My biggest gripe about Dark Heart (Story in Group DLC)

TheFM

Yeah, why would they add multiplayer elements to an mmorpg. How dare they! You can skip it, and get the jist of the situation when doing the first solo quest. Or you can take 2 seconds, go to the area with th delve, ask for a non rushed lore and story run, and get a group. No one will rush. Instead of them overhauling the whole dungeon system to suit your playstyle.

TheFM

Smitch_59 wrote: »

Royaji wrote: »

And ZOS would like you to play all of the game. Because they can't chug out content faster than players consume it. So they would prefer to get the most out of the content they can produce.

ZOS might like me to play all of the game, but I won't. I'm a solo player who only bought ESO because it's an Elder Scrolls game. I've tried group content and PVP but I didn't care for it, so I stick to solo play. Now that I've largely completed all the solo content I can, I'm now "finished" with the game. I cancelled my sub and am now moving on to other single-player games. The current trend of putting story content in group dungeons simply confirms my decision that ESO is no longer the game for me.

If youre upset about dungeons being group content, this game really wasnt the game for you in the first place maybe?

Smitch_59

TheFM wrote: »

Smitch_59 wrote: »

Royaji wrote: »

And ZOS would like you to play all of the game. Because they can't chug out content faster than players consume it. So they would prefer to get the most out of the content they can produce.

ZOS might like me to play all of the game, but I won't. I'm a solo player who only bought ESO because it's an Elder Scrolls game. I've tried group content and PVP but I didn't care for it, so I stick to solo play. Now that I've largely completed all the solo content I can, I'm now "finished" with the game. I cancelled my sub and am now moving on to other single-player games. The current trend of putting story content in group dungeons simply confirms my decision that ESO is no longer the game for me.

If youre upset about dungeons being group content, this game really wasnt the game for you in the first place maybe?

Wrong. I used to enjoy ESO tremendously. I especially liked the pre-One Tamriel days, when I could go to Cadwell's Silver or Gold and it felt like a real single-player game because nobody else was there. I subbed to ESO+ for over four years, and I'm sure ZOS appreciated my money just as much as everyone else's. But having completed the main story and zone quest lines many times over, and having done all the content I care to, it's simply time for me to move on to other games.

xaraan

I don't mind the stories in dungeons and for those worried about others rushing them through, it's not hard to get a friend or two and just 2-3 man a normal version for the story aspect. But I do think connecting the story of these 4 man's to the larger year long story feels a bit weird to me. Just doesn't have the same sort of flow as doing a questline. So, I'm glad dungeons have stories behind them, but think they should be a bit more standalone. TBF though, I don't think they are that needed to get the bigger story however from the expansions and DLCs that come later in the year.

Linaleah

AlnilamE wrote: »

Linaleah wrote: »

at least stories in trials are self contained. I still wish I could take more time to explore and to listen, but finding a trials group that is willing to hang around while you talk to every npc (and they actualy have quite a bit to say in trials as well) - can be even harder then finding 3 other people to do this in a dungeon.

before we had self contained stories though. now... they are part of the larger narrative and THAT.. is something that IMO requires some changes.

I'm going to disagree that trials are self-contained. The Craglorn trials relate directly to the Craglorn quest line. They are the consequence of the Celestials being driven mad by the Serpent.

Honestly, the whole "the dungeons are part of the story" is really just PR talk.

They are not more connected to the story than the Imperial City Dungeons are tied to Imperial City, or than Banished Cells I and II are tied to the story of Auridon (which they are, but there was no PR hype on that so people don't realize it)

you... may have a point about craglorn trials.

pr talk or otherwise, they ARE selling these new dungeons as part of the story though, tying them directly into it.

Dusk_Coven

GenjiraX wrote: »

Blaqk_EyeD wrote: »

There are several guilds that do group dungeons and take the time to explore the lore inside.

How can I find them? I love exploring everything the game designers put in but in group content I feel under massive pressure not to hold anyone else back.

Text search in Guild Finder of course!
Oh, wait. ZOS didn't think of that <.<

Dusk_Coven

Casdha wrote: »

I do not understand why development time is wasted on placing meaningful story content inside of a group dungeon.

And just watch -- the first chapter dungeons are going to be tough. Tougher than new players entering the system to play Skyrim should have to face, just like the Wrathstone dungeons.

So they are going to make a big splash about "come to Skyrim", only for new players to have to get carried or grind to level up and gear up just to experience Chapter 1 of their year long story.

Even people grinding Undaunted Keys want to avoid DLC dungeons. <.< https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/434468/separate-queue-for-dlc-dungeons

snoozy wrote: »

i wish they would at least give a statement on it. the community has been asking for ages.
even if they say "not gonna happen" at least we get a reaction.
but the choose to continue ignoring us apparently

What they did give us was extra time before we're kicked out of a dungeon because everyone already left. Just enough time to turn in your quest.
Maybe, just maybe, with all the threads out this time around, they will actually listen.

Iccotak

AlnilamE wrote: »

Linaleah wrote: »

at least stories in trials are self contained. I still wish I could take more time to explore and to listen, but finding a trials group that is willing to hang around while you talk to every npc (and they actualy have quite a bit to say in trials as well) - can be even harder then finding 3 other people to do this in a dungeon.

before we had self contained stories though. now... they are part of the larger narrative and THAT.. is something that IMO requires some changes.

I'm going to disagree that trials are self-contained. The Craglorn trials relate directly to the Craglorn quest line. They are the consequence of the Celestials being driven mad by the Serpent.

Honestly, the whole "the dungeons are part of the story" is really just PR talk.

They are not more connected to the story than the Imperial City Dungeons are tied to Imperial City, or than Banished Cells I and II are tied to the story of Auridon (which they are, but there was no PR hype on that so people don't realize it)

And Craglorn was the least successful add on to the game.
ZOS had to make major reworks to the quests and zone because no one was playing it.

That's why Trials after that have barely anything to do with the main story.

I don't see a problem with a solo dungeon mode (within reason) but you don't need solo trials

peacenote

I read through most of this thread and have also been following along in the story mode poll.

While not representative of all comments and viewpoints, I am fairly surprised how much of this has an "us vs. them" feel to it, and I am starting to think the "story mode" aspect of this is too narrow of a perspective.

Why?

Well, first of all, because there does seem to be a strong assumption by many that everyone's approach to the game is a) work through the story and struggle through the dungeons when required at that point of the story or b) run through the dungeons without any care to the story. Thus bringing us to the conclusion that we need a story mode and stories shouldn't be in dungeons.

But there is another type of player -- me. I *love* group content and new dungeons. When new content drops, if it's a trial or dungeon I get very excited to try it, learn it, obtain its gear and achievements. So usually I do that first. However it doesn't mean I don't work through the main story or quests! I do. I just do this at a slower pace, usually a weekend or two after I have gone through the normal and veteran versions of the group content on multiple characters. Or sometimes months later if I don't have a lot of play time. I still haven't worked through the Dragonhold story.

I also am displeased with this trend of advancing the story behind dungeons in a yearlong arc. I don't want to do the story out of order! I would much prefer to see the dungeons have related but standalone stories. And I enjoy running them!! Adding a story mode alone doesn't solve this.

There were always little things throughout the years which players needed to overlook with regards to story continuity. But things have gotten pretty confusing for a new player/character (Abner Tharn, cough, cough). At this point, it'd be nice for ZOS to make an effort to provide a variety of quality of life improvements, many of which have been suggested repeatedly on the forums, to help rectify this larger issue. And it would also be nice if this new direction could be revisited, as it seems to be causing new levels of frustration within the community. From what I can tell, the agitation over this focus on story has reached a fevered pitch as a result of the emphasis on a yearlong story, and it is a mistake to assume that this affects only individuals who wish they could explore dungeons at a leisurely pace. It impacts most of us. There aren't just "dungeon runners" and "story players." Many of us explore almost all of the aspects of ESO, and are not brand new players joining to experience the new story. It seems to me that ZOS is marketing towards what they think those folks want, and are designing a strategy to deliver content in bite sized pieces and meant to be consumed in a specific order to keep you engaged all year long. I'm not even sure this is a great strategy for new players -- who may benefit from the option to start the story from the beginning, with the traditional starter zone, and may prefer instead to sometimes go through new content without ruining the larger story arc -- but it definitely seems to be alienating the rest of us.