Is it worth coming back to ESO in 2024?

o_Primate_o

reazea wrote: »

I wouldn't recommend ESO to anyone since U35, and things have gotten a lot worse since then.

And more confusing.
Not nearly as many ppl play anymore. I remember the days of long queues for most campaigns during Whitestrake, but recently even Quagmire (AP train) seldom had a queue).
Every patch = higher DPS to make the easier trials and dungeons that much easier. Non dlc vet dungeons easy on 4 DPS, some dlc too. Only about a handful of dlc hardmodes require dedicated or backbar healer

o_Primate_o

Ps. I don't blame devs or anyone in particular. There just isn't much interest in the game. Lifecycle at the point where Devs are jumping the shark.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jumping_the_shark

barney2525

Just looking objectively

ESO is a game where you can literally go anywhere (with a subscription and just a base game you get access to the vast majority of the DLCs) , You can Do whatever is fun for you, Your character will always have the ability to succeed against the vast majority of enemies, as anything lower than World Boss is balanced to your level. You can do the Main Storyline quest, but are Not required to so. Same with Alliance quests, Guild Quests, Zone quests, and DLC quests. You do what you want, when you want and develop the skills you want, and ignore the ones you don't want. And you can make up to 8 different characters with the option to get more if you so choose, so you can try out various classes and ideas you have. If something doesn't work out, store whatever the character owned in your bank, delete character, if you want, make a new one.

I think it's a good game.

TybaltKaine

This is a purely subjective issue that can only be answered by you.

Check it out, if you like it stay, if not, leave.

joergino

Short answer: no

FlopsyPrince

I came back after a year+ break (I think it was that long, I didn't have a timer.)

I would probably play something else, except that the alternatives also suck.

SaffronCitrusflower

Given how totally unresponsive ZOS is to their customer base in these days, combined with how many deleterious changes to the game in and since U35, I'd say no. Don't come back to ESO. There are other options out there from companies that show a great deal more respect for their customer base. Try one of those instead.

SeaGtGruff

barney2525 wrote: »

Just looking objectively

ESO is a game where you can literally go anywhere (with a subscription and just a base game you get access to the vast majority of the DLCs) , You can Do whatever is fun for you, Your character will always have the ability to succeed against the vast majority of enemies, as anything lower than World Boss is balanced to your level. You can do the Main Storyline quest, but are Not required to so. Same with Alliance quests, Guild Quests, Zone quests, and DLC quests. You do what you want, when you want and develop the skills you want, and ignore the ones you don't want. And you can make up to 8 different characters with the option to get more if you so choose, so you can try out various classes and ideas you have. If something doesn't work out, store whatever the character owned in your bank, delete character, if you want, make a new one.

I think it's a good game.

I agree. I play ESO for several hours every single day, on two different servers, and always have a lot of fun doing so.

I also play several other games on most days-- some are TES games, but some are not-- so it isn't like I'm just playing ESO because of not having anything else to play.

And while there are days when I rush through my "must do" list of activities in ESO so I can log off and play some other game that I happen to be really into at that time, on other days I'm having so much fun in ESO that I end up playing for several more hours than I'd intended to-- for instance, that was the case on most days of the recent Whitestrake's Mayhem event, because I was spending a lot of time in Cyrodiil and loving it.

RomanRex

No.

TaSheen

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

barney2525 wrote: »

Just looking objectively

ESO is a game where you can literally go anywhere (with a subscription and just a base game you get access to the vast majority of the DLCs) , You can Do whatever is fun for you, Your character will always have the ability to succeed against the vast majority of enemies, as anything lower than World Boss is balanced to your level. You can do the Main Storyline quest, but are Not required to so. Same with Alliance quests, Guild Quests, Zone quests, and DLC quests. You do what you want, when you want and develop the skills you want, and ignore the ones you don't want. And you can make up to 8 different characters with the option to get more if you so choose, so you can try out various classes and ideas you have. If something doesn't work out, store whatever the character owned in your bank, delete character, if you want, make a new one.

I think it's a good game.

I agree. I play ESO for several hours every single day, on two different servers, and always have a lot of fun doing so.

I also play several other games on most days-- some are TES games, but some are not-- so it isn't like I'm just playing ESO because of not having anything else to play.

And while there are days when I rush through my "must do" list of activities in ESO so I can log off and play some other game that I happen to be really into at that time, on other days I'm having so much fun in ESO that I end up playing for several more hours than I'd intended to-- for instance, that was the case on most days of the recent Whitestrake's Mayhem event, because I was spending a lot of time in Cyrodiil and loving it.

I agree with your first sentence (not only what you stated - but the 2 PC servers, on 4 accounts).

However, there's not another game out there that's of any interest to me. I'm a TES fan (and that includes ESO) period. So besides ESO, I still play Skyrim and Oblivion. And I hope I live long enough to get to play TES VI....

Bottom line for me: game fun == TES. Just not interested in other game worlds.... In fact, I haven't played anything other than TES games since the hiatus between Arena and Daggerfall - I tried going back to Bioware games. Didn't work - they were fun once, but after TES.... nope.

Oh, that's a minor lie - I did play ME1 and 2 some a long while back now - after Oblivion, before Skyrim; and I did play other MMOs, WoW and RIFT, for a while. While waiting for new TES entries to land. My hope for the "new MMO" ZOS is working on is that it could turn out to be another TES based game.... *sigh*

Surragard

OWLTHEMAD wrote: »

Okay, so for added context guys. . . I no longer have an xbox, so my old xbox version of the game may as well not be a thing.

I need opinions, because If i get back into the game that means reinvesting in it on pc. A pricy thing.

Right now I'm trying to see if I get a really good response, or a really bad response. IF I get even a maybe response overall. . . I might buy the game. Just trying to see how the overall committed player base feels. The vets you might say.

I played ESO on a launch edition Xbox One until a few years ago before switching to a Series X. Loading screens and such take longer but I really didn't notice much of a performance jump when I switched to a Series X. Graphics do look a little sharper in certain areas like water textures but ultimately from a gameplay standpoint it's about the same although the loading screen thing will increase your enjoyment over time. Your big problem on Xbox is that it is not as populated as PC so if you are planning to start over with a new character just keep in mind you won't have that same experience necessarily of randomly running into a lot of players like you may recall previously. When you go to areas with events like farming the dragons in Elsweyr and such you will find a lot of people congregating but once the event is over it dies down a bit. Later DLC zones are more populated but still it's pretty light. It's not uncommon in Overland to feel like you're playing a single player game sometimes.

I don't know how important graphics are to you but if you are willing to play on medium settings I don't think your PC investment needs to be crazy. ESO doesn't require a top of the line PC but to be fair I haven't played on PC in a long time so you should trust the opinions of others on how much you need to invest for a good PC.

Stafford197

ESO is in a disastrous state due to a plethora of horrible decisions, lack of passion, and lack of care.
It is quite literally only still alive because it is using the Elder Scrolls franchise name.

If you’re a huge Elder Scrolls lore fan, it’s worth playing this game to engage in new zones for the lore. But outside of that I could never recommend this game anymore.

FlopsyPrince

Stafford197 wrote: »

ESO is in a disastrous state due to a plethora of horrible decisions, lack of passion, and lack of care.
It is quite literally only still alive because it is using the Elder Scrolls franchise name.

If you’re a huge Elder Scrolls lore fan, it’s worth playing this game to engage in new zones for the lore. But outside of that I could never recommend this game anymore.

I never played Elder Scrolls games outside of ESO, but I am disappointed that the game doesn't get more care for so many of its players, even in areas I am not excited about (such as PvP).

LaintalAy

edited

Stafford197

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

Stafford197 wrote: »

ESO is in a disastrous state due to a plethora of horrible decisions, lack of passion, and lack of care.
It is quite literally only still alive because it is using the Elder Scrolls franchise name.

If you’re a huge Elder Scrolls lore fan, it’s worth playing this game to engage in new zones for the lore. But outside of that I could never recommend this game anymore.

I never played Elder Scrolls games outside of ESO, but I am disappointed that the game doesn't get more care for so many of its players, even in areas I am not excited about (such as PvP).

Oh you are totally missing out.

@LaintalAy is correct^^^

Personally I would recommend skipping straight to Skyrim since it is far more modern feeling than Morrowind or Oblivion. I love all three of these games but you’d have a far easier time immersing yourself with Skyrim imo.

ESO is worth it only after you play those, since the lore and stories will be far more relevant by then.

FlopsyPrince

Perhaps I will try them. For now I am too busy playing on PC-NA/EU and PS5-NA/EU. I paid for ESO+ on both and have far too many alts. (I started on the PS4 years ago, but switched to the PC and then took a break from that after several years.)

I may look at the others at some point but I am finding this too much to do, even if I just grab the daily reward and do the endeavors.

Thanks for the recommendations though!

spartaxoxo

Yes. It is is worth it. Since you have played there have been a tremendous amount of improvements to the PvE side of things including curated gear. It's easier than ever to get nice rewards too. PvP is about the same as when you left although Night blades are pretty good RN IIRC. PvP will be getting a big new update in Q4.

pklemming

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Yes. It is is worth it. Since you have played there have been a tremendous amount of improvements to the PvE side of things including curated gear. It's easier than ever to get nice rewards too. PvP is about the same as when you left although Night blades are pretty good RN IIRC. PvP will be getting a big new update in Q4.

Whilst a few things improved, they continue to make poor decisions, the next patch being one of them. There is a lot we don't agree with and some plain strange changes. Despite our feedback that we think the proposed changes bad, they are going ahead with them anyway.

I have not come across a games company that listens less to their customer base. [snip]

They need to take a leaf out of Ludeon studios and the interactions with the dev team. Professional, helpful and listen to players. OFC, Rimworld is nothing like ESO, but it is still an awesome game, with literally 1000s of mods and several DLCs (Anomaly was not as good as the 3 preceding ones, though. It is still good, but they set the bar very high with Biotech).

[edited for bashing]

Pevey

pklemming wrote: »

I have not come across a games company that listens less to their customer base.

This is undeniably true. It saddens me to think what this game could be versus what it is. It never caught on with mass appeal like Skyrim did, and it absolutely could have if it had not ticked off massive portions of its player base at multiple points during its lifetime. Any other game would have died from any one of those patches. It persists only because it is Elder Scrolls. With different choices, it could have been amazing because it Elder Scrolls.

ThoraxtheDark

Update 35 ruined the combat. It's essentially just a single player live service game now

pklemming

Pevey wrote: »

pklemming wrote: »

I have not come across a games company that listens less to their customer base.

This is undeniably true. It saddens me to think what this game could be versus what it is. It never caught on with mass appeal like Skyrim did, and it absolutely could have if it had not ticked off massive portions of its player base at multiple points during its lifetime. Any other game would have died from any one of those patches. It persists only because it is Elder Scrolls. With different choices, it could have been amazing because it Elder Scrolls.

I could, and should have been so much more. I loved Skyrim and when I initially started this in beta, I was saddened to discover it was more Skyrim in name, than game. it was still ok, and that could have been built on to make something truly epic. I just don't understand a company that does not listen to the people that literally keep the game running.

I actually need to revisit Skyrim. My system is a lot better now, so I can put on a lot of the 4k stuff and lose myself for a couple of weeks I swear I will not be a stealth archer this time... Really!

Stafford197

The potential of this game, if it was handled correctly, would have been on the same level as modern day WoW and Final Fantasy. Simple as that

BTW a lot of people mention U35 as a disastrous patch. However does anyone remember the infamous AoE Caps poll a long time ago? That was probably the single most reputation-destroying decision they ever made and everyone knew about it, not just regular Forum goers.

TaSheen

pklemming wrote: »

I actually need to revisit Skyrim. My system is a lot better now, so I can put on a lot of the 4k stuff and lose myself for a couple of weeks I swear I will not be a stealth archer this time... Really!

I will always be a stealth archer in Skyrim. Because I just do not want to mess with combat. OP bow mod lets me kill everything from very long range, and get on with my own fun.

Combat is NOT fun. In any game.

shadyjane62

No.

Stafford197

TaSheen wrote: »

pklemming wrote: »

I actually need to revisit Skyrim. My system is a lot better now, so I can put on a lot of the 4k stuff and lose myself for a couple of weeks I swear I will not be a stealth archer this time... Really!

I will always be a stealth archer in Skyrim. Because I just do not want to mess with combat. OP bow mod lets me kill everything from very long range, and get on with my own fun.

Combat is NOT fun. In any game.

What are your thoughts on Companions in ESO’s combat? They can sort of let us “afk complete” Overland fights especially when combined with pets, so I wonder if this is enjoyable for you.

Vanilla Skyrim on console was so much fun at launch! And the modding community / creations for the game have been extraordinary. Right now I’m just eagerly waiting TES6 lol

TaSheen

Stafford197 wrote: »

TaSheen wrote: »

pklemming wrote: »

I actually need to revisit Skyrim. My system is a lot better now, so I can put on a lot of the 4k stuff and lose myself for a couple of weeks I swear I will not be a stealth archer this time... Really!

I will always be a stealth archer in Skyrim. Because I just do not want to mess with combat. OP bow mod lets me kill everything from very long range, and get on with my own fun.

Combat is NOT fun. In any game.

What are your thoughts on Companions in ESO’s combat? They can sort of let us “afk complete” Overland fights especially when combined with pets, so I wonder if this is enjoyable for you.

Vanilla Skyrim on console was so much fun at launch! And the modding community / creations for the game have been extraordinary. Right now I’m just eagerly waiting TES6 lol

I hate sidekicks.... so I have no use for companions at all. Never picked up even one. At this stage in my gameplay life (played my first CRPG in ~1986), I just despise the whole combat thing. I love exploring, crafting, housing (not very good at that though), scribing, antiquities, fishing - and I would love to see more non-combat questing, along the lines of diplomacy or sneaking around to figure out what's going on with some antagonists. And I love just walking around looking at the countryside, and harvesting everything I run across.

I don't even pull out the bear or the matriarch on those classes any more, unless it's going to be something where I expect to have to get through a dozen mobs for whatever reason....

I hope TES VI releases before I'm too old to play it!

Displaced_Salad

At the release of the High Isle expansion, I had nine characters I actively played. After High Isle I stopped playing meaningfully and stopped paying. Only one of those nine made it through that expansion without a massive game-breaking bug. Then came the "year of polish" I still haven't seen much polish, but I have a lot more free time to play other games and more money in my pocket, if that answers the question. Return or stay away, I hope you enjoy yourself!

FlopsyPrince

TaSheen wrote: »

pklemming wrote: »

I actually need to revisit Skyrim. My system is a lot better now, so I can put on a lot of the 4k stuff and lose myself for a couple of weeks I swear I will not be a stealth archer this time... Really!

I will always be a stealth archer in Skyrim. Because I just do not want to mess with combat. OP bow mod lets me kill everything from very long range, and get on with my own fun.

Combat is NOT fun. In any game.

That is simply not true. While it can be annoying, it can also be part of the fun of playing. Though I like being OP more than many who post on the forums, though I am not OP in Trials and Vet dungeons, etc.

pklemming wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Yes. It is is worth it. Since you have played there have been a tremendous amount of improvements to the PvE side of things including curated gear. It's easier than ever to get nice rewards too. PvP is about the same as when you left although Night blades are pretty good RN IIRC. PvP will be getting a big new update in Q4.

Whilst a few things improved, they continue to make poor decisions, the next patch being one of them. There is a lot we don't agree with and some plain strange changes. Despite our feedback that we think the proposed changes bad, they are going ahead with them anyway.

I have not come across a games company that listens less to their customer base. [snip]

They need to take a leaf out of Ludeon studios and the interactions with the dev team. Professional, helpful and listen to players. OFC, Rimworld is nothing like ESO, but it is still an awesome game, with literally 1000s of mods and several DLCs (Anomaly was not as good as the 3 preceding ones, though. It is still good, but they set the bar very high with Biotech).

[edited for bashing]

I get the feeling that ZOS doesn't listen to the players much at all.

That was one thing I liked about the cash pit that is Genshin Impact - They did polls all the time. Not sure how much impact they had, but they at least asked. ZOS doesn't seem to do that.

TaSheen

I wasn't talking for anyone but myself. You do you.

FlopsyPrince

TaSheen wrote: »

I wasn't talking for anyone but myself. You do you.

It sounded like you were making a general principle statement, so I responded. Though I agree with your final sentiment.

I guess I would also add that the combat is only a means to "kill things for loot" aspect that is integral to MMOs. Fine to not like it of course, but that seems rather a key element.