Studio Director’s Letter: What are you hoping to hear?

TaSheen

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

code65536 wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Like Gina mentioned, please look forward to Matt's letter on Feb. 17th.

I assume that's a typo and you meant to write Dec instead of Feb.

Thanks for the catch. I was working on something for Feb. right before following up here.

Welcome to the future.... heh!

LadyGP

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

LadyGP wrote: »

Community Feedback and Communication

Lastly, I’d like Matt to address how the team handles community feedback. Lately, there’s been a sense that changes are introduced that “no one asked for,” and with each major update, more long-time players seem to be leaving. I wonder if ZOS is aware of this perception internally and if they have plans—such as more community surveys or deeper engagement—to implement changes the community is actually asking for.

Just wanted to chime in on this real quickly. We have been chatting about this internally and setting up some plans like more surveys and ways to better implement more player feedback into direct action. Matt will touch on this to some degree in his letter, but wanted to mention it here as well. We have already started with some of this stuff, like the guild survey we had a few months ago. But we do plan to ramp up more of the requested communication methods in 2025. And we'll make adjustments throughout the year based on feedback. Obviously, this goes without saying but we don't want you to just trust what we say, but keep us accountable with our actions. When we roll these things out throughout the year, please let us know what is working and what isn't. Like Gina mentioned, please look forward to Matt's letter on Dec. 17th.

I'm excited to see what kind of surveys and solicitation for feedback gets pushed out and what kind of action can come from that feedback. I know we are all passionate about ESO and want nothing but the best for the game - sometimes that can get lost in the frustration.

Thanks for the update Kevin!

Ingenon

LadyGP wrote: »

It’s that time of year again—the annual end-of-year letter from Studio Director, Matt Firor, is just around the corner.

What are you hoping to hear from Matt this year? Is there anything specific you’d like him to address? As always, please keep the conversation respectful and constructive.

I expect a retrospective of ESO in 2024 and a glimpse of ESO in 2025. I looked online at the letter from 2023, and I'm expecting the same kind of letter this year.

I still enjoy playing ESO, both solo and in groups. I'm hoping that I still get to play ESO and enjoy it in 2025.

Aurielle

At the very least, I want to see some senior level acknowledgement of the major performance issues so many of us have been having this year (issues that have driven a number of us away to other games), what has been done to date about the problem, and some reassurances that it will actually be addressed in 2025. An apology for the poor performance and the long delay in identifying/fixing the problem would be appreciated, too.

sarahthes

Aurielle wrote: »

At the very least, I want to see some senior level acknowledgement of the major performance issues so many of us have been having this year (issues that have driven a number of us away to other games), what has been done to date about the problem, and some reassurances that it will actually be addressed in 2025. An apology for the poor performance and the long delay in identifying/fixing the problem would be appreciated, too.

As they have done that in the past, I would expect it again in the future.

Aurielle

sarahthes wrote: »

Aurielle wrote: »

At the very least, I want to see some senior level acknowledgement of the major performance issues so many of us have been having this year (issues that have driven a number of us away to other games), what has been done to date about the problem, and some reassurances that it will actually be addressed in 2025. An apology for the poor performance and the long delay in identifying/fixing the problem would be appreciated, too.

As they have done that in the past, I would expect it again in the future.

And rightly so. Dealing with performance issues dominated my overall experience with ESO in 2024 — a great disappointment, considering that the anniversary, new chapter, and new PVP content should have dominated my experience. I haven’t even been able to try out the new BGs yet, because the abysmal performance issues I was dealing with prior to the update compelled me to uninstall the game and seek out other games that don’t have these problems.

ZOS_Kevin

LadyGP wrote: »

I'm excited to see what kind of surveys and solicitation for feedback gets pushed out and what kind of action can come from that feedback. I know we are all passionate about ESO and want nothing but the best for the game - sometimes that can get lost in the frustration.

Thanks for the update Kevin!

Totally get it and appreciate you starting this thread and getting some conversation going. We are all on the same team here regarding wanting the best for the game and community overall. So we hope to regain some of that trust in the coming year and Matt's letter will be the start of that.

SalamanNZ

I want to see my MMR. Don't care about anyone else but I want to see if I'm improving or not. And I know my teams may be winning but what about my growth. And what happened to rewriting the underlying code to optimize performance? That was a huge talking point previously

Twohothardware

Crossplay and a patch to take full advantage of the PS5 Pro.

OtarTheMad

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

LadyGP wrote: »

I'm excited to see what kind of surveys and solicitation for feedback gets pushed out and what kind of action can come from that feedback. I know we are all passionate about ESO and want nothing but the best for the game - sometimes that can get lost in the frustration.

Thanks for the update Kevin!

Totally get it and appreciate you starting this thread and getting some conversation going. We are all on the same team here regarding wanting the best for the game and community overall. So we hope to regain some of that trust in the coming year and Matt's letter will be the start of that.

Welcome back from your vacation (dev let that spill in a post lol) and thanks for always jumping into conversations and saying stuff. It helps and goes a long way!

LadyGP

SalamanNZ wrote: »

I want to see my MMR. Don't care about anyone else but I want to see if I'm improving or not. And I know my teams may be winning but what about my growth. And what happened to rewriting the underlying code to optimize performance? That was a huge talking point previously

I can't find it but I swear I remember them putting something out a year or so ago saying that effort was scrapped (can't remember why but I think it was.. too difficult or wouldn't give the results they hoped for).

LadyGP

Quoted post has been removed.

I hear you but I think it would be very difficult for leadership to pour that level of resources (both $ and time) into that kind of effort 10 years into a game with the next ES currently in development. IF this was going to happen I feel as though it would have happened 3-ish years ago.

I could totally be wrong on that - just my point of view on why that hasn't happened.

The bigger thing I think they could do is start to phase out support for some older consoles. I do think this is hurting them in the long run. Start to get some of those older platforms out of the way and let the devs cook - at least that's how I think the kids say it these days.

Tannus15

What I want to see in the letter is a commitment to finish hybridization.

It's been literally years now since they started the process, got it to 90% and then left the last bits to just sort of sit there, being annoying.

I'd love to see some sort of acknowledgement that a lot of things have been lackluster due to fear of power creep and they need to find some sort of balance between not pushing overall power up too much, while still making new things good and exciting.
honestly item sets have been really weak this past couple of years and very unexciting.

and finally some sort of acknowledgment that the gap between arcanist and non arcanist dps in group PvE content is too wide, primarily due to lack of aoe options for all the other classes. they made a point of nerfing cleave hard in U35 and since then released a class which has 75% of its damage is cleave.
It was a huge change in PvE design philosophy, and it needs to be applied to the rest of the classes in the game.

Elvenheart

Tannus15 wrote: »

What I want to see in the letter is a commitment to finish hybridization.

It's been literally years now since they started the process, got it to 90% and then left the last bits to just sort of sit there, being annoying.

I'd love to see some sort of acknowledgement that a lot of things have been lackluster due to fear of power creep and they need to find some sort of balance between not pushing overall power up too much, while still making new things good and exciting.
honestly item sets have been really weak this past couple of years and very unexciting.

and finally some sort of acknowledgment that the gap between arcanist and non arcanist dps in group PvE content is too wide, primarily due to lack of aoe options for all the other classes. they made a point of nerfing cleave hard in U35 and since then released a class which has 75% of its damage is cleave.
It was a huge change in PvE design philosophy, and it needs to be applied to the rest of the classes in the game.

I’m just curious, what still needs to be finished on hybridization? 🙂

Overamera

Hopefully some PvP news

Tannus15

Elvenheart wrote: »

Tannus15 wrote: »

What I want to see in the letter is a commitment to finish hybridization.

It's been literally years now since they started the process, got it to 90% and then left the last bits to just sort of sit there, being annoying.

I'd love to see some sort of acknowledgement that a lot of things have been lackluster due to fear of power creep and they need to find some sort of balance between not pushing overall power up too much, while still making new things good and exciting.
honestly item sets have been really weak this past couple of years and very unexciting.

and finally some sort of acknowledgment that the gap between arcanist and non arcanist dps in group PvE content is too wide, primarily due to lack of aoe options for all the other classes. they made a point of nerfing cleave hard in U35 and since then released a class which has 75% of its damage is cleave.
It was a huge change in PvE design philosophy, and it needs to be applied to the rest of the classes in the game.

I’m just curious, what still needs to be finished on hybridization? 🙂

potions mostly, but the core of it comes down to major brutality / sorcery and major prophecy / savagery should both be merged.
right now some classes are still reliant on potions for those buffs since they don't have the bar space for camo hunter or they don't have the luxury of skills that give you both buffs for just having the skill on either bar.
this makes some classes more dependent on specific classes to provide the minor buffs to complement their builds.

for example a sorc grants minor prophecy and a dragon knight minor brutality. for any class with all 4 buffs due to say, having camo hunter on both bars and inspired scholarship on the back bar, they now have all the buffs they need with a minor weapon damage and a minor crit chance.

however, the sorc providing minor prophecy is most likely using spell power or weapon power potions because they don't have the bar space for those buffs. without a templar they are missing the minor weapon damage buff, and without a nightblade they are missing the minor crit chance buff. in addition they might need the resource return of a specific type of potion, so they are forced to go one way or the other, unlike other classes which can use tri-pots in the same situation.

additionally max resource set bonuses are not just the weakest dps stat, but often provide no benefit unless they are the "max" resource. perfected relequen is a good example of a commonly used dps set that is just weaker on max mag builds, because of its legacy stat line.

ideally instead of using "max" resource it would be a combination of both stamina and magicka so we can actually have the freedom balance our resource pools to fit our builds, instead of 64 attributes into one and then have "dead" set bonsues if we use older sets like maw of the infernal or selene, but at the very least max resource stat lines should either be converted to "double" bonuses or changed to proper dps stats like weapon and spell damage.

you can work around some of these issues with scribing, however that comes with sacrifices too since scribing skills are just straight up weaker than their non scribing counterparts. see my second comment on things being lackluster. i don't know why wield soul is just so much weaker than other spammables, but it just has to be because reasons. additionally, you give up some of the other potential benefits from scribing because some classes just lack the option. again, because reasons.

ZoS is aware of this issue, they stated they were going to do something about it over a year ago, and haven't done anything.

Onomog

To be honest, I don't have much interest in what is said, anymore. My interest is solely in what they do.

Muizer

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

We have already started with some of this stuff, like the guild survey we had a few months ago. But we do plan to ramp up more of the requested communication methods in 2025.

Yeah, that survey kind of took me by surprise. I mean, I've played this game since beta and have always been keeping abreast what's talked about in the forum and some other places. I think I have some idea of what the most persistent pain points are with ESO and I don't see how that survey was particularly relevant? I do hope that relevance is one of the things that will be improved. This came across too much like "we already have our own plans, let's get some feedback that may be relevant for us", which is communication also, but not of a kind that is going to mend many fences.

fall0athboy

What time is this thing droppin'

MJallday

heres what i would like to read

1. a problem statement (statements) and a firm, accountable action plan with times for delivery. eg. we know cryo has perfomance issues, we're doing (x) and it will be done by (y)

2. a strategy for 2025. What does 2025 in ESO look like for the people that pay ZOS' wages - the customer. I want to see "March we'll have xxx, June we'll have xx , August we'll have xx" - i actually dont care what the xx is, (but if you say something, do it and consumers will be the judge if "xx" is any good or not.) (little tip for you, noone wants any more mounts, unless they fly)

3.we're getting rid of "horse riding simulator" , getting rid of "ball groups", and getting rid of sets that people can sit there with 40 people beating on them and they can just take it with impunity. oh and the bomb sets are going too. The pvp cap is being lifted.

4. 80% of the sets that are in game are useless . we're ditching them

5. Class representitives will be introduced back again.

6. we will remove the DPS counters in game. Instead we will introduce proper performance metrics which actually help players and groups rather than arbitrary numbers against a dummy.

7. light attack weaving and anim cancelling wont be changed but we'll introduce measures so 10 things dont hit at once (we're looking at you cyrodil)

8. @ZOS_GinaBruno will receive a massive payrise for having to deal with this type of thing every day.

LadyGP

Based on the PvP BG thread sounds like there might be some Cyro "news" coming "soon".

MJallday

Tbh he’s probably just thrown it in the bin and is penning a new one, give todays events

LadyGP

MJallday wrote: »

Tbh he’s probably just thrown it in the bin and is penning a new one, give todays events

Idk, based on what Kevin said in here it sounds like they were going to start "owning up" (for lack of a better phrase) to some of the issues. If I was in their shoes... all you can do is lean into that and say yeah, this was a rough year, and challenges still remain. Here are our...5-10 initial steps to improving trust.

From there... it's just an actions matching the message.

It is also possible the current issues are way out of their hands. Yes, redundancies are a thing... and a single point of one failure should never happen so you can throw that one ZoS way... but all in all.. who even knows who is at fault right now. Truthfully, does it even matter where the fault lands?

In the overall grand scheme of things... ZoS knows it's been a rough year and it sounds like they have been having internal conversations on how to improve.

It's easy to hit them when they are down. Giving them a chance, or 5th chance, is harder to do. I'm on the.. give them one final chance.. train. I truly want this game to flourish like it used to and am willing to help in any way I can - even if that means just sparking conversations on the forum.

Destai

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

LadyGP wrote: »

Community Feedback and Communication

Lastly, I’d like Matt to address how the team handles community feedback. Lately, there’s been a sense that changes are introduced that “no one asked for,” and with each major update, more long-time players seem to be leaving. I wonder if ZOS is aware of this perception internally and if they have plans—such as more community surveys or deeper engagement—to implement changes the community is actually asking for.

Just wanted to chime in on this real quickly. We have been chatting about this internally and setting up some plans like more surveys and ways to better implement more player feedback into direct action. Matt will touch on this to some degree in his letter, but wanted to mention it here as well. We have already started with some of this stuff, like the guild survey we had a few months ago. But we do plan to ramp up more of the requested communication methods in 2025. And we'll make adjustments throughout the year based on feedback. Obviously, this goes without saying but we don't want you to just trust what we say, but keep us accountable with our actions. When we roll these things out throughout the year, please let us know what is working and what isn't. Like Gina mentioned, please look forward to Matt's letter on Dec. 17th.

Thanks for the response!

That's all great to hear, and I hope it's a sustained effort in the new year. I think for many of us who've been around a while, these topics of communication are pretty frequent, as are the commitments to doing better. There's definitely a cycle, which I point out so it can be broken. That track record has left some of us a little embittered.

I'm trying really hard to stay constructive and not be snarky, but also, we've been here before, you know? I sent you a message on last year's discussion, which can no longer be found. A lot of the same suggestions were given then. So, the tough but fair question here is, Why now? What's different this time and what's happened with the same/similar feedback given in year's past?

As for trust, I feel like we're definitely at a place where it needs to re-earned for many people. This year we saw a number of changes that weren't requested and/or weren't well received. I'd say that the environmental changes and anniversary style pages. Much of that pushback was communicated during PTS (especially the anniversary styles), when the issue could've been addressed before wider player blowback. Instead, we had the big anniversary rewards become something that burned many people out and a thread that didn't receive any engagement.

So the concern here is, that things could be addressed sooner, before they're a major player fiasco. So when you speak of, "better implement more player feedback into direct action" - you have PTS. Listen to it. And I think ZOS needs to better appreciate that many people consider "listening" to be "i'm changing XYZ because you don't like it". If it's one of those things where, "we'll pass it along for future consideration", then the current situation is still a problem and people will feel unheard.

I'm not saying that to discourage whatever other plans you guys have. By all means, please, the more communication the better. But if there's already tons of threads saying "this change wasn't wanted, why are you going down this path", then engage those. And ultimately, being willing to change course.

Looking forward to Matt's letter. And thanks for the improved communication!

Adaarye

skyrimfantasy wrote: »

I expect we'll get an apology for the poor performance, a promise they are working on it, another promise they will improve communications, and an attempt at hype for the coming year about what content we'll get and improvements they have planned. The standard 'everything's fine' while we watch it burn from the sidelines. Best case scenario we get a cyro update for the pvp'ers, worst case it's maintenance mode until MS shuts it off.

It just works.

But seriously:
1) Please fix long term and revisiting bugs ie stuck in combat.
2) Allow player houses to stay on the crown store longer.
3) Increase house item allowance, even if we have to pay crowns for the increase.
4) Communication is better than it has been but there is still room for improvement.

BelmontDrakul

1- Immersive fishing. Such as, using fishing boats in some areas to catch very rare fishes and items. Also, using harpoon kinda thing to hunt bigger aquatic animals (some rare fishes' names must be changed , too. How can an angler catch a shark with a rod?). Moreover, there should be bosses which rises from underwater for fighting. Fishing boat groups for bonuses, fighting against little pirate ships, that sort of thing.

2- Daedric olympics. It is just like Cyrodiil. There will be 3-4 Daedric Prince factions only for this event (or game mode). There will be sports events also, castle capturing etc. but it will be located in a pocket realm of oblivion. Why? Because, standard Cyrodiil is boring to me. Same aesthetics, same mechanics again and again. I want something different which is also somewhat similar. When I have heard about ESO at the first time, I have always wondered if we could join Molag Bal instead of one of the alliances but; it was not the case. And this idea popped up because of that. I do not know which Daedric Princes should be available. I personally love Jyggalag but; it is not so popular. Hircine, Malacath, Namira, Molag Bal, Boethiah, Sheogorath, Clavicus Vile and Mehrunes Dagon are my canditates, because of their willingness to be part of mortal affairs. And they use mortals for fun except; Malacath but; he values improvement through hardship so; this game is not a waste of time but a training ground for him. Also; Hircine does not use mortals for fun (completely) but; believes in beauty of hunting so this game is very suitable for his philosophy and taste. Azura, Meridia and Ithelia should not be available. Because; this is a war game. It is war but; game at the same time. This trio does not like that. Mora only values knowledge so this does not interest it I believe. Open war, sieging is not favored by either Mephala or Noctural so; they are out. I am not sure about Vaermina or Peryite. On the other hand, including Ithelia would be good to increase her involvement to the lore and gameplay. At least, to compensate her wasted potential, partially. Because; she still is a prince. Hedonistic Sanguine is also out because of his lack of interest.

KiltMaster

yeah pretty much verbatim what the OP said would be AMAZING

KiltMaster

DeadlySerious wrote: »

I don't want to "hear" anything. I want to see some results in terms of performance improvements, fixing BG's which are in shambles on several levels still even after the live stream, and some massive improvements in customer respect and consideration.

That's a great point. Talk is cheap!

LadyGP

Destai wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

LadyGP wrote: »

Community Feedback and Communication

Lastly, I’d like Matt to address how the team handles community feedback. Lately, there’s been a sense that changes are introduced that “no one asked for,” and with each major update, more long-time players seem to be leaving. I wonder if ZOS is aware of this perception internally and if they have plans—such as more community surveys or deeper engagement—to implement changes the community is actually asking for.

Just wanted to chime in on this real quickly. We have been chatting about this internally and setting up some plans like more surveys and ways to better implement more player feedback into direct action. Matt will touch on this to some degree in his letter, but wanted to mention it here as well. We have already started with some of this stuff, like the guild survey we had a few months ago. But we do plan to ramp up more of the requested communication methods in 2025. And we'll make adjustments throughout the year based on feedback. Obviously, this goes without saying but we don't want you to just trust what we say, but keep us accountable with our actions. When we roll these things out throughout the year, please let us know what is working and what isn't. Like Gina mentioned, please look forward to Matt's letter on Dec. 17th.

Thanks for the response!

That's all great to hear, and I hope it's a sustained effort in the new year. I think for many of us who've been around a while, these topics of communication are pretty frequent, as are the commitments to doing better. There's definitely a cycle, which I point out so it can be broken. That track record has left some of us a little embittered.

I'm trying really hard to stay constructive and not be snarky, but also, we've been here before, you know? I sent you a message on last year's discussion, which can no longer be found. A lot of the same suggestions were given then. So, the tough but fair question here is, Why now? What's different this time and what's happened with the same/similar feedback given in year's past?

As for trust, I feel like we're definitely at a place where it needs to re-earned for many people. This year we saw a number of changes that weren't requested and/or weren't well received. I'd say that the environmental changes and anniversary style pages. Much of that pushback was communicated during PTS (especially the anniversary styles), when the issue could've been addressed before wider player blowback. Instead, we had the big anniversary rewards become something that burned many people out and a thread that didn't receive any engagement.

So the concern here is, that things could be addressed sooner, before they're a major player fiasco. So when you speak of, "better implement more player feedback into direct action" - you have PTS. Listen to it. And I think ZOS needs to better appreciate that many people consider "listening" to be "i'm changing XYZ because you don't like it". If it's one of those things where, "we'll pass it along for future consideration", then the current situation is still a problem and people will feel unheard.

I'm not saying that to discourage whatever other plans you guys have. By all means, please, the more communication the better. But if there's already tons of threads saying "this change wasn't wanted, why are you going down this path", then engage those. And ultimately, being willing to change course.

Looking forward to Matt's letter. And thanks for the improved communication!

"And ultimately, being willing to change course" or explain your reasoning for not wanting to change course.

I think the insight into why decisions are or AREN'T made could really help the conversations.

We might not always agree with a direction/or lack of a direction being taken but knowing the "why" can go a long way.

One suggestion I do have is to try to avoid saying things like "working as intended." Expand on that phrase a bit.. "how" is it working as intended when the community perspective is that it is not. If any of that makes sense. I need coffee now.

Skjaldbjorn

Super blunt:

1. More raids. I'm not expecting WoW's absurd release pattern, but a normal and a mini trial per year, ~6-8 bosses, is perfectly feasible.

2. Better class balance. We still have classes that don't really exist in the PVE meta, or exist only on the fringes for specific buff purposes.

3. Stop pretending PVP sells in the current MMO environment and just say you're not going to be putting much money/time/investment there so people can stop worrying about it. At this point, it's exhausting reading it.

4. Go back to at least 3 dungeons per year.

5. Less good crown store items stuck in crates/tied to "limited time" gem purchases.