Enhancing Player Experience with Customizable Zone Instances: Veteran/Normal, Group/Solo

loveeso · April 30

Dear ZeniMax Online Studios Team,

I am writing to propose an exciting feature that could significantly enhance the gaming experience for many players of The Elder Scrolls Online. As a dedicated member of the ESO community, I’ve noticed a recurring sentiment among players regarding the difficulty levels in the game, as well as a desire for more solo-friendly options. The feature I suggest could address both of these points effectively.

Feature Proposal: Customizable Zone Instances
The core of this proposal is to introduce a system that allows players to enter Zones as separate instances, akin to the current system for dungeons and arenas. This system would include the following options:

Difficulty Levels: Players could choose between ‘Normal’ or ‘Veteran’ modes, with the potential for additional difficulty settings. This would cater to those seeking a more challenging experience and provide a fresh take on familiar content.
Solo or Group Play: Similar to dungeons or trials, players should have the option to tackle these instances solo or with a group. This flexibility would accommodate both the solo RPG enthusiasts and those who enjoy cooperative play.

Benefits to the ESO Community:

Increased Challenge: By offering variable difficulty levels, players who find the current Zones too easy will have the opportunity to test their skills and enjoy a more rewarding experience.
Solo RPG Experience: For players who prefer ESO as a solo adventure, this feature would allow them to immerse themselves in the game without the immersion-breaking presence of other players.
Community Longevity: Providing more options for how to experience the game can lead to increased player retention and attract new players looking for a customizable MMORPG experience.
Content Reinvigoration: Existing Zones would gain renewed interest as players revisit them to experience the new challenges and playstyles offered by the instance system.

Implementing this feature could indeed be akin to ‘killing two birds with one stone,’ satisfying a broader range of player preferences and revitalizing the game’s content. I believe that this addition would be a significant step forward in making ESO a more inclusive and engaging game for all types of players.
Thank you for considering this proposal. I bet many in the community are excited about the potential of this feature and eagerly await your thoughts on its implementation.

licenturion · April 30

While this seems like a good idea for those who want more challenges, this will probably have severe performance impact on the servers.

If you see they are planning on slashing mail expiration timers in half and guild listings in half in favor for performance (which I am totally against), everybody creating their own instances in the server will probably have even more performance degradation. There are also a whole bunch of new issues that will need solutions like cleaning up empty instances, instance pickers, grouping with players, trading and a new reward structure for harder content etc. It would be quite the work to implement this.

I don't agree with 'Solo RPG Experience'. This is an MMO. If you want to play a solo experience and not see other people, go play on of the many amazing solo RPG games out there, like The Witcher 3, Skyrim, etc.

jaws343 · April 30

There are COUNTLESS options of solo RPGs that I can go play if playing an MMO isn't something I feel like doing. Not only would this be a waste of limited development resources, it would be a nightmare for the health of the game.

Tandor · April 30

It sounds to me like this would result in almost everyone choosing to play in a separate instance at least some of the time, and for a significant number all of the time, which would put an impossible demand on the servers and kill the social aspect of the game. The present solo RPG/MMO balance of the game is fine as it is. Although there's an argument to be made for some form of difficulty slider to enable higher level players to find more challenge in both existing and new overland content, if implemented that would need to be within existing zone instances and not individual ones.

I_killed_Vivec · April 30

There's hardly any need for more solo-friendly options - unless you are asking for easier challenges for soloists. All the zone quests are trivial for anyone to solo.

And if you want the immersion of being alone then try the undaunted dungeons, they are all instanced and available in regular and vet modes. In my opinion they are "end game solo ESO" - a proper challenge (leave yer companion at home...).

Apart from ensuring there are no mechanics that prevent solo play (standing on pressure plates, etc.) the only change I'd like to see is story mode - you get to play the dungeon with overland type difficulty and no real rewards, except for enjoying the story.

Necrotech_Master · April 30

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

There's hardly any need for more solo-friendly options - unless you are asking for easier challenges for soloists. All the zone quests are trivial for anyone to solo.

And if you want the immersion of being alone then try the undaunted dungeons, they are all instanced and available in regular and vet modes. In my opinion they are "end game solo ESO" - a proper challenge (leave yer companion at home...).

Apart from ensuring there are no mechanics that prevent solo play (standing on pressure plates, etc.) the only change I'd like to see is story mode - you get to play the dungeon with overland type difficulty and no real rewards, except for enjoying the story.

any of the "group delves" in craglorn are also instanced, though they do not have normal and vet modes

loveeso · May 2

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

There's hardly any need for more solo-friendly options - unless you are asking for easier challenges for soloists. All the zone quests are trivial for anyone to solo.

And if you want the immersion of being alone then try the undaunted dungeons, they are all instanced and available in regular and vet modes. In my opinion they are "end game solo ESO" - a proper challenge (leave yer companion at home...).

Apart from ensuring there are no mechanics that prevent solo play (standing on pressure plates, etc.) the only change I'd like to see is story mode - you get to play the dungeon with overland type difficulty and no real rewards, except for enjoying the story.

any of the "group delves" in craglorn are also instanced, though they do not have normal and vet modes

Exactly

loveeso · May 2

While some concerns raised about implementing this feature might be technical, these are challenges a skilled development team can address. Focusing on potential roadblocks isn't productive for the larger conversation.

The proposed feature, with many core functionalities already built (grouping, instanced maps, enemy scaling), offers significant potential benefits. It could effectively create a new single-player Elder Scrolls experience within the existing framework, attracting a large audience who wouldn't typically play MMORPGs. Additionally, these changes could enhance the overland experience for existing players seeking a greater challenge without impacting those who prefer the current format.

In essence, by investing very little in what are largely necessary performance improvements (needed anyway) and a few key feature additions, the company gains a practically new, separate game targeting a vast, untapped market of single-player RPG fans. This low-cost solution has the potential to broaden the player base and cater to diverse preferences. Not pursuing this opportunity would be a missed chance. Let's trust the leadership to make a well-informed decision. @ZOS_GinaBruno

AcadianPaladin · May 2

I'm a PvE soloist and readily admit that ESO is pretty solo friendly. I sometimes hear the mantra: 'This is an MMO; if you wanna play solo go find a SP game.' This, despite the fact that the devs are very clear they to not subscribe to that view. The game has a great number of solo players and if they leave the game, it would have a disastrous impact on the size of the player base.

That said, I'm always looking for a 'better' game for my needs and, while playing ESO for the last eight years, I have continued that search to no avail. I'm looking for a massive (Skyrim and Oblivion are puny in scale) medieval fantasy open world (preferably single player) RPG that is not crazy difficult (unlike Elden Ring), has decent modern graphics, where I have full control over what type of character I play (unlike Witcher), do not control a party (unlike Balder's Gate series), do not 'build an empire'. ESO actually meets all those requirements except being single player so I pretty comfortably deal with the drawback that it is multiplayer.

Despite my continuous searching, I've yet to find another game that meets my list of desired features as well as ESO. I'm always open to suggestions. . . .