Missing the game it once was. I Play on console NA. If you can call it "play". Wish those servers would come ASAP. I can remember when everything was so fluid and responsive. Now it's so clunky and laggy. Love game as always, but now its just so frustrating to play. All the timing is off, lags, spiking, rubner banding, skill delays or just not working you name it. I think I've been in a vicious cycle of troubleshooting after troubleshooting thinking I've got to be missing something and it always remains the same.

My understanding is that the changes were supposed to make the game more accessible to lower level players, I am not convinced that this has been achieved.
Combat changes have been a factor in the game since the very beginning. I may not like it but I can adapt.
It is not the combat changes that have "destroyed" the game for me.

What has more or less destroyed the game for me is the "one and done" update.
A larger part of the game for me was developing characters with backstory and a mission. Being able to chart their progress through the game was integral to that role playing.
With the "account wide achievement" implemented in the way it has been there is no longer a desire or possibility to have multiple alts with individual progression. I find this odd, as I would have bespoke pets, mounts, outfits, maybe even houses for my alts. I no longer have this as a desire.

I have become casual 😆 well atleast my definition of it. So probably something positive down the road to get me back into what i used to do, but could care less anymore indifference.

I just wish they would come up with new kinds of stories. Every expansion feels samey now. Maybe it's not possible for an MMO, I don't know.

phaneub17_ESO wrote: »

Seeing this is the last major update, no.

2023 Warden and Necromancer companions, I hope they are Werewolf and Vampire respectively. Maybe a new PvP mode like a coliseum where players do battle in a controlled environment.

2024 we take a break from companions, maybe new class? I like something basic over themed, just your average "adventurer" type who doesn't specialize in anything in particular, but isn't a trio hybrid like Warden and Necromancer. Something that emphasizes the default Warrior, Thief, and Mage archetypes.

Oh my. That actually does not make me hopeful in the very least
I mean it would not be a step down from other years. But for 2023, the game would need something big for a real resurgence of players.

And for 2024? We might see Riot's take on the MMORPG genre. If ESO did not manage to revitalize the community, 2024 could be the year of a new star rising and burning a lot in it's wake. So, I dunno .. wishing for much, wishing for exciting stuff - companions and Arena PvP don't manage to entice me though and no new classes before 2024 that'd be tough.

I have been playing ESO since January 2017. This year (2022) felt like the weakest year to me since I began playing.

Combat fundamentals being altered as much as they were for a game of this age seems bizarre to me. Nine times out of ten the digital content, cosmetic or otherwise I want is in crown crates, or overpriced in the crown store.

I think the High Isle chapter has nice zones, but I have not played the card game at all, and don't care to start. High Isle needed more content that appeals to more players.

At this point, I am looking forward to 2023, and hoping it is a better year for ESO, better chapter, better content, less overhauls to gameplay.

I'm still having fun, but the last few cycles of changes have raised a few questions for me:

1) They don't seem to have a plan; if they have one they seem really reticent to share it.

2) From where I sit it seems like they're short staffed, or have people with less experience making the decisions.

3) Taking 1 & 2 in to consideration with the fact that ZoS is working on a new mmo IP, I wonder/worry that the B team is in charge of ESO development while other, more experienced, employees are pulled into the new project. That thought doesn't fill me with a lot of confidence for the long term health of this game.

In the end, though, all that really matters is that I'm still able to find enjoyment in playing the game. Hopefully that won't change for a long time, because I really love spending time in Tamriel.

I've stopped playing, not because I want to but because they have sapped the life out of it

I used to play for several hours almost every night, along with my wife. I haven’t logged in once since U35 was announced. She logs in for her random normal, daily reward, and writs, and that’s it. Both subs canceled.

So I’m not hopeful anything good is coming any time soon.

It seems to me this game is becoming an extremely casual single player game and most future content and updates will (attempt to) cater to people who don’t understand the basics of rotations, buffs/debuffs, or dungeon mechanics. Basically it will become bargain bin Skyrim, but with other people walking around the overworld.

I am the exact opposite, I think 2022 was fantastic content-wise so far. Then again, Bretons are my favourite race, so that factors in too. So yes, I think ESO is getting a lot better this year, as Firesong isn't out yet, but the preview looked great.

Gameplay wise I think the game is far from faultless, but I don't expect that, the game that does everything that I like perfectly still has to be made.

Balance changes are pretty much the nature of every MMO I've ever played. I won't ever be as arrogant as to state I know better how things work than the actual designers, especially not because streamer xyz made some 2 hour rant video about the latest clickbait outrage. I'm pretty confident that the actual game designers know their stuff better than me. Developer trust is never something that I think about really. I'm pretty simple, if I really like a game, I play. The moment I stop liking it, I quit.

In terms of playstyle I think I'm a regular "endgame" player, I do vet / hm content when I'm in the mood for it, but not 24/7, and I'm certainly not meta dps obsessed. I do both pve and pvp.

If anything, ESO's releases are so predictable that it's kinda formulaic. I think that is both good and bad, but if I had to choose I'd rather have a very predictable release schedule like we do now, than subbing to a game never knowing when the next content patch would come.

Server performance is questionable at times, but usually (well except in Cyrodiil lol) at least decent. Thankfully we have a date (PC EU) for our long awaited upgrade.
So yeah, my glass is very half full.

xthrshx wrote: »

It seems to me this game is becoming an extremely casual single player game and most future content and updates will (attempt to) cater to people who don’t understand the basics of rotations, buffs/debuffs, or dungeon mechanics. Basically it will become bargain bin Skyrim, but with other people walking around the overworld.

@xthrshx This was an interesting observation. I am never sure what a casual player is, but I mostly solo and I can do quite a lot of vet and level 2 dungeons. I single bar by choice because rotation is a lot of work and does not really open any more content for me. Trials are completely out as are a number of higher level dlc dungeons (unless I use the group select, which I don't especially enjoy). And yet I don't really like the changes you describe either. To my eye they mostly just make everything easier, or render skill mixes and character builds I have worked hard to perfect redundant. They don't open up any content for me. Taking the pressure pads out of direfrost or the chain mechanic out of fungal grotto II--now that would open up content for me, but that is not the sort of thing we get.

So, strangely enough, though these changes probably target me, I sort of agree with you. That said, the game is awesome and huge enough for me to still enjoy.

Purely speaking about vision, where they are taking the game. They seem to want to take the game in a more casual direction, which is good. As that will allow more players to start playing and enjoy themselves in the game. Including the minigames players like. But the game also needs systems to keep people playing(remove the max from CP, and some other new endless things), as this is an MMO which needs to keep players engaged for long periods of time.

Not saying everything is fine, but the game is solid and keeps improving/expanding. Min-maxing is a huge issue for the game, as well as PvP. Not in the sense those are a problem they exist, but in the way the game is balancing around those. I miss the time where the game was more free, and we didn't all get pigeonholed into the min-max/pvp balancing. As it is more fun for players to not pay attention to timers, resources, stats, meta-skills, etc. But instead to really play the game, as they want to.

Another main thing holding ESO back at the moment, is in my opinion storage/inventory space. (And the PvP lag/delay issues)

But yes, overall I am hopeful for ESO's future. And I am not going anywhere, as I have more houses to decorate! (among other things)

PS: Not having any performance issues.
PPS: As long as ZOS targets the game towards the correct audience, the game will do very well and will keep growing.

Tandor wrote: »

I didn't like the switch earlier in the year to AwA, but I adapted by starting afresh on a new account and am enjoying the game as much as ever. My playstyle means no performance issues, and I don't hold the view some express that the content releases have been poor in the last couple of years or more. If I hadn't seen the forum fuss over the U35 combat changes I wouldn't have noticed them.

This.

I would be impressed if they could even get it back to as good as it was at the beginning of 2022. Forget improvement.