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Posted by: McBadgere Aug 1 2013, 01:03 PM

Hello!!...This thread is where we can discuss, news, views...Facts, rumours...Hopes, fears...And everything else that you want to about The Elder Scrolls Online that doesn't warrant it's own thread...If you know what I mean... ...

Plus, the other thread was morphing into this anyways... ...

Also...10 000 points to the first person to get the titular reference... ...

Aaaaamywho...

Ere!!...They've announced four of the classes!!...I can't see that they're the only classes, they're a bit too vague and general...But apparently, whatever you choose, you can use everything anyways...So why they bother I dunno...

Anyways, the two I remember are Dragon Knight, and Templar...No points for guessing the one I'm going for to start with... ...

The Dragon Knight is apparently the one for Heavy Armour/Tank with sword types...And the Templar is more for healing while killing types of knights...*Coughofthenine*...

But they sound cool...

Erm...Oh yeah...I forget the names of the other two classes...But they're built one for stealth and one for Mages...

Definately looking forward to it...I just hope the payment thing doesn't rear it's head...Other than paying for DLCs of course...

Posted by: mirocu Aug 1 2013, 04:16 PM

Give them to me, you ThreeDog/GNR quote thief!

And remember, don´t feed the Yao Guai. That is all

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 1 2013, 05:06 PM

What rhymes with shoes, and often gives you the blues? That's right, it's time for the cashews! Okay, that doesn't really rhyme... How about news?



One of the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon?

Posted by: Grits Aug 1 2013, 10:57 PM

I have some questions.

Area progression: when a new area gets unlocked as you level up, does that mean there’s no way to return to an older area? Or maybe there’s no real reason to return?

Player housing: I couldn’t find a yes or no on this, just speculation. Anyone know?

Posted by: mALX Aug 2 2013, 12:18 AM

Give me the 10,000 points, I get it! All I had to do was look in the mirror and saw two titulars staring back, knew I had the answer right away!

Posted by: Acadian Aug 2 2013, 12:25 AM

Oh for Mara's sake! *sputter sputter* It doesn't happen often, but that just sprayed diet coke all over my monitor! Curse you and your nice puppies!



On topic: Oh, how do you pause an MMO when you need to go pee or if you need to *grumble* get another diet coke? Never touched an MMO before.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Aug 2 2013, 12:49 AM

You can return to the area.



No player housing. Zenimax said they might add it after launch, though.

PvP Info:
•When you join a PvP zone, you’ll be scaled up to approximately level 50. You’ll be able to hold your own, but someone who’s actually level 50 have more skills and abilities than you.
•Siege weapons can be purchased using Alliance points, and rams, ballistae, catapults, and trebuchets can be packed up and re-positioned.
•There will be a PvP rankings system. You’ll be able to earn Alliance Ranks which will grant you titles, as well as giving you access to purchase weapons and armor. There’s even a PvP skill line that you’ll be able to gain access to.
•Leveling through PvP will not be on the same pace as PvE leveling, because other players don’t just show up to die.
•Stealth/Sneaking is a factor in PvP, but there are ways to detect it. Damaging a sneaking player will reveal them , as will spells designed for that purpose. Additionally, sneaking using stamina, and therefore going into battle sneaking will put you at a disadvantage.
•NPC villages will be Alliance-neutral, but if you hold the nearby keep, guards will patrol the town, making it safer for you to do business there (But not 100% safe).

Other Game Info:
•Fast travel is in TESO. Once you visit a point called a Wayshrine, you can travel back there from anywhere on the map. If you’re at a Wayshrine, you can go to any other Wayshrine for free. If you’re out in the wild, it will cost you gold – you’ll also be limited in how often you can do this.
•Yes, you’ll be able to make and eat Sweet Rolls and Fishy Sticks.
•You will be able to loot items from houses, crates, barrels and the like. Plans are that respawn rates for loot will be fast enough that you won’t always find empty containers.
•You’ll be able to get most skill lines in the game, with a few exceptions. You can’t be a vampire and a werewolf at the same time, for example, and there are some class/racial exclusives.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 2 2013, 03:50 AM

The very ones!!...Difficult to guess though, eh?... ...

Microu...Nah, sorry matey...I woke up in the night and realised how lame the reference was anyways...So don't get all that excited for the points... ...

mALX...Its hard not to have noticed from the amount of times you've ripped yer shirt off lately... ...





As for player housing...I'd heard that they were bringing back the ability to break into houses and then take them as your own...Trouble is, as I thought at the time...If everyone in the world chooses your house, that's a lot of people in one house...

Another thing the mag I read mentioned is that the first quest they did was in a town called Wayrest or something...And the story had that another faction was attacking it and in order to save the fellow inhabitants, quests had to be done...And the amount of people saved is directly linked to however many of these minor quests you do...However, this does lead to incidents where your friend's village has NPCs that he can see and you can't, having saved more people than you...

I also wonder how you pause in-game...

And in-game saving...Are you likely to be able to save anywhere at anytime, go off and do something and pick it back up from where you left off?...Or is that not how MMOs work?...I've never played one either...

Posted by: ThatSkyrimGuy Aug 2 2013, 04:20 AM

Shirts are optional at casa mALX!

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Aug 2 2013, 06:45 PM

http://www.twitch.tv/bethesda/b/439743009?t=40m49s

New gameplay video. Best video yet.

Posted by: jack cloudy Aug 2 2013, 09:41 PM

Watching now.

Faction lock is in. (I sound like a broken record, but I really want that Argonian. The lock is going to make guildbuilding a bit harder to say the least)


Controls look good. Compass looks lifted from Skyrim which ain't too bad. (only flaw I have with Skyrim's is that icons already pop up when the location is still far far away.)

Talk about blocking and attacking sounds familiar, even if it isn't all that applicable to a bow. (Non full-power attacks with bows are a waste of time)

Guar is pronounced as Gore? Huh, I always thought it was Goe-war.

Skills level by use. Good.
They're also linked to guilds now? I wonder how much the guilds actually do. Are they actual organizations with bases and quests or just a name on a skilltree. That said, it sounds more morrowindish. Morrowind's skill-based rank-unlocking was a bit awkward, but I liked how you actually had to be good at your supposed job. In Oblivion and Skyrim you can pretty much become Arch-mage barbarian who can't count to two or the conjuring Fighter's guildmaster who can't lift a paperweight.


Fast travel results in a horse animation? Nice but if they really want to impress, make it a Guar. The vid is supposed to be in Morrowind. (extraneous detail, but dangit, they're cuter than horses.)
It looks like weapons can be hotkeyed. That's nice.


Classes aren't limited in their choice of weapon or armour or skills it seems. Good to hear, but why have classes then in the first place?


Exploring gives xp. In other words, you can level (poorly) by being a tourist!

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Aug 2 2013, 10:36 PM

Yes. We can just call them perks. Perks for guilds, perks for race, armor, class, weapons and if you become a vampire or a werewolf. This I like. We have so much to level up on!

Agreed. One of the developers said in an interview about why there are no horses in Morrowind and he said the land is inhospiratable for creatures such as horses because of the ash and flora and because the Dunmer see them as a delicious meal. I wondered why there was a horse running around when a guar( I thought it was pronounced Guu Wuar) in the game.

Posted by: ThatSkyrimGuy Aug 3 2013, 05:28 PM

Looks good. Making me look forward to it more and more everytime I see something new.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 3 2013, 06:28 PM

I thought it was pronounced Gwar, just like the band.

Posted by: Kiln Aug 3 2013, 08:32 PM

Me too.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 4 2013, 06:55 PM

Wow...That's not like Bethesda to change stuff... ...

Oh wait... ....

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 4 2013, 08:55 PM

Fallout 3 does this too. You get experience points every time you discover a location.

Posted by: ImperialSnob Aug 7 2013, 07:24 PM

1.You can do other faction zones but you must first complete your own faction zone and you'll only see other people from your faction.

7.They're like an archtype,in your build will you be using magic at all?Then you should probaly choose the magic class to get bonuses to maic.

8.That's a bit like WoW,you don't get much but it's nice that you get a little bit of reward for exploration.

Posted by: ImperialSnob Aug 24 2013, 10:26 PM

It's now confirmed,that ES:O will be 15 dollars a month subscription.

This isn't smart,we've seen with TERA,The Secret World and The Old Republic that subscriptions fees don't work unless you're WoW.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 25 2013, 04:23 PM

Oh well, that'll be that done for then... ...

Will. Not. Pay. For. Stuff...Cannot afford Ł500 a year for all the family to be able to play...Which is what it'll end up as...

Well, won't pay for stuff barring DLCs for existing games of course... ...

Posted by: ImperialSnob Aug 25 2013, 07:46 PM

Just wait,I'll be suprised if it lasts.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 25 2013, 08:09 PM

Well servers are not cheap, nor the data centers that host them, or the admins that maintain them. Zenimax/Bethesda is going to need some way to generate the money to continue offering the service. So that is either going to be a monthly subscription, micro-transactions where you have to buy all the good things in the game with real world money, or a crap version of the game that is only free for the first x levels in one or two zones, then you have to pay a subscription to get higher level/get to the cool places. One way or another, you are going to have to pay.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 25 2013, 09:11 PM

And yet, those ones that are doing that Destiny thing are insisting that it's going to be free forever...Having used the money from Halo to pay, in advance, for all the servers...

Therefore Bethesda could easily divert some of the profits from Skyrim into paying for the servers etc and you'll make far more money from the sales of the ESO game overall...From people who will just run to the game as it's free...Plus any from the undoubted DLC packs and, as you say, any micro-transactions...

Why no one realises that if you charge less in the first place, you'll make more money in the end...as more people can afford to buy a cheaper thing...*Shrug*...

Posted by: ImperialSnob Aug 25 2013, 09:17 PM

Well,they do intend on going for as long as WoW probaly,which is 8 years.

Alot of people buying a cheap box price isn't gonna keep servers up for 8 or so years,but sub fees will.

Also Skyrim money,is Beths money,I don't think they want to give it to Zenimax,even if they did they probaly STILL couldn't afford to keep servers up for a long time.

Posted by: SubRosa Aug 25 2013, 10:42 PM

All I have seen is that Bungie said it won't be a monthly subscription fee. So that means micro transactions or some other way to get money out of players. Using the earnings from Halo is not going to keep them afloat. It will give them operating capital to start with, but it won't keep them going forever. That is just robbing Peter to pay Paul. It gets you bankrupt in the end.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 26 2013, 04:55 AM

Bungie - Thank you Subrosa - said the story will play out over 10 years...

And I maintain that the server time is already booked, paid for and any fluctuations accounted for...

I'm pretty sure all this has been in the various x-box/Playstation mags over the last few months...

Yes, SR you are right...It's all about the microtransaction and paid-for extra content...But they also say that anyone will be able to do well enough without if they wish...

I agree about the robbing Peter thing, but, if the money's already gone, and it was all already free profit sort of thing, then any money they get from Destiny is (when the development costs and wages etc is done) profit...And if they're right about how FPS people are likely to react when they get into the game...It sounds like easy money...

Hell, I don't do FPS really...Well, not Halo, CoW etc...Does Fallout count?...Anyways, even I'm wondering about it...

I'm not talking about charging virtually nothing for it...

But at the mo they're talking Ł55 for it brand new...Dunno what that is in dollars...Probably $60-$70...Now I don't know about you or your parents Impy, but Ł55 is a hell of a lot for me to shell out for a game that I may get bored of...And I work many many hours for reasonable money...

However...Ł35-Ł40 is within the realms of "Hell yeah!" and have it sit on the side without too much grief from the wife... ...

So when the ESO people say they're going to charge for it...It's hugely disappointing...Yes, 20 levels free and then pay may be the way it goes...

But charging Ł15 (which it will be in the UK...None of this exchange-rate mullarky...) likely per person, per month...There's no way we can afford that for four of us...We'd have to be on it all the time...All day...in order to justify that sort of money...Which we won't anyways...

And it's not worth starting it in the first place if we're going to have to give up eventually...It's not worth the money at - more than likely - Ł55...

So that's one game sale from me down...How many others would have bought the game, just to try it, if there'd been no hint of subscriptions?...Microtransactions don't bother me...I did enough on the ACIII multiplayer...So I'd do so again...I'd even buy the kids and the wife a PSN card to get some stuff if they wished...But a constant Ł60 a month, just to play...Nah...

Oh, and Elder Scrolls is Bethesda's baby isn't it?...Zenimax may have made (and will run) the game, but it'll still be Bethesda's profits...Zenimax just built the damned thing...All I'm saying is that Bethesda could do more to make more and all that, in the long term...

Posted by: ImperialSnob Aug 26 2013, 11:03 AM

Even 55 pounds per box copy wouldn't be enough to run the Mega-Servers for 8 years.

They have to use some money to create new content,hire voice actors,hire coders,hire artists.

MMOs are THE most expensive games you can make and are just as,if not more,expensive to maintain for long periods of time.

Posted by: McBadgere Aug 26 2013, 12:34 PM

Yes, I know how business works... ...

And therefore...If there's the slightest chance you can't make it work...Then you shouldn't...

From what I hear, paid-for MMOs are hemorrhaging users...It is unsustainable...

Make it all free to play, and even the most casual of users may pick it up cheap from a shop...

Business people are just getting too greedy these days and it can't be done...They have to start thinking differently and not rely on the old model of charging more money to make it from less people...

Posted by: mirocu Oct 27 2013, 11:29 AM

Word

While I do know that everything that needs to be maintained has a prize, I´d also like to know where the line goes between enough to keep maintaining while making a decent profit, and just blind greed. A lower prize in the store attracts more players, that can´t be argued. What they can do to keep bringing in cash from the same players is having them pay for both minor and major upgrades and perhaps higher levels, much the same as when you buy a DLC. (Of course the game should be 100% playable without those upgrades and levels.)

Idk... What I do know though is that when the TESO box hits the store, I´ll be there with my collector´s gloves

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Oct 30 2013, 11:02 PM

I can't explain how excited I am now. Finally, after so long, we finally get some http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2013/10/30/creating-eso-werewolf on werewolves.

Yes, I am definitely buying it once it comes out.

"The werewolf’s model and combat animations need to convey a sense of unrestrained savagery. Werewolves use their incredible strength to leap through the air towards their unfortunate targets; they devour them with fervor. They often hunt in packs, destroying everything they can hunt down. We used references like video of hyenas gorging on a zebra to get the feel just right, adding touches like bloodstains on the muzzle after a good feast.

In the game, you’ll find that the abilities in the werewolf skill line work together, allowing you to take advantage of interactions that amplify the thrill of the hunt, making you a more efficient killer and even extending your blood frenzy. All of the abilities put you in the role of the hunter—always in control and right on the heels of your prey."

Posted by: Rohirrim Oct 31 2013, 01:03 AM

I WANT WEREBEARS AND WERELIONS AN' STUFF! Also: Edge?

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Jan 29 2014, 12:57 PM

You heard it here folks.

http://www.amazon.com/forum/video%20games?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1T1DM93QU4XL1&cdThread=Tx5AIH8V0N7E9Y

http://i.imgur.com/VXno9hg.jpg?1

Posted by: Vital Jan 29 2014, 01:57 PM

I'm not gonna play the game, but I could seriously buy that...

The molag bal statuette and full map of tamriel... *Drools*

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Jan 29 2014, 05:19 PM

New cinematic trailer is here. Am I the only one excited? I think I am.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Jan 29 2014, 05:38 PM

New info: We can now choose any race and join any of the three factions. If you preordet.

Posted by: mirocu Jan 29 2014, 10:25 PM

Oh, I will so get that!

Posted by: King Coin Jan 30 2014, 01:00 AM

Interesting, I may be preordering soon...

Posted by: mirocu Feb 1 2014, 05:15 PM

Actually I´m having second thoughts now. What does the regular version contain?

Posted by: King Coin Feb 1 2014, 10:47 PM

Interesting, when you pre-order the game, not only can you play as an Imperial in any of the alliances, but you can play any race in any of the alliances as well.

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 5 2014, 11:17 AM

Well, got a beta key. So I'll be seeing what's up soon. Of course, as soon as I sign the nda-agreement I can't say anything anymore. Which would be right about....now.

Posted by: Taillus Feb 9 2014, 03:26 PM

I think the NDA has been lifted as of Friday. My username isn't plastered all over my screen and videos aren't being stripped from YouTube... so I would say everyone can talk away.

Posted by: King Coin Feb 15 2014, 04:37 PM

http://elderscrollsonline.com/en/news/post/2014/02/14/the-beta-nda-has-lifted

Lots of stuff here for the curious: http://esohead.com/

Those that played the beta, what did you think? I enjoyed it, but... they have a lot of work to do. Lots of bugged quests.

Posted by: jack cloudy Feb 17 2014, 07:54 PM

It was...not my cup of thea. Apart from the occasional lockup when exiting dialogue, I didn't notice any real bugs though that one was annoying enough.

I do have to give the game credit for trying. Trying to be a mixture between a single player ES game ala Morrowind/Oblivion/Skyrim, and a more traditional mmo in the vein of you name it. (I was gonna say World of Warcraft but given that I haven't played even a second of it I'm not going to risk being wrong.)
That said, trying is the key word. I honestly think they should have picked one or the other. The combat system for example tries to be the one we've gotten used to since Oblivion. Moving, block beats regular attack beats power attack beats block. But there are three critical flaws in the online version's attempt.

The first of these is the lack of collision-boxes. Players, Npcs and generic respawning critters can all run right through each other. This makes judging distance much harder than I'm used to and I ended up just standing still so the AI wouldn't freak out and we could proceed to slap each other in the face without having an odd merging accident.

The second problem is latency. Even the slightest bit will end up making power attacks or blocks not connect or a dodge fail to trigger. Finally, the third is impact. Because the game has to deal with the aforementioned lack of collision boxes and latency, you don't get the satisfying recoil feel when an attack interacts with a block. There is a third factor to this as well. In the single-player games the AI only had to focus on one enemy, you. But now there could be half a dozen players jumping around and attacking the same target. Who should it aim its animations at? Sure, TES games aren't known for their animation quality, but they do manage to give a nice feel of first-person combat. ESO doesn't. At least not for me.

One animation pro I have to give for it is jumping and landing. This game has the best I've seen in the series by far.


But back to the bad stuff because I am a horribly depressing pessimist. As an mmo you can expect to be surrounded by dozens of other players. I know that. And I admit that everyone, at least as far as I got, fit into the world much better than in some mmos I've tried. Visually speaking I mean. Players look just like Npcs. Which can be a bit of a problem at times, but I like it. The bad part is that the game isn't designed to take the masses of wannabe heroes into account. Gotta sneak into an office to get some dirt on someone? Expect four more players to be jumping over the bed. Gotta go into this temple and fight a boss? Find out that said boss is well and truly contained by half a dozen elven women and the quest completes before you can lift a finger or get your bearings. Sure, the bad guy respawns three times before you can walk out of the door, but mob of fellow heroes saves the day again and again.

That was more immersion breaking than I'd thought it would be.



And finally I'll give my verdict. Worth the box price and the sub on top of that? No, not if you ask me. One or the other and I might consider it. Heck know I've had worse impulse buys. But both and at this rate? Nopes.

The worst criticism I can give to it isn't the off-feeling combat mechanics or the hyperactive mob, but sheer tedium. At the end of the beta weekend I had not even finished the first tutorial island (after the escape from the underworld), and I was bored out of my skull. I couldn't find anything to do but run from point a to point b and the insane respawn rates and density of hostiles that come with an mmo meant that my usual tourist-sightseeing kept being interupted. I tried crafting at the end of the weekend and despite having grabbed every thing that wasn't nailed down and having kept them all in my inventory, I still didn't have enough for a nice shirt or pants.

It's an mmo I guess. The only way to enjoy it is with friends to talk and joke with while you run around.




PS: And despite my overly negative judgement, that Imperial edition is still winking at me. I love my artbooks and want to see Hammerfell badly. That impulse buy might still be coming.

Posted by: King Coin Feb 17 2014, 09:34 PM

Interesting, I did not have very much trouble with that actually, the whole thing with collision boxes.


I do agree here with latency. I did like the more active combat than other MMOs offer, but there is that issue with latency. I personally did not experience too much during the beta, and when I did I was usually running around.

I know what you are talking about with the attacks too. For me it came and went actually. Sometimes it had that “solid feel” and others it did not. The abilities never had that feeling though, probably because they are key triggered and less active.


Agreed. Animations were for the most part, good.


I was hugely distracted with the hordes of players running around as well, especially the ones that simply take the shortest distance from point A to point B. It would have been far better if people actually tried to look normal rather than just jumping off of cliffs, bridges, off of buildings, ect.

I already pre-ordered, so I will be playing it, but I will probably wait to really start playing after the first few weeks or so, just so that those quest objectives aren’t mobbed all the time.


I participated in a few betas, and you figure out how to pass through the beginning sections more quickly. The second area is far more interesting. I do admit though, it is not nearly as interesting to just explore in this game as it is in the single player games.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal Feb 27 2014, 09:44 PM

ESRB gives us some insight on why ESO is rated M(thank goodness).

Bethesda announced in January that its upcoming subscription-based MMO The Elder Scrolls Online had received an M-for-Mature rating from the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), a determination the company did not agree with--despite every other recent entry in the series being M-rated--but would not challenge.

Now, the ESRB product description for The Elder Scrolls Online has been published publicly, giving insight into why the game earned an M-rating. The ESRB's main content descriptors note that the game contains "Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence."

But it's the ESRB's complete ratings summary that sheds a better light on the M-rating. As you can read in the below text, The Elder Scrolls Online features sexual innuendo in its dialogue ("In his mind, she would be the sheath to every knight's blade"), bloody depictions of severed heads, and drinking games that result in the character's blurred vision and impaired speech.

"This is a multiplayer online role-playing game in which players assume the role of a warrior in the fantastical world of Nirn. As players explore open-world environments, they can perform various quests and complete tasks. Characters use swords, arrows, axes, and magic attacks (e.g., lightning, fire attacks) to kill human-like and fantastical enemies (e.g., orcs, demons, giant insects). Players engage in melee-style combat, hacking and slashing at various enemies; battles are highlighted by cries of pain, impact sounds, and blood splashes. Some sequences depict large amounts of blood streaming up-close as vampires attack/feed on characters. In some quests players have the ability to mount creatures' severed heads onto pikes; some environments depict corpse piles or skeletons hanging from torture devices. Text descriptions or dialogue sometimes contain references to sexual material and/or innuendo (e.g., “She...raped the men as cruelly as Bal had ravished her”; “In his mind, she would be the sheath to every knight's blade”; “No sweetmeat for you”; But it is huge! It could take me all night!”). During the course of the game, alcohol (i.e., wine, mead, ale) can be purchased and consumed by the central character; one sequence prompts players to engage in a drinking contest, resulting in the central character's blurred vision/slurred speech."

Posted by: SubRosa Feb 27 2014, 11:22 PM

And if ESO has skooma in it like the other ES games, you can add depictions of drug use as well.

Posted by: King Coin Feb 28 2014, 04:51 PM

Anyone want a beta key for this weekend?

Posted by: ImperialSnob Mar 15 2014, 09:08 PM

Why thank goodness?

Posted by: mirocu Apr 6 2014, 09:38 AM

For the first time I just saw an add for ESO when I clicked to watch a youtube video!

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 12 2014, 02:27 AM

Did they put spell creation in ESO? .. It's been my feeling that since the #1 complaint of Skyrim was lack of spell creation that in the next ES game we'd have this back.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 13 2014, 11:31 AM

Hey!!!...

So has anyone found out what the deal is with the subscription thing yet?...

Can you play any of it without one?...

Hrn....I keep reading reviews...I keep looking at the photos...And reading reviews...

...Bloody thing...

Posted by: King Coin Apr 13 2014, 03:19 PM

No it isnt. A lot of the spells are unlocked via perks now.


Nope. Need a subscription to play at all.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 13 2014, 09:46 PM

Shame that...All the comments under the Youtube gameplay videos are pretty much saying the same thing, "This is not worth $15 a month"...

Agree or disagree?...

And can you still see yourself (-selves) paying up in X-number of months? Or even years?...

Posted by: mirocu Apr 13 2014, 09:55 PM

If I were to jump aboard this bandwagon I have serious problems seeing myself playing it as long as I have played Oblivion. I mean, who even knows how long the servers will be up?

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 13 2014, 10:13 PM

So what is the pricing? Do you have to buy the game itself as well as pay a monthly subscription? Or is it at least free to download and you just pay every month to play? I know you have to pay for the Imperial Edition, and I have seen a horse that you can only get by buying with RL money.

Nevermind, I found it. $60 to buy the game either digitally or hard-copy for the regular version, plus $15 a month. So $180 a year just for the subscription. Ouch. Given that I paid the same $60 for Skyrim, and don't have to pay anything a month to play it. I guess MMOs are for rich people.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 14 2014, 01:12 AM

It does seem like a lot of money, but I view it as 2 hours of work at minimum wage per month.

I'm not sure how long I'll play. I guess as long as I am regularly logging in and having fun I'll keep paying the subscription.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 14 2014, 12:57 PM

Yeah, but multiply it by the four of us here, that adds up to a hell of a lot of money over the year...*Shrug*...Plus the way certain young teens here keep jumping from game to game, the subscription may simply go to waste...

Shame that...


EDIT!!!!...Just to put it in context...If I were to pay for all of us...And if it's Ł15 a month...That's all the "spare" money - my own personal "Allowance" as you say over there - I have over the month to pay for us...

Posted by: King Coin Apr 14 2014, 01:27 PM

Yeah, 4 subs would be a lot. Either they would have to pay their own, or share. You can have 8 characters per account.

Posted by: Acadian Apr 14 2014, 01:45 PM

I think Oblivion cost me around $45US in 2007 and I have been playing it every month since. That amortizes out to about. . . $0 cost per month for tons of enjoyment. Applying that time frame and thinking to a monthly subscription game yields a rather intimidating cost factor.

On the other hand, $15 per month for my primary entertainment hobby seems far from excessive. As a generally ‘monogamous’ and avid gamer, I would no doubt play my money’s worth. While I would never pay that much for my cel phone (which I carry around mostly for emergencies), I could deal with it for the place where Buffy and I get up every day and go to work.

Where I could see a real concern is for folks who like to have several games going at once and move among them. $15 per month for just one of many games in your stable could be a problem I figure. I can also see McB's concerns with a family that games - seems like that could be a problem if you wanted to play at the same time and/or with a family member in the same game.

Yet, I imagine it costs whoever hosts the game server and such money to maintain and keep things running nicely. Other ways of gaining revenue such as banner ads creeping across my game screen or paying real money for ‘extra’ gear, outfits, companions, etc seems horrible (to me) in comparison to simply paying a monthly fee.

I guess what I’m saying, is that if I tried ESO, fell for it and moved there as my primary game, the cost would not be a big problem. My two septims, anyway. Bear in mind, I’ve never played any game on line, much less an MMO. So what do I know?

Posted by: mirocu Apr 14 2014, 01:52 PM

I just don´t "trust" MMOs. It feels like I´m gaming at somebody´s mercy and that they can pull the plug anytime they want. That´s how I feel about gaming online, regardless of fees.

But to all who feels otherwise; game on!

Posted by: Grits Apr 14 2014, 02:15 PM

I spend so little on myself that $15 per month won’t deter me as long as I’m playing at least a few hours. And the next game I plan to buy after ESO is TES VI, so I’m not going to worry about the purchase price.

I’m actually more comfortable with a subscription fee than without. Bear in mind I don’t play online games, but it seems that constant little fees for “special” equipment and VIP access would be far more annoying. Not to mention advertisements. You pay one way or another. If something is free that generally means you and your time are the product.

That said when Grits the Youngers get to a point where they have time to play, they can pay for it themselves first. They’re both old enough to work.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 14 2014, 09:24 PM

That, I did not know...That would be 2 each...

Does it work like as if you made 8 separate on Oblivion/Skyrim where you can send them to completely separate sections and that's where they'd be when you reloaded?...Well, -ish...There's save stones or something isn't there?...

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 14 2014, 11:18 PM

Yes, each toon's (MMO term for character) position is saved individually when you log off, so you log back in and they are exactly where you left them.

And there is no save button, everything you do is recorded by the server and saved automatically.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 15 2014, 09:13 PM

Toon? Well I've never used that word. *whistles*

So how are mods going to work in ES: O? .... Or will there be mods? I just read that the game is on PS4, Xbox 1, and computers. Does everybody share the same world, or is each platform separate? And if they share the same world, how would that work with modding? ..

I get the feeling mods aren't an option in this game, since so many people share the same servers, but what do I know?

Posted by: Acadian Apr 15 2014, 09:44 PM

I expect you can mod your user interface since that is discrete to your side of the screen. In fact, I believe Nexus already has such mods for ESO. It would seem to me that's about all you could mod. . . but I'll defer to others with lots more knowledge about such things than me.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 15 2014, 10:02 PM

Mod support would only extend towards UI and texture mods, as those are handled client-side and won't affect other users.

Any other content requires a server-side link, so they are out.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 16 2014, 12:09 AM

As far as I know, PC/Mac users are in the same world, PS4 users are in a different one, and Xbox is in yet another.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 16 2014, 02:27 AM

Oh I see. It's rather limited to textures and a few options. Interesting.

King Coin: That's kind of how I was picturing it, so far as platforms go, they'll all be seperate. It might be really tricky to write code for all these different platforms and get them all to gel with one another. And then what if let's say the PS4 develops some problems not seen by Xbox 1 or PC? That would be a nightmare (I'd imagine) to get things resolved if everybody's in one giant world.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 17 2014, 09:17 PM

Oh, just to update on the whole ESO subscription thing...'Cause, you all care , I know that...

Having had the new info and relaying it to She Who Controls The Finances™...Yeah, McWife...I was given a choice...ESO...or the sports subscription for the NFL at the end of the year... ...

ESO lost... ... ...

Posted by: mirocu Apr 17 2014, 09:46 PM

You really made the wrong choice there, McB ol´ boy..

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 18 2014, 06:11 PM

Not really. I'm pretty sure ESO is going to go free-to-play within six months to a year.

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Apr 18 2014, 10:10 PM

That soon?

I think that'd be quicker than The Old Republic, and that was reputed to be a disaster. As I recall it was redubbed "The TORtanic"

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 18 2014, 11:27 PM

Well that's what happens when you have no endgame.

Time will tell what happens here.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 19 2014, 04:00 PM

I'm worried that if it does go free to play, that the servers would be powered down soon after.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 19 2014, 07:27 PM

Well, one of the major benefits from a megaserver for a developer is that it will be able to keep you at the ideal bandwidth usage for your game at all times. Very helpful with controlling costs.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 20 2014, 03:55 AM

And thus may the lesson be learned that you can't fleece all of the people all of the time...And not everyone's gonna give you all their money, just 'cause it's The Elder Scrolls™...Especially after Skyrim...

I'm still not sure Bethesda really appreciate the damage these games that take them ages to "fix" have done to them...*Shrug*...And now this with the subscription for a game that may or may not work the way it's intended...

But that is an entirely separate issue, soooo... ...


EDIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTAH!...

Oh, here's an amazing advert for the game that http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/news/a565616/elder-scrolls-online-guild-banks-temporarily-disabled.html#~oBWfTZezKSjE1e....Yeeeeah, this is gonna go sooo well... ...

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 22 2014, 08:51 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ov3B26h12C4

Based on beta experiences I have to agree with him on a lot of points. The PvE is suffering from a very bad case of indecision, trying to be both a single-player and a multiplayer experience, leading to some pretty horrible issues. The biggest is with how the megaserver handles phasing, splitting groups and blocking players from helping their friends (which is a deadly sin of MMOcraft ). The economy is also not good, mainly due to duping glitches, lack of ability to trade outside of guild stores, non-instanced gathering nodes, boss farming, and horrible drop rates.

That's two strikes, as both of those are huge issues. Then there's the fact that even at launch the game looks unfinished and is full of bugs, much more than the single-player titles. Oh, and they decided to go with Themepark style, which flies in the face of TES completely. Sorry, Bethesda, your MMO strikes out!

As for the PvP, I'll stick with Guild Wars 2's World vs. World. Exactly the same as ESO's Cyrodiil, but faster paced and, best of all, no monthly subscription.

Posted by: Vital Apr 22 2014, 10:49 PM

So, eso hasn't lived up to the hype?

Not surprising really, I've never played an MMO by there's a reason they play very differently to single player games and blending the two was a bad idea IMO...

If there was any hope I would buy a game and then pay monthly to play it, it would have to be near flawless. I'm not paying that much for a game that is getting mixed reviews...

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 22 2014, 10:50 PM

Angry Joe cracks me up!

The PvP part at the end was amazing, I agree with Joe on that one. It's interesting watching people play online, listening to them too.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 23 2014, 12:01 AM

I have found that if your group has been instanced that using the 'travel to player' option places you in the same instance. So it isn't automatic (which is definitely annoying) you can still definitely play with your group.

I agree with the other points to some extent, some more than others. I have played the majority of the quests on my own. The only time I really group up is when I go into PVP now.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 23 2014, 12:16 AM

"I got my two **** gold!"
*facepalm*

I love the group of players all using the hammering emote to try to 'fix' the quest. oi!

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 23 2014, 12:44 AM

Instancing is not the same as phasing. Instancing can be bypassed like you described.

Phasing is where the game hides certain things from view based on your current progression in a quest. For the example in the video, once the boss was killed he was phased off, making him invisible and untargetable, along with his friend, but no one changed maps (there would have been a loading screen if that happened). Because of this it was impossible for him to help his friend because they were on the same instance but NOT the same quest phase, and you can't move between phases in the game.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 23 2014, 12:59 AM

Ah I see what you are talking about. Yes I have seen that. I'm new to the MMO scene so I'm not up on the terminology.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 23 2014, 04:50 AM

*Brandishes ten-foot bargepole...*...

*Doesn't touch ESO with it*...

Yeah, we've watched a few gameplay videos now...

Beautiful, certainly...And these screenshots are awesome...But overall, it just looks like a very polished and newer version of Kingdoms of Amalur...And having sunk a damn lot of hours into that, I'm not in a rush to do it again...

The worse thing about playing online with other people is...Other people...I'd be walking everywhere, exploring slowly...Why the hell does everyone insist on sprinting around and jumping everywhere? ...Always with the jumping!!!...

Yeeesh...

No, as I mentioned earlier, I chose the NFL over the ESO...I think I chose right...Personally speaking though... ... ...

Posted by: Grits Apr 23 2014, 12:53 PM

I spit tea at the “bunny hopping” comment. Funnily enough I was encouraged every time someone railed that ESO was anti-social and too much like playing a single-player game. Maybe there will be a time when most of the hopping bunny players are asleep so I can collect my single pieces of gold and enjoy the pretty but empty scenery!

Posted by: King Coin Apr 23 2014, 01:55 PM

There are fewer people online in the mornings if that encourages you at all.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 23 2014, 03:39 PM

This, very much so. Although Lady Saga has moments where she tends to sprint a lot, most of mine either walk or ride horses, and are in no hurry to get anywhere. Most players (from what I've read) prefer to run at full speed.

I could see gaming with other people if they were friends I knew well, and took the game semi-seriously. I wouldn't be able to take all the cussing and cursing, running around, not really getting immersed. I mean, I cuss & curse sometimes, but it's if I'm in awe of something, or if I just got surprised-attacked by a troll.

I am wondering if Angry Joe's laid-back gaming style is a result of the fact that he's not impressed with the game? .. Perhaps so. I noticed towards the end when the PvP part kicks in, he was suddenly very excited, and it showed in his commentary.

Posted by: Grits Apr 23 2014, 04:17 PM

It does! And I get up at oh-dark-thirty, Eastern time.

Did I mention I preordered the PS4 version? Yeah, the guy grabbing all of the money got mine, too. I think I’m supposed to get the Explorers Bonus whatnot, but I didn’t pay extra so I’ll believe it when I see it.

I have to say the part where the guys were using the hammer animation (what’s the MMO word for that?) to “fix” the quest had me rolling. A ray of humor from one stranger washes away the bad taste from… a yet undetermined number of sprint-jumpers. (Probably not far from one.)

Oh! And I liked the big Angry Army charge thing. However it strikes me that I would have to show up at the correct time to participate in such an event, and that seems unlikely. Also I’ll be the poor sap without a horse.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 23 2014, 06:21 PM

Yeah the bit where they start pounding away with hammers is pretty cute.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 23 2014, 07:12 PM

Emote.

Just keep in mind, as AJ said you get 30 days free but you still need to put in a payment method before you are allowed to play.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 23 2014, 11:44 PM

No, that's the way most people play.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 24 2014, 12:16 AM

He was also sorta roleplaying then, as the commander of the Angry Army.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 24 2014, 12:22 AM

Yes, exactly. All a sudden he's really into the spirit of the moment, that's why I liked the PvP part. During the PvE portions, Joe is not into the game at all. It's funny to watch, but also not funny in a way.

Posted by: King Coin Apr 24 2014, 12:32 AM

There are some people that try to RP, but most do not unfortunately.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 24 2014, 12:35 AM

Ahh that's sad. Well hopefully as time passes stuff will get better. I don't really understand fully how MMOs work, and why some are better than others, but Skyrim was also quite a mess in a lot ways in its early days, too. So maybe Zenimax will pull it together somehow.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 24 2014, 03:20 AM

I'm keeping an eye on things, and by the word the bugs are getting fixed at a decent rate.

I'll be taking another look at this game in detail once the console version hits the shelves. If I like it then I'll consider buying. Just don't ANYONE bother me during the quests.

Posted by: mirocu Apr 24 2014, 07:39 AM

Well, you don´t have to fear anything from me. I, as always, only accept one third-party thing when I´m gaming; electricity to power my gaming platform

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 12:20 PM

But yeah... An Elder Scrolls game can only be single player in my mind..

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 24 2014, 12:59 PM

The worst thing about being me is...I am so itching to buy and play it...Just for the chance to do all that wandering/collecting etc...But there are so many reasons against it for me...AAAArgh!!... ...

*Sigh*... ...Damned liking the Elder Scrolls thing...

But the reviews!!...The myriad things wrong with it!!...Stuff!!!...

*Sigh*...

Yeah, wishy-washy...that's me... ...

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 01:09 PM

You're not the only one with that problem McB!!!

I am desperately torn on whether or not to get his game. Regardless of the average reviews, ridiculous cost and presence of countless other players named "xXSuperHDSniperPro720Xx" (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration...) jumping around and power leveling, I have this overwhelming urge to buy the game. Killing all the non-rp, power levelling and generally annoying people in PvP is very appealing to me

Luckily the lack of a game-worthy computer or new gen console is preventing me from getting the game so it's not too much of an issue

Posted by: Renee Gade IV Apr 24 2014, 03:21 PM

Uh oh. Guess that NFL subscription's going the way of the dinosaur.

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 24 2014, 07:18 PM

...

Nah...It's just there are so many things that could be excellent, and stuff that I'd probably love...

But also...Too many reviewers going "Yeah, it's good...But...These are better..."...And I can't risk the money...

McWife pointed out the achievements problem...That she would be annoyed if she earned a trophy for something but it was all on my account... ...Plus, say McWife or McBoy is playing, but because somewhere it says "Robert is online" and Grits goes "Hell yeah!!" and jumps over to where "I" am...

Well, she might!... ...PS4 buddies and all that!...

McWife will possibly not want to play...McBoy may be all "Who the?!!"...Etc etc...

So we're back to the four subscription thing again...It's not going to happen until it's free forever...It's a shame, but I shan't lose sleep over it... ...

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 24 2014, 07:31 PM

I dunno. NFL + Male = is a combination that No Man May Tear Asunder...



If I was into MMOs, I would be still thinking the same thing. The reviews are so ho-hum about it, that it squelches any excitement I have over it being an new Elder Scrolls game. Even if it was a single player game, I would hold off on buying it. I held off on Skyrim for many months, and kind of wish I had waited longer, just so that there would have fewer bugs to deal with when I started playing. Not to mention more mods to fix the things that Bethesda cannot be bothered to ever do anything about, like blocky face textures. But with ESO, there are no mods to fix most of the big bugs. The most you can do is mod the interface to make it more user-friendly. Tbh, I do not think I would ever want to buy an Elder Scrolls game I could not mod. They create wonderful, gigantic open worlds to play in, and give us the chance to play a character of any gender and a ton of different races. But their coding ability - and quality control - is very lacking.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 24 2014, 10:48 PM

MMO launches always come with a lot of bugs. I like to think of it as launch month being the real open beta test for an MMO.

ESO, however, had it worse than most other MMOs, being rife with progression-blocking bugs in quests primarily. And those are the kind of bugs you don't want, as the entire population is out there leveling. Some people enjoy this and level slowly, but others want to max out their level quickly and get to the endgame (which for ESO is when you achieve Vet level 10 and complete all the quests in all the faction zones). The latter tend to also be rather vocal when issues arise, of which ESO is filled with them, to the point where lots of well-published people are warning people off from the game. Not a good launch.

I don't think ZOS quite had a handle on how many problems were still left in the game when they launched the PC release. Either that or they wanted for the PC gamers to get most of the big stuff over with before they moved the game over to the consoles.

Either way, I refuse to play the game in the state it is in now, and will still be apprehensive about buying it even when most of the bugs are ironed out simply because they are charging so much for this game. Subscription games I am much more critical of because if I am going to be paying that kind of money, the developers had better make the time I am buying worth it. Anything that makes me want to play less I do not tolerate.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 24 2014, 11:29 PM

What are Vet levels?

Posted by: Vital Apr 24 2014, 11:51 PM

Wait... Complete all the quests in all the faction zones?

Eh... These MMOs are funny...

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 24 2014, 11:52 PM

Once you hit player level 50, you will start gaining Veteran levels. There are 10 total, and once you have done that (pretty much requires you to do all the leveling quests in the entire game) your character is at max level.

Getting a character to max level pretty much means you have committed to the game and will be sticking around for a long time. Most quitters quit before they even reach endgame.

Endgame in an MMO is A: when you get at least 1 character to max level, and B: you have completed all the content designed to get him to that max level. At this point your interest will be to progress your character as far as possible based on how the game progression is designed and to experience all of the content designed for max level players. ESO is vertically progressing MMO right now, where your goal will be to make your character as powerful as possible in the particular role you want him to fill.

Currently there are three bits of content in ESO for max-level players, two already in, one planned and in development.

1. Veteran dungeons
2. AvA in Cyrodiil
3. Adventure Zones

Posted by: mirocu Apr 25 2014, 08:44 AM

Ugh. This is simply to much for me to bother with..

Posted by: McBadgere Apr 25 2014, 12:55 PM

Sounds a lot like Ubisoft's Prestige Levels for the Multiplayer....

And yet far more complicated...

Aaaand something that would likely have me spending all my time trying to achieve... ...

Posted by: ImperialSnob Apr 27 2014, 10:23 AM

Welp.

Shady business practices all round for this game.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira Apr 27 2014, 06:38 PM

I'd say Zenimax doesn't trust ZOS and want to be able to make as much money as they can in case the game bombs. That's what the marketing tells me, they're really pushing that pay-gated content in the game.

Posted by: Thomas Kaira May 5 2014, 10:02 PM

At this point it looks like ESO has yet another huge problem to deal with: botters.

For the uninitiated: a botter is very simple, it is a player character with no human player at the controls. It is being controlled by a computer macro. This is a prohibited practice in MMOs as botters can cause major problems for the game's economy (they can grind nodes 24-7 without stopping).

Work is being done to ban all the bot accounts at this time, but it's going to be a bit of a process.

Posted by: Renee Gade IV May 6 2014, 01:35 AM

Wow, that sounds absolutely nuts.

Posted by: Darkness Eternal May 6 2014, 03:26 PM

Because Elder Scrolls is meant to be mature, not cheesy and kiddy.

Posted by: McBadgere May 13 2014, 09:42 PM

Anyone being anything like positive vis a vis this colossal money sink at all?...

Just wondering is all...

Posted by: McBadgere Feb 2 2015, 02:21 PM

Well then...Now that the thing is going Free To Play™ and finally coming out on console...Seemingly working like Destiny's sales model...ie, "everything is expensive but hey! We're not subscription, eh?... ..."...

Er...

Yeah, what I've read suggests you get the game to play as you want, but any DLC will need to be paid for...

McWife was asking earlier...Does anyone know of anywhere that says what you'll likely get in the game for your initial purchase, and what exactly is down as DLC?...

Or is this all still up in the air?...

Posted by: Acadian Feb 2 2015, 02:33 PM

Sorry, can't help, McB. I've always hoped well for ESO but continue to watch and listen to how things go. As you probably recall, I don't go near a game until it is well entrenched and fully patched, dissected, wiki'd etc. With this big change to their payment model, I imagine that represents a big change to the game and perhaps a shift in the type of player. So, I continue to watch with interest from the sidelines to hear what intrepid 'jump right in there' players think.

From what I've seen, the game looks nice. I would prefer to buy the game and DLC, then play for free - as long as not having the 'premium $$ content' is not frustrating. But what do I know? I've never touched an MMO or any sort of online play in my life.

Posted by: Callidus Thorn Feb 2 2015, 02:54 PM

Best I can find is http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Tamriel_Unlimited

Even the faq on the elder scrolls online site https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/home?region=US.

Posted by: stargelman Feb 2 2015, 07:15 PM

I'll wait until I don't have to buy the game. I just want to try it 'first' (I did play the beta for two days) to see where it is now, and if I'd like to play now. This is how I got into swtor, by trying it completely for free.

Posted by: McBadgere Feb 3 2015, 06:01 AM

...I posted that first bit in the other thread... ...But thanks hugely...

The faq was pretty good, it did, at least, throw out the suggestion that we wait and see when everything comes out...The Ł50 is going to be bad enough, without the four of us having to spend tons of money to be able to get anywhere...

It does say elsewhere on the site that we need to be Level 50+ to walk freely between all the different territories...Though that does mean you still have three countries per dominion to play in before that, granted...

Posted by: McBadgere Feb 8 2015, 09:20 AM

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...

Posted by: Grits Jun 11 2015, 11:55 AM

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.

Posted by: mALX Jun 11 2015, 07:03 PM

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.

Posted by: Grits Jun 11 2015, 10:28 PM

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.

Posted by: mALX Jun 12 2015, 11:49 PM

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.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Jun 15 2015, 09:52 PM

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?

Posted by: mALX Jun 15 2015, 10:14 PM

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.

Posted by: haute ecole rider Jun 15 2015, 10:33 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?

Posted by: mALX Jun 15 2015, 10:42 PM

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.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 15 2015, 10:45 PM

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.

Posted by: mALX Jun 15 2015, 11:05 PM

*


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.

Posted by: Grits Jun 16 2015, 02:34 PM

haute, if you buy the basic game as of right now at least on the PS4 you can still buy the http://i.imgur.com/ipRMX9E.jpg as well as the http://i.imgur.com/iAvi6hd.jpg.

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.

Posted by: mALX Jun 16 2015, 06:49 PM

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

Posted by: Grits Jun 16 2015, 08:39 PM

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.

Posted by: mALX Jun 16 2015, 10:04 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 !!!

Posted by: Grits Jun 19 2015, 01:23 PM

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.

Posted by: mALX Jun 19 2015, 06:24 PM

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).

Posted by: hazmick Jul 15 2015, 03:53 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2015/07/15/imperial-city-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.

Posted by: mALX Jul 15 2015, 06:00 PM

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.

Posted by: hazmick Jul 15 2015, 09:28 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.

Posted by: mALX Jul 15 2015, 09:46 PM

I would love it if they added some content a solo player could handle.


I know Cyrodiil has 15 Skyshards, that is specifically what I was hoping to go there for, lol. Really not sure I could get into (or survive) those mass battles, even if I joined the "Angry Army," lol.

Posted by: Grits Sep 2 2015, 12:21 PM

If anyone is on the fence about buying ESO, it’s 33% off on Steam right now.

And hey, looks like the That Online Thing forum got a new name!

Posted by: Grits Sep 16 2015, 10:30 PM

I guess I’m behind the times on how these things work, because I was surprised to find out that the many-hours-to-download patch that came today includes the entire DLC content, even though I have not bought it. This will give me “instant access” when I inevitably or so they seem to think fork over the money for the Imperial City DLC, which I have no interest in at all. Until then it will just be there waiting. Call me a curmudgeon, but I am not a fan of this.

Although I’ll admit that the soul-shriven robes (available for a few more $$) look cool.

Posted by: mALX Sep 16 2015, 11:57 PM

I'm 100% in agreement with you on this, does not make sense (1) and has caused a tremendous amount of lag on the PC game (2).

I also have no desire to go to Cyrodiil, play that particular DLC; and how they did that patch (2 weeks ago on the PC) - they devalued all the lower level enchantments and increased them for veteran levels (after I spent hundreds of thousands of dollars improving all my low level gear) - making all the money I spent a waste and all the armor/weapons I improved for my low level characters junk. THAT made me mad.

They also reset all the skill points. For some of my characters that worked, but for others it messed me up. I don't mind, but think they should have given us a warning of some sort so we could LOG our character's stats to reproduce them after the reset.

Anyway, I have been seriously considering cancelling my "Plus" membership, but I've just been informed that the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood are going to be DLC; so I'm holding off to see what they do with that. I've already paid for 6 months, so may as well wait before dropping it and see if they can crank it out before my 6 months ends.

But since the 1st DLC my game has not played right at all; lagging/characters logging in at wayshrines instead of where I left them/characters falling through the void and taking fall damage on logging in/etc.

I wrote several complaints, so far not much fixed; and two weeks has passed.

I also suggested that paying memberships should have a different server from the free membership's server. That way we won't be so effected by every little change.

Posted by: Grits Sep 17 2015, 02:18 AM

I wondered what happened with the skills. I logged in to give Ebonheart Jerric something to research and saw a new icon by the skills menu plus no mail from his smithing materials contact and figured something was up. I hope they pick up the story where they cut it off, those little notes were one of my favorite things in ESO. I think I’ve calmed down enough to read the rest of the patch notes.

I guess I’ll need to read them before I re-allocate everyone’s points if they’ve changed how things work. Sigh. I’m starting to think of my ESO time as time wasted, which is not a good sign.

Posted by: mALX Sep 18 2015, 05:51 PM

It took me 3 days to play it again after realizing they took all those hundreds of thousands of dollars I spent making legendary weapons and epic armor for my characters just to have them devalue everything so it is no better than the junk one would pick up in the field. I still feel sour every time I glance at the altered stats on any of my stuff.

That and it really bothered me that they had to know they would be re-setting our stats, how about some warning a couple days earlier on the launcher news place that they would be doing it so we could log our stats and reproduce them after they were reset? I mean, it would have been nice of them to give us a heads up.

I mean, my Templar used to be fairly powerful, and since I reset her stats something isn't right - she is weaker than she was, and missing some essential spells. Now that said, I rarely play her.

My main character Misa actually got stronger in the reset; and still has all her best spells. Britta seems to be the same or a little stronger; but Bubba is weaker.

So I obviously did something wrong with some; and did better with others. I can live with that, and it only bothers me if I take one of the newly weakened characters out for a spin. But the weaker weapon enchantments and suddenly characters with no stamina that can't run 30 feet anymore when their armor gave them plenty enough to run a mile before - that still makes me mad.

But that said, I've been taking Misa out questing, and I'm still finding the game a lot of fun as long as I don't look at the weapons and armor I made for the lower level characters.

Posted by: SubRosa Sep 18 2015, 06:16 PM

I hate to sound like a party-pooper, but this is a big reason that online games just do not interest me. The developer can still muck with a single player game by releasing patches that change the gameplay. But you can always elect not to apply the patches. And you can always use the command console to fix things, be they stats, money, etc...

Posted by: mALX Sep 18 2015, 06:41 PM

Yes, agreed. If the developers used that power to increase the enchantments or improve the gameplay that would not be offensive, but when they step in and devalue and negate things you have done in your game, they are taking the game you have immersed yourself in away from you and giving you lesser crap in its place.

They had to know before they released the game to the public what changes the DLC would cause and should have foreseen and been prepared in advance so that these kind of ridiculous "oops, these players will be overpowered by the time they get to veteran level, we better knock them back a few pegs" incidents wouldn't be happening - or the "oops, if we knock them back then the veterans won't be able to take on X dungeon boss..." - Why didn't they just adjust the enemies and leave the player enchantments alone since we bought and paid for them (and wouldn't have if they were just junk stat changes).

I could have and would have spent my game money on other things if I had known, they really screwed me over with that patch.

I didn't know these kinds of things took place in online games; I mean, this is not in the beta-test stage anymore; it is a fully released game. Did they do this with WoW?

That said, the quests are still a blast; I love the game world itself; and the game is still fun as long as I don't look at my equipment stats and get mad all over again,

Posted by: Grits Sep 19 2015, 02:56 AM

SubRosa, it’s safe to say that everything I thought and was told that I wouldn’t like about MMOs is true about ESO. There have been several times when something occurred and I thought SubRosa would not put up with this. I am still enjoying myself overall and of course I love my characters completely, but I can’t stay in ESO long before going back to a single-player game.

I hope that there will be something in these latest changes for Lildereth. Archery is to me a huge disappointment. Even with a controller it just feels button-pushy. She does like to snoop around, so at least stealth has been fun. She likes to find skooma-making apparatus and destroy it with the ‘Destroy’ button.

Posted by: mALX Sep 19 2015, 05:07 AM

Gaaaah, I haven't seen that yet!

Posted by: hazmick Oct 5 2015, 03:26 PM

Not sure which thread to put this in, so here we are. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBGrUH7IQjI - Apologies if it doesn't work, you know how YouTube is.

Posted by: mALX Oct 5 2015, 04:51 PM

Try this if it didn't work:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4LP4EDN99c



** I'm still waiting for the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood, I know it is supposed to be coming.

Posted by: SubRosa Oct 5 2015, 05:11 PM

Nice to see the orcs getting some love. Some neat looking critters in there. I especially liked the giantess at the end (at least I think she was a she, not really sure).

Posted by: mALX Oct 5 2015, 05:23 PM

That was the one I liked best too; but I'll bet her (his?) roar does a LOT of damage if it hits you! I learned really quickly in ESO to roll and dodge when some being starts shouting in your face like that. (but I think it is really cool when they do it!) Even the bats can stun you for a few seconds with their piercing screech.

Those transformer-type Dwemer robots are awful to fight, their top half spins with the arms outstretched, and it chops through a line of Players doing that. I hate them!

Posted by: hazmick Oct 5 2015, 07:27 PM

I'm most excited about the new outfits. I spied some nice looking Dwemer style gear. Also, that bear mount and bear cub pet looked adorable.

It'll be interesting to see how they fit Orsinium into the game, since other alliances (Ebonheart Pact and Aldmeri Dominion) won't want to help the Orcs.

Posted by: mALX Oct 5 2015, 08:03 PM

That bear vanity pet was adorable! And the armor did look pretty awesome.

I was wondering that too, but it might be like that Orc fort in Skyrim where they don't trust you at first; but depending on how you treat them or how much help you are, eventually a close bond forms.

It was the same way for my Daggerfall characters and the Orc in Betony - they hadn't joined the Alliance yet because they were distrustful of any non-Orc. But by the end of the questline, it genuinely felt like there was a bond between the Player and the Orc there.

I noticed in the towns and cities in Cyrodiil - the average citizen didn't give a hoot what Alliance or race you were, they just wanted help and for the wars to end. And they would take help from anyone willing to give it.

I have completed all the quests for Cheydinhal and Bruma, and a couple in Chorrol and Cropsford so far; all places that were well within the opposing Alliance's territory - and the only ones attacking me in these towns (other than one Player vs Player attack in Cheydinhal) was the guards for that town. When I fought the guards, no one in the town jumped in to help the guard except other guards. The people in the town were just relieved to have someone they could turn to willing to listen and help.

I'd say that is how Orsinium will be; but it will be odd if the Player doesn't earn some brownie points with the Orc race (despite Alliance lines) after helping them save their (usurped) homeland.

Posted by: hazmick Oct 5 2015, 10:51 PM

Yeah you're probably right. Just seems odd that Haa Rei will be helping to strengthen Orsinium, and in turn strengthening the Daggerfall Covenant. Unless the new found strength lets the Orcs be a bit more independent

Anyway, here's a more detailed breakdown of what's actually coming. There's a big ol' patch (about 10GB) alongside the DLC. http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/222124/

Posted by: mALX Oct 6 2015, 12:19 AM

I've got well over 100 gig on this game on my harddrive already, urk.

Posted by: Grits Jan 5 2016, 03:37 PM

Quick question: how to the costumes work? Do they give the appearance of the costume worn over your equipped armor, or do they replace the armor? I’m wondering if all the Nord dudes I see in their wedding gowns are really running around with no armor or if they’re just disguising their kit for the purpose of humor/roleplaying/PvP.



Edit: Aha, they work just like the “disguises” in their own slot. Makes sense.

Posted by: mALX Jan 5 2016, 04:00 PM

It is just a disguise, and really works in Cyrodiil for hiding your armor so other Alliance members really don't know what you have when they attack you.

You still have all the benefits of your armor but it just doesn't show. And it works for all the "costumes" - I have one that makes my character look like a goblin; another that makes her look like a skeleton (complete with clacking sound when walking) etc.

Posted by: ghastley Jan 11 2016, 06:33 PM

It's hard to figure out which thread this question belongs in, but this looks closest.

The Crystal Tower is toppled by the invading Daedra during the Oblivion Crisis. Since ESO is set before that, it should still be standing on the main island of the Summerset Isles, near Cloudrest. I only see references to it in the UESP Arena notes. Can you see it in ESO?

I answered my own question about visiting it from the UESP site. The main island doesn't seem to be accessible. But since you can see the mainland from the tower, you should be able to see the tower from the mainland, let alone the island you can visit.

Posted by: mALX Jan 11 2016, 08:01 PM

Since the only playable area in the Summerset Isles right now is the small island of Auridon (Firsthold and Skywatch) - you can't play it yet; but I suspect they plan to add the main island as a DLC later on. There is too much history there for it to be ignored; and I've heard that the developers were discussing it.

An area that size would probably require its own servers like Cyrodiil does.

Posted by: hazmick Jan 12 2016, 09:07 PM

Info about upcoming stuff for ESO this year: http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/01/12/eso--the-year-ahead

Of particular interest is this section:

"As we have already announced, we will be launching a big update, including the Thieves Guild DLC game pack, during the first quarter of this year - expect it on the PTS (Public Test Server) in early February. It is a lot of fun and introduces some new gameplay elements as well as the story content. The update will also include a ton of updates and fixes to the core game, including support for 64-bit clients. Stay tuned for more details later this month.

The Dark Brotherhood DLC game pack and update will come in the second quarter. It will be set on the Gold Coast of Cyrodiil (around the towns of Anvil and Kvatch), and will contain some new gameplay elements and story content. We'll release more information about it when we get a little closer to debuting it on the PTS.

We do have plans for DLC after Dark Brotherhood, but you'll have to wait for details.

Besides the major DLC packs, other features we are working on include scrolling combat text (which will go live with the Thieves Guild DLC in Q1), character nameplates, the ability for console players to display their character name instead of their PSN ID/XBL Gamertag, among others. Longer term, expect to see information about systems like a character customization shop so you can change your character's gender, appearance, name, etc., player housing, and other systems that we'll announce in the future. We'll have much more information about all of these as the year progresses."

Posted by: Acadian Jan 12 2016, 10:26 PM

Thanks for the update, hazmick!

Posted by: mALX Jan 12 2016, 10:55 PM

WOO HOO !!!!!!! The Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood !!!!


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Grits Jan 12 2016, 11:53 PM

Thank you for the news update, hazmick! I’m delighted that the name over Jerric’s head will someday be his own instead of mine.

The Thieves Guild is great news for Lildereth. She has been having a terribly frustrating time. She has a long list of unfinished quests that have to be resolved in open combat, and she can’t manage it on her own. Treasure hunting and petty theft are about the only things the game offers for her right now. If not for the occasional blond stranger rushing out of nowhere to save her butt she would have quit on me! (That and she loves her ESO hair.)

I have seen a lot of people who will probably be happy about the makeover shop.

What is scrolling combat text?

Posted by: hazmick Jan 13 2016, 02:58 AM

The specifics vary between games but essentially it's combat information (damage done, attacks used, status effects etc.) displayed somewhere on the screen. Most MMOs use it, and some RPGs too (Dragon Age Origins, for example).

Some games put the combat text in the chat box, some have a separate text box for it, and others have the info floating above the head of whichever enemy or player is taking damage. Not sure exactly how ESO will implement it.

It basically makes it easier to see how effective your attacks are and what's going on in a fight.

Posted by: Grits Jan 13 2016, 03:39 AM

Thank you, hazmick! That sounds important for PvP. I was trying to imagine how I was supposed to type messages to people while I was engaged in combat.

Posted by: mALX Jan 13 2016, 03:47 AM

There is an ESO mod out already that does this, and is really popular. I did not like it at all, it kind of killed the immersion of gameplay to have the stats floating around my character in combat; plus distracted my concentration (usually at a time when it was critical that I be focusing on the fight, lol).

So it got removed within minutes of being installed.







That is exactly why I use TeamSpeak on the PC game. Doesn't the console games have something like "XBox Live" where you have the ability to use voice interaction in game automatically?

Posted by: hazmick Jan 13 2016, 05:06 AM

That first part - Lots of mods and add-ons from PC will be getting made 'official' and brought over to consoles. Can't let you guys have all the good stuff

The second part - Not sure how it works on PS4, but on Xbox you can indeed use voice chat, which is either 'by area' or 'by guild'. Honestly I'd rather jump into a pool of Slaughterfish than speak to people on Xbox LIVE. Lots of folks have been asking for text chat on consoles.

Posted by: mALX Jan 13 2016, 05:21 AM

I've had really good luck with the type of people I've met on TeamSpeak playing ESO; and even sometimes kept the headset on and continued talking to them after shutting the game down for the night - like that sweet Aussie girl I played ESO with most of the time. We talked for hours on TeamSpeak even when not playing on the game, it was better than the telephone.

Some of those people made me special armors and gave them to me as gifts, etc. - Really awesome people.

But that said, I know what you mean about XBox Live. I have heard some really bad attitudes/jerky behavior/trolling/flaming/etc. on there when my son used to play on it. He (my son) made the mistake of being a smart ass on there one time, got a short suspension from XBox and a long suspension from playing on his XBox at all from me - never did that again.

Posted by: Grits Jan 13 2016, 03:15 PM

Yes, but I rarely use it. In towns it’s typically a bunch of guys talking about random things while some kid keeps asking if anyone wants to buy their motif book over and over with babies crying and dogs barking in the background, so I turn it off. I know it’s great for player-to-player communication, but I still haven’t given up being focused on the characters.

In dungeons people can still manage to get their point across through their characters. One elf who was following Jerric got frustrated with his wandering and hit him a couple of times with her healing staff to get him to turn around and follow her. She took him to a somewhat hidden chamber that he might not have found on his own and they both got the dungeon cleared after that fight. Cue cheering emote and jumping around from the elf, hand-to-heart and traditional post-battle toast with flagon from Jerric.

Lil uses the whistle emote and then come-here wave to get people to follow her. The hotkeyed emote wheel makes it easy.

Posted by: mALX Jan 13 2016, 03:24 PM

Bold: What a great description!

I love those emotes, they add so much to the game!

Posted by: hazmick Jan 21 2016, 04:47 PM

More info on The Thieves Guild expansion http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/01/20/thieves-guild-first-look

Highlights:

-Hew's Bane, a new zone available to characters of all levels and home of Abah's Landing, the Thieves Guild headquarters, located in the southern peninsula of Hammerfell.

-The addition of new criminal activities.

-A new passive skill line exclusive to members of the Thieves Guild.

-Unique costumes, motifs, and item sets inspired by the devious Thieves Guild.

Posted by: mALX Jan 21 2016, 05:08 PM

Now you're talking !!!!!!!!!! I have saved 9500 crown points, going to buy this DLC !!!!!


(If I ever get to play again, lol).

Posted by: Grits Jan 21 2016, 06:10 PM

Yay, I’m looking forward to this! My elf loves the shadows.

Except for “Tons of combat and gameplay balance changes.” *palms face* I guess re-learning game mechanics every few months is just one of the joys of an MMO. Maybe there will be a boon for Nightblade archers, like some worthwhile self-healing. Every little quest is a terrible struggle for Lil. The advice I have gotten so far is “you should have made her be a Sorcerer.” Also “you should have made her be a Templar.”

Thank you for the update, hazmick!

Posted by: mALX Jan 21 2016, 06:33 PM

That is one of the things I have not been happy about at all in ESO = having to rebuild my character every time they add a DLC or major update. Really ticks me off that they install the DLC on everyone's game whether they want it or not, then only turn it on if the person orders it = makes no sense to do it that way.

And having to rebuild my character for all their updates was getting on my nerves, I would just get them where they were doing well and suddenly *poof* having to start rebuilding all over. And I don't remember where each one was in their build at the time.

The Sorcerers are extremely weak; but have powerful spells and conjures. The Templars are all around powerful; great spells and mighty fighters.

The Nightblades used to be best for long range fighting; healing themselves; and fairly tough in combat because their spells remove health from the enemy and give it to them - USED TO. Now the developers have changed that so that it gives the Nightblade Magicka or Stamina instead of health; which is making the Nightblade a weak character (where they used to be one of the strongest).

Dragon Knights are the toughest fighters for tanking; have to fight face to face because their spells don't carry long range; but their spells are extremely powerful, and they are the toughest as far as ability to take a licking and keep on ticking.

I have managed to kill several players and NPC's of all classes with my Nightblade; but the toughest to fight and the ones I almost always lost to was the Dragon Knight.

Posted by: Grits Jan 27 2016, 02:36 PM

Here’s a general question: http://i.imgur.com/vwuUj1Q.jpg Does anyone know if there’s a remedy for looking so hideous?

As far as I could tell from searching the question you have to feed every 30 minutes or so to stay at stage 1 and you look worse at each stage, but that was old info and there was a lot of speculation that went with it. I’m thinking that a Mortal Mask type perk that drains magicka like the Sorcerer summonings would work, but I don’t know if that’s for real or just people talking as if they know things that they are really just hoping for.

Posted by: hazmick Jan 27 2016, 04:35 PM

That is indeed a vampire. You can be cured for a small fee at the Mages Guild in Riften, and at a mages guild each in Dominion and Covenant territory (I don't know which ones though.).

Yeah vampire feeding is a little different Online. When you feed it knocks you back 1 stage rather than back to stage one. To feed you just sneak up to someone (players or NPCs work, I think) and just bite them. Vamps get reduced fire resistance and health regen which increases as they go from stage 1 to stage 4.

From what I've read, vamps only have 2 active abilities and an ultimate, but lots of passive abilities. I understand that they're a good stealth class.

Apparently the quest to become a vampire is really cool, and I've always wanted to try it. Haa-Rei isn't sure about that vampire aesthetic though (they do indeed look hideous) so we might do the quest and get cured immediately afterwards.

Posted by: hazmick Jan 27 2016, 10:52 PM

A look at some of next month's Crown Store goodies: http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/01/27/crown-store-showcase-january-27th-2016

Also, the Markarth Bear Dog pet and Nord Hero Armor outfit are coming to the Crown Store tomorrow.

Posted by: hazmick Jan 28 2016, 06:03 PM

Thieves Guild DLC release date announcement - PC/Mac on March 7th, Xbox One on March 22nd, and PlayStation4 on March 23rd.

It costs 2000 crowns, but as always ESO Plus members don't have to pay. A collectors bundle (it includes a mount, a pet, and some other stuff as well as the DLC) will be 4000 crowns.

Posted by: Grits Jan 28 2016, 07:47 PM

Thanks, hazmick! I am certainly getting at least the TG part. I wonder what the mount and pet will be. A grey fox?

I saw a Markarth Bear Dog in Davon’s Watch this morning. It is adorable!


ADDED: Jerric’s current heavy armor setup looks appalling, so I gave in (to pressure from Lil) and bought the poor man the Nedic Armor costume pack. He looks like a badass. Funnily enough he is getting group invites left and right since he started wearing it. I mean, that’s a costume you can buy, you don’t earn it! Lol. Either people don’t shop, or maybe the clothes do make the man!

Posted by: hazmick Jan 28 2016, 09:41 PM

On the Collector's Bundle - It includes the Thieves Guild DLC game pack, the Hammerfell Camel mount, the Kindlespit Dragon Frog pet, and five Crown Experience Scrolls.

Seems it's more of a Hammerfell theme than a thief theme. A good time to be a Redguard.



Grits - that Nedic pack is really nice (Haa-Rei's too skinny to pull it off though), has Jerric seen the Nord Hero outfit? It's only in the store for a couple of days. Quite pricey though.

Posted by: Grits Jan 28 2016, 09:50 PM

I have been watching that Nord hero armor for Jerric, but when he tried it on this morning it was a no-go. He looked gorgeous, but gorgeous is not the look he’s going for. Also the price is whoa. If he loved it I’d buy it for him, but he did not at all love it.

Lil has her eye on that greenish looking hip-baring Hammerfell lady’s outfit. If you use the Hide Helmet option the headdress won’t show. It’s possible she’s just teasing Jerric by talking about it, but she really would like a dressy green outfit and here it (almost) is!

The camel could be hilarious, and I love frogs! I thought the bears would look silly until I saw one in the game. Jerric has been riding a guar in Shadowfen. There are a lot of places that you wouldn’t bring a horse. I had no idea how fun an appropriate and somewhat exotic mount could be.

Thank you for the info, hazmick!

Posted by: Grits Feb 21 2016, 04:13 AM

It pays to look at every scroll, note, and letter. Jerric knows a Nord woman who told him she is hoping that her beloved who is away will return in time for her birthday. He (Jerric) is presently far away from this lady now, and he has found a letter from her to her love that gave him a location on his map but no quest, which is refreshing. Now he plans to visit this location to tell the other lady that her beloved is bending every ear that passes with her wish that this other lady will get her tail back home for the birthday party. I suspect he will find something in the location, hopefully the adventuresome lady quite healthy but having lost track of the date. Perhaps something more sinister. This is more exciting to me than any of the quests!

Posted by: hazmick Mar 18 2016, 11:47 PM

Either I've missed an announcement or Zenimax were very sneaky with a new addition to the crown store. Introducing the http://i.imgur.com/jHxpryv.png pet, available for 700 crowns.

http://i.imgur.com/fbvYs61.png, with the Guar mount for scale.



There's also a discount on mount upgrades at the moment, so you might want to pick those up if you've got any spare crowns lying around.

Posted by: hazmick Mar 23 2016, 03:56 PM

Quick update on more stuff the Thieves Guild adds. A pack of 3 pirate costumes is now available in the crown store for 700 crowns, and on arrival in Abah's Landing you will get a free pet Jackal. I'll pop some screenies of all that in the screenie thread later. 5 new crafting motifs have also been added,

As well as the expansion, the game will have updated for everyone which has various changes and additions to pretty much every aspect of the game. It's worth going to the ESO official forums and reading through the patch notes. They're...extensive. Next time you log into the game, make sure to go over your skills and champion points to see what's changed.

Posted by: Grits Mar 23 2016, 08:49 PM

Aww, what an adorable little guar!

The TG expansion sounds great, I’m looking forward to seeing more of it. I’m unfortunately scarce for another day or two. I did manage to read the patch notes and found this little gem:

Bow:

Hawk Eye: This passive ability has been redesigned, and no longer increases the damage of your Bow abilities against off-balance enemies. It now increases the damage of your Bow abilities by 2/5% for 4 seconds after each successful Light or Heavy Attack, stacking up to 3 times.

Finally something for Lildereth! Though she’s also looking forward to seeing her friends in their pirate outfits.

Thanks, hazmick!

Posted by: hazmick Mar 23 2016, 10:25 PM

I was hoping there'd be even more bow stuff, maybe just a big ol' damage increase. Still, some really cool changes. My personal favourite is this one:

Unstable Clannfear (Unstable Familiar morph): This pet’s special ability will now heal you and the Clannfear for 35% of your maximum Health.

Whereas before the Clannfear healed you on death or de-summoning, you just use the summon spell when the Clannfear is active and it heals you both without de-summoning it. Basically a healing spell and a summon spell all in one skill slot. Makes a Sorcerer way easier to play.

Posted by: Grits Mar 23 2016, 11:46 PM

I just tried this in-game, and wow! I doubt we will get to keep it for long! This healing will let Darnand switch back to a Destruction staff, his first love. He has been gritting his teeth and using a Restoration staff for Mutagen since he doesn’t have Entropy yet. He’ll keep it on the second bar for allies, but now he can dedicate himself to blowing things up.

I was hoping for more Bow power, too, but anything is an improvement. I see why in PvP they can’t allow archers to become too powerful, but it stinks for the solo archer in PvE. Lil has far more trouble as a dedicated Stamina archer than Jerric does in melee with his attributes split three ways. She has a Restoration staff on her second bar as well and uses it mostly to heal fleeing fellow archers when they dash past her pursued by a crowd. I guess there’s a reason why I’ve never seen a VR16 character with a bow on their back.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 2 2016, 11:31 PM

So I keep seeing players with a pet Echalette and thinking "Where in Oblivion did they get that little cutie?". Turns out I just needed to fast travel to Orsinium.

As this (http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/02/22/loyalty-rewards-for-dlc-game-packs) explains, the Echalette and Jackal pets from the two DLCs are the start of a new trend within ESO.

Going forward, all DLCs will have something similar to give players a nice little freebie when they get the DLC (either through ESO plus or buying it separately.).

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 2 2016, 11:48 PM

And that is one reason why you have to download and install every DLC that comes out, even if you didn't buy it. Because you have to be able to see the DLC-specific creatures and items that other players with the DLC have.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 3 2016, 12:27 AM

Correct. Most MMOs do it, to avoid any issues that may arise from a DLC player meeting a non-DLC player.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 7 2016, 05:11 PM

Elven Hero Armour is available in the Crown Store until April 11th. It's the outfit worn by the Altmer mage in the trailers.

This is the second Hero armour that we've had (Nord was a few months ago) so I'd say it's a safe assumption that the Breton version will be coming soon.

EDIT: Haa-Rei is 50 crowns short of the 2000 crown asking price, which is disappointing since the outfit actually looks quite nice.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 7 2016, 05:50 PM

Also - Until April 12th you can get a FREE Cake Voucher from the crown store, which starts a quest for a famous baker.

This is to celebrate ESO's 2 year anniversary.

Posted by: Grits Apr 10 2016, 05:24 PM

The Elven Hero armor looks amazing. I have to buy my Crowns since I’m not a subscriber, so I’m letting this one pass me by. But it’s really gorgeous!

Stays-Up-Late ate his cake and leveled Alchemy into the 40s. Yum!!

The white tiger pet looks awesome. It would be stunning as a mount. There’s a big one at the Evermore privateer’s dropoff who’s hanging out with a Khajiit who is there fishing. Darnand can’t help but stare when he has business there.

I’m looking forward to seeing the pride-king lion mount. I hope he’s as impressive as the bears.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 10 2016, 05:41 PM

Ate-His-Cake sounds like a perfect Argonian name.

Posted by: Grits Apr 10 2016, 06:54 PM

Ate-His-Cake! Stays does have quite a cake belly. I made him thick.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 14 2016, 05:51 PM

Wood Elf costumes and the Ancient Orc motif are now available for purchase in the crown store.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 20 2016, 03:50 PM

Some info and a teaser trailer has been released for the upcoming Dark Brotherhood DLC. Very exciting.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXtW-atR_l8

Info: http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/04/19/dark-brotherhood-first-look

Info highlights: It will take place in a new area - The Gold Coast, and you will be able to visit Anvil and Kvatch.

A new passive skill line exclusive to members of the Dark Brotherhood.

Unique costumes, motifs and item sets inspired by the Dark Brotherhood.


The DLC will be released alongside a hefty patch which, among other things, will be removing Veteran Ranks! Praise The Hist!

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 20 2016, 05:07 PM

Grits will have to buy it just because of the Gold Coast!

I never really did understand the whole Veteran levels things. Even though it has been explained to me before. Is it really bad for the game though?

I see in the patch notes that poison-making is one of the new things. I just assumed that was always there. Have you always been able to use poisons you found? Or is using and making them brand new? My guess is that this will be a boon for the Nightblade class.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 20 2016, 05:28 PM

Basically Veteran Levels are just normal levels, but they take a lot more experience (about 1 million) to go from one to the next. This is a phenomenal amount of exp, and after 300+ hours Haa-Rei is still only Vet 14 (out of 16 levels). By removing Vet Levels it will make it much easier and more feasible for people to have more than one character. It'll also close the gap between the high level players which dominate the PvP zone and newer players who currently have very little hope of achieving much in Cyrodiil other than a swift trip to the respawn shrine.

Poisons and poison making are both brand new (Though there are poison effects for certain abilities). We've had potion making since day 1, though I've never looked into it much so I'm not even sure how effective it really is. I always find that these things tend to lose their edge since they have to be balanced for PvP and PvE content.

Posted by: Grits Apr 20 2016, 07:50 PM

Yep. They had me at “Kvatch”!

I haven’t looked at the video yet, but if it has any Gold Coast footage you will hear me shriek from all over this realm.

The veteran news is well-timed for my crew. Jerric is far ahead of the pack at level 45 and beginning to wrap things up in the Rift. He finished the Fighters Guild questline and has been saving stuff like most of the DLC quests in anticipation of hitting a wall at Veteran 1. Hopefully thigs will even out for the next part. I would rather be able to ignore such things and just let him explore at will.

Poison is good news for Lil, though she just traded all of her points in Alchemy for some Nightblade skill line passives. *palms face* She just hit level 23 and is still struggling with the game’s content. There is no place for a stealth solo archer after the first shot, but she does enjoy sneaking around and not shooting. She does best with one of the temporary followers. They don’t seem to do much damage, but they give her some room to work without getting overwhelmed. And big surprise, they tend to sneak when she does!

Before my trip, Lil and Aninah went shopping in the Crown store. They both got wood elf costumes, and Lil bought the buff-colored suit for Jerric. He has not worn it yet, but he looked damn fine when he tried it on! Pictures will follow when things are less frantic around here!

Potions are great once you get into the multi-effect ones. Lil has only small heal-over-time abilities, so the only emergency healing she gets is from potions. Also Jerric will sometimes take one before a boss fight to boost his magicka.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 22 2016, 04:28 PM

A new mount, the Pale Velothi Guar, is available in the Crown Store until April the 25th.

Frustratingly, I'm away from home until the 29th and will miss out. Not sure why they have such a short purchase window for it. Exclusivity, I suppose.



I've also heard that a male Senche-Lion mount will be available as of the 28th, but I can't confirm that yet.

Posted by: hazmick Apr 27 2016, 12:04 AM

Finally got some proper details about the Dark Brotherhood DLC.

It goes live on PC/Mac on May 31st, and both Xbox One and PS4 on June 14th.

It will cost 2000 crowns if you aren't an ESO plus member.

As with all DLC, a Collector's Bundle will also be available in the Crown Store for 4,000 crowns. It includes the Dark Brotherhood DLC game pack, the Highland Wolf Mount, the Sylvan Nixad pet, and five Crown Experience Scrolls.




EDIT: Here is a https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMD_upU2BvA someone has made to show off the Highland Wolf Mount. It's so darn gorgeous Haa-Rei has already decided to buy it when the DLC gets here. Time to save up some crown points!

Posted by: hazmick Apr 28 2016, 04:33 PM

The 'Pride-King Lion' mount and 'Senche-Lion Cub' pet are now available from the Crown Store. The mount costs 1800 crowns and the pet costs 700.

Posted by: Grits Apr 28 2016, 05:38 PM

hazmick, thanks for the info! I’m sorry you missed the pale Velothi guar. I’ve only seen a couple of them in game, so maybe they will come back at some point for more sales. The idea of a cold-hardy mountain guar has grown on me. Plus they look cool.

Aninah checked out the lion mount, and he is as awesome as I’d hoped. It takes a lot to separate me from 1800 Crowns, though. But the Nord gets whatever he wants, so maybe Jerric will nudge me into buying him.

Oh my gosh, the dire wolf! Yes, please. Also drooled over the Gold Coast footage. Those temple columns! The Ayleid ruins! A minotaur!! Oh. My. Goodness.

Posted by: SubRosa Apr 28 2016, 06:51 PM

The Lion King mount? Does Elton John sing in the background when you mount up?

Posted by: hazmick May 1 2016, 06:46 PM

The Crown Store showcase for May is out, detailing some of the new additions to the store this month. A bunch of stuff will also be removed from the crown store on May 30th to make room for it all. I'll add prices as and when I find them out.

OUTFITS

Dragon Priest - May 5th - 1000 crowns.

Dragon Warrior - May 5th (It's the Dragonborn's iron and hide armour from the Skyrim promo stuff.) - 1000 crowns.

Treasure Hunter - May 19th - 1000 crowns.


MOUNTS

Black Camel of Ill Omen - May 12th to May 16th

Dro-m'Athra Senche - May 26th to May 30th - 4000 crowns.


PETS

Bal Foyen Nix-Hound - May 5th - 400 crowns.

Blue Oasis Dragon Frog - May 19th - 700 crowns.




Stuff that's getting removed:

Brilliance Brocade Robes
Doeskin-and-Chamois Woods Wear
Evening Dress
High-Collared Coin Ball Gown
Imperial Battlemage Pack
Imperial Officer Pack
Mages Guild Pack
Soul-Shriven Costume Pack

Golden Eye Guar
Palomino Horse
Senche-Lioness

Daedric Scamp
Helstrom Ancestor Lizard
Shornhelm Shepherd

Posted by: mALX May 1 2016, 07:29 PM

Hey Hazmick - I came across a "Pact Armor" motif in loot - it says "Collectible - add to Lore" on it. Master Merchant has no prices on it, and it says the Player needs to be level 9-10 to use it.

Is this something new that they came out with? I can't find anything about "Pact Armor" online at all.

Posted by: hazmick May 1 2016, 08:38 PM

Yep. Alliance motifs (Pact, Covenant, Dominion) are new styles that were released in the last update. You can find the motifs in chests around Cyrodiil.

To craft the Pact version you need a material called 'Dragon Scute' which can be purchased from Alliance traders in Cyrodiil.

Posted by: mALX May 1 2016, 09:00 PM

Oh, thank you so much for letting me know! That is awesome! I thought you could only get those in the crown store! Er...never heard of Dragon Scute ... Oh, it is Alliance armor! I must have found that in Cyrodiil! Oh, so you said Alliance trader, you meant it - like the Siege Merchants!

Okay, now I want to go back through the Ayleid ruins down there and collect a whole set, lol.

I have the "Master Merchant" add-on; and it doesn't have a price for either this or the Dwemer Lance; so I'll have to find a way to price them so I can sell them at the Guild Traders store.

Posted by: hazmick May 1 2016, 09:33 PM

The Alliance motifs I've seen in Guild Trader stores have all been at the higher end of the pricing spectrum - more expensive than Dwemer and Xivilai styles.

If you're struggling to get Dragon Scute you can use Mimic Stones (from the crown store) as a substitute.

Posted by: mALX May 1 2016, 09:47 PM

Oh, I thought the Dragon Scute was what it was made of, as "the ore"

Posted by: hazmick May 5 2016, 04:45 PM

Some new stuff has arrived in the Crown Store. My post from Sunday now has prices for the available outfits and pet.

Posted by: Grits May 6 2016, 10:39 AM

The lion cub pet is absolutely adorable. I burst into Elton John lyrics when I see it.


Thanks for the update, hazmick!

Posted by: Acadian May 6 2016, 12:05 PM

Thanks for the update, hazmick. And your screenie of the month is gorgeous! Haa-Rei looks so comfortable and relaxed among those flowers. The setting looks quite a bit like the gardens in the Arcane University.

Posted by: SubRosa May 6 2016, 06:35 PM

I agree! Like one of Grit's pics, it makes me think of Shogun 2, but for very different reasons! The bright spring flowers make me think of Kyoto.

Posted by: hazmick May 10 2016, 07:59 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/05/10/dark-brotherhood-deep-dive-what-veteran-rank-removal-means-for-your-character

That ^ is an explanation of the removal of veteran ranks and how the game will change because of it. I'd say it's a must read for any ESO players, particularly anyone with Veteran Level characters.

Posted by: Grits May 10 2016, 10:13 PM

Thank you, hazmick!

Jerric is right on the edge of level 49, so I was wondering how we should precede. It looks like current veteran rank characters will get a one-time Champion Point bonus, but I’m not quite sure how to put that into a long-term context. As a player’s second and third characters pass level 50 they will gain access to the account’s CP pool, but can they also earn additional points for the account as they level up? Meaning is this one-time bonus a permanent gain/advantage that current players will have, or once everyone reaches the cap for using CP will it all even out again with newer players?

Posted by: hazmick May 11 2016, 02:20 AM

That is a very good question. I only have one character, so I'm not sure how it all works. I have a bad cold so my head's all foggy and I can't take in much information. I'll have to re-read the article again when I'm less groggy.

The way I understand it at the moment is that the bonus points for current Veteran players is just a one-off for them when the update lands, as a loyalty reward for all the time they've put in. They will be able to share this with all of their characters, both new and old. All of a player's characters share, and contribute to, the points pool. With regards to Jerric, it sounds like it would benefit all of your characters if he was to reach Veteran ranks.

The way (I think) the new Champion System will work means that it won't be too difficult for newer players to catch-up, especially compared to the previous Veteran system. Players who are currently at Vet ranks will have an advantage over new players with regards to levels, but it shouldn't be too dramatic.

When the update lands I might make another character to test it all out, since Haa-Rei has gathered quite a few points and will get the full bonus for being Veteran Rank 16.

Posted by: Grits May 11 2016, 11:45 AM

hazmick, I’m sorry to hear you have a bad cold. That’s miserable. I hope you’re feeling better today.

I think it’s great that they’re offering a bonus for players who have leveled up under the old system. The new way should also take some of the sting out of starting a new character for those who want to try something different but hate to actually play PvE and level up. Having a bank of champion points should help a lot when the race to the end game becomes just a race to level 50 as far as equipping the top tier gear goes.

The article didn’t say, but I’m guessing that the extra skill and attribute points that lower level characters will receive as they level up under the new system will also be distributed to existing characters who haven’t reached V1 yet. I think that’s a nice improvement. The toughest part for me was before I invested in any passives because I didn’t have enough skill points yet.

Posted by: Grits May 17 2016, 07:59 PM

OK, now that Jerric is earning and using Champion Points the system makes sense to me. At present there are slots in the constellations to use 501 points (167 in each group), and anything above that I suppose just gets banked. I like how these points work.

It will be great to have any characters that move into the champion levels after a player’s first one be able to equip the player’s highest level gear. That removes the tiresome gear swap that happens every couple of levels. There’s no point in trying to collect the special sets now, because by the time I find a second piece the first one is obsolete. Also crafting for multiple characters will be simpler if they’re all in the same tier once they pass 50.

It’s funny that low-level characters can use the player’s CP. That explains a lot!

Posted by: hazmick May 24 2016, 07:05 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/05/24/dark-brotherhood-deep-dive-updates-to-the-crown-store-and-eso-plus is some info on more new stuff coming soon. Nothing major, but exciting nonetheless.

Overview:

You'll be able to purchase more Character Slots from the Crown Store (1500 Crowns) up to a maximum of 12 characters.

You'll be able to preview motifs in the Crown Store before you buy them.

Hats are being added to the game. At the moment items like Cadwell's Pot Helm count as a costume, but it will soon count as a hat and can be worn with other costumes.

Lastly for ESO plus members. We (ESO plus members) are getting craft bags. These bags are like an unlimited inventory space for crafting items, so you can carry all of your crafting materials with you without having to find a bank to dump them in. The bags won't take up inventory space and will be shared across all characters.



That's all for now. As I said, nothing major. The craft bags sound interesting but a bit superfluous since you can put craft materials in the bank and use them from there. Oh well.

Posted by: mALX May 24 2016, 07:23 PM

I used up 8 characters in my game last year - all but 3 of them were alts to carry my crafting supplies! And I was an ESO Plus member, but aren't anymore; darn it!

How I wish they had that feature purchase-able at the crown store!

Really excited to be able to expand the slots in my game, because once you have paid out all the money to fully expand the backpacks on a character (and the character's horse) , you kind of can't delete them without putting yourself in a bind inventory wise.

Thanks for the info, Hazmick! I should still have the 9500 crowns unused on my game on my PC from when I was a plus member, was planning to use it to get some DLC, still deciding which by what I hear about them, lol. But now thinking about maybe buying another slot with it.

Posted by: Grits May 24 2016, 10:05 PM

Yay, it’s great to get some details about adding character slots. With my tribe I’ll be at the front of the line.

Craft bags sound like a great idea. I have spent a fortune in game gold getting banks and bags upgraded to hold materials, and now new players won’t have to deal with that at all if they subscribe. I like that they are taking out some of the annoyances.

Thank you for the info, hazmick!

Posted by: hazmick May 26 2016, 12:13 AM

http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/821/feature/10873/Elder-Scrolls-Online-Making-Rather-Delightful-Looking-Poisons-in-Dark-Brotherhood.html?hootPostID=f7d3ae1ba4dce1c63b7d7acb3a3b2606 is an article about the poison crafting abilities that are coming in the DB update. Sounds pretty interesting, but Haa-Rei has no alchemy skill at all right now. Time to train.

Posted by: mALX May 26 2016, 05:06 AM

Ooh, looks like I need to start building up my alchemy skills!

Posted by: Grits May 26 2016, 02:47 PM

Thanks, hazmick!

Poison-making might get Lil interested again. She got into the 20s with Alchemy before handing it over to Stays-Up-Late. I’ll have to see how the swap with the weapon’s enchantment works out. I’d love to see some complicated mechanics that pay off with Enchanting.

Stays is stuck doing Windhelm writs due to not progressing his main quest. The prospect of awesome top-shelf poisons might get Lil to tackle her series of toe to toe boss fights and move hers along.

Posted by: hazmick May 26 2016, 11:51 PM

One thing that the article didn't mention was the way poison crafting will integrate with the existing poison damage type in the game. The 'Mighty' champion point passive increases Physical, Poison, and Disease damage and Haa-Rei makes use of a few poison-based attacks with his bow. At the moment, 'Mighty' gives Haa-Rei a 16% damage bonus with those attacks.

I'm interested in seeing how the poison crafting will work with that, or if it'll be a totally separate thing.

Posted by: hazmick May 27 2016, 09:33 PM

Couple of things today. First:

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/2016/05/27/dark-brotherhood-loyalty-reward-your-new-personality are a new feature coming with the DB update. Here's what they are:

"Personalities are a new feature that change how your character stands, walks, and even performs some emotes. You'll be able to mix-and-match a Personality with your favorite costumes, skins, and hats so they can be active all at once!"

So basically if you have the Assassin personality set to your assassin outfit, when you equip the outfit your character will move, stand etc. like an assassin. Other games have similar features that are usually called 'stances' or 'poses'. Pretty cool.


Second thing:

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/2016/05/27/crown-store-showcase--may-27th-2016 for June is out. Here's what's coming next month (as always I'll add prices when they are revealed):

HATS
Silvenari Felt Bycoket - All platforms June 30th.
Z'en Vengeance Kiss-Me-Not Cap - All platforms June 30th.

COSTUMES
Toxin Doctor - All platforms June 23rd.
Treethane Ceremonial Dress - All platforms June 30th.

MOUNTS
Highland Wolf - PC May 31st, Xbox One and PS4 June 14th.

PETS
Sylvan Nixad - PC May 31st, Xbox One and PS4 June 14th.
Northern Lynx - All platforms June 23rd.

UTILITY
Crown Lethal Poison (provides you with a supply of 80 doses of Lethal Poison for application to weapons.) - PC May 31st, Xbox One and PS4 June 14th.

Posted by: mALX May 28 2016, 12:54 AM

I saw three items in the May showcase that Buffy might like!

These poisons are something I've been waiting for since I started playing, can't wait to get them! (but I'm going to have to build my alchemy skills up, lol)

I was in Vulkhel Guard yesterday and outside the Mages Guild there was a pack of Players riding those blue Dro-m'Athra Senche - all in a circle facing each other and having a "roar-athon!" Nothing else, just roaring at each other! It was hysterical! I do love this game, and playing with other people just to see some of the things they come up with to entertain themselves! It is the most entertaining game I have ever played; not just for its own content, but for what the Players add too!

Posted by: mALX May 28 2016, 01:16 AM

Holy Cow those personality idles look Awesome for the Assassin! I wonder if they will make some other ones you can purchase too? That is fantastic!

Posted by: Grits May 28 2016, 11:40 PM

Thanks, hazmick!

That Assassin Personality looks very cool. Jerric is hoping for a “Drunken Slut” personality. It’s unclear whether he intends it for himself or if he just hopes to enjoy seeing others use it.

I’ve seen a bunch of dro-m'athra senche riders fooling around, and oh my gosh they look great!

Some clarification on the VR to CP conversion from the official forum thread: We will still be able to spend account CP points on characters who are below level 50, just won’t be able to use the CP level gear on them until they hit level 50. Also the extra attribute and skill points that will be applied through future level ups will be automatically added at first login to characters who have already passed those levels. In other words no one will miss out on attribute or skill points from level ups with the change.

Jerric is VR1 with about 50 CP right now, and I was concerned that he would lose the CP and just become CP10 from his VR1 level. It sounds like that won’t happen, characters will be at least the CP equivalent of their Veteran level so they can continue to use their current gear but should be their CP level if that is higher.

VR1-15 gear is going cheap on the PS4 NA server. It’s a great time to work on crafting!

Posted by: hazmick May 29 2016, 12:24 AM

4000 Crowns though...


Thanks for the CP info. It all sounds a little complicated, but it'll probably be crystal clear once I actually see it applied to Haa-Rei.

I'm still wondering how crafting will be scaled. Obviously stuff like Ruby Ash which is the highest level material now will still be high level, but I wonder what the level brackets around each material will be.

Posted by: Grits May 29 2016, 01:29 AM

Yep, I think they’re really rewarding the subscribers who have a bunch of Crowns piling up every month, which is OK by me. If someone really, really MUST have it they can still buy it, but it’s expensive enough to keep it within subscribers and the rare player who will hand over that much cash. (Not me! )

My understanding with the craft scaling is that the materials will stay at their current levels as converted to CP levels. So a VR1-VR3 material will simply become a CP10-CP30 material, with the cap still at VR16/CP160. Gear will drop in 10 CP increments.

Posted by: hazmick May 29 2016, 04:55 AM

The price isn't my main issue. I don't like the fact that Zenimax don't reveal the prices until the item is released, and the mount is only available for a couple of days. If you don't have any Crowns saved up you suddenly have to find ~Ł30 before the mount vanishes again. I can't understand why they don't put the prices on the monthly showcase so people can plan ahead.


Ah that makes sense. I hope they re-do the VR16 gear crafting while they're at it - it takes 10x more resources than VR15 gear. If you craft a VR15 bow for 12 Ruby Ash, you need 120 Ruby Ash for a VR16 bow. It's utterly ridiculous.

Posted by: Grits May 30 2016, 01:54 AM

I agree, they should release the price of upcoming store items so that players can make plans. I also would prefer that the limited items be in the store for more than a few days. I hate that you missed out on the Velothi guar. I don’t see a reason why they couldn’t keep things up for at least a week or two, since most people I know do not bring their game consoles along when they travel.

Thank you for that top-level tip, I had no idea the amount of materials would jump so much. It might make sense to have my crafters go ahead and spend the skill points up to the highest rank so that they will start getting those materials in the mail from their hirelings. Sounds like it will take a long time to save up for a full set of anything.

Posted by: mALX Jun 1 2016, 11:49 AM

They really messed up the stamina in this last patch. My character is vet level 1 and suddenly can't run 10 feet without panting loudly and slowing down. Really ticked me off, I wish they would leave our characters alone in these updates! I also had to reset her champion points that she had already distributed; and the last 15 skill points.

This right here is why I quit playing it last fall; because you would spend gold/crowns/time/effort building your character/armor/weapons up just to have them tear it back down to nothing in a patch.

Posted by: Grits Jun 1 2016, 12:19 PM

I read that the update that comes with the Dark Brotherhood stuff will improve things for Stamina overall, Nightblades, and archers among other things. Sorry I don’t have a link, I got that from reading a bunch of threads with links to announcements over on the official forums.

I also saw on one of their videos that came out before Thieves Guild that the planned third quarter update’s ‘Barber Shop’ appearance change mechanic will include a race change option. Not sure if that is still in the works, but in January Matt Firor said that it was going to be part of it.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 1 2016, 01:52 PM

Yeah I heard that the stamina changes will be beneficial overall, but a fair few people don't like it and I can understand how it can be annoying to re-do your character stuff. Personally I don't mind it since it keeps the game fresh and makes sure your character doesn't stagnate.


Haven't heard much about the Barber Shop other than the occasional rumour. Hopefully Bethesda will talk about it during their E3 bit this year. A race change will get a lot of people excited though.

Player housing is my main interest at the moment though. I'm very interested to see how/when it'll be done.

Posted by: mALX Jun 1 2016, 07:14 PM

I think what they thought was "Improving" stamina was connecting it to a panting breathing when stamina gets about halfway. The stamina evaporates ridiculously fast now, an is connected to too many actions - ultimates; spells, etc.


Oh, on the Barber Shop - really hope they allow us to change our voice sets, I've got two girls that grunt like pig farmers wives when they mount a horse, jump, swing an axe, etc. Really irritating to hear.

Posted by: Grits Jun 2 2016, 12:48 PM

Oh that’s right, you PC players already have the update! Did you get a full skill, attribute, and Champion Point reset, or just the new ones to spend? For your Veteran Rank character, how did they come up with her new level, is it from her number of Champion Points?

I read a few pages of the PC patch notes last night, and so far I’m optimistic.

I hope the Barber Shop turns out to be the whole character creation process apart from class and faction choice. That would include voice type and even name. With the new CP level system they are clearly recognizing the player’s experience over the character’s. That focus makes a mechanic like a totally different person coming out of the appearance change process not need to fit into the game’s world so much a fit into the player’s.

I like all of my characters’ voices, but it was sheer luck on Jerric’s since I didn’t know you could try them out until after he was in the game. Oops. Good thing the default is a deep voice with a loud laugh!

Posted by: mALX Jun 2 2016, 07:22 PM

She had 15 skill points to set. Now, I had some saved to use, but not that many. But I couldn't tell if any of the ones I'd set already were missing; I couldn't remember what I had.

But the champion points I had just set several more the day before, and they were all zeroed out.

Another change I don't like is that they took away the Exploration trait and made it "Prosperous" = more loot found. What good does that do? We have no where to store the loot if we get more! My next bank inventory upgrade is like 40,000; and 37,000 for each character; and I already have to juggle stuff around constantly; so I want more loot now? I don't have anywhere to put what I have!

I did notice a "Crafting Bag" button/tab on my inventory; but of course it was locked on mine since I let my Plus membership lapse.

But to me, the panting is really irritating since it comes on so soon after your character starts running - like she is an out of shape couch potato instead of the athletic adventurer who defeated Balreth. I don't like the panting, wish there was a way to turn it off.

But I could tolerate the panting if they hadn't made the stamina dissipate so rapidly. It is ridiculous how fast it goes down now; especially in a character in whom I've spent a full 1/3 attribute points in stamina and she has strong stamina enchanted jewelry and clothing!

Posted by: mALX Jun 2 2016, 07:55 PM

Oh, on the champion points - it seems our characters will now be ranked as champion 1 through 167 rather than veteran rank 1-15.

I don't get it, but my character is most def earning champion points quicker now.

On the voices = all my Nord girls are fine; and (formerly pantsless) Calia has a darnright cute voice; but my other two Imperial girls have an obnoxious grunt that occurs constantly with any actions like mounting a horse; swinging an ax to mine or chop wood; jumping over a log; etc. Makes me cringe hearing it, it is a huge turn-off. The only reason I didn't delete the character is that I'm concerned over the limited number of deletions we are allowed.

And Bubba Khan - he was fine unless he was falling or in a heavy attack, then he screamed like a girl. He does have a nice laugh though; and his voice is kind of husky so I'd keep his voice intact and put up with the girlish screams on him.

But the grunting noise I can't stand; and I've seen several other people complain on that one because when you test the voices - no matter how many times you cycle through it, you never hear that grunt; and the rest of the voice sounds perfect. So you choose it, and "surprise!" Urk.

I think they should open up all the female and male voice sets for all the races to let us have access to more choices. Some of the races have better choices than others.

Posted by: Grits Jun 3 2016, 01:57 AM

OK great, thanks very much for the info! Sounds like skills will not reset, but we’ll have the new points to allocate right away.

For deleting characters, I believe that the limit is just per day, so after you delete the limit (I think it’s 3?) you just have to wait before you can delete more.

Jerric is VR2 with 70-odd Champion Points now, so I'm starting to wonder about skipping over whole levels of gear after consoles get the update. I guess since he'll still be adventuring through all of the zones he can just use them anyway and not worry about the levels.

Posted by: mALX Jun 3 2016, 02:09 AM

Yeah, I use sets of armor that are 25 levels below my level, just having trouble giving them up because nothing better seems to come up. Would really like to have the same set at a higher level, it is fantastic.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 13 2016, 11:48 AM

Not many announcements from E3 (I was hoping for player housing) but we did learn about One Tamriel. Here are the details:


"Characters will have their level scaled the same way that we currently scale players to the level of DLC zones (Imperial City, Orsinium, Thieves Guild, and Dark Brotherhood).

You will be able to explore the entire world in any sequence you wish - just walk across the world and you will always find appropriately leveled content.

You will be able to play and group with anyone in the game at any time (outside of PvP). No longer will you have to create a lower level character to play with a friend who has just joined the game. You will be able to group and adventure together from the moment your friend emerges from the tutorial.

We are dropping all PvE Alliance restrictions. You will be free to explore of all Tamriel, including other Alliances. It is up to you how you want to role-play your character while doing this. “Silver" and “gold" versions of zones will be replaced by Cadwell quest storylines that you can do in any order you wish.

Alliance restrictions will still be enforced in all PvP areas, of course. One Tamriel will not affect the PvP systems in Cyrodiil.

In general, higher level players will be the same “level" as lower level players, but they will have far more tools in their arsenal: better gear, more abilities, and of course more Champion points.

We will adjust gear rewards to scale appropriately to make sure that there is always a way to get more powerful via crafting, questing, PvP, and dungeon/trial boss loot drops.

All Trials and Dungeons will continue with standard and Veteran difficulty modes, and you will have to be Veteran level to play veteran dungeon modes.

The Coldharbour zone will be “roped off" from players who have not yet completed the quests that lead there. However, if you are invited to a group that is already there, or travel to a friend who is there, you can immediately access the zone."

Posted by: McBadgere Jun 13 2016, 12:58 PM

Ah...Saw this this morning...Pretty interesting stuff...

One of these days I might actually do something of consequence with this game, but so far all I did was essentially dip my toe in the proverbial water...Though I think I did actually go in the water and got killed...

Hmmm...Fun!...

Posted by: Grits Jun 13 2016, 06:31 PM

McB!!!!! So wonderful to see you!!!

Yeah, watch out for that deep water – no surprise that Jerric was the first of mine to receive the “Slaughtered” achievement.

I am thrilled that One Tamriel is battle-leveling the whole PvE game world. The thing I like to do most is walk around and do whatever suits the character, unbothered by the restrictions of leveled zones. This is great news!

Also it has been a pain to juggle who, where, and when other peoples’ characters are for RP stuff. I’ve even been asked to create clones of a character so that I/they could participate in events in different Alliance areas. With One Tamriel that shouldn’t matter, since a character will not be limited in the PvE world by their Alliance or progression.

I’m most excited by the possibilities for non-hero type characters. It has been discouraging that there are so many boss fight hurdles to get through so a character can level up enough to survive a stroll through the region next door. Now a character like Lil can be who she is and do what she wants to do without having to quest for levels just so she can explore.

Thanks for the info, hazmick!

Posted by: hazmick Jun 15 2016, 07:12 PM

News ahoy! From http://uk.ign.com/articles/2016/06/15/e3-2016-the-elder-scrolls-online-to-receive-new-dungeons-customisation-and-housing-dlc?hootPostID=19889d7f9a47d6b72ac81bf34e2a112f article from IGN.

"Elder Scrolls Online will receive three pieces of new DLC above and beyond the new content announced at Bethesda's E3 conference.

Speaking to IGN, game director Matt Firor confirmed that an Argonian Dungeon Pack and character customising barber shop would arrive in August, while the much-requested addition of player housing would be added in "the first quarter of next year"."

Posted by: McBadgere Jun 16 2016, 03:55 AM

Hey Grits!... ....Very much awesome to see you too!... ...

It's gonna be interesting to see how the do the player housing thing...Because unless they can carve out a separate "Hole" in the universe - like Destiny's vault-space - then you're going to be very cosy with about twenty-odd people each time you go "Home" won't you?...

Though reading http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/e3/news/a797755/sorry-everybody-but-elder-scrolls-6-is-still-a-long-way-off/ the other day...We may as well get used to ESO as the main PS4 version, because ES6 will be a VR title...Betcha...And we're not going down the VR route...I feel enough of a Muppet sometimes, playing on the tele...Without the whole VR headset/gloves thing...

Posted by: Grits Jun 20 2016, 11:12 PM

Here’s the best news I have seen for hybrid characters: the http://i.imgur.com/Mtmzhuw.jpg from the Colovian Revolt Forge Yard in the Gold Coast DLC. Not so much hybrid attribute distribution, but in the sense that a character could wield both spells and weapons effectively. I am so pleased with this I almost think it can’t really be true. It requires nine traits researched, so it will be a while before Jerric can try it. He can't wait!


For housing, could they make your house an instanced thing so that you enter alone or with your group? Then everyone could share the same few locations in the world without sharing the interior.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 20 2016, 11:39 PM

I saw that when I was looking into traits the other day. Pretty good for spellswords, but Haa-Rei only has one ability that actually uses magicka, as his other spells have been converted to stamina abilities. Besides, 9 traits is...a lot.


I'm not sure how they're going to do housing, but having it in separate instances would be the most sensible thing to do. It's how it works in Lord of the Rings Online, and I really liked that when I used to play.

Come to think of it, I'm not sure how they'd do it any differently.

Posted by: mALX Jun 21 2016, 12:00 AM

I like the bonus on that set; and the fact that you can craft it. Most of the best armor is dropped, and the only way to get 5 pieces at your level is buying them in the Guild Stores. I recently spent over 200,000 gold on a set I wanted and still need another dagger for it.




I have two questions:

1. If an item of armor is bound, is it bound to the Player and can be shared among their characters; or is it locked onto one character?

2. Any Tips on the fight with Molag Bal?

Posted by: Grits Jun 21 2016, 12:52 AM

mALX, what are the class and weapon skills of your character? My experience will be very different from someone with a different character type.

Jerric fought Molag Bal as a Stamina Templar, so he was able to heal himself a lot. He switched between a shield and the Prismatic Blade he got from the Fighters Guild questline and dual-wielding swords when he had an opening to deal some fast damage. There are a couple of skills that increase the damage of your next attack, I would make sure I had an appropriate one on my bar for the fight.

Managing Magicka (for healing in Jerric’s case) and Stamina (for his bashing and weapon skills) was important because there were some long fights with Molag’s minions. Jerric has perks that help him move faster while blocking, so he didn’t take all of the damage from most hits. He used his Dawn’s Wrath Ultimate every time it was ready. It was an awesome melee brawl with lots of dodge rolls, woo! Molag Bal is big and you can see his special attacks coming, so if you’re fighting in close just dodge, block, or move out of the way while blocking. If you’re using ranged attacks that will be completely different from my experience with melee Jerric.

Blocking was important. Move and block. There is a huge amount of room to work. I thought it was a fun fight. I’m looking forward to taking him on with Magicka Sorcerer Darnand. I suspect that Darnand will have to run around a lot.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 21 2016, 02:12 AM

Not sure about the gear binding. I only have one character that I really use.


Considering ol' Molag is a Daedric prince, his battle isn't that bad. As Grits said, the area where you fight him is pretty big so you can just run around and avoid most of his attacks with dodge rolls. If you're a ranged build, then just keep moving and shooting.

Posted by: mALX Jun 21 2016, 10:33 AM

Misa is a NightBlade, duel wield (one blade I made for her, the other is the Prismatic) is her main weapon, she carries a bow I made for her as a secondary weapon... I have never taken potions; but will hot key some. Most of her healing comes from the blade and bow I made her, they absorb health.

Usually if her health gets too low I'll run away long enough to regenerate health; she regenerates pretty fast with the enemies in (say Dark Anchors or the boss fights).

I didn't even know she could block with duel wield, but when they added that visibly "invisitble" shield I discovered that she actually seems to have a fairly decent block and bash thing going on with her duel wield. Haven't figured out how to use it with the bow yet.

Thank you both for the help and tips on this battle, I am really nervous going into it. Somewhere on the internet it says you can go explore the other Alliance territories without beating Molag Bal, but no where does it say HOW to get into those other Alliance territories to explore,



Oh, and can you explore Coldharlbour first and get the Skyshards? Misa already has any skyshards available in Ebonheart Pact and Cyrodiil; even the ones behind enemy gates. So I can't upgrade any of her defenses or weapons via skills without them; and have done all the available quests that give skill points too.

(urk)


(in other words, I'm kind of stuck with nothing I can do until I beat Molag Bal, have finished the Mages and Fighters Guilds too.

Posted by: Grits Jun 21 2016, 12:27 PM

On the PS4 you block with a bow using the same key as with dual-wield or a shield. You can also block spells that way even though there doesn’t seem to be an effect for it, which you need to do against Molag Bal’s titan friends.

You can explore Coldharbour without getting to the final fight with Molag Bal. Part of the region is behind a quest-related door, but even after you go through it you can use the Wayshrines to come back. In other words you don’t get suddenly stuck fighting him without warning.

I don’t remember when Jerric got the Wayshrines in Daggerfall and Vulkhel Guard (opening the other faction areas for him). He turned level 50 soon after finishing the Molag Bal quests, so I don’t know if it was related to his reaching the then Veteran levels or a result of starting the next series of quests with Cadwell. Is Misa in the Champion levels, and if she is can you see any new Wayshrines in the other faction areas on her map?

Also regarding fighting Molag Bal, you get some quest-related blessings that make it plausible that you could take him on, so it’s not just your regular self against a Daedric Prince.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 21 2016, 03:10 PM

I'm pretty sure you have to beat Molag before you can move to other alliance areas, since the lore mechanic (Cadwell) that allows you to go there is tied to the main story.

There's no reason to be nervous about it though. It's a story quest, and all story quests are scaled to your character and designed to be pretty simple. It's no more difficult than anything you'll have done for the Fighters or Mages Guild.

Posted by: mALX Jun 21 2016, 03:23 PM

Oh, this information really helps; I do feel a little better about facing him after hearing this. She is CP level 51 now; and I haven't seen any new wayshrines showing on her map; but I'll try going to the Davon's Watch wayshrine and checking out the Vulkhel Guard or Daggerfall wayshrines specifically.

Misa reached level 50 a long time ago, but I was really nervous about facing MB and so started new characters; took her to Cyrodiil; etc. - even did a bunch of quests after I'd gotten all the achievements for all of the Ebonheart Pact areas; anything to keep from facing him, lol.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 21 2016, 11:19 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/2016/06/21/update-11-featuring-shadows-of-the-hist-first-look

Little bit of new info on the next DLC.

Looks like the new dungeons are both going to be for groups, as I expected. That should make a lot of people happy.

There's not really much for them to say about the barber shop, other than that it is coming. You'll be able to change your character's race, appearance, and name. There will be "dozens of new hair styles, adornments, and body markings that can be purchased from the in-game Crown Store." More information on features including new motifs, new item sets, improved facial effects, and the ability to dye costumes will be revealed in the future.

They're also making some towns in Cyrodiil capture-able in the alliance war, which should make things more interesting. Now if only they could fix the lag so people could actually play PvP.


I'm hoping this will be a free DLC, since it adds nothing worth paying money for (since you have to buy new hair styles etc in the store anyway). We'll have to wait and see if they announce any pricing or anything. As with all DLC, it comes as the DLC itself (which in this case is the dungeon pack) and the base patch (which in this case includes the barber shop).

Posted by: hazmick Jun 22 2016, 05:37 PM

Not really news, but here's an http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/821/feature/10947/Elder-Scrolls-Online-One-Tamriel-Interview-with-Matt-Firor.html?hootPostID=6016d8d9ff558ea94ebdc8a2bfe058c1 with Matt Firor about general ESO things.

Posted by: mALX Jun 22 2016, 06:49 PM

I'm trying to seriously take this in, but the interviewer has Matt listed as "MF" - making it hard for me not to react like this:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbVItpQp7BI














I hope we can change their voices in that barber shop!

Posted by: Grits Jun 23 2016, 01:04 AM

I discovered today that Nirnhoned is the ninth trait, not the tenth trait as I’d thought. *palms face* Yeah, it’s going to be a long time before any of mine can craft Pelinal’s Aptitude!

Thank you for the interview link! Lol, I was also giggling at ‘MF.’ You can let me play an M-rated game, but you can’t make me mature.

Posted by: mALX Jun 23 2016, 01:11 AM

I know, right? I couldn't concentrate on the content because the reader automatically read it as "M" "F" and instantly I was cracking up no matter how hard I tried not to,

It is their fault; they should have just written out "Matt."

Posted by: hazmick Jun 25 2016, 12:12 AM

Some new info from an ESO live twitch stream. There was stuff about the dungeon pack, but they're group dungeons so it wasn't that interesting.

The Style Parlor (Barber Shop) is looking really good. The character editing is pretty simple - you edit your character in a window that looks identical to the one at the start of the game. You need to buy appearance change tokens in the crown store.

New hair styles, adornments, etc. are also bought from the crown store, and work as in-game collectibles that can be equipped and changed at any time, without having to go back to character creator.

The costume dyeing works in a similar way with regards to tokens. You buy sets of colours from the crown store, each set with 3 specific colours which will be applied to your costume. ESO plus members can edit their costumes freely and completely by just going to a dye station.

They're releasing some patch notes next week too so there'll be some more smaller changes coming to the entire game. They'll also release the pricing and whatnot too.

Posted by: Grits Jun 25 2016, 12:55 AM

Excellent update, hazmick, thanks!

I like that the appearance stuff that you buy for Crowns will be equipable rather than part of a permanent appearance change.

Skill respec is practically free right now on the PS4 due to the DB changes, but I expect that the next patch will send the price back up to normal. I need to remember to get Jerric’s Alchemy points back before that happens. He ran his skill up to 50 because he is Jerric, but he’s perfectly happy to get the points back and let Lil make all of his potions for him.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 25 2016, 01:05 AM

I'm happy with the way the Style Parlour is being done. Nice and simple. Also having a little extra for ESO Plus members is really cool.



Heh heh, Haa-Rei and Jerric have that in common. Got Alchemy quite high but then decided that we didn't really like it and did a skill respec. Provisioning is proving to be quite useful and interesting (and delicious) so we're going to focus on that now, and we finally got Blacksmithing maxed out.

It's amazing how many skill points you can waste on useless skills. After the respec Haa-Rei has 21 points lying around and no skills to throw them into.

Posted by: hazmick Jun 28 2016, 07:41 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/2016/06/28/update-11-featuring-shadows-of-the-hist-launch-details is an article about the upcoming Shadows of the Hist dungeon pack, and the new additions coming with the base game patch.

It will be coming to PC/Mac on August 1st, and both Xbox One and PlayStation4 on August 16th.

Non-ESO Plus subscribers can get the dungeon pack for 1500 crowns, and there'll be a collectors bundle for 2500 crowns which includes the two new dungeons, the Hist Guar mount, the Haj Mota Hatchling pet, and five Crown Experience Scrolls.

NOTE: The Style Parlor, costume dyeing etc does NOT require you to buy the DLC, as it will be added in the base patch.



That Hist Guar mount looks awesome. Haa-Rei is a very happy lizard.

Posted by: hazmick Jul 1 2016, 02:07 AM

A couple of videos for your perusal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcsD_o4wNNM is a look at a new personality - Drunk.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A571BXe9HqI is a look at the Hist Guar mount.

Both will be coming in the next update.

Posted by: mALX Jul 1 2016, 03:37 AM

BWAAHAA !!!! It looks like that guy with the beard puked into his tankard! URP!


I'm excited about these animation ones!

Posted by: mALX Jul 1 2016, 04:07 AM

These updates are Awesome! I really hope one of these lets us change our character's voice; and I'd really like to be able to just peek at what voice set I have used on one character (Formerly known as "Pantsless Calia;" who has the absolute most adorable voice EVAH) so I'll know which one I want to use on the other two Imperial girls; (who sound like grunting pig farmers or something)

Posted by: hazmick Jul 2 2016, 08:35 PM

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/2016/07/01/crown-store-showcase--july-1st-2016 is up.

Costumes
Priest of the Green - July 7th
Breton Hero Armor - July 21st to July 25th
Rumare Waterfront Casual Wear - July 28th
City Isle Tunic Dress - July 28th

Mounts
Doom Wolf - July 21st to July 25th
Doesn't have the Hist Guar listed, so perhaps it's only available in the collector's bundle.

Pets
Colovian Badger - July 7th
Turquoise Nixad - July 7th




They're also removing a load of stuff from the store on August 1st:

Costumes
Desert Garden Gala Overdress
Priest of the Green
Song of the Night Ensemble
Toxin Doctor
Treasure Hunter
Treethane Ceremonial Dress
Tribal Shamans Pack
Winterborn Reach Costume Pack
Winter Scouts Pack

Mounts
Banded Guar Charger

Pets
Baby Netch
Banekin
Blue Nixad
Blue Oasis Frog
Bravil Retriever
Sanguine's Black Goat
Windhelm Wolfhound

Posted by: mALX Jul 3 2016, 02:16 AM

Those baby goats are adorable, have you seen them?

Posted by: Grits Jul 3 2016, 06:32 PM

The drunk personality is hilarious. When the guy barfed into his mug, Jerric said “Nice catch.” I guess I know what I’ll be shopping for in August!

Looks like there will be some outrageous beards and hair walking around.

The Hist Guar looks awesome. Can’t wait to see Haa-Rei on a glowing guar!

Lots of changes in the base game. Looks good.



mALX, voice change is part of the appearance or race plus appearance change coins you can buy. I forget which one, maybe both.

Posted by: mALX Jul 3 2016, 07:47 PM

Oh, that will be great! Now I just have to find a way to peek at "Pantsless" Calia's voice to know what to set the grunting girls on that one!

WOO HOO!

Posted by: hazmick Jul 6 2016, 11:44 PM

Today Zenimax announced ESO Gold Edition, which will be coming later this year.

Gold Edition features the base game + all 4 DLCs + a Palomino Horse mount + 500 crowns.

Posted by: mALX Jul 6 2016, 11:55 PM

Oh, man! It would be nice if they sold it in a package for people who already own the game!

Posted by: hazmick Jul 14 2016, 07:52 PM

Alliance style crafting motifs have been added to the Crown Store, costing 5000 crowns each.

Posted by: mALX Jul 14 2016, 07:57 PM

I've already found some "Pact" ones in game! I can't use them, of course; need nine traits and be able to craft more than just iron,

Posted by: hazmick Jul 15 2016, 03:06 AM

Yeah, they've been in the game for a little while now. I already have the full set of Pact armour and a couple of weapon motifs.

You shouldn't need traits to craft though. Alliance motifs work just the same as regular motifs do, only higher level, as you mentioned.

Posted by: mALX Jul 15 2016, 03:16 AM

I know I wasn't able to open them at all to "learn" them; so I sold every one I found.

Posted by: hazmick Jul 15 2016, 02:41 PM

That's tied to your crafting level, not number of learned traits. Dwemer, Primal, Barbaric, Ancient Elf etc. motifs are all the same - you have to have upgraded your crafting skill to a specific level, for Blacksmithing it's the 'Metalworking' skill, for Clothing it's the 'Tailoring' skill and for Woodworking it's the 'Woodworking' skill.

You can find Alliance motifs in guild stores quite cheap these days, so if you ever want to buy them again then it shouldn't cost much. Just don't buy them from the Crown Store. 5000 crowns is...too much.

Posted by: mALX Jul 15 2016, 03:09 PM

BOLD: Yes, it sure is too much! I think the motifs I sold went for about 1400 gold, but they are easy to find in loot. (and my skill level in smithing/clothing/and woodworking is still at the base level; I kept it low deliberately so I could do writs quickly and easily daily while still building up my skill level in it).

Actually, now that I have completed all the quests and achievements for all the provinces in the Ebonheart Pact; I can jump my skill level in all the crafting as soon as I am able to get more skyshards to skill up with. I can't get any more skyshards till I'm able to start exploring the other Alliance territories.

Posted by: hazmick Jul 27 2016, 01:57 AM

Finally got some pricing info for the Style Parlor:

"Appearance Change Tokens: These tokens allow for complete modification of one character's appearance, including but not limited to hair styles and colors, adornments, face and body markings, facial features, eye color, age, body and face shape, as well as selected voice and even gender. One Appearance Change Token can be purchased for 1000 crowns.

Race Change Tokens: These tokens grant you everything the Appearance Change Tokens do, plus the ability to change one character's race to one available for that character and account. Those that have the Explorer's Pack will be able to choose any race from any alliance; otherwise, you can choose any race from your chosen alliance. You'll be able to purchase one Race Change Token for 3000 crowns."




Significantly more expensive than I thought it would be.

Posted by: Grits Jul 27 2016, 02:12 AM

Oh my goodness! Wow, 3000 is too much for me to ever bother with, but I’d swing 1000 to keep a fully trained mount. I wonder if either includes a name change, or if that will be more points?

I also wonder how much the hair pack will be. I know an elf who sometimes likes to wear a dress and put her hair up.

Thank you, hazmick! I have been wondering about this.

Posted by: mALX Jul 27 2016, 03:10 AM

I'd swing 1000 to get rid of the grunting!


Thanks, Hazmick!

Posted by: Grits Jul 27 2016, 02:04 PM

Looks like the hair pack will be 1000 Crowns and a name change 2500.

There should be some bundles coming for the name/race/appearance tokens. I am amazed that a name change does not seem to be included in the race + appearance overhaul. Maybe that’s an oversight.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 3 2016, 12:35 PM

The http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/news/post/2016/08/02/crown-store-showcase-august-2nd-2016 for August is out:

COSTUMES

Dark Shaman - all platforms - from August 25 to August 29.

MOUNTS

Hist Guar - available RIGHT NOW for PC/Mac, and will be available for Xbox One and PS4 August 16.

Masked Bear - all platforms - from August 25 to August 29.

PETS

Haj Mota Hatchling - available RIGHT NOW for PC/Mac, and will be available for Xbox One and PS4 August 16.


There are also three new personalities and a bunch of cosmetic 'stuff' that arrives with the style parlour.


As usual some items are being removed from the Crown Store on September 1st to 'make room' for new stuff:

Costumes

Ashlander Pack
Dragon Priest
Dragon Warrior
Ordinator Armor Pack
Woodland Scouts Pack

Pets

Bal Foyen Nix-Hound
Fennec Fox

Posted by: Acadian Aug 3 2016, 12:49 PM

Thanks for the update hazmick. It is great fun looking at all the ESO goodies!

I love your screenshot of the month with Haa-Rei relaxing on the farm. His waist sash and outfit look fabulous - perfect for him. The setting looks like the Gold Coast near Anvil.

Posted by: Grits Aug 3 2016, 04:59 PM

Thank you, hazmick!

The Masked Bear looks adorable! It’s always fun to see more variety in people's mounts and pets. I saw a pet badger today. It looked like it was biting its, er, “rump.” I’m sure Haa-Rei has his eye on that awesome Hist Guar!

I’m looking forward to the Style Parlor. A lot. (It's all about the hair.)

I’ll second Acadian’s love for your Haa-Rei farming picture. He looks so relaxed basking in the sun against that fence!

Posted by: hazmick Aug 3 2016, 08:19 PM

Acadian - It is indeed the Gold Coast The farm is located north of Kvatch.

Grits - Heh, yeah, the only thing better than a Guar is a Guar that is literally covered in Argonian lore. I hope I have enough crowns.

Posted by: mALX Aug 3 2016, 09:39 PM

The hair pack could be interesting if it has more sets of hair than just what is showing. Oh, I am dying to try those personality packs, but do you buy them separately or buy one pack and get a bunch of diff ones?

I didn't like the drunk one, but the Assassin and some of the mood ones look Awesome! I've seen the Assassin one, this guy I play with has his girl character doing the knife thing A LOT, lol. Haven't seen the moods yet!

Posted by: Grits Aug 3 2016, 11:56 PM

From the article, "Three new Personalities will be released in the Personality Emotions Pack. Get the Cheerful, Melancholy, and Furious Personalities to fit your every mood!"

Does anyone remember what the Drunk personality will be a loyalty reward for? I'll keep trying to find where I saw it explained.

I had J'Shanji (dual-daggers Nightblade) using the Assassin personality for a while, but he kept flipping his knives all the damn time so I took it away again. It's an idle that the character does by himself, which is neat but also sometimes mildly alarming.



EDIT: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/282155/where-is-the-fing-drunk-personality was not very informative, but it was amusing. Lol.

Looks like the 3-pack is 500 Crowns.


EDIT 2: People are saying Drunk will be in the Crown store. I'm guessing since it's not in the pack, the price will be YIKES.

Posted by: hazmick Aug 4 2016, 12:11 AM

Now there's a surprise

I want whatever personality Hildegard from the Dark Brotherhood has. That might be melancholy, but I'm not sure.

Thanks for the info Grits!

Posted by: mALX Aug 4 2016, 12:47 AM

What about the houses?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BOuIMMDKgQ

Posted by: mALX Aug 4 2016, 01:17 AM

New Hair; tattoos; body markings:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdnyM6DTSSA

Posted by: mALX Aug 4 2016, 01:33 AM

Here it is:


http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Personalities

Posted by: Grits Aug 4 2016, 01:44 AM

Looks neat. Since there are stable areas, maybe our mounts will be there. That Glenumbra castle looked promising. Maybe for a Guild Hall. With a dolmen next door. The Reapers March houses were my favorite. I like the combination of water, trees, and desert rocks.

I really like that the houses are integrated into the existing areas and not off in some player house neighborhood thing.


Ooo, they have Lagertha braids!! And glitter lashes! Note to self: no wine before browsing through the Crown store.

Thank you, mALX!