Is ESO a good game?

Mricci1988

Hello everyone!

Just purchased a new account right now with ESO and was wondering if I could ask a silly question to the community at large.

Is ESO a good game?

I am coming to ESO from GW2 / EVE Online and I was curious to know what type of content there is.

In Guild Wars 2 we had a large amount of content to work towards on character advancement:

- Ascended Gear

- Legendary Weapons (That actually were legendary - I heard in ESO its just a color difference and some slight stat differences - not skin differences which saddens me)

- World vs. World (which looks like is in ESO)

- Fractals (which looks like there is similar to trials in ESO?)

- World bosses (not sure if there are big dragons in ESO but would be cool!)


I understand that in 1.6 there will be a lot of changes to be seen for sure and that excites me a lot...namely the Champion system - very smart move and I feel like it is a great step towards end-game content.

However this can be short lived where I cannot spend all my years grinding out champion points

What the meat of the game? I heard the leveling was good but Cadwells was brutal and pointless?

What should I expect once the "fun leveling part" is over?

What about sorcerers? I wanted to make a melee sorcerer however I am hearing not to as they are garbage now as a melee?

I thought it would be awesome to do a dual wield sorcerer.....be so bad ass...a sword swinging spell slinging mage.

How does this game compare to GW2?

Sphinx2318

ESO is a good game for sure! You may hear people (including myself) complain sometimes on these forums but that's because we care about the direction the game goes. For all the games faults, it is very fun with a wonderful community. Make some new friends, join a few good guilds, enjoy the PVE and the PVP and get immersed into ES lore! Have fun my friend!

Shadesofkin

Good is subjective. I love it, warts and all.

You might not love it.

I've never played Guild Wars, but I see the comparison a lot. Someone more knowledgeable than I can answer the Sorc questions.

There are ways to increase your champion point gain rate, if you sub you'll gain a +10% xp bonus and when you're enlightened you'll earn champion points fairly quickly. If you choose to do the Silver and Gold quests after you're done 1-50 then you will find yourself with a plethora of quests to earn CP. I'm not saying it won't be a bit of a grind, but it's possible. Otherwise, keep a lookout for "the new hotness" in grinding and go there.

I love the game, I think it's very good.

AlnilamE

Yes.

Heruthema

Yes it is!!

Roechacca

Decent game . Expect a lot of bugs . Bad company policies and a very fickle and sometimes hostil community of players . I think that latter two issues are a bigger turn off for most players then the actual in game issues .

Mricci1988

Thanks everyone for all the nice positive feedback I appreciate it!

I am downloading now and will try what I want to do...a petmancer sorcerer in melee Dual Wield

however I would still like to welcome some answers as to what the features and benefits of the game is?

I love the TES lore but I also will not lie to myself and say this is Morrowind.

Is their raiding?
Gear grinding?
If I craft the top gear is that it? I am done? best gear in game?

What about skins and things like that? are there chest skins or helm skins to work towards?

I get that there is skill development (that is a huge plus for me and the champion system - REALLY big plus) but what other meat is there?

I am more of a PvE carebear kind of guy to be honest - pvp is not my forte nor what keeps me up at night.

Killing some elusive world boss is!

Soulshine

I think you will find the polish that exists in GW2 is lacking in this game. I played GW2 since beta and on the whole its systems are cleaner, flow togehter better, and there are many ways in which to progress that reward you very nicely for your time investment that in my view are superior to what is found here. ArenaNet created an amazing experience for players and it is on the whole a very good game from lower levels to cap.

That being said, ESO is a very nice experience from 1-50 and the lore of TES is most definitely more rich, if not more interesting - possible exception being the Asura storyline which is definitely a gem of an experience in my view. The veteran ranks in ESO are where the real problems start truly showing, and of course PvP is fairly plagued by balance problems compared to the experiences in WvWvW, even in its early stages of the game.

Given the changes in 1.6 and the console launch holding up additional zone content which we have not seen since Sept '14, there are of course lots of complaint threads and comments. For those of us who have been at vr14 for many months now the game is fairly dry. But if you are new to the game there is little of this to affect your experience, short of PvP problems, since it takes a while to get to 50 anyways, unless you plan on powerleveling as soon as possible to vr14.

Roechacca

Mricci1988 wrote: »

Thanks everyone for all the nice positive feedback I appreciate it!

I am downloading now and will try what I want to do...a petmancer sorcerer in melee Dual Wield

however I would still like to welcome some answers as to what the features and benefits of the game is?

I love the TES lore but I also will not lie to myself and say this is Morrowind.

Is their raiding?
Gear grinding?
If I craft the top gear is that it? I am done? best gear in game?

What about skins and things like that? are there chest skins or helm skins to work towards?

I get that there is skill development (that is a huge plus for me and the champion system - REALLY big plus) but what other meat is there?

I am more of a PvE carebear kind of guy to be honest - pvp is not my forte nor what keeps me up at night.

Killing some elusive world boss is!

Try doing a few forum searches for these questions . Many have been addressed and are still back catalogued . You have a lot of different question topics and that would be very helpful . Also try taking a look in the new player section facts . Best of luck .

starkerealm

Mricci1988 wrote: »

Gear grinding?
If I craft the top gear is that it? I am done? best gear in game?

Yes and no. You can make top tier gear, with time and dedication. You can also make set items, which come with an entirely different progression system, where you're researching more innate traits for your gear. So it does take awhile. Crafting 8 or 9 trait sets is going to take a lot of time and work. If you just want something like Allessia's Bulwark (5 trait) you can get that fairly quickly, and be competitive with it, but it's certainly not the end, by any means.

Even if you do craft top tier gear, there are sets you can't craft. Some of these are drops, and others are from specific activities, like trials.

The other thing is you can improve the rarity of a weapon or armor piece. So, if you find a set you like, you can increase it's rarity if you're willing to burn the materials.

Aside from the Undaunted monster helms, there isn't a lot of gear grind. That is there if you want it, but you're not forced into it.

Sphinx2318

-there is definitely raiding (both for pve and pvp) and it should be fairly easy to find a pick up group if you dont join a raiding guild straight away.

-there is most certainly gear grinding and daily dungeon assignments that allow you a chance to earn rare gear set pieces

-it is definitely a benefit to be able to craft set gear as a crafter. though, often the best sets are a mix of rare dropped pieces and crafted pieces.

-set gear has many different racial styles and looks different/"better" the higher level it is. there is also the ability to dye your gear with dyes you have earned through achievements. there are costumes/disguises as well. also, with the release of the crown store there will most likely be many, many different skins that will become available.

-as for character progression, you have an overall level and a skill level for each skill line. with the release of 1.6 there will be a great deal of progression (years worth) that will be unlocked through what is called "champion points". basically there is a ton to do for progressing your character.

-there is definitely enough pve to go around so you will probably enjoy it. fair warning though!!! just get through the first basic levels which can be kind of boring. don't quit! just get through them because the game definitely does get much more fun the farther you progress.

Sallington

Levels 1-50, it's the best MMO on the market in my opinion.

kevlarto_ESO

To me yes I find the game fun and being a fan of elder scrolls I think it complements the franchise well played all elder games since Dagger fall, it is all matter of opinion.

Dazin93

Overall, I think the game is average at best.

1-50 is a fairly good, albeit single player driven experience, that still has some bugs and issues that have existed since launch. However, this portion of the game does allow you to effectively play any character build combination you desire which enhances the gameplay experience.

VR 1-14 levels are a completely different experience. Leveling through quests is long and tedious and you may find that your build is no longer capable of single player content without help. Additionally, grinding levels has become less of an option after repeated nerfs to grinding locations and mobs. Skill leveling also becomes quite laborious should you have to start leveling a new skill line from scratch. Raid wise I haven't done much, but there seems to be very little content and it isn't very impactful in terms of rewards or character progression.

PvP has the potential to be great, but unfortunately requires a massive time sink into PvE to have a competitive character. Additionally, PvP hasn't received any content updates since release and is still plagued by massive lag issues and bugs that have not been corrected to date. The lag and bug issues have really destroyed what could have been some great gameplay based on combat mechanics; mechanics that the game code simply cannot support resulting in reducing campaign population caps and lessening the PvP experience.

Finally, if I had known what I know now, I would have never purchased ESO or paid a year long subscription based on management and development decisions that ZO$ has made since release. My character build has been destroyed as a result of 1.6 and I have zero desire to "experience" the same stale PvE content again. I would recommend ESO for the 1-50 experience if it was free to play, but as a buy to play I think there are far too many other games that provide more value and depth.

If your coming from GW2, your going to be extremely disappointed in the lack of endgame content, if there is such a thing in ESO.

Rosveen

starkerealm wrote: »

show previous quotes

Mricci1988 wrote: »

Gear grinding?
If I craft the top gear is that it? I am done? best gear in game?

Crafting 8 or 9 trait sets is going to take a lot of time and work.

Fixed it for you.

It's a good game with confused and unclear management. Good enough to keep me paying for a year, anyway (exclusively PvE player).

Mricci1988 wrote: »

I thought it would be awesome to do a dual wield sorcerer.....be so bad ass...a sword swinging spell slinging mage.

You don't need to play a sorcerer to be a mage. Most class skills use magicka, so it's more of a pick-your-flavor kind of thing. Nightblades have illusion/siphoning, dragonknights are elemental mages (fire and earth), templars wield holy/sun magic, sorcerers are summoners with shock magic. Of course, each can be geared towards weapon skills instead. I can't give you any advice about sorcerers though, as I've never played one.

phairdon

No legendary weapons or ascended gear as we see in gw2.
No global auction house.
Pvp in this game is quite different to world vs world in gw2. Gw2 world vs world is superior to the pvp mode in this game (of course, this is just my opinion). Try pvp out & you may love it.
No dynamic events
No world bosses like we see in gw2.
No fractals.

Probably a good thing, otherwise Elder scrolls online would be a copy of gw2. Just play & enjoy!

newtinmpls

If you are looking to explore a world, develop skills, interact with interesting quest and storylines - then yes it's a great game. I can't speak to veteran levels, as despite being here for .... cripes it must be close to 9 months? anyway, my highest level character is 33rd. And I play characters, I do not create "alts".

If you are a number-crunching, need-to-get the best time/ gear/ level/ stats/ competitive build .... well I don't know, because I don't play that way. More of the complaints I see in the forums about upper level experiences seem to come from this group. But that's just my subjective perception and I could be way off.

I'd say play, enjoy the experience and see where that takes you.

Mricci1988

phairdon wrote: »

No legendary weapons or ascended gear as we see in gw2.
No global auction house.
Pvp in this game is quite different to world vs world in gw2. Gw2 world vs world is superior to the pvp mode in this game (of course, this is just my opinion). Try pvp out & you may love it.
No dynamic events
No world bosses like we see in gw2.
No fractals.

Probably a good thing, otherwise Elder scrolls online would be a copy of gw2. Just play & enjoy!

Okay see this is a good answer in my eyes and I will give you my reasons (not saying other replies not good but this one made an interesting comparison).

Now I need to ask another serious question.

Given all the "polish" that GW2 has seen - could you not say that things such as world bosses, raids, Legendary weapons and armor add content to the game?

I mean there comes a point where your skills are maxed out - eventually (like world exploration) you will get all the skyshards etc.

Where is the meat after that? Do we just sit in town and chat?

Thanks guys and yes - I will be debating between Templars and sorcerers right now.

I like both!

Rosveen

Don't trials count as raids, though? Undaunted pledges take a fair amount of time as well.

Dynamic world events are something people ask for every now and then. It would be nice to have them. ESO has static encounters: world bosses and dolmens are technically group content and in lower levels you definitely need a group to complete them.

Rohaus

It is the best MMO I have ever played! The graphics and combat system are so very well done. You WILL enjoy your time in the world of ESO.

WraithAzraiel

Mricci1988 wrote: »

show previous quotes

phairdon wrote: »

No legendary weapons or ascended gear as we see in gw2.
No global auction house.
Pvp in this game is quite different to world vs world in gw2. Gw2 world vs world is superior to the pvp mode in this game (of course, this is just my opinion). Try pvp out & you may love it.
No dynamic events
No world bosses like we see in gw2.
No fractals.

Probably a good thing, otherwise Elder scrolls online would be a copy of gw2. Just play & enjoy!

Okay see this is a good answer in my eyes and I will give you my reasons (not saying other replies not good but this one made an interesting comparison).

Now I need to ask another serious question.

Given all the "polish" that GW2 has seen - could you not say that things such as world bosses, raids, Legendary weapons and armor add content to the game?

I mean there comes a point where your skills are maxed out - eventually (like world exploration) you will get all the skyshards etc.

Where is the meat after that? Do we just sit in town and chat?

Thanks guys and yes - I will be debating between Templars and sorcerers right now.

I like both!

The meat after max level is finding what part of end-game makes you happy. Do you want to do Trials and Veteran Dungeons and strive for a spot on the leaderboards? Do you want to dive into AvAvA in Cyrodiil and maybe someday try for Emperor? Do you want to do both?

I've been with the game since beta, it's up's and down's, I'm not going anywhere.

I think you'll enjoy the dye system in ESO a bit better, and see it's far cheaper, than the dye system in GW2.

Seraphyel

With 1.6 ESO will finally be a good game.

1.0-1.5 have been beta testing for the console launch.

ESO is still not polished, has still no real endcontent (besides Craglorn, but that's in for over 9 months now and gets boring really quick) and some major flaws (=VR), but it's shaping up to be at least a good game.

It went from bad-mediocre to good within a year - that's not really a proof for Zenimax qualities but still better than what we got last year.

Mricci1988 wrote: »

- Ascended Gear

- Legendary Weapons (That actually were legendary - I heard in ESO its just a color difference and some slight stat differences - not skin differences which saddens me)

- World vs. World (which looks like is in ESO)

- Fractals (which looks like there is similar to trials in ESO?)

- World bosses (not sure if there are big dragons in ESO but would be cool!)

Just to quick answer your questions:

* Itemization in ESO is not as good as in GW2 - no legendary weapons, no ascended armour etc.

* No world bosses (only bosses for 2-4 people, nothing like the big GW2 bosses in the zones)

* ESO has VR dungeons and trials (hardmode dungeons+raids)

* AvA (=faction vs faction vs faction) is quite similar but the performance is worse and the overall aspect of gameplay and skill is way better in GW2

Azzuria

This game is a pretty much unique in a lot of ways. It's an MMO, that's for certain, but it retains a bit of the Elder Scrolls RPG-feel by keeping the main character and NPC guild story lines completely isolated and personal.

It's a Theme Park, to be sure, but not so on-rails as a lot of games. Yes, the quests have you moving her to there, but there's not so much of a quest-hub-to-quest-hub feeling and a good number of the quests are found out in the world by themselves and a lot of them can be found in various ways so there's no ONE way to move through a zone.

The game is GORGEOUS. I mean, stunning. If you have a machine that can handle max settings you'll be about as awed by the world as I was by Skyrim.

Game play takes a bit getting used to but is very visceral. It draws me in. And coming from GW2 you're probably used to the limited action bars.

Your class is only a small portion of what you -can- be or do in ESO. Use what ever weapons and armor you like. Use them all! Experiment. Play around with builds and skill. There is no ONE way to play any given class... unless you're a min/max-ing, FOTM kinda player.

Crafting is awesome. You can really make some of the best gear available outside of end-game content, unlike a lot of games. Crafting is useful, timely and time-consuming. Stats are unlocked through research which doubles for every new one researched.

Exploration is fun because, as I stated above, Tamriel is gorgeous. Don't just quest. Run around, see things. There are achievements ( and dye-station colors to unlock! ) for just seeing everything.

Socially, it's pretty good, too. For the most part ESO has a good community. And being able to join 5 guilds ( per account ) means you can join a couple Trade Guilds, an RP guild or two and a PvP or Raiding guild. Don't be afraid to meet folks.

Yes, warts and all, ESO is a fun game. It's not for everyone but I hope you enjoy it much as I have, and do.

Mricci1988

Azzuria wrote: »

This game is a pretty much unique in a lot of ways. It's an MMO, that's for certain, but it retains a bit of the Elder Scrolls RPG-feel by keeping the main character and NPC guild story lines completely isolated and personal.

It's a Theme Park, to be sure, but not so on-rails as a lot of games. Yes, the quests have you moving her to there, but there's not so much of a quest-hub-to-quest-hub feeling and a good number of the quests are found out in the world by themselves and a lot of them can be found in various ways so there's no ONE way to move through a zone.

The game is GORGEOUS. I mean, stunning. If you have a machine that can handle max settings you'll be about as awed by the world as I was by Skyrim.

Game play takes a bit getting used to but is very visceral. It draws me in. And coming from GW2 you're probably used to the limited action bars.

Your class is only a small portion of what you -can- be or do in ESO. Use what ever weapons and armor you like. Use them all! Experiment. Play around with builds and skill. There is no ONE way to play any given class... unless you're a min/max-ing, FOTM kinda player.

Crafting is awesome. You can really make some of the best gear available outside of end-game content, unlike a lot of games. Crafting is useful, timely and time-consuming. Stats are unlocked through research which doubles for every new one researched.

Exploration is fun because, as I stated above, Tamriel is gorgeous. Don't just quest. Run around, see things. There are achievements ( and dye-station colors to unlock! ) for just seeing everything.

Socially, it's pretty good, too. For the most part ESO has a good community. And being able to join 5 guilds ( per account ) means you can join a couple Trade Guilds, an RP guild or two and a PvP or Raiding guild. Don't be afraid to meet folks.

Yes, warts and all, ESO is a fun game. It's not for everyone but I hope you enjoy it much as I have, and do.

This is pretty much (along with everyone else in here) making me sign up.

logged on now North American servers and getting ready to make my 1st character.

Really hard to decide here..i love the theme's of each class (the Templar Paladin / Crusader & the Melee Sorcerer spellsword )

What do you guys think I should do?
Will be pigon-holed into specific roles?
What is Templar like as a melee endgame
What is Sorcerer like as a melee?

Im not big into spear attacks...am I forced to use Templars biting jabs for the rest of my life?

technohic

This is always a strange question to me. Games I don't play any more are still good games. I'm sure games I have never played are good games. The big question is "are there things I will enjoy doing in the game to where I want to play it?" Then to that question; for me it is a "yes."

I'm not sure where any of this stacks up to what you have listed as I couldn't even get into GW2 to get far enough to know it well. Here; I was not very fond of the leveling system after your main story and that was a major set back for me. All I really like/love is the AVA, and once that leveling was past; I am indeed having fun. Even if it means that most of the time it boils down to always running into an EP zerg that bounces between Chalman and Bleakers; or an AD group that may be as big but a lot looser down around Nickel. Clowns to the left of me; jokers to my right and all that.

As for you; you bought an account. Might as well find out for yourself.

Mahedros

If you starting from 0 make a Darkelf Dragonknight and thank me later.

cyqa

My one and only toon is a templar and I really enjoy it. I've been watching some people test 1.6 builds from the PTS and I'm really excited to test out some new play styles once it drops. Stamina temps are going to be a lot more fun. I'm a templar fangirl so I personally advocate you go that route But I haven't personally tested it out on the PTS. It might be worth it to watch some youtube videos to see the changes and maybe you'll find something that pulls you in!

Mricci1988

Yeah...I like the Templar idea...but not 100% crazy on the healing or spears part....looking at a Breton race though....feels good

Sorc feels AWESOME as a melee and Templars look just BAD ASS as a S/B + 2 hander in videos.

Looks insaneeee

also the pets I hear are easy mode!

Mahedros

Mricci1988 wrote: »

Yeah...I like the Templar idea...but not 100% crazy on the healing or spears part....looking at a Breton race though....feels good

Sorc feels AWESOME as a melee and Templars look just BAD ASS as a S/B + 2 hander in videos.

Looks insaneeee

also the pets I hear are easy mode!

No, sorcs are not good right now.

Just trust me and make a DK, they are the best class since launch and gona stay like that cause the design on the class skills and passives is just too good.

Robbmrp

ESO has some of the best graphic details I have seen in a while. I haven't really seen or played GW2 so I cannot compare anything that way. I used to play WoW from 2003-2009 ish so I will compare it to that. The 1-50 questing in ESO is TONS more fun than questing in WoW was for me. I even enjoyed doing Cadwells Silver and Gold quests in the other Factions as I was able to experience the content in those areas. I have only been in Cyrodil to run a couple of delves and look for skyshards so I didn't experience any of the lag that's mentioned. Dungeons are a lot of fun but can get stale running them over and over trying to get a certain piece of gear. That experience is exactly like WoW was and I didn't really care for it then.

The crafting in ESO is very time consuming as others have mentioned. To make the best gear will take a really long time to research all of the traits to unlock it. Always keep your researches running. You can find a lot of items to research while questing. You can also purchase them from other players in the game so if you find traits you like more than others it would be easier to buy them than wait till you find one.

In the end, as long as your enjoying your time on the game then it's served it's purpose. I've been here since Beta and am still having fun.

Enjoy it!

superquadockyb14_ESO

ESO is the Anti-MMO. Whereas most MMOs are clunky and front loaded with all kinds of useless information, ESO cuts through all the nonsense leaving behind only the most base essentials.

Things ESO focuses on differently than other MMOs:

1. A quest/campaign based character/XP progression. Everything is voice-acted.
2. An Action filled combat experience less like MMOs and more in like with Action RPGs like Diablo
3. A simplified but incredibly detailed aesthetic design. Heavily relies upon realistic proportions.
4. The character classes while offering different skill trees can all fundamentally act as the 'Big Triangle' of MMO class roles.
5. The weapons your character uses mostly defines your 'role' in this case.
6. The movement of your character itself is more in line with a non-MMO game as you can jump over obstacles.
7. Basic enemies tend to be all very similar, only to be changed up with boss fights.
8. This is especially the case with Dungeon bosses who offer unique challenges.

The only thing ESO lacks is sheer content. If you take your time with this game it can provides months and months of engagement. But if you are a power-player MMO wise, you may not enjoy it as the game is Anti-MMO in its design. The only thing MMO about it really is the fact that there are a ton of other players about in the same gameworld. Thats it.