I'm editing this review, based on some changes that have been made since I originally wrote it. Long story short, ZOS has really turned things around with their customers.

Two things made me turn the corner on whether or not I'd recommend this game. The first is that I tried other MMOs during an ESO break, and none of them were better, with even more bugs and flaws.

Although ZOS still has opportunities to improve on the communication of their plans and approach to the game, there were things that they did this past year that really showed an acknowledgment of the player experience and demonstrated consumer empathy. The largest of these was to implement curated drops on top of the stickerbook, which considerably reduced the grind, a point about which I and many others complained endlessly when it came to their game.

Despite combat issues in Cyrodiil, which they are doing a full court press to finally fix this year, I recommend the game, and if you have never dropped in to ESO, now is the time.

Start of original review:

I've played this game since beta, and as an endgame player for about two years now. I have just about 6000 hours invested in the game since the start. Here are the pros and cons:

Pros:
1. Elder Scrolls IP (if that is something that appeals to you).
2. Beautifully designed graphics with an immersive quality (particularly newer content)
3. Multiple ways to play the game with highly customizable build options that are very accessible to newer players.
4. Very flexible for single player and multiplayer content – there is something for everyone here.
5. Combat is very dynamic and requires some practice and skill to master.
6. Your abilities in the game are not contingent on paying any additional money. The only thing investment gets you is inventory control convenience and cosmetics.
7. The community is, on a whole, very friendly, and the guild options make it possible to meet people who engage with the game on a variety of levels and interests.
8. There is a very active and creative third party addon community.
9. There are many ways to engage with the game, including the housing features, single player, multiplayer for 4 player and 12 player content, role play, and a number of PVP options.
10. The quests are very good, much better than most MMOs, with good writing and some top-notch voice acting.

Cons:
1. Constant changes and tweaks to gear, gameplay, and mechanics make it near-impossible to settle down and hit your stride. Once you get used to playing a certain way with an optimized build, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you and you are starting over.
2. Viable participation in endgame is locked behind so many grindy requirements that it can take a new player months to get to the point where they are even teachable for veteran trial content.
3. The combat system mechanics are inscrutable and difficult to learn. In order to understand your characters and their builds, it literally takes hours of research on third party sites to get to the point where you comprehend the interplay of character stats and how that affects your in-game performance.
4. The PVP offerings in the game are broken. Cheaters are not rampant, but definitely present, and the game design does not make it easy for ZOS to put walls in place to prevent exploitation. Each third party script or bot that gets produced needs to be individually researched and the code re-written to prevent cheating, so it’s prevalent. Furthermore, performance of PVP with respect to the servers is truly awful. Lag is such a bad problem that ZOS has literally been running player tests for months wherein mechanics are drastically changed in pursuit of identifying the root cause of the lag, and after all of that, they still have not figured out what the problem is. During some battles in Cyrodiil (a large PVP zone), the lag can get so bad that it almost acts like turn based combat.
5. Many of the changes that ZOS makes causes considerable harm to the veteran player and their gaming experience, because the changes are meant to accommodate newer players and make endgame more accessible. The principle of accessibility is not the problem – it’s that after you have played for a certain time and achieved a certain level, you are not guaranteed to retain what you have earned in the game, forcing regrinds of content you’ve done over and over again just to get at parity with where you were prior to the change.
6. The game is almost unplayable without the addons that the player community provides. You can technically play it, but the time wasted without the addons is such that it would be ridiculous to make an attempt to play without them.
7. The “crown crates” that drop various cosmetic items are a third party currency gambling black box. ZOS does not provide any transparency on drop rates, but the community has stepped in to publish these data, which are not comprehensive and whose calculations are based on sample availability.
8. If you run a guild, the cash outlay to provide offerings to your guildmates (such as crafting stations, practice dummies, and various conveniences) can run into hundreds of dollars. You don’t have to do that, but people who want to run a successful guild by providing attractive offerings to retain membership need to be aware of the stakes. If you run a trading guild, an enormous amount of time is required to manage gold inflow, alliance management, and competitive intelligence in order to be able to reliably secure a trader.

Despite the positives, I’m not recommending this game because, ZOS as a company does not listen to their customers. When changes are made, it’s obvious that part of their motivation is to force more seasoned players to keep grinding over and over again to recapture what they had prior to the change. They keep moving the finish line, both to attract new players, while also willfully and needlessly punishing veteran players for their loyalty in the name of increasing veteran player screen time in order to increase the probability of cosmetic sales. These players are essentially exploited. Cults take advantage of their adherents by using the “sunk costs” heuristic as a disincentive to leave, and ZOS ruthlessly abuses their loyal players in the same way without empathy or explanation.

The so called “community managers” do not address player concerns head on. Any public face for the game is purely promotional in nature. Decisions about game design and mechanics are ostensibly listened to when those changes are placed in testing, and they ask for feedback, but they do not respond to or address any of the feedback even when it is universally negative, given that ZOS’s apparent business objectives of creating more grind constantly trumps the enjoyment of the loyal player’s gaming experience.

In short: if you care long term about what happens to your character’s abilities in game as a result of changes, this game is not for you. Game play changes are constant, unyielding, and with no end in sight. Furthermore, the player’s PVP experience is permanently broken due to its terrible performance, which is largely driven by ZOS’s lack of investment in adequate hardware resources combined with their terrible and outdated engine, and there are no plans to ever address either of those issues.

The only reason I still play is due to the excellent friendships I have made in the game, so at least I have some cool friends to suffer with as we experience a shared misery of unending chaos and uncertainty. Together.

If you love the story and world of Elder Scrolls, and want a single player experience with casual multiplayer engagement, then none of this will matter, and I’d recommend the game. But given that it is an MMO, whose ultimate objective is to better your play to a point where you can clear difficult content and/or play against excellent players in a competitive setting, the disappointing and frustrating destination is ultimately not worth the journey.

I'm editing this review, based on some changes that have been made since I originally wrote it. Long story short, ZOS has really turned things around with their customers. Two things made me turn the corner on whether or not I'd recommend this game. The first is that I tried other MMOs during an ESO break, and none of them were better, with even more bugs and flaws. Although ZOS still has opportunities to improve on the communication of their plans and approach to the game, there were things that they did this past year that really showed an acknowledgment of the player experience and demonstrated consumer empathy. The largest of these was to implement curated drops on top of the stickerbook, which considerably reduced the grind, a point about which I and many others complained endlessly when it came to their game. Despite combat issues in Cyrodiil, which they are doing a full court press to finally fix this year, I recommend the game, and if you have never dropped in to ESO, now is the time. Start of original review: I've played this game since beta, and as an endgame player for about two years now. I have just about 6000 hours invested in the game since the start. Here are the pros and cons: Pros: 1. Elder Scrolls IP (if that is something that appeals to you). 2. Beautifully designed graphics with an immersive quality (particularly newer content) 3. Multiple ways to play the game with highly customizable build options that are very accessible to newer players. 4. Very flexible for single player and multiplayer content – there is something for everyone here. 5. Combat is very dynamic and requires some practice and skill to master. 6. Your abilities in the game are not contingent on paying any additional money. The only thing investment gets you is inventory control convenience and cosmetics. 7. The community is, on a whole, very friendly, and the guild options make it possible to meet people who engage with the game on a variety of levels and interests. 8. There is a very active and creative third party addon community. 9. There are many ways to engage with the game, including the housing features, single player, multiplayer for 4 player and 12 player content, role play, and a number of PVP options. 10. The quests are very good, much better than most MMOs, with good writing and some top-notch voice acting. Cons: 1. Constant changes and tweaks to gear, gameplay, and mechanics make it near-impossible to settle down and hit your stride. Once you get used to playing a certain way with an optimized build, the rug gets pulled out from underneath you and you are starting over. 2. Viable participation in endgame is locked behind so many grindy requirements that it can take a new player months to get to the point where they are even teachable for veteran trial content. 3. The combat system mechanics are inscrutable and difficult to learn. In order to understand your characters and their builds, it literally takes hours of research on third party sites to get to the point where you comprehend the interplay of character stats and how that affects your in-game performance. 4. The PVP offerings in the game are broken. Cheaters are not rampant, but definitely present, and the game design does not make it easy for ZOS to put walls in place to prevent exploitation. Each third party script or bot that gets produced needs to be individually researched and the code re-written to prevent cheating, so it’s prevalent. Furthermore, performance of PVP with respect to the servers is truly awful. Lag is such a bad problem that ZOS has literally been running player tests for months wherein mechanics are drastically changed in pursuit of identifying the root cause of the lag, and after all of that, they still have not figured out what the problem is. During some battles in Cyrodiil (a large PVP zone), the lag can get so bad that it almost acts like turn based combat. 5. Many of the changes that ZOS makes causes considerable harm to the veteran player and their gaming experience, because the changes are meant to accommodate newer players and make endgame more accessible. The principle of accessibility is not the problem – it’s that after you have played for a certain time and achieved a certain level, you are not guaranteed to retain what you have earned in the game, forcing regrinds of content you’ve done over and over again just to get at parity with where you were prior to the change. 6. The game is almost unplayable without the addons that the player community provides. You can technically play it, but the time wasted without the addons is such that it would be ridiculous to make an attempt to play without them. 7. The “crown crates” that drop various cosmetic items are a third party currency gambling black box. ZOS does not provide any transparency on drop rates, but the community has stepped in to publish these data, which are not comprehensive and whose calculations are based on sample availability. 8. If you run a guild, the cash outlay to provide offerings to your guildmates (such as crafting stations, practice dummies, and various conveniences) can run into hundreds of dollars. You don’t have to do that, but people who want to run a successful guild by providing attractive offerings to retain membership need to be aware of the stakes. If you run a trading guild, an enormous amount of time is required to manage gold inflow, alliance management, and competitive intelligence in order to be able to reliably secure a trader. Despite the positives, I’m not recommending this game because, ZOS as a company does not listen to their customers. When changes are made, it’s obvious that part of their motivation is to force more seasoned players to keep grinding over and over again to recapture what they had prior to the change. They keep moving the finish line, both to attract new players, while also willfully and needlessly punishing veteran players for their loyalty in the name of increasing veteran player screen time in order to increase the probability of cosmetic sales. These players are essentially exploited. Cults take advantage of their adherents by using the “sunk costs” heuristic as a disincentive to leave, and ZOS ruthlessly abuses their loyal players in the same way without empathy or explanation. The so called “community managers” do not address player concerns head on. Any public face for the game is purely promotional in nature. Decisions about game design and mechanics are ostensibly listened to when those changes are placed in testing, and they ask for feedback, but they do not respond to or address any of the feedback even when it is universally negative, given that ZOS’s apparent business objectives of creating more grind constantly trumps the enjoyment of the loyal player’s gaming experience. In short: if you care long term about what happens to your character’s abilities in game as a result of changes, this game is not for you. Game play changes are constant, unyielding, and with no end in sight. Furthermore, the player’s PVP experience is permanently broken due to its terrible performance, which is largely driven by ZOS’s lack of investment in adequate hardware resources combined with their terrible and outdated engine, and there are no plans to ever address either of those issues. The only reason I still play is due to the excellent friendships I have made in the game, so at least I have some cool friends to suffer with as we experience a shared misery of unending chaos and uncertainty. Together. If you love the story and world of Elder Scrolls, and want a single player experience with casual multiplayer engagement, then none of this will matter, and I’d recommend the game. But given that it is an MMO, whose ultimate objective is to better your play to a point where you can clear difficult content and/or play against excellent players in a competitive setting, the disappointing and frustrating destination is ultimately not worth the journey.