This feels like the movie "Ready Player One".

Please don't guilt people into whaling on a game that has all the hallmarks of entering maintenance mode. It will not save anything. If you want to whale, go for it but don't tell other people to.

Microslop have already made the decision, and that decision is to remove one third of resources to start with with more to come down the line. I guess shrinkflation has hit ESO.

It is completely understandable that people will want to cancel their sub etc. If Microslop want to pivot away from gaming to AI and imvest less into ESO as a result then why would players continue to pay the same amount for less? This is what you are telling people to do lol!

If my subscription until now didn't prevent this ...

why would my subscription from now on change anything?

Ardriel wrote: »

Yes, that's the typical “let someone else do it” mindset.
If no one pays for the game anymore, it’ll be over very quickly. If we want to keep enjoying this game, we have to make sure it’s profitable for Microsoft. That’s just how it is. Every single one of us has a role to play.
And I’m afraid that’s ultimately where it will fail. There will be a very rapid downward spiral: More and more people will turn away from the game because they think there’s no point in investing any more money, and the fewer players and revenue there are, the faster the decision will be made to shut down The Elder Scrolls Online.

If no one pays for the game, *MAYBE* the big ceos will say... wait, people don't like our changes. Money is not flowing. WE'RE SORRY. It may also doom the game? Well. Maybe the game is doomed no matter we do. It's what happens with this decisions. But one thing it's true: if we keep paying, the message is clear. "We don't care about layoffs. Keep going".

It's precisely how the "not let someone else do it, but ME do it" mindset, would be not paying. I'm an ACTIVE PART of the force that will force the company to change by not paying. You argumented totally to the opposite.

If there is a downward spiral and more people turn away, it's because people has been GIVING LOT OF MONEY. We payed the game, we payed the ESO+ subscription, we payed things in the store, SOME PAYED THE BATTLEPASS. We supported the game, day after day. In part, because we saw a bright future with current changes. And their answer? Layoffs. So please don't demonize people for wanting to leave. It's corpo's fault.

I don't know what is the correct answer. To pay, or not to pay. I feel both are wrong, this is just a bad situation we're on.

Raziel_Lewach wrote: »

Ardriel wrote: »

Yes, that's the typical “let someone else do it” mindset.
If no one pays for the game anymore, it’ll be over very quickly. If we want to keep enjoying this game, we have to make sure it’s profitable for Microsoft. That’s just how it is. Every single one of us has a role to play.
And I’m afraid that’s ultimately where it will fail. There will be a very rapid downward spiral: More and more people will turn away from the game because they think there’s no point in investing any more money, and the fewer players and revenue there are, the faster the decision will be made to shut down The Elder Scrolls Online.

If no one pays for the game, *MAYBE* the big ceos will say... wait, people don't like our changes. Money is not flowing. WE'RE SORRY. It may also doom the game? Well. Maybe the game is doomed no matter we do. It's what happens with this decisions. But one thing it's true: if we keep paying, the message is clear. "We don't care about layoffs. Keep going".

It's precisely how the "not let someone else do it, but ME do it" mindset, would be not paying. I'm an ACTIVE PART of the force that will force the company to change by not paying. You argumented totally to the opposite.

If there is a downward spiral and more people turn away, it's because people has been GIVING LOT OF MONEY. We payed the game, we payed the ESO+ subscription, we payed things in the store, SOME PAYED THE BATTLEPASS. We supported the game, day after day. In part, because we saw a bright future with current changes. And their answer? Layoffs. So please don't demonize people for wanting to leave. It's corpo's fault.

I don't know what is the correct answer. To pay, or not to pay. I feel both are wrong, this is just a bad situation we're on.

That's right. You can look at it one way or the other. I don't really know what the right strategy is either. It could just as well be that the decision to end ESO was made a long time ago. They just want to milk it for all it's worth until the very last moment.

Raziel_Lewach wrote: »

Ardriel wrote: »

Yes, that's the typical “let someone else do it” mindset.
If no one pays for the game anymore, it’ll be over very quickly. If we want to keep enjoying this game, we have to make sure it’s profitable for Microsoft. That’s just how it is. Every single one of us has a role to play.
And I’m afraid that’s ultimately where it will fail. There will be a very rapid downward spiral: More and more people will turn away from the game because they think there’s no point in investing any more money, and the fewer players and revenue there are, the faster the decision will be made to shut down The Elder Scrolls Online.

If no one pays for the game, *MAYBE* the big ceos will say... wait, people don't like our changes. Money is not flowing. WE'RE SORRY. It may also doom the game? Well. Maybe the game is doomed no matter we do. It's what happens with this decisions. But one thing it's true: if we keep paying, the message is clear. "We don't care about layoffs. Keep going".

It's precisely how the "not let someone else do it, but ME do it" mindset, would be not paying. I'm an ACTIVE PART of the force that will force the company to change by not paying. You argumented totally to the opposite.

If there is a downward spiral and more people turn away, it's because people has been GIVING LOT OF MONEY. We payed the game, we payed the ESO+ subscription, we payed things in the store, SOME PAYED THE BATTLEPASS. We supported the game, day after day. In part, because we saw a bright future with current changes. And their answer? Layoffs. So please don't demonize people for wanting to leave. It's corpo's fault.

I don't know what is the correct answer. To pay, or not to pay. I feel both are wrong, this is just a bad situation we're on.

and to add a little more to this awesome post:
we pay for a service that won't be able to keep the services we were hoping to get in the future. So I'm keeping my money on my hand until it proves me wrong. We should treat CORPO as CORPO treats us. it's a business not CORPO charity for our entertainement.

CORPO just destroys creativity.
Other small companies will come up with similar products.
It's hard, it is.
This was my only MMO and probably my last.
Keep your money on your pockets.

In my view, the only thing cancelling subscriptions and/or leaving will do is signal to Microsoft that ESO should either be shut down, or that the team can be gutted even more in the second round of layoffs. We've only seen the first half. As per all the articles, there will be a second round at some point before this time next year.

Nothing has changed for me. I'll stay as long as I still have stuff to do that I enjoy doing. That's always been the case, and it's still the case today.

Hasty speculation isn't helpful to the poor Devs who have to make the most out of this unfortunate situation. If anything, they need support.

They were working on correcting many of the major issues Ive had with the game. Which is the value of and a return to our beloved characters and Classes.

As much as im still extremely upset about the state of my Warden, there have been other great additions to the game that are not getting enough praise. At least theyre trying new things like the Night Market. Dynamic world events is an absolutely great idea and im really looking forward to it. I dont usually compare games but I'll say those types of things work very well in Fallout! (Its ok to compare the game to one of their own🙂). It's not going to be 100% perfect every time for everyone for every little thing. They did a good job on these new additions.

A lot of beautiful new systems like Tomes, Veterancy, Respec, Overland Difficulty, ect are great additions to the game! And I believe they will expand upon these systems because they built them the right way.

Eso has some of the most thoughtful and great QoL around. They really listen when it comes to this, now more than ever before.

Their artistry is still amazing, the new crates are beautifully done. There are a lot of really beautiful new skill styles and many other things. The new DK and Werewolf are beautiful!

I hope they still continue with their plan to expand/update with the sound/music and this doesn't get lost in the layoffs. They're great at making beautiful tracks!

They are good at so many things! And most of the time all we hear about are the loudest negative points. Despite the layoffs, I will still keep up my subscription. I will still buy the premium tomes because they deserve it for listening to us! And trying to make Tamriel a better place!

Well its kinda hard to motivate someone to play when the future seems grim, its an MMO after all.

That being said, the real way to hurt these bozos is to deny putting money not in ESO, but in those sloppy AI products such as chatGPT pro, copilot plus or whatever crap they come up with. Let them drown on their own greed.

I'm getting more and more convinced that “don't pay but play” would probably be the best strategy. That way, Microsoft will see that there's still interest in the game, but that people aren't willing to support the layoffs or pay for cheap content.

Vonnegut2506 wrote: »

Thank you for the financial advice, but I don't remember hiring you to be my financial planner. I will decide how and where to spend my money. It sure won't be on this game until I see where it is headed.

Microsoft has wares, if you have coin.

I'm just gonna keep on keepin on.

The money I spend on any game is solely for my own personal entertainment. If I find the price reasonable for what I get in return, I pay it. That simple. As long as I'm playing ESO, then ESO+ will continue to remain active. I don't let emotional opinion factor into it. If I was reluctant to spend money on a game as a sign of any emotional sympathetic/empathetic solidarity, I'd just stop playing the game altogether.

That being said, I had already stepped back to the 3-month subscription a little while back reflecting a change in my foreseeable commitment, and I've scaled waay back on crown store purchases. I've had one foot out the door for almost a year now anyway, but that's because I haven't been entirely thrilled with the trajectory the game has been taking. And for the moment I still enjoy playing the game. Yesterday's shakeup hasn't affected that for good nor ill.

So yeah, just gonna keep on keepin on. Until I don't.

https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/69b8ec0b-7479-f111-9b47-6045bdbd0989

Dracosin369 wrote: »

Cancel your Subs.

Seeing a huge spike of cancellations sends a message that we are not happy with the layoffs.

A spike in cancellations is very visible and can't be ignored, and will be passed up to higher ups.

continue to play, and resub later like normal.

Canceling your subscription is one of the few visible ways to protest.

This is where I am. I canceled yesterday as soon as I heard the news. I'm hoping that "Well, gee, x% of our players canceled their subs when hearing this news" might mean something to them.

The sub doesn't run out for awhile.
We have three practical ways of protesting, right? With our wallets, the link above, and on social media. I've done all three. No one will read my social media posts, but the Algorithm will note them, and add them to a chart somewhere.

My ESO Plus subscription ran out yesterday as did my husband's. My husband immediately renewed his for a year then we heard the news. Honestly, I have kept Plus running on two servers and not played much of the game for a couple years.

At this point since I rarely play and do not see the game bringing the content I want, it's really hard to sink more money into the game when this economy is already preventing me from doing many of the things I would like to. I am heartbroken to see so many people losing their jobs but I don't think there is anything I can do to help those remaining and doubt that my continuing my Plus will make any difference.

I do wish the best for all those who lost their careers at ZOS and for those remaining.

Gegensmith wrote: »

Couldn't agree more. Cancelling the sub is a supremely misguided response.

Couldn't disagree more. I have subbed since 2019. I just canceled my membership; for now. Why should I continue to sub when the new content is not my flavor/style and no new areas are planned.

If in the future they turn it around I will re-sub. Pretty easy.