Has ESO dropped support for MacBooks?

Raijindono

I very rarely open tickets in customer support. However, I've been encountering an issue every patch day for the past three weeks. I opened a ticket, had to repeat my issue numerous times, and have been told by at least 6 different customer support reps that ESO does not support my graphics card because it is a mobile card despite its specs being well above the minimum requirements. Also, the issue does not appear to be related to the graphics card.

ESO claims to support MacOS, but I don't know anyone who has a desktop Mac. Every one I know has a MacBook Pro and I would guess there are more players on ESO who have a MacBook than have a desktop. However, the minimum specs as of Morrowind do not state that ESO does not support laptops/mobile hardware.

Any ESO rep care to confirm/elaborate on why I can't get any technical support? They won't even look into the issue...

MrIvanhoe

Agree with the above. And the minimum/recommended system requirements are kind of odd in my opinion.

They describe graphics adapters that are (were?) only available in the Mac Pro line, either built in (2010-2012) or as add ins (pre 2009). But those machines all had Xeon processors...and the requirements list CPUs that are more aligned with the iMac / MacBook lineup. (Core i3 / Core i5)

Basically, the minimum system requirements are for a hardware configuration that doesn't exist? This doesn't seem right.

I've also had an issue with getting support via the ticket system for a client crash. The CSR's stated reason being "my system was not meeting minimum specifications". In my case, I was lucky that it eventually got resolved.

I realize the vast majority of people play on PC/Windows, but it would be nice if there was some actual legit minimum system requirements that would allow us Mac folks who've been playing ESO for a long time to get support when stuff is broken.

Raijindono

The tumbleweeds here are real.

ningauble_7b14_ESO

Downloaded the PTS client on my MacBook Pro 2018, it crashes immediately on launch.

Macbook Pro 2018 13"
i7-8559u cpu
Iris Plus 655 igpu
16GB RAM

For the Record, this MacBook Pro runs the live client well at 1440x900 medium settings, and runs even a little better in bootcamp/win10 (or a *lot* better in boot camp with a gtx 1080 egpu). The hardware is more then capable of playing eso at modest settings.

Hauteecole_Rider16

I'm sorry to be coming late to this discussion.

I've been playing ESO on my Mac since 2016. I started out playing in Boot Camp on my 2008 Mac Pro (high end desktop), then switched to the Mac client over a year ago. I've had very few issues playing on the OSX side compared to Boot Camp (less, actually, since I don't have to baby sit updates so much).

This past spring I finally replaced it with a 2018 27" iMac. I chose this model as it was best equipped for playing ESO while not breaking my budget.

One thing I'm seeing in many of these posts here and elsewhere where people are complaining about not being able to play ESO. Many times when I see Mac specs, I'm seeing models that have Intel graphics installed. It doesn't matter how good the Intel graphics card is, it is not intended for gaming. The Intel graphics card is actually integrated into the CPU, and uses the same system memory the CPU does. That means that the GPU and CPU are competing for the same graphics pool.

MacBooks (the 12" model), MacBook Airs, and the 13" MacBook Pros are not intended for gaming. The only Mac laptops that have a discrete graphics card (AMD, NVIDIA) with its own onboard RAM are the 15" MacBook Pros, which currently start at $2400 for the 2018 models.

I think ZOS states iMacs only in their minimum specifications because many Mac laptops simply cannot support the fps demands with an Intel graphics card. That is one of the reasons I chose to go with an iMac desktop instead.

iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, 2017)
3.4 GHz Intel Core i5 (quad core)
8 GB 2400 MHz DDR4
Radeon Pro 570 4096 MB

This plays the game at Ultra High graphics with minimal stutter. If I were a PVP player (I'm not), then I would go for a Core i7. Eventually I know I will have to add more RAM, which I can on this model, and I also have the option to upgrade my graphics by adding an external GPU. Right now, I'm quite happy with the way things play on this Mac.

ethernut60

Officially, ZOS has never supported systems with mobile graphics. So, technically, they only support Mac Pro as all others have mobile graphics.

Raijindono

They don't support Windows gaming laptops either?

ethernut60

Raijindono wrote: »

They don't support Windows gaming laptops either?

Technically no, not if it is mobile graphics card/chipset.