Zenimax is its own worst enemy. They’re releasing content that is so enjoyable that it gets consumed too fast. Orsinium was released barely over a month ago and people are already asking for the next DLC update. Is paying the 3000 crowns really worth a month’s worth of content? Without a doubt, but damn you Zenimax for making content so exciting that we burn through it faster than you thought we could. The next DLC will drop in the first quarter of 2016 and it’s all about the Thieves Guild. Along with this will be some incredibly awesome PvP changes or incredibly horrible, it seems to be a mixed field for these changes. I for one can’t wait for them.
In a recent post on the official forums, Brian Wheeler (Lead PvP Developer) provided the community a small insight to some of the changes being dropped in the next major update. Before we get into what those changes are, I need to say kudos to Zenimax for being transparent and letting the community in on some of the upcoming changes and asking for feedback on their concepts before they hit the PTS or even the live servers. In the past they’ve been a little hush hush about changes but they seem to be opening up and letting the community provide feedback before it’s a real thing.
Now, to the changes, here is the post from Brian Wheeler:
Hey gang!
In the next major update we'll be adjusting damage and other effects from siege weapons. This will go in conjunction with other changes regarding repair kits and keep upgrades, but the changes noted here are specific to players’ effects (damage, snares, dots, etc.).
These changes are currently being tested internally and may change before they go to PTS/Live:
Damage across the board for all siege weapons has been increased roughly 30%, but we are considering increasing that more.
Snares have been normalized on all siege weapons that apply that debuff (ice treb, lightning ballista, oil catapult) to be a 50% snare, and last 6 seconds.
All side effects from siege weapons (snare, healing taken reduction, siege damage increase taken) are no longer purgable.
Oil Catapults will now also have a "Stamina damage" value added, which takes away roughly 5000 Stamina from enemy targets.
Lightning Ballista will now also have a "Magicka Damage" value added, which takes away roughly 5000 Magicka from enemy targets.
Ballista now turn faster and have their "scatter" variable removed, making them 100% accurate to your aimed location.
Scattershot now adds 20% damage taken from other siege weapons instead of 10%
Parts of the ESO community are claiming that these changes are harmful to the smaller groups, making it nearly impossible for small groups to function or fight against any larger groups. I don’t see how they can make this claim, none of those changes indicate any concern for smaller groups, and if anything it boosts the ability of smaller groups not degrades it.
Let’s break down proposed upcoming changes:
Damage from siege equipment is being increased by 30% (possibly even higher). I’ve always said the siege equipment in ESO was weak. If you’re getting hit by a giant flaming arrow it’s supposed to hurt and make you fear the damage, but in ESO no one really fears it. They take the damage and keep running. Not to mention the circle on the ground gives you a massive amount of time to avoid the damage. If you don’t move from the damage, it’s your own fault and you deserve to be hit by a large flying object. So how exactly does this harm smaller groups? If I was running a smaller group I’d have more people carrying anti personal siege and using them in the fights more often. This 30% damage increase coupled with the additional changes make for smaller groups to be more effective against larger groups if used properly.
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All siege weapons that apply a snare debuff will now apply a generalized snare of 50% and last 6 seconds. Making larger groups slow down for 6 seconds seems pretty positive for smaller groups fighting against larger ones. This change is going to prolong all fights, especially keep taking. An additional change that is happening is that all siege applied debuffs (with the exception for Flame DoT, Lighting DoT) can’t be removed via cleanse or any purge related ability. This is probably one of the best of the proposed changes. I hate going into Cyrodiil and having fights take mere seconds, or keeps flipping in under a minute. There is no time to set up any reliable defense when you have next to no time to do so.
Oil Catapults will now remove 5000 stamina from those it hits and the Lightning Ballista will now remove 2500 magicka every time it ticks on a player. This change is once again beneficial to smaller groups. It allows your small group to even the playing field a bit. If you’re able to reduce the enemy’s resources you’ll have the upper hand as you’ll be able to last longer than them. When it comes down to it, those with the most resources tend to win the fight.
Out of all the proposed changes, they seem to be the hot button ones among the community. However I fail to see why. Prior to this post by Brian Wheeler players were exclaiming that ESO needs more smaller group balancing and when I think they finally listen and start making the changes in that direction half the community rages on the forums saying the changes are asinine.
What do you think? Will these changes benefit the smaller group combat or if they implement these changes will Cyrodiil as we know it will be completely unbalanced and ruined?
