Overland Content Feedback Thread

spartaxoxo · January 8

The Overland difficulty option was listed as being in Season Zero, but it's missing from Update 49. So, when is it coming, and what does it look like in the first iteration?

Nick Giacomini: Yes, it is currently slated for season zero. We're trying to be more transparent and part of that is that we're showcasing more of our plans, so some dates may change, and that's part of this. That said, yes, we're expecting it to arrive toward the end of Season Zero. There's so much that we want to do with this and there's a lot more that we're planning to do, but we wanted to get something into the hands of players sooner rather than later because it is highly requested. It's something we're excited about. Again, this is part of our philosophy for providing Elder Scrolls Online players with new content and new features that they can give us feedback on, so that we can take that feedback in and iterate on it and be able to provide an experience more tailored to what our players want. This first version is very much a first step and I would very much think of it that way, as we see if this is something that players want and what we need to change, and we're planning to add to it over time. There will be options in this first version. We're still aligning on the exact number of levels, but currently it's, I believe, three, in addition to what is currently available. There will be three levels, from more difficult to way more difficult, that players can experiment with and try. The latest iteration featured additional XP and gold as rewards. That is also something that we're hoping to add to over time. Again, this is very much a first version.

(emphasis mine)

More information just dropped in an interview. I should also note that it may not come out with season 0, looks like that plan has changed based off the thread with Kevin.

https://wccftech.com/elder-scrolls-online-zenimax-interview-free-content-battle-pass/

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

It is coming in 2026. We will have a write-up soon with detailed info on Overland Difficulty. But it is coming. Just not in Season Zero.

Seraphayel · January 8

Disappointed it might not be part of Season Zero, but very excited that it‘s coming this year. For me this is the biggest and most requested change that will make old content interesting again - this means hundreds of hours of content for me to explore either for the first time (as I never did it before because the difficulty was so low that I had zero interest in it) or for another time. All in all a great thing if done correctly.

DenverRalphy · January 8

spartaxoxo wrote: »

More information just dropped in an interview. I should also note that it may not come out with season 0, looks like that plan has changed based off the thread with Kevin.

https://wccftech.com/elder-scrolls-online-zenimax-interview-free-content-battle-pass/

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

It is coming in 2026. We will have a write-up soon with detailed info on Overland Difficulty. But it is coming. Just not in Season Zero.

During the live reveal, Nick stated that it won't be cominig all at once, but in pieces/stages. So I'm willing to bet that the discrepency in timeframes are likely due to different views on when and at which stage it's considered as being released. I came away from the live reveal with the understanding that season 0 would be laying the foundation for it.

disky · January 8

DenverRalphy wrote: »

Complete speculation on my part..

But I'm inclined to think that rewards for increased difficulty will be based around increased progression through the battle-pass/tamriel-tome system.

Why would they be? I personally don't care about rewards tied to difficulty at all, but a lot of players are reward driven and ZOS knows this. They understand that there are plenty of people who would be interested in using it, but won't if it the rewards don't increase commensurate with the difficulty increase. It would be counterproductive to paywall that kind of reward.

shadoza · January 8

Could we please remove the watch dogs on the resource nodes. I am getting tired of fighting the foes to reach the resource node only to have someone snatch it up while I am fighting.

Also, perhaps remove any benefit from dropping an AOE on a fight and skipping off to another area. I find it frustrating to have another player drop a magic bomb on the foe I am fighting and not even stick around to actually fight.

Cireous · January 8

So PTS next week, we can see if things hurt just a little bit when questing? Is that right?

This finally happening?

Vonnegut2506 · January 9

Cireous wrote: »

So PTS next week, we can see if things hurt just a little bit when questing? Is that right?

This finally happening?

That's the rumor. I guess we will finally be able to stop guessing how good or bad they are going to make this work in the next couple months.

LunaFlora · January 9

Cireous wrote: »

So PTS next week, we can see if things hurt just a little bit when questing? Is that right?

This finally happening?

No. Overland Difficulty will be optional and not in update 49

Fruity_Ninja · January 10

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

shadoza · January 10

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

You are suggesting that ZOS exclude non-grouping players from a zone?

Attorneyatlawl · January 10

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

They should make craglorn back into a tougher zone again if you ask me. And yeah, certain areas of a zone being designed for groups is something a lot of games have done, to great success. I'd love to see some "tougher" farming spots.

Attorneyatlawl · January 10

shadoza wrote: »

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

You are suggesting that ZOS exclude non-grouping players from a zone?

There are a lot of solo zones/areas.

Craglorn was great back in the day. Just challenging enough for fun high-end solo, or for some things, needing a group.

Seraphayel · January 10

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

That‘s what the new Night Market zone is for.

disky · January 10

Attorneyatlawl wrote: »

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

They should make craglorn back into a tougher zone again if you ask me. And yeah, certain areas of a zone being designed for groups is something a lot of games have done, to great success. I'd love to see some "tougher" farming spots.

If you can use a challenge option to increase the difficulty for yourself then I don't see how it's quite as valuable to be doing this kind of thing. Just crank it up and suddenly Craglorn is daunting again.

shadoza · January 10

Attorneyatlawl wrote: »

shadoza wrote: »

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

You are suggesting that ZOS exclude non-grouping players from a zone?

There are a lot of solo zones/areas.

Craglorn was great back in the day. Just challenging enough for fun high-end solo, or for some things, needing a group.

Do the group players use those solo zones?
I say no zone should be created with the intention of only serving a portion of the consumers. The Feeling of Missing Out would creep back into the game.
ZOS stated that they do not want to segregate their players. Creating a zone that was designed for group play would separate the consumers.
The Black Market will create a mini difficult zone. Use that to fulfil a need to gather with mates in a zone.

AlexanderDeLarge · January 12

disky wrote: »

Attorneyatlawl wrote: »

Fruity_Ninja wrote: »

Hi ZOS team good to hear about Overland Difficulty coming in some format in 2026, well done!

One thing to think about, is there are other games out there where some ‘sections’ of a zone are Elite/Hard Mode type content. It’s a really good way to create overland group content, where people group up in zone chat to farm/grind in those areas.

You guys had this with Craglorn back in the day, it was such a good zone before it was nerfed. PUG teams just coordinating to go through Craglorn quests/bosses/delves. After it was nerfed Craglorn literally just became a dead zone used for grinding Spellscar.

They should make craglorn back into a tougher zone again if you ask me. And yeah, certain areas of a zone being designed for groups is something a lot of games have done, to great success. I'd love to see some "tougher" farming spots.

If you can use a challenge option to increase the difficulty for yourself then I don't see how it's quite as valuable to be doing this kind of thing. Just crank it up and suddenly Craglorn is daunting again.

Depends how well this is implemented, however I do think there is value to a return to adventure zones to encourage group play. Even if it's tuned as a group/companion-mandatory zone by default.

You already have almost the entirety of Tamriel built for solo play. Continuing to throw players who enjoy challenging content a bone every once in a while would be appreciated, I don't see how Craglorn and Murkmire remaining as adventure zones would frustrate players more than a lack of challenging content has frustrated those of us who want it.

Let's be very clear about what actually happened, they took something away from us (Craglorn and the planned adventure zone iteration of Murkmire) and gave us no substitute in the overland for the better part of ten years. In that ten years, the game progressively got easier and easier. People will argue that I'm trying to "take something away" from them but if anything, I'm asking for it back.

Cooperharley · January 12

Extremely excited to test this out on PTS. Thank you ZOS for providing more options for gameplay for the players!

Tariq9898 · January 12

Cooperharley wrote: »

Extremely excited to test this out on PTS. Thank you ZOS for providing more options for gameplay for the players!

This isn’t available on the pts right now, is it?

ESO_player123 · January 12

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

Extremely excited to test this out on PTS. Thank you ZOS for providing more options for gameplay for the players!

This isn’t available on the pts right now, is it?

It's not. And I think someone quoted them saying that it's not going to be a part of update 49.

Seraphayel · January 12

@ZOS_Kevin

Some days ago you said there will be an article about the Overland Difficulty options. As we are not getting it with this new update, will we at least get more information within the next days what you have planned or will it take some time until the test realm for this update is done?

peacenote · January 13

Listening to the reveal (belatedly), and I'm concerned that the overland difficulty feature is being touted as something for "solo players." I almost always quest with a friend. I almost always go through overland grouped with a buddy. Why is it assumed that only solo players want this, and does anyone know if the implementation isn't viable for grouped players?

twisttop138 · January 13

ESO_player123 wrote: »

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

Extremely excited to test this out on PTS. Thank you ZOS for providing more options for gameplay for the players!

This isn’t available on the pts right now, is it?

It's not. And I think someone quoted them saying that it's not going to be a part of update 49.

I believe the patch notes said it will be on the pts on January the 20th. There's so many things to test that they are phasing it in or something to that effect. The night market will launch with season 0, which is in March. Idk if that's the same day as update 49 but that is also March.

The difficulty options will allow anyone to make any zone harder. The night market is their return to the adventure zone concept but a little different. Finn says you can go in solo but you will have a hard time. Teaming up is the way to go, even if that means seeing other solo players and kinda sticking with them.

I have been apprehensive and concerned with some of this years announcements, that's for sure, but the night market sounds like a cool thing for folks looking for harder content.i hope it's challenging for veteran players. There's also the inclusion of 2 or 3 instanced 4 man fights and a 12 man fight. While I have concerns about this, I think it sounds fun. With this stuff and the difficulty options, I believe people looking for a challenge will be happy in the first half of the year for sure.

old_mufasa · January 13

I really don't understand the people who are up in arms over them trying to breathe life into the world's content some of the best parts of eso are the open World areas.

Facts are you can hit max level way before you even get through a fraction of the open world content so to keep them relevant when you're geared up is a great addition.

It's almost like there's this fear of change that's taking over people that as soon as they hear something might be changing it's an automatic negative reaction.

And I have no problem if it has better equipment or at least relevant equipment to someone who's max level to keep those areas more viable. Even if it's not better gear they can do something as there's better drop rates if you defeat boss is on a harder difficulty. So if it's not up to your speed you can still get the gear it just will take longer to grind than someone who's taking more risks which is completely reasonable.

And what's great is you don't have to do it if you don't want to do it so I just don't get the backlash.

disky · January 13

old_mufasa wrote: »

I really don't understand the people who are up in arms over them trying to breathe life into the world's content some of the best parts of eso are the open World areas.

Facts are you can hit max level way before you even get through a fraction of the open world content so to keep them relevant when you're geared up is a great addition.

It's almost like there's this fear of change that's taking over people that as soon as they hear something might be changing it's an automatic negative reaction.

And I have no problem if it has better equipment or at least relevant equipment to someone who's max level to keep those areas more viable. Even if it's not better gear they can do something as there's better drop rates if you defeat boss is on a harder difficulty. So if it's not up to your speed you can still get the gear it just will take longer to grind than someone who's taking more risks which is completely reasonable.

And what's great is you don't have to do it if you don't want to do it so I just don't get the backlash.

Fear of change is the most powerful fuel for a lot of dissent on this forum, yeah. It feels like anytime a player presents any kind of new idea, or whenever ZOS announces a new feature, the forums are alight with doomsaying. It's exhausting for me, and I can only imagine it's just as bad, if not worse, for the community team. It's coming from a place of passion and that's good, but keeping that in mind can only take you so far before the negativity dissuades me personally from even wanting to contribute ideas anymore.

spartaxoxo · January 13

disky wrote: »

old_mufasa wrote: »

I really don't understand the people who are up in arms over them trying to breathe life into the world's content some of the best parts of eso are the open World areas.

Facts are you can hit max level way before you even get through a fraction of the open world content so to keep them relevant when you're geared up is a great addition.

It's almost like there's this fear of change that's taking over people that as soon as they hear something might be changing it's an automatic negative reaction.

And I have no problem if it has better equipment or at least relevant equipment to someone who's max level to keep those areas more viable. Even if it's not better gear they can do something as there's better drop rates if you defeat boss is on a harder difficulty. So if it's not up to your speed you can still get the gear it just will take longer to grind than someone who's taking more risks which is completely reasonable.

And what's great is you don't have to do it if you don't want to do it so I just don't get the backlash.

Fear of change is the most powerful fuel for a lot of dissent on this forum, yeah. It feels like anytime a player presents any kind of new idea, or whenever ZOS announces a new feature, the forums are alight with doomsaying. It's exhausting for me, and I can only imagine it's just as bad, if not worse, for the community team. It's coming from a place of passion and that's good, but keeping that in mind can only take you so far before the negativity dissuades me personally from even wanting to contribute ideas anymore.

I think it a lot of the way discussion works comes from a place of if they acknowledge and do something for x, then we can't have y. And I do think there's some validity to that given that ZOS has limited resources. But it also gets to be a bit excessive at times.

ESO_player123 · January 14

twisttop138 wrote: »

ESO_player123 wrote: »

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

Extremely excited to test this out on PTS. Thank you ZOS for providing more options for gameplay for the players!

This isn’t available on the pts right now, is it?

It's not. And I think someone quoted them saying that it's not going to be a part of update 49.

I believe the patch notes said it will be on the pts on January the 20th. There's so many things to test that they are phasing it in or something to that effect. The night market will launch with season 0, which is in March. Idk if that's the same day as update 49 but that is also March.

The difficulty options will allow anyone to make any zone harder. The night market is their return to the adventure zone concept but a little different. Finn says you can go in solo but you will have a hard time. Teaming up is the way to go, even if that means seeing other solo players and kinda sticking with them.

I have been apprehensive and concerned with some of this years announcements, that's for sure, but the night market sounds like a cool thing for folks looking for harder content.i hope it's challenging for veteran players. There's also the inclusion of 2 or 3 instanced 4 man fights and a 12 man fight. While I have concerns about this, I think it sounds fun. With this stuff and the difficulty options, I believe people looking for a challenge will be happy in the first half of the year for sure.

I believe I was replying to the person saying that they are happy to test overland difficulty (since this thread is about it), not the night market. If I misunderstood then please disregard my post.

BagOfBadgers · January 14

There's a strong narrative that us “Elites” are ruining the game for new/normal players by our behaviour and abilities, eg, fast to resources/Delve boss/PD bosses and our ability to kill things quick, etc, etc. I personally don't do this, as I once was new to the game and can remember the frustration of people pipping me to resources and “stealing” kills.

But when we ask for a tougher overland, that would remove us from story/normal difficulty and solve these issues, there is push back from the same group, about it's not needed and a waste of ZOS's resources, why? Do you want us out of your way or not, or is only your play-style valuable? I don't want your enjoyment ruined, why can't I have the same? It's not a small group of us that would make vet overland our home, in the main solving these issues.

twisttop138 · January 14

ESO_player123 wrote: »

twisttop138 wrote: »

ESO_player123 wrote: »

Tariq9898 wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

Extremely excited to test this out on PTS. Thank you ZOS for providing more options for gameplay for the players!

This isn’t available on the pts right now, is it?

It's not. And I think someone quoted them saying that it's not going to be a part of update 49.

I believe the patch notes said it will be on the pts on January the 20th. There's so many things to test that they are phasing it in or something to that effect. The night market will launch with season 0, which is in March. Idk if that's the same day as update 49 but that is also March.

The difficulty options will allow anyone to make any zone harder. The night market is their return to the adventure zone concept but a little different. Finn says you can go in solo but you will have a hard time. Teaming up is the way to go, even if that means seeing other solo players and kinda sticking with them.

I have been apprehensive and concerned with some of this years announcements, that's for sure, but the night market sounds like a cool thing for folks looking for harder content.i hope it's challenging for veteran players. There's also the inclusion of 2 or 3 instanced 4 man fights and a 12 man fight. While I have concerns about this, I think it sounds fun. With this stuff and the difficulty options, I believe people looking for a challenge will be happy in the first half of the year for sure.

I believe I was replying to the person saying that they are happy to test overland difficulty (since this thread is about it), not the night market. If I misunderstood then please disregard my post.

No problem bud. I probably didn't need to pontificate either lol.

spartaxoxo · January 16

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote:

Hi there! This is in progress, and we are actually reviewing article copy for an update about this that will be going out in the next couple weeks. It is still planned for the Season Zero timeframe. It's worth noting that Seasons are a bit different than traditional updates in that there will be content releasing throughout the Season, not just all at once at the beginning.

I saw this on Reddit so I figured that I would share it here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/s/pwKnulsJDz

Seraphayel · January 16

spartaxoxo wrote: »

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote:

Hi there! This is in progress, and we are actually reviewing article copy for an update about this that will be going out in the next couple weeks. It is still planned for the Season Zero timeframe. It's worth noting that Seasons are a bit different than traditional updates in that there will be content releasing throughout the Season, not just all at once at the beginning.

I saw this on Reddit so I figured that I would share it here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/s/pwKnulsJDz

Thank you very much, I appreciate communication on all channels, but something like this should always be found on the forum.

I mean four days ago I asked exactly this and even quoted Kevin.