Story mode for dungeons would rekindle my interest; keep me subscribed.

mjharper · January 2019

I'll be honest: I go back and forth on cancelling my subscription. The craft bag is great and the crowns effectively pay for themselves. But here's the thing. The DLC content leaves me cold.

Last year, there were four pieces of DLC content: A chapter that had to be paid for separately, a story / region that was also given away for free; and two dungeon DLCs.

I'm one of those players who doesn't touch the dungeon DLCs. I like to explore and do things at my own pace. I'm perfectly happy to solo normal dungeons because I can talk to everyone, read everything, explore every nook and cranny. That playstyle doesn't suit the DLC dungeons. So I don't do them, even though they're included in the subscription.

That means, on a yearly basis, I get one piece of DLC that I'm interested in as part of the subscription. And as I say, last year that piece was given away for free to boot.

A story mode for DLC dungeons would increase that to three pieces of content a year. But more than that, it would (presumably) open up all the previous dungeon DLC that I've not touched. A story mode would make me look forward to upcoming releases: but it would offer a trove of content that would keep be busy and entertained for hours. And probably more hours. And then some.

A story mode would not prevent DLC dungeons chasing ever greater difficulty. But it would make them approachable to players like me, while at the same time adding a huge amount of value to ESO+.

And surely, if you're trying to retain old players, and attract new players, adding value is what you want to be doing, isn't it?

Aluneth · January 2019

How many times would you do the same dungeon for story? Two? Three? What about on your alts? Would you feel the need to do it three times on each character?

I'm not against a story mode dungeon, and if enough people want it, then I don't see a reason they shouldn't add it. I don't understand how that would keep you or anyone else subscribed though. You won't get any loot, you won't have interactions with other people. There wouldn't be any sense of progression, or feeling of achievement. It would be the same dungeon, with the same story.

Ash_In_My_Sujamma · January 2019

Same people, same threads.

mjharper · January 2019

Aluneth wrote: »

How many times would you do the same dungeon for story? Two? Three? What about on your alts? Would you feel the need to do it three times on each character?

I'm not against a story mode dungeon, and if enough people want it, then I don't see a reason they shouldn't add it. I don't understand how that would keep you or anyone else subscribed though. You won't get any loot, you won't have interactions with other people. There wouldn't be any sense of progression, or feeling of achievement. It would be the same dungeon, with the same story.

I would do it exactly as much as I do any other dungeon: once with every character, plus pledges if that works. Indeed, that's much the same as ANY content: once with each character.

The point about subscription is this: if I only play once piece of DLC content a that's released in a year (because Chapters are separate and I don't care for DLC dungeons without some kind of story mode, well, that's not really worth the monthly payment. I end up justifying the subscription with the craft bag and crowns. Indeed, you could say that I'm subscribed despite the DLC, not because of it. And a story mode would shift that back to because.

mjharper · January 2019

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

Same people, same threads.

Same dismissive attitude?

Since are people not allowed to express their opinions on a topic that concerns them?

Cadbury · January 2019

Huh. Today I learned that not having a "story mode" for dungeons is almost as much of a hot-button issue as the upcoming racial changes.

tenor.gif?itemid=5281408

Numerikuu · January 2019

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

Same people, same threads.

And same comments that add nothing to the discussion.

+1 op. Adding a story/solo mode would only encourage people to sub or purchase these dlcs. The majority that come to ESO do so because of TES and its story/lore, and most are casual/solo players.

Leeched · January 2019

How many more threads do you guys need about this topic? This slowly starts to turn into spam

Aluneth · January 2019

mjharper wrote: »

Aluneth wrote: »

How many times would you do the same dungeon for story? Two? Three? What about on your alts? Would you feel the need to do it three times on each character?

I'm not against a story mode dungeon, and if enough people want it, then I don't see a reason they shouldn't add it. I don't understand how that would keep you or anyone else subscribed though. You won't get any loot, you won't have interactions with other people. There wouldn't be any sense of progression, or feeling of achievement. It would be the same dungeon, with the same story.

I would do it exactly as much as I do any other dungeon: once with every character, plus pledges if that works. Indeed, that's much the same as ANY content: once with each character.

The point about subscription is this: if I only play once piece of DLC content a that's released in a year (because Chapters are separate and I don't care for DLC dungeons without some kind of story mode, well, that's not really worth the monthly payment. I end up justifying the subscription with the craft bag and crowns. Indeed, you could say that I'm subscribed despite the DLC, not because of it. And a story mode would shift that back to because.

But you wouldn't get to do the pledge in it. You most likely wouldn't even get the skill point as a reward, it would just be there for the story. So you want this new feature, so you can do it once on each character. I hope you can see how little this feature would be used. A majority of the playerbase that isn't interested in doing them for the story alone, wouldn't use it, and the people that would want it, would only use it a limited amount of times.

mjharper · January 2019

Cadbury wrote: »

Huh. Today I learned that not having a "story mode" for dungeons is almost as much of a hot-button issue as the upcoming racial changes.

It's an issue that's been around for a while, but people are really becoming vocal about because upcoming dungeon releases will be tied into the Elsweyr story. As such, the issue is considerably more 'hot button' than it was.

Yes, I know you weren't really asking for clarification. But that's what you get for posting a shrug gif.

Zhaedri · January 2019

I would like a story mode/solo mode as well. Even if they had lesser rewards and not as snazzy achievements, or even have slightly different objectives so they could all be put on a random daily from someone (go collect statues from such and such dungeon, for instance).

It's a neat idea and something I would like to see.

mjharper · January 2019

Aluneth wrote: »

mjharper wrote: »

Aluneth wrote: »

How many times would you do the same dungeon for story? Two? Three? What about on your alts? Would you feel the need to do it three times on each character?

I'm not against a story mode dungeon, and if enough people want it, then I don't see a reason they shouldn't add it. I don't understand how that would keep you or anyone else subscribed though. You won't get any loot, you won't have interactions with other people. There wouldn't be any sense of progression, or feeling of achievement. It would be the same dungeon, with the same story.

I would do it exactly as much as I do any other dungeon: once with every character, plus pledges if that works. Indeed, that's much the same as ANY content: once with each character.

The point about subscription is this: if I only play once piece of DLC content a that's released in a year (because Chapters are separate and I don't care for DLC dungeons without some kind of story mode, well, that's not really worth the monthly payment. I end up justifying the subscription with the craft bag and crowns. Indeed, you could say that I'm subscribed despite the DLC, not because of it. And a story mode would shift that back to because.

But you wouldn't get to do the pledge in it. You most likely wouldn't even get the skill point as a reward, it would just be there for the story. So you want this new feature, so you can do it once on each character. I hope you can see how little this feature would be used. A majority of the playerbase that isn't interested in doing them for the story alone, wouldn't use it, and the people that would want it, would only use it a limited amount of times.

You get the skill point in every other dungeon for doing the story / quest, so why wouldn't you get it for doing the story / quest in a story mode? That would be nonsense. And pledges? Who knows. Was just a thought.

The point was still: you only get to do a story once per character. And that's still considerably more than not at all per character (if you don't do dungeon DLC in their current form).

Ash_In_My_Sujamma · January 2019

mjharper wrote: »

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

Same people, same threads.

Same dismissive attitude?

Since are people not allowed to express their opinions on a topic that concerns them?

As I said, same people same threads. There is a major thread, theat the poster promotes on the other same themed threads as a "10 paged arguement" so I say keep the conversation there and don't spread it across the forum, since you already stated your opinion there about the same issue. will make it easier for devs to view your pov if you remain in one thread

Numerikuu wrote: »

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

Same people, same threads.

And same comments that add nothing to the discussion.

+1 op. Adding a story/solo mode would only encourage people to sub or purchase these dlcs. The majority that come to ESO do so because of TES and its story/lore, and most are casual/solo players.

Check my comments on the other threads and then decide whether or not I add anything to the discussion. I believe I make quite a point and I would like to hear your ideas as well

Cadbury · January 2019

mjharper wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Huh. Today I learned that not having a "story mode" for dungeons is almost as much of a hot-button issue as the upcoming racial changes.

It's an issue that's been around for a while, but people are really becoming vocal about because upcoming dungeon releases will be tied into the Elsweyr story. As such, the issue is considerably more 'hot button' than it was.

Yes, I know you weren't really asking for clarification. But that's what you get for posting a shrug gif.

adriant1978 · January 2019

Rilis wrote: »

How many more threads do you guys need about this topic? This slowly starts to turn into spam

I agree, actually, even as someone who really supports the idea.

There are already several other threads where this is being talked about.

Kuwhar · January 2019

Rilis wrote: »

How many more threads do you guys need about this topic? This slowly starts to turn into spam

Yet still it's a fraction of the crying about nerfs, ESO is evil money grabbing etc. etc.

Problem here is there are 2 crowds, neither of which are right or wrong:

1. Hardcore Meta gamers, finish things ASAP, get that loot onto the next.

2. Casual, take their time, learn the ropes have fun playing the game like it's ya know, an RPG.

I fail to see how this negatively affects #1.

Aluneth · January 2019

mjharper wrote: »

Aluneth wrote: »

mjharper wrote: »

Aluneth wrote: »

How many times would you do the same dungeon for story? Two? Three? What about on your alts? Would you feel the need to do it three times on each character?

I'm not against a story mode dungeon, and if enough people want it, then I don't see a reason they shouldn't add it. I don't understand how that would keep you or anyone else subscribed though. You won't get any loot, you won't have interactions with other people. There wouldn't be any sense of progression, or feeling of achievement. It would be the same dungeon, with the same story.

I would do it exactly as much as I do any other dungeon: once with every character, plus pledges if that works. Indeed, that's much the same as ANY content: once with each character.

The point about subscription is this: if I only play once piece of DLC content a that's released in a year (because Chapters are separate and I don't care for DLC dungeons without some kind of story mode, well, that's not really worth the monthly payment. I end up justifying the subscription with the craft bag and crowns. Indeed, you could say that I'm subscribed despite the DLC, not because of it. And a story mode would shift that back to because.

But you wouldn't get to do the pledge in it. You most likely wouldn't even get the skill point as a reward, it would just be there for the story. So you want this new feature, so you can do it once on each character. I hope you can see how little this feature would be used. A majority of the playerbase that isn't interested in doing them for the story alone, wouldn't use it, and the people that would want it, would only use it a limited amount of times.

You get the skill point in every other dungeon for doing the story / quest, so why wouldn't you get it for doing the story / quest in a story mode? That would be nonsense. And pledges? Who knows. Was just a thought.

The point was still: you only get to do a story once per character. And that's still considerably more than not at all per character (if you don't do dungeon DLC in their current form).

Dungeons and Public dungeons all have something in common, you face harder enemies as a group, and get rewarded with a skill point for completing it. I don't see why they would just give it away for doing nothing.

If anything, it would have less people join up for normal dungeons, as they could just get an instant queue and pick up the skill point without doing anything. I would imagine it would increase the wait times for normal dungeons, even if only by a bit.

I don't mind there being a solo (story dungeon), but it should be without loot, skill points and pledges. If you don't agree with that, then it's not the story you're after.

Numerikuu · January 2019

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

Check my comments on the other threads and then decide whether or not I add anything to the discussion. I believe I make quite a point and I would like to hear your ideas as well

I responded to your comment in this thread, of which was very dismissive. If you feel your own comment misrepresents you or your true ideas, then feel free to post how you really feel here. As for me having to dig through your replies on other threads to prove for you that you don't have a dismissive attitude towards the subject? That's not down to me to do. Though if you are being honest about the last part, feel free to dig through mine. Otherwise? Ain't nobody got time for that.

Cadbury · January 2019

Having a dungeon "story mode" with no loot or skill point seems like a fair compromise. But as I mentioned in the other thread , having social issues should not dictate how an MMO adds solo play.

mjharper · January 2019

Zhaedri wrote: »

I would like a story mode/solo mode as well. Even if they had lesser rewards and not as snazzy achievements, or even have slightly different objectives so they could all be put on a random daily from someone (go collect statues from such and such dungeon, for instance).

It's a neat idea and something I would like to see.

Could be added to Bolgrul's quests, maybe. Neat

Aluneth wrote: »

mjharper wrote: »

Aluneth wrote: »

mjharper wrote: »

Aluneth wrote: »

How many times would you do the same dungeon for story? Two? Three? What about on your alts? Would you feel the need to do it three times on each character?

I'm not against a story mode dungeon, and if enough people want it, then I don't see a reason they shouldn't add it. I don't understand how that would keep you or anyone else subscribed though. You won't get any loot, you won't have interactions with other people. There wouldn't be any sense of progression, or feeling of achievement. It would be the same dungeon, with the same story.

I would do it exactly as much as I do any other dungeon: once with every character, plus pledges if that works. Indeed, that's much the same as ANY content: once with each character.

The point about subscription is this: if I only play once piece of DLC content a that's released in a year (because Chapters are separate and I don't care for DLC dungeons without some kind of story mode, well, that's not really worth the monthly payment. I end up justifying the subscription with the craft bag and crowns. Indeed, you could say that I'm subscribed despite the DLC, not because of it. And a story mode would shift that back to because.

But you wouldn't get to do the pledge in it. You most likely wouldn't even get the skill point as a reward, it would just be there for the story. So you want this new feature, so you can do it once on each character. I hope you can see how little this feature would be used. A majority of the playerbase that isn't interested in doing them for the story alone, wouldn't use it, and the people that would want it, would only use it a limited amount of times.

You get the skill point in every other dungeon for doing the story / quest, so why wouldn't you get it for doing the story / quest in a story mode? That would be nonsense. And pledges? Who knows. Was just a thought.

The point was still: you only get to do a story once per character. And that's still considerably more than not at all per character (if you don't do dungeon DLC in their current form).

Dungeons and Public dungeons all have something in common, you face harder enemies as a group, and get rewarded with a skill point for completing it. I don't see why they would just give it away for doing nothing.

If anything, it would have less people join up for normal dungeons, as they could just get an instant queue and pick up the skill point without doing anything. I would imagine it would increase the wait times for normal dungeons, even if only by a bit.

I don't mind there being a solo (story dungeon), but it should be without loot, skill points and pledges. If you don't agree with that, then it's not the story you're after.

You get a huge number of skill points in overland content completing quests and collecting skyshards, both of which, in terms of difficulty, constitute 'doing nothing'.

Also, if you're going NOT give a skill point for completing a quest in story mode, you would still have to be able to do the quest again in 'normal' mode to get that point, otherwise you'd be permanently punishing a player. And I would imagine that would be far more 'dangerous' to the integrity of the game than just leaving the quest reward intact.

mjharper · January 2019

Cadbury wrote: »

Having a dungeon "story mode" with no loot or skill point seems like a fair compromise. But as I mentioned in the other thread , having social issues should not dictate how an MMO adds solo play.

Having social issues? What?

Cadbury · January 2019

mjharper wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Having a dungeon "story mode" with no loot or skill point seems like a fair compromise. But as I mentioned in the other thread , having social issues should not dictate how an MMO adds solo play.

Having social issues? What?

Like social anxiety, introversion, etc.

mjharper · January 2019

Cadbury wrote: »

mjharper wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Having a dungeon "story mode" with no loot or skill point seems like a fair compromise. But as I mentioned in the other thread , having social issues should not dictate how an MMO adds solo play.

Having social issues? What?

Like social anxiety, introversion, etc.

Kindly engage with arguments, instead of ad hominem attacks on the person(s) making them.

Cadbury · January 2019

mjharper wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

mjharper wrote: »

Cadbury wrote: »

Having a dungeon "story mode" with no loot or skill point seems like a fair compromise. But as I mentioned in the other thread , having social issues should not dictate how an MMO adds solo play.

Having social issues? What?

Like social anxiety, introversion, etc.

Kindly engage with arguments, instead of ad hominem attacks on the person(s) making them.

?

You asked for clarification. As I said a compromise can work, but as a knee-jerk reaction because of upcoming changes should not dictate a new direction. I get it. It's upsetting when they make drastic changes to the narrative like this. But asking to add an easier dungeon mode just because you feel you can't complete it is at best a band-aid fix.

What's needed is more ways to encourage group up. Maybe a mentoring program or incentives for vets to help new players. We should want to play together, not avoid each other.

Ash_In_My_Sujamma · January 2019

@Numerikuu Ok then since you want to read it again, here is my point of view. Eso is an mmo. It flourishes from group play and player communication. Yes it's different mmo, as some people pointed out, meaning it's more story driven. But that doesn't mean that it should orient towards solo play cause it is not designed to be a solo game. If you move the game towards that direction you 'll end like swtor. A mediocre solo mmo with no active community. And yes swtor did this turn to save itself but eso is very healthy the way it is and in my opinion it needs more group options.
Having said that many of you said that story is locked behind group content. I am not gonna quote zos again cause someone already did. So I am just going to present some examples.
Eso is, in its majority, consisted of solo and solo friendly content. Only a few portion of the game is group oriented. Now having said that, ONLY the group content has options for easier modes. Solo content on the other hand has no option for a more chalenging or group mode. There is also the issue of power creep wich makes the overland and solo content even more blunt and boring. So how can you parade around the forums, spaming threads and demanding Solo modes while the majority of the game is indeed solo friendly? I say we add a group version on the solo content first and then we might think of adding a FOURTH version for dungeons and trials.
Now concerning Elseweyr, zos has clearly stated that they will introduce 2 prologue quests for the next chapter where you will be able to be introduced in the story of the plates. The dlc dungeons on the other hand are YOU DEFEATING THE BOSS TO GET THE PLATES. So tell me, how will a story mode help you experience the dungeon since you are not defeating the boss?

mairwen85 · January 2019

Solo Players wrote:

Deus vult!

adriant1978 · January 2019

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

If you move the game towards that direction you 'll end like swtor. A mediocre solo mmo with no active community.

I keep seeing people claiming that a solo dungeon option would negatively impact group play somehow, and I often see SWTOR brought up in the same context.

I also play SWTOR, but granted I came to it pretty late (about 2 years ago) and never experienced it before it was made more solo friendly.

I'm really curious though as to how exactly adding a solo friendly option damages group aspects and the game as a whole. It kind of feels like the suggestion that people will only group when forced to, and if given the choice they will all just pick the solo route.

Ash_In_My_Sujamma · January 2019

adriant1978 wrote: »

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

If you move the game towards that direction you 'll end like swtor. A mediocre solo mmo with no active community.

I keep seeing people claiming that a solo dungeon option would negatively impact group play somehow, and I often see SWTOR brought up in the same context.

I also play SWTOR, but granted I came to it pretty late (about 2 years ago) and never experienced it before it was made more solo friendly.

I'm really curious though as to how exactly adding a solo friendly option damages group aspects and the game as a whole. It kind of feels like the suggestion that people will only group when forced to, and if given the choice they will all just pick the solo route.

I played swtor since half a year after its release and I can tell you there is a major difference on how alive the game used to feel compared to the present.

Kagukan · January 2019

I agree. Hard to get excited for DLC dungeon content when you know you will likely never see them. They really should make them accessible to most players including those like me that almost exclusively solo. A tiered reward system takes nothing away from anyone and adds enjoyment to more of the player base.

adriant1978 · January 2019

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

adriant1978 wrote: »

Ash_In_My_Sujamma wrote: »

If you move the game towards that direction you 'll end like swtor. A mediocre solo mmo with no active community.

I keep seeing people claiming that a solo dungeon option would negatively impact group play somehow, and I often see SWTOR brought up in the same context.

I also play SWTOR, but granted I came to it pretty late (about 2 years ago) and never experienced it before it was made more solo friendly.

I'm really curious though as to how exactly adding a solo friendly option damages group aspects and the game as a whole. It kind of feels like the suggestion that people will only group when forced to, and if given the choice they will all just pick the solo route.

I played swtor since half a year after its release and I can tell you there is a major difference on how alive the game used to feel compared to the present.

But how is that related to solo flashpoints (dungeons in Star Wars land) being added?

Were the group players dependent on clueless casuals in their queues just to make up the numbers, or did all the elite raiders decide that they'd rather just do story mode?

kathandira · January 2019

I'd rather them not waste resources on this.

As you level, gear, and learn, you become stronger and better at the game. With that, the content needs to be harder as time goes on. So the DLC dungeons being more difficult makes perfect sense.

That said, they have scaled them up a little too much to where it is out of reach of the lowest skilled players which makes it very difficult for them to experience the content they paid for.

I'm not so much concerned with a Story Mode, but rather scale the difficulty of Normal Mode DLC dungeons down. They have been around long enough for the hardcore to get their fill, and there is always Vet for those who want that challenge. Normal should just be made more forgiving for those who struggle to complete the content.