ESO 3.0… This is Depressing

karthrag_inak · January 10

"insightful" means disagree, yes? Khajiit clicked that, but he is unsure and wants to be understood.

moderatelyfatman · January 10

Seraphayel wrote: »

SummersetCitizen wrote: »

Pivot from New Content to System Reworks
Development focus has shifted away from large-scale content additions toward reworking existing systems, a hallmark of late-stage live service maintenance.

This is simply not true. Not by any margin. Most of the other points are either moot or false as well, but I'm too tired to go all over them.

This does not look like "maintenance mode".

I guess it's what you consider to be 'maintenance mode'.

Some people argue that you're only in maintenance mode when there are no patch changes and the devs have stopped updating the game (except maybe the in-game store) but keep the servers running. ESO is definitely not reached that stage.

Another idea of maintenance mode is when 'new content' uses recycled assets that is released to give the appearance of change. No major new things (zones, classes etc) but more a shuffling of existing assets sold as something new (e.g. subclassing).

The difficulty settings for overland, some new quests or events in old zones (e.g. dlc starter quests) could be interpreted as MM by the second definition since it requires far less effort than a full expansion.

Seraphayel · January 10

Players: no new zones please, make old zones relevant again

ZOS: does that

Players: we want new zones, making old zones relevant again is maintenance mode

BardokRedSnow · January 10

Yea sorry but this game needs to focus on its core components before we start throwing on more new stuff again and again.

This forum is really frustrating, with how negativity is the number one way to get engagement and thats also encouraged because of the silly likes and agrees etc. People have been begging Zos to refresh and update old content, and that takes time.

Its not like there wont be new content anyways so regardless of what the focus is here and now, whether they're slowing down or not, etc, they're obviously still invested in the series and its not dying any time soon.

This is a good direction, the game just chasing new new new with no time to breathe and reflect would have sent it the way of New World.

licenturion · January 10

BardokRedSnow wrote: »

People have been begging Zos to refresh and update old content, and that takes time.

Seraphayel wrote: »

Players: no new zones please, make old zones relevant again

ZOS: does that

Players: we want new zones, making old zones relevant again is maintenance mode

Apart from the class reworks, do they? Changing a timer for guild stores, upping horse training to 3, adding some existing mounts to vendors, bring old battleground maps back, making outfits account wide, making some DLC licenses part of the base game etc are all low hanging fruit that are not massive development projects.

The only reason no zone, no dungeons, no tales deck, no companions etc would have been acceptable for me would be if they graphically updated all the base game zones + sets to bring them up to standard. But even that doesn't seem to be happening because they would rather make DLC zones (that already look 100 times better) part of the base game to make new events there so they don't have to be updating base game zones.

But the whole art team is probably now focused on created a truckload of new cosmetics for battlepasses, crates and crown store instead of asset creation for the world. That was already clear last year with solstice reusing a lot of old stuff.

The only good thing about the 2026 roadmap is that I never have to spend a single cent in the future on ESO. I am not interested in cosmetics (my main has been rocking the same outfit and mount for years now) and I don't have to pre-order chapters anymore like I always did because they are free going forward. So for me this game will be going in my other free to play game rotation where I login from time to time to play the new free event content for a week and move on until the next one because I already finished all the other content.

Also give the people who are content junkies like me some slack. I am not against battle passes or anything they announced. But lots of these things used to be bullet points in the last slide of the year reveal stream. We are just disappointed because for people with my playstyle in ESO, a game they played for years basically gets frozen in time now with no big content chunks on the horizon for a year, and maybe longer. That's an end of an era for some of us, and that needs some time to digest.

(and for your New World reference. Go check player stats on Steam. The game had 1000 percent increased player counts after zone drops like Brimstone, Elysian wilds and Nighthaven. People love this type of content)

Gabrielzavadski · January 10

lmfao they tried so hard to milk as much as possible with locked new mechanics behind the paid content, such as new crafting, new skills, new class, etc.

Man, they even added gacha mechanics such as Crown Store + FOMO stuff lol

Feels so good not playing ESO anymore, and being just a Forum user. I feel bad tho for the ones who still care about this game... Wish I could get my 15k hours and investments back

Cooperharley · January 10

BardokRedSnow wrote: »

Yea sorry but this game needs to focus on its core components before we start throwing on more new stuff again and again.

This forum is really frustrating, with how negativity is the number one way to get engagement and thats also encouraged because of the silly likes and agrees etc. People have been begging Zos to refresh and update old content, and that takes time.

Its not like there wont be new content anyways so regardless of what the focus is here and now, whether they're slowing down or not, etc, they're obviously still invested in the series and its not dying any time soon.

This is a good direction, the game just chasing new new new with no time to breathe and reflect would have sent it the way of New World.

Amen, couldn't agree more. 10/10 excited for this stuff.

liliub17_ESO · January 10

Some of these 'arguments' are interesting, reminds me of my dog chasing its tail every time he catches a glimpse of it following him.

I think of ESO currently like this: It started off as a large plot of land with a manor and accompanying towns on each of three corners. Oddly, there weren't any really stable roads or bridges built to connect the three demesnes in the beginning, so the towns grew up in isolation. Then TamOne dropped, and suddenly the towns could readily communicate with each other, the houses (factions) realized they had more in common than differences. The population was able to flow relatively freely between, and growth occurred, especially as new towns (DLCs/chapters/whatever you want to call them) were founded.

But as all this excited exploration continued through the years, the original "houses" and towns were ignored, visited only occasionally by the town Planners, and left to slowly decay. Sure, a few visited and brought word from the new places, adventurers passed through briefly, but for the most part, the Old World withered and fought to hold steady. The populace cried out for aid, hoping someone, anyone, would hear their pleas for commerce, for interest, for a bit more than a hot minute of 'passing through'. But their pleas fell on deaf ears because the Planners, too, were avidly pursuing new lands and adventures without thought of the homeland.

Suddenly, as if awakening from a fugue, the Planners realized their error and the clamor of the populace reached their ears. The headlong rush of new adventures in far off lands stopped abruptly as they came to understand that, in that rush, they had been draining the entire land dry of vitality. Quietly, they met and attempted to devise a plan to renew the original lands, begin to rebuild the aging neglected 'houses' which they'd allowed to fall into disrepair.

Will it be too late to save the homeland? Will the houses fall, their foundations too weakened to hold whilst repair commences? Will the populace find one last iota of forbearance with the Planners?

Faulgor · January 10

moderatelyfatman wrote: »

Seraphayel wrote: »

SummersetCitizen wrote: »

Pivot from New Content to System Reworks
Development focus has shifted away from large-scale content additions toward reworking existing systems, a hallmark of late-stage live service maintenance.

This is simply not true. Not by any margin. Most of the other points are either moot or false as well, but I'm too tired to go all over them.

This does not look like "maintenance mode".

I guess it's what you consider to be 'maintenance mode'.

Some people argue that you're only in maintenance mode when there are no patch changes and the devs have stopped updating the game (except maybe the in-game store) but keep the servers running. ESO is definitely not reached that stage.

Another idea of maintenance mode is when 'new content' uses recycled assets that is released to give the appearance of change. No major new things (zones, classes etc) but more a shuffling of existing assets sold as something new (e.g. subclassing).

The difficulty settings for overland, some new quests or events in old zones (e.g. dlc starter quests) could be interpreted as MM by the second definition since it requires far less effort than a full expansion.

Releasing the same formulaic content every year felt much more maintenance-y to me than trying new stuff every update.

FabresFour · January 10

SummersetCitizen wrote: »

Another depressing aspect of the new sales model is that “zones” like the Night Market are not permanent. If you enjoy new content, you’re given only a limited window to experience it, with no real justification beyond forcing participation during time-gated periods.

Is it technically part of the base game? Yes… but it’s deliberately presented in a way that pressures players to engage on ZOS’s timeline, not their own. I would much rather pay for content and know I can experience it when I’m ready, or return to it later if life gets in the way.

This is wrong. ZOS has commented several times (it may have been during the Q&A for content creators that I took part in, and which is no longer under embargo, so I can talk about it now) that they will continue making permanent, classic zones for the game. However, they’re testing something different right now.

In fact, when asked whether there would be any new permanent-zone content in 2026, Nick replied: “I can’t talk about that YET.” And when asked if they would still make permanent maps for the game, Susan simply answered something like: “Yep.”

In other words, we don’t even know for sure that this year won’t actually have a permanent area in the game. The whole idea behind these seasons is to surprise us, so creating overly elaborate theories about the content before it’s released—getting frustrated without even trying it—isn’t very healthy. Especially when all the new content, the actual content, will be free for players.

lillybit · January 10

FabresFour wrote: »

SummersetCitizen wrote: »

Another depressing aspect of the new sales model is that “zones” like the Night Market are not permanent. If you enjoy new content, you’re given only a limited window to experience it, with no real justification beyond forcing participation during time-gated periods.

Is it technically part of the base game? Yes… but it’s deliberately presented in a way that pressures players to engage on ZOS’s timeline, not their own. I would much rather pay for content and know I can experience it when I’m ready, or return to it later if life gets in the way.

This is wrong. ZOS has commented several times (it may have been during the Q&A for content creators that I took part in, and which is no longer under embargo, so I can talk about it now) that they will continue making permanent, classic zones for the game. However, they’re testing something different right now.

In fact, when asked whether there would be any new permanent-zone content in 2026, Nick replied: “I can’t talk about that YET.” And when asked if they would still make permanent maps for the game, Susan simply answered something like: “Yep.”

In other words, we don’t even know for sure that this year won’t actually have a permanent area in the game. The whole idea behind these seasons is to surprise us, so creating overly elaborate theories about the content before it’s released—getting frustrated without even trying it—isn’t very healthy. Especially when all the new content, the actual content, will be free for players.

100% this!

I think they're doing enough work to update and fix the game, and giving us things we've been asking for for years, that it earns them the benefit of the doubt at least until we see what they're giving us.

I'd rather have a healthy game than one last lacklustre chapter before they pull the plug after everyone left because it was so disappointing

MXVIIDREAM · January 10

For all those saying about new content, Kevin was in the forums saying that it is coming it’s just not the same team that was working on this lot of content it is coming it’s just not annoced yet

licenturion · January 10

MXVIIDREAM wrote: »

For all those saying about new content, Kevin was in the forums saying that it is coming it’s just not the same team that was working on this lot of content it is coming it’s just not annoced yet

Why do a roadmap reveal until into 2027 but leave out the parts where a lot of people this game for ‘ES zone and story content’. People have been complaining for years about the loss of a Q4 zone already in favour of new modes and quality of life changes. Now we lost 2

So press X to doubt here. Stuff not in the roadmap and year reveal is probably Q2 2027 at best.

Cooperharley · January 10

licenturion wrote: »

MXVIIDREAM wrote: »

For all those saying about new content, Kevin was in the forums saying that it is coming it’s just not the same team that was working on this lot of content it is coming it’s just not annoced yet

Why do a roadmap reveal until into 2027 but leave out the parts where a lot of people this game for ‘ES zone and story content’. People have been complaining for years about the loss of a Q4 zone already in favour of new modes and quality of life changes. Now we lost 2

So press X to doubt here. Stuff not in the roadmap and year reveal is probably Q2 2027 at best.

Solstice was added as a new zone and did nothing for the game whatsoever. 2025 was actually one of the worst years for ESO.

They need to improve player retention and game foundations and systems in order to give ESO longevity. Their roadmap looks phenomenal and is precisely the thing SO many people have been asking for.

It's okay to be cautiously optimistic or cautious in general, but doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of _____________. I'll let you fill that in. We need to switch it up, be more dynamic, and chase new ideas. Adding a little zone and some quests is not going to add longevity. Besides, they never said they're never adding new zones again, they're just adding a TON of new stuff instead which will re-vitalize so much of the game. I've already had so many friends tell me they're optimistic and coming back that didn't last year despite a new zone.

BardokRedSnow · January 10

licenturion wrote: »

BardokRedSnow wrote: »

People have been begging Zos to refresh and update old content, and that takes time.

Seraphayel wrote: »

Players: no new zones please, make old zones relevant again

ZOS: does that

Players: we want new zones, making old zones relevant again is maintenance mode

The only good thing about the 2026 roadmap is that I never have to spend a single cent in the future on ESO. I am not interested in cosmetics (my main has been rocking the same outfit and mount for years now)

(and for your New World reference. Go check player stats on Steam. The game had 1000 percent increased player counts after zone drops like Brimstone, Elysian wilds and Nighthaven. People love this type of content)

To the former, you're in the very small minority there, and to the latter, New World has literally died and ceased all development, a 1000 percent increase of 0 in the future will still equal 0.

Gabriel_H · January 10

licenturion wrote: »

(and for your New World reference. Go check player stats on Steam. The game had 1000 percent increased player counts after zone drops like Brimstone, Elysian wilds and Nighthaven. People love this type of content)

Go look in month 3 - a 90% drop and stays there until the next annual content drop. That is not a financial viable game model - hence it shuttered.

Gaebriel0410 · January 10

As someone who loves the stories, world and character customization, but tolerates the combat, I think this roadmap is exactly what ESO needed. The foundation of a game is more important than adding new zones at a breakneck pace. So after years of the latter, I think it's great that they finally focus on the former. I think they should've done that much earlier, instead of doing chapters every year.

Combat is a staple of any game, and with them mentioning throughout the reveal that they are working to addressing its weight, floatiness and impact, they are improving one of its weakest points which I'd say is great. Especially since they're also addressing its other weakest point, the overland difficulty.

spartaxoxo · January 10

karthrag_inak wrote: »

"insightful" means disagree, yes? Khajiit clicked that, but he is unsure and wants to be understood.

No. The vast majority do not use it for that

Syldras · January 10

Cooperharley wrote: »

Solstice was added as a new zone and did nothing for the game whatsoever. 2025 was actually one of the worst years for ESO.

Yes, because the quality was horrible and it was already lacking many aspects that earlier chapters had. Think of what was added to the game with Morrowind and Summerset, for example. It's not the zone/chapter format inself that is a problem, but that they could not deliver quality content anymore. Whether they manage to without having to create a new zone - we'll see.

The only thing I, as someone who's playing ESO for 10 years now, hope is that there will be enough new playable content to keep me interested (and yes, I've seen the schedule, but we don't have any info about the scope of upcoming content yet). Bug fixes and QOL improvements are awesome, but if there's almost nothing new to do, why would I log in? I've already finished all old content that interested me. And I know many long-time players are in that situation.

Seraphayel · January 10

I don’t get all of this criticism. Necrom and Gold Road basically delivered the exact same content as Morrowind or Summerset, yet people are somehow declaring those prime while the last two Chapters apparently fell flat.

The Chapter format simply became boring. Imagine wasting half a year just to get four new dungeons and nothing besides that, lmao. This was the worst of the worst, basically a slowly induced narcotic for most players.

This year they have a complete shake up with some very interesting new things - how good or bad it will be has to be seen, but thank whoever decided this model change, because this is exactly what was needed.

Gaebriel0410 · January 10

It might sound silly, but for ESO I find "perhaps you'll see a new zone" 100x more interesting than "there will be a new zone with 6 delves and 2 public dungeons"
.
They have gotten rid of the formulaic approach that haunted them for years, and I am all for being surprised.

licenturion · January 10

Syldras wrote: »

The only thing I, as someone who's playing ESO for 10 years now, hope is that there will be enough new playable content to keep me interested (and yes, I've seen the schedule, but we don't have any info about the scope of upcoming content yet). Bug fixes and QOL improvements are awesome, but if there's almost nothing new to do, why would I log in? I've already finished all old content that interested me. And I know many long-time players are in that situation.

Yeah we will have to see how it goes.

And while it is great to hear that some people will be returning, there will also be segments of the population who love zones/questing/companions/tribute/dungeons take a long break. I am for sure will and there are many other posts here and on reddit about this that Kevin, Jessica and others had to jump in. So some people shouldn’t treat people like us as some super rare exception.

It will be to see interesting to see the player numbers by the end of the year and see how it holds up with this year, which featured a ‘once in a lifetime event’ that got everyone excited on the reveal. It might improve or stays exactly the same as it is today. We will see. We will also have to see how many people actually spend money on battlepasses. Because if all content is free and nobody buys battlepasses, then we will get even less content.

Syldras · January 10

Seraphayel wrote: »

I don’t get all of this criticism. Necrom and Gold Road basically delivered the exact same content as Morrowind or Summerset, yet people are somehow declaring those prime while the last two Chapters apparently fell flat.

Completely different writing quality. Reduced number of quests in later chapters (the early chapters had 70+ quests, the later ones barely 40). Morrowind introduced a new class and PvP mode. Summerset introduced jewelry crafting. Shall I go on?

Edit: If you want to compare, you can easily check the according UESP articles about the chapters. It's very clear that there was a decrease in both quantity as well as quality over the years.

Seraphayel · January 10

Syldras wrote: »

Seraphayel wrote: »

I don’t get all of this criticism. Necrom and Gold Road basically delivered the exact same content as Morrowind or Summerset, yet people are somehow declaring those prime while the last two Chapters apparently fell flat.

Completely different writing quality. Reduced number of quests in later chapters. Morrowind introduced a new class and PvP mode. Summerset introduced jewelry crafting. Shall I go on?

Necrom also introduced a new class, Gold Road introduced Scribing. So again, what’s the criticism here? Yes, please go on.

I also do not think that the writing in Morrowind or Summerset was better than in Necrom and Gold Road. For me only Elsweyr is superior to all of them, but that has various reasons.

The reduced number of quests, I can accept that as criticism and see it as delivering less, but besides that I have no clue where the complaints about Necrom or Gold Road really come from.

We don’t have to talk about last year‘s content pass, that definitely fell flat and was the worst year for ESO. But we‘re not talking about that as the criticism is unanimous in that case and even ZOS (partially) agrees.

Syldras · January 10

Seraphayel wrote: »

I also do not think that the writing in Morrowind or Summerset was better than in Necrom and Gold Road.

Honestly, then I think we can end this discussion here. If you're truly interested in learning why lots of people prefer the older chapters over the newer ones, there are many threads on exactly that, where people explain why they think this way.

And as for the differences in quantity, as I said: There are complete lists of all introduced features for each chapter on UESP. A tendency is clearly visible there.

BretonMage · January 10

FabresFour wrote: »

In fact, when asked whether there would be any new permanent-zone content in 2026, Nick replied: “I can’t talk about that YET.” And when asked if they would still make permanent maps for the game, Susan simply answered something like: “Yep.”

That's great. And if or when they put out good story content, I'll be happy to sub again. Until then I'll just watch from the sidelines, because I'm honestly getting a little tired of chasing after cosmetics.

Cooperharley · January 10

Syldras wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

Solstice was added as a new zone and did nothing for the game whatsoever. 2025 was actually one of the worst years for ESO.

Yes, because the quality was horrible and it was already lacking many aspects that earlier chapters had. Think of what was added to the game with Morrowind and Summerset, for example. It's not the zone/chapter format inself that is a problem, but that they could not deliver quality content anymore. Whether they manage to without having to create a new zone - we'll see.

The only thing I, as someone who's playing ESO for 10 years now, hope is that there will be enough new playable content to keep me interested (and yes, I've seen the schedule, but we don't have any info about the scope of upcoming content yet). Bug fixes and QOL improvements are awesome, but if there's almost nothing new to do, why would I log in? I've already finished all old content that interested me. And I know many long-time players are in that situation.

My point is that there is quite a bit of stuff coming up to do, but the argument of simply " let's add a zone and everything will be good" is just not it. Based on recent years of just adding zones and with we the community progressively seeing the game go downhill, i'd personally rather them switch it up.

I welcome the change.

Edit: grammatical/spelling errors

Syldras · January 10

Cooperharley wrote: »

My point is that there is quite a bit of stuff coming up to do, but the argument of simply " let's add a zone and everything will be good" is just not it. Based on recent years of just adding zones and with we the community progressively seeing the game go downhill, i'd personally rather them switch it up.
I welcome the change.

Of course people don't just want any new zone even with horrible writing, they want a good quality one. The question remains how the quality of the content we'll get this year will look like, and if it's enough for people to log in regularly. I can understand many people being really sceptical after how the past years looked like.

Gabriel_H · January 10

Syldras wrote: »

And as for the differences in quantity, as I said: There are complete lists of all introduced features for each chapter on UESP. A tendency is clearly visible there.

Morrowind Features (List taken from UESP) vs SotWC:
Vvardenfell, a large new zone. - Got in SotWC
A new story. - Got in SotWC
A new 12-player trial. - Got in SotWC
Six new delves, six new group bosses, and two new public dungeons. - Got in SotWC
Daily repeatable quests. - Got in SotWC
Collectibles to earn, including pets, tattoos, and a personality. - Got in SotWC
New dyes, styles, and sets, including three new crafting sites. - Got in SotWC
A tomb hunting collection task that will take you all over Vvardenfell. - Got in SotWC in the form on new antiquities
A new tutorial and a free player house for new character - They reworked the tutorial and we got a house through tickets

So that leaves us:

Quests
Quests in Morrowind: 7 Story, 34 non-Story. 41 Total
Quests in SotWC: 11 Story, 29 non-Story. 40 Total

The Warden
We got sub-classing. While it was made available to base game, that should be celebrated not derided.

Battlegrounds
In place of something like Battlegrounds we got the Writhing Wall Event. Quality aside (as we are talking quantity) that was a large piece of content, with it's own collectibles, and a massive PD (that should be permanent). Plus we got 4 dungeons as part of the purchase.

So, can you point me at this quantity difference you are seeing that I am apparently not?

Cooperharley · January 10

Syldras wrote: »

Cooperharley wrote: »

My point is that there is quite a bit of stuff coming up to do, but the argument of simply " let's add a zone and everything will be good" is just not it. Based on recent years of just adding zones and with we the community progressively seeing the game go downhill, i'd personally rather them switch it up.
I welcome the change.

Of course people don't just want any new zone even with horrible writing, they want a good quality one. The question remains how the quality of the content we'll get this year will look like, and if it's enough for people to log in regularly. I can understand many people being really sceptical after how the past years looked like.

Oh 100%. I hope the quality is phenomenal, but this many QOL changes and specifically the ones that are being added have really re-invigorated my hope for the future. There's a ton of positive here even though, sure, there may be a little negative. But, I haven't felt this positive about the game in years.