In The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) several armor sets have been temporarily disabled in Cyrodiil to improve performance. This test is now set to be extended until the third quarter of 2021. However, the reason is not performance but positive player feedback.
What happened? On February 15, the ESO developers started a test run for the PvP area of Cyrodiil. All armors with a so-called proc effect were disabled for 3 weeks.
Actually, the goal was to find out if these effects have a negative impact on performance. This is a particularly significant problem in the PvP area. Already in 2019, Zenimax developed a “master plan” to generally improve the performance of the MMORPG.
What is the result? By now, the test weeks have passed and the developers reported that performance has hardly changed.
However, player feedback on the change has been very positive overall. Many of them consider the proc effects to be too strong and have now developed new builds. Therefore, the deactivation is to be extended by a few months, as announced in the official forum:
Like many of you wrote in the feedback, we also found that this test did not measurably affect performance […].
But we have heard from many of you that the deactivation of proc sets has revitalized PvP gameplay and made fights more enjoyable and entertaining, even though performance remained largely the same. For this reason, we will keep proc sets disabled until Update 31 is released in the third quarter.
Only 17 armor sets that work in Cyrodiil in 2021
How do the changes affect? Specifically, the deactivation of proc sets means that you can still wear them, but the particularly strong fifth effect is disabled. So, you lose an important part of the armor set.
However, not every armor set has such an effect. The following 17 sets remain unaffected:
- Azure Plasma
- Apprentice’s Armor
- Bee Keeper’s Equipment
- Tricky Alfiq
- Heavy Draugr
- Resistance
- Brass Armor
- Ancient’s Grace
- Hunding’s Rage
- Impenetrable Armor
- Law of Julianos
- Leviathan
- Mother’s Tears
- Plague Doctor
- Weaver’s Robes
- Thorns of the Branch
- Willpower and Agility
These changes currently only apply to the PC client.
How is the change being received? Overall, the change is viewed positively. Because some of the proc sets are considered way too strong.
ESO YouTuber Unified Gaming explained in his video about the changes that he hasn’t had this much fun in Cyrodiil for a long time, due to this change. He calls the gameplay experience “phenomenal”:
Unified Gaming is not alone in his opinion:
- The reddit user kp– writes: “I personally love it. I will give PvP a chance after deciding to never go there again. I am sure many PvE players like me will do the same. Because it basically goes back to the beginning: No one knows what is the best. It shook the meta to its foundation.”
- Hegron writes in the forum: “In my opinion, ZOS clearly made the right decision here. In the subsequent quarters, Kai has practically confirmed that code will come that will either allow some or all ‘proc’ sets either on all servers or on specific servers again. I think this is the right way to make PvP more player-friendly and fun.”
However, there is criticism, with players fearing that Cyrodiil could become boring in a few weeks because the variety in gear is restricted. Others criticize that Zenimax is actively removing content and punishing players who farmed these sets.
What happens after Q3? In the forum, it is stated that by Update 31 in the third quarter of 2021, new code is to be implemented that offers more “flexibility for combat rulesets”. What exactly this means for proc sets is still unclear.
Some players hope that with the update there will be changing scenarios for Cyrodiil. This way, one could play for a few weeks under certain rules and then change them.
With the Q3 update, consoles are also expected to be included.
In the second quarter of 2021, the new expansion Blackwood will be released in ESO. We have summarized all information about it for you here: Everything about the new ESO expansion Blackwood and its contents in 2021.
