Elder Scrolls Online early release 3/30/14 @ 7 AM EST

[burkemi5]

So, the early access has been out for almost a week. What are people thinking? Hate it? Love it? Meh?

[Supaskillz]

I have only played it for a few hours so I will give my very uninformed opinion. Seems ok, similar to skyrim but other real people running around. In my limited play I feel more like in playing a single player game. I think it's weird that people see different things in the world depending on status in quests which kills a bit of the immersive feel to me. The classes and races seem fairly interesting. Quests are pretty interesting and draw you along in short pieces and at times give you choices that will let you actually feel a bit more of a role playing element. Early on it does feel like everyone is doing the exact same things though.

The only other mmo I have played was classic eq til early velious then p99. So I don't know what to expect or look for I guess.

[Ephirith]

Originally Posted by burkemi5 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

So, the early access has been out for almost a week. What are people thinking? Hate it? Love it? Meh?

In beta I was highly critical of this title. There are still many things about it that I wish they would have done differently. I'm jaded and highly cynical regarding gaming at this point, especially MMO's.

But I must say, I'm having a blast with this. I love the zones, I love the questing, the dungeons, and most of all I love the class/abilities system. As a nightblade there are so many different builds I want to try, so many different ways to use various combinations of abilities, and I'm pretty sure many of them are viable.

In my experience the open-world RvR PvP in Cyrodil has been fantastic. Sometimes I participate in the zergy keep sieges, but most of the time I am skirmishing near major battles or sneaking around doing interdiction on enemy factions who are running back to the battle or retreating. I've found my build to be god damned OP in small scale pvp.

There are also towns scattered around Cyrodil, some of which you'll recognize (Cheydinhal, Bruma, etc), in which all three factions can quest. I've seen some really exciting small scale pvp break out in these towns and I have a lot of fun starting fights and just generally being a scumbag.

The game is suffering some fairly serious mechanical issues, perhaps even greater than you'd expect for an MMO launch. Many quests are bugged, and some of the higher level zones are suffering rollbacks so frequently that it's game-breaking. However server uptime and latency have been exceptional for an MMO release, and I've been leveling on Cyrodil quests while I wait for Greenshade to quit rolling back.

I have some minor gripes with the UI that seem to stem from the disgusting fact that this MMO was created to be playable on consoles. You can't enter search terms into the guild auction stores, and the default UI has no nameplates, buff tracking functionality, or numerical feedback. They've said this was for the sake of immersion, but I don't buy it. It should be toggle-able. There are mods that deliver some of these features for people that want them, but I've heard their API is a little strict. As far as I know that means no damage meters for those who love comparing e-penises.

I feel like this game was definitely worth my purchase. Is it something I will play for months to come after I reach the level cap? That entirely depends upon how competently Zenimax handles the addition of new content, and the fine-tuning of existing content. At worst I would expect this game to maintain a subscription model for a little over a year before switching to a F2P, SWTOResque model. At best they will overcome all the vitriol and neuroticism that neckbeard virgins have toward MMO's, and maintain a modest share of the market as a reputable title.

@Kuriak if you ever need a dps for shenanigans, or a crafting buddy to deconstruct each other's stuff.

[burkemi5]

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

In beta I was highly critical of this title. There are still many things about it that I wish they would have done differently. I'm jaded and highly cynical regarding gaming at this point, especially MMO's.

But I must say, I'm having a blast with this. I love the zones, I love the questing, the dungeons, and most of all I love the class/abilities system. As a nightblade there are so many different builds I want to try, so many different ways to use various combinations of abilities, and I'm pretty sure many of them are viable.

In my experience the open-world RvR PvP in Cyrodil has been fantastic. Sometimes I participate in the zergy keep sieges, but most of the time I am skirmishing near major battles or sneaking around doing interdiction on enemy factions who are running back to the battle or retreating. I've found my build to be god damned OP in small scale pvp.

There are also towns scattered around Cyrodil, some of which you'll recognize (Cheydinhal, Bruma, etc), in which all three factions can quest. I've seen some really exciting small scale pvp break out in these towns and I have a lot of fun starting fights and just generally being a scumbag.

The game is suffering some fairly serious mechanical issues, perhaps even greater than you'd expect for an MMO launch. Many quests are bugged, and some of the higher level zones are suffering rollbacks so frequently that it's game-breaking. However server uptime and latency have been exceptional for an MMO release, and I've been leveling on Cyrodil quests while I wait for Greenshade to quit rolling back.

I have some minor gripes with the UI that seem to stem from the disgusting fact that this MMO was created to be playable on consoles. You can't enter search terms into the guild auction stores, and the default UI has no nameplates, buff tracking functionality, or numerical feedback. They've said this was for the sake of immersion, but I don't buy it. It should be toggle-able. There are mods that deliver some of these features for people that want them, but I've heard their API is a little strict. As far as I know that means no damage meters for those who love comparing e-penises.

I feel like this game was definitely worth my purchase. Is it something I will play for months to come after I reach the level cap? That entirely depends upon how competently Zenimax handles the addition of new content, and the fine-tuning of existing content. At worst I would expect this game to maintain a subscription model for a little over a year before switching to a F2P, SWTOResque model. At best they will overcome all the vitriol and neuroticism that neckbeard virgins have toward MMO's, and maintain a modest share of the market as a reputable title.

@Kuriak if you ever need a dps for shenanigans, or a crafting buddy to deconstruct each other's stuff.

There's a few UI tweaks that I think will be put into place eventually, one of them being the option of searching for a specific item in the guild store. Otherwise it's pretty much useless. It is good to see people using general chat to trade, however.

I'd also really like to see an option to sort your crafting materials by each tradeskill, ie press a button to see all smithing materials or alchemy reagents. I really hope both of these suggestions go into effect at some point.