You know, it’s heading into the end of 2013, with just a few short months to go before Elder Scrolls Online likely launches to the masses across the PC and consoles. And when I think about it, there’s a whole lot left to uncover in terms of this game’s features. So today, I’m going to list out five things I think Zenimax Online Studios should detail for fans and prospective players of Elder Scrolls Online. Here’s my shortlist of things ESO should be talking more about as we head into 2014.
ALL ABOUT GUILDS, BABY
This is going to be one of the quintessential aspects of ESO, and yet we don’t know much about how they work. We know, from previous press events, that you’ll likely be able to join several, and that they’ll be how you trade goods (see next item on this list). But what sort of progression will Guilds bring to the table? How will they really impact a player’s connection to the game world, or will they just be another chat channel? Let us know, Zenimax!
CRAFTING AND TRADING
Guilds will be the main way of trading goods in ESO, via Guild Stores. But other than this small bit of information, we don’t know much else about how the economy of ESO is shaping up. We know they recently revamped crafting because Paul Sage said as much during our PAX Prime interview, but we don’t know exactly what changes were made. I’d love for Zenimax to clear the air and give us the ins and outs of crafting, the economy, and how it all works together.
THE DARK ANCHORS
Dark Anchors are going to be ESO’s first and main form of “Public Events” in Tamriel. The storyline of ESO centers around Molag Bal. These “anchors” latch onto the plane of existence in Tamriel to try and pull his daedric realm of Coldharbour into ours. You’ll fight off the baddies in groups, drive back bosses, get bonuses from the Fighter’s guild, and so forth. But I’d really like to see them in action, and to know if they’ll be a worthwhile thing to do in ESO, or just a side-venture.
THE DUNGEONS, PLEASE
We’ve seen a public dungeon in ESO already: The Crow’s Wood. We also know that there will be roles like tanks, healers, and DPS in ESO. Public dungeons are smaller, team-oriented dungeons that anyone can join with or without a group and work along quest lines. But what I’m curious to learn more about are ESO’s other dungeons. Diving into deep and labyrinthine locales in Elder Scrolls game is one of the best parts of the series. I’ve longed to do so with friends since Morrowind. I’ll be curious to see how Zenimax’ own take on Tamriel dungeons stacks up.
ALLIANCE WAR
This is the big cheese, the whole enchilada. If there’s any one part of ESO that really stands out from the MMO-pack, it might be the three-faction Alliance War that seeks to build upon the success and cult hit status of Dark Age of Camelot’s RVR. But, other than the fact that a player can be Emperor, we don’t know too much about Cyrodiil, it’s gameplay, and how the war will really play. I’m sure ZOS is saving this one for closer to launch, but I sure wouldn’t mind some details on AvA, to go along with the guild info, crafting, dungeons, and all that good stuff. Because chances are, all of the first four items play a part in the Alliance War and I want to know how.
How about you? What unanswered questions still remain for you when it comes to Elder Scrolls Online? Let us know in the comments!
Bill Murphy / Bill Murphy is the Managing Editor of MMORPG.com, RTSGuru.com, and lover of all things gaming. He's been playing and writing about MMOs and geekery since 2002, and you can harass him and his views on Twitter @thebillmurphy.
