ESO Tips for Newbs
As Graev and I play ESO more we are discovering a few things that we wish we knew right when we started. Interrupting, Avoiding, and Blocking When you see red…
As Graev and I play ESO more we are discovering a few things that we wish we knew right when we started. Interrupting, Avoiding, and Blocking When you see red…
I finally made it into Cyradiil! Â After playing in the beta since November and having the best intentions every time to participate in PvP I can finally share my thoughts on what is being lauded as the closest thing to DAoC PvP we’ve seen in over a decade.
The Map
The very first thing I realized was that Cyradiil is really big. Â DAoC’s frontiers are still ginormous by comparison, but Cyradiil is already feels 4x the size of GW2’s WvW zone. Cyradiil can hold 2,000 people and from what I am told is optimized for 200 people on the screen at a time. Â I’ll vouch for what I experienced so far, which is probably only ~75 people, but it was 100% smooth.
Cyradiil is full of cities (mostly abandoned) with NPCs (both good and bad) and daily quests to complete. Â Graev and I spent what felt like 5 minutes running from one town to the next and didn’t come even remotely close to seeing another player or even a keep or objective to claim.
Teleporting around is a feature.  You can portal between major objectives if you control a path connecting them.  This introduces strategy associated with breaking the enemy’s ability to reinforce quickly.  From only a few hours of play I can already tell you this is going to play a major role like it did in DAoC. (more…)
The Argonian brothers, Squats-In-Bushes and Eats-His-Feelings, are well on their way! Â We just hit level 10 last night after slowing roaming around and just 'doing' whatever comes our way. Â As…
Sorry for the slow few days around here. Â We've actually been *gasp* playing games. The Elder Scrolls Online ESO launched two days ago, and I'm actually having more fun than…
The Elder Scrolls Online beta head start (Edit: This day has been a trying one) began today.  Graev and I both picked up the Imperial Edition (got it 20% off on…
I’ve been on the fence with ESO for a long time. Â I’ve also been a harsh critic of a lot of Zenimax’s choices. Â I’m a very straight shooter; when I see things I don’t like I tell you, but I also feel it’s important to share things I think are pretty neat.
Small-group Content
I am a fan of small groups. Â I like PvPing in small groups, and I like PvEing in small groups. Â I love when content is fine-tuned precisely for a small group of people and everyone has a specific role to play. Â Whether or not ESO’s content ends up being good, they are at least appealing to my love of being able to just grab my friends and jump into some content. Â Forget that 40-man zerg. Â I would rather the ‘experience’ guide me than the mechanics.
In ESO there are Veteran content, Adventure zones (4 people), and Trials (12).
Specialization
All of the crafting skills are part of the overall skill system, so you’ll need to consider your options carefully when you spend a skill point. Should you put one more point into blacksmithing, or do you really want to learn a new two-handed weapon ability?
You guys know how much I love specialization. Â No one should be able to be everything. Â People should have to rely on each other. Â That, to me, is a hallmark of a good MMORPG. Â I love that people in ESO will have to choose to spend some of their overall skill pool on improving their crafting. Â Crafting seems pretty useful, too. Â From what little I’ve seen, I believe there will be an actual reason to make gear right from the start. (more…)
I'm fighting a big internal battle right now over these two games. I'm in the weird predicament of not really being ecstatic about either of them. They are two of…
Keen and I tried out the ESO beta this past weekend. I hadn’t had any prior experience with it so I was very curious about how it played. After the experience I was left with some mixed feelings on the game and I’m still not entirely sure if I like it or not.
Classes
I am a little bothered that there are only four classes. Usually in ES games you get offered a full list of options or you can just straight up make your own. I usually like playing some kind of battle mage but I’m not entirely sure how to go about doing that. From what I understand if I want to be able to cast spells without a staff then I need to start out as a sorcerer and then I can just equip whatever weapon I want along with some heavy armor. It sounds simple enough but I have to wonder about the viability of that kind of build. I don’t know how tough a sorcerer is compared to the more melee-oriented classes. You can’t really start out as one of them and then learn magic since you are stuck with your core class skills. You could use a staff to get some magic but a dude in heavy armor with a staff is just weird. Maybe there’s a lot more flexibility to the system and certain combinations are more viable than I think, but honestly I just wish they had gone with an entirely skill based progression system rather than limited class options. (more…)
MMO Gamers are getting smarter. Â That's the thought I had while driving home from work today. Â Seven years ago when we started this blog, I realized that Graev and I…
I must confess I am having mixed feelings about The Elder Scrolls Online. I recently wrote my opinion on the 1-20 experience during beta. I was pretty bored with most…