Adramelach wrote: »

Moonscythe wrote: »

Yes, I think most of you so far have nailed it. There are many of us who are here because it is Elder Scrolls. We've explored all of Vardenfell and Cyrodiil and Skyrim until we could walk it blindfold. We know where the ambushes are, where the critters lurk and can finish any NPC's line with them. In short we wanted more now and ESO was all that was available but many of us have never played an MMO before. In Skyrim there was a lot of agitation for a co-op mode which is not the same thing as an MMO.

I've never played an MMO myself and find all the people running around in what the game tells me is an unexplored location where I'm supposed to be locating and retrieving a unique item to be more than a little disconcerting. It makes me feel stupid to try sneaking only to have someone blow past me and wipe out my target. All of that adds to the weight of a learning curve for me. But, I still want to play my way and that means that I should be able to finish a quest by myself if I want to. That's soloable not solo. Obviously I don't mind the forced solo content but I can understand the unhappiness of those coming from the other direction of MMOs and playing with a gang.

I have never been "spoken" to in-game since beta. The chat window is all about selling stuff and is more than a bit difficult to follow anyway (that's more of that learning curve). I have assisted at anchors and in quest locations if I was able and have been the recipient of random acts of aid but am still more comfortable on my own. That doesn't make me anti-social nor do I want anyone else to have their game ruined because they couldn't run with their friends in pairs or groups. I really think that ESO has the ability, given time and thought, to bring two groups of gamers together in harmony (did that sound too fluffy?) but there has to be some tolerance on both sides.

This exemplifies the "archetype clash" that's inherent in Elder Scrolls "online" and trying to mesh together your background (which I consider pretty typical of many ES players, like myself) and the "MMO culture".

I also come from a long-time ES background, starting with Daggerfall, and I'm used to being the solo and unique "world-saving hero" of the saga. It's built very explicitly and prominently into each game, I mean skyrim vaunts you practically up into the divine, with all the 'dragonborn' stuff and so forth. And, of course, from that standpoint, on the surface, ESO tries to set off on that path, clearly, as you're the unique "vestige" that has what it takes to save the world in a way that no other can. Very Elder Scrolls, no complaints there.

But then it gets splashed with a bucket of cold MMO, and odd design decisions. As you say, I've also tried "sneaking up" on bosses or whatever in dungeons where I'm the "savior" only to be run over by a pack of bots or players who gank the boss before he can even say a word of dialog and ransack the place in seconds. So, I gave up on all that and just figured I was one of the rank-in-file, sgt. sorcerer, 2nd brigade, charging the enemy en-masse for the win.

And that would all be ok... because at least were it "counts" in the main story and guild stories, you do actually solo it all, so there's a vestige of uniqueness to you, indeed, and you can kind of brush yourself off and get back into it, especially for the end-game.

Then, it all hits again. You get tossed into another alliance, where your "world-saving, unique" butt becomes food for the lowliest of trash mobs, and if you're not grouping up with people, you're skeever-meat, not that anyone cares, since no one knows you, recognizes you, or gives a skeever's butt about you. So much for the hero.

Beyond that, there's Craglorn and other vet content, which of course, by design, further strips you of any unique value or placement, as it literally forces you to group up and take on content as simply "one of many", which to me, simply isn't Elder Scrolls, though is very MMO.

Add to that Cyrodiil, of course, in which you are, literally, simply an enlisted grunt in an army of hundreds, and your ES-inspired, world-saving place in the world is soundly renounced.

And that's where it's just mixing oil and water - you have the "heroic, unique savior of the world" Elder Scrolls culture getting mashed up with the "one of an army of thousands" MMO culture, and it's just rather jarring, really.

Bromburak wrote: »

amber_picchiottino_ESO wrote: »

It's not a matter of having more soloable content. It's matter of that this game was presented as an mmorpg, which it never actually played like it, even when you wanted to group up, you couldn't, and now, they are trying desperately to rectify that, which screws over a declining base that is left looking for hours trying to find people to do that content.

All content should be both soloable and group friendly. The only content I can see where grouping would be mandatory would be delves, dungeons, raids, etc.

Dungeons and raids should be accessible solo as well BUT solo players must accept that they can fail or might don't make it. Imho that is the most important point for any content.

One reason why i like Craglorn.