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[Column] Elder Scrolls Online: Strengths and Weaknesses
BillMurphy
Former Managing EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 4,565
We’re a few scant months away from the launch of Elder Scrolls Online, and we’re beginning to learn more and more about the game from Zenimax Online. Last week we got a good dose of detail about the game’s PVP: Alliance Warfare. We learned about taking keeps, small groups, PVP ranks, and so on and so forth. And all this information got us thinking. There are quite a few facets to ESO that could be construed as both a strength and a weakness. So in today’s Elder Scrolls Online column, we’re going to look at a few features from both sides of the table and try to explain why we think their inclusion to the game could go either way as a positive or a negative. Read on and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Read the rest of Bill Murphy's Elder Scrolls Online: Strengths and Weaknesses
Try to be excellent to everyone you meet. You never know what someone else has seen or endured.
Comments
I only point out what there weakness will be sorry maybe getting old or im just a rabid solo rpg elder scroll fan but thats still stands for me very strong.
Ive got 1300 hours into Skyrim and counting, ive got even more hours in Morrowind.
And here is why i don't believe in ESO: Freedom-Openworld and MODS endless stream of mods my game looks and play so much different from vanilla you would think its a DX11 build game and very different from what Skyrim vanilla was.
Other very strong point is: IM IN CONTROL of how i play and how game should be for a big part this can never happen in themepark.
TESO will not have any of these featers nomatter how hard they try convincing otherwise i won't fall for it sorry.
They prolly try to be different and hope to learn from others mistakes but it still and always shall be a THEMEPARK with ALOT of limitations. Ive seen enough gameplay video's and read enough to know it won't get me into this game. I leave to new generations who are use to this kind of themeparks and love what is offers as typical themepark.
Hope many will enjoy it but im back to skyrim untill The Witcher 3 comes.
Have fun all, i will.
Happy new year no ill will to those who wanne play TESO i say go for it having fun that's most importend not what i have to say.
I don't like this new wave of character combat choices.
ESO from what i read prior to this article will be too much like Next,FFXIV,NWN limiting you to a few choices.Even if they have combos it won't have any depth with so few of choices and you NEED player>player combos,this is a MMO.Being able to swap weapon in and out,i assume only one added choice there as well is not good enough,just again more like a Next,FFXIV idea.
There are so many games ruining what a CLASS is and just a bunch of mumble jumbo choose this or that.A Class should be defined and adding variables the way FFXI did with a sub class.That way you get some form of added abilities and spells without ruining the immersion of your class.FFXIV and NEXT are not the way you do it,very limited although they do manage to keep the focus on CLASS which is most important.
Yes Story is nice but i don't want to feel like i am on some linear path following a single player game,this is a MMO and should feel like it,SWTOR got that part wrong.I also digress on what some call good story telling,SWTOR was super predictable,yes i like narration and cut scenes but not when it is all predictable and the locking out of rooms really ruined immersion badly.BTW the prediction was always some conspiracy theory.Also the three choices hardly made any difference to the game,SWTOR could have done a 300% better job with it.GREAT story telling is when you can go back and play it again on a different character and still feel the intrigue,fun and excitement of it.
I still do not know half of what i need to know to warrant playing ESO,but i think with so little on the horizon,i will at least give it a try since it looks to maybe be of triple A quality.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
Spot on critique IMO.
Without allowing some kind of respec, especially with health/magicka/stamina, it's way too easy to gimp yourself.
I'm also confused by weapon abilities being separate from class abilities. Everyone gets the same weapon and armor abilities regardless of class. So what's the point of classes if there is no true synergy between weapons and classes?
Biggest weakness to me is the games reliance on quests to progress.
I cannot find a cave and kill stuff to progress. I must find quests that are around my level and bounce around until I can find one I can complete. If I want to complete that quest chain, I need to find other quest that will get my level up.
The only incentive to explore is the soul shards, or whatever they're called. Not gaining levels or skill points through fighting restricts the games openness IMO.
Still calling it a WoW clone is way off base. What makes this game is the very fun combat and skill system. Trust me it is not like your tab target MMO's. Better action than GW2 and a lot more complex. It feels unique and like a step forward.
I just hope quest don't become the grind of the game. Quests should be an enjoyable option just like every ES game. Either way its a means to an end and that end is the combat.
Well the Graphics look fantastically real to me. I like a game that seems real, not cartoonish. Playing to a storyline or two doesn't bother me either. The part about phasing seems a good idea that wasn't thought completely through, so I do agree with that part of Mr Murphy's post.
All of the points on character development seem like Mr Murphy and most of the rest of the commenters here want a game tailored just for them. Let me give you my point of view.
1. You buy an mmorpg --- you are taking a chance.
2. You play an mmorpg --- you are challenged to play it the way the Developers created it. Good, bad, or indifferent everyone is in the same boat.
3. You don't have to play the game if it is not your kind of game. You are out the purchase price..... not the end of the world and today you could probably sell your account to someone who is interested.
I really don't think you all are interested in helping improve the game. Rather, just to make the game more comfortable for your own interest.
We have all heard the same lines from Devs almost since the beginning of mmorpgs. That is mostly just pandering and hype for those of us who respond to that. In the end they make the game their way and that's it.
Personally im not blaming the Devs for anything but I am hoping for a third party HUD mod that will give me a more traditional keyboard mouse interface with lots of hot buttons on the screen. Something that is missing from todays game so I am told.
Look this isn't my first post and I have skin of steel so fire away.
Edit: Typo
Suprised people are calling it a WOW clone. WOW has cartoony graphics, ESO more realistic. WOW has tons of abilities on hotbar, ESO has limited abilities. WOW has 2 factions, ESO has 3. Combat/Character progression with abilities is 100% different in WOW and ESO. WOW has auction house, ESO doesnt. ESO has a ton of focus on endgame PVP while WOW is more of an endgame raid gear grind. You have to use your weapons in ESO to gain more abilities with that certain weapon, in WOW you dont. ESO you have to takeover and hold a keep in order to sell your crafted goods, WOW you dont. ESO you can become an Emperor which gives your faction bonuses, in WOW there isnt that system.
The games are completely different to me except the fact they are both MMOs. Every single MMO that will come out in the next 20 years will have some similarities to other MMOs including WOW because they are from the same genre. People complaining about quests, um of course it has quests, its called a MMO, every single MMO has quests. If you dont like quests then dont play MMOs.
Hernan01,
Your not going to get lots of hot bars because the game is programmed to only use 6 skills at once (unless you switch weapons). The mouse interface isn't really needed.
Though you will be in luck. I like making hotkey mods and once I get my hands on the api and the game is in a constantly playable BETA, I'll start making the mod.
I doubt the mod will add functionality as you likely can only work with user interface options. Things like UI visuals, keypress inputs and new menus. But thing like switching a weapon and using a different skill can be done with one press at its fastest speed. Basically giving you easier access to 12 skills. Also you will be able to use your keys in new ways to pack more in a small area. Like multikeys, press and hold keys and double tap keys. All used to to activate skill or functions.
flguy147
I'm definitely not complaining that it has quest. Only that they are the exclusive method to gain levels (beside skyshards and crafting). I quite enjoy the quest, just not being locked into them.
That is in no way exclusive to MMO's and certainly not elder scrolls.
@Ides385,
I wish you the best of luck with your Mod. It sounds perfect. Faster, quicker, simplified access to multiple inventory items, weapon and armor changes, etc.
No they dont.
In fact the Original Themepark MMO EverQuest had hardly any quests at all
Quests are something that WoW brought full force into the MMO genre
Bringer of Eternal Darkness and Despair, but also a Nutritious way to start your Morning.
Games Played: Too Many
CthulhuPuffs,
+1 and I'll add UO to that list.
Again even ones that have quest do not always rely on them to progress your character.
ANd why was that so popular at the time?
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Why was what so popular at the time? Mob Grinding in EverQuest or Quest Grinding in WoW?
Leveling in EverQuest was like pulling teeth without novacaine. Long, bloody and painful.
WoW was the "pain killer", but now you are leveling in a doped up, hazy, /facroll coma.
Bringer of Eternal Darkness and Despair, but also a Nutritious way to start your Morning.
Games Played: Too Many
I am a huge Elder Scrolls fan in fact I Skyrim is my favorite game for all games. I think they nailed RPG perfectly.
Which basically is why I have no intrest in ESO.
Please do not respond to me, even if I ask you a question, its rhetorical.
Please do not respond to me
I don't understand why we can't have both worlds.
You fight the monsters and gain exp. You complete the quest and gain exp. Tired of or stuck in a quest go kill stuff. Tired of grinding mobs go do some quest.
Its just a matter of balancing so you level at a good pace. Certainly not hard to do. You already gain skill exp by killing mobs, just not skill points or levels for your stats.
OF course I was referring to quest grinding. Just about every title pre-WOW consisted of mob grinding as the chief form of combat progression. Even today you're stuck with these two choices as far as a main PVE progression focus. I'd also argue I prefer the approach used by AOC, TSW and TOR for questing over anything else we've seen. I'd call those the pain killers and WOW the band-aid.
Say what you will about quest grinding, yet would we really be better off going back to mob grinding?
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
The sad fact is this is being touted as a real Elder Scrolls game when in fact, it clearly still falls short of its counterparts despite every attempt and all the fan outcry repeatedly saying "Not enough Elder Scrolls, not ENOUGH Elder Scrolls!."
Want some proof? Look at the latest Pvp trailer. Did any of that say Elder Scrolls to you?
To those Elder Scrolls fans looking for the next installment in the series, I say to you-- don't get your hopes up.
No.
But like Ides385 said there should be a balance between Mob grinding and Questing
Bringer of Eternal Darkness and Despair, but also a Nutritious way to start your Morning.
Games Played: Too Many
At first I felt there was no mob grind either but there is a few spots if you go off the path yull find mobs to grind also you can level thru the pvp zones as well But tbh I felt the start zones over crowded .
We do, in ESO we even have the third option of PVP as an alternate form of character progression from level 10 on. We've had that in a lot of games post WOW.
One form just takes longer than another, where as a combination of them all, lends itself to faster progression. So in essence we do have "both worlds".
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson
Fighting mobs in ESO does not gain you stats or skill points only questing, crafting and skyshards do that. Fighting mobs only makes your skill higher level. You don't get skill points to progress your skills.
I am basing this on a MMORPG article, the progression video and experience.
I will give you pvp because I'm not familiar enough with how it progresses you.
Mob grinding is boring as hell, I'm glad the genre has moved away from it. Linear questing now is the next hurdle to get over for me. I hope after the starting area the world opens up, like Bill said. The open skill sets are really refreshing, I like how you can build your character how you want. I also like classes and this is a nice mix of both. 3 Faction pvp is really nice and what I look forward too the most, story lines are great and all but they end and pvp is there to pick up the slack.
Ides385, you're wrong. Fighting mobs raises your stats, well using abilities actually raises your stats. Before touting off your own misconceptions let's look at facts.