I've been reading on the rework of the CP system and Armor stats. I like the ideas on paper. So, it gave me some hope to hop back into ESO but one of the things holding me back is the flow of combat in the game.
So, I thought I'd make a few suggestions.
I'd like to see less ability spam and hotbar flipping in the game. Frankly, I think it clashes too much with mechanics like sneak builds and classes. It feels like there is not much payer choice within the classes themselves, as well. On top of this, hotbar switching is clunky in the grand scheme of it all. So, I thought I'd pitch some ideas to solve this.
As of now, abilities are usually designated and and spammed to fight. Spamming does not make for great combat regardless of the game. Most action MMO have players use multiple moves or combos to keep gameplay from feeling "spammy". That's not the case here. So, instead of having instant damasge abilities and no cooldowns. We introduce cooldowns on abilities but abilities are less about dealing dps and more focused on utility. You'll keep the hotbars and still have to pick abilities and morphs but it's less about doing the highest dps. Let give out a few examples.
Examples:
(Current Game)
Puncture - Thrust your weapon with disciplined precision at an enemy, dealing 777 Physical Damage and taunting them to attack you for 15 seconds. Also inflicts Major Breach on the enemy, reducing their Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance by 5948 for 15 seconds.
(Reworked)
Puncture - Thrust your weapon with disciplined precision at an enemy to weaken the enemy and taunt them for 30 seconds. Weakening them will inflict reduce their resistances making them more susceptible to bashes and knockdowns by yourself or allies. This will have a cooldown of 50 seconds and cannot be stacked.
(Current Game)
Flying Blade - Fire a secret dagger from your sleeve at an enemy, dealing 963 Physical Damage and marking them for 5 seconds. If the enemy hit is casting an ability they are interrupted, set Off Balance, and stunned for 3 seconds. While an enemy is marked, reactivating this ability on them allows you to jump to them, dealing 963 Physical Damage and grants you Major Brutality, increasing your Weapon Damage by 20% for 40 seconds.
(Reworked)
Flying Blade - Fire a secret dagger from your sleeve at an enemy, applying an effect that temporarily immobilizes the enemy for 20 seconds. If the enemy hit is casting an ability they are interrupted and stunned for 10 seconds. If they were marked, you'll immediately jump towards them to apply a knockdown for 12 seconds. This ability has a cooldown of 45 seconds.
(Current Game)
Force Shock - Focus all the elemental energies with your staff and blast an enemy for 245 Flame Damage, 245 Frost Damage, and 245 Shock Damage.
(Reworked)
Force Shock - Focus all the elemental energies with your staff and blast an enemy with Flame Damage, Frost Damage, or Shock Damage effects (dependent on the type of staff used). This will have a cooldown of 50 seconds. (Side Note: This is more of an actual spell skill that does a massive amount of damage).
With this type of combat system, combat can be more strategic and allow just about every skill to be useful and helpful in group content. That's just a rework of abilities.
On to more suggested changes. We'll buff base weapons to be more damaging to compensate for the ability reworks. Alongside this, blocking, dodging, bashes, and knockdowns will be more crucial to taking down bosses and enemy groups. Due to encounters in Vet content, possibly getting getting easier and losing the challenge it holds. Content will balanced around pattern recognition, knowing mechanics, and timing ultimate / utility skills. Vet content will remove UI that lets the player know when an enemy is stunned and AoE circles. Removing these will provide the challenging content that some vets want without relying on dps checks barring entry to those that don't have meta builds.
So, I thought I'd make a few suggestions.
I'd like to see less ability spam and hotbar flipping in the game. Frankly, I think it clashes too much with mechanics like sneak builds and classes. It feels like there is not much payer choice within the classes themselves, as well. On top of this, hotbar switching is clunky in the grand scheme of it all. So, I thought I'd pitch some ideas to solve this.
As of now, abilities are usually designated and and spammed to fight. Spamming does not make for great combat regardless of the game. Most action MMO have players use multiple moves or combos to keep gameplay from feeling "spammy". That's not the case here. So, instead of having instant damasge abilities and no cooldowns. We introduce cooldowns on abilities but abilities are less about dealing dps and more focused on utility. You'll keep the hotbars and still have to pick abilities and morphs but it's less about doing the highest dps. Let give out a few examples.
Examples:
(Current Game)
Puncture - Thrust your weapon with disciplined precision at an enemy, dealing 777 Physical Damage and taunting them to attack you for 15 seconds. Also inflicts Major Breach on the enemy, reducing their Physical Resistance and Spell Resistance by 5948 for 15 seconds.
(Reworked)
Puncture - Thrust your weapon with disciplined precision at an enemy to weaken the enemy and taunt them for 30 seconds. Weakening them will inflict reduce their resistances making them more susceptible to bashes and knockdowns by yourself or allies. This will have a cooldown of 50 seconds and cannot be stacked.
(Current Game)
Flying Blade - Fire a secret dagger from your sleeve at an enemy, dealing 963 Physical Damage and marking them for 5 seconds. If the enemy hit is casting an ability they are interrupted, set Off Balance, and stunned for 3 seconds. While an enemy is marked, reactivating this ability on them allows you to jump to them, dealing 963 Physical Damage and grants you Major Brutality, increasing your Weapon Damage by 20% for 40 seconds.
(Reworked)
Flying Blade - Fire a secret dagger from your sleeve at an enemy, applying an effect that temporarily immobilizes the enemy for 20 seconds. If the enemy hit is casting an ability they are interrupted and stunned for 10 seconds. If they were marked, you'll immediately jump towards them to apply a knockdown for 12 seconds. This ability has a cooldown of 45 seconds.
(Current Game)
Force Shock - Focus all the elemental energies with your staff and blast an enemy for 245 Flame Damage, 245 Frost Damage, and 245 Shock Damage.
(Reworked)
Force Shock - Focus all the elemental energies with your staff and blast an enemy with Flame Damage, Frost Damage, or Shock Damage effects (dependent on the type of staff used). This will have a cooldown of 50 seconds. (Side Note: This is more of an actual spell skill that does a massive amount of damage).
With this type of combat system, combat can be more strategic and allow just about every skill to be useful and helpful in group content. That's just a rework of abilities.
On to more suggested changes. We'll buff base weapons to be more damaging to compensate for the ability reworks. Alongside this, blocking, dodging, bashes, and knockdowns will be more crucial to taking down bosses and enemy groups. Due to encounters in Vet content, possibly getting getting easier and losing the challenge it holds. Content will balanced around pattern recognition, knowing mechanics, and timing ultimate / utility skills. Vet content will remove UI that lets the player know when an enemy is stunned and AoE circles. Removing these will provide the challenging content that some vets want without relying on dps checks barring entry to those that don't have meta builds.