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[Review] Elder Scrolls Online: Very Fun, But Not Perfect

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  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,780
    Originally posted by CrazKanuk
    Originally posted by Sovrath
    Originally posted by Rattenmann

     

     

    Social 8,.. com'on lol.

    It is if you are a "social person".

     

    If that's the case then I guess every game would get a social score of 0 for you then. 

    you have to look at where these games give opportunities to "be social".

    Going from quest hub to quest hub and taking quests that can be done solo doesn't really allow (edit:) social opportunities.

    LOTRO is horrible in this way. Not only is it horrible but the few times where you do get to group up you bang out your "one quest" then everyone drops and goes their merry way.

    At least in this game, there are areas where being in a group can be of help. especially if you need to bang out some of those mini- bosses in a certain area and supplementing it with the anchors.

    And as I've said, trading in this game supplies a great way to be social and to speak with the people you are interacting with.

    Where Elder Scrolls Online sort of fails is having a standing group and supplying endless amount of grouping experiences.

    but there are a lot of opportunities to be social. I've been very social in this game and I'm a soloer.

    But since you have to head out into the world your chances of meeting another person who is also "out there" who might need assistance is very high and "for me" has granted me many grouping opportunities.

     

    Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb." 

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  • MorninglordMorninglord Member UncommonPosts: 15

    A review is simply a person's thoughts and experiences in a game. Mr. Murphy just happens to be this game's reviewer for mmorpg.com. He is entitled to his views as much as any of you. But to flame him because he didn't give the game the score you thought it should be is downright immature. I may not agree with all of his review, but I respect his opinion on the game. Have a great day.

     


  • NanfoodleNanfoodle Member LegendaryPosts: 10,875
    Originally posted by subxaero
    Originally posted by Nanfoodle
    Originally posted by simsalabim77
    Originally posted by Aeonblades
    Originally posted by zellmer

    Even people that like the game are saying "That's pretty high..."


    Might be a sign Will, I thought you weren't going to turn a blind eye to it's many problems...


     

    Nah, I feel like an 8.0 is spot on and I enjoy the game. It's not a 9 or 10, but I feel like a lot of the games here are overrated anyway such as GW2, Rift, etc. And I still play all of those from time to time. It's slightly above average, but not ground breaking, at least until the first couple of patches roll in with a justice system, spellcrafting, etc. then it will probably raise the score significantly.

     

    6 is slightly above average. 8 is nearing perfection. 

    Not at mmorpg.com, most what we would call AAA made games are rated between 7.2-8.5. So being ESO will fall under that area, its not being rated very highly at all. This would be like any other site giving a 5 or a 6.

    I Agree Nanfoodle..

    Whats bothers me most though its that Bills( which i consider a good reviewer) points cannot even arguably considered right.

    Social 8--He justifies it with the social Points Of Interest(public dungeons etc ) what doesnt tell u is that u actually dont need a group to make those-since  u always  find a random group of people there in rush time, not to mention the bots at boss spwans. I got my templar to VT1 and i have done all the POIs withiout being in a group..never.I olny grouped  4 times just to make the ordinary dungeons(with the elites)but beyond that nothing else.Quest with my friend? lol good jokez.The enhanced grouping experience is for when u REALLY need someone to complete something, not form a group just to'form' it.

    Now how can u give an 8 to a game that  tries its best to be anti-cosial and anti morpg with the lane phase, in order to give u  an immersive SP experience(Which is pretty DECENT NO DOUBT).It cant get a higher than 5(at best)

    Longevity 9---where u got nothng else to do rather than PvP (which is general nice)--and continual...questing questing questing, which however well formed  it is, it lacks challenge-And all that package gets a 9 -,-  A 7 is more suitable, but still Longevity in contrast with Social its debatable  some people  have a different view from me and its completely  respectable

    Does not bother me, I use the same few movie reviewers all the time and even when the rate a movie badly I know them well enough that by what they say I can tell if I will like or dislike a movie. Works most times. Same with mmorpg.com. I have gotten to know the staff and be it high praise or a bad review I have learned to read between the lines and know what games I will look into. Bill's words are worth as much as they always have. Be they wrong or right IMO or for that matter  anyone elses. 

  • orbitxoorbitxo Member RarePosts: 1,956
    Originally posted by Mtibbs1989
    Originally posted by orbitxo

    fair review bill.

    ive managed to finish the main story at level 46 (DK) with some purples, and now i managed to open up the other faction zones...alot todo in pve.

    its not innovative, but its an  heavy lore mmo with volumes  and volumes of story driven quests. hoping this dosent phase out- to many demands from the masses..

    'chat bubbles'?...really???

     

     

    You don't finish the main story until 50 ;)

    'God of Schemes' i finished at lvl46 (even thought its optainable at 50 -glitch?).  I hope Im wrong and theres more to come! 

     

  • sketocafesketocafe Member UncommonPosts: 950
    Delves are little one shot things. They're not meant to be complicated and you're not meant to spend much time in them. I've found all of the instanced dungeons and the actual public dungeons to be varied and fun. 
  • StrayfeStrayfe Member UncommonPosts: 199

    Social: 8 - in a game that literally does everything it can to prevent you from grouping?  In a game that I didn't need to group a single time in 3 weeks until I finally threw the damn thing down in complete disgust?

    Value: 8 - Let's see here.  ESO costs $60, an extra $20 for the imperial edition (which has an extreme pay for convenience in the mount), charges a sub fee, has a cash shop, gets an 8.  Meanwhile, on release, FF14 ARR cost $30, gave extra free time for returning players, collector's edition costs $50, no cash shop, and it gets a 7.  Seems legit.

    Longevity: 9 - With a grand total of two things to do?  When the entire endgame (and basically the entire game) consists of nothing but questing and crafting (and pvp if you like it)?  There is less to do in ESO than any game I can remember being released in recent memory.

    You know, Bill, I've been here since 2006 or 2007, and I've never really believed the people who talk about MMORPG.com reviewers being paid shills, but after this one, I really have to ask.  How much does an 8 from MMORPG.com, cost?  $5,000? $10,000?  $25,000?  This is simply not an above average game in any respect.  At best, it's a playable, story-driven game targeting a particular group of people, solo questers.  If you're a solo quester, you will enjoy this game for what it is, and that's fine.  If you are anything BUT a solo quester, the game is literally painful to slog through.

     

     

     

  • FlyByKnightFlyByKnight Member EpicPosts: 3,967

    The only way I could give ESO "almost 8" on a scale is if I was getting paid or trying to maintain some kind of business with Zenimax.

     

    Yes the game has potential to be pretty decent but there are so many things wrong that were pointed out in the article but not reflected in the score.  It's silly.

     

    "Plagued with bugs".  Shouldn't that have a more important weight than everything?  Useless Guild AH. Yeah bro.  It is pretty much useless, technically and economically.  It's broken AND the exploits have gave ppl no reason to buy certain things anymore. What about combat going in and out on people?  Are we going to ignore that too?  That's a pretty big deal.

     

    Also sleeper issue, I know everybody is gushing over the graphic fidelity (seriously?) but how about talking about how terrible the options are to adjust the graphics.  If you lose fps next to a waterfall there are no options to lower anything to correct it except taking a sledgehammer to your whole experience.

     

    With each one of these "favors" MMORPG does for Zenimax and ESO, I lose a bit more respect for the writers.  You guys are starting to come of as people who skim through the game and don't actually play or get in tune with people who do.  Just my opinion.  I give this review 4/10.

    "As far as the forum code of conduct, I would think it's a bit outdated and in need of a refre *CLOSED*" 

    ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
  • orbitxoorbitxo Member RarePosts: 1,956
    Originally posted by sketocafe
    Delves are little one shot things. They're not meant to be complicated and you're not meant to spend much time in them. I've found all of the instanced dungeons and the actual public dungeons to be varied and fun. 

    I agree. posting how similar these 'mini event dungeons' are as as trivial as posting how a game  event is coded.

    kinda silly actually- i dotn mind them looking alike.- they sure dont  feel the same, and ive done quite a few!

    a cave is a cave. a rock is a rock.  the most important thing is..

    the lore IS NOT alike any other mmo. = win!

  • DalanonDalanon Member UncommonPosts: 126

    The game is definitely more of an elder scrolls game than it is a traditional mmo.  The multiplayer aspects are sectioned off mostly to the dungeons and pvp rather than general questing, and the quest leveling is mostly solo play, even though the Craglorn content is supposed to be more group based questing.  I think the game caters to elder scrolls fans rather than mmo fans.  I do think the grouping needs to be better with some of the quest phasing, though I will say I don't think a lot of people realize you can travel to the same phase as other people by right clicking on their name in the contacts list.  While this doesn't work for every thing as some quests are designed to be done solo, it does allow grouping in most over world areas and public dungeons.  Zenimax does need a better system of clarifying what content is group and what is solo, and they need to make it so you are automatically in the same phase when grouped instead of having to all click to travel to player which puts you at the nearest wayshrine to them.

    I would say the game at this point gets a 7.  It's got a slow pace, but that's a big plus for a lot of people who like to quest which is the elder scrolls fan base.  The pvp is good from what I've seen, though I haven't done a lot of it.  The game has been buggy and while I've only personally encountered 2 bugs up to level 33, both of which have been fixed, I can see where that has to be frustrating for some people who have had more serious or numerous bugs.  I do have to say that they have been taking care of them quickly though and I've seen other games launch with a lot more bugs than this and sometimes those have still been in the games six months later.

    As much as some people acted all upset that it was going to be another wow clone, I think some people are complaining even more that in a lot of ways it isn't.  I would say at worst to the average gamer it's an average game even though personally I like it a lot more than average and it has nothing to do with being associated with elder scrolls I actually like a lot of the game systems they have in play.

    The game will have a decent longevity I think.  The console launches should be successful and if past elder scrolls games are any indication, the consoles will actually have more players than the pc market does.  You can tell some big design decisions were made with the idea that this would need to function well on a console.  If you don't think console players will like it due to the subscription, they are actually used to tossing out 15-30 bucks every couple months for DLC so I don't see it being that big a difference.

    As long as Zenimax continues to focus on correcting the game bugs and actively listening to their core fans on what they want out of the game, they should be successful.  The imperial edition wasn't a paywall, their is no game altering cash shop, and it's not a wow clone.  Most of what the trolls have tried to say about the game is not true and while you might not like the game for whatever reason, that's probably not because it's a bad game, it's mostly because it's a game not designed the way you like your games to play (for anyone that has had account problems or progress stopping bugs I totally understand them being more upset).  There is a solid fan base that really likes the game as it's designed, and while there are always things that players would like to change, the core game is very solid.  The things that a majority of people would like to see changed, Zenimax seems aware of that voice in the community and they have at least said that they are working on a lot of what people are asking for and will continue to do so.

    Not all who wander are lost...

  • Xaaz23Xaaz23 Member UncommonPosts: 24

    LOL - Is this a friggin joke review?

     

    SOCIAL - 8

    We’re taking a couple points off for the aforementioned phasing issues, but it must be said that ESO is one of the more socially active MMOs I’ve played in recent years thanks to great guild tools, passable grouping tools, and excellent dungeon and public delves. If the LFG tool can be refined a bit more, when combined with the megaserver and social aspects of crafting and clearing objectives? ESO’s social future is bright.  The community seems to be dedicated and helpful, and we’re all once against the bot army.  This gives me great hope for a vibrant social community moving forward, even if the game ends up a niche product.

     

    WTF are you smoking.

  • AeonbladesAeonblades Member Posts: 2,083
    Originally posted by Xaaz23

    LOL - Is this a friggin joke review?

     

    SOCIAL - 8

    We’re taking a couple points off for the aforementioned phasing issues, but it must be said that ESO is one of the more socially active MMOs I’ve played in recent years thanks to great guild tools, passable grouping tools, and excellent dungeon and public delves. If the LFG tool can be refined a bit more, when combined with the megaserver and social aspects of crafting and clearing objectives? ESO’s social future is bright.  The community seems to be dedicated and helpful, and we’re all once against the bot army.  This gives me great hope for a vibrant social community moving forward, even if the game ends up a niche product.

     

    WTF are you smoking.

    I don't get it. What's your complaint about what he said? This game has the best community I have played in since DAoC released. Very few trolls in zone chat, can find a group for something in 3 or 4 minutes 99% of the time. Every time I have had a question I asked in zone chat it was answered by two or three kind people. I even appealed to some random people running around yesterday to help me finish off a few named overworld bosses I needed for Grahtwood completion and they helped me no problem even though they have far outleveled the area.

    Guilds have meaning and are much more social because you have to rely on good guilds to have a vibrant economy and to get certain quests and dungeons done.

    I think the social aspect might even be a 9, it is one the high points of the game for me.

    Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
    Have played: You name it
    If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.

  • NadiaNadia Member UncommonPosts: 11,798
    Originally posted by Aeonblades

     This game has the best community I have played in since DAoC released. Very few trolls in zone chat, can find a group for something in 3 or 4 minutes 99% of the time. Every time I have had a question I asked in zone chat it was answered by two or three kind people. I even appealed to some random people running around yesterday to help me finish off a few named overworld bosses I needed for Grahtwood completion and they helped me no problem even though they have far outleveled the area.

    Guilds have meaning and are much more social because you have to rely on good guilds to have a vibrant economy and to get certain quests and dungeons done.

    I think the social aspect might even be a 9, it is one the high points of the game for me.

    i agree getting help from random strangers is heartening

    but not uncommon during new game launches   (in my own experiences)

  • Insurgent99Insurgent99 Member Posts: 58
    Solid review; it pretty much sums up my feelings about the game as well. See you in the Rift!
  • ColdrenColdren Member UncommonPosts: 495

    Just one objection:

    Lack of meaningful Cyrodil rewards? You get a skill point for each rank you move up, you get alliance points, which can be used to buy weapons and armor from merchants, you can find sky shards, and if you're a lore hound, additional lore and content to find.

     

    What more do you want?


     

  • AeonbladesAeonblades Member Posts: 2,083
    Originally posted by Coldren

    Just one objection:

    Lack of meaningful PvP rewards? You get skill points for each rank you move up, and you get alliance points, which can be used to buy weapons and armor from merchants you can use anywhere.. What more do you want?

    I can kind of see where he is coming from. The random blue bags for AP in Cyrodiil is kind of stupid imo. I wish they would just let you choose what piece of gear with which stats to buy with your alliance points.

    Currently Playing: ESO and FFXIV
    Have played: You name it
    If you mention rose tinted glasses, you better be referring to Mitch Hedberg.

  • MadFrenchieMadFrenchie Member LegendaryPosts: 8,505
    I would've preferred them not waste time placing such cookie cutter "delves" and much more time creating deep, complex, multi-winged public dungeons complete with multiple bosses, wings, a personality, and a level range of mobs than chock the world full of forgettable mini-dungeons that are copy/paste. I wanna be able to get lost in my dungeons, turn a wrong corner and have to run for my life than the predictable stuff I see in ESO.

    image
  • gwei1984gwei1984 Member UncommonPosts: 413

    Originally posted by MadFrenchie

    I would've preferred them not waste time placing such cookie cutter "delves" and much more time creating deep, complex, multi-winged public dungeons complete with multiple bosses, wings, a personality, and a level range of mobs than chock the world full of forgettable mini-dungeons that are copy/paste. I wanna be able to get lost in my dungeons, turn a wrong corner and have to run for my life than the predictable stuff I see in ESO.

    Well, this I completely understand. Unfortunately the last game which created a vast labyrinth-like dungeon for me, was DAOCs Labyrinth of the Minotaur....and this is some years past :(

    I dont get, why noone does those large dungeons anymore. 

    Well, lets see how the PvP Dungeon in the Imperial city works out

    Hodor!

  • SovrathSovrath Member LegendaryPosts: 32,780
    Originally posted by gwei1984

    Originally posted by MadFrenchie

    I would've preferred them not waste time placing such cookie cutter "delves" and much more time creating deep, complex, multi-winged public dungeons complete with multiple bosses, wings, a personality, and a level range of mobs than chock the world full of forgettable mini-dungeons that are copy/paste. I wanna be able to get lost in my dungeons, turn a wrong corner and have to run for my life than the predictable stuff I see in ESO.

    Well, this I completely understand. Unfortunately the last game which created a vast labyrinth-like dungeon for me, was DAOCs Labyrinth of the Minotaur....and this is some years past :(

    I dont get, why noone does those large dungeons anymore. 

    Well, lets see how the PvP Dungeon in the Imperial city works out

    I completely agree with you guys and it makes me sad.

    but it is what it is. Sadly.

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  • d0e1owd0e1ow Member Posts: 7

    You were way too generous. Tom's Hardware just released a review more in touch with reality. Perhaps you really enjoy this kind of game, but I think anyone looking for an honest MMO, even an honest theme park MMO, has to walk away feeling like their time was wasted.

    One of the worst MMO's I have ever played honestly. I enjoyed SW:TOR more. At least the dialogue was more interesting there.

    image
  • MadFrenchieMadFrenchie Member LegendaryPosts: 8,505

    Originally posted by gwei1984

    Well, this I completely understand. Unfortunately the last game which created a vast labyrinth-like dungeon for me, was DAOCs Labyrinth of the Minotaur....and this is some years past :(

    I dont get, why noone does those large dungeons anymore. 

    Well, lets see how the PvP Dungeon in the Imperial city works out

     

    I miss it too, gwei. For anyone who doesn't understand why some old school MMO players have a distaste for even the group instanced dungeons, I refer you to the comparison pictures I am posting. As you can see, even the instanced groups dungeons in ESO pale in comparison to the depth and complexity of a completely public dungeon from vanilla DAoC created over a decade ago. It's a devolution of the genre, not an evolution.


    EDIT- never mind about the photos, MMORPG.com just directs me to the homepage every time I try to insert a picture into my post. A simple google image search for ESO dungeon maps and DAoC dungeon maps will show you what a huge step backwards the genre has taken in regards to PvE dungeon crawling.

    image
  • d0e1owd0e1ow Member Posts: 7

    Originally posted by MadFrenchie

    Originally posted by gwei1984

    Well, this I completely understand. Unfortunately the last game which created a vast labyrinth-like dungeon for me, was DAOCs Labyrinth of the Minotaur....and this is some years past :(

    I dont get, why noone does those large dungeons anymore. 

    Well, lets see how the PvP Dungeon in the Imperial city works out

     

    I miss it too, gwei. For anyone who doesn't understand why some old school MMO players have a distaste for even the group instanced dungeons, I refer you to the comparison pictures I am posting. As you can see, even the instanced groups dungeons in ESO pale in comparison to the depth and complexity of a completely public dungeon from vanilla DAoC created over a decade ago. It's a devolution of the genre, not an evolution. EDIT- those pictures coming as soon as my phone cooperates. No access to a PC right now.

    It's all done in the name of "streamlining" the game experience. The issue is that companies aren't developing worlds, they are developing games, and games that they want to sell lots of at that. In a world, you'd see big sprawling dungeons, even classic WoW had dungeons that you could get pretty lost in. Maraudon anyone?

    The more gamey the world, the more "follow the path" the dungeons have become. I blame WoW. They started with good dungeons, but by their first expansion had started corraling people down hallways calling it a "dungeon".

    It's pathetic and makes me wonder why I still play these games.

    image
  • cmorris975cmorris975 Member UncommonPosts: 207
    Originally posted by d0e1ow

    Originally posted by MadFrenchie

    Originally posted by gwei1984

    Well, this I completely understand. Unfortunately the last game which created a vast labyrinth-like dungeon for me, was DAOCs Labyrinth of the Minotaur....and this is some years past :(


    I dont get, why noone does those large dungeons anymore. 


    Well, lets see how the PvP Dungeon in the Imperial city works out

     

    I miss it too, gwei. For anyone who doesn't understand why some old school MMO players have a distaste for even the group instanced dungeons, I refer you to the comparison pictures I am posting. As you can see, even the instanced groups dungeons in ESO pale in comparison to the depth and complexity of a completely public dungeon from vanilla DAoC created over a decade ago. It's a devolution of the genre, not an evolution. EDIT- those pictures coming as soon as my phone cooperates. No access to a PC right now.

    It's all done in the name of "streamlining" the game experience. The issue is that companies aren't developing worlds, they are developing games, and games that they want to sell lots of at that. In a world, you'd see big sprawling dungeons, even classic WoW had dungeons that you could get pretty lost in. Maraudon anyone?

    The more gamey the world, the more "follow the path" the dungeons have become. I blame WoW. They started with good dungeons, but by their first expansion had started corraling people down hallways calling it a "dungeon".

    It's pathetic and makes me wonder why I still play these games.

    I hear ya man.  I am going to give MMOs a five year break (at least).   I spent $140 on GW2 and this one and played them for maybe 10 hours before I gave in to the fact that I just was not having fun.  They just don't make MMORPGs for players like me anymore, and I don't have trust in developers after these experiences.  The first iteration of Darkfall was the last MMO that really felt like a world at all to me.  And that one did not have the funding to really get anywhere besides the basics.

  • gervaise1gervaise1 Member EpicPosts: 6,919

    The breakdown scores do seem a little off:

    For example if the longevity score is as high as it is because of the future content then OK but if that is the case the value score should be lower because by the time all the extra content is available the cost of the game will be much, much higher than the box price - unless you wait several months of course! 

    Something more in line with DMKano's post ..... however at the end of the day it is what it is and in broadly inline with the majority of other reviews.

    No score given by the Tom's Hardware reviewer - source of the infographic above. The review itself has its funny points however, some other infographics and interesting comments e.g. about the dungeons being "b" shaped.



     

  • MMOGamer71MMOGamer71 Member UncommonPosts: 1,988
    Originally posted by DMKano

    So much for MMORPG rating a few points lower than average on metacritic - it's 72 over there :P

    http://www.metacritic.com/game/pc/the-elder-scrolls-online

    Longevity 9 ? 

    That MUST be a typo

     

    Social 8 ?

    You can't even group with someone to HELP them on a quest you've completed yourself ! Or a team where every member has to solve the puzzle individually??  What?

     

    Here's a more realistic score:

    AESTHETICS – 8

    INNOVATION - 7

    POLISH - 6

    LONGEVITY - 7

    SOCIAL - 7

    VALUE - 7

     70% final score

    And 70% would be in line with "a couple of points lower" than metacritic.

    Just saying.

    "You done scored it too high"

     

     

    I go with this with a special emphasis on DMKano's point about the questing.

  • KrampusKrampus Member Posts: 17

    WAAAAYYYYYY too much hate on this game. I think alot of people  are showing their dissatisfaction because 1. it's a sub and 2. It's not Skyrim multiplayer. Personally I'd give this game a higher rating than what he gave based on the scores other MMOs got from this site. This game is better than SWTOR or GW2 for example and they both received higher scores.

     

    The only real complaint I can see that has merit is group questing and even then it's not as bad as some people make it out to be. Could it  be better HELL YES, but I've been playing with a friend as a tandem and we have had little to no issue at all. Sure we are forced to make sure we sync our quests so that we remain on the same instance but it's a minor inconvenience. Many people just are not being objective.

     

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