<p>Oh. And the power level disparity between v1 and v12 still is a problem from what I understand. I haven't made vr yet so it's only "from what I understand"</p>

Auric nailed a lot of it. There have been many improvements since launch, but many new things have broken since then to.

VR is a very touchy subject right now. The majority of people find it to be too difficult and punishing to be worth the time, and they prefer to grind out their VR levels some other way. The higher up you get in VR, the more "Ghost towns" the zones are. Pretty empty.

As for 1-50, you should have minimal issues there. Occasionally a quest breaks, but they have been mostly quick to fix them. I have completed all three factions so, recently I haven't had any of the issues i had at launch in regards to quests.

If you're more interested in the 1-50 content, then I would advise signing back up and giving it another shot. I have found regular zones to be pretty decently populated and no problems finding people for anchors, bosses, dungeons, etc.

I think we will all have fairly differing opinions on what's playable/tolerable. Seeing as how I'm a fairly patient guy I'm having a ball with this game. Yes some skill lines need work, quests move in and out of being completable and the VR zones will definately try your patience...more so with some classes over others.

In the end all you can do is read through the forums, go read some recent reviews on other gaming websites and make an informed decision. They are steadily making progress on balancing the classes and fixing bugs as they crop up. If the VR zones in their current format don't appeal to you, you may not enjoy what "end game" has to offer, unless your into PVP.

I'm VR 4 so I'm starting to get a feel for what VR zones are all about and I'm enjoying myself. Yes it's a slow grind and the mobs are challenging ( especially those packs of 3+) but it is what it is. You either except it or consider rolling an alt or perhaps move onto another game.

So my question is, how is the game compared to release?
Better in some ways worse in others. Most of the quest bugs are fixed so you can reliably complete them without having to log out/log in or abandon and restart. ZOS has changed the stats for many of skill lines and that has led to some other issues. Way beyond the scope of this discussion but they are issues and many players are very upset about them

Are bots still an issue?
Mostly no, I haven't seen any obvious 'bot groups' in a long time, at least in the PvE zones. PvP is basically unplayable for a number of reasons including lag, class imbalances, very long walks back to the battle fields, etc; so I don't go there very often. When I do try PvP I usaully get stomped by a group of VR12 DK's and then I get frustrated and leave

Has the population spread out a bit, so that bosses aren't DOA?
In the vet zones, yes. My experience has been that the population has indeed 'spread out'. Spread so thin that the phrase ghost town springs to mind.

How well do veteran levels work?
They mostly don't work, there's a lot of threads that discuss whether VR levels were a good idea, I personally think they were not. My main beef with vet zones is that they are deserted which makes forming a group nearly impossible, thus all of the group activities are essentially denied to you.

Can VR1 compete with VR12
No, not even close.

Despite the generally negative tone of the above I would still recommend buying the basic version of the game. If you've got a good gaming machine the graphics are very nice and there are occasional moments of brilliance. The ESO 'world' is very nicely done and you can spend hours just wondering around and checking stuff out. I would however encourage you to stick with the month to month subscription, no need to make a long term commitment.

I would also recommend rolling a DK ( Dragon Knight ) or Sorc ( Sorcerer ) as the Templar and NightBlade classes are too weak to be effective in combat.

Unless you have specifics to mention, why post? Just coming here to say "mediocre at best" or "complete garbled mess" without actually explaining why does nothing.

Morbus2 wrote: »

Seriously?

Dude just look at the customer service forums. Many others have listed them. This game is riddled with bugs and problems. There are way too many to list them here. It would take hours to list every single problem that this game has.

This isn't my first rodeo... patch bugs, class imbalance, etc, are hardly what I'm concerned about because that stuff just happens with MMO's, and will get fixed. I guess it's a good thing I didn't come here asking for you to post every single problem the game has, so you can rest easier tonight.

I got two honest and good responses, both of which didn't come off as trying to candy-coat the game. They certainly had no problems articulating their opinions with a bit more credibility than "just go look at all the complaints."

discosoc wrote: »

Morbus2 wrote: »

Seriously?

Dude just look at the customer service forums. Many others have listed them. This game is riddled with bugs and problems. There are way too many to list them here. It would take hours to list every single problem that this game has.

This isn't my first rodeo... patch bugs, class imbalance, etc, are hardly what I'm concerned about because that stuff just happens with MMO's, and will get fixed. I guess it's a good thing I didn't come here asking for you to post every single problem the game has, so you can rest easier tonight.

I got two honest and good responses, both of which didn't come off as trying to candy-coat the game. They certainly had no problems articulating their opinions with a bit more credibility than "just go look at all the complaints."

I just don't have the time or the patience to regurgitate all the problems this game has to you when others have already listed them numerous times.

If you are too lazy to read the forums and do a little research then that's on you. In any case, I stand buy my original answer to your title question. The state of this game is mediocre at best.