Best Of
Today in 'NPC names that would not clear the filter when naming playable characters'
No further comment.
ApoAlaia
22
Re: Players
wolfie1.0. wrote: »Vonnegut2506 wrote: »Numbers decline, as said in many other threads. Need Crossplay
SAID and ARE are not the same thing. ZOS doesn't release players stats, but what we do KNOW is that according to Steam Stats the number of players now is the same as they were in 2019. There was a spike in 2020 - 2022 (you know when people couldn't leave the house).
So that's my imperical evidence. Where's yours?
July 2019 had 4k more average daily players and 6k more peak users on the Steam charts than July 2025. When you are talking an average player drop from 14.5k to 10.2k, that is a significant drop.
I never use the steam launcher as it is a tedious mess and still to this day bugs out on me on the single account I have linked to it. The ONLY device I have ever gotten it to work with is a steam deck and playing eso on a steam deck is sub optimal to desktop.
I don't use the Steam launcher either, but it is the only source of numbers available for player data. Is it perfect? No, but it does a good job showing trends so when someone says we have the same number of players today as we had in 2019, you can point to that data set to show that probably isn't true.
Re: Players
I don’t understand why people keep asking for “crossplay” as if that would solve the current issues, when the real problem is the steady decline in player numbers. Crossplay, or other surface-level features, won’t fix that. What the game truly needs are meaningful improvements: better systems to encourage player engagement, measures to prevent gatekeeping, and changes that bring back the sense of community and fun that made ESO special in the first place.
Right now, the game feels like it’s slowly drowning. Crossplay or cosmetic gimmicks like swimming mounts won’t keep it above water, only real change will.
Speaking personally, Zenimax has taken away my reasons to care. First, they broke the trust I had in them. Then, the fun was lost. After that, the hope I once carried disappeared. Now, what remains is only indifference. And that didn’t happen because of me, it happened because of the decisions they made.
And with the nonsense subclassing system, all they did was to fill the void they created. They’ve made every possible decision to push me away from the game. Every single one.
edit:
Even when I reply to someone on this forum, all I can think is: "Well, this will probably be my last post, because I’ll get banned." So tell me, what’s left for players here? We can’t even speak our minds anymore.
I have a feeling I'll regret asking but I'm curious. How would you have them prevent "gatekeeping"? They can't and won't force people to let others join their groups. They won't tell people they have to let others play. People will always be people. The way I see it, if you have some crazy requirements, you're probably not the people I want to play with. Everyone has the option to form their own group or find a guild or team that fits their play style. Why would one want to be in a group that doesn't want them?
As for what keeps me playing. I'm back after a break. I was gone for a few years. Back then I was burnt out on raiding so I never did group stuff beyond pvp in ESO. Now that I'm back I'm hitting trials and dungeons with gusto. I'm learning to tank vet trials. I'm trying to actually learn the game and get better, tanking healing and damage. I also love questing and exploring. ESO is rich with that stuff. I'm joining housing contests to up my housing game. But what's really taken ahold of me lately is collecting. I'm pickpocketing and stealing my way to infamy and riches. There's so much cool stuff to find that way.
Really, if anyone knows of a Google doc that lays out the zones and what's on the loot table for theft and could message me, I would appreciate it so much. But that's the stuff that keeps me.
Re: Quality of life for queues
It would be even better if you could just pause your place in the queue if you have to step away.
I don't mind waiting a couple of extra minutes rather than missing it pop after what could be an hour queue on console. Also, I don't believe consoles have anything that will auto accept yet
I don't mind waiting a couple of extra minutes rather than missing it pop after what could be an hour queue on console. Also, I don't believe consoles have anything that will auto accept yet
lillybit
1
Re: Future of Battlegrounds
As for skilled vs non skilled; that’s really not the cause of our issues.
The problems with BG’s right now are not because “experienced” players are being matched with “inexperienced” ones, that’s not the trend in BG match data we’re seeing.
The problems are mechanical based not experience based.
Man, your opinion is diametrically opposed to my own observations of 2-team BGs. Would you be able to elaborate on what exactly is going wrong mechanically, that can't be explained by them mixing the noobs and the sweats together?
Mixing experienced players and new players will always have a disparity in gameplay and that’s to be expected.
But what I’m talking about are the HEAVY imbalances in BG result trends, specifically, post subclassing.
We’re still seeing matches whereby a select two or three players far outpace the group average or trend in KDA, and that’s accounting for experienced players being on both sides of the field in matches.
I’m citing mechanics because the trend has gotten worse since SC and it’s not as if all of a sudden players got immensely more experience or out of nowhere we got in influx of noobs.
The state of BG’s has worsened, and more significantly recently. It’s unrealistic for any of us to assume that there have been drastic changes in the skill levels of players that is resulting in a consistent mis match of “super experienced” players versus “noobs” on a regular basis. There have always been a mix of experience bases in BG’s, that’s not new.
So that leaves mechanics.
And that makes sense when you do a deeper dive looking at feedback from these official forms, plus what’s contributed on Steam & Reddit, and other platforms.
Players are quickly figuring out which combination of build mechanics result in the least amount of counterplay and THAT is what’s making BG’s worse.
Thanks for elaborating. I understand more clearly where you're coming from now. I agree the game always did mix players of different skill levels in some respects because the MMR system isn't perfect. People who play a lot will get a higher MMR rating than their actual skill level would suggest, and sometimes during off hours there was a little mixing of the MMR brackets to make sure games pop. This is healthy for the game. This is the kind of scenario that inspires a player to get better. Being mostly amongst players of a similar level, but having an experience with players that remind you there is still a ways to go.
The thing I think you're missing is that pre-U44 (so a while before subclassings shift to a crit damage meta), there was a lower band of MMR, that you as an experienced BG player, would only compete in for maybe one or two games on a new character. In that sense the pool of people you would come into contact with has grown to regularly include players who are pretty much new to the game, at least the PVP side of the game.
What would you consider to be uncounterable gameplay? I can't say I recognise your name from PCNA, so I'm not sure of your specific playstyle etc.
ruskiii
1
Re: Public formal confirmation that griefing and bullying isn't against Code of Conduct
baltic1284 wrote: »ESO_player123 wrote: »Yes and no. You catch almost everything in a wrong way, distorting the words of those who wrote in this thread, including me, apparently. You read one thing, you don't get it right, you make wrong conclusions.Did I catch everything?
- There is a game feature that allows players to play moderator and kick another player from a dungeon run
Yes.
- There is a need to study/learn from 3rd party sources on mechanics of a dungeon
Yes.
- before one is allowed to run that dungeon
No.
- There is a DPS restriction on dungeons
In some dungeons, yes.
- Is there also Heal and Tank restrictions?
In some dungeons, yes.
- Players must share their builds or DPS before being allowed, by other players, to run a dungeon
No. Not dungeon. Some trials. For dungeons - only if you want top achievements there and you look for a static group to accept you.
- Player can be required to engage with third party services before being allowed to run a dungeon
The same as above.
- The majority of the dungeon is ignored so the bosses can be 'farmed.'
Depends on a group. Some try to skip, some not.
- One must join guilds in order to avoid being kicked or bullied in a PUG
Must? No.
Forgive, I am not twisting anything. We are talking about which conduct is permitted and what the moderates consider bullying. Each thing that I wrote is a paraphrase of what players in this thread want to kick or disallow other players for. The OP referenced dungeons so I am speaking of dungeons in general, perhaps trials are included. It feels like a group of players want control of the group dungeons through their own personal vetting process. For a guild, this process is fine. However, the OP referenced 'random' dungeons so I am assuming we are speaking of PUG.
I can only hope that the ZOS does NOT think it okay for players to determine who can and cannot run a group dungeon at any level or any other group exclusive content. With the concept of an entire Vet Overland being discussed on another thread, I feel concern about what might be considered acceptable behavior within such content. If there is In fact a stat requirement for a dungeon / trial /group content, then let the dungeon test and determine that not other players. The authority to exclude other players from game content should NEVER be in the hands of another player. Never.
What you gathered from the thread is mostly related to vet content. You also mentioned that you were considering trying again group dungeons. I assume that means non-vet. If so, no one is going to ask for your DPS or to join Discord. Yes, you will encounter speed runners and farmers, that is a given. But no one is going to gate keep you from joining a PUG for random normal dungeon be it a base game one or a DLC one.
It is not an issue anymore. My mind is made up. I am not willing to walk into that level of toxicity even at the normal group-dungeon level. I will avoid content that requires group play, put my money where I play, and leave the moderation to the authorities.
I don't blame you if you don't want to do Dungeons of any kind in the game as you are right that part of the community is so toxic it drives player away from the game, I do also agree that those players that are being that toxic and damaging to the community need to be removed from the community. But unfortunately, I don't see ZOS doing anything at all about it to clean that part of the community up, I would also go for that all dungeons in general not only be for groups and difficulty, but also single player supported, yet again I don't see ZOS doing that either. One of those no matter what we think up to curb this issue in any way, it ultimately falls on ZOS to either implement it or enforce it, and the history on those is pretty poor at the moment. Doesn't mean it can't change in due time which it needs to change, I just don't see that happening till it is to late or it is at a point that recovering from it and doing something about it is far gone that no matter what is thought up won't make a difference.
I mean, it's an MMO and one of those 'M' stands for multiplayer.
Having solo story mode for dungeons would actually be very neat for that subset of the playerbase that wants it but absolutely not should dungeons be designed for one casual person to clear on their own (you can actually clear most dungeons by yourself if you are decent and have a decent build intended for it).
People just need to have some basic self-awareness and take responsibility for themselves. Like, I would never knowingly go into a situation where I know that I am going to be a huge liability to my team and waste their time. And that definitely covers things such as going into dungeons totally blind to the mechanics and then being unwilling or whatever to read up on them if asked to. That is part of the M-for-multiplayer aspect of the game. You can't have 3 people doing the mechanics and then one space case just doing their own thing.
Re: What is PVE DPS meta now (u47)
tomofhyrule wrote: ».tomofhyrule wrote: »One of the biggest problems in ESO is exactly this mindset. Too many players think they have to follow whatever setup the meta or esologs shows, and ZOS keeps ignoring how unhealthy that is for the game.
If you want to play a Nightblade, just play it. Enjoy the class and the game itself. Chasing numbers only because “that’s what DPS charts say” is nothing but fake power at the cost of your own fun. That’s why so many players burn out, they stop enjoying the game for what it actually offers and instead just follow whatever DPS addon or parse video is trendy.
I’m honestly glad I stopped putting money into this game, because until ZOS starts encouraging choice instead of funneling everyone into the same cookie-cutter builds, the community will keep repeating the same cycle.
EDIT:
I saw someone say this about D4 to Blizzard: "Why don’t you just let the game die? You’ve completely lost the essence of D4."
Well, I feel the same;
ZoS, Can you stop with all the nonsense you’ve created around the Elder Scrolls just to squeeze out maximum profit? If you truly don’t care about the spirit of the game anymore, then just let it die, close the servers. The Elder Scrolls deserves far better than this.
I don't know, man... I tend to blame the players - if someone wants to forever chase the META that's on him...
Maybe bad take on my part but it's just my opinion.
I am so tired of hearing this "hot take." It basically belongs in the same bin as "oh, you have a stomachache? Well, that's your fault since you could drink arsenic and then your stomachache would go away really fast!" It's one of those 'fixes' that doesn't really solve any problems at all.
Look, this is not TES6. This is an MMO. That means other people are around. And that means that if you're doing endgame PvP or PvE, you cannot go into the way you want to play and expect to have any success without acknowledging the meta. Because either way, if you're coming in with something non-meta, you will be facing others who do have the meta, and you will be compared to them.
Now of course a meta will always exist. But pre U46, it was not this bad. Yes, trial teams were primarily Arcanists, but there was always a slot or two for a support DPS like an MKSorc or Z'enDK or Templar beam bot, and even things like a Corpseburster Necro outDPSed the Arcanists. Trials always had a Warden healer, but the other could be a Templar or Sorc or NB ore really anything but a DK. DK Tanks were generally good, but there were times that Sorc or Necro tanks were better choices.
And now: "If you are a DPS, these are your three lines. If you are a healer, here are the two setups. If you are a tank, here are the two setups." Basically no variety anymore.
The fact that in U46-47 there's one meta to rule them all is a game problem, not a player problem. If that one specific meta weren't so much more powerful than anything else, then people would be able to bring something else. But even the best player in the world would do better on the meta setup than on whatever they wanted to bring, and that's just indicative of a terribly balanced game.
I've noticed that the people who make the "lol just don't play meta!" argument tend to avoid PvP or endgame PvE or group play in general, and mostly stick to soloing everything. They tend to think of ESO as their TES6 proxy. And they love that they can make whatever build they want since their gameplay doesn't depend on others. But the players who are involved in endgame do have more issues with being shoehorned into one setup because nothing else even comes close to that. After all, look at the responses from the "how did you feel about U46?" thread - most of the people who are not happy with Subclassing talk about how they do endgame content and how they're being forced to play one specific combo to remain competitive, whereas most of the people who are happy talk about how they can solo things they couldn't before and how they can now make their elementalist or zookeeper a reality.
If your end game is making the leader board then you need the meta build. Competitive battle grounds you also for the most part need a meta build. If you are in a guild that has dueling competitions and you take it serious you need a meta build.
Nothing else in the game needs a meta build. It hasn't for a very long time. So if your end game isn't battle grounds, leader boards or dueling you don't need a meta for your end game.
But as I've always asked anytime someone gave this argument, and never yet have gotten an answer for: please list the Discords for trial groups doing HMs that allow players to bring off-meta builds for the benefit of players who want to do high-level content but not play the one single meta.
Seems all the "you don't have to play meta!" people actually don't know where you can reasonably go to play high level content without playing meta...
The only Discord channels I use are associated with guilds I joined in game. One has an elite group that coordinates builds. That same guild also runs at least three trials a week that allows players to bring whatever they want. The other guilds have no build requirements but one does have a DPS check on a dummy for the group doing hard mode content and requires you've completed the trial in vet before joining hard mode. We've finished most trials in hard mode. That guild also has two progression groups and one of those two groups have finished some hard mode trials.
If players want to try hard mode trials without going to the meta builds they can find a guild that allows for playing that style. My point stands that you do not need a meta build to finish that content.
You just need to find other players that enjoy the game the way you do. Unfortunately successful hard mode with pugs is very rare and might be more reliant on builds because there will be less group coordination. Group coordination is much more important than build in end game activities. Pugs don't bring that.
kargen27
3
Re: New Furnishing plans 1in 5 drop rate
1 in 5?
Hmm...the 20 I have opened must have been broken, cause I haven't gotten a single one yet.
Hmm...the 20 I have opened must have been broken, cause I haven't gotten a single one yet.
Re: Players
Logging in with my main, doing some missed quests, wandering from one area to the next, collecting mats, soloing some dungeons, doing some IC quests to stock up for the next Whiteplank‘s, doing some Cyro scouting, doing some Master writs, building furniture, decorating some of my homes, etc. There‘s always something to do, and I always meet heaps of other Players.
Re: companion's keepsake
for complete list:
for the companions that drop loot bags:
- mirri - chance to get an extra loot bag opening chests
- bastian - chance for basic stam/mag/hp pots to be upgraded to slightly enhanced versions
- ember - chance to loot a wallet containing a random amount of gold when pickpocketing (does not use up a pickpocket from the target)
- isobel - chance to get an extra loot bag when killing world bosses
- azander - chance to get a research portfolio when looting regular containers (can also be looted from stolen sources)
- sharp-as-night - faster time to catch fish, higher chance to get trophy fish when fishing
- tanlorin - increased timer when picking locks, increased force chance, chance to not break lockpick when forcing
- zerith-var - heavy sack glow (similar to keen eyes perks except its blue tinted instead of yellow tinted)
for the companions that drop loot bags:
- mirri bags can contain gold, furnishing plans, or "treasure" items (merchant food items)
- isobel bags can contain assortment of items, usually contains 2-3 items, can contain basic potions, treasure items, and furnishings
- azander portfolios usually contain 2 items, one is a treasure item and the other can be a variety of things from treasure items or furnishing plans
