Elder Scrolls Online (all threads moved here)

[Flamewraith]

So I'm sure you have all heard of the new mmo coming out based on the elder scrolls universe. My best friend and I are diehard elder scroll fans since the launch of morrowind (300 hours on morrowind, 200+ on oblivion, up on 220 for Skyrim right now) and we plan on rolling characters as soon as the server starts up. I plan on playing a healer and had a few questions about the role that e3 didn't answer, and a brief google search couldn't find. Just figured I would throw these out there for anyone with more info to answer. First, is the game going to be more pvp or pve based? It looks like it's leaning towards pvp, which I wouldn't mind but I prefer pve. I noticed how they said a player can be named emperor if he makes enough contributions, does this mean kills or quest turn ins, meaning could my healer class be crowned without killing many players. Lastly does the game look healer accesible? I noticed how there is little to no hud, this doesn't sound beneficial to healers at all. Thanks for your time!

[Fawqueue]

I know a lot of people were underwhelmed by ESO at E3 this year. One of the big gripes from the Massively staff was that it still feels like Skryim with other people (so basically a lot of players all doing the solo act with no need for each other). With that in mind, I can't imagine healers being of much use in any kind of a group setting, since group settings don't seem to be what the game is designed for. Half of the staff from Massively even had ESO on their biggest disappointment lists...so as much fun as Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim were I think we're seeing a dud on the horizon.

Which while I have been expecting the entire time, I am still sad to see because I remember sitting next to my buddy playing Morrowind a decade ago and saying "Man, I really wish we could play this together!". Apparently, it's less fun when you actually can...

[Flamewraith]

Originally Posted by Fawqueue [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I know a lot of people were underwhelmed by ESO at E3 this year. One of the big gripes from the Massively staff was that it still feels like Skryim with other people (so basically a lot of players all doing the solo act with no need for each other). With that in mind, I can't imagine healers being of much use in any kind of a group setting, since group settings don't seem to be what the game is designed for. Half of the staff from Massively even had ESO on their biggest disappointment lists...so as much fun as Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim were I think we're seeing a dud on the horizon.

Which while I have been expecting the entire time, I am still sad to see because I remember sitting next to my buddy playing Morrowind a decade ago and saying "Man, I really wish we could play this together!". Apparently, it's less fun when you actually can...

Hmmm I don't know, I had a look at a 4man dungeon that they had gone through where they had two healers, one guy asked how necessary the the healers were and why they didn't have tanks, and the other guy replied that tanks are no longer needed, but healers help make a dungeon less of a pain, I just wonder how useful I will be in pvp and if I will get recognized for it. Also I did the same damn thing with a whole bunch of my friends (except it was in oblivion I was pretty much the only person in my circle who played morrowind, anyone I tried to introduce was turned off by the shoddy graphics. Jokes on them now that there are some kickass mods out for it [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.])

[Flamewraith]

Gah sorry that was an accident, wrong click [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[Kagatob]

So far it has 3 different kinds of instancing and is also being developed with consoles in mind. It's just another current gen MMO, it'll be FTP by the end of 2014 easy.

[Sirken]

Originally Posted by Flamewraith [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

First, is the game going to be more pvp or pve based? It looks like it's leaning towards pvp, which I wouldn't mind but I prefer pve. I noticed how they said a player can be named emperor if he makes enough contributions, does this mean kills or quest turn ins, meaning could my healer class be crowned without killing many players. Lastly does the game look healer accesible? I noticed how there is little to no hud, this doesn't sound beneficial to healers at all. Thanks for your time!

both. Cyrodil is open world pvp. there is no pvp out side of Cyrodil.
not a lot of info on emperor. but they said everything counts. however i imagine contributions of all kinds in Cyrodil (ie: help the forts, questing, pvp, killing, healing, etc) will count towards the emperor score. yes a healer gets points for healing. targeting is the same as past TES games (skyrim, oblivion, etc), its the soft targeting. there is no target box, and there is no way to lock on a target. most healing appears to be PBAoE based spells, so between those two bits Healers will have to be in the thick of combat to be effective.

Long Live the Queen!
Long Live the Aldmeri Dominion!

[Flamewraith]

Originally Posted by Sirken [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

both. Cyrodil is open world pvp. there is no pvp out side of Cyrodil.
not a lot of info on emperor. but they said everything counts. however i imagine contributions of all kinds in Cyrodil (ie: help the forts, questing, pvp, killing, healing, etc) will count towards the emperor score. yes a healer gets points for healing. targeting is the same as past TES games (skyrim, oblivion, etc), its the soft targeting. there is no target box, and there is no way to lock on a target. most healing appears to be PBAoE based spells, so between those two bits Healers will have to be in the thick of combat to be effective.

Long Live the Queen!
Long Live the Aldmeri Dominion!

Hmmm I like that I will still get noticed for being a healer, which adds incentive to be a healer. I don't like that you become emperor though, I think the title of champion would be more fitting, an emperor is a ruler, a champion is one who has made many noticeable contributions. Not that big of a deal. Fuck Yeah! I'm rolling dominion too!!!!! See you in Elsweyr/summerset/valenwood!!!!

[Khaleesi]

From what we've seen so far and the little bits I can tell you without breaking NDA, it is pretty generic outside of it's combat. By that I mean it follows your mouse click Elder Scrolls/TERA style play as you've seen in the advertising. And while that includes defense, it doesn't have a full active defense system - not surprising, no MMORPG seems willing to touch that.

The speed of the combat is noticeably faster than Elder Scrolls - this is a game breaker for many players.

The graphics are nowhere near as good as Skyrim. When I say that, I do so on two accounts.
1. The default visuals of Skyrim are decent on consoles and higher quality on the computer.
2. The modified visuals of Skyrim on a computer are impressive. People here whom play Skyrim and have used a quality ENB series know what I speak of.

ESO is currently sub par to the console version of default Skyrim graphics.

The general mechanics and common features we expect in MMORPGs are still the same.
The only saving grace here is that if you're big on Tamriel lore, the game has it and it's fun to share with others.

Having said that; it's not near as boring and repetitive as FFXIV : ARR

[Alarti0001]

Originally Posted by Khaleesi [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

From what we've seen so far and the little bits I can tell you without breaking NDA, it is pretty generic outside of it's combat. By that I mean it follows your mouse click Elder Scrolls/TERA style play as you've seen in the advertising. And while that includes defense, it doesn't have a full active defense system - not surprising, no MMORPG seems willing to touch that.

The speed of the combat is noticeably faster than Elder Scrolls - this is a game breaker for many players.

The graphics are nowhere near as good as Skyrim. When I say that, I do so on two accounts.
1. The default visuals of Skyrim are decent on consoles and higher quality on the computer.
2. The modified visuals of Skyrim on a computer are impressive. People here whom play Skyrim and have used a quality ENB series know what I speak of.

ESO is currently sub par to the console version of default Skyrim graphics.

The general mechanics and common features we expect in MMORPGs are still the same.
The only saving grace here is that if you're big on Tamriel lore, the game has it and it's fun to share with others.

Having said that; it's not near as boring and repetitive as FFXIV : ARR

Trying to compare a single player graphics to mmo graphics is an exercise in idiocy

[Khaleesi]

Originally Posted by Alarti0001 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Trying to compare a single player graphics to mmo graphics is an exercise in idiocy

There are several MMORPGs out there that are better looking than single player games.
The reason MMOs are generally still behind in visual prowess is because resources are taken up by the rendering of other players - which is fueled by CPU processing rather than GPU processing. This archaic design method is a short cut by developers so they can have a 'reason' to release subpar visual systems.
Most MMO games see their production team cut in half after the release as those employees are no longer needed. The upcost of maintaining an RPG that looked like Crysis would be a nightmare for the remaining crew, who are tying to work on art assets for new expansions instead of tweaking shader levels that they couldn't get right in the first place because they ran out of time.

Originally Posted by Sirken [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Khaleesi, it sounds like you are referring to beta stuff/gameplay. considering the game was just pushed back to spring 2014, i highly doubt the beta version people are on is nothing more than that, an unfinished beta. for people that normally play their Elder Scrolls games on the computer, fighting is the same with the mouse, same with blocking. there will be finesse points awarded for how well you preform in the real time combat.

Closed beta is another way of saying 'alpha' these days - a clever marketing effort by developers; of which should stick to developing and not marketing.

It's quite possible that the game will change, however if it truly was a beta, then by proper definitions the product is nearly finished, only requiring last minute testing and presentation to the public for retail release.

Originally Posted by Flamewraith [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I really don't think they will allow separate starting cities for each race. I think all three races of one alliance will start in one city, for example nords DE's and argonians will most likely only start in solitude or something. This makes me wonder how leveling happens. Do the races level only in their designated alliance countires, or are there separate zones dedicated to leveling for all alliances?

Let's just say that ESO isn't breaking the mold in this regard; contrast to Guild Wars 2 which is one of the few remaining games that offers independent and racial starting locations, yet with little barriers to moving back and forth therefore allowing you the option of enjoying all the content whenever you like.

Lore wise this doesn't work for games where there's conflicting or racial tensions; though ESO is a bit carebear.


Having said that, there's a good amount of nice new features or well amended aspects to MMOs that I am confident any MMO veteran will appreciate.
There's even a nod to Vanguard in some areas!