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10-year player returning — core issues still untouched
Ramzdonb16_ESO
✭✭✭
I’ve been playing The Elder Scrolls Online on and off for about 10 years, and just came back after a couple years break.
First thing I log into? Jester’s Festival. Fair enough — some things don’t change.
Unfortunately, neither do the underlying problems.
1) Inventory management is still the dominant gameplay loop
Within the first session:
Characters full
Bank full
Constant item triage
This isn’t a minor annoyance — it’s the main activity.
The craft bag removes the problem instantly, which makes the intent obvious:
friction is being used as a monetisation lever
For a returning player, this is a terrible re-entry experience. Before I can even enjoy the game, I’m being funneled into a subscription just to make it playable.
2) “Competitive” PvP still isn’t competitive
Tried Battlegrounds.
4v4 is great rather than the bizarre nonsensical 3 teams.
Sets are still enabled. That alone invalidates any serious competitive claim.
Gear advantage > skill expression
Proc effects muddy outcomes
Balance becomes inherently unstable
For context, I went roughly 9–0 in a match — so this isn’t frustration talking. If anything, it highlights the problem: performance doesn’t even feel meaningful.
A competitive mode without standardisation is just PvE builds colliding.
3) More systems, more clutter, same underlying issue
Coming back in, there are even more reward tracks, currencies, and progression layers.
None of this improves the experience. It just adds cognitive load.
It feels like:
systems are being added faster than they’re being refined
The result is a game that’s harder to re-enter and less intuitive than it should be after this many years.
4) PvE and PvP are still being forced into the same design space
Min-maxing gear is great for PvE — that’s where it belongs.
Trying to carry that into PvP continues to create:
artificial power gaps
unclear skill signals
constant balance churn
These should have been separated years ago.
Closing
This isn’t a new-player complaint — it’s a long-term player returning and seeing the same structural problems still front and centre.
Inventory friction still dominates early experience
Monetisation still bleeds into core systems
Competitive PvP still lacks actual competitive integrity
Systems continue to stack instead of simplify
There’s clearly a strong foundation here — that’s why people keep coming back.
But right now, it feels like the game is optimised more for retention mechanics and monetisation than for clean, playable design.
First thing I log into? Jester’s Festival. Fair enough — some things don’t change.
Unfortunately, neither do the underlying problems.
1) Inventory management is still the dominant gameplay loop
Within the first session:
Characters full
Bank full
Constant item triage
This isn’t a minor annoyance — it’s the main activity.
The craft bag removes the problem instantly, which makes the intent obvious:
friction is being used as a monetisation lever
For a returning player, this is a terrible re-entry experience. Before I can even enjoy the game, I’m being funneled into a subscription just to make it playable.
2) “Competitive” PvP still isn’t competitive
Tried Battlegrounds.
4v4 is great rather than the bizarre nonsensical 3 teams.
Sets are still enabled. That alone invalidates any serious competitive claim.
Gear advantage > skill expression
Proc effects muddy outcomes
Balance becomes inherently unstable
For context, I went roughly 9–0 in a match — so this isn’t frustration talking. If anything, it highlights the problem: performance doesn’t even feel meaningful.
A competitive mode without standardisation is just PvE builds colliding.
3) More systems, more clutter, same underlying issue
Coming back in, there are even more reward tracks, currencies, and progression layers.
None of this improves the experience. It just adds cognitive load.
It feels like:
systems are being added faster than they’re being refined
The result is a game that’s harder to re-enter and less intuitive than it should be after this many years.
4) PvE and PvP are still being forced into the same design space
Min-maxing gear is great for PvE — that’s where it belongs.
Trying to carry that into PvP continues to create:
artificial power gaps
unclear skill signals
constant balance churn
These should have been separated years ago.
Closing
This isn’t a new-player complaint — it’s a long-term player returning and seeing the same structural problems still front and centre.
Inventory friction still dominates early experience
Monetisation still bleeds into core systems
Competitive PvP still lacks actual competitive integrity
Systems continue to stack instead of simplify
There’s clearly a strong foundation here — that’s why people keep coming back.
But right now, it feels like the game is optimised more for retention mechanics and monetisation than for clean, playable design.
18
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agelonestar✭✭✭✭✭
✭I don’t think I’ve ever agreed with a post so much in my time on these forums!GM of Sunfire's Sect trading guild on PC/EU. All that is gold does not glitter; not all those who wander are lost...... some of us are just looking for trouble.GM of Sunfire's Sect (Open) & Dark Star Rising (Priv) | Retired GM of several trade guilds | Trader | Here since the beta2 -
LittleLionLeone✭✭✭✭They will never improve Inventory management by giving the craft bag free or as a paid permanent unlock-able. It just won't happen, it's the biggest reason vet players still sub since most of them already bought all the dlc with free crowns.4 -
AcadianPaladin✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭Fixing the Timbercrow Wanderer costume diaper butt bug (the costume was released 10 years ago in 2016) would be a wonderful start. . . .PC NA(no Steam), PvE, mostly solo4 -
Orbital78✭✭✭✭✭
✭LittleLionLeone wrote: »They will never improve Inventory management by giving the craft bag free or as a paid permanent unlock-able. It just won't happen, it's the biggest reason vet players still sub since most of them already bought all the dlc with free crowns.
They have slowly been helping with stacking items, but the damage has kind of already been done at this point. Their reputation in MMO circles at least, is known for its monetization. You don't make an issue and then sell the fix without reputation harm.
There are addons to help, and just learning how to adapt. People are tempted to deconstruct everything, when they aught to just sell it for gold to the vendor. Most items are not worth deconstructing in todays material market.1 -
LittleLionLeone✭✭✭✭LittleLionLeone wrote: »They will never improve Inventory management by giving the craft bag free or as a paid permanent unlock-able. It just won't happen, it's the biggest reason vet players still sub since most of them already bought all the dlc with free crowns.
They have slowly been helping with stacking items, but the damage has kind of already been done at this point. Their reputation in MMO circles at least, is known for its monetization. You don't make an issue and then sell the fix without reputation harm.
There are addons to help, and just learning how to adapt. People are tempted to deconstruct everything, when they aught to just sell it for gold to the vendor. Most items are not worth deconstructing in todays material market.
The problem is the addition of all the different materials and style stones over the years. There are just too many now that if you decon a few items without the craft bag you end up with like 20 less slots. They could improve it by introducing better stacking with those items but I doubt they will.2 -
Orbital78✭✭✭✭✭
✭LittleLionLeone wrote: »LittleLionLeone wrote: »They will never improve Inventory management by giving the craft bag free or as a paid permanent unlock-able. It just won't happen, it's the biggest reason vet players still sub since most of them already bought all the dlc with free crowns.
They have slowly been helping with stacking items, but the damage has kind of already been done at this point. Their reputation in MMO circles at least, is known for its monetization. You don't make an issue and then sell the fix without reputation harm.
There are addons to help, and just learning how to adapt. People are tempted to deconstruct everything, when they aught to just sell it for gold to the vendor. Most items are not worth deconstructing in todays material market.
The problem is the addition of all the different materials and style stones over the years. There are just too many now that if you decon a few items without the craft bag you end up with like 20 less slots. They could improve it by introducing better stacking with those items but I doubt they will.
Yes there are a ridiculous amount of style materials now. Any event that rewards them will remind you of that.
1 -
spartaxoxo✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭✭I think you'll enjoy the upcoming PvP game mode, Vengeance. It's a version of Cyrodiil that doesn't use sets and has alternate versions of skills.4 -
moderatelyfatman✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭AcadianPaladin wrote: »Fixing the Timbercrow Wanderer costume diaper butt bug (the costume was released 10 years ago in 2016) would be a wonderful start. . . .
I fixed it on my necro by matching his skin tone to the diaper. So now it looks like he's running around with a shave butt!1 -
TheMrPancake✭✭✭[snip]
> This isn’t a minor annoyance — it’s the main activity.
> None of this improves the experience. It just adds cognitive load.
> Min-maxing gear is great for PvE — that’s where it belongs.
If you're going to criticise at least use your own words.
[edited for baiting]Edited by ZOS_Icy on March 30, 2026 1:53PM4