Is The Elder Scrolls Online A Sinking Ship? - Studio Director's 2024 Letter

[@sep.42]

I'm not paying for eso plus and a premium season. They can get that out their heads right now 😂

[@austinseph1]

You don't want to pay for ESO Plus+ premium plus? But the highest tier now includes a content bag for our new content issue that we created but you need to pay to have a good experience!

[@shazbazzy]

Broke ass

[@voltekkmugurama4917]

@@austinseph1 man... the new changes aren't even out yet and it's already whaling season?

[@Ed-ealmighty]

I've never paid to use eso plus or fallout 1st. In eso just make more toons to carry crap like a bank and use the free eso plus 3 free day limits to store as much as u can in the craft bags rinse and repeat... For fallout 76 there is no fix just deal with the over encumbrance 😆 as best u can... 🤣

[@shazbazzy]

@ its $15…… a month. How broke can you be

[@klauthwarthog]

If Necrom and Gold Road are any indication, "increased difficulty" means "overinflated health bars and invulnerability phases".

[@zenwilds2911]

Yeah. I don't trust them to make the kind of changes a few bored players have asked for. Increased difficulty is too vague. No one wants increased healthbars and being bored waiting for us to be able to hit mobs again. I'd only put up with it if furniture/ furniture patterns dropped from regular mobs. They are going to have to give us appropriate rewards for what is basically going to be a nerf. All this news means to me is that I should do all the overworked content I want to do before it become twice as LONG to do for the same reward. I expect everything to take longer to die, not be harder to kill.

[@YoGibran]

Invulnerability phases are lazy af majority of the time and I will die on that hill.

[@Eso_lags]

i honestly wish they would move on. I wish the current leads in the dev team would just move on to something else and give the reigns to people that have passion for this game. Because clearly they do not, and have not for years.

[@samuraichicken2315]

It's too late now.

[@TuudyESO]

The idea of that sounds terrifying to current devs, that means no paycheque

[@Eso_lags]

I get that but I'm sure there are other projects in that studio. Idk but it just feels like they've lost their passion. The people in the 2014 quake con video look like people with passion. Real excitement, not manufactured corporate excitement. The team has changed. Even people still there from back then. Not everyone of course. Oh and bring back wrobel. Even with whatever wild shit he did at least he seemed passionate about it. The problem was, is, and always has been, that they are, across the board, too slow with making adjustments. Which is why he got a lot of hate for proc sets.

[@Eweyhen]

I really miss this game pre-hybridization.

[@Bella_Nekro]

What does that mean? Sorry, I'm new. I started playing casually about a year ago but started playing hardcore around Oct. I'm not familiar with earlier versions of the game.

[@Eweyhen]

@ so sets and weapons used to only scale off weapon damage OR spell damage, not both like now. This basically homogenized play styles and created hard metas at the high end, which is the exact opposite of why they claimed to have implemented the change in the first place. Basically certain classes had only certain sets that made sense to use, but class identity was pretty clear. Now, magic and Stam users use the same sets and mostly the same weapons. IMO and I know many others, it completely destroyed class identity in the game and made the game far less diverse

[@Bella_Nekro]

​@@Eweyhen Okay, thank you for the explaination. I'm a nightblade main and I was a little confused when my friend told me to put all my attributes into magicka. I use bow and dual wield weapons and most of my abilities are stamina but she said because of my passives that i would actually do more damage if i maxed my magicka. It didn't make any sense to me at all 😅

[@deadman6749]

@@Bella_Nekro That is ironically why they hybridized the system. It honestly never made sense to punish players for playing class abilities at the very least.

[@Bella_Nekro]

@@deadman6749 Yeah, i see your point but like the OP said it does seem like it kind of kills the identity of a certain class or build. I'm definitely reaping the benefits from the system they use now. I'm able to spam invisibility and heals while while also increasing my weapon damage. My support skills are all magicka but my damage is all coming from stamina. It would make more sense to have to choose. Do i want more damage or do I want more support/utility? I don't really see it as being punished but rather making a choice and playing into that role. But I can definitely see your point as well. You don't want to be painted into a corner with limited skill choices. I love it when people can actually have discussions without yelling at each other. I'm still learning about the game and i'm just trying to soak up information like a sponge 😅

[@PxNxWxGxW]

Everyone: Player engagement is down ESO: Lets install a battle pass!

[@wynngwynn]

they did not say that though? I feel like people are reading into everything too hard. Yeah it could have issues but you literally have no idea at this point.

[@PxNxWxGxW]

@wynngwynn been playing since Summerset. We all know how this company works by now.

[@MoogleMom]

Lets give the vets less new things to do!

[@ed6852]

I’ll stand on this hill until I die. The game was going in an amazing direction and was so fun then they released update 35 and the game went into a crippling downward spiral from there.

[@omooers]

Was update 35 the oaken soul update?

[@ed6852]

@ yes it was along with all the other horrible changes to core gameplay mechanics

[@MrSpictastic7208xD]

Pre 34 it was so fucking good. Been ass since

[@ed6852]

@ it was for real literally was amazing and then they dropped that garbage update 35 patch with changes literally no one asked for

[@merpins]

Oakensoul was fine, but the majority of other things in that update kill me. The jabs change really was a nail in the coffin for me.

[@Daniele-PierreDuLac]

So if another studio told me this I’d actually be positive. MMOs often have a burst of content on expansion then within like a month you’re bored. So if they could consistently give me things to do and enjoy I’d be happy. But this is ZOS. People are suspicious and the devs enjoy no trust or goodwill from the players.

[@Jannah_2k]

Yeah, they have never kept any promises. Always same empty words. So the letter will literally mean maintenance mode and slow death of the game.

[@Raijin-RyuX24]

Addressing long standing pain points is great but this 100% reads like less content. Gold Road was already short and they’ve moved companions to the store.

[@CasabianN-xr5sc]

I am glad my entire guild moved to GW 2 like 3 weeks ago. We are done with ESO.

[@seymourkrelborn207]

GW2 isn't that good .

[@samuraichicken2315]

@@seymourkrelborn207 Compared to ESO, it's the greatest MMO ever made.

[@theimpureone4080]

I moved to new world

[@robwerts995]

I moved from ESO to GW2 two years ago. Amazing decision thus far. Tip: try World v World!

[@wynngwynn]

@@samuraichicken2315 it's really not. I played for a while and the end game was pretty non-existent. Just fractals fractals and more fractals with nothing else.

[@mertkantecer1734]

i just killed world boss at high isle with my fresh created 3 level warden so i think overland difficulty is a joke right now

[@Hakagure]

Or you've got thousands of hours in the game lol Go play wow if you really need tedious and uninteresting overland

[@Plight_]

​@@Hakagure??? Bro tedious uninteresting overland is the very definition of ESO's overland. It's literally nothing there

[@Hakagure]

@Plight_ you should go try guild wars 2 or WoW if you really want to see bad overland. Enemies are just high hp damage sponges, if you're tanky (you have any armor at all) in the most minimal sense you'll take no damage from them, and they do no meaningful damage or have mechanics. It's crazy what people with no other reference will complain about.

[@Herosennin]

How much hours have you played in total

[@Herosennin]

⁠@@Plight_To anyone that has 2000+ hours of ESO under their belt it is. Don't blame the developer for you playing the game so long, making it so easy that you're honestly just bored of it. Most OG's of games no matter what game, complain about the exact same without considering that any game bores after thousands of hours played.

[@thomasjefferson3449]

They are done with sets, zones and classes. Phase before maintenance mode.

[@TheLostSoulESO]

I'm sure the goodwill of the community will carry through another year of "We'll fix Cyrodiil this year, we pwomise!"

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

They want to restrict abilities and and passives to make you use a set of new abilities exclusive to just Cyrodiil. Yeah sounds like a great idea to kill the game once and for all for all the Cyrodiil enjoyers. Gee I know what to do lets restrict character development and identity to dumb down the entire experience. NOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@CharlieZimbo]

A fun video idea would be reviewing previous year letters and seeing what happened the following year

[@Jannah_2k]

Dead game. Unironically this time.

[@andrewmicallef9679]

The irony is that the developers killed it. The players never wanted to move on, we just wanted to get quality content, but its steadily declined in quality rather than vice versa

[@Jannah_2k]

@@andrewmicallef9679 Agreed. No idea how they managed to ruin a game with such potential but they sure did. RIP

[@Lucy2Juicy]

I always said ESO is the best MMO held hostage by a terrible dev team.

[@dakota237]

"of course we're listening to you" Yeah, sure ZOS

[@skulpturostone4621]

GW 2 has its content realized in parts right now too. I suppose, the core problem is that peak online is allways only when new content comes out. The more frequently content comes out, more stable online you have. But all that sounds like, is that ZOS are gonna reuse old content even more.

[@Bella_Nekro]

@@skulpturostone4621 To me it sounds like they just want to polish content we already have. It sounds like they're still going to release new content but it's good some of the older stuff is getting some attention. As a Cyrodiil main I'm very excited that they're addressing PvP. I love the game mode but it's just so wonky at times. I hate spamming my ulti 5 times and it just doesn't register.

[@powerman984]

seasons is just an excuse for a season pass to make you pay more on top of eso+ it's gonna suck

[@lt.danicecream]

Only if you are a sucker and pay for it

[@powerman984]

@lt.danicecream ye but it will be the same as ESO+ they will make it a core component of the game same old bs

[@lt.danicecream]

@powerman984 so dont play the game. You are not obligated to take the abuse, and it is an abusive relationship

[@wynngwynn]

@@lt.danicecream I hope you realize that it's literally nothing like an actual abusive relationship.

[@lt.danicecream]

@wynngwynn no, it is. You take the abuse and keep on hoping they will change. Abusive relationship

[@Knowledge.to_Come]

Eso content creators are the band that kept playing even though the titanic was sinking

[@psychotrooper1473]

Nefas showing off the new room with that intro lol walking in like a crime boss

[@twocatsyelling723]

The double speak in that Director's Letter was amazing. "We're doing great! Creating wonderful content that the players love! So, going forward... we're completely changing how we create/deliver said content to our players". Have they never heard "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Or... could it be that they're lying through their teeth, and it's not all rosy as they portray? Also, didn't they *just* announce they were changing up the way content was designed/released a year or so ago? When a developer starts making sweeping, radical changes to the structure of their game... it's not because they have "a successful process". Or at least "not successful enough". Changing the entire structure of content creation/release isn't like turning on a dime. It's expensive and risky. So... there's gotta be a darn good incentive for them to do so. In this case, that incentive is most certainly $$$. They're either seeing less revenue as time goes on, or they're just greedy for even more. Remember when this game was solid and building on a solid foundation? Back around One Tamriel and the first 2 or 3 Chapters/DLCs? I do. It was my MMORPG "Home". I even sent feedback thanking them for maintaining such a great title while showing restraint on the Crown Store and keeping it fair. Boy has that flown out the window.

[@Hakagure]

@twocatsyelling723 I don't think you remember the game at that time. After Orsinium, they changed to the chapter system, and we got hit with the same doom and gloom. "No one will ever buy chapters if they pay for eso+." Time gas proven them quite out of touch. There's also quite a lot of problems with 1 Tamriel, so let's not pretend that was an amazing decision. Opening up the player base, yes, but content scaling and ruining sense of story progression no.

[@Hakagure]

@twocatsyelling723 it's also crazy to see how many communists play eso and modern games. "ESO is changing and the reason is unbelievable. Can you believe a company chases money instead of doing what I say??" Yes, they're a company, and they want to make more money. Thanks for that great insight was we go into 2025. Fish also need water and want more of it.

[@eco_2128]

Sorry, but you're wrong. Eso NEEDS to to something different, it's broken and it needs fixing. Yes, they said last year that the plan was to change up stuff and that's what starts happening next year, pretty sure it also says that in the letter.

[@TheHashtagSquad2K15]

WoW became as popular as it did (even though it was already successful) by doing radical changes to the structure of their game.

[@truthseeker5277]

I bet they increase difficulty for overland but don't put any additional incentive to do it, which will be the same problem that made Bastion Nymics unpopular. It just wasn't worth the time finding a group to farm the same overland gear they could have gotten roaming the casual play space.

[@ZestyMoFo]

They need to drop support for last gen consoles for this game to ever have a chance of actually growing.

[@theimpureone4080]

Paid season pass on top of a paid subscription in a dying game is peak Zenimax

[@CareBearStare]

The gaming industry today is nothing more than online gambling. Its an addiction😢 get a bunch of people that wanna look pretty and voila! Overpriced re skins for everyone 😂

[@xnbk-yotiex5247]

Zos isn’t telling us because it isn’t good or they would give us some kind of information.

[@xgronox]

Theyre expecting this to hype the playerbase but its made people even more critical on zos. Lmao

[@kainedg6094]

I /LOVE/ how you're reading the Developer News Letter and in the biggest most in your face way on your right hand a giant ass banner for BUY ARCANIST NOW WAS 1550 ONLY 1050 NOW BUY BUY BUY. I should not have to see these things unless I choose to click on the cosmetic/transaction shop.

[@ursus.arctos13]

i feel like they should go the free to play route if they want to do seasons, and include it in plus, otherwise they'll price themselves right out of the market. eso plus, a season pass, and base price along side microtransactions is crazy work if that's the plan.

[@fobtasz4693]

They would love to go free to play looong time ago but look what's happening performance wise every play for free week or free eso+ week. Random disconnects, lags in trials, pvp even worse. Their infrastructure simply can't handle this.

[@imperialsect4257]

100% a sinking ship. We all know what's coming. Season Golden Pursuits...1000000%.

[@merpins]

New zones are a trap the devs found themselves in. New zones aren't bringing back old players, it's the things in the chapters that are bringing old players back (new classes, new skills). New zones are also not bringing in new players. "this new content is super cool you guys!" but new players want to go to skyrim, and they wanna do the dark brotherhood and thieves guild, and then they wanna go to marrowind and to cyrodiil. They couldn't give a single fuck about any other new zone or story therein, they wanna experience games they've played before (usually), and then get to new content after that. Old players don't come back for a new zone, they come back for new trials, PVP updates, new classes, and the big ones, better monetization practices like more ways to earn cosmetics in game, and major changes that seem promising like combat overhauls. So the devs fell into a trap. More new content and new places to explore =/= more players, just more work on the devs. Their best bet is to fix bugs, update PVP, update old content (this can be by adding new questlines in old areas, ones that new players will be interested in like dark brotherhood), and revamping their combat systems like the armor sets (ESPECIALLY the armor sets). This is more likely to bring in old and new players. Make the game that old players liked better, not bigger. Make old content nicer by adding new questlines and updating visuals for areas that newer players will experience first (the OG alliance questline zones, tie in db and tg questlines in those areas), as well as areas those players want to visit (skyrim, cyrodiil, and marrowind especially). Scaling back on new zones is best. Adding new areas to old zones (fleshing them out, adding more quests, maybe lock some towns behind a loading screen in some places to make them much bigger like a mini zone inside a zone), that's infinitely better for this game than a new zone that feels like every zone that already exists, that being a kinda empty theme park without any secrets that's fun for the story that's there but has no real repeatable reason to go back to it.

[@topical6574]

So what I'm getting is that they're trying to boost player counts by making time gated seasonal content, and forcing me to pay more. I see.

[@_invinciScribe_24]

Sums about right 🤦🏾‍♀️

[@Thatfantasyfootballchick]

I still have fun - I think the game is still in good shape - hopefully it can keep chugging along

[@panzer00]

Braindead take. They're milking you for every last cent. Stop being their slave.

[@Daniele-PierreDuLac]

Lol you can’t do a fan convention because you need to focus on making the game? Is he serious? I can’t imagine that most of the writers and coders and back room developers be hosting and attending the event. So it’s not like you’re pulling a lot of people away from their jobs. Could you imagine Yoshi P from Ffxiv saying no NA fan fest because he’s busy producing and directing the game? 😂

[@goboltz26]

"Seasons" . . Suck ! EG: See Destiny 2 for Example. It's a way to pull off all developers, Leave a Small Crew to maintain Income levels without doing any "new' work. Get ready to re-buy things we already paid for & to run Dungeons backwards or some other BS ! TLDR; M$ pulled the Budget & said keep milking the cash-cow until it dies !

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

Seems it the last player stronghold is Cyrodiil and they're coming to wreck it by restricting us to Cyrodiil exclusive abilities and passives that will make the meta BS even WORSE !

[@pvansteenlandt4437]

Said it already, looks more like the beginning of the end.

[@deadman6749]

I remember when they removed dungeon DLC pack to "Fix the game". Everyone was happy, I said nobody should EVER be happy when a developer says "Less content is good content". First of all bug fixes in a shock do not actually bring players back. Its a hard note to get, but its true. Nobody is like "Ohh fuck were getting out of combat faster?! Im back BABY!" Content does that. Less content just means more productivity towards their new MMO. That's it.

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

Watch the new MMO flop hard and land flat on its face doa. Then they'll turn around to ESO and ask all off us if we still love them...

[@yahusrevus]

Some of us asked them to please concentrate on actual fixes and polish rather than a self-imposed, rigid quarterly schedule when they implemented it. Good to see all these years later they are saying they finally agree.

[@redsixx669]

Not necessarily, maybe they do that, but so likely itll be a strict schedule with minimal bug fixes while they lump out fomo filled seasonal content that goes away in 3 months

[@MikeBeltMikeBelt]

"We are listening to you" - So they make a pvp campaign where they will slightly raise the pop cap but take away your skills and replace them with generic ones. I'm done. This company is a joke. They are so out of touch and just oblivious.

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

It would be the least populated camp and the que for GH and BR camps will go up and no ballgroups from the current Cyrodiil will bother. No one wants to give up character identity and complexity for an extremely watered down "new" set of abilities/passives. It's like they're trying to shove scribing back into a bag and the cat is just fighting with everything it has.

[@pklemming]

@@JMLjml-dm7dk Actually, this could potentially be good. PvP should be skill only, not dependant on a meta, or combination of gear/skills. By having the same skills, you are put on a more level playing field. Class is much less important aspect, and the skill of the player more significant.

[@TheRealSenj]

brother this ship sunk back in 2019, its on a island trying to build a small fishermans boat at this point

[@parmenion6298]

2025 is the 10 year anniversary of the release of eso on console but I don’t see anything in the letter about improving the experience of console players . A missed opportunity.

[@xniya_2647]

I honestly read the thing and uninstalled 20 minutes later. The game isn't fun for me anymore, the performance is getting worse and there is no way its going to get better lol.

[@CoatedIngoo]

As a beta player, have not had anything new to do for like 7 months, lol. Can't even get excited about rolling a new character anymore and I'm an altaholic! Sub's been dropped, no crowns from the Christmas sale this year, they won't be getting anymore money from this household. If they can't pull their heads out this year, having lost already at least 75% of their player base, I just don't see anything but sundowning. 8*(

[@apaullo89]

Hard fact: people will complain no matter what Zos does. I constantly hear about how Zos never listens to us, never gives us anything new etc. Look at just the past year. They gave us the option to change skill colors which casuals have been begging for for years, they gave us a whole spell crafting system which also has been requested for years. People just get bored quickly of the new things they implement, that the community directly asked for, and forget that they were given something they wanted in the first place. However, this update is definitely not going to result in more time to fix performance. They cancelled the in person event after last year they announced they would be doing big extravagant events to engage the community more. So they cancel that event and then announce they are pulling back on content creation. I don’t need more content personally, I want better performance for pvp. So if what they say is actually true, that’s cool, but I highly doubt it. It all seems sus. But whatever, I’ll probably keep playing regardless.

[@NoPickles.4Me]

They need to drop the subscription price

[@Pharaoh_The_Great]

So it’s now a sinking ship because the devs are trying to finally fix their combat system and etc? Maybe that’s why they kept putting out all of these DLC’s back to back over the years and not focusing on other issues.

[@mattpinap]

Hey bro what Mic/Camera combo do you use? Looking to get into it and I like how yours looks/sounds!

[@NefasQS]

OBSBot and Shure SM7B

[@Taikomo]

Maintenance mode means that absolutely no updates to the game itself are made anymore and the game is just being maintained at status quo, doing the bare minimum maintenance to keep it running. Hence the name. So no, ESO is not going into maintenance mode. I don't think most people who use the term even understand what it means based on the discussion I've seen in the last week. Even if they were to scale back on content it's still not anywhere near maintenance mode. Then there's the entire fact that they're upgrading the original zones. A game heading into maintenance mode wouldn't bother to do that, but a game that's planning on attracting new players will, because those original zones are what most new players first see when they start ESO. And new players generally won't be coming in if there isn't new content to get them interested to come. Which again speaks against any kind of a maintenance mode. ESO is one of the big MMOs. It's strange to think ESO would somehow stop everything after a decade when none of the other big ones are doing it.

[@Nicolisweetiepie]

I tried to get into ESO years ago, but after the introductory quest, I got incredibly overwhelmed and quit about 30 min later.

[@iAmCLPN]

Harder content = more hp (Just go pvp if you wanna fight high hp bars)

[@EstinR]

I'm rather indifferent on this. The chapter release schedule has always been incredibly generic. Every single year it's the same thing. The same amount of sets, the same amount of delves, 1 trial that's either engaging or easy, an empty and unfinished zone, a rushed questline that is word for word the same as the previous year's story with different characters, and a new game system that has almost always been incredibly shallow. When you take a look at it from that perspective, the new seasonal release schedule sounds a hell of a lot more enticing. Their experimental fixes are also rather interesting. ESO doesn't need more and more of the same generic content piled on top of it each year. Its core really needs to be fleshed out. Most of what's out there is doom posting which I understand because ZOS has a bad track record of not keeping promises and screwing things up, but it's too early to say the game is finished. If they're smart, ESO+ will be the season pass since currently ESO+ only value is the craft bag. I would also hope that seasons means we can get seasons of MMO content where we get more MMO focused content. The game has catered to solo focused players for way too long.

[@D3monWo1f]

Yes, Fallout 76 has taken over. Happy Holidays everyone. Be safe out there! Santa 🎅🏻 🌲

[@shazbazzy]

As a fellow 76 enjoyer. No it hasn’t 😂

[@gareaap7806]

I agree with you about them needing to add a reason to make people to want to do overland content. Because making it harder without doing that is the worst take they have ever had. There is plenty off reason to "do" the easy overland now to make your builds and making it harder is just gonna make it more annoying to get that done while incentivising the fucking crownstore even more.

[@redsixx669]

I played d2 for years, seasons will NOT work im telling you now, story pacing gets awful, content gets even more repetitive and boring, fomo goes absolutely through the roof, this is a horrible idea

[@jmbrady1]

yeah... the game is done for

[@joshualipsonhips4640]

Yeah more people quit every day. We barely get a few thousand players a day at high times. For how few people are actually playing the servers are extremely poor at least on console constant freezing and lagging in zones with 0 other people around.

[@jmbrady1]

@@joshualipsonhips4640 honestly, I kept saying that pushing towards putting functionality behind guilds (i.e.: guild traders) actually drives regular players away from the game. then couple that with constant nerfing of builds that need buffs instead and hammering new classes with huge nerfs after a year of release.

[@HeartoftheWinter]

This sounds a lot of like what SWTOR did with the Knights of the Fallen Empire storylines, we all know how that worked out..

[@outsider2638]

I uninstalled F76 because of seasons as they implemented them. A couple of seasons, ok, cosmetics and stuff, but man, it's a chore, a second job.

[@joelhodoborgas]

Yeah i could put up with a few board seasons here and there, their latest model is just awful

[@panzer00]

Feeling obligated to play a video game so as not to miss out is psychological manipulation. There is a seminar from like 10 years on youtube by an EA dev (I think) who presented all of these tactics to increase revenue. It turned the industry from creatives who are passionate about their hobby to corporate drone assembly line development.

[@MrGhosty0091]

I think all their bullet points are great, I was one of the people back in 2014 suggesting the PvP and PvE be separated and having some of the base zone stories continue was also on my wishlist as well. Whether is make or break will come down to monetization and I have zero faith they won't over monetize the shit out of this content. You mention that the fallout 76 model might have been an inspiration and it isn't a bad system because while they still do the abhorrent thing of locking their equivalent to a craft bag behind the monthly paywall it doesn't feel as egregious because they give a lot of stuff for free with plenty of additional bonuses for being a fallout 1st member. In each scoredboard you can get a ton of base items, sometimes a new weapon and mods, cosmetics and currency to spend in the shop all for nothing but your time. While fallout 1st members get all that plus some additional stuff which they should as subscribers. At the same time that is happening they're also adding new stuff to chase in events and what not which is free to everyone. So if ZOS copies this model verbatim it could be really good for the game, but if they half ass it with a bias toward greedy then this will be another failure in my opinion. Fallout 76 is playable without the junk stash box and ammo box, it's not quite as much fun because you have less incentive to loot all the crates but it is happily playable. That isn't true for ESO because without eso plus you're storage capacity is halved, you can't fully decorate larger homes, change the colors on outfits you already paid for (not a dealbreaker to all, but for me it is) AND have no reason to loot all the containers you see. Then on top of it, their seasonal events do nothing but annoy because their reward boxes don't stack and they're constantly flinging useless shit at players that also don't stack or stack poorly which feels a lot like creating a problem to sell a solution. I frequently sub to fallout 1st, either when I'm planning on a big play session when new content drops or towards the end of a scoreboard season to collect all the bonus rewards and I always get my money's worth (subjective as hell but such is the case of opinion) where with ESO plus I just feel punished for not having it so I won't ever sub unless I know for a fact I'm going to be playing long enough for it to be worthwhile to me and every time I have to spend twenty minutes deleting useless crap from my inventory, I feel less inclined to sub or spend any time in that game. If they want this new model to work, they're gonna need to do a lot of house cleaning to make it work and at this stage in the games life span and the track record of those making the decisions I don't have any faith they are going to be willing to do that house cleaning. I am prepared to be pleasantly surprised though, golden pursuits have been a decent addition so it's not like they can't make decent decisions.

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

Fallout 76 was and still is trash

[@Kyler_97]

No cross progression/cross save is one of the main things holding this game back. Most games have it now and older ones gained it. Many people have switched to pc over the years or a different console even and aren’t willing to start fresh again. They could profit well from that or at least transfers at the minimum. If currency is a worry, make non bound items and gold non transferable. If guild/player name duplicates are a concern, simply add a #2717 or a controller/pc symbol next to the names for console like many games do now. So much wasted potential by not getting with the times as they could gain new players and returning players. Final fantasy is just one of the many games with it and it began development in 2005…

[@Hakagure]

Part of the problem with modern games is DEI hires and the abysmal code they create. Eso would have to be rewritten because it was coded by shitty coders

[@anbuzero367]

I was on eso+ up until Summerset isle, then the gold coast came out and I gave up in the game . Awesome game but something was missing

[@SpLaTTyDaDDy]

This game strayed so far away from where it started. Veteran levels is what was hard! Miss them days

[@samuraichicken2315]

Lets look at the year in which some top MMOs came out: ESO 2014 Guild Wars 2 2012 Final Fantasy XIV 2010 WoW 2004 Have you noticed that the youngest game in this list is the one that has become unplayable due to poor performance and is the most likely one to die off after 2025? It's amazing what happens when you don't take care of your game or your players.

[@nestor-martinez]

Happy holidays! 🎄

[@NefasQS]

Same to you!

[@Just1morehour]

Is it possible to instead of “giving out” content we need more performance based achievements to open up other parts of the games….dungeons…trials…”seasons”…..not just leveling up but also winning percentages and playing hrs…this would make some of the more end game players able to trust the group making model because each player will have been able to achieve certain tasks to be more credible….instead of just a sea of multi level players depending on upper levels to do the work for them…I think it would bring up more of the competitive level for everyone

[@DeathTheManiac]

My friend and I stopped the game way back when, around the time when dungeons were nerfed to oblivion. Prior to that we had fun just doing dungeons as a duo, finding strats to defeat packs and the bosses. I mean, even our first dungeon run ever turned into a naked run in the end because all of our gear was broken but we still managed to beat the dungeon. We came back a year ago to see how the game is today and went into a random dungeon and... well, the whole thing was so absurdly easy that we didn't even have to pay attention to the fight, we just stood still and pressed the attack button and eventually it died. There was no need to dodge anything, no need to heal the other, no need to focus, it was so brainless that we uninstalled the game after that.

[@MoogleMom]

Just another middle finger to the playerbase that has been here since the beginning and was foolish enough to stick with this game. For us vets the only new content is the new chapters. We've done everything else. When they moved to one chapter per year was anything major fixed? Did Cyrodiil improve? Nope just got less content. So no new content just means there is nothing new for the loyal players that stayed. So much talk about new players but again screw retaining the ones that put the most time/money into this mmo.

[@orcishmage_237]

If they limit what you can do in pvp or dumb it down further every decent and sweaty player will quit the game and cyrodiil will finally truly die.

[@BLeipzig]

I'm glad you said what I was thinking... isn't q1 q2 q3 and q4 already "seasonal" ? Lol. I just want to know how much total content we will get now yearly vs "old" system

[@jokeassasin7733]

The PS5 and Xbox Series are 4 years old. It’s about time they shut down PS4 and XBox 1 access to the game. The technical limitations of those consoles are holding back QOL fixes on the consoles. The PC Min reqs have changed significantly since launch.

[@Darc1972]

I've played since beta 2014 and have been paying for plus since its release, and I will not be renewing at this time

[@dinckelman]

Given that they've said that the seasons will not be deleted after a new one rolls out, unlike Destiny, it gives me some hope. That said, like you've said this does feel reactionary. They see that people have been upset with the last 3 chapters, and there needs to be more effort there. I still love the game, and I only wish I could play it more, but there are so, so many things in it, that need to be addressed immediately, and none of those were even mentioned in this article.

[@Danny-e6v]

Bro is wasting a voice of god reporting eso news.

[@davanillagorilla8428]

It’s been sinking dawg

[@desont2384]

if the yearly season pass is no more than what the yearly expansions were then i don't think there will be much change in people buying eso+ and the yearly pass. but if they try to charge for each season say $30, thats an extra $120 on top of eso+ which is what like double what the expansions were? not gonna happen.

[@HookahOtaku]

How sad seeing once a epic game become a dump.

[@EgaoKage]

I'm psyched for what's to come. The new Cyrodiil mode he hints at is long over-due! Template-ed PvP is where we find out who's good and who can only win when they're exploiting a meta.

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

This will only restrict players more and make the meta situation even worse. The new camp will be the least popular and it will be the new Ravenwatch a total flop. Watch it happen nobody wants a watered down Cyrodiil with restricted abilities/passives getting rid of all character identity and limiting them to just one way to play. This will have the opposite effect of what it seems like you want.

[@EgaoKage]

@@JMLjml-dm7dk The meta situation couldn't get much worse. For years all I've wanted ZOS to do is focus on fixing what's already in the game, not adding new crap that they have no intention of balancing in PvP; which is the only end-game ESO really has.

[@joelhodoborgas]

I HATE battlepasses, if this is what they mean by seasons, ill be completely gone. I play on and off since release. I can deal with bad updates, i wont be dealing with batle passes.

[@Bella_Nekro]

Why not? I don't really get this argument. Is it just because of the stigma surrounding battle passes? Because right now most people don't have a problem paying for chapters annually. What's the difference if its broken up into smaller updates every 3-6 months. Also, not trying to argue or be rude I'm just genuinely curious why people are opposed to paying for extra content when they already do.

[@thomasjefferson3449]

If you want to retain vets, stop changing the game every 4 months

[@brunustuffs2263]

I cant even do veteran arena

[@rockyracoon133]

Canceled my eso plus. Im done getting gaslit by this trash dev team.

[@TheJimNicholson]

If chapters were so successful, why are they dropping them?

[@lisandra5330]

I started losing interest in ESO when they changed their point/skill system. I had spent a lot of time building my character and then suddenly had to redo everything. No thanks! I stopped playing daily and only play when there's new story content. This game was first marketed as either a single or multi player game. This has become more and more untrue. For example, a tribute deck is hidden behind the Infinite Archive. I have more than 5000 hours playing ESO single player and have done every main and side quest available except for the last year or two. Theres a couple of boss fights in recent main chapter quests I've been unable to complete. That makes me lose interest. It was one thing in the first few years when there was plenty of other story quests in other zones but now that's not the case. I also no longer play between chapter and dlc release, so I'm apparently no longer sufficiently leveled up. Or maybe i never got the hang of the new skill point system. Whatever it is, I got Gold Coast months ago and still have'nt played it. I now find ESO boring but I used to love it.

[@ultimosoneto674]

Wild voice. Should try throat singing. Would sound great

[@MjollTheLioness-o4y]

Increased difficulty likely just means damage sponge enemies, which is just grindy to me, not fun. I have no interest in that. I was considering coming back to the game, but I think I'll give it a while longer to see how this all plays out.

[@leeux]

Each time they make a change, some people leave and some new people comes in. As long as the number of people that would come in was larger than the people that left, there shouldn't have been a problem making drastic changes. But I feel that the last three years changes were done that accomplished the opposite: more people left and the new people that came in didn't stay or wasn't enough to compensate the losses. I left the game when they decided to uncap the CP system, because that would make impossible for me to keep up. I don't have time to grind constantly and as long as I had enough CPs to be at the cap I knew I could still participate in what interested me: end game content. After the removal of the cap, that was no longer the case, if I wanted to participate I'd need to grind several hundreds CPs to just to be able to participate at the same level I was before, so I stopped playing. That's an example of a badly thought change that (IMO) was completely backward to what it should have been. (It was not only me that dropped the game at that time, but many people in my old guilds stopped playing too. My whole PvP guild disbanded, for example.) If they want to save the game (IMO) they need to find a way to make people come back to play, and make the game enough fun that enough people stays. If they intend to focus mostly on difficult content (or end game) they also need to provide easier ways to catch up for people that can only play a couple of hours per day, or that don't want to spend most of the play time just grinding for CPs, just to be able to participate. I've stopped playing in 2022 and dropped my ESO+ then. TBH I miss my characters, and my friends and I'd gladly come back again if the game was fun enough again, to justify wasting my time with it. But as things are, I don't think it'll ever happen.

[@itzruckus]

I left ESO over a year ago now and I’m glad I did.. still sayin the same bs with the same lame excuses

[@JMLjml-dm7dk]

Dumbed down bare bones cyrodiil will be HATED believe me Nobody wants to lose their characters complexity and identities.

[@_invinciScribe_24]

If the Battlepass is a paid one that is just so greedy. And i also think the overland difficulty being increased is ridiculously stupid. 👎🏾😂

[@dakarbrown5474]

I don't know how to explain, but this doesn't Excite me. I'm tired of hearing about content and cosmetics I want More characters more races more Character improvements. More power ups Adding another note to the champion tree Better animations for the 2 hander. The world. Has changed geeks out here with testosterone running shit.

[@Rastamunfarion]

Excuse my ignorance but what exactly do you mean they are developing a new ip? Do you mean ip as in new servers? Or a whole new game?

[@arcanefire8056]

new ip means new game not at all related to eso or elder scroll.

[@Rastamunfarion]

@arcanefire8056 cheers m8

[@Klinsk]

ESO is a bottomless hole, I quit 3 years ago, and I don't miss it at all.

[@Xesh]

I'm in denial, but i also like to buy physical boxes and i'm sad we haven't had one of those in a while.

[@TheDemethar]

new types of content? more hair colors?

[@ernstjacques2056]

They need to rework all this useless gear

[@kr0nen]

re: content for vets and player retention, it's just too little, too late. the damage is already done. i think i'll be taking an indefinite break from the game, i've lost my passion for it anyway, and years of cynical milking the cash cow and neglecting the more traditional (hardcore?) mmo audience will do that.

[@pklemming]

If they stopped gouging money, it would be a good start. Before I left, it no longer felt like a game, just a vessel from which to make money. As for the letter, we have heard it all before (remember the promised 'ship to ship combat'?). I have zero trust that they will ever do the right thing, just the thing that gets them the most money. After changing games to ones where the devs obviously have a passion for the game, it has become more obvious how messed up the game actually is. It may be a true change, but I doubt it. They are going through the motions in order to quell the current discontent, then business as usual. As was mentioned, I don't think seasons is for us, it is just another income stream for an already greedy game. True change could start with stopping attempting to sell new players tri pots and cures for vampires/werewolves and make them aware that pots can be crafted, and bought from players, and are easy to do for a very small gold cost. The attempts to push the crown store come before the player has even got their bearings.

[@lordrichter3075]

Sinking? No. Elderly? Yes. I expect they are scaling back and there will be less content in 2025 when compared to previous years. My opinion is that 2024 was the test to see how the community responds to less content. On the plus side, I do hope they revamp base game areas with better visuals and extended content, and fix all of the server and performance issues that plague the game. I am not worried about them taking a look at overland content. I think it will be evolution more than revolution, but it will likely alienate players that are outliers.

[@redsixx669]

Elderly doesn't matter much, guild wars 2 looks crusty as hell, wow is still somehow kicking despite blizzards attempts to shoot their own feet off, and ff14 is an aged spaghetti code disaster and still beloved and going strong

[@RumitheBartender]

Guess it’s that time to find another game.

[@ChibiCosmos]

I wonder with the unionization whats going on too behind scenes

[@davidpoggi]

This game has been dying for years. I don't even play it anymore. No PVP content and improvements, no class diversity, constant overpowered items/builds and then nerfing shortly afterwards. I could go on and on. Good luck selling crown store items when there is nobody wanting to play because there is no good new content. Instead you make a companion that barely anyone uses and extra rewards for BGs which I've never even played once in 5ish years of playing this game. So out of touch it's amazing. People want more PVE content that's new and fresh and updated Cyrodiil PVP and you give them only other things that they don't want. Bravo Zenimax! I don't care about housing, I don't care about companions. I don't care about BGs. Give me real playable content instead of the 40th version of the same dungeon or trial and crown store items that I refuse to buy because I'm not an idiot and don't throw away my money on worthless virtual crap!

[@davidpoggi]

It must have been difficult for that guy to write the end of year letter because it was all bullshit.

[@fobtasz4693]

It's his job and he is a professional. Burried other mmos in the past so nothing new for him.

[@Snupe2001]

Just give us a pvp toggle button for overland that game is great 😂😂😂

[@madrab73]

He was talking about improving Cyro performance in 2016, did I miss the barbershop roll out? kzbin.info/www/bejne/amnGkJyhgrecZtU