You can keep some of the people happy some of the time, most of the people most of the time, But you cannot keep all of the people happy all of the time. Its simply Human Nature!

But a lot of the things that have changed that have made both myself and others that I play (played) with simply Sick of it all are unreasonable direction changes!

Going back to Scribing, it was a pain in the butt to find INK, over time everyone has an abundance, but on release it was rarer than rocking horse crap, people felt restricted in trying out new things as they could not get the resources! Off-putting for loads!
But its an MMO, so the Grind is Very real, apparently an accepted part of the game play..

Then going forward, things that had potential are basically ruined! Mostly by the “META” approach. Everyone ends up playing basically the same thing, much to the dismay of those who do not, those who play the game their own way!

Then the approach of the FOMO – I keep saying it, I did not know what FOMO was, until it was explained to me, I actually never had it… NOW I DO!

Events are great for getting new things, pulling everyone together, BUT when the whole game becomes a Grind / Event after Event and the NEED to do this or get none of the new stuff, then the whole game becomes pointless.

There is a rich varied story line throughout the game and it has in the most part been well thought out and executed , allowing for future inclusion and extension, good example being the Latest Thieves Guild! But I have on my old account done ALL of the story line, on 1 of the 20 Toons. ON the Newer account I have not done nearly as much, And find that I cannot, I simply do not have the time!

You either do the story or do the grind! You cannot do both! A massive Punishment being the R&G, the “New” account I have is actually the Oldest one, £40 for an update to the original game, or £3.99 for the new full game with updates! I found the R&G on the Full game was terrible but fantastic on the original, it stayed that way for over 12 years, right up to the point I started playing it, then the R&G became awful…
Your Login reward was always collected on Both accounts, simple, log in then leave, you got the reward… Now I have to grind the game for 3-4 days simply to get the Challenges Done, to get what was free in the past, and if I want to get more... PAY, and in saying that PAY for things that I do not want, when its free its ok, but when I have to pay for it, I resent it!

I have ALWAYS been against Online Games, way back when they started to appear, the underlying Gut feeling was “Pay to Play” until the company did not make enough, then it was gone, along with anything you had paid in, so a solid NO for me. ESO changed that, it is the ONE AND ONLY subscription game that I have ever played. And moan at things , yes , but kept on playing!

NOW though, Pay for Everything, play the way I am told or get nothing, have no time to play the actual game itself, it become a full-time job with overtime to get nothing!!

Bugs are not getting fixed or addressed, example – If you are on before the daily roll over AND play though, you do not get the daily login credit! Here in the UK that means stop playing at 10:55 log out and wait until 11:05 to log in again.

The “nowhere keys” I do favour after favour, I do the dynamic events WHEN I CAN FIND THEM, on 2 accounts, only to get my only 1 Key 2 days ago. Now I am expected to keep going for God only knows how long for another, OK it may become more prevalent when the nowhere event goes live, like the Scribing, but there is your Definitive example of FOMO, and I did not create it, the game itself has.

I have bought heading to the Hundred mark of the games and DLC’s for myself family and friends over the years, Some of those people are heading to the Thousands of Euros / Pounds / Dollars each spent in game.

And now with the state of the worlds “Gaming is becoming a Luxury Rich Hobby”, everything is getting expensive to the point where families do not have the spare money, I am watching more and more people simply leave this game and others down to simply cost and they do not want a second job that costs them money!

Right now it’s touch and go as to whether or not I join them! I pay for both my wife and myself on this game, its at the stage where I can only afford 1 or struggle for the 2, I simply have the feeling that everything I Buy NOW, might be gone in a few months, so WHY WASTE THE MONEY?

I understand that this is simply Business, it’s a product to sell. The Community offshoot, has to be nurtured, because if the community likes it they spend money therefor it’s an advantageous outcome! But why worry about all of the people who poured time, effort and energy into something to create it into something, when it can go on Game pass to bulk out the revenue stream, and the roll-over of people is a known entity.

So for me all of these factors are coming together, and I am going to cut MY / OUR subscriptions by at least 50%. And I feel genuinely sorry to do so!

Subscription in = Profit = Bills and Wages paid = Game development Could Continue = Better end result, Cutting Subscriptions will in the long run affect the chain.

But the way its reading via the Media, and other sources is

Subscription in = Profit = less on staff = More Profit = Reduced development = less staff = even more profit = Game in Support mode = Less Staff Still = Even more than more Profit.

That’s how its feeling now!

I want to be wrong, I want the game to become the game it was expanding and getting Better , but nothing being said apart from the “corpo Speak”, is the same as listening to a Dead Company pulling out the last coin before it closes. I have worked in originations over the years with the same “Corpo Speak” , and from experience I can tell you, NONE of the Survived! A Couple were eaten Up and New companies came along, but they were Not the same thing… Read the History of MG, the car company, and how many times it went to the wall only to come back, for a while! They end up as nothing they were, but the name is the only thing selling.

How do you avoid it? Simple Be honest, tell people what’s going on, allow the people with faith to Support your transitions – They WILL !!!

So time for the organ GRINDER TO STEP UP, we are fed up of talking to the monkeys

Whether People agree with this or not, everyone is allowed thier own choices and ideas, this is simply how after playing from day 1 that i feel. Enough might just be here, for me at least