The Elder Scrolls Online

 PC
User Score
5.7

Mixed or average reviews- based on 2703 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,210 out of 2703
  2. Mixed: 447 out of 2703
  3. Negative: 1,046 out of 2703
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  1. CarM21
    Apr 12, 2014
    7
    It by some standards is dissapointing with the amount of hype this game had,if you like everyone else wanted skyrim with other people this is it.Great for what it was meant to be,lacking for what is was thought to be
  2. bemused
    Sep 2, 2019
    0
    Soulless, depressing, tacky, repetitive, pointless, unengaging, unintelligent, uninspired, unforgivable.

    Every six months or so I give this pixilated and pixelated turd another chance. Several misleading prompts and a 50GB download later, I find it's still the same repellent dung-heap of a game. Bethesda should be ashamed of themselves, as should the brain-dead WoW refugees up-voting    Soulless, depressing, tacky, repetitive, pointless, unengaging, unintelligent, uninspired, unforgivable.

    Every six months or so I give this pixilated and pixelated turd another chance. Several misleading prompts and a 50GB download later, I find it's still the same repellent dung-heap of a game. Bethesda should be ashamed of themselves, as should the brain-dead WoW refugees up-voting this crap.

    it's a bad game and if you like it you're a bad person and you should feel bad.    … Expand
  3. Nyxious
    Jul 27, 2014
    7
    I still have a subscription... because I had to buy game time in order to get my free time, the game store only had two month cards available. I just logged on after not playing for 2 weeks to see if it had improved, I have not crashed for awhile but the game still seems just boring. I tried to ignore the buy in price of 120 when I got it just so I could see if I like it, I tried to ignoreI still have a subscription... because I had to buy game time in order to get my free time, the game store only had two month cards available. I just logged on after not playing for 2 weeks to see if it had improved, I have not crashed for awhile but the game still seems just boring. I tried to ignore the buy in price of 120 when I got it just so I could see if I like it, I tried to ignore the first two weeks when I was constantly being dropped and having issues that didn't seem to exist in bug forums. But then i kept playing and I just got bored.

    Near the end of my playing I wasn't even reading what the missions were anymore, just check my map run there do whatever, get small reward, repeat. This does not feel like Elder Scrolls, the pvp was amusing for awhile and if it goes free to play might be worth it just for that, but I feel I am wasting time that could be better spent on games I will enjoy. Won't renew, might try again some day if they do a reboot like ffxiv did but otherwise I will just hope they still come out with single player games.

    ps the pvp was pretty good but not worth the near 120 price(game + time + tax) and hours of boredom to get to.    … Expand
  4. Subspace12345
    Dec 8, 2015
    1
    Read this before you purchase this game!
    If you want to play this game on PC, don't. This game is made for PS and Xbox.
    The UI is rubbish. The quests are rubbish. The level curve is obscene. The scenery is ugly and depressing. The combat is below par, you can only have 5 moves on your bar, this is due to being a game for Xbox and PS. There is no proper targeting system in combat, prepare    Read this before you purchase this game!
    If you want to play this game on PC, don't. This game is made for PS and Xbox.
    The UI is rubbish. The quests are rubbish. The level curve is obscene. The scenery is ugly and depressing. The combat is below par, you can only have 5 moves on your bar, this is due to being a game for Xbox and PS. There is no proper targeting system in combat, prepare to aim the cross-hair like an FPS. The NPCs although talkative have dull conversation and you skip the dialog anyway. The classes are poorly designed and the faction system is pointless. Finally, the social dynamic (which is generally why people play MMO's) is lacking in all aspects. The chat system is clunky and targeting another player to add to party/whisper/inspect is next to impossible unless they're not moving, and people only stay still when they're AFK!
    Overall I had a very bad experience and this game is not worth the $30 I paid for it. I wouldn't get paid to play this game.    … Expand
  5. MrEddie26
    Apr 23, 2020
    0
    Broken crap! Developers don't fix anything. Player desync, lag, bugs, performance issues since «performance improvement» patch.
  6. Tragedy
    Mar 4, 2020
    0
    New update has ruined the game.
    Lag
    Crashes
    Skills delayed
    Cast times on ultimates
  7. JavaSquirt
    Oct 1, 2018
    0
    15 баксов за ремесленную сумку? Вы bleat серьёзно? Bethesda stupay nahooy.
  8. WarMaster115
    Apr 22, 2014
    5
    Let's face it, at the current state the game has an identity crisis - it's not really a full heavy-hitter single player game like Oblivion or Skyrim, and it's not a brilliant MMO either. Having tried to merge two worlds together Zenimax made an impressive job, no doubts about that. But it's just not enough.

    After playing for a while you begin to notice that nothing really stands out in    Let's face it, at the current state the game has an identity crisis - it's not really a full heavy-hitter single player game like Oblivion or Skyrim, and it's not a brilliant MMO either. Having tried to merge two worlds together Zenimax made an impressive job, no doubts about that. But it's just not enough.

    After playing for a while you begin to notice that nothing really stands out in the game.
    Everything just seems average, apart from stellar sound production though (voice acting, music, fx).
    Graphics - mediocre, story - mediocre, gameplay - mediocre, tons of bugs (broken quests, lag, ctd, infinite loading, etc.) - all this really hammers down your experience. But the biggest problem are the actual players, as they are the ones who will ruin your experience most often.

    I really wanted to like this game and saw a huge potential in the way it was developing.
    But, sadly, the end product is just another MMO only with the Elder Scrolls label on it.    … Expand
  9. SenshudoTV
    May 13, 2014
    6
    I tried to give ESO a fair shake. After a disappointing beta experience, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed some aspects of the game. PvP is a lot of fun when you're with a group and will only get better as more people reach max level. Some of the PvE content is enjoyable when you're not doing the same quests you've done in every other MMO with an Elder Scrolls flavor. Those experiencesI tried to give ESO a fair shake. After a disappointing beta experience, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed some aspects of the game. PvP is a lot of fun when you're with a group and will only get better as more people reach max level. Some of the PvE content is enjoyable when you're not doing the same quests you've done in every other MMO with an Elder Scrolls flavor. Those experiences are few and far between and thats a shame. Zenimax had a great opportunity here to buck the trend and create an engaging game. What we're left with is another generic MMO with an Elder Scrolls cover. Its nowhere near as deep or expansive as the single player Elder Scrolls games, nor is it as satisfying as other MMO's on the market. ESO reaches for the moon, and lands among the garbage pit.… Expand
  10. AmarnaSunrise
    Nov 20, 2016
    0
    As a long time player, who started in Alpha/Beta, here are my reasons for negative review;

    1:) A complete change from the original design concept. Those who take the time to look back on the promised 200+ player RvR PvP and in fact, any meaningful faction rivalry at all, will find that has been now watered down/is unplayable with lag and bugs/generally no longer developed. The devs    As a long time player, who started in Alpha/Beta, here are my reasons for negative review;

    1:) A complete change from the original design concept. Those who take the time to look back on the promised 200+ player RvR PvP and in fact, any meaningful faction rivalry at all, will find that has been now watered down/is unplayable with lag and bugs/generally no longer developed.

    The devs have unofficially admitted this by suggesting that Arena's and smaller PvP environments are under way. However I believe it to be a testament to their terrible engine.

    2:) The recent advent of One Tamriel and level scaling in all content. Whilst I can understand the general idea of keeping content relevant for longer by introducing this, as well as creating more of a 'skyrim'esque' feel, the result is a very trivialized and casual progression system. With scaling you are essentially just as powerful at level 1 as you are at endgame. Sure in the very start you may lack access to a few abilities but with how bad the animations are in this game and the poor balance, it scarcely matters. This is compounded by the absolutely terrible 'champion points' system, which has replaced leveling. Essentially once you hit endgame this is the only thing you work towards. Tiny % increases to what you already have, complementing skills and builds.

    I disliked the effect on progression personally then but in other area's the games previously linear story lines no longer make any sense. It the vanilla game, quests were designed (scripted) to be completed in a certain order, with a sense of progression in the story line. This is also now trivialized and makes little sense, as a level one character can go to any zone out of sequence and find every challenge the exact same difficulty as the first.

    3:) The anti-social nature of the game. Yes you CAN socialize under your own steam. However unlike traditional mmo's the game is 90% solo with no real NEED to play with others. I think this creates a potentially lonesome and pointless experience. One where the trivial nature of the fairly boring classes and animations, makes you feel like you have very little worth in the game world.

    4:) The horribly slow content release rate. This caused the games veterans to ditch the game and ZoS themselves stated that One Tamriel was for new players (likely realizing that with the game direction change many vets would leave anyway). I however, feel that the horribly slow trickle of content stems from the payment model change (sub to cash shop rip off ...I mean a mount costs more than a DLC pack lol!) and how it no longer sustains the bills for expensive content (voice over and so forth).

    This has meant that new zones and other game releases have been very very tiny. One DLC pack only consisted of the addition of two dungeons! with no more planned for release for well over a year.

    Granted the developers focus on designing content for solo players, but this was supposed to be an MMO not a glorified single player game with co-op and few dungeons. The game punishes you for playing with others during questing, because of the story based quests with voice over and dialogue that are unique to each player. It means that you almost don't want to interact with others during that time, because of not being in sync with other people.

    I could go on and on. And whilst this game offers some novel modern features, it suffers from a massive identity crisis and a constant lack of developer vision. With being b2p now (free weekends are dragging in lots of f2p gamers) you wont find the game empty.

    However it was built around a very incoherent design philosophy, one where it becomes clear that the designers had no clue who or what this game was aimed towards.

    It doesn't know whether its audience is anti-social solo player, or MMO group orientated player. So it tries to appeal to all and ends up delivering sub par content for all.

    To those joining knew, I will understand much of the above will seem like nonsense. So bare in mind this is a veterans reasoning. I do however believe that with the incredibly rapid leveling process now in game, the trivial ease of gaining gear - and a rapid realization of how shallow the games dungeons and content is, that any semi competent hardcore MMO fan will get rapidly bored.

    No new skills since launch pretty much. Along with Dungeons that are so woefully poor next to offerings such as FFXIV make this game (with its constant flipflop development) one I'd highly recommend avoiding now that the funding is low and the cash shop RNG boxes are on the way.

    This game couldn't cut it at launch and whilst it has improved, the lack of continuing development really shows. All they have planned for the future is housing... as you can imagine as someone who came for the PvP that was the last straw.

    An average PvE game at best, a unsupported laggy PvP experience at best - pick other games in the genre, or stick to solo play TES. You wont regret it.    … Expand
  11. Jirki88
    Apr 19, 2014
    6
    While the game certainly feels it have good sides and huge potential, it also feels like it's stuck in limbo. It's a game that tries to cater both to the typical MMO crowd, and the typical Elder Scrolls crowd, which in essence results in a lackluster game stuck in the middle, not really catering to anyone.

    Lets start with positives: + The graphics are nice. Some very nice views and the    While the game certainly feels it have good sides and huge potential, it also feels like it's stuck in limbo. It's a game that tries to cater both to the typical MMO crowd, and the typical Elder Scrolls crowd, which in essence results in a lackluster game stuck in the middle, not really catering to anyone.

    Lets start with positives:
    + The graphics are nice. Some very nice views and the game generally looks very good.
    + Storywriting, as far as it exists, are good. The quests overall is well written and executed.
    + The class and skill system is innovative and fun, opening lots of possibilities.
    + The crafting system feels quite good.

    Then we can take the negatives:
    - A majority of every dungeons etc you won't actually feel like or remember doing, because everything will be dead in them when you jog through, and almost every dungeon mini boss will be camped.
    - Bots, bots everywhere. The game is abound with bots camping spawns, bots selling gold, bots harvesting resources, bots doing everything. ZOS apparently didn't even consider the possibility of bots.
    - The trading system - you will mostly not want to trade at all unless someone tries to buy something from you. There's ridiculous 25% fees on guild stores and even more ridiculous fees on CoD. The entire system was made by someone with a major hard-on for WTS/WTB/WTT chat spam. By extent it makes it so you really won't be selling particularly much stuff at all.
    - The hugely limited active skills. While I'm glad they didn't go down the WoW route of 60 skills in 4 skillbars, only 5 skills certainly are way too limiting. It makes you set up a very short rotation and then stick to it, which makes combat nothing short of terribly boring after a while. The weapon switch at level 15 don't really help, especially not for some classes such as a Sorc with Daedric Summoning focus, since the slots will have to be occupied by the same still, basically.
    - Idiotically timed maintenances and no communication by ZOS (it's more rule than exception nowadays that they put their maintenances on times when a majority of EU players play, and then don't inform as to why they even put a maintenance then).
    - The grouping system which at best is haphazard and poorly implemented. Often you will find yourself in different phases from your group mates, and there's quite some quests that can't be done in group but you won't even know until you stand in there and can't see your groupmembers. And even if it can be done in group you don't always end up in the same group. A bad system.

    All in all, as I mentioned, it's a game with potential. But it needs to choose a direction because where it's heading right now is down a route where they try to please everyone, and that just won't succeed considering how different the SP ES players and the normal MMO players are.    … Expand
  12. JudgementisMine
    Apr 29, 2014
    7
    I found Elder Scrolls Online to be flawed but nowhere near as flawed as some of the ignorant criticism it has attracted. It is a good, solid Elder Scrolls story that has been bent badly in places to fit MMO requirements and conventions.. It has more bugs than it should, but these are slowly being mastered. Its chief faults are quests that are sometimes rigid and over-scripted, problemsI found Elder Scrolls Online to be flawed but nowhere near as flawed as some of the ignorant criticism it has attracted. It is a good, solid Elder Scrolls story that has been bent badly in places to fit MMO requirements and conventions.. It has more bugs than it should, but these are slowly being mastered. Its chief faults are quests that are sometimes rigid and over-scripted, problems with balance (too hard/too easy), and problems hitting the right level of complexity in such things as crafting, neither too convoluted nor too simple. The hostile reaction it has received from some parts of the gaming community is frankly childish. One noted "critic" attacked its "boring" quests by putting up a graphic of a Khajiit that was saying "Boring, boring, boring." There was literally no other argument than that. That's the level that some people are conducting the discussion on. In a way, the incoherent spite is revenge on Bethesda for not making every one of its games exactly the same as Morrowind, which enjoys a fervent-a-little-over-the-edge-of-sanity fanbase that I have dubbed "Morrowwindbags." Another sore point is the subscription fee. Even though this works out to about 50 cents a day for the first year and less thereafter, and even though new content is already being added to the game, less than a month after it was released, the very idea that they pay for anything additional seems to throw certain people into hysterics. But no free lunch, children, no free lunch. Complain if you don't get enough for your money. Don't mewl and whine because you have to pay. The only thing that ought to be free is bug fixes.… Expand
  13. Stargher
    May 4, 2014
    6
    I really wanted to like this game, but apart from character customization options, the story just couldn't keep me interested. I managed to play through all the starting areas, but the game lack the freedom and the spirit of the other Elder Scrolls games. Choices are meaningless and leveling is a chore. Quests are average and the whole thing feels lifeless. It is however an adequate MMO,I really wanted to like this game, but apart from character customization options, the story just couldn't keep me interested. I managed to play through all the starting areas, but the game lack the freedom and the spirit of the other Elder Scrolls games. Choices are meaningless and leveling is a chore. Quests are average and the whole thing feels lifeless. It is however an adequate MMO, just nothing special.… Expand
  14. Malanthor
    Apr 15, 2017
    0
    What a horribly boring game. Everything is just so.. bland.. same old gather this, kill that quest.. not a single innovative thing.. this might as well have been made 20 years ago..

    Also what were they thinking, 3 realms =great idea, if it had not been for the fact that every realm have the exactly same classes, the same races and you can even play through the same storylines. They    What a horribly boring game. Everything is just so.. bland.. same old gather this, kill that quest.. not a single innovative thing.. this might as well have been made 20 years ago..

    Also what were they thinking, 3 realms =great idea, if it had not been for the fact that every realm have the exactly same classes, the same races and you can even play through the same storylines.

    They might as well have advertised that they had 100 different factions! Just a load of bull.

    I also hear that their customer support is full of rude morons, but i cant personally vouch for this.

    This **** would have been better of for not being made.    … Expand
  15. Termin8ter
    May 27, 2015
    4
    This is a huge disappointment for the elder scrolls franchise. Skyrim and Oblivion were so good, but stupid Zenimax online decided to take a dump on the franchise. Elder Scrolls Online is over hyped, laggy , glitchy and just plain awful. the only good thing about this horrible game is the soundtrack. So disappointing. *sobs*
  16. Suss
    May 27, 2015
    0
    Do you want a quality MMO with engaging gameplay, attractive visuals and engrossing lore? Then play WoW. TESO felt like a real grind from the get-go, leveling was an arduous task marred by bugs. Enemies leash at pitifully short distances, making combat easy and dull. Combat inevitably ends up being about who can click the quickest. The ambitious removal of cooldowns leaves fighting boringDo you want a quality MMO with engaging gameplay, attractive visuals and engrossing lore? Then play WoW. TESO felt like a real grind from the get-go, leveling was an arduous task marred by bugs. Enemies leash at pitifully short distances, making combat easy and dull. Combat inevitably ends up being about who can click the quickest. The ambitious removal of cooldowns leaves fighting boring and removes the thinking behind how you're going to fight a certain foe.

    The art style of The Elder Scrolls Online is uninspired and bland, a far cry from the engaging, revolutionary graphics of previous installments. While not terrible on the eyes, it's nothing new and certainly nothing to get excited about.

    The lore of TESO is heavily contradictory to the already convoluted intertwining established lore of the series, with Zenimax even having the nerve to say that Bethesda got it wrong themselves in past games. This feeling of confusion brought about by having the world you've grown up exploring and researching cast aside as "transcription errors" or "fanciful tales" is an iron curtain over my enthusiasm to explore this shoddily-crafted world.

    If it's an MMO you're looking for, literally any other MMO does the genre greater justice than TESO does.
    If, however, you're craving Elder Scrolls, I'd recommend any of the other games in the series - they're all great games with more to do than TESO.    … Expand
  17. BeatHour
    Dec 29, 2019
    0
    Doesn't even work.

    It's a common complaint that this game is a massive download, and after it's all done installing the game won't launch. There's no technical support. None. Either the game works for you or it doesn't, and too bad if you wasted all that time and data in the process. I have at times managed to get it working in the past. it's just another MMO with rush-grind levels.    Doesn't even work.

    It's a common complaint that this game is a massive download, and after it's all done installing the game won't launch. There's no technical support. None. Either the game works for you or it doesn't, and too bad if you wasted all that time and data in the process.

    I have at times managed to get it working in the past. it's just another MMO with rush-grind levels. You hit something with one ability slot until it dies as an overpowered deity at the very start of the game. You might as well play World of Warcraft or any single player RPG. The miniaturized world scenes from the Elder Scrolls games are nothing to write home about; the set design seems phoned in and designed by committee; very lifeless. The classes seem to be random and have nothing to do with the classic Elder Scrolls experience. It doesn't feel like an Elder Scrolls game.    … Expand
  18. blammo
    Jun 3, 2014
    6
    Disclaimer: I hate PVP so I never experienced that part of the game at all.

    There are many good things - the crafting, the voice overs for every single dialogue, a huge world of exploration, and it's all very good looking. The random treasure chests and treasure maps are my favourite. I never once spent any time grinding, everything was fresh and never stale. But nothing made me    Disclaimer: I hate PVP so I never experienced that part of the game at all.

    There are many good things - the crafting, the voice overs for every single dialogue, a huge world of exploration, and it's all very good looking. The random treasure chests and treasure maps are my favourite. I never once spent any time grinding, everything was fresh and never stale.

    But nothing made me want to stop and get involved. Despite the appearance of an open sandbox, you're corralled from one giant open area to the next and it's "the most open on-rails experience you can have". Run along and click-click through the dialogue and the arrow points in the direction where you have to go and kill something. By the end you're tired of twisted hellish-floating-rock-islands.

    In summary, it's failed to grab me after playing it for a month now and giving it a fair shake, I really really wish it did because I've been an Elder Scrolls fan since Daggerfall came out.

    Worth it to try it out for the price of the game, you'll get your moneys worth for sure but I imagine many people will drop subscription after the first month or two not because it's bad, just because there's no big draw to stay.    … Expand
  19. BrianD
    Oct 14, 2015
    3
    Are you a PvPer?
    Do your research before buying this game!
    As it stands, if you are in a group of more than 6 you will gain a 50% damage reduction in PvP. Yep. AoE is capped at 6 targets. To be fair there is talk of removing the cap, but do your research before you come here. It was always capped but now its even worse because damage in PvP is halved. See, this gives every guy after    Are you a PvPer?
    Do your research before buying this game!

    As it stands, if you are in a group of more than 6 you will gain a 50% damage reduction in PvP. Yep. AoE is capped at 6 targets. To be fair there is talk of removing the cap, but do your research before you come here.
    It was always capped but now its even worse because damage in PvP is halved. See, this gives every guy after the 6th a 75% damage reduction. Yikes.
    Search AOE caps on Zenimax forum you'll see what I'm talking about.    … Expand
  20. JasonCDaniels
    Nov 16, 2015
    5
    Executive Summary (TL;DR)
    I played the beta. It seems like some key features often found in MMOs or fantasy games are missing or poorly implemented, even still. This includes things such as basic UI stuff, lcking auction houses, a chat interface that's largely a nuisance, and the understandable for an MMO neutering of sniping with a bow, effectively alienating people who favor that style.    Executive Summary (TL;DR)
    I played the beta. It seems like some key features often found in MMOs or fantasy games are missing or poorly implemented, even still. This includes things such as basic UI stuff, lcking auction houses, a chat interface that's largely a nuisance, and the understandable for an MMO neutering of sniping with a bow, effectively alienating people who favor that style. Also, outside of where a new character was created the writing seemed very dull and derivative. It was a mediocre experience for me.

    ------------------------
    Background:
    I was part of the late beta on ESO. I stopped playing the beta about 3 weeks in for a variety of reasons, most related to the game experience presented in a late beta product, but also others that were unrelated to the game.

    So why am I writing this NOW? On reading many of the RECENT reviews, positive and negative, viewing videos, and talking with friends who play the game, it is apparent to me that some of my major concerns persist to this day. (Not all, however)

    So yes, assessing if a problem STILL exists is second hand, so take it with a grain of salt. The information conveyed comes from my recollection of playing late in the beta cycle.
    ---------------------------------
    a) UI: If there is only one thing to tackle correctly, first, in an MMO, it's facilitating players interactions with each other in a meaningful, manageable way. The core of this is chat/mail. ESO Chat was a cluttered mess in beta. It sounds like the addition of multiple guilds has cluttered it even more.

    b) FEATURE: Similarly, no auction house existed. This makes trade VERY difficult. Long lived MMOs tend to have auction houses or other similar features because they are needed to enable lots of people to buy and sell competitively. It would seem there still isn't a suitable equivalent at this time.

    c) FEATURE: Sneaking and sniping, my all time favorite way to play any Elder Scrolls game, was neutered beyond usability. While sort of understandable in the context of an MMO, and the possible limitations on servers, don't play this game expecting to do any meaningful sniping with a bow, or spell. You will be very close to your opponent when engaging in this manner. This seems to obsolesce sneak-and-snipe builds.

    d) UI: There were few, if any, ways to tell, visually, which items could be interacted with, and which ones could not, thus saving time for players. It would seem from recent reviews that this is still the case.

    e) WRITING: The story intro/premise - Everyone was basically a "chosen one" after a fancy. The in game explanation given (at least at that time) was thin and superficial. After returning from the afterlife I had a waining interest in pursuing the main story as a result. That's not to say that all of the intro zone was poorly written/directed. It was actually quite fun to play through once. The rationale for all the "chosen ones" was unappealing to me.

    f) WRITING: Other quests were comprised of largely thin, cliche writing. Apart from the afterlife / start zone, the writing was frequently failing to living up to "Took an arrow to the knee" for quality, in my view.

    g) BUSINESS PRACTICE: The marketing and pricing seemed a bit like a cash-grab (DLC microtransaction). My impression here has not changed, even though the pricing model has, slightly with them effectively eliminating the subscription with ESO Plus.

    h) FEATURE: This MMO seemed a little light on the RPG elements in late beta. This is not a good thing or a bad thing, it's just something to be aware of. If you have strong opinions on which way you like it, factor this in.

    i) SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCE: And I know this is highly subjective, but it didn't "feel" like Tamriel to me. It felt like a hollow empty ghost of Tamriel. It felt like a sterile coopting of the Elder Scrolls brand, not an addition to it.

    You'll notice I didn't address graphics, dungeons, the fact that it didn't feel like Skyrim among other subjects. Graphics won't completely make or break a game, but they do certainly add to or subtract from a game. For dungeons, I could never get enough casual players together to try them. As for not feeling like Skyrim, well... Yep there's that. But Oblivion doesn't, nor does Morrowind. . . I love those games even still, even Skyrim. Most importantly, comparing single player games to MMOs misses important defining differences between kinds of games.

    You'll also note that I didn't say it was a bad game. ESO was mediocre as a beta product. As time seems to bear out, it's still a mediocre product. (So are other games that I adore. So if you love the game, keep loving it and playing it!)    … Expand
  21. T-Babyboi
    Apr 7, 2020
    4
    I give it a 4 because I'm below indifference, I call it negative. Let me point out I enjoy the feel of combat, the world looks cool, it's awesome running around with the realization real people, maybe even a group of friends are there with you, but the kicker for me is this.
    The game I think could be played for what it is, spending hundreds of hours getting mostly everything you want out    I give it a 4 because I'm below indifference, I call it negative. Let me point out I enjoy the feel of combat, the world looks cool, it's awesome running around with the realization real people, maybe even a group of friends are there with you, but the kicker for me is this.
    The game I think could be played for what it is, spending hundreds of hours getting mostly everything you want out of the game with very little real money besides base game and maybe major DLC, what phucks my brain is being in a game with options for the indulgencies such as housing, furniture, dyes and more.......only to find out that **** is blocked up behind a formitable grind wall, one so high it is designed, obviously to make you pay for it all.
    Housing things like an in house banker, crafting stations, must be purchased from grind gold or crowns, one phucking the other because both are designed to prevent one or the other.... Making it a loop of mediocrity and tedious trash.
    Idk about anyone else, but when I sit down to play a game in the back of my mind I need to know everything will be accessible to me within a reasonable accomplishment accommodation., otherwise the whole story is mucked with the background noise.... CROWNS.
    It is truly pathetic, the world as we know it cannot function without micro transactions and little schemes, so much time wasted for so little gained.
    I know it's as pathetic I sit here and rant over time lost, expectations let down with general mediocrity, I should move on and not even give this the time of day... And you're right, but I'm so at loss with how ****ty the silver lining of this world really is, I'm better off just **** until I'm dead.    … Expand
  22. Allon4ik
    Jun 25, 2019
    1
    I hate this game! The worst fighting system in mmo-rpg, like in Korean mmo! I bought game for relax, not to break my nervs, with swapping, light attacks every 1 second and idiotic Maelstron Arena!! Return my money!!! They didn’t say, that it is dark souls! Lies
  23. Rcarlos3
    Jun 25, 2019
    3
    At first this game looks awesome, cool quests, interesting skill system, a lot of dungeons and raids. PvE content is fine. PVP has lots of different builds, game modes, Cyrodiil, skilled players can 1v6 win fights. But there is one problem, because of which all recent reviews are negative. DEVELOPERS AND PERFOMANCE. The lags are unbearable, and they last in Cyrodiil for 3 years with 0At first this game looks awesome, cool quests, interesting skill system, a lot of dungeons and raids. PvE content is fine. PVP has lots of different builds, game modes, Cyrodiil, skilled players can 1v6 win fights. But there is one problem, because of which all recent reviews are negative. DEVELOPERS AND PERFOMANCE. The lags are unbearable, and they last in Cyrodiil for 3 years with 0 fixes. In prime time you literally have 3000 ping, buttons are not working etc. it is hard to believe that this is possible in such a game. Even in 4 man dungeons and raids you have 130 ping and sometimes buttons are not working. Pvp is impossible. Group finder is broken for years and you have to press ready for 40 mins to get into a battleground. Now when ppl stormed the forums, devs implemented a new mechanic: spam left mouse button for 20 secs to get into a queque, there you will spam ready only for 1 minute. It is way better, but there is a 30% chance that you will be kicked from server...
    You cant believe this? Than how about the fact, that ultimate from psijic skill line (it is live for a year and a part of a paid dlc) is working only in 50% cases. You just press it and you lose ult points but nothing happens. And devs are not fixing it. Everyone is like ok, it is a nice ultimate, but it is not working, so put it for passive effect, but never press. So forget it, the game will never get fixed. It is a pity, without lags and broken skills this game would be perfect. Dont pay for it, pls.    … Expand
  24. kira84
    Oct 30, 2019
    3
    This was bad at release, turned okay after 1.6 but since then the game is worst with every new release. Server crash, game crash, lag, the dungeon finder tool which is a basic feature in every mmo is bugged and the developper are unable to fix for almost a year now. Trial (raid) runs at 25 fps with a High end PC (1080 TI and 8700K). Cyrodiil (the big pvp area) have lag spikes of +999 ms,This was bad at release, turned okay after 1.6 but since then the game is worst with every new release. Server crash, game crash, lag, the dungeon finder tool which is a basic feature in every mmo is bugged and the developper are unable to fix for almost a year now. Trial (raid) runs at 25 fps with a High end PC (1080 TI and 8700K). Cyrodiil (the big pvp area) have lag spikes of +999 ms, frame rate drop there too to less than 20 fps on the same RIG, players with average PC play on a slideshow. Crown store is full with overpriced item (+30 € on average), skill tree are sold so you don't have to grind them because Zenimax made them to be inncovenient on purpose. Loot boxes are sold too where the chance to get the best item is less than 0.01%. Expansions turned into chapter with half the content of previous ones but with the same price. What can you expect from a company like Zenimax who own Bethesda (yeah the one that made Fallout 76).… Expand
  25. MashMash
    Aug 22, 2019
    1
    I've played this game from 2014 - 2019. It has gone downhill so bad. You can have an incredible net connection, video card, but the lag in battle is so bad that you cannot get skills to go off. Forget about bar swapping while in a battle. There is a bug where you're in constant combat so you cannot ride your horse, cannot change your quick-slots. Currently, as of 8/19/19, they did theirI've played this game from 2014 - 2019. It has gone downhill so bad. You can have an incredible net connection, video card, but the lag in battle is so bad that you cannot get skills to go off. Forget about bar swapping while in a battle. There is a bug where you're in constant combat so you cannot ride your horse, cannot change your quick-slots. Currently, as of 8/19/19, they did their Monday update patch and people are crashing every few minutes. They insist we play like this even on 8/22/19. They said a fix is coming Monday 8/26/19, but it is too late. They have lost so many good players due to the issues in-game. My opinion is they have a 10 yr plan to push out as many DLCs and store items to make money on a broken system. They do not focus to fix the current issues in-game since 2014. Do not waste your money or your time on this game it is a lost cause anymore.… Expand
  26. chekb
    Mar 25, 2020
    3
    ESO is rather strange and ambiguous. On the one hand, NOT BEING a bloody copy of Warcraft, this is a very good MMO game. ZoS made it good (not great) for quite some time. On the other hand, it would be great if they continued to do it better. Of course, they release DLC that increase the number of hours spent in the game, as well as the amount of money that ZoS earned. However, this isESO is rather strange and ambiguous. On the one hand, NOT BEING a bloody copy of Warcraft, this is a very good MMO game. ZoS made it good (not great) for quite some time. On the other hand, it would be great if they continued to do it better. Of course, they release DLC that increase the number of hours spent in the game, as well as the amount of money that ZoS earned. However, this is all unimportant, because they only complement the game, and not improve it. I spent almost 700 hours at ESO. During this time I received a lot of pleasure, but also disappointment. In fact, I do not remember the moment when ZoS did something that could improve the game. I don’t remember more than one damn patch that saved us from bugs. Seriously. I started having problems with ping, downloads between locations only after the last NOT LARGE patch. And what will happen after Greymoor? I used to have a stable ping (90 - 120), but now I have a stable 300-999 +. Great, isn't it? For all my 700 hours, this is my first ping. And why did I pay them money? Is this game worthy to be paid when it is not worthy of it? Thank you for making at least some DLC free. They would have made it so that everyone could use the jewelry machine, and not those who have Summerset; generally there would be no price. But I think I forgot something. Oh yes. I forgot about server crashes and group searches. For those who don’t know, ZoS has been trying to solve this problem for so long. Event associated with the search for groups, only means that there will be a breakdown of the search. Players will still try to do something, find a group. All this will cause server failure and subsequent technical work, which can take a very long time. This game has a lot of disadvantages. Most offensively not for the fact that they are present, but for the fact that it is quite possible to fix it.… Expand
  27. andreasran
    Apr 29, 2020
    1
    I have 8000 hours in this game. This game had a lot of potential. But is unfortunately run by a company too money greedy to even bother about creating a finished and WORKING product. It’s staff has promised improved server performance for over 4 years. It has yet to happen. Every patch this studio releases something breaks. The performance of this game is getting worse for every patch.I have 8000 hours in this game. This game had a lot of potential. But is unfortunately run by a company too money greedy to even bother about creating a finished and WORKING product. It’s staff has promised improved server performance for over 4 years. It has yet to happen. Every patch this studio releases something breaks. The performance of this game is getting worse for every patch. Stay away from Zenimax Studio!… Expand
  28. npace
    Jun 14, 2020
    2
    I participated in the beta testing, I barely spent a week, the game is terrible and has almost nothing similar in the gameplay with its predecessor Skyrim. This is a complete disappointment.
  29. csesium
    Apr 11, 2014
    6
    When I first heard ESO was going to be made, my first thought was it was going to be impossible to properly turn an Elder Scrolls game into an MMO. When I finally got into the beta I felt I was wrong, and that they had actually done a fairly decent job of the translation. I preordered it and was in the 5 day early access, and I can safely say my first thought was the correct one.

    I    When I first heard ESO was going to be made, my first thought was it was going to be impossible to properly turn an Elder Scrolls game into an MMO. When I finally got into the beta I felt I was wrong, and that they had actually done a fairly decent job of the translation. I preordered it and was in the 5 day early access, and I can safely say my first thought was the correct one.

    I really, really wanted to like this game. And for the first several days I enjoyed playing it. But then the problems started flowing in, and by problems I mean design flaws.

    Pros:
    -Pretty good looking for an MMO. Graphics are good and the environment is well done.
    -It feels very good playing in first person, unlike many of the other MMOs I've tried, though there's no way to change the FOV.
    -Music is excellent and fits the environment well
    -Voice acting is excellent, except where they made last minute changes to the dialogue and used different voice actors to make up the difference, creating a jarring effect when one paragraph is voiced by one person and the next by a different person
    -Stories for the quests are above average

    Cons
    -Dungeons are completely linear and go the same way every single time. You find a dungeon, any dungeon, and open the map: it's just a square. You reach a fork and you turn right every single time, because the left side is where you exit the dungeon to head back to the entrance. Because of phasing half way through the dungeon you will find the "boss" area, where a named NPC resides dead on the floor in a pile of copies of itself, with 12 people standing around it all trying to get one hit in before it's killed so they can get the completion acknowledgement and move on to the next quest or dungeon. The boss lasts no longer than 4 seconds.

    -There is no central auction house to trade goods. Instead. each guild has a store where its members and only its members may post up to 30 items at a time to sell to other guild members. There is a 25% cut when you list an item which becomes a hefty fee very quickly. Now, because there is no central auction house you can only reach a maximum of 300 players for any given item you are attempting to sell using the store. You can be a part of 5 different guilds, but you must choose which guild you list your item and that is it. This has led people to spamming every single general zone chat with trade requests because there is no trade chat, and it has overwhelmed any other discussions attempting to go on. The fact is, if you want to sell your item you want to reach the most amount of people, and that means selling it in general chat, not one of the guild stores where you will only get 75% of what you're asking.

    -Inventory management is a complete nightmare. You are able to level any or all professions at will; you aren't locked into picking just one or two. However, crafts like provisioning and enchanting have A LOT of different items used to craft, and you only start with 60 bank slots. If you try and level provisioning alone you will use up almost 100 slots with just different types of crafting materials, leaving room for absolutely nothing else! There are trinkets and pets and other things you might want to keep, but now you have to use bank alts and THEIR specific inventory just so you can have room to level other professions, or keep those special trinkets you get in game, or hell, another set of armor.

    -Enchanting is a joke. Almost all of the enchantments that you can use only go on jewelry, which you can't craft, and most of the rings and amulets you find have enchantments on them already that can't be overwritten. You need 3 different kinds of runes, but aspect runes appear in the game about 10% of the time compared to the other 2, meaning leveling it is godawful slow. However, leveling any profession in the game goes faster by deconstructing any item you find, NOT crafting. There is essentially no point in actually crafting a single item in any profession until you hit max level because you will outlevel it too quickly and it doesn't provide enough experience to level your profession to make it worth it.

    -PvP is mostly just running around for 10 minutes in empty fields to hopefully the next battle, because as far as I can tell there is no way to know if a capture point is in conflict or not. Seriously, PvP is mostly running from point A to point B with nothing inbetween, then it doesn't matter if you win or lose because what comes next is another 10 minute run. The map is too big. Seriously.

    These are just a few of the criticisms. If you really, really want to give the game a try, WAIT a few months for things to get settled, because it's just not worth the $15 a month they are asking for you to be waiting for things to get sorted out.    … Expand
  30. carsonnapier987
    May 10, 2014
    3
    TESO is as boring as WoW. Until one accumulates an obscene amount of cash the game play resembles a running simulator more than an RPG. The quests are go here, kill that, fetch this bring it back rinse and repeat. The Elder Scrolls immersed me in a world that afforded characters, quests and a storyline I cared about TESO not so much. I quit WoW when it started to remind me of work TESOTESO is as boring as WoW. Until one accumulates an obscene amount of cash the game play resembles a running simulator more than an RPG. The quests are go here, kill that, fetch this bring it back rinse and repeat. The Elder Scrolls immersed me in a world that afforded characters, quests and a storyline I cared about TESO not so much. I quit WoW when it started to remind me of work TESO is already becoming a chore. The graphics are ok but not comparable to PC versions of Skyrim. All in all I paid far too much for the game and the monthly fee adds insult to injury. This is a major disappointment for me.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
14
#14 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 64 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 64
  2. Mixed: 36 out of 64
  3. Negative: 1 out of 64
  1. CD-Action
    Jul 23, 2014
    60
    Eight years of development, a team consisting of even 250 people at some points, budget reaching hundreds of millions of dollars. It’s a pity that this ‘Skyrim Online’ disappoints both fans of previous Bethesda games and MMORPG veterans who expected some fresh air in the stale genre. [06/2014, p.44]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jul 8, 2014
    60
    A well done MMO that can lure players not familiar with the genre. But if you've played MMOs before, this one doesn't offer anything new, nor anything exciting.
  3. DarkStation
    Jun 16, 2014
    50
    60 days was more then enough time for me to determine that I would rather spend my time elsewhere.
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