We watched some character creation videos and then some gameplay/quest ones too...It's so much like Kingdoms of Amalur it's a great surprise that no-one's called lawsuit yet...Then again, I'm not sure anyone owns the property at the moment...Anyways...

It's looking quite good, to be honest...But...Running from quest to quest while fifteen others are at the different quest points looks bloody stupid, to be honest...I'm sure it's all good fun, but if you don't get the XP for killing the enemy you've been at for five minutes, just because a high-level has come along and swiped it in one hit seems stupid...

So I think I now understand why when you go to turn in a quest there is a “Never mind” dialog option that lets you quit the conversation without completing the quest. If you have a second bar of skills that you are leveling but not playing, that gives you a chance to switch to have that bar active when you turn the quest in. I haven’t tried this yet since Jerric is level 5 and still only has one bar.

I needed that :Never mind" feature on the evacuation quest, I didn't know the game would tell you when everyone had been accounted for, so went in early and told them to evacuate. They asked "Are you sure everyone has been accounted for?" and it was written in red, which startled me into hesitating. Thank goodness.

I would have missed the most fun quest on the training island, the Frozen Man; and I would have left an innocent citizen behind to his death.

As soon as the quest was over and I had rescued that man, the game gave me a notification that everyone was accounted for and I could talk to the Captain Rano about evacuating now. So - WHEW! Thank goodness they gave me the option to back out, lol.

And I'm glad I didn't miss that quest, because it was a blast! The best quest yet, imho.

The Frozen Man was a great quest! I also started to tell the Captain Rana to evacuate too early, but I had two dialog options to give her in addition to Never mind. One was telling her to go ahead and leave, the other was something like wait because you have more to do. Both options were in red text, which I guessed meant that if I chose one it would eliminate the other option from the questline. In this case it was easy because I didn’t want to leave until everyone was found, but it was also good to see that mechanism in place so I wouldn’t accidentally take something lightly in the future.

On the next area Bal Foyen - I made the mistake of choosing to help at the docks at "Crossroads." I should have stopped playing long enough to research it, I would have chosen to help the Fort instead. The docks were a disappointing fight, I got killed several times and it didn't let me go back to where I had been when I died, instead it bumped the quest along and said I had beaten the General (when I obviously hadn't) - and there were no portals to close, which when I learned of them in the Fort quest left me feeling disappointed in my choice.

I've been reading all the ESO posts from mALX, Grits and hazmick with some interest.

I've never done online MMO gaming, but judging from your comments I could play this solo (I would prefer to do so, for RP purposes but also because my deafness cuts down on my communication options). So I am toying with the idea of giving this a whirl.

But I have questions. What do I need to get started? I would play this on my Mac (PC version), as my XBox is the old 360 model and not very good at all.

I already looked, my old Mac Pro meets all the requirements for ESO, and then some. It is an 8-core 2.8 GHz Xeon, with 12 GB of RAM and that new NVIDIA GTX 760 with 2 GB vRAM, so it should be able to handle things just fine. My WiFi is solid, and I have Comcast for my ISP, it's pretty consistent so far. I've not had any problems streaming video, though I imagine online gaming is a bit more demanding.

As far as I can tell, I would need an ESO account, and the game itself (Steam?). Which version? Anything else?

The choice and difference in the two games is really based on how you want to play the game. If you pay the extra 20.00 for the Imperial Edition you can play an Imperial or any other race you desire, and play in any Alliance you wish. Plus you get a horse (which is fairly necessary in game)

** without the Imperial Edition horses cost minimum 10,000 gold, which is hard to come by early in the game.


You also get a choice of several vanity pets; and you get the "Pledge of Mara" - where you can attach your character to another character in a permanent bond/partnership; that when you two play together you gain some great benefits such as + 10% XP, etc.

If I'm not mistaken, you also get some Crown Points to spend at the Crown Store if you purchase this Edition for the extra 20.00 original cost.



If you choose not to spend the extra 20 on purchase, then your Alliance is determined by what race you would like your character to be.

I personally bought the Imperial Edition so I could have the horse and the Pledge of Mara; but I am actually playing as a Nord and chose to start in the Ebonheart Pact because I knew people there already going in; and they have helped me out a lot in getting started.

We've been sharing our knowledge on here as we learn it; and I've learned a lot from Grits and Hazmick too, because their characters are doing things I've not even tried yet.

The Characters thread should have plenty of info on the races and classes to help you make a choice about what character you would like to play, but which edition you buy really boils down to how you want to do it; and whether that 20 is doable in some cases.

OH! And hearing impairment makes no difference, the in game discussions are done in a "Chat Box" - typed words, preceded by the Player Character's name. I had to adjust the settings for the type on the chat box where I could see it better, and then eventually I changed over to an after market download that makes it so I just wear a headset and talk/listen to my friend when we game together. If he is not online, I usually just shut it off so no one else talks to me while I'm playing.







This post has been edited by mALX: Jun 15 2015, 10:45 PM

Thanks for the quick reply, mALX!

One thing I'm having difficulty getting my head around: with my current games I'm used to saving my game and leaving it, knowing that when I come back everything will be just as I left off. But with online games, things are still going on while you are away, right? So what happens to your PC while you're at work, or sleeping, IRL?

I make sure to take my PC to a safe place (like a town or store) before shutting down for the night; then hit escape/quit/yes I'm sure.

Never do it in an unsafe place, or you will be resurrecting somewhere, lol. I think for a cost you can fast travel to a shrine or city (or use "Recall," but it isn't free - like 42 gold or something) if you are in a hurry to get off and don't have time to play around getting somewhere safe.

It constantly saves so when you leave and return you'll be right where you left off. That being said - I'm on the Xbox One so I'm not sure if it's the same on PC, but other MMO's use a similar save feature.

As for soloing it, yes you can. Group stuff is entirely optional and you can quite happily RP your way through the game without any issues.

*


Oh yeah, I have played solo some and some with my friend; either way is fine. What I appreciated about having Peregrine travel with me:


- She has lockpicks and knows how to use them, I don't have lockpicks, and every time I get them they instantly break my first attempt to open a chest. When I am with her, she opens the chests and lets me take the loot. When she is not with me I have to bypass all the treasure chests.

- When she is with me and a fight comes up I can't handle, she and her conjured familiars have kept me alive numerous times.

- She has given me some great tips and equipment that I couldn't have learned or gotten on my own; knows the countryside and helps me find things.


- She is fun to talk to while we walk about; talk about where we are going next, etc.


Alone - I concentrate on the fight better because I have to without a friend backing me up; but that means I build up my skills quicker.

- I linger more over shopping or just standing around playing the lute or sleeping, etc - Role play that can't be done if another person is there wanting to get moving.


So either way has its ups and downs, I really enjoy playing with Peregrine a lot and I think it added tremendously to the fun of playing. But playing alone - the fights are tougher, but the role play is awesome.

I wanted to play with SubRosa and we learn together as newbs to the game and to the world of Online gaming - really really did not want to embarrass myself or get on the nerves of a veteran player; but playing with Peregrine really totally enhanced the game for me and I learned so much so quickly that I may never have learned without the guidence. Peregrine's "owner" was tremendously patient, I couldn't have asked for a better teacher.






This post has been edited by mALX: Jun 15 2015, 11:07 PM

haute, if you buy the basic game as of right now at least on the PS4 you can still buy the Imperial Edition digital upgrade which gives you this stuff as well as the Adventure Pack which gives you this stuff.

mALX, can you confirm that these options are also available in the PC Crown Store?

Since I pre-ordered I got the Explorer’s Pack for free, plus I paid for the Imperial Edition. The Explorer’s Pack stuff is available as the Adventure Pack upgrade in the Crown Store only with a different pet (bantam guar instead of vermillion scuttler). Jerric’s pet scuttler and the ability to play a Nord (or any other race) in any faction come from the Explorer’s/Adventure Pack. His white horse, mudcrab pet, and the ability to play as an Imperial in any faction come from the Imperial Edition.

I’m excited that you’re considering trying this out! I play solo with the voice chat turned completely off since I don’t have a headset. Also because other people can be annoying, since I can still hear them through my speakers. On the PS4 version there is no text chat window at all, so it’s only the voice channel. Not being able to communicate with other players has not been an issue for me. There are in-game animations that your character can use to communicate (like a come-this-way gesture), and of course on the Mac you will have the text chat box to use.

It was weird for me to not ever make saves since I’m used to the glitch-fest of Bethesda console games, but when you close the application or logout to the character screen your character disappears safely from the game world. However as mALX said if you quit right on top of a spawn point you can return to find yourself in a fight or already dead. It’s easy to walk over somewhere out of the way before you close the application. I have to quit abruptly rather often, and the only time Jerric suffered was with an error that kicked me out during a fight but left him in the game long enough to die. That wasn’t my fault!!

One thing that is a little jarring is that game time moves on without you, so you may quit while watching a sunrise and come back to find that it’s night. I’ve gotten used to that.

I don't know, the Crown Store stuff changes every day. Right now this is what I'm finding in there:



http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/crownstore

I was surprised to learn that page is just a sample of what the Crown store has at any time. There are several different mounts, pets, costumes, etc. offered in each of those categories in the actual store. You have to look at the store in-game to see everything. On the PS4 it’s at the top of one of the main menus.

The reason I mention it is because it seems to be cheaper to buy the basic game and then the digital upgrades than to shell out the extra $20 for the Imperial Edition of the game like I did, or more than $20 if you got the statue and other extras.

This post has been edited by Grits: Jun 16 2015, 08:40 PM

Well that is interesting to find out! I don't know if the PC game has the digital upgrade option or not, I'll have to wait till I can get on there and check it out.

I am guessing that is something that has come out since the Consoles launch; so haven't really heard anything about it - I guess they may add it to the PC in case people who bought the regular game want to upgrade without buying the full game twice, great idea !!!

Regarding crafting and trading: I looked at some of the player Guild stores (those caravan-like merchants around the marketplaces and city entrances), and now the ridiculous game economy makes more sense. It seems that NPC merchant prices are designed to encourage the use of player Guild stores both for buying and selling, which means you have to join one to sell your stuff in it.

Also I heard two guys planning a trade on the voice channel before I switched it off. The one guy had a high-level crafter character he had moved over from the PC game and was taking an order for an armor set. He could make exactly what the other guy wanted. I expect it would be even easier to arrange trades with a chat box or between players outside the game. There was some kind of player informal market event going on once when Jerric walked through artisan row in Davon’s Watch, so there’s that option for crafters as well.

Regarding mounts: I finally saw a Khajiit with a senche mount, and it looked even cooler than I thought it would. Unfortunately it is a subscription loyalty reward, but that senche was the neatest thing I’ve seen so far. Also the guar mounts look much better in the game than in the pictures.

Peregrine added me to his Trader's Guild; but don't know how it works yet. I know that the game makes a "Bong" sound when one of them is in the same city as I am, and I can see them on the map; their Icon shows up on the map so you can find them easier.

But every time I have gone to the traders, there has been an empty screen instead of a list of items. The guild sends me a different inspirational message daily; but it is long and in small print so I haven't been able to read it other than the title "New Daily Inspirational Message..."

I will have to ask Peregrine's "Owner" about how they work. I know if you join a guild, you are supposed to bring them income somehow which (if you don't you can be expelled from the guild). I'm pretty sure every thing you place in the Guild Trader's coffers and banks can be picked up and used by any member of the guild.

What you overheard was HUGE to me! I absolutely LOVE the idea of this guy taking orders for armor and weapons and custom making them! How cool would that be? Something like that would be tremendous for roleplay for me; having a job to do - especially as a Smithy, since my roleplay in Skyrim was as an Apprentice to the Whiterun Smithy, lol.

But seriously, especially after what you said - I would like to learn how the Guild Traders works, I think right now I am a member riding off of Peregrine's coat tails; and maybe because I'm at too low a level to draw any income I'm not using to survive, they haven't asked me to do anything yet. (the guild is all veteran players).






By the way, I did access the Crown Store in game and could hardly see anything at all, they did have a list on the left but when I clicked on it all there was was tiny icons.

They did have the upgrade for the Imperial Edition for those who purchased the regular version; and they did have that Adventure pack. I either don't know how to use the function or the PC Crown Store is something you should go into before you are in the game world (like from the screen where you first see your character standing and waiting or something). Anyway, it was very unsatisfactory for me.

Another thing was, they were only showing 500 crowns; we are supposed to be getting 1500 per month with the Imperial Edition. (I'll have to check with my son and see if he purchased something before jumping all over them, lol).




This post has been edited by mALX: Jun 19 2015, 06:19 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/ne...-launch-details

Imperial City DLC coming soon. Late august for PC/mac players and mid-September for consoles.

With the purchase of the Imperial City DLC game pack, you get access to the full Imperial City zone. That includes the following:

(All content is available to players that are level 10 and up)
A brand new PvP/PvE space, including the six Imperial City Districts
New quests and key characters within the Imperial City
One new Imperial City PvP Public Dungeon: The Imperial Sewers
Two new PvE Imperial City group dungeons with Normal and Veteran versions: White-Gold Tower and Imperial City Prison
The Tel Var Stone system
23 completely new Veteran Rank 16 item sets, only available in Imperial City
Treasure Vaults that contain new Veteran Rank 16 set jewelry and a chance for even rarer finds
Xivkyn racial motif style
New collectibles only available in Imperial City (pets, polymorphs, and a costume)


There's also a hefty patch which adds, updates, and fixes a whole bunch of stuff.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT !!!!! I was just trying to find out about the DLC the other day and couldn't get any details!

Well, I can't go into Cyrodiil yet - I mean I am over level 10, but ... not wanting to go till my character is a lot tougher.


Have you been there Hazmick? What was it like? Did you get any of its Skyshards? Were any of them attainable without a party of 20 to reach them?

I was wondering if the invisibility potions I've been making would work to bypass the killing parties in Cyrodiil.




This post has been edited by mALX: Jul 15 2015, 06:05 PM

I've been, it was fun, didn't see any skyshards.

There's plenty of stuff to do there, both PvP and PvE. It's difficult though since you can run into high level players at any time.

I can guarantee that the Imperial City will attract the highest level players so it'll be a tricky area to explore but there seems to be plenty of stuff included in the DLC and patches for everyone to enjoy.