In the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, the release of the expansion High Isle is approaching. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch was able to speak with Game Director Rich Lambert about the new content, as well as the genre in general.
What will happen in 2022 in ESO? This year’s focus is on the Bretons, a major intrigue spun by a knightly order, as well as the two areas of High Isles and Amenos. A large part of this content will be released with the new expansion High Isle on June 6 for PC.
However, we were already able to take a first look at this expansion and tried out the new card game “Glory Stories”. You can find an article about it here.
Additionally, we spoke with Game Director Rich Lambert. He shared some interesting details about the card game as well as the High Isles. We also wanted to know from him why there hasn’t been a new class in so long.
The new card game has been planned since 2009
MeinMMO: The new expansion High Isle is just around the corner and I was already able to try out the new card game. I found it really good. But this content is not necessarily typical for an MMORPG. Why did you decide to release Glory Stories with the new expansion in ESO?
Lambert: To be honest, this is something we have always wanted to do. I remember presenting the concept of tavern games back in 2009. So it has always been on the list of things we would like to do someday. We just never had the right timing for it.
Before the launch, it was: Let’s make sure there is enough content to keep players engaged. And after the launch, it was: Well, this is not quite the game players want, so let’s make it the game players want.
And now it was kind of the perfect time because we have a lot of quests, we have a lot to fight, but we don’t really have many alternative activities. So this is another way for players to play ESO and, more importantly, to play in a relaxed way with their friends.
MeinMMO: When I think of card games, I fondly remember my childhood and trading with friends. But you decided against such a trading feature. Why?
Lambert: Well, primarily we wanted to hit some of the cornerstones of what Elder Scrolls Online is all about in general. And one of those is that it really is up to you to carve your own path and do your own thing, and that the course of the story is based on your progression and not on the rest of the world.
The other side of the coin is that we wanted to make this game as accessible as possible for all players. And one of the ways to achieve that, and the path we chose, was this concept of everyone drawing from shared decks.
Yes, you can upgrade cards and yes, you can find new cards. But we didn’t want anyone outside the game to create a killer deck and then bring it into the game and wreck everything. We wanted strategies to unfold based on the cards played during the game.
MeinMMO: It is common in other games for a meta to develop.
Lambert: That’s right. And at that point, there is only one way to play it, right? In this game, however, I choose the decks, you choose the decks. And then we try to create the best possible deck based on the strategies we apply during the game.
New class brings balance issues and chaos
MeinMMO: Many players hope that with each new expansion a new class will be the big, new feature. So I just have to ask the question: Why hasn’t there been a new class in so long?
Lambert: Of course, you had to ask that (laughs). It’s because we’re simply not ready to do that yet. I think adding a new class is one of those things that can cause a lot of chaos. We want to ensure that balance is in a good state before we upend the balance and introduce new things like skill lines or classes. That’s the most important point.
The other part of it is that it just doesn’t make sense to create a new class now, based on some of the stories and other things we want to do. We only have a certain number of bullets we can fire. So we need to choose wisely.
MeinMMO: Since you have already touched on the development of new features, can you tell us a bit more about the decision-making process when it comes to developing such major innovations?
Lambert: Balance is an important part. You just have to look at the range of things you already have in the game. And we do this with the story as well. We look at where we’ve been, what we’ve done, what we’ve showcased, and then try to do something completely different. And the other big part of the decision-making process is asking what we are missing.
Right now we have a lot of quests in ESO, we have a lot of enemies, we have a lot of unique items, classes, and skill lines to play around with, but we don’t have many alternative activities. So ultimately, the card game made the most sense. Especially when you consider that there are not many alternative activities you can do with your friends.
This is one of those special contents that you can play with your friends.
Companions are also used by those who heavily criticized them last year
MeinMMO: Some players criticize that you confine yourself to such a rigid corset of updates and annual expansions, and therefore innovations fall by the wayside. How do you see this yourself?
Lambert: I think you can argue that to a certain extent. But ultimately, we are innovative. We are continually adding new things. I mean, companions were one thing that was innovative. Antiquities were something new that was innovative. The card game is something completely different.
I believe it really depends on who you talk to. And one of the questions I keep getting from people is about the right way to play ESO. And my answer to that question is always: “If I ask six people, I will get six different answers.”
Some people are only interested in PvP. And if they don’t see anything in PvP, then the game is dead for them. Other players just love the stories and want more stories. And if there is something other than stories, they are not happy. That’s kind of the balance, right? We have a huge player population. Everyone plays the game differently, and it’s really hard to support everything at once. So we try to do something for everyone over the course of a year.
MeinMMO: You have already mentioned the companions, two of which will be introduced in the new expansion. How do you see the companion system now? There was a lot of grumbling about it during the announcement of Blackwood.
Lambert: It is overwhelmingly positive. The vast majority of our players use the companions and have developed them, which is really cool. And that’s also one of the reasons we are including two new companions in the chapter because they have been so well received.
It’s very interesting to see how some of the loudest critics are actually enjoying the system and playing with it now.
In the story, there shouldn’t be too much of the same
MeinMMO: The story of ESO is concluded each year on its own. Are you satisfied with the system, or do you sometimes miss having an overarching, continuous story?
Lambert: Yes, currently we are satisfied with the system. But I think it needs to be done in moderation, right? The last few times, it was like the world is ending if I do something wrong. And that’s cool too. But everyone, even the developers, are slowly getting tired of telling the same stories over and over again. So we are trying to do things differently. And this year is a completely, completely, completely different story.
But to get back to your point: It is self-contained. We told an extraordinarily long story with the Three Banners of War at the beginning, which then led into Orsinium and the war that spanned across two additional chapters.
So we’ve done these long, convoluted stories and then we took a break from that. And who knows what we will do in the future.
Getting into ESO is far from perfect
MeinMMO: With the last expansion Blackwood, you revised the tutorial. This year you are making no changes to the onboarding. Are you fully satisfied with it by now?
Lambert: I think there is still a lot of room for improvement. We bring in an absurdly large number of new players to the game every year, and thus we get a lot of feedback about the experience of new players.
And I believe one of the biggest feedbacks we receive, which cannot necessarily be addressed in a tutorial and requires much more work, is the feeling of being overwhelmed. You come into this new game, and the first thing you do in the tutorial is choose the story you want to go into. That can be intimidating.
And then, when you first open the skills window, there’s a large, intimidating selection. And then the game is huge, and there aren’t many guides for the first ten or 15 levels. So I think we will spend a lot more time on these things in the future.
MeinMMO: In ESO, you release an expansion every year and three new DLCs. For the DLCs, you need the subscription to experience them properly. However, some players criticize the cost of ESO. What do you say to those critics?
Lambert: I mean, when you really look at it, it’s really fair. You know, we have an optional subscription that provides incredible value when you consider what you get. And it costs a lot of money to run the servers and pay the teams. You have to be able to recoup some of those costs. And that’s how you can make money. That’s why you monetize games.
If you break it down to value per dollar, you spend 40 dollars for a new chapter upgrade. Well, what do you get for that? 40 dollars over 60 hours. That’s about 0.66 dollars per hour. That’s a pretty good value, right?
It’s definitely a sensitive topic because everyone is struggling with the economy and the pandemic and so on. But ultimately I think it’s really, really fair.
Developing MMORPGs is risky, but new games need to be more social
MeinMMO: In the last 6 months, two new MMORPGs, New World and Lost Ark, have come onto the market and garnered a lot of attention. Do you generally look at the direct competition? Do you gather inspirations from them and learn from their successes and problems?
Lambert: I’m a big gamer and a big nerd, so I play games. I play games. So I play everything that comes out as direct competition. But I also play other games. I’ve put 130 hours into Elden Ring and another hundred hours into Forbidden West.
So when something new comes out, I want to play it and take it apart and find out why the team made some of the decisions they did and what works for me and what doesn’t work. I think that’s how you grow as a designer.
I hope more and more games will come out. It’s been great to have a bit more competition and to get a few new ideas.
MeinMMO: How do you generally see the future of MMORPGs?
Lambert: I believe, just because they are so expensive and risky to make, there will be more targeted games rather than those huge games that first hit the market. They will be smaller and more focused, and then grow in the areas where players want growth.
I’m sure that MMOs will have to become increasingly social over time, as developing social bonds and the ability to regularly interact with friends is the magic. And that is what keeps players coming back to this type of game.
MeinMMO: That’s super exciting because this trend towards more social interaction is something we’ve also noticed more, especially with titles like Embers Adrift or Palia on the horizon.
Lambert: Yes, I mean, there’s a balance, and you have to provide something for everyone. I believe if you only focus on one specific aspect, there will be a group that is really interested in that and they will then focus on that. But it’s hard to break out of that group or niche. So developing MMOs is definitely a challenge.
For those interested in the shift in MMORPGs, you can listen to our podcast on it here:
VR is exciting, but motion sickness is a problem
MeinMMO: When we talk about the future, virtual reality is always a topic. What do you think about it?
Lambert: I think VR is interesting. The Holodeck is of course the holy grail of everything, right? But it has its challenges. I know that I personally suffer from pretty extreme motion sickness. And VR makes that absolutely ruinous for me.
I really get sick when I play VR games. So unless we can find a way to solve this problem, I don’t know if it will make its way out of the core markets and into the mainstream.
Performance is the biggest issue with ESO
MeinMMO: If you could change one thing about ESO – regardless of time and budget – what would it be?
Lambert: That’s undoubtedly the easiest question. It would be the performance. If we could go back and redo everything from scratch, we would definitely focus more on scalability and performance in high-traffic combat. I believe that’s really the only thing holding ESO back from exploding completely.
PvP players have a hard time during prime time, and if we can get a handle on that, there’s nothing out there that comes close to what we have. That’s why we are working on it. It’s just, it’s a tough problem.
MeinMMO: Thank you very much Rich Lambert for the interview!
Anyone who wants to read everything about the new expansion High Isle can do so here:
ESO: Everything about the new expansion High Isle and the content in 2022
