Interested in Folks First Impressions that were not in the Beta

ursacorb14_ESO · April 2014

So for folks that were not in the Beta, what are your first thought's of ESO so far. Also are you just playing ESO because it is the latest and newest MMORPG out there, or because it is apart of one of the more venerable IP out there.
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griffn · April 2014

I was not part of the beta, I joined because I heard that it was hard, and I do like a challenge.

So far it's been ok, I have died a few times, unlike wow, where I don't even remember the last time I died during a quest.

UI is horrendous though, I hated the skyrim UI aswell, navigating the menus were a pain, what they should of done was, link chat and the menu together, rather than bind each menu options to a specific key.

What I mean is, you press enter to type in chat, this also brings up the curser, if the menu and chat were linked, pressing enter should also bring up the game menu aswell where you can organise your inventory etc... So you can use you curse to click the chat box or select options on the menu, this would of been much better.

The keybinds then would be an option for more advanced players, rather than the default way of accessing the menues

ursacorb14_ESO · April 2014

I agree with some of this.. or most of it. It would also be nice to have group in game voice chat, because I know for me I am not going to be chatting to a team mate during a fight.

I have gotten accustom to the way they have the menu's laid out so that slight irritation for me is not really a factor anymore.

Also having a on screen HUD map I still think would be useful ( I have this yhabbit of getting lost a lot.

knightblaster · April 2014

I did not play in the beta. I stopped doing betas generally a few years ago because I found they would detract from my enjoyment of the game on release.

I was attracted to the game by the franchise, and from the reporting about it during the beta in terms of being a bit more old school, a bit more crafting oriented, and a bit harder.

I started with early access a week or so ago, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the game so far. It has its flaws (some bugs still, but less than on early access release, so they are fixing them quickly), and some clunkiness with the UI (seems par for a TES game, really), but in general the game is quite enjoyable and fun from my perspective, in terms of what I was looking for.

I am not the type of person who is looking for an MMO to be a lifestyle replacement. I enjoy playing a game when I have the time for a couple of hours here and there, several times per week. TESO fits that bill well for me.

Vikova · April 2014

I wasn't in beta, but was in five days early access. I joined for two reasons: the other MMO I was playing lost my interest, and I respected the Elder Scrolls lore and universe to get me interested in fantasy again.

I've yet to be disappointed. My few times I've emailed support about something, they've responded within a couple hours (including a phone support call where the estimated callback time was an hour, but in reality was only twenty minutes) and fixed the little issues I've had.

I'm enjoying the game a great deal so far. My only annoyances are minor things that will probably be changed as the game goes on (no keyword search in guild stores, etc.). I've yet to deal with any of the major bugs others are refer to from time to time.

I'm enjoying the mechanics, the class system (every class is essentially hybrid to some extent), the crafting. I also like that the game seems to punish those that try to rush through questing. It rewards methodical, explorative play. Just the general style of MMO fits me well. No auction house requires you to find several guilds if you want to reliably trade, that sort of thing.

I've yet to have any major frustrations. Well, I haven't killed any orcs yet. I'd like to kill some orcs. Maybe skin them.

Gohlar · April 2014

I did not play in the beta. Questing is ok, but group play is some of the worst I've ever seen in the genre. The 4 man dungeons give virtually no exp (3-5 so far) and trolls can run ahead and loot all the chests. If you kick them, they stay in the instance and continue to troll, you can't even replace them because the dungeon won't allow a 4th person in. Amateurish design.

Public dungeons are completely overrun due to the 4 mans not giving exp. Trying to play as a group is incredibly tedious.

In terms of design and structure, this game is a tremendous step backwards for the genre. I mean questing is pretty good, but what's the point in making an mmo and then punishing people who want to step up the difficulty by doing more challenging content and team up?

I hate to say this, but it seems like they really don't know what they are doing in terms of mmo mechanics. This is a single player game for mmo beginners it seems.

I have played every elder scrolls game since Arena and I'm disappointed. Even the single player questing is a step down from previous games in the series. It's not that bad or anything, and for an mmo it's ok (not an accomplishment), it's just kind of dull a lot of the time. They simply weren't prepared to make an mmo and it shows.

Saint_JiubB14_ESO · April 2014

Gohlar wrote: »

I did not play in the beta. Questing is ok, but group play is some of the worst I've ever seen in the genre. The 4 man dungeons give virtually no exp (3-5 so far) and trolls can run ahead and loot all the chests. If you kick them, they stay in the instance and continue to troll, you can't even replace them because the dungeon won't allow a 4th person in. Amateurish design.

Public dungeons are completely overrun due to the 4 mans not giving exp. Trying to play as a group is incredibly tedious.

In terms of design and structure, this game is a tremendous step backwards for the genre. I mean questing is pretty good, but what's the point in making an mmo and then punishing people who want to step up the difficulty by doing more challenging content and team up?

I hate to say this, but it seems like they really don't know what they are doing in terms of mmo mechanics. This is a single player game for mmo beginners it seems.

I have played every elder scrolls game since Arena and I'm disappointed. Even the single player questing is a step down from previous games in the series. It's not that bad or anything, and for an mmo it's ok (not an accomplishment), it's just kind of dull a lot of the time. They simply weren't prepared to make an mmo and it shows.

for the record the chests respawn in the group dungeons. but I know what you mean, it was the only real place to get loot. I help out fellow guild members but I don't do with the expectation of loot. If you can get a group of trusted players dividing up loot based on need works.

Audigy · April 2014

I had a beta account and got the monkey for it, however I never actually played the beta for more than a few steps in the prison. Reason is, that I didn't want to spoil anything.

So what do I think?

Client

First of all the game feels a lot more stable and thought through than any MMO of the past 6 years.
The client runs perfectly fine with only a tiny rubber banding at times based on the location of the server for us in EU. I have a three years old rig, self build and I play on ultra with everything on max, including the draw distance.
No other MMO achieved this in the past years when they came out or had worse graphics like SWTOR that didn't even ship with HD textures ...

Gameplay

I enjoy it a lot. To have the option of first person and third person is what I missed in many recent MMO´s.
I love to play in first person and only go third when I want to take screenshots or go fishing and check my chars look. The first person is very reliable and doesn't grant any disadvantages either, compared to wow´s for instance.

Skill system

I love it a lot. The amount of options is huge and it doesn't stop once you reach max level.
The big issue with SWTOR, WOW and many other MMO´s has always been that you get to max level and its game over, unless you raid. All your improvements in these games from max level on only came by gear. That gear however was hidden behind a wall, unless you gave up your RL and freedom so you could join one of many almost " in dictatorship ruled" guilds out there.

Besides that crafting is actually a reliable source and you can get the very good if not the best items in game by crafting and give those different styles.

Graphics

As said earlier, I play on ultra and max view distance and its awesome. Especially the lightning effect´s rock and that you have water on the street when it rains. Many games might have rain, but the ground is totally dry then. I did not yet enter snowy regions so I don't know how the weather there looks like.
I tweaked my graphics a bit by allowing TESO to render HD textures instantly, which gives an even better look. If you have an at least 2Vram card, then I highly recommend this.

World

You hardly meet a player who looks like another. Besides that you don't have nameplates, chat bubbles or any UI blocking your screen. The world feels very much alive through this, nobody spams his dps meter in your face. NPC´s all have something to say, some are very funny while others evil. It feels like you are a part of that world, a feeling I never had at wow since WOTLK.

Dungeons

I love the fact that dungeons are no longer the only way to play an MMO. Those who know World of Warcraft will understand what I mean. There the world is dead and everything happens inside dungeons. You don't see anyone outside questing, you don't have any pvp and you don't have any interaction with other players, as everyone only looks at his xp bar and dps meter while spamming dungeons.
Blizz actually destroyed quest´s in the recent years to force players even more into dungeons... - of course its less work for them to design a dungeon, than a whole quest zone.

To not give xp in dungeons is one of the best inventions I have come across in the past years. It limits the mandatory element of other games to an absolute minimum and if you meet someone in a dungeon then you can be sure this person is there for the quest and the fun and not his epeen of xp and dps meters.

Housing

I miss it a lot. To not be able to have a house to store your goods is a real pity. We have an achievement system and this could serve so well to decorate our homes and unlock building types. I really hope housing is coming very soon, its the top feature to work on in my opinion after the crime system is online.

Conclusion

Very happy with TESO, as it didn't copy wow mechanics and tried to be a unique experience, especially for experienced MMO fans like me. While I fully understand that new players love the wow MMO style, I am just very tired of it. For me MMO´s are playing in a huge world and not in the same dungeon all day. Besides that I can play my char like I want to and not how some Elitist wants me to.

Personally I hope that TESO stays what it currently is, a real MMO with unique mechanics that tries to stand in its own boots, rather than the already cracked boots of someone else.

Vikova · April 2014

Audigy wrote: »

I love the fact that dungeons are no longer the only way to play an MMO. Those who know World of Warcraft will understand what I mean. There the world is dead and everything happens inside dungeons. You don't see anyone outside questing, you don't have any pvp and you don't have any interaction with other players, as everyone only looks at his xp bar and dps meter while spamming dungeons.
Blizz actually destroyed quest´s in the recent years to force players even more into dungeons... - of course its less work for them to design a dungeon, than a whole quest zone.

To not give xp in dungeons is one of the best inventions I have come across in the past years. It limits the mandatory element of other games to an absolute minimum and if you meet someone in a dungeon then you can be sure this person is there for the quest and the fun and not his epeen of xp and dps meters.

So much this.

Gohlar · April 2014

RakeWorm wrote: »

Audigy wrote: »

I love the fact that dungeons are no longer the only way to play an MMO. Those who know World of Warcraft will understand what I mean. There the world is dead and everything happens inside dungeons. You don't see anyone outside questing, you don't have any pvp and you don't have any interaction with other players, as everyone only looks at his xp bar and dps meter while spamming dungeons.
Blizz actually destroyed quest´s in the recent years to force players even more into dungeons... - of course its less work for them to design a dungeon, than a whole quest zone.

To not give xp in dungeons is one of the best inventions I have come across in the past years. It limits the mandatory element of other games to an absolute minimum and if you meet someone in a dungeon then you can be sure this person is there for the quest and the fun and not his epeen of xp and dps meters.

So much this.

It's a total falsehood, but ok. At least WoW had options, ESO doesn't. In a way you are hypocrites if you think about it.

Let's pretend what you say is true, that everyone in WoW HAD to ONLY do dungeons (laughable) and that was bad. Well, now everyone has to only quest and this is good?

When people insist everyone plays like them, that's a big sign of disingenuous feedback. Taking feedback of this nature is a sure recipe for disaster.

Quit trying to shove solo gameplay down everyone's throat in an mmo.

mutharex · April 2014

Ah, people with an open mind that accepts others point of views and never ever belittle them.... well of course you ain't one of them

Gohlar · April 2014

mutharex wrote: »

Ah, people with an open mind that accepts others point of views and never ever belittle them.... well of course you ain't one of them

Who, me? I know you mean me because you always comment when I post lol.

Just pointing out the obvious double standard and the misinformation. Your comment is funny considering I'm hoping for a more open minded approach for the game and have been met with closed minded hyperbole a result.

cubansyrusb16_ESO · April 2014

ursacorb14_ESO wrote: »

I agree with some of this.. or most of it. It would also be nice to have group in game voice chat, because I know for me I am not going to be chatting to a team mate during a fight.

I have gotten accustom to the way they have the menu's laid out so that slight irritation for me is not really a factor anymore.

Also having a on screen HUD map I still think would be useful ( I have this yhabbit of getting lost a lot.

Trust me you will learn the maps like the back of your hand, the key to getting around in Elder scrolls games is making up your own "points of interest"

Oblivion and skyrim added these in game to make navigation easier, if you ever played Morrowind all you had was YOU and BADLY WRITTEN DIRECTIONS to get around ...
Then again that is what I loved about Morrowind and what I love about elder scrolls.

Getting lost is game content enjoy it while you are running about like a headless chicken XD

mutharex · April 2014

Gohlar wrote: »

mutharex wrote: »

Ah, people with an open mind that accepts others point of views and never ever belittle them.... well of course you ain't one of them

Who, me? I know you mean me because you always comment when I post lol.

Just pointing out the obvious double standard and the misinformation. Your comment is a funny considering I'm hoping for a more open minded approach for the game and have been met with closed minded hyperbole a result.

Yeah and I like do da cha-cha

Gohlar · April 2014

cubansyrusb16_ESO wrote: »

Oblivion and skyrim added these in game to make navigation easier, if you ever played Morrowind all you had was YOU and BADLY WRITTEN DIRECTIONS to get around ...
Then again that is what I loved about Morrowind and what I love about elder scrolls.

I actually liked that too. The directions were funny sometimes. I remember getting lost in EQ as well for a while right after it came out. It did add a very immersive element.

cubansyrusb16_ESO · April 2014

Gohlar wrote: »

cubansyrusb16_ESO wrote: »

Oblivion and skyrim added these in game to make navigation easier, if you ever played Morrowind all you had was YOU and BADLY WRITTEN DIRECTIONS to get around ...
Then again that is what I loved about Morrowind and what I love about elder scrolls.

I actually liked that too. The directions were funny sometimes. I remember getting lost in EQ as well for a while right after it came out. It did add a very immersive element.

Yes one time sticks in my mind ...

In Ash Mountain looking for the vampire cave, the journal had directions to follow the road to the south east take the other road east and look around ...... 3 hours I search with these directions.

Turns out the the cave is full on west of your location .... oh the days of reading quests through a packed and messy journal that makes 0 sense.

ricku1967 · April 2014

Audigy wrote: »

Very happy with TESO, as it didn't copy wow mechanics and tried to be a unique experience, especially for experienced MMO fans like me. While I fully understand that new players love the wow MMO style, I am just very tired of it. For me MMO´s are playing in a huge world and not in the same dungeon all day. Besides that I can play my char like I want to and not how some Elitist wants me to.

Personally I hope that TESO stays what it currently is, a real MMO with unique mechanics that tries to stand in its own boots, rather than the already cracked boots of someone else.

very well written and my sentiments exactly...

SadisticSavior · April 2014

ursacorb14_ESO wrote: »

So for folks that were not in the Beta, what are your first thought's of ESO so far.

Overall very happy with it. I prefer Sandbox MMOs, but this is about as close as you can get to a sandbox and still be a Theme Park.

ursacorb14_ESO wrote: »

Also are you just playing ESO because it is the latest and newest MMORPG out there, or because it is apart of one of the more venerable IP out there.

I am playing it because:

1) "Traditional" theme...ESO lore is incidental to me. Though I do kinda like the lore.

2) Realistic graphics...I despise the cartoony direction many other MMOs have gone, including Neverwinter which is an actual D&D title.

3) I love the flexibility of the classes. You can make pretty much any kind of character you want.

4) I love the depth of the crafting system...it is deep while still being easy to learn and get into.

5) I love the PvP integration. It is integrated with the PvE game while not being dependent or exclusive. It really is just an option. And It has been really well done.

6) I love that there is tons of room for expansion. And I love that the DEVs seem to be paying attention to what the playerbase wants.

7) I like that it is subscription based. This will go a long way towards mitigating gold farming.

This is pretty much what I wanted EQ2 to be like. I have not really seen an MMO like this before, certainly not an A list title.

Sarenia · April 2014

Wish I could comment, but I was in beta. I feel so persecuted.

I'll just sit in the back of the bus back here, yarning my representation of the American flag.

coppersloane · April 2014

Great game as far as content and polish, but the polish stops at CONTROLS. TSO goes back to 1984 with its controls. Pretty terrible. Your reaction times will be sluggish in comparison to other high quality MMOs out there. ZeniMax failed miserably on that account. Stupid of them to limit players to 1-5 for triggering abilities.

tejay · April 2014

coppersloane wrote: »

Great game as far as content and polish, but the polish stops at CONTROLS. TSO goes back to 1984 with its controls. Pretty terrible. Your reaction times will be sluggish in comparison to other high quality MMOs out there. ZeniMax failed miserably on that account. Stupid of them to limit players to 1-5 for triggering abilities.

I have no problems with the 1-5 limitation. It makes me make choices about what skills I put points into and what I put on my bar. But you also mentioned reaction times and this I'm seeing plenty of problems with. My character's abilities are often slow, unreliable or missing the mark entirely. Could be the graphics aren't matching up to the game play (possible lag issue) but I think my inputs aren't always read quickly. First thing I do to a target is set them on fire, if I can finish the battle before i see the fire, this is a problem.

jambam817_ESO · April 2014

I tweaked my graphics a bit by allowing TESO to render HD textures instantly, which gives an even better look. If you have an at least 2Vram card, then I highly recommend this.

@Audigy‌ Can you clarify this? are you referring to the "texture Pop-In" that occurs sometimes. I thought the textures already looked good. What is this magical "tweak"?

jambam817_ESO · April 2014

I was in Beta, and I just purchased a 3 month subscription plan. I'm still here!

RubyTigress · April 2014

Interesting for this beta participant to read this thread.

Please, keep them coming.

ursacorb14_ESO · April 2014

griffn wrote: »

I was not part of the beta, I joined because I heard that it was hard, and I do like a challenge.

So far it's been ok, I have died a few times, unlike wow, where I don't even remember the last time I died during a quest.

UI is horrendous though, I hated the skyrim UI aswell, navigating the menus were a pain, what they should of done was, link chat and the menu together, rather than bind each menu options to a specific key.

What I mean is, you press enter to type in chat, this also brings up the curser, if the menu and chat were linked, pressing enter should also bring up the game menu aswell where you can organise your inventory etc... So you can use you curse to click the chat box or select options on the menu, this would of been much better.

The keybinds then would be an option for more advanced players, rather than the default way of accessing the menues

Well it is a challange

Death is not the end, it is the beginning of revenge

I have played many, many games and there are far, far worse UI's out there really there are.

Better Key binds and even better Key macro commands would be wonderful.

ursacorb14_ESO · April 2014

Gohlar wrote: »

I did not play in the beta. Questing is ok, but group play is some of the worst I've ever seen in the genre. The 4 man dungeons give virtually no exp (3-5 so far) and trolls can run ahead and loot all the chests. If you kick them, they stay in the instance and continue to troll, you can't even replace them because the dungeon won't allow a 4th person in. Amateurish design.

Public dungeons are completely overrun due to the 4 mans not giving exp. Trying to play as a group is incredibly tedious.

In terms of design and structure, this game is a tremendous step backwards for the genre. I mean questing is pretty good, but what's the point in making an mmo and then punishing people who want to step up the difficulty by doing more challenging content and team up?

I hate to say this, but it seems like they really don't know what they are doing in terms of mmo mechanics. This is a single player game for mmo beginners it seems.

I have played every elder scrolls game since Arena and I'm disappointed. Even the single player questing is a step down from previous games in the series. It's not that bad or anything, and for an mmo it's ok (not an accomplishment), it's just kind of dull a lot of the time. They simply weren't prepared to make an mmo and it shows.

Remember it is there first foray into the MMO hell's gate that it is. As well as the most crowed of the MMO categories (Fantasy). Also try to take into consideration, that no game (heck even any program) is far from perfect at launch. I think they are going well, yes they can do better.

Like all good things, it need time to simmer. So give it, its due and give it time.

ursacorb14_ESO · April 2014

Sarenia wrote: »

Wish I could comment, but I was in beta. I feel so persecuted. I'll just sit in the back of the bus back here, yarning my representation of the American flag.

okay, okay I get it, I'm a bad bear. Your right you should be able to post what you think. I was just looking for those that were not used at the inishall lab rats.

So please, can we have the insight of a Beta tester now?

yoshimagit · April 2014

I played in the beta so I am sad to say I cannot comment on this...anymore then I have lol

Vikova · April 2014

Sarenia wrote: »

Wish I could comment, but I was in beta. I feel so persecuted. I'll just sit in the back of the bus back here, yarning my representation of the American flag.

Wait, yarn can be a verb? That is amazing. I shall use this at all times.

I will yarn your face! Yes, I like this.