Loving the game!!

human151 · April 2014

This has been the most impressive MMO Ive ever played. out of all the ones Ive played (WOW, EQ2, LOTRO, Matrix Online, EVE, SWG, SWTOR), I get the most sense of awe from this game.

From the stunning graphics, the well done ambient sounds, the music, to the intriguing quests and storyline, I think this game is great.

The Dagger Fall Covenant is an interesting political alliance. I also have to say besides Nar Shadaa SWTOR, way rest it is the most impressive city I've seen in an MMO.

I dont understand all the hate this game is getting, and tbh, I think that some of their complaints are petty. Why are gamers petty?

As a long time TES player, this game does feel like a TES game to me. I don't understand why some say otherwise.

I think much of the negative discussion by people who have actually played the game stems from those who have rushed to end game. Of course this happens in every MMO. People rush to end game when a game first comes out then are perplexed when the end game content (of a new game) does not meet their standards. In that case, you should all never play a brand new MMO, just wait until after a year has passed so that they can create more end game content.

I actually don't understand these people. They bypass much of the leveling content, just to reach end game and complain that there isa nothing to do, or complain that they have to play the other factions in order to reach v10....which in ESO terms means they have two more factions worth of story line to ignore. Why do you people play MMOs in the first Place.

Then you have the people complaining that they have to pay .50 cents a day in order to play a form of entertainment that cost over $100,000,000 to make. What, are gamers entitled commies who think everything should be free? Are these the same people who spend $500 on a video card?

TL:DR the game is great and I don't understand the hate.

tryia3b14a_ESO · April 2014

I'm glad you like this game, and I agree that some of the environments are really well done. I also really liked both Nar Shaddaa and Daggerfall, I really love exploring video game cities.

You're saying you don't understand why we don't like this game, so I'll share my opinion. I enjoyed this game for about 10 hours, and now that I've experienced it a little more, I've joined the side of the people who are disappointed with it.

I have no problem paying a subscription fee for a game, in fact I am usually subscribed to at least one or two at all times. I've been playing MMOs since 1999 and I've enjoyed a great many of them.

So here's what I would consider to be the cons of this game:

- The first time I saw a Daedric shrine with a bunch of gems around the base of it, I tried to pick up the gems to no avail, which made me feel really disappointed and just reminded me that I'm not really playing an Elder Scrolls game. There are so many environment objects in this game, and you can barely interact with any of them. Most lootables only contain items for provisioning.

- The action based combat is very unresponsive and basically a watered down version of GW2's much better combat system. GW2 doesn't have the locked camera and you can choose up to 5 weapon skills and 5 class skills as well as an ultimate power. Having more choices, but still somewhat limited adds a lot more versatility to the combat. The way it is in ESO, I don't have room to keep situation skills and it makes the combat experience feel very limited.

- And by unresponsive, I mean sometimes you want to switch your weapon in combat to pull out that bow, but it takes 2+ seconds after hitting the hotkey before it registers. Sometimes enemies will appear to be several feet away, or facing the other direction, and yet still hitting you. Which makes the dodge mechanic pointless since the red ground indicator is not always in the correct spot. Also, dodging doesn't always work, even with full stamina.

- Dodging takes stamina. Blocking takes stamina. Weapon skills take stamina, so if you used all your stamina using your weapon skills (there is no auto attack, so you probably did) then you don't get to dodge or block that huge attack that may or may not one shot you, but will probably bring you down to really low hp so that the next few attacks do kill you. I hope you like caster classes because they're just 100 times better than any melee weapon or bow based build.

- Some classes and weapon types are just better than everything else, the combat is not at all balanced, not even remotely.

- Many progression halting bugs. All of the quests are part of a quest chain. Each icon on the map is one quest chain area that you must complete in order to get enough experience to continue on to the next area. There are MANY bugs that prevent a quest from being done, which prevents the quest chain from being continued, which means your character might be super underleveled for the next area.

- Dungeons and killing monsters barely rewards any exp, only quests are worth decent exp.

- The end game content consists of doing all the quests in the other faction's areas with absolutely no role play or story reason for doing it. I started out as a a loyal member of the Daggerfall Covenant helping the King against the Aldmeri Dominion and the Ebonheart pact, but now I'm helping the Aldermi queen for some reason. Basically, the reason is because it's the only thing to do at level 50+ and rather than have new content for end game, they recycled the other quest areas, basically eliminating any desire to make an alt of these other factions.

- More bugs. There's a bug that basically makes it so that you can no longer attack or do anything in combat until you die. Certain weapon skills cause it, so it happens often. There's a bug where everything in your entire bank disappears and all the bank upgrades you bought are gone. There's a bug where your helmet randomly disappears while you craft, so hopefully it wasn't a really expensive epic helm. A lot of skills are bugged too.

- Phasing. All the quests are phased, so you're in a different "phase" or instance of the game after completing a quest. You know how in World of Warcraft, when you're in a different phase from your group member, it asks "Your friend is in a different phase, would you like to join them?" This game does not do that. There is NO way to join your friend in their phase, and ALL the quests are phased, so the only way to level with a friend is to never do anything without them. You'll never be able to help a guildy or a random person with their quests.

- Many instances are solo. Some quest lines can only be done solo and you can't help or be helped during them. Really hope you chose a caster based build because the game gets impossibly hard for melee characters later on.

To me, and people like me, this game feels like it had a lot of good ideas, but did not implement them well at all. Maybe I'll resub once they get a few of these things worked out.

I also wanted to note that I sometimes still go back and play World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, or Everquest because I enjoy them, and they are good games .

This is the first MMO that I've ever been disappointed with.

Arundo · April 2014

human151 wrote: »

TL:DR the game is great and I don't understand the hate.

Same here I love the game, leveled my first DK to 33 then made another one because I didnt like the appearance of the first. Now back to level 18 and still enjoying the quest even when I did them twice.

And yes I do not understand all the hate towards the game. Sure there are things wrong but the overall game is great imo.

knaveofengland · April 2014

the game is good period all games have bugs even after many years , so if you give players a say they will use it , but meet them in real life they would not say jack ---- .

Danneroth · April 2014

Well I have done everything up to VR8 and honestly the bugs are getting to me so I have had to take some rather lengthy breaks from the game. Yes the game is very pretty and some quests and boss fights are a lot of fun. But then you hit some rather game breaking bugs and combat lag. If they fix these things I am sure the game will be a lot more enjoyable.

ZiRM · April 2014

I've had lag free, smooth gaming all the way up to Vet Rank 3. Sure some bugged quests and a few other troubles but I'm satisfied with how the game is unfolding for me. They need to worry about fixing the core gameplay before releasing anything else.

Good to see a positive post.

Hessen · April 2014

Haters gonna hate, Players gonna play.

Covarnis · April 2014

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

<snip>

@tryia3b14a_ESO

Actually… I think you touch some things, which are not necessarily bad (and I think it is not only matter of taste).

In example, I think, that combat is by far superior to GW2 in the end. It has much wider action combat mechanics (GW2 has just dodge basically and traditional MMO skills, the weapon skills and their fine-tuning finally leads to so called "meta-builds"), including light and hard attacks, block, dodge and interrupt PLUS extensive amount of trees and skills and endless combinations of them. Only thing bad so far for me s lag/ping, but that is small detail which will be fixed.

Phasing is actually amazing step in a right direction. Yes, it creates some problems - but they are easily solvable, and in general contribute towards greater immersion. It is unsurpassed by any competitor and I think it is a good thing.

Bugs… it's a minor problem in the end. They will get fixed. What is really important it's solid fundamental game systems, so it has actually a basis to improve, like a good wine

Solo instances… Well, actually I think they are great, because it is the first time in a MMO where solo instances and bosses actually feel like tutorial for end-game and group content. Boss mechanics are introduced bit by bit. They also function as some kind-of reality check, if your character skill build is good for anything. Game is full of group content, especially later on (and I'm pretty sure a lot has to be introduced).

However, I understand your feeling. First few hours I also felt a bit strange. I can almost guarantee you - the more you play, the more you understand how it functions, the more you get dragged into game world and combat - it becomes better and better. Most of other MMOs at launch had clearly over-polished starting areas/experience, and it just got worse when you played it more (well, at least I had such feeling with most MMOs I played from launch). Here it is actually quite even - or even vice-versa! I think it is a good sign.

But, again, to each its own.

And - back on topic - I completely agree with OP. It's a great game, far from average, people are complaining about relatively minor things. It certainly did something innovative. So let's see what happens

Life will show what's what.

Azzuria · April 2014

I've said it before, I'll say it again...

If you don't like it, don't play it.

I also agree with OP. The game, thus far, has been fun, bugs aside, and there haven't been all that many given the recent release. The few progress-stopping bugs I've come across have just made it all that much easier to jump over to another character and explore a different class and faction.

Time will tell, though, if ZOS can follow through with the promise of a truly immersive, truly Elder Scrolls game that's on-line. To my mind, they're well on their way there ( see what I did there, grammar nazis? ).

human151 · April 2014

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

I'm glad you like this game, and I agree that some of the environments are really well done. I also really liked both Nar Shaddaa and Daggerfall, I really love exploring video game cities.

You're saying you don't understand why we don't like this game, so I'll share my opinion. I enjoyed this game for about 10 hours, and now that I've experienced it a little more, I've joined the side of the people who are disappointed with it.

I have no problem paying a subscription fee for a game, in fact I am usually subscribed to at least one or two at all times. I've been playing MMOs since 1999 and I've enjoyed a great many of them.

So here's what I would consider to be the cons of this game:

- The first time I saw a Daedric shrine with a bunch of gems around the base of it, I tried to pick up the gems to no avail, which made me feel really disappointed and just reminded me that I'm not really playing an Elder Scrolls game. There are so many environment objects in this game, and you can barely interact with any of them. Most lootables only contain items for provisioning.

You are playing an elder scrolls game. Its just that it happens to be an MMO with tens of thousands of other humans playing the same game at the same time you are. If you were able to interact with everything, as in other TES games, that would mean everyone else would be able to interact with the millions of assets in the game. Do you know what kind of strain that would put on the server?

Not being able to interact with everything does not bother me in the least, I realize everyone is different.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- The action based combat is very unresponsive and basically a watered down version of GW2's much better combat system. GW2 doesn't have the locked camera and you can choose up to 5 weapon skills and 5 class skills as well as an ultimate power. Having more choices, but still somewhat limited adds a lot more versatility to the combat. The way it is in ESO, I don't have room to keep situation skills and it makes the combat experience feel very limited.

GW2 is a different game. Theyre supposed to be different, not the same. In other MMOs I found myself only using my best skills constantly, so in SWTOR, I had a lot of skills to use on my bar, but only consistently used 3 or 4.

GW2, was okay, but it did not use the Trinity (DPS, Healer, Tank) and I did not like that because I usually like to play the healer because it puts a sense of pressure on my when running in groups. I like the fact that healers have to be good because if they suck at what they do then the group dies. I like that challenge. in GW2, everyone could heal themselves.

I like the fact the my Dragon Knight can use a destruction staff really well and be a great offensive toon in order to solo, then with the hit of a button, switch over to the rest staff and become a great healer. I never have a problem finding groups that way, either.

It also makes in more fun to compete my quests because in other MMOs, if you go healer, you're DPS is usually gimped, not so here in ESO.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- And by unresponsive, I mean sometimes you want to switch your weapon in combat to pull out that bow, but it takes 2+ seconds after hitting the hotkey before it registers. Sometimes enemies will appear to be several feet away, or facing the other direction, and yet still hitting you. Which makes the dodge mechanic pointless since the red ground indicator is not always in the correct spot. Also, dodging doesn't always work, even with full stamina.

Ive noticed that switching weapons can sometimes be unresponsive. It doesn't really bother me that much because I know it is a new game and I'm sure they will fine tune it over time.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- Dodging takes stamina. Blocking takes stamina. Weapon skills take stamina, so if you used all your stamina using your weapon skills (there is no auto attack, so you probably did) then you don't get to dodge or block that huge attack that may or may not one shot you, but will probably bring you down to really low hp so that the next few attacks do kill you. I hope you like caster classes because they're just 100 times better than any melee weapon or bow based build.

Yes, your offensive weapons use either stamina or magika. It is your job as a player to learn how to manage these resources. I have clothing and jewelry which helps my magika regen and give me more magika. When I run out of magika while using my destruction staff, I switch over to my rest staff and do heavy attacks, which replenishes my magika.

You do have basic light and heavy attacks you can perform when you are out of magic or stamina.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- Some classes and weapon types are just better than everything else, the combat is not at all balanced, not even remotely.

Every MMO has classes that are better than others. I don't let that bother me. I choose the class I think I will have the most fun with and play that.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- Many progression halting bugs. All of the quests are part of a quest chain. Each icon on the map is one quest chain area that you must complete in order to get enough experience to continue on to the next area. There are MANY bugs that prevent a quest from being done, which prevents the quest chain from being continued, which means your character might be super underleveled for the next area.

I can't excuse this, except to say that as a web designer, I do understand how difficult is can be to find and correct code. I am sure it will get fixed. The game hasn't even been out for a month.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- Dungeons and killing monsters barely rewards any exp, only quests are worth decent exp.

Maybe because this was a design decision. They wanted people to quest, rather than grind mobs. Doesn't bother me, I prefer to do the quests. I find most to be very interesting.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- The end game content consists of doing all the quests in the other faction's areas with absolutely no role play or story reason for doing it. I started out as a a loyal member of the Daggerfall Covenant helping the King against the Aldmeri Dominion and the Ebonheart pact, but now I'm helping the Aldermi queen for some reason. Basically, the reason is because it's the only thing to do at level 50+ and rather than have new content for end game, they recycled the other quest areas, basically eliminating any desire to make an alt of these other factions.

Doing the quests in the other factions doesn't really bother me. I actually like it and look forward to it.

Each person has their own preferences. Adventure zones will be here soon and you'll be able to do those instead, probably.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- More bugs. There's a bug that basically makes it so that you can no longer attack or do anything in combat until you die. Certain weapon skills cause it, so it happens often. There's a bug where everything in your entire bank disappears and all the bank upgrades you bought are gone. There's a bug where your helmet randomly disappears while you craft, so hopefully it wasn't a really expensive epic helm. A lot of skills are bugged too.

I have rarely experienced bugs. Ive experienced no bank bugs, nor crafting bugs.

The only major bug I have experienced was the bug which did not let me clear the first room of Spindle Clutch. They have fixed this and I am sure thy will fix other bugs as soon as they can.

The people that work at ZOS, are human beings, not robots. I am certain they are working as fast as they can.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- Phasing. All the quests are phased, so you're in a different "phase" or instance of the game after completing a quest. You know how in World of Warcraft, when you're in a different phase from your group member, it asks "Your friend is in a different phase, would you like to join them?" This game does not do that. There is NO way to join your friend in their phase, and ALL the quests are phased, so the only way to level with a friend is to never do anything without them. You'll never be able to help a guildy or a random person with their quests.

Phasing. I don't mind this. I usually do quest alone so it doesn't affect me, so I can't comment on it.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

- Many instances are solo. Some quest lines can only be done solo and you can't help or be helped during them. Really hope you chose a caster based build because the game gets impossibly hard for melee characters later on.

I have watched the player streams on Twitch where the player was melee and they were having no problems doing the veteran ranks levels.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

To me, and people like me, this game feels like it had a lot of good ideas, but did not implement them well at all. Maybe I'll resub once they get a few of these things worked out.

I think you may be focusing on the bad things, rather than the good. This game has a lot going for it. I am sorry it is not for you. I hope you find something you do enjoy.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

I also wanted to note that I sometimes still go back and play World of Warcraft, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Lord of the Rings Online, Star Wars: The Old Republic, or Everquest because I enjoy them, and they are good games .

Every game has both good and not so good aspect to it. I do not understand how you can be disappointed with this game unless your expectations were too high to begin with.

tryia3b14a_ESO wrote: »

This is the first MMO that I've ever been disappointed with.

tryia3b14a_ESO · April 2014

Covarnis wrote: »

Phasing is actually amazing step in a right direction. Yes, it creates some problems - but they are easily solvable, and in general contribute towards greater immersion. It is unsurpassed by any competitor and I think it is a good thing.

I like the idea of the phasing, but it's poorly implemented. When done right, it makes the game feel alive, as if you the player are affecting the game world. Unfortunately, having no way to join a player in their phase is game breakingly bad.

"Hey can anyone help me with this part of my quest?" Nope, no one can, unless they happen to be on the exact same spot of the quest as you.

Let's say to avoid this problem, you only level with your friend (ring of Mara exp bonus friend maybe). You guys do the quest together, then part of the quest is to kill this boss. Your friend gets the final hit on the boss, thus completing his quest and he is phased out into the next phase, leaving you alone, to fight the boss again... This will happen with every quest.

In real life I work as a QA tester for a major company and the way phasing works in this game we would have considered to be broken, not functioning as intended, and hurting the end user experience.

The whole "if you don't like it, don't play it" mentality does not help the game grow and attract new players. Many of us have honest feedback because there are a lot of things that are good about the game, but we want to see some things fixed.

edit: I just wanted to mention, even though I said it in my first post. World of Warcraft solves this problem (the first game that had quest phasing and they do it better) by 1) all quest objectives to kill a mob count for both people, and 2) allow you to join your friend in their phase.

Covarnis · April 2014

@tryia3b14a_ESO‌

Thanks for your post! It clarifies your outlook.

Well, to my understanding phasing here is implemented in quite a major scale in open world, and it seems to be an amazing basis for further development. Things you mention as problems (or being broken) I would consider a minor, fixable issues in the end. Other competitors on the market have less flexible phasing system IMO. Traveling to your group friend and/or counting objectives together will be implemented in the end (and it never hurts to write this as feedback on the website or with in game tools!).

What seems more important to me, is that phasing system in ESO is very dynamic: (phasing in WoW you mention is more static if you ask me - I still feel being transported via kind-of big chunks, which feels… how to put it right… XX century, not XXI century

), you have here small elements, as well as major elements phased around dynamically.

Our opinions seem to be the matter of priority as well - I'm probably more interested in new kind of experiences in MMOs, you are talking about stable group gameplay. Both priorities will be reached in ESO in the end, I hope.

ancienthero · April 2014

Overall I am enjoying the game so far. But I have a few observations (1) there are more bugs in this game than any I have played before and the sequential nature of these bugs is a real problem for progression, (2) there seems to be a lot more server maintenance in this game than any other I have played, (3) locating new quests is not obvious - I got stuck at low 30s and again at low 40s - I did eventually figure it out, but it's not intuitive and (4) whilst the maps are beautifully rendered, because there are 3 factions there are actually not many maps per faction making me feel like it is quite a small game...and I've only been playing for a few weeks. Everything is fixable though and I plan to stick with it.

tryia3b14a_ESO · April 2014

Covarnis wrote: »

(and it never hurts to write this as feedback on the website or with in game tools!).

I have. I'm hoping that by posting my opinion in multiple places, they'll see why we've canceled our subscriptions and what they need to do to bring us back. Just looking around on the forums tells me I'm not alone in my opinion either.

If I didn't like the game at all, I wouldn't bother.