How's the PvP in this game?

[EtanIRL]

I read somewhere a few years ago that server lag made PvP unplayable/not fun, is that still true?

[AmaiAmai]

I could post a lot, but if you have time just read this collection of my other comments -- it sums up PvP well. Note some of these comments are over a year old -- nothing has changed; classes aren't balanced and the game is essentially P2W in PvP because of scribing.

Some of it may seem like a rant, but it's the bare truth about balance in the game.

By the way, I am one of the people that release broken builds and I've yet to see ZOS nerf a warden build that is essentially an exploit that I have reported for over 3 years straight on the PTS Now it's out there and part of why I talk so much about Warden in the comments hidden by spoilers.

These were in response to some people's comments

Summation of current PvP

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

When the dev team refused to nerf Rush of Agony, after it was known to be exploitable and proven so, that pretty much sealed PvP's fate.

That and the incessant ball groups and other nonsense in the game, mythics, and other garbage that ruin balance make the game pointless to play because there isn't any skill attached at all.

You're just fighting gear, most of the good gear behind a paywall. The mythics certainly are.

And then there is that stupid, stupid scribing system.

And let's not forget HP scaling heals...

Totally unbalanced garbage that favours 3 classes out of 7, but esp. favours sorcerer right now.

Oh, and you can queue up with your friends and wind up on the same side in 8v8 BGs and still coordinate anyway to farm noobs in BGs. Can't forget that one

I'm not surprised PvP is dead. It's complete garbage with no direction; better to play an FPS game esp. if you want to be a 2-bit streamer.

Balance Thoughts: Grand Summary in a rant response

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

TLDR: PVP IS TRASH IN THIS GAME, GO ELSEWHERE FOR PVP

Don't listen to the noob above, the real thing you want to play are only three classes because the balance team sucks.

Only play Warden, NB, or Sorc right now because the balance is tilted in those directions. Otherwise you are wasting your time even stepping into PvP.

Want to know why? That's because sorc, warden, and NB all have "rule breaking" balance that works in different ways but achieves the same end-goal, something the garbage classes Templar, Necro, Arcanist, and to a lesser extent DK, cannot achieve.

Here's how:

NB : You can literally keep a distance and force all attacks to miss by simply timing cloak right. On top of that you get to roll dodge for free becuase of a skill, you have the most self-buffs in the game, you have the most unnamed buffs that stack with named ones, and you get the ability to 100% crit out of stealth.

Stealth in and of itself is a garbage mechanic, but the ability to slot cloak and get passive buffs that cannot be kept up on Templar, Necro, or Arcanist without using an active skill means that not only does cloak provide attack and defense but it provides major combat buffs just for being on your bar. (you can't be targeted when its in use + it forces miss + detect pots can "miss" since they count as a projectile)

Wow! Balanced!

Next, Warden ZOS for some reason thinks its a smart idea to have a heal scale on health and have an HpT component. The heal on warden POLAR WIND heals more than a templar's Honor the Dead or DK Coagulating, and POLAR has an heal over time component + always affects a second target. The only investment? Health! So you can just stack health, mag regen or learn how to manage your mag better/use resto or a destro staff, and then spam polar as much as you want. With enough health you can face tank anyone without blocking! And that's before we get into healing proc sets or other skills that can be used to make you tank even better. The best part? You can still stack damage. ESSENTIALLY ITS THE SAME ATTACK-DEFENSE BS AS NB EXCEPT WITH A DIFFERENT METHOD! Yay!

♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, balance is sooo good in this game!

Lastly, Sorc No need to even mention this one. Best runner besides NB from a battle, but some braincelless developer thought it was a good idea to put a HEAL on a skill that shields. So it literally is a 1 button god mode that 99% of players can't break. On top of that, you simply ...WAIT for it... STACK DAMAGE! Wow!

Yet again Sorc has the same ATTACK-DEFENSE BS as warden and NB, except a different method.

--

The rest of the classes have no way to compare to those skills or methods above, making them absolute trash-tier in PvP unless you really outskill your opponent. Don't worry though, even if you do, you can expect hate tells from butthurt NB, Wardens, and Sorcs crutching on the class to appear every time you kill them. But they will NEVER EVER dare enter a duel outside of Cyro.

In a way, it's comical but also sad because no matter what anyone says or how the dev team tries to rationalize it, the reality is as posted above.

Maybe they are ignorant or simply have no clue how to play their own game, esp. after adding so many stupid sets. I mean look at DK pyreband with threads of war...how balanced! Just light attack delete people on the "right" build

That's alone and before we even get to stupid ♥♥♥♥ like Rush of Agony and Tarnished Nightmare . Two things the devs are too prideful to admit were bad and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ additions to the game. Just like Oakensoul, esp. it's released version.

If you want to PvP either use those three classes above or simply skip it. This is not a PvP game, it's a ego simulator for a bunch of bad players that would get eaten alive in a shooter or fighting game. If that's you, maybe you will enjoy it.

My rating on this patch and the one before for PvP: 0 / 10 Trash tier balance

Lack of QoL & Balance

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

Here's the thing, the game is worse in every single way.

Nearly all QoL locked behind paywall.

Want to swap alliances for PvP? Pay ZOS money.
Hate the stupid regrind of mages guild and other skill lines? Pay ZOS money.
Hate Skyshard grind? Pay ZOS money PER ZONE... (you read that right, per zone!)

But that's before we get to issues like classes not being balanced and ZOS now shifting to a different paradigm for balancing classes and even races: buy the new expansion, buy the new classes, and stf...

RACES:

I'm serious. Redguard is a race that is behind all the others in every single way and it's a joke, and it won't get buffed because ZOS said they wouldn't touch races. Then ZOS later added HYBRID WD/SD for races and left Redguard untouched, so it's the biggest joke of a race in the game.

CLASSES:

Ok, so that's Redguard. But balance is bad for other classes like Templar, Arcanist, and Necro in PvP. Absolutely bad. Those three classes are garbage. Arcanist at least has a shield skill, but it's getting nerfed next patch. Three pointless classes in pvp, no dispute

GEAR:

This is the most egregious area for ZOS. Certain content is a breeze and almost requires gear like the one-piece set items "mythics" PALE ORDER RING or OAKENSOUL. The issue? These require you to have both expansions and DLC to get, and are locked behind an extremely boring and unfun grind.

It also adds an element where ZOS has to nerf everyone because these mythics exist, but keep the mythics strong because people paid for them. You can see the issue here: it means that unless you will keep paying for new expansions and DLC you will fall behind in performance compared to those that do. This issue is more pronounced in PvP, but some trial groups will ban you if you aren't an Arcanist and/or OAKENSOUL wearer

SKILLS:

ZOS said they don't want homogenisation so they keep classes like Necro and Templar trash-tier. Okay, whatever, right?

WRONG! ZOS introduced scribing which allows you to become "homogenised" anyway, except you have to pay for the ability to do so by buying the latest expansion. That's right, ZOS is acting out of their own logic and BS excuses to sell power back to the player in the form of a "new system". Yet again, this means that everyone without the latest chapters will be nerfed in some way or form, since content and even classes are being balanced with scribing in mind

TLDR/Summary:

What this all means is that the game is a cash grab and P2W. Unlike in the years past, you will have to pay for any power increase from this moment forward and you will be nerfed (sometimes directly) if you don't.

Scribed skill makes your class too strong on paper? ZOS will nerf the class and not the skill.

Mythic like Oakensoul too strong? ZOS will nerf all the player's crit, nerf the buff sources in class, and essentially lower the power of everyone not wearing it.

This kind of balancing is usually seen in bottom-barrel F2Ps, but it has come to ZOS as they seek to MILK ESO for as much as the whales will tolerate.

The game is simply not for you and me anymore, not unless you are a whale and like paying for your power and time back.

[/spoiler]

Necromancer, if you dare think about playing one - here's the reality of the situation

Originally posted by AmaiAmai:

ZOS just hates Necromancer class.

1. They change blastbones on one morph to increase DoT damage by 15% (?) and it is a dedicated skill, but still less effective than the DK passive or weapon/spell damage added by templar.

It actually needs to be 35-40% to make a difference, but this is a problem because the DK and Templar buffs can be shared and this would make the net damage gain too high.

In other words, it was a half-assed and poorly thought out change by someone that clearly does not play the game.

2. Corpse mechanic and locking core buffs behind the worst class skills.

Seriously doesn't need to be even expanded on. Anyone with a necro knows. Crit buff locked behind a skill that requires you to have a corpse...but corpses can only be created and used while in combat, and the skill sucks without a set from Infinite Archive?

What other class has mechanics and need to jump through hoops like this? Great balance.

3. Necro pets inferior to sorc in every way

4. Necro passives inferior to sorc in every way

5. Necro, like Arcanist and Templar has zero mobility making it a terrible class in PvP compared to Warden, NB, DK, and Sorc. Worse, it suffers the SAME exact issue as Arcanist and Templar: bad sustain, poor damage, poor defense.

But wait, Necros are tanky! Yeah, and to do that you need to lower your damage dramatically just like on Arcanist and Templar -- where DK, Warden, NB, and Sorc do not.

Overall, ZOS' balance team is a joke and they suck. They've been trash since they put an idiot named Gilliam as part of the balance team. Gilliam, the guy that was a trash tier NB in PvP and gets farmed repeatedly every midyear mayhem on the easiest class in the game -- is in charge of balancing classes, along with people that don't play the game

The result is a disconnect between reality and what the devs envision. That disconnect is reason alone to leave the game because it's a sign of dysfunction. And dysfunctional teams don't get anything meaningful done, prime example being how bad the game has gotten over time since Wrobel and others left around 2018.