ESO Thieves Guild Quest Triggers Player Queue Culture Again
I still remember the opening days of The Division back in 2016, when players seemed to instinctively fall into a polite line just to interact with an NPC. It sounded odd, but it’s a pattern that shows up more often than you’d expect. World of Warcraft has seen its share of enormous “queue culture,” and Final Fantasy XIV pulled the same trick during Raubahn Savage. Even with The Elder Scrolls Online still going strong, players are now forming lines again—this time with the arrival of Season One: Return of the Thieves Guild.
To begin the new quest, you have to enter the Yvierry Estate. The snag? Only one player can handle the gate’s lockpicking at a time. What started as a chaotic crowd pressing toward the entrance quickly turned into something much more organized. Reddit user nick_the_dude_ explained that the group collectively decided to “form a line that stretches almost back to the wayshrine,” adding that there’s “movement in the line every 5–10 minutes.”
Other commenters posted screenshots to show how long the queue had become. The original poster also claimed they’d stumbled across a brand-new “waiting in line” guild made specifically for the quest. RogueFoxGaming shared, “I’m really surprised there is a nice and formal line!” They also noted that someone was calling out cutters, saying it had been a mess when they arrived earlier—only about 10 people were gathered around the gate at the time, and someone was barely even suggesting that a line should form.
“The Door Apparently Cannot Handle So Many People Trying To Enter”
To be clear, this doesn’t mean the entire server is stuck outside the estate, taking turns like a single file march. As JoeGibbon—who describes themselves as an “old tech guy”—explained, hundreds of players have already gotten through. After that, additional players are admitted whenever someone currently inside leaves, which lines up with the observed five to ten minute gaps between moments of progress. It’s definitely inconvenient, but it’s also becoming a familiar MMO rhythm.
Not everyone, though, got an orderly experience. Reddit user trigen posted a public service announcement on the game’s subreddit, warning that there was “currently an indefinite waiting time for the first new Thieves Guild quest.” Alongside the message was a photo showing a small crowd clustered around the entrance. Trigen explained that “the door apparently cannot handle so many people trying to enter at the same time,” and that “efforts to form a queue failed so far.”
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The responses varied, with suggestions ranging from simply waiting it out, reloading the game, or even hitting the faster inputs repeatedly. AVerifiedPig summed up the mood for some players with, “That is funny but I will be avoiding this for now.”
