No more story quests for a whole year

Lugaldu

Well, yes... we just got Necrom (which is done really great) and new quests, but I've been thinking all along that that's about it for a full year now! No new quests in Q4, instead an endless dungeon. At the moment I can't even imagine that there shouldn't be anything new for a whole year for people like me, who primarily enjoy the story quests. Let's put it this way, that doesn't make me happy.

What's your opinion on this?

TaSheen

My opinion is the same it's always been: I was VERY happy when they adopted the year-long story sequence. And VERY unhappy they've gone back to this.

I'm happy for the class. That's about it.

valenwood_vegan

I think it's a little risky for ZoS, as there are new games out / on the horizon that will compete with ESO for players' attention, and I fear the population will fall off if the rest of the year doesn't have much to offer.

I think it was a good decision to move away from the year-long story, but cutting the amount of content... leaving a long gap... is maybe not so great.

They should imo consider putting out a smaller DLC before the next chapter release, maybe something like dark brotherhood or thieves guild... it doesn't need to be part of the Necrom storyline... but might help keep the questing / exploration type players interested during the gap. But yeah that's just a dream, I don't think they really have the resources for that, especially if it's not already in the works. Alternately, they might at least go back and make some additions to the older zones... some new quests; a new guild like mage's or fighter's guild, with dailies; a few increased difficulty delves in older zones... anything they can do with the resources they have, to keep peoples' attention.

spartaxoxo

ESO+ definitely lost a lot of value due to this decision imo. Not so much I decided to cancel but I definitely consider it a significantly worse deal than it was.

Kendaric

We only know the plan for this year though...

I'm cautiously hopeful we may get something in Q 1 next year, especially as it will be ESO's 10th anniversary.

spartaxoxo

Kendaric wrote: »

We only know the plan for this year though...

I'm cautiously hopeful we may get something in Q 1 next year, especially as it will be ESO's 10th anniversary.

They said this is the new content cadence going forward. So, unless they decide to change something drastically, this is also going to be the content cadence for next year too.

WithMyLaserGun

I am very happy to sacrifice some story for some QOL improvements and bug fixes. We have been asking them to do this for years, and to stop making stories that end with the purchase of a DLC. They're finally listening and it's great.

Lugaldu

TaSheen wrote: »

My opinion is the same it's always been: I was VERY happy when they adopted the year-long story sequence. And VERY unhappy they've gone back to this.

I also liked the concept of the year-long stories, although the execution wasn't perfect as the first part of the story mostly felt flat and artificially stretched out.

valenwood_vegan wrote: »

I think it was a good decision to move away from the year-long story, but cutting the amount of content... leaving a long gap... is maybe not so great.

They should imo consider putting out a smaller DLC before the next chapter release, maybe something like dark brotherhood or thieves guild... it doesn't need to be part of the Necrom storyline... but might help keep the questing / exploration type players interested during the gap.

I don't understand at all why they didn't go back to this concept - to bring at least a little story again at the end of the year like with DB e.g. So far, there has always been new story content twice a year.

I also find the argument strange that there are already so many quests in ESO and it's overwhelming for new players (and that this should be a reason for reduced story content)... Sure there are, but there are just as many players that are around from the beginning on and are looking forward for each new quest.

Braffin

While it's never great when the production of content one likes is reduced (I like playing the story too), it's good to have some time to consolidate things (this forums for example are full of QoL demands).

I'm not so sure about the new endless dungeon tho. On the one hand I look forward to run it together with my friend, as I enjoy combat in this game. On the other side I'd still prefer another solution for veteran overland (I vote for a toggleable instance).

But what I really want to see next year, if zos will continue to maintain the new structure, are improvements and additions for PvPers. Although I don't PvP much myself, they simply deserve a full PvP-centered update, as they were left on the left far too long now.

TaSheen

Well, if we knew what QoL improvements were coming, then we'd have some idea if it was a half-decent trade off. But considering....

I guess we're getting the "QoL" attunable all in one station Q3. What if that's all? If so....

LannStone

I'm Ok
There are so many other story lines that I haven't done in a couple years that I can repeat on other characters and they will seem pretty much new again to me.
(I just recently did this on Elswyer and it was surprisingly fun).

Shagreth

This could be a good thing, we'll finally see things fixed, less cut content & rushed stories (it was super obvious with the previous model) this could however mean an entirely different thing: even less resources for ESO, they are working on a new mmo game after all. I remain optimistic, but we'll see.

Northwold

I felt the year long stories (notably Greymoor and Blackwood -- I'm just starting High Isle and the quality is noticeably better, though still not entirely at the game's high water mark) resulted in some absolutely dreadful storytelling and probably the worst two years in the game. I'd far rather they concentrate on quality than lots of quests that are so unbearable you don't want to play them at all.

Gray_howling_parrot

I think them releasing a ton of QOL improvements and the endless dungeon is great. Story is fun and all but you finish it in a very short amount of time and then what's left? - repeatable gameplay loops, so them adding new loops is fantastic because it spices up gameplay in the time that we have between these story releases. I think honestly their biggest mistake this year was releasing necrom at the same time as diablo 4. I know most of my active guild, friend group, etc has barely touched necrom because of it unfortunately! Excited to eventually play it though

Elsonso

I'm one of those people that think that ZOS should have been fixing bugs every patch and QoL every update, not collecting them until some special moment. The story DLCs are the things that keep me interested in the game, not bug fixes and QoL. I hope it works out for them. Meanwhile, September is looking very busy this year, with Starfield and Cyberpunk.

Finedaible

The year-long format was when story writing really started to go downhill. While they did ok with Elsweyr, you could already tell there was a negative impact on the writing and trying to stretch out a story theme over a year's worth of dlc. The writing was constricted and predictable whereas previous multi-chapter/dlc story arcs like the Daedric War were far better paced and not limited to a particular zone or theme. They (ZoS) seem to finally have a larger story arc in mind starting with Necrom, so I hope this means we will start to see some quality Elder Scrolls writing again (and hopefully more realistic and natural dialogue like older dlcs had).

ADarklore

Well, considering Necrom's main story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger... as in, the story is still unresolved... there definitely needs to be a continuation down the road, even if it merges with another storyline.

Soarora

I much, much prefer it. Necrom feels a lot more solid and long-lasting than the previous few chapters. It stands on its own, not as a part 1 of 2. It calls me back to overland. I’m a bit disappointed we don’t get 2 more dungeons later this year but I hope the sacrifice will be worth it.

Take your time with Necrom. Maybe replay it and related quests in different orders to see if there’s different dialogue. Pick up some other hobbies so you don’t have time to do Necrom to completion quickly. I’m sure it’ll be fine in the end.

emilyhyoyeon

I feel like some people are conflating year long stories with more story content // no year long story and less story content. These aren't mutually exclusive. For instance, 2017 was not a year long story but had story content in both Q2 and Q4. Same with 2018. (The daedric war arc or whatever it's called was not a year long story, Murkmire was standalone, Wrothgar was standalone, TB and DB were standalone.)

I just want to make that clear. Personally I would like story content in both Q2 and Q4 but I thought the year long stories were huge downgrades to stories that weren't strictly stuck into a year, shorter or longer.

I would be ok with no story in Q4 if the replacement were something cool. The endless dungeon doesn't appeal to me at all though, so I'm a little bitter because of that.

Lugaldu

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

I feel like some people are conflating year long stories with more story content // no year long story and less story content. These aren't mutually exclusive. For instance, 2017 was not a year long story but had story content in both Q2 and Q4. Same with 2018. (The daedric war arc or whatever it's called was not a year long story, Murkmire was standalone, Wrothgar was standalone, TB and DB were standalone.)

Yes, I was thinking the same thing. With Morrowind and Summerset there was also a very good story in Q2 and a smaller new story content in Q4, some of which (Murkmire) had nothing to do with it. That's what puzzles me, why not repeat this model.

shadyjane62

Just did the Psijic line and the Elsweyr line of quests on a new char. When I did the pts on Necrom, I didn't see anything worth buying.
And since I don't do companions or dungeons and think tentacles have no place in One Tamriel it was a good decision.
I see enough of that awful green in regular game.

Amottica

valenwood_vegan wrote: »

I think it's a little risky for ZoS, as there are new games out / on the horizon that will compete with ESO for players' attention, and I fear the population will fall off if the rest of the year doesn't have much to offer.

I think it was a good decision to move away from the year-long story, but cutting the amount of content... leaving a long gap... is maybe not so great.

They should imo consider putting out a smaller DLC before the next chapter release, maybe something like dark brotherhood or thieves guild... it doesn't need to be part of the Necrom storyline... but might help keep the questing / exploration type players interested during the gap. But yeah that's just a dream, I don't think they really have the resources for that, especially if it's not already in the works. Alternately, they might at least go back and make some additions to the older zones... some new quests; a new guild like mage's or fighter's guild, with dailies; a few increased difficulty delves in older zones... anything they can do with the resources they have, to keep peoples' attention.

While I agree the change it risky, the risk has more to do with the continuous new content is what keeps the interest of a lot of players. Give players an extended break from that and they will check out their old games again or check out something else.

As for new competition coming out, that is not really happening. There is no major MMORPG off the AAA quality on the
near-term horizon. There are some lower-quality games that are about as good as Wildstar and ArcheAge were and that is about it.

valenwood_vegan

Amottica wrote: »

While I agree the change it risky, the risk has more to do with the continuous new content is what keeps the interest of a lot of players. Give players an extended break from that and they will check out their old games again or check out something else.

As for new competition coming out, that is not really happening. There is no major MMORPG off the AAA quality on the
near-term horizon. There are some lower-quality games that are about as good as Wildstar and ArcheAge were and that is about it.

Just to be more clear here, I do agree. I didn't really mean "direct competition" to eso, so much as that when nothing is happening in eso, my friends and I tend check out other new games, even if they're not MMORPG's. And with limited gaming time, finding something else we enjoy playing will always mean a bit less time spent in eso. So far I've always found myself coming back to eso, but a number of my friends have drifted away during eso breaks and even if they come back, they're not as active as they once were.

But yeah my basic point is that I think ZoS needs to do something to keep players interested in eso and checking in between chapters under this new format.

ArchMikem

What if the endless Dungeon has its own Questline?

Kendaric

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Kendaric wrote: »

We only know the plan for this year though...

I'm cautiously hopeful we may get something in Q 1 next year, especially as it will be ESO's 10th anniversary.

They said this is the new content cadence going forward. So, unless they decide to change something drastically, this is also going to be the content cadence for next year too.

So it will basically be:

Q 1 yet another dungeon DLC
Q 2 the new chapter (yay!)
Q 3 QoL/fixes again
Q 4 new system (whatever that may be)?

I really wish they'd return to their Morrowind/Summerset cadence.

Northwold

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

I feel like some people are conflating year long stories with more story content // no year long story and less story content. These aren't mutually exclusive. For instance, 2017 was not a year long story but had story content in both Q2 and Q4. Same with 2018. (The daedric war arc or whatever it's called was not a year long story, Murkmire was standalone, Wrothgar was standalone, TB and DB were standalone.)

I just want to make that clear. Personally I would like story content in both Q2 and Q4 but I thought the year long stories were huge downgrades to stories that weren't strictly stuck into a year, shorter or longer.

I would be ok with no story in Q4 if the replacement were something cool. The endless dungeon doesn't appeal to me at all though, so I'm a little bitter because of that.

I strongly suspect the reason they won't return to a standalone chapter + tail end of year standalone DLC + QOL improvements model is a business reason, plain and simple: that it would not be sufficiently profitable to devote the resources necessary for that to happen to the effort, not least if they want to retain staff when attitudes to crunch are changing rapidly.

If it is even partly the case that the quality drop-off during the "year of" stories came from people being stretched too thinly, you cannot solve that by switching to two standalone stories alone; that is at least as much work, if not more. Having to stretch and mangle stories to fit the year of was very bad for the stories, yes. But it may not be the only factor in why quality went south.

Treselegant

It's my impression that Necrom was never intended to be a break away from the formula of the year long story until very late in the day. The whole thing just seems like it has the same sort of abrupt "until next time" thing going on that every other expansion has had for the last few years. There is a way to build up excitement for a continued story without making players feel like everything just cuts off dead. I'm starting to see "is there more story?" and "it seems to end in the middle" type comments as more players finish Necrom.

The deadric war storylines were contained but also hinted that the story would continue. With the Morrowind - Clockwork City - Summerset stories you don't get that same abrupt ending that we've had for the last few years of stories. You don't have to slap 'to be continued' on a story to get people's interest in where something is going - it is possible to be a bit more subtle that. Give your audience a bit of credit, let them discover things in the dialogue, in the environment, to get excited about the future.

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

I would be ok with no story in Q4 if the replacement were something cool. The endless dungeon doesn't appeal to me at all though, so I'm a little bitter because of that.

I don't really get the reasoning with the focus on the 'endless dungeon', we're not exactly short of dungeon content and looking at the curious case of Bastion Nymic, I'm concerned this is going to be a bit of miss. I also find it just a tiny bit sad that the community is being fed bug fixes as if they're doing us a huge favour for doing something that should have been done as standard. Great if things do get fixed but I have very little faith right now.

Elsonso

ADarklore wrote: »

Well, considering Necrom's main story ends with a bit of a cliffhanger... as in, the story is still unresolved... there definitely needs to be a continuation down the road, even if it merges with another storyline.

I believe that the story is continued in the next Chapter, so we have to wait until June 2024. They might add part of the story to a Q1 dungeon DLC, for those people who actually do the dungeon stories.

ArchMikem wrote: »

What if the endless Dungeon has its own Questline?

While I expect it will have a quest, and hopefully not one like Bastion Nymic, I don't see how an endless dungeon is going to have any story at all.

boi_anachronism_

Braffin wrote: »

While it's never great when the production of content one likes is reduced (I like playing the story too), it's good to have some time to consolidate things (this forums for example are full of QoL demands).

I'm not so sure about the new endless dungeon tho. On the one hand I look forward to run it together with my friend, as I enjoy combat in this game. On the other side I'd still prefer another solution for veteran overland (I vote for a toggleable instance).

But what I really want to see next year, if zos will continue to maintain the new structure, are improvements and additions for PvPers. Although I don't PvP much myself, they simply deserve a full PvP-centered update, as they were left on the left far too long now.

I think it could be a seperate server, one for normal overland and one for vet. From what my friends are say diablo 4 has something like this

spartaxoxo

Lugaldu wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

My opinion is the same it's always been: I was VERY happy when they adopted the year-long story sequence. And VERY unhappy they've gone back to this.

I also liked the concept of the year-long stories, although the execution wasn't perfect as the first part of the story mostly felt flat and artificially stretched out.

valenwood_vegan wrote: »

I think it was a good decision to move away from the year-long story, but cutting the amount of content... leaving a long gap... is maybe not so great.

They should imo consider putting out a smaller DLC before the next chapter release, maybe something like dark brotherhood or thieves guild... it doesn't need to be part of the Necrom storyline... but might help keep the questing / exploration type players interested during the gap.

I don't understand at all why they didn't go back to this concept - to bring at least a little story again at the end of the year like with DB e.g. So far, there has always been new story content twice a year.

Same. Murkmire was a fantastic DLC, and entirely separate from Summerset.

BlueRaven

Yeah, at least in a way I can play catch up with some of my alts, but…

• Starfield
• Phantom Liberty
• And, I can’t believe it myself, Fallout 76
(I have visited Atlantic City many times.)

What’s more they effectively took world events away. I am just scratching my head about why to do this with such an anemic feeling chapter.

Ah well. I have been feeling a bit distant from the game (and the community) for a month or so now, maybe it is time to step back from the game.