SkaraMinoc wrote: »

ESO is quickly becoming my favorite MMO of all time. This is coming from someone with a rich history of playing MMOs dating back to Ultima Online. The PvE experience is great and the outfit and housing system is exceptional. We complain heavily on these forums, especially about the PvP, but the MMO overall is fantastic.

Sending out a little thanks

It's definitely a fine game. In terms of storytelling and worldbuilding, it's one of the best. I'd say it's currently my favorite, but not my favorite of all time. That's really a tie between Guild Wars and WoW. I've played MMOs for a very long time - since Planes of Power in Everquest.

Just for fun, I'll compare and contrast against my favorite MMOs:

World of Warcraft
In terms of QoL and polish, nothing comes close to WoW. ESO still stands a lot to learn from this older MMO - like comparing Stormwind to any major city here. While both games have looped conversations, WoW towers above ESO because NPCs actually have schedules. There's more than just the same "Star-eyed Bride" looped again and again; there's life to what's going on there. ESO is better because the game has more horizontal progression. It satisfies the explorers, the questers, the RPers, and the raiders.

Lord of the Rings Online
This game was my jam for 4+ years. The Elder Scrolls and the Lord of the Rings are my favorite IPs, and LOTRO captured my imagination for years. I had 4 characters, did every quest I could and immersed myself in that world. ESO is on even footing, at least up until recently. However, this game went free to play and I saw everything I loved about the game get monetized. It was ruined for me. ESO isn't as monetized and its progression is better thought out.

Guild Wars
Having played the GW series for like 3000 hours, it's easily one of my favorites. And like WoW, it's a reference point for what an MMO can and should be. ESO towers above in writing and character development. I'm undecided if I like the quest-driven or event-driven worlds better. I think that GW2 really has some well-thought out design decisions - instanced nodes, build saving, account wide achievements - that ESO would benefit from. GW2's zones while beautiful can be incredibly difficult to navigate. ESO has more meat to it and the world feels more genuine. Last but not least, the customer-focused CMs are for me the gold standard of community management. Like this honesty:

In my time, I don't think I've ever seen a game struggle with its own engine as much as I have in ESO. Yet, ESO is good at delivering content that ages well. It's music is arguably the best in any modern game. And for all I complain about the monetization - rightfully so - it's still not the worst compared to what happened with LoTRO, the EQ games, or Neverwinter. I think many of us have been burned by games pretty bad in the past that we demand the best from ESO. Enough rambling, back to skyshard hunting!

I might complain a lot here on the forums, but I continue to play because it is such an amazing game. Just wish the Cyrodiil performance was better, but we'll see if it gets better in the coming years.

Agreed. I think it has become the longest played game in my lifetime over the past few years. I hate getting a new game and beating it in a week then never looking at it again. ESO is just what the doctor ordered. Always something to do any time of the day or night. Never bored on it. The only thing that sucks is bugs and performance with some updates sometimes. If we didnt love it as much as we do, there wouldnt be ANY complaining. We all want it to be the best it can. It feels good to be positive once in a while, lol. I give em a pass for A LOT of the bad things because the game is so all encompassing and great!

Without a doubt, ESO is the most entertaining MMORPG in the world.
But this attempt to ruin PvP in PTS disappointed me.

I say many times.
The player should die in PvP.
Don't try to be immortal.

I agree. It's a great game.