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. KonanZbarbarian
    Jul 17, 2014
    10
    Kinda sad there are all these negative reviews for such a great game that is only becoming grander. There is a need for people to get over themselves every game has problems the first year if not longer look at WoW and its problems that still exist. Then every other MMO even close to raking in as much money as WoW is either the same game just a different paint job maybe a few minor tweaksKinda sad there are all these negative reviews for such a great game that is only becoming grander. There is a need for people to get over themselves every game has problems the first year if not longer look at WoW and its problems that still exist. Then every other MMO even close to raking in as much money as WoW is either the same game just a different paint job maybe a few minor tweaks in gameplay or presentation. This game has so much going for it the combat is engaging and sometimes unforgiving then there is the story which is as grand as any Elder Scrolls. Finally if you bring of balance issues go look at ANY game made in the past decade RPG FPS or otherwise it always has problems at launch months or even years after and no game will ever please 100% of people and have every single thing they want.… Expand
  2. olliebruce126
    Jul 17, 2014
    10
    In all honesty, this is a decent MMO when you get past the bugs and the random whining TES fans thinking it would be like Skyrim with multiplayer. A lot of fun and the quest storys are interesting with great voice acting. I'd say to get this for maybe 1 month and see if you like it.
  3. Tastycakes
    Jul 17, 2014
    2
    Rushed, hollow, lacking and sense of achievement or reason to keep playing. Welcome to the world of bugs, rehashed concepts that aren't done as well as any existing franchise and a non-existent end-game. Save you money, avoid this product at all costs. If you really feel like you want to play Elder Scrolls, Skyrim will be much more entertaining even on a seventh play through.

    A lot of    Rushed, hollow, lacking and sense of achievement or reason to keep playing. Welcome to the world of bugs, rehashed concepts that aren't done as well as any existing franchise and a non-existent end-game. Save you money, avoid this product at all costs. If you really feel like you want to play Elder Scrolls, Skyrim will be much more entertaining even on a seventh play through.

    A lot of people wanted this to be good. But it just isn't, and that's a shame.    … Expand
  4. Phix105
    Jul 16, 2014
    10
    I love the story and all the quests are voice acted. I love the looks of the game. I like it more than any MMO I have ever played and I have played most of them. Its all a matter of tastes of course but I would highly recommend this game to anybody that likes good graphics and a good story. Its getting even better as time goes by.
  5. callucallu
    Jul 14, 2014
    3
    I update my score.
    I WAS enthusiastic, i saw a lot of potential in this game. After 4 months, a monthly paid teams has done NOTHING to fix the big problems of this game. i'm not referring about bugs, that's are macromistakes, i'm telling about all the features that a mmporg player is expecting to find! No PVP, at all, just people randomly zerging the evening casting random aoe in random    I update my score.
    I WAS enthusiastic, i saw a lot of potential in this game. After 4 months, a monthly paid teams has done NOTHING to fix the big problems of this game. i'm not referring about bugs, that's are macromistakes, i'm telling about all the features that a mmporg player is expecting to find! No PVP, at all, just people randomly zerging the evening casting random aoe in random places.
    PVE i hell boring, if you are unlucky and you don't find other three free people in your guild you cannot even advance in your progress.
    I won't spent more than a phrase about veteran lvls...shame on you, just a shame (i'm vet 12.. most boring things ever done in my entire gaming life)
    Housing? what is it! guild features?why! Auction house? no, we don't want gold sellers(ha...ha...ha!)
    3 skill to improve? some classes just unplayable alone (and some others sucks in pvp), totally unbalanced.
    Considering that some banks bugs have DESTROYED the economy, some players have thousands of rare item for crafting, so there is no more economy to build..
    Farewell my dear, Spending 80$ and more on you was a painful mistake...    … Expand
  6. lion8797
    Jul 13, 2014
    2
    The Game lacks in the Open World feel, and basically if you want to feel like a badass, try not to get beat down by the super impressive mudcrabs. Please tell the programmers and developers to stop posting 10's on the site. Its ok to vote for your horse but lets be honest ok, you are like the Mom with the my kids #1 sign.
  7. Kawai
    Jul 10, 2014
    1
    Graphics: 8 / Sound: 9 / Likeness to ES: 5 / Gameplay: 3 / Character customization: 4
    Combat Melee: 5 / Combat Casting: 6 / Combat Archery: 1 / Gameworld Navigation: 2
    Questing: 2 / Partying: 2 / Guilds: 2 / In Game Chat: 1 / Cheats/Exploits Prevention: 1 Character Control: 6 / Game Economy: 1 / Inventory    Graphics: 8 / Sound: 9 / Likeness to ES: 5 / Gameplay: 3 / Character customization: 4
    Combat Melee: 5 / Combat Casting: 6 / Combat Archery: 1 / Gameworld Navigation: 2
    Questing: 2 / Partying: 2 / Guilds: 2 / In Game Chat: 1 / Cheats/Exploits Prevention: 1
    Character Control: 6 / Game Economy: 1 / Inventory Control: 4 / Crafting System: 10
    Hype/Expectation/Delivery: 2 / Producers Response: 1 / Fanboy Boost: 10    … Expand
  8. Molec_man
    Jul 9, 2014
    4
    At first glance, I thought this game was great. I loved the combat flexibility and ease of switching my builds. Unfortunately, as I progressed that ease and limited combat variation became boring. Upon reaching Veteran rank, I lost all motivation to continue on. The bots were everywhere and the landscape was dull and drab. The dungeons didn't draw me in, there was no reason to do themAt first glance, I thought this game was great. I loved the combat flexibility and ease of switching my builds. Unfortunately, as I progressed that ease and limited combat variation became boring. Upon reaching Veteran rank, I lost all motivation to continue on. The bots were everywhere and the landscape was dull and drab. The dungeons didn't draw me in, there was no reason to do them multiple times as you leveled and the questing seemed like the same old same old. It reminds me of what happened with the build up of SWTOR. In the end, they should have just made a KOTOR 3. Same here. In the end, they should have just made a new single player Elder Scrolls game like the previous installments (Morrowind, Oblivion and Skyrim). Wasted effort Zenimax.… Expand
  9. redim
    Jul 8, 2014
    10
    This game is amazing,graphic is beautiful,the story is fun,you can create lots of combinaison of class compared to classic mmo.. This game make lots of progress since the release, and the user score is probably because of beta player... This is the best mmorpg ive played. This is not WoW, This is ESO stop comparing both game. I recommend the game if you love Skyrim.
  10. Xanatar
    Jul 7, 2014
    7
    First things first - I would give this game a 9 if there weren't some issues that could have been easily avoided. In short: Don't play ESO if you expect what in our days counts as typical mmo. So if you are the progress player type that grinds up his character as quickly as possible to the "endgame" and then expects to have fun in Raids and instanced pvp battlefields, this is not the gameFirst things first - I would give this game a 9 if there weren't some issues that could have been easily avoided. In short: Don't play ESO if you expect what in our days counts as typical mmo. So if you are the progress player type that grinds up his character as quickly as possible to the "endgame" and then expects to have fun in Raids and instanced pvp battlefields, this is not the game for you. Like "The Secret World" this is a game you actually should play like an RPG. If you expect a Skyrim, don't play it as well - It is NOT Skyrim.

    Negative:
    - The day 1 bot invasion, cheating and hacking, a nearly crashed economy, goldsellers and massive abuse of game systems - though to be honest they seem to get some of these problems solved.
    - Whoever designed this inventory - clutter - collection - nightmare which forces me to cycle through an inventory management tour every 10 minutes of gameplay should be forced to play it himself for a week - as it would seem he hasn't really played it for even 10 minutes. YES it is cool to find something in every drawer - NO it is not cool to have garbage like "foul hide" in x levels taking away an inventory slot each! And why for gods sake do glyphs not stack? And every other game has started to put useless trophies and stuff in seperate inventories... but no ... and so on, and so forth, in short, the inventory is a nightmare.
    - The lag - Yessss, I clearly avoided the red circle on the ground. oops, no I still was hit because of... LAG! Combat can become annoying at some point, you really have to "plan" blocking etc., any last second tries will probably end in the lag ignoring your effort. How they expect this system to work with console player wh
    - The game does not provide a MMO experience as you would expect an MMO
    - Not sure I like the endgame - there does not seem to be really so much to do apart from getting to veteran rank 12 and level all the crafting and stuff.
    - UI - you have to get some mods which help you read the battle or you will miss whats going on...
    - Crappy UI for features like guild auction house etc.

    Positive:
    - Although a lot of my predecessor writers have complained about the shallowness of the story and the NOT being Skyrim, I think they actually did a very solid job. Yes it is an MMO and some quests follow too much the classic mmo scheme (bring me 5 rat tails). But even then it never started to feel grindy like in SwTor, Tera or Wildstar. And some quest chains really shine, especially with really changing the world afterwards. Big plus is the complete synchro, with sometimes ironic to funny comments and dialogs.
    - The world is exceptionally well designed for an mmo. You find interesting hidden camps, chests and lore everywhere in the world. Environment feels very "natural" and "organic". Not just 10 pigs and 5 wolves running in always the same random paths around poorly placed trees and rocks. Yes it is not Skyrim or witcher, but I guess you have to make some compromises when designing an MMO.
    - Dungeons - if you actually find a group (tank and healer problem... again...) then all the instances I visitied were actually quite exciting.
    - Main Storyline, Mage guild and fighters guild story lines are solid, though a bit too linear.
    - Characters look ok, though sadly you see it was done with the HERO engine... Considering what other MMOs plan for character generation (have you seen black desert character gen... anyone?) this is just average.
    - Crafting has some interesting new ideas, though it has problems with the poorly designed inventory system
    - Combat is very interesting, though not as well done and as flexible as the real action combat of Tera. Still, with only 5+1 (x2) Skills, the combat certainly is above average.
    - The single player experience is well done, on the negative side group play is not much encouraged, making this somewhat flawed for an massive MULTIPLAYER online experience.
    - Where the quests are focused on single player, the RvsR system is certainly focused on massive multiplayer battles. Meaning if you don't want to do PvP in large groups, you better don't do PvP at all.

    Fazit:
    ESO certainly has potential - I really liked the clean view I can experience in this game, first time I haven't tons of different information bars and windows cluttering my view of the actual game. The world is wonderfully designed and a lot of effort was put into quests and atmossphere of the RPG part of the game. I am not sure this game will work on the long run though, especially as a subscription title. Too many flaws, too many bugs, not enough thoughts put into a clear vision of the endgame and a flawed multiplayer experience are the major points which will have to be addressed before this game can be successful in the long run.    … Expand
  11. malto
    Jul 5, 2014
    9
    first off all the bad reviews for the most part are bs people for some reason wanted to hate this game and so people made up bs reasons to hate it such as "i lagged ones so im giving it a 1" or my favorite "this game is **** because the npcs dont go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning" most people wanted skyrim online. it was never going to be that. its a mmo and a good one atfirst off all the bad reviews for the most part are bs people for some reason wanted to hate this game and so people made up bs reasons to hate it such as "i lagged ones so im giving it a 1" or my favorite "this game is **** because the npcs dont go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning" most people wanted skyrim online. it was never going to be that. its a mmo and a good one at that a lot better then most of the **** thats getting crazy high ratings right now the graphics are good the combat is good the biggest problem is its under populated because of people being idiots. there was a review that said there where pay gates thats bs. the special edition gave you a mount and a new race. thats it. not needed you can still play fine with out it you can play as any faction just cant be a turn coat. all in all most of the bs on here is really idiotic and i hate to see a good game fail because people wanted impossible things/people hate it because everyone else hates it with out playing it them self… Expand
  12. TarrinRos
    Jun 27, 2014
    10
    Good game with nice atmosphere, beautiful sound and sfx. Interesting quests. Yes, it haven`t same liberty as in single TES, but in lore it`s the same. Unusual combat and crafting system.

    Bugs are fixable. And we want more content, but it will be in future.
  13. kahow1107
    Jun 27, 2014
    0
    Don't listen to all the people saying it's good. They must have been paid or something.
    If you are a real fan of the Elder Scrolls series, you will hate everything about this game and immediately regret buying it. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. The character creation depth and the fact that they made elves slightly less unattractive are literally the only things about this game that are even    Don't listen to all the people saying it's good. They must have been paid or something.
    If you are a real fan of the Elder Scrolls series, you will hate everything about this game and immediately regret buying it. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME. The character creation depth and the fact that they made elves slightly less unattractive are literally the only things about this game that are even remotely positive.
    1: Riddled with bugs and it's been months since launch.
    2: Botters everywhere with fly and speedhacks and you can hardly level your crafting because of it.
    3: Third person feels like the only option, and it really takes away from your character.
    4: The quests all suck. "Go here, talk to this guy, pick up this item, take it to this guy."
    5: The engine used to make this game is old and the graphics are mediocre at best (my system is really good too). The movement and mechanics also suck.
    6: Skyrim kicks the crap out of this game. In every single possible way.
    7: Monthly fee? How about no.
    8: The price for a half baked game that anyone could have made in their basement with the same publicly available game engine? How about no.
    9: Zenimax put no effort into making this game and it's really apparent within 2 minutes of leaving the character creation screen.
    10: Do you like micro-transactions that are more like $20? No? They have that, too.
    11: You have to buy a month of play time before you get your free month promised with purchase.

    Seriously, you will hate everything about this game. Do not buy it.    … Expand
  14. MagnaKarp
    Jun 26, 2014
    10
    I would like to start off by disagreeing with everyone calling TESO "a standard MMO" as it clearly isn't. Zenimax and Bethesda have made great strides in the MMO world to provide us with that classic Elder Scrolls feel, but with all the amenities an MMO has to offer. People who don't understand the somewhat more single player feel while leveling but with added MMO options like group PvP,I would like to start off by disagreeing with everyone calling TESO "a standard MMO" as it clearly isn't. Zenimax and Bethesda have made great strides in the MMO world to provide us with that classic Elder Scrolls feel, but with all the amenities an MMO has to offer. People who don't understand the somewhat more single player feel while leveling but with added MMO options like group PvP, group dungeons, public dungeons, and newly integrated open world PvP zones, obviously aren't true fans that have been playing Elder Scrolls games for years. TESO is a true testament to ultimate customization of play in comparison to any other MMO I've come across (trust me I've played a lot recently). I finally don't have to keep surfing through the FTP MMOs out there to find one that fits my needs as a gamer; TESO on its own hits all the necessary criteria of a great game. I'd almost consider it to still be in Beta due to the multitude of content that has still yet to be released. I can hardly wait for content such as the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild to finally be here. Thank you Bethesda and Zenimax for doing it right.… Expand
  15. KingGTO
    Jun 26, 2014
    8
    ESO is a great game for fans of the franchise, and a very good game for those new to the lore of Tamriel and the Elder Scrolls series. The biggest failing of ESO, that’s clearly present in the early feedback on ratings, is the team released the game too early. Since April a ton of work has been done to refine and expand the title, gobs of bugs have been fixed, and the beauty of the titleESO is a great game for fans of the franchise, and a very good game for those new to the lore of Tamriel and the Elder Scrolls series. The biggest failing of ESO, that’s clearly present in the early feedback on ratings, is the team released the game too early. Since April a ton of work has been done to refine and expand the title, gobs of bugs have been fixed, and the beauty of the title is really showing through.

    The game looks absolutely stunning, matching the tradition of open world graphics being a key feature of the franchise, but in an MMO environment. The amount of content is huge, both in terms of land and quests and dungeon delves, as well as with surrounding content from NPC’s and books. If you’re a fan of the lore in the series you’ll definitely enjoy the appearance of many famous characters and plot turns.

    Audio is wonderful, and I’m frankly amazed at how the team continues to improve audio by adding many more sounds and environmental music. Like WoW before it, the little touches really add up. As an example, casting a defensive shell around your player in combat actually muffles and changes the sounds coming through that magic shield to you. Also, tons of quest text is covered with voice overs.

    The combat is ESO is more visceral than I am used to in MMO’s. Moving from DAoC, to WoW, to CoH and other MMO’s has steadily ramped up the notion of real-time combat engagement that doesn’t feel restrained by client server communication. In ESO, melee classes and casting classes alike need to move around, and they can block and interrupt spells. The tactile game feedback with a subtle UI is well done.

    Probably the most distinctive “feature” of ESO is it’s openness to character creation. You really do have a viable road to cultivating a unique customized character that can break away from cookie cutter MMO personas (heavy armor tank, cloth only casters, etc.). You have the tools to mix and match spells, armor, weapons and engagement techniques in a very flexible way. And it works, just like in the solo games.

    As a type of player, I’m an “explorer”, freakish in how I like to go everywhere, do everything, and eat up all the content. I play a large number of characters; I hoard recipes and do a bunch of crafting, and I create an “ecosystem” amongst them. I collect tons of stuff, read all of the books, and open way too many containers. I look behind waterfalls, and I climb cliffs to reach chests. In ESO, I am well rewarded.

    Like Rift, ESO lets you easily form up without requiring grouping for some world content (i.e. overcoming “anchors” and waves of mobs). The game adds in open dungeon delves where characters easily work together to overcome challenges without having to group. But for content requiring groups, the UI is clunky and hurtful. ESO is still struggling to find a refined set of grouping tools vs. UI vs. content.

    I haven’t experienced the PvP yet, but from my friends that are very strong in this area of MMO gaming, the feedback has been quite good. My assumption is that some of the grouping issues in the main world plague the ease of use in PvP, but I rarely hear about it, and that’s conjecture on my part. I am looking forward to the longer term “campaigns” that go on for days, but am still focusing time outside of PvP.

    If you’re looking for a beautiful MMO that has a lot to offer and a team that is clearly continuing to invest a ton of development and content work into making the game better and better, ESO is a great place to be. I’ve spent a ton of time in MMO’s over the years, and for me, ESO is a keeper. Great fun.    … Expand
  16. ISB5223CDN
    Jun 26, 2014
    4
    Started with hope, ended with failure. Everyone who has ever played an elder scrolls game, wanted this to succeed. I knew it was in trouble when the community board had an official poll regarding "would you still play if eso went f2p". That was after one month of it being live. Shortly after that, they announced it would be delayed for consoles. This game had promise and made promises andStarted with hope, ended with failure. Everyone who has ever played an elder scrolls game, wanted this to succeed. I knew it was in trouble when the community board had an official poll regarding "would you still play if eso went f2p". That was after one month of it being live. Shortly after that, they announced it would be delayed for consoles. This game had promise and made promises and both were broken repeatedly. The group system is farce. This is the first MMO that doesn't have shared progress. I play with my son, and through the hundreds of quests, I believe we found 2 or 3 that had shared progress. The veteran system is not solo-friendly. As opposed to the 1-50 which is very solo-friendly. It feels like they actually designed the game to force soloists to conform to group play after 50. It's not impossible to level solo, just hard and be prepared to grind creature kills. There is another way though, the pvp daily quests, but your faction better control the majority of the map for that. The pvp is a game of capture the flag akin to any fps title out there, only here, gear and levels matter. Also pvp has a huge flaw with the mage aoe groups. They run in packs, and I mean run, so they are hard to target with siege machines and ground aoe. I could go on about veteran, but I'll end it by saying, get in a pvp guild if you want to war in Cyrodil and level like you did pre-veteran. The scenery is nice, but it's not skyrim quality. So I end this (cause I could go on) by saying "A lot of expectations, very few of them met."… Expand
  17. W-Moose-W
    Jun 26, 2014
    5
    I did rate 6, but changed to 5. I expect a lot more than just pretty graphics and beautiful characters in 2014. The rest is a standard quest/level or subpar compared to what other games are doing.

    A party member of the same level disappears every time they are not on the same quest as you. They can't help or share. Terrible design. How could they think this would be good? How could    I did rate 6, but changed to 5. I expect a lot more than just pretty graphics and beautiful characters in 2014. The rest is a standard quest/level or subpar compared to what other games are doing.

    A party member of the same level disappears every time they are not on the same quest as you.
    They can't help or share. Terrible design. How could they think this would be good? How could this pass beta?

    The only thing Elder Scrolls is the where this takes place and the char races. nothing else is similar.

    I felt ripped off after I realized in the first starting area that there is no swimming underwater. WOW had this feature 10 years ago. All Elder Scrolls games have it. All you do in this game is tread water.

    The only new feature is you aim your mouse pointer at your target instead of click to select the target, or tab to select a target. However, if the target moves after you shoot, your arrow/spell curve and follow it.

    This becomes more evident when things are fired at you. You cannot dodge the fireball or shots coming at you…they curve and follow you.

    This is not Elder Scrolls combat. In Elder Scrolls combat attacks go in straight lines, and you can dodge them.

    No friendly fire - So everyone is just shooting and casting right through friendly characters in melee etc. This is not Elder Scrolls. This was trumped up as a revolution in gaming - but it isn't. It is a re-keying of similar systems using the mouse aimed reticle to select targets.

    Your shield does ‘block’ but you can’t improve the block like in Elder Scrolls. There is no parrying.

    There are bows, but no arrows. They just shoot an unlimited amount at your target as fast as you can click. This is not Elder Scrolls.

    No Fletcher/Bowyer crafting, no arrow shaft, tip, fletching types, no crossbows or slings. A "woodworker" can make bows. He can also craft magical staves...because they have wood shafts. LOL. seriously.

    The staves shoot magic just like the bows - unlimited, curving at target.

    Your character only has a magic, health, and stamina rating. No str, dex, wil, int, etc etc.
    Elder Scrolls skills, or some new well thought out complex skill system is absent here. Where are the 6 schools of Magic from Elder Scrolls? Not Here.

    4 Character classes, each with 3 skill trees: Each class is basically a magician. Then you pick a weapon with a separate skill tree. The skills end up doing much the same thing no matter what you choose.

    Any player can use any weapon and each weapon has its own skill tree

    You can carry 60 pieces of heavy armor or 60 scrolls...not weight based.

    Anyone can wear heavy armor and wield the biggest weapons because there is no min str rating etc.

    Everyone can use stealth, but it does not level up like in ES. Armor doesn’t effect it.

    OTHER DISAPOINTMENTS FOR AN MMO THAT COMES OUT IN 2014:
    You can’t build a house ( or even a tent) and have property,

    You can't make extra storage chests for your gear.

    You have a bank with 60 slots (upgradeable). That’s it. It can be filled up with junk from the starting area.

    No shipbuilding (even simple canoes) sea sailing, own a ship instead of a house.

    No building guild halls and customizing them for members. No public store for your guild.

    No public auction/store to sell things more QUICKLY!!
    Remember in Ultima online (1998) how you could find treasures and decorate your place? Sail on the sea and fish? Your guild could have a storefront where u could sell stuff u made? You could own a house? There is nothing here. UO had this 15 years ago....where the economy was based on what ppl made. No hunting skill, fishing skill, mountain climbing, pet taming, nothing - you can fish but it is generic), no carpentry, masonry, kennel – no extra stuff that an mmo crowd does outside of combat or combat crafting. Imagine all the cool things someone in a next generation mmo could have for people to do - a socila immersive world - ESO strikes out here. You can’t have NPC companions that you can equip and customize and program with scripts (like in swtor, or eve baldur’s gate). Think Dragon Age scripting with SWTOR companions You still can’t fight like cavalry and trample enemies on your horse (which should be customizeable with armor saddles, shoes, etc.). you can upgrade horse speed, endurance OTHER ANNOYANCES: No minimap. PVP : is fun, it takes place in Cyrodil - on a huge battlefield - but there is.no real world pvp or chance encounters with the enemy :( Guilds have enemies together in them. (seriously?) Summary: Great Beautifully created Tamriel Lands, Beautiful Characters. However, being advertised as an Elder Scrolls game leaves high expectations...which this game fails to deliver. ESO also fails to deliver in areas where many other games do things better.    … Expand
  18. Grim13
    Jun 25, 2014
    0
    Here's my verdict after 3+ months:

    PvE: -Bugs -Glitches -Broken Passives -Failing Skills -Broken Quests -Imbalanced -Rollbacks PvP: -Bugs -Glitches -Broken Passives -Failing Skills -Imbalanced -Broken Fwd Camps, Doors, Repair Kits, Compass, etc. -Crashes - LAG The game may be pretty... but it is NOT worth a sub. It should still be in beta testing. Every patch    Here's my verdict after 3+ months:

    PvE:

    -Bugs
    -Glitches
    -Broken Passives
    -Failing Skills
    -Broken Quests
    -Imbalanced
    -Rollbacks

    PvP:

    -Bugs
    -Glitches
    -Broken Passives
    -Failing Skills
    -Imbalanced
    -Broken Fwd Camps, Doors, Repair Kits, Compass, etc.
    -Crashes
    - LAG

    The game may be pretty... but it is NOT worth a sub. It should still be in beta testing. Every patch they put out breaks more things than it fixes, lol, so the game is seriously getting worse.    … Expand
  19. fluffybunny
    Jun 24, 2014
    0
    Game is let down by the most extreme incompetence in both the developer vision, the incompetence of the coding team for patches, and the incompetence of the terrible customer support.
  20. Troublewalking
    Jun 24, 2014
    5
    Rating this game is tough. Honestly I have to give it 3 ratings. I will rate it as general MMO. As an Elder Scrolls game and as an RVR MMO.

    As a general MMO. This game is nothing to write home about. It is extremely average. In a market that is bloated by f2p games. As an Elder Scrolls game this game is a 2. They tried to put some aspects of Elder Scrolls in it, but you will probably    Rating this game is tough. Honestly I have to give it 3 ratings. I will rate it as general MMO. As an Elder Scrolls game and as an RVR MMO.

    As a general MMO. This game is nothing to write home about. It is extremely average. In a market that is bloated by f2p games.

    As an Elder Scrolls game this game is a 2. They tried to put some aspects of Elder Scrolls in it, but you will probably find it very difficult to find any of the magic that makes Elder Scrolls game's great in this game. If your an Elder Scrolls fan you should probably avoid this game like it's the plague. Maybe trying it out once it goes F2P.

    As an RVR MMO this game is actually pretty good. That's because Zenimax basically lied to Bethsaida and told them they would develop a MMO version of the Elder Scrolls. Then turned around and obviously made DAOC II. Maybe they were hoping The Elder Scrolls tag would draw new players. Or maybe they just didn't have the money to fund a DAOC II. Whatever the case, if you haven't played Dark Ages of Camelot, or Warhammer. Basically they are Realm verses Realm games. Essentially having the players factions fight over territory. As a casual PVP fan, I found Warhammer's version of RVR to be great fun. It could be quite random and free flowing. Sometimes having hours of combat going between large groups of players. Warhammer had great rewards to keep the players involved. Though ultimately it's system had a fatal flaw because there were only 2 realms. The Elder Scrolls has tried to address this with 3 realms. Early on it seems to have worked. If you like RVR this game is at least a 7 to you. But remember in RVR type MMO's usually the PVE is just something to keep you busy when your not fighting in RVR.    … Expand
  21. Darthtux
    Jun 24, 2014
    8
    Elder Scrolls Online is a good MMO but it could improve in many ways. Elder Scrolls Online has a lot of bugs in quests and I was pretty disapointed in not getting my exp but anyways the missions are well done with voice acting and good story telling. The main story was short but it manages to keep a decent pace with the side missions. There's soo much to do in Elder Scrolls Online likeElder Scrolls Online is a good MMO but it could improve in many ways. Elder Scrolls Online has a lot of bugs in quests and I was pretty disapointed in not getting my exp but anyways the missions are well done with voice acting and good story telling. The main story was short but it manages to keep a decent pace with the side missions. There's soo much to do in Elder Scrolls Online like fighting world bosses and doing dungeons, those were fun when you play it with friends! The dungeons are amazing! Pvp was fun with people and go raid on bases and stuff...... Overall Elder Scrolls Online is a good MMO but with too much content it creates too many bugs and the game tends to get boring once you play it for a very long time......… Expand
  22. ElderScrollsFan
    Jun 23, 2014
    1
    Highly disappointed in this game, what were you thinking, should of done an online game that was more like Borderlands and not so much like WoW. Well back to Morrowind.
  23. Shekky
    Jun 22, 2014
    8
    This game is one of those few gems out there some slight bugs aside this could use a few patches and upgrades to make this game truly great. the diverse storyline is amazing filled with tons of hours of gameplay. the leveling process is abit of a grind but the story keeps you entertained in the mean time. one of the biggest complaints i keep hearing about which i can agree with is havingThis game is one of those few gems out there some slight bugs aside this could use a few patches and upgrades to make this game truly great. the diverse storyline is amazing filled with tons of hours of gameplay. the leveling process is abit of a grind but the story keeps you entertained in the mean time. one of the biggest complaints i keep hearing about which i can agree with is having more bars to use more of your spells and abilities being limited to a selection of 5 with your ultimate ability has combat be quite limited. The only other thing I would suggest is adding a minimap i tend to get lost quite easy without one. A few addons has remedied this but it just isn't enough to have to add it through addons.… Expand
  24. DeciusFrecentis
    Jun 22, 2014
    9
    I must say, the negative reception this game has received has absolutely floored me. Maybe it's because I'm not an MMO buff. Maybe its because I really came to ESO looking for another single player game. But eitherway, I have not had so much fun since Oblivion.

    The only other MMO I have to compare this with is World of Warcraft. A friend got me into WoW and while it was passably fun    I must say, the negative reception this game has received has absolutely floored me. Maybe it's because I'm not an MMO buff. Maybe its because I really came to ESO looking for another single player game. But eitherway, I have not had so much fun since Oblivion.

    The only other MMO I have to compare this with is World of Warcraft. A friend got me into WoW and while it was passably fun while he was my companion, I found it too boring to continue alone. ESO is better by a mile! Where did ESO go right where I felt WoW was lacking? Well...

    The worlds are beautiful. Simply exploring and absorbing the vibrancy can be a joy. The quests have interesting stories and can emerge spontaneously. The actually have a modicum of depth...heck, sometimes I grow a genuine affection for them. And, even though you share the game world with other players, Zeni does a fantastic job of making it feel like yours, as you make choices that determine if other characters live or die, what kind of assistance you'll see in the future, and even watch major sections of the game world change as you progress.

    Also, the combat. Combat is evolving, visceral, strategic, and keeps you on your toes. Where as in WoW, you could literally fight with your eyes closed.

    There are things I don't like. Ingroup voice chat would be nice. There are no RPing servers which is also sort of disappointing. And too often dungeons are public when they should be private, and occasionally the reverse.

    But this is the most fun I have had since Oblivion. Maybe it's not a great MMO, because the cooperative and PVP aspects of the game are probably the most disappointing. Cyrodiil, for instance, is either extremely laggy or achingly empty. But it is, without a doubt, a marvelous experience that leaves me feeling like a kid in a candy store.    … Expand
  25. millertym
    Jun 22, 2014
    8
    Quick summery: If you loved the elder scrolls games, you will like this game a lot - at least though the leveling up portions. If you are a huge fan of WoW and more classically functioning MMOs, it may not be your ball of wax. What we have here is an MMO that is not quite different enough from other MMOs and an Elder Scrolls game that is a bit too different from Elder Scrolls games.Quick summery: If you loved the elder scrolls games, you will like this game a lot - at least though the leveling up portions. If you are a huge fan of WoW and more classically functioning MMOs, it may not be your ball of wax. What we have here is an MMO that is not quite different enough from other MMOs and an Elder Scrolls game that is a bit too different from Elder Scrolls games.

    Now more detail: Leveling up can be a basically solo/Elder Scrolls experience if you prefer that (which I did for reading books and lore and beating up mud crabs, etc...). They did an OK job of making you still feel like the bad ass of the world despite all the other players running around here and there. Questing never gets stale and you move around the map to new areas in a way that keeps things moving and interesting. They did a good job of keeping much of the feel of the Elder Scrolls games even in MMO form. Combat feels solid mostly. It's still "Elder scrollsish" with needing to point your character AT the target to hit them and be in range of your weapon or spell. No WoW type targeting at all. Blocking, dodging, interrupting, and lots of movement make boss fights a lot of fun. The 4 man dungeons are the most fun of any MMO I've played. The Graphics look solid and very much Elder Scrolls style. Crafting is pretty cool/good. You can work your way up to making astoundingly cool gear that competes with any drops or rewards. Voice acting is on par with the Elder Scrolls experience.

    On a negative note, there is a lot of 'been there done that' as far as an MMO goes. I wouldn't call it ground breaking at all. Mob placement schemes, strategically placed and static quest NPCs, the 'don't travel too fast' MMO feeling are all at play here. Also, while it's combat system is more enjoyable than other MMOs I've played, lag can play havok with it.

    In the end, I question why they would have put the effort into making this an MMO when they could have made a cooler Elder Scrolls experience making a new Elder Scrolls single player game. If they were ultra concerned with multiplayer, why not just add a co-op dungeon crawl module to an otherwise single player game. I've had very much fun leveling up my character and playing the game - but really the only place I've felt multiplayer added to the Elder Scrolls experience at all has been in dungeons. In any case, as an Elders Scrolls fan - it's certainly fun enough to level up through to max level, learn more lore about the Elder Scrolls world, and beat a few challenging dungeons with online pals.

    If you are an Elder Scrolls fan I predict you would have AT LEAST enough fun with this game to justify the cost and 1 or 2 months of the subscriber fee. And hey, if you end up loving the PvP it may be a fairly long term run for you.    … Expand
  26. RedFoxDelta
    Jun 22, 2014
    7
    This game is NOT a bad game. That said, this game was... disappointing. Being an "Elder Scrolls" MMO meant a compromise between the beloved elder scrolls game mechanics and the mechanics necessary to make an MMO work. Unfortunately, this compromise ended with almost nobody happy. The MMO crowd- or specifically, the WOW crowd, was actively cheering for this game to die from the inception.This game is NOT a bad game. That said, this game was... disappointing. Being an "Elder Scrolls" MMO meant a compromise between the beloved elder scrolls game mechanics and the mechanics necessary to make an MMO work. Unfortunately, this compromise ended with almost nobody happy. The MMO crowd- or specifically, the WOW crowd, was actively cheering for this game to die from the inception. The Elder Scrolls crowd was disappointed by the lack of player housing, a crime system, the Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild. And of course, the game had its share of bugs. It had the stability issues found commonly in Bethesda games, with random crashes to desktop. It has the latency issues inherent in MMOs, with players missing blocks and counter attacks they should have gotten. It has, in true Elder Scrolls fashion, random incredibly imbalanced NPCs in solo missions. Then, of course, we have the glitches with unspawned NPCs or objects you need to interact with, which can only be fixed by relogging. You can and will fall through the floor. Getting stuck is also a common occurrence. Then of course, there is the infamous duping glitch, which ruined the in-game economy. From the standing of somebody who played (and was ambivalent to) Guild Wars 2, the game seems to be actively inconveniencing you. None of those convenient things like Trading Posts or 'deposit all collectables' buttons exist in this game. There is no option to dye your armor, or transmute your gear (unless you bought the Imperial edition, in which case you can transmute some of it). Most damning in my opinion, however, is the weak endgame. After you save the world (shocker), you are sent to another faction's area to do their mind- numbing faction quest-line, without the incentives of the main or guild stories to keep you going.. There is just no motivation to continue playing, and no reason to pay the subscription fee for another month. The "veteran dungeons" are simply the normal dungeons, with higher leveled enemies. The faction war is, depending on the server you chose, either a zergfest filled with AOE-spammers where battles are decided by sheer numbers, or it is a ghost town.
    However, not everything in this game is bad. The combat is more skill- based than many other MMOs, although there is still no substitute for grinding gear in order to win. The game is immersive, fully voiced (which is a must for me), and with a good soundtrack. The quests are well-written, if somewhat... underwhelming at times. The graphics are nice, although not ground- breaking. You can choose between first and third-person, a choice between immersion and combat effectiveness. The crafting is an interesting system, although it can be tedious. The game has a nice soundtrack, and a large diverse world.

    So in the end, the game is... decent. Definitely not bad, but not great. 7/10    … Expand
  27. Asglarek
    Jun 21, 2014
    0
    Pathetic...Matt Firor is still trying and failing to hide pve in a pvp game like how he and Mythic totally screwed up DAoC with Trials of Atlantis but damn the torpedo's full steam ahead to hell with the player base and the TESO lore. My prediction, F2P by Christmas and cancellation of console versions maybe even Hellgate:London redux. 0/10 for me.
  28. Zenzukai
    Jun 20, 2014
    7
    Played since launch. Good, but incomplete. Game crashes frequently, and has so many hair pulling bugs.

    Many core mechanics are inspired and fun, but the game built on top of those mechanics isn't complete. Another game rushed to retail unfinished. PROS: Good core combat mechanics, great pvp mechanics, very fun group play in Cyrodiil. Pretty graphics. CONS: -No balancing, two    Played since launch. Good, but incomplete. Game crashes frequently, and has so many hair pulling bugs.

    Many core mechanics are inspired and fun, but the game built on top of those mechanics isn't complete. Another game rushed to retail unfinished.

    PROS:
    Good core combat mechanics, great pvp mechanics, very fun group play in Cyrodiil. Pretty graphics.

    CONS:
    -No balancing, two classes that are good, two classes that are very bad.

    -BUGS, so many quests will go unfinished, even main ones. Expect this a lot.

    -Closed world. Feels less open than every mmo and every Elder Scrolls game I have ever played. Big zones with invisible walls everywhere, don't expect immersion that comes from other Elder scrolls games or other MMOS.

    -Cheaters, with so many bugs running in the game it's no surprise some of those bugs got abused by players to get a head. Many first guilds used exploits to max characters day one, no punishment for any of those. This is because they lost so many subscribers early on if they kicked the cheaters they would probably cut down player base by half.    … Expand
  29. LooneyKiwi
    Jun 19, 2014
    3
    Very unbalanced, destroys the idea of playing with friends and everything is hidden behind a paywall.
    This is a fun game but barely, when you can get past the crashes the terrible storyline and the average combat you might have fun. Only worth playing for the law.
    Wait until a price drop and for it to become free to play.
  30. Exfan
    Jun 16, 2014
    1
    Yea game is just good graphics and awesome character creation. Game fails in gameplay, crafting and loot rewards. Basically game is just horrendous grinding to get example mats for crafting. Grinding loot is just terrible 1 gold being most typical reward from mob. Most basic type of armours cost about 400 gold. Sometimes you might get loot but its usually about 20 gold and you need it forYea game is just good graphics and awesome character creation. Game fails in gameplay, crafting and loot rewards. Basically game is just horrendous grinding to get example mats for crafting. Grinding loot is just terrible 1 gold being most typical reward from mob. Most basic type of armours cost about 400 gold. Sometimes you might get loot but its usually about 20 gold and you need it for crafting so no help from there.
    Basically game rewards persons that want to bash their heads on cement walls or try to plug out their eyes with blunt spoon. Paying for monthly is sad business for such torture. There is loads of better free to play mmo games in market these days game fails to create content that is worth paying.    … 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

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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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