[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: ESO: Its The Little Things

BillMurphy · February 2014

Last week, the press was finally given an opportunity to weigh in on The Elder Scrolls Online with a torrent of previews that flooded the interwebs. The response was decidedly mixed overall, but personally, I can say I’m a fan of what I’ve played so far. Even after putting in time for my previews, I played quite a bit more of ESO over this past weekend and I found myself consistently surprised at all the little things that added up to make an experience I was already enjoying even better.

Read more of Michael Bitton's ESO: It's The Little Things.

Shana77 · February 2014

My experience was similar and I was originally more enthused about Wildstar which seemed to be a more polished game and also has a solid combat system. After last beta-weekend though my opinion flipped, I'm now far more excited to discover TESO, Wildstar feels to much as a game we've seen before while TESO felt like a fresh experience to me. If the rest of the game is as entertaining and the pvp is solid I can see myself getting lost in this game for a very long time.

Unknown · February 2014

Im on same boat. TESO is different and fresh, im hooked after play last beta weekend. Im not PvP player but Siege RvR matches looks fun too so i can join it to sometimes when bored from PvE ...

Cirandra · February 2014

I read some other reviews that they are saying the starter areas is boring and i found my self very confused about this because i enjoyed a lot the 1st area as Aldmeri Dominion..maybe because i liked a lot the look of the world and explored everything discovering treasure maps, hidden caves,guests with great story and materials to craft cool looking armor different from the others.

Now im on the fence with my self if i dont know how to play a mmo & im doing it wrong or the others doing it right & we must rush a mmo and hit max lvl in one day.

JudgeUK · February 2014

You get out what you put in is the old saying. If people just run from quest to quest they'll be the ones shouting their disappointment.

Too often now it's a rush to level cap then the cry of there's nothing to do is heard.

I've watched a couple of reviews where the reviewer has got to lvl 5 and based his whole game experience on rushing round killing mobs to get there. These aren't proper reviews, I probably played more than they did Friday - Monday.

This review made a lot of sense, and a lesson to some of those other reviewers. People don't take the time to go off and explore, then moan the game is on rails - go figure.

Rockniss · February 2014

While I agree with Judge above you get out what you put in, if you're someone who has played ES games before, you're not used to that $15/month clock ticking away as you stroll at your own pace through in my case, Skyrim. Though I prefer the sub model, it does not fit a game like the ES series provides one with. The ES games are truly a walk in the park rather than a sprint to the finish.

arieste · February 2014

Was that armor that could be crafted at the special crafting table better than stuff you get from storyline quests?

Those dungeons you found, were they challenging? Did the end boss drop good upgrades? Was doing the dungeon good xp vs. doing quests?

cronius77 · February 2014

Yeah I agree with most here , this game offers a large variety of things to do while your leveling up. I found getting a treasure map a great way to get lost in the world and avoided looking up or asking for locations of the buried treasures just so I could get lost and explore. Add in the dark anchors or public events a long with the quest lines and story and many side quests that run up to you out in the middle of nowhere or you find a object laying on the ground etc. It makes for a lot of refreshing game play. I loved this about GW2 also , but I also felt they didnt do enough in that game to do anything different other than the public quest system. Plus the reward system is far better than GW2 rewards for sure. I look forward to release and my time in ESO.

Reklaw · February 2014

I have to say that I fully "NDA" with this topic.

At the moment not aware that NDA is lifted apart for those from the press?

bcbully · February 2014

Immersive, if you let it.

Darknessguy64 · February 2014

Originally posted by Rockniss
While I agree with Judge above you get out what you put in, if you're someone who has played ES games before, you're not used to that $15/month clock ticking away as you stroll at your own pace through in my case, Skyrim. Though I prefer the sub model, it does not fit a game like the ES series provides one with. The ES games are truly a walk in the park rather than a sprint to the finish.

Ya that .50/day is a heavy financial burden to bear. It ages you man. Must...stop...thinking about it..../ack!!

mistmaker · February 2014

how is grouping in this game?

Telondariel · February 2014

It's the nuances, the depth, the rewards for exploration, and the immersion that ultimately hooked me. I am chewing at the bit for the next beta weekend.

Lord.Bachus · February 2014

I am not a crafter, however this is just one of the little features so far that rocks..

Lord.Bachus · February 2014

And about the immersion, if you are looking for it, its easy to find..

but if you are a powergamer rushing past content, all that might be fun for you is the dungeons and the PvP.. Sadly those early previews where written with the powergamers mindset

krea · February 2014

Didnt realy liked the game first but after few hours it started to grow on me , realy like that you need to explore /read more in this one . didnt make it higher than like lvl 7 even if i played 2 long nights , did like what i saw so far little things like reading the lore , hearing the music and just walking around did feel nice to me , world did feel alive cant wait for release now .

xmojo1 · February 2014

I recommend that you play all of the starter areas with different characters. I started off as AD, and spent most of the beta playing in that alliance's areas. While enjoyable, I kind of hit a wall which wasn't helped by some boss mobs being bugged and not spawning.

Then I rolled another character and chose DC alliance. And my experience there was far more enjoyable. Suddenly, things began to make more sense. Whilst I didn't try the third alliance, I will definitely give it a go just to see how the three starter areas compare. At this stage, I would favor DC over AD just for the starter area alone.

LisaFlexy22 · February 2014

I'm the same, didn't feel it so much in the beginning but the more I played the more little details and extra things I noticed and enjoyed. Once done with starter areas REALLY liked what there was.

someforumguy · February 2014

Originally posted by Darknessguy64
Originally posted by Rockniss
While I agree with Judge above you get out what you put in, if you're someone who has played ES games before, you're not used to that $15/month clock ticking away as you stroll at your own pace through in my case, Skyrim. Though I prefer the sub model, it does not fit a game like the ES series provides one with. The ES games are truly a walk in the park rather than a sprint to the finish.

Ya that .50/day is a heavy financial burden to bear. It ages you man. Must...stop...thinking about it..../ack!!

That is not even an argument. I mean, you don't start throwing around 50 cents every day if you have no sub based game, do you? Because that would be the same reasoning as you use.

My point is that you spend your budget only once. And not even all of it if you simply don't find anything else interesting enough to purchase. Also if someone has the choice to play two games and only has time for one, the pricetag could be just the thing to make the choice easier.

This should all be very obvious, but some people still don't get it.

Zeblade · February 2014

Lol ok reading here and there about people not agreeing with some of the what bad reviews. So I read this thread and find people talking about the game and things in that game. A I've been in beta for awhile and some of these things you say you see and find are like ONE or two at MOST!

Yet you talk as if OMG its all over the place. Then most of this 'stuff" they make sure ALL can find it..no fun.

Yes its great to look at but when it comes down to it whats different then any other mmo? Get quest and get shown right where to go. See so and so go kill what ever and what are the odds you find them just standing there waiting to die. Wildlife that what moves 1-2 feet and never go anywhere.

Money.. then we read how people make fun of others that believe $15 a month is not like it use to be. Yeah your the smart one paying a monthly fee as apposed to the ones that would rather not. If you like the game and want to pay great if others dont great.

Cures80 · February 2014

Originally posted by Zeblade
Lol ok reading here and there about people not agreeing with some of the what bad reviews. So I read this thread and find people talking about the game and things in that game. A I've been in beta for awhile and some of these things you say you see and find are like ONE or two at MOST!

Yet you talk as if OMG its all over the place. Then most of this 'stuff" they make sure ALL can find it..no fun.

Yes its great to look at but when it comes down to it whats different then any other mmo? Get quest and get shown right where to go. See so and so go kill what ever and what are the odds you find them just standing there waiting to die. Wildlife that what moves 1-2 feet and never go anywhere.

Money.. then we read how people make fun of others that believe $15 a month is not like it use to be. Yeah your the smart one paying a monthly fee as apposed to the ones that would rather not. If you like the game and want to pay great if others dont great.

freeloaders. those people are called freeloaders. no one likes them. and they won't be in teso, thx to a sub that everyone can pay without even thinking twice. a good system, aint it?

SpottyGekko · February 2014

Lol, I see so many people complaining about how loooooong it took before they could get off the starter island.

I just stare blankly at them...

The only reason why I rushed off the starter island in the last few hours of beta weekend was because I wanted to at least glimpse the next area before beta was done. I could probably have easily spent another day or two on n00b island just exploring every nook and cranny and experimenting with stuff...

Warmachinez · February 2014

Anothe small thing that I like are the animatins when someone is looking in their inventory: their character is rummaging through a bag. If they are looking att heir character sheet,: Their character is looking at a book, etc.

I also find that ESO really excels in these small details that no one mentions or even thinks about.

MikeB · February 2014

Originally posted by arieste
Was that armor that could be crafted at the special crafting table better than stuff you get from storyline quests?

Those dungeons you found, were they challenging? Did the end boss drop good upgrades? Was doing the dungeon good xp vs. doing quests?

I honestly didn't wear many 'storyline quest' items. I made all my own gear, so yes. Dungeons dropped blues, which seemed pretty rare, so yes. I didn't find the dungeons particularly challenging, but they were public dungeons and highly trafficked so that's to be expected. If I had to do them solo or with a friend, they probably would have been a bit more challenging.

These aren't the dungeons you can queue for though. They're just things you can go into in the world. I didn't try the actual dungeon dungeons.

As for experience, I have no idea. It's like Skyrim, you don't have exp numbers or anything to compare to. It's not really something you are going to run into and do over and over. It's just more content to do along with everything else as you explore the world.

Kendane · February 2014

I will never understand the need to rush through a game. I ended up over two Betas not even hitting cap, but just ended up exploring the map finding everything I could find. Honestly the people that plow to max level and complain about the game having no content seem similar to playing an RPG and skipping all the cutscenes and complaining the game had no story.

arieste · February 2014

Originally posted by MikeB

Thanks for answering!

reg xp, i figure you would have noticed if you went into a dungoen and got two levels in an hour or something like. (which is what tends to happen in skyrim - just for example)

Howdy, Stranger!

[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: ESO: Its The Little Things

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: ESO: Its The Little Things

Comments

[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: ESO: Its The Little Things