Hi, I'm thinking about giving ESO a new try, back then at release I was disgusted by some commercial practices for this game.
So here are a few questions that I hope will get honest answers:
1) Can you now play an Imperial without buying something special? Are there still races/classes locked behind a purchase, and even worse, one you can't get anymore today?
2) Do you still need to inject money into the cash shop if you choose to pay a subscription (aka "ESO PLUS") or does the subscription provide everything you need as it should be?
3) Would you recommend the Morrowind "Digital Collector" or is the normal version more worth it ? Money isn't a problem, but I want to know if the bonuses are worth the price difference.
Subsidiary question, as a heavy armor wearing melee player, (think "Death Knight" in WoW, or "Warrior" in Guild Wars 2), what would I be more happy with, Dragon Knight or Templar? I'm more Warrior than Paladin usually.
Thanks!
"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent" - Qui-gon Jinn in Star Wars.
After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
CPU: Intel Core I7 9700k (4.90ghz) - GPU: ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER EVO 8GB DDR6 - RAM: 32GB Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4 3000 - Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Ultra - PSU: Antec TruePower New 750W - Storage: Kingston KC1000 NVMe 960gb SSD and 2x1TB WD Velociraptor HDDs (Raid 0) - Main display: Samsung U32J590 32" 4K monitor - Second display: Philips 273v 27" monitor - VR: Pimax 8K headset - Sound: Sony STR-DH550 AV Receiver HDMI linked with the GPU and the TV, with Jamo S 426 HS 3 5.0 speakers and Pioneer S-21W subwoofer - OS: Windows 10 Pro 64 bits.
Comments
I never felt the need to inject any additional .. Excpet to get a mount early on ..
Regular version is fine
Dragon Knight
After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
Really great game if you hadnt played since launch , you should be in for a welcome experience ...
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/crownstore/upgrades
Tbh the imperial is one of the most uninteresting races, so if I didnt have it (from release) I wouldn't bother.
2) As an ESO+ subsriber you get all the DLC's. But not Morrowind, as that is deemed to be an expansion. I felt it was worth the money, but if you are unsure about the game, I would start with the basic edition and a month subscription.
3) The bonusses in the collector's edition aren't really worth it unless you like the cosmetic stuff you get from it. I did buy it, I like it.
DK is more warrior like, Templar is more paladin like IMHO.
After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
Regarding 1).
To play an Imperial you would need the Digital Imperial Edition Upgrade http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/crownstore/upgrades
To play any race / any alliance the Adventurer pack.
As far as the any race / any alliance goes this only really kicks in if you PvP. When it comes to PvE since you can now create a character in one alliance and then go to another alliance right away ....
Regarding 2)
No need to spend anything in the cash shop except for account upgrades (DLCs, play an Imperial etc.) It is a fluff shop not a must have to make progress shop.
No need to subscribe - as a non-subscriber you get everything a subscriber got on day 1.
By subscribing you are basically signing up to get 1500 crowns each month - so basically supporting the cash shop.
It is cheaper to buy crowns directly even if they are not available at 50% off.
Which arguably makes it better value to just buy them.
Subscriber "benefits". Access to the DLCs - but 4 of the 5 (the main ones) can be bought in a quad pack. The 5th can also be purchased - sometimes at 50% off as well. None are not essential but they add extra content.
(The Gold Edition also comes with the 4 DLCs but if you have the game it is the upgrade you must get.)
Sub also adds a crafting bag - but its a red herring. Crafting is not "needed" except for final gear upgrades and the One Tamriel patch introduced sets of gear in every region. So you can gain craft skill slowly over time or blitz it near max level.
Morrowind is not included with a subscription. Subsequent yearly expansions will not be either. (Multiple threads about the value of sub.)
As you have the game(?) if you want Morrowind you would want the ESO Morrowind Upgrade http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/joinus The collectors edition is just extra fluff.
If you get one of the "full" versions (I assume) you will end up with another account and no access to any available characters, old account unlocks etc. (same as it was with Gold Edition). All the full versions are same except for the fluffy bunnies.
Of course if the fluff appeals .......
Regarding your class question: a Dragon Knight would best align with a WoW Death Knight / Warrior. (The class distinctions are not as clear cut however.) Morrowind also introduces the Warden - think WoW Monk rather than LotR Warden.
After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
Subbing is also incentivized by giving you a bottomless account-wide crafting bag where all of the crafting mats go freeing your inventory and bank for other things. It also doubles your bank space and gives +10% XP and +10% gold drops.
Also if you sub you get 1500 crowns per month subbed up front. I.e. if you sub for 3 months you get 4500 crowns immediately, and 9000 for 6 months. You can use those crowns for the Imperial upgrade and the any-race-any-alliance adventurer pack if you wish. Those were the Imperial Edition and pre-order bonus respectively back at launch.
Morrowind is not considered a DLC so that would be a separate upgrade and it doesn't have a "gold" version that gives you the DLC included like the Tamriel Unlimited Gold does. It is also not available for purchase with crowns.
As to heavy armor... armor in ESO, in addition to its damage protection properties gives you passive bonuses that are appropriate for one of the 4 roles. Heavy is for tanking, light is for both magicka DPS and healing and medium is for stamina DPS. So... if you want to melee for damage go medium and if you actually want to tank go heavy. You can of course, be just as unconventional as you want with the ESO open armor and weapon system but it comes with performance costs... you have been warned
All classes can be made to work in any role with any weapon and they have been tweaked by the devs to make it so. Still, the best tanks are Dragonknights, the best healers are Templars and the highest DPS is magicka based Sorcerers.
I've been playing since release so I have tried and leveled them all to the current Champion Point cap. I've PVP'd and PVEd in high-end situations. For what it's worth, my personal favorite high damage melee type is the stamina based, medium armor wearing Sorcerer built that way of all bloody things. I also swap his gear to heavy, slot dual sword and board, change my skills around a bit and he can tank veteran dungeon content with no problem at all.
Be aware that one of the biggest changes to ESO since release that flew under the radar a bit is that each zone and each 4-man dungeon drops unique sets of gear that give you passive bonuses and usually some other marquee bonus for slotting 5-pieces of a set. Those and the 2 piece head and shoulders Undaunted dungeon rewards sets make a HUGE difference to your performance and it's what makes it so easy for me to swap gear and go from high-end DPS to high-end tanking.
― CD PROJEKT RED
"... the "influencers" which is the tech name we call sell outs now..."
__ Wizardry, 2020
If you don't have a mount unlock then the collector's upgrade is decent for the $20 it costs. Check the contents of the collector's pack and see if those are useful. It is mostly just fluff though.
I agree Gervaise, crafting is useful but mostly irrelevant especially if you just want to adventure. I'd say crafting, like most games, is for those who are more dedicated consistent players or that's their "thing" in mmos. If you just want to adventure you can do that with drops, even for the consumables.
I have the Imperial unlocked but I only have one Imperial character. Since that's not a faction it's not much more than lore and RP. You can look up their racial skill trees online and at build sites and see that they aren't really a primary min/max choice. Objectionable practice I agree and I bitched about that when the game launched, but that was then.
The warden has been fun and different. I don't have a DK in either game so no comment. I love my NB and Sorc too though. I also have only played magicka characters. I'll roll stam someday.
traveller, interloper, anomaly, iteration
1: Nope, and frankly id be upset if they made that a free option seeing how I paid for it.
2:never had to inject money, the cash shop has a lot of convinent items but nothing is really mandatory, besides with ESO+ you get 1500 crowns, double bank space,crafting bag (holds everything crafting), 10% xp,gold boost, all DLC (morrowind not included since it is a chapter),quicker research on traits (crafting)
3: If you get morrowind go normal, the collectors edition has nothing that is truly worth it other then a free mount.
Class question: Closest to death knight you can get is a heavy armored nightblade (seems odd but it works for pve) As mentioned DK is more fire and rock tank or mage, where Templar is more paladin-isk. Personally I main nightblade in medium armor (assassin build) I enjoy it a lot, though vigor is something that is needed for stamina nightblades and that is locked behind pvp.
free 7 day sub and unlocks for swtor new accounts and 90+ day inactive subs click here to get it!
Click here for trove referral, bonuses to both!
After many years of reading Internet forums, there's no doubt that neither does the ability to write.
But just FYI the meta (and metas don't only become metas because of OCD no-lifers - they just plain work better:)) is 2HD for PVP but dual-wielding for PVE. DW just plain does better DPS. rThe bow is actually part of the PVE meta as a secondary weapon and a lot of PVP builds but it needs some serious buffing for anyone to consider it a primary weapon.
The main advantage of medium armor over heavy for DPS is its passive reduction of stamina ability cost and increase in stamina regeneration. Stamina is what determines melee damage, bow damage as well as your ability to block, dodge, etc. That's the reason why many tanks even will use just 2 pieces of heavy (chest and legs typically) and 5 pieces of medium.
At no time has stamina cost and regen been as important as it is right now since together with Morrowind that patch nerfed the crap out of resource regen and upped the cost significantly... so much so that there has been constant whining about this in the forums since Morrowind first went into beta. This is your final warning
― CD PROJEKT RED
"... the "influencers" which is the tech name we call sell outs now..."
__ Wizardry, 2020
2) I wouldn't describe anything in the cash shop as 'needed'. You can get the Imperial or the "any race, any alliance" (former preorder bonus) that way, as well as the DLCs, everything else is just cosmetics/convenience. This does mean you can get those upgrades and DLCs with your ESO Plus stipend. But you get access to the DLCs while subscribed anyway, no need to permanently buy them.
Expansions like Morrowind are an exception, as others have pointed out, and cannot be purchased with crowns either.
Depending on where you live, purchasing the 4-pack DLC with crowns might be cheaper than buying the gold edition even if you don't sub and have to buy the crowns.
3) I would say that collector's edition is not worth it unless you are a massive fan. The cosmetic apprerance change for gear does not even work on dropped set items, which are kind of mandatory end-game gear. Everything else you get is likewise cosmetic apart from a couple of experience scrolls. I would rather recommend the ESO Plus if you're looking for convenience.
Of the two you mention Dragon Knight might be closer to that Death Knight feel, except it's fire-themed.
In fact stamina Sorcerer might be even closer to the WoW DK, between the Deadric theme and curses. WoW Death Knights are supposed to wield arcane magic anyway. Sorcerers do use lightning instead of frost though, as an elemental theme.
Or if you're planning to tank, Warden does have that frost tanking line, though lore-wise warden has a druid-ish feel just like Templar feels paladin-ish, so quite far from DK.
(Interestingly enough, both are a first for the Elder Scrolls universe)
As others have explained heavy armour is meant for tanking and if you want to be a damage dealer you would wear medium, except possibly for pvp - although for anything but the hardest content, you could go with damage-oriented heavy sets (there even are some for casters!) and make that work. Or you could wear a heavy-armour costume, such as the CP 160 one
I do agree that there is no 'standard Warrior' as a class - but then you could argue that there is no 'standard Wizard', either. ESO classes are very heavily themed and they have to be, since there are the generic and guild skill lines.
Even so many old Elder Scrolls players like me still don't really like the existance of classes. I suppose I don't mind them too much, given that Arena was class-based, too. The most vocal purists tend to have played less Elder Scrolls games... ^^
― CD PROJEKT RED
"... the "influencers" which is the tech name we call sell outs now..."
__ Wizardry, 2020
free 7 day sub and unlocks for swtor new accounts and 90+ day inactive subs click here to get it!
Click here for trove referral, bonuses to both!
― CD PROJEKT RED
"... the "influencers" which is the tech name we call sell outs now..."
__ Wizardry, 2020
Then you can buy the dlc that unlocks the class you ask for. But you can also hook up with eso plus and get the 2100 crowns each month and save enought crowns up to buy the dlc you need..so i guess it will take 2-3 month then you can buy 1 dlc of any choise..so within almost a year sub then you can buy the full dlc game packs..that should be the cheapest way.
Unless you are the type that likes "Super ultra deluxe diamond gold" packs of games and just need all the extra features and stickers,keychains ect that comes with this type.
I havent bought the morrowind yet because i recently just got lvl 50 cp 210 and there is still alot i havent completed yet.
So if i was you i would buy eso and sign up for subs eso plus for 2-3 month playing any og the given warrior classes until you can buy the imperial dlc and then maybe by that time cancel ur subs
There are only 4 dungeoons you cant enter in freemode and few lands "areas"
And i dont find anything in the item shop worth spending crowns on..they did make some new feature with some mystic random craftes you can spend crowns on..but dont go there
Peace ut !
Purchase options:
1. "Old version" - if still available - contains everything up to B2P launch.
To add the 4 DLC pack would cost 5,500 crowns (c. 50% discount over the original individual purchase costs.)
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/crownstore/upgrades
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/buycrowns
To add the Shadows of the Hist would cost 1,500 crowns
http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/08/02/update-11-featuring-shadows-of-the-hist-is-now-available-on-pc-and-mac#_PURCHASE_DETAILS
2. Gold Edition
This comes with the 4 DLC pack - 39.90 euro on Amazon
but not Shadows of the Hist - see above
To add Morrowind to either of the Old version or the Gold Edition would require a Morrowind upgrade.
3. Morrowind edition. Amazon price 49.90 euro.
Whether you opt to sub or not I feel Morrowind would be the best option. If you sub you could - if you wished - use the crowns to buy the 4 pack DLC so you would retain access even if you took a break but still wanted to play once a week or whatever.
The next DLC is more dungeons so there will probably be a 2-pack combo as well to promote last years Shadows of the Hist DLC.
For every minute you are angry , you lose 60 seconds of happiness."-Emerson