What has caused you to quit the game or barely play any more? What would bring you back?

Al_Ex_Andre · December 13

Having completed almost everything ingame, I play less, because simply put, there's no fresh content anymore. Logical reason.

But I would play more

if there was an update of Infinite Archive. I did everything there, solo with my companion, and will continue with an update.
if I could safely exchange my gold, for another player's crowns, with a shiny, multilanguage interface.
Yes, I would play more, to earn more gold.

I am not particulary angry at the game, well I should have, when I massively PvPed with a magicka dps templar after U35, but it's over.

DestroyerPewnack · December 13

I quit the game shortly after subclassing was introduced. Tried desperately to find another game to replace ESO, but I'm too used to ESO's combat system that I can't play tab targetting MMO's well enough, and I'm too used to the MMO genre, that I don't enjoy other genres nearly as much. My Steam library is full of games that I've played for <2 hours.

I felt homeless, and so, I'm ashamed to admit that I've returned to ESO, but I've done so as an addict, and it feels like a dark place. Not the same ESO that I onced loved and was super excited to log in to. I actively tell my friends not to buy the game, worried that they might find themselves in a similar position to mine.

What's most frustrating about this situation is that the solution is so simple. Remove subclassing. That's it. I don't want them to invent anything new. I want them to restore the game to an older version of itself. Bonus points if they can also remove hybridization. I miss having a magblade in light armor with double staves, and a stamblade in medium armor with dw and a bow. Completely different damage rotations, completely different ways of self-healing, completely different sets and skills, and completely different... feel. And that's just one class.

Rkindaleft · December 13

I maybe only log in now once or twice a week when my raid group or friends need me for a run, this has been the case since at least last year, occasionally more during some events.

The main reason for this is because I feel like the game has almost completely shifted it's direction away from keeping it's veteran players happy to one that primarily benefits the revolving door of casuals (even if they only stick around for a few weeks or months). I also feel like no matter what I, or people like me, say, our feedback is never taken seriously because it seemingly no longer aligns with the vision that ZOS have shifted to. The game needs new players to survive, but it shouldn't be at the cost of your dedicated and loyal player base, who who are also the ones spending $$$ on subscriptions and the crown store.

I have reported stuff like the Castle Thorn circle not moving bug 100 times both in game and here on the forums and not once has the team ever communicated with me. It feels like getting the dev team's attention to anything broken or bug related is impossible, in fact the reason people flame the dev team so much is because it feels like the only way to get any sort of regular dialogue out of them. Hundreds (or even thousands) of players have provided feedback about the Subclassing power creep since Week 1 of it's PTS across socials, but it still feels like ZOS were still "shocked Pikachu face" meme when it turned out exactly how everyone said it would.

Many updates have had poor consequences overall. AwA largely ruined the replayability of the trial and dungeon content for the endgame (people DID legitimately enjoy progressing hard modes/trifectas on multiple classes and roles in order to get the titles on multiple characters, but now most people just do them once and don't go back) and made tracking stuff unnecessarily annoying on alts for overland/questing content. If you care about the combat, Subclassing not only caused massive power creep but also kind of removed a lot of the reason to have alts, because now you can kind of just run the lines you need on one or two characters.

TLDR - some updates have made the content I like to do way less enjoyable, and providing feedback about it feels pointless because it's very rarely (or never) considered.

Ardriel · December 13

ImmortalCX wrote: »

subclassing, subclassing, and subclassing.

I really don't understand why so many players have such a problem with subclassing. For me, it's the opposite. I like subclassing. I have to admit, I was very negative about it at first. But after trying it out, I think it's awesome. I'm much better with every role. Finally, I can play my main character (templar) again and do more damage with him than ever before. What's wrong with that? That it took me some time to get to grips with different builds and level up all the skill lines? You have to invest a little time in the game. I also think all the talk about class identity is exaggerated. What's so special about it? Role-players can play their class however they want, they don't have to do damage. There's the armory. You can always save a roleplay build there. And if you want to keep up with the vet content, you use a build with subclassing.
Sure, there's still a bit of imbalance between the skill lines (arca beam, etc.) but that doesn't automatically make subclassing a bad thing.
I even think it would be good to get rid of classes altogether and make skill lines freely available.
But that won't happen, of course, after so many players complained and ZOS announced the class changes. Too bad.
For me, if subclassing disappears, then so will I.

Snamyap · December 13

I like questing, and I like developing/improving my character. Doing the second in ESO though completely and utterly trivializes the quest content, removing any semblance of immersion.

Rungar · December 13

The decline of this game has nothing to do with any one feature. Its structural rot from neglect over the years. They chose poorly and its going to be difficult to steer out of that.

-they should of improved the combat system a long long long time ago.. like 10 years ago when it was first identified as a major issue for the average player.
- dungeons look good but they are all the exact same formula over and over forever.
- overland was completely designed for new players over and over and over, not exising players. Which shows they had no faith ( or care for) at all in player retention.
- trying to do everything has lead to weak pvp and weak trial endgames. There never should of been any trials, another massive mistake. You think they would of learned from daoc. Its questionable if should of even had pvp.
- the game has survived but it hasnt thrived. Its been the weakest of all the big mmos, though it has arguably the strongest ip ( tied with wow).

30 years.. 4 years max, though that could apply to anything. I think itll be shut down within the year. the disembowelment of zenimax may be unrecoverable without radical change.

Apollosipod · December 13

God, I've played this for years and I always end up coming back because I enjoy the gameplay and the world. But after these latest updates the game runs like ***. Stuttering, lag, skills not working, controls not responding, visual & audible glitches, etc.

At this point I'm thinking about uninstalling for the first time in years. I'd love for ZOS to actually focus on improving the overall quality of the game, but at this point ZOS has broken my trust. There seems to be more focus on adding new crown crate content, untested "content" releases, and ever growing crown store prices.

I'm incredibly bummed that the game has reached this point and, if I leave, would come back to positive reviews of actual improvements and compelling additions

Mesite · December 13

Game pass price has gone up and I've cancelled my subscription in protest. You can't play on Xbox without game pass. I can access it on PC but I'm technically an Xbox player at the minute. I'll still log in occasionally. Not as much though. And it'll take a lot of time to catch up with subclassing (which was a terrible idea imho). If only I had more time.

shadyjane62 · December 13

Ardriel wrote: »

ImmortalCX wrote: »

subclassing, subclassing, and subclassing.

I really don't understand why so many players have such a problem with subclassing. For me, it's the opposite. I like subclassing. I have to admit, I was very negative about it at first. But after trying it out, I think it's awesome. I'm much better with every role. Finally, I can play my main character (templar) again and do more damage with him than ever before. What's wrong with that? That it took me some time to get to grips with different builds and level up all the skill lines? You have to invest a little time in the game. I also think all the talk about class identity is exaggerated. What's so special about it? Role-players can play their class however they want, they don't have to do damage. There's the armory. You can always save a roleplay build there. And if you want to keep up with the vet content, you use a build with subclassing.
Sure, there's still a bit of imbalance between the skill lines (arca beam, etc.) but that doesn't automatically make subclassing a bad thing.
I even think it would be good to get rid of classes altogether and make skill lines freely available.
But that won't happen, of course, after so many players complained and ZOS announced the class changes. Too bad.
For me, if subclassing disappears, then so will I.

For me, if subclassing remains, I'll quit.

Muizer · December 13

Snamyap wrote: »

I like questing, and I like developing/improving my character. Doing the second in ESO though completely and utterly trivializes the quest content, removing any semblance of immersion.

You're not alone in this. That's exactly how I played the game. Now I do that in Oblivion Remastered. The better I get at it, the higher I jack up the difficulty to keep it interesting. And there's just so much to explore that I forget 90% of it between play-throughs.

Of course one could argue that one cannot expect something like that from an MMO like ESO. You could say "sounds like you just want to play a single player game". But that's only true because ZOS chose such a formulaic way of implementing multiplayer.

If they'd managed to integrate it organically in the overland experience it would have been different. But that's not what it is. They just aren't things you feel you stumble into while adventuring. They feel like obstacle courses designed to be run over and over and over and over and over ............. until there is 0 reward in the experience itself and it is reduced to RNG / speed = rewards.

That's where this game breaks down for me:

- No appealing new story content
- The old story content is not challenging enough to make me want to try out new (sub) classes (even if it were implemented well).
- The harder PvE feels disconnected from the world and designed for a reward driven mentality that I frankly can't relate to.

Tarnbird · December 13

the accumulation of bad / stupid design decisions, from the very beginning, starting with the brain-dead trading system ...

tomofhyrule · December 13

Ardriel wrote: »

ImmortalCX wrote: »

subclassing, subclassing, and subclassing.

I really don't understand why so many players have such a problem with subclassing. For me, it's the opposite. I like subclassing. I have to admit, I was very negative about it at first. But after trying it out, I think it's awesome. I'm much better with every role. Finally, I can play my main character (templar) again and do more damage with him than ever before. What's wrong with that? That it took me some time to get to grips with different builds and level up all the skill lines? You have to invest a little time in the game. I also think all the talk about class identity is exaggerated. What's so special about it? Role-players can play their class however they want, they don't have to do damage. There's the armory. You can always save a roleplay build there. And if you want to keep up with the vet content, you use a build with subclassing.
Sure, there's still a bit of imbalance between the skill lines (arca beam, etc.) but that doesn't automatically make subclassing a bad thing.
I even think it would be good to get rid of classes altogether and make skill lines freely available.
But that won't happen, of course, after so many players complained and ZOS announced the class changes. Too bad.
For me, if subclassing disappears, then so will I.

Let's not pretend it's "a bit of imbalance." The current balance is abysmal.

People don't like that the meta crystallized from "you have a few options" to "you have exactly one option." Not everyone likes playing a beam build, but at this point those are so much more powerful than anything else.

The ides of a game where "play the way you want" (which is ESO's mantra) means you're doing barely any damage and "play this one specific way" is the only way to do anything is not fun for a lot of people.

You say "Finally, I can play my main character (templar) again and do more damage with him than ever before." But are you really playing your Templar? Or are you playing an Arcanist who looks like your Templar? That's a big problem that a lot of people have - people like their mains because they've had them for 11 years, and not the only way to make their mains viable is to essentially turn them into a different Class and play them completely differently. Some people like how their mains feel and, despite what ZOS said at first, playing a pure class (or really anything other than ArcBladePlar) is doing about 50% of what that specific hybrid can do.

Even ZOS finally came out to admit "subclassing is objectively stronger than “pure” classing by a large margin for several reasons." I get that there are people who like that, but personally I really don't understand why so many players have such a problem with players who want some semblance of balance in this game, or want to be viable with something other than a Fatecarver build.

Syldras · December 13

emilyhyoyeon wrote: »

Not going to simply hit your response with an Agree, but respond myself with nothing other than I 100% relate here, and I wish I could repost this a million times

When it comes to the writing, I wish they'd keep two simple questions in mind when designing a quest or a dialogue, both in terms of topic and language:
#1: Does this fit this fictional world?
#2: Is this a meaningful/impactful contribution to this world's lore, atmosphere or immersion?
It's not difficult, actually, but I have the feeling they have somehow forgotten about this lately.

MorallyBipolar · December 13

ToddIngram wrote: »

My #1 pain point by far is customer relations.

ZOS has the PTS and all these threads asking for feedback, but they won't even revert the god awful jabs animation after years of complaints. They went with 2 team BG's in spite of being told what a disaster it would be. They changed almost nothing with U35, which drove off project vitality and most of the end game PvE trial community that was creating most of the tutorials and offered training for those willing to put in the time. Then there is vengeance and subclassing, which sure look like efforts to take ESO to official maintenance mode.

All of these shoot yourself in the foot actions by ZOS could have been avoided if they listened to their customer base. Then there is the layers and layers of "customer service" AI interactions it takes to deal with an actual live person at ZOS and how heavy handed the AI moderation is in game and on this forum.

For me it all comes back to customer relations that got us where we are today. It feels like the end of the movie when we're all on shore waving goodbye as the ship we got here on sails away into the sunset.

100%

AzuraFan · December 13

tomofhyrule wrote: »

That's a big problem that a lot of people have - people like their mains because they've had them for 11 years, and not the only way to make their mains viable is to essentially turn them into a different Class and play them completely differently. Some people like how their mains feel and, despite what ZOS said at first, playing a pure class (or really anything other than ArcBladePlar) is doing about 50% of what that specific hybrid can do.

That's what I don't like about subclassing. I've been playing my main almost exclusively since 2016, and I chose her class because of its theme and skill lines. If I wanted to, the only way to bring her DPS on par with what others can do would be to butcher her (and my enjoyment playing her) by subclassing. Fortunately I haven't had to do that, because I don't participate in most endgame PvE vet stuff, but I can understand why others, who do want to participate but don't want to butcher a character they enjoy, are upset or have left the game.

Ardriel · December 13

tomofhyrule wrote: »

...You say "Finally, I can play my main character (templar) again and do more damage with him than ever before." But are you really playing your Templar? Or are you playing an Arcanist who looks like your Templar? That's a big problem that a lot of people have - people like their mains because they've had them for 11 years, and not the only way to make their mains viable is to essentially turn them into a different Class and play them completely differently...

It doesn't bother me. If ZOS had introduced a class change token instead of subclassing, I would have bought it immediately and turned my Templar into an Arcanist.
No one in my two raid groups complains about subclassing. Everyone uses the meta beam build because it simply has too many advantages. Okay, it's monotonous. That's true. I remember a few years ago when the Templar was really good. There were 8 Templars or so in the raid...
But there will always be a meta build. With or without subclassing and even with pure class buffs. Someone will find a setup that does a little more damage than the others, and then everyone will play that. If you want to be competitive, you have to adapt.

tomofhyrule · December 13

Ardriel wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

...You say "Finally, I can play my main character (templar) again and do more damage with him than ever before." But are you really playing your Templar? Or are you playing an Arcanist who looks like your Templar? That's a big problem that a lot of people have - people like their mains because they've had them for 11 years, and not the only way to make their mains viable is to essentially turn them into a different Class and play them completely differently...

It doesn't bother me. If ZOS had introduced a class change token instead of subclassing, I would have bought it immediately and turned my Templar into an Arcanist.
No one in my two raid groups complains about subclassing. Everyone uses the meta beam build because it simply has too many advantages. Okay, it's monotonous. That's true. I remember a few years ago when the Templar was really good. There were 8 Templars or so in the raid...
But there will always be a meta build. With or without subclassing and even with pure class buffs. Someone will find a setup that does a little more damage than the others, and then everyone will play that. If you want to be competitive, you have to adapt.

Ok, congratulations.

Well that does bother some people. I know people who have quit my raid groups because they didn't want to play "All Arc All The Time." I know people who used to be able to play an off-meta setup before Subclassing because they were really good with it, and now nothing comes close. My DB run had 6 different Classes represented, and 5 were doing DPS. If the meta was so unshakeable before, why were we able to get a trifecta with so many different setups back then?

A lot fewer people would have issues with Subclassing if the balance thing happened before it.

ShutUpitsRed · December 13

I'm not out just yet, but honestly it's been a drip feed of all the usual complaints over the last year or so. The biggest things for me lately though, are PvP's neglect (and recent threat of direct sabotage) (and actual sabotage with battlegrounds lol) and these recent animation changes. Most of my characters just feel bad to play now and it really sucks.

Subclassing, aggressive/predatory monetization, content pass (which might not even include new zones in the future lol?), the PvE experience continuing to get even worse somehow, and the general lack of listening to player feedback etc is just rough.

Einar_Hrafnarsson · December 13

The patch that hybridized everything and caused PvPers to all use the same builds and fights to take 10 minutes to 1 hour. The latter usually when Ball groups are involved. The refusal to fix the Dungeon queue bug when 2-3 are in a group. Subclassing.

That nonsensical card Game i can ignore, the other things i can't.

Orbital78 · December 13

Mesite wrote: »

And it'll take a lot of time to catch up with subclassing (which was a terrible idea imho). If only I had more time.

It only took me one day, they give out 150% xp scrolls as daily rewards and wait until a xp event. New life is coming up, it is a bit of a grind turning in lots of writs but it is the quickest and easiest way. If you don't play much, then you might not have writs saved up. Personally I have hundreds left even after hitting 3600, all that is left is to level a few alts skill lines.

ThoraxtheDark · December 13

Subclassing and lack of in game community support for me.

Guild functions have never been updated other than some guild history stuff ( lol ) . The game feels too quiet , not enough people wanna make new friends and do large scale things together. Everyone just huddles on discord.

Remove subclassing and add more tools for us to have fun , engaging and seamless ways to voice/ text communicate. Those are my bugaboos
Otherwise I do appreciate the latest direction the new leads are doing .

Erickson9610 · December 13

I took a break around the start of October because other games had a lot more werewolf-related things going on, whereas ESO did not. I play this game to play a werewolf, so I really hope that playstyle gets the attention it needs.

In case I haven't spoken about it enough, I would love if werewolves in this game had more customization (via Scribing and Skill Styling) and I'd also love to be able to sneak while in Werewolf form. I'd also like to see how Companion Werewolf and Vengeance Werewolf skills are implemented, and how they differ from the standard Werewolf skills.

OutLaw_Nynx · December 13

Lots of my friends quit. Just overtime they’ve logged out and never came back… it is tiring making new friends just for the cycle to repeat ❤️‍🩹

Finedaible · December 13

Another problem I would like to point out is that ZoS lost touch with its community about 7 years ago, and I doubt they visit the forums or other community channels often. It is very rare to see a direct developer post and most communication from "the Developers" comes through a forum moderator acting as a corporate messenger for some reason. Maybe the developers get vague summaries from their moderators in turn? Idk, I get the impression they just do not care, or do not want to know about what their consumers think. It is their right to do what they want, but complete disinterest in making a well-received product is kind of shooting yourself in the foot in a sense. I just don't sense passion anymore.

Zenimax also likes to tell us it is hard to make changes when they have been working on an unannounced idea for the last 6-12 months without knowing if it is something the community truly wants. Here's a novel idea, why not ASK AND SEE what the community wants before committing to something? Without proper communication and engagement, they'll just keep wasting time and money on bad ideas.

Syldras · December 13

Finedaible wrote: »

Another problem I would like to point out is that ZoS lost touch with its community about 7 years ago, and I doubt they visit the forums or other community channels often. It is very rare to see a direct developer post and most communication from "the Developers" comes through a forum moderator acting as a corporate messenger for some reason.

Kevin's title is "Community Manager", so I guess that's exactly what he's supposed to do.

I agree though that I'd appreciate seeing more communication, especially in threads that offer constructive feedback and in the PTS subforum.

AvalonRanger · December 14

What has caused you to quit the game or barely play any more? What would bring you back?

Quit = Dev ignore ElderScrolls fan people's desire. (Card game, Writhing Wall event, stupid power inflation)

How to bring back long leaving players = Dev make more TES theme lore contents of second era.

Too much simple.

Dojohoda · December 14

My main activity is Cyrodiil and there are some problems there that are making gameplay... difficult. Cyrodiil is a favorite of mine and I am planning to keep tabs on the plans mentioned here
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/685603/community-update-vengeance-testing-cyrodiil/p1

Kram8ion · December 14

2 or 3 tanks gating Cyrodiil
30 minutes for random normal dungeons
Australia cries

Hapexamendios · December 14

General boredom. Can only run the same content so many times.

moo_2021 · December 14

I'm waiting for 3 teams BG to come back.