Studio Director’s Letter: ESO’s 2022 Retrospective & the Future

Lumenn

So, less content, yet ANOTHER promise on bug fixes/server upgrades, and something we've all asked for( like tot?) Is is chess this time! I'm excited 😑

axi

Another year another empty promises. "They will continue to fix the bugs". LOL, looking at skills like fossilize which is bugged for over 3 years right now it's a joke for ZoS to talk about fixing the bugs.

Rhaegar75

• Finally they are slowing down: the fact that every patch would force players to change playstyle, gear etc was becoming really fastidious.
  I want to see changes to the meta but definitely not as often!

• Good that the hardware upgrades are going ahead as planned...better late than never. A truly working Cyro would be the best PvP addon!!

• I'm intrigued about the new system they mentioned...we shall see

kaiquefaraway

going back to the point where I mention that one of the good things to improve the experiences of these players would be an improvement in the battleground.

axi

As it stands right now, we recived more letters apologizing for the bad state of the game and promising improvements than the actual performance improvements.

shadyjane62

Still not resubbing.

master_vanargand

will contain one of the most requested.

Perhaps it's the class change token.
It is certainly the most requested.

But is that all?

It's a feature that should have existed since the beginning of the game, and it's not something you can be proud of even if you made it now.
It is certainly necessary, but it is far from making us enjoy & exciting.

kaiquefaraway

It's funny to see people criticizing the developers and the state of the game, but when it's mentioned on the negative side the community, there are a lot of people defending it.

Lumenn

Billium813 wrote: »

Jabbs_Giggity wrote: »

Two things:

Why does ZOS hate Tenplar?? Melee Templar is now extinct after u35 and u36.

You're living in a bubble. Stamplar still exists, the sky isn't falling.

Did they over-nerf it? Yes, they did (Really? Burst with Power of the Light is all we had left!). Is it dead? No.

The Templar nerfs is just another in a long long line of ZOS nerfing whatever stands out at the top. Expect StamDK nerfs sooner or later since that's arguably the best now. ZOS just hammers whatever nail stands tallest.

Yep, and (I'm being generous here) at least a third of the time it's our own community calling for the nerfs. King of the hill mentality has made me take more breaks from pvp than performance ever did.

Elsonso

master_vanargand wrote: »

will contain one of the most requested.

Perhaps it's the class change token.
It is certainly the most requested.

Interesting. I had forgotten about that. I don't know if it is "most requested" but it is certainly a popular request.

I have always felt that this was in the works behind the scenes, as it fits nicely into both their monetization plan and the idea that everything can be done on one character. I cannot see a reason why this studio would not do that. It is also small enough that ROI may be extraordinarily high.

ZOS_Volpe

Greetings,

We've removed several inappropriate and baiting comments. This is a friendly reminder that comments need to adhere to our Forum Rules and not to derail this thread with off-topic or baiting comments.

Thank you for your understanding.

RMW

As a PvP Main I really really hope you follow through ZOS, let's hope 2023 will be a better year

Kesstryl

I'm tentatively hopeful that focusing on one story zone with more detailed and polished storytelling that spans several years will bring back good writing, alt dialogue even minor alt quest trees), past character choices and friendships with recurring NPCs being more meaningful to any current story, and rp flavor that many of us who love questing would love to see.

I'm all for a quarter going to bug fixes. This is a good thing.

I'm all for devs having actual time to refine and polish content. I don't want them overworked and cutting corners.

I'm mixed on the focus being on repeatable systems as I'm mainly a quester and housing addict (which I know housing is repeatable content). I used to do vet content and burned out from yo yo changes and massive nerfs and meta swings. I don't know if I want to come back to it. I enjoy questing and RPing in my head the most right now. I am happy that those who love end game repeatable content will get some love, as they should.

Maybe allow those of us who love questing to repeat stories on the same alts. The only way I can do this indefinitely is PTS on EU as I have no alts there and just remake my alts using pics of my sliders. The only thing I'm not able to do that I wish we could is having access to the old tutorials where my older alts started. I still feel like those should be options given back to us. Just take out the old combat tutorial parts and leave in the story quest from the old tutorials.

Give us the ability to assign which achievements go to which alts since many of them went to alts we didn't want them to go on. Since these are now account wide, just let us pick our alts since the mentality now is the player achieved it and not the alt. This would be a good compromise to losing our individual character achievements to AwA which messed up a lot of our achievements with things like Grand Master Crafter going to the wrong alt.

Fix the maps for our individual alts. I think many of us didn't want maps to be automatically completed. I still think ZOS doesn't understand how much replay-ability they removed with this implementation of AwA.

Knockmaker

Honestly, this just reminds me of previous years' promises. Not forcing players to change their gear every 3 months sounds good , but as there are no details yet, I am skeptical on that as well.

No explicit reference to Cyrodiil and numerous issues in pvp, but the mentioning of the code re-write is nice, albeit with more postponing every time there is an official statement on it. Judging from what I have observed in the past, it seems that 2023 will also be more or less the same at least till late Q4 (there will be probably more delays with those promises etc).

I stopped subbing a while ago, and I will just continue watching from afar. At this point I am already too disapponted to be disappointed again. I'll just wait and see till Q2 next year (referring to that code re-write which was supposed to be done by the end of this year). No offense, but at this stage, it still looks like another form of "we are working on it" statement. And I for one, am too tired ending up disappointed one more time. I hope one day zos can actually promise and deliver timely without and excuses and delay.

SilverBride

Mik195 wrote: »

Wrll, its been a good run. Sounds like 2023 will be the end for me, but I'm glad that all the people who want a hard game will be there to support the game.

There are a lot of assumptions that the major change is going to be more difficulty for overland. I seriously doubt this is what they have planned, especially after Rich Lambert made it clear in an interview that they have no major changes planned for overland difficulty.

The focus seems to be on replayability. This could be accomplished by creating difficulty levels for Delves and Public Dungeons which would give veteran end game players something to return to all the zones for while keeping overland's open world questing and story intact.

colossalvoids

SilverBride wrote: »

Mik195 wrote: »

Wrll, its been a good run. Sounds like 2023 will be the end for me, but I'm glad that all the people who want a hard game will be there to support the game.

The focus seems to be on replayability. This could be accomplished by creating difficulty levels for Delves and Public Dungeons which would give veteran end game players something to return to all the zones for while keeping overland's open world questing and story intact.

So... How would it accomplish the goal exactly if was for some reason implemented? Doesn't sound that appealing tbh, maybe it was requested somewhere but never saw myself.

SilverBride

colossalvoids wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Mik195 wrote: »

Wrll, its been a good run. Sounds like 2023 will be the end for me, but I'm glad that all the people who want a hard game will be there to support the game.

The focus seems to be on replayability. This could be accomplished by creating difficulty levels for Delves and Public Dungeons which would give veteran end game players something to return to all the zones for while keeping overland's open world questing and story intact.

So... How would it accomplish the goal exactly if was for some reason implemented? Doesn't sound that appealing tbh, maybe it was requested somewhere but never saw myself.

I saw it requested in the pinned overland thread to add difficulty levels to Delves and Public Dungeons.

FlopsyPrince

SilverBride wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Mik195 wrote: »

Wrll, its been a good run. Sounds like 2023 will be the end for me, but I'm glad that all the people who want a hard game will be there to support the game.

The focus seems to be on replayability. This could be accomplished by creating difficulty levels for Delves and Public Dungeons which would give veteran end game players something to return to all the zones for while keeping overland's open world questing and story intact.

So... How would it accomplish the goal exactly if was for some reason implemented? Doesn't sound that appealing tbh, maybe it was requested somewhere but never saw myself.

I saw it requested in the pinned overland thread to add difficulty levels to Delves and Public Dungeons.

They already changed direction once with this (going away from the year-long approach), so who can say they won't do it again.

They also made a thread here for just that (harder overland).

I am not convinced it will be a good approach, I just suspect it is quite likely.

colossalvoids

SilverBride wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Mik195 wrote: »

Wrll, its been a good run. Sounds like 2023 will be the end for me, but I'm glad that all the people who want a hard game will be there to support the game.

The focus seems to be on replayability. This could be accomplished by creating difficulty levels for Delves and Public Dungeons which would give veteran end game players something to return to all the zones for while keeping overland's open world questing and story intact.

So... How would it accomplish the goal exactly if was for some reason implemented? Doesn't sound that appealing tbh, maybe it was requested somewhere but never saw myself.

I saw it requested in the pinned overland thread to add difficulty levels to Delves and Public Dungeons.

They're a part of overland so makes perfect sense, just makes a little sense if done separately on it's own as their quests aren't anything spectacular by any stretch, length and complexity also leaving a lot to be desired but maybe someone enjoys this micro-dungeon experience enough to justify it.

Elsonso

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

They already changed direction once with this (going away from the year-long approach), so who can say they won't do it again.

They also made a thread here for just that (harder overland).

I am not convinced it will be a good approach, I just suspect it is quite likely.

I don't consider moving from the Story Year is a major change in direction. This seems more like a course adjustment, like when the introduced the Story Year. Given that they went back to an idea from before the Story Years, all of this just feels the same, just with different details and less new content.

The major change in direction that should be noted is the 3Q QoL/Fix DLC, which was something they opposed numerous times in the past.

I am also one that thinks that Harder/Veteran/Scaled/Adjusted Overland is coming. Not sure when it will be. Not sure what form it will be. It is probably going to be nothing exactly like what has been discussed in the pinned thread.

My gut says Overland will not be in 2023. If it is, then my gut says it will be a disaster. I don't think that ZOS is ready, internally, to be making major changes to the game like Overland. They have issues behind the curtain that need to be addressed. They cut their annual content in half due to those issues, so I hope they fix their problems before embarking on things that will break the game.

As for the Overland thread... well... I suspect that is more "forum management" than it is "collecting player feedback". A lot more. ZOS design decisions are driven by more than popular opinion that has no understanding of how things are done, if they are doing things right.

SilverBride

colossalvoids wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

Mik195 wrote: »

Wrll, its been a good run. Sounds like 2023 will be the end for me, but I'm glad that all the people who want a hard game will be there to support the game.

The focus seems to be on replayability. This could be accomplished by creating difficulty levels for Delves and Public Dungeons which would give veteran end game players something to return to all the zones for while keeping overland's open world questing and story intact.

So... How would it accomplish the goal exactly if was for some reason implemented? Doesn't sound that appealing tbh, maybe it was requested somewhere but never saw myself.

I saw it requested in the pinned overland thread to add difficulty levels to Delves and Public Dungeons.

They're a part of overland so makes perfect sense, just makes a little sense if done separately on it's own as their quests aren't anything spectacular by any stretch, length and complexity also leaving a lot to be desired but maybe someone enjoys this micro-dungeon experience enough to justify it.

I imagine they would add a new daily quest or objective every day that would be picked up outside the Delve or Public Dungeon. And maybe some new set pieces that could only be obtained in these places. Or leads for new mythic items.

These things would give players a reason to return to the zones and increase replayability, not only for veteran end game players but everyone.

TheRimOfTheSky

If they're planning to make old zones have more replay value I hope they update the outfits of all NPCs. When I see them wearing blurry clothes from 2014 it instantly feels dated to me, knowing there's so many cool options they now have




Putting Duke Sebastien in the Soiree in Camlorn Evening Suit for example, instead of the generic clothes he has been wearing for 10 years, would make it look a lot nicer. A small change goes a long way

Soulshine

As someone in this community who has been here from day one, I am pleased to read that there will finally be a move away from the pattern established with the year long chapters.

Whether there is explicit acknowledgement of the specific issues that pattern caused, we know what they are. It is astonishing that it took this many years for the team to finally give up the ghost, but at least they are doing it so I am glad.

MMOs by definition mean change and, sometimes, change that isn't always welcome by everyone -- but shoehorning the entire ESO player base into quarterly changes especially for gear and builds by throwing in a ludicrous amount of redundant armour sets just to claim those sets are "new content" has been both exhausting and exasperating on more levels than can be summed up here -- so whatever else is being planned to replace this pattern, for heaven's sake I sincerely hope it does NOT include changing BiS items every 12 weeks.

I hope a more solid vision for the game is coming and that they stick with it, so the rest of us still here as well as new players coming in have a chance to find their footing -- literally -- in whatever is at hand.

FlopsyPrince

Elsonso wrote: »

As for the Overland thread... well... I suspect that is more "forum management" than it is "collecting player feedback". A lot more. ZOS design decisions are driven by more than popular opinion that has no understanding of how things are done, if they are doing things right.

Perhaps, but we have several other things that come up repeatedly (survey gathering anyone) that don't have a dedicated thread.

Though I guess my example may have fewer threads on it.

Time will tell if my hunch is right, not that my hunch matters much.

Elsonso

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

As for the Overland thread... well... I suspect that is more "forum management" than it is "collecting player feedback". A lot more. ZOS design decisions are driven by more than popular opinion that has no understanding of how things are done, if they are doing things right.

Perhaps, but we have several other things that come up repeatedly (survey gathering anyone) that don't have a dedicated thread.

Though I guess my example may have fewer threads on it.

Time will tell if my hunch is right, not that my hunch matters much.

I get that, and it is a little odd that the thread is singled out. However, like I said, I am pretty sure they aren't holding it open to get design information from us. It was held open to allow people to comment on the subject in a single combined place. I doubt anything new has been said in there for months, so they probably are not collecting any new opinions or perspective that might be used in early design and concept phases.

If it is slated for 2023, given all of the problems that they are having with quality, I fear for the future of the game.

Jammy420

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

Overland difficulty scaling would make sense with “reutilizing existing zones” and a new system.
Battle pass? Trial finder? Earnable mounts?

I doubt cross platform would be a thing, sounds like it would resume in a giant mess.

No matter what it is, it sounds like big things. I hope ZOS does not over-promise and under-deliver.

Overall, i’m happy that ZOS seems to be scaling down on overland quest content and that there seems to be a strong push on bug fixes and playability improvements planned.

Edit: alot of us are still in the Q&A waiting room.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

Jammy420

TheRimOfTheSky wrote: »

If they're planning to make old zones have more replay value I hope they update the outfits of all NPCs. When I see them wearing blurry clothes from 2014 it instantly feels dated to me, knowing there's so many cool options they now have




Putting Duke Sebastien in the Soiree in Camlorn Evening Suit for example, instead of the generic clothes he has been wearing for 10 years, would make it look a lot nicer. A small change goes a long way

A graphic overhaul for the vanilla areas is long overdue, this includes cyrodiil tbh.

Flameweaver1951

Jammy420 wrote: »

TheRimOfTheSky wrote: »

If they're planning to make old zones have more replay value I hope they update the outfits of all NPCs. When I see them wearing blurry clothes from 2014 it instantly feels dated to me, knowing there's so many cool options they now have




Putting Duke Sebastien in the Soiree in Camlorn Evening Suit for example, instead of the generic clothes he has been wearing for 10 years, would make it look a lot nicer. A small change goes a long way

A graphic overhaul for the vanilla areas is long overdue, this includes cyrodiil tbh.

My current version of Duke Sebastion is wearing a wolfskin and is locked in a jail in some hidden facility.

blktauna

Jammy420 wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

Overland difficulty scaling would make sense with “reutilizing existing zones” and a new system.
Battle pass? Trial finder? Earnable mounts?

I doubt cross platform would be a thing, sounds like it would resume in a giant mess.

No matter what it is, it sounds like big things. I hope ZOS does not over-promise and under-deliver.

Overall, i’m happy that ZOS seems to be scaling down on overland quest content and that there seems to be a strong push on bug fixes and playability improvements planned.

Edit: alot of us are still in the Q&A waiting room.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

No one is fighting against cross platform, except Sony really. But in this case the engine simply doesn't support it.
This is another ZOS communication issue where the question has been answered several times before but it isn't posted anywhere that's easily point to when the inevitable 'oh yeah says who' pops up.

Elsonso

blktauna wrote: »

Jammy420 wrote: »

boi_anachronism_ wrote: »

Nyxenwhite wrote: »

Overland difficulty scaling would make sense with “reutilizing existing zones” and a new system.
Battle pass? Trial finder? Earnable mounts?

I doubt cross platform would be a thing, sounds like it would resume in a giant mess.

No matter what it is, it sounds like big things. I hope ZOS does not over-promise and under-deliver.

Overall, i’m happy that ZOS seems to be scaling down on overland quest content and that there seems to be a strong push on bug fixes and playability improvements planned.

Edit: alot of us are still in the Q&A waiting room.

Cross platform won't happen. Partly because pc add-ons put console at such a major disadvantage when I comes to things like farming for example. They can load pins for nodes and chests among others and they can upgrade PCs as they go where as console is limited by the system we are on.

I play ESO with 3 add ons and walk all over Keyboard and mouse users in pvp. Cross platform would be fine. Console players are not as helpless as you think. Cross platform is important for a modern gaming company, only stubborn old hands fight against cross platform.

No one is fighting against cross platform, except Sony really. But in this case the engine simply doesn't support it.
This is another ZOS communication issue where the question has been answered several times before but it isn't posted anywhere that's easily point to when the inevitable 'oh yeah says who' pops up.

Just to clarify, and no there is no reference to point to, the answer I heard was that it wasn't that the engine does not support it, it was that it would have to be added before they could do it. Like with many things, if it was not needed when they wrote it, they didn't add it.