Elder Scrolls Online Creative Director Paul Sage took to the web to answer community questions about the game. We’re getting into technical stuff here, so if you aren’t particularly an ESO fan, this might not be for you.
What is the maximum distance a healer can be away before healing potential drops?
· It is situational, but 15 to 20 meters is a safe distance. You generally want to stay in attack range of the characters you want healed.
Can we heal facing away from the characters we want to heal?
· It depends on the spell. Some have a radius, some seek out the least hurt member. You want to find instant spells, which will heal even if you are not facing the character, but there will be a drop in healing potential.
How important is it to use synergies in end game content?
· Synergies are not a requirement in gameplay. However, you want to use them because they give you huge advantages in combat.
How many levels higher do you need to be to solo a group dungeon?
· 10 levels above, and it might still be too hard then.
How does finesse affect the act of raising your ultimate?
· Finesse is an older system that has been delegated to the back end. Improving your combat skills are more important to raising your ultimate.
Will there be incentives for grouping up?
· There is a percentage bonus for grouping.
Will there be dungeon puzzles that require different skill sets?
· To give everyone equal footing, puzzles and traps are detect-and-avoid, and require player skills.
How do synergies work?
· Synergies are about reacting to situations and using them at just the right moment.
How competitive will PVE be? Will it be comparable to those found in the typical MMO?
· There will be a range of difficulties in our PVE campaigns. Some will allow for a casual playstyle, and others will be hard.
Will there be penalties for forming groups of more than four?
· No, but there are situations where you will not be able to form larger groups anyway.
Will you always need a group of tank, heals and DPS to get through the dungeons, especially Dark Anchors.
· Not always, but some dungeons will require it. Dark Anchors are not that hard.
How do dungeons work when you repeat them?
· You can repeat dungeons as often as you want, and monsters and events will be waiting for you to come back. However, quests can only be done once. In Veteran mode, dungeons have a second story to tell, so going back will be completely different.
How are mobs dispersed in the map?
· There are mobs spread across the map, and there will also be locations with pockets of mobs. You are more likely to find the pockets of mobs in places where there are quests.
What will make us keep coming back to the dungeons?
· Aside from the game being fun on its own, there is the allure of gear. Some dungeons have unique gear, and you can always find better gear.
What difficulty levels will end game group dungeons have?
· Only one. These are Veteran level dungeons, and they are significantly harder than normal dungeons.
Can we upload guild logo’s in-game?
· For so many reasons, no.
How is loot distributed when two players beat an enemy?
· Assuming there is loot, you will both get loot. You have to contribute significantly to the kill to get a share.
Considering abilities are limited by resources instead of cooldowns, how are you implementing ability use?
· We want people to use abilities based on the situation and strategy. The system discourages spamming abilities, especially for group missions and later missions.
Will the 50+/++ content change my Alliance setting for the mission, and will the change be permanent?
· Your Alliance changes except for PvP campaigns, where the game will always return to your original alliance.
Can I group with friends when I’m 50+/++ and they’re not?
· Yes, but they can’t go with you to other alliance areas.
Can you still grind for XP?
· In some places, yes, but questing is still the best way to gain XP. Things change when you reach Veteran level.
How will tanking roles be implemented?
· ESO will be very different from other games, so don’t think of how tanks work in other games. Roles themselves can be changed on the fly. There will be an ability akin to tanking, where you can pull monsters away from other players, and your abilities will also discourage monsters from targeting you.
Will the number of players determine the Anchor difficulty.
· Yes.
Do players fight Anchors individually, at the same time, or at random?
· They vary based on the location. Sometimes there will be differences even in the same location.
Will there be quest sharing?
· Yes.
Do Anchors come back when they are destroyed?
· They reappear after a certain period of time.
Elaborate on synergies.
· These are abilities that players can cast on their own. They take on new dimensions when other players join in, activating the synergy effect. Here are some examples:
o Supernova – increases damage and attack radius
o Siphoning Attacks – attacks leech health
o Spear Shards/Blessed Shards – recover stamina
o Consuming Darkness – temporary invisibility
o Storm Atronach – increases Atronach damage/duration
Does PVE difficulty scale based on the size of the party?
· Yes. At Dark Anchors, more party members means more and stronger mobs. There are also areas that let players know the difficulty before they get in.
What are the rewards for Dark Anchors events?
· You earn XP completing the event and beating the mobs. Your Fighters Guild rank also levels up, and you get loot drops from bosses.
Will there be land and sea group mounts?
· No. There will be ways to teleport to safe areas or wayshrines.
Is there enough things to do in the overland to keep groups busy?
· The overland was made more for solo and duo play.
Do beneficial and detrimental actions have effects that stack on top of each other?
· In general, no, but it may happen with certain spells.
How does looting work in groups?
· Each player gets their own gear. Some of the gear can be traded, and some is bind on equip or pickup.
Can we reenter dungeons in 50+/++ situations?
· Yes. When you reenter the dungeon after switching alliances, it will be the exact same dungeon, only this time, under a new home alliance.
What are the differences between the Dark Anchors?
· Mostly, they are different levels. Some do have different spawns.
Will there be world bosses?
· Yes.
You promised new content every four to six weeks? Can we get new dungeons as soon as just after launch?
· We plan to do it this way, this frequently. We also hope to add new veteran dungeons.
What are the limits on group members?
· Dungeons can have groups of four players. PVP can have much larger groups.
How does multiplayer in public dungeons work?
· They are similar to the overworld, but are designed so you can either bring or find a friend. Anyone can come in.
Since roles are fluid, how will groups determine who is the best healer, tank, etc?
· The group finder will help you select roles per group. You can also simply talk to each other to assign roles.
Are Dark Anchors open events?
· They are open like Oblivion Gates, only you don’t strictly enter them.
How is group loot individualized?
· All we’ll say now is as long as you pitch in, you get an equal share.
Can you resurrect fallen allies in the middle of dungeon combat?
· Yes. This is actually a gameplay aspect we added in which requires strategy. You need to approach them and have a filled soul gem to resurrect your allies, so use your judgement.
How frequent are the Anchors?
· Three in a zone on average. There will be more Anchors scattered throughout Cyrodiil.
How is monster difficulty affected by leveling up?
· Monsters and players have definite levels, and there are certain zones made for specific player levels. The idea is you want to meet people at the same level and enter dungeons together. At 50+/++, levels do not matter anymore.
We skipped and revised some questions for brevity, since they are superfluous to learning about the game. For example, some answers are repeated, some deliberately obscure, etc. There should be more than enough info here, but if you really do want to see them all, go to the source here.
