Population shrinking, PLEASE do something

AzuraFan · September 30

Pelanora wrote: »

This I don't agree with. Noone had any idea eso would work because it was such a failure at launch. It would have been prudent to begin a TES 6 pretty quick.

These decisions were made well before ESO launched. Even if they weren't, ZOS had a plan to turn ESO around (hence all the changes they made). Bethesda released Fallout 4 in 2015. It would have been a mistake for them to go ahead and work on TES6 and release it because ESO still needed the chance to turn around. There had been a lot of money invested in its development. They weren't going to throw it away so easily.

Now it's 2024. Bethesda is working on TES6 and ZOS is working on a new game. It's at the stage where if TES6 were to release within the next 5 years (it will) and ESO withers away, it'll be okay at that point from a corporate standpoint.

AzuraFan · September 30

Stafford197 wrote: »

I really want Elder Scrolls 6 to be amazing but if I’m being realistic then there’s no evidence to suggest Bethesda is capable of something as special as Skyrim anymore. It’ll probably be overshadowed by modded Skyrim.

I'm hoping they've learned their lesson from Starfield. Which wasn't a horrible game, but lacked the charm and addictiveness of Bethesda's other games. If they'd focused on making a really great 4-5 planets, rather than thousands of planets as deep as a puddle, it would have been better.

Anyway, I'm also hoping TES6 still has the TES magic. I guess we'll see.

Elsonso · September 30

AzuraFan wrote: »

Stafford197 wrote: »

I really want Elder Scrolls 6 to be amazing but if I’m being realistic then there’s no evidence to suggest Bethesda is capable of something as special as Skyrim anymore. It’ll probably be overshadowed by modded Skyrim.

I'm hoping they've learned their lesson from Starfield. Which wasn't a horrible game, but lacked the charm and addictiveness of Bethesda's other games. If they'd focused on making a really great 4-5 planets, rather than thousands of planets as deep as a puddle, it would have been better.

Anyway, I'm also hoping TES6 still has the TES magic. I guess we'll see.

Well, a long time ago, BGS said that the technology was not yet ready for a game like Starfield. So they waited. I guess they were right and should have waited a bit longer.

No Man's Sky does the technology better than Starfield, but lacks the story that Starfield has.

In any case, I don't think that TES 6 is going to be another Skyrim.

Amottica · September 30

spartaxoxo wrote: »

On Steam, the player count is back down to what it was in 2018. I think it was a bad idea to make Plus lack so much value by scrapping story zones. The story didn't need to be a year long. They could have told more self-contained things like Thieves Guild and Murkmire.

ESO+ value is only part of the story. Your point about the reduction in meaningful content, like story zones itself, is the reason for the decline. Some only buy DLCs, while others probably only subscribe to see the new DLC and then cancel.

The regular parlance of new content is the bread and butter of any MMORPG. It was an unusual business decision to cut back on developing new, meaningful content since it would have been clear it would reduce revenue and profits. Zenimax would have known this.

Pelanora · September 30

Amottica wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

On Steam, the player count is back down to what it was in 2018. I think it was a bad idea to make Plus lack so much value by scrapping story zones. The story didn't need to be a year long. They could have told more self-contained things like Thieves Guild and Murkmire.

ESO+ value is only part of the story. Your point about the reduction in meaningful content, like story zones itself, is the reason for the decline. Some only buy DLCs, while others probably only subscribe to see the new DLC and then cancel.

The regular parlance of new content is the bread and butter of any MMORPG. It was an unusual business decision to cut back on developing new, meaningful content since it would have been clear it would reduce revenue and profits. Zenimax would have known this.

I think they think they can release 'systems' content regularly and players will go for that. New IA levels, and I guess on the new system under BGs they'll be able to release new maps. And new scribing things.

We like new zones but how many hours playtime they worth? Is I guess what they thought.

If they actually put Cyrodiil on a new system, and redesigned it, they'd be home. They could release iterations of all systems annually, and a story every 2? years.

Pelanora · September 30

AzuraFan wrote: »

Pelanora wrote: »

This I don't agree with. Noone had any idea eso would work because it was such a failure at launch. It would have been prudent to begin a TES 6 pretty quick.

These decisions were made well before ESO launched. Even if they weren't, ZOS had a plan to turn ESO around (hence all the changes they made). Bethesda released Fallout 4 in 2015. It would have been a mistake for them to go ahead and work on TES6 and release it because ESO still needed the chance to turn around. There had been a lot of money invested in its development. They weren't going to throw it away so easily.

Now it's 2024. Bethesda is working on TES6 and ZOS is working on a new game. It's at the stage where if TES6 were to release within the next 5 years (it will) and ESO withers away, it'll be okay at that point from a corporate standpoint.

They didn't 'have a plan' they had to scramble, fast. They watched what players did and didn't do, and changed the game to fit players. They didn't plan, they reacted. Actual player driven design. Shocker. There's plenty of interviews about it.

I agree in five years time, it's debatable what form eso will be in.

AzuraFan · September 30

Pelanora wrote: »

They didn't 'have a plan' they had to scramble, fast. They watched what players did and didn't do, and changed the game to fit players. They didn't plan, they reacted. Actual player driven design. Shocker. There's plenty of interviews about it.

I agree in five years time, it's debatable what form eso will be in.

When I said ZOS had a plan to turn ESO around, I meant when they realized it was crashing and burning. I'm sure they thought it would be a roaring success out of the gate because it was set in Tamriel. Which makes their initial design really head scratching.

pklemming · September 30

The constant nerfs are wearing. Leave things alone. Is this 3 or 4 patches(on the run) Arcanist got a nerf. Azureblight should have only had the pvp aspect changed and the pve part left alone. After all this time, how is Azureblight now overpowered. it is not as though it is new?

None of this makes the game fun to play. Games are supposed to be fun. Balancing and nefs are just constant, and strongly disliked. No one wants a nerf. We didn't make Arcanists for you to subsequently nerf them in to the ground.

The balancing you do is also not 'balancing' More than one set you have nerfed in to total uselessness. That is not balancing, nor even close, that is solving a problem by making no one use the set.

The Azureblight change will make it pointless to use in most places now. Good job !

Plaguebreak was made for PVP only, except it is kind of useless in PVP and it is useless in PVE. Great.

Thrassian Stranglers. We were promised they would be balanced. Years on, and nothing. It is beyond niche now.

Tormentor. An initially decent change, allowing people to use AE taunt. it helped tanks that were maybe not as good, or as fast as some others. The result? Nerfed to uselessness.

How are we supposed to have even a shred of loyalty to the game or company?

This patch will not increase player population, we will see a decline again. Patches are pretty much always bad news. it comes down to "What are they going to nerf next?". That is my takeaway from patches. You think that is really a good thing?

The fun is slowly being sucked out of the game. This is supposed to be fun, to get away from real life. Making the game unfun, also makes it pointless to be here. if I wanted something unfun, I could go outside.

Coo_PnT · September 30

The saddest part of my gaming experience is the increase in lag spikes and the resulting disconnections from the game that started increasing about 6 months ago.
After being disconnected, I find myself frantically hitting the login button repeatedly, and am jolted back to reality wondering what I am doing.

I think this problem is one of the main reasons people leave.

disky · September 30

All it would take for me to become reinvested in the game, and I suspect a lot of people who may have already left agree, would be an option to increase the overland challenge on an individual basis. I know we aren't supposed to talk about this outside of the dedicated thread but it needs to be said. There are plenty of players who want overland as a place to relax, but there is a reason games like Elden Ring are popular: many people like to feel the satisfaction of overcoming a challenge, and this mentality holds true across overland just as it does with instanced/group content. It's not impossible to see to the needs of each player and I feel like doing so would bring players back to the game.

Estin · September 30

I'm able to withstand the lack of content updates and nerfs, but the lag has gotten so bad in the past 3 weeks for me to the point where I'm in the process of getting into a MMO. No point in continuing playing if the game will not let me play it.

vsrs_au · September 30

Stafford197 wrote: »

I really want Elder Scrolls 6 to be amazing but if I’m being realistic then there’s no evidence to suggest Bethesda is capable of something as special as Skyrim anymore. It’ll probably be overshadowed by modded Skyrim.

Exactly. I'm waiting for Apotheosis, a major Skyrim mod years in the making. If it ever gets finished, it should be pretty impressive.

Jaraal · September 30

patdedub wrote: »

ESO has run its course tbh gone stale with nothing to gain for your grinding

Not to mention that since ZOS crippled the economy by cutting listing timers without reducing fees, buying and selling has taken a huge dip. People are holding on to their big ticket items because they don't want to list them for less than half of what they usually sell for. Mid and lower tier trading guilds are disbanding, and even the top guilds are struggling to fill their slots. So when stuff doesn't sell, people don't grind, and log-ins become less frequent.

Niliu · September 30

These doom and gloom posts really need to stop, they're all factually inaccurate.

Pelanora · September 30

Niliu wrote: »

These doom and gloom posts really need to stop, they're all factually inaccurate.

And there really was room on that door for two people.

Coo_PnT · September 30

I think it's okay to be pessimistic in an open forum like this, and if you have good friends in ESO, you can complain and joke, but for someone like me who has no friends, this is a safe zone to a certain extent.
People can't live positively all the time. Of course we try, but there is a limit.

mitchtheelder · September 30

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

On the server im playing on (PS EU) the player numbers are noticeable shrinking, aside from events and the hotspot you rarely see players running arround anymore.

I used to be in 3 trading guilds with 500 members with hundreds of people online in the same time, now its like 50-80 in prime time.

Craglorn is empty, group finder is empty, groupfinder takes ages, pvp is 2 bar each at most on grayhost this game is dying rapidly on this server and its just so frustrating.

A lot of people from my social guild and pvp guild were saying they will play new world on console or throne and liberty wich is out soon. People are going away of eso.

When Zos cant bring content wich brings back people or at least keeps them in the game, they should at least finally make crossplay possible BETWEN CONSOLES, so the EU servers dont feel empty and dead anymore. I know for a fact XBOX EU has the same issues.

Please do something, its needed in the same way as the new servers were needed, even when yous (Zos) were denying it would help or change anything first.

ZOS go work asap on new crown items that will bring ppl back and also 50-60% nerf on random sets someone mention on forums.

Thanks in advance

ESO Community

OnnuK · September 30

Niliu wrote: »

These doom and gloom posts really need to stop, they're all factually inaccurate.

I wish you were right. [snip]

[edited for baiting]

HazierBlue · September 30

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

ArgoCye wrote: »

You know they know, right? It's why Gold Road was a piffling update. They don't have the resources they used to have. This is a game in caretaker mode. We know that ZoS are working on a new MMO so they don't have their best working on old assets. ESO isn't going anywhere soon, but isn't going anywhere.

Actually didnt knew that, till i googled it.

So this is why it feels like we getting abandoned.

I already knew they were working on a new MMO but.. wow. The wording here is kinda shocking. It's almost like an admission of failure. Yeah this game is on its way out, albeit very slowly. I was actually thinking about resubbing and giving the game another proper try but nah. My money is better spent elsewhere.

Anifaas · September 30

They'd have to stop chasing us away first.

Unfadingsilence · September 30

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

Plus i just went through all group finder sections:

All empty lmao.

At least in west weald there is action due the event. Guess its okay to drain out the life of all other activities because there is just not enough players to play them.

What platform is this one?? I'm seeing pvp pop locked on PC NA and EU in greyhost near and during prime time sitting in que for 30-1+

Unfadingsilence · September 30

Bekkael 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.

^ Lots more games to explore, for sure.

Yah sure those games are coming out
"Thrones and liberty" been out for a few days now with early access HUGE P2W game but that's like most Korean f2p games since they need that money back took me under 2 hours to hit max level and then just spent $150 to become a pvp and pve God with the gear I got so yah nothing exciting about that..

"New world" will always be and has always been mid since it dropped extremely slow combat as compared to other games out there..

"Dragon of age".... yah ill move on from that one

"Ashes of creation" same as New world it's an extremely slow game and with a pricetag of $150 just to play "depending on if they need money" "which they do" won't even come out live for like 5+ years if it even comes out at all at this point...

I can go on and on about these games but let's face it we all love ESO and if we did not then why would we be on here posting about it. Yah I hope the game makes a turn around and comes back but I doubt it will its been 10 years if anything we need to hope that elder scrolls online 2 will make an appearance sooner than later

MISTFORMBZZZ · September 30

Unfadingsilence wrote: »

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

Plus i just went through all group finder sections:

All empty lmao.

At least in west weald there is action due the event. Guess its okay to drain out the life of all other activities because there is just not enough players to play them.

What platform is this one?? I'm seeing pvp pop locked on PC NA and EU in greyhost near and during prime time sitting in que for 30-1+

Its PS EU.

Thats why we need Crossplay betwen Consoles.
Xbox EU is also dead.

As far i know the consoles NA servers are better populated

Elsonso · September 30

Pelanora wrote: »

Amottica wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

On Steam, the player count is back down to what it was in 2018. I think it was a bad idea to make Plus lack so much value by scrapping story zones. The story didn't need to be a year long. They could have told more self-contained things like Thieves Guild and Murkmire.

ESO+ value is only part of the story. Your point about the reduction in meaningful content, like story zones itself, is the reason for the decline. Some only buy DLCs, while others probably only subscribe to see the new DLC and then cancel.

The regular parlance of new content is the bread and butter of any MMORPG. It was an unusual business decision to cut back on developing new, meaningful content since it would have been clear it would reduce revenue and profits. Zenimax would have known this.

I think they think they can release 'systems' content regularly and players will go for that. New IA levels, and I guess on the new system under BGs they'll be able to release new maps. And new scribing things.

We like new zones but how many hours playtime they worth? Is I guess what they thought.

If they actually put Cyrodiil on a new system, and redesigned it, they'd be home. They could release iterations of all systems annually, and a story every 2? years.

They want "tentpole" systems where they can roll it out and tweak it. Zone content is comparatively expensive for a game.

StackonClown · September 30

You all know ESO will end one day right?
Its a dying star which will go super nova we will all log in for the final farewell party

MISTFORMBZZZ · September 30

StackonClown wrote: »

You all know ESO will end one day right?
Its a dying star which will go super nova we will all log in for the final farewell party

But is this now or can we extend it?

Feels like its now ngl. At least on PS EU.

Aside of that look at WoW.. 20 y?

tohopka_eso · September 30

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

StackonClown wrote: »

You all know ESO will end one day right?
Its a dying star which will go super nova we will all log in for the final farewell party

But is this now or can we extend it?

Feels like its now ngl. At least on PS EU.

Aside of that look at WoW.. 20 y?

I always see references to WoW. Try EverQuest it's older I still log into from time to time and there is still a following of that game

Elsonso · September 30

MISTFORMBZZZ wrote: »

StackonClown wrote: »

You all know ESO will end one day right?
Its a dying star which will go super nova we will all log in for the final farewell party

But is this now or can we extend it?

Feels like its now ngl. At least on PS EU.

Nah, it's not 'now'. People have always had problems judging overall in game populations because of a very narrow perspective in the game. It is why Steam Charts is more popular.

However, ZOS either needs to step up to the plate and do better, or failing that, import players who don't care and just play and spend money.

It is probably already too late to change 2025.

JiubLeRepenti · September 30

OnnuK wrote: »

Niliu wrote: »

These doom and gloom posts really need to stop, they're all factually inaccurate.

I wish you were right. [snip]

Some people refuse to acknowledge this and continue to cope with the current state of the game.

StackonClown wrote: »

You all know ESO will end one day right?
Its a dying star which will go super nova we will all log in for the final farewell party

We're not asking ZOS to make ESO eternal; we simply want them to do their best to stop the decline and retain players before it's too late. Yet, we see no response from them. The content remains the same year after year. Just compare what we received in 2017 to what we have in 2024.

In 2017, we had:

A new class
An incredible feature (housing)
A new PvP feature (Battlegrounds)
An amazing chapter zone
An new zone with extension
A top-tier chapter trial
A second trial through extension
A new feature (transmutation)
And more.

In 2024, we haven't received even half of that. The reason is clear: ZOS is focusing on their next MMO at the expense of ESO, which is what many people are criticizing.

World of Warcraft proves that an MMO can remain vibrant and appealing even 20 years post-launch, but that requires significant investment in both time and money for new quality content, solid features, server improvements, graphics updates, etc.—rather than just feeding the Crown store.

Another point: I speak French, and between 2017 and 2021, we had substantial sponsored content in ESO featuring top-tier YouTubers and streamers who created sponsored videos for the game, attracting players from France, Belgium, Switzerland, etc. This included creators with millions of subscribers, like Bob Lennon and Krayn. Now, that has stopped. With the closure of the Bethesda France branch, we no longer see any marketing aimed at French-speaking communities. It’s worth noting that there are over 300 million French speakers worldwide.

And here's a divisive thought: I believe that many people—especially on this forum—share some responsibility for the current situation. When someone points out that the game is at serious risk of fading away, we often hear the same individuals respond with, "Nah, the game isn’t dying," "Nah, the devs can’t do more; they’re doing a good job," "Nah, the game is still amazing," "Nah, everything's fine," or "Nah, I love the latest content."

I just feel like this forum is a nutshell of what's currently happening with Ubisoft and the 'toxic positivity' reported within their development team. You can’t express any complaints or reveal the true situation because they don’t want to hear it.

One thing is 100% sure: I won't spend a minute on ZOS new MMO when I see how ESO was maintained for several years.

[edited to remove quote]

MISTFORMBZZZ · September 30

JiubLeRepenti wrote: »

OnnuK wrote: »

Niliu wrote: »

These doom and gloom posts really need to stop, they're all factually inaccurate.

I wish you were right. (or are u trolling xd)

And here's a divisive thought: I believe that many people—especially on this forum—share some responsibility for the current situation. When someone points out that the game is at serious risk of fading away, we often hear the same individuals respond with, "Nah, the game isn’t dying," "Nah, the devs can’t do more; they’re doing a good job," "Nah, the game is still amazing," "Nah, everything's fine," or "Nah, I love the latest content."

I just feel like this forum is a nutshell of what's currently happening with Ubisoft and the 'toxic positivity' reported within their development team. You can’t express any complaints or reveal the true situation because they don’t want to hear it.

This is exactly whats always happening.

Even here in this thread you can read "its not dead, just join a guild" a few responses above.

I was like what the..