Which content release cadence do you prefer?

Erickson9610

Did you like the content and the order of content releases that previous years had, or would you like to see something new and different?


The type of each quarter in the poll is determined by the major features in the major, numbered updates in each quarter of the year. Some quarters contained multiple numbered updates, while other quarters lacked numbered updates. The poll does not count the hotfixes that happen between major updates.

In the poll, here is what each term means:

• "Base Game" — Content which is free to access for all players. Since I only use this term once, I'm referring to the addition of Craglorn in Update 1 and Veteran Crypt of Hearts in Update 2.
• "System" — A brand new gameplay system, which includes Outfit Stations, the Justice System, Housing, the Infinite Archive, the revamped Battlegrounds, and so on. These are typically made available for the base game, and may be included in updates which include DLC, Chapters, and so on.
• "DLC" — A paid content pack, such as the Imperial City or any of the story DLCs which are smaller than Chapters, like the Markarth DLC. In year-long stories, a DLC would typically end off that year's story. These typically contain one or many zones and might contain a new system.
• "Dungeons" — A pack of 2 DLC Dungeons, such as Wolfhunter or Scalebreaker. In year-long stories, DLC dungeon packs are typically used to introduce that year's story.
• "Chapter" — A large paid content pack, such as the Greymoor Chapter, which typically includes a system that can only be accessed through access to the Chapter. These are typically where the bulk of the storytelling from year-long stories happen, and contain one or many zones.
• "QoL" — A Quality of Life update. These typically refine existing features, fix bugs, and make the game more enjoyable by alleviating pain points. These may contain systems, like the Housing Tours.

katanagirl1

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

This is the closest to my preference, though I think one set of dungeons per year is enough.

I really want the dlc back at the end of the year. That is the biggest loss to me personally.

Soarora

I want to see something different!

I want 4 dungeons a year back if we're not gonna get a harder difficulty, but I don't care about getting the story dlc back. I'd rather the story dlc actually be combined with the chapter if anything-- bigger chapters.

moderatelyfatman

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I want stuff to be release when it's ready (balanced and bug free). Not before.

Bobargus

I want to see something different!

As long as the content in question is soloable, i am okay with any kind of it released in any format.

I hate trials, personally.

Erickson9610

I want to see something different!

The content release cadence from 2018 - 2022 was interesting at first, but then it became formulaic and predictable. Then 2023 - 2024 was similar but with only Q3 and Q4 being changed.

I'd like to see something totally different next year. Maybe something like Q1 Chapter, Q2 DLC, Q3 Dungeons, and Q4 System? Or perhaps Q1 DLC, Q2 Dungeons, Q3 Chapter, and Q4 QoL? Anything that is completely different from what we've been getting would break up the formulaic feeling of content releasing in this game and would make the game feel more exciting.

kevkj

I want to see something different!

I think an annual chapter is a must-have, but the exact composition of the chapter need not be the same every year. Maybe one of the chapters will only have a shocking number of 4 world bosses and delves but contain both a trial and a dungeon. Maybe one of the quarterly releases could be a trial and/or arena on its own.

LunaFlora

I want to see something different!

i liked 2018-2022 and i like the current 2023-2024 too.

it was fun getting DLC Zones in Q4, but q3 and q4 both being free base game updates is nice too.

i hope that one base game update stays if the release cadence ever changes again.

Danikat

I don't much care what the schedule is, and I agree with the person who said I want it released when it's ready, not rushed to always match a fixed schedule.

I prefer zone and story DLC/chapters (I buy them rather than subscribe so it doesn't matter to me what ZOS call them) and I'm interested in the idea of new features or 'systems' or whatever you want to call them but then it really depends what they are. I'm not interested in dungeons enough that it's worth buying more of them, so I never get those unless they're free.

But I don't want to say I want more zone and story DLC every year, because like I said the most important thing is it's well made and that means giving them the time they need. If they can make two or three a year which are good quality then I certainly won't complain, but if they want to do something which needs more time then I'd prefer them to slow down the releases rather than rush it or cut it back to what they can get finished in time.

ssewallb14_ESO

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I just miss 2 dungeon DLCs a year.

I think 2x Dungeons, 1x Chapter, and 1x Surprise/Random update would be cool.

TaSheen

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

Truthfully, I'm not involved in dungeons at all, but the span in this selection is when the "year long chapters" were happening which is my far and away preferred way of enjoying the game.

metheglyn

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

Not a big fan of dungeons, so having fewer of those per year suits me just fine. I love chapter and zone stories, quests of all kinds, and engaging game systems. Some of the systems they've introduced haven't been to my liking (such as infinite archive and scribing) but I appreciate them being added and I'll always try them at least once.

AzuraFan

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I chose 2017 because I think two dungeons a year is enough. I also like the system being separate from the chapter. That way, maybe we'd get meatier zones (though I don't expect the content heyday to return. If anything, I'm expecting less content going forward).

Cooperharley

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I like this system out of those listed, but truly what I want is quality over quantity and I don’t want a formulaic approach anymore. It’s so stale, it’s so boring.

2 companions each year which they have not innovated on. Tanlorin has 2 skill lines that almost perfectly align with bastion when they could’ve done full soul magic or any other number of skill lines. There’s still no new functionality to the system either.

We get more ToT decks, but nothing to entice players to actually play it.

We get 1 trial and 2 dungeons down from 1 trial and 4 dungeons each year.

We get a system which, this year, our system was new BG maps, but nothing really changing how PvP is played, any sort of reward structure or competitive ladder, nothing.

Every chapter is the exact same:
- 6 delves
- 2 Public dungeons
- 6 world bosses
- An end of the world daedric scenario


When are we going to innovate and actually add NEW and EXCITING stuff? It just feels lazy. The golden days of Vvardenfell-Clockwork-Summerset have never even remotely gotten a close return. Taking our Q4 small zone was also wild considering what we’ve gotten as “QOL” and “systems.”

Come on guys!!

SkaiFaith

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

AzuraFan wrote: »

I chose 2017 because I think two dungeons a year is enough. I also like the system being separate from the chapter. That way, maybe we'd get meatier zones (though I don't expect the content heyday to return. If anything, I'm expecting less content going forward).

This stole the words from my mouth XD
But I would add: Q4DLC should NOT be the continuation/ending for the Q2Chapter story.

xXCJsniperXx7

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I liked the yearly themes better. Had more stuff to do, and most importantly more lore.

Elsonso

I would be happy with a cadence that makes it feel like there are enough people that show up to work on ESO.

That would be like a handful more than showed up this year, I guess.

Destai

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I think whatever they did from Orsinium to Elsweyr they need to get back to. The stories were stronger, the zones were very, very articulate. It just felt like overall a stronger product. It’s not to say newer content is bad, it isn’t. I still love this game very much, but I do feel like older content was more focused on the content rather than surrounding things like events and the crown store.

Two dungeons per year is enough, maybe start adding an arena per chapter. I just think this promise of a Q3 QoL focus hasn’t been realized to the degree that is expected.

I would be okay with the yearly release cycle again, sans 2 dungeons, as long as the stories didn’t end on cliffhangers.

francesinhalover

What i care the most about are chapter dlcs. I like base game (system) upgrades also

James-Wayne

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

QOL is needed but I don't think ZOS knows what QOL the players need after what happened this year.

Let's get back to system, chapter, dungeon, DLC with smaller QoL updates throughout the year.

SkaiFaith

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

James-Wayne wrote: »

QOL is needed but I don't think ZOS knows what QOL the players need after what happened this year.

Let's get back to system, chapter, dungeon, DLC with smaller QoL updates throughout the year.

Guess we'll never see vertical camera sliders on consoles and companions' inventory then... But I agree, I had hope for different QoL updates.

Amottica

No offense, but the poll is too complicated and includes choices that will never happen, such as a significant addition of free content to the base game zones that is free and does not fit into one of the other categories as defined. I think the meat and potatoes of the discussion are missing.

The reality that 4 dungeons, a chapter, and a zone (what OP calls DLC) have the most votes in light that people would prefer not getting 4 dungeons a year is desirable, supports my claim that the choices are too complicated. After reviewing the comments, I chose this because it is closest to what they want and reminds them of the year-long story.

Considering that the year-long story idea came from three zones that were roughly connected by a connected story that started with Morrowind and ended with Summerset. These zones had excellent stories, which also harkened to the quality of quantity that has also been mentioned in this thread. These stories not only brought us to great locations like the Clockwork City but also had us engage with great characters like Vivec and Sotha Sil. They were not part of a ridged cadence that had to be completed in a single year.

So we really want a regular, but not rigid, cadence of quality content that is not heavily on dungeons. Having a story somewhat run through multiple zones allows for deeper storytelling, but recent years seem more forced due to the rigid cadence. Zenimax needs to lighten up a bit and let those creative forces flow. They can toss us a bone in between but should not try to force it into the containers they have used the last several years before this more recent cadence.

Yeah, ok, that does not fit into a poll very well, but it refers to what some have noted and is what Zenimax did in what was probably the best series of story zones they have added to the game.

Tensar

i dont care anymore

spartaxoxo

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

If anyone is curious about dlc order.....

Imperial City released Q3 for 2015 (August)

Orsinium released Q4 for 2015 (November)

The following quarter goes back to Q1...

And Thieves Guild released Q1 (Mar 2016)

And Dark Brotherhood released Q2 (May 2016)

Shadows of the Hist released Q3 (August 2016}

One Tamriel released in Q4 of 2016 (October 2016)

Which is basically considered the relaunch of the game, with us getting on the current content cadence for the last 5 years in Q2 of 2017.

Q1 (released in February 2017) was just adjustments to the game and new system (housing) after what was essentially a reboot of the entire game. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Patch/2.7.5

And finally Q2 put us on the official chapter (Morrowind) + dlc (Q3 was dungeons Q4 was Clockwork City) quarterly content cadence we had until 2023.

Now we have the content cadence changed to

Q1 Dungeon, Q2 Chapter, Q3 QOL, Q4 Big system

E.G Scribes of Fate, Necrom, QOL (Group Finder and attunable crafting tables), Infinite Archive

Pelanora

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

Wasn't too complicated a poll for me.

I like systems, chapters, dlc and dungeons.

Any order within a year is fine.

Yea to markarth and elswyr being such good zones. What was in the water coolers in zos back then, let's have more of that.

Artem_gig

[2023 - 2024] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 QoL, Q4 System

With the current system, the functions added by the chapter have become much more interesting and global. Previously, these were just so-so functions... simple mini-games that did not directly affect the gameplay. Of course, they are not bad either, but a new class (although I am not interested in it and the chapter was past me) and scribing more impressive changes.

joe_schmo

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I just miss the DLCs. Bite-sized areas with their own little adventures, lore, motifs/furniture...I just loved those.

Erickson9610

I want to see something different!

joe_schmo wrote: »

I just miss the DLCs. Bite-sized areas with their own little adventures, lore, motifs/furniture...I just loved those.

I personally liked the smaller DLCs which didn't have anything to do with that year's Chapter, like how Murkmire was a self-contained story unrelated to the Summerset Chapter in 2018. The year-long stories which started in 2019 were novel, though.

ArchangelIsraphel

[2017] Q1 System, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

I wasn't playing in 2017, but that release schedule sounds the most appealing. This years chapter, although visually stunning, lacked the amount of story content I'm used to, and to be frank, play this game for. I also see a significant difference between the storytelling quality in older chapters compared to the last few chapters we've had. The older chapters provided more depth. The characters fit into the lore, the stories were compelling, and moreover, they felt like TES.

Its hard to explain how some of the NPC's in the newer chapters feel. I'm not trying to bash the dev's, the voice actors, or anyone else. But there is something about the way certain dialogue is written in the newer chapters that pulls me out of being immersed in the world. Even very minor NPC's in the older chapters felt like they -lived there-, and you're getting a window into their culture and way of life- a culture and way of life that's been going on for many hundreds of years.

Meanwhile, the newer chapters...well, sometimes they feel as though someone has just set up a renaissance faire and the NPC's are just...actors putting it on display for the player? They just don't feel like people with depth any more. They're stuck there to serve a function for the player, and that's that. The whole chapter isn't like that, but there's just little things all around that make it feel that way. Necrom didn't suffer from it as much as Blackwood and the West Weald did. Like I said, it's hard to put my finger on, but small things like the phrasing of something being too "modern" or a voice actors intonation just being out of place for the world has been a bit jarring.

Anyway, I know this thread wasn't really supposed to be about chapter quality, but my point is that I feel like a return to an older cadence might result in an uptick in quality. I really want to see DLC's like Dark Brotherhood and Thieve's Guild again, alongside chapters. Maybe companions associated with guilds (But don't make the companion's questline the zone story.)

WuffyCerulei

[2018 - 2022] Q1 Dungeons, Q2 Chapter, Q3 Dungeons, Q4 DLC

The only thing I genuinely miss from the year-long stories is the smaller zone DLC in Q4. Q1 dungeons, Q2 Chapter+whatever new it brings, Q3 QOL and bug update, and Q4 small zone DLC (i.e. Murkmire, Deadlands, etc.,) would be ideal for me.

DreamyLu

I want to see something different!

For me it doesn't matter because I go through the game at snail speed, so that I'm late at everything and new content just adds to what I have not done from previous ones.
Beside, I touch only a small part of the game content generally, so that no matter the option of the poll, about half of it isn't for me.

I think I'm probably part of a quite "standard" group: players who don't invest much time to play during the day, therefore setting focus to a few activities only, ignoring the rest, with tons of unfinished business and not caring much about rhythm of new adds (I can imagine some even hope for a slowing down... ).