Elder Scrolls Online release date 4-4-14

[pandemonium]

Played the beta this weekend for a good bit. Quested, public dungeon'd, crafted, gathered, jump explored into secluded locations, and PvP'd for a good 20 hours. As much as I'd like to give a 10 page, detailed breakdown of what I think, I'll sum it up with: it's GW2 with different skins and abilities in the lore of Elder Scrolls; or more succinctly, it's WoW's PvE with DAoC's PvP [RvR].

Since it's focused far too much on quick-click mindless quest grinding, this is not my game.

 

[Markbnj]

I am shocked that it took you 40 seconds to zone. I installed the game on my 3rd drive, which is a simple 7200 rpm backup hard drive, since it is a beta. Yesterday, when I played, every single zone took less than 1 second to zone...

Yeah hard to say what was going on there, but the load times were consistently very long for me throughout the weekend.

 

[HumblePie]

You use insults freely all while touting your superiority. Hilarious.

I specifically mock Daverino, because he's a troll on these forums. But it was funny that only a well known internet troll and yourself wasn't able to see the irony in my previous post, but other posters saw it enough to point it out before I had a chance to make a post about it.

 

[HumblePie]

Except it isn't. Sharing a ton of qualities makes most new MMOs Wow clones. Arrows above quest giver heads, quest hubs, tiny zones with artificial borders, jumping that lands you half an inch into the air, 5 minutes to hit max cap, 5 dungeons to repeat as endgame, pvp based on gear rather than skill, tiny world, no real death penalty to speak of, etc.

AC had a world 10000 the size of Wow(and plenty of things to be found all over, with new stuff constantly being added). You could run super fast as you level, and jump anywhere as you leveled jump. Exploration and monster fighting as main way to level up(at least for the first 5 years before they made catch up mechanisms). No quest hubs. Skill based PVP where you could kill 20+ above your level. Death penalties, corpse runs. An open ended classless levelling system, where you could level in any way you'd like. Researching spells. Binding to portals which linked the world. Monthly content that changed entire landscapes and added content/story. Quests rare and had no minimap instructions. You actually needed to think and explore on your own. Voluntary worldwide pvp for all(non pvp servers). All very, very different from WoW.

Not even CLOSE.

Does Asheron's call and Wow have a leveling system? Yep.

They are avatar based games where the user runs around a fantasy based world? Yep.

They are online multi player games? Yep.

They have fantasy based item, scaling items to levels, quests, stories, and lore? all check.

Guess the two are clones of each other. I can see all those similarities between them.





ESO has none cartoony graphics unlike Wow.
ESO has a richer story line, lore, and cross overs to single player games that are all first person perspective.
ESO has world events, dynamic quests, and story events that affect the outcome of future quests.


Well they have too many difference to be clones because of all that and more!


See what I did there? The point being, you can pick what you want to see the same or different in comparing any two games and put whatever clone or non-clone label you want on them.

 

[Subyman]

From what I've seen on Twitch over the weekend, ESO looks to be straight out of the Guild Wars 2 mold. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I've kind of gotten my fill of the GW2 model lately and I don't see ESO bringing enough new ideas to the table in order to make me want to "start all over". Or pay a sub fee, for that matter.

If ESO had launched before Guild Wars 2 then I 'd probably already have pre-ordered the Imperial Edition and been prepared to play the pvp for several months at least. But with GW2 still so fresh in my memory, I see myself passing on ESO. Reading all the negative stuff about the game even at this early stage is also more than a little concerning.

I didn't get a GW vibe from it. The controls are much more interactive and the world is much less stilted/wooden. GW2 felt stiff and arbitrary where ESO felt much more alive. The combat is completely different as well. ESO is a game of larger scope than GW. It is kind of like the quality difference between Path of Exile and Diablo 3 (not the game design, but environmental design and execution.)

I would say, however, that ESO is much closer to GW2 instead of WoW. Why people are calling it a WoW clone is very confusing.

 

[BoberFett]

Except it isn't. Sharing a ton of qualities makes most new MMOs Wow clones. Arrows above quest giver heads, quest hubs, tiny zones with artificial borders, jumping that lands you half an inch into the air, 5 minutes to hit max cap, 5 dungeons to repeat as endgame, pvp based on gear rather than skill, tiny world, no real death penalty to speak of, etc.

AC had a world 10000 the size of Wow(and plenty of things to be found all over, with new stuff constantly being added). You could run super fast as you level, and jump anywhere as you leveled jump. Exploration and monster fighting as main way to level up(at least for the first 5 years before they made catch up mechanisms). No quest hubs. Skill based PVP where you could kill 20+ above your level. Death penalties, corpse runs. An open ended classless levelling system, where you could level in any way you'd like. Researching spells. Binding to portals which linked the world. Monthly content that changed entire landscapes and added content/story. Quests rare and had no minimap instructions. You actually needed to think and explore on your own. Voluntary worldwide pvp for all(non pvp servers). All very, very different from WoW.

Not even CLOSE.

So go play Asheron's Call.

 

[shadow9d9]

Does Asheron's call and Wow have a leveling system? Yep.

They are avatar based games where the user runs around a fantasy based world? Yep.

They are online multi player games? Yep.

They have fantasy based item, scaling items to levels, quests, stories, and lore? all check.

Guess the two are clones of each other. I can see all those similarities between them.





ESO has none cartoony graphics unlike Wow.
ESO has a richer story line, lore, and cross overs to single player games that are all first person perspective.
ESO has world events, dynamic quests, and story events that affect the outcome of future quests.


Well they have too many difference to be clones because of all that and more!


See what I did there? The point being, you can pick what you want to see the same or different in comparing any two games and put whatever clone or non-clone label you want on them.

If you go generic enough, you can try to make anything similar to anything else.

PC game?

Play with a keyboard?

There is a reason that pretty much everything after Wow was a direct clone. I explained why.

 

[shadow9d9]

So go play Asheron's Call.

Can't. The game is closing down. It ran since 99.

 

[BoberFett]

Can't. The game is closing down. It ran since 99.

I'll let you connect the dots...

 

[Daverino]

Can't. The game is closing down. It ran since 99.

AC isn't closing down. They just aren't having regular content updates. At least that's what I read on Kotaku.

 

[shadow9d9]

I'll let you connect the dots...

That it had a longer run than 99% of the genre? Thanks for helping me reach that conclusion!

You can connect the dots when it comes to the failure of the wow clones, such as warhammer online, aoc, etc.

 

[shadow9d9]

AC isn't closing down. They just aren't having regular content updates. At least that's what I read on Kotaku.

Looks like you are right.

I had to quit years ago due to some terrible practices by the studio, unfortunately. They allowed cheaters and botters to run rampant. Amazing game though!

 

[Daverino]

Looks like you are right.

I had to quit years ago due to some terrible practices by the studio, unfortunately. They allowed cheaters and botters to run rampant. Amazing game though!

Yeah, but Darktide in 1999 was the place to be.

As for ESO, I played the Beta. Here are my thoughts.

I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I found that a lot of the non-fighting aspects were fairly deep, especially crafting. The graphics and animations are top notch so I was taken in by the immersion factor. I never made it past DaggerFall, but I did feel like I could wander around and do whatever like a normal ESO game. You could pick up quests and do them if you chose. Or look for flowers. Up to you.

Combat was very combo centered and very easy. I think there was an imbalance between the level of the toons and the level of the mobs in the beta. I hope they adjust this. I was never in any real danger in combat. The only time I ever died was from jumping off a cliff. Combat has never been an ES strong-point. Left to swing, hold left to attack hard, right to block. It was there, just as in Oblivion or Skyrim. And it was just as clunky as in those games as well. It's not Dark Souls, that's for sure. But I did not feel any lag in the movements. Blocking would block. Swinging would swing. So considering the low expectations I had for 'combat' I think ESO did a fine job.

I never tried PvP. Most of the time I was solo and sometimes in small groups. If anything, that could be the biggest problem in ESO. ES is a single-player experience and ESO, in capturing the feel of ES, feels like a SP game with other people running around. So the massively-multiplayer part of it was mostly in the zone chatting.

My biggest gripe, by far, though, was that FemShep (aka Jennifer Hale) voiced just about every female NPC it seemed. After hearing 1,000 hours of FemShep dialog, it was jarring every time I heard her speak. . .

The truth of truths, though, is that I have no time for a MMORPG. I'm a big fan of thoroughly beating the games I play. Play it hardcore, get really good, and then move on. MMORPGs don't suit that style. You need to be stupidly committed to be an excellent player and you need to become socially involved in the game to really succeed. Some people could play it casually, but I know my self; I wouldn't. Therefore I'm going to stay away from this in the end. We're I younger, I think ESO would hold my attention for a long time. I think it is heads-and-tails better than WoW.

 

[shadow9d9]

Yeah, but Darktide in 1999 was the place to be.

As for ESO, I played the Beta. Here are my thoughts.

I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I found that a lot of the non-fighting aspects were fairly deep, especially crafting. The graphics and animations are top notch so I was taken in by the immersion factor. I never made it past DaggerFall, but I did feel like I could wander around and do whatever like a normal ESO game. You could pick up quests and do them if you chose. Or look for flowers. Up to you.

Combat was very combo centered and very easy. I think there was an imbalance between the level of the toons and the level of the mobs in the beta. I hope they adjust this. I was never in any real danger in combat. The only time I ever died was from jumping off a cliff. Combat has never been an ES strong-point. Left to swing, hold left to attack hard, right to block. It was there, just as in Oblivion or Skyrim. And it was just as clunky as in those games as well. It's not Dark Souls, that's for sure. But I did not feel any lag in the movements. Blocking would block. Swinging would swing. So considering the low expectations I had for 'combat' I think ESO did a fine job.

I never tried PvP. Most of the time I was solo and sometimes in small groups. If anything, that could be the biggest problem in ESO. ES is a single-player experience and ESO, in capturing the feel of ES, feels like a SP game with other people running around. So the massively-multiplayer part of it was mostly in the zone chatting.

My biggest gripe, by far, though, was that FemShep (aka Jennifer Hale) voiced just about every female NPC it seemed. After hearing 1,000 hours of FemShep dialog, it was jarring every time I heard her speak. . .

The truth of truths, though, is that I have no time for a MMORPG. I'm a big fan of thoroughly beating the games I play. Play it hardcore, get really good, and then move on. MMORPGs don't suit that style. You need to be stupidly committed to be an excellent player and you need to become socially involved in the game to really succeed. Some people could play it casually, but I know my self; I wouldn't. Therefore I'm going to stay away from this in the end. We're I younger, I think ESO would hold my attention for a long time. I think it is heads-and-tails better than WoW.

The last patch in closed beta addresses the lack of challenge starting at level 5. Whether it works or not, I do not know.

 

[asteldian]

The last patch in closed beta addresses the lack of challenge starting at level 5. Whether it works or not, I do not know.

The last Beta I certainly died a few times from lvls 6-9, multiple mobs wasn't something I could just charge in without a care for the world, just having 2 mobs on me was a life threatening experience a few times - particularly if they used spells. Course, my Dragonknight had no self healing. I would imagine a Templar or Resto staff build would have felt safe - but would have actually needed to heal which is an improvement over last Beta were on my Templar build I never actually cast my heal.

All in all I have enjoyed the game a lot more than I expected, I find it refreshingly different to the current MMOs out there whilst also being reassuringly familiar

 

[Dahak]

Looks like this beta weekend(Mar 14-17) will enable the "imperial edition" features, so playing as an imperial, all races in all any alliance

 

[Markbnj]

Yep, guess I will have to do the starter island again.

 

[xantub]

I played beta about a couple of months ago, not sure if things have changed for the better a lot, but back then I had a weekend invitation in which I stopped playing on Saturday noon and didn't feel like going back later on Saturday or Sunday.

Not sure what it is that I didn't like, I guess it felt too much like other MMOs where you basically solo almost all the time. Felt like a mix of any typical WoW clone and GW2.

 

[HumblePie]

I played beta about a couple of months ago, not sure if things have changed for the better a lot, but back then I had a weekend invitation in which I stopped playing on Saturday noon and didn't feel like going back later on Saturday or Sunday.

Not sure what it is that I didn't like, I guess it felt too much like other MMOs where you basically solo almost all the time. Felt like a mix of any typical WoW clone and GW2.

Why does everyone that wants a "grouping" game play an MMO that has solo content at low levels in abundance, and deem the game only a solo playing MMO? Even the much heralded Everquest back in it's day was very soloable at low levels. Actually most people could solo until at least 15 with any class. It got rougher for many classes after that though.

You play for a few hours, in a game event that basically caps you at level 10, and you complain the game has too much solo content? Did you even try to do anchor points? Elite dungeons? or any of the group challenges that were available in the beta? Or even try to seek them out? Because there was no way you were soloing those challenges.

 

[clok1966]

early in this thread i was a backer. 3 play weekends have come and gone without me being able to login, password problems. reset password each time before a ticket, 3 tickets sent, no response on any. cant imagine it will be better when they have tons of people playing (if they do). I can understand 1 time missing it, 2 and 3.. with no reply. Dont matter if they give cash away, no help in a 2 month period, I'm done.

 

[xantub]

Why does everyone that wants a "grouping" game play an MMO that has solo content at low levels in abundance, and deem the game only a solo playing MMO? Even the much heralded Everquest back in it's day was very soloable at low levels. Actually most people could solo until at least 15 with any class. It got rougher for many classes after that though.

You play for a few hours, in a game event that basically caps you at level 10, and you complain the game has too much solo content? Did you even try to do anchor points? Elite dungeons? or any of the group challenges that were available in the beta? Or even try to seek them out? Because there was no way you were soloing those challenges.

Like I said, it 'felt' like a mix of WoW clone and GW2. It didn't hook me at all and it didn't show anything different. If that changes later on, reviews will say that, but my personal experience was less than stellar.

 

[mizzou]

wish this game had a legit open world (no zones) had ONLY public quests, and had some real dangerous shit lurking around in the woods wanting to harm you.

This game is like a disney land ride. Its pretty, but boring and fake.

You get to ride all the rides, at the end of the day, you just left outa your money and tired.

I'm just saying, that, elder scrolls normally is a game of adventure, right? You don't adventure at disneyland. You go there for fake adventure. Its not real and you know it, except your kids don't know it, that's why they make money. Your kids like fake stuff because they can't tell the difference. You are scared the first time you go through the haunted house...because your body can't tell it's not real. When you are older, it's silly and you laugh at your child self. Or maybe you cry when you see child self, and how pathetic you were.

Elder scrolls is like a grown man adventure. Beasts, wizards, monsters, dragons, everything out there in the wild can kill you swiftly. What's also an adventure, is your own actions. See that skooma? See that sweetroll? Take it and pay for it with the tip of your sword...if youre in to that sort of thing.

This MMO has none of that. It's a disney land ride of elder scrolls. It's fun, if youre a kid and you like fake rides that mommy and daddy take you on.

 

[CountZero]

Why does everyone that wants a "grouping" game play an MMO that has solo content at low levels in abundance, and deem the game only a solo playing MMO? Even the much heralded Everquest back in it's day was very soloable at low levels. Actually most people could solo until at least 15 with any class. It got rougher for many classes after that though.

You play for a few hours, in a game event that basically caps you at level 10, and you complain the game has too much solo content? Did you even try to do anchor points? Elite dungeons? or any of the group challenges that were available in the beta? Or even try to seek them out? Because there was no way you were soloing those challenges.

Play in a duo and come back to me. Doing anything except explicitly group stuff is not a great experience in a group. They built a solo player game with some group content and a so-so co-op game. That's fine if that's what you want (I have friends that want exactly that) but I'd like a game that at least acknowledges you might be an adventuring party not a single person.

Admittedly it could get a lot better at higher levels but it isn't the difficulty it is the way the game treats a group that is so broken. It is highly unlikely that somewhere between noob island and max level they suddenly change the way they treat a group doing quests together.

 

[Cuular]

Do what my friend and I did, at level 7 go the highest level stuff you could see, then work your way back until you find challenging stuff.

At level 7, level 13 stuff owned us, we backed off and found out level 10 stuff was a challenge. Good fights, but not a guaranteed win.

If you stick to stuff your level, or even level +1, it's easy mode. You can make it more fun and challenging with just a little bit of thought.

It's all in how you play.

 

[HumblePie]

Play in a duo and come back to me. Doing anything except explicitly group stuff is not a great experience in a group. They built a solo player game with some group content and a so-so co-op game. That's fine if that's what you want (I have friends that want exactly that) but I'd like a game that at least acknowledges you might be an adventuring party not a single person.

Admittedly it could get a lot better at higher levels but it isn't the difficulty it is the way the game treats a group that is so broken. It is highly unlikely that somewhere between noob island and max level they suddenly change the way they treat a group doing quests together.

Uh, again, you are looking at 10 levels of the game only. If you played EQ in beta and were limited to 10 levels, it would look exactly like ESO. Easy single player game with some limited forced group content in that level range. Actually, in Early EQ beta, they didn't have many zones you cold go through, and most of the monsters were just giant human textures since they didn't have various monster textures in the game yet either. Was quite humorous seeing a monster labeled "Bat_0001" over it's head with the default Qeynos human texture, but has it's arms stretched and flapping like a human pretending to be a bat.

Anyhow, the point being, you can't make that judgement just yet. It may very well be that way, which is what it probably will be since the majority of potential players want more solo content than forced group content. But to say it has very little forced group content from what we know of the game is silly.

All one can gather from the betas so far is the general game mechanics and basic look at feel of the game. Which is all that has been put in. What you have seen in beta has been limited severely and even stated as such for a point. ESO will NOT have an open beta where all the game secrets will be able to be seen by the public before the game is released. This is the last beta weekend this weekend and the next time anyone can play will be the headstart. The general public will have zero access or knowledge about anything past level 10 in the game.

Speculating is one thing, trying to state the game is something when you can't even begin to make that point is another.