There is only one way to revitalize this game.

nicholaspingasb16_ESO · July 2014

Zenimax needs to reach out to as many major youtubers and websites as possible, and get them to organize giveaways of guest passes. These guest passes would give anyone who gets one 2 weeks of free play time, with the player having full access to cyrodiil, and the first 3 zones (the original starter island from the beta, and then the next 2 after that.) These passes need to be released right before or after a MAJOR patch of some kind, something that will drum up excitement about the future of ESO and make people want to play. Zenimax especially needs to get guys who panned the game, like angry joe, to do a giveaway of these passes. That way, people will forget all about his review and they will start judging how good the game is from their own experience with it.

Also, once a player's time with the guest pass is up, they need be given a survey with the following questions:

Will you be purchasing and subscribing to The Elder Scrolls Online?

If not, please put why in the box below, along with any other feedback about the game.

Would you play the Elder Scrolls Online if it had a $10 subscription fee?

Would you play the elder scrolls online if it had a $5 subscription fee?

Would you play the Elder Scrolls online if it were Buy-to-play (buy the box and never have to pay again)?

Would you play ESO if it were free to play with a micro transaction store (XP boosts, inventory slots, etc. sold for real money?

Based on the answers of the players, they need to decide the future of the game. They should also bundle the standard edition of the game with 2 free months of subscription time, and sell it for $40 instead. And then, advertise it like crazy and get as many people to buy it as possible. If the game is good, the gameplay will speak for itself.

Akula · July 2014

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

ers101284b14_ESO · July 2014

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

^

All they really need to do is pick a direction and stick with it. They keep releasing content and showing it on Facebook and Reddit people will see it. They also need to get the console versions finished up so when console people try it they will review it for consoles instead of PC. New reviews will trump old ones.

c0rp · July 2014

I see many people coming back after the fixes, and after they realize Wildstar is terrible.

NorthernFury · July 2014

c0rp wrote: »

I see many people coming back after the fixes, and after they realize Wildstar is terrible.

Great point. My guild from the last MMO I played was split between jumping to ESO or Wildstar....and all the folks that were googly-eyed about Wildstar being the next big thing are all playing ESO with the rest of us now.

Mr.Turtlesworth · July 2014

But every YouTuber hates this game because they are console gamers and expected Skyrim 2: Multiplayer Edition

nicholaspingasb16_ESO · July 2014

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

Right, because 5 new threads every 24 hours is a lot for an MMO that SHOULD have over a million subscribers. Even the Torchlight 2 forums see more posts than the ESO forums. Also, two weeks is more than enough to judge if you enjoy a game. WoW does it with 20 levels, ESO can do it with 2 weeks and 3 zones.

nicholaspingasb16_ESO · July 2014

ers101284b14_ESO wrote: »

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

^

All they really need to do is pick a direction and stick with it. They keep releasing content and showing it on Facebook and Reddit people will see it. They also need to get the console versions finished up so when console people try it they will review it for consoles instead of PC. New reviews will trump old ones.

By the time the console version releases, nobody will care about this game. it MIGHT get an updated review on IGN and Gamespot, but unless significant changes are made, the scores will probably remain the same or be slightly higher thanks to bugfixes.

ers101284b14_ESO · July 2014

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

ers101284b14_ESO wrote: »

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

^

All they really need to do is pick a direction and stick with it. They keep releasing content and showing it on Facebook and Reddit people will see it. They also need to get the console versions finished up so when console people try it they will review it for consoles instead of PC. New reviews will trump old ones.

By the time the console version releases, nobody will care about this game. it MIGHT get an updated review on IGN and Gamespot, but unless significant changes are made, the scores will probably remain the same or be slightly higher thanks to bugfixes.

I keep seeing people begging for console release, or any news on it.

Food4Thought · July 2014

I have no idea what ESO numbers are like currently. But what I do know is that the population died down considerably as soon as they started purging BOT accounts. I mean seriously, were that many people doing this?

At any rate, I think the game needs time to appeal to new or returning people. The ones that left were the power grinders and they were probably done with the game before the end of the first month. They found the exploits, they power leveled through content, they sold rare motifs for obscene amounts of money, and a month latter they had nothing to do and nowhere to go because of the very things they did to get there in the first place.

So if the goal is to draw these people back or bring in fresh players, you first have to appeal to their needs. You do this by having more in game than a couple of new instances and changes to "fluff".

What you need is more flexibility with more end game content. You need new skill lines, new factions, and new weapons to play with. You need new zones to peak their interest, rare drops with obscenely low drop rates to keep them chugging along, and a reason to PVP other than to earn the title of emperor which they likely traded off to each other like it was wooden nickle anyway.

You have to have all that and then some.

Because all kidding aside, lets be real. How long would it take to wrap up a new guild quest line? A day maybe if you are already maxed level.

How long to clear a zone? Two days perhaps three.

To level a new crafting line? A couple of weeks depending on resources.

To clear a new dungeon? May be a month depending on what has to be done.

My point is, you need a lot of new things in game to bring these players back and right now ESO just doesnt' have it.

But if you want my advice one way to start is to take mage and fighter guilds to the next level. Make them solo quests, and make them impossible to complete with current level equipment. For the mages, seek out other mage books in cold harbor and the like. For the fighter guild, time for the arena. Face things that turn you into a chew toy and then spit you out wondering, "what the $%@# just happened?"

Do that and you got yourself a new MMO.

Akula · July 2014

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

Right, because 5 new threads every 24 hours is a lot for an MMO that SHOULD have over a million subscribers. Even the Torchlight 2 forums see more posts than the ESO forums. Also, two weeks is more than enough to judge if you enjoy a game. WoW does it with 20 levels, ESO can do it with 2 weeks and 3 zones.

Really? Since only a fraction of the community even visits reddit, and out of those very little bother posting a returning player thread (since most can easily find the hundreds of others), I think it's pretty simple minded of you to conclude 5 a day is actually just the only five coming back. What it does is show a trend.

nerevarine1138 · July 2014

Akula wrote: »

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

Right, because 5 new threads every 24 hours is a lot for an MMO that SHOULD have over a million subscribers. Even the Torchlight 2 forums see more posts than the ESO forums. Also, two weeks is more than enough to judge if you enjoy a game. WoW does it with 20 levels, ESO can do it with 2 weeks and 3 zones.

Really? Since only a fraction of the community even visits reddit, and out of those very little bother posting a returning player thread (since most can easily find the hundreds of others), I think it's pretty simple minded of you to conclude 5 a day is actually just the only five coming back. What it does is show a trend.

This.

If we use WoW as an example, even at the height of its popularity, only a few hundred thousand people were on the forums. And that's being generous. A miniscule fraction of players communicate via online forum, so if you see a trend on a board like Reddit, it's an indication that many more people who aren't on Reddit are also joining the game.

And if you want more proof, look at the game itself. Leveling zones are flooded with people, even during off-times.

Soloeus · July 2014

I gave you an LOL. It started by sounding good but went bonkers. You seem like you want the game to be free with microtransactions. You should go to that friendbook thing you kids use I hear they have plenty of free games for you.

Instead of inserting your dislike for the business model, you are blaming the wrong thing and a change in business model wouldn't make things better.

1. F2P will have more players but I don't want those players. Most of them won't be profitable customers anyway, they will be bot farming operations, kids, teenagers and excessively rude people who when they get banned just make a new free account.

2. B2P is standard for single player games, and games like Torchlight. However the updates in such games are slow, and there is no incentive for the company to maintain live servers. These games also aren't really MMO's. That is a whole different animal.

3. Subscription Based Model is standard. It maintains a player base that pays a monthly fee which goes with it certain accountability on the behavior of the user that isn't in place in other models. You also have live hotfixes, further development and new content always in the works. These games have a very long life cycle, ask Ultima Online! They have been doing it since 1997.

A big giveaway would bait in "some people" for a few weeks and I don't think it would be worth the effort. The impact would be minimal. And such a giveaway should start with an initial survey and have a final survey at the end.

Phantax · July 2014

Most of the Major Youtube people already did the whole ESO thing. Most were even positive (up till launch) then, when things went *** up and they went against the game big time.
I'm not saying that did/didn't have any kind of profound affect on the game, but they are definitely less likely to come back to ESO. Force and Angry Joe (to name a couple) have big followings and they gave it quite a slating.

The game is starting to shape up nicely now, word of mouth will start to grow and slowly Zenimax should begin to draw back some old players and hopefully a lot of new ones. As long as they continue to bring out 'meaningful' content for Solo/PvP/Group gamers then ESO will continue to gain reputation as a good game !

jrgray93 · July 2014

The problem with the YouTubers is that they basically universally panned the game. It kind of upsets me to think how many potential subs were lost thanks to people like Angry Joe. Most YouTube personalities are just bandwagon fans. That's how most of them remain popular. ESO is more of a niche game for people who have time to devote to it. I really don't see those people on YouTube having the time to enjoy it properly.

All of the hate for this game seems based on opinions of others. I met a guy two days ago who hated the game and hadn't even played it.

KariTR · July 2014

Akula wrote: »

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

Akula wrote: »

1. The game is already on the upswing. There is an avg of 5 new threads a day over at /r/elderscrollsonline at reddit asking about what they can expect, since they are returning to the game. Not that marketing needs to stop, but your suggestions are really extreme.
2. They shouldn't make their game descisons on the opinions of people who have only played two weeks.

Right, because 5 new threads every 24 hours is a lot for an MMO that SHOULD have over a million subscribers. Even the Torchlight 2 forums see more posts than the ESO forums. Also, two weeks is more than enough to judge if you enjoy a game. WoW does it with 20 levels, ESO can do it with 2 weeks and 3 zones.

Really? Since only a fraction of the community even visits reddit, and out of those very little bother posting a returning player thread (since most can easily find the hundreds of others), I think it's pretty simple minded of you to conclude 5 a day is actually just the only five coming back. What it does is show a trend.

I recruit for a traders guild I have been in since early access. What I have noticed in the last week, is when I do my trawl of the lower level zones the people responding for an invite are genuine new players and not alts of a higher level main.

I don't think we have been the 'first' guild for this many players since the first two or three weeks. It's great. Fortunately, the guild is very sociable for a traders guild - we even do stuff together - so hopefully we can provide a positive experience for the new players.

Yasha · July 2014

Soloeus wrote: »

I gave you an LOL. It started by sounding good but went bonkers. You seem like you want the game to be free with microtransactions. You should go to that friendbook thing you kids use I hear they have plenty of free games for you.

Instead of inserting your dislike for the business model, you are blaming the wrong thing and a change in business model wouldn't make things better.

1. F2P will have more players but I don't want those players. Most of them won't be profitable customers anyway, they will be bot farming operations, kids, teenagers and excessively rude people who when they get banned just make a new free account.

2. B2P is standard for single player games, and games like Torchlight. However the updates in such games are slow, and there is no incentive for the company to maintain live servers. These games also aren't really MMO's. That is a whole different animal.

3. Subscription Based Model is standard. It maintains a player base that pays a monthly fee which goes with it certain accountability on the behavior of the user that isn't in place in other models. You also have live hotfixes, further development and new content always in the works. These games have a very long life cycle, ask Ultima Online! They have been doing it since 1997.

A big giveaway would bait in "some people" for a few weeks and I don't think it would be worth the effort. The impact would be minimal. And such a giveaway should start with an initial survey and have a final survey at the end.

1. Totally unfounded opinion on the type of people that play f2p games. Likely many people who play f2p games have also played b2p or sub games.

2. The B2P mmos I know of have regular updates, regular new content, run really well etc. In contrast, the same cannot be said of all sub-based games.

3. Sub-model is the dinosaur on the way to extinction- not the standard. In fact, if a "standard" is defined by what is the most common type of game model then f2p has now become the standard. It is also quite a long stretch of the imagination to equate having a sub with "long life cycle" since some sub-games have crashed and gone offline relatively quickly, while some f2p/b2p games have been around for quite some time.

I agree that changing the business model wouldn't necessarily make the game better (or worse), but the OPs point I think was how to attract more players to the game, although it does seem a bit premature to put it in the discount bargain bin as suggested.

EliteZ · July 2014

jrgray93 wrote: »

The problem with the YouTubers is that they basically universally panned the game. It kind of upsets me to think how many potential subs were lost thanks to people like Angry Joe. Most YouTube personalities are just bandwagon fans. That's how most of them remain popular. ESO is more of a niche game for people who have time to devote to it. I really don't see those people on YouTube having the time to enjoy it properly.

All of the hate for this game seems based on opinions of others. I met a guy two days ago who hated the game and hadn't even played it.

I can beat that, I know a guy who says the game is crap and boring, yet said that he really enjoyed it during the two days he played in beta.

Some people just follow the crowd and that's why YouTubers are still going, IMO you don't really want those type of people as players as they will always be on the look out for something better or something to moan about.

wrlifeboil · July 2014

Soloeus wrote: »

I gave you an LOL. It started by sounding good but went bonkers. You seem like you want the game to be free with microtransactions. You should go to that friendbook thing you kids use I hear they have plenty of free games for you.

Instead of inserting your dislike for the business model, you are blaming the wrong thing and a change in business model wouldn't make things better.

1. F2P will have more players but I don't want those players. Most of them won't be profitable customers anyway, they will be bot farming operations, kids, teenagers and excessively rude people who when they get banned just make a new free account.

2. B2P is standard for single player games, and games like Torchlight. However the updates in such games are slow, and there is no incentive for the company to maintain live servers. These games also aren't really MMO's. That is a whole different animal.

I think you might need to get a few more years of gaming under your belt before posting comments like that.

GW2 is a b2p game and indisputably an mmo. Arguably gw2 is now the second most successful mmo.

jrgray93 · July 2014

EliteZ wrote: »

jrgray93 wrote: »

The problem with the YouTubers is that they basically universally panned the game. It kind of upsets me to think how many potential subs were lost thanks to people like Angry Joe. Most YouTube personalities are just bandwagon fans. That's how most of them remain popular. ESO is more of a niche game for people who have time to devote to it. I really don't see those people on YouTube having the time to enjoy it properly.

All of the hate for this game seems based on opinions of others. I met a guy two days ago who hated the game and hadn't even played it.

I can beat that, I know a guy who says the game is crap and boring, yet said that he really enjoyed it during the two days he played in beta.

Some people just follow the crowd and that's why YouTubers are still going, IMO you don't really want those type of people as players as they will always be on the look out for something better or something to moan about.

That's a good point. On the other hand, more subs is more money, which results in more developer support. I just don't want an awful crowd to ruin the game.

Rescorla_ESO · July 2014

Whether the game needs "revitalization" or not is a matter of opinion.

I think #1 thing ZOS can do to increase the number of subscriptions is to make Cyrodil PVP more meaningful. The lack of highly populated campaigns is a sign most players don't even bother with Cyrodil anymore except to get skyshards. Almost all of the hardcore PVP guilds have already gave up on TESO and are preparing for ArcheAge.

The guild tabards are a step in the right direction but IMO a lot more needs to be done. When a guild can take over a keep in less than 5 minutes, that is a sign that the siege gameplay needs some tweaks.

NorthernFury · July 2014

YouTube is full of artards. Play the game and decide for yourself or GTFO.

Scarletblaze · July 2014

NorthernFury wrote: »

YouTube is full of artards. Play the game and decide for yourself or GTFO.

This is amazing advice! Just wish people would actually listen....

Phantax · July 2014

NorthernFury wrote: »

YouTube is full of artards. Play the game and decide for yourself or GTFO.

Scarletblaze wrote: »

NorthernFury wrote: »

YouTube is full of artards. Play the game and decide for yourself or GTFO.

This is amazing advice! Just wish people would actually listen....

Or of course you could see what other people had to say about a game, see what the feedback on those videos is and save yourself £40-60 by not buying a game you may turn out to hate !

nicholaspingasb16_ESO · July 2014

Soloeus wrote: »

I gave you an LOL. It started by sounding good but went bonkers. You seem like you want the game to be free with microtransactions. You should go to that friendbook thing you kids use I hear they have plenty of free games for you.

Instead of inserting your dislike for the business model, you are blaming the wrong thing and a change in business model wouldn't make things better.

1. F2P will have more players but I don't want those players. Most of them won't be profitable customers anyway, they will be bot farming operations, kids, teenagers and excessively rude people who when they get banned just make a new free account.

2. B2P is standard for single player games, and games like Torchlight. However the updates in such games are slow, and there is no incentive for the company to maintain live servers. These games also aren't really MMO's. That is a whole different animal.

3. Subscription Based Model is standard. It maintains a player base that pays a monthly fee which goes with it certain accountability on the behavior of the user that isn't in place in other models. You also have live hotfixes, further development and new content always in the works. These games have a very long life cycle, ask Ultima Online! They have been doing it since 1997.

A big giveaway would bait in "some people" for a few weeks and I don't think it would be worth the effort. The impact would be minimal. And such a giveaway should start with an initial survey and have a final survey at the end.

I understand what each business model entails, and what kind of player base it drags in. however, since the subscription model clearly isn't working (it might if they made a better game and had good PR) i think that zenimax should decide on a change in business model that is determined by what would bring in the most players. Aside from that, I never stated that it would be better for the community if the game went F2P. Your post seems to insinuate that I hate the subscription model, when if fact i agree that if it can be done properly, it is the best option for an MMO.

Audigy · July 2014

The general fanboys of these "youtube heroes" only do what their idol tells them to do.

If their idols tell them ESO is the best MMO ever, then they will buy it. If they trash the game, then they will trash it as well.

So if you want to get people back, then you must convince those YT heroes to say something good, but this wont happen as their only chance to survive is blaming companies, hating on games especially after they got free beta keys and stuff

Everyone should by now know about the D3 incident with one YT guy, this should be a warning to every gaming company out there.

nicholaspingasb16_ESO · July 2014

Audigy wrote: »

The general fanboys of these "youtube heroes" only do what their idol tells them to do.

If their idols tell them ESO is the best MMO ever, then they will buy it. If they trash the game, then they will trash it as well.

So if you want to get people back, then you must convince those YT heroes to say something good, but this wont happen as their only chance to survive is blaming companies, hating on games especially after they got free beta keys and stuff

Everyone should by now know about the D3 incident with one YT guy, this should be a warning to every gaming company out there.

yes. This is why I said they need to reach out to the guys who panned the game.

c0rp · July 2014

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

I understand what each business model entails, and what kind of player base it drags in. however, since the subscription model clearly isn't working (it might if they made a better game and had good PR) i think that zenimax should decide on a change in business model that is determined by what would bring in the most players. Aside from that, I never stated that it would be better for the community if the game went F2P. Your post seems to insinuate that I hate the subscription model, when if fact i agree that if it can be done properly, it is the best option for an MMO.

Call me crazy..but I am going to assume ZoS knows what they should be doing better than the "random guy on web forum". I am also sure they are a better judge of what is clearly working or not.

The difference is...they have ALL the numbers behind the game and you do not. Thats about all there is to say on that matter.

nicholaspingasb16_ESO · July 2014

c0rp wrote: »

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

I understand what each business model entails, and what kind of player base it drags in. however, since the subscription model clearly isn't working (it might if they made a better game and had good PR) i think that zenimax should decide on a change in business model that is determined by what would bring in the most players. Aside from that, I never stated that it would be better for the community if the game went F2P. Your post seems to insinuate that I hate the subscription model, when if fact i agree that if it can be done properly, it is the best option for an MMO.

Call me crazy..but I am going to assume ZoS knows what they should be doing better than the "random guy on web forum". I am also sure they are a better judge of what is clearly working or not.

The difference is...they have ALL the numbers behind the game and you do not. Thats about all there is to say on that matter.

I don't need ALL the numbers to see that this game has been hemorrhaging players since launch. I know my only two friends who bought it quit after the first month (anecdotal evidence, i know). The fact that ZOS hasn't released subscriber numbers like every successful MMO tells me that they are either not where they want them to be OR dangerously low. Either way, a change or two is needed.

jrgray93 · July 2014

Audigy wrote: »

Everyone should by now know about the D3 incident with one YT guy, this should be a warning to every gaming company out there.

Hmmm... mind enlightening me? I'm unsure what this incident was.

ers101284b14_ESO · July 2014

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

c0rp wrote: »

nicholaspingasb16_ESO wrote: »

I understand what each business model entails, and what kind of player base it drags in. however, since the subscription model clearly isn't working (it might if they made a better game and had good PR) i think that zenimax should decide on a change in business model that is determined by what would bring in the most players. Aside from that, I never stated that it would be better for the community if the game went F2P. Your post seems to insinuate that I hate the subscription model, when if fact i agree that if it can be done properly, it is the best option for an MMO.

Call me crazy..but I am going to assume ZoS knows what they should be doing better than the "random guy on web forum". I am also sure they are a better judge of what is clearly working or not.

The difference is...they have ALL the numbers behind the game and you do not. Thats about all there is to say on that matter.

I don't need ALL the numbers to see that this game has been hemorrhaging players since launch. I know my only two friends who bought it quit after the first month (anecdotal evidence, i know). The fact that ZOS hasn't released subscriber numbers like every successful MMO tells me that they are either not where they want them to be OR dangerously low. Either way, a change or two is needed.

FF11 still doesn't release numbers neither does FF14. Why? Because square is not public. ZOS is not public.