I purchased the game ESO:TU about a week ago for $30 after a week of thinking about it. I was considering the gold edition, but since last time I tried the game I was not impressed (beta), I was tentative to spend that extra money and potentially waste it. It turns out, the game is now fantastic in its gameplay… but the DLC model is atrocious and unacceptable.

If I would have waited another few days, the price for everything would have drastically been reduced.

Item | Current Cost | Previous Cost
ESO:TU | $ 18 | $ 30
ESO:Gold | $ 30 | $ 60
Difference | $ 12 | $ 30

As an uninformed player, attempting to do research but tentative to try the game in the beginning, I end up getting severely punished for either not waiting, or not purchasing the most expensive DLC Pack to begin with.

Without purchasing ESO+, here is what it would cost to purchase all the DLC packs.

DLC | USD Cost | Crowns Cost
Dark Brotherhood | $ 25 | 2000
Thieves Guild | $ 25 | 2000
Orsinium | $ 25 | 3000
Imperial City | $ 25 | 2500
Total (Separately) | $ 100 | 9500
Total (Bundled) | $ 80 | 9500

With purchasing ESO+, it would take 7 months of subscription to be able to purchase the DLC packs with the free Crowns. But then you lose 9500 crowns that you could have spent on other cosmetic/utility shortcuts.

But of course, you have full access to these DLC packs as long as you are subscribed to ESO+, which any remotely serious player is likely going to subscribe and stay subscribed as long as they actively play the game.

Not to mention all of the small Microtransactions currently available. Many of these microtransaction dlcs are purely cosmetic: Mounts and outfits. This type of DLC is perfectly fine. They don't give anybody an advantage, they allow players to support the game, and give the players something new in-game. Win-Win.

Many other microtransaction dlc packs are utility shortcuts, they provide a slight advantage to players that purchase them immediately, but do not make a difference in the end, and with time and patience you'll be able to acquire all of them in-game anyway without have to pay any extra real money:

• Riding Lessons (all three types)
• Inventory (bag+bank space)
• Assistance (mobile merchant+banker)
• Experience scrolls (Bonus experience)

I'm on the fence about these. I consider myself financially responsible, and I would NEVER purchase these types of DLC that can be acquired in game.

Another type of DLC: The "Massive waste of money" microtransaction DLC packs.

• Repair kits
• Soul Gems
• Restoration Potions
• Refreshing Drink
• Lethal Poison
• Fortifying Meal
• Supply Crates

The 2nd and 3rd types of DLC are geared towards the following types of people:

• People that have a decent chunk of extra disposable income (likely with more limited time)
• People that have few responsibilities or living expenses
• People with addictive purchasing habits

For the first type of person, their time is more valuable than their money. These are people that are busy, likely make a lot of money, and can afford to purchase these types of DLC.

The second type of people are people that technically have disposable income, but it is not a smart thing to do financially to purchase these DLC packs. These people can possibly have less time, but also do not make a lot of money.

The third type of person has an addictive purchasing habit. These might be people that have a lot of disposable income, or are in extreme debt. But because the item (DLC) exists, they WILL purchase the DLC, even if that means they have to skip a few meals throughout the week.

But I'm not here to expand upon what people do with their own money. It is, after all, their money. But the fact that many of these types of DLC exist in the first place is akin to the creators exploiting these types of people, or to make serious players feel more inclined or even obligated to spend real money on these borderline worthless DLC packs.

But of course, nobody needs to spend money on crowns to purchase this DLC, just play the game and enjoy it!

I like to squeeze as much time out of my games as possible. Now, when I purchase a game and it goes on sale later, then fine, that's business. But when there are multiple versions of the game and as a new player, I have no idea which to get, and I end up paying A LOT extra for it in the end, is when I get upset.

I feel kind of "ripped off" that I purchased the game, then a few days later the prices got reduced, so where I could have spent the same amount of money for the gold edition and permanently unlocked these four DLC packs, I would not have to purchase a subscription (not a huge fan) or spend another $80 outright to be able to enjoy those DLCs without a subscription. The whole business model of the game appears to be designed around purchasing so much DLC that it is unhealthy. The business model of Elder Scrolls Online is anti-consumer.

I understand that Zenimax Online needs to make money somehow, and I completely get that. Elder Scrolls Online DLC business model needs some drastic changes or a complete revision. Purchasing the base game is fine. Having a subscription model is fine. But when, as a subscriber, you do NOT get access to ALL of the DLC, that is where I personally draw the line on supporting the game. The microtransactions need to go, and the prices of the expansions (excuse me, DLCs) needs to be drastically reduced so you can essentially purchase the TU edition, and purchase the DLC to "upgrade" to the gold edition for the same price overall as purchasing the Gold edition from the beginning. I should not be punished by which edition I purchase because of a DLC business model.

As of right now, it would be cheaper to purchase the gold edition than all the 4 major DLC packs separately. But the problem is, you can't even use a gold edition key to activate if you already activated TU, so it would be cheaper to completely abandon my account, start a new one, purchase the Gold edition, and just play that one. I'm not saying that's what I'm going to do, I'm just pointing out the massive flaws the current DLC model has.

This is really upsetting to me and I hope I'm not going crazy because of the way I feel about this, but it is extremely discouraging, especially as a brand new player, that I already feel kind of ripped off over this.

Do you think this DLC model is "fair"?