Mainly the people in our guild are keeping ESO real for me.

Having a goal and playing with people company of whom I'm enjoying. From goals Coral Aerie trifecta left for me, didn't even done it in hm yet so have something to do playing as unfrequent as now. Going for another Immortal Redeemer with semi-new group is fun and stuff so it's also occupying one more evening. New dungeon or story dlc will have something new and interesting hopefully to make a new goal or two.

Edit: what would make me play more are probably things like actually good expansions worth purchasing, better questing overall from veteran and hm difficulties to better writing without making player feeling that stupid and PvP performance fixed once and for all.

Comrade, you need a break. Really, take a look at other MMORPGs out there. Final Fantasy and New World and Guild Wars 2 and whatever else. I suspect that will refresh you faith in ESO x) It's very different, even if it started as another WOW clone back in the day.
For the record, i myself do this every year or so.. Although if it wasn't an Elder Scrolls title i definitely wouldn't play

I love Elder Scrolls and have played since beta but I take breaks when things get repetitive or unfun. I recently started knocking out dlc vet dungeons, PVPing and trials to shake things up and have found my enjoyment increasing when meeting new people in those activities.

It's 22k. I'm aware, and yes, I'm serious.

You know, sometimes, when you get old enough (maybe you are) and you've that feeling keeps coming up various times, you realize that feeling is telling you it's time to move on to something else. People think they need to stick to their investments even when it starts to go south. There are some by law that you have to. Like children. Then there are things like this. Games, Social Media, the internet, etc.

This game will NEVER be what I hoped it to be and it continues to stray away from true competitiveness. I found better balance in a game's pvp called Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror and Logan's Shadow on the PSP. The higher the rank, the more powerful weapons were unlocked. However, they had something that always put people on equal grounding. The head shot, the almost instant death mines, traps, etc. and hand to hand combat.

If you had skill, you could start a brand new account at level one and go into the game put a team of top ranked fully geared players to shame. It wasn't gun vs gun, it was mind vs mind. The small map made people get extremely creative as to how to get to someone. Always evolving, things to learn from others. I've played few games that. Where behaviors were at the top. I always enjoyed losing to someone who had a better strategy. It was worth experiencing it and learning it.

In this game pvp in my opinion is utter trash. There is no skill...just sets..fighting each other. There is no thought in the game. It's all an illusion. I don't play illusions.

pretty much exclusively a pve player here. it's just really fun fighting stuff, yknow? its a massive game so i engage in other features like housing, crafting, fashion and more pretty extensively but its all supplementary to a really enjoyable combat system that i feel carries the game really well

For me personally, the game has gotten repetitive and boring but it’s the friends I’ve made while playing that keeps me playing

The new quests, the books, the new portuguese translation (despite not needing one), the world and, most importantly, the people.

@DigiAngel

Sounds like you're experiencing really bad burn out my dude. Definitely take a break and maybe try a different game like others here have been saying. I used to be a crafting motif hound back back before the outfit system was added and left in 2019 after getting burnt out something fierce. Just returned last March and totally amazed by all the progress and new stuff.

As for what's keeping me going? The new adventures definitely help from Greymoor and Blackwood to draw me in, but the new friends I've made since getting back have reeled me in for a while longer. I initially was saving up gold for a big home like the Alinor Townhouse but set my eyes on Proudspire when I saw they brought it back due to Skyrim nostalgia. Wheeling and dealing plus help from my new friends in the housing guild I joined made that a reality. Now I focus on making a proper endgame build while preparing for High Isle to make a killing when it launches on console, and building up my Proudspire home with furniture bit by bit. Additionally I hope to make an impact here on the forums and maybe one day get the attention of a dev/mod who will take an idea I propose and implement it. Its a long shot, but I'll keep plugging away at it.

I might get burnt out again and if that happens I'll step away for a while but one day return. Very few people can do this nonstop and a break is healthy.

For me personally, it's housing. I don't do anything that takes a group or have an interest in pvp, but what makes me happy is immersing myself in the game environment via fishing and gathering resources, and very slowly collecting and decorating homes. When I get bored I take a break and play something else for awhile.

Battlegrounds are barely keeping me playing in their current state. I need high level, competitive small scale PvP.

I will play through High Isle but the story is not why I play ESO.

Nothing, I stopped playing like 2 months ago, got everything I wanted, have more than 50 million gold, new chapter is the same content as always and the game just keeps getting worse.

Doing challenging PvE content with my friends and guildies while talking on discord. It never gets old.
Rest of the game doesn't hold my interest anymore.

Friends.