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I'll keep this short, and most of my opinions out of it, because we had limited exposure to bata. But my friends and I had issues with playing the game. A lot of that could have been a lack of understanding.
So for the vets of bata and the launch :
How is grouping up with friends, Guilds, dungeons and random players, for PvE and PvP working out ?
Is it broken ?.........or Is it just a matter of understanding ?.....Does it need more time ?
Does the maga server screw up plans of playing together ?
Comments
Grouping is somewhat strange in the beginning, but when you get used to it, I think its fine and well done. Imo far better created than SWTORs phase rooms with those green laser doors when you enter them.
Theres no mob tagging, so everyone who hits the mob for a certain amount of dmg gets the kill credit and loot, so sometimes you wont need groups in dungeons and open world events. Just jump in with the other guys around and everyone gets his piece of the cake.
When you are in a group, "meet with player" is your best friend. Since some quests can change the world for every player, it can happen that you stand in the same town as your group-mate, but around him the town is destroyed and you stand in another phase where its all fine. So in this case you wont see your buddy first. There comes the "right-mouseclick- meet with player" option into play. It will teleport you to your mates phase and you can go on playing with him.
Hodor!
The megaserver idea actually solves the problem of choosing a server, then getting the bad luck of getting stuck on a low pop server later. So in terms of playing together with people, the mega server design is likely how things will be in the future.
You know this when ArenaNet just came out with a press release today telling everyone that they'll be implementing MegaServer for GW2. Yup, Anet has taken notice to how ESO is handling things. Expect more games to follow in the future. If you think about it, it makes sense, and reduce the need to spend money on server transfers or having people quit a game because they got stuck on a low pop server later on.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
Nop. GW2 takes notice from GW1, which followed this path 10 years before TESO!
I think Cryptic uses similar tech for their games too.
EQ1-AC1-DAOC-FFXI-L2-EQ2-WoW-DDO-GW-LoTR-VG-WAR-GW2-ESO
1) group finder....adds people as they are found instead of forming group when all members are found. If someone leaves the group it cancels group finder.
2) at the moment finding healers and tanks hard. People from beta have no patience and leave if not guild run.
3) in group finder you can que for stuff you are not.
4) leader can kick for any reason. No vote mechanics.
Just my opinions.
I think the problem of finding healers and tanks in game has to do with somewhat broken healing and tank mechanics.
I've "successfully" healed some groups in dungeons, but you are guaranteed to wipe no matter how good you are. By "successful" I'm implying we won through and killed the final bosses, not that nobody ever died. None of the healing skills are good enough to prevent player deaths, not even the Templar's ultimate, and healers seem to create ten times the aggro of DPS players and end up running a lot.
ZOS evidently knows this, too, since every intermediate boss drops soul stones so players can revive themselves and their comrades. You won't find soul stones being dropped hardly anywhere else in game, but they drops like fly turds in dungeons.
At the same time, I've yet to see any player, irrespective of the build, effectively fulfill the traditional tank role. One of my alts is a tank; tanks can't grab aggro, can't keep aggro, and are weak as babies against ranged opponents; heavy armor doesn't do crap in the game.
In other words, there are some balance issues that are going to have to be resolved before healing and tanking are effective in the game for traditional group play. It becomes frustrating... so, "drive-by" healing and tanking are more common since they're more fun in-game.
That is problematic when doing some solo dungeons; I have found a lot of on-level bosses that players with tank-builds don't have a snowball's chance in hell of beating because of their ranged capabilities and self-healing.
The dungeon play is intended to be not like WOW and most of the others.
In ESO you shouldnt think that any tank can stick to their rotation and hold aggro against 7 mobs. There is more to do also for DPS (CC, Kiting, expoit synergies in some skills, heal yourself if you can) You cant rely on the magical "mob-glue" that tanks in other games have, which would make dungeons for DD a brainless spamfest. And people need to get prepared to wipe. Another thing gamers dont know anymore because of the sheer simplicity many dungeons in wow have today.
I think people need to get used to this system, because apart from GW2 no other game did try this "soft-trinity". There are no balance issues. There are just issues in the minds of players.
Hodor!
Group finder is probably the poorest implemented grouping tool I have ever seen. You can choose your role (healer, tank, DPS), but it just randomly chooses someone to fill your group. Its crap.
I think this just needs a new way of thinking about it. At the lower levels (don't know about the higher ones), tanks seem to have a problem with aggro. yes healers pull way too much aggro, and yes the heals are subpar for the risk.
But, if you use the team abilities, which are awesome btw, there are group mechanics us newbies are just starting to figure out. For instance, on my NB, the healer was in serious trouble, I popped my ultimate ability, which gave the healer an option to disappear. She did, and the boss went back to the tank. Just an example.
Has the group phasing issues been handled?
Where everyone in the group had to be on the same part, otherwise it got tricky and sometimes teammates were invisible with one another.
Was fixed before launch, works great now have had no issues grouping with all my friends.
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
1. Good, actually prefer it that way
2. That is standard in any MMO especially near release
3. what?
4. That is very very good. Much better than getting trolled by 2 or 3 bads with vote kick powers.
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
People with no patience just sucks and is in other games beyond release.
Que as heals when you can not heal one bit just to get in a group...or accidentally que as heals when you are not is a time waster.
The last is opinion...if you are in a 4 man with 2 or 3 "bads"...*rolls eyes*....then do you really want to be in that group if you cannot get the votes to kick them. Or hey thanks for getting us to the last boss, but guildie needs your spot...goodbye.
I see what you are saying now.
#3 I agree with, shouldn't be able to queue heals if you aren't.
I'm still of the opinion that having the group leader kick people is way better. WoW, Rift, all of those games are filled with people that will vote kick you to get another guildy in, we don't need more of that.
Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
Have played: You name it
If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.
Group finder is probably the poorest implemented grouping tool I have ever seen. You can choose your role (healer, tank, DPS), but it just randomly chooses someone to fill your group. Its crap.
Thanks, that was a showstopper for me...