The fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online has responded to criticism regarding the planned transition to the Champion System.
The old system: Communism! 30 points for everyone
30 Champion points – that’s how many accounts were supposed to receive if they had at least one veteran when Update 6 was set to arrive. These 30 Champion points were a sort of “welcome bonus,” each veteran received exactly these 30 points, regardless of whether they were a fresh veteran at VR 1 or a seasoned warrior at VR 14. It didn’t matter if they had one character or several.
The fans did not like this at all. There was fierce criticism of this “leveling equality,” hardcore players felt disadvantaged. They felt punished for being loyal to TESO from the very beginning.
The new system: Performance must be rewarding again!
In response to this criticism, Zenimax announced a new system. Veterans will receive 5 Champion points for each veteran rank after the first (which is automatically given), up to a maximum of 70 points. These points count account-wide like the old 30 and can be distributed per character.
This means: A player with a VR2 character receives 5 points. One with a VR 10 character gets 45 points. One with a VR 14 character receives 65 points. This applies not only in fixed values but also in “0.2” steps. A player with a VR2 character who has already earned 80% of the experience required to reach VR 3 will receive not 5, but 9 points.
The maximum of 70 points can only be earned until Update 6. After that, players will not be able to access this pool of 70 points anymore.
Fans are reacting very positively to this change and are happy that their ideas are being heard.
Psychologically valuable
Mein MMO states: This is, quite unironically, a wonderful example that it is not really about the “thing” itself, but about the psychological effect. With the new Champion System, 3600 new points are introduced into the game. Players are expected to take about 1 hour to earn one point.
Whether you start with 30 or 70 points does not really make much difference in the cold light of day. And a true hardcore player who has invested hundreds of hours into the game now gets “40 hours” more credited than in the old system. A complete newbie among veterans who only has a level 50 character has 30 hours less. For Zenimax, essentially nothing changes. Both the newbie and the veteran will still have a massive mountain in front of them to climb for a long time. One just saves the first 1.94% of the progression, while the other has to really start from zero.
However, it is important to players that they feel their “actions” count for something. And that they receive more than others who have invested less. This aspect is likely the key one: It is not the actual, objective advantage that counts, but the relative advantage over one’s neighbor and others. This is also the case in “real” life, as this article from Zeit mentions.
