Thoughts on Seasons?

Libonotus · January 7

Its obviously just a lame cash grab with s focus on selling the battlepass.

We all know new zones will quite clearly be lame “event zones”. I actually hate this model, it screams cash grab before end of service. The previous model was perfectly fine.

The first season runs for 2 months, i really doubt theyre gonna churn out quality content for July 2026 after launching Season 0 looo.

DenverRalphy · January 7

I'm not thrilled at the overall price increase.

Current system $50 for content pass, and $140/year for ESO+. Total $190.

New season model.

First year $30/season, that's $120/year. ESO+ $140/year = $260 for first year.
Subsequent years $260 minus one season credit of $30 = $230

Anilahation · January 7

Diablo 4 had 5 seasons this year. Each season battle pass was $10 so it cost $50 for all the cosmetics over the span on 12 months.

I don't really understand why the price point is so much higher.

LukosCreyden · January 7

We didn't get enough info.
From what i can tell, we're getting a couple questlines, Craglorn 2.0- FOMO Edition and... a naval thing? No new scribing skills? No new skill lines? Nothing to really augment how we interact with the core gameplay? Sorry to be super negative, but it all felt like a lot of self-congratulatory comments and "new ways to earn cosmetics"

What could've happened: new zone, winterhold, featuring an expansion to the scribing system! That would've been nice.

CaptainVenom · January 7

My only concern is on pricing. $30 for a bonus premium pass seems a little too... expensive. Other than that, it looks interesting.

Libonotus · January 7

LukosCreyden wrote: »

We didn't get enough info.
From what i can tell, we're getting a couple questlines, Craglorn 2.0- FOMO Edition and... a naval thing? No new scribing skills? No new skill lines? Nothing to really augment how we interact with the core gameplay? Sorry to be super negative, but it all felt like a lot of self-congratulatory comments and "new ways to earn cosmetics"

What could've happened: new zone, winterhold, featuring an expansion to the scribing system! That would've been nice.

This is what I mean when I say new zones are clearly gonna be “event zones” and its just a push to sell an overly expensive pass with mid cosmetics. Season 0 is April- July right? That gives them 2 months to develop and streamline season 1…. i doubt season 1 is gonna be of quality.

lillybit · January 7

The difference is the zones and content will be (mostly?) free and you'll just be spending money on optional cosmetic unlocks. Plus if you sub one of those seasons will be free each year. I think that's a fair trade tbh

Vonnegut2506 · January 7

For those people who like to spend significantly more money on significantly less content, it sounds like a winner.

Libonotus · January 8

lillybit wrote: »

The difference is the zones and content will be (mostly?) free and you'll just be spending money on optional cosmetic unlocks. Plus if you sub one of those seasons will be free each year. I think that's a fair trade tbh

Its really not a fair trade…. at all…. the content we are getting is literally lacking for the asking price of the battlepass. The battlepass price is near enough the same as a chapter. I have to laugh

Libonotus · January 8

Anilahation wrote: »

Diablo 4 had 5 seasons this year. Each season battle pass was $10 so it cost $50 for all the cosmetics over the span on 12 months.

I don't really understand why the price point is so much higher.

And half of the items in the diablo 4 battlepass are good. Unlike what we will receive from ZoS

Chaos2088 · January 8

That price point is ridiculous. Will not be buying it.

Nomadic_Atmoran · January 8

DenverRalphy wrote: »

I'm not thrilled at the overall price increase.

Current system $50 for content pass, and $140/year for ESO+. Total $190.

New season model.
First year $30/season, that's $120/year. ESO+ $140/year = $260 for first year.

Subsequent years $260 minus one season credit of $30 = $230

Don't forget that ESO+ is taking a hit with its overall value with the change. So not only are you paying out that $140.00 price tag but you're getting less for it.

EchoesofThunder · January 8

From what I can tell (it's very confusing), Seasons and Tomes = really good news for Blizzard.

Syldras · January 8

lillybit wrote: »

The difference is the zones and content will be (mostly?) free and you'll just be spending money on optional cosmetic unlocks. Plus if you sub one of those seasons will be free each year. I think that's a fair trade tbh

Which zones?

DenverRalphy · January 8

Nomadic_Atmoran wrote: »

DenverRalphy wrote: »

I'm not thrilled at the overall price increase.

Current system $50 for content pass, and $140/year for ESO+. Total $190.

New season model.
First year $30/season, that's $120/year. ESO+ $140/year = $260 for first year.

Subsequent years $260 minus one season credit of $30 = $230

Don't forget that ESO+ is taking a hit with its overall value with the change. So not only are you paying out that $140.00 price tag but you're getting less for it.

I'm reserving judgement on the value of ESO+ until after I can see for myself how significant or valuable I find the increase in Tome Points with the new system. The longer Lead times don't concern me much, and I don't really care about the increased transmute crystals either. So it will all come down to how valuable Tome Points are to me.

madman65 · January 8

How much will ESO+ run a month after this takes effect?

LunaFlora · January 8

madman65 wrote: »

How much will ESO+ run a month after this takes effect?

ESO Plus will not change price

thedocbwarren · January 8

Sounds like I will be ESO+ only from here on out. None of this is interesting to me since I don't worry about cosmetics. I want to play an Elder Scrolls game in 2nd Era, that's all. I hope this means (solo stuff) we might see a single player drop some day.

Libonotus · January 9

thedocbwarren wrote: »

Sounds like I will be ESO+ only from here on out. None of this is interesting to me since I don't worry about cosmetics. I want to play an Elder Scrolls game in 2nd Era, that's all. I hope this means (solo stuff) we might see a single player drop some day.

Eso+ really isnt worth it when the seasons start unfortunately

Libonotus · January 9

i really do not see any positives in this change to be honest it really looks like a cashgrab

lillybit · January 9

I genuinely don't understand how this is a cash grab. Content will be free to play going forward and you only need to spend money on optional cosmetic stuff. The free version is replacing daily rewards and endeavours so there'll be a lot of rubbish in there that a lot of players won't need. Plus you can reroll tasks to get ones you like more. It'll be nice not to have so much crap to destroy tbh. I just don't get all the anger.

majulook · January 9

Libonotus wrote: »

i really do not see any positives in this change to be honest it really looks like a cashgrab

I am thinking the same thing My year sub ends in June. So as far as i can tell I get no benefit of the new stuff beyond base game changes until I renew.

Been playing since beta maybe the end is near.

wolfie1.0. · January 9

Libonotus wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

The difference is the zones and content will be (mostly?) free and you'll just be spending money on optional cosmetic unlocks. Plus if you sub one of those seasons will be free each year. I think that's a fair trade tbh

Its really not a fair trade…. at all…. the content we are getting is literally lacking for the asking price of the battlepass. The battlepass price is near enough the same as a chapter. I have to laugh

Then dont buy it. If its just cosmetics then its not required. When I will start getting alarmed is when they put a new class or skill line in the top tier.

wolfie1.0. · January 9

Libonotus wrote: »

i really do not see any positives in this change to be honest it really looks like a cashgrab

I mean, what part of the crown store and crown crates isnt a cash grab? But you arnt required to participate in those and your arnt in a battle pass.

And I will be frank here, i am not concerned that the battlepass exists or that it is a monetization scheme.

My own concerns is that they will lock some type of content into the top tier, or that we wont get high content releases anymore. But until such a time. I dont see any issues yet.

Wildberryjack · January 9

I like it really but do think since it's only good for 3 months that the prices should be lower. At least I won't have to buy the expansions anymore which means the game is now completely free for me because I don't care about the extra cosmetic perks.

Libonotus · January 9

lillybit wrote: »

I genuinely don't understand how this is a cash grab. Content will be free to play going forward and you only need to spend money on optional cosmetic stuff. The free version is replacing daily rewards and endeavours so there'll be a lot of rubbish in there that a lot of players won't need. Plus you can reroll tasks to get ones you like more. It'll be nice not to have so much crap to destroy tbh. I just don't get all the anger.

The battlepass is quite literally near enough the same price as a chapter but the battlepass has no content. We all know when a company adopts a “all content free” model they start pushing cosmetics hard

Libonotus · January 9

wolfie1.0. wrote: »

Libonotus wrote: »

i really do not see any positives in this change to be honest it really looks like a cashgrab

I mean, what part of the crown store and crown crates isnt a cash grab? But you arnt required to participate in those and your arnt in a battle pass.

And I will be frank here, i am not concerned that the battlepass exists or that it is a monetization scheme.

My own concerns is that they will lock some type of content into the top tier, or that we wont get high content releases anymore. But until such a time. I dont see any issues yet.

With them releasing a season every 2/3 seasons you know full well the content will not be of quality. I do not see them making good content for season 1 in the 2 months season 0 lasts for and the event zones are just a cheap getout

lillybit · January 9

Libonotus wrote: »

lillybit wrote: »

I genuinely don't understand how this is a cash grab. Content will be free to play going forward and you only need to spend money on optional cosmetic stuff. The free version is replacing daily rewards and endeavours so there'll be a lot of rubbish in there that a lot of players won't need. Plus you can reroll tasks to get ones you like more. It'll be nice not to have so much crap to destroy tbh. I just don't get all the anger.

The battlepass is quite literally near enough the same price as a chapter but the battlepass has no content. We all know when a company adopts a “all content free” model they start pushing cosmetics hard

Yes it's probably more expensive than it needs to be but it's optional. If you don't want the wolf don't buy it. If you don't like battlepasses don't buy it. If you just don't like ZoS don't buy it. You can still play everything in the game. I don't see the need for so much anger before we even see anything.

Ishtarknows · January 10

lillybit wrote: »

Content will be free to play going forward and you only need to spend money on optional cosmetic stuff.

Yes but what content?

All I see so far is temporary content, general housekeeping (bug fixes, skill buffs and nerfs, visual tweaks) and cosmetics.
It's not like we're getting 4 dungeons, a zone and an arena DLC this year for free is it?
Like a large portion of the player base I play this game beause I enjoy the Elder Scrolls world and lore and without new content I'm probably going to get bored and look for something else to play. That saddens me and doesn't bode well for the future of the game.

randconfig · January 10

I'm feeling good about it. I like this monetization model, less segregation of the playerbase since everyone who owns the base game will be able to go to any of the DLC zones.

My main concerns:
1) Less incentive to put any cosmetics as earnable rewards.
2) If the season pass/ESO+ don't lead to the same or more revenue, the studio gets smaller, servers get downgraded, ZoS is pressured by Microsoft to implement pay-to-win/extract as much money from the players as possible, or AI slop is used to replace creative talent to development costs...

Desiato · January 10

I think having a subscription that is practically required for enthusiast play and a battle pass is ridiculous -- on top of having to deal with a cash shop and crates.

Personally, I think ESO+ should include the top tier battle pass.

I know they are trying to recover revenue lost from not selling new chapters, but on the other hand they're also not funding the development of new chapters! It makes no sense for the price to be going up versus what one would have paid in the chapter model because we're not getting as much as we did before.

Furthermore, it is a 12 year old game, the live service game market is SO competitive right now, and they are trying to win back customers at a time when they are fundamentally recycling content in various ways instead of developing brand new assets as a part of chapters.

Imagine being detached from eso discussions as an ex player and zos emails you "good news battle pass!!!!!" I think the common reaction will be an eye roll.