A Long Thread About my Thoughts and Feelings

DaniAngione · October 2014

Hey there, everyone. ZOS Team, fellow players...

So, today I renewed my subscription once again. Got that little shiny e-mail "Elder Scrolls Online - Subscription Payment Complete". The moment it arrived, I stared at it for like a minute thinking about what I was doing.

Do I regret buying the game? No, I'm really happy about pre-ordering it and being subbed since launch. I've played for hundreds of hours - literally - got several characters to veteran ranks and played through each faction's content at least twice. I think I might've played Ebonheart Pact four times.
So, no... No regrets. I've played more than enough worthy of my money.

Do I regret subbing? Not at all. But I think here's where things start to change...

I stared at the e-mail for a while, but why? I didn't regret renewing my subscription once again. But I'm starting to wonder if all the love and hope I have for the game is well placed.

Yes, love and hope. That's why I'm here writing, out of love. I love The Elder Scrolls and I love The Elder Scrolls Online - and like many have said before me, I want to see the game THRIVE. But now, more than ever, the time feels right for me to talk about how I'm feeling about the game and everything around it.

Please, I must say in advance: This is not a doom thread. This is not a "I won't renew my sub" thread. It is, indeed, a lot of criticism. But it reflects my opinion and my opinion alone. If you agree with me - thank you. Let us raise our voices together. If you don't, thank you nonetheless for reading and, please, share yours for it's only through discussion and debate that the world changes.

Also, I won't get into any specific gameplay changes/balancing/bugs here. I think there's enough on that already. I want to talk about the game as a whole, more general features and such.
Oh, and one last thing. I WILL talk about another game. But I'm not saying A is better than B nor that things should be like this or that.

I will use another game as an example for 3 main reasons:

1. It's a game that has been recently hyped and released.
2. It's a game that I've played a little bit and the first game I've played that is not ESO since I started playing ESO.
3. It has some good ideas under its hood - as every game does.

So, for that, I ask the ZOS team/mods: Please, understand that it would be really difficult to talk about some things without proper, actual examples. I understand that there are 'rules' against this kind of argumentation, but I ask you all (out of the love I have for ESO) to understand why do I need these examples to make my point.

The game I'm talking about is Archeage. First off, I'd like to tell you all my overall opinion on the game:
It sucks. The combat mechanics are mediocre; the graphics are pretty much the asian MMO industry standard: average-to-good character models against a plain, poorly crafted scenery. It's as flashy and colorful as a game can (but shouldn't, lol) get. As misogynistic as you'd expect: bouncing effects, curvy models, etc... Lore, story (and the whole writing aspect) is completely irrelevant, it's just there to say there is one.
It's a bad game overall, I couldn't get beyond level 30 and left it. (Maximum level is 50)

So, now that this is out of the way... I imagine most of you must be thinking "Wait a second, why are you bringing this game up if you found it to be so terrible, then?"
Well, because I think that even with all these problems, some of the answers for my problems with ESO might be there. And that's what I'm going to talk about now.

As short as I can, in one line, here's my greatest concern with ESO as of now:
The Elder Scrolls Online lacks stuff to do. Period.

That's a summary of everything I'm going to talk about from now on. But it's rather vague; so it needs a bit of explaining to be fleshed out.

MMOs are all about keeping you online; keeping you subbed; keeping you... let's just say... 'addicted' to it. C'mon, let's face it. That's the business model - keep players into the game = profit. I'm not saying this is wrong or bad; this is how the world works. If people feel the need to be online and play, everyone is happy: Zenimax gets their well deserved money and we get the fun we're paying for.
ESO has hundreds of hours - maybe more than a thousand - worthy of playing. And more are added every month or so.
So where's the problem? Well, the problem is the lack of variety/options of different stuff to do. There are many options but all of them can be narrowed to the same mechanics: combat, travel, 'clicking'. Besides RP'ing, there are few things you can do in ESO that does not require you to click/interact (fishing, crafting...) travel around (hunt resources, explore, achievements...) or do battle. (Questing, dungeons, trials, the arena, PVP...)

So, this is what I mean: ESO has A LOT of stuff to do... But most of them get narrowed down to the same gameplay mechanics... And this increases boredom. While bored, you feel like leaving the game to do something else... And so on. Less players, community gets worried, people are not playing so much anymore, et cetera...

Yes, I know there are tons of AWESOME things coming our way... But do they really change the game that much? Justice system, adds a whole new layer of fun and activity but relies on combat yet again... Spellcrafting; same... New regions - just more content - which is awesome, but I don't think that it's what the game really needs right now in my opinion...

So, let's go back to Archeage for a bit. During my short trip there, there was only one thing that amazed me in that game: the amount of different things I could do. I ended up doing a lot of everything since combat there was really frustrating and mediocre... So I spent a lot of time doing runs, farming on secret spots, sailing with some higher level friends I made and some other stuff.

Everything felt different and an original mechanic on their own rights. Trade runs were a lot of fun even if they sound like a huge and boring timesink. (I mean... walk around the whole world on walk speed... How can this be fun? But it is.)

Sailing is a lot of fun as well... Anyway, I won't talk much about the game because, well, that would not be polite and overall it sucks (like I mentioned) above... But the point I'm trying to say is: in a way, it felt like Ultime Online used to feel; where I could do a thousand different things and each of them played in a unique, fun way...

You never get bored. And this is the trick...
When I'm playing ESO and I'm bored of doing quests/fighting... I can't do anything else because there's nothing much left to do that doesn't involve killing stuff or aimlessly running around. RP is amazing in a rich and complex lore like TES, but there should be more...

So, this is about the small things (or big in terms of mechanics). The fun things, the things that matter. Activities, hobbies, things to spend time on, things to be proud of, things that really, really allow the players to feel like they're doing something worthy even if they're not getting XP or gaining loot.

So... To wrap it up, there are several things I think should add a lot to the game... And give us more things to do. Give us reasons to travel the world and love our characters more than simply progressing through streamlined region quests/content.

Fishing (and other 'hobbies') should be reworked. Become more meaningful... Maybe add hunting - create a 'hunting' bow that, when used to kill 'critters', gives us meat and hides more often... Maybe add some other mechanics into it...
Maybe some 'jobs' or fun stuff around towns... Help the folks from the harbour to carry crates for extra coins (like a repeatable quest), more interactive objects for RP'ers...
Housing is fairly complex and should be done right, so I won't get much into it, but it's certainly one of the things that would increase this 'lack' of stuff to do...
Sailing (from AA) is a lot of fun as well. ESO has a great 'sailing culture' (pretty much every faction has at least one big story arc around sailing/sailors/crews/ships...) so... let me dream and think of a future 'sea exploration' expansion?
The idea of Trade Runs from AA is also interesting and I can easily see a cool mechanic of caravans and things like that in Cyrodiil... Maybe take resources from one keep to another to get special buffs and things like that... Or region trading just for the coins and fun.
What about the horse races? We've been hearing about them since launch! See, that's the kind of thing I'm talking about... we need more activities, more stuff to do that goes beyond the stuff we already do...
We could certainly use more character customization; disguises are nice but an 'outfitting' system like the one in LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online) would be certainly welcome. There you can 'equip' the appearance of individual items, form different cosmetic sets, have an account-wide shared wardrobe...

Well, my thoughts have started escaping me, but I think I've pointed out the most important things (for me) right now.

I love ESO and I won't stop playing... But I'm afraid the game is increasingly boring; it feels like I'm only 'progressing' whenever I'm hitting something... And this is The Elder Scrolls; this is a completely amazing and beautiful world full of possibilities and they should certainly be explored

We need more, different stuff to do. We need different activities to keep people in the game, imagine how awesome if we could play minigames with others (like cards inside an inn) or bet on races and such... Imagine how rich the world of Nirn is... and how little of it we're experiencing right now.

That's pretty much it... I guess.
Thanks for reading, I know it was long and I started to lose myself. Lol.

Anyway, love to all of you and stay safe,
DaniAngione

Gidorick · October 2014

Thanks for saying all that @DaniAngione. I'm a relatively low-level player that doesn't play more then 10 hours a week so it'll take me a long while to get through all the content but I find myself wanting more to do. I want to feel like I'm LIVING in Tamriel, not just completing quests.

You summarized my thoughts wonderfully and it's great to hear that someone that has had the time to invest in ESO that I would like to have has the same feelings I do.

I hope ZOS listens.

AreoHotah · October 2014

Oh I remember the inns in The Witcher. Amazing music inside, you could play lore chess and poker, you could challange someone to arm wrestling, oh and the illegal fist fighting in the basement

Now that was a game made with PASSION.

DaniAngione · October 2014

AreoHotah wrote: »

Now that was a game made with PASSION.

Yes, that is a great game (though we must remember it's a single-player one), but these things are not impossible for an MMO...

I think there's a lot of passion put into ESO.
I really do.

I think that, as a "first time doing an MMO" company.. (or maybe for budget/time constraints) they might've been a little afraid to step forth a little bit from the essentials.

That's what I see: ESO is full of potential - because it got the essentials right. Questing, combat, etc. The basics are all there and they're great.

Now is the time to expand the game on all directions, the time to add TONS of stuff

This is what I see. The game has potential to be staggering beautiful. They just need to... 'untap' this potential, to break the shackles from the formula they're bound to (questing, combat, questing, combat, dungeon, combat, pvp, combat...) and start adding different stuff for people to enjoy.

See, the essentials/basics are what matters, true. The dungeons, the trials, the pvp, the quests... These are the things that matter. But what keeps the people online, what keeps the players faithful... Is the ability of the game to allow us to build meaningful characters and stories... And this only happens with all the other things you do alongside these basics. And many people simply forget about this. Because it's something so natural and so... strong, that it goes unnoticed, like walking or breathing.

I like to always use two examples: in LOTRO, there's simply no one... no one (on the higher levels) that does not use the Outfitting system. Everyone enjoys customizing their characters and such...
And festivals. Tamriel has a myriad of fun dates, cool festivals... We should have all of them in the game! :disagree:

Gidorick · October 2014

DaniAngione wrote: »

That's what I see: ESO is full of potential - because it got the essentials right. Questing, combat, etc. The basics are all there and they're great.

I 100% agree... but can they balance fulfilling that potential with the frantic desire to keep subscriptions? Right now, ZOS seems to be VERY focused on keeping those uber-high level players interested and subscribed while the realization of the potential of Tamriel is secondary.

Nox_Aeterna · October 2014

Well to me this is just a fundamental gap that comes from the fact one is a sandbox and the other is a themepark MMO.

They can add things to do in ESO , but the fact that it is a themepark MMO wont change that is for sure and with this fact also comes a lot of standards and features.

So in the end , sure they can create a LOT more things for the players to do , but the world itself moves on a different set of rules , therefore i dont think certain things that are awesome in one game will be awesome in the other.

Uisi · October 2014

Sir, you just speak my words, thank you. Agreed 100%! My trip to ESO world was a lot of fun, but i begin to be bored (and a little lonely), and that is not what a mmorpg want for his players.

RSram · October 2014

DaniAngione wrote: »

...As short as I can, in one line, here's my greatest concern with ESO as of now:
The Elder Scrolls Online lacks stuff to do. Period...

I have been posting my grips since day one, and some of them have been fixed, and some not. I not giving up on this game yet (unless some totally awesome new MMO debuts later in the year

) .

I play ESO strictly to earn achievement points because many of the achievements are really challenging. I also have several personal goals that I want to meet in the crafting department. I want to craft a light armor and weapons set from each of the special crafting areas of legendary quality; this may take a year or more to do under the current ESO economy. I would also like to be the craftsman that the players go to when they want a custom armor and weapon set tailored for them. This is my personal challenge (I still have a ways to go before I start offering this service).

ESO has tons of achievements that could occupy a casual player for at least a year. So I say pick a goal, there's should be something in ESO that's a challenge to you? How about becoming Emperor? I hear that's not easy to do in one hour.

Vizier · October 2014

I wasn't going to read it all. It's alot. But once I started your plea was heartfelt and well said.

I do understand what you are saying. And for the most part I agree. I am the type of player that likes to explore. If there are places we can't go because of invisible walls, I find them because I've tried to get where they are stopping me from going. Once of the things I've discovered since starting ESO is there isn't really much reason to explore. Oh sure, you get xp and books and skyshards but the experience is the same. Loot will pretty much be crap and 95% of the dungeons are exactly the same. I don't go into a dungeon to see what's in there. I go in, hang a right, loop around to the left, get the skyshard, kill the boss, exit, hang a right back to the start. ALL The same.

One of the greatest aspects of TES was dungeon diving. ESO...not so much. It's one of those things you can live with. It's just a tragedy they went that rout.

Leijona · October 2014

I do agree with you. I talked to a few developers last week about the fact, that there is not enough stuff to do, that doesn't has to do with fighting either mobs or players. And they did agree. One of the dungeon developers said to me, that we as the players need more reasons to log into the game and have something interesting to do.

I was told, that the systems team, so the guys who are making the provisioner revamp for example, have a pretty long list of things, they like to do. For example one thing are horse races and they even asked us, whether we prefer default tracks or build them on our own. And we answered, that we just want both. Plus weekly and/or monthly rank lists, so you have a reason to repeat the races. Horse races seem to be a thing, that could come soon after justice system and champion system.

They were interested in the idea of a music system like in LOTRO.

The idea of trade runs was brought up with the justice system. Someone suggested that both sides, enforcers and outlaws, could be able to do some sort of contraband trade runs and the other side has to try to interrupt that. The answer was, more or less, that it wouldn't be inside the system at the start, but that the justice system has a lot of opportunities to get improved.

The problem at the moment are priorities. First, there have to be champion system and justice system beeing finished. And then they can look into other things. It would be really nice to know their priority lists, but we clearly won't get that much input. Just to know, where on the list certain points are located, would give us a better understanding on when to expect what.

At least, I'm finally convinced that they do want to make housing. They just really have no idea yet, how to do it. Especially, as we as a player base doesn't really know, what we want. I mean, in some points one group wants exatcly the different thing than another group.

Nazon_Katts · October 2014

Yep, should have been a sandbox.

dodgehopper_ESO · October 2014

I think most mmo's should at least make sandbox an important element of the game. Cyrodil has potential for that, and maybe a few of the regions surrounding it. Sandbox elements are a great way to keep things interesting, and I do think the Justice system really will prove a fun part of it. For me personally I love to pvp. I'd pvp more, but I also like to soak up the story, so I've been building and building and exploring. However, I'm able to now pvp a lot more now that I've accomplished a lot of those things, and I'm enjoying myself. Its not as though I haven't pvp'd plenty in the game already, because I have.

One of the main draws for the PVE side of the game in the short term, is that this is where all the skillpoints are (the lions share of them). At least for a PVP player. The difference is, that I'm also an avid TES fan, and I've found myself incapable of skipping content. TES is meant to be experienced, so I really couldn't bring myself to completely rush it. While I am veteran 14, I am still going through trying to bit by bit explore the entirety of the game. I don't see myself stopping that. So I guess what I'm saying in my longwinded way, is that PVP is a big part of that 'other thing to do'.

Those players who aren't as inclined to do this though, I think really do need a bit of something more. Star Wars Galaxies really had it best in this regard, and I've never seen an MMO do it better. It was a mix of Themepark and Sandbox, and the sandbox part of that game was absolutely amazing. It was action packed too, unlike EVE Online. If we could even in some small way get some of the production elements of resource grabbing, farming/mining, item creation, and item manufacture going in this game like Galaxies had that would be absolutely amazing. Beyond that, I'm not really sure what else a player could want. We do have fishing.

StalkerKZN · October 2014

I like what you said here. A lot of great ideas and I really hope they listen to the players and give us what we want. In the end it benefits both parties. I am a new player and I think this game has tons of potential.

ZOS_TristanK · October 2014

Thanks so much for the great and constructive feedback, @DaniAngione (and everyone else for that matter)! As @Leijona mentioned, our Dev Team has lots of ideas for new content and are excited to find new things to give players, like horse racing and repeatable crafting quests which will be added in the future. We know that many of you have already checked out the Guild Summit coverage from Tamriel Foundry and other great sites, but we'll be posting a round-up soon. We encourage you to check it out for more info on some of the things that you can expect to see from ESO in the future.

Keep the feedback and ideas coming! We absolutely love reading them.

Drazhar14 · October 2014

I agree, there needs to be more things to do. I created a thread a while ago about making a new "festival" zone with some of these new activities, check it out if you want:
http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/discussion/99465/kvatch-future-festival-zone

On another note, sailing would be awesome in ESO. They should have removed the zones, and just had the areas around you load as you explore. I have found terrain glitches to escape the map a few times, and neighboring zones are all there minus the npc's/quests/monsters, then just suddenly drop off after a while. If this was a true Elder Scrolls game, we would be able to travel from zone to zone any way we want. For example, it really annoys me that you can't swim from Wayrest over to the Alik'r desert, when they are so close. Or the bridge from Stormhaven to Bangkorai. If you try to swim to Bangkorai, it cuts to a loading screen and you appear on the bridge. Really, really immersion breaking, and its not even a long bridge. So yes to sailing.

An underwater exploration system would also be amazing (I still can't believe this is an ES game without underwater exploration). Maybe even add basic under water combat. It's still a new game system, therefore more variety.

I'd really like to see housing also. Building your own house and upgrading it over time would be amazing. If everyone got to build there own house wherever they wanted, the game world would be over run though. There needs to be some sort of phasing or instancing where houses can be built in certain areas only. Or simply create a new district in each city, where upon entering loads an instance with your house. To visit someone else's house, they would need to be the party leader and invite you into their instance.

Dynamic events, like a group of bandits suddenly attacking a town? They could even ride into town on horses, which ties into:

And finally, mounted combat! Would make PvP even more in depth, add variety, and be a lot of fun. It could also work in PvE, and they could add new mounted enemies around the world. New combat mechanics are always welcome. Also, first person view for riding a horse (I know its possible, and very easy to allow the camera to just zoom in all the way. I've seen it in game already when my horse is backed against a wall with an overhang and my camera is forced in all the way).

Xeres14 · October 2014

I'll chime in on the player housing thing because it fits in with the theme of the OPs post - things to do that doesn't feel like doing the same old thing all the time.

Player housing is a huge "mini-game" that would help in this regard. Not only having the housing but all the decorations that can be crafted and sold. Those of you who played UO and SWG know what I'm talking about. How many hours did you spend decorating your houses there?

Thing is though having the houses litter the landscape is a bad idea. Areas sort of need to be set aside somehow.

Cuyler · October 2014

Just some thoughts:

Swimming/Sailing:

I hate to reference another game here but a great example is Assassins creed: Black Flag (single player campaign). The game allowed users to own a vessel (upgrade it too) and explore an open world ocean.

It did not allow players to swim underwater other than directly under the surface. Then they offered under water missions in which "diving bells" (a bell to hold air underwater. Think of putting a glass upside down in a sink full of water, it holds air! lol) were used to get air as you progressed through the mission underwater.

The ocean provided opportunities for naval battle, fishing, whaling (although quite gruesome and immoral).

I'm big on this point and feel that they're has not been a company to successfully implement a system like this in the MMORPG arena. It needs to happen and would probably be a blockbuster! Think ESO meets Uncharted Waters Online.

Housing:

I envision player housing as essentially a "lodge". Picture one large building placed into each city that every player accesses. Once inside the player would be in a "lobby" in which he can rent a room for gold (gold sink) or awared based on achievement/lvl. This weekly or monthly fee then allows you to access a "stairway" or "door" within that lobby that leads to your personal living space.

Guild Hall:

I envision a meeting place in each city in which a player may meet with fellow guildies face to face. This could be one building with a drop down menu upon entering that allows you to select which guild you would like to visit. Include crafting stations in the halls as well.

Festivals:

Yes please as long as they are lore specific.

MikeBob · October 2014

ZOS_TristanK wrote: »

Thanks so much for the great and constructive feedback, @DaniAngione (and everyone else for that matter)! As @Leijona mentioned, our Dev Team has lots of ideas for new content and are excited to find new things to give players, like horse racing and repeatable crafting quests which will be added in the future. We know that many of you have already checked out the Guild Summit coverage from Tamriel Foundry and other great sites, but we'll be posting a round-up soon. We encourage you to check it out for more info on some of the things that you can expect to see from ESO in the future.

Keep the feedback and ideas coming! We absolutely love reading them.

babylon, L

K here! ^^^

Holycannoli · October 2014

I want things like mini-games in taverns (poker dice, checkers, chess etc.), housing with things like gardening/farming, a /sing emote, things like that. Nothing that actually adds to combat but gives you things to do and a reason to log in and play even if you don't want to quest or fight that day.

Khami · October 2014

Gidorick wrote: »

show previous quotes

DaniAngione wrote: »

That's what I see: ESO is full of potential - because it got the essentials right. Questing, combat, etc. The basics are all there and they're great.

I 100% agree... but can they balance fulfilling that potential with the frantic desire to keep subscriptions? Right now, ZOS seems to be VERY focused on keeping those uber-high level players interested and subscribed while the realization of the potential of Tamriel is secondary.

They need to focus on keeping us, players, who are at max level with content. Without something to do, people get bored. When people get bored, they leave.

We've already lost many because the VR zones were too hard. We lost others because the game got too easy. We're losing some because Craglorn requires a proper 4-man group to complete. We're losing more because there is zero in way of gear progression.

Unless you're looking for a specific type of set, doing the trials more than once isn't really needed. Same with Dragonstar Arena. Few do the vet dungeons more than once. Only the achievement hunters are doing the dungeons often and once they get the achievements they're after, they're done with them.

Caroloces · October 2014

I'll concur with other players in having housing become the essential element for the future of the game. Once you have a housing system in place with the following elements, you'll have subs for life!

storage chests and weapon and armor holders
crafting stations you can add to your home
Carpentry becoming a craft in its own right (mats could be integrated with blacksmithing and woodworking)
gardening and livestock (linked to alchemy and provisioning)
Your own stable
the ability to invite other players into your home for rich RP (imagine your own great room with a crackling fire & other players sharing tales of their exploits)
library for your books

I also imagine an extension of the housing into the ability to create guild keeps in which guilds create their own private keeps for guild members only. Members can go in, trade, play chess, RP, and even have a dueling system in which members can test their skills and abilities in a modified PVP system in which death would not occur (like some of the quests already in place in the game in which NPCs will acquiesce, rather than die.)
Thanks for the post, OP. It's been very thought-provoking.

DaniAngione · October 2014

Oh, wow. I went to sleep and I'm so glad to wake up and see that a lot of people dropped by with excellent ideas and suggestions! Thank you all for that.

Well, I do agree with most of the things said (and I'm especially happy with @Leijona‌ 's info and @ZOS_TristanK‌ agreement on it) if half of these things ever come to life, I'd be incredibly happy... Oh, and LOTRO music system

how did I forget that?

Anyway, just one thing that I suppose it's important to be cleared out here since some people mentioned it...

The idea of theme park X Sandbox. Let's be very careful with that; no, I'm no big developer or anything, I am a small/hobby developer and game theory is part of my area of study (media studies) so... why careful?
Well, this is a dangerous definition for games. It's mainly a marketing/commercial definition but also made "popular" through some videos I'm aware of

the term sandbox is being a little overused since Minecraft boomed and some things can be confusing.

First off: how "sandbox" is Archeage? Honestly? It's a mask, a clever, well built disguise. But in the end it ends up being the same for everyone. Trade runs goods are not relevant for player economy (they're fluff items with variable price), it's not like EVE where you actually transport stuff that others will use. Everyone gets farm plots and all these from quest so, in a way, you can be everything and this everything is the same for everyone (not considering pay-gates), unlike EVE where people specialize and you can be a lot of different things other people might not be. In the end, every AA player will have a boat, run trade runs and own the best house. This isn't sandbox - this is streamlined "freeform" content. Remember, back then, most games were what would be called "sandbox" today - that doesn't mean they are a sandbox. Above all it's a generic definition to separate most linear games from the games that offer you the tools to be creative inside the game. If you take that into account you'll realize that Archeage has a pretty coat but ends up being a pale shadow of Ultima Online.

Anyway, with that cleared, my point is: having (or not) "sandbox" features is not something "written on stone". So they can, yes, be added to a game. ESO might fall under most definitions of what they call "Themepark" but that is not definite. Things can be worked out, added, changed. Justice system and spellcrafting can be used to add a lot of depth if done right. So we must not lose hope.
I think that one thing ZOS should certainly look at is what players made with guilds (which was kind of sandbox-y) and embrace that. Allow us to create "official" trade guilds by giving up on the alliance (neutral guilds) in exchange for increased player count and discounts for traders, for example... That would create a whole new dynamic for player enterprises. Allow us to create some thematic guilds, like also "officializing" WW and vamp guilds with special perks and limitations, special clothing/tabards... maybe the possibility to create a mercenary guild - Neutral guilds that can be hired by any alliance guild and when hired it fights on that alliance (pvp) for a day or something.

Just some ideas on how a little tweaking with guilds can already take eso more and more into freeform content

Varicite · October 2014

Look at LotRO housing.

Do that.

Emperor · October 2014

DaniAngione wrote: »

ESO has hundreds of hours - maybe more than a thousand - worthy of playing. And more are added every month or so.
So where's the problem? Well, the problem is the lack of variety/options of different stuff to do. There are many options but all of them can be narrowed to the same mechanics: combat, travel, 'clicking'. Besides RP'ing, there are few things you can do in ESO that does not require you to click/interact (fishing, crafting...) travel around (hunt resources, explore, achievements...) or do battle. (Questing, dungeons, trials, the arena, PVP...)

This exactly. A game can have a lifetime of content, but it doesn't matter if that content is exactly the same. People need variety or we get bored quick.

Every time I log in I just think... well, time to do the same thing I did yesterday I guess $:\$

Tapio75 · October 2014

I agree whole heartedly with you this one.

Truly open the world, let us build ships or Skills to sail, do fishing trips.. Treasure hunts on lonely islands, horse races, farming and harvesting, events to participate that are not related to war or combat...

Trade caravans and such would be great too, i allready walk much of my time around Tamriel when doing quests or exploring so i am not against walking.

Housing which is truly well thought, costume system that is basically similar to LOTRO, not using disguise slot but equipment slots..

I would love to have something to do besides "work", our characters could really use something to do that is not somehow related to combat. Something to do on our characters freetime.

Leijona · October 2014

Varicite wrote: »

Look at LotRO housing.

Do that.

No, please not Lotro housing. I want to put the chair at the table and not at the other side of the room

Enemy-of-Coldharbour · October 2014

Well said @DaniAngione

DaniAngione · October 2014

Leijona wrote: »

show previous quotes

Varicite wrote: »

Look at LotRO housing.

Do that.

No, please not Lotro housing. I want to put the chair at the table and not at the other side of the room

Yeah, I have to agree with that one. LOTRO housing has some nice ideas but is currently bad.

One thing that I think is great and should be 'looked upon': the idea of instanced Neighborhoods (not only houses). The fact that you can see who lives next to you and actually have a 'neighborhood' is awesome.

And this can be worked on to become even greater, create neighborhood events, maybe a special chat/mailing list, whatever...

But as for furniture placement and such... Please, no, don't look at LOTRO

Tapio75 · October 2014

I would add that ZOS could really learn a lot from LOTRO, EVE and TES single player games to make this game even better. More sandbox in general is good.

I wonder why is it that everything seems to be so much against "Sandbox" MMORPG´s these days.. I mean the world is full of themepark MMO´s which basically are all the same so why try and cut a slice of that cake? Why not just make something really really different that the market feels to be lacking right now.

Oh.. And even if many dislike such things.. Companion NPC´s, Companionship, somance, marriage (Maybe even with other players) kids..

I like the idea of family tree in SWTOR but sadly it was there just an image that only i could see. I had a complete family tree but i just wished it would extent out from my own wiev.

Rajeeri · October 2014

EQ2 did housing waaaaaaaaay better than LOTRO. Rift had a unique idea for that too, as bad as the game itself is.

All in all, I'd love to see some of these ideas. I can only hope ZOS sees that Archeage, while awful (yeah, it is bad) at its core, has some really good ideas that.. in a game with a decent core...could make an "ok" game into an AMAZING game.
.

Varicite · October 2014

Leijona wrote: »

show previous quotes

Varicite wrote: »

Look at LotRO housing.

Do that.

No, please not Lotro housing. I want to put the chair at the table and not at the other side of the room

lol, I suppose I shouldn't have said to do that exactly.

But the concept of housing, instanced neighborhoods, interiors and exteriors that you can decorate, different style / size houses, neighborhoods visitable by friends (even when you aren't there!), crafted furniture and knicknacks, trophies from hard bosses, etc.

These are all extremely sound ideas; ESO doesn't need to reinvent the wheel when there are currently models out there that are awesome.

PS) You can't sit in the chairs in this game anyway. But you can pull up your own any time you want. : P