. If I put out the fires in a village, I like to see that the fires are still out when I return. WHILE SOLOING.

When I'm grouped with someone who hasn't done the quest, I'd be happier to see the fires again and still be able to see my buddy! They need to make it so the phasing doesn't separate groups. This is probably my biggest issue with the game right now that doesn't fall into the category of "bugs that will probably be squished before release".

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:04 am

I think they could have done wonderful things with phasing. But the way they implemented it pretty much made matters a lot worse.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:10 am

This part here would be a little harder to fix without using more instancing. Not sure I'd agree with that type of fix.

» Mon Mar 03, 2014 10:10 pm

If your solution allows me to see the game world changed by my actions I'm fine with it. In the current build this requires phasing, full stop. Usual MMO mechanics means that every time I walk by an area I have a visible reminder that I'm in a MMO and my actions have changed nothing.

So any proposal with any hope of being enacted has to be able to pass this fundamental test. Group instances are fine, for instance; but removing phasing simply is not.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 1:44 am

My experience so far is that it IS a single player game that other people happen to be playing at the same time.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 11:14 am

Treasure chests and gathering nodes seem to be affected with phasing as I be running to a treasure chest only to have it disappear as I get right up to it only to see nobody around...And then I move on only to see someone like standing 50 feet away finally pop out of phasing. Had the same problem with WoW and gathering nodes. Either show what I can get or hide what I can't get. Players who are phased and not phased should not see the same nodes or lootable containers.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:32 am

Glad I am seeing some other people not thrilled with the single player guild quest lines. I had to kill Dorshia for my wife. What I have said over and over would be great is that the ones wearing rings of mara or something to that extent could enter those dungeons in a group of two. Make it to where couples can enjoy the game together at all times.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 7:58 am

I agree with the OP's complaints... they should really fix those issues.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 12:47 am

I was in the same boat. Really wish we could do these quests WITH our wives, instead of having to do it for them and all that it entails.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 2:00 am

maybe your wifes should learn to play better...

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 6:30 am

I am seeing this being reported as something the general populace dislikes. Have the devs addressed this at all recently as something they are going to fix, or is it just "that's the way it is, deal with it" ?

» Mon Mar 03, 2014 9:47 pm

They need dynamic layers, like Lord of the Rings has. For high traffic areas.

That way you and your friends can be on the same server, but a different layer. And you'll see fewer people.

It eliminates the chaos and confusion that comes with legions of players always swarming around you.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 10:04 am

I agree with you.

Phasing is just a creative way to rationalize the fact that the Megaservers will still isolate people completely.

» Tue Mar 04, 2014 3:11 am

They made a command decision to make the world reflect the decisions that each player makes. This requires phasing; it's absolutely central to the game.

If you have an alternative, explain how it would preserve this feature - meaning that if you have completed a quest you see a tranquil village, and if your wife has not she sees a battle scene.

If your solution doesn't look this way, it won't work. And it won't work for very good reasons.