The Elder Scrolls Online did not receive the same level of attention in 2021 as it did in 2018 and 2019. Although there were again 4 major updates with new content, players simply lacked real highlights. In this article, we at MeinMMO reflect on the year 2021.
What happened in 2021 in ESO? The Elder Scrolls Online released several major updates in 2021 at the familiar pace. A major patch was released approximately every 3 months:
- The beginning was marked by the DLC Flames of Ambition. This was released on March 8 and introduced the two new dungeons “The Cauldron” and “Black Drake Villa”. Additionally, the update completely overhauled the Champion Points.
- In June, the new expansion Blackwood was released. This must be purchased in addition to the base game and brought the new large area of Blackwood Forest along with associated story content. There were also first glimpses into the realms of Oblivion through the Oblivion portals found in Blackwood Forest and the special feature of companions.
- At the end of August, the dungeon DLC Waking Flame followed. There were, as usual, two dungeons as well as further adjustments to the Champion Points and changes to the PvP area Cyrodiil.
- Lastly, the DLC Deadlands was released on November 1, bringing the realms of Oblivion as a new and continuing area from Blackwood, along with new story content and new mythic items.
In terms of the sheer number of updates, there was no difference compared to previous years. However, not every change from 2021 was well received by players. This led to some criticism and overall reduced interest in ESO.
Fans criticize companions and too few innovations for veterans
What is being criticized? Already at the announcement of Blackwood, many ESO veterans expressed their concerns. Because the “big” feature of the expansion was the companions, which seemed to be aimed more at new players.
The companions are two NPCs, one of whom can always stand by your side in battle when summoned. You can unlock companions through a quest and then skill them as a tank, healer, or damage dealer. They can be deployed in the open world and in instances, but not in PvP. However, they take up a player slot in PvE groups.
Several weeks after the release of Blackwood, it became clear that veterans could hardly make use of the companions. Most of the content they were able to handle alone or had their fixed groups for dungeons and trials. Additionally, many found the implementation was weaker than the companions in SWTOR or the heroes in Guild Wars 1.
Instead of companions, the last expansions brought content such as a new class (Necromancer in Elsweyr) or an entirely new game system with new equipment (the antiquity system and the mythic gear from Greymoor). Both were innovations aimed at veterans. The companions, on the other hand, are only an interesting feature for inexperienced players. Those who have been playing ESO for a longer time will use them only out of habit or not at all.
Too little variety and too much grind with the new Champion Points
What is problematic about the new Champion Points? With the first DLC, the Champion Points were completely overhauled. The number of points was increased, and alongside smaller passive effects, larger stars were built in, from which only 4 abilities can be actively selected per tree.
According to the developers, this was supposed to solve several problems:
- The progress should become broader
- Players should have to make decisions for their builds
- The performance should be improved since, under the old system, every passive effect had to be recalculated with each skill use
However, these changes were not well received by many players or were at least seen as unnecessary adjustments. Even after the change, the same passive effects as in the old system were chosen. There is also no real build diversity since all player types (tank, healer, magicka damage dealer, stamina damage dealer) tend to rely on the same 4 stars.
There are even larger criticisms of the new system, for instance, because after 1,500 Champion Points, there was an indirect cap introduced. At that point, you have 4 stars for all trees and all remaining passive effects maxed out. Remaining points can now only be spent on stars that you don’t want to take with you. The green skill tree is also criticized for having too many useful effects turned into stars.
Many veterans would have preferred the development time to be used for other areas such as PvP or performance instead of for Champion Points that were functional prior to this.
The PvP has not received any real innovations for years
What has happened with PvP? Not much. Throughout the year, developers experimented and deactivated some proc sets. Additionally, new sets for PvP were released.
The latest adjustments have at least meant that PvP became a bit more fun again. However, no new PvP content or incentives to play have been given. Similar content was missing in previous years, which has now frustrated PvP fans significantly.
What about performance?
What do players criticize about performance? Performance has been a topic in ESO for years. In 2019, some changes were announced that were partially implemented in 2020, such as memory management, quick loading of environments and characters, frame rate improvement, and a completely new group-finding system.
However, there were also new performance issues with the Greymoor expansion in 2020.
While Blackwood itself did not introduce any major problems in 2021, there was also little overall improvement in performance. Some players have expressed the desire for ZeniMax to continue working on promised adjustments in 2022.
New sets, a trial, and the areas as highlights
What was well received in ESO in 2021? Not everything about Blackwood was negative. Many players enjoyed the story surrounding the mysterious deaths. The general excursion into the content of Oblivion also provided many nostalgic moments, like when visiting the realms of the dead or the city of Leyawiin. Visually, these areas were also a delight.
For veterans, the highlight of the expansion was probably the new trial Felshain. It is considered challenging in difficulty and also offered some graphical highlights, including the lava stream at the final boss. There were also some useful drops from the boss, making replayability better than in the trial in Greymoor.
Additionally, those who enjoy building setups had something to look forward to in 2021. Blackwood and the surrounding DLCs introduced several new sets and mythic items that belong to the best equipment in the game. For a mythic item, the hype during the release of Blackwood was so great that battles broke out over farm spots.
With the latest DLC Deadlands, the collections of sets were also revamped, allowing you to no longer receive old set items as drops. Additionally, the armory for saving builds was introduced, which was also positively received.
ESO stands well at the end of 2021, but not outstandingly
2021 has seen a small setback for many veterans in ESO. The overall revisions to the game were less significant than in 2020, and some decisions made have been criticized, such as adjustments to the Champion Points. Moreover, many players missed a real highlight, since the companions seem to appeal more to new players than to long-time fans.
However, it should be noted that 2020 and 2021 were challenging years due to the pandemic. The developers at ZeniMax had to transition to remote work and develop new updates from there. Under these circumstances, ESO is in a significantly better position than many other MMORPGs.
- WoW, for example, is struggling with a long content drought
- Guild Wars 2 had to delay its new expansion by several months
- New World has been facing issues since its release
In direct comparison, ESO has managed well in 2021. Nevertheless, interest in the MMORPG has noticeably declined compared to 2018 and 2019. This is also shown by Google Trends:
For 2022, fans of the game therefore hope for greater innovations that can inspire veterans once again.
What would you like to see in ESO in 2022? And how do you view the year in retrospect? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
However, for players of ESO, the year is not yet over. Because in mid-December, the New Year’s festival starts. We have summarized everything about the events in ESO here:
ESO Event Ticker – How to claim your rewards until the end of 2021
