The Elder Scrolls Online has not received the same level of attention in 2022 as it has in previous years. Although there were 4 big updates with new content as usual, the players were missing something and there was also a bunch of criticism. In this article, we at MeinMMO look back at the year 2022.
What happened in ESO in 2022? In 2022, The Elder Scrolls Online released a total of four major updates in the familiar rhythm. Every year is related in the story and this year it was about the story “Breton Legacy”. The updates appeared every 3 months as usual:
The amount of updates corresponded to previous years, since ESO has a fixed timing for the releases. However, this year some changes were not well received by all players, so there was sometimes heavy criticism.
Who is speaking here? MiezeMelli has been playing The Elder Scrolls Online since beta. She has been streaming ESO on Twitch regularly since early 2018 and has been part of Bethesda’s official ESO Stream Team since late 2020. Since January 2018 she has been creating videos (raid triples, guides, DPS tests) on Youtube. She has a total of over 6900 game hours on 18 maxed characters and 2150 champion points (as of 12/31/2022). Since May 2021 she has been responsible for everything to do with ESO on MeinMMO, especially guides.
Players criticize the ongoing upheaval of the combat system
What is the criticism? With Update 32 Deadlands last year, the developers started changing the usual combat system in ESO. This has continued through subsequent patches and has not been well received by many parts of the community.
The first update this year already brought changes as part of hybridization, as the developers call it. The name refers to the Magicka and Stamina attributes in ESO. With Update 33 Ascending Tide came some changes that removed the specialization on one of the two attributes.
In particular, the reactions to the changes in Update 35 Lost Depths caused a stir and critical voices were raised, including within the ESO stream team. Especially in the ranks of long-time players, this patch caused trouble.
No new feature came with the new chapter
So far you could look forward to a new feature in ESO with every chapter. With the Greymoor chapter, the base game was expanded to include the antiques system and mythic items. In the following chapter Blackwood the companion system was added.
In the High Isle chapter, however, no own feature was added. Only the feature from the previous year was expanded by two more companions with High Isle. This caused disappointed reactions among ESO players.
PvP hasn’t had any updates for years
What happened in PvP? Actually nothing. Last year, some performance tests were carried out in the PvP area Cyrodiil, but the players are still waiting in vain for adjustments or new content.
Instead, a live stream caused a lot of trouble, in which the PvP players were made fun of because you can see their anger in the stream chat. As a result, there was an official statement on the problems in PvP on January 12th in the ESO Forum.
While the developers said in the post that they understand players’ frustration, they also said they won’t be addressing the issue in PvP at all in 2022. The reason given was that they would have to fundamentally rewrite the server code.
It only apparently calmed down the players. Many PvP players have therefore given up on ESO. This can be noticed in the PvP area of Cyrodiil, because the campaigns currently feel pretty empty.
Here’s how it performs in PvP in ESO.
New sets, dungeons, 1 trial and the new areas as a highlight
What went down well at ESO in 2022? But not everything was bad about this year’s “Legacy of the Bretons”. The 4 new dungeons in particular were well received by the players. It was noticeable that the developers put a lot of effort into the visual design of the new dungeons.
The 2 dungeons from Ascending Tide were also a cool new challenge for the ESO veterans. The Shipwright’s Mourning and Coral Eyrie dungeons have been praised by many players for both the visual design and game mechanics.
You can find out what awaits you in the world of ESO regularly via our ESO event ticker. We update this constantly, so you always know when a new event awaits you and how best to get the rewards.
ESO is probably a bit shaky at the end of 2022
There were already a few weaknesses last year that caused negative reviews. You can find out more in our ESO 2021 Recap. Unfortunately, the MMORPG could not particularly score with the players this year either.
The downward trend can also be seen on Steam. In terms of placement, it is only in the “silver tier”, i.e. somewhere between 25th and 50th place. Read more about this in our article Steam shows the 12 games that made the most money in 2022 – we look at the best MMORPGs. The year before, the MMORPG was still in the top 24.
For the coming year 2023, the fans and ESO players want innovations that also inspire the veterans and changes that are better thought out.
Currently you can play the New Life Festival in ESO. Exciting events await you throughout the year, where you can dust off interesting rewards. If you want us to keep you up to date about the events, then check our ESO event ticker regularly.
There we always inform you about current events in the MMORPG.