The king is dead, long live the king – this is traditionally sung during the crown’s transition in monarchies. Admittedly, WoW is far from over. However, more players have now stopped playing WoW than are still actively playing. For many gamers, it’s simply time for something new. These people are out there looking for a new virtual home. Perhaps you are among them.
The battle for the player base has long begun. 2014 sees two challengers step into the ring!
The Challengers
On one side is The Elder Scrolls Online, short TESO or also ESO. The game from Zenimax boasts a glorious lineage of single-player MMOs. The release is scheduled for April 4. Fans are so eager that one can feel it all across Tamriel. ESO is expected to attract many fans who have never played an MMORPG, but come from strong single-player titles. The game impresses among others with its strong graphics and a sophisticated PvP system.
We have already introduced the challenger extensively and covered it with numerous articles.
WildStar on the other hand lacks a grand lineage, but the game has gained many fans and impresses with polished game design, timeless comic graphics, and a fresh setting in a wild science fiction world. WildStar is clearly aimed at MMORPG players and incorporates many ideas from the reigning champion World of Warcraft.
We have also introduced and accompanied WildStar with articles.
The challengers couldn’t be more different.
There’s the big name, and here’s the refined concept. In one corner, a photorealistic graphic that will push even modern PCs to their limits, here’s a colorful comic-strip design. With ESO, it gets serious; stories remind one of classic sword and sorcery fantasy with an epic touch, while WildStar leans more toward a narrative style reminiscent of Borderlands or Futurama. In a library, both of these works might not even be in the same section.
The question now is: Can there be only one?
And if so, who loses their head and remains severely beaten? And who can rise the steps to the throne and be crowned by the fans as the new king of MMORPGs?
The Duel
Since the NDA on The Elder Scrolls Online has lifted, more reviews of the game are appearing all over the internet. Even the English gaming site mmorpg.com has taken the lifting of the NDA as an opportunity to let two enthusiastic fans of the MMORPG contenders go at each other vocally.
The ESO fan is Chris Coke, who firmly believes in the success of the Zenimax hit. Opposing him is Gareth Harmer, a true supporter of Wildstar.
Uppercut against the combat system of ESO
Gareth immediately launches the duel with a frontal attack on one of the supposed weaknesses of The Elder Scrolls Online: The combat system feels clunky and uninspired. This is not only the case at the beginning, when few abilities are available, but even later on. The characters look unnatural and have ridiculous combat poses. They seem unreal and make it impossible to identify with the characters.
WildStar, however, Gareth argues, clearly excels with its fluid and purposeful combats. The attacks of the opponents are clearly recognizable by red markings on the ground, practically “telegraphed.” This provides for a great combat experience in his eyes. Especially the double jumps and dodges guarantee a fantastic feel of the game.
Overall, WildStar is just a lot of fun. He has left every instance and adventure with a big grin on his face. One cannot exactly say that about ESO.
WildStar blocks criticism and gets ready for a swing
Chris, of course, cannot let Gareth’s criticism of ESO slide. While it may be nice at the beginning in WildStar to jump and dodge a little, how long can it take before it begins to annoy and feel like a chore?
The combat system in WildStar appears like a somewhat more colorful, even more dodge-focused version of Guild Wars 2 – and everyone knows how that worked out…
The dodge mechanic has been on the market for some time and has not exactly taken the world by storm.
The combat system in ESO, on the other hand, without a global cooldown and in a first-person perspective allows for a much more immersive experience with the game character. Moreover, this has been proven in many games, established, and loved. “When you’re in the thick of it, you’re really in it,” says Chris Coke.
Strong left-right combination against Eso endgame
Gareth immediately attacks the endgame of ESO in the next round. Once at the level cap, ESO simply offers too little to do. Only mass PvP in Cyrodiil, veteran dungeons, quests in enemy territory, and mysterious PvE adventure zones are options here. But no raids, no battlegrounds, and no arenas.
In WildStar, however, there’s plenty to do: With massive 40-man raids taking place in flexible instances, providing endless new opportunities to earn loot.
An Elo system ensures that the ambition keeps bubbling, as one constantly competes against other players on leaderboards. Also, it’s already a lot of fun because the combat system doesn’t feel like typing on a typewriter!
ESO blocks combination: Endgame doesn’t need raids
This can only make Chris shrug his shoulders. In his opinion, ESO fans don’t want large raids in the endgame. After all, the fan base of The Elder Scrolls Online also consists of single-player players. It’s clever of Zenimax to wait and see if players really desire raids.
There are plenty of arguments for ESO: The existing dungeons have been brilliantly done and are a decoration of the tank, healer, and damage dealer system. Furthermore, the game’s strength is clearly in PvP. After all, ESO delivers a better three-faction bloodbath than Guild Wars 2, which says quite a lot.
In WildStar, on the other hand, there is hardly anything but raids. And compared to the deep and complex endgame PvP, these would get boring quite quickly.
Low blow against voice actor in ESO
Gareth now resorts to a particularly insidious tactic and lets himself fall into the ropes. He admits that ESO truly has great quests, especially ones that are fully voiced. But that was just a nasty trick, now he prepares for a low blow. With a sly smile, he explains that this complete voice acting will surely cause bottlenecks in content creation. After all, the voice actors can’t always be available.
A graphic style like that of ESO also ages quickly. The cartoon style of WildStar, on the other hand, remains a timeless classic. After all, even World of Warcraft still looks great today.
Jab against tweet-quest texts in WildStar
Chris coldly counters Gareth’s attack. He thinks it’s okay to wait a bit longer for great quests. The quest texts in WildStar, which often reminded him of Twitter messages, can surely be written in two weeks; quality just takes a bit longer.
Moreover, many players want beautiful graphics at the upper limit of technology to fully immerse themselves in the world. WildStar, however, only caters to an already saturated audience with more of the same.
The final round
In the last round, both challengers are looking a bit battered. Each has delivered the other some bruises, and the ring girls are not looking as tidy and fresh as they did in the earlier rounds.
The final gesture seems to be somewhat conciliatory as both will, of course, also play each other’s games.
Chris makes one last attempt: Many developers from other MMORPGs seem to have come together for WildStar to explore paths they couldn’t take before. It is a clear evolution of the genre, but perhaps this also results in a lack of a single grand vision, while the components are already perfect. The development studio has not set out to create ONE game or to implement a vision, but has assembled countless great features into a game that is far more than the sum of its parts. For ESO, however, he still finds that quite questionable.
Now it’s Gareth’s turn, to say something nice about WildStar. Wait – Gareth seems to look up briefly: What did he just say about ESO? Not more than the sum of its parts?
And the fight has ignited anew!
Mein-mmo.de asks:
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What do you think? WildStar or ESO? Can there only be one or will you look at both? Which game are you putting your hopes in? Which game are you most looking forward to? Will it come down to a duel, or can perhaps WoW maintain its position? Will another game come back? Or will an underdog ascend the throne?
Surprise us. Disagree with us. Share your thoughts with us. Or just share this post if you liked it!
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We will definitely stay on the ball.
