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Thinking of trying ESO; Honest opinions, leave your fanboyism out.
MassAuthority
Member Posts: 21
Saw this video,
ES0 1.4 Review
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGiwvT2wp00
and it seems that the game looks way better than start (more polished, better visuals). They also announced the champion system & better animations in 1.6. However some of my major concerns are PvP balance and watching this;
Fighting a DK Emperor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBtg_rEGVIw
is ridiculous for obvious reasons. Lastly, I watched this review (which for me is one of the best reviews done for an MMOrpg);
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipqGcC-qcMk
It is an old one but I would like to know if the core issues mentioned there have been improved or not.
Writer of the column "An MMO that was once an RPG" on 2P.com
http://2p.com/user/activity.htm?userId=54a1c09361fc18b91cb56fc3
Comments
Since you want honest opinions, then I agree with the video reviewer from 22:30 on. It is indeed a watered down version of the single player games. Fans will say,.."Well of course they had to make changes or omissions to make it into an MMO". The problem is, the changes and omissions to make it into an MMO or the ones that also distinguish an Elder Scrolls game from just every other IP. Don't get me wrong though. This game has potential and ZOS has big plans for the game which will make it worthy of the Elder Scrolls name, IF (a very big IF) they put in what they say they will over the next year or so. So you if you are willing to pay for the development cost of this game for the things that should have been in at launch, then by all means. Others are already doing that so you won't be alone. Personally though, I'm waiting to see how this game shapes up over the next year. If the game is as solid as some of the fans tell us, then it will be around and won't go anywhere until then. Time will tell for those who are patient.
"If I offended you, you needed it" -Corey Taylor
I have just recently resubbed for ESO after leaving not long after the fustercluck that was launch, and I have to say, it's looking really good.
Was it a great success at launch? No. Not really, anyways. Has Zenimax given it their all in making sure problems are addressed and ESO is the best possible game it can be? You bet your ass.
The biggest thing going for ESO is Zenimax' complete willingness to look at their own creation and change it as needed. So much has been fixed, and some core systems (such as Veteran Ranks) are being completely rewritten in order to make the best damn MMO around
The amount of faith that no only I, but a large majority of ESO's fanbase are giving this game right now is amazing.
And really, ESO never did truly deserve the bad reputation it garnered at launch. Too many people were jumping on the "I hate ESO" bandwagon because either A.) It wasn't Skyrim Online, B.) It was direct competition to their own game (Wildstar and WoW fan's, I'm looking at you), and C.) It was really just the popular thing to do (Angry Joe's raging fan-army)
Fact is, even before all the amazing changes that are being done, and have been done, ESO has always been a pretty solid MMO with a large fanbase.
Combat is fun, dynamic and smart. Some people complain about only having 6 or so skill hotkeys, but it actually forces you to prepare a build and think smart ahead of time, as apposed to just laoding up 5+ hotbars and mashing buttons.
The world is large and alive. Exploration is actually fun and rewarding in ESO. And the world is simply beautiful.
Questing is a blast! Quests actually have well written dialogue and meaningful decisions. Add in the fact that EVERY NPC is greatly voice acted and you can truly find yourself getting immersed in even the simplest quest.
PvP is large-scale and fun. Think DAoC, but everyone can sneak.
And really, the best is still yet to come. Patch 1.6, which is expected to drop sometime in January has already been bring in TONS of returning players (including myself). Bringing in an amzing alternate advancement system that plays off of Skyrims constellations and an all new justice system which will bring back thievery and bounties from older Elder Scrolls games. Also spellcrafting and tons more in upcoming patches.
Anyways, I've said enough, and really don't want to come across as a fanboy. But it is definitely worth the sub.
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If you play it on a console it will be an ok play on a P.C on the other hand it is useless.
I was in Closed and Open Beta the control system is completely geared for the console player as is the abilities.
If you want a noob gaming experience then its the game to try. personally I would wait it will go free to play fully as it has invested large sums in a very ordinary game.
I loved the Elderscroll games and this is certainly not one of them.
Nothing really new but gaming mechanics and questing have never really changed since EQ and WOW.
What they bring new to MMO's ... nothing really in fact they do everything that has been done before badly.
Better to sub purchase a game thats interested in P.C players if you are one this is not.
The excuse that players and devs use for poor gameplay mechanics are that the button mashing is gone but actually its just because they need to reduce everything to a method that suits button limited consoles.
Sadly some players who are very unskilled in games especially PVP see this as an advantage. So if you like PVP and feel you are a skilled player do not be fooled this merging of skills is purely to satisfy console limitations
Excuse my English best I can do with google translator
All the balance issues will be different come the next couple months. It's hard to tell if PvP will trully be better or worse until the system is tested by the masses.
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
Now...why I can't stand posts like Orious'....and not just yours
Stop labeling things. My god....seriously. If someone asks if a game is good, do you seriously point out all the rhetoric?
Themepark
Sandbox
Jack-in-the-box
Just say why you liked it or didn't. Stop with the cliche crap for ONCE in this site!
"This may hurt a little, but it's something you'll get used to. Relax....."
Exactly right. ESO hate, here and other places, was and is a weird cultural phenomenom. The only other time I have seen this amount of critical passion directed at an MMO pre and post release was for LOTRO (the game which ironically, ESO will be going up against next week in this site's MMO popularity contest.)
Everyone seemed to have strong opinions and in many cases believed they knew better than the developers how an MMO for this IP should be done... just like they did for Middle Earth Online. I still remember all the hate directed at LOTRO because Turbine had the temerity and bad taste to violate Tolkien lore by creating a Loremaster "wizard" class (and later on, 10 times the hate over the Rune Keeper.)
The same thing happened with ESO. Many people were pissed about the PVP focus... about the division of Tamriel into 3 alliances... about it not being a sandbox... about the megaserver... about voice acting (this last one kills me since this has always been a feature of TES games)... lots of strong opinions. There was no way Zenimax could have done anything at all without pissing off the different fan factions who all knew for a fact that their idea about how to develop a TES MMO was the only right way to do it.
The "lore wars" in LOTRO eventually died down to a low roar (although they still exist to this day) and people played it and still play it or not based on the gameplay itself. But it took a while for it to become appreciated for its game play value and not for how faithful (or not) it was to a strict canonical interpretation of Tolkien's true way.
And it'll take a while for ESO too... but it's already happening. It's just an MMO and I could give two hoots about how congruent it is or isn't with SP TES games. I play it because I like MMOs in general and this one hits enough of the right notes for me to still play it.
But there sure was a lot of mass hysteria and a mob with pitchforks at the ready right around the time it launched.
The launch was rough and there was a lot of valid criticism about many of the noob MMO publisher mistakes that were made. But the hate went well beyond what it deserved and was jumped on by many youtube "personalities" who had neither the background nor the context to review it. They just knew that ESO was a thing a lot of people were paying attention to so they put out their often ignorant hatchet jobs to go with the flow of hate that seemed like the cool thing to do and would get them lots of the always sought after hits.
Is ESO a masterpiece? Not even close... it's a work in progress that seems to be improving monthly. But after the horror show that was Trion's release of Archeage and the quick flame out of the Wildstar hype train, ESO is without a doubt, the most notable MMO that has released since GW2. Like it or not (and for many of the hordes of amateur critics here this will be just further evidence of the sad state of the genre they think is on its deathbed) ESO was the best of 2014.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
It is just a linear WoW type MMO, not even as good as WoW was because the game has no world...
Not an Elder Scrolls game and isn't even as good of an MMO as previous Elder Scrolls games were, those games were what you wish'd MMOs were.
imo if you like games like swtor or tsw than you will like eso, if youre more into grouping a lot and/or sandbox than prolly not
for me
+
combat is fun and dynamic and will get better animations coming spring (but i enjoy action combat with few abilities and hate tab targeting rotations)
stories and quests are pretty good - you can enjoy most of the game and quests by yourself if you want
pvp is pretty fun but there are some op builds and zerging is an issue
the character development system is very good imo one of the best
crafting system is pretty decent for a mainstream game
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there is not that much need for grouping outside of instances
pvp is kinda separated from pve
still not enough viscerality on combat but being improved on
no sandbox or open world but very large maps (similar to dragon age inquisition)
there is still only little endgame but its being heavily worked on and they deliver updates FAST
thats just my subjective opinion... i enjoyed eso for what it is - a themepark mmo... i'd say for me it ranks slightly higher than swtor due to the better skill system and combat
Or D) It really did suck. I hadn't even played Skyrim before ESO (I have since), I played Oblivion but didn't get too far, and also played Morrowind a long time ago, so no, it wasn't A for me. I wasn't playing any other game at the time, so not B. And I only read up on other peoples opinions after deciding I hated it, so not C either. Leaving me with option D.
I did simply think it was awful. I'm not a big fan of themeparks, let's get that out of the way, though I enjoyed Secret World and LOTRO, so I like some of them. ESO just did nothing for me. The only thing I liked about it was the experience system with the branching abilities, that was something unique. Everything else: Bad.
ESO never got much hate on the forums.
Complaints sure - about bugs, security hacks, bots, server downtime, a lack of content (max level in hours not days), becoming very bored at max level and not liking the VR grind ....
Complaints sure - to use your words there was "so much that needed fixing" (I see it as design decisions that proved unpopular which they are reworking but ...).
And the bugs are still being patched; the changes still being made - as can be seen from the patch motes.
A subjective view maybe but one that, imo, paints a more accurate picture. And one that influences the answer to the OP.
Should someone buy the game now?
Maybe but in a few months Zenimax will have finished implementing the "big changes" they are in the process of introducing prior to the console launch. Buy the game now and someone would e.g. end up experiencing the VR grind that put so many people off and may put them off. Or maybe they stay and end up having to decide how they use their "refund" under the new system. Depending on timing obviously. If they wait however they can just experience the new system from scratch.
ESO is in major flux right now. There is a very large patch (1.6) maybe by the end of January or in February. It's not yet on the PTS, so I don't think anyone knows for sure when.
There are a lot of highly anticipated and contentious changes expected.
OP -- You should also check the official forums if you haven't already. You will be able to tell who the fanbois are. However, a significant percentage of the "hardcore" player base that frequents the forums there is very angry right now.
http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/categories/EN-general-discussion
Just check for yourself.
I think ESO is worth at least an initial playthrough from levels 1-50, especially if you get it on sale. It was only $20 on Steam recently, not sure if it's still on sale.
However, My sub ends in about a week and I'm not sure if I will renew. I've been subbed since early access. I'm just leveling alts right now and about to get into Elite:Dangerous, so I may take a break till the dust from 1.6 settles and check back in then.
Not true. There is 1 main campaign, and several alt campaigns. The main campaign is never more than 3 days of dominance for any faction to victory. It's so even that no one knows for certain who is the largest faction.
I'm not sure.
Usually when I'm on, Thornblade is dominated by EP. Sometimes the other factions fight back a bit, but for the last couple of campaigns, who has been winning? And by a greater margin each time.
Just this evening (Oceanic time zone) there was a group of at least 50 EP taking all the scrolls finally. The most AD we could get on was 12. DC was pretty much the same as us. It's true, I'm not on all the time, but when I am, that's the typical scenario.
These days, I'm mainly just leveling alts to VR1 when I play.
Currently Thornblade scores are as follows and pretty much backs up what I'm saying.
EP 95.5k
DC 75k
AD 65k
So it looks like EP is zerg rolling to another campaign victory and DC and AD players are just not motivated any more.
You can check the following link any time and I bet you will see EP comfortably ahead.
http://esostats.com/30-30_Day_small_Thornblade_small
You'd have to be there man. AD started the game with a heavy Aussie/asian population. This lead to night capping. Those crews switched to EP. The night cap has happened 3 times this campaign which lead to EP's lead. Throughout NA hours 10am to 2am DC is the dominant faction with AD and EP about equal.
Again even with the night cap 3 days of dominance wins for either DC or AD. I would say that's pretty even for 30 days of war.
I use to think like this (I probably have some old posts years or two ago that say something similar), but the truth is all reviewers think this way now. Actually I used to hate labels in general and still do, but since they are the times that's how you can most easily make sense to people. Afterall, labels and stereotypes are shortcuts to help your brain make decisions quickly. It's natural for the human mind to categorize things.
LOL... well every update was really large and included a ton of fixes and/or new content, but I tend to agree with the bugs/issues people talked about at launch. I rarely had too many issues with quests and being with friends when the game started. My questing experience is basically the exact same except better with the Facial Animation upgrade. Perhaps I played off peak times? Performance-wise... while it was really good given the graphics quality of the game it has improved considerably.
Lot of quest had a social interaction In case a dude came to spot NPC did not spawn and people like 50 were in one place waiting and 1 Derp was refresing it every time )))) right now this problem gone because in starting zones are much less people . About features added until now they werent that game changing . Next Upade will be huge chnage to Skyrimtization of ESO but in the limits of MMORPG
Also I hate those who review game those youtubers of website best review would be silence game play while showing all features of game liek this peopel will not fall into point of view of reviewer ....
I play game for more than 15 years I doubt that some 17 years old opiniot to have value for me
Sorry my by bad english plus im in hurry
"True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde
"I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant
Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV
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"This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon
MAGA
I like the game, have been playing since late beta. The setting and the story is true to the Elder Scrolls lore and you can singel most early content. In endgame you need partners find a nice guild. PVP is fun but have problems with severe lag in high pop situations. Finnally the game is improving all the time.
That is why I love ESO I can Solo in end content and it depends of your build from watching streams and video I seen people use terrible builds.... mean while I tested a 2 handed Sorc who can solo up to 3 4 elites in last expansion added without Batswarm ))).
Build crafting is what I love most about this game with spell crafting that they promised it will get even more intersting