kidjuju: as someone who comes from a background of years of fps games like csgo , cod , valorant , rainbow six siege, etc . I wanted to get into an mmo and did lots of research before hand of many different mmos and my top 2 I wanted to try was guild wars 2 and ESO. I tried guild wars 2 for a bit and didn’t really like it that much but kept trying to play it since everyone said that it gets good once your deep into the game and couldn’t find any fun in it tbh . I then tried ESO and have been grinding it since . It’s very refreshing as a newcomer especially to the whole genre of mmos. Will continue to play eso and actually planning on getting eso plus lol

tady_toes: If anyone is looking for a summarised version of the video:

No. The answer is no.

Nolldurwow: One thing ESO doesn’t get enough criticism for is how subclassing and shared systems slowly destroyed class fantasy.

On paper, subclassing is sold as “player freedom.” In practice, it makes every class feel interchangeable. When Dragonknights, Templars, Arcanists, and Sorcerers all rely on the same weapon skills, guild skills, scribing abilities, and proc sets, your class identity stops mattering. Your build matters more than who your character is.

MMO class fantasy is not just balance or numbers. It’s narrative, visuals, and exclusivity. A class should answer: what power do I wield, where does it come from, and why is it unique to me? ESO used to have that. Now, efficiency overrides fantasy.

The Arcanist is the clearest example. It launched in 2023 with a strong concept: forbidden knowledge, Apocrypha, Hermaeus Mora. But almost three years later, the class hasn’t evolved at all. No new skills, no visual progression, no expansion of its fantasy. Instead, it gets diluted by universal systems. You end up playing Fatecarver generic tools, not an entity warped by eldritch knowledge.

Compare that to WoW or even Black Desert. WoW is restrictive, but a Warlock always feels like a Warlock. Black Desert may be grindy, but classes maintain strong visual and mechanical identity. ESO sits in the worst middle ground: maximum freedom, minimum identity.

The problem isn’t freedom itself. Subclassing only works if the core class fantasy is reinforced and protected. ESO never did that. Classes are static kits from the moment they launch, while all innovation happens outside of them. When everyone can do everything, nothing feels special.

ESO didn’t lose its magic because of lack of content.

It lost it because it stopped making your class feel meaningful.

youtubedislikebutton752: Yes the games is worth jumping into/returning if what you're looking for is a rich world full of lore and questing with heaps of content to sink your teeth into BUT a big fat no I would not recommend this game to any player looking for a challenging and rewarding endgame at least while it's in it's current state.

edc6172: My answer is no until January 7th. Then the community can tell you whether the reveal gives the game a promising future

davery07: Happy New Year and have enjoy your videos. Looking forward to 2026.

TheLastKnightofLetters: There's so much to appreciate about the game: The art direction, the music, the questing, the sheer amount of stuff to do. But man, the combat feels rough now. I feel like Fatecarver was a mistake, because it makes everything else feel incredibly weak in comparison. Thoughtful buildcrafting and team comps are a thing of the past. I really hope the combat team can make things interesting again

TheGMac316: What build is that you are using in the video?

Marion.Lei-t1z: Happy New Year - great video! Love your pro attitude and agree with everything you said. ESO is still the best game out there for me.

ivantheterrrible9213: Week ago marked my first yeah in ESO, and i loved every second of it. Even my working full time i managed to crush 1400 hours. As i enjoyer of other Elder Scroll titles, this one hit the spot, but its mmo. Even tho it took me a long time to give it a try (tbh reasons unknown). I ofc came for PvE mainly, but after 1 Mayhem event, PvP got its hooks in me lol (still suck in it, but i'm learning and having fun while doing it). There is no good reason for people not to play this in 2026. For new players; get yourself am ESO (all DLCs, infinite crafting bag, Crowns...).

yqod7277: I started eso 2 weeks ago.

Never played an Momo before, Besides 4story (does anyone remember?)

What obwohl Like to say, im Glad that I started eso.

Even I found a Guild who Take me on raids ( thanks to Illuminate Heros)

kodamag-bb2of: Congratulations to your family on the birth of your child

nightmarehd8171: no its bad now. subclassing is terrible the game has never been so dead on especially on PSNA

tusanity: Only people who dont like this game are the ones with 2% game completion and only play mount simulator in Cyrodiils PvP.... claiming the game is dead and nothing to do while they have 2% game completion and having 1000s of players in every zone.... I promise the game even after 11 years still takes my breath away from the Dragons to survivng a Meteor in Vvardenfell that shook the building I was in... Literally making me say what is going on, just to get outside and see a city wide astriod barreling for the city... Soloing camps in Solstice, chasing easter eggs and getting rich, zone completions, and running epic trials... this game is so insane and the freedom of not just choice but the freedom of movement and control over your avatar is unmatched, it feels like you are in the game rather thn playing a weird blocky toon in a game.. you can jump sprint roll dodge crouch block parry and melle weaving around skills... game can be as casual or as intense as you wnt as you want when you want it... I recommend following online guides for each month of whats hot each month and how you should use your time for each month. Pick up ESO and play!

bsg_damo: i need help getting into this game on pc, it feels so impossible to stay as a brand new, way behind solo

Cooperharley0204: Nice video Doc! Always appreciate your positive attitude.

With the current trajectory of the game itself & the monetization present, I have been recommending NOT to play this game to many friends (the ones who have anyways come to the same conclusion as me). Long time player of the game, will always love it, but Zenimax has not shown much of anything other than a downward trajectory since COVID. A typical theme is that they are masters of marketing upcoming content to players and then flopping on said content releases and breadth (i.e. just see the hype they generated for the Writhing Wall event and how that turned out).

Now, that being said, I do sincerely hope with the new leadership team that we'll see some much needed positive changes and growth & I would love nothing more than to switch my opinion. Currently from an MMO perspective, I've been recommending WoW for enjoyers of vertical progression & GW2 for enjoyers of horizontal progression. I've treated ESO VERY seasonally rather than my main MMO for the last few years because it still seems to not be able to grasp long term incentive, veteran player retention, and rewarding gameplay. As soon as it fixes those things, I'll be back full force; as will my friends! If you approach this game just like a single player RPG with a story focus, you'll absolutely adore it! But, if you approach this game as marketed (i.e. as an MMO), currently I believe you'll be disappointed in the LONG RUN. Great in the beginning and middle, but towards the end when you've experienced most of the stories and you see/play the game at "end game" (whatever that may be for you), this is where the opinions often change. This is all evidenced by the amount of content creation, content consumption (i.e. Twitch, YouTube, Kick) and player numbers (i.e. Steam Charts as a trend) come to display this.

Love your videos! Keep it up :)

moonhaewon6689: there is a lot of good things in the game for you to do, specially if you're a new player, you have years of content to catch up with and such and it is some good content tbh. But the problem is that lately, for the past year or so zos has fucked up quite a lot of times, subclassing imo is a mistake and I wish it wasn't in the game or to a much smaller degree, the writhin wall event was an absolutely colossal failure, the season of the worm cult in general has many story telling issues and its not really good, such as the dumbing down of characters that are supposed to be extremely smart.

Karnak11: Is better to begin in new MMO... In all cases, right now new MMOs are where winds meet and thtone and liberty. ESO, FF14, WoW are too old and you will never get in line. The genre is not friendly you should play ARPG like PoE 2 or diablo 4

leatherDarkhorse: For me i wouldnt even recommend everyone play this game until they layout their finalizi g battle system been 12years we still in beta testing. Ultra insane overly zealot ai moderation for anything you said will be get banned.

puddingsimon2626: maybe, but if nothing changes, if the lead devs of the game dont lose there job and new actually competent people come in then the game is doomed. already fucked everything with multiclassing, now they want to rebalance the classes for a system that the game was never designed for? the whole foundation isnt made to support it, and unless you REALY neuter multiclassing itself you might aswell just remove it.

Listitan: If you want good combat, then no. If you dont care about it, absolutely yes. :D I personally quit because of the sub class shit. :D

Baekgoe: You ask: “Should you play The Elder Scrolls Online in 2026?”

My answer, in one word: NO.

ZeniMax has turned ESO into a pure DPS-obsessed game. If you don’t push high damage numbers, you’re excluded from almost all meaningful content. Group play, trials, and even many dungeons now revolve around DPS checks rather than mechanics, strategy, or fun.

ESO used to be about immersion, lore, varied playstyles, and having fun in the world of Tamriel. Now, none of that matters. Your build, your role-play, your preferred class fantasy, everything is secondary to raw damage output. If you’re not chasing the meta, you’re treated as dead weight. Out of seven classes, everyone runs the same builds just to chase high parses. Pure classes are dead. Class identity is dead. ESO has become a shallow, DPS-chasing mess.

At this point, ESO isn’t about adventure or choice anymore. It’s about parsing DPS or not being welcome.

FK ESO, FK ZeniMax, FK the developers, and everyone who turned the game into this.

MaD-vq6wz: Yes you should the game is probs 1 of the best games ever made yes it has bugs but even with the bugs there not much better ,, needs to cater more for solo players tho as group finder still sucks can be waiting long time for group

blubblubwhat: Why destiny 2? Mmo players only play one mmo at a time. Wadted time at least u where vice enuph not to post it on the same channel since lower views are picked up by the algorythm suggestions.

S2N_ERASER: Just started playing but for some reason that annoying "Blocking Graphic/Animation" almost ruins the game for me lol Still enjoying it but they need to remove that hideous thing lol.

Jan 06 2026

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