The conflict in the MMORPG community of The Elder Scrolls Online shows the gap between solo players and group players. Why is that? MyMMO author Andreas Bertits is trying to find out.
In the past, MMORPGs were only for multiplayer fans
It was different back then: Those who think back to the beginnings of the MMORPG genre, about 20 years ago, including Ultima Online and Everquest, certainly do not think of solo content or that quests and dungeons could be completed alone.
Back then, it was essential to play in groups. Most content simply could not be mastered otherwise.
The titles were designed to bring players together. That was the idea behind the “Massively Multiplayer” concept.
However, this changed over time.
Solo players were invited to MMORPGs
That’s why solo content was added: Even World of Warcraft, which was released in 2004, allowed players to master some content alone. Therefore, one saw more and more individuals in the game doing their own thing.
This caused part of the group aspect to be lost. The MMORPG opened up to a broader target group. Those who wanted nothing to do with other players in the game also had fun. This, in turn, contributed significantly to the success of Blizzard’s online role-playing game.
The Elder Scrolls Online seems to be the prime example of this trend. The story of the online game can basically be completed solo without any issues. The developers even encourage solo player fans to play ESO.
Due to the strong connection of ESO to the single-player RPG franchise, The Elder Scrolls, this orientation was natural for Zenimax: They wanted to bring the many players from Skyrim into the online game.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, there are still group contents like dungeons and anchors that cannot be completed solo, yet ESO also targets all those who want to play alone – and is thus very successful.
Conflict between solo and group players
This is why the ESO community is arguing: With the introduction of new story content in ESO with Wrathstone, which must be completed in a group, this has led to disputes in the community:
- MMORPG fans do not understand why all content should be mastered alone
- Solo players do not want to be forced into groups when they only want to experience the story.
This conflict clearly highlights the gap between solo players and multiplayer fans. Those who are interrupted by others while questing and immersing themselves in the story may lose the desire to continue playing. Therefore, one often hears and reads that in story-driven online games, players prefer to play the story alone before turning to group content with others. The story is something to be enjoyed privately and undisturbed.
ESO is a very story-driven game. This attracts fans of good stories. And thus solo players. However, ESO is still an MMORPG whose basic concept is based on playing in a group, meeting others, making friends, and facing significant challenges in a party.
That is why it is understandable that MMO fans are not particularly pleased when more and more content of a multiplayer game can also be completed alone. These are titles designed for multiplayer fun and should be played as such.
Story in group content – a conflict zone
Are the developers themselves to blame? Essentially, it is a home-grown problem based on a concept that only works in rare cases: Game developers want to reach as many customers as possible and therefore create the “jack-of-all-trades” – the game that offers everything to everyone.
- They want to appeal to solo players with appropriate solo content but also please group players.
- They want to offer a story that caters to fans of storytelling but also quick and straightforward content for all those who do not care about the story.
Is there a solution? In the case of The Elder Scrolls Online and other MMORPGs, the conflict could be avoided by completely limiting the “story” to solo content.
However, group content would only be “nice but optional,” without affecting the plot.
This would make the “group content” feel trivial, as nothing could happen there that ultimately matters to the plot.
A solution without any disadvantages for either group seems difficult to find.
