I like ESO's stories in so much as I accept that the stories as written aren't personalized to my characters and that the quests themselves are bound to the medium of a video game in terms of gameplay.

My imagination takes care of the rest.


I have a couple of specific gripes though, that only ZOS can fix because it's all stuff that has to change at the script stage.

1. Someone needs to read through the script with major TES roleplaying archetypes and their lore in mind.

Example: Blackwood's plot forced Dark Brotherhood players to break the tenets by revealing the location of a Sanctuary to the authorities, and didn't acknowledge it. Either the writers needed a different method to get our characters to the Sanctuary or, if DB members did betray the Sanctuary, we should have faced the Wrath of Sithis for our actions in accordance with lore from Oblivion and ESO's own Dark Brotherhood DLC. That the writers did neither showed a serious lack of knowledge or lack of respect for Dark Brotherhood lore. Someone should have caught that long before the script hit the point of no return.

2. Someone needs to read through the script for areas where the player needs multiple dialogue options to express their own opinion.

Example: in Blackwood, a character asks us, "Why does one who abhors Mehrunes Dagon care what happens to his Ambitions?" Unfortunately, since we have only one option, we are forced to say what the writer thinks our reason should be. When it's a matter of opinion that wouldn't change any plot events, we should be given options! Yes, it's impossible to satisfy everyone with three options, but it's a lot better than shoehorning everyone into the only answer that the writer deems acceptable.


Personal Pet Peeve:
Relying on height, invisible walls, and chest-high barriers to protect the Big Bad during monologues and plot moments. I realize that ESO doesn't do "cutscenes" and so needs ways to keep the player from interrupting the villain mid-sentence. But relying on gameplay convention to prevent us from attacking someone who's standing on a head-high wall is dreadfully unsatisfying. (Mind you, cutscenes wouldn't solve this because writers have a tendency towards "Cutscene Incompetence" when they need their villain to pontificate.)

Example: Zumog Phoom, Rada al-Saran, and Blackwood's Villain all have several monologue moments when they are protected because they are too high for my character to reach with her...bow or inferno staff. No, writers. Just no. Blackwood's Villain was particularly egregious, since multiple times he's completely protected because he's standing on a wall that's only head-high on my character. She should easily be able to target him with ranged weapons or skills - and if he were an enemy player in Cyrodiil, she'd be able to.


Overall, the storytelling is good enough that I keep paying for it, and rough-edged enough that I keep finding ways that these year-long stories could be improved.

Questing was awesome, specially when I was new to the game and was trying to acquire Caldwell's silver and gold. Kept me entertained for a long time.

We need to see more of Rigurt the Brash and the manservant, Stibbons with his Lady Clarisse Laurent. Missed them this year.

sajackson wrote: »

ESO is far and away the best MMO right now in terms of story-writing and quest content. I won't accept any arguments to the contrary.

Just a shame that ZOS cant or wont address the issues being raised re end-game and performance.

This is such a great game and it's a shame to see what it could be...

Granted I’ve not played a lot of ESO I will say the writing is alright, 14 is much better written and presented though in its main scenario once you get past A realm reborn. Side quest wise it’s really let down and ESO shines here with making them feel like meaningful diversions.

I think ESO just needs a bit better in the writing and the scaling issue for difficulty. It’s too early days for me to comment on much else about the game as I never really dived into its end game aspects or crafting but I will in time.

ESO questing is fine. There's lots to explore - people, places, stories, lore, etc.

I think it's getting better overall. I like that in the 2021 content my pacifist character was able to complete almost all of the side quests without being confronted by the absolute requirement to kill something. I enjoyed that. I hope it continues.

I try to accept the game for what it is, and build up from there. All my characters are provided with a heavy layer of additional narrative that makes sense of the seemingly dumb dialogue and the lack of meaningful choices. So that's not a problem for me.

There were a couple of big storyline howlers this year. But, I'm assuming that next time we meet Eveli she will have followed our heroes' fine example, and let Elam Drals recruit her into the Dark Brotherhood. I'm also choosing to believe that Rynkyus has trouble translating his daedric point of view into the common tongue.

Saber91 wrote: »

Starlight_Knight wrote: »

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

Starlight_Knight wrote: »

For me though the worst thing is the incentive to do them, there is none. as a player since lauch i havnt played a quest in years. becuase i get nothing for it.

You get Skill Points for completing zone storyline quests. I think each major zone's storyline is divided into 3 parts-- which, in the old base game (which I never got to experience in that version), corresponded to the 3 subzones of each major zone-- and you get a Skill Point (plus an Achievement/Title) upon completing each part. I'm not sure about the starter zones and smaller DLC zones, but I think you get at least 1 Skill Point from them, if not more. So doing the zone questlines is important if you're wanting to earn as many Skill Points as possible.

Also, the zone questlines seem to be designed to move you through each zone, and they-- along with the various side quests-- usually take you to out-of-the-way locations where there are skyshards, as well as lore books, treasure chests, etc. So if you're not using addons or websites that tell you exactly where everything is, or haven't done everything so many times on so many characters that you've memorized where everything is, doing the zone questlines and side quests can be helpful for finding all of the skyshards and lore books in a given zone. Even with the recent addition of skyshards to the map, it can still be difficult to find every single skyshard in a zone if you aren't doing the quests, since they don't show up on the map until you get within a certain distance of them.

Of course, you don't actually need all of the Skill Points that are available in the game, especially now that we have the Armory and can switch to different builds on our characters without having to pay respec fees each time.

I dont need skill points. i have a million already i cant even use them all and i havnt done a quest since morrowind. besides that you dont even need to quest for them you can just walk into a place a grab some skyshards or kill a group boss or something.
Another thing that triggers me, its not like i can even make an alt to go questing on becuase they already have 2.5k CP like me as well.
IMHO questing is an absolute waste of time, its incredably easy and pointless.
In fact if i was struggling to sleep one night i might consider doing a quest.

So what do you think they could do or alter that would make questing viable for you outside of say difficulty changes etc? It’s nice to see differing opinions form long term players I think this thread has been quite insightful

It is an interseting problem created, now as the game is getting on a bit, i think there is an obvious decline in long term players such as myself. The focus on old player retention isnt as great as getting new players in and that makes perfect sense.
I think the crown store is partly to blame, there are no unlockables because eveything is in the crown store, If you see somone on a cool mount you know they swiped for it. ( apart from the one godslayer mount)

Weapon skins, Pet skins, Mounts, Skin skins, should all ( mostly ) be unlocked by playing the game.
I go into a dungeon and kill X boss and i have to buy their wepon from the crown store ???

Then there is the issue of overland difficulty, like what is the point.

Acheivments are not account wide, but they are at the same time. this for me is an irritating one foot in one foot out approch, like i make an alt and there is nothing to do on it once ive got it to level 50 and got some guild skills up becuase all my cp is unlocked already, so why would i take said alt questing.

Imo the solution to this would be to introduce class change scrolls so we can change out our "mains" after years of fatigue, but also ( contorversial oppinion incoming ) remove shared acheivments. yes even cp.
In a real MMO if you make an ALT its an ALT, not an extention of your main.
i've found myself playing on NA server ( normally EU) just to have a reason to play.
I wouldnt mind making and leveling a new toon on EU but as i said. no point.

I have litterally compleated this game, and for an MMO i shouldnt be able to say that.

Questing in ESO blows most of the competition out of the water