Thoughts and concerns on the future of ESO chapters.

Finedaible

My apologies if this lengthy post comes across as negative or unintentionally offends anyone but I personally feel like the future of ESO chapters (expansions) is a topic worth discussing.

I feel like it honestly won't make a difference where we go in 2022 chapters/dlc when they cannot add anything new to the game. They admitted to us this year that they cannot add anything like combat skill lines, animations, classes, etc. because they are continuing to support the older consoles... which honestly feels depressing because the game has already been combat-stagnant for so long now when it could be growing instead of being stunted. They said they did not want to force players to upgrade their consoles - which is a very nice sentiment I can appreciate - but console gamers are going to want to upgrade to the latest console after so many years. It's only a matter of time before Microsoft or Sony stop supporting that older hardware too. Even for the average pc gamer, 5-7 years is typically when they start to consider upgrades anyway, the cost over time is very manageable at that point. In my opinion Square Enix made the right call with FF14 when they stopped supporting older hardware. It's just not feasible for a game like ESO - that is supposedly doing so, so well that they have millions of first-time players each year or whatever - to be stuck in the mud behind other titles. It just doesn't add up.

There is so much potential for ESO to grow and evolve and it just feels like it is being squandered on recycled content and excessive monetization. Chapter updates are barely delivering anything new now. I mean, the only feature in 2021 was two companions and relatively little quality of life. The Armory would have been a nice addition (especially for console players) if it wasn't so restricted and monetized. I appreciate they won't be doing another 'save the world ploy' in 2022 but even the writing has been in drastic decline since Summerset, so if all we're getting in 2022 is "a traditional Elder Scrolls story" without any meaningful expansions to combat or PvP, I'm kind of concerned it is going to be a year to skip or forget. There's already way too many sets and far more motifs in the game than anyone is ever going to realistically use, so I don't know why those aspects should still appeal to us with upcoming releases. I'm sure we'll get a new trial, new dungeons, and new crates in 2022 according to the release formula but honestly we have so many right now that I think it's time to focus those efforts on something original. Don’t get me wrong, I think that as a location Fargrave and the Deadlands were visually awesome with a somewhat interesting story but you have to admit that 2021 did not really expand the game in any meaningful way. I mean, how much cooler would the Deadlands have been if it enabled a Daedric Crescent skill line? Or what if the Markarth DLC in 2020 had enabled a Void Magic skill line? How much more awesome would that be?

VaranisArano

"you have to admit that 2021 did not really expand the game in any meaningful way"


I'm guessing you didn't use Companions?

I did. Mirri and Bastian added a new dimension to my overland gameplay. See, I haven't been able to quest with my IRL friends since Clockwork City when they moved on to other games for various reasons. So Mirri kind of fit into that gap and changed up my solo quest roleplaying experience. She's no Lydia, and that's both bad and good.

I know others have use them to fill out their dungeon groups. Some people have duoed dungeons with a Companion they couldn't solo previously. Some people have paired up and used their Companions to make a group of four. Companions have even filled roles in Trials with group support.

I realize that Companions are not a new class, nor a new skill line, and that they don't appeal to every players.

That doesn't mean that Companions didn't expand ESO in a meaningful way. This year, Companions made a positive difference for me.

IronWooshu

Console user here, PS5 owner. I would love for them to focus on just the new consoles but I am on a PS5 still playing the PS4 version of the game because I want to continue earning trophies on the current list. If you run the PS5 version, its a completely separate trophy list. I want them to advance this game but I don't want separate trophy lists for different versions which is keeping me from upgrading my version even on the PS5.

Mushroomancer

I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiment, this year has been so underwhelming for me. Don't get me wrong, I've had my fun with my guildies doing the usual progress runs, but this year it really has started to almost feel like busywork, the times we have together are the fun part, the content itself is a chore.
I don't know exactly where that statement about ZOS not being able to add new systems because of old console support comes from, but if it's true, it's genuinely sad.
Plus, the monetization attempts seem to be getting worse and worse over time, and that's just awful. I get that ZOS needs to keep the lights on, but seeing predatory *** in the CS like WW and Vamp bites and cures, respec scrolls (both of which are without even a mention of an in-game alternative), outfit and armory slots that are not account-wide, and skins and costumes being bumped to the apex tier in crates, really makes me upset.

VaranisArano wrote: »

"you have to admit that 2021 did not really expand the game in any meaningful way"

I'm guessing you didn't use Companions?

I did. Mirri and Bastian added a new dimension to my overland gameplay. See, I haven't been able to quest with my IRL friends since Clockwork City when they moved on to other games for various reasons. So Mirri kind of fit into that gap and changed up my solo quest roleplaying experience. She's no Lydia, and that's both bad and good.

I know others have use them to fill out their dungeon groups. Some people have duoed dungeons with a Companion they couldn't solo previously. Some people have paired up and used their Companions to make a group of four. Companions have even filled roles in Trials with group support.

I realize that Companions are not a new class, nor a new skill line, and that they don't appeal to every players.

That doesn't mean that Companions didn't expand ESO in a meaningful way. This year, Companions made a positive difference for me.

I'm glad companions made a change for you and many others, and I'm guessing the framework they pushed out alongside the chapter couldn't have been easy to make, but I don't think it's too much of a stretch to say that they do not, in fact, change the core gameplay of the game in a meaningful way. Aside from how underwhelming and tedious the companion system feels, just having a slightly interesting NPC, who you have a moderate amount of control over, following you around and spouting repetitive one-liners and getting mad because you looked at a bug funny or you touched cheese is not a meaningful addition to gameplay. Even if they were though, it's not a feature that can carry an entire chapter, especially not the crap sandwich that was Blackwood.

Nogawd

Companions would be great only if I could q did a random normal, say with me and a friend and their companion. At least they would do better dps than the pugs lol.

Blinx

Mirri really made me dislike the fighters guild's dailys, I hope the next batch of companions do not have to do the guilds again, or else I won't bother

hafgood

1. Supply problem. Not everyone can find a next gen console to buy.

2. Why does the game have to get new skill lines, races or classes? They don't always add anything to a game and can really mess up a game when added in

3. What's wrong with a well thought out quest line with good dialogue and a decently hard bad guy at the end?

Everest_Lionheart

Nogawd wrote: »

Companions would be great only if I could q did a random normal, say with me and a friend and their companion. At least they would do better dps than the pugs lol.

Companions that don’t roll into the one shot mechs would be nice, looking at you Mirri every time I solo BDV and she rolls out of the safe circle and into the part of the room filled with fire or when she sees me jump into the pit below but makes a run for the Encrantis through the fire and makes it 2 feet before dying. 🤦‍♂️

Can our companions LTP please? That would be great thx.

Dalsinthus

There were a reasonable number of nice things this year:

The full regular content schedule (4 dungeons, 1 trial, 2-3 zones, new antiquities, lots of new sets)
Curated item drops (building on stickerbook from late last year) - this one for me is huge
Companions
Armory system - again huge
Endeavors
More interesting event rewards
Hybridization of stats mixing up new builds

And I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting, all while working from home. Also I can’t agree that the writing quality has gone down; I think the newer quests have been pretty much solid.

That’s not to say everything is great - bugs are left in the game way too long, pvp performance is abysmal, etc. There is plenty to complain about too.

phaneub17_ESO

With the armory system in place, I would like to see them add on class skill morphs from 2 each to 4, not necessarily a new skill line but expanding on what is already there. That alone could make up the difference if they are unable to add anymore new classes to the game by allowing even more customization to existing classes. This would also give them more freedom updating current existing skills and new morphs to play in specified roles or alternative builds that never would have been used in before.