Can we please have some "down time"?

tomofhyrule

SilverBride wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

Taarente wrote: »

The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.

That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.

It still impacts those others who do want these events. Perhaps we need an "opt out" system to help those struggling with event fatigue, where reminders and all other in-game communication regarding the event is removed on the player's end.

Are these the only things that those who like these events want to do? Wouldn't they like time to quest, and run dungeons and trials and the IA, and do housing etc., too? There needs to be a balance and right now we are being pushed heavily into tasks.

The problem is that you are thinking about this like a gamer from 2010 who only plays one game.

It’s 2026. The landscape of video gaming has changed significantly.

Gaming is no longer a “for fun” thing, it’s a service. If you have a period where you aren’t offering things to do (and get rewarded to do) then you’re going to lose audience to the other competitors who are.

Is it good? No. But is that how it is? Yep.

I feel like a lot of the “I only play Elder Scrolls” fans who haven’t played many games since Skyrim are now feeling like ESO is betraying itself. But it’s just evolving to match the current times, and this is how gaming in 2026 operates. ESO is a living product - heck, back in 2014, ESO funneled everyone into PvP as the only endgame, so even the “Skyrim with Friends” thing people think is ESO’s lifeblood was a ‘betrayal of what it originally was.’

Anyone who knows anything about modern gaming heard the dev stream about Season Pass and groaned. We know what that means: less content, more FOMO, more task lists instead of free-form, and more monetization. But the devs knew how to sell it, and a lot of players heard what they were selling and believed “more updates! More to do! More fun!” They scoffed at the people who warned about what modern game season passes meant.
And now we’re seeing that those people were right all along.

Nobody is going to get Microsoft to choose the player-friendly-but-less-profit path. Ever. And if you think you will, I have a bridge to sell you.
The only choice you have is to make a personal stand and say “I’m not playing your manipulative game.” Stop grinding if you don’t want it. Silence that voice inside that complains that you have unfinished tasks in a list you don’t want to do. Heck, if it’s too much, uninstall and go play an old non-Live-service game that doesn’t manipulate you.

Modern gaming in 2026 is all about learning to resist manipulation. And that’s a personal thing. You’re not going to get the big companies to stop, but you will be able to train your brain to resist.

Calastir

AScarlato wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

AScarlato wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

Reginald_leBlem wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄

No, zos is not "telling you what to do".

You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.

First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.

Same difference. Tired of being told what to do, while I just want to vent and share my view.

I don't think any random poster is super-invested if you decide to get the cosmetics or not. I think people are just trying to be helpful in sharing "it's okay" if you dont get every cosmetic reward, if the result is being unhappy playing at all. You don't need cosmetics for a game you don't want to play anymore, afterall.

Games always dictate what players need to do for rewards. It's how games work. If I want certain gear, I run certain dungeons. If I want something from PvP, I have to do that.

In BG3, if I want a certain sword I have to go to where it's located. That's gaming.

The only thing that bypasses all of this is essentially opening up your wallet and having things fall form the sky via one's credit card. lol

Ever considered that some of us just want to collect whatever rewards you're lucky enough not to care about?

Point remains that ZOS told us they removed Daily/Weekly Endeavors to rid us of FOMO, yet all we got back instead is more FOMO.

If you care about the rewards, then you have to what is needed for them. That's goals in gaming.

I'm not sure why this is very different than doing anything else in any video game when you want what it gives you.

I suppose it's the FOMO thing? Well, at that point you have to make a choice if you want to spend your time on it or not. But it remains a choice.

Which is why we ask for other options. Why are you so opposed to that since you claim not to care either way?

AScarlato

Calastir wrote: »

AScarlato wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

AScarlato wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

Reginald_leBlem wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄

No, zos is not "telling you what to do".

You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.

First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.

Same difference. Tired of being told what to do, while I just want to vent and share my view.

I don't think any random poster is super-invested if you decide to get the cosmetics or not. I think people are just trying to be helpful in sharing "it's okay" if you dont get every cosmetic reward, if the result is being unhappy playing at all. You don't need cosmetics for a game you don't want to play anymore, afterall.

Games always dictate what players need to do for rewards. It's how games work. If I want certain gear, I run certain dungeons. If I want something from PvP, I have to do that.

In BG3, if I want a certain sword I have to go to where it's located. That's gaming.

The only thing that bypasses all of this is essentially opening up your wallet and having things fall form the sky via one's credit card. lol

Ever considered that some of us just want to collect whatever rewards you're lucky enough not to care about?

Point remains that ZOS told us they removed Daily/Weekly Endeavors to rid us of FOMO, yet all we got back instead is more FOMO.

If you care about the rewards, then you have to what is needed for them. That's goals in gaming.

I'm not sure why this is very different than doing anything else in any video game when you want what it gives you.

I suppose it's the FOMO thing? Well, at that point you have to make a choice if you want to spend your time on it or not. But it remains a choice.

Which is why we ask for other options. Why are you so opposed to that since you claim not to care either way?

I think we just have different mindsets. At this point I realize it's painful to try to "collect everything" for collection's sake. I was miserable logging in from one event to the next to get tickets so I could "collect everything" - most of which gathers dust on a list in my cosmetics tab.

It really is helpful to just let go, and if something is a "must have" then suck it up. When you stop chasing absolutely everything regardless of whether it's meaningful to your playtime, it just lightens up the experience greatly.

I'm not telling you how to think, but it has helped me. I have had friends who stopped playing due to events and feeling like all of their time was spent on limited time events - when they could just have well skipped them since the end result is not playing, so it doesn't matter at all if they just enjoyed their time instead of growing resentful and quitting.

tomofhyrule wrote: »

The problem is that you are thinking about this like a gamer from 2010 who only plays one game.

Also this - I have more to do with my free time than only play ESO. I have other games, or outside interests that take up time. So I've gotten a bit cutthroat with all the games throwing battlepasses at me and all wanting infinite amounts of my time.

Taarente

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Taarente wrote: »

The OP has a point.

This isn’t just “people overthinking it” — it’s a real, well-understood design strategy used in games and apps.

What’s happening is a mix of a few known psychological effects:

The Zeigarnik Effect — unfinished tasks stick in your mind and create a sense of tension until they’re completed
Loss Aversion — the feeling of missing out is stronger than the reward of gaining something
FOMO — time-limited tasks create pressure even if you don’t really care about the reward

When you stack systems like long grinds + limited-time pursuits + unclear or bugged tracking, you end up with multiple “open loops” sitting in the background.

Even if you consciously think:

“I don’t care about this”

your brain still registers:

“this is unfinished”

And that creates a low-level pressure to go and clear it.

So telling people to “just ignore it” or “snap out of it” misses the point — this is exactly how these systems are designed to work. They rely on normal human behaviour, not lack of willpower.

The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.

That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.

Yes, and I'm sure there is some marketing executive sitting there gloating at these types of threads. Why spend all the money to make new zones or content, when all it takes to get people to play more (and therefore spend more) is just make a little task list!

So your argument is... "Capitalism should stop being capitalism!"
Which... uhh... good luck with that.

We do have a defense: to not fall prey to it. Game companies are going to keep being predatory as long as people are susceptible to it. The only way the companies are going to willingly say "we don't want to make money" is if they get hit with new laws (like Belgium and Brazil have now done for lootboxes, and we now have people from those zones complaining that they're unable to access them).

But until Congress decides to make the "Games shall never offer in-game rewards for tasks" law, this is gonna happen. ALL Live-service games do this because it works. So the defense we have is to either harden ourselves to it, or reject Live-Service games. And then if enough people see an unfinished list and stop caring, then the suits are going to realize that they need a new way to get us to keep playing.

I am stating facts and known practices, did I mention capitalism, congress? No.

BretonMage

SilverBride wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

Taarente wrote: »

The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.

That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.

It still impacts those others who do want these events. Perhaps we need an "opt out" system to help those struggling with event fatigue, where reminders and all other in-game communication regarding the event is removed on the player's end.

Are these the only things that those who like these events want to do? Wouldn't they like time to quest, and run dungeons and trials and the IA, and do housing etc., too? There needs to be a balance and right now we are being pushed heavily into tasks.

I only do these tasks if they align with what I enjoy doing, so I appreciate having the extra rewards that come with it. If the tasks do not appeal, I'm happy to skip them.

SilverBride

Yes we can just skip these if we don't enjoy them. But there is a thing called human nature. And human nature makes us want to be part of what is going on, and to earn the things others are earning, and not look like an outsider.

I have no problem skipping things I don't like yet even I have trouble skipping all of it.

Reginald_leBlem

Calastir wrote: »

Reginald_leBlem wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄

No, zos is not "telling you what to do".

You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.

First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.

Same difference. Tired of being told what to do, while I just want to vent and share my view.

I'm not telling you that you shouldn't care about them, I'm telling you it is your choice to care about them or not. Zos is not forcing you to play a certain way (and short of breaking into your house and putting a gun to your head, how could they?) nor are they "telling you" how to play.

The tasks are there. It is up to you, and no one else, if you do them. If the cosmetics are that important to you, good news! You can spend a bit of time and earn them. If you find the tasks tedious and irritating, good news! You don't have to do them.

I have spent very little time actively farming tome points, and have earned over 10k. It's not that hard, and it's not that deep.

GloatingSwine

Free your mind! You can play any way you want, you do not have to do the tome tasks as soon as they appear, they just sort of happen along the way if you just play the bits of the game you're interested in as and when you are and reroll off the ones you know you'll never do..

Especially the seasonal ones that hang around for several months.

AzuraFan

tomofhyrule wrote: »

The problem is that you are thinking about this like a gamer from 2010 who only plays one game.

It’s 2026. The landscape of video gaming has changed significantly.

Gaming is no longer a “for fun” thing, it’s a service. If you have a period where you aren’t offering things to do (and get rewarded to do) then you’re going to lose audience to the other competitors who are.

[...]

Modern gaming in 2026 is all about learning to resist manipulation. And that’s a personal thing. You’re not going to get the big companies to stop, but you will be able to train your brain to resist.

You need to qualify that with "for MMOs." Otherwise I agree with your last paragraph.

However, saying that someone who's complaining is thinking like a gamer from 2010 who only plays one game is ludicrous, and "gaming is no longer a "for fun" thing" is crazy. Again, for MMOs maybe.

I'm torn right now about ESO. There are some things on the horizon that sound like they could be enjoyable, like the sage's vault and favours. I also like story content, but I know the upcoming Sheo and thieves guild content aren't going to take months to do. It'll be hours, maybe a couple of days if we're lucky. I mean, people were able to blow through the chapters in less than a week, and that was a zone, delves, WBs, PDs, etc. I also know that I've been excited before about upcoming content, only to discover that (a) it's a grind, or (b) the rewards are pitiful, or (c) the rewards are there, but you have a 0.00000000000000000000001% chance of them dropping. So something that sounded great turns out to be not so great.

So this is what I'm faced with, and I'm struggling with, and I can see some others are too. We've played the game for a while and with chapters and such, there was a balance of things to do that kept us here. Now, it's going to be 90% doing content we've already been doing for years, and 10% new content. And I'm not sure that's going to be enough. So it's crossed my mind to let ESO go at this point. I'm mainly staying around to see the warden rework and to play the small amount of story content that's coming, but after that, I don't know.

It's not easy to let go of something you've invested in and enjoyed for years. It takes time to let it sink in that what you really enjoyed about the game is over, and from here on out, it'll mainly be grinding and old content. So people are allowed to be upset and disappointed. And it's understandable that people are fighting for what used to be. For me, ESO is more habit than anything, and it can be hard to shake a habit.

In terms of gaming is no longer a fun thing, I have no idea why anyone would spend time playing anything they don't find fun in some way. I seriously don't get it. Having someone say, 'Well, gaming isn't for fun anymore so you just have to suck it up and get on with your chores" boggles my mind. Gaming is supposed to be fun, and there are a ton of games that are absolutely fantastically fun. There is no reason to stay with a game that's not fun. None. Zero. Advising people to just suck it up and do something they don't enjoy is insane. Why would anyone do that, rather than using their time to play or do something enjoyable? It would make more sense to tell them to quit. Maybe that's what you meant, and that's sound advice, because if someone isn't enjoying all the hamster wheels, ESO probably isn't a good fit for them anymore.

Anyone who thinks gaming isn't for fun anymore in 2026 needs to broaden their gaming horizons. I'm having a blast (in other games), and yes, I still have some fun in ESO, but I'm getting bored of the same old areas and the same old activities.

Syldras

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Well, for me, cosmetics actually are a big part of how I enjoy the roleplaying aspects. Like I wore my Stirk Fellowship motif during the Writhing Wall event and as I quested in Solstice. During "her down time," where the quests didn't have anything to do with the Fellowship, I wore tropical cosmetics.
So those currencies and the like do play a part in how I conceive of my characters roleplay as well. I also have houses that have various narrative purposes. Like it's actually my Bastian that owns the castle in Blackwood not my character. In my roleplay he got it after reconnecting with his sister.

It's nice that that makes partaking in the chores worthwhile for you, but I personally have collected so many cosmetics over the past 10 years that I have the feeling that I basically have everything I need. I have no clue how many mounts, pets and costumes I have (plus the huge outfit system where I know most styles because I do master crafting writs), but I really don't have the feeling that my characters need another 100 mounts, or costumes, or pets, or whatever (there are some very specific things that would fit some of my characters perfectly, and if those ever appear in the store or as a chore reward, I'll be going for those. But mostly, it's just not it. I have no druid character, so I don't need a druid costume; I have no pirate, so I don't need what clearly looks like a pirate costume, etc. And that's fine - other people might have exactly that character and will be happy with exactly that costume). Sometimes an endeavour might have something interesting, then I participate, but most often I don't have the feeling I need that reward. So there's not exactly a motivation to do that stuff. Which means no FOMO or stress - but nothing meaningful to do, either.

allochthons

For everyone telling OP how to play, despite their request that people not do that, this thread is 2 days old, and had 38 Agreed or Awesome engagements.

For a two-day old thread that's only 4 pages long, that's a lot. OP is hardly alone.
(I'm one of those engagments).

AScarlato

I agree with both Spart and Syldras.

Specific cosmetics greatly enhance my enjoyment of ESO as a roleplayer, or when not roleplaying trying to play immersively. I have many alts with many different themes, so I appreciate the broad approach to cosmetic rewards we have been getting lately.

That said, I also have hundreds of outfits/pets/etc. and narrowed down the number of characters I truly care about enough and am at the point of only looking for very specific themes, which makes it easy for me to skip tasks that don't reward anything I need.

My "letting go" started a long time ago when tickets were for what I find to be the absolutely hideous Daggerfall Paladin armor that was the reward at the time. So I just stopped doing the events and freed up a lot of time. Then we got the Dibella season where I thought the body markings were ugly, the stance too feminine. Other rewards like houses I'll never use.

I don't mind those existing for others who would enjoy them though, and I just focus my efforts now only on what I really want.

sshogrin

ZOS said the wanted to get rid of FOMO, but yet they have actually added more things to miss out on, and the tasks take much longer to obtain.
I used to have zero problem doing the daily endeavors on 4 accounts on both NA and EU, that's not the case anymore with tomes. We had one weekly, now we have 5 new weekly challenges every week that are much more time consuming to complete than the weekly endeavors used to be.
They talked about all the different currencies in game and made a statement about reducing that, then they came out with even more currencies to use.
The real problem is that ZOS is saying one thing, then doing the exact opposite of what they said they were going to do.
Now they are spending time making all these class changes while we still have bugs in the game that have been here for years (stuck in battle bug that they asked us to NOT list on the forum about "bugs wish list to fix")
We have had a very large player base leave the game because known bugs haven't been addressed at all...those bugs that have been in the game should be finally fixed.
Currently on the PTS they're testing the overland difficulty thing, and on the first day of PTS there were threads on the forums about some player spending all this time to kill a boss on high difficulty, then some other player coming up and "one shotting" the boss because they're playing it on normal difficulty...who didn't see THAT coming? As I've said many times in the threads about this, if you want the overland experience to be more difficult, then don't use the meta build sets, get rid of your CP, and play the game in "murder hobo gear"...stuff you just pick up along the way in the zone. Start out naked and do the content. The feedback I got was "I spent time to collect this end game gear, I should be able to hit 180k all the time.", which goes against them wanting things to be harder.
I have played the game since Beta, I have 4 accounts. I remember when hitting 20k was difficult in the game. I remember when zones were level specific. It's not the "game" difficulty so much as it is the damage creep that has been introduced to the game to make things so much easier.
I agree that we do have "too many things to do" in the game. The GPs this week to "warm people up" for the Night Market didn't need to happen, especially if they're going to have the GPs during the Night Market. We just had 2 back to back events, now Vengeance, and we're going to have another "event" happening at the end of the GPs, with even more GPs to do, besides the Tomes. Endeavors were replaced with Tomes that require a lot more time to complete than the daily endeavors. ZOS said something about people having FOMO for daily login rewards, and what did they do? They had daily login rewards for Tomes.
No, we don't "have" to do this stuff, but when they talk about doing stuff to stop the FOMO in game, then literally keep it and add more tasks to obtain things, they have actually made FOMO worse!
@ZOS_Kevin and @ZOS_GinaBruno please take this to heart that we've actually had the FOMO increased and not decreased.
Thank you for what ZOS does with the game, but please take this all to heart from someone that loves the game, and has loved the game for 13+ years.

spartaxoxo

Syldras wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Well, for me, cosmetics actually are a big part of how I enjoy the roleplaying aspects. Like I wore my Stirk Fellowship motif during the Writhing Wall event and as I quested in Solstice. During "her down time," where the quests didn't have anything to do with the Fellowship, I wore tropical cosmetics.
So those currencies and the like do play a part in how I conceive of my characters roleplay as well. I also have houses that have various narrative purposes. Like it's actually my Bastian that owns the castle in Blackwood not my character. In my roleplay he got it after reconnecting with his sister.

It's nice that that makes partaking in the chores worthwhile for you, but I personally have collected so many cosmetics over the past 10 years that I have the feeling that I basically have everything I need. I have no clue how many mounts, pets and costumes I have (plus the huge outfit system where I know most styles because I do master crafting writs), but I really don't have the feeling that my characters need another 100 mounts, or costumes, or pets, or whatever (there are some very specific things that would fit some of my characters perfectly, and if those ever appear in the store or as a chore reward, I'll be going for those. But mostly, it's just not it. I have no druid character, so I don't need a druid costume; I have no pirate, so I don't need what clearly looks like a pirate costume, etc. And that's fine - other people might have exactly that character and will be happy with exactly that costume). Sometimes an endeavour might have something interesting, then I participate, but most often I don't have the feeling I need that reward. So there's not exactly a motivation to do that stuff. Which means no FOMO or stress - but nothing meaningful to do, either.

I definitely feel that. I got around it by themeing my character after the latest content or hunting for things for my companion. But, they didn't even release a companion this year and the content is pretty light this year. I'm currently happy with tomes and excited to try the vault and night market. But, after that, idk what I'm even going to do. I've already soloed the dungeon they're releasing as the content next.

After Update 50 is done, I may end up just buying the following tome with my plus tokens and then instead of doing it take a break. That is one reason that I like the tomes are permanent in this game.

Umbracat449

SilverBride wrote: »

Yes we can just skip these if we don't enjoy them. But there is a thing called human nature. And human nature makes us want to be part of what is going on, and to earn the things others are earning, and not look like an outsider.

I have no problem skipping things I don't like yet even I have trouble skipping all of it.

'Human nature' for some people. I'm perfectly happy not doing what everyone else is doing, or not earning what everyone else is- if I don't want it or like it.

Melivar

Your allowed to take down time whenever you wish, that is always a you choice.

The ESO team should continue to put out as many things to do as they can for the thousands of people looking for more to do.

Calastir

Melivar wrote: »

Your allowed to take down time whenever you wish, that is always a you choice.

The ESO team should continue to put out as many things to do as they can for the thousands of people looking for more to do.

Umbracat449

I think there is something getting missed, in all this, which is the point I made earlier, which is the new kind of tomes approach they are taking, CAN get the balance wrong between feelings of obligation and play.

While it is on the player to manage their time, and step away if it's getting too much, zos can also look at how the tomes system is structured.

I DO think zos need to keep balance in mind. It's not ONLY a player thing.

With tomes, Zos is trying for layered optional content that's not especially time limited, in the hope it keeps players and enables some funding coming in.

But they need to think about how many pages are in the tome, because that might be seen as a step hill to climb and drive player fatigue (maybe 8 pages in a season would have looked friendlier?), and the number of points needed.

And without actual genuine content that players can play and feel they've had a real game, the tomes system won't hold people. It's not enough on its own.

SilverBride

Umbracat449 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Yes we can just skip these if we don't enjoy them. But there is a thing called human nature. And human nature makes us want to be part of what is going on, and to earn the things others are earning, and not look like an outsider.

I have no problem skipping things I don't like yet even I have trouble skipping all of it.

'Human nature' for some people. I'm perfectly happy not doing what everyone else is doing, or not earning what everyone else is- if I don't want it or like it.

Of course, because nothing ever holds true for everyone. But that is a big factor in this situation for a lot of players.

xencthlu

LootAllTheStuff wrote: »

Why do you feel that you *have* to do the Tome challenge? What is keeping you from ignoring it and just doing the things you want to do? Not attacking you - I genuinely want to know why you feel compelled to do this thing you don't want to do.

I guess "have" there is misleading -- I actually want to do the tome challenges! I like them (even if I strongly feel they need significant improvements) and I (mostly) enjoy doing them, and I am *really* excited for some of these rewards. This week, I was finally able to unlock the bonus pages, which means I got the furnishing bundle that has the Stained Glass of Julianos, the High Isle Fireplace, and some other furnishings that are either new or housing editor exclusive. Those are going to enable me to do some home builds I couldn't have done before, and I've been excited for them and anticipating them since the tomes were launched, imagining what I might put them towards.

I also feel some social pressure because my friends are getting their challenges, too, and I want to help them and do the challenges with them, which they'll do on the first day they drop. They're not procrastinators. And we have fun together! Helping my friends accomplish their goals is one of my favourite things to do in an MMO.

This thread got a lot more hostile than I expected.

Umbracat449

SilverBride wrote: »

Umbracat449 wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Yes we can just skip these if we don't enjoy them. But there is a thing called human nature. And human nature makes us want to be part of what is going on, and to earn the things others are earning, and not look like an outsider.

I have no problem skipping things I don't like yet even I have trouble skipping all of it.

'Human nature' for some people. I'm perfectly happy not doing what everyone else is doing, or not earning what everyone else is- if I don't want it or like it.

Of course, because nothing ever holds true for everyone. But that is a big factor in this situation for a lot of players.

Don't earn things just because other people are earning them. Earn them because you want them. Free yourself.

o_Primate_o

FOMO is real.

I take about 3 months off every two years to travel three months straight and i don't worry about missing out the whole time.

kevkj

If enough of you still wake up, brush your teeth and then login to run on the hamsterwheel to complete the tomes/pursuits within 24 hours of release then the only message the metrics will tell ZOS is that you are in fact not overexhausted.

tomofhyrule

Calastir wrote: »

Melivar wrote: »

Your allowed to take down time whenever you wish, that is always a you choice.

The ESO team should continue to put out as many things to do as they can for the thousands of people looking for more to do.

Respectfully, they absolutely get it. I feel like there are other people who aren’t.

The major complaint is “ZOS is giving uso
so many things and now I feel compelled to do them.”
THAT IS THE POINT. That’s exactly what the goal is.
Daddy Microsoft came down and asked each subsidiary to get a 30% profit margin (which is absurd), and like most Live-Service games, the idea is that you feel compelled to keep engaging with it and can never completely finish, so you keep engaging… and seeing all of the cool things that you can buy.

This is like complaining that airplanes can fly. Yes, that’s what they were designed to do. Likewise, this Tomes system and its challenges are intended to keep you playing and grinding. If you’re spending a lot of time doing the tasks and feel like you’re caught in a never-ending spiral to keep you locked in the game, then it’s working exactly as intended. There is research that has gone into these tactics. That’s why so many games nowadays use them. “Players having fun” is a secondary or tertiary concern at best, far behind “players are spending time with the system and opening their wallets.”

You just know some marketing suit was ecstatic seeing a “kill 1000 foes in 90 days” task go up and watching the whole playerbase grind it out in an evening. They know that they can get players to do anything without lifting a finger.

Could the company space things out and allow players more breathing room? Sure! That would be so nice to the players!
That would also risk losing the players to competitors who aren’t being nice. And then the population goes down. And then they fall behind. And then the profit margin goes don. And then they lose more players. And then the servers shut down.

Yes, so many people say that they will spend their money on the company that treats them well. Seems logical… but in practice the big publishers prefer twisting arms. It is seen as unprofitable except for the rare time it works - BG3 was an anomaly and left so many AAA devs confused how these player-first strategies ended up being so profitable. But for every BG3, you have hundreds of indies that pass silently in the night with little fanfare because they can’t make enough.

So what can you as an individual do? Don’t let their marketing tactics control you. Don’t expect a multibillion dollar company to suddenly grow a heart.

licenturion

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Yes, and I'm sure there is some marketing executive sitting there gloating at these types of threads. Why spend all the money to make new zones or content, when all it takes to get people to play more (and therefore spend more) is just make a little task list!

So your argument is... "Capitalism should stop being capitalism!"
Which... uhh... good luck with that.

U have a point. But eventually it will lead to a downfall for a game. I have seen a lot of games switch things up, get big, have maximum concurrent players, only to start a downward spiral until it is too late to recover.

Games like Destiny 2, Sea Of Thieves, Call Of Duty are at their lowest yet because of shrinkflation and re-re-reuse of content. Even Fortnite, the king, confirmed recently they are struggling to keep people their attention.

It will be only a matter of time until this happens to ESO if we don't get completely fresh new original content.

licenturion

SilverBride wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

Taarente wrote: »

The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.

That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.

It still impacts those others who do want these events. Perhaps we need an "opt out" system to help those struggling with event fatigue, where reminders and all other in-game communication regarding the event is removed on the player's end.

Are these the only things that those who like these events want to do? Wouldn't they like time to quest, and run dungeons and trials and the IA, and do housing etc., too? There needs to be a balance and right now we are being pushed heavily into tasks.

This is a good example. With the daily/weekly endevours I barely had to look at them. I automatically did my daily dungeon, I placed furniture because I was building my home, I killed 3 world bosses on the way to my quest, I visited a few players homes to get some inspiration, and I killed 15 daedra while I didn't notice it or grab some resources along the way to an incursion.

Now since april I feel I have zero freedom and I have to complete that 1 specific dungeon 3 times or kill that specific world boss in that specific zone 5 times or spend 3 evenings in Wrothgar because I need an insane number of kills. Almost every game session since Tomes launched has been driven by tasks instead of organic gameplay. If I could choose between the old or new system I would go back to that + login rewards. I felt I got rewarded for playing the game. Now it feels like I only get rewarded for doing exactly what the game tells me to do.

Calastir

tomofhyrule wrote: »

Calastir wrote: »

Melivar wrote: »

Your allowed to take down time whenever you wish, that is always a you choice.

The ESO team should continue to put out as many things to do as they can for the thousands of people looking for more to do.

Respectfully, they absolutely get it. I feel like there are other people who aren’t.

The major complaint is “ZOS is giving uso
so many things and now I feel compelled to do them.”
THAT IS THE POINT. That’s exactly what the goal is.
Daddy Microsoft came down and asked each subsidiary to get a 30% profit margin (which is absurd), and like most Live-Service games, the idea is that you feel compelled to keep engaging with it and can never completely finish, so you keep engaging… and seeing all of the cool things that you can buy.

This is like complaining that airplanes can fly. Yes, that’s what they were designed to do. Likewise, this Tomes system and its challenges are intended to keep you playing and grinding. If you’re spending a lot of time doing the tasks and feel like you’re caught in a never-ending spiral to keep you locked in the game, then it’s working exactly as intended. There is research that has gone into these tactics. That’s why so many games nowadays use them. “Players having fun” is a secondary or tertiary concern at best, far behind “players are spending time with the system and opening their wallets.”

You just know some marketing suit was ecstatic seeing a “kill 1000 foes in 90 days” task go up and watching the whole playerbase grind it out in an evening. They know that they can get players to do anything without lifting a finger.

Could the company space things out and allow players more breathing room? Sure! That would be so nice to the players!
That would also risk losing the players to competitors who aren’t being nice. And then the population goes down. And then they fall behind. And then the profit margin goes don. And then they lose more players. And then the servers shut down.

Yes, so many people say that they will spend their money on the company that treats them well. Seems logical… but in practice the big publishers prefer twisting arms. It is seen as unprofitable except for the rare time it works - BG3 was an anomaly and left so many AAA devs confused how these player-first strategies ended up being so profitable. But for every BG3, you have hundreds of indies that pass silently in the night with little fanfare because they can’t make enough.

So what can you as an individual do? Don’t let their marketing tactics control you. Don’t expect a multibillion dollar company to suddenly grow a heart.

You don't get it either. The point is some of you keep assuming we're addicted to the grind or something. We're not, we're just asking ZOS to earn the same rewards by playing as we want. Your take on ZOS is very cynical. A lot of us think it's just a misunderstanding on their part, since this is actually driving players away. Don't assume you're correct when there are other explanations.

Recent

I have 2 words : JUST PIXELS.

agelonestar

I’d like to strongly disagree with the OP.

We have something like 70+ days left to complete this Season’s challenges. They don’t all have to be done right now.

In fact, they don’t HAVE to be done at all.

But as someone who has played this game forever, and who has completed just about all content available, I really love the events and the challenges and pursuits. Please, keep them coming!

spartaxoxo

licenturion wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

BretonMage wrote: »

Taarente wrote: »

The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.

That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.

It still impacts those others who do want these events. Perhaps we need an "opt out" system to help those struggling with event fatigue, where reminders and all other in-game communication regarding the event is removed on the player's end.

Are these the only things that those who like these events want to do? Wouldn't they like time to quest, and run dungeons and trials and the IA, and do housing etc., too? There needs to be a balance and right now we are being pushed heavily into tasks.

This is a good example. With the daily/weekly endevours I barely had to look at them. I automatically did my daily dungeon, I placed furniture because I was building my home, I killed 3 world bosses on the way to my quest, I visited a few players homes to get some inspiration, and I killed 15 daedra while I didn't notice it or grab some resources along the way to an incursion.

Now since april I feel I have zero freedom and I have to complete that 1 specific dungeon 3 times or kill that specific world boss in that specific zone 5 times or spend 3 evenings in Wrothgar because I need an insane number of kills. Almost every game session since Tomes launched has been driven by tasks instead of organic gameplay. If I could choose between the old or new system I would go back to that + login rewards. I felt I got rewarded for playing the game. Now it feels like I only get rewarded for doing exactly what the game tells me to do.

You really don't need to do any of that. If you get a restrictive task that wouldn't completed in the background in the months you have to do it, just reroll it. If you run out of free rerolls this week, do it next week.