Studio Director’s Letter: What are you hoping to hear?

LadyGP · December 10

It’s that time of year again—the annual end-of-year letter from Studio Director, Matt Firor, is just around the corner.

What are you hoping to hear from Matt this year? Is there anything specific you’d like him to address? As always, please keep the conversation respectful and constructive.

My “Wish List” of Topics:

Performance

My personal experience in 2024 was that it was the worst year, performance-wise, for playing ESO. Disconnects, hard crashes, and overall “glitchiness” were at an all-time high. I’ve had to disband multiple trifecta groups, end “dungeon nights” with friends, and leave my PvP core due to stability issues. I know I’m not alone in this.

One of the most active threads in 2024 was the “ZOS, Massive Spike in Ping/LAG in Recent Days - What Gives?” thread, which now has over 120,000 views and ~2,600 comments. It was created back in May, and to date, we still haven’t seen a resolution or even a detailed explanation of what efforts have been made to identify and fix the root cause. All we’ve gotten so far are statements that the team is “aware” and “looking into it,” but no substantial updates.

In the 2023 letter, Matt stated, “we are all reaping the benefits of the new server infrastructure,” which many players pushed back on, as it didn’t match their experiences (2023 Studio Director’s Thread). Looking back at that letter, reading the comments, and then seeing where we are today is very eye opening. With the ongoing silence around these lag issues, I really hope Matt openly addresses these performance challenges head-on in this year’s letter. Going into depth—perhaps even on a technical level—about what steps have been taken to solve these issues would be greatly appreciated. Honesty and transparency would go a long way toward rebuilding trust within the community.

Cyrodiil

“Q1 2024 2025 marks 5 6 years without PVP Cyrodiil content, for the record.” - @React

The second point I hope Matt addresses is the plan for Cyrodiil. In 2024, the PvP community felt teased. We were told Q4 would be a PvP update—which everyone assumed meant Cyrodiil—and then the messaging gradually shifted toward BG maps. The community has been very clear about wanting Cyrodiil content, and I wish ZOS had handled the messaging more transparently to manage those expectations. The livestream moment, where Gina had to pause and address chat spamming “Cyrodiil,” made it obvious that this frustration is well-known to ZOS.

I’d love to see Matt tackle this topic directly and provide insight into Cyrodiil’s future. When Cyrodiil works (when lag isn’t an issue), it’s one of the best PvP experiences I’ve ever had in any game. The system is fantastic but has grown stale. I’d love to see ZOS get creative: shake up the map, add new siege weapons, introduce ladders or destructible towers, maybe tweak the map size or player caps. Even something as simple as hinting at future changes or outright stating “We have no plans in 2025 for Cyrodiil” would be better than silence. Directness and honesty would be appreciated, even if the news isn’t what we’re hoping for.

Community Feedback and Communication

Lastly, I’d like Matt to address how the team handles community feedback. Lately, there’s been a sense that changes are introduced that “no one asked for,” and with each major update, more long-time players seem to be leaving. I wonder if ZOS is aware of this perception internally and if they have plans—such as more community surveys or deeper engagement—to implement changes the community is actually asking for.

I’ve played ESO since the beta, invested thousands of dollars, and spent countless hours making memories I’ve never experienced in any other game. But something has changed in recent years. I’m hoping Matt can shed light on how we got here and how ZOS plans to recapture ESO’s golden days.

So, what do you hope to hear from Matt? Did 2024 meet or exceed your expectations, and what are you hoping for in 2025?

The_Meathead · December 10

Great post.

CYRODIIL, CYRODIIL, and CYRODIIL is my Christmas list as well.

It's what brought me and my mostly departed friends to ESO to begin with, in expectation of DAoC style AvAvA combined with the rich depth of Elder Scrolls Lore and setting.

Though I suppose now that I said that second bit, I'd also like them to dial back the weird "Family Friendly" tone things are drifting towards, more and more each Xpac. Don't lose sight of the gritty, harsh, and often grey-moral setting because you're scared of certain topics that have always existed in it. Less bouncy Bosmer pals, less black and white, please. Don't be afraid of your own Lore!

WhiteCoatSyndrome · December 10

Honestly I don’t care what it says, the end-of-the-year letter is just the wrapper on the box that may or may not match what’s inside. I’d rather see improvements in what went wrong this year - remember repair kits in Cyrodiil not working anyone? Or the terrible drop rates on the Anniversary-specific styles? Or people getting banned for jumping onto the PTS right away…there were some BIG stumbles in what should have been a milestone year for ESO.

Cellithor · December 10

Hard to say! I've only been playing the game since March. I'm CP 1275 already, so clearly I have been enjoying myself. I have a lot of content to go through still.

I would like to hear a transparent status update about the health of the game overall and its playerbase at year 10 as I would love to continue investing time in the game, but don't want to invest too much into it if the trajectory is not trending up. Anecdotally, the game seems healthy enough. I walk around and see people all the time (PC NA), but lots of people have expressed a downturn in activity since they changed the quarterly content update structure. I'd like to hear what their thoughts are there.

I definitely feel the sense of a community that it sort of "going through the motions" after Gold Road came out. It doesn't feel like there has been much to look forward to in terms of the future since then. Just sort of a "nothing interesting is happening" vibe.

I definitely don't agree with people who say the game is "dying" - in every live service game I've ever played, that talk always seems to come from hardcore PvPers being overdramatic about things that most people will never notice but I could be wrong. To be clear, I enjoy PvP as well and would like to see something new for Cyrodiil.

Do we know when the letter is supposed to come out?

Jaraal · December 10

Just holding my breath and waiting for the bad news at this point.

skyrimfantasy · December 10

I expect we'll get an apology for the poor performance, a promise they are working on it, another promise they will improve communications, and an attempt at hype for the coming year about what content we'll get and improvements they have planned. The standard 'everything's fine' while we watch it burn from the sidelines. Best case scenario we get a cyro update for the pvp'ers, worst case it's maintenance mode until MS shuts it off.

LadyGP · December 10

Cellithor wrote: »

Do we know when the letter is supposed to come out?

Maybe another week or two? Usually, it comes out right before the team heads off for the Holiday break.

Asdara · December 10

MORE HOUSE FURNISHINGS SLOTS i swear its not like we ask for this for the last decade, its about time

LadyGP · December 10

Asdara wrote: »

MORE HOUSE FURNISHINGS SLOTS i swear its not like we ask for this for the last decade, its about time

There is a reason why they aren't bumping up the slots - hopefully they will tell us why. My thought is it's something server/performance related or an engine related limitation.

DeadlySerious · December 10

I don't want to "hear" anything. I want to see some results in terms of performance improvements, fixing BG's which are in shambles on several levels still even after the live stream, and some massive improvements in customer respect and consideration.

OtarTheMad · December 10

LadyGP wrote: »

Asdara wrote: »

MORE HOUSE FURNISHINGS SLOTS i swear its not like we ask for this for the last decade, its about time

There is a reason why they aren't bumping up the slots - hopefully they will tell us why. My thought is it's something server/performance related or an engine related limitation.

They have said why and it’s because of old console memory limitations. A lot of stuff is because of that.

Erickson9610 · December 10

I think the letter will be a nice retrospective of all the celebrations that were had and all the achievements that ZOS has accomplished this year. They did well this year!

LadyGP · December 10

OtarTheMad wrote: »

LadyGP wrote: »

Asdara wrote: »

MORE HOUSE FURNISHINGS SLOTS i swear its not like we ask for this for the last decade, its about time

There is a reason why they aren't bumping up the slots - hopefully they will tell us why. My thought is it's something server/performance related or an engine related limitation.

They have said why and it’s because of old console memory limitations. A lot of stuff is because of that.

Ah, yeah figured it was something like that. Sounds like it's about time for ZoS to end support for older consoles. I'd be willing to bet this would help unwind some of that technical debt that got created due to older systems.

AzuraFan · December 10

What I want: there will be more truly new content.

What I expect: there will be more busywork systems and less truly new content.

I would consider new storyline quests in existing zones to be truly new content. I don't consider things like Golden Pursuits to be new content.

I don't care much about the letter because it's not really meant for us. I care more about the January reveal, when we get to see what's really going to happen in 2025.

Tandor · December 10

LadyGP wrote: »

Cellithor wrote: »

Do we know when the letter is supposed to come out?

Maybe another week or two? Usually, it comes out right before the team heads off for the Holiday break.

It's scheduled on the website list of December events etc as being on the 17th December.

The things already mentioned are all critical for inclusion, in addition to which I'd like to see a reversion to the previous cadence - 2 dungeon DLCs (ideally each with a couple of delves), a Chapter and a DLC.

However, what I'd like to see more than anything else is words matched by action.

BlueRaven · December 10

I will be happy if there even is one this year.

GeneralGrundmann · December 10

"We are looking forward to another ten fantastic years for The Elder Scrolls Online and you, the players!

"

Seriously, I mean it!

ZOS_GinaBruno · December 10

Cellithor wrote: »

Do we know when the letter is supposed to come out?

Matt's letter to the community will be published next Tuesday, December 17.

IviRo · December 10

We know that Rich Lambert has become ZeniMax Online Studios' Game Director, and Matt Studio Director's. So we are waiting for news about the new creative director and a lot of water about the future. Please bring back 2014 and the old team.

Celas_Dranacea · December 10

There have been some hiccups but I want to commend the ZOS team on a lot of positive, really fun content this year.

I personally hope to hear about continued investments in Cyrodil - it is such a gem in this game!

Good job ZOS and ty.

Personofsecrets · December 10

I'd like the concerns regarding the games future to be quelled. Please reveal how successful the game is and what kind of priority it is as we move into the future. Please discuss your commitiment to the game, it's "systems," and the players.

tsaescishoeshiner · December 10

Commitment to a fivefold increase in Alfiq counts throughout future zones. With an Alfiq conjurer Companion (in honor of Elder Scrolls Legends)
Details on how and why Pacrooti will now chase you through Heists (he is 5% slower with ESO+)
Rollout plan for Imperial City trove scamps being drastically improved and added to various game activities (dungeons, harvesting, home tours)
An update on all of the Zenimax pets
Now that Microsoft owns ESO, concrete plans for how Clippy will be integrated
Brief, individual address to every single complaint, critique, and rework idea from the forums ("Yes" or "No" at least)
Announcement of a new program where anyone who makes a sufficiently good forum argument will be hired as an intern. Any design the intern team agrees on will be implemented, but only with 100% consensus
New Crown Store category for 2025: Death animation styles
2025 reveal: Outfit Assistant system

Rkindaleft · December 10

I suspect most of it will be PR fluff but I hope they at least mention about performance issues and what the future of the game is, this has not been a particularly good year for ESO and it takes 5 seconds of searching to see there is a ton of discontent on the forums and on socials, even if the message is a bad one at least it will have provided some clarity instead of letting us continue to speculate.

LadyGP · December 10

Personofsecrets wrote: »

I'd like the concerns regarding the games future to be quelled. Please reveal how successful the game is and what kind of priority it is as we move into the future. Please discuss your commitiment to the game, it's "systems," and the players.

I hear you but I think coming out and saying the games made $2B and they have X amount of players (revealing how successful the game is) doesn't help quell the current concerns you raised.

There has been a year long PR effort doing this already.

TaSheen · December 10

I don't care one way or the other. I'll keep playing as long as I find the game fun (well, until it sunsets) and then I'll go back to Skyrim/Oblivion full time.

gronoxvx · December 10

Less talk, more action.

Cooperharley · December 10

Hopefully plans to change things up in 2025, make the community excited again, regain our trust, apologize for stuff this year, etc

Quackery · December 10

NOTHING, except saying that THEY ARE GOING INTO A MAINTENANCE YEAR!!!

Artim_X · December 10

•we have no plans to sunset the game.

•we plan to raise Cyrodiil population caps back up to how it was prior to the pop reduction test.

•we plan on bringing back 3 team battlegrounds by quarter 2.

•we plan on utilizing battlespirit to address the excess heals and tankiness in PvP without affecting PvE balance.

•we plan to keep the writing in line with the logic of the world in relation to natural inclusivity and natural representation, while refraining from forced ham-fisted modern day political messaging that has no place in a fantasy game and only serves to break immersion for the sake of a message that is not needed in a world that already naturally represents people from all walks of life.

Erissime · December 10

The original post in this thread pretty much sums up my own thoughts - as I see several others following up in similar tones. So I am only here to add up to the Cyrodiil news everybody is waiting for, even if they are a clearly stated "We have no intention to perform any updates/changes to that zone in the near future". It is better to bluntly know that is the case from start, rather than wait and hope to no avail.

And yes, performance is an issue - particularly in that environment. But also as of late overall in game. So yes, transparency of communication can indeed go a long way. Preferably as straightforward as it can be. Vague statements around a subject long required by the community are not communication. So better straight up "no" than "perhaps" or "maybe" and the like. Thank you.

JustFrog54 · December 10

Rebalance of all sets in game to same vallues , because in PvE and PvP strong meta of small list of sets .

Separete PvP and PvE set and skill bonusses , becasue when u have something vallueable and new in PvE , like firebeand for DK - it will be OP in PvP.

A special attention to old sets from overland and base game dungeons and trials - because most of meta sets is from DLC and new players have problems with farming gear from more difficult content .Like making craglorn trial sets same DPS of non perfected version of DLC trial sets - will be best game change for easy integration for PvE raids for newcommers.

Do something with big diffenecre of difficulty between classes like NB or Necro to Arcanist . NB and Necro is much more skill related then arcanist .

Most easy way to get ez necro for newcommers is to rework "Grave Lord's Sacrifice Skill" this skill give necromancer a buff , which increase his class skill damage - it's sound good , but main problem - it's not giving you a corpe under enemy , all necro rotation is between syphon and BB , you just want to have a corpe under boss to proc syphon . If "Grave Lord's Sacrifice Skill" will give fore example debuff to enemy , which increase damage taken by class abilitys - it will be cool option for EZ rotation on necro .

For nightblade I would lilke to see rebalance of bow , class spameble , execute .

Like skills "Concealed Weapon" and "Surprise Attack" use your main recourse . It will give options for new commers to choose between to relewant class spamebles (because they both good).

"Merciless Resolve" and "Relentless Focus" is must use your lower recourse , because of sustain building on nightblade setups , now magickaNB use Stamina morph of skill and stamNB use mana morph . They both balanced and relevant by buffs and damage . This 2 skill is stacking out of your LA , it's big problem for newcommers there will be good if it will stacks of any skill you use - to get bow stucks , it will make much EZ for newcommers to play on class.

"Impale" and "Killer's Blade" is better to make also skale out of your max recourse . They are both well balanced , but I think most of player in popular setup "Khajit Archer Nighblade" would like to use range execute insted of melee , just because they will never sustain mana morph .

I have allots in mind to make this game more comfortable and balance a special for new commers. ZOS if you read this - PM me pls . I play this game since 2017 , I trained allot of guys and hear allot of reasons why they left game and 70% of them - that thet can't play on same lvl with highend players on class they want to play , meta sets farm , high difficulty difference between different classes . When guy starts to burn because dude just on stronger and ez to play class is more effective - it's bad to hear , after they usually just left game in few weaks.

Ppl want to play content - dungeons , raids , PvP on they favorite by class , in different setups not just copy meta sets .