Season 0 : Are you having fun?

Dojohoda · June 15

No

Gotta be a no from me. Night Market is too repetitive, farming Glenumbra and Summerset... well I have been there before but I am participating anyway. I'm looking forward to the quests coming in July. I noticed the Glenumbra changes, those look nice.

DenverRalphy · June 15

I like the Tome system. Though admittedly I don't expect much more from it than being a casual background behind the scenes feature set (I don't view it as something "to be played").

I really enjoyed the Night Market, for the first 3 weeks. After that interest began to wane. After 1 full month I'd all but stopped playing it altogether. It was really well done. Spectacular even. Unfortunately it lasts too long for my tastes, and after a while it becomes a deterrent to the rest of the game world.

I like the direction taken with class refresh efforts. And while I recognize the need for class masteries during the current state of class balancing, I have reservations about piling on yet more complexity to a system that should be made to be less so.

When it comes to the Challenge Difficulty, I am entirely dissapointed. More complex than it needs to be, and poorly executed. IMO if it couldn't be done right, it shouldn't have been done at all. Though admittedly my desire for an increase in difficulty would have been for a universal increase in difficulty for everyone. Not optional, and just enough to make overland non-trivial.

Beyond that, the QoL changes are a mixed bag for me. Some I like, and some I think could have been better implemented.

Overall I've had some enjoyable moments during Season 0. I'm on the fence though should I have to classify the season as a whole being enjoyable though. :shrug:

LadyGP · June 15

Yes

100000%

U49/U50 has been a ton of fun and I LOVE the direction the studio is taking.. more importantly... I love the thinking behind the decisions they are making.

GH queue is a problem that needs all hands on deck.. not a lets react in 2 months response.. but aside from that... it's been a very refreshing change for me and the core group I play with.

NM has been super fun as well.. the laughs we all had the first few days in coms running through it blind.. I haven't experienced that in ESO in many years.

Bravo ZoS. For all the negative stuff you get on the forums I hope those same people are as vocal about the things you all do right.

LadyGP · June 15

Yes

SaffronCitrusflower wrote: »

Almost no new content. Night Market is another bait and switch like IA was. It's not new content. It's just recycled content into a forever grind.

Where is the new content? Where is the effort to fix Grey Host if there ever even was an effort to that end?

This type of game development over time will not keep the game alive.

Considering the studio is scaling down slightly.. who knows what the budget for content is.. would you rather them just stop doing stuff or...

Hey we have xyz assets.. what if we used them in this new and creative way... it would cost x amount less but still give the players something fun and semi new to do.

I appreciate them doing what they can with what they have. You're not going to get a fully funded.. brand new IP hundreds of millions of dollars of new content... etc. Thats just an unrealistic expectation for a game that has been around as long as ESO.

Gabriel_H · June 15

Yes

master_vanargand wrote: »

I thinking, "This is impossible for me to play", it's a despair design.

Are we looking at the same Tomes? Most people I know had them maxed out by the end of week 3.

Vonnegut2506 · June 15

Yes

Of course I am having fun. I wouldn't be playing otherwise. Are there actually people that choose to spend their time and energy playing a game they think is not fun? That seems completely strange to me. I quit having fun in WoW, so I stopped playing WoW. I quit having fun in GW2, so I quit playing. I now am having fun playing ESO and LoTRO. If I quit having fun in either of them, I will quit playing and paying for them.

DoofusMax · June 15

Yes

Yes, I'm having fun. I wouldn't be playing if I wasn't enjoying myself. This is not to even try to imply that ESO is flawless (it ain't), but whinging isn't really my thing either. When there are what I see as design flaws, then I'll call those out (often strongly and repetitively) and you'll find the occasional "wouldn't it be nice if..." comments about pain/friction points, but I play the game I have in front of me or I don't and the several hundred games scattered across various libraries which are not currently being played should be a pretty strong indicator that "don't" is the much more common position. If ESO reaches the point where it is no longer enjoyable, then I know exactly where that big ol' "Uninstall" button is and I have zero qualms about using it.

Gabriel_H · June 15

Yes

Vonnegut2506 wrote: »

Of course I am having fun. I wouldn't be playing otherwise. Are there actually people that choose to spend their time and energy playing a game they think is not fun?

Pick any forum thread about Challenge difficulty, PvP, BGs and you'll find your answer.

Vonnegut2506 · June 15

Yes

Gabriel_H wrote: »

Vonnegut2506 wrote: »

Of course I am having fun. I wouldn't be playing otherwise. Are there actually people that choose to spend their time and energy playing a game they think is not fun?

Pick any forum thread about Challenge difficulty, PvP, BGs and you'll find your answer.

That's just forum whining. That exists even if people are having fun. There just seems to be some innate need to complain on any gaming forum whether you are having fun or not.

Cin_Vhetin · June 15

Yes

What has made Season Zero fun for me are all the quality of life improvements! So big THANK YOU ZOS!

I have also appreciated the ability, through Trade Bars, to obtain some things that had been previously available that I had missed (lots of fun in my new house). So big THANK YOU ZOS.

The best thing about Tomes for me has been getting Trade Bars, Seals, gold at 200 and 250 to 1 ratio (very nice thank you ZOS), crafting research crates, transmute crystals, and outfit change tokens. So big THANK YOU ZOS.

Cominfordatoothbrush · June 15

Yes

Tamriel Tomes replaced the
daily login and daily endeavors. How is it more demanding of your time when you can hammer them out in an hour or so and be done for the week? Or two weeks since you get 6 per and can stack up to 12, often being duplicates. That, and you get far more tome points than you actually need

SeaGtGruff · June 15

Yes

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

wolfie1.0. wrote: »

I just plan on stacking tomes until I have time or desire to finish em.

One advantage is that you can get multiples of the same one and finish them at the same time! I love the harvesting ones!

I like that, too-- being able to complete two or more identical challenges at the same time. This is especially nice now that the number of iterations needed to complete a given challenge has been doubled.

SeaGtGruff · June 15

Yes

One thing I'm not fond of is that the Night Market was apparently designed to be a temporary zone rather than permanent. I'd rather see permanent zones added, because spending time and money and devpower on creating temporary zones doesn't seem like a very good investment to me in the long run. So I'm hoping the Night Market will eventually become permanent, even if that means coming back for a time, then closing down, then coming back again later. I realize it's going to be coming back two more times, but I mean after that.

SilverBride · June 15

No

I hate that we lost endeavors.
I don't like Tomes. They are just too much.
I don't even want to try the Night Market because struggling does not equal fun for me.
I don't want to even try overland difficulty for that same reason.
I miss a new story.

DoofusMax · June 15

Yes

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

One thing I'm not fond of is that the Night Market was apparently designed to be a temporary zone rather than permanent. I'd rather see permanent zones added, because spending time and money and devpower on creating temporary zones doesn't seem like a very good investment to me in the long run. So I'm hoping the Night Market will eventually become permanent, even if that means coming back for a time, then closing down, then coming back again later. I realize it's going to be coming back two more times, but I mean after that.

This is just me spitballing, but I strongly suspect that ZOS is queuing up stuff that will be making periodic returns. Because of the current rewards in Night Market, there really isn't much of a functional reason to do it more than three times and that's mostly for the faction dye and Monster Helm set. I think last year's Writhing Wall event showed the limits of player patience for longer-term stuff, so setting up some sort of an event-zone rotation where different stuff can be rolled in and out throughout the year seems to be what they're shooting for.

Lucasl402 · June 15

No

LadyGP wrote: »

SaffronCitrusflower wrote: »

Almost no new content. Night Market is another bait and switch like IA was. It's not new content. It's just recycled content into a forever grind.

Where is the new content? Where is the effort to fix Grey Host if there ever even was an effort to that end?

This type of game development over time will not keep the game alive.

Considering the studio is scaling down slightly.. who knows what the budget for content is.. would you rather them just stop doing stuff or...

Hey we have xyz assets.. what if we used them in this new and creative way... it would cost x amount less but still give the players something fun and semi new to do.

I appreciate them doing what they can with what they have. You're not going to get a fully funded.. brand new IP hundreds of millions of dollars of new content... etc. Thats just an unrealistic expectation for a game that has been around as long as ESO.

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/zenimax-staff-lambast-inhumane-xbox-layoffs-it-s-difficult-to-work-when-you-re-looking-at-a-graveyard-

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/inno/stories/profiles/2025/07/07/zenimax-media-microsoft-layoffs.html

There is very little capacity for ZOS to keep ESO alive and well at this point.

Ordinator199 · June 15

Its ok I don't mind tomes, but grinding out daggers and stuff for sets in this patch is just so time consuming

like I got 6k/10k sets collected, but getting savage werewolf daggers and winterborn lightning staff will take me some time to make builds i want

Gabriel_H · June 15

Yes

Lucasl402 wrote: »

LadyGP wrote: »

SaffronCitrusflower wrote: »

Almost no new content. Night Market is another bait and switch like IA was. It's not new content. It's just recycled content into a forever grind.

Where is the new content? Where is the effort to fix Grey Host if there ever even was an effort to that end?

This type of game development over time will not keep the game alive.

Considering the studio is scaling down slightly.. who knows what the budget for content is.. would you rather them just stop doing stuff or...

Hey we have xyz assets.. what if we used them in this new and creative way... it would cost x amount less but still give the players something fun and semi new to do.

I appreciate them doing what they can with what they have. You're not going to get a fully funded.. brand new IP hundreds of millions of dollars of new content... etc. Thats just an unrealistic expectation for a game that has been around as long as ESO.

https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/zenimax-staff-lambast-inhumane-xbox-layoffs-it-s-difficult-to-work-when-you-re-looking-at-a-graveyard-

https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/inno/stories/profiles/2025/07/07/zenimax-media-microsoft-layoffs.html

There is very little capacity for ZOS to keep ESO alive and well at this point.

And yet a year later, they are trying out new content types, new game modes, working on crossplay, and have a whole heap of QoL improvements in the pipeline.

DoofusMax · June 16

Yes

Lucasl402 wrote: »

There is very little capacity for ZOS to keep ESO alive and well at this point.

Scary headlines that you're having to reach back about a year to find? Not going to say that you're absolutely wrong, but those would be something which should be weighed against the 12-ish years of "ESO is a dying game" that haven't materialized. I have no doubt that ESO will go away at some point, but I also have no doubt that the sun will go nova, gravity will play cosmic pea-shooter with a big space rock, the stock market will crash (again), and someone I don't like is going to win an election. That last one is much more likely to happen sooner than ESO closing down.

Usureki · June 16

Yes

Compared to the updates before, both U49 and U50 are steps in an awesome direction.

But of course I'm gonna complain on the forum about a game I like >:3

OccultNerd · June 16

Yes

I've unlocked everything in the Tome, still have loads of points leftover, wont be paying extra to unlock the premium stuff as there isn't really anything I want and I think its a bit overpriced tbh.

The point you raise about not having enough free time to complete stuff I totally disagree with (for me personally), I work 40 to 60hrs a week, currently averaging 50hrs a week, I'm a single parent to a teenager and I had plenty of time to complete stuff, also finished off the NM Golden Pursuits fairly quickly (players had 2 months to do this).

I enjoyed NM but once I had done the trial like 3 times and finished the pursuits I went back to doing the stuff I normally do.

The current tome was available for 3 months, that's more than enough time to complete the tasks and unlock all the rewards for most casual/time limited players. A lot of players are likely bored of the tome stuff as what's the point when you've collected everything and only 2k points roll over at the end...

The Gold Coast Bazaar....well honestly thought it sucks, has there even been anything new in it?

Werewolf refresh - yep loved that.

I think we are so used to the old way of getting new content and updates that a lot of people are disappointed that we only got NM.

Overland difficulty changes - think this was a great idea for those that wanted it.

Lucasl402 · June 16

No

DoofusMax wrote: »

Lucasl402 wrote: »

There is very little capacity for ZOS to keep ESO alive and well at this point.

Scary headlines that you're having to reach back about a year to find? Not going to say that you're absolutely wrong, but those would be something which should be weighed against the 12-ish years of "ESO is a dying game" that haven't materialized. I have no doubt that ESO will go away at some point, but I also have no doubt that the sun will go nova, gravity will play cosmic pea-shooter with a big space rock, the stock market will crash (again), and someone I don't like is going to win an election. That last one is much more likely to happen sooner than ESO closing down.

When companies lose half their employees, including the handful of those that were the heart of the games creation and the lead designers, how long do they tend to stay in business afterwords?

If you're not seeing how this is a different situation than what happened the first 11 years of the game, and how radically ZOS new content output has dropped, I don't know what to tall ya.

Vonnegut2506 · June 16

Yes

Lucasl402 wrote: »

DoofusMax wrote: »

Lucasl402 wrote: »

There is very little capacity for ZOS to keep ESO alive and well at this point.

Scary headlines that you're having to reach back about a year to find? Not going to say that you're absolutely wrong, but those would be something which should be weighed against the 12-ish years of "ESO is a dying game" that haven't materialized. I have no doubt that ESO will go away at some point, but I also have no doubt that the sun will go nova, gravity will play cosmic pea-shooter with a big space rock, the stock market will crash (again), and someone I don't like is going to win an election. That last one is much more likely to happen sooner than ESO closing down.

When companies lose half their employees, including the handful of those that were the heart of the games creation and the lead designers, how long do they tend to stay in business afterwords?

If you're not seeing how this is a different situation than what happened the first 11 years of the game, and how radically ZOS new content output has dropped, I don't know what to tall ya.

So let me get this straight, your big revelation to share with the world is than an MMO may eventually shut down? That is some next-level prognostication, truly. What's your next prediction, Nostradamus, we are all going to eventually die?

Lucasl402 · June 16

No

Vonnegut2506 wrote: »

Lucasl402 wrote: »

DoofusMax wrote: »

Lucasl402 wrote: »

There is very little capacity for ZOS to keep ESO alive and well at this point.

Scary headlines that you're having to reach back about a year to find? Not going to say that you're absolutely wrong, but those would be something which should be weighed against the 12-ish years of "ESO is a dying game" that haven't materialized. I have no doubt that ESO will go away at some point, but I also have no doubt that the sun will go nova, gravity will play cosmic pea-shooter with a big space rock, the stock market will crash (again), and someone I don't like is going to win an election. That last one is much more likely to happen sooner than ESO closing down.

When companies lose half their employees, including the handful of those that were the heart of the games creation and the lead designers, how long do they tend to stay in business afterwords?

If you're not seeing how this is a different situation than what happened the first 11 years of the game, and how radically ZOS new content output has dropped, I don't know what to tall ya.

So let me get this straight, your big revelation to share with the world is than an MMO may eventually shut down? That is some next-level prognostication, truly. What's your next prediction, Nostradamus, we are all going to eventually die?

A straw man argument is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone misrepresents, exaggerates, or distorts an opponent's actual position. By turning the original point into an extreme or simplified caricature, they can easily knock it down without ever addressing the actual issue.

How It Works:

Person A states a reasonable claim.
Person B reframes that claim into a weaker, more extreme, or completely different version (the "straw man").
Person B attacks this new, fabricated version and claims victory over the argument.

Dojohoda · June 16

No

I've been to Vengeance a few times, that was purty fun since I like Cyrodiil, I just don't have time for that darned Grey Host queue.

DoofusMax · June 16

Yes

Lucasl402 wrote: »

When companies lose half their employees, including the handful of those that were the heart of the games creation and the lead designers, how long do they tend to stay in business afterwords?

If you're not seeing how this is a different situation than what happened the first 11 years of the game, and how radically ZOS new content output has dropped, I don't know what to tall ya.

Mostly I'm hearing that (1) someone doesn't like ESO or something about it and (2) is looking to justify that. Justified True Belif is a problem going back to at least Plato, but I'm willing to concede for the sake of discussion that you meet the three criteria for JTB regarding ESO's eventual demise. ESO will shut down eventually and I have zero doubt about that, too.

Microsoft's layoffs probably impacted the timeline for that happening, but note that "probably" is not a JTB assertion and the magnitude of any effects from those layoffs is pure speculation in the absence of data (which ZOS does not share, leading to even more speculation regarding data) and speculation cannot support JTB.

shadyjane62 · June 16

No

One account in PCNA I have reduced to two level 50's that do PVP only, as I am unsubbing and giving up crafting. I keep one level 50 on PCEU and giving up crafting there too.

Without the craft bag I will not torture myself by playing inventory management and with so few characters and restricting activities I will be able to stay in game.

I have recently added a game that shall remain nameless as they have just dropped a new expansion. I will still do challenges when I have time but already have over 20k extra points and the horrible exchange rate of 10 to 1 is not enough incentive.

It is my dream that Morrowind (original game) is remade much like the new Gothic Remake as I broke my Xbox before I was able to finish and it is still my favorite Elder Scrolls Game.

master_vanargand · June 17

No

Hey, everyone.
I hope something starts to change.

AvalonRanger · June 17

No

master_vanargand wrote: »

I had high hopes for Season 0.
But after seeing "Tamriel Tomes" unlocks, I gave up.
I thinking, "This is impossible for me to play", it's a despair design.

Quotas, quotas, quotas...
Time limits, time limits, time limits...
Oh my Sithis...

Hey, We MMO players are no longer children.
We don't have unlimited free time.
Why can't ZoS understand that?

Game developers, wake up.

The days of UO and Lineage are over.
Not 1998 anymore. Now, 2026.

Games are not life. Understand?

Quotas, quotas, quotas...
Time limits, time limits, time limits...
Oh my Sithis...

Hey, We MMO players are no longer children.
We don't have unlimited free time.
Why can't ZoS understand that?

Game developers, wake up.

This is good point.
That contents was just time spender instead of the Elder Scrolls.

thedocbwarren · June 18

No

AvalonRanger wrote: »

master_vanargand wrote: »

I had high hopes for Season 0.
But after seeing "Tamriel Tomes" unlocks, I gave up.
I thinking, "This is impossible for me to play", it's a despair design.

Quotas, quotas, quotas...
Time limits, time limits, time limits...
Oh my Sithis...

Hey, We MMO players are no longer children.
We don't have unlimited free time.
Why can't ZoS understand that?

Game developers, wake up.

The days of UO and Lineage are over.
Not 1998 anymore. Now, 2026.

Games are not life. Understand?

Quotas, quotas, quotas...
Time limits, time limits, time limits...
Oh my Sithis...

Hey, We MMO players are no longer children.
We don't have unlimited free time.
Why can't ZoS understand that?

Game developers, wake up.

This is good point.
That contents was just time spender instead of the Elder Scrolls.

Agree completely! This is not an ES game but just run around and kill monsters and pick flowers. Given all the difficult times at the company and the industry I can't blame the devs. The devs will work on what the business tells them and I think the message is clear, do a lot less because the business won't fund content so rework what is there to make subscription and other revenue. That does send a better message than we are "staying pat" with the current game. I think there will be a business review at some point on if this is profitable and worth continuing. It's only logical.