You have to play 60 dollars for the game, plus a 15 dollar monthly subscription. And another 20 dollars to unlock mounts and like 2 more races to play as. Everyone I've talked to says the game is mediocre. Has anyone here played it?

It's everything that's wrong with the gaming industry. Don't waste the money.

It has one fun spell for spell warrior types...

That's it.

Magic Magnum said
It has one fun spell for spell warrior types...That's it.

Dude fighting in a war isn't supposed to be fun -_-

BitOHoney said
Dude fighting in a war isn't supposed to be fun -_-

No, but games are.

And TESO is a game. Get your head out of your ass, "dude".

Actively playing it. Lemme tell you what's up.

1. Cost: Yes, this game costs money. If that's a problem, don't play it. Currently on steam sale half off; for $30 you can get the game and a month's subscription.

2. Subscription fee is paying for massive content updates. Since launch, roughly 50 hours of pure story content has been added, and more is on the way.

3. The $20 to unlock horses and races is misleading. The game was launched with an 'Imperial edition' (special edition), which gave you access to the Imperial race (a universal foe of all three alliances, story-wise) and a cheap horse in-game. After launch, some people decided they wanted the horse but didn't want to pay for imperial edition -- so the 'Palomino Horse' was added as a stop-gap for people who wanted that. They've since added an Imperial Edition upgrade option, so the Palomino is irrelevant; in each case, the horses are worthless when compared to in-game mounts. The only advantage is that they're cheap, so you can have a horse for RP purposes when you start. These are the only paid items in the game; as I said, they're outclassed by the other mounts in the game.

4. Everyone says the game is mediocre because the launch was ****bad*****.. Bugs, bots, and bad reviews -- and that's all most people know about the game. All that shit is gone now. Here's what you should know:

1. The 'PvE' content -- quests, main plotline, team dungeons, monster hunting, exploration -- is some of the best in the industry. Really.

2. The writing is phenomenal. ESO's main plot makes Skyrim look like a saturday morning cartoon. But it's not just the main story -- there are 1500 missions, all fully voiced, all thoroughly well-written, all unique. None of that 'go find me 20 bear bungholes and return for XP' bullshit -- you'll be solving murders, conducting diplomacy, MAKING NORD MEAD, getting into prank wars with Khajiit -- good shit. BUT IT DOESN'T EVEN END THERE. In every corner of every map, there's more story and lore packed in than you can possibly imagine. There is so fucking much in this game. Seriously.

3. The PVP content -- fighting against other players -- is like nothing I've ever seen before. People compare it to Guild Wars 2, which I never played, but if you know what that is, apparently it's similar. It's *nuts*. Massive, massive, massive wars. Not perfectly balanced yet, but they're getting there.

4. The social aspect was part of the problem all along, it turns out. Everybody who hated the game has left, and ever since then, it's been a dream to play.

5. The future is looking really, really freakin' good. We're going to Black Marsh and Orsinium in Hrothgar (that's Argonians and Orcs). Rumor has it Elsweyr is next. Game-changing new features like open-world PVP/stealing/NPC-murder-sprees is coming soon in the 'Justice System.' Spellcrafting (from way back in Morrowind) is making a return. New animations, more complex zones, a 'Champion System' to let you take advantage of multiple characters and add more customization.....

Anyway I like it, if you didn't get that impression. If I get back on my main PC and you're still interested I'll dig out some screenshots.

mdk said
Actively playing it. Lemme tell you what's up.1. Cost: Yes, this game costs money. If that's a problem, don't play it. Currently on steam sale half off; for $30 you can get the game and a month's subscription.2. Subscription fee is paying for massive content updates. Since launch, roughly 50 hours of pure story content has been added, and more is on the way.3. The $20 to unlock horses and races is misleading. The game was launched with an 'Imperial edition' (special edition), which gave you access to the Imperial race (a universal foe of all three alliances, story-wise) and a cheap horse in-game. After launch, some people decided they wanted the horse but didn't want to pay for imperial edition -- so the 'Palomino Horse' was added as a stop-gap for people who wanted that. They've since added an Imperial Edition upgrade option, so the Palomino is irrelevant; in each case, the horses are worthless when compared to in-game mounts. The only advantage is that they're cheap, so you can have a horse for RP purposes when you start. These are the only paid items in the game; as I said, they're outclassed by the other mounts in the game. 4. Everyone says the game is mediocre because the launch was ****bad*****.. Bugs, bots, and bad reviews -- and that's all most people know about the game. Here's what you know:1. The 'PvE' content -- quests, main plotline, team dungeons, monster hunting, exploration -- is some of the best in the industry. Really.2. The writing is phenomenal. ESO's main plot makes Skyrim look like a saturday morning cartoon. But it's not just the main story -- there are 1500 missions, all fully voiced, all thoroughly well-written, all unique. None of that 'go find me 20 bear bungholes and return for XP' bullshit -- you'll be solving murders, conducting diplomacy, MAKING NORD MEAD, getting into prank wars with Khajiit -- good shit. BUT IT DOESN'T EVEN END THERE. In every corner of every map, there's more story and lore packed in than you can possibly imagine. There is so fucking much in this game. Seriously. 3. The PVP content -- fighting against other players -- is like nothing I've ever seen before. People compare it to Guild Wars 2, which I never played, but if you know what that is, apparently it's similar. It's *nuts*. Massive, massive, massive wars. Not perfectly balanced yet, but they're getting there.4. The social aspect was part of the problem all along, it turns out. Everybody who hated the game has left, and ever since then, it's been a dream to play. 5. The future is looking really, really freakin' good. We're going to Black Marsh and Orsinium in Hrothgar (that's Argonians and Orcs). Rumor has it Elsweyr is next. Game-changing new features like open-world PVP/stealing/NPC-murder-sprees is coming soon in the 'Justice System.' Spellcrafting (from way back in Morrowind) is making a return. New animations, more complex zones, a 'Champion System' to let you take advantage of multiple characters and add more customization..... Anyway I like it, if you didn't get that impression. If I get back on my main PC and you're still interested I'll dig out some screenshots.

I wish I had the time and money for this kind of thing.

Terrible? No.

From someone who hasn't played it, it seems the legitimacy of its criticism has little to do with its cost; what you're getting is fair for the price. Where it becomes questionable is if what you're going to get is what you want.

As with most MMOs and games with extensive development times (MMOs being at the top of that list), it suffers from lag. Not the lag you and I are used to: the desires that ESO intended to fulfill have already come and gone in its development span. The modern gaming market has been experiencing a disillusionment towards the MMO model, a model ESO still very much uses. Hotkey combat, quests, PvP, PvE, endgame, repeat endgame ad infinitum. For those that have been through all of this since vanilla WoW, this is particularly boring. Many of the MMOs that have been released in the last several years have made honest attempts to innovate with this model, and they have all still "failed." ESO hopes to be different, but besides being Elder Scrolls, one may see little reason why it would be.

If you've been through the MMO hullabaloo time and time again, from entry to endgame a million times, ESO will not be any different, and that's one of the primary problems critics have: it provides something that has already been provided for a million times, and they want something else. If you're really into Elder Scrolls and won't mind doing the MMO thing (or have never experienced it before), you could give it a go. It does provide a universe that many people long to immerse themselves in, and that becomes a significant selling (and surviving) point for the MMO. Bethesda are also reputed for their ability to make their worlds this way (though, personally, I don't care for it). There are other games that arguably do the MMO thing better and unarguably cost significantly less, but they won't be Elder Scrolls; if you're really dying for that dose of Elder Scrolls, it'll do the job.

So, no, it's not bad. The uneducated masses of gamers will shout money grubbing, but that's an expensive game to make and maintain. The problem is that it's in the wrong time period for many people; we've moved past the very passive hotkey combat system technologically, and that and many other parts of the MMO formula are getting rusty and fed up with. I'm sure they offer a free trial period for you to give it a spin, so if you're curious, go for it.

When you fight and kill enemies, You get 2 whole gold. Which would be awesome, if this was Dragon Age Online. It's not. It's Elderscrolls Online.

ActRaiserTheReturned said
When you fight and kill enemies, You get 2 whole gold. Which would be awesome, if this was Dragon Age Online. It's not. It's Elderscrolls Online.

You played Beta, right? This is only true in beginner areas, since actual launch.

Card said
*snip*

It's actually pretty active combat.... I mean it's still an MMO, there are still hotkey-skills, but only five of them (compared to the 12-50 skills/macros/whatever you normally see in these kind of games). Lots of dodging, active blocking, interrupting, you know, skyrim shit.

Just watch this, you'll get the actual idea/reason as to why so many people don't like the game.
It has nothing to do with people not wanting to spend the money.

yeeeeeaaaaah none of that shit is even right. You're right -- that's why people don't like ESO. And some of these problems (like the grouping/phasing bs) lasted like three whole weeks... but it's patched the fuck out, game is good to go.

BitOHoney said
Dude fighting in a war isn't supposed to be fun -_-

Frizan said
No, but games are.And TESO is a game. Get your head out of your ass, "dude".

GEET REKT MEIT
MLGSWAGPRO4LiFE
(It's not a real war, it's a game. And a fantasy one. A fantasy game with fucking giant spiders, spooky scary skeletons and giant monsters.

That's like saying every game that has a war in it shouldn't be fun.
Aka, most action games. Skyrim can't be fun now! It has rebels fighting the imperials! Oh no, the CoD games can't be-Nevermind they aren't fun anyway.)

It's an MMO.

It's not even trying anything new, it's an MMO with the Elder Scrolls skin over it.

BitOHoney said
Dude fighting in a war isn't supposed to be fun -_-

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