The Elder Scrolls Online

[Climber]

I agree with your concerns, I have done several betas now and this one seems the least polished. Yesterday i had to reloadui about 15 times in 3 hours of play.

I keep seeing complaints of this in game and throughout the betas. Luckily I have never had to do this once. As far as Alphas and beta's go this has been perhaps the smoothest of all, even moreso than Age of Conan which I don't really consider a beta test but whatever, it was smooth regardless of what you want to call it.

 

[GoldenTiger]

You throw out this word "troll", but maybe those of us that have been through a dozen or more MMO releases are just being cynical and trying to warn everyone else? Myself and others have pointed out a ton of the issues with this game, which point right towards that path of "f2p" or "going to fail".

You're cute, but I've played MMO's since launch day of EverQuest 1 . I've been through many MMO launches and am jaded but not stupid about it and leap to bash any new game that's on the horizon like some people do including newbies to the forums like yourself (I've been here since H launched but lost my account during a wipe of inactivity over 9 years ago, hence why this one's "only" 9.2 years old next to my username) . The way he stated his remarks was not in an "advice" or "question" manner but in the exact way people like you tend to troll with. If it looks like one, smells like one, and talks like one... it generally is one.

Love how you quoted one post out of context, kitten, and ignored the post I made already saying what you just blathered and repeated:

Yeah, a lot of mmo's have gone "f2p" lately, which unfortunately usually costs more than just subscriptions if you want all the content, except the ones with subs you can buy from other players like Eve or (soon) Wildstar...

Anyway, sorry for the misunderstanding. ESO's kinda an interesting beast, not quite enough like an Elder Scrolls game but also not enough like an MMO to necessarily satisfy either camp fully. There's a LOT of content to go through though and if you are into Elder Scrolls you'll enjoy the storylines in my opinion and overall gameplay, at least past the starter islands which are horrifically linear. It's got issues but it's worth buying in my opinion for now.

I have major concerns with a lot of the core things though at this point as well as the devs' design philosophies, but hoping they'll start interacting and really acting on the beta feedback at launch. Hopefully it's quick enough at launch that they can keep people around . Months and months ago I figured "hey, they have time to still work this stuff out", but they do not seem to see many of the real issues as problems. Hopefully once the financials hit they will act quickly on them.

 

[ob1]

I have posted this before and my feelings still haven't changed even after playing most of this weekend. They still have not fixed most of the bugged quests, I mean, I have /bugged these quests on the last four or five beta events and they are still broken. You still cannot jump off of many area's like bridges and such that have low railings, its like invisible walls and such, or the railing is much higher than the graphics show. I have only filled out 8 bug tickets this weekend so far as I am losing hope. There shouldn't be this many issues this close to launch. I'm a dumbass though and will probably play the first month, but if the launch version is this bad, I won't be paying for a second month....


/edit: Oh yeah, and some of the loading times are just broken. I mean 8 to 9 minutes to load a zone. Forget it if you wanted to zone back out. Also grouping seems to have been fixed slightly, but there are still zoning issues with groups...

/edit2: Oh the queue system is borked too. My son and I are sitting five feet away from each other, he logs right in, I have 1hr31min queue time. Last night was opposite, I got right in, he queued for 47 minutes, and I mean it was a full 47 minutes.

 

[lilbabycat]

Goldentiger, I'm sorry that i have upset you so much. I too have been here quite a long time, though I honestly don't know how long. I know that I found this place through TR, which I have also been on for at least 12? years now, not long after. I'm not trying to have a pissing match with you. I'm merely saying that this game isn't an Elder Scrolls game (just like the FF MMO's aren't very good FF games) and that the mechanics and decisions of the devs points towards a failure. They simply don't know what the industry wants OR they just want to cash in on initial sales + a few months subs to turn a profit. I'm saying they'll not only failure to deliver a good game but also fail to turn a profit. If they fail to deliver but do turn a profit, then we're in for yet another one of these in a few years from some other dev. They fail at both, maybe, just maybe; the publishers will actually try to make a good game.

But you people like you, that have seen all the failures, seen all the terrible titles, and had an optimistic smile on themselves the entire time; gleaming over the blatantly obvious faults; allow these terrible titles to exist. So thanks, thanks A TON, for that.

/grumble

 

[GoldenTiger]

But you people like you, that have seen all the failures, seen all the terrible titles, and had an optimistic smile on themselves the entire time; gleaming over the blatantly obvious faults; allow these terrible titles to exist. So thanks, thanks A TON, for that.

/grumble

You're clearly not even reading what I've written if you think that I am gleaming over the obvious faults. My prognosis at this point for ESO is actually quite bad, which you'd know if I had bothered... .

 

[lilbabycat]

You're clearly not even reading what I've written if you think that I am gleaming over the obvious faults. My prognosis at this point for ESO is actually quite bad, which you'd know if I had bothered... .

Am i mistaking you for someone else...I'm reading your last few posts over again and yeah I think you're right. You're still being optimistic but the underlying thing is " gonna be a failure if they don't wise up"....not sure why you pointed the troll finger though...

 

[Pringle]

You've been called 'kitten' and 'cute'. Run, run away

 

[Spewn]

You're clearly not even reading what I've written if you think that I am gleaming over the obvious faults. My prognosis at this point for ESO is actually quite bad, which you'd know if I had bothered... .

Your opinion seems to have changed quite a bit in a very short period of time, then...

I don't blame you for being skeptical, I too have been burnt on many mmo's. This one is a real deal though, as will become common knowledge post launch.

The skill system is one of the most open in an mmorpg ever...
It is fun throughout, and you can go into the sandbox stuff early like Cyrodiil and general freeform pve roaming.

As with most games the more you play the better it gets, ,mmo or not.

Your ignorance is all that prevents that.

This is the best MMO to have hit the scene for several years at this point, hands-down

So which GoldenTiger should we be listening to? The one that told us ESO was "One of the best MMO to hit the scene for several years", or the one that's telling us ESO is "actually quite bad"? I'm genuinely curious, because your previous posts indicated you had "hundreds" of hours into ESO at that point, and it seems strange that just a couple of months later you've now turned from saying "Best MMO in several years" to "quite bad". Which is it? I know you don't want to violate the NDA so it would be hard for you to clarify exactly why you said what you said, but perhaps you can at least understand why some of us are both skeptical *and* confused at this point.

 

[Cmustang87]

Played the beta so far for about 6 hours total. It's quite bad.

Think of TES, but not quite TES and mix that with an MMO, but not quite an MMO. I'm not sure how much can be said without breaking NDA rules. The fact that there is still such an NDA on this game should be a flag to anyone that they are hiding something.

 

[Ocellaris]

They put up 500k invite codes on Curse, they can't be too worried about people breaking NDA.

AngryJoe has a 25 minute preview up (with permission), he tears the game apart in a few areas.

 

[GOD'SlittleSERVANT]

I don't understand how I can like this game when everyone else almost hates it. I'm usually the one that doesn't like a game when everyone else loves it.

 

[Cmustang87]

Well with that said, here's my more in-depth thoughts.

I think this game is going to be suffering an identity crisis floating between being an Elder Scrolls game that you can play with your friends, and being an MMO, but not fully delivering on either point. The game world feels dead. The questing is kind of building you into this "prophesied hero", but everyone else is running around doing the same thing, and you can get credit for it. So you spend over an hour on a quest chain and get to the climax of it, and you're just kind of watching everyone else do it. Totally ruins the mood.

Not having a mouse, and being able to select players for right click menus, etc feels really off. I know they are trying to bring out Elder Scrolls style with this, but they have to give and take in certain aspects. I like being able to click on players names to whisper them, or right click and /who or whatever. You have to press "." to release your mouse. I still have yet to figure out how to leave a group.

Combat is boring as hell. I'm playing as a Redguard Templar right now. Combat is basically me standing still and left clicking, waiting for stamina then pressing 1 or sometimes 3, depending on how much stamina I have. Hitting enemies with a sword feels terrible, it's super floaty and lacks any sort of feedback. It's kind of like those dreams where you're fighting someone, but your punches are ineffective and weak. Casters look like they could be fun.

Skill leveling is really strange. You get XP and that XP goes towards skills in your action bar, even if you're not using them. You also get XP for using abilities. It's just weird having your healing spell rank up when you turn in a quest, but your character level doesn't increase.

It's weird not having like a combat log, or XP notifications of any kind to kind of keep track of your progress.

With the above said, the graphics look very nice for an MMO. I haven't really done anything with crafting, but it looks like it could be a strong point of the game. Unfortunately at its current state and only being 2 months away from launch, AND putting an entire race behind a pay wall, there's no way I can justify giving my money up for this when there are much better options (play Skyrim, or some other MMO).

EDIT: Skills do not gain ranks by using them. They only get ranked up by them being in your action bar and turning in quests and killing enemies. That's wonky as hell. Also, why the hell do Templars have fire ball spells?

 

[Cmustang87]

I don't understand how I can like this game when everyone else almost hates it. I'm usually the one that doesn't like a game when everyone else loves it.

I'm interested to hear of the specific things you like about it. I'd really like to cure my negativity for this game because it could honestly be fun.

 

[Ocellaris]

The no mouse thing is going to make the game hard for MMO players to transition to. All UI navigations feels harder than it should be, and the key binds don't make sense for a number of things. Interactions and game play all look like a compromise to make the game not quite a MMO and not quite Skyrim.

Character design all looks pretty bad. It's an ocean of dull colors mixed with brown.

Also you can't switch the characters to being left handed?!? Argh!

 

[Cmustang87]

The no mouse thing is going to make the game hard for MMO players to transition to. All UI navigations feels harder than it should be, and the key binds don't make sense for a number of things. Interactions and game play all look like a compromise to make the game not quite a MMO and not quite Skyrim.

This right here is why I believe they need to either change/fix it, or suffer their impending doom. The players that are willing to pay the $15/mo fee are the ones that will have issues with this.

On your second point, that is my biggest gripe. It fails to deliver in either category!

 

[GOD'SlittleSERVANT]

I'm interested to hear of the specific things you like about it. I'd really like to cure my negativity for this game because it could honestly be fun.

After I made that post, I thought about it more and came up with the conclusion that I'm just excited for a new MMO.

I don't really dislike anything about it, but I know I will be bored with it in 2 months tops, just like I am with every other MMO I touch.

MMO's and I have a love hate relationship...

 

[MavericK]

Regarding MMO combat, though...I don't think I've played an MMO short of something like Planetside where the combat actually felt satisfying, though. Mainly due to the fact that the servers can't seem to handle any sort of realtime hit detection, so most MMO combat ends up feeling the same.

 

[Ocellaris]

Regarding MMO combat, though...I don't think I've played an MMO short of something like Planetside where the combat actually felt satisfying, though. Mainly due to the fact that the servers can't seem to handle any sort of realtime hit detection, so most MMO combat ends up feeling the same.

ESO feels like Skyrim with even worse hit detection. Melee is a mess.

 

[GoldenTiger]

This right here is why I believe they need to either change/fix it, or suffer their impending doom. The players that are willing to pay the $15/mo fee are the ones that will have issues with this.

On your second point, that is my biggest gripe. It fails to deliver in either category!

1000000000% agreed. I really want the game to work because face it, there aren't many options for RvR-style gameplay on the MMORPG market, but the flaws and identity crisis are going to be this game's doom if they don't start to understand that these problems even exist. Unfortunately there are a LOT of die-hard "Zenimax is always right and perfect" loyalists on the internal forums that push back hard when anything is suggested for change, at all, and whine about how you're analyzing the game too much like an MMO if you bring up bugs with the combat system or flaws in design of anything (we have a crappily-working combat log add-on that often crashes, and scrolling combat text from one other add-on along with a buff tracker and HP readouts, but that's about it). So, we can actually see things that are bugged or exploitable due to poor design, but get shouted down for mentioning them even let alone trying to discuss a solution. The same thing is carrying over to everything else practically in the game.

Basically the community is in-bred. You know the response given by the devs when they ninja-removed the functions that let us use the old minimap that used to be built in? "We envisioned and decided to support Elder Scrolls with a compass system for navigation. We do not plan on implementing API methods that could allow a minimap." In other words, a giant "F U" to the same add-on guys they were supposedly trying to cultivate a community around to give people the options through those even. And you know the response most people put on? "I'm glad we don't have the add-on available for it anymore, it wasn't how an Elder Scrolls game should be and I didn't like that people had it on their screens because they were damaging their experience and might get a bad impression of what the game's about if it were available."

To be blunt, there are only two reasons to want to play the game for launch at this stage:

A) You are a hardcore lover of RvR/AvA/WvW style PVP and want to get a game with a good system of it finally because you've been starving for years with nothing on the market.

B) You are an incredible Elder Scrolls lorehound and want to know what happens in the game.

They successfully keep consolizing the game UI further, removing game mechanics allowing for deeper gameplay, and causing as many bugs as they fix every build (there are almost never patches in-between and those builds only come every 4-5 weeks, this close to launch even, which in and of itself is worrisome as to their schedule on the live game).

ESO feels like Skyrim with even worse hit detection. Melee is a mess.

The funny thing is, they had a fairly well working system with a small soft ability queue, and then removed it in a patch note claiming to improve combat responsiveness. Since then the feedback's been unanimous that it's like you describe, except by the choir of outright "anything is right so long as the devs have done it" crowd

 

[Cmustang87]

MMO's and I have a love hate relationship...

Same goes for me. I actually started playing Rift on Friday evening. I'm having quite a bit of fun with it. I'm not excited enough to even log back into ESO, which is a shame.

I haven't played an MMO since shortly after Neverwinter Online launched, and I played that for about 2 weeks.

I think for now, I will be decently happy with Rift keeping me entertained.

 

[Bangorang]

I don't really dislike anything about it, but I know I will be bored with it in 2 months tops, just like I am with every other MMO I touch.

thats because if you played one mmo, you've played them all....so incredibly formulaic...the genre needs a radical change...something like slowing down combat ala 'the matrix' combat scenes..hell, I'll take anything off the wall of crazy for a spin..just give me somethin new combat wise!!! and action combat is the 'latest thing'...and its bad for mmo's because NO ONE can go through a 3 hour raid without coming out with sore hands/fingers from all the button mashing....Yoshi from final fantasy 14 said the same thing thats why ff14 is NOT action rpg crap...mmo's need to be subtle in their combat and give me choices..i want choices damn it !!

 

[Ocellaris]

thats because if you played one mmo, you've played them all....so incredibly formulaic...the genre needs a radical change...something like slowing down combat ala 'the matrix' combat scenes..hell, I'll take anything off the wall of crazy for a spin..just give me somethin new combat wise!!! and action combat is the 'latest thing'...and its bad for mmo's because NO ONE can go through a 3 hour raid without coming out with sore hands/fingers from all the button mashing....Yoshi from final fantasy 14 said the same thing thats why ff14 is NOT action rpg crap...mmo's need to be subtle in their combat and give me choices..i want choices damn it !!

I think you underestimate how much people mash buttons playing WoW

 

[Stiler]

Speaking of the controls, I think they should have went with the Neverwinter Nights control scheme as far as hotkeys goes.

IMO after playing neverwinter I think that style is about the cloest to "actiony" feeling that I liked in an mmo.

ESO is similar but it for some reasons still uses the number keys as default for hotkeys which aren't nearly as quick to use as q/e/r.


If you can remap them I would change my main abilities (IE ones you use most often) to the q/e/r keys.

Then for the 3 remaining I don't know what to do with them.

I've never liked using the number keys (as it requires you to move your hand away from w/s/a/d to hti them).

Probably rebind the other 3 to tab, alt, then C so they are all near the movement keys.

 

[mtbush]

ESO feels like Skyrim with even worse hit detection. Melee is a mess.

Pretty much...I think they did a really good job with ranged though, especially the bow. I remember rolling a Nord Dragonknight in the past couple of betas and walked away extremely disappointed, I won't be making that same mistake @ launch

 

[Blacklash]

I was playing by myself or not grouped, I didn't find anyone interested it that.
So to me it felt like a ghetto vanilla version of Skyrim where I was missing all
my mods and custom followers.

I usually roll with up to three custom followers. I have around twenty custom followers
I've created that I use with different characters. Who I use depends on the character in
question. Again, I usually select up to three.

My modified Skyrim has things like; custom areas/quests, custom gear, custom spells,
custom follower behavior mods and custom followers. That's in addition to custom
environmental effects and texture mods etc. So I'm playing a seriously enhanced version of
the game.

Honestly, modifying Skyrim myself and sharing mods with other people has greatly contributed
to keeping me interested in the game.

I suppose it could be interesting to people who had friends who wanted to play
with them and if they were interested in eventually getting into PvP. For me, I'd be
perfectly satisfied with a co-op mode for Skyrim.

Right now, I'm definitely not going to be paying for this. I'll have a look at it again at
a later date.

 

[cageymaru]

I don't understand how I can like this game when everyone else almost hates it. I'm usually the one that doesn't like a game when everyone else loves it.

It's not that we hate it. It's that we've played it since Everquest days. Can't anyone do something with combat and still have a great engine and story? Why does everything have to be a copy paste?

I don't mind paying $15 a month for innovative game play.

 

[Climber]

It's not that we hate it. It's that we've played it since Everquest days. Can't anyone do something with combat and still have a great engine and story? Why does everything have to be a copy paste?

I don't mind paying $15 a month for innovative game play.

Yes but what does that mean or look like? All of the MMO's who have tried "innovative" that is something new or different whether it be story driven, combat driven, PvP driven, new combat "techniques", or what have you, have all failed with the rare exception of Eve. Stop and think about the successful MMO's since 2000. Really only WoW and Eve fall in that picture. Some have popped up and been strong for a bit, others are happy and content to have a 100k subs or so, but in the end they all either die off or hang on by a thread. The genre is tapped out and really nothing more can really be done to it without breaking out of the genre all together unless someone comes up with some mind boggling new concept that can breath life into it again the way WoW did. Because if not the MMO genre has been and always will be raid oriented, loot based progression games. Games like PS, BF, and CoD are the new MMOs and they aren't driven on raids, just time played to unlock new gear but then again they aren't really MMOs in the traditional sense and that is IMO due to the mechanics of MMOs. Hell I would love to see a return to Ultima Online or Shadowbane but that won't happen. Perhaps a co-op Might and Magic or Skyrim would be awesome, but not really MM is it.

ESO is your standard fair MMO. Yes it is a formula which has been beaten to death so they are taking the safe road here, but the RvR and PvP is where the game really shines if you enjoy that aspect of MMOs. Another thing ESO has done right is the amount of variety in combat and tailoring it to different playstyles. Honestly, there is a lot of good stuff in ESO but a lot of pretty average and meh, been there done that, stuff as well. This is why I think it is going to fail. GW2, Rift, SW:ToR, TSW, AoC, and others do a lot of this and in some places so much better and guess what? They're all free.

The areas they've gone wrong is the lack of open world exploration, I'm glad the minimap is gone, but being able to be like, oh shit look at that a castle on that peak over yonder, lets go have a look is gone from ESO. It isn't entirely on rails but it is guided. The complaints, especially those that are "I'm not a special snowflake, everyone else is a hero to #cry #sadface #pouty face" are asinine and not even really complaints. Granted I guess that comes down to story telling, but still I find those complaints very watered down.

The overall arching storyline is pretty decent, many of the side quests are excellent, combat isn't bad (wtf are these melee complaints about?), graphics are excellent, pacing is actually very well done, PvP and RvR are perhaps the best in a decade or more, grouping is on par with GW 2 (love it or hate it), and character customization is excellent. Music and atmosphere are also pretty good and the dungeons while standard fare are still well done. Crafting if that is your thing is pretty intensive and a lot of people seem to really enjoy the depth there, I think it is shitty but then again I hate crafting.

The bad stuff is related mostly to the amalgamation that is Elder Scrolls single player and traditional MMO playstyles. They are trying to hard to blend the two and not really capturing the good from either of the genres. Animations can be stiff and clumsy but those are easily fixed, lore is forced to fit the story, and there are some atrocious ai moments.

Take that for what it is worth. Will ESO be successful? I doubt it. Is there potential for it to be? Yes, there is but I highly doubt Zenimax will do what is necessary to make sure it stays successful and healthy for the long haul. Is it a cash grab? Sigh, I hate that expression but ya they are trying to cash in on the popularity of Skyrim but they are missing the mark on what players want. I wouldn't mind an Elder Scrolls MMO if everything was tailored to small parties say 2-4 people, old gauntlet style dungeon crawling, and the opportunity to combine a group or two for "raid" content if you want to call it that. PvP is the only real thing I think they've nailed. They've already opened up the alliances to every race so the Imperial thing is kinda meh...but whatever Lore isn't their focus here which is kinda sad. That is one of the things which made WoW so great was the amount of Lore they had to build off of. Zenimax is kinda throwing all of that to the wind and saying who cares it feels like at times. I mean fuck the Aldmeri Dominion I hate them damn high elves and was really looking forward to severing some of their pointy ass cone heads from their jaundiced bodies.

They put up 500k invite codes on Curse, they can't be too worried about people breaking NDA.

AngryJoe has a 25 minute preview up (with permission), he tears the game apart in a few areas.

Also just in case no one knows, but Imperials can be unlocked after lvl 50 and all races can be part of any alliance. So ya, first part of AJ preview rant is wrong. As far as a low budget Elder Scrolls game it is better looking, fully voiced over, has more combat options, and the amount of quests is pretty extensive so I disagree with his low budget Skyrim. His buddies complaint that you run for 4 minutes kill a mob run for 4 minutes get 20 gold etc...etc... and that there is nothing to do along the way is blatantly false. There is an abundance of quests and side routes you can explore if you want. At one point in the game I had picked up almost 10 side quests on the way to complete 1 main quest and that was just in the beginner zone. As you get further along in the game and higher in level that picks up so there is a ton of solo and small group content if you wish. I'm beginning to think they are just bitching so they can bitch about something.

 

[cageymaru]

Melee combat on my Templar is pretty broken. The NPCs were doing dodge rolls to get away and I was "locked" onto them and hit them anyway. It was exasperating to know that there was not skill involved in the combat. Then I had another move that said it did varying damage to multiple targets. Sometimes it did hit multiple targets if I took the time to line them up by backing up and making the perfect attack. 90% of the time if I did an eye test and said yea this looks good enough, I only hit one target. So am I supposed to be backpedaling until the sun and moon align into a perfect line to attack? Or is it supposed to hit them when they are bunched up and literally inches from each other? Needless to say I was not impressed.

The only MMOs that get combat right are TERA and Neverwinter. TERA has zero story and if you disable the UI your frame rate goes from 20fps to 50fps. Try being a tank without an UI or tanking with 20fps. Graphics settings don't matter in TERA; you're screwed over by whomever thought an UI made with Autodesk programming in a MMO was a good idea.

Neverwinter is F2P and everything costs at minimum a testicle. It also has a funky look to the graphics. It irritates me so much while playing that I'm angry. The pay wall is strong in this title. I'm one of those hoarder type players and the system just doesn't work for me. I don't feel compelled to pay; I feel pissed off. But the game has great combat. The animations are kinda rough, but I can ignore that because I feel like a Billy Badass. I just can't ignore the fact that I'm restricted from collecting it all. Does a spreadsheet really take up that much space on a modern server?

If ESO went for a full Skyrim combat system, the game would be 100% better. Every person buying the game has played Skyrim and the older titles in the series. This was the perfect time to bring it forward and introduce it into a MMO. Nobody would have been a lost sheep. That's a cop out.

And as far as seeing thousands of other heroes running around with you and being letdown, I can concur that it's still annoying. I just pretend that since I'm a Templar that I need another badass to heal. I mean why would I heal peons? Otherwise I'd still be mad about it.

 

[Deleted member 232162]

After I made that post, I thought about it more and came up with the conclusion that I'm just excited for a new MMO.

I don't really dislike anything about it, but I know I will be bored with it in 2 months tops, just like I am with every other MMO I touch.

MMO's and I have a love hate relationship...

I agree with the other posts, but I picked yours up mainly because that's the reason that I'm going with...I love the Elder Scrolls, especially the lore/universe. I'll probably drop it in a few months (unless I can find some people to play with right off the bat that will stick through the game with me), but during that time I'll be a happy camper because 1) it's the new hot thing, 2) because it's an MMO, and who doesn't want to try a different MMO.

I played for several hours this weekend and really liked the thunk of killing enemies, and being able to talk to people about quests while I was doing them, was just neat. Sure, nothing revolutionary in the least...but still cool.

I'd be down to play in a guild with you man, if that's the plan at least.

 

[notarat]

I downloaded and installed the Beta Thursday night and, since I had a Dr Appt early Friday morning, I took the rest of the day off work so I could log in at noon Friday and give this game a good 2.5 days of play over the weekend.

Four hours later I uninstalled it and promptly forgot about it 'til I saw this thread this morning, which reminded me that I'd actually tried it in the first place.

The strongest impression I was left with was, "This feels like a first attempt at a game, and it's not even a good attempt".

Not trying to "hate" on the game. Obviously, some like it, some don't.

 

[Deleted member 232162]

I downloaded and installed the Beta Thursday night and, since I had a Dr Appt early Friday morning, I took the rest of the day off work so I could log in at noon Friday and give this game a good 2.5 days of play over the weekend.

Four hours later I uninstalled it and promptly forgot about it 'til I saw this thread this morning, which reminded me that I'd actually tried it in the first place.

The strongest impression I was left with was, "This feels like a first attempt at a game, and it's not even a good attempt".

Not trying to "hate" on the game. Obviously, some like it, some don't.

I can see where you're coming from, I'm not blind to where a product/service stands, but damn, that's pretty harsh. Other than the fact that it doesn't really bring anything revolutionary to the table, it's really not THAT bad.

 

[notarat]

I can see where you're coming from, I'm not blind to where a product/service stands, but damn, that's pretty harsh. Other than the fact that it doesn't really bring anything revolutionary to the table, it's really not THAT bad.

It's not meant to be harsh...

It's just that it seemed bland and generic to me, and not really done well.

Things that stand out to me about the MMOs I liked most are:

EQ2 - For it's time, the graphics were awesome. It had very complex crafting that was as difficult as if not more so than the fighting and you could die crafting. (For 4 months after lauch "The Forge" was the #1 killer of players in the game.) I was blown away at the depth of the lore and the fighting system was particularly fun for me.

Wow - The "cartooney" look initially put me off, but I liked the game play and the quickness of the "clickanditsdone" crafting. the open-ness of the world was great. It was a great break from playing EQ2

Rift - Probably the most bug-free beta/launch I've ever seen. Amazing ability to create and save different specs so that you could make a truly multipurpose character able to adapt. The world events and rifts that opened up made logging in a very unpredictable experience since a full-blown rift could be at the spot you last logged out

ESO? I saw a mudcrab...it reminded me of Skyrim. When your game reminds people about someone else's game, well...

 

[Deleted member 232162]

It's not meant to be harsh...

It's just that it seemed bland and generic to me, and not really done well.

ESO? I saw a mudcrab...it reminded me of Skyrim. When your game reminds people about someone else's game, well...

But I mean, isn't that a good thing AND a bad thing to a degree? The whole point was to try to keep that ES feel (though we can all hit the nail on the head that it'll never be equal to a full ES game, get that straight out of the way here).

Like it's been mentioned somewhere else on here, the only people that will REALLY get this are people that are either really looking for a new MMO (for whatever reason), or are die-hard lore fans that just can't miss an iteration. I don't think either is bad necessarily, but like you mentioned, it all comes down to preference.

I know it seems like I'm white knighting this game, but I'm really not, or at least that isn't my intention.

 

[shifty68]

Your complaint is that eso reminds you of other elders scrolls games. seriously?

damn swtor was terrible it just kept reminding me of star wars

 

[Ritorix]

Ugh, I'm going to have to change my opinion of this game. This was my 3rd beta weekend, I've been generally unimpressed but I finally got to PvP and...it was really fun. It's pretty zergy and wont appeal to everyone, but it really had that old DAOC RvR feeling. Between ganking stragglers and dropping burning oil on zergs I actually had a good time.

Finally a PvP game where literally everyone can stealth. You pretty much have to, to avoid the gigantic zergs. There was a few amusing moments when I was stealthed near an ally who wasn't, a zerg of people would rush at and obliterate him, and keep going right past me. Should have ducked, dude!

 

[Kryptorchid]

Your complaint is that eso reminds you of other elders scrolls games. seriously?

damn swtor was terrible it just kept reminding me of star wars

I can't speak for him, but I can speak for myself.

The problem with ESO isn't that is reminds us of other Elder Scrolls games, it's that it reminds us of the Elder Scrolls games that do everything this game is trying to do better.

I know, you will say "but ESO is online." So? The way phasing is broken.. err.. "working"... you don't exactly "play" with other characters. In fact, on of the biggest complaints coming from the beta is that everyone else just gets in the way. They don't add anything to the experience save for a couple dungeons and bosses.

This game is trying to be two things at once, and failing miserably at both.

 

[cageymaru]

Ugh, I'm going to have to change my opinion of this game. This was my 3rd beta weekend, I've been generally unimpressed but I finally got to PvP and...it was really fun. It's pretty zergy and wont appeal to everyone, but it really had that old DAOC RvR feeling. Between ganking stragglers and dropping burning oil on zergs I actually had a good time.

Finally a PvP game where literally everyone can stealth. You pretty much have to, to avoid the gigantic zergs. There was a few amusing moments when I was stealthed near an ally who wasn't, a zerg of people would rush at and obliterate him, and keep going right past me. Should have ducked, dude!

Ha ha that sounds pretty epic. That's something I can get into! My buddies seem to want this game still. Since we buy everything as a group I'll probably end up with it too.

 

[notarat]

But I mean, isn't that a good thing AND a bad thing to a degree? The whole point was to try to keep that ES feel (though we can all hit the nail on the head that it'll never be equal to a full ES game, get that straight out of the way here).

Like it's been mentioned somewhere else on here, the only people that will REALLY get this are people that are either really looking for a new MMO (for whatever reason), or are die-hard lore fans that just can't miss an iteration. I don't think either is bad necessarily, but like you mentioned, it all comes down to preference.

I know it seems like I'm white knighting this game, but I'm really not, or at least that isn't my intention.

I understand where you're coming from. There is a lot to be said about a feeling of continuity in the Elder Scrolls realm.

I loved Morrowind and Oblivion, and I grew to like Skyrim quite a bit (Played it on launch day and stopped for 6+ months due to crappy support for Xfire, then picked it up once the bugs were worked out and played 500+hrs)

I'm sure those die-hard fans really interested in the lore and the "Tamriel Universe" will like it, and those people looking for something new will definitely give it a shot, at least for a while.

I did want to like ESO. I did pre-order the $70 version from Amazon (which I went back and cancelled Friday night) It's just not for me...that's all.

Now if I could find a game with EQ2's lore, crafting, economy, class implementations, and 2014 Graphics capabilities...I'd happily fork over my $14.98 per month...

Make a spell? Sure! you gotta make the ink components first, then make the ink, then make the paper components, then make the paper, then make the spell...with a mistake on any one of the steps capable of ruining the spell...now that's crafting. (Pre-LU13) I actually liked that kind of crafting system far more than any other MMO's system because you earned every level and there was actual risk involved.

 

[notarat]

I can't speak for him, but I can speak for myself.

The problem with ESO isn't that is reminds us of other Elder Scrolls games, it's that it reminds us of the Elder Scrolls games that do everything this game is trying to do better.
I know, you will say "but ESO is online." So? The way phasing is broken.. err.. "working"... you don't exactly "play" with other characters. In fact, on of the biggest complaints coming from the beta is that everyone else just gets in the way. They don't add anything to the experience save for a couple dungeons and bosses.

This game is trying to be two things at once, and failing miserably at both.

This is what I was trying to say, but failed.

 

[GOD'SlittleSERVANT]

I agree with the other posts, but I picked yours up mainly because that's the reason that I'm going with...I love the Elder Scrolls, especially the lore/universe. I'll probably drop it in a few months (unless I can find some people to play with right off the bat that will stick through the game with me), but during that time I'll be a happy camper because 1) it's the new hot thing, 2) because it's an MMO, and who doesn't want to try a different MMO.

I played for several hours this weekend and really liked the thunk of killing enemies, and being able to talk to people about quests while I was doing them, was just neat. Sure, nothing revolutionary in the least...but still cool.

I'd be down to play in a guild with you man, if that's the plan at least.

Agreed with this entire post.

And yeah, we'll need to form something once this gets released. I'm just hoping the first 2 weeks are not a giant cluster fuck like the last FF MMO was.