Given the issues this year, will you pre-order in 2026?

duagloth · October 28

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

Fool me once shame on you,fool me twice shame on me

licenturion · October 28

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

Posted this in another thread and saw this poll, so I can reuse a part of my comment because it fits the question perfectly.

I have 2000+ hours on ESO and I loved this game but this year they have done everything to alienate me as a player. This drip feed content pass model is not working for me. This year is what for me feels personally the most low effort zone they released so far. No new login screen music theme, no new system (subclassing is also reused content a way), dolmen 2.0 and asset recycle extravaganza for the whole zone of Solstice.

And this whole split zone and boring events is the pinnacle of anti-fun. If this seasonal drip feed doesn't improve I will just play 1 month a year at the end of a year for a steep discount and I can keep my 'chapter' cadence like the good old times and have actual fun instead of frustration. I will still play probably a dungeon, trial or free reward ticket here and there. But I will keep my wallet shut. No more pre-orders, deluxe editions etc if the seasonal model is anything like what we got this year.

robwolf666 · October 28

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying.

Really need to see this one through so I can see its entirety, and, wait to see what's on offer next time.

Ravensilver · October 28

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

I was on the fence about the 2025 pass, but then pre-ordered it after all.

To be honest, I regret doing so.

Right now, the *only* thing that's still keeping me coming to ESO is the housing.

BUT...

...I also play WoW. And we're getting housing with the next part of the expansion. And from what I've seen, it's going to surpass ESO's housing by a wide, wide margin!

ZOS hasn't really invested in the housing part of the game, even though I would wager that it's one of the biggest money makers.
Yes, we got the vault. Finally.
And that's pretty much it.
We've written pages and pages of suggestions on the (defunct) Housing forum and have been ignored.
WoW will let me tint and texture the walls (and I *hate* the moldy and fusty walls in Elsweyr houses... >.<), I will be able to size and colour pretty much anything. I can expand and vary my house as I like.
Yes, we don't know what the furnishing limit will be yet. I'm sure it won't be perfect.
But seeing as how ZOS hasn't invested *anything* in further development of housing in ESO, despite all the customer feedback, I'm thinking it might nevertheless be better than what ESO currently offers.

So... no. I won't be pre-ordering this time around.
And I'll be looking *very* critically at what we're getting for 2026, before I spend any money on it.

This 'once in a lifetime event' certainly didn't help things.
You know what's a *fantastic* OIALE?
Legion Remix in WoW. I've bought mounts, I've bought transmogs, I've gotten so many great rewards from the chests... it's perfect. That's what a OIALE should look like... >.>

liliub17_ESO · October 28

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

In all likelihood, I won't order at all.

Reading all about the new plan(s), seeing the lack of respect ZOS continues to show its testers (the PTS) - as, to be honest, they did the beta testers in the beginning, experiencing the floundering "balance" and new less-than-well-tested systems put into place ........ does not engender hope or faith. I'm trying to justify paying Plus on two accounts, as it is, with the clusterbomb of the last couple of "updates" and lack of content.

Getsugatenso · October 28

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

no

Vulkunne · October 28

I will definitely pre-order regardless

This entire year has been weird, to be perfectly honest. I've been under a metric ton of stress so much so that for the first time in years I've broken out of my pattern of playing regularly due to rl stuff. It's been a rough year; so I don't really hold that against anyone.It just is what it is.

Radiate77 · October 28

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Radiate77 wrote: »

Yeah I’m actually sick right now.

New World had a triumphant comeback and had over 50,000 concurrent players on Steam alone, and even that wasn’t enough to save the studio from Amazon.

Makes me wonder how much time is left with ESO considering Microsoft is just as bad if not worse than Amazon.

50,000 for one month - when new content dropped. Then they went away again.

ESO has consistent numbers meaning predictable revenue, NW did not.

See this is the 2nd time you’ve said that and you have no idea how great Nighthaven actually was, this was the launch pad for an entirely new generation of New World players, and that mid-patch number would still settle much higher than ESO as a result.

But if we want to talk about numbers sure it’s been a few weeks, how do you think we’re doing?…

moderatelyfatman · October 28

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

I'm willing to allow for the possibility that ZOS can actually turn things around and make something decent.

Would I pay $AUD80 for something which was genuinely good? Yes.

But all my trust is currently gone so the ball is 100% in their court.

But if they pull this FOMO garbage of 'unique event' again then I'm definitely not buying it.

Taggund · October 28

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

I waited to when it was on sale this year, and will do the same next year. (assuming what they do to Cyro is not so bad that I'm no longer playing)

tomofhyrule · October 28

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

This year was nothing short of appalling.

I’m one of the players who has no idea where this “we want change!” idea came from. I actually liked the Chapter model since we had some idea what was coming (dungeons, then huge zone and new feature, then QoL or more dungeons, then little DLC or other tentpole). But now, all we have is change for the sake of change and more questions than answers, coupled with an impossibly overhyped event that overstayed its welcome and doesn’t even measure up to the ones we used to have.

I was already holding my nose when I preordered this Pass, but I did it because I like this game and I like to support it. And the recall animation that I gave to my 7th string character and the trial I rarely get a chance to run were not worth it. The only part of this pass that was fun were the dungeons, and I got them through ESO+ anyway (and I don’t even need them unlocked permanently because I already got every achievement in them)

There is one thing that they could announce that would get me to preorder the next Pass sight unseen: a new Class. Announce that there’s a new Class coming next year, and that’ll instantly be worth the $50 (or even more if it’s an Artificer). If they don’t have that up their sleeve, then I can wait. I have other games in my backlog.
(*ok, fine, there is a second hyperspecific thing that could also get me: if one of the premium early adopter goodies was a brown werebear skin for the werewolves.)

I have never been more disappointed in ESO. I have personally been affected by so many bugs - including ones that deleted all of my gear for a month or locked me out of any questing whatsoever for an entire patch cycle - but I always stood by this game. This year has left me completely disgusted. The quality of the writing is so far removed from the Orsinium era, the combat balance is in shambles, nobody acknowledges PTS feedback and reported issues all go live regardless, and now we can’t even look forward to anything. It almost feels like the devs have stopped caring about the players, and that feeling is pervasive.

And I don’t take “it’s a transition year!” as an adequate response. First, I grew up with the military, so the euphemism “transition” has always meant one thing to me: transitioning from open to closed. As soon as I heard that, that just screamed “maintenance mode.” But even if we want to take that word at face value, then there should be an end goal. Why do we still not have a single clue about what they’re transitioning to? All we have are “we can’t wait to reveal things!” Ok, then do it already! From this year, we can see that it was essentially a Chapter, but more expensive, with less content, and on a delayed release incorporating a FOMO event that dropped a major spoiler or two for those who didn’t buy the Pass and turned into a buggy mess that pitted the players against each other over and over.
So less content and more FOMO for more money? Can’t say that that’s the direction I like this game going in at all. I guess I can also consider this a transition year for my wallet.

And I can’t not complain about how insufficient the responses to the PTS were all year. So many reported issues from PTS week 1 end up going live that it’s almost like the devs don’t read a single piece of feedback. If I see a major enough bug, I have to send the forum link to one of my StreamTeam friends who can then post it in their secret Creator Discord server for a chance that it may get noticed. And that’s not even considering how some major issues like the U33 Account-wide achieves or the U35 Jabs change or the U41 Class style locking or U46 Subclassing get massive threads full of feedback that is summarily ignored… and then the playerbase reacts exactly like the testers warned they would.
I had to laugh once while I was playing Baldur’s Gate 3 and I hit a minor visual bug that annoyed me enough that I reported in on their form. And less than a day later, they sent me an email thanking me, telling me they knew about that issue, and saying it’d be fixed in their next patch. I was shocked - why on earth would they bother contacting me about a minor thing and giving me a timetable? ESO has never sone that. Granted, I thought BG3ms response was over-the-top, but it definitely showed how woefully inadequate ESO’s responses to actual PTS feedback is.

So yeah, I think I’ll be waiting, unless ZOS decides to surprise me with the thing I want most in this game. But otherwise, I can absolutely wait to buy the content until it’s revealed. Or it’s on sale. Or a streamer does a giveaway.

Erickson9610 · October 28

If there is content that I want to pay for, then I'll pay for it.

propertyOfUndefined · October 29

I will definitely pre-order regardless

I will preorder regardless to help fund the game I've called home for many years now -- through some of the most difficult periods of my life. I've taken long breaks and stayed subscribed for that same reason.

whitecrow · October 29

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

I haven't preordered since... Blackwood? Maybe Skyrim. So it's extremely unlikely.

Ursadoom · October 29

I will probably pre-order but yet to decide

I assume that the season pass thing is a Microsoft demand, because I guess it looks good when they tell shareholders about all the season passes that they sold.

JaxontheUnfortunate · October 29

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

Nope, and I will also be cancelling my subscription renewal.

RebornV3x · October 29

Don’t Know

I don't know what I am doing I love ESO but this current event has been a shitshow all around, the content pass was bad marketing and confusing messaging didn't help. They really have to go all out and get there act together for 2026. I don't think ZOS is capable of doing that with top leadership changes and layoffs ESO might officially be in it sunset phase. Time will tell if I'm right but 2026 is a make or break and will cement ESOs future will this game have a resurgence? or be relegated to maintenance mode for 2027 onwards?

AvalonRanger · October 29

Don’t Know

Time to re-visit "WHITE-RUN" and "Throat of the World".

NO MORE CHORE EVENT.
NO MORE SMALL WORLD.
NO MORE BORING STORY.
MAKE THE ESO GREAT AGAIN.

It just works.

Renato90085 · October 29

Don’t Know

From what I read about the leak,i maybe will buy,because it about my fav race,but if they don't fix the subclass next year
,answer is no

fizzybeef · October 29

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

I have canceled eso plus and will not buy anything till the game is active again - so till crossplay is released

ceruulean · October 29

I’m not ordering anything else - I’m done - what a mess!

I bought the season pass 2025 because I wanted access to the new trial. The powercreep and lack of balance for subclassing has pretty much halved the endgame community... again. If there's no one to run trials with then there's pretty much no reason for me to play.

PvP sucks because of subclassing and warden charm script. Vengeance might solve this for once.

PvE is filled with arcanist beamers and more gear/skill grind from the 10 years of set bloat.

Little to no QoL. Not finishing hybridization. U48 ZoS kinda address necro's clunky gameplay with a change to 1 skill. ZoS started streamlining systems, like making passive Green CP, but they really need to do something about the new player experience instead of having this huge mess of skill lines. Endless food and drink recipes for level 1-50 that are basically clones of each other. Mats from level 1 to cp 140 that are useless.

Combat system is still pretty ugly. People just instant cancel animations with weaving, so hiring animators to make the game prettier is kinda wasted. No balance to the combat mechanics. No balancing changes like making block casting offense attacks impossible. ESO is a game where experts are 2x as tanky and do 7x more dps than average. 10k solo DPS compared to 71k solo on a 6 mil dummy, a 7x difference (usually in other games, experts do like 2-3x more damage than a newbie, which is still a huge gap).

xencthlu · October 29

Don’t Know

So, I liked Solstice as a piece of worldbuilding. It was nice to get to see an Altmeri culture that is distinct from Summerset, and nice to get a new take on Argonians. I liked the visual design. The initial batches of furnishing plans were delightful, the house was not like previous houses and the kind of thing many decorators had been asking for. The furnishings that came from resource nodes had a reasonable drop rate, and they were lovely. Solstice was... Small. Smaller than what we've gotten for this price point before. But what was there, I liked.

Even for all the things I liked, there were small problems seeded throughout that diminished the overall experience. It's near impossible to get more than one of any of the leads for furnishings that only drop from treasure maps. Zenimax reps have said that's working as intended. There were a lot of bugs. I mean, the first thing my best friend noticed was the bridge that dismounts you. Every time a new update drops, the antiquity bonus loot doesn't work correctly and withholds part of your rewards. (That just happened again with ESolstice.) Several plans were bugged to not drop at all. Moonpile noticed the Writhing Wall had a bizarre visual jitter as early as the PTS release. Tales of Tribute daily quests that directed players to Solstice broke, becoming unable to be completed. One of the world bosses constantly reset, preventing players from defeating it. This is just what I remember offhand.

What happened to Zenimax's QA team? Are they also reporting these immediately obvious bugs and getting ignored? Or were they all laid off?

The season pass replacement for chapters was pitched to us as being a necessary change in service of allowing Zenimax to be more flexible about release dates. They said it would allow them to release content when it was good, ready, and polished. That has been proven to be categorically untrue. They said it would allow them to go back and fix old bugs. They started a forum thread asking us to tell them our least favourite bugs, to be addressed especially during this new release cadence. Tell them again, really, because I know I'd already made bug reports about those bugs, and why weren't those bug reports good enough? Why can't they go back and read them? Anyway, I don't think I've seen any fixes for longstanding bugs in their notes, so that has also been proven untrue. I was very discouraged, because I took a lot of time to give my feedback when they asked for it, and I thought my feedback was well-considered and even-handed.

This event has been disappointing. It probably shouldn't have been pitched as a significant part of the Season Pass package. If it had just been a bonus perk, instead of a selling point, the expectations for it wouldn't have been so high. I have to judge it as part of the whole because of the marketing framing, and it holds back the rest.

All of that, for 10 dollars more than the previous chapter format?

I genuinely wish they had just been honest that ESO needed an inflation adjustment on its pricing. I would have accepted what Solstice had to offer, on its own merits, for 50 USD. Even acknowledging Solstice is a diminished experience compared to chapters, I would have been understanding. It would have been unfortunate, but I know Zenimax exists in the same world as I, and I know Zenimax isn't immune to the fact the past two some years have been utter hell.

But instead, we got the season pass. We got a marketing blitz promising dozens of wonderful sounding things that were not delivered. French players still don't have a friggin French voice over, and Zenimax has not given them an ETA for it. So at this point, it doesn't matter what Zenimax says. They've lost all credibility. I can't even be confident that there will be voice acting, a staple of the game from launch. I feel bad for the community reps here in the trenches of the forums, who seem to go back and forth between players and devs, conveying all our concerns, with nothing to show for it.

I can't say anything unequivocally good came from this first season pass and Solstice. Everything has an asterisk, a footnote, a qualifier. A "but." And when I'm already paying 15 USD a month for a sub, an additional 50 USD purchase for a misleading and deeply flawed product is a lot to ask.

Of course, if they come out tomorrow and announce they are raising the furnishing limits of every house by 100, all bets are off. I'm still on board. So, I won't discount some significant development in the last quarter of this year redeeming the rest of it in my estimation.

barney2525 · October 29

Don’t Know

How could I possibly give an answer to something I have even not seen an ad for yet ?

another ridiculous poll

Atharti · October 29

I dont see any difference between chapters or seasons.
Its still 1 dungeon DLC - Main Patch - 1 Dungeon DLC. (small zone dlc update is missing now like markarth, but they usually give us QoL patches like Armory, Infinite Archive etc so il take that as systems > quests)
They just divided bigger patch into two.
So nothing really changed here.
Overall concept is quite boring as its all the same year by year, just new zone, few new mobs, same daily quests same 6 delves and WBs etc. I stopped buying dungeon dlcs a while ago as they just dont offer any new sets that could be used with a good reason. I bought necrom after half a year on some sale, still dont own Solstice because...there is nothing for me, no mythics that worth getting it etc. I came to play more of MMOPRG part rather than questing, so it can wait while i still got quests to complete in the zones i already own.

Regarding no new features you're wrong here as this year ZoS brought us the best system which is subclassing and thats for free. And id trade thousand companions for systems you can use everyday that extend and expand ways to play.

Jaimeh · October 29

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

I didn't pre-order the 2025 either, I got it a few months after the release, although I read from other players that it was subpar compared to other years, despite the higher price, but I love ESO and I wanted to play the new content. True enough, the quality is not there this time, the pass seems like low-effort cash-grab, compared to the golden years, and it's really sad to see, especially for those of us who have been here for over a decade. It's still a great game but ZOS has cut so many corners and has gutted it to pieces.

SeaGtGruff · October 29

I will definitely pre-order regardless

I play this game several hours each day, on two servers. I plan to renew my annual ESO Plus subscription when it's time, and to pre-order whatever the content for 2026 is going to be.

BretonMage · October 29

I almost never pre-order anything (I've only ever pre-ordered one game), since I need to see what I'm paying for before I buy it. I will make the 2026 decision when I see what's on offer, and it will not be influenced by whatever transpired this year.

method__01 · October 29

I will definitely pre-order regardless

i support the game and people who work for us so we can play 10+ years , and i'll pre-order no matter what -as i do every year

zenonuk · October 29

I will only order after launch when I can see what I’m buying

Given the lack of content and quality this year for an increased price tag - they'll really need to pull something out of the bag to persuade me to buy next year's content.... and that will only be after I've seen what we're getting, and probably only in the Q3/Q4 sale.

I've already cancelled my eso+ and plan on taking a break once that expires at the end of this year - give ZOS some time to get their house in order before I (maybe, or maybe not depending what I see) come back late next year.

Arboz · October 29

I will definitely pre-order regardless

method__01 wrote: »

i support the game and people who work for us so we can play 10+ years , and i'll pre-order no matter what -as i do every year

Same here.
Not everything is good, but nothing in life is perfect, so I keep being pragmatic.
And this game still is my favorite video game and indeed the only one I play, so I support it.