The ESO (Elder Scrolls Online) community has been in an uproar the past few days due to an article that the developers of ESO released. The article was a quick preview about some of the bigger combat changes coming to the game with Update 35 Lost Depths DLC that will launch in late August. We can already test the new update on the public test server on the 11th July.

First and foremost, don’t panic! I have been playing the game since release 8 years ago and the changes are usually less severe then they seem.

It is also important to wait for the public test server to make a final judgement. The reaction to anything they release pre public test server always comes with drama within the community. But once players get to the test server they often notice that it isn’t as bad as it seems.

Now what’s changing with weaving in ESO? Basically all they are doing is lowering the damage of light and heavy attacks. Right now optimized builds get around 15-20% of their overall damage from only light attacks. Which really is high, all they are doing is lowering that number. After the changes the number might be more in the range of 5-10%.

Is light attack weaving dead in ESO? No, definitely not. Because the attacks will still deal good damage, proc sets, proc enchantments and make activating abilities easier. That means if you want to maximize damage output, you will have to weave like you do now, nothing changes.

Of course if you don’t weave you won’t lose as much damage as you did before, but you will still deal way less damage compared to a player that weaves.

There has always been controversies about weaving or “animation canceling”. Some players love it and some hate it. My main issue with the change is how the devs framed it, I explained this in a twitter thread. I don’t like how the devs made it about pros vs noobs, in the end it’s really just a dps nerf and nothing more.

A far more important change to ESO combat

The whole ESO community has their focus on the weaving changes because it is such a hot topic and will always cause trouble between the community. However, a far more important change that barely anyone talks about is the change to effect duration.

ZOS: “As such, coming in Update 35, we are increasing the duration of many of these effects in game, primarily damage over time, buffs, and debuffs. By extending the duration, we hope to reduce the stress of many combat rotations, allowing for you to focus more on the action in front of you rather than the action of juggling buffs and debuffs on your ability bar and making the game far more accessible.”

This will have a way bigger impact to overall balance than anything else in the next patch and might completely change how builds are played. I already touched on the subject in my latest blog post. I will do a deep dive on it once we get access to the public test server to see what and how they are changing it.

Like I said above, patience is key. Before you make your judgement call go test it out on the public test server. Many ESO players tend to cheer or complain about changes before they have tried them out. There is always pros and cons to any change in The Elder Scrolls Online! I will definitely do my research and keep you updated on the topic. All ESO builds will be updated accordingly like always.

You can also find more info on the next DLC in the Latest upcoming ESO DLC Lost Depths news article from ESO Hub.