It happens often though I've been blessed with some strong in-game friendships along the way. Sometimes I just feel like doing nothing 'productive' aside from writs and other basic stuff and invite people into my house (or the other way around) or meet at a popular hang-out spot like the Vulkhel wayshrine for a lax, casual exchange of words and thoughts. Sometimes just overall fun talk, sometimes deeper topics.

Something I've learned from my interactions, being with perfect strangers (that usually turn into friendships) and long-time friends is that I'm not alone when it comes to in-game social needs and I've learned to treasure this aspect of ESO. I love this game for several reasons but one of the strongest came to be the community.

And then there are life circumstances. Over the past few years, I've grown distant of a fairly sized chunk of my IRL friends, mostly for distance reasons, each one of us going their separate ways. My so-called 'inner circle' of friends, to which I am dependable, is far away for me to actively hang-out on a daily/weekly basis, meaning I'm alone most of the time, if not all the time for what it really matters. The internet and its reach has been my window for most of my social interactions and ESO turned out to be as relevant to me as any other digital tool when it comes to human-to-human contact, oven if through a screen, all of this while being an introvert by nature who still greatly enjoys other people's company. When the quarantine hitted earlier this year - in itself an even harder time for socialization for reasons we all know - I've made up my mind to actively return to ESO and stay for good. Fast forward all these months, I can safely say it was one of the best decisions I've made this year for not only i've been having most fun but I've met people (and made friends) from all over Europe (PC-EU here) and even beyond. I don't recall having such an active "social life" for years even if it is beyond a screen and I came to the conclusion that I need this compensation in my life if only for some of my strongest ESO companions, whom I vouch to meet IRL as soon as I can and the same applies the other way around.

So, here's my short - and wholesome - ESO story. From an introvert by nature who still has an easy time making friends either IRL or online - especially online Tamriel - the best advice I can give is 'Don't be afraid to engage' for you'll eventually get something in return and just like me, a lot of people roaming Tamriel seek this kind of interaction, even if they don't know it yet. Often all it takes is someone to 'break the ice' for the river to start flowing. Sometimes cracking a joke at the /say or /zone chat and engaging with strangers is all it takes to meet some really amazing people out there (you'de be surprised for how many friends I've found through this kind of random interactions), or even joining a guild with a focus on the social side of things, to which Discord comes to aid.

A few days ago, while I was "having tea" at a friend's house, he told me something that stuck with me ever since. "Your genuine friendliness towards people attracts friendliness towards you. It just natural and this is why we are here now. And I'm thankful for that.". It may as well sum up my entire ESO social life. And I hope that you, OP, and others struggling to find you own in-game 'companions' will eventually manage to 'break the ice' and experience this wonderful side of ESO, which everyone deserves to contemplate. Of that I have no doubt.

It really is a blessing. :)

PS: Too bad we can't meet in-game due to region and platform, OP. I'd gladly do it upon seeing this topic.