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Happy to be back after 4 years away from the game, BUT . . .!
Caroloces
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So here I am starting a brand new character in ESO, and it feels like magic once again, like the way I felt at the game’s inception in 2014. It feels wonderful to have a new spirit of enterprise from the developers, and the content that is coming in boggles the mind. I restarted my sub and found my old guilds still intact!
However, I have to qualify my enthusiasm with a concern that persists since I left in 2022. I rediscovered this aggravation as I entered upon a beginning zone and opened the zone guide. And there it was: Though I just entered the zone as a freshly minted Dunmer Arcanist, the guide informed me that I had completed all of the delves, all of the dolmens, and all of the world bosses. Never mind completing them, I hadn’t even discovered them on this new character!
I understand the reason behind this frustrating anomaly. Delves, dolmens (World Events), and zone bosses are part of the Achievements that became account wide in update 33. And, the zone guides are tied into the achievements, so if any character in your account completes one of these activities, it is forever recorded in the zone guides. I don’t want to rehash the arguments about why this change diminished the game for me, and led me to quit, but I would like to suggest a possible rectification of this problem that might please everyone.
I believe ZOS made this change to Achievements because with an ever expanding player base, and each player creating multiple characters, the tracking of achievements for every single character became a gargantuan task, straining the resources of finite server capacity. Here are my suggestions for how achievements can be revamped again and satisfy both proponents of account-wide achievements and character-based achievements:
1} If they wish, allow players to clear, and restart a fresh chronology of achievements. The fact that my dragonknight completed a delve in 2015 means nothing to me now. My return to ESO is like a new beginning. I’d like it to feel that way with achievements.
2} Maintain a single roster of achievements {as it is now}, but allow the player to decide if this single roster of achievements is for a single character, or set of characters, or account-wide. In starting the game afresh, I’d like to clear those achievements from long ago and maybe pick a couple of characters and have them embark on new adventures and tasks and take some pleasure in seeing their progress on the Achievements roster.
3} With a system like this in place, the zone guides would make a great deal more sense because the player would have an awareness of how the achievements support what the zone guides project for guidance.
Of course, by revamping the achievement system in this way, players who are happy with account-wide achievements would basically experience no change because they would keep their achievements just as they are. Those players who feel their characters have a unique quality that they want reflected in achievements, could clear the roster and start fresh. This kind of implementation would do wonders to make our beloved game infinitely more replayable.
Edited by Caroloces on April 14, 2026 9:56PM However, I have to qualify my enthusiasm with a concern that persists since I left in 2022. I rediscovered this aggravation as I entered upon a beginning zone and opened the zone guide. And there it was: Though I just entered the zone as a freshly minted Dunmer Arcanist, the guide informed me that I had completed all of the delves, all of the dolmens, and all of the world bosses. Never mind completing them, I hadn’t even discovered them on this new character!
I understand the reason behind this frustrating anomaly. Delves, dolmens (World Events), and zone bosses are part of the Achievements that became account wide in update 33. And, the zone guides are tied into the achievements, so if any character in your account completes one of these activities, it is forever recorded in the zone guides. I don’t want to rehash the arguments about why this change diminished the game for me, and led me to quit, but I would like to suggest a possible rectification of this problem that might please everyone.
I believe ZOS made this change to Achievements because with an ever expanding player base, and each player creating multiple characters, the tracking of achievements for every single character became a gargantuan task, straining the resources of finite server capacity. Here are my suggestions for how achievements can be revamped again and satisfy both proponents of account-wide achievements and character-based achievements:
1} If they wish, allow players to clear, and restart a fresh chronology of achievements. The fact that my dragonknight completed a delve in 2015 means nothing to me now. My return to ESO is like a new beginning. I’d like it to feel that way with achievements.
2} Maintain a single roster of achievements {as it is now}, but allow the player to decide if this single roster of achievements is for a single character, or set of characters, or account-wide. In starting the game afresh, I’d like to clear those achievements from long ago and maybe pick a couple of characters and have them embark on new adventures and tasks and take some pleasure in seeing their progress on the Achievements roster.
3} With a system like this in place, the zone guides would make a great deal more sense because the player would have an awareness of how the achievements support what the zone guides project for guidance.
Of course, by revamping the achievement system in this way, players who are happy with account-wide achievements would basically experience no change because they would keep their achievements just as they are. Those players who feel their characters have a unique quality that they want reflected in achievements, could clear the roster and start fresh. This kind of implementation would do wonders to make our beloved game infinitely more replayable.
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Elvenheart✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭I think this is a good idea. I’m not someone who would ever use it, and I think the process should come with several prompts and warnings to prevent someone from accidentally resetting their achievements, but the reasons are sound for those who might want this feature and could really increase playability for some.Edited by Elvenheart on April 15, 2026 2:47AM0 -
erebus_79_ESO✭✭✭Uncollected skyshards in delves can clue you in and what your alt needs. Also, public dungeon group bosses aren't account-wide, gives a skill point too. Everything else is negligible (excepting zone story).1
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Caroloces✭✭✭✭✭Thanks for your comments. I was hoping there would be a greater response to what I think is a pivotal issue, but that's ok. Erebus, my concern is not so much for the zone guides, but for achievements writ large. The zone guides are a symptom of an achievement system that has gone awry. The achievements for me is almost like mapping out one's life story, and in this case, it's the life of my characters. When achievements chronicle all events by every character you create, they become somewhat meaningless and fail to serve as a guide to progress individual characters.1
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AzuraFan✭✭✭✭✭
✭✭✭✭Thanks for your comments. I was hoping there would be a greater response to what I think is a pivotal issue, but that's ok. Erebus, my concern is not so much for the zone guides, but for achievements writ large. The zone guides are a symptom of an achievement system that has gone awry. The achievements for me is almost like mapping out one's life story, and in this case, it's the life of my characters. When achievements chronicle all events by every character you create, they become somewhat meaningless and fail to serve as a guide to progress individual characters.
A lot of us hate the way they implemented account-wide achievements. Instead of looking at which achievements made sense for it, they used a sledgehammer and made almost all of them account wide. You might not have received a greater response because there have been numerous threads about it, including the disappointment regarding locations on the map already being completed for a character that is new to the zone. The feedback has fallen on deaf ZOS ears, so we've given up.3 -
CatoUnchained✭✭✭✭✭
✭What we really wanted was account wide titles. Most didn't realize what would happen with account wide achievements and individual toon progression tracking.1 -
Caroloces✭✭✭✭✭A lot of us hate the way they implemented account-wide achievements. Instead of looking at which achievements made sense for it, they used a sledgehammer and made almost all of them account wide. You might not have received a greater response because there have been numerous threads about it, including the disappointment regarding locations on the map already being completed for a character that is new to the zone. The feedback has fallen on deaf ZOS ears, so we've given up.
Never give up! Yes, when I quit the game in 2022 partly because of this issue, the threads were pretty intense. I'm glad to be back, despite this issue. In raising the issue again, I was hoping that what seems like new leadership and new enterprise in the game's development, there would be, perhaps, a new effort to correct this glaring weakness. As I recall, the ZOS team at that time portrayed the change as something that was desired by the player base, almost as if it were a triumphant change. Indeed, there were many players that liked account wide achievements. And with respect to those players, and also with respect to the real, and valid, reason for this change (limited server resources to manage individual character achievements), I propose the solution I've detailed in my first post: Maintain a single roster of achievements for each account, but give the player the ability to clear it, and start fresh.0