A new layer of immersion is coming to The Elder Scrolls Online, offering players even more opportunities to bring their characters to life through expanded dialogue choices. The newly introduced Player Response Options system deepens roleplaying in a way that encourages players to truly express their character’s personality, values, and motivations through the words they choose in conversation. This feature is already available in the Seasons of the Worm Cult prologue quest and will play a much larger role in Part 1 of the same storyline, launching alongside Update 46.
At its core, the Player Response Options system enriches in-game conversations by adding more emotionally varied and contextually meaningful dialogue choices. While ESO has always given players some freedom in how they approach situations—such as bribing a guard, intimidating an opponent, or making moral decisions—this new system formalizes and expands those interactions with more flavor and narrative consequence.
According to Bill Slavicsek, the Project Narrative Director, this feature gives players new ways to engage with NPCs during key moments in quests. Instead of a single neutral response, players may now find multiple options—each with distinct emotional tones and potential outcomes. These responses not only affect how NPCs react in the moment, but can sometimes influence how a quest unfolds or concludes.
This evolution in storytelling reflects years of experimentation within ESO’s dialogue system. The development team has long explored ways to make the player’s voice feel less neutral and more reactive to the world. Instances like flirting with beloved characters such as Naryu, Jakarn, or Darien, or showing compassion or anger in conversations with Eveli Sharp-Arrow during earlier storylines, were early indicators of where the team was headed. The introduction of Player Response Options simply brings these concepts to the forefront and makes them more consistent and accessible.
Not every conversation will offer these new dialogue types, but players can expect them to appear far more frequently than before. More importantly, each option is clearly marked, giving players a better sense of the tone their character will take. Some of the featured response styles include Kind, Grim, Merciful, Ruthless, Joker, and Flirty, with the standard neutral response always available as a fallback. For example, a Kind response might involve showing empathy or encouragement, while a Grim reply might deliver a harsher, no-nonsense approach.
This system doesn’t just give players a way to roleplay—it also breathes new life into familiar NPCs. Long-time favorites who have appeared across multiple story arcs will now respond differently based on how you interact with them, adding more depth to relationships that have developed over time. In some cases, the new response mechanics formalize emotional beats that were previously left to player imagination, creating a stronger sense of continuity and character progression.
Players already have access to a preview of this system in the prologue quest leading into Seasons of the Worm Cult. One notable moment comes when dealing with a wounded member of the Worm Cult—will you show mercy and kindness to gain their trust, or resort to threats to extract the information you need? This decision alone can reflect your character’s internal moral compass, and such moments will become more prominent as Update 46 rolls out and new quests arrive.
For those who enjoy delving into the psychology and backstory of their characters, these new options provide fertile ground for roleplay. But even players who haven’t typically considered themselves roleplayers may find themselves thinking more deeply about their character’s personality thanks to the added choices.
In the end, the Player Response Options system invites you not just to play through ESO’s stories, but to shape them in ways that better reflect the character you’ve built in your mind. Whether you’re a stern warrior, a light-hearted trickster, a compassionate healer, or anything in between, ESO is giving you the tools to say exactly what your character would say—and mean it.
