Originally posted by Lord.Bachus Obviously every of the 3 times 5 zones has its own dungeon... Making for a total of 15 dungeons... From which 11 are at max level... Sounds like a good amount
Lol, Vanguard shipped with over 100 open world dungeons and many of them are vast and span multiple levels. Some took days/week to complete with puzzles and all kinds of traps and dungeons within dungeons.
Originally posted by deniter I know there is a dungeon finder tool in ESO, but does it work like in WoW? I mean, does it teleport your group straight to the instance?
You can TP to group members, or close to them at least. Not sure about going IN the instance though, but that's close enough.
You can't travel to the other faction areas, so to do those dungeons you have to TP there.
Thanks. I hate fast travel mechanics with passion, but i think i can live with this.
Why will players of mmos learn that all mmos are different?
ESO's pve game geared toward solo and small group encounters to closer reflect on their single player games. It isn't a raid game although there will be raid encounters and of course large scale pvp.
Not all mmos need to be the same nor automatically be exactly like mmos that came before them. Hopefully when information about raid level encounters come out it will please many who want larger group sizes. Even then it sounds like forming a group is only required when deciding to take on tough encounters as most will be open zone/dungeons where it isn't required to be in a large group to initially enter.
There will be other EQ style games to come if that is what some players want. Always good to have variety.
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
I am impressed... But 4 man? .... Its one of the things EQ did better, 6 man groupsize still the best... Why would you ever want to chnage things that worked perfect in EQ..
however, since you can creat larger groups in open world elite areas and Pvp and adventure zones.. Its not a big thing to me.... But.
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)
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
I am impressed... But 4 man? .... Its one of the things EQ did better, 6 man groupsize still the best... Why would you ever want to chnage things that worked perfect in EQ..
however, since you can creat larger groups in open world elite areas and Pvp and adventure zones.. Its not a big thing to me.... But.
...I'm going to state the obvious here.
It's not EQ.
Doesn't play like EQ. Mobs don't act like EQ mobs. There are no EQ classes, EQ abilities, EQ items.
So the group size that worked for EQ? Worked in EQ. Great.
This is ESO.
Now if you were going to argue, with evidence, that 4 was too small a size for ESOs mechanics and game system, then that's a different story.
Fun? I heard, according to the know it all media and forum goers, that this game can't be fun. I mean, look at all the unfun in that video. How far they have to run. Man, those horses are so expensive. They clearly also had to have all 4 people be Imperials for those boss fights. Man, what an unfun game. This game will tank being so unfun.
The media didnt have enough time with the game. 1-10 is not any sign of how the game starts to become post 15ish. I cant say much cause of the NDA but I will say this, the media did NOT have sufficient time to make a sound judgment call on the game. It gets stronger and stronger the more you play it. On top of that, most media people are paid from sources to be bias in some ways so dont judge a media preview all that much. Its all BS. Again, they had inadaquate time with the game.
Originally posted by Flyte27 It looked fun, but no one seemed to ever be in much danger of dying in the entire video. The only one that seemed to lose much health was the tank.
From everyone I've heard that's played those dungeons, they are nowhere near as easy as the video shows. Your watching a group of players from closed beta that are well versed in the game, have experience in those dungeons, and who are also on the high end level range of that content.
Originally posted by Flyte27 It looked fun, but no one seemed to ever be in much danger of dying in the entire video. The only one that seemed to lose much health was the tank.
From everyone I've heard that's played those dungeons, they are nowhere near as easy as the video shows. Your watching a group of players from closed beta that are well versed in the game, have experience in those dungeons, and who are also on the high end level range of that content.
Exactly. Have fun pugging those lol
This was Atropos and his guild mates from the Tamriel Foundry. They knew what they were doing and they did it well.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Originally posted by Lord.Bachus Obviously every of the 3 times 5 zones has its own dungeon... Making for a total of 15 dungeons... From which 11 are at max level... Sounds like a good amount
Lol, Vanguard shipped with over 100 open world dungeons and many of them are vast and span multiple levels. Some took days/week to complete with puzzles and all kinds of traps and dungeons within dungeons.
Sounds like a good amount lmfao, really?
Well.. But then vanguard was never finished and i hate playing unfinished games... I got sick of the low quallity annimations in vanguard.. The game that could have been, but never got finished, a bloody shame
And keep in mind that those are just the instanced group based dungeons, every zone also has a few open world dungeons of several sizes, And then i am not talking of the multitude of instanced story dungeons in every of the 15 zones, or the adventure zones which are 24 man content,,
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)
Glad this was posted. Hopefully the information about Adventure Zones is forthcoming because I'll be honest as a Dungeon Delver and explorer predominant player this video got me excited. Unfortunately It means I'll have to slog through so many levels of uninspiring and generic questing and horrible starter zones that last 4-5 hours too long.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Doesn't play like EQ. Mobs don't act like EQ mobs. There are no EQ classes, EQ abilities, EQ items.
So the group size that worked for EQ? Worked in EQ. Great.
This is ESO.
Now if you were going to argue, with evidence, that 4 was too small a size for ESOs mechanics and game system, then that's a different story.
I'm going to state the obvious here too:
It's an MMO.
Most MMOs have had group sizes larger than 4.
This has nothing to do with the specific content - content can be designed for 5 or 6 as easily as for 4.
I don't really have any concerns about 4-man dungeons providing an excellent and challenging experience.
My concern is for community. The smaller the group, the less spaces to fill in any given group, the less groups LFM, the less grouping overall, the less community. In most games, group content can be done with 1 or 2 less people than it's designed for - 6-man dungeons generally can be done with 5 capable players, 5 man with 4, etc. When you cut it done to 4 max, chances are that they can be done with 3 or even 2. When you get to so few people needed to form a group, you end up with tons of preset groups of just friends and guildies, basically cliques of players that never group with the greater community. This type of stuff happens in any game, but it's a lot tougher to have a set 5-6 person group than it is to have 3-4.
Dungeons look great, i do wish the max group size was bigger, just for community purposes.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall Currently Playing: ESO
Originally posted by azzamasin Glad this was posted. Hopefully the information about Adventure Zones is forthcoming because I'll be honest as a Dungeon Delver and explorer predominant player this video got me excited. Unfortunately It means I'll have to slog through so many levels of uninspiring and generic questing and horrible starter zones that last 4-5 hours too long.
I don't think all starter zones are equal.
I think one everyone is complaining about is the Daggerfall Covenant one. I could be wrong though.
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
As someone who plays primarily DPS classes this is another issue that I fear will rear its ugly head. 5 man WoW style dungeons was already hard for most DPS classes to find groups. Restrict that group comp down to 2 DPS's and I shudder to think the time spent in queue for dungeons as a DPS'er.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Originally posted by azzamasin Glad this was posted. Hopefully the information about Adventure Zones is forthcoming because I'll be honest as a Dungeon Delver and explorer predominant player this video got me excited. Unfortunately It means I'll have to slog through so many levels of uninspiring and generic questing and horrible starter zones that last 4-5 hours too long.
I don't think all starter zones are equal.
I think one everyone is complaining about is the Daggerfall Covenant one. I could be wrong though.
Personally I think it must have been the Ebonheart Pact one.
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
I am impressed... But 4 man? .... Its one of the things EQ did better, 6 man groupsize still the best... Why would you ever want to chnage things that worked perfect in EQ..
however, since you can creat larger groups in open world elite areas and Pvp and adventure zones.. Its not a big thing to me.... But.
I like 4 man. It's way easier to get a core group of competent players, and good players are rewarded for being good. In 6 man groups your always carrying around at least one or two mouth-breathers. If you're shit at the game, there is no where to hide in a 4 man dungeon group.
i've also made it quite clear (again) what design IS fun for me.
consider me stupid then, because it's still not quite clear to me. what game has the type of dungeon you enjoy? maybe i missed a post.
Don't bother waiting for a coherent answer. This is a common problem among armchair developers, they can't tell you what they want or how to even go about implementing it. It's the same cognitive dissonance people that want quest choice to 'matter' but then deride phasing or instances and no idea how to resolve the issue of a persistent world.
Dungeons that change?
How? Randomized maps? Mobs? Completely different dungeon for no reason?
You won't get an answer arieste.
This is a coherent answer. And it was CLEARLY spelled out in the original post. Perhaps you should actually READ before you reply. By NOT having mobs in the SAME PLACE OVER AND OVER and doing the SAME types of damage to you / fighting you the SAME WAY so that they are predictable OVER AND OVER AND OVER each time you play it. How many times does it need to be said?
Doesn't play like EQ. Mobs don't act like EQ mobs. There are no EQ classes, EQ abilities, EQ items.
So the group size that worked for EQ? Worked in EQ. Great.
This is ESO.
Now if you were going to argue, with evidence, that 4 was too small a size for ESOs mechanics and game system, then that's a different story.
My concern is for community. The smaller the group, the less spaces to fill in any given group, the less groups LFM, the less grouping overall, the less community. In most games, group content can be done with 1 or 2 less people than it's designed for - 6-man dungeons generally can be done with 5 capable players, 5 man with 4, etc. When you cut it done to 4 max, chances are that they can be done with 3 or even 2. When you get to so few people needed to form a group, you end up with tons of preset groups of just friends and guildies, basically cliques of players that never group with the greater community. This type of stuff happens in any game, but it's a lot tougher to have a set 5-6 person group than it is to have 3-4.
Dungeons look great, i do wish the max group size was bigger, just for community purposes.
While I doubt this to be the case due to adds and other mechanics I think you're forgetting a couple things.
This game starts with a very intuitive LFG/Dungeon Finder system.
Preset groups are highly more organized and fun then random PUG's If the games dungeons are easily puggable then the content is trivial for organized groups and this is bad.
I do agree that having at a minimum of 6 players is preferable although I'd love to see minimum of 9 like Asheron's Call.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Fun? I heard, according to the know it all media and forum goers, that this game can't be fun. I mean, look at all the unfun in that video. How far they have to run. Man, those horses are so expensive. They clearly also had to have all 4 people be Imperials for those boss fights. Man, what an unfun game. This game will tank being so unfun.
The media didnt have enough time with the game. 1-10 is not any sign of how the game starts to become post 15ish. I cant say much cause of the NDA but I will say this, the media did NOT have sufficient time to make a sound judgment call on the game. It gets stronger and stronger the more you play it. On top of that, most media people are paid from sources to be bias in some ways so dont judge a media preview all that much. Its all BS. Again, they had inadaquate time with the game.
I only played to level 14 but it was easy to see how the games mechanics where really starting to ramp up. ESO is a game that gains steam slowly and combined with a snail pace leveling speed compared to modern MMO's I can see where so many of the negative comments from people who only played the first 10 levels or so come from. But has any modern TES game been any different? I mean if you where level 10 in a hour it just wouldn't have the pacing of a Elder Scrolls game. They are suppose to start slow and build over time rather than just wiz your though the first 20 levels in a couple hours.
I can only imagine that higher levels gain at about the same pace so while early levels come slower than you would expect later levels will be faster evening out the experience much more lineally. That's not a bad thing in my mind.
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
As someone who plays primarily DPS classes this is another issue that I fear will rear its ugly head. 5 man WoW style dungeons was already hard for most DPS classes to find groups. Restrict that group comp down to 2 DPS's and I shudder to think the time spent in queue for dungeons as a DPS'er.
You can change from a DPS to a Healer or a DPS to a tank with a quick weapon swap. Most players will be a mix of multiple roles. Consider the "healer" in this group. He's putting down two AoE heal over times and then relying on the Templar's healing and the Dragonknights personal heals to deal with spike damage while he does other things.
Originally posted by azzamasin Glad this was posted. Hopefully the information about Adventure Zones is forthcoming because I'll be honest as a Dungeon Delver and explorer predominant player this video got me excited. Unfortunately It means I'll have to slog through so many levels of uninspiring and generic questing and horrible starter zones that last 4-5 hours too long.
I don't think all starter zones are equal.
I think one everyone is complaining about is the Daggerfall Covenant one. I could be wrong though.
Personally I think it must have been the Ebonheart Pact one.
Ebonheart was ok. Aldmeri was atrocious and Daggerfall was passable.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
As someone who plays primarily DPS classes this is another issue that I fear will rear its ugly head. 5 man WoW style dungeons was already hard for most DPS classes to find groups. Restrict that group comp down to 2 DPS's and I shudder to think the time spent in queue for dungeons as a DPS'er.
You can change from a DPS to a Healer or a DPS to a tank with a quick weapon swap. Most players will be a mix of multiple roles. Consider the "healer" in this group. He's putting down two AoE heal over times and then relying on the Templar's healing and the Dragonknights personal heals to deal with spike damage while he does other things.
It's a non issue.
I have no desire to ever play a tank or a healer. Not my mea culpa and I'll never do it. Because that is not my preference. I'm all about the deeps!
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Fun? I heard, according to the know it all media and forum goers, that this game can't be fun. I mean, look at all the unfun in that video. How far they have to run. Man, those horses are so expensive. They clearly also had to have all 4 people be Imperials for those boss fights. Man, what an unfun game. This game will tank being so unfun.
The media didnt have enough time with the game. 1-10 is not any sign of how the game starts to become post 15ish. I cant say much cause of the NDA but I will say this, the media did NOT have sufficient time to make a sound judgment call on the game. It gets stronger and stronger the more you play it. On top of that, most media people are paid from sources to be bias in some ways so dont judge a media preview all that much. Its all BS. Again, they had inadaquate time with the game.
I only played to level 14 but it was easy to see how the games mechanics where really starting to ramp up. ESO is a game that gains steam slowly and combined with a snail pace leveling speed compared to modern MMO's I can see where so many of the negative comments from people who only played the first 10 levels or so come from. But has any modern TES game been any different? I mean if you where level 10 in a hour it just wouldn't have the pacing of a Elder Scrolls game. They are suppose to start slow and build over time rather than just wiz your though the first 20 levels in a couple hours.
I can only imagine that higher levels gain at about the same pace so while early levels come slower than you would expect later levels will be faster evening out the experience much more lineally. That's not a bad thing in my mind.
Luckily the game is not about leveling-up, it's about skilling-up. And if you got to level 14, you would have had access to ~ 7 skill-ups from shards (~ 21 of them by the time you finish the second zone) if you took the time to find them, and 4 or 5 from quests and dungeons. Not to mention the ones you would have gotten in Cyrodiil as well.
I think that's one thing most previewers missed: forget the levels, it's all about the skill points.
"Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”
― Umberto Eco
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” ― CD PROJEKT RED
Originally posted by Arthasm I'm not impressed. And yeah, 4 man.
As someone who plays primarily DPS classes this is another issue that I fear will rear its ugly head. 5 man WoW style dungeons was already hard for most DPS classes to find groups. Restrict that group comp down to 2 DPS's and I shudder to think the time spent in queue for dungeons as a DPS'er.
There have been a number of more recent games with 4 man groups and they seem to work ok. They correspond with the raise of the multi role classes and fall of the dedicated utility classes so I think game designers have come to this number with a good deal of forethought about what works and what doesn't. The problem group sizes like 6 in EQ2 have is that you end up requiring pretty specialized classes for the harder content. 1 tank, 1 healer, 1 utility, 1 power regen/mezzer, and 2 DPS. If you can't find all those roles you will struggle against the harder encounters. 4 person groups are much more manageable to fill in general.
Of course the real answer to me is dynamic group size. You should be able to go into a dungeon from 1 person to 100 and have the content scale to provide a appropriate challenge with appropriate rewards. I know that's a tall order and something that anyone who has tried has struggled doing well but I consider it the holy grail of grouped content and the company that does it right while still being able to create fun engaging encounters will have a winning product on their hands.
Comments
Lol, Vanguard shipped with over 100 open world dungeons and many of them are vast and span multiple levels. Some took days/week to complete with puzzles and all kinds of traps and dungeons within dungeons.
Sounds like a good amount lmfao, really?
Thanks. I hate fast travel mechanics with passion, but i think i can live with this.
That was the first TESO gameplay footage I've seen since I've had no interest in this game for some time.
That looked awful. I am not flaming. I wish for all MMO's to do well as it benefits the genre as a whole. But seriously, that was bad.
I really expected much more going into the vid. Yikes.
Guess I need to ask then:
Why will players of mmos learn that all mmos are different?
ESO's pve game geared toward solo and small group encounters to closer reflect on their single player games. It isn't a raid game although there will be raid encounters and of course large scale pvp.
Not all mmos need to be the same nor automatically be exactly like mmos that came before them. Hopefully when information about raid level encounters come out it will please many who want larger group sizes. Even then it sounds like forming a group is only required when deciding to take on tough encounters as most will be open zone/dungeons where it isn't required to be in a large group to initially enter.
There will be other EQ style games to come if that is what some players want. Always good to have variety.
You stay sassy!
I am impressed... But 4 man? .... Its one of the things EQ did better, 6 man groupsize still the best... Why would you ever want to chnage things that worked perfect in EQ..
however, since you can creat larger groups in open world elite areas and Pvp and adventure zones.. Its not a big thing to me.... But.
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)
...I'm going to state the obvious here.
It's not EQ.
Doesn't play like EQ. Mobs don't act like EQ mobs. There are no EQ classes, EQ abilities, EQ items.
So the group size that worked for EQ? Worked in EQ. Great.
This is ESO.
Now if you were going to argue, with evidence, that 4 was too small a size for ESOs mechanics and game system, then that's a different story.
The media didnt have enough time with the game. 1-10 is not any sign of how the game starts to become post 15ish. I cant say much cause of the NDA but I will say this, the media did NOT have sufficient time to make a sound judgment call on the game. It gets stronger and stronger the more you play it. On top of that, most media people are paid from sources to be bias in some ways so dont judge a media preview all that much. Its all BS. Again, they had inadaquate time with the game.
From everyone I've heard that's played those dungeons, they are nowhere near as easy as the video shows. Your watching a group of players from closed beta that are well versed in the game, have experience in those dungeons, and who are also on the high end level range of that content.
Exactly. Have fun pugging those lol
This was Atropos and his guild mates from the Tamriel Foundry. They knew what they were doing and they did it well.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
Well.. But then vanguard was never finished and i hate playing unfinished games... I got sick of the low quallity annimations in vanguard.. The game that could have been, but never got finished, a bloody shame
And keep in mind that those are just the instanced group based dungeons, every zone also has a few open world dungeons of several sizes, And then i am not talking of the multitude of instanced story dungeons in every of the 15 zones, or the adventure zones which are 24 man content,,
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)
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
I'm going to state the obvious here too:
It's an MMO.
Most MMOs have had group sizes larger than 4.
This has nothing to do with the specific content - content can be designed for 5 or 6 as easily as for 4.
I don't really have any concerns about 4-man dungeons providing an excellent and challenging experience.
My concern is for community. The smaller the group, the less spaces to fill in any given group, the less groups LFM, the less grouping overall, the less community. In most games, group content can be done with 1 or 2 less people than it's designed for - 6-man dungeons generally can be done with 5 capable players, 5 man with 4, etc. When you cut it done to 4 max, chances are that they can be done with 3 or even 2. When you get to so few people needed to form a group, you end up with tons of preset groups of just friends and guildies, basically cliques of players that never group with the greater community. This type of stuff happens in any game, but it's a lot tougher to have a set 5-6 person group than it is to have 3-4.
Dungeons look great, i do wish the max group size was bigger, just for community purposes.
"Id rather work on something with great potential than on fulfilling a promise of mediocrity."
- Raph Koster
Tried: AO,EQ,EQ2,DAoC,SWG,AA,SB,HZ,CoX,PS,GA,TR,IV,GnH,EVE, PP,DnL,WAR,MxO,SWG,FE,VG,AoC,DDO,LoTRO,Rift,TOR,Aion,Tera,TSW,GW2,DCUO,CO,STO
Favourites: AO,SWG,EVE,TR,LoTRO,TSW,EQ2, Firefall
Currently Playing: ESO
I don't think all starter zones are equal.
I think one everyone is complaining about is the Daggerfall Covenant one. I could be wrong though.
As someone who plays primarily DPS classes this is another issue that I fear will rear its ugly head. 5 man WoW style dungeons was already hard for most DPS classes to find groups. Restrict that group comp down to 2 DPS's and I shudder to think the time spent in queue for dungeons as a DPS'er.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Personally I think it must have been the Ebonheart Pact one.
I like 4 man. It's way easier to get a core group of competent players, and good players are rewarded for being good. In 6 man groups your always carrying around at least one or two mouth-breathers. If you're shit at the game, there is no where to hide in a 4 man dungeon group.
This is a coherent answer. And it was CLEARLY spelled out in the original post. Perhaps you should actually READ before you reply. By NOT having mobs in the SAME PLACE OVER AND OVER and doing the SAME types of damage to you / fighting you the SAME WAY so that they are predictable OVER AND OVER AND OVER each time you play it. How many times does it need to be said?
While I doubt this to be the case due to adds and other mechanics I think you're forgetting a couple things.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
I only played to level 14 but it was easy to see how the games mechanics where really starting to ramp up. ESO is a game that gains steam slowly and combined with a snail pace leveling speed compared to modern MMO's I can see where so many of the negative comments from people who only played the first 10 levels or so come from. But has any modern TES game been any different? I mean if you where level 10 in a hour it just wouldn't have the pacing of a Elder Scrolls game. They are suppose to start slow and build over time rather than just wiz your though the first 20 levels in a couple hours.
I can only imagine that higher levels gain at about the same pace so while early levels come slower than you would expect later levels will be faster evening out the experience much more lineally. That's not a bad thing in my mind.
You can change from a DPS to a Healer or a DPS to a tank with a quick weapon swap. Most players will be a mix of multiple roles. Consider the "healer" in this group. He's putting down two AoE heal over times and then relying on the Templar's healing and the Dragonknights personal heals to deal with spike damage while he does other things.
It's a non issue.
Ebonheart was ok. Aldmeri was atrocious and Daggerfall was passable.
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
I have no desire to ever play a tank or a healer. Not my mea culpa and I'll never do it. Because that is not my preference. I'm all about the deeps!
Sandbox means open world, non-linear gaming PERIOD!
Subscription Gaming, especially MMO gaming is a Cash grab bigger then the most P2W cash shop!
Bring Back Exploration and lengthy progression times. RPG's have always been about the Journey not the destination!!!
Luckily the game is not about leveling-up, it's about skilling-up. And if you got to level 14, you would have had access to ~ 7 skill-ups from shards (~ 21 of them by the time you finish the second zone) if you took the time to find them, and 4 or 5 from quests and dungeons. Not to mention the ones you would have gotten in Cyrodiil as well.
I think that's one thing most previewers missed: forget the levels, it's all about the skill points.
“Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?”
― CD PROJEKT RED
There have been a number of more recent games with 4 man groups and they seem to work ok. They correspond with the raise of the multi role classes and fall of the dedicated utility classes so I think game designers have come to this number with a good deal of forethought about what works and what doesn't. The problem group sizes like 6 in EQ2 have is that you end up requiring pretty specialized classes for the harder content. 1 tank, 1 healer, 1 utility, 1 power regen/mezzer, and 2 DPS. If you can't find all those roles you will struggle against the harder encounters. 4 person groups are much more manageable to fill in general.
Of course the real answer to me is dynamic group size. You should be able to go into a dungeon from 1 person to 100 and have the content scale to provide a appropriate challenge with appropriate rewards. I know that's a tall order and something that anyone who has tried has struggled doing well but I consider it the holy grail of grouped content and the company that does it right while still being able to create fun engaging encounters will have a winning product on their hands.