I read the game news and check the patch notes to keep myself minimally informed about the game. I don’t usually log into the PTS or watch content about upcoming releases; I prefer to wait for it to hit the live server so I can experience the new features without knowing exactly how they work beforehand. Every time new content drops, it’s a brand-new learning experience for me. So, when I saw them announce dynamic events, I was really looking forward to them.
When they were announced, it immediately reminded me of the dynamic events in Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV. For example, an NPC asks for your help to escort them somewhere, or a part of the map is under attack and we need to defend it. Once we do that, a new interaction triggers—it could be a boss spawn, helping to repair the area that was attacked, or even starting a chain event in another part of the zone that we all rush to see what happens next. And this happens across the ENTIRE game, in countless different locations, with multiple dynamic events occurring simultaneously.
I was expecting another piece of open-world content where I could group up with random players, feel the game world come alive with people interacting, and discover how these dynamic events influence the world—how to trigger them, how to complete them, what happens after finishing a stage, what the next part of the event chain will look like, and how it connects to other locations. I mean, it's a dynamic event, so I expected some dynamism.
But then came Elder Scrolls Online's "dynamic events."
Three events that take place across only three maps, with each event spawning in the exact same location to perform the exact same task every single time. And these events happen every 30 minutes, so we just complete them, wait around, and repeat the exact same thing over and over again. A total disappointment—or rather, yet another disappointment.
Maybe it's my fault for building up expectations, but they promised DYNAMIC events, so I expected them to actually be dynamic. Running the Alik’r Desert Dark Anchor loop is more dynamic than this; I’d even argue that doing a World Boss train has more dynamism than these events.
I am truly disappointed with the seasonal content releases. First, it was the Night Market—content that was interesting at first, getting the guild together to run it, killing district bosses, and unlocking relics. But then I hit the wall with the key system, which stopped me from playing with people because everyone needed to have the keys. Plus, I would get locked into the content (and my time isn't infinite, I want to do other things in the game) if I wanted to stay and help my guildmates.
And now this: dynamic events that are not dynamic at all. The only "dynamic" aspect is the difficulty scaling based on the number of players at the event.
That’s it, just a rant about how frustrated I felt when I saw these events.