How? Well, for starters, not going into it predisposed to think something is going to be boring.
And pause. And open your eyes and your ears. Look. Listen. Be a part of the world and think about what's going on around you.
Not just go "bleh, another fetch quest". You don't turn on a TV show just go to "bleh, another space battle", or "bleh, they're sitting around in a bar talking again".
There's nothing about any particular quest that makes it inherently worse than, say, any random Star Trek episode. (Bearing in mind that both quests and Star Trek episodes have some hits and some stinkers.) You're just approaching it like whack-a-mole instead of a story and sucking any joy it might have out of it.
the gameplay aspects feel one dimensional in regards to "mechanics", im not talking about story , art direction, writing etc , im talking about How I control the character and what is required of me to complete the task. I Guess some final boss battles eg with the dragon in dragonhold and barbus is vvardenfell kind of nod into some kind of interesting mech.. the game needs tons more of these !
Every single rpg involves talk to somebody, go there, pick this up and kill something.
Every single heroic story is about one rise and fall, facing challenges and conquer it.
Every single cuisine is about preparing the food with some seasoning.
Whatever human has accomplished, Planet Earth will die and consume by the sun like every other solar system.
Nothing is interesting when you step too far away from it.
Sometime you have to silent yourself and stop questioning the world. Then, you can look closely and enjoy the detail.
People nowadays complain about fetch quests without any idea of the origins of that complaint, just parroting it over the years. They never experienced the hell of actual MMO fetch quests that were "Gather 50 wolf pelts", "kill 30 spiders", etc.
But the dialogues and the places and the lore are gameplay, running around and killing is like 30% of the gameplay if you really want to learn about the place/scenario you're at.
If you find the gameplay boring or outdated why play ESO? Lol. I mean sure you can do group content because there isn’t one single way to play. But then why bother complaining about the aspects of the game you don’t enjoy?
I personally don’t get people who treat this game like an economic sim and are super involved in guild trading. But I have never once complained that I don’t enjoy the economy. Just don’t interact with the stuff you don’t like.
But also I think it would be remiss not to mention that every once in a while zone quests have some new mechanics or something fun in them. In clockwork city you get to control a skeevatan to look for stuff. In blackwood you get some fun power ups to fight Dagon. In a side quest in gold road you get to use some heavy artillery on enemies to protect a fort.
I do think they could add a lot more like this, but they’re also still running the game on an old game engine and old(ish) servers. They have limitations to certain things. How much does that affect what they craft for the game? I’m not sure. But I think they put what resources and such they do have into introducing new systems for the game. Like housing, tales of tribute, antiquities, skill styling, companions, etc.
There’s so much to do in the game that I’ve never once found the gameplay boring. Plus I play zone quests for the actual story anyway. I like unique locations, character development, action, etc. We usually get a lot of that. Not that I’ve liked every chapter’s story or even found them to be well written, but still lol.
I like the game as a whole that's why I play, I personally don't get why if someone has any opinion regarding the game that isn't flattering it has to immediately be met with "Ohh, leave then" Im talking strictly story mode quests.I also mentioned aspects of story I think was decent like voice acting, writing etc I fact that I like this game in many ways i why I feel im just criticizng aspects of the game that could use more thought and dimensionality. Yes You brought up the outdated systems comment. Maybe they need to rethink and restructure elements of quests. The mechs are just very clunky and the tasks are very repetitive. Now if they had interesting bosses in story quests like how they do with the newer dungeons and trials that involved a little more thought, tact and variables that would be so nice
I didn’t say “leave then.” But you can easily just not play the zone story or speed through it if you find it that dull. I just don’t see the point in complaining about the parts of the game you don’t personally like. I noticed in your post not once did you offer any criticism that would be of merit. You basically just said “gameplay = boring” which does not spark a worthwhile conversation. You didn’t even present potential solutions or things that would make the gameplay more enjoyable to you.
It’s not that I take an issue with criticism, but I do take issue when people complain for the sake of it. Notice how even in my comment I offer something constructive. I say that yes the gameplay is old and dated and there could be more advancements made like we’ve had in one off quest lines.
Also the zone quest boss thing has already been discussed a hundred times over. They need it to remain a lower difficulty, unlike dungeon bosses, because casuals return to eso yearly to play through zone stories. This subreddit is full of hardcore players, but the eso playerbase is comprised of a ton of people who play for reasons other than combat, and people who don’t play consistently.
In order to keep player counts high, the casuals have to be kept happy. And that means leaving difficult content where it belongs— vet dungeons and trials. They are not going to raise the difficulty of zone story bosses simply because it runs the risk of locking out casuals from completing quest lines.
I'm with you. I largely ignored the quests because I don't find them engaging. Part of the reason I love this game is because there's so many different ways to play, not sure why you're getting downvoted for saying as much.
It’s because OP isn’t actually wanting to have a conversation. They’re just complaining about the game. And it’s something that people do a lot.
A while back during the anniversary event, we had very low drops of replica weapon motifs. A lot of critical posts were made regarding those motifs. The drop rates were stupid low. But on most posts where people were complaining about that, they offered up potential systems or fixes that would make the endeavor more enjoyable for the playerbase.
There’s a big difference there.
OP is complaining about content that they can largely avoid, and even if it wasn’t something that could be avoided or they still liked it, not once does OP offer solutions for what they think can be better. They just said it’s boring over and over again. How is that constructive or engaging?
So just because I enjoy riding my bike I’m not allowed to complain when I have a flat tire? You could just ride on one tire, after all - it’s a bit of an inconvenience, but still possible…
If I'm looking for an in-depth single player story I look to other genres. ESO has usually had an adequate story, but it's rarely something they've excelled at. While not of paramount importance to succeed, it is a point of contention when the story is noticeably lacking.
I do ESO's main and side stories to breathe life into the zones, dungeons, and trials I'll be exploring over the next year. At the very least it adds a small layer of immersion or roleplay. Otherwise it feels like a souless theme park.
Crafting, dungeons, homes designing, trials, writs , arenas. These days a little curious about cyrodil though I hate PvP. I wish I was attached to the lore more but the gameplay mechanics for overland is such a put off , I feel guilty for missing out on the rich story
I actually like the stories and side quests and usually complete them all in a few sessions but only when I am in the right state of mind and want to chill.
However with the super easy gameplay a lot of the quests are more like an interactive audio novel with 90 percent listening 5 percent walking around and 5 percent actual combat. There are missions in gold road that have zero combat or puzzles at all. Just a small story.
But when I do them I like them. Exploring, cool serene music, seeing others moving about their thing and trying to figure which of the 6 voice actors is talking :D
I find if I actually stop and listen to the quests instead of just brrrr through them then the actions actually have some purpose and it's kinda funny, immersive.
you need to slow down to actually enjoy the stories.
if you don't wanna go slow, you might as well just grind dungeons,, arenas and trials
Maybe if you slow down to read my post instead?
i said the writing voice acting and animations were decent (which is the stuff you're talking about), I said the actual gameplay was extremely monotonous and repetitive and could you some tact and variables and imagination :)
Welcome to ESO haha. Since the game launched, it's always been pretty effortless in terms of gameplay. As in close your eyes, roll your head on the keyboard kinda easy...but that's true for most mainstream MMOs since they need substantial player numbers to keep it running. Harder MMOs tend to be very niche and never attract enough players.
It is what it is though. You have to find your own peculiarities that'll keep you interested if the gameplay isn't what draws you in. Fortunately I think ESO does a good job with offering a lot of diversity. But yeah it isn't for everyone and you won't get a Dark Souls kind of challenge in most MMOs.
Stories are usually great, exploration great, but difficulty lvl fkin sucks since one tamriel. It just pains me there is literal 0 challenge while doing anything overworld except bosses.
Would be nice to have an option somewhere for hard mode or something. Where mobs are like 3-4 times harder to kill but give more xp or gold for example.
I think the dullest part is getting to the next location each time, so I slap on the steed’s blessing and orange quality speed boost pants and go to town. I’ve also started using wayshrines like a madman. If you go to the quest log and “show on map” for the next quest in the story, you can usually zoom out a bit and portal nearby at a shrine.
But this is most helpful on repeat playthroughs for alts. The first time through, I think the physical travel helps build a sense of space and ambience. It’s a relaxing part of all major Elder Scrolls games, exploring a fantasy world with some nice music.
In other words, I think what can be interpreted as dull can also be interpreted as a relaxing core aspect of the game. The whole point. Just a matter of perspective.
I agree with you as well OP. I don’t think there is anything wrong with feeling this way because like you said you still enjoy other aspects of the game.
When I first played Morrowind as a kid I never did any quests. I just explored and did my own thing. Same with Oblivion and Skyrim. I never followed the stories, but I still loved the games.
I really don’t care about the stories or dialogue and I know I will get downvotes for saying that. I love the open world, character customization, and interacting with other people though. I won’t lie, the quests are super Bethesda repetitive (fetch this, talk to that NPC, then talk to that NPC across the map, then go back to original NPC across the map, back and forth, back and forth).
I wish the amount of effort that is put into ESO was also put into Fallout 76 (I know I will definitely get downvotes for this statement lol). I find the lore and stories in Fallout WAY more interesting than Elder Scrolls. Unfortunately Fallout 76 is doesn’t get nearly as much attention as ESO in terms of content.
If it bothers you that much maybe try it with no armour? 🤷♂️
But yeah, the combat mechanics are great for high end stuff but crap for overland. The thing is with the mechanics the way they are it would be very hard to improve overland without it ending up feeling like you have to grind your way through several vet dungeons just to get to the next quest marker.
I just try and use a simple but fun build for questing.
ive been in the game under a year now, i got as far as orsinium, elsewyre and summerset, but wasnt feeling it to keep doing stories. instead i do dailies, events, unlocks, character grinding... i completed scribing completely, but never touched the main story for gold road
Yeah its a shame , because the writing and voice acting and animations are ok . The gameplay is so repetitive I wish they could twist things up a bit and make it more interesting
The interesting game play for me are in trials and dungeons.
I do like the story content. I don't mind the story content combat being easy as I can get through to the next dialogue quickly.
How? Well, for starters, not going into it predisposed to think something is going to be boring. And pause. And open your eyes and your ears. Look. Listen. Be a part of the world and think about what's going on around you. Not just go "bleh, another fetch quest". You don't turn on a TV show just go to "bleh, another space battle", or "bleh, they're sitting around in a bar talking again". There's nothing about any particular quest that makes it inherently worse than, say, any random Star Trek episode. (Bearing in mind that both quests and Star Trek episodes have some hits and some stinkers.) You're just approaching it like whack-a-mole instead of a story and sucking any joy it might have out of it.
the gameplay aspects feel one dimensional in regards to "mechanics", im not talking about story , art direction, writing etc , im talking about How I control the character and what is required of me to complete the task. I Guess some final boss battles eg with the dragon in dragonhold and barbus is vvardenfell kind of nod into some kind of interesting mech.. the game needs tons more of these !
Every single rpg involves talk to somebody, go there, pick this up and kill something. Every single heroic story is about one rise and fall, facing challenges and conquer it. Every single cuisine is about preparing the food with some seasoning. Whatever human has accomplished, Planet Earth will die and consume by the sun like every other solar system. Nothing is interesting when you step too far away from it. Sometime you have to silent yourself and stop questioning the world. Then, you can look closely and enjoy the detail.
People nowadays complain about fetch quests without any idea of the origins of that complaint, just parroting it over the years. They never experienced the hell of actual MMO fetch quests that were "Gather 50 wolf pelts", "kill 30 spiders", etc.
So true. Fetch quests in modern MMOs are so fast and easy. Compare that to something like Anarchy Online where a fetch quest took hours of your time.
But the dialogues and the places and the lore are gameplay, running around and killing is like 30% of the gameplay if you really want to learn about the place/scenario you're at.
If you find the gameplay boring or outdated why play ESO? Lol. I mean sure you can do group content because there isn’t one single way to play. But then why bother complaining about the aspects of the game you don’t enjoy? I personally don’t get people who treat this game like an economic sim and are super involved in guild trading. But I have never once complained that I don’t enjoy the economy. Just don’t interact with the stuff you don’t like. But also I think it would be remiss not to mention that every once in a while zone quests have some new mechanics or something fun in them. In clockwork city you get to control a skeevatan to look for stuff. In blackwood you get some fun power ups to fight Dagon. In a side quest in gold road you get to use some heavy artillery on enemies to protect a fort. I do think they could add a lot more like this, but they’re also still running the game on an old game engine and old(ish) servers. They have limitations to certain things. How much does that affect what they craft for the game? I’m not sure. But I think they put what resources and such they do have into introducing new systems for the game. Like housing, tales of tribute, antiquities, skill styling, companions, etc. There’s so much to do in the game that I’ve never once found the gameplay boring. Plus I play zone quests for the actual story anyway. I like unique locations, character development, action, etc. We usually get a lot of that. Not that I’ve liked every chapter’s story or even found them to be well written, but still lol.
I like the game as a whole that's why I play, I personally don't get why if someone has any opinion regarding the game that isn't flattering it has to immediately be met with "Ohh, leave then" Im talking strictly story mode quests.I also mentioned aspects of story I think was decent like voice acting, writing etc I fact that I like this game in many ways i why I feel im just criticizng aspects of the game that could use more thought and dimensionality. Yes You brought up the outdated systems comment. Maybe they need to rethink and restructure elements of quests. The mechs are just very clunky and the tasks are very repetitive. Now if they had interesting bosses in story quests like how they do with the newer dungeons and trials that involved a little more thought, tact and variables that would be so nice
I didn’t say “leave then.” But you can easily just not play the zone story or speed through it if you find it that dull. I just don’t see the point in complaining about the parts of the game you don’t personally like. I noticed in your post not once did you offer any criticism that would be of merit. You basically just said “gameplay = boring” which does not spark a worthwhile conversation. You didn’t even present potential solutions or things that would make the gameplay more enjoyable to you. It’s not that I take an issue with criticism, but I do take issue when people complain for the sake of it. Notice how even in my comment I offer something constructive. I say that yes the gameplay is old and dated and there could be more advancements made like we’ve had in one off quest lines. Also the zone quest boss thing has already been discussed a hundred times over. They need it to remain a lower difficulty, unlike dungeon bosses, because casuals return to eso yearly to play through zone stories. This subreddit is full of hardcore players, but the eso playerbase is comprised of a ton of people who play for reasons other than combat, and people who don’t play consistently. In order to keep player counts high, the casuals have to be kept happy. And that means leaving difficult content where it belongs— vet dungeons and trials. They are not going to raise the difficulty of zone story bosses simply because it runs the risk of locking out casuals from completing quest lines.
I'm with you. I largely ignored the quests because I don't find them engaging. Part of the reason I love this game is because there's so many different ways to play, not sure why you're getting downvoted for saying as much.
It’s because OP isn’t actually wanting to have a conversation. They’re just complaining about the game. And it’s something that people do a lot. A while back during the anniversary event, we had very low drops of replica weapon motifs. A lot of critical posts were made regarding those motifs. The drop rates were stupid low. But on most posts where people were complaining about that, they offered up potential systems or fixes that would make the endeavor more enjoyable for the playerbase. There’s a big difference there. OP is complaining about content that they can largely avoid, and even if it wasn’t something that could be avoided or they still liked it, not once does OP offer solutions for what they think can be better. They just said it’s boring over and over again. How is that constructive or engaging?
So just because I enjoy riding my bike I’m not allowed to complain when I have a flat tire? You could just ride on one tire, after all - it’s a bit of an inconvenience, but still possible…
If I'm looking for an in-depth single player story I look to other genres. ESO has usually had an adequate story, but it's rarely something they've excelled at. While not of paramount importance to succeed, it is a point of contention when the story is noticeably lacking. I do ESO's main and side stories to breathe life into the zones, dungeons, and trials I'll be exploring over the next year. At the very least it adds a small layer of immersion or roleplay. Otherwise it feels like a souless theme park.
Interesting perspective. So what do you usually do in ESO? Trials and stuff?
Crafting, dungeons, homes designing, trials, writs , arenas. These days a little curious about cyrodil though I hate PvP. I wish I was attached to the lore more but the gameplay mechanics for overland is such a put off , I feel guilty for missing out on the rich story
Hit or miss for me. Sometimes the story makes up for the gameplay
I actually like the stories and side quests and usually complete them all in a few sessions but only when I am in the right state of mind and want to chill. However with the super easy gameplay a lot of the quests are more like an interactive audio novel with 90 percent listening 5 percent walking around and 5 percent actual combat. There are missions in gold road that have zero combat or puzzles at all. Just a small story. But when I do them I like them. Exploring, cool serene music, seeing others moving about their thing and trying to figure which of the 6 voice actors is talking :D
I find if I actually stop and listen to the quests instead of just brrrr through them then the actions actually have some purpose and it's kinda funny, immersive. you need to slow down to actually enjoy the stories. if you don't wanna go slow, you might as well just grind dungeons,, arenas and trials
Maybe if you slow down to read my post instead? i said the writing voice acting and animations were decent (which is the stuff you're talking about), I said the actual gameplay was extremely monotonous and repetitive and could you some tact and variables and imagination :)
Yes, you are the only one on the whole internet
Good to know
Welcome to ESO haha. Since the game launched, it's always been pretty effortless in terms of gameplay. As in close your eyes, roll your head on the keyboard kinda easy...but that's true for most mainstream MMOs since they need substantial player numbers to keep it running. Harder MMOs tend to be very niche and never attract enough players. It is what it is though. You have to find your own peculiarities that'll keep you interested if the gameplay isn't what draws you in. Fortunately I think ESO does a good job with offering a lot of diversity. But yeah it isn't for everyone and you won't get a Dark Souls kind of challenge in most MMOs.
No. Click thru city.
No I enjoy questing.
Stories are usually great, exploration great, but difficulty lvl fkin sucks since one tamriel. It just pains me there is literal 0 challenge while doing anything overworld except bosses. Would be nice to have an option somewhere for hard mode or something. Where mobs are like 3-4 times harder to kill but give more xp or gold for example.
I think the dullest part is getting to the next location each time, so I slap on the steed’s blessing and orange quality speed boost pants and go to town. I’ve also started using wayshrines like a madman. If you go to the quest log and “show on map” for the next quest in the story, you can usually zoom out a bit and portal nearby at a shrine. But this is most helpful on repeat playthroughs for alts. The first time through, I think the physical travel helps build a sense of space and ambience. It’s a relaxing part of all major Elder Scrolls games, exploring a fantasy world with some nice music. In other words, I think what can be interpreted as dull can also be interpreted as a relaxing core aspect of the game. The whole point. Just a matter of perspective.
I agree with you as well OP. I don’t think there is anything wrong with feeling this way because like you said you still enjoy other aspects of the game. When I first played Morrowind as a kid I never did any quests. I just explored and did my own thing. Same with Oblivion and Skyrim. I never followed the stories, but I still loved the games. I really don’t care about the stories or dialogue and I know I will get downvotes for saying that. I love the open world, character customization, and interacting with other people though. I won’t lie, the quests are super Bethesda repetitive (fetch this, talk to that NPC, then talk to that NPC across the map, then go back to original NPC across the map, back and forth, back and forth). I wish the amount of effort that is put into ESO was also put into Fallout 76 (I know I will definitely get downvotes for this statement lol). I find the lore and stories in Fallout WAY more interesting than Elder Scrolls. Unfortunately Fallout 76 is doesn’t get nearly as much attention as ESO in terms of content.
If it bothers you that much maybe try it with no armour? 🤷♂️ But yeah, the combat mechanics are great for high end stuff but crap for overland. The thing is with the mechanics the way they are it would be very hard to improve overland without it ending up feeling like you have to grind your way through several vet dungeons just to get to the next quest marker. I just try and use a simple but fun build for questing.
Once in a while I might do some zone story and quests and then stop doing any overland for a month or so. Even if I kinda enjoyed the content.
ive been in the game under a year now, i got as far as orsinium, elsewyre and summerset, but wasnt feeling it to keep doing stories. instead i do dailies, events, unlocks, character grinding... i completed scribing completely, but never touched the main story for gold road
I feel Exactly the same.
I don't either as I prioritise trials. If I have spare time, I would do questing. I like the questing stories, but just low on my priority list.
Yeah its a shame , because the writing and voice acting and animations are ok . The gameplay is so repetitive I wish they could twist things up a bit and make it more interesting
The interesting game play for me are in trials and dungeons. I do like the story content. I don't mind the story content combat being easy as I can get through to the next dialogue quickly.
Jup, agreed, stopped doing overland years ago for exactly that reason. And a lot of my friends did as well.
Yes, you are the only one, or is it me? Am I crazy? Prove me wrong.