Should You Play ESO in 2023? (Elder Scrolls Online)

[@LuckyGhost]

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[@TES_Bloodline]

I have 5000 hours of ESO but still going to play it

[@madj.7379]

@Lucky Ghost - slow down. Most folks can't talk or hear 3,987,430,251,008 words PER SECOND. Seriously, I like your channel, but damn. Not everyone is hyped up on Red Bull, cocaine and draino max gel, the way you seem to be.

[@SlurpingHydra]

Have to admit, I wasn't expecting such honest take on ESO. Most of these videos are pretty much the same, but this one definitely stands out. Wish all content creators would take note, along with ZOS to get their act together.

[@Saradominstr]

yea... he's only not being honest about ESO being pay to win..

[@argonaut_jay]

Yeah I was looking into coming back after years away but it was mediocre then and sounds like it's only got worse so I'll go buy $20 worth of tacos instead.

[@nextgenkreations5327]

@@Saradominstr how is it pay2win? The only thing you have to pay for is the expansion. Maybe if your trying to be top tier raider or pvper you don’t have to buy anything. That’s the same element in most popular games; wow, eso, gw2, bdo, Albion, etc. Very few of them don’t require you to dish out irl money to be competitive in the mmo world.

[@cykablyat3680]

i really wanted to come back but its not worth it to pay 52 bucks on expansion+eso plus and like 72 bucks if you dont have the base game just for the devs to lock so much of the content into the cash shop after ive payied so much its just not worth my money , ive got my moneys worth for final fantasy got the base game+expac for 20 bucks and they also have been nice enough to give me a free month of sub for free

[@turtleneckless]

@@nextgenkreations5327 dont worry about him, hes confusing pay to play with pay to win

[@unluckie1282]

Wasn't expecting so much honesty, I'm so glad you pointed out so many problems ESO has

[@carterlenau2603]

The thing is it's not a hidden at all and if you ask anyone they will tell you

[@Saradominstr]

yea... he's only not being honest about ESO being pay to win..

[@victorwisp]

i tried to play the game, went hardcore for 2 months, had basically all the gear to progress, but no guilds open to new player and really progress to the endgame. also, so many paywalls

[@jeffreysson7834]

i hope ZOS devs see this video

[@ZM-dm3jg]

yep, i was thinking of playing it, glad this review saved me wasting my time

[@samuraichicken2315]

5k+ hours here and I say you've hit the nail on the head. One other thing is that the developers are leaning in heavily on new players at the expense of long term gameplay, so the new to mid-tier player experience isn't bad.

[@killed_bya_bot7775]

I started playing about 5 weeks ago and loving it. I can see how it gets stale though especially after 5k+ hours. Enjoy the next adventure plenty of games out there

[@Saradominstr]

yea... he's only not being honest about ESO being pay to win..

[@killed_bya_bot7775]

@Bees Monk I’ve got plenty of experience doing things like dungeons/raids played destiny 2 for 2 years. If you think people are assholes for not saying hi you’ve got issues sorry. As for the running ahead thing that kind of stuff is going to happen with random people. Join a guild and do it with guild members, a lot of people just want to get in and get their pledges done and get out not loot a bunch of crates and kill pointless ads for no reason.

[@marshman78]

@@Saradominstr a game is only pay to win if you can buy items that make your character powerful from some sort of cash shop they do not have such items in ESO’s crown store, XP, scrolls or scrolls search timers is not the same thing as pay to win. And no, the oaken soul ring is also not paid to win that is dear you have to earn in the game that was released with a certain expansion that doesn’t make it pay to win ESO has some pay to get there faster, but not pay to make you stronger

[@Saradominstr]

@@marshman78 You are 100% wrong (: you can not say it is NOT pay to win wile these options to 'unlock' these more powerfull items is BEHIND a pay wall. Leaving NON-PAYING customers at a DISADVANTAGE.

[@jwarendsen]

While the zone stories aren't usually directly connected I really like how ESO has major and minor characters return throughout the expansions and actually have different dialogue depending on if you've met them/helped them before. That makes the world feel more cohesive than most MMOs Or how letting characters live in some quest means they pop up later in the story, sometimes many expansions later; remembering who you are and why they like/hate you.

[@zachh6868]

Ffxiv does this, but the characters they bring back are utterly forgettable, so it doesn't pay off. At least during the 50 hours of free trial gameplay

[@lordbauer5983]

@@zachh6868 Reoccurring characters pay off during expac content.

[@imsi107]

@zachh6868 Like someone else said, that's free trial though. FFXIV is a heavily story based mmo whose story arc spans a decade of years so you're going to see the development of characters stretch across all expansions. The payoff is incredible in later expacs with reoccurring characters you've gotten to know and love making appearances that heavily tie into the story. Dishing out thoughts, comparisons and severe false criticisms when you've barely scratched the surface in progression isn't the right thing to do in this situation my guy

[@imsi107]

@zachh6868 It's also a little strange of you to be saying this considering the only important reoccurring characters in the free trial is literally the scions who along with your character is THE main cast, so idk how you can say it doesn't pay off when you're literally with them all the time as you're experiencing the story and getting introduced to many more characters lmfao

[@skinnycheeks]

Another banger. Thanks for the honesty Lucky! That macro-transactions line lmao. Hope the devs are watching these!

[@assamite9833]

I like how you tackled even the heavy monetization (the reason I left the game a year ago) whereas most other CCs don't do so as much. On another note, the story quests being short and tied to a single zone mostly became a thing in Elsweyr, the Morrowind, Clockwork and Summerset trio felt much better than anything they have produced so far. Keep up the good work ^^

[@sean8102]

Summerset has been my fav "chapter" so far for some reason. It's probably because now I only play ESO much when the next "chapter" comes out, then I binge it till I finish it. I just sub to ESO+ for 1-2 months then cancel it. Mainly just for the crafting bag (all DLC is nice as well). Prolly helps I don't care about the housing stuff, mounts etc. And I will NEVER buy any of those loot crates. Even the crafting bag isn't a huge deal to me. I guess if you want your char to master every crafting skill. I just mastered two per char.

[@monikadp1740]

You nailed it with this review! I have been playing Eso since launch, but recently found less and less interest in logging in and playing. I don't do PVP so it is mainly the absurd level of monetization, the lack of incentives for progression in PVE, and the trivial level of challenge in open world content that keep me away. It is sad because I really like(ed) the game and wish that they get their act together for the next expansion (if there is one...). Veteran maps (maybe rotating, and with new rewards) would be an "easy" solution. And we need to be able to get some rewards (skins, mounts) through actually playing the game. I don't mind spending money in/on a game but I hate (!!!) the loot boxes.

[@tylergreen441]

Thanks Lucky, this feels like an objective, articulate review from a veteran player. If you are newer player and love the Elder Scrolls franchise, this is an awesome game with a lot to do. Here's to hoping 2023 improves the game for veteran and new players alike!

[@Claude-Vanlalhruaia]

That's a lot of copium right there!

[@Saradominstr]

yea... he's only not being honest about ESO being pay to win..

[@CDLightt]

@@Saradominstr autist

[@MayHugger]

@@SaradominstrReported for spam.

[@Saradominstr]

@@MayHugger reported for reporting xD

[@catimakittycat3849]

ESO is a good game but it seems they are just milking the remaining player base and dont care what happens to the game.

[@CreativeExcusesGaming]

When one of ESO’s top content creators is effectively saying they arent interested in the game anymore, and they are heavily recommending the game anymore, its bad. I really hope the devs are taking notice.

[@Melsharpe95]

You need to remember that he has done literally EVERYTHING the game has to offer, and produces multiple videos on it a week. Of course burnout is a thing that will happen. His audience and livelihood is based on producing content for a game he's no longer interested in. Which is why some creators want to pivot away from the game but their viewers might not be interested in going with them. Catch 22.

[@SteveBonario]

The Antiquities system is a great way to get things (furniture, items -- it took me about 30 hours to level up antiquities skills and get the 17 leads for the dwemer wolf mount -- which felt like I earned it and glad I didn't have to spend crown for it).

[@LingtonTV]

Love the honesty I put 1,500hrs into this game over the course of 6-12 months and absolutely adored it, genuinely one of my favourite games ever But as a long-term player it is so hard to come back to it and get that invested again due to the lack of meaningful earnables and bugs I don't think I will be playing again unless something major happens - but I just want to say that the actual mechanics of the game are unreal, so much better than tab targetting etc

[@Chronic_Gainz]

I know they are going to come out with a new chapter this year, but I hope they take a year off in 2024. They really need to focus on looking at everything that people are having problems with and revamp the game overall. You made good points about everything and I agree with basically everything. Here's to hoping that they actually give us what we want in the game this year.

[@MessyTroll]

The game is phenomenal, played since beta regularly. Biggest complaints are shop pricing and server performance. I think this game has something for everyone and if you're a player that enjoys dipping their toes into all varieties of content it's one of the best games out there. I do think ESO+ is a must if you take the game seriously but that has never been a problem for me as I've been desensitized to this form of monetization being a former WoW player. Everyone is too infatuated with whether or not an MMO is dying or not, the game has a great and healthy community and as a long time player I greatly recommend it.

[@wba6787]

I really liked this game originally. Although the combat was a bit clunky and abilities felt pretty weightless, the overall approach struck me as daringly original for a big budget MMO. It really did feel like an (albeit somewhat compromised) multiplayer TES, and the fact that the game was relatively challenging and somewhat opaque really put an emphasis on finding or building real communities and interacting with people. Each time I revisit it now it seems increasingly less sure of what it wants to be or do. I think that opening up the world was probably a good choice, but the trivilization of uninstanced combat seems to render 99% of what the developers created completely null and void. It reminds me of SWTOR, where the base game - which generally accounts for the largest and most cohesive chunk of the world regardless of how many patches and expansions get layered on top - feels like a forgotten formality because you can sleepwalk through it in order to watch some cutscenes or read some quest text. Without any friction or sense of having been made to work for any of it that suddenly becomes meaningless to me: sure, the story in these games is relatively good by MMO standards, but that's a very, very low bar, and if I'm speeding through it then where's the conflict or interest? It sucks, because they had a game here that otherwise I'd continue exploring ad infinitum and would love to experience with friends, but now I just don't see the point. They've devalued tens of thousands of hours of their own work and it doesn't even seem to be paying off for them.

[@dabsol9137]

that was an eloquent comment that i did not expect to find, and i havent played this game in many years and was just searching up if i should get back into it bc i thought about it once and what you said in the beginning really hit me with nostalgia for the early days... haha... and the rest helped me to understand why the game wouldn't be so fulfilling for me

[@iljun3089]

I love TES universe so much, and in extension ESO. Played this game for years. But the technical issues and corporate greed were a bit too much. I finally moved on to New World a few months ago but also stopped eventually. Then finally I was pushed from MMO to solo RPG. Bought tons of open world RPGs from steam. Maybe next year when I'm done with all those games, I'll come back to ESO.

[@doramas1079]

Refreshing to see a honest and complete review at long last. Good job, my friend.

[@ukko8457]

Questing being way too easy is kind of a ruining factor and one I've heard many say about this game, I would try it if it wasnt.

[@DaFunkz]

The monetisation is the biggest reason I could never get into ESO. Box sale plus subscription/DLCs, plus micros transactions and loot boxes. I was constantly pressured to buy stuff to actually enjoy a full game with rewards. It somehow manages to have all the drawbacks of both a Subscription game and a Buy to Play game. It felt like the cash shop was the game. Also I HATE attack weaving.

[@thebeardsmith]

Played E$O a ton and I can say this is an accurate honest review. Thank you for giving us the ups and the downs even as a stream team member, don't need more kissing up. Also can we make E$O a thing? I got a chuckle from that.

[@druidicleonnnjj]

Recently, Zenimax have been making a lot of mistakes. But I do hope next year they can fix up a bit, especially if we're heading back to morrowind to the telvanni peninsula.

[@terminalvelocity4858]

That's the same hopium and copium every year fam. ESO has turned to trash because of the neglectful company direction. The only thing that will change is their tactics to coerce players into the crown store with the same wash, rinse, repeat BS. Wake up.

[@JDTStagg-]

I think it depends massively. ESO right now, I’d actually fully recommend to newer players. There is so much content in game, the game is ‘fun’ and it’s overall an enjoyable experience. For veteran players though, that content has already been done many times over, the grind is never ending because the constant adjustments of what items are BiS every few months and so much of what was loved about the game has been adjusted far to much. People instantly saying no, I think that comes more from personal frustration at the direction the game has taken over the past couple of years (and I understand those frustrations completely), but there is still so much in the game to make it a massively enjoyable experience for many people. I do believe that the next expansion for ESO is make or break though in terms of the long term success of the game, because for the first time in a long time, the MMORPG market has plenty of viable options and after a couple of extremely lacklustre years, ESO can absolutely not afford another one

[@MikeyP109]

I agree with you but for one difference. Not sure better content will cut it. Its time for a change in leadership.

[@yesterdaywassunday]

What content ? eso is incredible repetitive. every DLC/new dungeon is basicially the same all over- just with other 3D models. The pvp is basicially a one on one copy from Daoc, the skins/transmogs are copied from WoW etc With each year the game gets older, the DLCs smaller with less content and more bugs- but at the same it is getting more expensive to get access to all the game content since old DLC do not get cheaper- but motifs, skills, mythics, sets etc might still me needed Eso didn t offer new features and the management and development of the game is simply...bad. First priority with this game is money, not fun for the community. I haver never experienced any other mmo where fun/freedom in the game is as much restricted thanks to the publishers greed. The inventory is a joke. Items do not stack, or have small stacks in the inventory- basicially to force players to get subscription. DLCs have ZERO houses u can get ingame through playable content/gold. It is all for real money, 100+ dollars Then there is the p2w and paywalls.... Eso is fine, against boredom. But thats it. Just my opinion. Eso hasn t introduced any new features on its own. The planned justice pvp system got canceled and what stayed in game are the copied parts from other succesfull games back then. But unlike the original games it is always done worse since the game design behind it is clearly not thought through - but just copied. Eso is more of a single player game with multiplayer-function than a real mmo. I have been playing lots of mmos in over 20+ years- but eso is the first, and only, mmo that comes to mind with bad mulitplayer experience. 5 guilds means people do not identify with one specific guild. Same for the alliances. 90% of the game content requires no team work at all. There are no guild houses or other things that require the guilds to work/build together- all in all play people in eso next to each other instead of with each other The events are a joke. same grindy repetitive daily quest over and over again I bought Eso 2016 (?) and play it from time to time on the second screen while watching a movie or so. For me it is not frustration. It is simply a game against boredom, not for fun. There are so many other, more innovative, fun games out there than eso. In comparison with experiences in other mmos seems Esos community to exist in a bubble on their own. This bubble contains mostly middle aged players that do not play hardcore, just want an mmo that keeps them grinding/busy after comming home from work in rl and are willing to spend real money on alot of ingame-content. This bubble seems to be mostly disconnected from other mmos. The publisher keeps players grinding since the grinding players keep paying for the crafting bags, new dlcs etc BUT it comes at a cost. The mmos is slowly dying. For new players it gets harder and harder to catch up and more expensive to do so.I don t see eso outliving older mmos like WoW. Eso had potential- but it was never used. In the end the games is just a secondary copy of other games, done way worse to grab some money from the mmo market. The development started 2007 after Blizzard made millions/billions of dollars with WoW. The devs/publisher will only copy gamedesign that worked in other games. New design is too risky. So, in my opinion, the feature of eso is quite bleak since there won t be any big innovative gameplay changes. The company will probably also rather invest the money in their new mmo and will only invest small amounts for new dlcs and crown store stuff to keep the community paying ;)

[@CandysChannel]

@@yesterdaywassunday What game in your opinion is better? I just got a gaming laptop and want to check out games that are even better than ESO.

[@jcm2606]

@@CandysChannel I'd say it depends on what you enjoyed doing in ESO. Questing and exploration? Probably Guild Wars 2 or Final Fantasy XIV. Dungeons, trials and arenas? Definitely World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV. PvP? Well that's trickier, but the closest to ESO would probably be either Guild Wars 2 or New World. No one MMO will be that perfect replacement for ESO because there are so many aspects to ESO that make it a good game (at its foundation, not in its current state), and the same applies to all other MMOs.

[@imsi107]

@CandysChannel Like someone else said, depends on what you find fun. Imo I'd suggest Guild Wars 2 and FFXIV, love those two, honestly the best mmos out right now.

[@pinguincoder]

The Stick with a carrot without a carrot does It for me. Thanks for saving my time

[@WolfheartArt]

Thank you for pointing out all of ESO‘s flaws especially being such a big ESO player yourself. I hope the developers really pay attention and listen to this. We just want the game to be less of a cash cow and more fun for everyone who just wants to explore this world and who want to just earn some cool rewards and not have to drop $500 just to get a mystical mount or for a home

[@undeaddonkey1413]

All the greed from Zenimax is the reason I quit. Also, I hate having to pay a monthly subscription in 2023 those need to go away. Paying without the crafting bag sucks.

[@dayrozo]

​​​​@@undeaddonkey1413 nah bro paying monthly sub is the best way to monetize MMO if it's done right. modern wow, sadly, is mediocre example and ff14 is the best. particularly in ff14, you pay monthly sub and have access to every content, armor, weapons mounts etc. game has to offer. it has some cash shop outfits but they are more like casual looks and tbh are ugly, there is not a single one that looks better than ingame sets. there are some mounts in the shop but theyre weird too. so realistically you can pretend that cash shop doesn't exist at all. paying sub makes possible for developers to add a lot of new quality content every 3-4 months. wow is okay, but it lacks in comparison because of pay2win with wow tokens->gold buying and store mounts being much higher quality than ingame ones.

[@ne0nmancer]

​@@dayrozo I think sub is the best monetization method, but ESO goes wayy overboard on the lootboxes and cash shop. Also, i think a lot of content that players should be able to get for free are locked behind the cash shop, like most mounts. Look at WoW, you can play Wow just for collecting mounts.

[@RpgCrow]

What killed this game for me is honestly the everything is scaled to your level aspect. It just made exploring less rewarding. Idk I just enjoy working my up to more difficult areas.

[@unsupportiveperson7724]

At this point if ESO doesn't change now, it will never change. ESO needs to know what fun is, the devs needs to experience for the first time in their lives what a fun game can feel like.

[@ne0nmancer]

In conclusion, ESO devs should touch grass.

[@brettWwjd]

Relentless changes have become a treadmill that players have chosen to step off of. Well said.

[@gamerwolf4276]

I just started playing ESO as a friend wanted someone to run with. I’ve only logged 4 hours in but it seems solid. I guess we’ll see if it has holding power on me like many MMOs can or if it will fail to deliver what I crave in fantasy MMOs.😊

[@captaingallifrey4274]

It's mostly the playerbase that I have an issue with. Impatient DPS fake tanking in vet queues, then DPS not accepting ready checks when the queue DOES pop, the DPS were busy making a sandwich or something and sends me back into queue. Asking guilds to fill roles is painful. Everyone is always doing their own thing, so you tend to only do content with guilds if YOU are willing to fill a role for THEM, or if you're in an endgame vet trials guild that actually has a trial schedule with discord signups (which is completely unfriendly to midgame players that are done with normal trials and are trying to transition)

[@FrostbreakYT]

I think one thing you missed about ESO's P2W is how their expansions/dungeons/trials are all paid/subbed content. Unlike "New World" for example where everyone has access to the same dungeons, world bosses, etc. ESO is similar to WoW in the sense you must pay for the most recent expansion and given the nature of powercreep the items are generally stronger (however you can still get overland itmes through guild stores). If a dungeon set is meta for PvP or PvE endgame, you're screwed unless you fork over some cash. Love the vids! Been watching for years and just started doing some TES content myself, keep it up lucky!

[@sahinku-8885]

thats basically true. On the other hand, after you bought the basic game, you pay eso+ 130,--/year and the new chapter without cosmetics 35-40,-- per year (in Euro and on PS). I once played a lilttle game on my mobile where you always combine 3 items, and wow, i had to take care and leave pretty soon, before i paid the same amount per week. In ESO you have much more content, beautiful and diverse map, and so many possibilities to stay in it for years , for an amount of money you can calculate in advance. I wouldnt try to gain a shiny mount from crown crates though, either.

[@Cotoadriano]

Well, you can basically buy any DLC dungeon with gold now with the gift system, so that's not true. And second, you don't really need THE BEST gear because there's no such thing, with so many sets in the game you can get similar results with many other combinations. And as stated by Lucky, you can even outperform players with 'better gear' by simply mastering the mechanics. Of course i'm saying this for those who aren't looking to minmax, but are wanting to clear every content on the game.

[@clogreen8508]

I bought the game when it was on sale in November and so far it’s been great playing solo doing quests just riding around the different zones. Finding groups to run dungeons or WB is a different story

[@rattiegirl5]

Have you collected the NPC ally yet? As someone who prefers to solo but also wants to be able to take on harder combat quests, I love having an NPC to quest with.

[@terminalvelocity4858]

2014: Hype 2015: Failure 2016: Relaunch 2017: Gaining Momentum 2018: Best Year 2019: Decline 2020: Hopium 2021: Copium 2022: Hopium + Copium 2023: This Is Fine

[@CandysChannel]

What tf is hopium and copium

[@prboy6510]

The fact that ESO comes up with soo many crafting styles that can only be earned through crowns is ridiculous

[@gavin_almeida]

just have to say I am a new ESO player and I am running as a dunmer and I love the lore. it is so vast and on top of that ESO just has so much content for new players. just found your channel a week or so ago and I love your content. you just earned a sub. thanks for your honest reviews! a skyrim review for 2023 would be cool too if you play it at all. thanks again man!

[@sayphexgaming6861]

As a retired ESO veteran I have to say that this a good review. Honest, short and sweet feedback. ESO PvP has a bit more nuance with content such as solo, small scale, big scale and ball groups, but it sadly does not matter as performance and pvp population has gotten so small that its unplayable. Sadly.

[@CandysChannel]

What do you play now?

[@sayphexgaming6861]

@@CandysChannel I generaly play less, but I have tried New World, Fallout 4, Teamfight tactics and many others. However, I am looking forward to Starfield and riot's MMO or Ashes of Creation 😊

[@GoodBoyTurrola]

Recently just picked this up and love the game and alot of the points you made do reflect quite easily! Your content has also helped a ton though for builds and such for eso so thank you

[@CorvoFG]

I never go near the shop other than once a year. The crowns I get back from my subscription goes to buying myself a new property for Christmas. And yet my main home is and has been since it was released, The Observatory Prior.

[@browsergameshub]

Damn you just set the standard for reviewing MMOs. Incredible review!!

[@jsedge2473]

I played for a few months and the expensive cash shop items were so noticeable. Great game, but it's insane to sell shit for so much money lol. I'm sure there are whales that are giving them 1000s of dollars for imaginary items in a video game but 99% of people are just gonna be turned off by it. The pvp/pve issue tends to be a recurring problem in MMO's. Every single game I've ever played (Besides guild wars 1..) either has good PVE and drops the ball on PVP or vice versa.

[@marcelomafra]

Very honest, I'm glad. I completed a year in ESO december 2nd and is the first time I ever played a MMO. The content that I most play is Dungeons. I like the quests but, after a while it really feels like you're doing the same thing on a different places, but the voice acting is amazing and the story is good. I really like the game, have more than 1200 hours (insominia nights helper :) ) BUT without addons it really has no wuality of life for players, in my option, ddealing with inventory is pain, directions on the map for a I-get-lost-on-a-straight-line guy like me made me get lost a infinite number of times (love for the addons makers). paying ESO Plus, here in Brazil, is a much greater pain. R$54,90 is a stab direct in the heart. The price is not localised (as the game is not. Brazilian community of players translated the game). It also, with the 1500 crowns each month, makes the DLCs almost the same price of the game and others, 2000-3500 crowns more expensive than the game. For comparison, ESO standard game full price is R$ 61,50, a year of Amazon Prime is R$119,00, the biggest Disney plan is R$55,90/month, with 3 months of ESO Plus I can buy Skyrim Special editon (R$149,00) for example

[@WeekendGamingNerds]

I really like my guild communities right now and I'm really enjoying the group content. Whether I stay in ESO after completing most of the high level content (which I'm not far from), however, depends entirely on what the devs end up doing. If they don't fix what needs to be fixed and step on the brakes with the cash shop, they're going to make it very easy for me to leave the game for another that does better.

[@Frogthroat1]

I agree on everything else, but the questing part is perhaps a matter of taste. I like that the quests have simple and easy fights. Just load a harvesting build (spec on speed, harvest quality, skills you want to level up and keep a simple spam attack) and enjoy stories without stress or hassle. Pick the flowers you come across, simply relax and follow storylines without any long-winded boss fights in between. I like that I have the option to do veteran hard modes separately from simply enjoying stories. It's like two different games you can play depending on your mood.

[@Frogthroat1]

...which is also why I have no idea if dungeon stories are any good. When I go to a dungeon, I want fights. I just spam e when I need to talk to an NPC since I want that skill point at the end but other than that I just want to get to the boss fight. Different mindset when I play dungeons and when I am questing.

[@LikeaNoobplays]

I played a bit like a year ago but recently came back to the game due to a friend wanting to try it out with me. I am enjoying my time and looking forward to several hundreds of hours still coming. But it's fair to say that I am somewhat of the target audience here, I play games very casually, rarely care about raids and PvP, I like to make builds, but not looking into the power, but more into the fun aspect. (Like making a stealth build) I also focus a lot on cosmetics, like housing, costumes and emotes and have little to no issue with spending up to 100€ a month for that either. The world is amazing and the fact that every dialogue is voiced is awesome. I love exploring the land and living my own adventure and building my own narrative as way to many MMOs make you the "hero" of their world. I don't want to be chosen and certainly don't care about the end of the world. I just want to be an adventurer with questionable morals who's exploring the forests and fields just to end their day in their cozy home playing some tales of tribute.

[@ricksgamemisc10]

I played a long time back and was looking to see if I should come back. Your video showed me I should just stay away. Thank you for such a clear analysis.

[@brenobarbosa3489]

Last time I played ESO was Jan 2021, I finished my time w the game at 424hrs played. Back then I still liked the game a lot and had just bought 2 gift copies to play w my wife and a friend, but that's not the way it worked. Out of nowhere I started having connection issues and not being able to log into servers, this was happening in ESO only, I contacted internet providers, zos support and everything, nothing was working. Then a friend of mine introduced me to guild wars 2, it was my first contact w the franchise (forgot to say I'm a HUGE elder scrolls fan, playing back in the morrowind days) and I just fell in love w GW2, having played 1500+ hrs in 2021 alone. I will say this, ESO is a great TES game and story game that you can play w friends, but in comparison to GW2 and others on the market is not a great mmo. GW2 is still kicking after 10 years and I feel it gets a lot right, crafting is great, I had a lot of fun in the way of becoming max lvl on all crafting professions and playable classes, plenty of endgame pve content, good pvp in both structured 5x5 and massive battles that can go 50x50x50 defending and attacking castles or small skirmishes in roaming parties. Plus it has just the best mount system in any game, not just mmos, I would 100% recommend to anyone who loves mmos to give a try. I spent many time and money on eso and I wish I started playing GW2 sooner. I don't play GW2 for over a year now, but that's because in 2021 I played TOO MUCH OF IT and got kinda burned out, I was playing easily 4hrs+ a day, w some 8 hours throw in there, it was my last year of college and now I got a job and don't have as much time, but the game is great and w the way progression works, my gear and build won't become obsolete, I can log in a year from now and still have the best in slot gear, because new content doesn't make older content shit

[@TheOnlyValken]

I guess one of the reasons I tend to feel the itch to return to eso is because I enjoy the early game questing. But then shortly into resubbing the dopamine fades and I'm bored lol. I know it's more a problem with me than the game 😅

[@nathanwinters2400]

I legit came back to ESO at like the end of 2021; during that time I finished the base game stories and the guild stories up to DB and TG. Got the Erstwhile Sanctuary too, which was something I really wanted for ages. Sadly the cracks started forming when I made my NB tank a Vampire and like a month later they nerfed the only ability that let me survive PvE content into a PvP only ability for damage reduction when one of my abilities literally turns off healing-- to which I was already mad prior as I had to pay 20$ to get an appearance change token to fix the really ugly colour changes to my beautiful dunmers skin. Def not a bad game, but I can happily spend money on something I'm enjoying and feel like it's worth the price. ESO doesn't fit the 'worth' margin as of rn, something that I find funny when Microsoft buying ActivisionBlizzard and people saying that they'll 'fix' their games.

[@Stalker950-l3x]

I restarted yesterday after 7 years. My last day played was on January 26th, 2017. Time passed quickly man, incredible. For now I will sub ESO Plus for 3 months. Much has changed, I was truly overwhelmed after logging in with my 84 Champion Level Dragonknight.

[@dinob6587]

Although you did mention the game stability, it cannot be emphasized enough. Basic game mechanics such as blocking or firing off your skills simply don’t work a significant amount of the time thus detracting further from the group play aspects of the game. (It’s a bad day in a trial when the tank can’t block, instant wipe) I don’t understand how Zos can release a low content update such as Update 36, and break so many basic game mechanics. Like, why could you not un-deploy siege for so long. It’s clear they have a skeleton crew working on the game, if that. I think we are seeing the game in its death spiral for most aspects of the game with the exception of housing.

[@steveeymann6374]

I played on ps for 4 years and roughly 5000 hours. Update 35 killed it for me. I recently got an Xbox and decided to play the free content through gamepass. I've logged in 3 times and can't leave the tutorial because the servers won't hold up long enough.

[@Whyyalltakecheeboohandles]

Man thanks a ton for these videos! I just watched your final fantasy 14 in 2023 video right before this and I’m about to download it tonight and try it out tomorrow. I’ve played a little lost ark lately which I enjoyed a bit, but I have mained ESO since ps4 launch about 7 years ago.. the massive battles in pvp were so satisfying, becoming emperor was 2nd to none and the trials with friends was fun for a while too. But everything you said in this video is spot on, I enjoyed the pvp aspect the most and that part is all but dead, the lag is just horrible even after switching from ps4 to ps5 even with the player base inside cyrodiil getting smaller each day it’s really just unbearable. Can’t bring myself to pay the monthly fee or buy any of the dlcs anymore even though that’s clearly where the best pve content seems to be.. Necromancer was fun for a bit but I’m over the game for a while. Thanks for these in depth videos man I’m looking forward to final fantasy 14 like nothing I have in a while! You’ve more than earned my sub

[@AJ-rc5lr]

I am a returning player, i played ESO since day 1 of release, and i played for a good 2 years before i quit ( for a reason ), i downloaded ESO again this month, and as a player who don't really do trials, i really enjoyed the questing, for me the questing and character progression is what keeping me hooked so far, and the game are very much lively too, i can almost see players wherever i go, And i am subbed to Eso+ with a dozen DLC story to do, i think it's the best deal in any mmo so far, i am even overwhelmed by the number of quest that i will have to do, and it can be hundreds of hours of content.

[@keegan6356]

ESO is the first MMO where Ive actually felt immersed in the world. Idk why, but I've played GW2, FFXIV, and WoW, but ESO is the one that stands out for immersion.

[@ShiftTheMatrixGaming]

It does but the dumb easy content ruins it.

[@Verilee1970]

2:50 I appreciate the candor here. I think this is a problem that plagues *tons* of KZbin gamer content. You can't help but wonder (before spending $40 - $60) if the reviewer you just watched was being honest or just being a good company man, for the sake of being a *paid* company man. Wow has removed most of their daily system (I'm a filthy casual) for the new expansion and I'm here to decide if I want to return to ESO. The only thing stopping me is the "every fight is the same, in every zone except one" thing. Thanks for a good and honest review.

[@XtinaLeigh]

I just wanna point out, while hard to do so, it is possible to get cool looking mounts by just playing the game, I think 3-4 mounts can be acquired from achievements, as well as there are events that will give you tickets for different mounts. I know people hate that they have very little content like that, but I figured I'd point it out. I've spent about $50 at most on the game, mostly on the beginner crown packs, and I'm proud of how my characters look with mostly earnable cosmetics.

[@Hekk.]

copium

[@XtinaLeigh]

@@Hekk. I play too many mmos to care enough to cope.

[@WidarsHall]

I personally prefer the less flashy mounts and costumes, so I don't feel compelled to buy any cosmetics in ESO. And you get plenty of different mounts just by playing without a subscription, so I don't agree with some of your points regarding the crown and seal stores. There's nothing in either of those stores that gives you an advantage in pvp, either. The only noteworthy perks that make your life easier that you can buy are things like private bankers - but other players can gift anything out of those stores to you and you can buy one of the currencies ingame with gold, which is very easy and quick to earn. So I just think your judgment on some of the game is a little too centred on your own personal taste as to what's "the best" or necessary to have.

[@Joe_Hackett]

exactly right

[@neitherlink6612]

Just a tiny note, while FFXIV does sell you a catch up for level and story skip, it is highly discouraged to buy them. For the story skip it's self explanatory, the story being one of the best aspects of the game. And as for the level up, half the "classes" already come pretty leveled up from the get go, and catching up to cap helps you familiarize yourself with the class, and since most content if not all is in groups, this is necessary. Besides, story quests and dailies will have you over leveled if you are doing the story, so it's never an issue. Content at cap is walled behind gear level, and you absolutely can't get it without either acquiring it through battle, crafting it yourself, or buying it from another player with currency that was acquired through effort. There's no paying to unlock the latest and greatest content.

[@Richard-ti9gi]

Things started to go wrong at the rewards part, and finally crashed when you reached the subscription part. Thanks, you saved me the download (already had the base game free, from the epic store).

[@user-wm6ke9xt8e]

Was debating to get this, since it's on sale right now for 7$... but this makes sense why it's so cheap! Very good info! Thanks for making this!

[@Asteel94231]

Iv taken huge breaks through out eso run time, I think that why I eventually return. What's different this time is that I've switched platforms so I'm starting from scratch.

[@shagedopie8638]

they do deserve the honesty, its their own mistakes and if its being sugarcoated they will just ignore it as usual.

[@Warmastr80]

Elder Scrolls lost me at the Monetization chapter of this video. When you say "buy my game" I expect to purchase access to the "paywall" content, the best dungeons, best gear, nearly all trials, or the best zones. Instead, you pay for the game (albeit a low cost in comparison) then you have to pay for the monthly subscription which, let's be honest, is expensive. Now if you offered this game for free, play the quests in limited zones, play with sub-s-tier weapons/armor, then charge for access to those items, that is the way to entice someone. It makes a difference, but I'm not paying just to have to pay.

[@chefnstrike]

This genre of fantasy is right down my alley. I grew up with DND so the spells and dragons is what I like. I hope they do some of these fixes. Everquest is my ideal mmo where it’s almost impossible to solo even single mobs. I’m on PS 5 so I’m limited with games like that.

[@Koyote2033]

Being three years in and around a number of ESO veterans: do not have hope they will fix these. Not with this current dev team or management. A vast many of their issues have been apparent to the community for years, but ZoS typically digs their head in the sand whether it's about bugs or any form of criticism, which ends up labeled as "toxic negativity." Even when presented with evidence and logic (possibly foreign concepts to them), they do not listen.

[@wizzle-]

Such a good, honest and thorough look at the state of ESO today. Well said. Lets hope they make changes for the better and even Wizzles may come back. Cheers Lucky!

[@dobispr3963]

The only issues I have ever had with the game is the massive wall that you need to climb at least once to get a master crafter and be on par with others in Cyro.

[@Zeorymer300]

Played since beta. Cleared all stories, quests, trials and dungeons. One trial a year is pretty god damn lame. PvP is no longer fun (if it ever was). Some dlc zones are ghost towns almost immediately after launch. Because they change combat and damage so often you’ll end up with players who are either the too lazy to adapt or so clueless they have no idea they needed to adapt leading to you grouping with awful players. For perspective, it sucks being a healer and doing 80% plus of all the groups damage when I should be 10-15% instead. It happens way too often. I don’t think I’ll be playing it any longer.

[@Valandhir]

The old gripe about the cash shop. The shop has nothing but skins and e-preening.

[@gregoryjamaalfulton]

I've been playing ff14 for the past few years and was looking for something new. I'm on ps5 and saw I had eso in my library I don't even remember buying it. Anyway I bought the eso + and I've been playing hooked for the past 4 days even called out of work for 1 day. After the tutorial I selected blackwood as I liked the premise, but I was reeaallly lost lore wise. I don't play ES idk anything about this series so I looked up a story guide and now I'm on track worming through glenumbra. I'm enjoying myself. I actually forget I'm in an mmo until I see another player. As a new player to ES not just ESO as a whole its REEALLLY overwhelming. As soon as I get a handle on the frigging daedra I'm hit with s curveball. I LOVE going through the different bookshelves and reading stories, there's a play manuscript I read and I hope I can find a part 2 for it. I'm not too focused on optimization I'm just enjoying the ride as a solo player. We shall see how I am after the honeymoon period lol

[@joeyr184]

As somebody who loves to quest in ESO I had to give up. It was way to easy. Its impossible to die. Exception is world bosses.

[@ronniekoomba922]

I started the video very hopeful and excited to maybe see if I purchase this game.... As soon as you hit this point at 1:38 - an immediate "I'm going back to guild wards 2" came over me (the maps/world/regions change accordingly by what level you are in comparison to the enemies or overall party you're in.) At least I looked up a video of this game and tried to have an open mind lol.

[@T-xic]

ITS GONNA BE FREE ON EPIC GAMES LAUNCHER ON THE 20TH. FOR ANYONE WANTING TO PLAY IT.

[@rayray0987]

It has earnable houses. Just... none of them are permanent. There are houses that you can spend the holiday event tickets on occasionally. There were also some houses you got as a reward for beating some of the dlcs when they came out.

[@newfaith912]

You can buy plenty of houses via gold when you get achievement like daggerfall overlook. You can have way more houses than you need or have gold to equip BUT if you do have gold u can pay gold for crowns and buy yourself whatever your heart desire. Again there is no point in having 20 mil gold house that u cant even equip with furnish XD So in that sense provided you dont have millions you can buy some mid tier house for you and your friends to make fun RP moments or whatever you use house for :D Those big houses are for rich ppl anyway.

[@drkmgic]

I tried the game. The questing feels so monotonous. I really wish it was a little more difficult.

[@scottreinhart4316]

I will say I like the fact you can gift things from the crown store including some DLC content so if you've a trusted friend with crowns you can send some in game gold and get something you want from the crown store

[@MeepOnAcid]

I want to try ESO, but now seeing the huge things I need behind a pay wall I don't know I'm on the fence

[@RyanRidere]

Great video. I kept thinking of the, "So you're saying there's a chance" line from Dumb and Dumber when mentioning should you play ESO in 2023. haha Sad to see, though, it looks like a lot could have been done to stop losing players :(

[@eentiitled]

Unfortunate everyone is burnt out, I just came back to it and I’m having a great time

[@Drac9866]

ESO was my first MMO I started playing when it was about 1 year old. before it had any DLC or chapters. and I played it on and off for about 5 years til the Elsweyr chapter. I completely quit the game in 2019 over the same issues the game has in this video. I was a end game raider and pvper. the game had so many bugs, group finder was bugged back then, visual and sometimes game breaking bugs in dungeons and trials every single update. with mobs not spawning, being stuck in one point, falling through floor. The combat changes every major update was so annoying. pvp become totally unplayable bc too much lag and the combat changes. all my guilds fell apart bc so many were leaving. I feel like I stuck out the longest out of all my guilds. Then ultimately quit for good too. I stayed gameless for months until May 2020 and got FFXIV. I recently had a friend from FFXIV start playing ESO. so it got me thinking about it again. so here I am looking at reviews and such to see the state of the game up to 2023. this video is excellent, every info I think to need is here and nicely laid out. and sadly I see the game hasnt changed at all with its issues. it seems even worse now. So I'll 1000% not be returning. Thank you for such a well made video, I perfectly needed I gots FFXIV, GW2, and SWTOR to play nowadays

[@ChaddeusThaddeus]

Surprisingly based takes, if I could articulate all of my grievances with the game in its current state perfectly it would be this video

[@bigace3625]

I want to get back into this game hope it’s not too late

[@veljkomladenovic7521]

I like the game but npc's are not loading for me idk if its the server or me but i see there name but i can't interact with them or if im fighting i can only hit them with aoe attack

[@BreakneckTrent]

I've been playing since 2015 off and on.. My favorite part of ESO is the friends I've met along the way 👍

[@knightshade3d51]

After playing ESO for 8 years. I’ve had a lot of fun. But these last two years I’ve taken more breaks then the previous six years combined. Come back after the story dlc and expansion come out and found both to be lacking. My biggest issues are the bugs and the monetization. So much is just locked behind the cash shop. I’m just waiting for Zos to announce eso is going free to play. That’s when I’ll be done with eso as I know it’s as good as dead. Hope it doesn’t happen, but these last two years haven’t inspired any confidence.

[@misterbrady100]

Thanks for the analysis. When ESO launched, it was my favorite game. But it hasn't been the same since Summerset. I'm still waiting for ZOS to return to form, but they've disappointed me too much for me to take it on faith. When the next xpac launches, I think it's going to be 'make or break'. You mentioned server performance in Cyrodiil, but I've also had server performance when soloing dungeons. The back end of ESO has never been perfect, but until they sort this I might not come back at all.

[@luja5546]

I wanted to try the game because it does look cool but after watching the review what bothers me is the use of cash shops and heavy monetization rather than content.

[@EnneagramAndEncaustic]

Tbf, Raz has been a consistent character over years and locations

[@Nokkternal]

I wish ZOS was more open with the community, and told us what exactly is going on with ESO and address the state of the game legitimately.

[@DarkSorc7]

Only watched the first bit and commenting already. I’m on my second acct. I did the zones in order home silver and gold. Did the dlc’s in order and have done every quest I could find still find occasional ones dotted around. The quests aren’t hard, but the reason is the recurring characters and the interwoven storyline’s. The whole lore is so detailed. I love all the game play but questing is exciting. All the characters greet you like an old friend. I did Summerset five times on my old acct. each time I met the queen regent in Alinor I got a different conversation. I still love this game and power creep allows me to solo vet content and pug when I want to. Cheers.

[@PalaceofVision]

I love ESO, it’s my game. And I agree with all of Lucky’s comments. The best thing about ESO is the friends I’ve met there. The worst is the monetisation and the lack of imagination. The former is offensive, but the latter is inexcusable.

[@davidspellman7765]

I bought the base content for 70% off just to play through the content because I like Elder Scrolls. It is a fantastic immersion experience if you just play solo and avoid the dungeons and PvP. You don't need to do dungeons since getting gear is not necessary, and the dungeon experience is a horrible bum rush. PvP is terrible--go play a different game if you want to PvP and have fun. But if you want a low-key trip through Elder Scrolls fantasy where you get to see all of Tamriel, playing ESO solo is a great game.

[@sean8102]

I'm curious what the other game ZOS has been working on for 4 and half years so far is. They have only said that it's based on a new IP and a new engine and that there are now ~200 people working on it.

[@JClemente1980]

I've actually played it twice as a beta tester, during the start up. Managed to actually do a lot of the quests, and found it good! However, not good enought to have a subscription, which I thought it was mandatory at the time. I had to buy the game and then pay a monthly fee to play... I just didn't wanted to pay every month for that... And remember entering the center part of the map, on which there was guild wars... not very nice...

[@malachisanford2314]

I am never buying a crown crate again. I spent an embarrassing amount of money for a mount I didn't even get from a crate. I had to buy it with crown gems

[@ErinSmith-jo8td]

I love the new Endeavor system. Gives me mini dailies that often correlate to how I play anyway, and I’m guaranteed to get what I save for if I wait long enough.

[@Paraguai123]

Thank you for this video. I was about to download the game on Steam because it has a Free-To-Play weekend but watching your video, I decided to go against it. More content creators should be as honest and clean in delivering their review like you just did.

[@madfeldor]

Always... have to be contact with your maker... or something like that. Nice video but as I'm paying (oops) for no adverts, I still get these outside of the review? ;) But, good review. Played the game not that much, but still a bit at least. PS. Yes, having John Cleese's voice there is worth it, even without his best laugh. Cheers...

[@aabenhus]

The fact that you can't talk about pvp on their livestream should tell you alot.

[@BlingLingification]

Took a 4 year break from this game and just got back into it (I left at champ 115). A 4 year break is probably a long time, because that was when ESO was still on champ system 1.0 and there were no companions lol, so the game feels newer to me. I initially burned out because I really liked doing the quests. Orsimer abd Morrowind were great but after a while the monotony of DOING all of the other quests got to me. The stories were great, but sometimes what you had to do to progress a great story was no different from a forgettable side quest. Thankfully, the Blackwood main quest has been pretty fun so far.

[@LuckyGhost]

Be sure to do fargrave and deadlands right after blackwood. Those are some of the best story and chars in the game, and are the conclusion of the story in blackwood!

[@elpelu123]

Did you guys notice that the most viewed section of this video is right after the sponsor?