Many of us on PC NA are currently having a problem that started only an hour or so ago. Launcher is broken. Error 206. It prompts you to repair but instead of repairing, loops you back to Error 206.

The official forum is awash in complaints. So if you have this prob, I suggest you make a cup of coffee and relax instead of pulling your hair out trying to sort out troubleshooting steps. The problem is clearly on ZoS' end.

Yup, looks like they tried to send out a bad file as a patch. Nothing we can do but wait until there's a good one in its place. At least it failed before corrupting out game files.

Yes, ball is in ZoS's court to fix the launcher. Nothing wrong with the game itself though and you can play by bypassing the launcher. I used these instructions and just double clicked on the eso64 file - game started up just fine.


'I too opened the game with the eso64 file. This file is in "(((C:\Program Files (x86))))\Zenimax Online\The Elder Scrolls Online\game\client"

(((Go to the folder where the game is installed)))'

Many thanks for this! Was about to do a clean install- fortunately I have disks rather than download, but still....

Rather just play while they sort out what they borked with the launcher. Thanks again, Sir Acadian!

Hopefully it will be fixed before tomorrow, but it’s good there is a work around.

I just used the .exe lmao
'Course, I DID pop in the subreddit to see whether there was a problem before I did.

Just (8:42 p.m. Eastern) tested standard (shortcut) launch and game launched correctly.

I was actually quite impressed at how resilient the patch system was, as the problem just went away without any intervention from our end. It did start me thinking that maybe this was a hack attempt that failed, as I wasn't aware of getting any genuine update prior to being able to use the launcher again.

You are exactly right, that (bad file) is what happened. It is rare that this happens; but if it does = don't ever reinstall your game. Your game files are not corrupted; but the Launcher files are.

You can bypass the launcher by going into your game files and hand clicking the execute (or just make a shortcut to the execute and place it on your desktop). If you have a 64 bit computer, make sure you use the ESO64.exe one.

The only time you ever actually need that launcher is if you are choosing which server to access (like if you want to go to the PTS server and check out all the upcoming stuff before it loads on the "Live" server) - plus you have to open it to download the patches; but when they have a bad file it is best not to open it.

Meanwhile, you can play the game while Zenimax is fixing the bad file on their Launcher.






This post has been edited by mALX: Feb 1 2018, 04:41 PM

Is anyone planning to start a new alt when the next update comes out? The level rewards include a few things, like one of the housing containers, that won't be available any other way.

I may add a Dunmer or Altmer to my crew, but don't know who they'd be yet. They won't let me make a Silanu, so it won't be her.

Khajiit has two waiting to go. A male Argonian Templar Tank and a female Redguard Dragonknight DPS.

I got me an Imperial Dragonknight ready to go when the patch drops. I might need to sort things out a little before I can get into the spirit, though, as far as the actual character goes. This will be my first time playing a Dragonknight in earnest, too. Not that I'm particularly mindful about the skills of any class lol

I do not plan to add a 13th warrior until they unveil another class, which means Jerric's crew will miss out on the level 2-15 rewards. (Steams is level 15.) I think they can live with that. The main one they want is the storage container. Oh, and the dog.

What is Steams’ role in your crew?

Steams and Mikken are both bankers brought on board right before they announced housing storage. Steams is adorable and the only mag-Nightblade on the crew, so she fears not deletion. Mikken bought Grymharth's Woe and turned it into The Prancing Mammoth tavern, so he's also staying. Mikken has already adapted into sort of a merchant role, since he's in Windhelm and never far from the bank.

Hmmm, this one thinks that you could simply restart Steams. She could be back at level 15 in no time and you’ll get goodies! Just a suggestion though, Khajiit is not trying to tell you how to play your game.

Don't restart Steams. The storage container is at 18, so she'll get that one. Any existing character under L50 gets the rewards for their level-ups from their current level onward (nothing for the levels they already have). All my crew were 18 plus when the list was published, so I need one more. I'd only created two in each Alliance, so I have spares without buying slots.

The other one-offs were mainly starter gear that loses its usefulness at higher levels, and won't be missed if it's missed. That storage container is an exception.

This post has been edited by ghastley: Feb 6 2018, 03:05 PM

You have a good plan, ghastley. I'm holding off on leveling my current lowbie until the update drops so we can get that storage container for him.

I also have two more characters in mind (though not yet created) - just have to figure out their classes. Thinking one will be stamplar and the other will be magDK or maybe magwarden with a focus on healing . . .

Note that each account will only get one free container, so more than one new char is a waste (for this purpose, anyway).

This post has been edited by ghastley: Feb 6 2018, 05:58 PM

This one is doing two new ones mainly because he is interested in seeing the advisor stuff.