gaming Elder Scrolls Online

[Enigma 200]

So, we're finally allowed to discuss what we have done in the BETA testing for those who don't know!

I had a wonder of a time playing the beta and would love to know who else will be getting this game and what type of character they'll be playing~

 

I'm thinking of preordering the Imperial Collector Edition for my birthday and making an Imperial tank since their racial bonuses are health, sword and board, etc.

 

Also, who's excited to find out what the new class is?! Anyone got any leaks on it? ; V;

[BreakingJesse 111]

I can't wait for Elder Scrolls Online, I actually am planning on preordering the Imperial Collector Edition too, but I dont know if I can. I hope so.

[wildpaw 45]

The Elder Scrolls Online sounded very interesting when I first heard of it a few weeks ago.  I think I'll try to preorder it, but there is no guaranteed that I'll get it.  Plus, I'll just use any character that seems appealing to me.

[Scootalove 10,684]

I plan preordering Elder Scrolls Online, but I can't guarantee that I'll have enough money to do so. But, I'm excited for it.

[Sir Fluffernutter 433]

I was so excited for this game, but then they released the subscription model.    I was really looking forward to playing as a Khajiit in the Aldmeri Dominion with my friends, but I can't pay for it. I don't make money, there's no way I can afford $240 for the first year and $180 every year after that. I'm really hoping that they change it somewhere down the line so that you only pay for the box, but it's unlikely. 

[Enigma 200]

@, Yeah, I was really disappointed with that too. They should have done it like GW2 where it's one payment or had a small payment for the game with a $10 monthly subscription. o-o; I wouldn't be surprised if they make it free to play at some point because people will lose interest fast when they see how hard it is to level and get to level 10 (which when all the good stuff starts to happen). Before level 10 it's a bit of a quest grind and the 2 starting islands are like big tutorials that teach you nothing.. But when you get past all of that and you get to level 10 it's HNG it's AWESOME!

[Sir Fluffernutter 433]

 

@, Yeah, I was really disappointed with that too. They should have done it like GW2 where it's one payment or had a small payment for the game with a $10 monthly subscription. o-o; I wouldn't be surprised if they make it free to play at some point because people will lose interest fast when they see how hard it is to level and get to level 10 (which when all the good stuff starts to happen). Before level 10 it's a bit of a quest grind and the 2 starting islands are like big tutorials that teach you nothing.. But when you get past all of that and you get to level 10 it's HNG it's AWESOME!

 

I think they should either switch it to free to play or introduce a hybrid model where you can choose whether to subscribe or not. Of course, it should have some bonuses for subscribing(nothing that makes you OP.) Other than the model, I think the game looks great. Also, out of curiosity, about how long do the starter islands take to complete/get off of? I heard they were a drag.

Edited February 18, 2014 by NebulousBrony

[Celtore 2,769]

I watched a NDA-breaking live stream of it a while back. It didn't look bad, but at the same time it really didn't look that impressive either. It just sort of looked really generic to me. I can't see anyone really paying a subscription fee for this, but who knows, maybe I'm looking from the wrong angle. I've also never played any game from that series so I'm looking at the game from a "know-nothing" perspective.

 

I'd be happy to be proven wrong once the game is released; I have nothing wrong against subscription fees and i'd be quite willing to pay it, but the quality should justify the model.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Celtore

[Enigma 200]

@, Agreed!!

Well, the starting area Coldharbour could be finished in about 15-20 minutes with skipping dialogue or about 30-40 minutes listening and taking it all in. Of course, I am a complete loot whore and though I don't camp I could easily spend a couple of hours here running in circles to get loot and trading some of it to other random players when my invent gets full (It's a LOT harder to find loot in the next areas).

The 2 starting islands (except coldharbour) vary depending on your play style but I'd recommend not to skip any quests because that is how you level up. The very first one for the Daggerfall took me about 4-6 hours because I was taking my time and pissing around. The next island took me less with about 3-4 hours because I rushed it but still got the gist of what was happening. I think if you spent a whole day on the game you'd get to the big main area before going to bed = w=; Sorry I can't help much with that, I didn't really time myself. I will say this though, the Ebonheart very first island took me AGES because I couldn't find the last quest for hours because the quest placement around the map just sucked.

OH, last little words of advice: Talk to NPCs that don't have the quest markers above them too, they can mark places on your map that aren't part of any quests. The game can be really punishing towards people who want to explore as well. It's not an Elder Scrolls game tbh, it's an MMO with an ES flavour. Also, the amount of quests you can find at any one time can be SO overwhelming .-.

 

And some words on the Imperial edition; Mounts in this game cost a FORTUNE!!! At least 18K (You get 1 gold for each common mob you kill which sucks, making money in the game is so hard for a long time) without the Imperial Edition. They are so helpful because you can sometimes be spending more time running to the next part of the quest than you would be spending time on the quest! The map is absolutely massive as well! With the Imperial Edition you can buy the Imperial horse for 100 gold on and of your characters.

[long gone 8,929]

I want to play it, but the payment model is too much for me to afford. I'm on a severely limited budget (I can barely afford Steam games even when they're on sale ffs!) so I'm gonna have to wait for it to inevitably go F2P before I can play... although by then everyone else is gonna be higher-level than I will be.

[Enigma 200]

@@Celtore, Fair enough, we just have to keep in mind that everything we have seen so far has been the BETA of the game and not the finished product. There is a LOT missing form the beta, including an entire class we (as far as I know) have no information about. All betas are like this because they do't want to spoil everything before it's even out. Also, playing an MMO and watching it are completely different experiences. Lastly, this isn't a follow up to Skyrim, I grudge saying it's part of the real TES series. This is an MMO with a TES flavour to try to urge people not so familiar to MMOs into it. I wouldn't say it's just like your generic MMO either, I've beta tested several MMOs and played A LOT in my time. Other quest based MMOs like Perfect World just don't have the story and ability to engage the audience and get them hooked like this one does (I won't compare with WoW because I can't). Though, I will say this: ALL chests and quest items that you pick up around the world are shared to EVERYONE on ONE GIANT SERVER. This is SO stupid and it completely ruined some quests for me because I'd be racing against 30+ other players who were all trying to get 5 of this one fucking plant that only spawned in about 10 different places! It happened with so many quests it was ridiculous! The game wasn't even properly open, it was in a BETA where the amount of people playing is nothing compared to what it'd be like when it's open to everyone. It was such a ridiculous move because Bethesda wants there to be hundreds of people in any one area at once without performance issues: what about GAMEPLAY issues?! Yeah, that's what an MMO is about, the gameplay!

Sorry I really let myself go there, it just made me so mad! I couldn't finish 2 quests for hours because of it, I don't even want to image what it's going to be like when it comes out. And the potential for campers... HNG.

@, Don't worry about it, if anything it's better to wait! By then most of the bugs will be ironed out and you'll be able to get a lot of information about classes and build etc :3 Everyone who jumps in when it first opens will be going in more or less blind.

And speaking of bugs, they couldn't even get the reflections on the water right even into the second beta phase! I got such a fright when I saw this (it's my staff reflecting 100 miles into the distance)

 

Edited February 18, 2014 by Enigma

[Sir Fluffernutter 433]

 

@, Agreed!!

Well, the starting area Coldharbour could be finished in about 15-20 minutes with skipping dialogue or about 30-40 minutes listening and taking it all in. Of course, I am a complete loot whore and though I don't camp I could easily spend a couple of hours here running in circles to get loot and trading some of it to other random players when my invent gets full (It's a LOT harder to find loot in the next areas).

The 2 starting islands (except coldharbour) vary depending on your play style but I'd recommend not to skip any quests because that is how you level up. The very first one for the Daggerfall took me about 4-6 hours because I was taking my time and pissing around. The next island took me less with about 3-4 hours because I rushed it but still got the gist of what was happening. I think if you spent a whole day on the game you'd get to the big main area before going to bed = w=; Sorry I can't help much with that, I didn't really time myself. I will say this though, the Ebonheart very first island took me AGES because I couldn't find the last quest for hours because the quest placement around the map just sucked.

OH, last little words of advice: Talk to NPCs that don't have the quest markers above them too, they can mark places on your map that aren't part of any quests. The game can be really punishing towards people who want to explore as well. It's not an Elder Scrolls game tbh, it's an MMO with an ES flavour. Also, the amount of quests you can find at any one time can be SO overwhelming .-.

 

And some words on the Imperial edition; Mounts in this game cost a FORTUNE!!! At least 18K (You get 1 gold for each common mob you kill which sucks, making money in the game is so hard for a long time) without the Imperial Edition. They are so helpful because you can sometimes be spending more time running to the next part of the quest than you would be spending time on the quest! The map is absolutely massive as well! With the Imperial Edition you can buy the Imperial horse for 100 gold on and of your characters.

 

Ah, I see. I'm the kind of person who likes to spend my time on quests, so I feel I be on the starter islands for quite a while. If I do somehow get the game, I'm joining Aldmeri Dominion, so I don't think I'll have to worry much about the Ebonheart quest placement. As for the mounts, holy crap that's a lot of gold. I expected a little over 1,000, not 18,000. Anyway, thanks for the info! Sounds like a good game.

[Celtore 2,769]

@@Enigma

 

Playing and watching are indeed two entirely different things, but I felt it brought be a bit closer to understanding than watching the limited footage available at that time. I'll tip my hat to the comment on the story as well; I've been playing the Guild Wars series for a while and forgot that good stories in the MMO genre really aren't all that common.

 

And I'm so sorry to hear about that quest experience and I understand your anger completely. That would frustrate me too...

Edited February 18, 2014 by Celtore

[Enigma 200]

@, I've not done the Aldmeri Dominion yet, I made a badass Khajiit (I really want to make a cheetah themed one called It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy) but by the time I finished up in Coldharbour (it took me over 3 hours until I was satisfied with my full bag of loot) I was really tired and went to sleeps and then Beta was over Q - Q I've heard from AngryJoe that the quests in the Aldmeri Dominion are far superior to the others. I really liked the Daggerfall quests so Aldmeri must be awesome! (Ebonheart, not awesome o-o)

Yeah, mounts are crazy expensive, the 18K one is just a "simple horse" and it's pretty crap compared to the others which are 40K. You also have to care for your horse which I think is awesome o wo Depending on what you feed it depends on how it's stats change e.g. you can feed it apples which increase it's speed. You can change their speed, stamina and even carry weight! Also, at higher levels you'll be able to change their appearance! I do believe they'll be putting in mounted combat into the finished game too from what I've seen of PVP (which is amazing)

@@Celtore, I've never played GW2 but by golly do I want to! I'll maybe get it sometime later this year or next since they recently ported it to MAC (I am cursed with this thing, I could have built a monster with how much this thing costs). I really wish they had taken inspiration from GW2 and let the quests change in some aspects depending on how many players are doing it with you etc and make it feel more social. The game is so anti-social because you're just praying the whole time that no one joins you in a quest so you don't have to spend ages looking for the quest items. The quests are all focused around single player too (which isn't bad since I usually play on my own) but being with friends and trying to complete quests together just feels like a hindrance and that everyone's being held back purely because you want to stick together.Also, some areas are really punishing if you're on your own (there's a lot of areas with tons of bandits and thugs and if you're on your own you're fucked). There was also this one quest (I'll try not to spoil it) but there's some assassins and they pop out of no where and there's about 10 of them. If you're a low health mage and you're on your own.. You ain't got a hope in hell, even with the NPC help! Also, again, sorry for kinda losing track here and giving everyone walls of text but THERE'S NO FREAKING MINIMAP :U You lose your friends constantly if you're not glued to them because of it!

Edited February 18, 2014 by Enigma

[Sir Fluffernutter 433]

 

@, I've not done the Aldmeri Dominion yet, I made a badass Khajiit (I really want to make a cheetah themed one called It Ain't Easy Being Cheesy) but by the time I finished up in Coldharbour (it took me over 3 hours until I was satisfied with my full bag of loot) I was really tired and went to sleeps and then Beta was over Q - Q I've heard from AngryJoe that the quests in the Aldmeri Dominion are far superior to the others. I really liked the Daggerfall quests so Aldmeri must be awesome! (Ebonheart, not awesome o-o)

Yeah, mounts are crazy expensive, the 18K one is just a "simple horse" and it's pretty crap compared to the others which are 40K. You also have to care for your horse which I think is awesome o wo Depending on what you feed it depends on how it's stats change e.g. you can feed it apples which increase it's speed. You can change their speed, stamina and even carry weight! Also, at higher levels you'll be able to change their appearance! I do believe they'll be putting in mounted combat into the finished game too from what I've seen of PVP (which is amazing)

 

I'm loving that name for your Khajiit, by the way. Anyway, I find it funny how you say the Ebonheart quests were the worst out of the three, because most of polls I've seen say that a lot of people are going for Ebonheart. I'm kinda glad now that I always play with a Khajiit. As for the mounts, I would like to know who decided on these prices. I understand that ESO isn't exactly a TES game, rather a MMO with a TES feel to it, but that is a huge difference compared to the previous Elder Scrolls games. 40,000 gold is a lot for a horse that previously costed 1,000. But at least you get to customize its stats, I guess.

[wildpaw 45]

I just looked up the character classes and I'm feeling either Dragon Knight or Nightblade.

 

Dragon Knight

 

 

Nightblade

 

 

Plus, I'm gonna make the character class I choose just like these

[ReverseFaller 2,483]

I can't wait for this game!

 

I'm kind of disappointed about the monthly subscription fee though. It should go free to play eventually, I'm just curious how long that'll take.

 

Anyways, I hope this doesn't turn out to a generic MMO where everything is set in stone. I'd be awesome if this game's online world was "alive", kind of like EVE Online, with wars and such.

[Enigma 200]

@, Eh, they're just going Ebonheart for the Nords :u The other islands for Ebonheart looks kool though because GIANTS and MAMMOTHS <3

I'd imagine it was the men in suits who decided the price for the game rather than the people that actually put their heart and soul into making it. As for the mounts, probably the men in suits too to encourage people to buy the Imperial Edition.

You can customise the cheaper mounts too btw :3

Khajiits rule btw *cough cough*

 

@@wildpaw, I've only played a little of the Nightblade and not any of the DK but I've heard that dual wielding is the funnest thing to do in the game o vo I kinda prefer the tank/healer/paladin classes in MMOs but I'm torn because I LOVED playing as a bow wielding Khajiit throughout the TES series. I was disappointed with the bows though, they feel clunky and heavy and you can't headshot people! So long as you fire in their general space you'll hit them as well, no skill (unlike Obliv) B(

[wildpaw 45]

 

@, Eh, they're just going Ebonheart for the Nords :u The other islands for Ebonheart looks kool though because GIANTS and MAMMOTHS <3

I'd imagine it was the men in suits who decided the price for the game rather than the people that actually put their heart and soul into making it. As for the mounts, probably the men in suits too to encourage people to buy the Imperial Edition.

You can customise the cheaper mounts too btw :3

Khajiits rule btw *cough cough*

 

@@wildpaw, I've only played a little of the Nightblade and not any of the DK but I've heard that dual wielding is the funnest thing to do in the game o vo I kinda prefer the tank/healer/paladin classes in MMOs but I'm torn because I LOVED playing as a bow wielding Khajiit throughout the TES series. I was disappointed with the bows though, they feel clunky and heavy and you can't headshot people! So long as you fire in their general space you'll hit them as well, no skill (unlike Obliv) B(

 

 

Well that makes me feel even better about getting this game since I like using dual wielding weapons.

[websterhamster 203]

I can't wait for Elder Scrolls Online, I actually am planning on preordering the Imperial Collector Edition too, but I dont know if I can. I hope so.

 

I was so excited for ESO until I found out how expensive it is: $60 +/- for the base game and then $15 per month to play it. That comes to $240 for a single game the first year, and $180 a year after that. Waaayyy too expensive; there's no possible way it could be worth that much. I'll wait until they introduce a free-to-play option or drastically lower the price.

[Enigma 200]

@@Mikami,  Yeah, the payment model is so crap B(

Well, there's one big war between nasty people doing nasty things (trying so hard not to spoil it!) and then between all of the factions. You can see this happening in many areas too :3 You can see houses being set on fire etc, it's pretty kool how they've done it. Also, you have to make some massive decisions in the game and depending on what you choose will effect the whole game.

[Sir Fluffernutter 433]

 

@, Eh, they're just going Ebonheart for the Nords :u The other islands for Ebonheart looks kool though because GIANTS and MAMMOTHS <3

I'd imagine it was the men in suits who decided the price for the game rather than the people that actually put their heart and soul into making it. As for the mounts, probably the men in suits too to encourage people to buy the Imperial Edition.

You can customise the cheaper mounts too btw :3

Khajiits rule btw *cough cough*

It's always the men in the suits, isn't it? Dammit Zenimax Media, I can't afford your $180 per year game. Also, Khajiit are the best race to play as, screw the Nords.

[Celtore 2,769]

@@Enigma

 

GW2 is hardly perfect, especially the living story, but I'll reserve my judgement on that. I'd say that you can get your money's worth of fun fairly easily. That's odd though how cohesion is being discouraged. You'd think that would be something encouraged, heck even a selling point considering this is an MMO as opposed to a single player RPG.

Edited February 18, 2014 by Celtore

[Lost 1,410]

I played the Beta for ESO, not only did i find it to be the worst game i've played in the past year, but i also found it to be the worst MMO that i have ever played.

 

Put simply, i wouldn't play Elder Scrolls Online even if it were free. I'm so disappointed in Bethesda.

[Enigma 200]

@@Lost, Fair judgement, I really did feel that way through some of it. I felt like getting GW2 instead for quite a while through the test. Of course, it's just a beta, there's LOADS of content hidden away (including an entire class) and after you get past level 10 everything starts to pick up, like in most MMOs. I do believe that there's going to be thousands of people that aren't even going to bother getting past level 10 because the quest grind to grind to get there is so soooo boooooring.