High Isle ...Nothing New

danno8

Ronin37 wrote: »

DagenHawk wrote: »

I'm having fun...I think as far as the mechanics and classes they are at a good place....one thing I don't want is a bunch of meaningless throw away systems every expansion like WoW does..as far as classes go we can pretty much do everything on the magic and fighter scale now ..what do you want a Bard? (only if they are full PVP and Blade of Woe capable)

I'm also seeing people having a fit over the story


/rambling incoming...

I really don't know what people are expecting, of course for the life of me I can't see why everyone gushes over FFXIV's story content...I certainly can't comprehend why people film themselves crying over it on YouTube.

I think that sometimes a story can be told without expanding said universe...if you doubt that read anything by Pat Rothfuss.
ESO is like your Friday night D&D game...you don't expect academy award winning story there and you shouldn't expect one now....if I want feels I'll watch the LOTR (when Gandalf falls after the Blarog...it gets me every time) series again.

I find myself with enough to do given the content, of course I don't live in the game like my neighbor does, but I really don't think the game was designed for that in the first place.

I think the problem is unlike FFXIV the ESO story villains' don't have impact. They are not challenging, they do not offer any sense, I guess that they are a threat. At all. It creates the superman problem. Even if I start a new char, and I have done this, we are unkillable gods. The only time I die is in hard mode dungeons or when I leave to go to the bathroom and forget to move my char to the road. For me I unfortunately don't even remember most of the so called villains' is because at this point they are background noise. Killed so quickly I hardly notice they are there.

Then the other issue is most of the stories involve family member x losing family member y who becomes ghost/zombie/vampire who me must kill/save then choose to lie/tell truth to quest giver. I know that there are only a limited amount of stories. Let me repeat, I know there are only a limited amount of stories. But at least fluff them up and make feel good. But I think it goes back to the fact that there is just minimum impact. Where as in game like FFXIV, Classic WOW, even LOTRO and many other notable games those boss mobs make you work for the glory and in the end it gives the story a kick.

That's why you see people in FFXIV crying or people playing Elden Ring just ecstatic and bosses like Melania becoming household names. And ESO no one remembering or caring about the vampire doing bad stuff in Blackwood. ESO is excellent in the story department but like bland filet mignon it needs that flavorful kick or its just another piece of meat not worth paying for.

I do agree on the systems. The systems need to have a reason to be.

FF14 also has narrative cutscenes that involve the bad guys alone, outside the players characters narrative. This provides story and background for the bad guys as opposed to the painful exposition that needs to happen to have any semblance of motivation for why they are the bad guys.

There is a reason why books tell stories from multiple points of view of different characters. ESO could use some of this to make the player identify emotionally with more than just their own PC.

Edit: I think the lack of this kind of storytelling is also why we need so many "who are you again?" and "what are we doing here?" moments while chatting with our story companions.

DreamyLu

I like the new area, however, it's a fact that for players who have zero interest in companions and cards game, this "exp. pack" brings little. I already had the surprise at time of Blackwood, so I had no big expectation for High Isle. In ESO, the term "exp. pack" has a different meaning than the one I know from other MMOs.

Don't misunderstand me: I don't tell it's wrong and also, what I say has nothing to do with the quality of the new content. It only has to do with the "quantity". I purchased this new area because I can afford it, and I enjoy it, but to my eyes, what I paid for is no exp. pack: it's an expensive new area.

Castagere

Epona222 wrote: »

A lot of people like new quest content, not everything is made for everyone. There are 2 dungeon dlc packs every year that I have no interest in. I don't come here and moan about them. I like the zone DLCs and new quest content though.

This 100%
I have been loving the new zone and quest I think the starting city is one of the best they have come up with. They made it fun to explore. Not like that nightmare Senchal.

Vonkarolinas

joerginger wrote: »

We get red blobs instead of green blobs trying to kill us everywhere. So something is new.

Fauns are new, who cares about blob colors.

FlopsyPrince

Fhritz wrote: »

Not liking it doesn't mean no content.

I would love to shoot the fool shouting about the card game in Alinor....

FlopsyPrince

I did not get a lead to get one of the new companions when I tried to summon them. I recall getting that for the old ones.

No idea where to find them now, though I am sure I can do a web search for those details. (I shouldn't have to do a web search of course....)

SydneyGrey

I like it better than Blackwood. Blackwood seemed so empty. At least with High Isle there seems to be more to do, and more interesting places to go.

FlopsyPrince

SydneyGrey wrote: »

I like it better than Blackwood. Blackwood seemed so empty. At least with High Isle there seems to be more to do, and more interesting places to go.

The portals there are even worse than dragons. At least someone might show up to help with a dragon. Ever try to solo all the way through those portals?

Of course some here will note how they can with a level 1 new character with no CP, but it is quite hard for some characters/players.

xXSilverDragonXx

Most of the posts I have seen were people who did not want to buy this expansion due to lack of content and that it was truly unimpressive. I agree with that assessment. Bright side? It won't sell very welll and they will learn their lesson. Make content worthwhile or we will pass on it. Vote with your dollars or lack of them in this case.

Mushroomancer

SerafinaWaterstar wrote: »

wulfienfang wrote: »

So yet again we get another "expansion pack" and yet there is no new classes, so we get to create the same old classes over and over and over again 6 years later.

And there is no new Tutorial zone.

The land mass of the new High Isle is supposed to be the same size of Black Wood, great so not a whole there then? Seriously is ZOS just a cash company now?

They haven't introduced any new classes or any really BIG content in how many years? If ever.

What are we paying them all that money for then?

THIS is all they can come up with?

And your hyperbolic complaining is wrong. They have introduced new classes in the last 6 years.

Of course that claim was hypebolic, but the fact that a lot of people don't realize or don't want to acknowledge how low of a bar to clear "adding two new classes in 6 years" is still kinda baffles me.

francesinhalover wrote: »

wulfienfang wrote: »

So yet again we get another "expansion pack" and yet there is no new classes, so we get to create the same old classes over and over and over again 6 years later.

And there is no new Tutorial zone.

The land mass of the new High Isle is supposed to be the same size of Black Wood, great so not a whole there then? [snip]

They haven't introduced any new classes or any really BIG content in how many years? If ever.

What are we paying them all that money for then?

THIS is all they can come up with?

[edited for bashing]

ps4 and xbox one can't handle much more currently, so things have to go slow until there's ways to add more. at least that's what people say.

Honestly, considering how they attached the performance reason to AwA, which was clearly [snip] someone came up with at the last moment to lend more credence to a rushed decision, I am inclined to believe the whole "we can't add new stuff in because old-gen consoles are at their limit" is some major bullcrap. Funny how adding new animations for clown crates mementos and cash shop emotes and mounts every patch doesn't seem to pose a problem, but a new class (which would most likely still use a ton of recycled animations) is a big no-no. Yeah, seems totally believable to me.

Kiralyn2000 wrote: »

Never really been in to this whole "more classes! MORE!" thing.

New zones, new stories, new quests is where it's at.

And they keep doing that, so it's fine. /shrug


(always found it interesting how some people will reduce a whole DLC/expansion/etc, down to one thing they don't like, and dismiss everything else. Seen it in multiple games' forums.)

See, I would agree with you, but when the last three chapters have been a [snip] story-wise, and every bit of content is just a rehash of the same old kinds of quests and overland crap, I cannot commend the devs because they just "keep doing that".
Also, I don't understand why you and some other people on here keep mentioning how those that are disappointed by this chapter are "reducing it down to one thing they don't like". If the expansion has nothing interesting for that player, no *** they are gonna harp on the fact that they don't like the one thing that's been added, because it is one new thing that has been added with this chapter. I'm glad you enjoy questing and the story, but bashing other players because they might only be interested in the combat or metagame and are left wanting more every year is such a hypocritical stance.
When the roles are reversed and people that don't even know what a full armor set is complain about not liking such and such content because it's too hard, or because it should be soloable at level 1 with white quality gear on a one-bar setup, no one can say ***, because then it's a matter of accessibility and making the game "fun for everyone". I guess that works only as long as that "everyone" is a very specific set of players who have no interest in any instanced content, theorycrafting, combat, or interacting with other human beings. This is still an MMO, right?

xXSilverDragonXx wrote: »

Most of the posts I have seen were people who did not want to buy this expansion due to lack of content and that it was truly unimpressive. I agree with that assessment. Bright side? It won't sell very welll and they will learn their lesson. Make content worthwhile or we will pass on it. Vote with your dollars or lack of them in this case.

The problem is that this chapter will most likely still sell very well. The people that post on the forums are a very tiny minority of the playerbase, and usually the most vocal one. The average players that play casually just skimming through the content, which are apparently the majority, don't even bother to give negative feedback or "vote with their dollars". As it's made apparent by many of the comments belonging to that subset of the playerbase, as long as they keep churning out good enough updates, people will flock to them. ZOS won't learn a thing from this chapter, because there will be nothing to learn. They are catering to the most profitable portion of the playerbase, and that portion doesn't give a flying *** about writing quality, combat, metagaming, or anything of the sort, they just want to relax and shut off their brain doing menial tasks for a couple of hours every now and again. Of course that's totally fine for them, to each their own, but unfortunately this also means that ZOS will keep going in this direction till the income inevitably dries up and they move onto the next thing.

[edited for profanity bypass]

ResidentContrarian

xXSilverDragonXx wrote: »

Most of the posts I have seen were people who did not want to buy this expansion due to lack of content and that it was truly unimpressive. I agree with that assessment. Bright side? It won't sell very welll and they will learn their lesson. Make content worthwhile or we will pass on it. Vote with your dollars or lack of them in this case.

You underestimate the urge for consumers to consume and abandon reality...

licenturion

Mushroomancer wrote: »

The problem is that this chapter will most likely still sell very well. The people that post on the forums are a very tiny minority of the playerbase, and usually the most vocal one. The average players that play casually just skimming through the content, which is apparently the majority, don't even bother to give negative feedback or "vote with their dollars". As it's made apparent by many of the comments belonging to that subset of the playerbase, as long as they keep churning out good enough updates, people will flock to them. ZOS won't learn a thing from this chapter, because there will be nothing to learn. They are catering to the most profitable portion of the playerbase, and that portion doesn't give a flying *** about writing quality, combat, metagaming, or anything of the sort, they just want to relax and shut off their brain doing menial tasks for a couple of hours every now and again. Of course that's totally fine for them, to each their own, but unfortunately this also means that ZOS will keep going in this direction till the income inevitably dries up and they move onto the next thing.

This is the reality for a big chunk of the ESO player base. ESO is more a chill casual MMO experience that attracts this kind of consumers. It certainly is why I started playing as well.

I usually pick up ESO again when there is an expansion, fill all the map completion meters, do some quests and the new mechanics, buy a costume in the store and then move on to other games doing the same stuff until the next PVE content drop is.

I enjoy new shiny graphics, biomes, new epic music, dungeons and some casual story telling. I don't play PVP, I don't min/max characters, I change my build once a year and, don't create alts, don't do trials and don't do veteran content. But a new zone, music, story and mechanic that enhance my current avatar is worth spending some money on for me. 🤷‍♂️

Sure they can release a chapter that focuses only on PVP, Cyrodill or veteran content but then pretty sure a lot of the regular customers from the past expansions skip a chapter and those people would have moved on to another game entirely if there isn't anything for them during a whole year.

When I look at my gamer friends there are many of us that are not super vocal but keep the money flow alive to ZOS because we like what they come out with. Also the fact that ZOS sticks to this formula for years means it works well for them financially.

Mushroomancer

licenturion wrote: »

Mushroomancer wrote: »

The problem is that this chapter will most likely still sell very well. The people that post on the forums are a very tiny minority of the playerbase, and usually the most vocal one. The average players that play casually just skimming through the content, which is apparently the majority, don't even bother to give negative feedback or "vote with their dollars". As it's made apparent by many of the comments belonging to that subset of the playerbase, as long as they keep churning out good enough updates, people will flock to them. ZOS won't learn a thing from this chapter, because there will be nothing to learn. They are catering to the most profitable portion of the playerbase, and that portion doesn't give a flying *** about writing quality, combat, metagaming, or anything of the sort, they just want to relax and shut off their brain doing menial tasks for a couple of hours every now and again. Of course that's totally fine for them, to each their own, but unfortunately this also means that ZOS will keep going in this direction till the income inevitably dries up and they move onto the next thing.

This is the reality for a big chunk of the ESO player base. ESO is more a chill casual MMO experience that attracts this kind of consumers. It certainly is why I started playing as well.

I usually pick up ESO again when there is an expansion, fill all the map completion meters, do some quests and the new mechanics, buy a costume in the store and then move on to other games doing the same stuff until the next PVE content drop is.

I enjoy new shiny graphics, biomes, new epic music, dungeons and some casual story telling. I don't play PVP, I don't min/max characters, I change my build once a year and, don't create alts, don't do trials and don't do veteran content. But a new zone, music, story and mechanic that enhance my current avatar is worth spending some money on for me. 🤷‍♂️

Sure they can release a chapter that focuses only on PVP, Cyrodill or veteran content but then pretty sure a lot of the regular customers from the past expansions skip a chapter and those people would have moved on to another game entirely if there isn't anything for them during a whole year.

When I look at my gamer friends there are many of us that are not super vocal but keep the money flow alive to ZOS because we like what they come out with. Also the fact that ZOS sticks to this formula for years means it works well for them financially.

The thing is, I am not advocating for a chapter that focuses only on catering to PvP or endgame PvE players. What I'm advocating for is for ZOS to at least attempt to satisfy all or at least most subsets of the game's population. The thing that honestly pisses me off is that they have shown they are capable of doing this with chapters like Morrowind and Elsweyr, but now, it just feels like they don't care anymore, like they have found their cash cow and they are gonna milk it for all it's worth, giving everyone else the bare minimum to keep them playing.

LikiLoki

The only thing added to the game is the cards. Because unlike everything else, they can be enjoyed many times. However, they made a mistake: the cards do not have signs of a collection, such as in FF, they cannot be sold, crafted, exchanged. The cards have no colors of value and ranks, the game table cannot be placed in your house.

Eormenric

wulfienfang wrote: »

What are we paying them all that money for then?

THIS is all they can come up with?

New games need seed money. ESO is the seeder for ZOS's next game. Here's more information about that. ESO is not a priority and will instead go the path of maintaining a diverse playerbase, not a dedicated one. ESO is an MMO that lots of people pickup and put down because of how much horizontal progress it offers. There's something for everyone and always will be. That's why Matt Firor said they weren't deepening any existing features. If you're expecting some new innovation, it isn't going to happen. You will get a new feature that can be superficially built upon. Companions won't change. Antiquities won't change. Skills won't evolve. PvP won't expand--it's just likely to reduce in scope for performance. You want boats? Not gonna happen. The crown store will continue to grow as the biggest source of revenue since it's possible to play 5 years of ESO content with a single 1 year subscription price with the crowns you get from that. That's not a lot of money to work with and even less when ESO doesn't keep it all. So anytime you hear them say "The team at ZOS is growing." It's true. Just the team for ESO isn't growing. But thank you for purchasing High Isle to confirm the known-fact that it wasn't worth it.

The only good thing about High Isle? No end of the world plot. Support that path, but not everything else.

Vonkarolinas

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

It's easy to challenge OP's hyperbole...

... But the dlc just released and confirmed what dozens of threads said before, this expansion barely expands the game.

Nothing wrong with telling companies that we feel oversold and underwhelmed.

To be fair, it doesn't need to "expand" the game as it is not an "expansion". It is just DLC. Content. And it does in fact contain content. I just re-read the release material, and they were very careful not use use the term expansion. Story, Chapter, yes. Even year long adventure, and on this note let's not forget the second half has yet to be released.

Vonkarolinas

Eormenric wrote: »

wulfienfang wrote: »

What are we paying them all that money for then?

THIS is all they can come up with?

New games need seed money. ESO is the seeder for ZOS's next game. Here's more information about that. ESO is not a priority and will instead go the path of maintaining a diverse playerbase, not a dedicated one. ESO is an MMO that lots of people pickup and put down because of how much horizontal progress it offers. There's something for everyone and always will be. That's why Matt Firor said they weren't deepening any existing features. If you're expecting some new innovation, it isn't going to happen. You will get a new feature that can be superficially built upon. Companions won't change. Antiquities won't change. Skills won't evolve. PvP won't expand--it's just likely to reduce in scope for performance. You want boats? Not gonna happen. The crown store will continue to grow as the biggest source of revenue since it's possible to play 5 years of ESO content with a single 1 year subscription price with the crowns you get from that. That's not a lot of money to work with and even less when ESO doesn't keep it all. So anytime you hear them say "The team at ZOS is growing." It's true. Just the team for ESO isn't growing. But thank you for purchasing High Isle to confirm the known-fact that it wasn't worth it.

The only good thing about High Isle? No end of the world plot. Support that path, but not everything else.

That is a whole lot of speculation right there.

omnidoh

• ESO story, lore, and concept are fine.
• ESO combat is fine. (Yeah, needs tweaking, but eh, not really a big deal)
• ESO Overland is fine, just boring after one masters the basics of the game, which doesn't take long
• ESO Housing is fine, it just needs more utility, more ways to customize, and far less monetization
• ESO Group-content is fine, it just needs more options and flexibility with difficulty and group size
• ESO Crafting is fine, it just needs more flexibility, variety, and impactful utility

ESO is just fine, all it needs are more avenues for player creativity and a healthy dose of corralling, to prevent whimsical and nonsensical player-driven or otherwise influenced content.
And if not, then at least the option for any player to flat out ignore / remove said disparities from their individual or group experience whenever they are so inclined.

The problem is profit.
ZOS has to continue to profit, or it all goes away.
The only way they can do that is if their customers are willing to pay for the use of their platform, and whatever they decide that platform contains at any given time.
It's really just that simple.
We as consumers / customers, have only two choices: Pay, or not.
And if enough customers un-sub, then revenue declines, less funds are available to maintain or improve the game, and well...it all eventually shuts down.
C'est la vie with capitalism.
Cheap, fast, and good. You may only pick two.

FlopsyPrince

Vonkarolinas wrote: »

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

It's easy to challenge OP's hyperbole...

... But the dlc just released and confirmed what dozens of threads said before, this expansion barely expands the game.

Nothing wrong with telling companies that we feel oversold and underwhelmed.

To be fair, it doesn't need to "expand" the game as it is not an "expansion". It is just DLC. Content. And it does in fact contain content. I just re-read the release material, and they were very careful not use use the term expansion. Story, Chapter, yes. Even year long adventure, and on this note let's not forget the second half has yet to be released.

High Isle isn't an expansion? Then why did I have to buy it instead of getting it free with my ESO+ sub?

FlopsyPrince

omnidoh wrote: »

• ESO story, lore, and concept are fine.
• ESO combat is fine. (Yeah, needs tweaking, but eh, not really a big deal)
• ESO Overland is fine, just boring after one masters the basics of the game, which doesn't take long
• ESO Housing is fine, it just needs more utility, more ways to customize, and far less monetization
• ESO Group-content is fine, it just needs more options and flexibility with difficulty and group size
• ESO Crafting is fine, it just needs more flexibility, variety, and impactful utility

ESO is just fine, all it needs are more avenues for player creativity and a healthy dose of corralling, to prevent whimsical and nonsensical player-driven or otherwise influenced content.
And if not, then at least the option for any player to flat out ignore / remove said disparities from their individual or group experience whenever they are so inclined.

The problem is profit.
ZOS has to continue to profit, or it all goes away.
The only way they can do that is if their customers are willing to pay for the use of their platform, and whatever they decide that platform contains at any given time.
It's really just that simple.
We as consumers / customers, have only two choices: Pay, or not.
And if enough customers un-sub, then revenue declines, less funds are available to maintain or improve the game, and well...it all eventually shuts down.
C'est la vie with capitalism.
Cheap, fast, and good. You may only pick two.

That is a cop out. it depends what "cheap" means. They better be able to make the MMO in a cost effective manner or they should shut it down and do something else.

ZOS_Icy

Greetings all,

We would like everyone to keep posts on the subject at hand, as well as keeping things civil and constructive.

Thank you for your understanding.

Mushroomancer

Vonkarolinas wrote: »

Jim_Pipp wrote: »

It's easy to challenge OP's hyperbole...

... But the dlc just released and confirmed what dozens of threads said before, this expansion barely expands the game.

Nothing wrong with telling companies that we feel oversold and underwhelmed.

To be fair, it doesn't need to "expand" the game as it is not an "expansion". It is just DLC. Content. And it does in fact contain content. I just re-read the release material, and they were very careful not use use the term expansion. Story, Chapter, yes. Even year long adventure, and on this note let's not forget the second half has yet to be released.

Are you actually, unironically arguing on semantics?
What kind of difference does it make if it's called an "expansion", "DLC", "Chapter", "content pack"? It's still something that is supposed to add something to the game, which is the equivalent of, you know, expanding it.
It seems to me you are implying that there is a difference between DLC, which adds content, and an expansion, which, yeah, adds content. Any content that is added is inherently expanding the game.

The issue here isn't whether or not the game is being expanded, because it is. The issue here is whether or not that expansion is substantial enough to be worthy of being called a "chapter", and in turn if it is worth the asking price. As you will no doubt have noticed by some of the comments here, including mine, some of us don't think it is because it seems like a lackluster offering compared to previous chapters (even though it continues the horrible trend of barely any content established by Greymoor and Blackwood). Simple as that.

Also, so what if the second half hasn't been released yet? The Q4 DLC almost always adds a new smaller zone and maybe one new instance, usually an arena. The Q4 DLC won't address any of the shortcomings of this chapter, aside from building upon the story of the chapter. And the game isn't just story and quests, just so you know.

EdmondDontes

High Isle seems like a reskinned, pared down summerset with a card game. And the new mount series that is associated with it is BY FAR the most hideous reskin thus far in game IMO.

It really feels like investments into ESO are being scaled way back at every level.

McGamer

The DLC definitely does not have enough content to be worth buying and I have no intention of buying it just because its a new shiny.

(Be careful, if the negative comments about the game outweigh the positive ones, ZOS will lock the thread down and claim it isn't being constructive.)

HappyTheCamper

wulfienfang wrote: »

so we get to create the same old classes over and over and over again 6 years later.

They haven't introduced any new classes or any really BIG content in how many years? If ever.

Umm what? What does the “6 years later” even mean? The game is 8 years old and we’ve had 2 new classes since launch.

And what the hell does the “if ever” mean?

I totally understand and agree with people hating this chapter launch. I’m upset with some decisions too. But like…can actual constructive criticism be made instead of gas lighting hyperbole?

Carcamongus

I'm enjoying the chapter. Yes, it looks a lot like Summerset, but then the zone isn't very far from there. I want new places to explore and new quests to entertain and fascinate and those are being provided. I'm more concerned about some problems, such as the issues the game has been having ever since the release of Ascending Tide and an antiquities lead that's causing players to bicker.

xaraan

They also didn't give us a house to purchase at the end of the questline. In every chapter since Orsinium, we've gotten homes to buy for gold that were 600+ slot size homes (exception being Elsweyr which actually let us unlock an even nicer home for free through the year long quest line).

Oh, and they moved my thread talking about it to the housing sub-forum to make sure it got less visibility. Even though I'm not sure how talking about not getting a feature is "housing", even if that feature we didn't get was a house. It's not about housing because there was no house! -- it's about loss of value of your product.

Tenthirty2

At this point I have to wonder WHAT would make ppl happy?
What new classes?
What should the zones look like and have in them?
What would be considered "expanding the game?" (We are out in the middle of the sea now?)

After a time there will start to be many redundancies bcuz it's all on the same world?
Especially with how many invasions, migrations, restructuring of kingdoms there have been, Tamriel is one big melting pot at this point.

Travel around Earth enough and you'll notice most things are just variations on each other.
The only way you'll see things not common on Earth is to travel to Mars, so-to-speak.

All I can come up with for an answer is if people are looking for something drastically new and never before seen on Tamriel, it sounds like they're ready for a different game world entirely.

LordRukia

xXSilverDragonXx wrote: »

Most of the posts I have seen were people who did not want to buy this expansion due to lack of content and that it was truly unimpressive. I agree with that assessment. Bright side? It won't sell very welll and they will learn their lesson. Make content worthwhile or we will pass on it. Vote with your dollars or lack of them in this case.

Everyone already bought it though.. I'm sure sales are through the roof. There are good QoL improvements and mythics and quests. The game is still good, we were just given a garbage main feature mobile tcg that was literally pointless to put into ESO and is actually worse than the mobile version that has voice acting, sounds, and animations. There is none of that here . I doubt they even put many resources into this.. so where did all the work go?

Its ok to still play the game while pointing out the obvious lack of effort from ZoS
I predict if they don't blow it out of the water with the next xpac with a new skill line or class then the tears will flow for 40 day sand 40 nights on the forums and it'll be well deserved lol.

I suspect that because they are still supporting ancient 10 year old consoles that we can't have cool things anymore so don't expect any significant additions to the game until those are phased out. Until then all they can do is add boring mini games and fluff.

Mushroomancer

Tenthirty2 wrote: »

At this point I have to wonder WHAT would make ppl happy?
What new classes?
What should the zones look like and have in them?
What would be considered "expanding the game?" (We are out in the middle of the sea now?)

After a time there will start to be many redundancies bcuz it's all on the same world?
Especially with how many invasions, migrations, restructuring of kingdoms there have been, Tamriel is one big melting pot at this point.

Travel around Earth enough and you'll notice most things are just variations on each other.
The only way you'll see things not common on Earth is to travel to Mars, so-to-speak.

All I can come up with for an answer is if people are looking for something drastically new and never before seen on Tamriel, it sounds like they're ready for a different game world entirely.

I'll answer to these questions in the way I would like to see new chapters expand the game in the future.

When it comes to classes, there are plenty of options that can still be explored, ones that come to mind are a "Dwarven Machinist/Artificer", a "Druid", a "Void Mage", an "Illusion or Alterarion mage". Point is, it's their game in their world, they can add whatever class they want, it doesn't need to be the most original thing in the world, hell the last one we got was Necromancer. But, since I can appreciate the fact that we cannot get a new class every year, even one skill-line that affects combat in some way would be enough in those years when new classes don't get released. Seriously, just give us something for combat that isn't just a new set that will either be BiS on every single class or nerfed into the void in a matter of weeks.

As for the zones, I think most of them look fine, no issues there for me. Where I take issue with them is how the core gameplay loop in every zone is basically the same. I'm not saying to take away world bosses or delves, those are a staple and somewhat enhance the feel and sometimes even the storytelling in the zone, but they could at least try to make the world event (i.e. dolmen reskins) a little bit different for each region at least. I feel like Elsweyr was a step in the right direction with the dragon fights, for example.

As for the last question, I'm not sure I understand what it is that you are asking. It seems you are under the impression that people are lamenting the fact that the chapters haven't expanded the continent of Tamriel lately because we are still in Tamriel, but that's not the case. Personally I couldn't care less if the expansion was set in the middle of the ocean or in outer space, the problem with High Isle is that its offering of content is lackluster, more lackluster than previous years even, and the "new feature" seems to be an afterthought made to appease a very, very minor subset of the game population who are convinced minigames are what ESO needs most. I would agree if those minigames were just one of the features we got, but as it stands, this chapter is just the expected zone+quests, while keeping old (and, in my opinion, not all that interesting) systems like companions and antiquities up to date, and adding a crappy card minigame which everyone will most likely get sick of before Q4.

Bottom line, I want chapters to feel like worthwhile additions to the world and to the gameplay, not just a dump of a zone with its related stories. The ideal chapter, to me, would attempt to please most subsets of the population in ESO, and that means adding a new class or combat-focused skill line, something to keep PvP alive, whether that's new modes or additions to Cyro or BGs, improvements on housing and RP possibilities in the game, as well as all the basic stuff we get now and something to keep the most casual players interested for the month or two they play every year (read as: cards).
So, in conclusion, no, a new zone, old systems with a "new" coat of paint, and a card game are not enough for a full-price chapter. Of course, I felt more or less the same about Blackwood, but the poor quality of that chapter could have been excused by COVID regulations and the psychological and work environment impacts of the situation as a whole; while the whole pandemic situations hasn't entirely subsided, I don't think that holds up as justification for lackluster content anymore, especially considering how many of the restrictions have been lifted in the US. Here's hoping they do better next year, but they won't because this chapter has most likely already sold a crap ton of copies, so we'll just get the same *** content from here on out.