Population shrinking, PLEASE do something

Pevey

Daiyanae wrote: »

It use to be; I loved more things about this game than not, so I subscribed to ESO+ and played for years.

Then; Changes came along and I disliked more things than I loved, so I unsubscribed.

Finally; It became a grind and actually I was no longer happy playing, so I quit altogether.

And after more than a year, I've read forums and watched newest Youtubes, hoping to find again that game that I absolutely adored to no avail.

But I've found two games now, that I can love!

So, here's to a Happy Ending!

Which two games?

manukartofanu

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

nbksaske

Theist_VII wrote: »

They can no longer afford to ignore our problems, next month we have five games demanding our attention, make no mistake they will be directly eating off of ZOS’s plate.

• Throne and Liberty
• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
• New World: Aeternum
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Ashes of Creation Alpha 2

Then we have a constant drip feed of new fantasy titles coming with four of the listed games directly competing with Elder Scrolls as first person titles…

• Avowed
• Path of Exile 2
• Kingdom Come Deliverance II
• Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
• Fable
• Alkahest
• ArcheAge: Chronicles
  ect…

We’re about to turn the corner into a new golden age for medieval fantasy games and if ESO is to stay relevant, that takes investment.

Agreed

Tomorrow is early access of T&L in the west. Quite looking forward to full crossplay and sinking some hours into it, until eso's next chapter.

Elsonso

manukartofanu wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

There were players willing to trade content for bug fixes on the scale of entire DLCs.

TaSheen

Elsonso wrote: »

manukartofanu wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

There were players willing to trade content for bug fixes on the scale of entire DLCs.

Yup.

Nharimlur_Finor

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands...

This is more likely have changed as a result of the Mircosoft acquisition. ZOS, as a sub-entity within Mircosoft will now have vastly different operating environment compared with being privately owned.

I suspect some of what we see is adjusting to new corporate goals, which often includes cost-reduction.

robwolf666

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

Eso is an MMO. Its not the point to be quiet. I dont think the devs want it quiet. Quiet means less people = less people spending money.

Maybe have a look at Skyrim

I'm aware, it's just personal preference, but it doesn't stop me from playing it. Tbh, I don't usually go for MMO's, the only reason I play ESO is that it's Elder Scrolls, if it wasn't I wouldn't be. So, I just avoid the group stuff as much as possible and have never bothered with PvP, less than zero interest in the latter. Personally, I wish they'd make the whole game playable as a solo, like with the main quest and guild stories - it's not like they can't do it.

Theist_VII

nbksaske wrote: »

Theist_VII wrote: »

They can no longer afford to ignore our problems, next month we have five games demanding our attention, make no mistake they will be directly eating off of ZOS’s plate.

• Throne and Liberty
• Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred
• New World: Aeternum
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Ashes of Creation Alpha 2

Then we have a constant drip feed of new fantasy titles coming with four of the listed games directly competing with Elder Scrolls as first person titles…

• Avowed
• Path of Exile 2
• Kingdom Come Deliverance II
• Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
• Fable
• Alkahest
• ArcheAge: Chronicles
  ect…

We’re about to turn the corner into a new golden age for medieval fantasy games and if ESO is to stay relevant, that takes investment.

Agreed

Tomorrow is early access of T&L in the west. Quite looking forward to full crossplay and sinking some hours into it, until eso's next chapter.

Same, if you want to group some time, let me know! I plan on heading to the North-West American Server.

My only problem with the early access is that they separate the servers to give free players a clean server to start.

Edit; the server’s name is Sanctum if anyone reading this thread landed there.

Giraffon

I can't think of much they could do to keep a veteran player engaged. You can't bribe me with cosmetics, I'm as powerful as I need to be for my play style, I have some cool houses and mounts. New story content is just a chore. Alts are pointless after they introduced account wide achievements. Nothing is challenging. They've balanced all classes into oblivion to where your class and weapon choices are little more than of cosmetic impact. Events are just busy work that only yields more cosmetics and other things I don't need. No choice matters. You can bumble your way through it all.

I'm in MMO purgatory.

darvaria

ZOS should just add content and STOP these drastic changes/nerfs every 2 months. I'm sick of having to change builds. A lot of ppl will be leaving with U44.

TOO MUCH CHANGE.

MISTFORMBZZZ

robwolf666 wrote: »

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

Eso is an MMO. Its not the point to be quiet. I dont think the devs want it quiet. Quiet means less people = less people spending money.

Maybe have a look at Skyrim

I'm aware, it's just personal preference, but it doesn't stop me from playing it. Tbh, I don't usually go for MMO's, the only reason I play ESO is that it's Elder Scrolls, if it wasn't I wouldn't be. So, I just avoid the group stuff as much as possible and have never bothered with PvP, less than zero interest in the latter. Personally, I wish they'd make the whole game playable as a solo, like with the main quest and guild stories - it's not like they can't do it.

If youre playing on ps eu im asuring you, you can already solo quest in most of the zones, except the capital city and dlc ones.

Its literally so empty, im not joking.

VDoom1

AzuraFan wrote: »

VDoom1 wrote: »

ESO+ just does not feel worth the price. Without ESO+ for me personally, the game feels almost unplayable.

As a crafter and someone who loots like everything, inventory management is a nightmare. Bank cut in half, housing cut in half. I feel like I can't game "properly" without ESO+ because my inventory has reduced to the size of a shoe box.

It sounds like ESO+ is worth the price for you if your gaming experience is terrible without it. I started to think that ESO+ wasn't worth it, so I cancelled it. Then I was spending too much time managing inventory that I could be spending on playing the game. I also didn't like passing up on loot. So I realized that ESO+ is worth the price for me. I resubbed and have been happily picking up everything since then. And I spend almost no time on inventory management. I do go to the bank occasionally, but that's it.

You make a good point.

I suppose the issue for me is, I don't wanna sub just to get a more manageable inventory. Why do I have an ESO+, to spend less time managing my inventory. Hmm.....well it can be a sufficient reason for some. Though I'm not certain it is enough for me. I'd just like more to it, something that would ESO+ more worth it.

Aurielle wrote: »

VDoom1 wrote: »

As a crafter and someone who loots like everything, inventory management is a nightmare. Bank cut in half, housing cut in half. I feel like I can't game "properly" without ESO+ because my inventory has reduced to the size of a shoe box.

I felt that way too, but it’s really not that bad (on PC, where you have addons to help with inventory management). A lot of the stuff we loot in this game is simply automatic vendor trash — and that includes a lot of the crafting materials we pick up. Have you ever looked at all the provisioning materials you have in your craft bag, for instance? Likely thousands upon thousands upon thousands of each ingredient. You don’t NEED any more. Just sell that stuff to vendors or players when you pick it up and don’t have ESO+.

As for sets, I haven’t felt any need to hold onto sets since the advent of the sticker book system. All my alts carry their dedicated sets, and any shared sets just sit in my bank.

Re: bank slots, I typically have 60 slots open to work with at any given time. I also have something like 200 empty slots in my housing chests and nothing to fill them with.

Long story short, once I realized hoarding every single crafting material and piece of loot was pointless, inventory management became a whole lot easier.

Sets, oh boy. I recall how it was prior to "sticker book" system, hehe good definition. Inventory jammed full of piles of gear. So yes I suppose things are easier nowadays on that front.

And yes true, one does not need thousands upon thousands of items. Though for some annoying reasons, some things still don't stack. Which means they take up more space. Though I see your point, there are ways to manage an inventory without ESO+.

Housing is still an eternal nightmare though. You have a house with 700 slots, like everyone was gifted for free the Grand Psijic Villa a few years ago. You furnish it to max, 700. Without ESO+ though, that is cut to 350 and you can't really do anything with it anymore. The issue is when you have furnished a place with ESO+, then come back to it without ESO+.......

Grizzbeorn

manukartofanu wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

Players HAVE vociferously asked (demanded) for ZOS to take a break on releasing content in order to concentrate on bug fixes and QOL.
Explicitly stated it.
I've seen it multiple times.

If you have not, then you haven't been here long enough to have read the same threads.

OtarTheMad

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

manukartofanu wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

Players HAVE vociferously asked (demanded) for ZOS to take a break on releasing content in order to concentrate on bug fixes and QOL.
Explicitly stated it.
I've seen it multiple times.

If you have not, then you haven't been here long enough to have read the same threads.

Agreed. I’ve definitely seen those too. I like the calm down honestly, I could only imagine what hell the writers were going through basically non stop writing.

Even this years Q3 wasn’t as bug fixed focused and I feel like it should have been. Fix stuff and then maybe they will shift to more content again.

Jaimeh

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

manukartofanu wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

Players HAVE vociferously asked (demanded) for ZOS to take a break on releasing content in order to concentrate on bug fixes and QOL.
Explicitly stated it.
I've seen it multiple times.

If you have not, then you haven't been here long enough to have read the same threads.

But that was only for Q3. Any now we are also losing Q4. And that's not an excuse for the content that does get released to be of lower quality, which is what we've been getting. Not to mention that the fixes were really underwheling. I agree with another comment in this thread which said that this whole thing seems like an excuse to put in lower effort in the game, while we are still paying the same prices.

MasterSpatula

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

I predicted this the moment they were announced they were scrapping the story zones. Cutting content is never good for keeping players.

Ironic, since they made that change because people were constantly complaining about the way it was starting with the Elsweyr year, before the current content-release paradigm.
The Loud People got what they asked for, which included no more Story DLCs.

Well, yeah, they've been pretty bad over the years with assuming the squeaky wheels are the community.

Julia_Nix

I play since 2015. Recently I only log in for my trifecta progs or trials with my guild. Don't really care anymore about rewards like mounts, cosmetics and titles. I stay only to have fun with my guild mates. If not for them I would have left this game altogether. Also it feels more and more like the game is getting modern audienced so yeah not gonna stay here much longer.

robwolf666

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

If youre playing on ps eu im asuring you, you can already solo quest in most of the zones, except the capital city and dlc ones.

Its literally so empty, im not joking.

I'm on XBox EU, and yes, it's definitely quieter on here at the moment, but you still regularly see other players.

This is one thing I miss about the way the game was originally before One Tamriel - when you got to certain level(s) you could go and do Cadwell's Silver and Gold on Vet servers, it was like playing the game solo, you could run around for days not seeing another player, I loved it. (At least that's how I remember it working, it's been so long)

ADarklore

Ok, to be fair, this game is OLD... and there are a LOT more gaming options going on right now than there were a few years ago. I mean, DCUO is down to roughly 400 active players per month, SWTOR (which I'm playing now) is down to less than 14K per month, that just shows the age of MMOs and their life cycle. You have outdated gaming engines, reduced game development, more competition with newer/flashier games on newer gaming engines... you're going to suffer population decline. I think for the past few years we've seen content being reduced, hyped additions to the game turn out to fall flat, etc... it's not good for maintaining a healthy population. Then there comes the seemingly endless nerfs and changes that players hate and never asked for all in the spirit of "keeping this new and fresh"... I can see why players leave and don't return. Then, in turn, the game has to rely more and more on their in-game store to generate revenue... DCUO went P2W a few years ago for this very reason and SWTOR has also followed this route.

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time. FFXIV has even started to show some signs of decline. WoW has maintained a healthy player base because they were one of the earliest MMOs and attracted a cult following that has remained loyal. If I were to guess, I'd venture to say that we'd see further decline of ESO over the next couple of years due to lack of development, changes not well received, and further competition from other games.

OtarTheMad

ADarklore wrote: »

Ok, to be fair, this game is OLD... and there are a LOT more gaming options going on right now than there were a few years ago. I mean, DCUO is down to roughly 400 active players per month, SWTOR (which I'm playing now) is down to less than 14K per month, that just shows the age of MMOs and their life cycle. You have outdated gaming engines, reduced game development, more competition with newer/flashier games on newer gaming engines... you're going to suffer population decline. I think for the past few years we've seen content being reduced, hyped additions to the game turn out to fall flat, etc... it's not good for maintaining a healthy population. Then there comes the seemingly endless nerfs and changes that players hate and never asked for all in the spirit of "keeping this new and fresh"... I can see why players leave and don't return. Then, in turn, the game has to rely more and more on their in-game store to generate revenue... DCUO went P2W a few years ago for this very reason and SWTOR has also followed this route.

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time. FFXIV has even started to show some signs of decline. WoW has maintained a healthy player base because they were one of the earliest MMOs and attracted a cult following that has remained loyal. If I were to guess, I'd venture to say that we'd see further decline of ESO over the next couple of years due to lack of development, changes not well received, and further competition from other games.

This.

I am not playing ESO as much right now but I do like the current content flow, hopefully it does go back but ups and downs are normal.

Right now I think we have a good amount of games that are in this genre, this Elder Scrolls type of game. Enshrouded, Dragon’s Dogma 2, LOTR Return to Moria, Dragon Age, Avowed, Wayward Realms plus we also got just other fun games like Starfield has a DLC coming etc. etc.

As long as the servers are up I’ll play this game but I’ll also be playing others as well when I can.

manukartofanu

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

manukartofanu wrote: »

Grizzbeorn wrote: »

method__01 wrote: »

i cant believe what im reading here...players asked for less content? and if so,zos choose to listen to those ppl?
un believable

I've lost count of the number of threads I've seen over the years here wherein people demand that ZOS take a break from producing new content in favor of bug fixes and QOL.
I don't know if you were being sarcastic toward my statement, but those threads I just referenced exist.
And when ZOS laid-out their new plan with the coming of the Necrom chapter last year, it certainly appeared that ZOS caved to those "less content" demands... we no longer get the second dungeon DLC in Q3 (which is now devoted to QOL}, we get only the Q1 dungeon DLC, and the Chapter release (which many perceive as getting smaller) in Q2, and no more Q4 Story DLC, in favor of a "new system."

Players never demanded "less content." They asked for the bugs to be fixed, even if it meant releasing less content. The players were right. Now, as the bug situation has become critical, players are leaving. Interpreting the requests to fix bugs as demands for less content is quite a stretch, to say the least.

Players HAVE vociferously asked (demanded) for ZOS to take a break on releasing content in order to concentrate on bug fixes and QOL.
Explicitly stated it.
I've seen it multiple times.

If you have not, then you haven't been here long enough to have read the same threads.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. People were asking to fix the bugs, even if it meant not releasing content. But they weren't asking to simply not release content.

Over the past year, we've gotten less content and more bugs. So what's the point in blaming people now for the lack of content when the condition was to fix the bugs?

MISTFORMBZZZ

ADarklore wrote: »

Ok, to be fair, this game is OLD... and there are a LOT more gaming options going on right now than there were a few years ago. I mean, DCUO is down to roughly 400 active players per month, SWTOR (which I'm playing now) is down to less than 14K per month, that just shows the age of MMOs and their life cycle. You have outdated gaming engines, reduced game development, more competition with newer/flashier games on newer gaming engines... you're going to suffer population decline. I think for the past few years we've seen content being reduced, hyped additions to the game turn out to fall flat, etc... it's not good for maintaining a healthy population. Then there comes the seemingly endless nerfs and changes that players hate and never asked for all in the spirit of "keeping this new and fresh"... I can see why players leave and don't return. Then, in turn, the game has to rely more and more on their in-game store to generate revenue... DCUO went P2W a few years ago for this very reason and SWTOR has also followed this route.

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time. FFXIV has even started to show some signs of decline. WoW has maintained a healthy player base because they were one of the earliest MMOs and attracted a cult following that has remained loyal. If I were to guess, I'd venture to say that we'd see further decline of ESO over the next couple of years due to lack of development, changes not well received, and further competition from other games.

ofc its normal that the numbers go down.

But they will go even more down if people cant do multiplayer activities anymore because there are no multiple players. And thats the issue rn.

They need to finally bring crossplay as a solution. There is no way arround it anymore.

Crossplay betwen CONSOLES and in the future aswell betwen the pc servers.

karthrag_inak

ADarklore wrote: »

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time.

This does not HAVE to happen, though. There are more players playing Skrim right now than there are playing ESO, and Skyrim is older.

Khajiit thinks ZOS crew would be well served if they deeply analyzed how this is even possible.

CAB_Life

The game is 10 years old and naturally looks quite dated. Compound that with the recent graphics downgrade on console and the lack of any real innovation or dynamic changes to the ESO "formula", along with the wealth of AAA and AA compelling and competing titles (cross-platform, too), and you have the perfect recipe for consumer apathy. I don't expect this trend to reverse itself without a significant about-face from ZOS. But I wouldn't hold my breath on that.

Edit: The auction house changes weren't helpful on any of the platforms, either.

AuroranGoldenEagle

karthrag_inak wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time.

This does not HAVE to happen, though. There are more players playing Skrim right now than there are playing ESO, and Skyrim is older.

Khajiit thinks ZOS crew would be well served if they deeply analyzed how this is even possible.

I would wager that more people are playing Skyrim due to modding. Why wait 2 years to splurge on crates for a cool costume or mount when you can download one (or 10!) for free with the click of a button?
Skyrim is unmatched with how incredible its modding scene is.

SerafinaWaterstar

I play PS EU and I see lots of players.

Grey Host not a good example for pvp this month - EP have utterly dominated so not much point in playing - lot of AD pvp group attempting trials for a laugh.

And my guilds are active too.

Just a different perspective. Not all doom & gloom.

But do agree that skipping content was NOT a good thing 😡

manukartofanu

karthrag_inak wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time.

This does not HAVE to happen, though. There are more players playing Skrim right now than there are playing ESO, and Skyrim is older.

Khajiit thinks ZOS crew would be well served if they deeply analyzed how this is even possible.

Exactly. When people left ESO to play Skyrim, that in itself was a bad sign. What is so radically better about Skyrim compared to ESO? You can play it without worrying about crashes, and even if they do happen, I can just start from the last save without waiting in a queue. In other words, I can play without having to adjust to the game. And that’s convenient. My experience in ESO yesterday: I wanted to do a vet pledge, waited 10 minutes for the dungeon to start, and then crashed during the dungeon loading screen. This crash issue during dungeon loading has been around for ages, but it’s still in the game. Now, to even attempt to do the vet pledge, I have to wait 2 minutes to log back in; otherwise, I’d have to wait 5 minutes. Then, I have to wait in the queue again and hope I get my group. That’s another 10 minutes. And then I have to HOPE I don’t crash again during the dungeon loading screen. So, it takes about 25 minutes just to start a vet pledge, and I will not even try the next time. In that time, I could actually play another game. When dungeon queues were shorter, it wasn’t a big issue, but it’s becoming a bigger problem as the player base shrinks, which further supports their departure.

Stafford197

AuroranGoldenEagle wrote: »

karthrag_inak wrote: »

ADarklore wrote: »

My point being... this is natural progression for the life cycle of an MMO as has been seen in other similar MMOs that came out roughly around the same time.

This does not HAVE to happen, though. There are more players playing Skrim right now than there are playing ESO, and Skyrim is older.

Khajiit thinks ZOS crew would be well served if they deeply analyzed how this is even possible.

I would wager that more people are playing Skyrim due to modding. Why wait 2 years to splurge on crates for a cool costume or mount when you can download one (or 10!) for free with the click of a button?
Skyrim is unmatched with how incredible its modding scene is.

The Elder Scrolls is one of the most beloved series in gaming with an absolutely enormous fanbase, many of us with enormous nostalgia for the past games.

So when you consider that TESV: Skyrim still has 30K concurrent average players this month on Steam alone, and that it skyrockets when a new big mod package comes out, and that Skyrim-related content still does great across social media…. Sure modding is important but really this is all due to the love everyone has for the series.

And with that in mind, we then come to ESO. I could write pages about all of the core design failures in this game which caused it to die at launch, and then barely revive itself after dropping the mandatory $15/month sub that it was clearly not worth. But really it can all be summed up to this:
ZOS developed ESO as a generic bland MMO with an Elder Scrolls skin. What they should have done, is develop an Elder Scrolls game with MMO features.

Most of us here on ESO only play because it’s a TES game, so it really goes to show how abysmally this game did at capturing its audience. This could’ve been the most popular MMO by a landslide imo.

Elsonso

Stafford197 wrote: »

Most of us here on ESO only play because it’s a TES game, so it really goes to show how abysmally this game did at capturing its audience. This could’ve been the most popular MMO by a landslide imo.

Elder Scrolls is a relatively easy to digest game series that contains a lot of familiar themes and concepts. This means that one does not have to want to play a "TES game" to feel comfortable with an Elder Scrolls game.

In fact, I think that the core TES fans probably are in the minority.

As for being the most popular MMO, it seems to be the game people play but never talk about. Destined to fail from the very first day, it has been annoyingly kept alive by the number of people who play it and the amount of money it has earned.

Thee_Cheshire_Cat

endorphinsplox wrote: »

Doesn't help they just had this big banning spree that revealed their new implementation of 24/7 private message surveillance in-game. Who the hell wants to play an MMO where they can't DM their friends without risk of losing their entire account and everything they worked for?

110% this.