What does ESO mean to you?

JoeCapricorn

I feel compelled to post this because I do sincerely feel a lot of good toward Elder Scrolls Online and what this game means to me. Irregardless of certain disagreements, some things will never change.

Like wandering around Auridon and hearing that song come on that starts out with the beautiful harp. The only other soundtracks I listen to from a video game outside of gameplay are Undertale and Doom Eternal / Doom 2016.

Or coming across an LGBTQ+ character and feeling represented in the realm of Tamriel. The Flower of Youth remains one of my favorite vanilla sidequests and I even named one of my characters Mirilir.

I made a Khajiit named Jiren-dar when Summerset came out. Now, since Dragonhold, there is a Jiren-dar in ESO. The naming of my character was partially inspired by the Dragon Ball Super character Jiren, and I also wanted to make a Khajiit stamblade for the crit.

I have the Adventurer personality on my main and it always cracks me up when he (a vampire Argonian) goes YEHYEHYEAH-YEB-YEB-YEAH!!!

Where do I go to relax when I've had a long day at Renaissance Faire? Or when real life things are stressing me out? Tamriel calls, and sometimes I am just wandering around but I always have something to do in ESO. Sometimes it is good to have a break from politics, which in ESO sometimes involves hiding zone chat entirely and going back to collecting surveys.

I like being in trading guilds as that in particular is something I am good at. I don't need to be the very best, like no one ever was. I just want to feel good at something, and for me that involves logging in to 600k in sales.

The Elder Scrolls Universe has captivated me ever since I first played Oblivion in 2008 shortly after getting a new gaming PC. When ESO was first announced I was curious but cautious, yet when I first played it I was hooked. Plus the naked dance parties at the end of Beta in Ebonheart were funny!

So what does ESO mean to you? I wanted to make this post because I did not want to just be posting in the forums to criticize a certain recent change. Nothing can erase the fact that when I was feeling at my absolute lowest, I logged into ESO to relieve some anxiety, and I got into a discussion about my pet mantises, and it also helped remind me that the world is full of people to fascinate and be fascinated by. This game has helped me through some dark times, including what I've been going through personally over the past year.

Sylvermynx

It's fun. That's my bottom line. Should I be alive to play TES VI, great, but if ESO is still going at that point, I'll still be playing it.

Eiregirl

I have played many MMO's over the years including WOW for over 15 years and ESO is the one that finally pulled me away from WOW for many reasons but the bottom line is as @Sylvermynx said...It's fun.

Ackwalan

There has been a drought MMO's for several years. ESO has gotten away with a half empty glass of murky water because of it. If and when some competition comes along, ZOS will either step up (which we can hope for) or join games like Rift.

Katahdin

An escape from the reality that is real life.

Ryuvain

Skyrim is what got me into elder scrolls. Boo I know.

Playing that and pretty much only played Khajiit because I liked them so much.

Fast forward to now and learning their lore just solidified it. Seeing khajiit characters or players just makes me happier even on bad days. Doesn't help that they're cute.

Reminds me of all the crazy adventures I had on Skyrim.

Aigym_Hlervu

I've never viewed ESO as a separate game, but as a part of TES only. Actually, I don't even perceive different TES games as separate games - to me they are all just eras, different time periods of this universe: 3E 389 - 399, 3E 405, 3E 427, 4E 201, 2E 582.. TES I was just great among other 1994 games, if you remember those times. Cool graphics, cool RPG. TES II showed that TES is not just a game - it's an entire universe with it's laws and customs. By the time of TES III I finally decided who am I in that world - a Dunmeri Sorcerer, and in that Era I'm a Redoran mage and one of the two the last Archcanons of the ALMSIVI Tribunal Temple (along with Gavas Drin). Vvardenfell became my home and up to this time, for all these 18 years, I've been a Dunmer Sorcerer, though, since there is no option to join any of the Great Houses except House Dres, - I'm affiliated with this Great House. TES IV gave me an opportunity to see the land of my in-universe opponents - the Empire, and during TES V it was not even an option to me what side to choose in the Stormcloak Rebellion. Yes, Skyrim is for the Nords, indeed. In case some of you might not understand what I mean: I mean, it's for the Nord ownage of the Skyrim's means of production. There should be no place for the Imperial companies draining off this land of it's resources and Imperial Legions or Altmeri Justiciars enforcing the Imperial or Thalmor law. That's what I mean. It is for the Nords who helped us to recover after the Red Year, who invaded our land in the First Era but lost in fair fight and, unlike Imperials, they've never tried to conquer us again, to monopolize our production, to bring their laws to us. Today, in 2E 582 they are our loyal allies along with our former slaves who proved to be our allies too and thus earned our gratitude and respect.

For decades I've been studying the lore of TES, I was around when the UESP were making the first steps and were not that popular and known almost to everyone - we had to study everything without any help, to read each book, each dialogue, to think it all over ourselves, build our own theories and break them after some new discoveries. I have to be honest here - sometimes I forget how many years passed since that times. Sometimes I forget that some new players could be born relatively recently so they are not aware of all that lore data I've been studying all these years, to some players TES V or ESO itself is the first TES game they've ever played - sometimes I get annoyed by their naive or offending (as it seemed to me) questions because of it, questions that I presumed simple and known to everyone, so I treated those players as trolls, as someone who mocked for no reason. I'm sorry, guys. I sincerely apologize for having treated some of you bad, for viewing your questions that way. I should have been sharing my knowledge with you and knowing some new perspective from you, not making you go in bad mood with your questions unanswered. TES should live forever and you are the ones who might bring the knowledge of it through times.

Speaking of the ESO itself, this game to me is it's story, it is Morrowind and Vvardenfell, it is the Ebonheart Pact, it is my military guild of over 400 Alliance War players where I've been one the field commanders and leading officers, it is my friends and Alliance War companions from so many countries who fight along with me in Cyrod, it is every EP player who joins my unit there or fighting on his own or in other groups, it is every new story we take part in the DLCs, every twist of the plot, it is nostalgia, it is the world so familiar to me and yet very interesting, it is Pacrooti and Sai Sahan, Lyris, Vivec, Almalexia and Sotha Sil, so many other NPC, it is the Eight Divines (I mean the developers and beta-testers of TES I&II who gave their names to the in-game Eight Divines), it's Ken Rolston, Michael Kirkbride, Todd Howard, Matt Firor, Lawrence Schick and Leamon Tuttle, all the developing teams who have been working hard these 26 years, it is this forum, it is the erudition of @VaranisArano, wisdom of @Sylvermynx (long years of pleasant life to you, my friend - I hope we shall both see it and will discuss TES VI with you!), honor and goodness of @PrayingSeraph, sense of humor of @Ajaxandriel, polls of @SaucyJack, creativity of @SantieClaws, clear mind and humane qualities of @Syldras and so many more good people I'm not able to name all of them here. Thank you all, mates! Ah, it can take me an eternity to tell you what TES and it's part called ESO is to me - take your time to play consideringly all the 13 TES games or just TES III-TES V and ESO itself to see it the way I do. It's hard to describe.

ESO is a part of another world that gives me an opportunity to see how would I act in it in order to solve it's problems, what place would I take in it and what virtual life would I live there being myself, though placed in that environment and circumstances of the other world. ESO is a masterpiece of video game art, a result of hard labor of numerous people and I am man who values it and respects all the efforts performed.

wishlist14

I fell in love with TES first and the romance continued even stronger with eso...well not stronger but different..im very passionate about Tamriel, its lore and its people. It's an amazing land rich with lore, interesting characters and fascinating monsters.

There is always something to do which i need for my mental health. I enjoy the variety of activities eso offers not to mention the beauty of the landscapes etc. Eso helped me get through 2 deaths in my immediate family and other things i wont mention here as they are too personal. Can games help us cope with life's challenges? Heck yes ...they transport us to another realm where we can take a break from the pressures of life. We can also make lots of friends if we choose.

Sometimes i've taken big breaks from guilds and from socialising in general cos i needed to and yet i really enjoyed eso as a solo player too...events and dungeons help you not get so lonely when playing mainly as a solo player cos you always have the option to group up and have a bit if company on the side.

Eso will forever have a special place in my heart ❤.( background harp music ) 😆

rpa

It's a pretty good mmo with some rather annoying quality of life problems to play while hoping something good with acceptable QOL gets released.

Ringing_Nirnroot

I started off playing Skyrim then I came across eso, I remember my first day getting online and it was nothing like Skyrim ( i came here thinking it was gonna be like it but online lol). It was fun overall, I took my time with all the quests and slowly improved, met friends and foes good times

Grandchamp1989

I've always loved the TES universe, my favorite fantasy universe by far.

ESO has been my great escape during this pandemic and I'll always be grateful for that. It has been great escapism.

Nairinhe

I've been in love with the Elder Scrolls universe since Morrowind and it always felt like home. Now ESO is my safe place, my additional life. Well, er, six lives with more to come?

Chaos2088

This is gunna sound very sad, but had to move about alot in the past 5-4 years, and always been playing ESO while that was going on, so feels homely a little bit.

JTD

A great time with to much frustration that I only log in for trials three times a week.

JoeCapricorn

Ryuvain wrote: »

Skyrim is what got me into elder scrolls. Boo I know.

Playing that and pretty much only played Khajiit because I liked them so much.

Fast forward to now and learning their lore just solidified it. Seeing khajiit characters or players just makes me happier even on bad days. Doesn't help that they're cute.

Reminds me of all the crazy adventures I had on Skyrim.

Skyrim is a wonderful game that I have spent countless hours in, so it is certainly a good start to the universe of The Elder Scrolls! In 5 years or so we might even see people who start playing ESO after first playing TES VI.

Artim_X

The ending of the Summerset trailer captures the essence of what ESO means to me. Playing ESO is like finally going home.

master_vanargand

The Elder Scrolls Online fun, but it also causes suffering.
The class balance is bad, the set is balance bad, the abilitiy is balance bad, the race is balance bad, the server is heavy and many bugs.
If all the problems are solved, it will be the best game in the world.

scorpius2k1

ESO when I first started was a breath of fresh air. It felt new, refreshing, and finally an MMO I can really get into...until time started passing by and what seemed was depth was only shallow water. The thing with ESO is unless you are big into story and lore, the game severely lacks depth and the longer you play it the more this becomes apparent.

Most players are stuck into doing the same type of content over and over with very little incentivization to continue doing so. Constant nerfing and major problems that are never really fixed add to confusion and frustration. Then finally, add the fact that every system in ESO is made to funnel every single player into buying things via endless microtransactions instead of a balance with enough incentive to play the game, the experience for any long-term player becomes a fairly abysmal experience.

ESO, a true diamond 💎 in the rough with such huge potential. Unfortunately that potential was and continues to be washed away by a very blurred vision by it's developer. Instead of being that diamond it has become a turd. ZOS can polish their turd as much as they want with false promises and corporate tactics, but at the end of the day it is still only that - a polished turd. 💩

What does ESO mean to me? It means the promise of something great and wonderful that severely and constantly let's it's players and long-term fans of the Elder Scrolls series down at nearly every turn. In part, I think their are other plans and priorities within the company. No developer would let their IP suffer this badly unless their were other things and other projects being invested into. I feel ESO is a slow burn to get as much out of the players instead of the other way around, and that will continue to happen until that burning flame simply goes out.

Sylvermynx

@Cygemai_Hlervu - I love reading your posts! Your life in the TES world is extremely interesting. I do hope we can enjoy TES VI together (in whatever way is available at that point)!

Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo

These past two years I've seen many leave and guilds break due to underlying performance/bug issues and a lack of end level players. It was fun up until Summerset in my opinion.

Like any game it's had high points and low points. What does ESO mean to me? Well it's a game which is too rough and unfinished.

TheTwistedRune

What does ESO mean to me?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyP6mWYtKIM

Xiomaro

ESO is PVP players getting salty if you play anything that can beat them

Outside of PVP, it's a casual game for me that has the familiar Elder Scrolls flavour which I love. I don't do trials but I can imagine that's a lot of fun too.

Syldras

@Cygemai_Hlervu As I've still not fully recovered (considering my disturbing dreams and the strange weather outside it's probably the blight - nothing to worry about! ), I'll keep it short: Thank you, my friend. I feel honored.

Tandor

As a veteran TES and MMORPG player it was inevitable that I would want to play ESO at launch, although I had by then stopped beta testing games so I hadn't tried it out until it launched. I immediately realised that it was joining the small number of MMORPGs among the many I've played that would be a main home for me gaming-wise for many years, and that has proved to be the case.

Aside from it having a rubbish trading system, I have never had any significant issues with the game whether in relation to skill balancing, gear sets or performance, not being a competitive PvE player or PvPer. For me, it looks great, sounds great (both music and voiceovers) and hangs together really well in respect of the lore, story and quests. Add in the secondary activities like crafting, housing and fishing and it's a great all-round game. I still play others, but this one is my main gaming home as I knew instantly it would be.

BejaProphet

It means “Elder Scrolls Online.” I’m surprised nobody got that one.

deevoh1991

One of the few games I've stuck with for years. This game always has something to offer me .

Elvenheart

It means never having to say you’re sorry (if you are a dev, anyway!) 😉

Sorry, just kidding! Now that that’s out of the way...

...I had briefly dipped into playing Oblivion but never got around to finishing it because I was playing other games at the time. I think the Underworld movies were starting to come out around that time, and I was excited about the upcoming MMO Worlds of Darkness because I would finally get to play a vampire in an online game. I hardly knew anything about TES lore, I was more into games like WoW, Neverwinter, Lord of the Rings Online, and City of Heroes. But when I heard of ESO and that you could be a vampire I thought, “Oh, good, a game I can play until WoD finally comes out.”

Right off the bat (hehe) I loved the game engine. The characters and environments were gorgeous, the animations smooth and so well done - it made the other MMOs I was playing feel like cartoons in comparison. But I was very slow coming around to getting into the lore. Well, WoD died before it was born, and then City of Heroes shut down 😭, and after playing ESO it was just so much harder to stomach the clunky, cartoonish game engines of the games that survived, and still, ESO is really the only good MMO around where you can play vampires (even if they are only sickly blood fiends now, sigh).

I always said the perfect game for me would be this game engine combined with The setting and lore of Neverwinter! But over the years, the lore of TES slowly sucked me in, and here I am today, calling Tamriel my home away from home every chance I get. So that’s what ESO means to me. Thanks to anyone who managed to stick around for the end of this post. 😊

markulrich1966

greaves - sword - cuirass

helm - cops - bracers

2 platinum necklaces

...


...

This is mainly all ESO has left for me to play.

Exploring: no longer. First the run boost of rapid maneuver was reduced to 8 seconds, now the whole skill is hidden behind a paywall

Combat: since crystal blast was removed, playing a sorc in daily delves/worldbosses no longer feels like dancing, but like stumbling. Not fun any longer

So ESO actually basically means crafting now for me, on 20 toons.
Now and then a quest at events. Just to stay busy until new games are released that bring back the fun to explore the open world and fight, or a wonder happens that brings back the fun to ESO.

stefan.gustavsonb16_ESO

Having suffered from the "long haul" version of Covid-19 over the past few months (fatigue, immune system disturbances and various weird effects on the autonomous nervous system), while also coping with a combination of imposed and voluntary restrictions on gathering with friends IRL, ESO has provided me with a way of having fun with friends, in short bursts when I find the energy, while staying home and recovering. I suppose any MMO would have served that purpose, but ESO has been my poison of choice for the past few years, and it's the only MMO that has both caught and held my attention. It's still fun, and I discover new things all the time. I discover new bugs all the time as well, but hey, it's software. It has bugs. No surprise.

Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo

Punches_Below_Belt wrote: »

[Quoted post was removed]

First MMO so first experience.

TheImperfect

It's a holiday from boredom and is fun. It's been a place just for myself and somewhere I can retreat to and make my own and do whatever I want unlike real life oftentimes. I love the lore and stories and adore the art of the world and music. I can't get enough of housing and I enjoy questing, dungeons, trials and pvp. I enjoy every aspect of the game. It's kept me sane during the furlough and now I need a new job due to covid it will keep me sane while I look for one.