And what’s probably best to me, as the type of themepark player that always leaves the game at the cap because that’s when the progress ends? When you hit 50 in ESO you can keep gaining skills, finding skyshards, playing the other factions’ quests, and advancing your character into other areas while exploring new builds. Veteran Ranks themselves are a bit of a grind, but they’re not necessary to keep gaining new skill points. Craglorn’s patch will be increasing experience gain Veteran Campaigns, so we’ll see if that helps the grind. But they are supposed to take longer than normal levels, that’s something to note. They are Veteran Ranks after all, not "Rookie Ranks".
Cyrodiil's Alliance War is the one and only place to take part in PVP when it comes to ESO. No duels, no battlegrounds or arenas... just good ol’ fashioned siege warfare on an absolutely massive map. You have the entirety of TESIV: Oblivion's map to stalk about, and when AVA is hopping, it’s very much akin to the glory days of RVR in DAOC, which should come as no surprise considering the designers are mostly comprised of former Mythic staffers. It’s also good to note that while “zergs” still dominate keep sieges, a well-working defense team can hold off a massive army, as I’ve had this happen to me with my large guild. Well played, Daggerfall Covenant, well played.
I also love that the map is so big, filled with quests and secrets to uncover, and in general plays more like a whole separate game than the rest of the PVE questing. The biggest issue I have with AVA is being “fixed” theoretically with Craglorn’s update: Underdog bonuses are coming for outmatched teams, and we’ll see how they help. But there’s also the issue of rewards. Gaining Battle Ranks nets you rewards in the mail in the form of gear, but I still think “set gear” for AVA players would be a good thing to add as the climb the ranks. Something to works towards that’s a sign of standing within the war outside of titles. Experience gain could also stand to be improved in AVA so that it becomes a truly viable way to level for those who wish to do so.
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This is the equivalent of Hogwarts in Ebonheart Pact’s Deshaan.
In terms of playing through the game’s main story, which I actually find well done in terms of narrative, even if it’s scattered haphazardly across the game’s 50 levels, my main quarrel comes with the fact that we cannot play these quests with friends. They’re intentionally solo-only quests, and while this has been done in games before ESO, it could be telegraphed more clearly to the player that they can't bring their party. Nothing is worse than needing help from a friend in an MMO, and finding out that “phasing” means you can’t have the assist you so desperately want.
I also think the Dark Anchors, which tie into the Fighters Guild quests and appear throughout the world, are poorly executed, if excellently conceived. They are a thing of terrifying beauty to behold, and sound great as they shatter the veil between worlds... but they’re also basically fixed in one position and serve as canned open world group content. They’re not particularly hard, and there’s little point in clearing them other than to skill up Fighters Guild and get achievements. I wish these invasions from the realm of Molag Bal would have been more dynamic and less static. When we were told about them, I initially envisioned them as random world events that happened everywhere like Rift's invasions. This is not at all what they turned out to be, and they're a bit of a disappointment because of this.
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Just hanging out in the Banished Cells with my homies.
ESO is a themepark through and through, and it could deal with a few more ancillary things to do outside of questing, crafting, and AVA (housing is a real wishlist feature, after Skyrim’s Hearthfire add-on). But in terms of content available at launch and gameplay? It’s extremely competent and fun, even though it’s got more than a few bugs which we’ll get to later on. I only wish for even more interactivity with the world to come in later patches. Let me steal from NPCs, let me kill people who tick me off, and make me answer for my crimes. In Matt Firor’s 1-Month In Letter, he said these features are coming, along with the Dark Brotherhood Guild. Let’s hope sooner rather than later.
AESTHETICS – 9
Elder Scrolls Online can be a very beautiful game. It’s also been accused of being a little “generic”. I don’t get this sense, as to me it looks and feels very much like a TES game... and let’s be honest, they can look a little “muddy generic fantasy” too. But I’ve grown with this series since Daggerfall, and I’m please to say that from the UI to the models, ESO looks and feels like a TES game to me. I feel just as connected to Tamriel in ESO as I did in Skyrim and Oblivion, with the added caveat being that people invading my personal connection to the world is now an issue. Water, lighting, and animations have all undergone many improvements since early beta, and ESO is a gorgeous game at most times because of this. The music from composers Brad Derrick and Rick Shaffer is fantastic, and evokes the best from Jeremy Soule’s work on the series. Youtuber Malukah’s tavern music, a hidden gem in the game’s inns and bars, is also really well done and adds to the RP aspects of ESO. If they ever let players make their own music, RP will be brought to a whole new level in Tamriel.
Malukah’s Three Hearts as One
Some might fault ESO’s use of a minimal UI, but I applaud it. Keeping the screen mostly clear at all times except when you need it notifications means I’m further immersed in the game world. I can immediately tell a difference when say going between ESO and ArcheAge, and I think more games could learn a few lessons from having less UI in the face of the player. Luckily for those of you who want a bit more clutter, Zenimax has a lively and and helpful UI Mod community, and I’ve used ZAM’s own Minion for skyshard tracking and to fix the utterly broken Guild Store search functions.
INNOVATION - 7
There’s not a whole lot I can claim is “innovative” about ESO outside of its character progression and megaserver, the latter of which is present in some other MMOs as well. However, little tweaks to MMO canon and throwbacks such as a solid three-faction war, a focus on narrative and lore, and well designed crafting give ESO an edge over themeparks that are content to ape Azeroth. ESO could be called a lot of things, but no one can claim it’s a WoW Clone. If anything, Zenimax has done a remarkable job putting Tamriel into the MMO mold, while retaining much (but not all) of what makes the Elder Scrolls such a popular series.
POLISH - 6
There have been a lot of bugs and bots over the past month, and a lot of the ones we all have complained about have been corrected or otherwise dealt with harshly. Still, I’m torn on this score because were I reviewing this game like any other, the polish score would be even lower. Still, issues of quests not working, account login issues, and missing bank slots, lost items, long downtimes during head start... these are bad things for any game to have at launch. And as I’m reviewing the product on sale now and over the past few months I still have to take this into effect. ESO may be shining like a diamond in a few months, but that’s then and not now. The game is redeemed however by the fact that its client is rock solid and can run on highest settings at high FPS. Compared to another soon-to-be-released game’s performance, ESO is absolutely stellar even in AVA when there are hundreds of people on screen. When we do our usual re-review a year or so from now? I expect this score to only go higher.
LONGEVITY - 9
Nearly limitless class progression, hundreds of hours of quests to explore, achievements, deep and well-wrought crafting, a massive PVP campaign, the first of many monthly updates on the way... yeah, ESO has legs. I really hope they can hit their 4-6 week marks for monthly updates, but even if they don’t there’s a lot of gameplay to be had for the price of admission. Our longevity score takes that into account primarily, and there’s a lot of content in ESO to start. Let’s just hope they can keep it coming. Themeparks thrive on content, and it’s no small task to keep players fed. But there’s more than enough here for most average players. The worst thing I can say about the game’s longevity is that there’s not a lot of reason or want to roll and alt, so alto-holics might be disappointed. The game’s storyline content isn’t very fun to repeat over and over, and you can and will get pretty much every skill on one character. The only reason to roll another would be if you want inventory or crafting mules or want to try a different set of class skills.
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Zenimax should make a companion phone app that lets me read all these books out of game. Seriously.
SOCIAL - 8
We’re taking a couple points off for the aforementioned phasing issues, but it must be said that ESO is one of the more socially active MMOs I’ve played in recent years thanks to great guild tools, passable grouping tools, and excellent dungeon and public delves. If the LFG tool can be refined a bit more, when combined with the megaserver and social aspects of crafting and clearing objectives? ESO’s social future is bright. The community seems to be dedicated and helpful, and we’re all once against the bot army. This gives me great hope for a vibrant social community moving forward, even if the game ends up a niche product.
VALUE - 8
There was a lot of ire towards the Imperial Race exclusivity when the game’s pre-order details were announced. Thankfully it’s died down, though I wouldn’t call it a non-issue. ESO is one of the most recent games to launch with a subscription, and I have to believe it’s worth it at this point. I still think Imperials should be able to be earned in-game somehow, if not bought as an add-on after launch. Still, it’s clear to me that not having a cash shop shoved down our throats and ruining the immersive world ZOS has made is a big giant reminder why the sub model can still work. I really hope Zenimax holds onto the model for as long as they can, if not forever. For $60 or less, you’ll get a ton of Elder Scrolls goodness and 30 days of free game time. I’d highly recommend at least trying ESO out, even if you're skeptical from forum threads that state it’s not worth the price. In my eyes, Zenimax Online’s freshman effort is worth every penny, despite all-over-the-place reception from media and fans alike.
Elder Scrolls Online may not be for everyone. But I’m happy and proud to say it’s a game I can stand behind and support with my wallet. It strives to be different from the usual theme-park MMORPG, and it also faithfully represents the Elder Scrolls universe through lore and gameplay. ESO is an excellent MMORPG, with a lot to offer fans of The Elder Scrolls. It does need a few key refinements, but I will be subscribing for a good time to come, and I can’t wait to see how the game improves over time. If you’re on the fence, give it a go, or at least be ready and willing when the inevitable free trial system shows up. You just might be glad you didn’t listen to the critics.
Bill Murphy / Bill Murphy is the Managing Editor of MMORPG.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.
