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[Preview] Elder Scrolls Online: A Noob's First Steps in ESO

SBFordSBFord Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129

Everybody is a noob at one time or another and so it is with our Richard Cox who recently attended QuakeCon and had the opportunity to check out Elder Scrolls Online for the very first time. See what he thought about his baby steps in the world before discussing it in the comments.

I can easily say that The Elder Scrolls has LONG been one of my favorite franchises ever in gaming. I started playing at the very beginning when Arena first came out and have stuck with the franchise ever since, even the one which wasn’t really part of the story that most people forgot about (Redguard). It is easily the single player franchise I’ve put the most time into. Heck, I put MMO levels of hours into each single player game. It is also by far one of the very top franchises I’ve always wanted to see turned into an MMO, right up there with Fallout and Shadowrun. So now it’s going to be an MMO, and I have to admit, I’ve been purposefully avoiding reading too much about it or following it too closely. I have a bad habit of getting burned out on an MMO before it even launches. I go into information overload and submerge myself in everything known about the game. And then I get into beta at some point and put in several hundred hours before the game launches. By time launch day gets here, I’m just burnt out on it. So I’ve been really trying not to let that happen with ESO. However, at QuakeCon this year I was given the opportunity to spend two hours with the game and I just couldn’t pass it up, so here’s what I thought after spending two very intimate hours with The Elder Scrolls Online.

Read more of Richard Cox's Elder Scrolls Online: A Noob's First Steps in ESO.

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Comments

  • RazeeksterRazeekster Member UncommonPosts: 2,591
    I am loving the look of the game world. It looks dark and gritty, something I've long wished for in an MMO, instead of all these fields of green grass and beauty everywhere. It looks more realistic that way to me. And of course there are spots that are beautiful in the world of Elder Scrolls but a lot of the world isn't so I'm glad they kept it that way when they made it into an MMO.
     
     

    Smile

  • LaserwolfLaserwolf Member Posts: 2,383
    I don't suppose you're allowed to comment on exactly what happens when you die are you? Is there any penalty? Do you just immediately respawn or do you become a ghost first?

    image

  • Lord.BachusLord.Bachus Member RarePosts: 9,686
    Originally posted by Laserwolf
    I don't suppose you're allowed to comment on exactly what happens when you die are you? Is there any penalty? Do you just immediately respawn or do you become a ghost first?

    you can selfresurect you at the spotusing soulgems, or you can choose to resurect at a shrine, withyour equipment taking some damage... 

     

    its a light deathpennalty <sadly>

    Best MMO experiences : EQ(PvE), DAoC(PvP), WoW(total package) LOTRO (worldfeel) GW2 (Artstyle and animations and worlddesign) SWTOR (Story immersion) TSW (story) ESO (character advancement)

  • syltmackasyltmacka Member UncommonPosts: 404

    release eet damnit oneone111!!!kk

     

  • angerbeaverangerbeaver Member UncommonPosts: 1,256
    Reminds me of the Barrows from the Lord of the Rings Online and while I did not find myself interested in this game I think it may be worth me doing some research now =)
  • nate1980nate1980 Member UncommonPosts: 2,062
    After the EQN reveal, I'm definitely pleased with the graphical direction of this game. Seems more mature and dangerous to me. I'd like to hear the negatives the author experienced, since he said there were some, instead of just hearing the positives.
  • VoqarVoqar Member UncommonPosts: 510
    This game looks like GW2.  Massively single player online.  Grouping consists of soloists sharing a chat and an instance.  No structure, no cooperation.  No point.  Might as well just play Skyrim and not have to deal with ADD adolescents spewing in public chat or having xXDrizztXx go flying across your screen naked destroying your immersion.
     
    Oh yeah, you can PvP.  How long have ES games been around?  And how much was PvP a part before.  Long time and zero.  Tweaking game lore to accomodate hokie alliances just to be able to stuff a PvP minigame in their not really an MMO just piles on the dookie.

    Premium MMORPGs do not feature built-in cheating via cash for gold pay 2 win. PLAY to win or don't play.

  • hulgarhulgar Member Posts: 93
    With this, AA, Black desert and the repopulation, im more than happy..people can play with Tony the Tiger if they feel like
  • OntblodOntblod Member UncommonPosts: 195
    Originally posted by Voqar
    play Skyrim and not have to deal with ADD adolescents spewing in public chat or having xXDrizztXx go flying across your screen naked destroying your immersion.
     
     

    Or we could just play TESO, a new Elder Scrolls game and turn off chat and nametags...*ba-dum tish*

  • keithiankeithian Member UncommonPosts: 3,191
    My favorite part of his impression was this-->"All in all the world felt very alive....". That and his exploration point. I don't care if this game is single player, multiplayer, massive (as the PVP will most likely be), its the game I'm most looking forward to. I don't care if some feel its single player or not, if it continues the ESO tradition and allows me to play with friends, that is exactly what I'm looking for...and of course to make some new friends too :-). The PVP certaintly won't be single player or multiplayer player, it will be massive from everything they have shared even if we haven't witnessed the gameplay ourselves.

    There Is Always Hope!

  • Whiskey_SamWhiskey_Sam Member UncommonPosts: 323
    Originally posted by Kuraphimaru

    Ummmm, small problem in the article. Lockpicking with tumblers was in Oblivion. In Skyrim its a round lock where u gotta find the spot by rotating the pick. The crafting video showed Oblivion style lockpicking and author mentions its "the same system we know and love from Skyrim". So I'm just curious, which style it actually is in the game at the moment.

    Oblivionish.  Nearly the same, but not exactly.  Not Skyrim's lockpicking at all.

    ___________________________
    Have flask; will travel.

  • Whiskey_SamWhiskey_Sam Member UncommonPosts: 323
    Richard, did you use a bow at all?  If so, thoughts?

    ___________________________
    Have flask; will travel.

  • RateroRatero Member UncommonPosts: 440
    Originally posted by Kuraphimaru

    Ummmm, small problem in the article. Lockpicking with tumblers was in Oblivion. In Skyrim its a round lock where u gotta find the spot by rotating the pick. The crafting video showed Oblivion style lockpicking and author mentions its "the same system we know and love from Skyrim". So I'm just curious, which style it actually is in the game at the moment.

    There was a video that actually showed someone picking a lock on a chest using a UI that looked sorta like the one from Oblivion.  I'm sure you can find it easy enough if you looked since there are not to many videos out there as yet.  Here is a link... check out around 1:10 for the lockpicking information:

     

    Ratero.


  • OlgarkOlgark Member UncommonPosts: 342

    The only thing that concerns me as a PC gamer is the draw distance I see in screenshots. (The fog you see in the pictures).

     

    Is this there because of the consoles not being able to handle the game engine or is it really this bad on the PC?

    image

  • Dreamo84Dreamo84 Member UncommonPosts: 3,713
    Originally posted by Olgark

    The only thing that concerns me as a PC gamer is the draw distance I see in screenshots. (The fog you see in the pictures).

     

    Is this there because of the consoles not being able to handle the game engine or is it really this bad on the PC?

    ummm...have you seen some of the stuff coming out on PS4?! I don't think it's gonna have any trouble handling this lol.

    image
  • MothanosMothanos Member UncommonPosts: 1,910

    PS3 i would say yes, PS4 ? i think it could handle this.
    But we all know nothing beats a decent PC with hardware from 2012+

    What i find realy disapointing is hte horrible combat animations...
    it takes away one of my most importand point when i play combat heavy games in 1st person.

    Also the characters look very low polygons....
    Iam realy underwhelmed by ESO :(

  • TicklepinkTicklepink Member UncommonPosts: 123
    Id suggest "strongly" to keep your faith in ESO. The reason they haven't released gobs and gobs of in game  play is because they don't want it stolen. All i can say is "keep your faith' :) You'll not be disappointed.

    image
  • KoreanSoWhatKoreanSoWhat Member Posts: 80
    you are so destructive and negative man.
  • RJCoxRJCox Member Posts: 2,686

    Yes, my bad, I just went back and checked, the tumbler system was from Oblivion. Dunno why I forgot they didn't use it in Skyrim as well. Either way, it's the system with 4 or 5 tumblers and you have to raise each one until it clicks into place and get them all done within a set time limit.

    I briefly used a bow. It's really nice, especially in first person. I see myself going more bow at launch, so I wanted to play something completely different on this go around, so I went 2 handed sword.

    Richard J. Cox
    "There were much of the beautiful, much of the wanton, much of the bizarre, something of the terrible, and not a little of that which might have excited disgust."

  • daltaniousdaltanious Member UncommonPosts: 2,381
    Originally posted by Lord.Bachus
    Originally posted by Laserwolf
    I don't suppose you're allowed to comment on exactly what happens when you die are you? Is there any penalty? Do you just immediately respawn or do you become a ghost first?

    you can selfresurect you at the spotusing soulgems, or you can choose to resurect at a shrine, withyour equipment taking some damage... 

     

    its a light deathpennalty <sadly>

    To me another point in favor. I see death penalty (any) as as big annoyance. I will do evertything not to die, hate to die in game, ... but anything post mortem ... is PURE ANNYOANCE.

  • Whiskey_SamWhiskey_Sam Member UncommonPosts: 323
    Originally posted by RJCox

    Yes, my bad, I just went back and checked, the tumbler system was from Oblivion. Dunno why I forgot they didn't use it in Skyrim as well. Either way, it's the system with 4 or 5 tumblers and you have to raise each one until it clicks into place and get them all done within a set time limit.

    I briefly used a bow. It's really nice, especially in first person. I see myself going more bow at launch, so I wanted to play something completely different on this go around, so I went 2 handed sword.

    I used a bow and found it so different from Oblivion/Skyrim as to be distracting.  I wasn't crazy about the offset camera in combat either in third person view.  The melee weapons seemed to be pretty much like they should.

    ___________________________
    Have flask; will travel.

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