Did they lift the NDA for everyone? It seems like they must have considering the comments in here, which I don't agree with most of them. To each his own i guess.
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
I played multiple betas. At first the game turned me down on animations, BUT i actyally took time to read patch notes on next one. And saw all the fixes also animation corrections, and they promised to revise the animations in combat. Why the heck does people keep blapping about the animations when they already have fixed some and promised to do the rest..?
Find something new to ramble about. I played the beta again, and this time im sold. Preordered imperial just because i saw how much they fixed in a little time, which is a good promise to the game.
How many games do you get direct contact with a GM within 2 minutes? Defiantly not many.
Never had any problems on newbie island and i even tried out 8 characters. Always had people to play with. Always had extra stuff to explore and do other than the Main Quest Line, i always been able to start crafting at level 2-3 when i exit to newbie island. So i dont know where the OP is coming from. But he defiantly doesnt have his facts straight? Did he play in some pressrelease alpha only?
It makes for a very weird situation when the media have no nda but beta testers do,, and makes commenting on this article all the harder.
I played for the last two betas and at first I too hated the way the combat system worked.
Over the last day of the second beta it really clicked with me. I've been used to EQ2 etc type before that and it is a huge change.
I don't think I'm breaking the nda by saying this as it's in the various press videos.
I was used to pressing TAB or whatever to select the mob I was pressing my rotation keys at, then if I wanted to hit another mob, either cycle through the mobs or maybe select another one with the mouse. That has always worked well.
WIth ESO it's completely different. But once you click with it it works very well. For example, I'm in a fight with 3 mobs, I fire my wand at one mob,m I move the mouse to the second mob fire again, and move my mouse back to the first and fire again, there's no selecting each mob, I simply fire or use my skills on whatever mob my mouse cursor is currently aimed at. Hard to describe if you haven't tried it, but it does to me feel very realistic once you get used to it.
The problem of course is whether people will get used to it. I played for 7 days i total over two betas and it wasn't until the last day that I felt really comfortable and started enjoying the interface. I have been eagerly awaiting ESO since it was announced, but since trying the beta, up until yesterday I was undecided on whether to pre-order.
Now I know I will love this game.
it took me 7 days to get used to it, some may get used to it in 1 day, some it may never click with. The danger is how many people are going to give up within a couple of days etc or how many people after this last beta have already decided the game play isn't for them.
Trouble is, it isn't what most MMO players are used to and it also insn't what most TES fans are used to.
I got into PvP for about 30 mins last night for the first time, and that is awesome, but it isn't what many MMO players are necessarily into.
There are also glaringly obvious things that in my (and many other according to the beta forums) are essential to a mmo that aren't available in this game. If I want to see the buffs, I have to press c to bring up my character and look there, there's no option to display them on the main screen.
Sadly more often than not, when people brought this (and other) obvious flaw up on the forums, they were getting told comments along the lines of "if you want that, go back to WoW" by may other players.
The forums became almost a them and us where if anyone raised any doubts over anything, a hoard of people came to ESOs defense telling the person to play something else then.
This game needs many mmo players and many TES fans to sub to make it a worthwhile venture. The attitude of many on the forums rings alarm bells to me and some of the comments I got when I said I would like the option to display nameplates above characters for example, was simply childish and pathetic ("this isn't another crappy WoW clone" was a typical one). Trying to explain that having options available for those that want them, options that are tried and tested in the world of mmos does not make this a clone of any other games, mostly fell on deaf ears.
I think the game has great potential. I also think it has serious flaws at present (although I am pre-ordering).
I could craft straight away and for me the chat window was non stop, although the type of thing said on the whole made unpleasant reading and I simply chose to ignore it, but so many beta keys were given away this time that I suspect most of those were by people who had no intention of ever buying the game at all.
I think where the article is spot on is with first impressions. If your first impression is a clunky interface and linear quests, are you going to continue and see what the game is really like, or are you going to move onto the many many alternatives out there.
I see a danger that this becomes a niche game, that said I think it will be a big enough niche to still be profitable..
I'm with these two in my disagreement of your write-up about the game.
I found it to be immensely social, constantly finding myself in the same areas of the game with several other players, engaged in chat, and joining others in groups to achieve goals - like killing monsters, fighting dark anchors, going into dungeons, doing quests, messing around with emotes, and exploring. I also got into a guild and did some major pvp in Cyrodil with scores of other players. Total blast! There is a definite feeling of ESO being a multiplayer game, yet at the same time I could venture out on my own and have a single player experience as well, if I chose to.
Also, the game mechanics for combat were granularly controllable in a pleasing way that made me feel like I was actively engaged in every move, tactic, and choice for my character before and during combat. Before combat, you choose from a huge selection of skills to use in the satisfying rpg character development style. During combat, you can use the mouse and keyboard buttons to move out of the way of strikes and incoming arrows or spells, hide behind things, roll across the playing field to dodge, block, execute specials, and choose from an array of abilities during combat that all gave me the sense of being more in control of my character than an MMO like WoW, for instance.
I thought the art was amazing, the music and other sounds, like the ambient sound and voice overs were an immersive, engaging compliment to the extensive story and lore of the Elder Scrolls game world.
As someone who has played almost every MMO out there, ESO had everything I expected and wanted, and I look forward to playing it with new friends and old come March 31st (yep, I pre-ordered the Imperial Digital Edition.)
See you in the game!
Devil bunny needs a ham, and he's pretty sure knocking you off a building will get him one.
Someone above mentioned 'same old cookie cutter builds' and I had to stop reading there. This game has anything but cookie cutter builds. It's no NDA violation (because it's been stated in interviews and is a major selling point for the game) to say that the level of customisation you can achieve in this game is second only to TSW. About the only thing you're locked in on is choose a race, gender, faction and basic class. The myriad of choices and skill point allocations are entirely down to you, as is weapon and armour.
The big issue people have with TESO being very solo-centric for questing is baffling too. I can't think of many MMO's I've played over the years that actually required you to have multiple members (Only the increased missions in SWG and very early EQ2 where hard mobs were everywhere).
The game is also a lot less on rails than WoW or any other of its clones for questing. You may be able to run/fly across the entire continent in WoW but you can't do anything other than die in a high level zone if you're not of the appropriate level but it;s just another stick to beat the game with.
I just wish people would say it's not for them, without resorting to inventing issues that are shared by virtually every other MMO (I'm excluding EVE for obvious reasons) available.
*edit* and *very very small NDA breach* I rock a mean lute and could quite happily listen to it all day long
i got to level 7 in the beta. I didn't feel like making 8. I felt nothing revolutionary or inspiring about this game, certainly not enough to make me willing to pay $60 plus a sub. That's just me though. Plenty of better f2p options out there.
Without going into specifics, I can tell you that you will need more people for some of the content. The boss mobs will beat that fact into you head and I wondered into an instance area because I was wondering what was in it. My death! Several times. Luckily there were other people around and we kind of informally grouped, aka ran around together, and I managed to complete the area, though we did group up for the boss.
Yes some of the things have changed for the translation to MMO, but that always happens when you change formats like from a book into a movie.
It plays like an Elder Scrolls game with the added annoyance of trying to figure out which bass class will let me make the build I want to play.
I also agree on the areas. I liked the Dagger Covenant area best, followed by the Ebonheart Pact. The Aldmeri Dominion didn't really grab me as much, though I do plan on having a character there eventually.
Putting 15 hours in a game that is suppose to take over 500 hours of your time gives you zero reasons to be this negative. If you hated the starting zone that much you can skip it by simply telling the woman you are ready to move on. Yes I had a few concerns but they were only concerns and have not been fully evaluated. Since this is gonna be a PS4 game I do expect a graphics update at launch.
Originally posted by GrimmRoeth How hard would it be for them to add in the standard MMO UI controls for those of us that find WASD difficult due to a handicap?
Originally posted by Overfiend138 i got to level 7 in the beta. I didn't feel like making 8. I felt nothing revolutionary or inspiring about this game, certainly not enough to make me willing to pay $60 plus a sub. That's just me though. Plenty of better f2p options out there.
I have over 40+ hours into the game so far. Virtually all of it testing class and skill combos as well as the starter islands. This past weekend was my first time off of the starting zones. I have to say the game explodes with content and adventure once you are off the starter islands. Building your character has strategic elements far beyond any MMO I have ever played. This is no WOW with rows and rows of buttons to mash.
The starter zones are a bit long but I have spent much time doing them over and over so I probably am not a good judge at this point. All they need to do is allow you to leave at level three or so to jump into the main game. If folks want to experience the rest of the quests on starter island they are free to do so. I would suggest adding some higher level mobs and a boss or two that need groups to take down. The mobs were a bit too Iraq Army like in the starter zones.
Now that I have tested and played the starter zones and figured out how I want to build my character, I probably will not play beta again and just wait for my early Imperial edition start date. I want the further polishing to be a pleasant surprise. To all those folks to danced together at the Rosie Lion last night as the servers went down...I'll see you again in March!
Either you didn't really play this game, or its already changed significantly since you have. Almost everything you said about the starter zone is incorrect, and I just finished it myself yesterday. I didn't feel like I was running erands, I felt like I had to find and help all of the villagers before the Covenant attacked and killed everyone. There were lots of other real people running around, and I even got friend requests. I was able to immediately start crafting. The chat box was so busy I had to work hard to ignore it.
There are still some bugs. I'm sure some of the things you were looking for will be implemented. It just seems like in an effort for you guys to find a differing opinion, what you did instead was something ignorant.
I wholeheartedly agree. I was crafting at level 1 before I had even finished my first quest. The chat window was humming non-stop, people were everywhere, and the starter isle wasn't bland at all. I found it to be quite the opposite of what the OP wrote, so I have to believe he was just predisposed to dislike it, or listened to Angry Joe to have his opinion handed to him.
I had the same experiences as you two did. I am wondering if the OP even left the tutorial It is ok if someone has an opinion that is against a game. The concern becomes when the facts support the opposite. To say you can not craft early on when people are able to start crafting as soon as they hit the starter area shows a lack of actual experience with the game and begins to question the entire validity of the review of the game. Now take Bill Murphy's review I question parts of it but you could tell he actually played the game and could support his views good or bad.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
Want to zero in on the starter island stuff since I see it come up a lot:
I really think the reason we can't square the starter island experience is because we (MMO vets) aren't actually the target audience for it. That's why you're seeing all these weird reactions this weekend. People who don't like the game at first and then warm up to it once they get off the island.
If not us, then who? Well, ZOS is trying to get non-MMO playing ES fans, and more importantly, console players, into the fold. The starter island is more than likely designed with them in mind, which is why it's a much shallower experience than the rest of the game. Imagine being a console only player who has never played an MMO and being dropped into the post starter island zones immediately? Would probably be pretty overwhelming, no?
Does that mean it has the potential to just turn some MMO vets off immediately? I'm sure. But it looks like a lot of people gave it another whack and humped through it into the real game.
That's my take, anyways.
I think that's a valid point. An introduction isn't a bad thing, and if you see it as such and just work through it, there is an entire world of game out there shortly after you start. Basing opinions on the intro and extending that to the entire game is disingenuous at best. Unfortunately there are reviews out there doing just that and hordes of their supplicants are drinking it up.
I was a lot more worried about this on Friday. I even wrote a blog about it. But I've been going through a lot of the feedback here and on other sites and there is a very clear trend of opinion shift for a lot of people who made it through the starter area and saw the rest of the game over the weekend. That's not to say everyone will be this way, ESO isn't for everyone, but thankfully it looks like a ton of people gave the game a real chance.
The in-game chat I read over the weekend was very positive. I think those that actually took advantage of the Beta weekend finally had a chance to see for themselves if they'd like it or not. Having a free trail before launch certainly gave me a lot more information to go on. Nothing beats tromping around and going for a test-drive.
To me that was the one big issue with this weekend and some of the negative response. It was not a free trial of the game it was an actual beta test designed to stress the system. Although you have a positive impression of the game some did not because they did not understand the different between a beta test and a free trial. Most of the complaints I have seen stem from this. People complaining about logging difficulties or ques as the DEVS worked to resolve this issues atleast for this weekend. A quest bugging do to the amount of people trying to do it all at once while they worked to set the current usingers record and whinning about it then ranting at people who told them "oh just do /reloadui" and you can compete it.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
Either you didn't really play this game, or its already changed significantly since you have. Almost everything you said about the starter zone is incorrect, and I just finished it myself yesterday. I didn't feel like I was running erands, I felt like I had to find and help all of the villagers before the Covenant attacked and killed everyone. There were lots of other real people running around, and I even got friend requests. I was able to immediately start crafting. The chat box was so busy I had to work hard to ignore it.
There are still some bugs. I'm sure some of the things you were looking for will be implemented. It just seems like in an effort for you guys to find a differing opinion, what you did instead was something ignorant.
Well his opinion and your opinion are both right. Which is what Opinions are supposed to be like. The issue is there are far greater murmurs of agreement with Gareth's opinion then yours and therein lies the problem.
Actually, I would say the opposite is true. My local gamestop had so so preorders of the game prior to this weekend. Yesterday they soldout of their allotment of collectors editions as did the other gamestops in the general area ( according to the manager) with people telling her they had played the test this weekend. As stated it is not the fact that Gareth had a negative review of the game. It is the fact that large parts of it do not jive with reality. The easiest example is his comments about not being able to craft till after he had progressed beyond the starter area while people in the test pointout you can do it as soon as you reach the starter area. It is the same for creating a guild you can do it right off. To be honest more of the negative reviews have seem to be of the same poor quality while the positive ones seem to be based on playing the game for a bit of time.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
-Free 2 play sayers need to calm down - it would not work for this game.
- the game feels alot like 'elder scrolls' on the solo instances. but a bit odd seein tons of players gathered around one quest giver.
- we will see where this goes...
This game will be Free 2 play within 6 months of Release. That is all but written in stone.
The game will not last as a p2p, it does not have enough features that keep p2p.
Correct after all it has more features than WoW or EQ so it is definitely lacking with regards to being sub based. What they should do it make it more inline with PWE games and make it P2P. Just to be clear this is meant as sarcasm. oh to point something out Gw2, SWTOR, RIFT, STO are not truly F2P as some seem to claim on this thread they are hybrids using both a cash PTW shop and subs.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
Either you didn't really play this game, or its already changed significantly since you have. Almost everything you said about the starter zone is incorrect, and I just finished it myself yesterday. I didn't feel like I was running erands, I felt like I had to find and help all of the villagers before the Covenant attacked and killed everyone. There were lots of other real people running around, and I even got friend requests. I was able to immediately start crafting. The chat box was so busy I had to work hard to ignore it.
There are still some bugs. I'm sure some of the things you were looking for will be implemented. It just seems like in an effort for you guys to find a differing opinion, what you did instead was something ignorant.
I have to agree, he said you can't craft without finishing the zone after leaving the realm of Molag Bal, and you certainly can, I have no idea how he didn't find all those crafting tables in the Nord zone right there on the map (I played Ebonheart).
I don't know if he just played a really long time ago or just never found them, but you most certainly can craft immediately after going back to Tamriel.
"Just wait until level 10...." they say. The game was too boring and painful to play to get to level 10. There is no way I will take a chance playing this boring game until level 10 and hoping that somehow it all of sudden changes into fun.
Originally posted by Matryoshka: I have to agree, he said you can't craft without finishing the zone after leaving the realm of Molag Bal, and you certainly can, I have no idea how he didn't find all those crafting tables in the Nord zone right there on the map (I played Ebonheart).
I don't know if he just played a really long time ago or just never found them, but you most certainly can craft immediately after going back to Tamriel.
In the Aldmeri Dominion, the first crafting tables (apart from provisionning) are in Mistral (the other side of the island), same for banker.
In Ebonheart, you have bank, bag and all crafting tables in the first couple minutes after you leave Coldharbour.
In Aldmeri Dominion, you have a main questline that sends you in 2 points then to the main city and you can leave, the other quests are not mandatory or even mentionned in the main timeline and you find them through exploration.
In Ebonheart, you can leave the first isle by speaking to Rana and skip all the side quests but the isle is very small and you stumble upon them all the time. Then you reach the second starting zone (Bal Foyen) and, likewise, the main timeline brings you next to every quest starter without needing to explore.
In Aldmeri Dominion, the starting island (Khenarthi's Roost) is massive while in Ebonheart, the starting area is split in two small zones: Bleakrock and Bal Foyen, so in the Dominion, you'll be able to explore while in Ebonheart, your experience will be more streamlined.
In my very own opinion, to sum things up, Ebonheart is for "newbies" and the Dominion for "veterans" (and the difference is probably a bit steep). This could explain a lot of the variations we can see between commentaries.
I myself was kinda dissapointed with teso, and the biggest reasons was the UI (somehow it lacks) and it didnt felt as MMORPG to me, for me a big deal. Also ... I decided not to play or look forward to any mmorpg that is developer for pc and consoles together again, because I hate how it is whole game is ''dumbed'' down to be playable on console, the ui, the combat, tje social, the graphics etc.
But because I already pre purchased the game i will give it try and level to max level to see what end game is about.
But the minute Wildstar is released, I know for sure, that i drop every existing game and acitivites in rl and play that for as long as possible, untill i drop out and then for many many months? Hope years
OMG do you know what is really hard core on 22 to have exam but on 21 you raid in wow and next day you pass exam.
Or to have exam on psychology or to go to an interview for a job you wanted all life. All games a DUMB do you think if you remember 30 skill on a bar you're SKilled player . In Russia every 9/10 bear can play on balalaika and ride a bike and you show off here that game is dumbed ? this will end with ban....
Comments
I'm not an IT Specialist, Game Developer, or Clairvoyant in real life, but like others on here, I play one on the internet.
So many misconceptions.
I played multiple betas. At first the game turned me down on animations, BUT i actyally took time to read patch notes on next one. And saw all the fixes also animation corrections, and they promised to revise the animations in combat. Why the heck does people keep blapping about the animations when they already have fixed some and promised to do the rest..?
Find something new to ramble about. I played the beta again, and this time im sold. Preordered imperial just because i saw how much they fixed in a little time, which is a good promise to the game.
How many games do you get direct contact with a GM within 2 minutes? Defiantly not many.
Never had any problems on newbie island and i even tried out 8 characters. Always had people to play with. Always had extra stuff to explore and do other than the Main Quest Line, i always been able to start crafting at level 2-3 when i exit to newbie island. So i dont know where the OP is coming from. But he defiantly doesnt have his facts straight? Did he play in some pressrelease alpha only?
ADT
It makes for a very weird situation when the media have no nda but beta testers do,, and makes commenting on this article all the harder.
I played for the last two betas and at first I too hated the way the combat system worked.
Over the last day of the second beta it really clicked with me. I've been used to EQ2 etc type before that and it is a huge change.
I don't think I'm breaking the nda by saying this as it's in the various press videos.
I was used to pressing TAB or whatever to select the mob I was pressing my rotation keys at, then if I wanted to hit another mob, either cycle through the mobs or maybe select another one with the mouse. That has always worked well.
WIth ESO it's completely different. But once you click with it it works very well. For example, I'm in a fight with 3 mobs, I fire my wand at one mob,m I move the mouse to the second mob fire again, and move my mouse back to the first and fire again, there's no selecting each mob, I simply fire or use my skills on whatever mob my mouse cursor is currently aimed at. Hard to describe if you haven't tried it, but it does to me feel very realistic once you get used to it.
The problem of course is whether people will get used to it. I played for 7 days i total over two betas and it wasn't until the last day that I felt really comfortable and started enjoying the interface. I have been eagerly awaiting ESO since it was announced, but since trying the beta, up until yesterday I was undecided on whether to pre-order.
Now I know I will love this game.
it took me 7 days to get used to it, some may get used to it in 1 day, some it may never click with. The danger is how many people are going to give up within a couple of days etc or how many people after this last beta have already decided the game play isn't for them.
Trouble is, it isn't what most MMO players are used to and it also insn't what most TES fans are used to.
I got into PvP for about 30 mins last night for the first time, and that is awesome, but it isn't what many MMO players are necessarily into.
There are also glaringly obvious things that in my (and many other according to the beta forums) are essential to a mmo that aren't available in this game. If I want to see the buffs, I have to press c to bring up my character and look there, there's no option to display them on the main screen.
Sadly more often than not, when people brought this (and other) obvious flaw up on the forums, they were getting told comments along the lines of "if you want that, go back to WoW" by may other players.
The forums became almost a them and us where if anyone raised any doubts over anything, a hoard of people came to ESOs defense telling the person to play something else then.
This game needs many mmo players and many TES fans to sub to make it a worthwhile venture. The attitude of many on the forums rings alarm bells to me and some of the comments I got when I said I would like the option to display nameplates above characters for example, was simply childish and pathetic ("this isn't another crappy WoW clone" was a typical one). Trying to explain that having options available for those that want them, options that are tried and tested in the world of mmos does not make this a clone of any other games, mostly fell on deaf ears.
I think the game has great potential. I also think it has serious flaws at present (although I am pre-ordering).
I could craft straight away and for me the chat window was non stop, although the type of thing said on the whole made unpleasant reading and I simply chose to ignore it, but so many beta keys were given away this time that I suspect most of those were by people who had no intention of ever buying the game at all.
I think where the article is spot on is with first impressions. If your first impression is a clunky interface and linear quests, are you going to continue and see what the game is really like, or are you going to move onto the many many alternatives out there.
I see a danger that this becomes a niche game, that said I think it will be a big enough niche to still be profitable..
I'm with these two in my disagreement of your write-up about the game.
I found it to be immensely social, constantly finding myself in the same areas of the game with several other players, engaged in chat, and joining others in groups to achieve goals - like killing monsters, fighting dark anchors, going into dungeons, doing quests, messing around with emotes, and exploring. I also got into a guild and did some major pvp in Cyrodil with scores of other players. Total blast! There is a definite feeling of ESO being a multiplayer game, yet at the same time I could venture out on my own and have a single player experience as well, if I chose to.
Also, the game mechanics for combat were granularly controllable in a pleasing way that made me feel like I was actively engaged in every move, tactic, and choice for my character before and during combat. Before combat, you choose from a huge selection of skills to use in the satisfying rpg character development style. During combat, you can use the mouse and keyboard buttons to move out of the way of strikes and incoming arrows or spells, hide behind things, roll across the playing field to dodge, block, execute specials, and choose from an array of abilities during combat that all gave me the sense of being more in control of my character than an MMO like WoW, for instance.
I thought the art was amazing, the music and other sounds, like the ambient sound and voice overs were an immersive, engaging compliment to the extensive story and lore of the Elder Scrolls game world.
As someone who has played almost every MMO out there, ESO had everything I expected and wanted, and I look forward to playing it with new friends and old come March 31st (yep, I pre-ordered the Imperial Digital Edition.)
See you in the game!
Devil bunny needs a ham, and he's pretty sure knocking you off a building will get him one.
Someone above mentioned 'same old cookie cutter builds' and I had to stop reading there. This game has anything but cookie cutter builds. It's no NDA violation (because it's been stated in interviews and is a major selling point for the game) to say that the level of customisation you can achieve in this game is second only to TSW. About the only thing you're locked in on is choose a race, gender, faction and basic class. The myriad of choices and skill point allocations are entirely down to you, as is weapon and armour.
The big issue people have with TESO being very solo-centric for questing is baffling too. I can't think of many MMO's I've played over the years that actually required you to have multiple members (Only the increased missions in SWG and very early EQ2 where hard mobs were everywhere).
The game is also a lot less on rails than WoW or any other of its clones for questing. You may be able to run/fly across the entire continent in WoW but you can't do anything other than die in a high level zone if you're not of the appropriate level but it;s just another stick to beat the game with.
I just wish people would say it's not for them, without resorting to inventing issues that are shared by virtually every other MMO (I'm excluding EVE for obvious reasons) available.
*edit* and *very very small NDA breach* I rock a mean lute and could quite happily listen to it all day long
Mystery Bounty
Without going into specifics, I can tell you that you will need more people for some of the content. The boss mobs will beat that fact into you head and I wondered into an instance area because I was wondering what was in it. My death! Several times. Luckily there were other people around and we kind of informally grouped, aka ran around together, and I managed to complete the area, though we did group up for the boss.
Yes some of the things have changed for the translation to MMO, but that always happens when you change formats like from a book into a movie.
It plays like an Elder Scrolls game with the added annoyance of trying to figure out which bass class will let me make the build I want to play.
I also agree on the areas. I liked the Dagger Covenant area best, followed by the Ebonheart Pact. The Aldmeri Dominion didn't really grab me as much, though I do plan on having a character there eventually.
WASD is standard. That with the mouse of course.
No idea what standard your talking about?!
HahahHAHAHAahHAHahHHAhAhHahAHa
Oh shit stop it, my sides hurt !
I have over 40+ hours into the game so far. Virtually all of it testing class and skill combos as well as the starter islands. This past weekend was my first time off of the starting zones. I have to say the game explodes with content and adventure once you are off the starter islands. Building your character has strategic elements far beyond any MMO I have ever played. This is no WOW with rows and rows of buttons to mash.
The starter zones are a bit long but I have spent much time doing them over and over so I probably am not a good judge at this point. All they need to do is allow you to leave at level three or so to jump into the main game. If folks want to experience the rest of the quests on starter island they are free to do so. I would suggest adding some higher level mobs and a boss or two that need groups to take down. The mobs were a bit too Iraq Army like in the starter zones.
Now that I have tested and played the starter zones and figured out how I want to build my character, I probably will not play beta again and just wait for my early Imperial edition start date. I want the further polishing to be a pleasant surprise. To all those folks to danced together at the Rosie Lion last night as the servers went down...I'll see you again in March!
I had the same experiences as you two did. I am wondering if the OP even left the tutorial
It is ok if someone has an opinion that is against a game. The concern becomes when the facts support the opposite. To say you can not craft early on when people are able to start crafting as soon as they hit the starter area shows a lack of actual experience with the game and begins to question the entire validity of the review of the game. Now take Bill Murphy's review I question parts of it but you could tell he actually played the game and could support his views good or bad.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
To me that was the one big issue with this weekend and some of the negative response. It was not a free trial of the game it was an actual beta test designed to stress the system. Although you have a positive impression of the game some did not because they did not understand the different between a beta test and a free trial. Most of the complaints I have seen stem from this. People complaining about logging difficulties or ques as the DEVS worked to resolve this issues atleast for this weekend. A quest bugging do to the amount of people trying to do it all at once while they worked to set the current usingers record and whinning about it then ranting at people who told them "oh just do /reloadui" and you can compete it.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
Actually, I would say the opposite is true. My local gamestop had so so preorders of the game prior to this weekend. Yesterday they soldout of their allotment of collectors editions as did the other gamestops in the general area ( according to the manager) with people telling her they had played the test this weekend. As stated it is not the fact that Gareth had a negative review of the game. It is the fact that large parts of it do not jive with reality. The easiest example is his comments about not being able to craft till after he had progressed beyond the starter area while people in the test pointout you can do it as soon as you reach the starter area. It is the same for creating a guild you can do it right off. To be honest more of the negative reviews have seem to be of the same poor quality while the positive ones seem to be based on playing the game for a bit of time.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
Correct after all it has more features than WoW or EQ so it is definitely lacking with regards to being sub based. What they should do it make it more inline with PWE games and make it P2P. Just to be clear this is meant as sarcasm. oh to point something out Gw2, SWTOR, RIFT, STO are not truly F2P as some seem to claim on this thread they are hybrids using both a cash PTW shop and subs.
Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!
I have to agree, he said you can't craft without finishing the zone after leaving the realm of Molag Bal, and you certainly can, I have no idea how he didn't find all those crafting tables in the Nord zone right there on the map (I played Ebonheart).
I don't know if he just played a really long time ago or just never found them, but you most certainly can craft immediately after going back to Tamriel.
In the Aldmeri Dominion, the first crafting tables (apart from provisionning) are in Mistral (the other side of the island), same for banker.
In Ebonheart, you have bank, bag and all crafting tables in the first couple minutes after you leave Coldharbour.
In Aldmeri Dominion, you have a main questline that sends you in 2 points then to the main city and you can leave, the other quests are not mandatory or even mentionned in the main timeline and you find them through exploration.
In Ebonheart, you can leave the first isle by speaking to Rana and skip all the side quests but the isle is very small and you stumble upon them all the time. Then you reach the second starting zone (Bal Foyen) and, likewise, the main timeline brings you next to every quest starter without needing to explore.
In Aldmeri Dominion, the starting island (Khenarthi's Roost) is massive while in Ebonheart, the starting area is split in two small zones: Bleakrock and Bal Foyen, so in the Dominion, you'll be able to explore while in Ebonheart, your experience will be more streamlined.
In my very own opinion, to sum things up, Ebonheart is for "newbies" and the Dominion for "veterans" (and the difference is probably a bit steep). This could explain a lot of the variations we can see between commentaries.
OMG do you know what is really hard core on 22 to have exam but on 21 you raid in wow and next day you pass exam.
Or to have exam on psychology or to go to an interview for a job you wanted all life. All games a DUMB do you think if you remember 30 skill on a bar you're SKilled player . In Russia every 9/10 bear can play on balalaika and ride a bike and you show off here that game is dumbed ? this will end with ban....