In the fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, canceling animations increases efficiency, allowing players to boost their damage. However, not everyone is a fan.
Especially an MMORPG like The Elder Scrolls Online, which places so much emphasis on the “RPG”, having an animation canceling system – that would be difficult to understand in an RPG world if a knight does not follow through with his weapon swing but instead cancels it after a third and abruptly starts a completely different movement sequence.
This animation canceling is likely not entirely intentional in the game. “It is not something we anticipated, nor intended, but it is not an exploit,” was once said in the Twitch chat during an official stream. It’s not pretty, but it seems permissible. It is part of the game mechanics that can make the difference between victory and defeat in the daily play of The Elder Scrolls Online. Some consider it the “skill factor” in TESO.
Is animation canceling in The Elder Scrolls Online forbidden?
No, unless you do it with a macro – that is considered cheating. As Tamrielfoundry reported from the Guild Summer last October, the developers are aware of the phenomenon. The way attacks interact at the moment is intended. However, they might change it in the future. Ten months later, it still works.
What is animation canceling?
Animation canceling refers to interrupting the movement sequences of your character by canceling an animation and immediately triggering a new attack. This allows for more actions to be packed into a certain timeframe, increasing damage output. In MOBAs, it is enough for some heroes to fire a shot, take a tiny step to the side, and the next one starts.
The friendlier term for “animation canceling” is actually ability weaving – in the sense that one weaves together different movement sequences ideally.
How to do animation canceling in The Elder Scrolls Online?
Animation canceling is a very old system and has been in the game for a long time. It is still active and works on consoles like the Playstation 4 and Xbox One. Our friends at Pro NDC have explored this in their video. It definitely requires some practice and does not work with every ability:
