Al_Ex_Andre wrote: »

Unfortuntely refresh were decided upon which class looks like the most popular, either to the devs or the community, but yeah, OP is certainly right Nightblades probably need a refresh asap..along Necros and Templars.

The refreshes were clearly done based on how much work classes needed and their current stance. Anyone who is trying to say that some classes 'deserve' it more is not looking at a holistic picture (and I can't help but notice everyone arguing "[X] Class should be earlier!" also surprisingly mains that Class.. hmmm...).

DK was chosen as the first one since the DK is a very simple Class - there's no special mechanics that DKs need to worry about, it's essentially the best starter class that people should be able to pick up and go with. It also has three well-defined themes for its lines and the Class skills could just be reshuffled a bit to get each line to be able to do all three roles, and there really wasn't that much that needed to be redone. As such, DK would be a perfect proof-of-concept since they could focus on making it a template for other Classes instead of having to spend a lot of time trying to solve problems while they were trying to get a baseline.

Warden was second because it proved the first major challenge: how to take a Class with role-defined lines and shuffle it into something with Skill Line-based concepts. Again though, Warden really doesn't have any special mechanics that it needs to sort through beyond one single skill that involves a permanent pet. But the big focus there would be the fact that skills need to be decently modified to make the Green Balance line get some damage capability and Animal Companions get some support (Winter's did have a lot already done to make it have damage capability already).

With the fact that they're starting on pet logic, the next obvious class to move to is the class that's all about pets. Most of Sorc's rework is probably going to go into getting the pets figured out, but then they'll need to deal with a lot of its imbalance in the PvP arena and the fact that some of its skill lines are kinda useless. However, the lines aren't super strictly delineated by role

As for the later ones, Templars have one skill with a corpse mechanic so that's something they'll have to work on there. Templars also are one of the basegame Classes with a strict healing line that needs to be broken up. Nightblades are kind of in the same boat where they have one strict damage line that's so OP that it's essentially required on every build, along with two other lines that are practically unused. There will need to be a lot of fiddling to get that to work. NB also has the issue that most of its damage is single-target while more and more encounters are desiring of cleave, so that's another area that will have to get some attention.

And then of course is the Class that needs the most attention hands down. However, by the time they get to Necromancer, they'll have already figured out the pet logic from Sorcs and maybe even started to touch on the corpse mechanic from Templar. The entire Class almost needs to be rebuilt from the ground up to deemphasize the role-based system and get it to work well (which it currently doesn't), along with dealing with things like Grave Lord's Sacrifice, which pretty well nobody likes. As such, that's a massive undertaking. Finally, they need to give the same treatment to Arcanist, but at least that one doesn't feel obscenely clunky to use, but it does need a lot of work to split the lines.

It's fully logical why they chose the order they did, and has nothing to do with "my favorite Class is first and the Class I hate is last." They are building on each other in this order, and the later ones will need more work than the earlier ones because of how many unique mechanics/features they involve and how much would need to be rebuilt from scratch.
I get that it's not fun to have to wait for your main to get touched, but the "scrap everything and do my Class NOW!" idea would only result in that Class only getting less than a month of work and end up being a thrown-together disaster while all the other Classes get to become amazing. I have to wonder why so many people hate their main Classes so much that the want the devs to do a rushed hack job on their main Class instead of giving it the time it needs.

This would've been more relevant a few days ago but I felt like doing it now. I doubt this is everything but for clarity of information, here's every time I have seen ZOS mention Night Market being a group zone or otherwise more difficult than an overland zone and how they worded it:

Season Zero Preview—Night Market Event Zone - The Elder Scrolls Online

• ...Surviving long enough to uncover everything the Night Market holds is no easy feat, but no one says you have to do it alone.”
  
• “...To aid you in your efforts to make the most of it, you’ll need stout allies…”
  
• “...you can simply walk through the gates of one of the three connected districts and start exploring. You may want to find allies first, though– the Night Market is challenging content and best handled with others. You’re not required to group, but seeking help in some form would be wise.”
  
• “...it’s not just your group fighting to survive and collect loot. So, imagine running into a dungeon and being able to high-five another group as they pass by,” notes Slama. “Or your group rushes in to save someone in over their head with a tough boss battle.”
  
• “And lastly team up with others in the Starlit Plaza or scan the group finder tool before venturing out. If you do risk it alone, find where the action is at and lend a hand!”

The Night Market Event Zone Is Open! - The Elder Scrolls Online

• “Note that many of the event zone’s challenges were designed for groups in mind, so be prepared for a tough fight if you’re venturing into the zone solo.”

Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk Is Now Live - The Elder Scrolls Online

• “The first of it’s kind, the Night Market is a challenging new PvE zone…”

The Elder Scrolls Online – Season Zero
Note the amount of player characters shown during battles in the Night Market. Side note, ZOS, please stop spamming light attacks in your promotional videos… there’s an alarming amount of people who just spam light attacks. There’s actual abilities you can use that won’t fill up the screen… like most weapon spammables.

The Elder Scrolls Online – 2026 Seasons Direct

• “...It’s encounter-heavy with an emphasis on group play, but don’t let that deter you from checking it out. Joining a group isn’t required, so it’s easy to hop in and play.”
  
• “...Wandering Trial-Level bosses….”
  
• “Work together with your friends or other heroes to bring victory via quests and activities in the event zone.”
  
• There’s also a lot of other non-Night Market related goodies in here such as “Especially, like a lot of people play ESO and they play it solo. They play like a single-player game. We’re never going to get away from that.”

Missed the ESO Seasons Reveal? Watch (or Rewatch) It Here! - The Elder Scrolls Online

• “And it’s designed for us to try new concepts, mechanics, and importantly, new difficulty levels. So it gives the team the space to be creative and gather feedback.”
  
• “We wanted to experiment with a zone designed to be genuinely difficult. So this zone is specifically geared toward experienced plates and groups but it’s designed to be accessible by anyone. It’s a fantastic place to try group content for the first time. You don’t need a guild to have fun here, but we’re hoping that it’s a fun place for guilds to take on. And we believe that the zone’s difficulty will naturally encourage players to work together. To be clear, we talked about Overland Difficulty earlier… this is not Overland Difficulty. We are also doing Overland Difficulty later in 2026. But this zone is going to be more difficult.”

"No New Dungeons" thread from PTS

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

Syldras wrote: »

So grouping is not necessary at all (as in having a fixed group like in 4-player-dungeons)? Or are there some instanced locations within that Market where it's needed?

The zone is open but with a smaller player cap and much harder content. We don’t force you to group to enter but to do the content, you will want to.

There ARE instances though within that are capped at 4 players like dungeons (3) and 12 players (1). Much like dungeons and trials, you can enter solo but good luck

ZOS_Finn wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

So it's not less, just different. One example that we haven't really talked about yet, but you will see when Night Market comes to the PTS this month, is there are three 4-Player instances (with 1 boss encounter) and one 12-player Trial encounter (1 boss) in that zone. We had a studio playtest today and we can also attest that the Night Market encounters are quite challenging! The Night Market is a unique experience and while it isn't a new dungeon or Trial, we think it'll scratch that same itch.

Thank you for the additional information on The Night Market! I’m glad to hear we weren’t forgotten about but I’m worried this will be another Bastion Nymic situation. Bastion Nymics are 4-person but they’re certainly not dungeons. For context on the kinds of things we do, my dungeon guild supports dungeons for pledges, challengers, hard mode progs, trifectas, motif farms (on hard mode) and mask farms (sometimes also on hard mode), but we also support Black Rose Prison and Infinite Archive.

I hope that the difficulty (at least optionally) will truly be high enough for those of us who do hard mode dungeons and it won’t just be a veteran level burnfest. I don’t expect Black Gem Foundry trifecta level of difficulty from a temporary event but something around Lep Seclusa Hard Mode would be nice.

Without going into too much detail (because you will see it soon on PTS), Night Market is a brand new type of zone that started with a group focus. There are activities solo players can do but they will be hard pressed to get to these activities without at least following groups of players around. The pack pulls you normally would see in overland are amped up here and there are lots of challenging monsters in the more open sections as well as the instanced sections. The goal is to give groups of players more activities in a dedicated zone where they can just go and have fun. For instance, one piece of internal feedback from someone that plays regularly in dungeon and trials was that they appreciated having activities for asymmetrical group comps. If you only have 5, 6, or 7 people online, you can jump in Night Market and have a good time.

Kevin's Recent Statement

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Athory wrote: »

• Does ZoS have plans to turn ESO into something like a Dark Souls-style game?
• Do they have any plan to push solo players out of the game?

To answer the core questions asked:

Q: Does ZoS have plans to turn ESO into something like a Dark Souls-style game?
A: No.

Q:Do they have any plan to push solo players out of the game?
A: No.

Just following up here generally. We hear the feedback from solo players about the Night Market content. We want to follow up with just few things.

We have no intention of pushing solo players out of the game. However, we started this year off by noting that we were going to try some new things. Night Market is one of them. While we always provide group players with trials, we also wanted to try something different. This was not to alienate solo players, but rather to add a new way to play. That being said, we do hear the feedback and have passed that on our teams for future consideration, especially for when Night Market comes back later in the year. Remember, part of the ethos of this event is to add to it over time.

As several have noted in this thread as well, we have a roadmap that is publicly available. The point of the roadmap is to showcase the content we have coming throughout the year. As is noted on the roadmap and current PTS testing, we have plenty of solo friendly content as well. Thieves Guild and Sheogorath Questlines, Favors system, Rumors system, Two Solo Dungeons, Sage's Vault, and the list can keep going. And that is all on top of existing content. We also understand that not every piece of content will be for everyone, and that is okay.

We know this may come off as a contentious statement, but it does bear repeating. While we are an Elder Scrolls game, we are also an MMO. Storytelling and the heart of solo adventure will always be an important part of ESO. However, some of our event/ event zone content will be focused on encouraging group play. It is the nature of the genre. Additionally, we know just like there are players who come for solo content, there are also players who come for group content and challenging group content. So we want to make sure we are providing new things for them as well.

We'll close with this. Last year, we saw many threads throughout the year asking us to address content and find new ways of renewing the gameplay experience, both in variety and challenge. We are in the first passes of this now with items like Night Market going live. But we will have content throughout the year to address both solo and group play within the community. The feedback is helpful to steer us on the right track. So thanks to everyone, both solo players and group players, who have given their constructive feedback regarding the Night Market. The team is taking a look at what can be done during this current running and what can be adjusted for the next run of the Night Market.

AND FINALLY... the introduction quest. Not the "choose your faction" quest, the quest that sends you into the districts and teaches you about the Night Market:

• Player (to Unmoored Marifah): “Surely you have some tips for surviving in there.”
  Unmored Marifah: “Yeah. Join a group. Don’t be like me.”
  
• Myshka (iirc about Skirmishes): “Incidents of chaos that spin to life in the districts from time to time. No predicting when they’ll happen! And they take great numbers of toothy mortals to dispel. They’re Myshka’s favorite because he gets to see you all work together.”
  
• Grasp-Kyn Stryd: “Opulent seals come from gilded enemies. Gilded keys can be found on brazen and argent enemies. It would be wise to pursue these higher tiers in groups. Mixed factions are fine. And you’ll fare all the better if you can coordinate roles.”
  
• Grasp-Kyn Stryd: “Staying with groups can increase your chances of survival, but it’s no guarantee.”

Now here's the sources I found that don't mention the difficulty level/grouping at all:

• 5 Key Takeaways from the ESO Seasons Announcement - The Elder Scrolls Online
• Scout Out the New Night Market Event Zone on the Public Test Server - The Elder Scrolls Online
• ESO’s May 2026 Survival Guide - The Elder Scrolls Online
• Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk Is Now Live - The Elder Scrolls Online
• Choose Your Faction in the Night Market - The Elder Scrolls Online
• Unlock a Free Manor Home Through Night Market Dealings - The Elder Scrolls Online

Enjoy.

MidnightDuel wrote: »

ESO_player123 wrote: »

MidnightDuel wrote: »

What happens AFTER the Night Market ends?
Where will the entrance to the Night's Den house be located? Will players be able to exit the house in Fargrave when the Market is gone? Will there be an entrace somewhere in Fargrave?

Could the house be not shown on the map because you have not discovered it (as in did not run close enough to it)? I remember I had the same issue with some other houses where I had to run to them to make them appear on the map.

Because the only entrance to the Night's Den house is located inside the Night Market zone, it is currently undiscoverable on the PTS, since the portal to the market from Fargrave's Shambles district not active. I've been to where the portal is supposed to be when the Night Market event is on live, but there's nothing there.

Due to the timing of the event's start and the PTS character copy, no one on the PTS will have access to the house. We really need someone from ZOS to tell us what happens to the house when the Night Market event is over. @ZOS_Kevin @ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Likewise, we need need to know what happens to the furnishings unlocked and purchasable through the Night Market's faction merchants. Will they be available for purchase after the event ends from another source or only purchasable during the event, or possibly only when the Night Market returns?

Interesting. For some reason, I assumed (after chatting with characters) that the Starlit Plaza would remain accessible just without all the NPCs but that the doors to the districts and the trial would be closed.

It would definitely be nice if ZOS would let us know before the NM closes what will remain and what will go, especially since this is the first time we've experienced an event zone.

.

magnus01 wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Dungeons were always group content and this is what replaced dungeons this time around. The rest of the year is focused on solo content.

If you're okay with grouping for dungeons then I don't understand what's the big deal about using group finder for night market.

Except the Night Market will return 2 more times this year as an event model and if this is the model taken that 3 events in a year people that don't like the trial format wont be able to play.
It also has 2 dung and a trial in it already so the overland portion has ZERO reason to be like it is other then team up in a group of 12 or get owned.

Whitestrake's Mayhem is also coming back a few times per year, it's been like this for a while I think. Does that mean that ESO is turning into pvp mmo? Of course not, it's just for players convenience.
There are ways for an average player to participate, and it doesn't have to be a fully geared 12 man team. Yesterday I joined a random group, it filled relatively quickly and there were players of all playstyles: some trial arcs, a few heavy attack sorcs, a stam warden I think and other random builds. No one said anything bad about it and we cleared the zone in like 20 minutes. Tons of social guilds host events for everyone with no requirements other than showing up. If you choose to ignore these obvious ways to get the content done, it's your decision. It's like if I decided to play without a weapon and then started complaining that bosses are too hard.
Also, these "dungeons" are just 1 room with a boss, they are not like the regular dungeons.