I purchase the Chapters and Zone DLC that I want to play, plus crowns for costumes I like.

I do not subscribe just because I dislike subscriptions - that's a personal quirk. I do not buy Crown Crates because I detest paying for a chance to get the item I want.

Back when their business model was to occasionally massively slash the cost of crowns, I'd buy a few bundles and stash the crowns until I saw something I thought would add value for me.

Now with expensive DLCs which they've "cleverly" renamed chapters so the subscribers who pay to get access to all DLC don't realise they're being shortchanged, I buy those but have waited until after release and they're discounted.

While I like some of the changes I've seen in ESO, for a variety of reasons I won't expound upon here, it is disappointing compared to the single player games. Elsweyr for my tastes might have been the best. Necro is good, albeit weird without pets. Good architecture. Telvanni towers are super wrong and Summerset buildings are eeeeew. Alinor is supposed to be indescribably beautiful. Auridon blows its socks off. Elsweyr looks magnificent. Big improvement over the papier mache base game buildings. And I love the hall of the lunar champion. Not necessarily that you get it piecemeal but the house itself.

I haven't actually gotten up to playing Elsweyr yet. 6 months later I have finished horse training my necros so I might start playing them soon.

Buying everything at release, never subbed cuz I don't need it and cuz I don't like it either

I buy zone DLCs when they are on sale, I buy chapters on preorder because of shinies (didn't buy Greymoor yet and I'm not sure I'll buy it), I avoid dungeon DLCs and I never buy crowns.

Edit: I had ESO+ too, but I dropped it when PC EU became a joke.

I have bought at release, and mostly had a subscription
but also have had long periods of not playing due to lack of interesting content
and am thinking if the PC-EU continues at it's present state (of not working most of the time) of not paying for anything new for a bit, the sub has already gone due to the 'waiting on previous request' and other issues, and will not be thought about until ZOS sort the issues out...

There is a very good chance of the 'lighter (new) client' never being downloaded, tbh

i fund ESO with other people's money by spending time and working for gold so i can acquire items from the Crown Store via the gifting system. Also by being online almost daily so i help other people do content.

Who needs food anyway!

Edit: I don't buy dungeon dlcs, but chapters and some dlc's that I want to have access to regardless of if my sub runs out. (Usually have a couple days a month sub-less waiting for payday) and I do buy crowns, more then I should lol

It varies. I bought the base game for £12 a year after release, pre-purchased Morrowind collectors edition, got Summerset 1/2 price in a sale, bought Elseweyr late but at full price, I buy crowns, sometimes on sale and sometimes at full price and very occasionally buy ESO+.

Basically when I decide I want to buy something in the game I look at the options available to get it and pick whichever is best for me (whether that's the cheapest or one which has additional benefits, or whatever). If I can't find a way to get it for a price I think is reasonable then I wait until there's a sale of some sort.

I spend less over the last few years than I used to, because there's less that I want to buy. I've got a pretty good mix of mounts, pets, costumes etc. so something has to be really interesting to be worth getting, and since 2/3 of DLC is just dungeons I'm only buying 1 DLC and 1 chapter per year. But since ZOS keep producing the same sort of stuff I guess it's working for them.

I don't fund ESO development. Instead, I pay to fund my own entertainment. Not sure who gets the money.

It's going to vary depending on my finances at the time. I have got the latest 2 chapters and ESO plus and recently bought crowns but I might not always be able to do that and I haven't been able to in the past.

I am a whale, I buy dlc and crowns. Because of the ocd, my mind won’t let me not collect everything, it is very expensive but I can’t stop the compulsion. Mostly it’s for radiant mounts, the other crap is extra. I wish I could just buy the mounts outright. The anxiety of watching the cards flip is agonizing.

Ehhh...being poor and able to buy Elsweyr on sale is good enough, thinking of getting DLC megapacK.......when either it or crowns are on sale that is.

I actually have two active ESO+ subs, and my husband has a third. I also buy crowns when they're on sale.

But for the first time ever, I'm questioning whether I'll buy the next chapter. Sounds like slim content, compared to earlier chapters. I'm no longer excited about the game. Maybe I just need a break.