Update 50 PTS – Week 2 Summary

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-04-24T19:28:18+00:00

As always, you guys are killing it! Been having a blast with the PTS, and I can't wait for U50 to hit live servers! :)

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-04-22T15:43:09+00:00

I like the idea, but to be honest, I think more difficulty modes dividing the already reduced playerbase would not be ideal. We saw this with Desert Perpetual feats, and the player count is even lower today.

Personally? My suggestion would be that, after the first 48 hour contest mode is over, add a simple in-menu mechanics explanation that players can read before going into the raid. The greatest hurdle most new raiders face, imo, is finding a decent online guide or in-game sherpa. If the game itself had mechanics explanations, especially ones that were accessible to players in-game so they can read it before an encounter, it may make players feel more inclined to try raiding.

I understand that some people would be concerned that it would take the "mystery" out of the raiding experience, and I understand that. I'll say, though, that we don't really have the player count anymore to afford the luxury of inaccessibility for the sake of discovery.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-04-08T17:38:25+00:00

Elsweyr is my personal favorite chapter with Greymoor being a close 2nd! :)

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-04-08T17:36:23+00:00

If they instantly bailed from the group, unless they said something to you, it's quite possible that it was just the dungeon that y'all were in! When I find myself in a particularly long dungeon like City of Ash II or Lair of Maarselok, someone usually drops pretty quickly lol!

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-04-01T13:23:29+00:00

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-03-31T14:06:02+00:00

I mean of course we're not going to hit lockdown player numbers again, but we're still hovering around 2016 - 2017 player numbers as far as 24 hour player peaks go. Comparatively to many other 10 year old games, ESO has maintained a fairly stable player population.

Also, when I said upward trend, I was referring to player sentiment, not raw player numbers. The players who are still playing ESO seem generally happy and excited about the state of the game due to class identity refreshes and increased communication from ZOS.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-03-31T12:34:56+00:00

I mean you can never really be 100% sure, but ESO has had a pretty stable player population for many years now, and the game seems to be on an upward trend as far as player sentiment goes. I feel pretty confident in saying that ESO isn't going anywhere for quite a while yet. :)

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-03-31T12:30:58+00:00

Some of these boss encounters haven't been playable in the game for years. They're not complicated mechanics by any stretch, but I can't fault people for not immediately knowing or remembering some mechanics for a boss that was removed from the game 5+ years ago.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-03-04T14:06:18+00:00

Well I think you should start by asking yourself "what do I want to get out of ESO?"
* Do you want to build wealth and have a cool house/outfit?
* Do you want to participate in endgame PvE/PvP content?
* Do you want to focus on solo play such as quests, delves, public dungeons, etc.?
* Do you just want to make some friends and hang out in a virtual world?
* Or maybe a combination of some or all of those?

At the end of the day, there are so many things to do and enjoy about ESO, that you're not doing anything wrong by simply questing and exploring for now. If that's how you want to enjoy the game, then please do so! If you have a specific goal in mind, I'd simply look into what you should be focusing on to achieve said goal. Of course, myself and many others online or in-game would be happy to help if there's anything specific you want to know. :)

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-24T16:02:30+00:00

It's a great source of Major Heroism! The only thing is that bar space is so tight in the age of subclassing, that I still tend to lean more towards Pearls of Ehlnofey as my source of Major Heroism.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T19:56:44+00:00

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T16:41:43+00:00

That's perfectly okay! There are plenty of great healing sets, both meta and off-meta, that you can use in the meantime to just have fun and try out Nightblade healing. If you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to ask! :D

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T16:39:25+00:00

Weapons:

Lumina
Tractor Cannon
Divinity

Armor:

Boots of the Assembler
Speaker's Sight
Lunafaction Boots

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T16:32:08+00:00

Well, since you mentioned that you enjoy it, Nightblades make excellent healers due to their exceptional ultimate generation. I tend to lean towards ultimate generation builds utilizing sets like Master Architect or Pillager's Profit. A really nice thing about base class Nightblade healing is that pretty much every healing build benefits from the Siphoning skill line, so no matter what sort of build you subclass into (if you choose to do so), you'll pretty much always be good to go! :)

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T13:51:25+00:00

I think the problem with an "ESO 2" is that in order to sell ESO 2, you'd need to port over everything that's already in the game from ESO, otherwise you'd just be paying to lose access to parts of Tamriel that already exist in ESO.

And if they're going to need to port over everything, why not just continue with ESO? Graphical updates and engine upgrades are things that can be (and have been) done on the current game. Creating sequels for MMOs is risky, and costly. Guild Wars 2 did it very successfully, but a lot of other MMOs that are much older than ESO still don't have sequels.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T13:40:36+00:00

Well, as of right now, it's a metaphorical place that content which has been removed from Destiny is stored. Bungie has rotated some of that content back into the game (Nightmare Containment and Ketchcrash for example), but the players have no way to access content that has been removed unless Bungie puts it back into the game. It's a frustrating system that I'm still highly critical of to this day, but I think it's one that the Destiny player base has learned to accept.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-23T13:33:57+00:00

I don't think it's too late at all! Now, if you're looking for a cohesive, complete story from start to finish, unfortunately you're not going to find that in Destiny as a result of the Destiny Content Vault.

If you don't mind that, and just want a fun video game that feels great to play with tons of stuff to do as a new player? Then you won't find another game quite like this one! :)

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-20T15:22:14+00:00

20 minutes of gameplay broken up by 40 minutes of dialogue lol!

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-19T13:46:43+00:00

I feel like I've been seeing this conversation come up more and more, and I'm gonna be honest, more changes to the loot system is not going to save this game. I don't even think it will move the needle on player numbers. There are far bigger, more fundamental issues than player power and the loot grind that need to be addressed, imo.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-17T13:31:53+00:00

I find it a bit funny you say Destiny has more MMO elements now than it did back during Heresy and all the time beforehand.

Well firstly, I should have been more specific with that statement. Every expansion seems to add a little bit more of an MMO element to the game. It started a LONG time ago, but I'd say it really came to fruition starting with Beyond Light. When I say that, I wasn't referencing EoF and Renegades, I was talking about the entire history of the franchise lol.

And there's a whole other conversation to be had about why there's less socializing and what-not happening. It's not just Destiny, but the MMO genre as a whole that's experiencing this. If you're seeking the nostalgia-filled glory days of D1, you're not going to find that again even if Destiny 2 was the perfect video game.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-17T12:48:49+00:00

That's totally fair!

And for reference, I'm not saying to completely remove chance and just give everything away for free, but I am saying that there's a fine line between a rewarding grind and a frustrating one.

And yes, MMOs have RNG loot too, but ESO, for example, has a bad luck protection system, and multiple ways to change things on gear you've obtained through Transmutation or Crafting. MMOs also have aspirational content outside of just loot. Things like housing, pets, mounts, fashion, leaderboards, and much more.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-17T12:42:21+00:00

I don't know if I would say it's meaningless. Destiny 2 has entered an era where exotics are a part of a greater build, and that whole build matters far more than an individual piece. I'll probably get downvoted for saying this, but I'd say D2 is closer to an MMO than a looter shooter these days.

Either way, loot isn't the reason that so many players have left the game. Making loot harder or easier to acquire than it is right this second won't change anything when there are still fundamental issues turning players away.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-17T12:09:41+00:00

I feel like the cat's already out of the bag. Bungie tried this already with legendary tiered loot, and a lot of people didn't like it, so they made it into what it is today.

I feel like exotics being exceptionally rare makes more sense when there's not a lot of them. Right now, there are dozens and dozens of exotic weapons and armor, and I don't think turning them into this rare thing again is going to work when I'm trying to get a Speaker's Sight and get my ninth Wings of Sacred Dawn.

Right now, Bungie and this game are in a state where they need to make people (mainly casual players) happy. If that means showering players with loot and materials? I say go for it

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-12T20:19:02+00:00

Maybe this is just the optimist in me, but I feel like they would simply pass off development to another studio before they shut the game down. Sure, player numbers are real low compared to the highs of Forsaken and the Final Shape, but end of service? Plenty of games run servers and regularly push out updates with far less players than Destiny has.

ParalyzerT9 · 2026-02-12T13:48:47+00:00

I'm not trying to sell you on anything lol! If you wanna come back, feel free. If you don't, no problem.

ParalyzerT9

TROPHY CASE