The Sheogorath quest is... bad, to say the least

FabresFour · July 31

ZOS, I know this is a bad time to post this, but i wanted to give my opinion about that outside the PTS part of the forum. I also want to make one thing absolutely clear: this is my personal opinion.

The new Sheogorath quest is, quite simply, one of the worst pieces of content ESO has ever released in the history of this MMORPG. It normalizes esoteric concepts from the lore in ways that strip them of their meaning, and Sheogorath himself has been progressively dumbed down until he's become nothing more than an unfunny comic relief character. The writing is painfully cringe from beginning to end, with little to no narrative foundation. Nothing makes sense, and I don't mean that in a good "Madness" kind of way—I mean it in the worst possible sense.

Frankly, it's disappointing.

The Thieves Guild storyline is genuinely interesting. Even if it doesn't come close to the quality of the original DLC, its characters are still compelling and enjoyable. By contrast, everything about this new Sheogorath storyline feels disappointing, poorly written, and... honestly, there's no better word for it: cringe.

I'd also like to share the feedback I posted in the PTS forums regarding this quest:

Honestly, I’m doing this quest for the second time, and I wanted to share some of the disappointment I felt revisiting Sheogorath’s story.

Sheogorath is the God of Madness. He represents one of the most tragic aspects of existence: the loss of control over one’s own mind, the distortion of reality, and psychological chaos taken to its extreme.

That’s why it was disappointing to see the character reduced almost entirely to childish cheese jokes, empty threats, and extremely predictable behavior. This is the Prince of Madness and Creativity—someone who should evoke unease, discomfort, and unpredictability.

What always made Sheogorath interesting was the fact that he was never just "funny." He is cruel, manipulative, and deeply disturbing. He drives people insane for his own amusement, destroys lives, and twists minds into spirals of paranoia and suffering. There’s a dark and complex side to him that feels largely absent here.

Reducing such a rich character to "an old man who likes cheese" ends up feeling genuinely sad for people who know the franchise’s lore more deeply.

I would really like to see ZOS handle these characters with more care and depth, because sometimes it feels like the focus is more on turning iconic figures into simple memes than on telling truly memorable stories.

SeaGtGruff · July 31

I'm only a little bit into the storyline, but so far I've been enjoying it.

My only "complaint" (really just a minor point) about the writing so far is when he told me to meet him in Windhelm and said something like "or just take one of those wayshrines you adventurers are so fond of abusing." I actually thought it was funny, as if to say "Oh, yes, we Daedric princes know all about your wayshrine use," whereas our fellow mortals seem to be oblivious to the steady parade of player characters arriving at or departing from the wayshrines.

But the only in-game "lore literature" I'm aware of that mentions wayshrine usage seems to imply that our player character is "special" in that regard, presumably because we'd had our soul ripped out but then managed to escape Coldharbour in that condition, or something like that; I've actually never quite followed the logic of that lore book's explanation. So his comment came across to me as a sort of sly dig to let me know that my "wayshrine abuse" isn't going unnoticed by the Daedric princes the way it seems to be unnoticed by all of the mortal NPCs.

Necrotech_Master · July 31

i found it moderately entertaining, but a little short, and missed out on a bunch of stuff

it was cool we got to visit a section of the shivering isles that wasnt like an indoor realm like the mages guild questline, but it was kind of disappointing that there were no grummites (though i fully understand it would have been a lot of work to make an entirely new enemy model for one singular quest lol)

it felt mostly in line with something sheogorath would do, but overall felt that the arc was too short, even the thieves guild quest line was 8 quests

it would have been nice if they might have touched more on the knights of order lore though instead of some rando-never-heard-of underling trying to do him in lol

AcadianPaladin · July 31

I consider the new Thieves Guild questline to be among the top five in the game for its rich character development that yields a memorable storyline and the fact that the questline is not another 'You are the chosen one to save the world - again.' Rather, it is simply helping a friend with an admirable goal.

Regarding Sheogorath's questline. . . that was pure hold my nose while not enjoying it for me. First, I loathe Sheogorath - though I realize many like him. Second, why would I ever want to help a pompous, condescending dweeb who continuously refers to my elf as his lackey? Ugh. I realize my dislike for this questline is due to my distaste for everything Sheo and very much a personal opinion.

Haenk · July 31

I had fun. So at least there is *one* happy customer

rothan117 · July 31

I finished the quest line, it did nothing to change my feeling of not liking Sheogorath. I did not find it the least bit enjoyable.

The_Drop_Bear · July 31

They went from Brilliant writing for Sheo in Elsweyr to funny cheese nonsense.

IZZEFlameLash · 12:44AM

Yeah, the quest was very uninspired. And the fact that things take place in non-solo instances for the most part is just...

HatchetHaro · 1:04AM

I enjoyed the questline. It's one of the better ones, by virtue of being just being more unhinged and whimsical than usual quests.

I just wish that Lazaki was the Ruinach that he was described to be (muscular, four arms) rather than the regular joe schmoe Dremora (?) he ended up actually being, and also that the sequence of items (lute, dagger, book) near the end was more of a puzzle where I could select which items to place at the shrines.

Dojohoda · 2:13AM

I can't believe my character had to use the word "healthy" in ESO.

ZomZom · 2:55AM

There's room for Cesar Romero's Joker and Heath Ledger's, if you know what I mean. Same character, completely different registers, and neither one invalidates the other. Sheogorath has always carried both — Shivering Isles put the cheese-and-nonsense right alongside the genuinely bleak Jyggalag material, sometimes in the same conversation.

Wanting the unsettling version and getting the goofy one is a fair thing to be disappointed by. But that's a different complaint from "they've ruined the character," and I think those two are getting mashed together here. A campy Sheo doesn't erase the Elsweyr one.

BretonMage · 4:34AM

If they are to continue portraying his character in ESO, they need to dispense with the incessant campiness. We're all™ tired of it. There are hints of his cruelty in ESO, but it's been well and truly buried. I also think that they forget that order and chaos, like darkness and light, are more interesting when used to contrast each other. His back story is far more interesting than the campy humour they've leaned into.

Toanis · 5:23AM

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

My only "complaint" (really just a minor point) about the writing so far is when he told me to meet him in Windhelm and said something like "or just take one of those wayshrines you adventurers are so fond of abusing." I actually thought it was funny, as if to say "Oh, yes, we Daedric princes know all about your wayshrine use," whereas our fellow mortals seem to be oblivious to the steady parade of player characters arriving at or departing from the wayshrines.

But the only in-game "lore literature" I'm aware of that mentions wayshrine usage seems to imply that our player character is "special" in that regard, presumably because we'd had our soul ripped out but then managed to escape Coldharbour in that condition, or something like that; I've actually never quite followed the logic of that lore book's explanation. So his comment came across to me as a sort of sly dig to let me know that my "wayshrine abuse" isn't going unnoticed by the Daedric princes the way it seems to be unnoticed by all of the mortal NPCs.

Yes, I noticed that too. Travel by wayshrine was also mentioned in Solstice.

The writers seem to have forgotten that Wayshrines are a game mechanic that until recently only ever was acknowledged ingame in that one book that was a treatise about the theoretical existence of a Vestige and their possible abilities.

Weesacs · 9:50AM

Disagree. It was one of my favourite questlines in ESO. I thought the humour throughout was excellent.

My favourite part was when you use the staff to transform the chickens back into humans, and one of the NPCs says, "Thank goodness you came along when you did. I was worried about laying an egg." That line genuinely made me laugh.

Gagoimaliu · 10:05AM

ZomZom wrote: »

There's room for Cesar Romero's Joker and Heath Ledger's, if you know what I mean. Same character, completely different registers, and neither one invalidates the other. Sheogorath has always carried both — Shivering Isles put the cheese-and-nonsense right alongside the genuinely bleak Jyggalag material, sometimes in the same conversation.

Wanting the unsettling version and getting the goofy one is a fair thing to be disappointed by. But that's a different complaint from "they've ruined the character," and I think those two are getting mashed together here. A campy Sheo doesn't erase the Elsweyr one.

Except Romero's Joker and Ledger's Joker are completely different Jokers from two different universes, I don't think ZOS intends him to be an amalgamation of Sheogoraths (Either multiversal shenanigans or just an amalgamation of everyone to hold the "title of Sheogorath") AFAIK ESO Sheo and Oblivion Sheo are supposed to be the same guy

Nemesis7884 · 10:07AM

I liked it for what it was and something different....think of it more as an apetizer and the thieves guild as a main course...

ZhuJiuyin · 12:58PM

I really enjoyed this story. More importantly, Uncle Sheo said he (allegedly) experienced worse things in other forms, and these thing involved Sotha Sil.

This might suggest that during the forging of the Coldharbour Compact, every contracting Daedric Prince had at least some degree of confrontation and suffered losses with Sotha Sil—be it through force, intellect, trade, or gambling. This adds some interesting context to the mysterious Coldharbor Contract.

peacenote · 2:36PM

I actually liked both new quest lines and enjoyed them - Sheogorath and Thieves Guild. Not to say that the OP's opinion isn't valid, but to show that people have different tastes.

Incredibly mild spoiler:

When Sheo observed tomato stains and commented "I wish these were bloodstains" or something similar, it cracked me up.

Weesacs wrote: »

Disagree. It was one of my favourite questlines in ESO. I thought the humour throughout was excellent.

My favourite part was when you use the staff to transform the chickens back into humans, and one of the NPCs says, "Thank goodness you came along when you did. I was worried about laying an egg." That line genuinely made me laugh.

That made me laugh too!

PrayingSeraph · 2:46PM

I enjoyed it. Did anyone else get very mild horror vibes at The Violet Vvardvark? Like to me it portrayed how scary madness can be, such as the description of what happens to a character and his skin. And the overall atmosphere of the tavern was...unnerving to me.

Elvenheart · 2:54PM

I personally like everything related to Uncle Sheo, but even I thought that this story relied on cheese too much. I don’t blame Uncle Sheo for that of course. 🦋

SilverBride · 2:55PM

I've completed it on one character and I found it nothing special. I've always been a Sheogorath fan but this version of him doesn't feel like him. The whole taking a holiday thing makes zero sense. I was hoping he would gain my confidence then pull some kind of a trick I would have to find my way out of. I really don't understand where this whole plot is coming from.

Elvenheart · 3:23PM

Other than the heavy reliance on cheese, my biggest problem with the story was

that the story was so unoriginal. A powerful deity-like figure chooses to give up their power on a whim to experience life as a mortal - what could go wrong? Of course someone is going to try to take advantage of that, and of course it is going to be up to a mortal to save the day, and of course the deity-turned-mortal is going to be so helpless and not going to be able to handle the most basic tasks. I just wish there could’ve been something incorporated that would’ve made it more original.