Update 49 is now available for testing on the PTS! You can read the latest patch notes here: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/categories/pts
Maintenance for the week of January 19:
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – January 19
• NA megaservers for patch maintenance – January 21, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 10:00AM EST (15:00 UTC)
• EU megaservers for patch maintenance – January 21, 9:00 UTC (4:00AM EST) - 15:00 UTC (10:00AM EST)
• PC/Mac: No maintenance – January 19
• NA megaservers for patch maintenance – January 21, 4:00AM EST (9:00 UTC) - 10:00AM EST (15:00 UTC)
• EU megaservers for patch maintenance – January 21, 9:00 UTC (4:00AM EST) - 15:00 UTC (10:00AM EST)
Thoughts on Seasons?
-
Faulgor✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭There are almost only upsides for me.
1) Daily Login Rewards and Endeavors are gone, roled up into a single weekly/seasonal system with much less FOMO. If I don't feel like logging in for a day or two, I'll no longer feel a pressure to do so.
2) All future content will be free, so I'm already paying less than I used to.
3) Collectibles from Premium Battle Passes are most likely only occasionally interesting to me, I have all the mounts for 20 characters and all the outfit styles from in-games rewards I could ever ask for. With Outfit Slots becoming account-wide, I'm literally showered in dozens if not hundreds of slots next patch.
4) So many QoL features we have been asking for for years are finally becoming a reality.
Everything else comes down to the type of content they are going to release, whether it appeals to me or not. But I already sat out a full year with Blackwood which didn't add anything besides useless companions. So I don't see how the new model is a change in tack on that front.Alandrol Sul: He's making another Numidium?!?
Vivec: Worse, buddy. They're buying it.9 -
robwolf666✭✭✭✭✭
✭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.
I'm going to reserve my opinion until I've actually seen the Tome - even the free version might have enough in it to keep me busy for a season. Of course, if people rush to get it done, then they will either just have to play normally or buy one of the premium versions for more - unless it just keeps adding pages when you finish one.
On top of that, everything is free going forward, no more chapters to buy twice a year... so they need income from somewhere. ESO+ is staying the same price, just getting more benefits. So, where else would they get the lost money from for Chapters if not the premium Tomes? Raise prices even more in the Crown store?
All said, I'll have a final opinion when I actually see it.1 -
lillybit✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Ishtarknows 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.
How many times have people said something like "I'd be happy to miss out on content for a year if they just fix their game" on here?
They seem to be making real efforts to do just that. They're giving us things we've be asking for for years, making the game a better experience, reworking old content to work and look better.
I think that earns them a little bit of the benefit of the doubt and some patience.
We aren't getting the same thing we've been getting for years but that same thing wasn't working. Quality was steadily going down and more people were leaving than joining.
We're not getting nothing this year, it'll just look different. It's not like we're never going to get the things we're used to again (the common opinion is that Winterhold is coming later this year), they've said there'll still be dungeons and different sized zones with seasons. It just won't be to the same cadence. I'm as happy to have a better game for them to land in when then do come.PS4 EU5 -
licenturion✭✭✭✭✭
✭For someone who’s finished every quest and filled the entire stickerbook, this new model is a real letdown. I play ESO for zones, trials, dungeons, and levelling companions, with the occasional ToT match in between. This year offers basically none of that.
Cosmetics don’t interest me. My character has been wearing the same outfit and riding the same mount for three years because it fits him perfectly. With the new model, I essentially never have to pay for ESO again, since all the “content” I care about will be free anyway.
I’ve also been doing daily endeavours and saved up over 50k, just in case a cosmetic ever appeared that I liked more than what I already use — but that daily login system is disappearing too. So realistically, I’ll probably just log in for event drops like the Black Market, grind some free seals there, and log back out.
In 2026, I won’t need to spend any money and can cut my playtime drastically after years of daily logins and pre-ordering deluxe chapters. I’m not sure if that’s a win for me, because I genuinely love the game. But at least it gives me space to work through my backlog and revisit some older favourites I’ve been wanting to replay. I’ll probably just rotate ESO in with the other free‑to‑play games I play from time to time (but never spend money on either) and only come back for a week when there’s an actual new gameplay drop.
Edited by licenturion on January 10, 2026 12:20PM11 -
Libonotus✭✭✭✭✭Ishtarknows 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.
How many times have people said something like "I'd be happy to miss out on content for a year if they just fix their game" on here?
They seem to be making real efforts to do just that. They're giving us things we've be asking for for years, making the game a better experience, reworking old content to work and look better.
I think that earns them a little bit of the benefit of the doubt and some patience.
We aren't getting the same thing we've been getting for years but that same thing wasn't working. Quality was steadily going down and more people were leaving than joining.
We're not getting nothing this year, it'll just look different. It's not like we're never going to get the things we're used to again (the common opinion is that Winterhold is coming later this year), they've said there'll still be dungeons and different sized zones with seasons. It just won't be to the same cadence. I'm as happy to have a better game for them to land in when then do come.
What they mean by “new zones” is more than likely these ‘event zones’ which are temporary. That and developing a season every 2/3 months, the content is very obviously not gonna be of quality, potentially AI slop.5 -
LPapirius✭✭✭✭✭
✭Just naming the first season "season zero" was weird. And there are four seasons in a year, not three.
I won't know what to think until I see how all this is implemented as ZOS has a pretty amazing record of taking a good idea and implementing it in a fashion that does not live up to expectations.5 -
lillybit✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Ishtarknows 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.
How many times have people said something like "I'd be happy to miss out on content for a year if they just fix their game" on here?
They seem to be making real efforts to do just that. They're giving us things we've be asking for for years, making the game a better experience, reworking old content to work and look better.
I think that earns them a little bit of the benefit of the doubt and some patience.
We aren't getting the same thing we've been getting for years but that same thing wasn't working. Quality was steadily going down and more people were leaving than joining.
We're not getting nothing this year, it'll just look different. It's not like we're never going to get the things we're used to again (the common opinion is that Winterhold is coming later this year), they've said there'll still be dungeons and different sized zones with seasons. It just won't be to the same cadence. I'm as happy to have a better game for them to land in when then do come.
What they mean by “new zones” is more than likely these ‘event zones’ which are temporary. That and developing a season every 2/3 months, the content is very obviously not gonna be of quality, potentially AI slop.
No, they've said we'll still get regular and chapter sized zones. When asked if we're getting a zone this year they answered "we're not ready to talk about that yet" which isn't a no. In contrast they did say we're not getting dungeons. If they meant we're going to get events zones instead, they would've answered "yes, absolutely! We have a great new event zone in season 0!"PS4 EU0 -
LukosCreyden✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭Excellent QoL. Lack of new features is very, very bad for the game though.Struggling to find a new class to call home.Please send help.4 -
FullMax✭✭✭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.
You'll get Winterhold, you just have to wait. You're in a hurry.❝A seed is invisible in the ground, but only from it grows a huge tree. Just as invisible is a thought, but only from a thought grow the greatest events of human life.❞Achievement points 49.7451 -
Arunei✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭@Libonotus
Except we DON'T know that every Zone released in the future will be an event Zone. There is 0 basis to be making that sort of claim. Yeah the price is too high, I was thinking maybe around 10 to 15, but nothing at all indicated even slightly that all Zones would be event ones. You're just giving yourself something to be mad about by asserting that's the case.
@wolfie1.0.
They won't be putting any content like Skill Lines in the Tomes. They mentioned that a couple of times. All gameplay content will be free, including things like Skill Lines.Edited by Arunei on January 10, 2026 8:54PMCharacter List [RP and PvE]:Stands-Against-Death: Argonian Magplar Healer - Crafter
Krisiel: Redguard Stamsorc DPS - Literally crazy Werewolf, no like legit insane. She nuts
Kiju Veran: Khajiit Stamblade DPS - Ex-Fighters Guild Suthay who likes to punch things, nicknamed Tinykat
Niralae Elsinal: Altmer Stamsorc DPS - Young Altmer with way too much Magicka
Sarah Lacroix: Breton Magsorc DPS - Fledgling Vampire who drinks too much water
Slondor: Nord Tankblade - TESified verson of Slenderman
Marius Vastino: Imperial <insert role here> - Sarah's apathetic sire who likes to monologue
Delthor Rellenar: Dunmer Magknight DPS - Sarah's ex who's a certified psychopath
Lirawyn Calatare: Altmer Magplar Healer - Traveling performer and bard who's 101% vanilla bean
Gondryn Beldeau: Breton Tankplar - Sarah's Mages Guild mentor and certified badass old person
Gwendolyn Jenelle: Breton Magplar Healer - Friendly healer with a coffee addiction
Soliril Larethian- Altmer Magblade DPS - Blind alchemist who uses animals to see and brews plagues in his spare time
Tevril Rallenar: Dunmer Stamcro DPS - Delthor's "special" younger brother who raises small animals as friends
Celeroth Calatare: Bosmer <insert role here> - Shapeshifting Bosmer with enough sass to fill Valenwood
PC - NA - EP - CP1000+
Avid RPer. Hit me up in-game @Ras_Lei if you're interested in getting together for some arr-pee shenanigans!3 -
Danikat✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Ishtarknows 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.
How many times have people said something like "I'd be happy to miss out on content for a year if they just fix their game" on here?
They seem to be making real efforts to do just that. They're giving us things we've be asking for for years, making the game a better experience, reworking old content to work and look better.
I think that earns them a little bit of the benefit of the doubt and some patience.
We aren't getting the same thing we've been getting for years but that same thing wasn't working. Quality was steadily going down and more people were leaving than joining.
We're not getting nothing this year, it'll just look different. It's not like we're never going to get the things we're used to again (the common opinion is that Winterhold is coming later this year), they've said there'll still be dungeons and different sized zones with seasons. It just won't be to the same cadence. I'm as happy to have a better game for them to land in when then do come.
What they mean by “new zones” is more than likely these ‘event zones’ which are temporary. That and developing a season every 2/3 months, the content is very obviously not gonna be of quality, potentially AI slop.
No, they've said we'll still get regular and chapter sized zones. When asked if we're getting a zone this year they answered "we're not ready to talk about that yet" which isn't a no. In contrast they did say we're not getting dungeons. If they meant we're going to get events zones instead, they would've answered "yes, absolutely! We have a great new event zone in season 0!"
Sure it's easy to be excited if you imagine they're still going to make all the things you like and just haven't bothered to say so yet. But given ZOS's track record I'm sceptical they'll even get through the stuff they have announced before dropping things or changing their plans again, I'm certainly not going to judge what they've announced based on stuff they haven't announced but probably could still make if they felt like it.PC EU player | She/her/hers | PAWS (Positively Against Wrip-off Stuff) - Say No to Crown Crates!
"Remember in this game we call life that no one said it's fair"13 -
Koshka✭✭✭✭✭LukosCreyden wrote: »Excellent QoL. Lack of new features is very, very bad for the game though.
That's how I feel tbh. The reward/monetization system sounds good (at least for me personally, I don't care about buying every single cosmetic), and the QoL changes are great.
The content, though... I will definitely miss the dungeon dlcs, they used to be my favorite thing about ESO. I also hope that there will still be new unique zones, even if they would not be as big as chapter zones.3 -
wolfie1.0.✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭@Libonotus
Except we DON'T know that every Zone released in the future will be an event Zone. There is 0 basis to be making that sort of claim. Yeah the price is too high, I was thinking maybe around 10 to 15, but nothing at all indicated even slightly that all Zones would be event ones. You're just giving yourself something to be mad about by asserting that's the case.
@wolfie1.0.
They won't be putting any content like Skill Lines in the Tomes. They mentioned that a couple of times. All gameplay content will be free, including things like Skill Lines.
Im not currently concerned that they will lock content in that manner. But lets be fair here, in corporate speak "wont" isnt the same as never. It means that they dont intend to, the possibility that circumstances will change exist and they may do so.3 -
Lucasl402✭✭✭✭Ishtarknows 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.
Could always PvP. It's never the same and always competitive.2 -
Syldras✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Could always PvP. It's never the same and always competitive.
How does it add anything in terms of lore? The person you replied to said some people here are for the lore and will be bored if there's barely any addition to that.@Syldras | PC | EU
The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors.
Sarayn Andrethi, Telvanni mage (Main)
Darvasa Andrethi, his "I'm NOT a Necromancer!" sister
Malacar Sunavarlas, Altmer Ayleid vampire
Soris Rethandus, a Sleeper not yet awake3 -
Syldras✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Books have much better stories that video games.
Well, then people could just stop developing video games altogether. Or tv shows. Or movies. Sitting in front of a screen isn't healthy anyway. One could become an athlete instead or perhaps an acrobat and join a circus.
Edited by Syldras on January 11, 2026 5:31PM@Syldras | PC | EU
The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors.
Sarayn Andrethi, Telvanni mage (Main)
Darvasa Andrethi, his "I'm NOT a Necromancer!" sister
Malacar Sunavarlas, Altmer Ayleid vampire
Soris Rethandus, a Sleeper not yet awake6 -
Lucasl402✭✭✭✭
Glad you see my point. Playing video games for the story is a waste of time when there are so many better options out there.1 -
Syldras✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Glad you see my point. Playing video games for the story is a waste of time when there are so many better options out there.
That's not what I wrote though. I said if you start to compare whether there's a better option for every aspect of gaming outside of gaming, you could end gaming altogether:
- Storytelling is better in (some) books (there's a lot of trash on the market).
- Exploring a landscape is a better experience if you travel or go hiking for real.
- Fights are a better experience as LARP or historical reenactment.
- Riding a horse for real is a better experience than riding one in a game.
To put short: It's not an argument.@Syldras | PC | EU
The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors.
Sarayn Andrethi, Telvanni mage (Main)
Darvasa Andrethi, his "I'm NOT a Necromancer!" sister
Malacar Sunavarlas, Altmer Ayleid vampire
Soris Rethandus, a Sleeper not yet awake8 -
Lucasl402✭✭✭✭Glad you see my point. Playing video games for the story is a waste of time when there are so many better options out there.
That's not what I wrote though. I said if you start to compare whether there's a better option for every aspect of gaming outside of gaming, you could end gaming altogether:
- Storytelling is better in (some) books (there's a lot of trash on the market).
- Exploring a landscape is a better experience if you travel or go hiking for real.
- Fights are a better experience as LARP or historical reenactment.
- Riding a horse for real is a better experience than riding one in a game.
To put short: It's not an argument.
But the only way to experience the great combat system in ESO is to play ESO. So that should be the primary focus, not the story.0 -
Syldras✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭But the only way to experience the great combat system in ESO is to play ESO. So that should be the primary focus, not the story.
The only way to experience the story of Tamriel in the 2nd era is to play ESO.@Syldras | PC | EU
The forceful expression of will gives true honor to the Ancestors.
Sarayn Andrethi, Telvanni mage (Main)
Darvasa Andrethi, his "I'm NOT a Necromancer!" sister
Malacar Sunavarlas, Altmer Ayleid vampire
Soris Rethandus, a Sleeper not yet awake4 -
Ph1p✭✭✭✭✭
✭
Books have much better stories that video games.
This is such a nonsensical argument...- Books can have much more depth than video games, but they aren't interactive and don't allow you to insert your own characters like RPGs do.
- Great, story-driven video games can literally contain the same amount of text as whole books.
- Video games can obviously be far superior in visual storytelling than books.
- Sometimes, I'm not in the mood to read 'War and Peace', but a quick short story will do, which a video game can cover just as well story-wise.
Telling people to go read a book when they criticize the thin story of a video game is like saying: "Oh, your favorite Italian pizza place is skimping on the toppings now? Pfft, Chinese food has much more variety and flavor anyway..."
9 -
Libonotus✭✭✭✭✭@Libonotus
Except we DON'T know that every Zone released in the future will be an event Zone. There is 0 basis to be making that sort of claim. Yeah the price is too high, I was thinking maybe around 10 to 15, but nothing at all indicated even slightly that all Zones would be event ones. You're just giving yourself something to be mad about by asserting that's the case.
@wolfie1.0.
They won't be putting any content like Skill Lines in the Tomes. They mentioned that a couple of times. All gameplay content will be free, including things like Skill Lines.
I think with the addition and implementation of event zones (season 0 being the firdt instance of their use) it strikes me as pretty clear going forward (maybe in alternate seasons) thats what their intention is, as is the case of most games using the season model, they add an area in that has no relevance to that story only that season and then remove it at the end of the season.Edited by Libonotus on January 12, 2026 6:59PM1 -
AlexanderDeLarge✭✭✭✭✭
✭I'd be fine with it if ESO+ included the battlepass or if the battlepass included the crafting bag for the duration of the season.
Currently it's just one more monetization avenue in a game already breaking at the seams with MTX.
Everyone worried that the game is winding down etc. needs to realize that this puts additional pressure on them. They'll need to put content out at a regular cadence to keep their players attention. Especially without yearly chapters and a paid content pass like 2025's.Edited by AlexanderDeLarge on January 12, 2026 6:58PM1 -
Castagere✭✭✭✭✭It's just a big, confusing mess. I watched that stream and read about it, and just got pissed off over the whole thing. Trust that it is confusing on purpose to get people spending money. I have started to move to another game. I can't be bothered with all these different systems and them sitting in that stream with fake smiles on their faces. I really felt insulted by it all.1 -
SummersetCitizen✭✭✭✭✭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.
The more cynical part of me worries that cosmetics and battle pass systems may be funding a reduced team’s ability to address long-standing issues, rather than supporting the development of substantial new permanent content. I am uncertain that this approach will satisfy veteran players accustomed to chapters, and it does leave me apprehensive.
While I understand that battle pass participation is optional, I am, like many others, an ESO IP enthusiast and completionist. Missing limited-time offerings can be stressful. At times, it can feel as though that completionism, and player goodwill more broadly, is being relied upon to carry the game through this later stage.
That said, I am hopeful the entertainment value will justify the cost, and I am willing to try it once to see how it feels in practice.3 -
Libonotus✭✭✭✭✭It's just a big, confusing mess. I watched that stream and read about it, and just got pissed off over the whole thing. Trust that it is confusing on purpose to get people spending money. I have started to move to another game. I can't be bothered with all these different systems and them sitting in that stream with fake smiles on their faces. I really felt insulted by it all.
Exactly man. Like people are like “oh theyre fixing the game and adding QoL” like???? the same things that shouldve been fixed years ago and the same QoL that shouldve been added years. Its laughable5