Matt Firor, the lead developer of The Elder Scrolls Online at Zenimax and Bethesda, was in an interview with us and we asked him some questions about ESO and the time after the upcoming update.
The Elder Scrolls Online continues to evolve, and with the upcoming Update 12, there is a big step towards Skyrim. And even though many details about One Tamriel are already known, ESO chief Matt Firor was able to share some new details with us.
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The heroes are more like mercenaries
With One Tamriel, there is no predefined path through the story and the regions of Tamriel. Our heroes can go anywhere, regardless of which faction they actually belong to. This is certainly useful for gameplay, but how does it affect the lore of the game? Will there be consequences if we constantly switch sides?
At least not any gameplay-relevant ones, as Matt Firor mentioned that the heroes with One Tamriel are more like mercenaries who move freely between factions and offer their services to everyone. This has been the plan for TESO for some time, as even with the option to explore other alliances in the endgame, they have come closer to the concept of an open Tamriel. The factions are therefore only supposed to play a decisive role in PvP.
Housing, Addons, and a new story
We were also eager to hear what Matt Firor has thought about housing in The Elder Scrolls. After all, the feature was firmly announced for 2017. But unfortunately, he couldn’t reveal anything as he first wants to properly implement One Tamriel. Therefore, no news about housing and also the long-awaited spell weaving he wants to comment on at a later time.
Firor was somewhat more talkative regarding expansions. The previous small DLC packs have been well received by players and will continue to be released in the future. Firor particularly likes the DLC concept because it allows them to depict all kinds of regions and groups from the Elder Scrolls world.
Therefore, there may one day be a DLC about the Khajiit, even though no such DLC is currently planned. Also interesting: even though there are currently no plans for this, Firor does not rule out large addons like Legion for World of Warcraft or Heart of Thorns for Guild Wars 2. What will definitely happen is a new story. Because those who played the DLC Orsinium know that the Prophet warns of a new threat there that will play a significant role in future expansions.
The Skyrim-ization of the online world
In earlier conversations, Matt Firor often claimed that the success of The Elder Scrolls Online benefited from the fact that it is not a classic MMORPG. He stated in the interview that in 2004, MMOs were still precisely defined. Today, the term is very broad. World of Warcraft is an MMO, but so is Destiny or Pokémon GO. MMO has now become more of a technology than a genre.
Next, we wanted to know if TESO gets better the more it resembles Skyrim. In response, he mentioned that you can play The Elder Scrolls Online like an MMO from 2004, with raids, groups, and social interaction with other players. But you can also play it like Skyrim, exploring alone and ignoring other players. This mix, in his opinion, is what makes the game so successful, especially on consoles, where classic MMOs have historically struggled.
The boss likes to sneak
Finally, we wanted to know from Matt Firor what he likes to play in TESO and what his favorite race and class is. “I currently play a Breton with a bow. And whenever I can play a sneaky, stealthy assassin, I do it!”
By the way, this carries over to all Elder Scrolls games; in Skyrim, he was a sneaky Nord and in Oblivion, an extra sneaky Khajiit. Matt Firor is also looking forward to the PvP MMORPG Camelot Unchained, which is not surprising since Firor was not entirely uninvolved in the MMO classic Dark Age of Camelot.
