I love ESO to bits. Just gonna start off with putting that out there.
Now that being said I have often found it disconcerting how Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (skipped abbreviating for emphasis - keywords being Multiplayer and Roleplaying), even ones as immersive as Elder Scrolls, continuously fail at providing full multiplayer roleplaying satisfaction.

What that saying is: it's evident that the developers went out of their way with the detailed character creation system and all the various possible build combos to give every player a sense of individuality within the game world, and I am specifically fond of the quests, the plentiful emotes, every character being fully voice acted and the weak party finder which motivates social interaction (which is what you should expect when you sign up for a Massively Multiplayer Online title, else stick to Skyrim); however, why stop there?

It is solely this factor I intend to discuss:
Why oh why is all focus directed yet again on combat in such a vast, complex world full of political intrigue and engaging lore? (Minus the "Persuade" and "Intimidate" passive Guild Skills mind you)

Allow me to demonstrate my point with the Sorcerer. If I'm playing a sorcerer in a multiplayer game, I'd want a sense of identity as well as a sense of superiority concerning the class I supposedly specialize in (in this case, magic). What that saying is... oh look! A warrior needs to get to that upper terrain and can't go all the way around for some reason... no problem! Lucky for him a sorcerer was just passing by and is nice enough to help him out. Abraca-levitation spell and get him up there. Or maybe he's not trying to get to the upper level but cross a broken bridge - no problem! Here's a magical bridge for ya! I mean, all those years of training in the arcane arts have got to count for something besides just killing monsters, right? Otherwise why not just specialize in any of all the other classes available since they all have the same exact ultimatum anyway - killing monsters. I'm just saying there should be a non-combat specialization for every class available. Something more based on roleplay or just basic old-school in-your-face fun.

What if there were certain spells that did not require ability slots (since they are non-combat based) but to actually type in the spell word into chat in order to cast said spell (and have them voiced much in the same way as Enchanting)? Spells such as levitation, shapeshifting, water-walking, fireworks or what have you. Just actual spells that have a magical feel to them rather than a bam bam pow thing.

I would imagine such a magic system to come with a spellbook, where each spell word you learn is added into. Perhaps even have a quest for every spell word you can learn, so that there's a particular challenge to learning these spells. Quests are given by the Mages Guild most likely. And the quests would be about the spell itself and how to use it. A literal "school of magic" type of thing where you are taught the spell through a quest by a superior. Since the spells are cast by having to actually type the magic words into chat, these quests could prove handy in learning the words for efficient use.

Still on the topic of Sorcerers and fun in a roleplaying world, consider the potential... magical fireworks, people chillaxing while suspended in midair, growing trees, rolling in magical bubbles, ice-skating on an iced floor, making shapes with smoke or fire or particles (dragons, horses... think of it like a puppet show), teleporting self and/or other grouped players in viewing distance when in non-combat, morphing/shapeshifting self and/or other players with their permission also while in non-combat (I'd really like to turn someone into a frog. Or a dragon.), I mean those are just off the top of my head the roleplaying aspects truly are endless. Then of course there's the utility sorcerer specialization where non-sorcerers would request services from a sorcerer that only he can provide such as the aforementioned levitation and portals perhaps and whatever else is magically required.

I mean, for such a massive game with exceptional focus on magic and rituals and basic witchcraft, why is it that the Sorcerer class feels the least bit sorcery? Sorcerers never actually feel like sorcerers, do they?

If there was one MMORPG I expected to satiate this never-before-filled hunger, it was ESO. I've always been a huge fan of The Elder Scrolls series because of the level of immersion every title provides. Imagine my someone-please-hold-me-down excitement when I found out the next Elder Scrolls title would be online.
And even though I will say that it did manage to meet my high expectations (novelty of title and thus its current status of being a work-in-progress considered), it still failed, as every MMORPG I've experienced before it, on providing genuine class roleplay identity.

Let's not forget the Sorcerer's combat animations and the skills themselves - they feel more like superheroes with superpowers rather than genuine sorcerers. What that saying is, the developers went through the trouble of making classes, why not alternate animations between them a bit? A magic-wielder should not have a battle stance like a rogue, should he? It's kind of odd when all characters of all "classes" seem to have ironically went to the same "class" when learning combat.

Of course, all other classes should be given their identities as well. I only thought sorcerers would give the best roleplaying example. Services could be requested of the DK where dragon fire is needed to light a brazier for a certain goal, or maybe to smash a rock-covered-cave since their sword swings can match no other.

Here's a gameplay example of non-combat social-based roleplay:
A rogue is hired by another player to steal a certain player's item. I realize some people would lose their minds over this being an applicable concept and having their precious hard-earned items stolen, but consider the level of immersion: Of course, the robbed player would then realize he's been robbed and would have to get in touch with a Sorcerer willing to help out. The Sorcerer could then cast a spell to find out who the thief was, and either the robbed player himself could hunt him down, kill him and retrieve his stolen item or contact another rogue to steal his item from the thief.
Some people might complain this halts character progression or whatever since the player would have to stop whatever he was doing to get his item back, but what are you racing towards really? To what end are you growing your character anyway? Isn't the whole point the escapism into this magical world and the adventures this world provides? Isn't the whole point a reenactment of the real world but with fantasy added? So what if you stop whatever you're doing and go get a stolen item back if you were unlucky enough to be robbed by an expert rogue? Why shouldn't that be an option? It is in the real world to a certain extent.

Clearly this was just an example but it's just this sort of roleplay identity AND social codependency that I feel MMORPGs keep missing out on. I understand the business model of copying what proved to be successful in the past, but if MMORPGs keep following the same model with little tweaks and upgrades but never daring to take new steps or introduce something completely new we'll always remain in the same place and trolls will continue to compare everything to WoW. Why not give them something incomparable?

I realize a system like this takes a ton of work to implement, but I just felt like I had to voice it once and for all. It's an itch I've always ached to scratch. So there. It's out there. I'm hoping said itch is not contagious. Or maybe I am.