agelonestar wrote: »

Let's be honest though: if we compare what we got in 2025 (a real low point), or what we're getting in 2026 (apparently even less content than 2026), with Summerset or almost any other Chapter, we're being short-changed by a country mile. This feels like maintenance mode, not an expanding game.
The fact that you're having to reference what's coming in 2027 kind of proves my point - I'm excited for some Skyrim content in 2027, but we're in 2026. And based on what I have seen in the past 18 months, and what you have shared for the next 6-8 months, I'm no longer convinced you'll do Skyrim any justice at all.

Would I love to see something like Vvardenfell or Summerset again? Of course. For me, that absolutely was ESO's pinnacle. But it's not 2018 anymore, things have changed, we've seen how things were going downhill with chapters. I'm sure they're doing what's feasible. Actually the stream surprised me, since it introduced more than I thought we'd get this year.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

The Night Market is a new event zone to explore and patriciate in.

The major downside is its limited. People want permanent content. I'm sure it'll be fun, but there's this aura of TBD around it this year. You guys have to figure out a way to make at least part of it permanent. Thing of it like an event space - you have your residency acts and touring acts.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

But we also noted that there will be a new zone in Early 2027. In order to make all of the changes and try the event zone, we could not do a full zone this year. But we have one in development, as Jason, Susan , and Nick mentioned.

I can appreciate where you guys are. Just know that I'm here until the end.

That being said, it seems like many players want new zones, new classes - titanic offerings - alongside the type of content we're seeing this year. I know that's not realistic and you guys are doing the best with what you have, but I think there's a compromise to be reached. IMO, Templar and Arcanist don't need a refresh as much as the others. Arcanist especially. I'd rather see a new class before that gets refreshed personally. And with Templar, all you really need to do is just revert the U35 animation for Jabs.

Anyways, I just hope the new zone is truly meaty. I'm nervous it won't be. West Weald and Solstice felt likes zones for the sake of having one. The overall experience was very checklist-feeling in a zone with very little interactive assets. I truly hope you guys don't break apart a zone's release like that again.

Skyrim feels like a "break glass in case of emergency" motion. I'd rather wait and you guys get that right, than it be a death sentence for the game. People want zones, obviously, but if you guys have a third zone that doesn't land well, it's gonna be bad.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

We talked about the new Thieves guild questline, Sheogorath questline, and Rumors. All meant to give story content.

Will the stories grant skill points? Also, what is the incentive to do these activities after the first completion? What are the rewards like?

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

The note on price. Everything you saw today. Everything new, will be free for anyone who owns base game. The Tamriel Tome will have additional cosmetics and currencies if you would like to pay for those on the Premium track.

Is there a timeline for all content being moved to base game/free? Navigating buying content has always been cumbersome. If it's a staggered process, I worry that confusion will persist. I've bought all content, but just thinking bigger picture.

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

The Tamriel Tome will have additional cosmetics and currencies if you would like to pay for those on the Premium track.

Again, it comes back to the reward structures. I will be buying the Tomes, for sure. But, I want to see achievements have things more valuable rewards than mementos, titles, and mini-pets. I want to see the new systems be worthwhile. If we have new daily systems, why should I spend my time doing them? My biggest concern with the Tomes systems, is that the most attractive cosmetics will be reserved for that and the Crown Store still.

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I do hope that we don’t swing the pendulum in the other direction. I understand that a lot of people were bored with Chapters and the standard zone style, and the Features could be hit and miss, and there are a lot of people who dislike Dungeons…
But not all of us hated those things. In fact, I know the Dungeon crowd hardcore loves Dungeons. A lot of people enjoy just running through the zones.

I’d hate to give up all of that for good for experiments. I hope we will still see some more standard things come in in the future.

I was also thinking last night - as much as people get frustrated by FOMO, there is a lot of it this year. Yes, we know the Night Market is coming back after it’s over… but it will only be active for a limited time each time. The High Seas of Tamriel has all of the boat sets and the underwater areas, but it will be an event and not a permanent zone.
It does feel a bit awkward that a lot of time is being put into things that are only going to be around for a limited time. I felt the same about the Wall event - it was a great set piece and lots of fun while it was there, but I couldn’t help thinking about if that dev time had been put into something that we could visit whenever and not during a short period.

I so think the new leadership is on a good track, and the communication during the last PTS was excellent, so I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt. I just don’t want to lose the ability to do what I want when I want because of a bunch of events that force everyone to be at a specific point in the story whether they want to be or not.

Also, regarding the PTS: it’d be great if we got more stuff go up now that we lost a week per patch. They could definitely use the PTS off-cycle to test some things (like combat stuff) that’s not ready to release but would allow feedback early in the cycle so we don’t end up with a repeat of Subclassing.
(I’m still mad that that we’ve got two solid years of things to fix what Subclassing broke, which means two solid years of no new Classes or really anything else new for Combat)

The limited time thing sucks. I also remember in 2025 they promised they would never do that. That's battle pass seasonal content though. While I'm excited for what's coming, I'll always be a unapologetic chapter model guy. And dungeons? I love trials, but there's something about ESO dungeons that are special. Some of the best showing of this game, hands down. It's a real bummer to not get any and now have the additional worry that the next dungeons will be some experimental, time limited content.

tomofhyrule wrote: »

But if ESO gives players something that TES6 won’t (like group content and PvP), then it will still have a playerbase after TES6 comes out.

There is no way TES VI will be able to match the scope and depth of content that ESO has. This game has been worked on for way longer than TES VI has been in development.

I think people will play TES VI for the modding support and the new story content, but as ESO continues to add more story content, those players will eventually return to ESO.

And let's face it — group content is not all that makes ESO unique and worth returning to. It was said on stream that stories are at the core of this game, and you won't find continuing narratives for characters introduced in ESO in the next TES game the way you'll get continuing storylines in ESO.

tomofhyrule wrote: »

twisttop138 wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I do hope that we don’t swing the pendulum in the other direction. I understand that a lot of people were bored with Chapters and the standard zone style, and the Features could be hit and miss, and there are a lot of people who dislike Dungeons…
But not all of us hated those things. In fact, I know the Dungeon crowd hardcore loves Dungeons. A lot of people enjoy just running through the zones.

I’d hate to give up all of that for good for experiments. I hope we will still see some more standard things come in in the future.

I was also thinking last night - as much as people get frustrated by FOMO, there is a lot of it this year. Yes, we know the Night Market is coming back after it’s over… but it will only be active for a limited time each time. The High Seas of Tamriel has all of the boat sets and the underwater areas, but it will be an event and not a permanent zone.
It does feel a bit awkward that a lot of time is being put into things that are only going to be around for a limited time. I felt the same about the Wall event - it was a great set piece and lots of fun while it was there, but I couldn’t help thinking about if that dev time had been put into something that we could visit whenever and not during a short period.

I so think the new leadership is on a good track, and the communication during the last PTS was excellent, so I am willing to give the benefit of the doubt. I just don’t want to lose the ability to do what I want when I want because of a bunch of events that force everyone to be at a specific point in the story whether they want to be or not.

Also, regarding the PTS: it’d be great if we got more stuff go up now that we lost a week per patch. They could definitely use the PTS off-cycle to test some things (like combat stuff) that’s not ready to release but would allow feedback early in the cycle so we don’t end up with a repeat of Subclassing.
(I’m still mad that that we’ve got two solid years of things to fix what Subclassing broke, which means two solid years of no new Classes or really anything else new for Combat)

The limited time thing sucks. I also remember in 2025 they promised they would never do that. That's battle pass seasonal content though. While I'm excited for what's coming, I'll always be a unapologetic chapter model guy. And dungeons? I love trials, but there's something about ESO dungeons that are special. Some of the best showing of this game, hands down. It's a real bummer to not get any and now have the additional worry that the next dungeons will be some experimental, time limited content.

Yeah, I’m right there with you.

Trials are ok, but honestly I’m not super into them - they reward minmaxing entirely too much, and it’s not easy to get 12 people to agree on how they want something to go.

Dungeons though? Much more intimate, and much more fun.

I have noticed that a lot of non-endgame players really don’t think there’s a distinction there - in either case it’s “group content that I’m gatekept from.” But the people who are in those communities are very different, and even having a (copypasta’d) boss in the Night Market isn’t going to give the Dungeons crowd what they want. Code made a great post a while back when the Night Market was announced as to why they are not the same thing.

I am getting a bit of an icky feeling that the new ESO is really on a “play alone together” idea - we have new solo stories in 2026, solo versions of dungeons (that are already soloable…), and then the event things in the Night Market and High Seas are being sold as “it’s designed for groups, but you can totally zerg surf and not interact with others!” It’s like the only ‘traditional group content’ is Crimson Veldt.
I can see this as both a good and bad thing. Good, because you can’t always be guaranteed to have your groups around whenever you want, but bad because having friends in game is a way to keep people logging in and keep the game alive.
I am scared that if ESO tries too hard to be TES6 and drives off the MMO crowd, then TES6 will release and the players they focused on will drop ESO like a hot potato. But if ESO gives players something that TES6 won’t (like group content and PvP), then it will still have a playerbase after TES6 comes out. And let’s face it, if ESO dies, it’ll be gone. This isn’t Morrowind where we can still reinstall it on an emulator or something so we can reexperience it years later; it’ll be like Legends and now Blades, which no longer exist in any playable form.

We're in agreement, group stuff and guilds keep people logging in. I burned myself out in the broken light temple. It made me hate the game. I went too hard. I stopped playing entirely for months except for rostered weekly trials and dungeons with guild mates. It kept me logging in and eventually I remembered why I loved ESO. I'm curious how many will actually leave for tes6. This game has always been pretty good at group content. Well, not when it launched. We ripped through the dungeons and went back to raiding in a different game and laughing at the WoW killer. Today though? Some of the best around.

Destai wrote: »

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I do hope that we don’t swing the pendulum in the other direction. I understand that a lot of people were bored with Chapters and the standard zone style, and the Features could be hit and miss, and there are a lot of people who dislike Dungeons…
But not all of us hated those things. In fact, I know the Dungeon crowd hardcore loves Dungeons. A lot of people enjoy just running through the zones.

I’d hate to give up all of that for good for experiments. I hope we will still see some more standard things come in in the future.

Content like zones and dungeons became formulaic because of the rewards too, not just the content itself. If I get a new zone or dungeon, there's gear sets to chase. I have to farm a dungeon 100s of times to get the full stickerbook - that's not fun after a while. On top of that, there's already so many sets in the game, that one more set isn't really appealing to me. What void will it fill? It can't replace a new class.

Mechanically, yes, I like most dungeons. Same thing with zones, but the rewards aren't there. A new set that will get nerfed or overlooked doesn't beckon me to grind it out. That leaves attractive cosmetics, which they seem to reserve for FOMO avenues. That's an issue they have to fix, no matter what content they put out.

I'm personally more interested in new tentpole systems. I was hoping Night Market would be that, but it's temporary, so it won't, at least from what we can tell now. IA was great, I want more things like that.

tomofhyrule wrote: »

I was also thinking last night - as much as people get frustrated by FOMO, there is a lot of it this year. Yes, we know the Night Market is coming back after it’s over… but it will only be active for a limited time each time. The High Seas of Tamriel has all of the boat sets and the underwater areas, but it will be an event and not a permanent zone.
It does feel a bit awkward that a lot of time is being put into things that are only going to be around for a limited time. I felt the same about the Wall event - it was a great set piece and lots of fun while it was there, but I couldn’t help thinking about if that dev time had been put into something that we could visit whenever and not during a short period.

100% this. We already had the Writhing Debacle, they shutdown Endeavors - clearly they want to reduce some FOMO. But then they pull moves like these. It makes me feel like the lessons from those mistakes weren't truly learned. It just feels like the message isn't being heard.

The game can't take another 2025. We need a year of massive wins. And it's fine if Night Market goes through iterations, but leave it in. Same goes for the High Seas event. With a lot of these FOMO events, I'm asking myself if I should abstain from playing them out principle.

I'm not gonna judge right or wrong but anyone that thinks they want to reduce fomo isn't seeing clearly. Even the bazaar, their anti fomo shop, is of course powered by the fear of missing out. Connected to is tomes. Need to engage with tomes to get bars to not miss out on seasonal offerings in the bazaar. Put some really cool stuff in the tomes so you'll buy it, because you'll fear missing that stuff. Fallout 76 brings old battle pass items in cash shop bundles but no promises they'll do that here. Again, I'm not gonna say they're right or wrong for that stuff, but I wish they would've left talk of wanting to get rid of fomo out of the conversation. It makes them look disengenous or like they're trying to fool people.

@ZOS_Kevin

I am not sure if this is the appropriate place to put this. but:

Is there a reason why we can't purchase Seasons Premium and Premuim + ugrades via the website? And that it requires a saved payment method?

It seems rather tedious for us to be redirected to the site to add a saved payment method but have no option for a one time purchase of the product while i am there without having to save the payment information like i can for crowns, or chapters prior.