PoveusRonin wrote: »There, they have catered to your wish and given you some downtime. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/691699/upcoming-maintenance-on-all-megaservers-april-27#latest
For my timezone that means EU will be offline at 4 AM, followed by NA at 9 AM both remaining offline all day until 6 and 11 PM. In other words; all day. And that day is a national holiday where I live, so I was looking forward to some quality gaming time before heading off to work next day.PoveusRonin wrote: »There, they have catered to your wish and given you some downtime. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/691699/upcoming-maintenance-on-all-megaservers-april-27#latest
tomofhyrule wrote: »ESO is an MMO, which means they want you to have lots to do. Nothing to do means dead game. It’s up to us to not make it a job.
PoveusRonin wrote: »There, they have catered to your wish and given you some downtime. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/691699/upcoming-maintenance-on-all-megaservers-april-27#latest
I'm an active player, I joined slightly over 10 years ago, have finished all zones, including all quests (except for Cyrodiil because PvP doesn't interest me in ESO).
For me personally I can say: Chores don't do it. I'd go so far to say: It's not content. It's merely a task list sending people to repeat old content again and again for some currency (that can be generated endlessly without any effort by the game), or some digital clutter (which takes a bit of time to design, though doing some recolor of some crown store pet surely doesn't take the same amount of time like actually creating new playable content).
I can fully understand they can't permanently release new content. It takes time, also they have a smaller team now compared to a decade ago. I know they have to find something else to keep people busy, because people always demand "something to do", and also, because they need high login/engagement numbers (it's a company, after all).
The thing I personally fail to understand is why some players consider chore lists content, despite them bringing nothing new at all to the game (except for the new reward cosmetic, perhaps). If "kill 100 bosses" or "harvest 5x15 logs" is such a fascinating and entertaining thing to do - everyone can just do that, anytime, no need for chore lists. The logs are there, the bosses are there - go out and chop them! But for people who don't want to kill the same bosses for years, or who don't consider harvesting parsley an immersive adventure, these chore lists add basically nothing.
Well, I'm aware of course the Night Market starts in a week, and in summer, we'll get 2 storylines and several new systems - I'm curious how much content that will be, and looking forward to trying them.
PoveusRonin wrote: »There, they have catered to your wish and given you some downtime. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/691699/upcoming-maintenance-on-all-megaservers-april-27#latest
I'm puzzled as to why they need to embark now on a series of long downtimes to prepare the live servers for a change that isn't going live until at least next year. Given the enormous scale and complexity of this change aren't they working it out on private internal servers before letting it go anywhere near the live servers? It may only be backend changes for now but it still seems incredibly premature and unnecessarily disruptive to live play.
barney2525 wrote: »well, the OP will be glad to know < sarcasm > that the Night Market just went Live
I did not know what all that was going to entail. Suffice it to say - ESO has disappeared. It's an entirely separate game from what it was.
Three Factions, choose one, seems like based on Philosophy and not race this time. Main quests, side quests, boss fights, Competition (PvP ?) etc etc etc
I don't think there really is anything that actually is left that defines ESO anymore, IMHO
spartaxoxo wrote: »barney2525 wrote: »well, the OP will be glad to know < sarcasm > that the Night Market just went Live
I did not know what all that was going to entail. Suffice it to say - ESO has disappeared. It's an entirely separate game from what it was.
Three Factions, choose one, seems like based on Philosophy and not race this time. Main quests, side quests, boss fights, Competition (PvP ?) etc etc etc
I don't think there really is anything that actually is left that defines ESO anymore, IMHO
I really don't understand the anger that the group content quarter has group content? This time of year was always dungeons. I can understand the people that expected more dungeons and are disappointed it's Night Market instead. I don't understand the people that wanted solo content or questing. This quarter hasn't been solo content for like a decade.
spartaxoxo wrote: »I like having goals in games. If there's no goal then the task feels kinda pointless because, well, games are kinda pointless in the first place lol.
SilverBride wrote: »I don't know why anyone is arguing with the OP. All they are doing is giving their honest feedback. Tomes is a new system and ZOS needs to hear everyone's feedback, not just those that enjoy it. And the truth of the matter is a that there are many others that feel the same way the OP does.
Tomes and Golden Pursuits are task lists, not content. And there are too many all at once and some of us would like to do other things with our game time but feel pressured into this.
Others may have different feedback which is fine, and they are free to share that here. But their feedback does not negate the OP's.
To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄
spartaxoxo wrote: »I like having goals in games. If there's no goal then the task feels kinda pointless because, well, games are kinda pointless in the first place lol.
For me it's simple: Either I find a game/playstyle entertaining by itself, or I don't. If I don't, giving me some "reward" for doing it won't make it more entertaining.
I fully understand that rpgs in general have aspects that might not be the most interesting - like needing to grind for gold, or harvesting mats for crafting. As long as it's just one small thing inbetween things I actually find entertaining (character development/levelling/progression, story content, etc), it's fine. But if it feels like it's just chores, what am I even doing them for?
That's also the reason why the chores in ESO currently feel absolutely pointless to me: They send me out to harvest wood, so I harvest wood, and I get currency. And I might also sell the wood (that I already have masses of in my crafting bag anyway) for gold (which some people also already have masses of and don't really need, though I personally have a use for it through housing at least). But how does that contribute to developing my player character (both when it comes to skills and roleplay-wise)? How does it mean anything? It's just chores for currency, and nothing beyond that.
The more I think about it, it sometimes barely feels like "actually" playing the game, or doing something in Tamriel. People just run after their chores list, randomly shoot 1000 squirrels/hares/birds in Wrothgar to get it done, no matter if their character would actually do that roleplay-wise or have any reason for it. It doesn't give them any progress in their usual playstyle either. It's just about getting it done. Pointless.
tomofhyrule wrote: »SilverBride wrote: »I don't know why anyone is arguing with the OP. All they are doing is giving their honest feedback. Tomes is a new system and ZOS needs to hear everyone's feedback, not just those that enjoy it. And the truth of the matter is a that there are many others that feel the same way the OP does.
Tomes and Golden Pursuits are task lists, not content. And there are too many all at once and some of us would like to do other things with our game time but feel pressured into this.
Others may have different feedback which is fine, and they are free to share that here. But their feedback does not negate the OP's.
Because OP (and you) have a choice to not do the content if it is too frustrating. ZOS is not holding anyone hostage and forcing you to do it. And no, making rewards that nobody’s actually going to use is not forcing anyone to do things; you still have the choice to say “I don’t care to do that.”
OP is asking that this not be available to anyone. That’s the difference.
People are allowed to not do tasks if they don’t want to. But if your plan is “I don’t want to, so make it unavailable to everyone!” then that sounds like you are trying to dictate others based on your personal desires.
The OP has a point.
This isn’t just “people overthinking it” — it’s a real, well-understood design strategy used in games and apps.
What’s happening is a mix of a few known psychological effects:
The Zeigarnik Effect — unfinished tasks stick in your mind and create a sense of tension until they’re completed
Loss Aversion — the feeling of missing out is stronger than the reward of gaining something
FOMO — time-limited tasks create pressure even if you don’t really care about the reward
When you stack systems like long grinds + limited-time pursuits + unclear or bugged tracking, you end up with multiple “open loops” sitting in the background.
Even if you consciously think:
“I don’t care about this”
your brain still registers:
“this is unfinished”
And that creates a low-level pressure to go and clear it.
So telling people to “just ignore it” or “snap out of it” misses the point — this is exactly how these systems are designed to work. They rely on normal human behaviour, not lack of willpower.
The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.
That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.
The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.
That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.
First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.Reginald_leBlem wrote: »To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄
No, zos is not "telling you what to do".
You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.
First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.Reginald_leBlem wrote: »To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄
No, zos is not "telling you what to do".
You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.
Same difference. Tired of being told what to do, while I just want to vent and share my view.
BretonMage wrote: »The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.
That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.
It still impacts those others who do want these events. Perhaps we need an "opt out" system to help those struggling with event fatigue, where reminders and all other in-game communication regarding the event is removed on the player's end.
BretonMage wrote: »The result isn’t motivation — it’s fatigue.
You stop choosing what you want to do, and start clearing things just to make the noise go away.
That’s why people are asking for downtime — not less content, just space to actually play on their own terms again.
It still impacts those others who do want these events. Perhaps we need an "opt out" system to help those struggling with event fatigue, where reminders and all other in-game communication regarding the event is removed on the player's end.
Ever considered that some of us just want to collect whatever rewards you're lucky enough not to care about?First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.Reginald_leBlem wrote: »To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄
No, zos is not "telling you what to do".
You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.
Same difference. Tired of being told what to do, while I just want to vent and share my view.
I don't think any random poster is super-invested if you decide to get the cosmetics or not. I think people are just trying to be helpful in sharing "it's okay" if you dont get every cosmetic reward, if the result is being unhappy playing at all. You don't need cosmetics for a game you don't want to play anymore, afterall.
Games always dictate what players need to do for rewards. It's how games work. If I want certain gear, I run certain dungeons. If I want something from PvP, I have to do that.
In BG3, if I want a certain sword I have to go to where it's located. That's gaming.
The only thing that bypasses all of this is essentially opening up your wallet and having things fall form the sky via one's credit card. lol
Ever considered that some of us just want to collect whatever rewards you're lucky enough not to care about?First ZOS tells me how to play to get rewards, now you're telling me I shouldn't care about those rewards.Reginald_leBlem wrote: »To OP:
Ironically not only is ZOS constantly telling us what to do,
now other players are telling us how to think, do and feel about that as well. 🙄
No, zos is not "telling you what to do".
You have the option to do specific tasks to earn free rewards. The rewards are all cosmetics, with a handful of cheap and readily available consumables. There is no penalty for not participating. Many people have opted to simply not participate because they realize the rewards won't impact their pvp build or their dungeon achievement runs and therefore don't care.
Same difference. Tired of being told what to do, while I just want to vent and share my view.
I don't think any random poster is super-invested if you decide to get the cosmetics or not. I think people are just trying to be helpful in sharing "it's okay" if you dont get every cosmetic reward, if the result is being unhappy playing at all. You don't need cosmetics for a game you don't want to play anymore, afterall.
Games always dictate what players need to do for rewards. It's how games work. If I want certain gear, I run certain dungeons. If I want something from PvP, I have to do that.
In BG3, if I want a certain sword I have to go to where it's located. That's gaming.
The only thing that bypasses all of this is essentially opening up your wallet and having things fall form the sky via one's credit card. lol
Point remains that ZOS told us they removed Daily/Weekly Endeavors to rid us of FOMO, yet all we got back instead is more FOMO.