Making ESO feel more like an Elder Scrolls game and a MMORPG (Warning:The Great Wall of Text)
Dahkrius
Soul Shriven
Hello guys!
First of all this is the very first time that I'm posting something an a forum so I apologize if I started this discussion in the wrong category.
This post is somewhat of a complaint because to me ESO is a pretty good game but it could be so much more. That's why I'm going to try to make a few suggestion on my main issues with the game, because I really like ESO and I LOVE the Elder Scrolls series. And I want ESO to be more than just a "good" game.
I think the main problem here is that ESO is trying to be two type games that are usually the completely different.Because of that there are certain elements missing in the game that just doesn't make ESO feel neither like a true Elder Scrolls game nor an MMORPG.
What is an Elder Scrolls game to you?
A game where you are on an epic adventure, alone in a huge world full of mysteries. You are THE chosen one, you have all options in the world. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Everything you do has an impact on the world around you.
You hear about an ancient and powerful artifact hidden in a deadly cavern? Go on an epic quest to retrieve it and become even more powerful than you already are!
Tired of questing? Settle down for a while in your own house full of treasures you have found along the way.
Implementing this into an MMORPG is a huge problem because usually those games are the complete opposite of each other.
You cannot be the sole hero in an MMORPG with thousands and thousands of other people.
You are not free to do whatever you want or whenever you want in a game in which you can outlevel content because it get WAY too easy and boring.
You cannot be the most powerful person in the game because there are thousands or even millions of player just like you out there.
You cannot have a unique item and be the only one to have it because it would be unfair for the other players.
Or that's atleast what people first think when trying to combine those two genres together. And that's the problem with ESO. It's one of the most unsocial MMORPGs I've played (and you guys are lying to yourself when you think it's not) because it tries to be an Elder Scrolls game. And it is the most restricted Elder Scrolls game because it tries to be an MMORPG.
But there are literally endless ways on bypassing those issues.
I'm posting this here in the official forums for the extinguishing small chance that someone important in Zenimax will see this and implement one or two of the suggestions I'm going to make.
Legendary artifacts and powerful weapons
I'm still wondering why you guys at Zenimax even bothered with implementing this the way it is right now. What's the point in getting "The Daggerofwowimsopowerful" when it's just a regular level 15 green (and not even blue or purple?) item that you will just throw away because it is useless in 2 or more levels? How can you fix this? How can you make it FEEL epic just like in every other TES game? I know it is impossible to make weapons like this unique for one player. But you can atleast make it FEEL MORE POWERFUL! Make it something that LASTS and that you can keep forever to remember your epic quest. You can make it unique to other weapons! WHY, JUST WHY is it a regular item?! This can be so easily fixed! How?
Something like weapon skins. A skin changing the appearance of your weapons with a unique look that gives you a bonus like mundus stones which are useful throughout the whole game regardless of the level.This does not make you overpowered but you get the feeling that you have more options for your builds and that you have permanently became stronger! This would even make PvP more competitive because you have ALOT more options to customize your build with all the epic artifacts you have found and make you feel more special in a world with thousands of other players.
More choices and more interaction with players in quests
If you try to quest with friends you have probably noticed by now that its almost impossible because it most likely will be like this:
"Hey have you already done this? And that? And took this quest?"
"What quest?"
"The one I accepted over there."
"I don't have anything there."
...
"Can you help me with this boss?"
"Sorry I'm not in the same instance I cant help you."
....
and so on, there's really no point in doing quests with friends right now (other than dungeons). Of course there will be adventure maps... I know. But WHY, just WHY do you have to let people play for 12307812 hours and grind through all the veteran ranks to finally let them play together with their friends in an MMORPG?! I dont' get it. I really don't.
How to fix this?
You already have branching quest lines, which is great! Why not take it a step further and make options branching to quest lines which can ONLY be completed with 2 or more players, like pushing a button in a set amount of time in different locations (I know it' a bad example). Those quest lines can be ALOT harder but faster to complete! Making it actually worth and rewarding playing with other people.
Options, Options and Options
This is an Elder Scrolls game isn't it? You need to have alot of options. I know you are trying to please 2 crowds which have different desires... and you can combine those things together! Public dungeons for example, they are a pain for people who are die-hard Elder Scrolls fans and hardcore players who want to make a perfect assassination plan in order to kill those mobs, because there will be some Leroy Jenkins who just charge in and kill and attack everything they see. Or because of those bots farming the dungeon bosses. You can just make an option when entering a dungeon to make it instanced only for you and your group and/or set the difficulty which can reward you with better and more loot when completed in harder difficulties making it more rewarding and making the game even more social because it's more beneficial doing those things in a group.
More exploring and making it actually fun going into earlier zones
Right now it is pointless going to low level zones because you outleveled the content
or just did everything you could which is the case in every MMORPG up to this day. But this is NOT a regular MMORPG, or at least I wish it isn't. It is also an Elder Scrolls game.
Why not make quests leading to the previous zones only to discover that you have unlocked a new quest which can yield epic loot?
Why not make quests which get unlocked at later levels in the low level zone which complete the story of a quest you did when you were questing in that zone because the silly quest NPC got in trouble again and needs your help? (you can make them in instanced areas so there aren't any high level mobs in low level areas)
Why can't you make hidden quests which you can discover when talking to a mysterious stranger in the swamp or when finding a strange item in a random chest or after eating a weird smelling fruit without the stupid quest marker?
All of those special quests should not have a quest marker to make exploring actually rewarding and fun!!! I can remember the first time I talked to an NPC in Stonefalls talking about a man running into a cave without return and there actually WAS a cave with a hidden dungeon leading to a quest to save this man. I was sooooo excited. All this without a stupid quest marker. Why not more? Just so many why's.
HOUSING!!!!!oNeElEVEn
I know this has been said what feels like a million times.... but housing for me is a core element in every RPG! Not going too deep in all the reasons because it already has been mentioned thousands of times just making a few suggestions:
-Display of trophies! You can not only kill this super epic and evil daedric creature but you can even cut of his horns and display them above your fireplace to brag about your epic quests.
-Buy employees which you have to pay monthly with gold to do various things for you! Like merchants to sell the treasures for you and even sell it for more than you wanted the item to sell the better the merchant gets. (For example the player buying the item pays 1000g and the player selling gets 1050g because of the merchant bonus). Or a smith repairing your armor everytime you come home, or a gardener who takes care of your plants and gives you more materials the better the gardener is.
The more rooms you have the more employees you can have at a time.
-Armor stands to display your crafting skills.
-Squires to prepare your armor and weapons for you so you are prepared for epic adventures (buffs with a small bonus)
-A bed to sleep in with a buff for certain things like an experience bonus for example.
-Instead of making your house instance make a whole neighborhood or city instanced with small, medium, big properties to buy for your house for even more interaction with players. (making it possible to open up stores)
And millions of more possibilities of customizing your own home and creating a huge gold sink for the amount of money that comes into circulation each day.
Some form of competitive PvP and duels
As I already mention you are trying to please 2 crowds of players dedicated to one genre of games. But when looking at MMORPGs there are 2 types of players in every MMORPG that those games are trying to please. The PvPer and the PvEer. The PvEer have loads of content already and get even more with the adventure maps. But all the PvPer currently have is AvA! Which in the current state is just riding your horse into battle only to die and ride another 10 mins. The PvP is fun for alot of people no doubt about that and it can be argued if there should be methods of getting into battle faster or not. But nonetheless it will still take a while to get to the action. But there are people who want to get to the action FAST. Not every dedicated PvPer has time to run 10 mins just to fight for 5 mins capturing a castle and then run for another 10 mins every day.
The mages guild already have a realm for themselves, why not make something similar for the fighters guild?! Where they have an arena to test the combat skills and to improve even further! I know there are balance issues when it comes to 1v1 so there should be at least teams of 2 or 3 people fighting.
Duels are just a little gimmick but are personally for me part of an MMORPG. What's the point in getting stronger and stronger when you cannot compare yourself to other people and crush them or get crushed and get the desire to improve even further? There are lots of other reasons Duels should be implemented but there are already lots of posts about that.
(Worth mentioning: Guild Store search function, Warning: flame incoming
Like.... seriously? It is sooo maddening searching through 12380923 pages of worms, insect parts, gear, potions, recipes and other garbage just to find those 10 iron ore you need for your new armor because apparently all this crap are "materials". I really have no idea what you were thinking by not implementing something so essential to a store like a search function. And even making it a pain to use the AddOns which tried to fix this design flaw by having to wait 3s-5s until you can search again. The one who thought this would be a great idea should get slapped, really.)
And there is SOOOOOO much more you can do! I myself can think of thousands of ways to make ESO more like a TES game and more like an MMORPG, and if I can do this you guys at Zenimax can do this too. I'm not an expert and I have no idea if what I have suggest can be implemented 1:1 into the game. But if you implement it just in a way that is enjoyable for the player I'm sure that ESO will be a huge success.
And now we have finally come to the end of this seemingly endless Great Wall of Text. Thank you guys for reading all the way to this point and I'm sorry if i made any grammatically incorrect or bad structured sentences or made any mistakes since English is not my native language. I just wanted to share some feedback and ideas and my thoughts about the game as it is in it's current state. Because I think that something really has to be changed if you want ESO to be THE next MMORPG and THE next Elder Scrolls game, because the game as it is right now is just ... just a pretty good game ... but not an absolutely fantastic piece of art like every other Elder Scrolls game I have played!
Sooooo, what about you guys?
What do you guys think they can implement to combine Elder Scrolls and the MMORPG genre even more?
What can they do to make it more social?
Or to give the player more freedom?
To make it more fun in general?
Do you agree with what I suggested? If not give me some feedback and share your creative ideas!
First of all this is the very first time that I'm posting something an a forum so I apologize if I started this discussion in the wrong category.
This post is somewhat of a complaint because to me ESO is a pretty good game but it could be so much more. That's why I'm going to try to make a few suggestion on my main issues with the game, because I really like ESO and I LOVE the Elder Scrolls series. And I want ESO to be more than just a "good" game.
I think the main problem here is that ESO is trying to be two type games that are usually the completely different.Because of that there are certain elements missing in the game that just doesn't make ESO feel neither like a true Elder Scrolls game nor an MMORPG.
What is an Elder Scrolls game to you?
A game where you are on an epic adventure, alone in a huge world full of mysteries. You are THE chosen one, you have all options in the world. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Everything you do has an impact on the world around you.
You hear about an ancient and powerful artifact hidden in a deadly cavern? Go on an epic quest to retrieve it and become even more powerful than you already are!
Tired of questing? Settle down for a while in your own house full of treasures you have found along the way.
Implementing this into an MMORPG is a huge problem because usually those games are the complete opposite of each other.
You cannot be the sole hero in an MMORPG with thousands and thousands of other people.
You are not free to do whatever you want or whenever you want in a game in which you can outlevel content because it get WAY too easy and boring.
You cannot be the most powerful person in the game because there are thousands or even millions of player just like you out there.
You cannot have a unique item and be the only one to have it because it would be unfair for the other players.
Or that's atleast what people first think when trying to combine those two genres together. And that's the problem with ESO. It's one of the most unsocial MMORPGs I've played (and you guys are lying to yourself when you think it's not) because it tries to be an Elder Scrolls game. And it is the most restricted Elder Scrolls game because it tries to be an MMORPG.
But there are literally endless ways on bypassing those issues.
I'm posting this here in the official forums for the extinguishing small chance that someone important in Zenimax will see this and implement one or two of the suggestions I'm going to make.
Legendary artifacts and powerful weapons
I'm still wondering why you guys at Zenimax even bothered with implementing this the way it is right now. What's the point in getting "The Daggerofwowimsopowerful" when it's just a regular level 15 green (and not even blue or purple?) item that you will just throw away because it is useless in 2 or more levels? How can you fix this? How can you make it FEEL epic just like in every other TES game? I know it is impossible to make weapons like this unique for one player. But you can atleast make it FEEL MORE POWERFUL! Make it something that LASTS and that you can keep forever to remember your epic quest. You can make it unique to other weapons! WHY, JUST WHY is it a regular item?! This can be so easily fixed! How?
Something like weapon skins. A skin changing the appearance of your weapons with a unique look that gives you a bonus like mundus stones which are useful throughout the whole game regardless of the level.This does not make you overpowered but you get the feeling that you have more options for your builds and that you have permanently became stronger! This would even make PvP more competitive because you have ALOT more options to customize your build with all the epic artifacts you have found and make you feel more special in a world with thousands of other players.
More choices and more interaction with players in quests
If you try to quest with friends you have probably noticed by now that its almost impossible because it most likely will be like this:
"Hey have you already done this? And that? And took this quest?"
"What quest?"
"The one I accepted over there."
"I don't have anything there."
...
"Can you help me with this boss?"
"Sorry I'm not in the same instance I cant help you."
....
and so on, there's really no point in doing quests with friends right now (other than dungeons). Of course there will be adventure maps... I know. But WHY, just WHY do you have to let people play for 12307812 hours and grind through all the veteran ranks to finally let them play together with their friends in an MMORPG?! I dont' get it. I really don't.
How to fix this?
You already have branching quest lines, which is great! Why not take it a step further and make options branching to quest lines which can ONLY be completed with 2 or more players, like pushing a button in a set amount of time in different locations (I know it' a bad example). Those quest lines can be ALOT harder but faster to complete! Making it actually worth and rewarding playing with other people.
Options, Options and Options
This is an Elder Scrolls game isn't it? You need to have alot of options. I know you are trying to please 2 crowds which have different desires... and you can combine those things together! Public dungeons for example, they are a pain for people who are die-hard Elder Scrolls fans and hardcore players who want to make a perfect assassination plan in order to kill those mobs, because there will be some Leroy Jenkins who just charge in and kill and attack everything they see. Or because of those bots farming the dungeon bosses. You can just make an option when entering a dungeon to make it instanced only for you and your group and/or set the difficulty which can reward you with better and more loot when completed in harder difficulties making it more rewarding and making the game even more social because it's more beneficial doing those things in a group.
More exploring and making it actually fun going into earlier zones
Right now it is pointless going to low level zones because you outleveled the content
or just did everything you could which is the case in every MMORPG up to this day. But this is NOT a regular MMORPG, or at least I wish it isn't. It is also an Elder Scrolls game.
Why not make quests leading to the previous zones only to discover that you have unlocked a new quest which can yield epic loot?
Why not make quests which get unlocked at later levels in the low level zone which complete the story of a quest you did when you were questing in that zone because the silly quest NPC got in trouble again and needs your help? (you can make them in instanced areas so there aren't any high level mobs in low level areas)
Why can't you make hidden quests which you can discover when talking to a mysterious stranger in the swamp or when finding a strange item in a random chest or after eating a weird smelling fruit without the stupid quest marker?
All of those special quests should not have a quest marker to make exploring actually rewarding and fun!!! I can remember the first time I talked to an NPC in Stonefalls talking about a man running into a cave without return and there actually WAS a cave with a hidden dungeon leading to a quest to save this man. I was sooooo excited. All this without a stupid quest marker. Why not more? Just so many why's.
HOUSING!!!!!oNeElEVEn
I know this has been said what feels like a million times.... but housing for me is a core element in every RPG! Not going too deep in all the reasons because it already has been mentioned thousands of times just making a few suggestions:
-Display of trophies! You can not only kill this super epic and evil daedric creature but you can even cut of his horns and display them above your fireplace to brag about your epic quests.
-Buy employees which you have to pay monthly with gold to do various things for you! Like merchants to sell the treasures for you and even sell it for more than you wanted the item to sell the better the merchant gets. (For example the player buying the item pays 1000g and the player selling gets 1050g because of the merchant bonus). Or a smith repairing your armor everytime you come home, or a gardener who takes care of your plants and gives you more materials the better the gardener is.
The more rooms you have the more employees you can have at a time.
-Armor stands to display your crafting skills.
-Squires to prepare your armor and weapons for you so you are prepared for epic adventures (buffs with a small bonus)
-A bed to sleep in with a buff for certain things like an experience bonus for example.
-Instead of making your house instance make a whole neighborhood or city instanced with small, medium, big properties to buy for your house for even more interaction with players. (making it possible to open up stores)
And millions of more possibilities of customizing your own home and creating a huge gold sink for the amount of money that comes into circulation each day.
Some form of competitive PvP and duels
As I already mention you are trying to please 2 crowds of players dedicated to one genre of games. But when looking at MMORPGs there are 2 types of players in every MMORPG that those games are trying to please. The PvPer and the PvEer. The PvEer have loads of content already and get even more with the adventure maps. But all the PvPer currently have is AvA! Which in the current state is just riding your horse into battle only to die and ride another 10 mins. The PvP is fun for alot of people no doubt about that and it can be argued if there should be methods of getting into battle faster or not. But nonetheless it will still take a while to get to the action. But there are people who want to get to the action FAST. Not every dedicated PvPer has time to run 10 mins just to fight for 5 mins capturing a castle and then run for another 10 mins every day.
The mages guild already have a realm for themselves, why not make something similar for the fighters guild?! Where they have an arena to test the combat skills and to improve even further! I know there are balance issues when it comes to 1v1 so there should be at least teams of 2 or 3 people fighting.
Duels are just a little gimmick but are personally for me part of an MMORPG. What's the point in getting stronger and stronger when you cannot compare yourself to other people and crush them or get crushed and get the desire to improve even further? There are lots of other reasons Duels should be implemented but there are already lots of posts about that.
(Worth mentioning: Guild Store search function, Warning: flame incoming
Like.... seriously? It is sooo maddening searching through 12380923 pages of worms, insect parts, gear, potions, recipes and other garbage just to find those 10 iron ore you need for your new armor because apparently all this crap are "materials". I really have no idea what you were thinking by not implementing something so essential to a store like a search function. And even making it a pain to use the AddOns which tried to fix this design flaw by having to wait 3s-5s until you can search again. The one who thought this would be a great idea should get slapped, really.)
And there is SOOOOOO much more you can do! I myself can think of thousands of ways to make ESO more like a TES game and more like an MMORPG, and if I can do this you guys at Zenimax can do this too. I'm not an expert and I have no idea if what I have suggest can be implemented 1:1 into the game. But if you implement it just in a way that is enjoyable for the player I'm sure that ESO will be a huge success.
And now we have finally come to the end of this seemingly endless Great Wall of Text. Thank you guys for reading all the way to this point and I'm sorry if i made any grammatically incorrect or bad structured sentences or made any mistakes since English is not my native language. I just wanted to share some feedback and ideas and my thoughts about the game as it is in it's current state. Because I think that something really has to be changed if you want ESO to be THE next MMORPG and THE next Elder Scrolls game, because the game as it is right now is just ... just a pretty good game ... but not an absolutely fantastic piece of art like every other Elder Scrolls game I have played!
Sooooo, what about you guys?
What do you guys think they can implement to combine Elder Scrolls and the MMORPG genre even more?
What can they do to make it more social?
Or to give the player more freedom?
To make it more fun in general?
Do you agree with what I suggested? If not give me some feedback and share your creative ideas!
5