2023 New Feature Speculation

Syldras

Billium813 wrote: »

They mentioned that they would be focusing LESS on story and quest content, and they would be focusing MORE on repeatable content. To me, that implies PvP or instanced content like Arenas.

Or maybe it's just some simple system like the "radiant quests" in Skyrim: Random tasks like "Go to dungeon X, fetch item Y" (or kill boss Y, or rescue npc Y). Of course that would bring players back to older zones, but I'd find it rather boring to be honest.

Finedaible

Lol, why are some even suggesting that spellcrafting in ESO - assuming it even becomes a reality - would be anything at all like the single player titles? To assume ZoS would put something that broken into their MMO would be hilariously foolish, even if they did sell Oakensoul as it was. Obviously such a system would have balance limitations in place like any competitive multiplayer game, but I still don't think it is likely to be 2023's major feature.

Jaraal

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

Finedaible wrote: »

If they do - by some extraordinary miracle - bring out "spell crafting" as a major feature in 2023 then ESO might just have a future after all. However, I would recommend fellow ES fans to take a healthy dose of skepticism and to not believe the desperate delusions of the community. The concept of spellcrafting was officially cancelled many years ago in favor of housing. The lead designer of spellcrafting left ZoS shortly after. Later rumours would suggest that any work that had been completed on spellcrafting up to that point were repurposed into Antiquities. Considering the supposed technical limitations of catering to old consoles, and the fact that Block (a core comabt ability) was broken for a whole month, I highly doubt ZoS would be capable of implementing such a system in the midst of a code rework they say they are working on.

When ZoS talked about putting spellcrafting on the back burner because of difficulties in balancing the game, they mentioned that one of the ideas they had come up with was that you'd have to (grind) find leads that would allow you to locate pieces of tiles. When you had all the pieces to complete a tile you could learn the spell associated with it.

II don't know if that was really their plan for spellcrafting, but it certainly fits with the idea that when spellcrafting was abandoned the code was repurposed for the antiquity system, and later the concept of mythics.

In any case, I don't think that spellcrafting (if we ever get it) would be like previous TES games, where you could define your own spell types and strengths... and then go off into the wilderness to practice them until you could get them to trigger at a reasonable rate:)

Yeah they already go overboard with the wild changes every three months to try and keep up with the current meta. And they are already behind by the time they publish the changes, because players have moved on to some new discovery that makes the trimestral changes obsolete before they even make it to Live.

I don't think adding another thing to have to balance is even remotely on their radar.

BretonMage

Syldras wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

They mentioned that they would be focusing LESS on story and quest content, and they would be focusing MORE on repeatable content. To me, that implies PvP or instanced content like Arenas.

Or maybe it's just some simple system like the "radiant quests" in Skyrim: Random tasks like "Go to dungeon X, fetch item Y" (or kill boss Y, or rescue npc Y). Of course that would bring players back to older zones, but I'd find it rather boring to be honest.

Yeah... I want replayable quests, but not like that. Which means it's more likely than not to be their feature

ESO_Nightingale

Finedaible wrote: »

If they do - by some extraordinary miracle - bring out "spell crafting" as a major feature in 2023 then ESO might just have a future after all. However, I would recommend fellow ES fans to take a healthy dose of skepticism and to not believe the desperate delusions of the community. The concept of spellcrafting was officially cancelled many years ago in favor of housing. The lead designer of spellcrafting left ZoS shortly after. Later rumours would suggest that any work that had been completed on spellcrafting up to that point were repurposed into Antiquities. Considering the supposed technical limitations of catering to old consoles, and the fact that Block (a core comabt ability) was broken for a whole month, I highly doubt ZoS would be capable of implementing such a system in the midst of a code rework they say they are working on.

I'd be happy with a new mag weapon as well. Or hell, even just a new weapon.

Seraphayel

[Snip]

Be aware that ZOS won't do something that needs extensive manpower. The features of the last years basically show that they invest less and less money into the game and just do the most basic and shallow updates to everything. So Spellcrafting, as amazing as it would be, is basically off the table - requires too much work. That leaves a few things:

- A new weapon: one-hand + rune (Magicka melee) - this is by far the most likely and easiest option. Would allow a few new builds and is not too hard to balance or develop.

- Cyrodiil without PvP: This would be another quite easy task and is requested since forever. Basically just another instance of Cyrodiil, where PvP combat is disabled. They could have some new areas, maybe even in the form of an adventure zone akin to Craglorn - Cyrodiil already exists and they would basically just have to fill it out with PvE content - so contrary to other Chapter-related zones, they just have to put in some content and not create an entire area from scratch.

[Edited for baiting]

ghastley

Syldras wrote: »

Billium813 wrote: »

They mentioned that they would be focusing LESS on story and quest content, and they would be focusing MORE on repeatable content. To me, that implies PvP or instanced content like Arenas.

Or maybe it's just some simple system like the "radiant quests" in Skyrim: Random tasks like "Go to dungeon X, fetch item Y" (or kill boss Y, or rescue npc Y). Of course that would bring players back to older zones, but I'd find it rather boring to be honest.

I could see them replacing the current dailies with such a system. Right now the dailes are simply selected from a short list, and have no variety once you have done each one. It could open all the delves to become part of the daily selection for their zone.

Syldras

ghastley wrote: »

I could see them replacing the current dailies with such a system. Right now the dailes are simply selected from a short list, and have no variety once you have done each one. It could open all the delves to become part of the daily selection for their zone.

While that would be an improvement, I think it would be lame to introduce that as a big new feature.

xthrshx

The new feature is not going to be flying mounts, spellcrafting, or trial finder. These are the same people who thought we were getting a monk class and naval combat. Pay attention.

TaSheen

xthrshx wrote: »

The new feature is not going to be flying mounts, spellcrafting, or trial finder. These are the same people who thought we were getting a monk class and naval combat. Pay attention.

Eh, all too true.

Disclaimer: I don't WANT a monk class or naval combat.

MajThorax

Capes

SilverBride

Friends don't let friends wear capes.

emeraldshado

SkaraMinoc wrote: »

In the 2022 Studio Director's Letter, a new feature was mentioned.

Q2: Full-featured Chapter in June. The 2023 ESO Chapter will be a complete story: you will be able to play all the way through it without a storyline that is broken out and reserved for later in the year. We will return to larger/better and more detailed Chapters by doing this. We are REALLY excited about next year's Chapter—for details, you'll have to wait for our Global Reveal Event in January. But one hint: this will be part one of a multi-year story arc and will contain one of the most requested new features.

Here's what I remember as "most requested".

• New Class
• Trial Finder
• Story Mode Dungeons
• Hide Shoulders and/or Crotch Flaps
• Group Duels

Not requested as much but nice to have:

• Underwater Swimming
• Companion Duels
• Battlespire Dungeon (PvPvE)
• PvP Arenas (2v2, 3v3, 4v4, etc)
• Housing Battlegrounds
• New Battleground set in theme of new Chapter

I would like to see a druid with bear form.

Story mode dungeons with a group of 3 support ai would be cool to actually allow me to play through the dungeon quests for the story experience i am paying for, but not receiving with dungeon finder.

Trial finder would lessen or remove the gatherings of people in craglorn, unless they put a billboard or a concierge to congregate around. Maybe 1 in each major city. But i still think it would lessen the group of people in craglorn hanging around. Would have to have options listed for hard mode, ncr ,ncr+1 +2 +3


I want a new pvp zone like imperial city or cyrodil based in the underground zone where instead of capturing keeps and towers, we capture a kwama mine, an ore mine and a jewlery mine, but it has some vampire , werewolf or falmer invasion every so often to shake it up and defend against invadors to steal your cache of defended goods.

I was saddened to find out no dragons interupted cyrodil at any time. I think it would have been rate for a dragon to show up at a keep and lay flames to both defenders and invaders alike to sow some chaos on the field.

Under water zone would be cool if its kind of like star wars episode 1. Maybe fight over oil derricks. Introduce it by getting swalled by a whale like in Pinocchio

In star wars the old republic, you send your companions to craft. Sobit could be cool to have extra functionality for companions, send them out on a survey or treasure chest mission. Give them a stat that they can grow to further increase success chances when i send them on treasure chest missions or jewler seems. My invintory is filling up with thrm, and its, do i continue my farm for 500k telvar, or do i take time out to try and google treasure maps, breaking immersion and removing me from my ps5 while i look at my phone.

BenTSG

Although I highly doubt it, perhaps a Justice Overhaul? I would like to see a Justice Overhaul, at least. Localized bounties separate from each zone, Bounty Hunting in both PvE and PvP form. You'd be able to sign up to be a bounty hunter / lawman and take 'contracts' that would require finding clues towards a suspect to arrest and obtain stolen goods from which would let you return them to a HQ and get paid the usual cost of said item like if you was fencing it, perhaps there would be random NPCs you can find stealing in towns or out in the wilds. If you get enough of a bounty, AI hunters could find you at varying difficulties.

In terms of PvP, it could let you find contracts on players, and the clues would help both pinpoint the location of the player, and what they look like. Maybe it could even bring housing into it, if you have enough clues you can find their house, and set an ambush. If you set an ambush and trigger it, you gain advantage buffs over the other player, If you just find each other there is no advantage's, and if the player is in their home they get a home turf buff unless the hunter went in while they wasn't home and marked a ambush. Sort of like with IC, any stolen goods the person was carrying could be lost and looted by the hunter as they wish. Maybe the criminal can counter the hunter with their own tasks to hinder the hunter.

I dunno, just spitballing some thoughts. Like I say, I highly doubt it would be anything to do with Justice, but one can dream

James-Wayne

Spell crafting HAS to the most requested new system surely!

Yes a new class is needed or some kind of weapon skill line but I see that more of a chapter thing to bundle with, in terms of new systems that will keep us going into the New Year it has to something big like Spell crafting!

Bethgael

I really can't guess, because I've noticed in the past that things the devs say are "heaviliy requested features" seem to be things that soime of us never evenb knew were going to be a Thing until they happened (eg, AWA). It depends if they mean requested "in the forums", "by PvE players", "by PvP players" etc etc.

I mean, as far as I can tell the actual most heavily requested thing for ESO is "for the LOVE of Akatosh please fix all the durned bugs already!!"

But here's my 2 cents:

A PvE Cyrodiil instance

The entire story is moving towards a cessation of hostilities.

or

Companion Romance, given they already have a blueprint for how that can work in FO76.

or, if we're going on a completely subjective "most requested":

Higher furnishing limits

But that is based on the people I hang out with most and may not be a "highly requested" feature at all, just "most of my friends want it".

Tommy_The_Gun

Hmm... I think that "the new feature that everyone wants" will actually be cross-play. It is my guess.

Edit: when I look at the history of added features it was always something that for the most part was kinda "vaguely" wanted by the minority of players, but was always beneficial for ZOS to introduce.

A card game ? Did players wanted it so much ? All I can see is that it created a new "competitive" area that can be monetized.

Account wide achievements - some players wanted it, but the execution was cheap. In the longer perspective it was beneficial for ZOS because it most likely "deleted" a lot of data bases and saved a lot of cash.

That is why I think cross play will happen sooner or later. One data base is way cheaper to run than multiple ones for each platform. Even if that means that for example ps4 characters will be added to pc characters so one would have like 36 characters, above the cap - it would be still cheaper to run one larger data base than multiple smaller ones. Not to mention it will create an illusion that all of the sudden the game has more players.

Xandreia_

There is a few things I would like to see, I only play eso for the pvp and trials.

I'd really like for pvp and pve to be separated by utilising battle spirit, nerf and buff sets using that so pve isnt effected by the pvp nerfs.

Visually altering the look of cyrodiil depending on the chapter released that year. Just keep the map the same and maybe get rid of destructible gates and bridges.

And lastly bringing skins back to trials.

Xandreia_

Tommy_The_Gun wrote: »

Hmm... I think that "the new feature that everyone wants" will actually be cross-play. It is my guess.

Won't happen because of addons

SpacemanSpiff1

Xandreia_ wrote: »

Tommy_The_Gun wrote: »

Hmm... I think that "the new feature that everyone wants" will actually be cross-play. It is my guess.

Won't happen because of addons

the big issue is databases. account and character names would be a problem.

also add in server load for having to reference a ton more info.

Ashryn

There are so many things that they could do that have been asked for since forever, but more then likely, it will be minimal & repetitive 're-playable' (like antiquities and endeavors). One thing that is certain...whatever it is, it will be hyped to the hilt!

ADarklore

People keep talking about 'harder overland'... but ZOS specifically said a 'new system' in their announcement. A new class is NOT a 'new system' and ZOS has said for years they would not add content that separated players. Right now with player decline, the LAST THING you want is further separation between players.

However, what they COULD add is a 'new system' that allows players to use companions as 'player replacement' in dungeons. At least then, if they wanted to separate players, at least we would have the option to continue playing without having to rely on other players for group content.

Another idea for 'new system' that is 'most requested' could be a centralized marketplace.

Elsonso

ADarklore wrote: »

People keep talking about 'harder overland'... but ZOS specifically said a 'new system' in their announcement. A new class is NOT a 'new system' and ZOS has said for years they would not add content that separated players. Right now with player decline, the LAST THING you want is further separation between players.

Honestly, at this point, ZOS saying that they won't do something is not something that I would bank on. I used to think that meant something, but now I realize that if they want to do it, they are just going to do it, no matter what they might have said in the past.

The only reason I don't think they will do an "auction house" or "global market" is that they still have not figured out how to efficiently do database transactions at scales larger than a few hundred people. Global commerce would simply not work reliably, and these things need to work reliably. I feel this is the likely backend reason why they have said No to such a thing. If they ever crack that nut, then I think a self-sorting guild bank will happen, and closely following that, global commerce updates.

Araneae6537

I’m surprised many expect it will be vet, scaled, or otherwise more difficult overland. Wasn’t that massively unpopular with Craglorn? And I can’t see that being a draw for new players. I think bosses that scale better could be good for the game, but I don’t think a separate vet zone or instance would be.

I really don’t think it will be a global auction house either because 1) this would upset the many players who like the current system and 2) this would hardly be a draw for new players (come play ESO because it has global trading… just like every other MMO?)

Being able to hide more outfit slots is seriously long overdue but should be a QoL update and is hardly any kind of feature.

Having some sort of arena where players could set up different combat, group duels, etc., would be cool, but maybe niche. Companion duels — what? Lol

Speaking of companions, waaay more needs to be done with them before any kind of romance is on the table. Augur of the Obscure has way more interesting dialogue that actually relates to the current area. In contrast, the companions say the exact same phrase every city and ruin (do they see dead people? this hasn’t been a bustling city for an age…) Then again, Skyrim had the dumbest such system with “hey, I fetched these rocks for you, marry me?” I don’t mean to bash on companions — I think they’re a cool addition but wish they had way more to them, reactions to the specific place and what your character does, instead of only a few generic lines repeated.

I think the new system will be some form of spell-crafting, most likely as a new weapon or skill line, possibly a new class but unlikely as I don’t think they want to add character slots. As far as I know, that feature has been long requested and, if done well, would appeal to longtime players and new alike.

Treselegant

Araneae6537 wrote: »

Speaking of companions, waaay more needs to be done with them before any kind of romance is on the table. Augur of the Obscure has way more interesting dialogue that actually relates to the current area. In contrast, the companions say the exact same phrase every city and ruin (do they see dead people? this hasn’t been a bustling city for an age…) Then again, Skyrim had the dumbest such system with “hey, I fetched these rocks for you, marry me?” I don’t mean to bash on companions — I think they’re a cool addition but wish they had way more to them, reactions to the specific place and what your character does, instead of only a few generic lines repeated.

The Blackwood companions in particular need an overhaul. It's obvious to me that a lot of cutting and moving of lines was done before release which at times gives them a real unfinished feel. I have a theory that both Bastian and Mirri had the start of a romance system but it was scrapped about half way through, leaving two characters who have dialogue which can come across as very "huh, where did that come from?". Mirri's 'companion' level lines seem a little beyond friendly to me and then you have Bastian waxing lyrical about the nature of love every time he's in a Mage's guild.

So, I think it would be nice if all the pieces were put back together on their two characters. I see players happily running around with Mirri and Bastian every time I log in so it's hardly like they're obsolete. I get that Blackwood was developed during Covid but now there really isn't an excuse for leaving the expansion's main feature in such a messy state.

Vindold

xthrshx wrote: »

The new feature is not going to be flying mounts, spellcrafting, or trial finder. These are the same people who thought we were getting a monk class and naval combat. Pay attention.

Well, tbh it's hard for me to believe it as well, but still, if rumors are true and we're going to Telvanni Peninsula(can't wait) then Spellcrafting sounds pretty much appropriate...we'll see soon enough.

ESO_Nightingale

FelisCatus wrote: »

Class change token/ability is highly requested.

MakeMeUhSamich wrote: »

Class Change (finally) and/or Solo Dungeon instances.

You guys need to remember that zos can't sell a quality of life item like that as a chapter feature since that isn't something you can attach to a new zone. That's more likely to come in quarter 3 where they said QOL was a focus. You need to think bigger.

Same thing with stuff like crotch flap removal, shoulder hide option and more housing slots. You cant sell an expansion based on small base game quality of life changes

Deter1UK

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

Same thing with stuff like crotch flap removal, shoulder hide option and more housing slots. You cant sell an expansion based on small base game quality of life changes

Apart from which, there are no pixels under those flaps. Every pair of legs would have to be remodeled in all styles and both sexes. You have to ask if that is a good use of a modeler's time.

Personally I think the flaps are ridiculous especially on characters that are supposed to be able to ride but no more daft than the 'tassets' which they have modeled on the side of the thighs. However I don't see it ever happening.

Vindold

Deter1UK wrote: »

ESO_Nightingale wrote: »

Same thing with stuff like crotch flap removal, shoulder hide option and more housing slots. You cant sell an expansion based on small base game quality of life changes

Apart from which, there are no pixels under those flaps. Every pair of legs would have to be remodeled in all styles and both sexes. You have to ask if that is a good use of a modeler's time.

Personally I think the flaps are ridiculous especially on characters that are supposed to be able to ride but no more daft than the 'tassets' which they have modeled on the side of the thighs. However I don't see it ever happening.

Side flaps can easily be removed, without any problems, without any remodeling, they are already separated pieces, simply hanging in the air waiting to be hidden, but front\back flaps could be a bit harder.

Lugaldu

For me the best addition in recent years has been the antiquities system, I still get so much joy from discovering a new lead and going excavating. Above all, the furnishings from leads are a real incentive for me. Something new that would really interest me would be a new class or best playable Maormer.