I was hesitant, but then decided to buy it. One reason was that they said this was a "transitional year" to the new model and would still be rather close to the story chapter concept - so I told myself this might be the last big story expansion for some time anyway, so why not... Another reason was that they talked about finally progressing time in Tamriel and all that stuff about continuing the main story - I had, maybe naively, hoped that they would maybe look at what had been well-received during ESO's early years, and get back to that a bit. Including the writing quality, the complexity or lore, etc.

What we got in West Solstice instead was an extremely short main storyline, lore incongruencies (those two Sanguine quests...), and some weird plot holes in the main story. I didn't want to judge it before seeing the other half of the story, thinking maybe some questions will get answered there, and the story might get more interesting (as some years ago I usually found the winter story dlc more interesting than the summer one)... Let's say I've been on PTS, and it's not quite it.

Overall, what disappoints me most is probably the thought of what could have been done with the base premise of the story, and what actually had been made of it, which was quite formulaic and, sorry, boring. And of course, the chapters get smaller and smaller, no special chapter feature and no companions anymore, this time even the dolmen type locations weren't present until now that the event began. Main story took maybe about 5 to 6 hours in total, if you really took your time and listened to all dialogues. For comparison: Back in times of Morrowind and Summerset, a chapter was said to have about 30 hours of story content, plus the winter dlc was supposed to have about 15.

I'm very sceptical when it comes to next year.

Well TES6 was said to be dropping around 2028 and a lot of elder scrolls fans will definitely be taking time off to explore and discover. And you never know maybe they might drift away from eso in that time anything's possible I guess.

With the low quantity AND quality that was delivered this year, I doubt that they can gather enough money for more than a few years.

I do hope that the game will last longer but I see people leaving and stop paying for stuff.

I haven't bought it yet, but not because of what's in it (or not in it). I decided long before the 'content pass' format was announced that I wouldn't buy the next chapter right away. I'm quite a way behind on the main stories and have barely touched Gold Road so I decided I should play what I've got first.

Contradictoraly I was kind of hoping ZOS would make it a difficult choice, but subclassing was a base game update so the pass didn't have a new feature, meaning there is no reason for me to get it until I'm up to that point in the story.

By the way, about new players. Even three years ago it was already hard to get into the game. There are so many expansions, tons of quests pop up at once, and you have no idea where to go or what to do. It’s just overwhelming from the very start. So yeah, giving up after two weeks sounds like a pretty realistic scenario even back then.

To fix this, first, stop bombarding new players with NPCs chasing them around with new DLC starters. Let people focus on one area and progress at their own pace without all the noise. Second, simplify the core systems and make them easier to understand.

Take gear sets, for example. Their descriptions are long, confusing, and basically useless for beginners. Only a small group of endgame players actually understand them, and even they get lost sometimes. How is a new player supposed to know they can just ignore all that?

Or look at multiclassing. That’s already a complex mechanic, and now newbies also have to deal with it. And then last year we got scribing on top of that.

The problem is, new players need simple, clear progression systems. So if anything needs to change, it should be simplified, not made more complicated. Right now, we have the opposite: the progression systems get more and more complex, while the overland gameplay stays the same. It should be the other way around. Progression should be easy to grasp, and the overland should keep evolving every year so veteran players don’t get bored.

Maitsukas wrote: »

While it is annoying, you can use the free Respec scroll you get from the quest, a Respec shrine or the Armory (make sure not to overwrite the build you wish to load) to revert any Subclassing changes you made with this quest.

I'm not sure if anything was changed during the last few weeks (months?), but I was able to complete the quest without making any changes at all (also thought about abandoning it, couldn't, so I just looked what would happen if I make no changes - it still completed).

So roleplay-wise I can consider the whole situation as some fighter type person asking me whether I have considered mixing fighting skills and giving me a bit info on that, and nothing more.

But of course, I think it should be possible to drop this quest. There's no reason it shouldn't.

PS: FOMO only works when the players believe they are going to be missing out on something of value.

I bought standard as I have all the previous Chapters.

Given the minuscule amount of new content for the inflated price, especially if you’re already an ESO+ subscriber, I will NOT be buying next year until after I have seen what’s on offer.

This year has been a disgusting rip-off.

I am not buying the content pass because it includes DLC dungeons.

I am waiting to see if Solstice will be sold without the dungeons and included in the ESO plus subscription in the future.