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Player Retention - Focus on Group Play
Skoomah
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If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends. Even through disappointing changes, game breaking bugs, or even unplayable lag, many choose to log in to have a good time with their friends. In relation to this core motivation to play the game, the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base. People log into ESO for the multiplayer experience. There are vastly better single player RPG experiences out there. If ESO wishes to retain players, the content should encourage making new friends and the stickiness that comes with the network effect.
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Rasoma✭✭✭Limiting content to that which can only be completed by a group is not the way ESO (or any other online game now) wishes to go. They need to appeal to as broad a market as possible and that includes those who prefer to go solo.
What you log on to ESO for is not what others log on for.Edited by Rasoma on December 24, 2022 3:49PM@Rasoma - member since January 8th 201438 -
Grizzbeorn✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base.
Define "high proportion," and "majority." You are overstating on both counts.
Regardless... no, it hasn't.
It's is not the single-player-friendly content that might be driving people away.
Read the forum since U35.Edited by Grizzbeorn on December 24, 2022 4:03PM17 -
AzuraFan✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
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ProudMary✭✭✭✭✭
✭Grizzbeorn wrote: »the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base.
Define "high proportion," and "majority." You are overstating on both counts.
Regardless... no, it hasn't.
It's is not the single-player-friendly content that might be driving people away.
Read the forum since U35.
The changes ZOS has made to ESO in 2022, U35 in particular, have driven most of the last of my friends list from the game.
ZOS absolutely is taking ESO into a full on casual quester game and moving away from focusing on the one best thing that makes ESO stand out in the gaming community; the great combat system. Nobody I play with, or used to play with before they quit, has any appreciation for the casual questing aspects of ESO.7 -
Lumenn✭✭✭✭✭
✭I'll have to agree with the previous posters here. Being casual and solo friendly was the MAIN reason(that and it was TES!) I even looked at this game. I did my timesink in a big guild in EQ, forced grouping unless you played a certain class, and even then it was slow. "MMO means you have to group! Cause I said so!" Nope. It's fine if you're young with no responsibilities or you want to neglect your spouse/kids. ESO has a good balance where you can grp for harder challenges or if you log in solo you can still feel like you made SOME progress. For another matter, if a game turns to crap your buddies won't keep you on for long. Most just dribble away, and GOOD buddies you tend to jump to another game. Source=experience16 -
ProudMary✭✭✭✭✭
✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.7 -
Grizzbeorn✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
Why are you assuming that we don't ever group with other players? I'm grouped about 35-40% of the time.
And if ZOS didn't intend for people to play by themselves sometimes, why did THEY add that content to their MMO?
The OP's assertion is false.14 -
Snamyap✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
https://youtu.be/AcGezDYNLIU
The main reason I play ESO is because I can do a lot of content solo. I played Everquest for a decade as a warrior, that couldn't take three steps out of town without a backup group if I wanted to do anything useful. Never again.
Edit, wrong video, meant this one:
https://youtu.be/pFowzZlDK3A Edited by Snamyap on December 24, 2022 6:35PM9 -
TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
I play this MMO solo because of various things: I'm here because it's TES; I like MMOs because they're not static like single player games (even ones with a lot of player created mod content like Skyrim - which I do still play, as well as Oblivion); I don't group much because my ping is SO high it wouldn't be fair to expect a group to put up with it. I do agree with you that pvp is important in this game, though I no longer pvp, especially not in this game because:
The one thing I do NOT like about ESO is the combat, and that would go double for combat in pvp.Edited by TaSheen on December 24, 2022 5:06PM______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....5 -
Freelancer_ESO✭✭✭✭✭
✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
Because, companies have chosen to make MMO's over single player games because it is easier to extract revenue.
You can only play Skyrim or KOTOR II so many times before you've done it to death and need to take a break for a while. Then, you bit the bullet and get ESO and SWTOR.
MMO's also can be more cost effective than single player games if you don't spend much on extras and don't sub because they generally have more hours of gameplay than single player games and they tend to be more addictive which can allow people to play longer without getting bored.10 -
SilverBride✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I do not log in to group with others. I do like to hang out with my friends on occasion but most of the time we are just chatting as we do our own things.
Forced grouping is not what most players want. That is the reason that Craglorn failed.PCNA10 -
Kiralyn2000✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
People log into ESO for the multiplayer experience.
If you talk to people who group (like, say, your guilds made up of people who - like you - joined those guilds to group), then of course they'll answer "we play to group!".
Meanwhile, all the people who don't group... aren't talking to you & answering your "why do you play" question. Because they're not part of your social circle of People Who Group.
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Kiralyn2000✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
For the lore, for the questing, for the exploration of wide open lands, for the lots of non-group content (which MMOs have been adding plenty of for 15+ years now), for the leveling up and trying different skill/class/etc systems, because an IRL friend dragged you into the game and then got bored and left, because you can't find a good single player game that year/month
(many of the "best" RPGs that people have gushed about the last few years do nothing for me, for instance. No *Souls games, can't stand that try-hard Ooh Uber Difficulty stuff; no Witcher 3, Geralt is a jackass; etc. There frequently aren't "100's of other games" that fit your interests. Especially through the late 00's and early teens, when "everything must be multiplayer!" was the game industry creed.).
And even if you don't Group, you're still playing with "massively multiple" players, just by interacting with them as you pass in the world, via the economy, via the chat system, etc.
So, yeah - been playing MMOs 99%-solo since vanilla WoW. WoW, SWtOR, Secret World, D&D Online, ESO, TERA, Star Trek Online, dabbled in others.12 -
ZOS_LunaradminHello!
After some review, we would like to remind everyone that all posts should be kept civil, constructive, and within the guidelines of the community rules we have in place. As such, we've removed some posts from this thread as they violated our rules on baiting. It’s okay to disagree and debate on the official ESO forums, but we do ask that you keep all disagreements civil, constructive, and on-topic. If a discussion gets heated and turns into a debate, remember that you should stick to debating the post and/or thread topic. It is never appropriate to resort to personal comments or jabs about those participating in the thread discussion.
Thank you for your understanding, and please keep the Community Rules in mind when posting on the forums.The Elder Scrolls Online - ZeniMax Online Studios
Forum Rules | Code of Conduct | Terms of Service | Home Page | Help Site0 -
tomofhyrule✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I think you may be confusing "people who like to explore overland with groups" with "people who like to raid."
Yes, this is an anecdote, but everyone I know started playing this game for one reason: "Ooh, an Elder Scrolls game!" Every one of them started solo, and got into this game because they could play solo. ZOS hs been catering to that population because there is a lot of popularity in going solo if you can.
Now there are a lot of raiders who have been put off by things (notably U35). Yes, they need to get some love so they start coming back, because it's getting harder and harder to fill raids and go for achievements (i.e. it's making endgame content 'less accessible,' to use ZOS's terminology). But Craglorn was a decent failure because it forced people to group up. Grouping should be a choice, not a mandate.7 -
tohopka_eso✭✭✭✭I started playing MMO's back during '99 with EQ, didn't bother me back then to group. But, didn't have friends that joined me, I befriended people while playing. I didn't know much and only learned it was a force group game. I actually got tired of playing with others but logged in due to the friend factor.
When EQ2 came out, it had promise of solo play but failed at launch on that. still had forced grouping till there one update which changed all that. After that, mainly raiding some dungeons had force grouping.
Switched to SWTOR and it was the first time I had fun, could log in when i felt like it. Play how I wanted to play. Didn't have forced grouping. And noticed other games where slowly taking this same approach.
When finally i heard about ESO i signed up for the Beta. The PVP part I didn't take much part in but all the PVE I did. I sent feedback a lot cause it felt like it was going back into the old days of forced grouping. During this time I was also playing FFXIV which has quite a bit of forced grouping and me being older, I didn't have the time for it anymores.
So, when ESO went live, i tried it but left cause to me it felt like I was being forced to group and not do stuff on my own time. Then One Tamerial came out and I've been here ever since. There are some things I don't do like Trials or Dungeons but that is fine with me. Also, came to this game with no one and my friend list is still empty which doesn't bother.6 -
Lumenn✭✭✭✭✭
✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.https://youtu.be/AcGezDYNLIU
The main reason I play ESO is because I can do a lot of content solo. I played Everquest for a decade as a warrior, that couldn't take three steps out of town without a backup group if I wanted to do anything useful. Never again.
Edit, wrong video, meant this one:https://youtu.be/pFowzZlDK3A
Yep. I started as a warrior until they gave hybrids the same ac, and went monk when kunark came out. If you were melee you were SOL solo1 -
tohopka_eso✭✭✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.https://youtu.be/AcGezDYNLIU
The main reason I play ESO is because I can do a lot of content solo. I played Everquest for a decade as a warrior, that couldn't take three steps out of town without a backup group if I wanted to do anything useful. Never again.
Edit, wrong video, meant this one:https://youtu.be/pFowzZlDK3A
Yep. I started as a warrior until they gave hybrids the same ac, and went monk when kunark came out. If you were melee you were SOL solo
I was a Ranger, Druid, Shaman, Monk before Beastlords finally came out.1 -
endgamesmug✭✭✭✭Ive been doing everything mostly solo, my friends left at Morrowind so playing with friends is not an option. I occasionally meet ok people but they dont stick around long, i dont like the gameplay of trials, i go in do my job then punch out so i can go do something fun. I do like grouping for other stuff though and meeting folks, but as i say its sporadic and doesnt last just like guilds. I either run into guilds of people who dont have the ability to deal with combat and dont want guidance, or the people that churn through hard trial content at a pace with their friends who do the same thing.1
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Technica✭✭✭I'm very much an introvert and antisocial.
I picked up ESO way back at the beginning because it was a TES game.
I like the questing and I play solo.
I rarely do group dungeons, and I never do PVP.
If the game started focusing almost fully on PVP and group content I would be very disappointed.
I'm not comfortable in my abilities for PVP so I feel like I won't ever "git gud" and be able to reach milestones for rewards and such. Thus, I feel like I'm basically blocked off from this content, unless I take all my focus on "gitting gud" and trying to improve. But I don't want to, I play my games to relax and chill and explore another world and lands. This is why I don't play FPS games and the like. I don't want to spend my free time getting frustrated because I suck.
I'd like to see more ways to express ourselves (I need more personalities and such)
I'm upset that RP isn't as prevelant in game as it was way back when. I'm too scared and shy to join but that's not the point. It's like some more life added there from everyone doing their own thing.
The housing system kinda killed it. People RP in the comfort of their homes or guildhouses, in private.
What I'd love is for an insentive for people to congregate in particular areas, to RP or participate in crappy little minigames or something.
I've always wanted proper displays of celebration during the in game events. Firework shows and performances and the like. Something that we could actively visit and watch and maybe participate in, to keep a joyous atmosphere.
I've been wandering around Tamriel now for about 30m trying to find a populated hangout spot I can just chill at, and I can't find anyone. Even the Vulkhel Guard wall is dead.
Also, I have no IRL friends that play this game.Edited by Technica on December 24, 2022 11:55PMYou will know me by my eye. | Adventuring since beta | PC EU | ESO+ | I recommend this reshade (Example Screenshots)8 -
SaffronCitrusflower✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends. Even through disappointing changes, game breaking bugs, or even unplayable lag, many choose to log in to have a good time with their friends. In relation to this core motivation to play the game, the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base. People log into ESO for the multiplayer experience. There are vastly better single player RPG experiences out there. If ESO wishes to retain players, the content should encourage making new friends and the stickiness that comes with the network effect.
I couldn't agree more. The thing that makes ESO awesome is the combat, not the solo questing or the cosmetics or that it's and Elder Scrolls themed game. ZOS is moving away from focusing on the one thing that makes ESO a stand out from the others like it in the same genre.1 -
Mik195✭✭✭✭✭
✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
Because I don't consider grouping a feature that I care about. You of course are welcome to feel differently. And the developers of ESO support my preference so I play ESO mostly solo and have little interest in obeying an outdated MMO definition. ESO just means lots of people around and you can group or not group as you choose. I like that.10 -
CGPsaint✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭I've made some pretty amazing friends while playing ESO and quite frankly it's the only reason that I'm still playing this game. If they leave, then I'm leaving for sure.2 -
AzuraFan✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
Every MMO I've ever played has a significant population of players who prefer to solo. An MMO means a shared online world. It does not mean "must group to get anything done." I mainly play ESO because it's Elder Scrolls. I also like MMOs because they never end (well, eventually the servers are shut off, but that could take years). Single-player games do end (well, except those that can be modded, like Skyrim).
I don't play MMOs that require grouping, or in which most of the content requires grouping. ESO isn't one of those MMOs, and I doubt it'll ever go there because I suspect it would lose a significant portion of its player base.
I'm not sure where you got the idea that someone who doesn't want to group in an MMO would only be interested in games with casual questing. Many single-player games offer more challenge than ESO does (both ESO's solo and group content), especially when the difficulty is set to high or beyond. Try playing on the setting where if you die, it's game over. In ESO, that's never the case.
(ESO isn't my only game. I always have a single-player game on the go at the same time. Right now I'm playing through the Mass Effect remastered trilogy.)
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TaSheen✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I have a bunch of game friends. Only one of them plays ESO any more. They're still my friends. They ignore the fact that I play a game (ESO) that they all feel "fell by the wayside - since we all still play the rest of the TES series (and some of them also play the FOs - which I don't; SO not my sort of world).
I (and a friend I made on the old Beth forums before lady whatshername decided those forums were her private preserve of snark and people to denigrate) have a nice little forum for friends we still have to this day from way back then, when Skyrim was a couple of years old and we all really loved it (as we all do to this day).
But I'm one of only two of us playing ESO now. Sone people are good with MMOS (*raises hand* - for me it's that the MMO aspect means that the game's not static) and some aren't. We don't make our friends feel "odd" because of differences in how each of us sees games not to mention "fun".
It's the friends and the friendship that's important - not what game we play or live in. I love my guys that play Fallout of whichever version number; nope, I don't play those games, but I cheer them on when they've reached a milestone.
It's what friends do.
[Um. And I might be way too stuffed on priime rib, plus a lot of good wine - so if my rambling is leaving anyone saying "uh.... whatinthehell is she on about?!!"- that's fine. No worries!!]
Be kind, enjoy life, don't worry about the small stuff. This game is a marvel. But.... it's small stuff when it comes to life today. Happy holifdays everyone, no matter which one(s) you embrace. I hope you all get everything you are wishing for this season.
[Edit for typos]Edited by TaSheen on December 26, 2022 2:38PM______________________________________________________
"But even in books, the heroes make mistakes, and there isn't always a happy ending." Mercedes Lackey, Into the West
PC NA, PC EU (non steam)- four accounts, many alts....1 -
bmnoble✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭If you ask the ESO community why they log in everyday to play the game, many players will say it is because they get to play and hang with their friends.
Source for that assertion, please? If it's just "the players I talk to," that's a tiny minority of ESO players.
The moment this game focuses on group content, I'm gone. We have a good balance of group vs. solo content right now. No need to rock the boat.
Why play an MMO if you don't have any interest in grouping with other players? There are 100's of other games that focus on casual solo questing out there to choose from.
One of the things that really got me into ESO was not needing to group to progress the storyline, as for why I have chosen ESO over many of the casual solo questing games out there, is in an MMO the story can go on for years, single player games eventually you play them to death and move on, here the game won't end till the servers shut down for the final time.
I still chat with friends and guild mates in game but each of us largely does are own thing, we share the game world but don't feel the need to be grouped up and playing together, we group when we need help with something being forced to be grouped just to play the game would be the fastest way to get me to quit.5 -
robwolf666✭✭✭✭✭
✭In relation to this core motivation to play the game, the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base. People log into ESO for the multiplayer experience. There are vastly better single player RPG experiences out there. If ESO wishes to retain players, the content should encourage making new friends and the stickiness that comes with the network effect.
Disagree. Historically, ES has always been a single/solo player experience, based in story and lore, and I'm willing to bet that the vast majority come to ESO expecting to play that way, even if it is an mmo. The fact they can form groups or pvp is an interesting new feature to them, which most likely don't invest much time to. Speaking for myself, I have zero interest in "organised" groups or pvp, I'm just here to solo everything that's soloable and enjoy the stories. As for interacting with other players - voice/text chat is turned off, duel/ToT challenges are turned off etc, that's my level of interest in the player communication side of things. In fact, I wish there was a setting to turn off other players, not just their pets etc, but alas, that will never happen.8 -
Hlaaluna✭✭✭I log in daily to play solo. I enjoy grouping up one night per week but it is the game itself, the ever evolving stories, the new content that is the driving force for me, not other people.8 -
ForumBully✭✭✭✭✭
✭...the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base.
As a mostly solo PvP player (when I played), I'm curious about all the solo content we've supposedly been flooded with. From my POV, lately every update is a few group dungeons and a new boring system that I'm not interested in.6 -
Skoomah✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭ForumBully wrote: »...the game’s high proportion of content devoted to the single player experience the past several years has been detrimental to the majority of the player base.
As a mostly solo PvP player (when I played), I'm curious about all the solo content we've supposedly been flooded with. From my POV, lately every update is a few group dungeons and a new boring system that I'm not interested in.
Antiquities - Solo System, most items are discovered and dug up from a purely solo experience
Companions - Solo System, made specifically for people who normally would have to group for content to fill a role, but now have AI mimicking a real person
Tales of Tribute - Solo System, you can’t even talk to the opponent in party chat while a game is going on
Tons of Questing Content in new zones each year made for solo players specifically
… that’s three years in a row that every major system is made for solo players. You want more examples?
And just to be clear, I’m advocating for a better mix. Give us something for everyone instead of mainly content for solo players.Edited by Skoomah on December 26, 2022 12:41AM7