William asked if this is going to fix animation canceling, but I don’t feel like his question was answered, at least not directly. To me, and maybe I am wrong, but it sounds like they are essentially making the animations faster (visually) so you can see what spells are being casted even if they are getting cut off. So animation canceling will still be a thing but now, you’ll be able to clearly see exactly which spells are being cast. Out of curiosity, what is your opinion on animation canceling, is it an issue that needs to be addressed or has it now become a part of the game that we just need to accept?
That’s a ton of stuff that’s being added to the game and that’s all the free stuff. You don’t need to drop a single crown to get it. I’m telling you, best update thus far (I know, I know, I say this with every update, but ZOS just keeps improving).
So what comes with the purchase of the DLC?
You’re going to notice I’m not nearly as excited discussing the stuff that comes with the DLC purchase. Not because it’s not awesome but because the stuff you get for free just out shines the paid content. Don’t get me wrong and don’t think I am saying the Thieves Guild DLC isn’t going to be worth the crown price, because without a doubt it will be. I mean if it’s anything like Orsinium, it’ll easily be worth the price of admission. But what it offers isn’t anything over the top of any of the other previous DLC releases.
Hew’s Bane – A new zone with a unique story to be told. Like I said, if it’s anything like Orsinium it’s going to be a beautiful landscape with an epic storyline. Orsinium had one of the best storylines I’ve played from a DLC or expansion. So I have high hopes for this one. Also like Orsinium, it scales to your level, so you don’t have to be level cap to explore it.
Maw of Lorkhaj – This is probably one of the most exciting feature of the DLC. This is a new 12 person Trial, but it’s unique in comparison to the other Trials. This one scales to your group leader’s level. Again, another step to removing the invisible barriers. Any level will be able to explore and experience this “end game” dungeon. All future DLC dungeons and zones are going to use this scale technology. Good on you ZOS, my ideal MMORPG is one that does not have levels and you’re taking steps towards that by removing these barriers. For those of you who still want to be competitive on the leaderboards, you still can. This trial still has the leaderboards, but to be on the leaderboard your group leader MUST be VR16.
New passive skill line is being added, similar to when the Justice system was implemented we received the Legerdemain Skill line, we’re now getting one for the Thieves Guild. This skill line focuses on making you a better thief. According to Rich Lambert, one of the passives is called Clemency which will allow you to “sweet talk” your way out of being arrested. This seems like an interesting ability and I wonder what kind of “sweet talk” Rich is thinking. If Darien Gautier was still around I’m sure his definition of “Sweet Talk” would be very similar to mine.
We’ll also be getting more costumes, and motifs with the DLC and some other implementations. But those I think are the most noteworthy ones.
Like I mentioned, the DLC is going to be well worth the price tag, but aside from the 12 man trial it follows the other updates very closely in terms of what types of stuff we’re getting.
Now on to the future of ESO.
Matt Firor took to the internet and wrote his “Year Ahead” post and outlined what we can expect to see. I’m going to list what I consider to be the standout points that I haven’t already mentioned, but if you want to read the entire post you can check it out here.
Finally they have a date for the removal of the Veteran Ranks. Prior to the release of the Champion system they said their goal is to remove VRs and make the game a bit more streamlined and less “grindy” feeling. Sometime in the 2nd quarter of 2016 (April, May or June) we’ll be getting the Dark Brotherhood DLC and with it the removal of Veteran Ranks. Yippy!!!
Character nameplates are being worked on (I have the same feelings on this as I do with Scrolling Combat Text). The ability for console players to be able to display their character name instead of their GamerTag/PSN ID. Wait, really? If you play on console you see the person’s gamertag and not their character name? Why is that a thing?
A post character creation customization feature – This has been a long demanded feature among the community. The ability to alter your character after you create it is a very important part to an MMORPG. I never fully understood how my baby face characters always go through heroic battles without getting a single scratch on them. Years after the game has been released they always look identical to the first day they were created.
If you attend gaming conventions like PAX, you might be able to also attend a special ESO community gathering. You’ll be able to meet up with some of the developers, talk about the game or go out on a limb and spark up a conversation that’s not related to their day job.
HOUSING!!!! Yes, they finally made an official mention of player housing. Nothing was really mentioned aside from the words player housing, but it’s something. We should see some more information on this in the future.
That’s about it, there is other information but this is what I believe is the most notable. Did I miss something that you think is important? Let me know in the comments. What are you impressions of 2016, do you think it looks promising for ESO or do you feel they ruined your 2016 by dropping Spell Crafting and Enforcer concept for the justice system?