The fantasy MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online is available for pre-order since almost a week. It’s time to take a closer look at whether the numerous speculations made in the last months have turned out to be true: How does TESO play?
No worries, this won’t be a review of the first few hours in the game. We have also observed competitors wondering whether the game deserves an 85 or a 90 before they let the readers wait until next week. We won’t put you through that.
Instead, we take a look at the first days in Tamriel and examine the PvP, the instances, the language confusion, and the loot behavior more closely.
The PvP: Mass battles instead of sports competitions
- On the one hand, the PvP feels pleasantly different. It is goal-oriented, there is always a castle to conquer or defend, and the map immediately shows where the action is. Skirmishes are marked by symbols on the map.
- On the other hand, the siege weapons are currently so important that the game sometimes resembles The Elder Sieges Online.
Over time, tactics will set in and establish: Supporters protect important siege weapons with the protective dome – the opponents try to take them out. At the moment, these tactics are still completely unclear to many. In any case, tanks have a lot to do in PvP if they want to destroy castles.
The PvP feels much more like a battle between armies for castles than a fight between two sports teams for a flag. But until everyone realizes that, it will take a while. One could also say: At the moment, many are playing checkers while they should be playing chess.
How some players will react to the experience of defending their fortresses for 12 hours, going to bed, and logging in the next day to find that their Elder Scrolls were stolen in a coordinated night raid: That will be “interesting.” The form of PvP that Zenimax has chosen is great when you win and incredibly frustrating when you’re on the other side.
Looting: Kleptomania instead of piety?
- On the one hand, there is a lot to discover in the world; after all, there could be a great item in every barrel. For example, I picked up some cooking recipes from chests around the banker and felt pretty clever.
- On the other hand, this also leads to a strange kleptomania. While the housewife is mourning her NPC husband who died in a quest, I’m already clearing out the adjacent room!
The beauty of the system is the chaotic and unpredictable element. Whereas loot in other games seems to be distributed like on a drawing board, in The Elder Scrolls Online, something exciting can actually happen everywhere.
However, it feels a bit strange in instances. As soon as the last enemy lies down, all four group members break their legs to reach the treasure chest. Only one can open it. Griefing behavior is therefore pre-programmed (“I’ll skip the fight and wait here next to the chest, that’s okay with you, right?”). Overall, the game still feels a bit like “Well, will they really leave that in?” It is not polished yet, but it is definitely fun. Maybe precisely because of that.
The instances: Single players meet MMORPG veterans
- On the one hand, it is great that so many single-player players are finding their way into an MMORPG. Here, cultures collide that might never meet in other games. At the moment, everything is still in flux, and the player who is used to an instance from WoW meets people who are at home in flashpoints from Star Wars, skirmishes from Lord of the Rings Online, or only know the rifts from Diablo 3.
- On the other hand, some instance groups look as if they have sprung from an Uncle Barlow video. The tank has a rough idea of what is going wrong (“The healer!”), the healer would actually prefer to be a DD but can’t find a group, and there are so many DDs that it is a miracle to even find a group. Accordingly, they submit themselves and silently endure the tyranny of the tank. (“You have to be afk for twenty minutes? I have total understanding for that! If your dog has to go out, I gladly wait that long!”).
The instances are designed to be pleasantly beginner-friendly, and the fights are action-packed and varied. Usually, you are faced with a significant numerical superiority of relatively weak mobs that topple one by one. This has its appeal. Additionally, there is no dispute over loot, only over treasure chests!
Babylon stands in Tamriel
- On the one hand, school English pays off. Because that will probably be the main language in The Elder Scrolls Online, even though there are of course opportunities to speak German in special channels. This may be unfamiliar for some players at first, but it should cure many of the fear of speaking English.
- On the other hand, it could significantly impair academic performance if one truly tries out the League-of-Legends-Denglisch/Spanglish/Franglish one hears in an English test.
Communication in general! At the moment, many channels are still unclear. In the PvP area, contradictory instructions are shouted in ALL-CAPS at a second’s pace, while one “Fuck this, let’s go PvE!” mumbles. In the starting zones, you meet the beloved gold spammers from other MMORPGs. It will be interesting to see how server behavior changes when fixed structures are in place.
Until then, you can only guess: Get yourself a German-speaking guild!
Finally, five practical tips
- Porting without a shrine costs gold! It can quickly add up at the beginning, so better port only from shrine to scribe. It is not Guild Wars 2.
- Buy siege weapons in PvP. They can be found in the mine, the farm, and the lumberjack camp around each castle. Familiarize yourself with the siege weapons. At the moment, a guy who can operate a ballista or catapult is much more valuable than ten who hop around a castle desperately looking for someone to shoot.
- You can port to the instances you sign up for through the group finder. However, you have to do the porting yourself; it does not happen automatically. The port allows you to easily visit the dungeons of the opposing factions. Completing the instance grants a skill point.
- Skulls and torches on the map are symbols for enemy camps or dungeons. The symbols start off white and fill up when completed. You complete them by killing a stronger named mob there. For the skull camps, at least two players are recommended against the enemies.
- If you’re worried about missing a sky shard: In the success tab under “J” you can see exactly if you’ve found all the sky shards in an area and which ones you’re still missing. If the vague hints in the achievements are not enough for you, there is a magical way to get more precise information about their whereabouts. I believe the cool kids on the street call it “googling”.
Recommended article: The Elder Scrolls Online: Reviving a tired genre!
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