The fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online is struggling to transition from a veteran rank system to a more flexible champion point system.
The progress system in The Elder Scrolls Online continues to cause headaches for the developers.
Because the current system, the “veteran ranks” in The Elder Scrolls Online (the level after level), was supposed to serve only as a transitional solution until the champion point system was implemented.
However, it was then found that the veteran ranks are connected to so many systems that they could not be removed without risking “blowing up the whole game.” This was explained by Creative Director Rich Lambert of TESO in the stream show ESO Live.
Transitional solution has been replaced by transitional solution
When the champion point system was completed, another interim solution had to be found, and since then, champion points and veteran ranks have been active simultaneously. Quite complicated – and this system is also just a transition until they can finally get rid of the veteran ranks. However, this proves to be complicated.
In the latest patches, catch-up mechanics for champion points have been introduced. This aims to make it cleaner to get rid of the veteran ranks later on by getting the majority of players up to higher champion points.
The plan seems to be working: In Orsinium, Zenimax has now joyfully recorded that the average champion points achieved by all players have increased.
Final transition should be “slow and careful”
Lambert wants to ease the players’ fears about the transition, to reassure them.
At the moment, not much concrete can be said because everything is in progress and could still change. But the champion points are no reason for concern. You won’t suddenly have 500 champion points to continue using the VR-18 gear. Just because the first cap is there, it doesn’t mean that the best gear will be hung there; rather, they will “take it slowly.”
This is Lambert’s current message: They intend to proceed very carefully and slowly until they can finally get rid of the veteran ranks.
The Elder Scrolls Online would transition from a twink-unfriendly to a twink-friendly MMORPG
Mein MMO says: It sounds so trivial, but the transition frightens players and presents great challenges for developers, yet the potential is enormous.
An MMORPG faces problems when it switches to another system after (probably) two years.
The veteran ranks have always been nonsense in that form. Leveling to 50 felt good, but with the transition to veteran ranks, the gaming experience suddenly became sluggish; level-ups took forever and yielded little benefit. In retrospect, it was a nonsensical concept: They could have just gone to level 80 and kept the progress curve relatively constant, instead of building in such a steep “stair” increase. This decision, along with the Cadwell’s Silver/Gold story, likely dampened the enthusiasm for TESO for many players after the initial months.
The champion system, in contrast, has several advantages and sounds significantly better. Especially the idea that every character above level 50 “is as strong as the main character” and can wear equally strong gear is likely to make TESO a much more twink-friendly game. You can see how hard developers and games suffer under such “interim solutions.” If the champion system had been completed in 2014, a lot of anger could have been avoided.
More about the future of The Elder Scrolls Online can be read in this article on the big Q&A: Housing, 64-Bit Client and more – What 2016 brings for TESO
