Be a jerk, no one cares

Kaitona

I don't think it matters how you respond to NPC dialogue in this game. There is no consequence for doing the wrong thing. Given the option to burn down the orphanage or risk your life saving every last child, you'd think you'd be punished for taking the first option and heralded a hero for taking the second option. But in ESO, it doesn't matter. So go ahead and be a jerk, no one cares.

TechnicalGeezer

Morale.

EDIT: There are a few consequences that do indeed change the reward that you get but no consequence.
Using the mage guild last quest as an example, you get given two different options and depending on what you choose depend on your reward.

BuggeX

There is. having 2 Skillpoints or not

Celestrael

I took the two skill points because I didn't need the bound purple staff. Sorry gurL. :x

Mighty_oakk

Some quests give different rewrds based on your replies. Also certain quests will have people help you and what not if you helped them before. Second go around just pick opposites. Except on mage guild

TechnicalGeezer

Celestrael wrote: »

I took the two skill points because I didn't need the bound purple staff. Sorry gurL. :x

You and me both.

Sharee

You cannot really have any lasting negative consequences in an MMO other than flavor text.

Otherwise you might lose a PvP encounter just because your character made a jerk decision 8 months ago during a quest and got punished by a permanent -1000 HP penalty. I don't think anyone would want that.

(there is one notable exception, a quest that will or will not reward you with two skillpoints depending on what choice you take. The effect of that on your character is pretty minimal tho.)

Ghanima_Atreides

I agree. There are far too few quests where the so-called "choices" you are given have any meaningful consequences; usually, it's only a matter of arriving at the conclusion in a slightly different way and it won't matter in the long run one bit. Likewise, some side quests that are presented as having a lot of significance to the main zone story can be safely skipped and it won't affect the outcome.

adriant1978

Sharee wrote: »

You cannot really have any lasting negative consequences in an MMO other than flavor text.

Rewards for being a jerk are often tangible (money, power) and the penalties social, while the reward for doing the right thing is warm fuzzy feelings. Guess which one the min-maxers would go for: the +10 Axe of Smiting and some NPC calling them an awful person, or the NPC calling them a noble soul after the axe has been cast into the flames?

Rosveen

BuggeX wrote: »

There is. having 2 Skillpoints or not

Options in this quest aren't clear cut jerk/white knight. There are legitimate reasons for both decisions.

Penguiins

Personally, although different outcomes would be nice, I still take the decisions very seriously. I don't have it in me to kill a really nice NPC to save myself a small bit of time or effort.

Azurulia

While being a "good person" is a very subjective thing, I like to think for the most part I would be considered to be one. I'm also a bit of a softie. It's funny really. Even with it being a game, I find myself unable to make some of the more morally questionable actions. They make me feel bad, even if they are just pixels and flavor text.

Something about doing "the bad" things makes me feel guilty.

DaveTheMinion

Be the best person you can be and let all the a**Holes fill in the blanks I always take the quest decisions seriously.

Its truly sad that some of the quests decisions have made me question my own choices

Sausage

Its still cool to have choices.

Farorin

I generally do the right thing anyway, or I feel like a jerk.

But if the game is going to make the better option reward you less, like in a certain quest, then I like many, choose the skillpoints.

Zsymon

Elder Scrolls was never about positive morality, the most important characters are the Daedric Princes, who are clearly evil. ESO mostly has inversed morale, where being evil makes much more sense.

Vampire and Werewolf both give you power with no real drawbacks, and both require you to sell your character's soul to a Daedric Prince. If you don't align with a Daedric Prince your character is going to be noticably weaker.

The Aedra really play no role at all in any of the ES games, especially in ESO.

Elder Scrolls always preferred evil over good. Templars are the only "good" class in the game, and guess what they are by far the weakest. Coincidence?

Ghanima_Atreides

Zsymon wrote: »

Elder Scrolls was never about positive morality, the most important characters are the Daedric Princes, who are clearly evil.

Elder Scrolls always preferred evil over good. Templars are the only "good" class in the game, and guess what they are by far the weakest. Coincidence? Maybe.

Daedric Princes are, technically, neither good nor evil, but capable of both. That way Meridia is one of the good guys in ESO but she was helping the main antagonist in an Oblivion DLC, for example.

And I don't think any class is either "good" or "evil", that depends on how the player chooses to build their character. There are many vampire Templars for example and Sorcerers who don't use some of the darker powers they have at their disposal.

Zsymon

Ghanima_Atreides wrote: »

Zsymon wrote: »

Elder Scrolls was never about positive morality, the most important characters are the Daedric Princes, who are clearly evil.

Elder Scrolls always preferred evil over good. Templars are the only "good" class in the game, and guess what they are by far the weakest. Coincidence? Maybe.

Daedric Princes are, technically, neither good nor evil, but capable of both. That way Meridia is one of the good guys in ESO but she was helping the main antagonist in an Oblivion DLC, for example.

And I don't think any class is either "good" or "evil", that depends on how the player chooses to build their character. There are many vampire Templars for example and Sorcerers who don't use some of the darker powers they have at their disposal.

Meridia is the only one heh.. and they chose her, a Daedric Prince, to play the role of the saviour in the story, rather than an Aedra. I do wonder why they have the Aedra at all in this series.

Nightblades have skills named Strife, Crippling Grasp, Agony, Soul Siphon, Soul Harvest.. Sorcerers have skill trees named Dark Magic and Daedric Summoning, clearly evil classes in and of themselves, regardless of what skills you use. Dragonknight is kind of neutral, but a surprising amount of Dremora use Dragonknight skills.

You are mixing up "class" and "character". Being a vampire as a Templar doesn't change anything about the Templar class being "good", it just makes your character itself evil.

Ghanima_Atreides

Actually the Aedra aren't "good" either, people just tend to see them that way because they created the world and have a greater affinity for mortals; in reality the world creation business is the only real difference between the Aedra and the Daedra (ancestors/not our ancestors). But that's a lore debate. :P Therefore, I disagree that the Templar class is inherently good. Burning people with sun fire is no better than burning them with regular fire, or impaling them with a Crystal Shard in my opinion.

Zsymon

I guess you have a point.

Pendrillion

You know... its called Dragon Break. Is it not. The Aedra might be knocked out for good, and not only Akatosh.

Runaan

BuggeX wrote: »

There is. having 2 Skillpoints or not

I always give "her" to Sheo when I play evil character


Anyway yeah, no consequences in terms of different gaming experience. Altough players that roleplay their characters (just like me) are very dependant on these decisions. It's what makes my character to be more alive, to have a character and a personality of their own.
My old Nord Templar was pure good.
My old Imperial Nightblade was pure evil.
My current Imperial Dragonknight is something between, mostly evil. Living by the creed "Ends justify the means."
Soon Ima roll out an Altmer sorc that is gonna be not something like any of these guys.

"That's what makes the game fun to me and these no-consenquences quest do have a onsequence to me. That being the shape of my character."
'Me, 7/22/2015'
lol

MsPtibiscuit

Celestrael wrote: »

I took the two skill points because I didn't need the bound purple staff. Sorry gurL. :x

I don't know why people wouldn't take the book.
I mean, she looked so happy with Sheogorath, who am I to break that ?

rawne1980b16_ESO

It's hard to have a morality system in an MMO.

They tried it with SWTOR and it's one of the features that brought a lot of complaints.

You can't play that game how you want. You have to stick to either light side or dark side when it comes to dialogue to max out your light/dark side. If you don't then you can't equip higher level relics because they require light/dark at 5.

In single player games, morality systems are usually terrible. It's either be a sparkly saint or an absolute tool. You go from kissing babies to kicking puppies, there is no middle ground.

Meaningful, game impacting choices rarely work in an MMO setting.

CaptainObvious

MsPtibiscuit wrote: »

Celestrael wrote: »

I took the two skill points because I didn't need the bound purple staff. Sorry gurL. :x

I don't know why people wouldn't take the book.
I mean, she looked so happy with Sheogorath, who am I to break that ?

Yes, and SpongeBob is happy at his minimum wage job for eternity too...

stewhead2ub17_ESO

I respond based on the toon I'm playing. I have "good" toons and "bad" toons. Some are more noble than others.