[2020] Update on Cyrodiil Performance & Upcoming AOE Tests

Hi everyone,

Originally, we had planned to begin these tests next Monday to coincide with Update 27’s PC launch. We will now instead be starting the tests in Cyrodiil on Tuesday, September 8. We’ll post a full outline of all the planned tests and their start/end dates in the next couple weeks. In general, you can expect each test to last approximately one week.

It’s also worth noting that during our initial testing on the PTS (which again, was just to ensure everything was functioning properly) we decided to add a couple additional tests involving groups. We’ll include the details of these tests in the aforementioned forum post that will be published around the beginning of September.

Hi all, just posted the details for these upcoming tests in this thread: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/544305/details-for-aoe-testing-in-cyrodiil/

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Which time of the day does the test start?

We're in the process of getting it spun up now. The main stickied thread will be updated once it's live and verified.

Hi all,

Just posted an update in the main stickied thread, but wanted to cross-post here as well for extra visibility.

As we approach the end of our scheduled tests, we’ve determined that we’d like to run at least two more tests to gather additional data, which are outlined below. Our goal here is to see how a combination of changes from previous tests affect the performance, as we’ve found they have not had a significant impact individually.
[list]
[*] October 19 - 26:[list]
[*] Shared global AoE cooldown with a 3 second timer
[*] Group size limited to 12 in Cyrodiil
[*] Ally-targeted abilities only applied to group members[/list]
[*] October 26 – November 2: [list]
[*] Shared global AoE cooldown with a 3 second timer
[*] Group size limited to 12 in Cyrodiil
[*] Ally-targeted abilities only applied to group members
[*] Global ramping cost per successive AoE cast by 50%/100%/150%
[*] Regen decrease per successive AoE cast by 33%/66%/99%[/list]
[/list]
Our current plan is to disable all tests and double AP once Update 28 launches for PC on November 2. At that time, we’ll need to take some time to analyze the data collected from all the tests and determine next steps. Once we have a better idea of what that entails, we’ll let everyone know.

Just posted this in the main thread, but wanted to cross-post to ensure it's seen and can be discussed here.

First, we wanted to thank you all again for participating in Cyrodiil the last couple months while we held the various tests with AoE abilities. We know it was challenging to play at times, but running these tests on a live environment was the best way for us to test various hypotheses.

In reviewing the data for all the different tests, we did see some marked improvements in performance – on average, there was approximately a 25% reduction in the magnitude of server frame spikes and a slight reduction in the frequency of those spikes. While these improvements look good on a spreadsheet, they do not have a significant enough impact on improving the overall player experience. As a result, we will not be making any major changes at this time.

That said, there were a few elements from the various tests that we’ve decided to enable for both PC and console for the foreseeable future, as we liked the behavioral changes they brought. Starting on Monday, November 9 for consoles and November 16 for PC, we will be limiting group sizes in Cyrodiil to 12 players, and all ally-targeted abilities will only apply to those in your group.

As for next steps, we’re going to take some time to consider future tests we’d like to run; none of these will occur until sometime after the new year. We’ll be sure to let everyone know what types of tests we’ve decided on next and will reconvene here in early 2021.

Hi all,

Given that we won't be running any additional tests until early next year and the types of tests may be different from what we've already experimented with, we're going to close this thread as it's no longer relevant. That's not to say we no longer care about Cyrodiil performance or want your feedback; we just need to take some time to consider future tests we’d like to run. As mentioned a couple weeks ago here, none of these will occur until sometime after the new year. Once we have a plan in place, we'll spin up a new thread.

Thanks!