New Season seems underwhelming despite not being so different than past DLC’s

DarkPassions · June 13

I may be wrong in this opinion but the move from DLC to seasons doesn’t really seem very different content wise, but rather a change made to avoid the pressure of adhering to deadlines?

Price is comparable and content wise I don’t seem much difference. We get a zone, trial, dungeon, sets, loot, some quality of life upgrades, and a story handed to us in two parts throughout the year.

For some reason it just feels like it fell flat this year? The story was only enough content to fill a weekend even reading every bit of dialogue, and the zone itself is practically empty after only a week.

The new sets were not really unique or effective enough to bother farming which I’m sure may have contributed to this. The only set that seems worthwhile is the new crafted one which honestly is much appreciated.

The subclassing however was kind of a giant leap in the opposite direction of what I had hoped for when addressing class identity. Now there isn’t really much of one unless you want to take a 20-30% reduction in damage?

I may be in the minority here but I tend to play this game as an rpg and appreciated that my class choices meant there were strengths and weaknesses, but I guess that’s in the past now.

I love learning new classes and new skills, but as Subclassing is just a pile of all the skills I know inside and out, there is nothing really there to draw my interest or curiosity?

I guess there is also the rather messy thematic issues of clashing effects.

Say I’m playing a pious knight, templar is the logical choice. But with subclassing the new meta is Nightblade and Arcanist skills. Now for some reason my knight is pulling out daggers, bows, tentacles, and creepy green lasers?

It’s hardly game breaking from a performance point of view, but for me it’s just another reason to avoid most of the subclassing altogether.

Play your way is the name of the game now and that’s fair, but now I have to accept a huge loss in power and ability just to enjoy what has been standard fair since release which is a little disappointing.

It’s a bit of a struggle trying to find a reason to keep logging in regularly now? Without any new class, skills or skill lines, no sets that are worth farming save to fill in the sticker book, and another 3-4mths until the story continues is it hiatus time?

Anyone else feel the same way about any of this? What are your thoughts? What are you doing instead?

Cooperharley · June 13

DarkPassions wrote: »

I may be wrong in this opinion but the move from DLC to seasons doesn’t really seem very different content wise, but rather a change made to avoid the pressure of adhering to deadlines?

Price is comparable and content wise I don’t seem much difference. We get a zone, trial, dungeon, sets, loot, some quality of life upgrades, and a story handed to us in two parts throughout the year.

For some reason it just feels like it fell flat this year? The story was only enough content to fill a weekend even reading every bit of dialogue, and the zone itself is practically empty after only a week.

The new sets were not really unique or effective enough to bother farming which I’m sure may have contributed to this. The only set that seems worthwhile is the new crafted one which honestly is much appreciated.

The subclassing however was kind of a giant leap in the opposite direction of what I had hoped for when addressing class identity. Now there isn’t really much of one unless you want to take a 20-30% reduction in damage?

I may be in the minority here but I tend to play this game as an rpg and appreciated that my class choices meant there were strengths and weaknesses, but I guess that’s in the past now.

I love learning new classes and new skills, but as Subclassing is just a pile of all the skills I know inside and out, there is nothing really there to draw my interest or curiosity?

I guess there is also the rather messy thematic issues of clashing effects.

Say I’m playing a pious knight, templar is the logical choice. But with subclassing the new meta is Nightblade and Arcanist skills. Now for some reason my knight is pulling out daggers, bows, tentacles, and creepy green lasers?

It’s hardly game breaking from a performance point of view, but for me it’s just another reason to avoid most of the subclassing altogether.

Play your way is the name of the game now and that’s fair, but now I have to accept a huge loss in power and ability just to enjoy what has been standard fair since release which is a little disappointing.

It’s a bit of a struggle trying to find a reason to keep logging in regularly now? Without any new class, skills or skill lines, no sets that are worth farming save to fill in the sticker book, and another 3-4mths until the story continues is it hiatus time?

Anyone else feel the same way about any of this? What are your thoughts? What are you doing instead?

One thing to note is that they actually mentioned that structurally, because this year is a “transitional year” in their words, we aren’t going to see that big of a difference from previous years. They made it sound like next year should feel different but we’re simply utilizing different verbiage this year with the same structure.

Players have been discussing how itemization needs to change for the reason you stated - more times than not, a majority of the sets are just item set bloat and not necessarily anything useful. The overland tank set may be fine for a brand new tank and tide born is solid but even the trial sets are really meh.

Story quality has also gone down over time which is a bummer. That was my favorite stuff for a while but it’s become very family friendly and predictable. Idk. Still my favorite game of all time, but some improvements are definitely needed IMO!

ADarklore · June 13

Plus, the fact that we only got HALF a zone, and won't get the other half until October... so this is a big reason why the new zone feels smaller, because it is... for now.

Pixiepumpkin · June 13

ADarklore wrote: »

Plus, the fact that we only got HALF a zone, and won't get the other half until October... so this is a big reason why the new zone feels smaller, because it is... for now.

Except in most chapters we got a full zone and then a DLC that was itself an entire zone in the same time period.

This chapter, even if doubled, would be the smallest offering to date.

katanagirl1 · June 14

I don’t get the new content until next week, but this is the first time I have not looked forward to a new release. I agree with all you stated above. Subclassing was pushed through without even considering all of the implications that such a massive change would cause. I guess I just hope that next year this new shiny subclassing thing will get nerfed in favor of the next new thing, like it always does, and that I can get back into the game the way I have enjoyed playing up til now.

I don’t watch streams or anything like that, but I get the feeling that the team is very small now. They decided they cannot keep making enough content for the long time players to keep them busy, but they have over 10 years of existing content that new players can work through. They decided to cater to new, casual players giving them the power fantasy that they wanted from the single player experience maybe hoping they are the largest demographic in the game. So it’s just ride the wave now as long as it lasts, adding just enough new content to appear to still be investing in the game.

Unfortunately, this update is shrinkflation in two doses, both less content and a higher price. I don’t mind paying more for the same quantity if I have too, and charging me the same price for less is unsatisfying. I’m an eso plus member, so I’m paying a lot more for much less and that is two negatives.

LannStone · June 14

DarkPassions wrote: »

I may be wrong in this opinion but the move from DLC to seasons doesn’t really seem very different content wise, but rather a change made to avoid the pressure of adhering to deadlines?

Price is comparable and content wise I don’t seem much difference. We get a zone, trial, dungeon, sets, loot, some quality of life upgrades, and a story handed to us in two parts throughout the year.

For some reason it just feels like it fell flat this year? The story was only enough content to fill a weekend even reading every bit of dialogue, and the zone itself is practically empty after only a week.

The new sets were not really unique or effective enough to bother farming which I’m sure may have contributed to this. The only set that seems worthwhile is the new crafted one which honestly is much appreciated.

The subclassing however was kind of a giant leap in the opposite direction of what I had hoped for when addressing class identity. Now there isn’t really much of one unless you want to take a 20-30% reduction in damage?

I may be in the minority here but I tend to play this game as an rpg and appreciated that my class choices meant there were strengths and weaknesses, but I guess that’s in the past now.

I love learning new classes and new skills, but as Subclassing is just a pile of all the skills I know inside and out, there is nothing really there to draw my interest or curiosity?

I guess there is also the rather messy thematic issues of clashing effects.

Say I’m playing a pious knight, templar is the logical choice. But with subclassing the new meta is Nightblade and Arcanist skills. Now for some reason my knight is pulling out daggers, bows, tentacles, and creepy green lasers?

It’s hardly game breaking from a performance point of view, but for me it’s just another reason to avoid most of the subclassing altogether.

Play your way is the name of the game now and that’s fair, but now I have to accept a huge loss in power and ability just to enjoy what has been standard fair since release which is a little disappointing.

It’s a bit of a struggle trying to find a reason to keep logging in regularly now? Without any new class, skills or skill lines, no sets that are worth farming save to fill in the sticker book, and another 3-4mths until the story continues is it hiatus time?

Anyone else feel the same way about any of this? What are your thoughts? What are you doing instead?

I buy every new chapter or whatever that's not already included in ESO Plus - if for nothing else, to see the new art. In this case, artwise, the landscape was uninspiring and the NPCs in the main quest line were bland. I appreciated the bright new looks of some of the NPCs in some of the side quests, especially that quest where you went into the tent - the NPCs outside the tent had some bright and really well done costumes that gave me a good feeling. Overall, the new chapter was just something to do - because I always do the new stuff, and I don't regret doing it - but it didn't leave me feeling anything emotionally. Maybe that's to be expected after so many years of new content, especially when other games that do give me an adreneline rush or sense of surprise are also competing for my attention. As far as sublcassing, I can see people trying out some of the new skill mixes for trials and PvP, but so far I've not been motivated to mess with it.