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Thinking about buying, have a couple questions
Blazeyer
Member UncommonPosts: 562
Hello,
I tried the game in beta and... it was pretty awful. The bugs were plentiful and I never really knew much about how or why I was gaining experience (My skills were leveling up and I had no idea why).
My questions:
1) What endgame is there? Can someone please explain to me what exactly there is to do. I know there's something about redoing quests and veteran levels. But I don't know what that really means or what else there is to do.
2) How is the pvp? In beta I tried Cyrodiil and it was extremely laggy. It just felt like a big zerg fest.
3) How are the combat animations? When I played before the only indication that I had blocked an attack with my shield was that one of my skills was now able to be activated (shield bash or something like that).
4) I hear the game has 1 million subs, but how reliable of a number is that? Not to say that isn't the case, it's just the game has much less coverage than a lot of other mmos and isn't even as popular as wildstar on twitch.
4.5) How many "new" players are around? I don't mind being a noob it's just never fun being the only noob.
5) How much actual pve "grouping" is there? I don't remember what level I reached in beta, but I didn't even get to try a group dungeon. (I know that leveling is more of a single player thing, but I would like my MMO to include other people)
6) How important is crafting? How well do the higher tier crafts compare to the top pve drops?
7) Is there a faction that is just better than the others? Or is there just one that isn't worth joining? I mean in terms of community and area design.
Comments
1. Current end game is pretty poor- the PVP is a love-hate, some love it and some hate it; personally I do not like the PVP and neither did many of my friends however if you get into a good PVP guild it can be fun (this is a faction PVP with objectives, numbers win wars so typically which ever faction has more people in a "ZERG" <--- referring to a large group of players all moving in 1 direction, there are strong incentives for faction PVP so overall its descent but again not for everyone)
End game PVE is currently pretty back, (referring to Veteran)- to explain when you make a character you must choose a faction (1 of 3), each faction has completely different lands, different quests, and all new collectibles (skyshards which are skill points you collect) when you hit veteran you play the factions you didn't start with. The issue with veteran content is the GAMEPLAY hasn't changed, you pretty much do the same "go here, kill these, collect this, talk to him/her" and the whole process you did from level 1-50 is repeated to get you from veteran level 1-5; you repeat this process for the final 3rd faction AGAIN for veteran ranks 5-10 (though the veteran ranks are higher now and EXP adjusted so you will probably be higher); This is changing with the new system due to arrive early this year; I do not know much about it but so far but it seems to provide a purpose so good wishes. Veteran Rank 10+ is pretty much raids (I never got this high so I'll leave it with that)
2. See #1 - Not nearly as laggy but still very much a zerg fest.
3. Overall I never had this problem even in beta; I'd guess it has improved however you can always add a combat add-on to see numbers much more like WoW. I recommend.
4. Player base is descent (1mil is descent too) - judging by the PVP dropping down to only a few (3~4) instances, I'd say they are dying however I like most changes they are doing and that are to come so the game has a strong future if it keeps this pace.
4.5 - People make new characters quite often to try new builds and the guild system really does support a newbie friendly approach; I have found the community is quick to help new players so you may not find a ton of new-new players it isn't hard to find someone to play with.
5. PVE grouping is about your play style really; almost all of the game can be solo play however there are several points where a little help can go a long way. Really there's only 2 things that are "difficult"; zone bosses and public dungeons (though again, with skill and patience you can solo it all. Level 1-50 is easy mode, Veteran rank 1~5 is normal, VR 5~10 is hard)
6. So currently you can do ALL professions (you can make all armors, all weapons, all enchanting, all cooking, ect) on 1 character. Leveling the profession to max is quite easy and is best done as a side (go do a quest, then break down the gear for craft EXP)- For crafting professions; you must hunt down gear with special traits and research them. Researching a piece of gear destroys it and unlocks that trait to be crafted on that equip. Once a certain number of traits is unlocked on a single equip, you can then craft that equip with a set bonus (equip X pieces of a set to get added bonus) - Researching a trait takes longer the more traits you know and near the last few you will look at several days to weeks for 1 trait. Considering you must do this for EACH equip (7 for each armor type [21], 7 for physical weapons, 6 for woodcraft) point being having sets unlocked takes a long time and is more practical to seek assistance from those who have invested huge amounts of time in unlocking sets. (see a crafting guide for more on that)
Summarizing number 6- the game makes what you NEED easy, the game makes what you WANT a challenge (or a matter of luck? - you don't NEED to craft if you have people willing to help you which again is pretty common but it isn't a bother until you start wanting specific gear which usually isn't until veteran as the game is too easy for that effort early on.
7. Personal preference - Don't let people fool you into thinking one faction is actually better (doesn't really matter as you will play all 3 any ways to reach the end game) - There are some who say because the order the factions were made there is a good faction to start in because it offers a minuscule advantage but really it is more important to determine your build and race and choose what you WANT to play as no advantage is worth it if you aren't having fun.
If you have people to play with, choose their faction, having people to play with is way more important. Determine your play style or what you find fun; pick a class off that, pick a race that compliments your class or pick a race you think is cool (race doesn't matter THAT much, skill and strategy is what makes the biggest difference) - Do not worry about "builds" as all stats and skills can be reset using in-game currency. (pretty cheap too)
Overall I like the game and more over I like the direction the game is going; the game suffers from redundancy so it will get old but I feel the game is worth playing until you lose interest. I recommend finding a GROUP of people to play with as the game was not intended to be played hardcore but as a casual game.
"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
True- On that note they are adding a champion system which is apparently supposed to be more like "Skyrim" feel to character development; they mentioned adding a branch to the mage guild that allows you to build a spell from lost words you find (hidden in world) - they are making it so you can steal from NPC (and I think attack them?) and this will lead to the new crime system where other players can hunt you down for a bounty.
This is a rough mention to the things talk about or shown to be coming to ESO however this doesn't even scratch the surface on what's really being done so if you are interested I'd look them up as they all seem like changes that will better the game.
I recently began playing again, and I can definitely vouch for there being a lot of new characters around. (With some of them being actual new players judging by the questions they ask on the zone chat)
Despite what the haters want you to believe, the game's far from empty. And when you get to one of the cities, there's players standing and running everywhere. The bank areas are as busy as those you'll find in WoW's capital cities, with a huge crowd standing around and people constantly running in and out of the building.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
I pvp solo. No guild, no group. I've ranked in the top 2% every campaign. 6 strong players can wipe a group of 24. 1 person can save the day. Literally the day. At the same time if there are 100 people charging down a hill you probably shouldn't meet them head on... Now if a group 20 hits that hundred from the side or chases their tail they might just break them.
There's a lot going on out there you might not know it if your just passing by. Scenarios play out over days and weeks.
1. Turn down your settings, your rig/net sucks. I get no lag. The game is really well optimized for lower end rigs if you turn down the settings.
2. Group finder IS broken, gotta ask in zone.
3. Usually there is one campaign everyone focuses on, the others are buff and emp flip campaigns.
OP never come to these forums and ask about ESO. For someone new to the game it will be increasingly hard to separate facts from the hate. You see I can't think of a MMO game that got as much hate as ESO in my time with MMOS. Perhaps TOR from GW2's fans during launch but I still say ESO was hated more overall. Wildstar fans were the worst about it.
I say it's the most improved MMO of 2014, along with Marvel Heroes 2015. I'd ignore the praise and hate. Just go buy it and see for yourself. A forum can't replace your own experience.
But I will say this, if you hate PVP and want to raid, skip ESO.
Also I get no lag. Then again I built my own computers and run a 980 GTX. No poverty system here. I am not knocking people too poor to build a expensive gaming PC. I'm knocking the ignorant people who turn their below average PC well above what it can run at a healthy performance level (smooth frame rates). Then get around a bunch of other players and start saying "DAMN DIS LAGG!!!!! ESO's SERVER IS HURRIBUL!!"
To be fair, the hate's spread out pretty evenly. Wildstar and ArcheAge are getting more than their share these days (mostly the latter, since Wildstar's becoming a distant memory).
But Trove's right, always form your own opinion.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
the game is good but there is something missing.
you play and everything looks and feels great,after you have levelled a bit then you see other characters and you think wow their combat looks nicer than mine cause you feel your character is getting a bit stale.
then you create another character and the same thing happens over and over again!
it just does not feel like an elders scrolls game,it feels bland.
definitely not worth subscribing!
I appreciate all the responses. I'm leaning more toward a "no" right now on the purchase.
From what I understand the endgame and group PVE is pretty lacking. I should have mentioned this before but I'm a big PVE guy. I like the option of PVP, but not as a main feature, just as something "fun to do and pass some time". I thought they had implemented a "raid" in the game but (unless I overlooked it, and sorry if I did) no one mentioned anything about it. Thanks to everyone for explaining the Veteran ranks, those sound pretty awful for someone like me who usually isn't much for the lore.
There are 12 man trials & 4 man arena's with leaderboards which are quite similar to raids.
You then have Craglorn which is an "adventure zone" or basically a world zone tuned for 4 players.
You then have veteran versions of the dungeons (longer, harder more mechanics) which the undaunted have now put daily quests in called 'pledges'
Cadwell's silver and gold is the ability to 'replay' the 1-50 storyline of the other factions.Silver is supposedly for VR1-5 and gold is 6-10
Ofc you have PvP, Crafting, & the Champion & Justice System coming this month..
That is the endgame content for Eso..also i have to say that the endgame content will chew you up and spit you out if you haven't mastered your class and role.Trials are actually pretty hard to do with a pug & alot of communication is required to succeed.