Coming from GW2, is ESO worth playing?

Teiji

TESO is love!
TESO is life!

I made a huge effort to get into gw2, I could never achieve enjoying it unfortunately.

This game is great for playing with another and giggling at the well written dialogue, content and other stuff, say like going through a delve and taking the five seconds to read one of the glowing golden books, which are not lore books but usually provide something worth talking over and interesting.

The game has a wealth of delicious, deliciousness. Providing you allow yourself to indulge in it, in a way that's best for you.

WraithAzraiel

My wife and I played GW2 for a while, still do on occasion but this is our home now. We've leveled characters together from Early Access and just started a pair of lowbies to experience the classes.

I love it, she's hooked. Sure there are problems but that's to be expected of any 6 month old game.

Don't listen to the naysayers, the problems will be fixed and the new stuff coming is outstanding.

Jump in.

dcincali

PVE is meh, grouping is a nightmare, story q's are good with the lore, voice overs etc.. Graphics are great, pvp is HUGE MESS. Don't expect anything great and you won't be disappointed.

lecarcajou_ESO

I played GW2 for a long while and still come back to it. As many here have pointed out, it's more polished in various ways, but ESO is, in my opinion, worth it for the visuals alone. It's got a very different style, more classic fantasy than GW2—there's Elves! Dark Elves, even!—and some amazing environmental effects. It certainly is a solo player's MMO atm, but if you're looking for immersion and atmosphere, it's got that in spades. I think I'll come back to have another look at Tamriel myself, this afternoon.

Esha76

When GW2 came out, I was hooked. I played the hell out of that thing, leveled capped every class... etc.

I have been with ESO for almost a year, counting beta weekends. I have used up all 8 character slots, 2 of every class... ie. played the hell out of this one to.

Funny enough, recently I logged back on to GW2 during ESO maintenance... I'd be shocked if I made it 15 minutes. After my extensive ESO experience, I find GW2 very boring.

Regardless of the flaws with ESO, I think these devs have a ton of heart for their creation, and I think they are dedicated to making everything it is capable of being. I can't imagine anything pulling me away from ESO right now.

But that's also what I said when GW2 came out....

R1ckyDaMan

I made the switch at ESO early access, the lack of a real cash shop is amazing, well worth a sub alone. The forced group way two level last to levels is not however, I love TES so I love aspects of this game.

Is it worth the switch?

To me yes, yes it was.

theyancey

It is a great game through the first 50 levels and, although lore breaking, through playing in other areas. Really captures the stark beauty of Tamriel. After that it is group or unsub though.

Vatter

samjohngrimeseb17_ESO wrote: »

I've been playing GW2 pretty heavily for the last 6 months or so and would like to take a break. I was wondering if anyone else had made the switch and whether ESO is an improvement?

I play along with my girlfriend so I'd like a lot of content we can duo. I've heard the game is pretty stale and uninteresting; is this really true?

I've found the game for £13 so am definitely considering it, just don't want to waste my money.

Thanks in advance

No. save your money. this game is beyond broken.

Alphashado

The combat style is very similar. Coming from GW2, you will be able to roll right into ESO with comfort. Aside from basic game stability and balance issues, as well as other predictable mistakes made by a company developing their first MMO, ESO is hands down a better game in almost every facet.

One particular difference that I enjoy is the presence of a holy trinity. It isn't overwhelmingly required like it is in games like WoW. but it's there. Tanks have a few taunts, healers don't get agro non stop, and dps is in high demand. The Trinity in ESO is just a foundation though with much wiggle room for support or hybrid play. Unlike GW2, where the dungeons are a messy free for all.

lecarcajou_ESO

samjohngrimeseb17_ESO wrote: »

I've found the game for £13 so am definitely considering it, just don't want to waste my money.

Thanks in advance

That's like, what, around $20? A steal, actually. Even if you only play it for a month or two, I think you'll have fun enough to make it worth the while after it all adds up.

Istyar

Frenkthevile wrote: »

Graphics is 2Xbetter. Story isn't childish as GW2 ''Living Filler'' and you play a role in it. (spoiler: final boss isn't killed by spamming ''2-2-2-2'', lol).

And Molag Bal fight is now an example of final boss fight? LOL
It was just awful.

Actually, the GW2 combat system is better than ESO system now. At least it doesn't pretend to be an Action system.

Brother_Numsie

ESO is the game that GW1 players where hoping that GW2 was going to be.

kieso

also came from gw2, my opinion is no dont bother with ESO. GW2 has a lot more going for it.

timidobserver

I came to ESO from GW2. I'll take the ESO story over the Scarlet garbage GW2 was shoveling any day.

The big differenece between ESO and GW2 is progression. GW2 is mostly horizontal progression through cosmetics, whereas ESO is vertical progression with gear that gets better. I prefer ESO's vertical progression, but many people prefer horizontal.

If you compare the content releases of the first 6 months of GW2 with that of the first 6 months of ESO, I would say that ESO wins. It took GW2 nearly a year to release any meaningful permenant new content for the game.

Sapphy24

I've played GW2 and couldn't get out of it quick enough. I hated the scaling, the gems, the store and the high high prices of everything.
ESO is the best MMO since DaoC.
If only things were fixed first, then add new content.
I love PvP but that part is a complete fail right now and sooo needs to be fixed.
Having said that, I won't abandon this game just yet as it still has great potential.

Tabbycat

ESO is worth playing just for the story alone. It really depends on what the OP wants.

I quit playing GW2 because I got tired of the diminishing returns, the gem store, the lack of a healing class, the lack of any meaningful permanent content and the chaotic mess of dungeons.

GW2 certainly wasn't perfect when it launched. People tend to forget the problems with games after a while. GW2 had it's share of quest bugs (stuff that was completely broken) and the entire Ascended armor fiasco.

Probably the two things that bugged me the most were the diminishing returns (you got less loot as you killed monsters... I guess to encourage you to buy gems from the gem store so you could buy all the materials you needed to level crafting) and the lack of meaningful content updates.

I was a huge GW1 fan and GW2 was a disappointment for me.

ESO certainly still has its issues as well. And of course it still needs more polish. But GW2 has been out for 2 years now, so one would think they'd have the more stable game by now.

Oh and the other bonus point to ESO is if you play ESO you don't have to deal with ArenaNet and NCSoft.

Koensol

I've seen enough of GW2 to decide it is a steaming pile of monkey crap. Chaotic fights, idiotic, flashy and overly childish animations, the sucky (overhyped) free questing style, the asian (ugh) artstyle and of course all the downsides that come with f2p. Not my game.

And like @Tabbycat said above, the story alone can be reason enough to buy the game (especially DC side). I thoroughly enjoyed myself on the way to 50. It is after that when the game looses its shine. The terrible and boring VR grind through the other factions lands breaks the main story for me and no matter what the game tells you to explain it, I hate it. What I hate the most is that Im fairly sure it was added, JUST because there were so many tards QQing over faction locks to the point of complete lunacy. That horse was beaten sk many times that even ZOS couldn't resist the urge to silence them. Too bad it turned out to be a disaster that scared many people away from the game.

But overal I still think ESO is a good game and better than GW2. Just be aware of loads of broken skills, mechanics and lackluster communication and weird decisions by ZOS.

Horrum

samjohngrimeseb17_ESO wrote: »

I've been playing GW2 pretty heavily for the last 6 months or so and would like to take a break. I was wondering if anyone else had made the switch and whether ESO is an improvement?

I play along with my girlfriend so I'd like a lot of content we can duo. I've heard the game is pretty stale and uninteresting; is this really true?

I've found the game for £13 so am definitely considering it, just don't want to waste my money.

Thanks in advance

Hi!

My other half recently bought ESO so I started an alt so that we could play together. Except for the main quest, which is done solo [else the story would make no sense], we did everything else together and are almost done with the last pre-vet zone. The main quest is really a small part of the game, so doing those solo was not an issue.

One of my best friends also just moved to ESO from GW2 [took some convincing] and he is loving it. That being said, he is only level 28 so early days.

I would say try it. The three of us have not had any issues with the game so far and the first month is free. You can always consider the subscription after.

EDIT: I see some saying you have to have staff + cloth to have fun. My main, which is V14, has been full heavy and sword and board from the beginning and I had tons of fun with him, even before they nerfed the vet content and improved stamina builds a bit. I had to solo most of the time as no one I knew was playing it yet.

That being said, my gf and I both rolled sorcs [staff and cloth] and with two people it's a complete face roll even though our skill setup is really bad in order to level as many skills as possible lol.

abigfishy

The game is great and looks better than any other MMO I have seen. There is a problem with grouping as was mentioned earlier so here is my tip. Both of you create two characters. One that you play alone and one that you play together. If you always stick together with your play together characters and never solo with them except when you both do the same solo quests at the same time you will have an awesome time.

Nikolas

Although I loved GW1, GW2 was my most boring MMO experience ever. I think TESO is the best MMO at the moment, you should try it

Nermy

A real mix of views here but I have to agree with those who say ESO is somewhat better than GW2. Sure it has it's problems but the story line, quests and beautiful graphics more than make up for it.

I advise you to get it for £13 and as others have said, play the free month and then think about it. It'll have more than payed for itself by then.

Just a pointer, if you do intend playing it through with you gf, have a toon you both use to play together and maybe level ones you can play solo.

Also, don't worry about trying other factions, you will have to go all over Tameril in the end.

mutharex

Phantax wrote: »

Drazhar14 wrote: »

ESO needs more secret, hard to get to places.

Agree with this 100%, exploration in ESO is lacking in reward. Couldn't even begin to count the number of times I found unsuspected stuff/places in GW2 that were more than just eye-candy !

Yes ESO is still in it's infancy but I'd like to see more fluff connected with exploration !

TESO has some secret areas or places, just that usually you'll only find a chest or some skeleton in a weird position..

But as you said, it's still a young game

Xeres14

Well OP, I think you're going to get mostly a one-sided answer asking it on the ESO forums.

But that said - ESO has more depth. I played GW2 and leveled 2 characters to max level. IMO the questing and skill depth in ESO is better than GW2.

If you bought into the "no trinity" line from GW2 than ESO may not work for you. ESO has the trinity and it works well. GW2's no trinity experiment was worth trying but after a few of the tougher fights which turned into ranged attack kite fests, IMO the experiment didn't work.

Caroloces

If you bought into the "no trinity" line from GW2 than ESO may not work for you. ESO has the trinity and it works well.

What is the "trinity"? Just curious.

BBSooner

Esha76 wrote: »

When GW2 came out, I was hooked. I played the hell out of that thing, leveled capped every class... etc.

I have been with ESO for almost a year, counting beta weekends. I have used up all 8 character slots, 2 of every class... ie. played the hell out of this one to.

Funny enough, recently I logged back on to GW2 during ESO maintenance... I'd be shocked if I made it 15 minutes. After my extensive ESO experience, I find GW2 very boring.

Regardless of the flaws with ESO, I think these devs have a ton of heart for their creation, and I think they are dedicated to making everything it is capable of being. I can't imagine anything pulling me away from ESO right now.

But that's also what I said when GW2 came out....

Sums up my experience as well.

temjiu

If you enjoy leveling and the process involved, you will like this game. In spite of the fact that I really don't play anymore, ESO has one of the most enjoyable leveling experiences I have had since my indoctrination into the MMO world with WoW (my brief experience with DaoC was fun, but not involved enough to impact me the same way).

Up through level 50 it is an immersive experience, thoroughly enjoyable. it really feels like an MMO version of the ES series (note MMO version...it is still an MMO, so many of those elements from the single player games aren't adaptable.)

graphics are detailed and smooth, storylines are interesting and grab you and hold you in, quest details are involved and interesting as most ES quests are. Crafting is improving dramatically, and is a fun alternative as you level to get decent gear.

once you hi 50 and enter VR levels though, it turns into a clunky oddly designed have finished approach to an MMO. This is where most people either stick with it or leave. it's almost like Zenimax developed an elder scrolls game up to 50, adapted it to MMO concepts...and then they weren't sure what the heck to do after that. It really is a vegetable soup of different concepts, with none of them really playing out well. if you love the game, and have a group of people to run with from VR on, its doable. End game is rather clunky, and not a smooth and decent progression curve like most MMO's.

But if you enjoy alts, and replaying interesting stories, its worth the time and investment up through 50. But I honestly would not by a long term sub. either month to month or at most 3 mos. at a time...that way if your not satisfied, your not losing on your investment.

Xeres14

Caroloces wrote: »

If you bought into the "no trinity" line from GW2 than ESO may not work for you. ESO has the trinity and it works well.

What is the "trinity"? Just curious.

Well it's more of a PvE thing than anything and usually applies to tougher encounters. Most MMOs revolve around a Tank character to hold aggro on baddies and bosses in instances, characters to do damage, and healers to heal (mostly) the tanks and damage dealers. That's the trinity.

kitsinni

I actually went the other direction. ESO has better art and maybe a better story line. It also has a lot more bugs and balance issues. GW2 probably has a stronger community and economy. I actually prefer ESO's PvP but the completeness of GW2 is very appealing. Also there is no sub for GW2. I will probably come back to ESO once they get some stuff straightened out right now there is nothing to do other than PvP.

I will give ESO one huge advantage and that is the WvW style PvP you are actually fighting players 95% of the time when GW2 WvW seems to be PvPvE with some fighting other players mixed in. For GW2's advantage ESO has no small scale PvP at all.

RianaTheBosmer

I took some time off. There is still a lot they need to fix. I play ESO and SWTOR. ESO is the game I enjoy when I just want to be alone. I'm the guild leader of two guilds in SWTOR.

Is it worth playing, I'd say yes if you like a lore heavy game.

ThisOnePosts

I have a few lvl 80 GW2 characters and I haven't played GW2 in quite a while. ESO (I have 2 VR14s, almost 3 at the moment) to me is overall a lot more interesting, fun, and mature.

The biggest thing I dislike in GW2, is how people can purchase the gems and convert them to gold... basically allowing you to P2W. Also the story was boring as heck in most circumstances other than the last few missions. Dungeons here feel more like real dungeons in comparison as well.

Both have nice PVP and aren't too different.... except that PVP here are 3 alliances against one another, not 2 servers facing off (EDIT: YES THERE ARE 3 servers, however as of my last play you rarely saw more than 1 other server in WvW, even if it's changed still the WvW can not compare to Cyrodiil in terms of combat). Battles can be much more interesting when 3 different alliances are fighting it out instead of only seeing one other MOST of the time.

There is no game on this planet which will be for everyone. That's no different for ESO. Overall, ESO is one of my favorite MMOs to ever exist and I consider myself an extremely harsh critic of MMOs as most I find completely and utterly boring. GW2 I liked, but I'll leave it at that.. like. The Secret World is an MMO that is also one of my favs but it's nothing like ESO or GW2. It's a completely different MMO other than it being mature, which it has that in common with ESO.

So yes, I think you should give it a try but you sound almost like you have pre-judged it. There will be people who don't like it and never tried it or others who give negative feedback because something they liked was nerfed, etc...

There are bugs being worked out still, however the game is still very new by MMO standards! Many things have been added and fixed as well, a few bugs persist but that's really about it. The updates in store for ESO look amazing and many are looking forward to several specific ones.