Elder Scrolls Online

[Lexx]

Yep, the one that comes up now. Kinda bad timing for me, because I'd rather do something else instead. :/

[Guest Slinky]

22Gb downloading at 650kB/s... luckily I decided to download it now and not friday.

 

[Gorgon]

Combat animations look worse than Skyrim. Didn't think that was possible.

[BruceVC]

Combat animations look worse than Skyrim. Didn't think that was possible.

 

Big fan of Bethesda by any chance?

[Gorgon]

I have an embarrassing amount of hours logged in Skyrim. It would be really nice to have the engine improved to the point of removing certain eyesores. This Looks like a step backwards, which is not so strange considering it\s an MMO. Still.

[Hurlshort]

I was very unimpressed by the videos I watched of ESO, but I actually thought it played better than it looked.  

 

That being said, it is still very much an Elder Scrolls game.  I've never been that impressed by the combat animations.

[Noviere]

I have a buddy key as well, if anyone in the world still needs one. I spent one weekend playing the beta, which was enough for me. I like how they handled some of the questing, but the actual gameplay felt awkward to me. Also, I really hate how every "class" has magically-themed abilities.

[Darkpriest]

Hmm.. I've played the game last weekend. Quite a lot actually.

 

1) BIG lags on PvP maps... this needs to be addressed as right now it's hardly enjoyable.

2) Quests are standard Beths quests, so nothing memorable

3) World seems varied, although you are quite bottlenecked in your progression on maps

4) The Deadric Anchors events are not indicated in any way (or i missed something)

5) Needs some kind of announcement board/trading house aside of guilds

 

I guess my biggest problem with that game was PvP lagging way too hard, other than that it's a 3D monster hunt, with ok graphics, but odd collision mechanics (is there even one?). 

 

Funnily combat is more fun in Skyrim than in this game. Graphics is also worse than in Skyrim

 

It's my first MMO, but it was fun experience. Not sure though if it is worth monthly subs. I can have more engaging PvP experience in DotA2, and better SP experience in many other RPGs

Edited March 3, 2014 by Darkpriest

[Guest Slinky]

I guess my biggest problem with that game was PvP lagging way too hard, other than that it's a 3D monster hunt, with ok graphics, but odd collision mechanics (is there even one?).

I think they have added collisions for enemy npc's in the newest closed beta build, the beta weekend build apparently was fairly old version. Collisions aren't coming to pvp though, servers can't handle that many players with collisions. And the lagging was probably because of huge player numbers as the whole world was crammed in the NA server.

 

As for the game, it didn't seem like a bad game... but it did feel like a weird elder scrolls lite single player game which was full of other people stealing your kills and loot, like a strange crossover between a single player game and a MMO. And with a monthly subscription fee. And you can't even buy a home and fill it up to the roof with skulls.

 

I don't know, maybe if they manage to deliver new content as often they are promising they might survive the inevitable subber bleed after the first couple months, we shall see.

[Hurlshort]

Are homes not available for purchase?  Huh, I'd figure that would be a given, since they have them in the single play game.  I'd expect that to be an add-on down the road.

[Spider]

I've played this during the first beta weekend (up to level 13) and with a new character this weekend (up to level 5). I'm not super impressed by this game, but I don't hate it either. Some impressions:

 

The game is gorgeous. Animations are a bit so-so perhaps, but the rest of the visuals are fantastic, at least for a mmo.

 

Once you get past the tutorial area and the first small area, the game becomes a lot more fun. Partly because you have more skills to play around with and because the maps open up a bit more. But for me the first 4-5 levels took way too long and felt kinda grindy and railroaded.

 

Exploration is fun (once you get to the larger maps) and with the skyshards there is also motivation to explore.

 

The game is clearly made for a console audience. The low amount of abilities at your disposal and the overall UI design all scream of console limitations, even more so than Skyrim did. Perhaps it gets better once you unlock your second weapon set (and thus in a way double the amount of abilities you can have slotted), but I'm not convinced.

 

The skill system seems fairly robust and allows for a lot of options.

 

Questwise the game is fairly mediocre. Not as awful as standard MMO fare, but not super exciting either.

 

I do like that quest objectives are instanced so you usually don't have to stand in line waiting for objectives to respawn. Same that you get kill credit for any monster that dies that you've attacked, regardless of who killed it (or initiated combat).

 

But following along those lines, I can't for the life of me understand why when in a group when one person completes an objective it doesn't count for the whole group. Questing actually takes longer in a group than if you do it yourself, which just feels wrong.

 

Long cutscenes in repeatable content will probably get annoying after a while. They're done out of dialogue, so while you can move around and do whatever you want, you still have to wait for them to finish before you can continue. It's fine the first few times, but after that....

 

I do like that you join guilds (and befriend people) with your account, not your character.

 

So like II said, a mixed bag. I don't think I'll be getting this one at launch, but if enough people I know are playing it and loving it then maybe. Most of all I'm concerned about longevity. You only get 6 activated abilities per weapon set and I just feel it'll be a bit simplistic in the long run. End game content has to be really amazing for this game to be worth the subscription I think.

[Darkpriest]

Are homes not available for purchase?  Huh, I'd figure that would be a given, since they have them in the single play game.  I'd expect that to be an add-on down the road.

 

I suspect, that the problem with homes is this = you have only so little space for so very few players, and there would be thousands wanting them

 

However I do think that they should allow for guild houses, and only for a limited number, and those that achieve something significant for a given faction. (war effort recognition, wealth accumulation, etc.)

 

The regular housing is out of question. Did you see how small Daggerfall is in the game?

[Darkpriest]

 

I guess my biggest problem with that game was PvP lagging way too hard, other than that it's a 3D monster hunt, with ok graphics, but odd collision mechanics (is there even one?).

I think they have added collisions for enemy npc's in the newest closed beta build, the beta weekend build apparently was fairly old version. Collisions aren't coming to pvp though, servers can't handle that many players with collisions. And the lagging was probably because of huge player numbers as the whole world was crammed in the NA server.

 

As for the game, it didn't seem like a bad game... but it did feel like a weird elder scrolls lite single player game which was full of other people stealing your kills and loot, like a strange crossover between a single player game and a MMO. And with a monthly subscription fee. And you can't even buy a home and fill it up to the roof with skulls.

 

I don't know, maybe if they manage to deliver new content as often they are promising they might survive the inevitable subber bleed after the first couple months, we shall see.

 

 

If anything, the collisions should be in the PvP. Without it, it's very weird. You can't block off people, you can just run through them, etc., which is breaking PvP combats (less so on army vs army scale, but skirmishes of 2v2 3v3, and duels are biggest losers of this)

[Darkpriest]

Soooo since I'll be playing most likely Orc Heavy armor/two-handed/blacksmith thing for Daggerfall Covenant, anyone else from this forum that would be playing for the DC?

[Setzer]

I've decided to play ESO after this last beta weekend event and actually pre-ordered the imperial edition on Sunday night.  Initially, I had no interest in playing because the game uses tradition Elder Scrolls/FPS controls, which I really don't like in MMO's.  All the MMO's I've played in the last 10 years(WoW, Lotro, FFXIV, SWTOR, GW2) all have mouse friendly UI's and control options.  That's the way I prefer to play and I'm the most comfortable with.  Sure, its a preference thing and doesn't mean ESO sucks but its just something I don't like. 

 

So, when I did my first beta weekend event in January I didn't like it and didn't give the game a fair chance soley because I didn't like the controls.  Think I got to level 2 and then quit and didn't play the rest of the weekend.  I had pretty much written the game off before this last weekend beta event and then I saw a video showing what PvP was like.  It was 3 faction open world PvP just like it was in Dark Age of Camelot.  This really peaked my interest because I loved DAoC.  So I decided this past weekend to make an effort to adjust to the controls and with a little tweaking got it setup to where I was comfortable playing it.  I didn't get to level 10 to try out PvP but I had a blast with the game.  The world is beautiful and has that realistic look that I loved about Lord of the RIngs Online.  Questing and NPC dialogue were really well done and had me engaged in the storyline.  I found several treasure maps that had me exploring the island I was on which I thought was a nice mini-game.  Did a little crafting and enjoyed it.  Sure, there are still some kinks to work out, combat needs to be more fluid, grouping needs work with the whole phasing thing and there are still lots of bugs that need to be fixed but overall I enjoyed the game.

[Hurlshort]

Good to hear Setzer.  I'm really hoping this game pulls me in like LotRO did.  No MMO has matched up to that yet.

[Setzer]

Final beta weekend coming up, March 14-16. If anyone is interested in trying this out and needs a key, I have a few extras.

[Bryy]

I am divided whether I should buy it. On one hand, it's an MMO. On the other, I can play as a Khajiit. CHOICES CHOICES.

Well, if you like spending money...

[Arkan]

Won't be buying ESO. Never bought a MMO, not about to start, and Beth didn't even develop the game.

[Hurlshort]

Won't be buying ESO. Never bought a MMO, not about to start, and Beth didn't even develop the game.

 

Did you play it?  It is definitely a Bethesda game, for better or worse.

 

I get what you are saying, that it is developed by Zenimax Online, but it's really splitting hairs.  Bethesda has its hands all over this thing.

[Humanoid]

Counterpoint: generic elf lady they're using for marketing.

 

 

While not in itself definitive evidence of anything, I feel it does kind of illustrate where the priorities were here - making a traditional generic MMO with pretty elves the likes of which you see by the dozen in "beautiful elves" type project on the Nexusmods site.

 

Disclosure: In general I'm not a fan of the TES setting, but one aspect I do admire is their willingness to have these non-traditional (relatively), very alien elves compared to your stock fantasy setting.

Edited March 13, 2014 by Humanoid

[Arkan]

 

Won't be buying ESO. Never bought a MMO, not about to start, and Beth didn't even develop the game.

 

Did you play it?  It is definitely a Bethesda game, for better or worse.

 

I get what you are saying, that it is developed by Zenimax Online, but it's really splitting hairs.  Bethesda has its hands all over this thing.

 

Haven't played it, but MMOs were never my thing.

[Monte Carlo]

$14.99 a month in the US.

 

That's a bold move.

[Hurlshort]

$14.99 a month in the US.

 

That's a bold move.

 

It's a standard MMO move.  

 

$20 would be bold!

[Humanoid]

As bold a move as copying all the other aspects of WoW, yes. It's totally going to work this time guys!