Hi friends,
So if you haven't heard yet update six is going to change a few things. The developers jokingly called it 'ESO 2.0' on ESO Live Friday, and I think its probably more accurate than funny. That is not meant to sound negative though! I'm really excited for update six, but it is important to realize just how much is changing so that we know what to expect and can meet the changes with eagerness and excitement - not stress and resentment. The worst thing you could do is not learn any information about 1.6 until it hits the live servers. If you do that, you are going to have a bad time.
I'm sure you've all heard at least a few things by now though! If you haven't yet I highly highly recommend watching ESO Live Episode 8 from this past Friday. There was a lot of information provided about the champions system changes as well as some skill changes that you'll want to know about ahead of time. The entire character build system is changing quite drastically, and as a result we are all going to be re-building our characters when 1.6 hits live. This will impact you regardless of your play-style or content preferences.
An update with this much change could also really really benefit from extra testing. The more the better!
1.6 Boot Camp on the PTS
It is for these reasons that I plan to spend a considerable amount of time on the PTS in January, and I welcome and encourage you all to join me. I was thinking the weekend it hits the PTS we could hold a long theory-crafting session(s) where we just chat on RC about the changes while we respec our characters in the new build system. Then we can move on to trying out our new builds across the different content of Tamriel to see how things feel compared to today (I'm particularly interested to see how the changes impact OP builds in PvP).
And then there is the whole Justice System to play with too!!
If you are interested in spending time on the PTS please chime in so I can get an idea for the level of interest. Either way I recommend reading Deltias Top Five Things to Do Before Champion System (includes info for getting on the PTS).