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. EdicusMaximus
    Apr 20, 2014
    7
    As a long time fan of the Elder Scrolls series, I would have to say this game is good, really good, but not great. While it is impossible to please both the Elder Scroll fans and the MMORPG fans, they gave it a really good try.
    Some of the highlights here are the open world and the immersion. One reason I kept going back to WoW instead of all the pop-up MMORPGs that came along is because    As a long time fan of the Elder Scrolls series, I would have to say this game is good, really good, but not great. While it is impossible to please both the Elder Scroll fans and the MMORPG fans, they gave it a really good try.
    Some of the highlights here are the open world and the immersion. One reason I kept going back to WoW instead of all the pop-up MMORPGs that came along is because I felt connected to that little cow running around casting spells. One thing ESO got right is that they kept that deep immersion that all Elder Scrolls games since Morrowind are known for. If this game beats WoW hands down in anything, it's the immersion. Also the incentive to not just go from quest to quest but rather explore the world is awesome and fresh for an MMORPG. Once again this is a trademark of the series, and the people that complain about the quests are probably missing out on all the content in between. The world looks good (not great) and is fun to explore.
    For the bad there is plenty, but a few really put me off. First there is like one healer class capability amongst all the classes. I'm not sure why the went against the typical Elder Scrolls model of fighters, mages, and thieves. They could have used these as master classes with sub classes in between. They could have gotten really creative (like the fighter class that uses bandages to heal, or the mage who uses force-fields and barriers to tank). Not saying the classes aren't neat and different, but I think this could have been so much better.
    Another down is the grueling questing and fighting you have to do for minimal reward. This actually is a trademark of the Elder Scrolls games, but in the past we just modded it to our liking and went about our business. Obviously this isn't a possibility when playing an MMORPG. I think the missing persuasion /intimidation system (once again, a trademark of the series) could have provided max flexibility for the series.
    Finally, I want to say the provisioning system sucks. Who goes around rooting in barrels and crates looking for stuff to make meals? The Elder Scrolls series has always been about being able to peek into every crate and barrel, but this is one area where I think they could have been a little more "WoW-ish" about how they do things. No point in reinventing the wheel.
    There are other big likes and many many other little dislikes (the potion crafting system, the long waits for research, etc., etc., etc.) but all in all I think if you like to control a little guy who performs mechanically in a dungeon than WoW and it's millions of copycats are your deal. If you are more the role player, then ESO will be your game. I think once the MMORPG-driven people fall of the server and the standard-for-every-game introductory bugs are worked out (along with a bit of process improvement) ESO will be an awesome experience!    … Expand
  2. Liquidfire
    Apr 27, 2014
    9
    Lovely game, A fresh look upon MMOs, and one that has caught my attention after my last MMO (Wish).
    Exploring is awesome, not feel to rush to level 50. There are a few down sides though, but I am sure they fix them soon.
    1. Auction House + Bots and goldsellers(but that's just programmer vs programmer). 2. Some minor bugs, which can easily happen in complex games like this. A lot of    Lovely game, A fresh look upon MMOs, and one that has caught my attention after my last MMO (Wish).
    Exploring is awesome, not feel to rush to level 50. There are a few down sides though, but I am sure they fix them soon.

    1. Auction House + Bots and goldsellers(but that's just programmer vs programmer).
    2. Some minor bugs, which can easily happen in complex games like this.

    A lot of people are whining here, because they don't have patience. It's by all means not a bad game, and don't let the negative review, let you think that.    … Expand
  3. Neizir
    Apr 28, 2014
    9
    Here's my review:
    Questing: Can be either good or bad depending on whether or not you care about a game's story. If you actually care about the story, you're in for a real treat with questing in ESO. Every quest is fun and immersive if you listen to the story. Simple fetch or kill quests (There are very few of these, by the way.) will actually have some meaning towards them and sometimes    Here's my review:
    Questing: Can be either good or bad depending on whether or not you care about a game's story. If you actually care about the story, you're in for a real treat with questing in ESO. Every quest is fun and immersive if you listen to the story. Simple fetch or kill quests (There are very few of these, by the way.) will actually have some meaning towards them and sometimes don't even feel like they're "grindy" quests at all even though they clearly are. For example, "Kill 6 bandits because they killed my family." feels like less of a chore than "Kill 6 bandits because pigs can fly.". If you just whiz through the dialogue and go straight to the objective, you won't like questing and everything stated above will just go ahead and contradict itself, feeling like a typical MMO grind. In my opinion questing is good fun if you're not a rusher who skips as much as he can to get to the end of the game. 8/10 for Questing.

    Combat: For a real-time system, ESO's combat is sort of a mixed bag. Melee combat is excellent. Hits feel like they have an impact, thanks to screen shaking and collision detection and "Ouch"-sounding sounds. Blocking and interrupting, however, don't really feel that necessary, except when the enemy charges up a special attack. Bow and Staff combat isn't brilliant and feel like they need to have more of an impact through both sound and sight. Combat is generally fun but more can be worked on regarding ranged combat. 7/10 for Combat.

    Graphics and Visuals: Aboslutely stunning, the only other MMO I can think of that looks better is Planetside 2, and that uses something along the lines of the Unreal Engine. The textures are very high quality, and shading and lighting can't get any better than what they are now. Even in PVP, where there are hundreds of players and effects on the screen, my R9 270X, the equivalent of a GTX 660 Ti, maintains a solid 30 FPS. The art style, however, really hinders how visually appealing ESO really is. If the art style were on par with Skyrim, ESO would easily beat Skyrim by a country mile in terms of graphics. 9/10 for visuals.

    Exploration and World Design: Exploration is one of ESO's greatest strengths. There is no sitting in cities waiting for an LFG queue to pop, in fact sitting in a city at all gets you to somewhere equivalent to where a penguin would get if it tried to fly (In short, nowhere at all.). Even if you use the game's built-in LFG tools, you and your group still need to walk to the entrance of the dungeon and need to discover it before teleporting to it again. The game's brilliant megaserver helps make this possible. Sure, if you just wander off for miles you won't really get anywhere either, but level scaling like in the other TES games isn't possible in an MMORPG. There's still lore books, skyshards, quests every step you take, solo dungeons, world bosses and more. There's an infinite supply of content in this game.
    Speaking of the megaserver, I think it really promotes that sense of community in the game and brings me back to the old days of WoW, where someone who was found trolling or being nooby was called out and never got invited to a group. Plus the technology embedded into it prevents overcrowding while at the same time maintaining a healthy number of players in the game space. 10/10 for exploration.

    PvP: Absolutely nothing negative can be said about PvP in this game. It's just...literally flawless. Seriously, how can you dislike hundreds of players battling it out for hours over a single fortress with siege weapons like trebuchets and their faction's might? A single castle isn't all; there's 18 forts across the 16 square mile area for you to ransack, as well as ancient Ayleid ruins, NPC towns, Dark Anchors etc. Thanks to these PvE objectives, you don't have to march with all your factions' might to another keep, you may unexpectedly find a player of the opposing faction in the town or ruin you're exploring encouraging small-scale PvP for those that want it. It's also balanced perfectly, maybe thanks to ESO's nearly-classless style of character building. You don't even have to be a high level to be viable, you can go in at Level 10 and have your stats boosted to match a level 50s, bar maybe a few passives. 10/10 for PVP.

    Game Systems
    There are still a plentiful amount of bugs in the game, and bots and gold sellers run rampant throughout the zones (particularly Stonefalls, Glenumbral, Auridon and Coldharbour). Customer Support itself is very responsive and I know they do alot of things to stop these bots. I've even seen a Game Master physically manifest in a dungeon and caused bots to disappear. However, the amount of bugs and bots are not good at all. 6/10 for Game Systems/Customer Service

    Endgame and Longevity
    Raids that are actually hard, Heroic Dungeons, Adventure Zones, Veteran Rank questing, PvP, lorebooks, Skyshards, questing... What else is to be said? There's a ton of things to do in ESO. 9/10 for Endgame.
    9/10.    … Expand
  4. arreyanne
    May 12, 2014
    4
    Can you meh. While the game has the Lore its very much your standard Theme Park. The phasing while in groups in the open world doesn't work to the players benefit.

    There are just no "OMG That was awesome" moments in this game like the Singel player versions
  5. TinEater
    Jun 8, 2014
    4
    This is really a fantastic game. That game is called Skyrim. Except Skyrim doesn't charge a subscription, and doesn't have gold spam bots swarming all over the dungeons and resource nodes. The game goes out of it's way to separate players from one another, one upping WoW: Cataclysm's baffling decision to "phase" all it's players into isolated bubble version of the game world. ZenimaxThis is really a fantastic game. That game is called Skyrim. Except Skyrim doesn't charge a subscription, and doesn't have gold spam bots swarming all over the dungeons and resource nodes. The game goes out of it's way to separate players from one another, one upping WoW: Cataclysm's baffling decision to "phase" all it's players into isolated bubble version of the game world. Zenimax was trying to make each player the hero of the story, but all they succeeded in doing is creating a strange feeling of isolation. The question is, why is that worth paying $15 a month? You'll get the same experience playing a single-player game with a Twitter window open.… Expand
  6. merquis00
    Jul 28, 2014
    0
    I Played every beta, closed and open, while the game itself was "ok" the price and p2p subscription is unfathomable.

    I'm not stupid (at least i don't think i am) i know the game requires income to stay online, but the current box price (and even digital download) combined with the high subscription makes this game costly, and for what you get it is not in any way worth it. The loot    I Played every beta, closed and open, while the game itself was "ok" the price and p2p subscription is unfathomable.

    I'm not stupid (at least i don't think i am) i know the game requires income to stay online, but the current box price (and even digital download) combined with the high subscription makes this game costly, and for what you get it is not in any way worth it.

    The loot is mediocre and the PvP gets old fast - the game almost feels like a a solo game trying to enter into the Elder scrolls universe, almost a rip-off if you will (like GTA clones) But Lacking the graphics and being double the price of its rivals, which is madness.

    Like many, if the subscription drop's its price a little (or it dies and goes free to play) then i would give it a second chance - but for now i will just stick to skyrim + mods.    … Expand
  7. strangefruit
    Jun 12, 2015
    0
    If you're a big fan of Elder Scrolls, you will more definitely hate this game. If however you're just a fan of MMORPGs, well you'll likely think this is below par at best...who was this game targeted to again? On the plus side, you can play as an Imperial for the low low price of $95 for your first month!
  8. DRMtookMYlife
    Apr 26, 2014
    6
    The big question here is: Is it worth the price? In short, no. $60 up front and $15 a month thereafter is not a fair price for the quality of this game. The game isn't bad certainly but the bugs can be seriously aggravating. There are few things I can think of that are as extremely frustrating as dying because my attack inputs weren't responding. Because the series is known for havingThe big question here is: Is it worth the price? In short, no. $60 up front and $15 a month thereafter is not a fair price for the quality of this game. The game isn't bad certainly but the bugs can be seriously aggravating. There are few things I can think of that are as extremely frustrating as dying because my attack inputs weren't responding. Because the series is known for having bugs is no excuse when this much money and effort was put into producing the game. Combat is a bit too drawn out and not quite fun enough for me. The most enjoyment I get out of this game is exploring the vast world. The cities are large and interesting and I'm excited to see more of it. I just wish combat breaking bugs and slow leveling were addressed better.… Expand
  9. JoshW
    Apr 25, 2014
    6
    Pros

    * Lore - Story is amazing * Voice Acting - The best of any MMO, by far * Crafting (Very detailed, lots of options to customize) * Addons - Whatever gaps there are in the UI, users are fixing it and making game more manageable. Graphics (with SweetFX enabled) * Incredibly Immersive * Support - ZOS has responded to 90% of my tickets, very polite and very responsive. * Questing    Pros

    * Lore - Story is amazing
    * Voice Acting - The best of any MMO, by far
    * Crafting (Very detailed, lots of options to customize)
    * Addons - Whatever gaps there are in the UI, users are fixing it and making game more manageable.
    Graphics (with SweetFX enabled)
    * Incredibly Immersive
    * Support - ZOS has responded to 90% of my tickets, very polite and very responsive.
    * Questing - Quests are plentiful and fun

    Cons

    * Micromanagement - From inventory to repairs, it consumes a lot of time (When I'd prefer spending that time playing rather than managing it). If you love micromanagement, this is for you.
    * Chat interface - I find it clumsy and outdated. Hard to notice when someone's talking to you.
    * Questing in group - This is the biggest let down... if you've already completed the quest you won't be able to see where your buddy is going. If you're the one completing the quest, your friend will feel like a hireling; if your buddy is completing the quest you'll find yourself thinking "There are better and more effective ways to grind".
    * Key Mapping - Yes, you'll have to manually setup each and every char... Unless you're sticking to Zenimax' default setting.
    * Replayability - Once you reach 50 you'll have to go PVP or you'll feel like you've got little else to do (Unless you really love the lore and you want to complete all quests and play with different factions, which’s not my case)
    * Customization - Crafting is really fun and very complex. That's where you'll be able to customize your existing char, because as of today, you can't change skins nor dye your armors and weapons.
    Monthly Fee - I prefer F2P with a game store... I usually spend more than 15 a month, if the items offered make a difference (customization, commodities, benefits)
    * Upgrades - Did you click on the wrong Horse upgrade? Suck it up and either discard the horse or just cope with it. I personally made 2 mistakes and that was it, I'm stuck with those mistakes.
    * Daily stuff - This is my personal opinion but I don't like how the game forces into connecting to it (or fall behind) with your chores. This is not an issue with ESO alone... most MMOs I've played have the same problem.

    Bottom line, this is an innovative game that has an awesome lore and it feels like a fresh start compared to other MMOs. However, it's not awesome enough to keep me playing it on a subscription model. I have already cancelled it and the game has been uninstalled.    … Expand
  10. Sloanster
    Jan 25, 2015
    9
    It's almost been a year since the game dropped, and ESO has changed. Yes, it was bugged at the start and there were some major gameplay issues corrupting everyone's experience. After a good amount of time, I can safely say TESO is one of my favorite MMOs I have played yet. The community is fantastic, and I find the questing to be very fun. Graphics aren't very important in an MMO, but theyIt's almost been a year since the game dropped, and ESO has changed. Yes, it was bugged at the start and there were some major gameplay issues corrupting everyone's experience. After a good amount of time, I can safely say TESO is one of my favorite MMOs I have played yet. The community is fantastic, and I find the questing to be very fun. Graphics aren't very important in an MMO, but they still look beautiful. If you can keep you mind open, and remember not to compare is to Skyrim or the previous Elder Scrolls games, you might actually enjoy yourself. I only give this a 9/10, because there are still some issues in gameplay mechanics, but the developers have promised fixes will be on their way.… Expand
  11. bungler
    Mar 15, 2015
    9
    Post Update 6 Review:

    Pros:
    - Currently the best graphics out of any MMO
    - Solid combat system (post Update 6)
    - TONS of content
    - Excellent armor customization
    - Active and friendly community

    Cons:
    - PVP still needs work
    - Broken group finder
  12. Shellback
    May 2, 2014
    6
    The best thing about ESO is the music and sound effects.On the negative side it takes hundreds of hours to unlock weapon traits (800 hours total for all traits). This is obviously a tool used by the developer to keep people playing for months so they can get subscription fees. If you played Skyrim and thought the melee combat didn't give you the feeling of a hard enough impact on aThe best thing about ESO is the music and sound effects.On the negative side it takes hundreds of hours to unlock weapon traits (800 hours total for all traits). This is obviously a tool used by the developer to keep people playing for months so they can get subscription fees. If you played Skyrim and thought the melee combat didn't give you the feeling of a hard enough impact on a Drauger's skull, then this game is an improvement. The sound effects and impact of weapons are better. However, the quests can be confusing. Sometimes I had to restart the game in order to activate an item or quest. It's buggy.The player does not have that "Hero" feel of Skyrim. Once again I got suckered into the pre-game hype. For those of you contemplating buying this game, Listen to the reviews. If you are not an MMO fan don't waste your money. Go play play Skyrim again. I leveled 3 characters over level 20. I wanted it to sinks its claws into me like Skyrim did and have me wanting more. It never happened. The game is very buggy. If you do decide to waste your money I highly recommend the High Elf Sorcerer. Auridon's music and environment is much better then the other two guilds. The Sorcerer is super powerful with morphed perks. It wouldn't suprise me if Bethesda is just using this game as a test platform for the new single player Elder Scrolls game that they are rumored to be working on. I own every triple AAA game made in the past 10 years. I've been gaming since DOOM came out in 1993. If you are not an MMO fan don't waste your time and money.… Expand
  13. Rowrin
    May 15, 2014
    6
    The game is a diamond in the rough (well, really rough, but a diamond none-the-less). Going past the launch issues (the worst of which appear to have been fixed), which arguably were some of the worst seen in a game launch (players logging into other players accounts by accident, banks and inventories being completely wiped, main quests not working etc), the game still has some very coreThe game is a diamond in the rough (well, really rough, but a diamond none-the-less). Going past the launch issues (the worst of which appear to have been fixed), which arguably were some of the worst seen in a game launch (players logging into other players accounts by accident, banks and inventories being completely wiped, main quests not working etc), the game still has some very core issues.

    At the moment, PvP, the fight for Cyrodiil and the right to sit upon the throne is very lacking. The zone has a lot of potential, but the way campaigns are set up at the moment, and the lack of smaller objectives have most of the zone completely empty. Worse yet, most of the campaigns are completely dead, with no one playing on them. This is largely because everyone moves to the campaign where their faction is dominating, and all other campaigns are ignored. There is a lot of potential to be had in Cyrodiil, but at the moment it is a missed opportunity.

    The game also suffers from a plethora of bugs still. None quite nearly as game breaking as what was seen in the first month, but still annoyances. Class abilities and tool-tips are either broken, incorrect or do not work (such is the case most evident with Nightblades). Several quests are still broken as well.

    Bugs completely aside, the game also lacks some key features and concepts. For instance, grouping with friends becomes a total disaster due to phasing (which Zenimax is working on now). But there are several other design philosophies that are archaic. For instance, having quest objectives non-player instanced. What this means is that in some areas where you have to gather x objects laying around the world, you will be competing with every other player around you, including your friends. This type of mechanic has since been removed in many games since 2007 and it is boggling to see its return.

    What the game does right however is the story, writing and voice acting. Playing through 1-50 and doing the quests were the best parts of my play through. The story and atmosphere experience was enough for me to keep playing, even through the harshest bugs during launch (I personally had my banked wiped twice and was mistakenly banned by the automated system).

    That said: unfortunately, after doing the main quest, I have very little incentive to put up with the additional bugs and lack-luster PvP at the moment. The rest of the game just is either too broken, empty or uninteresting to play after absorbing all the story and voice acting.    … Expand
  14. PrincessRose
    Sep 20, 2014
    5
    The game is fun at first, love the questing and story, but once you complete your first zone it becomes rather tedious levelling through the veteran levels, but you keep pushing on as you want to see if the endgame is good. Huh endgame? There isn't any endgame worth mentioning.

    After 6 months of playing and reaching max lvl there is not really any pve endgame to keep you entertained,    The game is fun at first, love the questing and story, but once you complete your first zone it becomes rather tedious levelling through the veteran levels, but you keep pushing on as you want to see if the endgame is good. Huh endgame? There isn't any endgame worth mentioning.

    After 6 months of playing and reaching max lvl there is not really any pve endgame to keep you entertained, after the story runs out, the rest of the game feels boring, you don't feel rewarded for your efforts even when completing all the quests in each of the 3 faction areas, all you get is a worthless blue necklace and I became bored. This game is severely lacking in varied gameplay. All there is to do is pvp and maybe trials and arena, which feels pointless. Overall this game is rather disappointing and lacklustre.

    A promising game that does not deliver.    … Expand
  15. Ultrabonz
    Sep 30, 2014
    8
    Good and underrated MMORPG.

    If you hate this game, it's probably because you've expected a follow up to Skyrim. The thing is: If you wanna play Skyrim, then play Skyrim. This is not Skyrim, or Oblivion. This is an MMORPG taking place in the Elder Scrolls universe. Don't compare this game to singleplayer RPG's, compare it to other MMORPGs. As an MMORPG, I can highly recommend TESO to    Good and underrated MMORPG.

    If you hate this game, it's probably because you've expected a follow up to Skyrim. The thing is: If you wanna play Skyrim, then play Skyrim. This is not Skyrim, or Oblivion. This is an MMORPG taking place in the Elder Scrolls universe. Don't compare this game to singleplayer RPG's, compare it to other MMORPGs.

    As an MMORPG, I can highly recommend TESO to anyone who doesn't just rush to the next higher level, but is willing to explore the world, find its secrets, and talk to NPCs. TESO offers more story in 5 hours than WoW in 50 hours. If you don't care about story or dialogues or characters and just want to level up as easy and as fast as possible, then stick with WoW. This game is different.

    The stories and quests don't reach the level of Skyrim or other good singleplayer RPGs, but the standard here is way above WoW and most other MMORPGs. The only other MMORPG which offers the same kind of elaborate and interesting quests is Secret World. Again: If you prefer generic, repetitive quests which only serve to level up your character, then look elsewhere. I play TESO to experience the world and its stories, levelling up is just a nice sideeffect for me.

    If you skip all the dialogues anyway and never take your time, then you miss the essence of what makes TESO better than WoW, imo. In TESO, it pays to be an explorer and it pays to be patient. You don't just follow the quest marker to your next quest/quest hub. Instead, you wonder what's behind the tall rocks to your left or how you can get to that small island in the top left corner of your map.

    I would have preferred more solo instances, though. When you enter a huge palace in order to poison some guy and steal his key to a chest where you find the document you need to obtain, it sadly becomes quite absurd when three other players are doing the same thing at the same time in the same "realm" as you are. Since houses and dungeons are loaded separately anyway, why not make them instanced to you or your party? This would have made a lot more sense and the way it is done now really kills the immersion sometimes.

    Also, fast travel could be improved. There are waypoint shrines scattered across the map. I expected to only be able to fast travel from waypoint to waypoint, but once you've discovered a particular waypoint, you can fast travel there from anywhere on the map, which doesn't make a lot of sense and again hurts the immersion.

    Also, you can always see the whole map right from the beginning. There is no "fog" on the map which disappears once you enter a new area. This is something WoW does better, imo.

    The graphics are good for the most part, especially the lighting. Only downside are washed out textures which don't look so good when you get close. World design is very interesting, with a rather realistic look and enough landmarks which stand out and help your orientation. Music is solid but could be better.

    Combat system is a step up from the typical MMO/WoW formula. Maybe that doesn't say much because let's be honest: combat in WoW is not tactical at all - just spam your skills over and over again, that's all.
    The combat in TESO might not have alot of depth, either, but at least it's entertaining.

    Just look at all the 0 and 1 reviews here. They often hate TESO for not being like Skyrim or WoW or both of them. Well, TESO is TESO, folks! It is different. If you want the same thing you've already played, why don't you just play WoW of Skyrim again? Don't be stupid: We all want the "Übergame" which offers the best of WoW and Skyrim and The Witcher and any other RPG. But this is not going happen. TESO is pretty good at what it does. And if you just rushed through the game in two weeks and complain about the lack of endgame content, then let me tell you this: I don't give a fck about the endgame. I wanna play the game, not the end of the game. You guys probably didn't give a fck about the NPCs and quests, because you're used to WoW, where they both don't matter at all. But that only means you missed half of the game. Then maybe TESO just isn't the game for you. But "completing" the whole game and then punish it with a 0 or a 1 is just really dumb and says alot more about you than about the game. I could never get past lvl45 in WoW, because it just became really boring and mindnumbing repetitive.

    Why some people want to complete and reach the endgame of an MMORPG they totally hate is beyond me. What I do know: Their opinion is best to be ignored.    … Expand
  16. Noshido
    Oct 14, 2014
    10
    A lot of people have given this game a lot of grief. To be perfectly honest I really don't get why. I have been playing this game since its early release, and it has been one of the best game experiences I have ever had. This game has massive environments to explore, its fully voice acted, and has an entertaining combat system. I have already leveled 7 characters to veteran ranks, and evenA lot of people have given this game a lot of grief. To be perfectly honest I really don't get why. I have been playing this game since its early release, and it has been one of the best game experiences I have ever had. This game has massive environments to explore, its fully voice acted, and has an entertaining combat system. I have already leveled 7 characters to veteran ranks, and even with the few bugs that exist, have yet to see a real show stopping issue. Something else to consider is that this game has good graphics for an MMORPG. Now I am not saying there the best, Crysis 3, Witcher 2, or other similar one player games will always hold that title, especially since they don't have to give you thousands of hours of content to play. A person can blast through Crysis 3 in a day, but an MMO has to give you more and ESO does. In its category it stands out for its visual appeal, and yes there are bugs, but when you think about the monumental scale of work they have done its nothing worth complaining about. I have been playing video games since the original Nintendo, and have played just about every genre of game from tactical to rpg to shooters and more, and I can say that this is the best game I have ever played. Don't listen to the people who tear this game down, try it and you might just be surprised.… Expand
  17. Holy187
    Oct 15, 2014
    2
    one of the worst games i´ve ever played. the game is so boring, wasted money. and then u have to give them ur bank details or u cant play. thats not normal. shame on bethesda
  18. Forrrge
    Mar 18, 2015
    8
    I came to this game very late, in fact just a month before it was due to make the subscription optional. Therefore the game has had a years worth of bug fixes, patches, content updates, balances and refinements. I've played many MMORPGs over the years, some with a subscription, some free to play and some with the same model being used here, in my personal opinion it is right up there.I came to this game very late, in fact just a month before it was due to make the subscription optional. Therefore the game has had a years worth of bug fixes, patches, content updates, balances and refinements. I've played many MMORPGs over the years, some with a subscription, some free to play and some with the same model being used here, in my personal opinion it is right up there. Heaps of quests, all voice acted and to a high level, large areas to explore, easy and meaningful crafting (I normally avoid like the plague) and a great atmosphere, its the most fun I've had in a game of this type for a long time.

    There are negatives however, if grouping is your thing, they do make it difficult i.e. people in the same area will see different things depending upon where they are in the quest e.g. mobs may be friendly to them and not to you. I would almost go as far to say that its an enhanced single player game that has multiplayer elements (which suits me). Highly recommended.    … Expand
  19. TobiasKen
    Oct 25, 2015
    4
    If you are looking for an MMO, sure - get this game. If you're looking for an Elder Scrolls game - you can forget about it. I'm not even going to bother giving this a normal review like I usually do. Let me just tell you that this is the worst in the Elder Scrolls Series. I know what you might be thinking - this is an MMO FIRST, then Elder Scrolls. But you can't call it Elder Scrolls whenIf you are looking for an MMO, sure - get this game. If you're looking for an Elder Scrolls game - you can forget about it. I'm not even going to bother giving this a normal review like I usually do. Let me just tell you that this is the worst in the Elder Scrolls Series. I know what you might be thinking - this is an MMO FIRST, then Elder Scrolls. But you can't call it Elder Scrolls when it simply isn't. It is lacking oh so much stuff, and wants you to buy DLC and crowns even after paying for the full game. You're even locked out of an ENTIRE RACE UNLESS YOU GIVE THEM MORE MONEY. Seriously, the combat is worse, you barely get anything out of looting people.

    If you're looking for an Elder Scrolls game, I repeat: DO. NOT. BUY. THIS. GAME.    … Expand
  20. santiagodraco
    Apr 14, 2014
    5
    A word to the wise... if you see a review that refers to ESO as a "Warcraft reskin" realize two things. One, the author of said review is a complete idiot and two the author is a complete idiot.

    ESO has it's faults but a Warcraft clone it ain't. It has the best storytelling and quest narration of any MMO ever, the combat and skill systems are very unique and the game world and audio    A word to the wise... if you see a review that refers to ESO as a "Warcraft reskin" realize two things. One, the author of said review is a complete idiot and two the author is a complete idiot.

    ESO has it's faults but a Warcraft clone it ain't. It has the best storytelling and quest narration of any MMO ever, the combat and skill systems are very unique and the game world and audio is nothing but spectacular.

    Issues exist however and many are game breaking. Zenimax coded many boss fights to instant spawn and drop loot every time. So you just sit and farm bosses and get loot galore. What's funny is how long they let this go on, just long enough to allow the Zenimax developers to get their toons to Vet 10 and then they are patching. Seems to be a common occurance.

    Oh and let's not forget all the broken quests that halt progression for many of us past 50 and they have not once tried to fix it for any player.

    A great game with major bugs. I can't decide if I should love it or hate it.    … Expand
  21. Nesj3
    Apr 4, 2014
    7
    From Skyrim to this, im not quite sure about how to put this.. the combat, graphics, the firstperson and thirdperson, in skyrim i only played in firstperson because of the beautiful looks and textures. In ESO, the firstperson is kinda, ****
    Haven't played it that much yet, but i hope it will improve.
  22. cronuss
    Apr 8, 2014
    10
    This is the most fun I've had with an MMO since UO, DAOC, and WoW beta.

    The world is beautiful and immersive, the story is engaging, and the combat is epic. I'd go as far sa to say that the combat in this game is better than some single player games, including the other Elder Scrolls games. The scope of this game is just massive, and that trait carries into PvP as well. Giant armies    This is the most fun I've had with an MMO since UO, DAOC, and WoW beta.

    The world is beautiful and immersive, the story is engaging, and the combat is epic. I'd go as far sa to say that the combat in this game is better than some single player games, including the other Elder Scrolls games.

    The scope of this game is just massive, and that trait carries into PvP as well. Giant armies don't just smash together and zerg it out, but rather erupt into entire battlefields of skirmishes, flank attacks, and retreats. The castles are massive and can be attacked on any side via various siege equipment.

    I showed the game to some friends of mine who are burned out on the MMO genre, and base don what they saw they agreed to give it a try. Now that we are all playing, I swear the phrase, "I can't believe this is an MMO" gets thrown out at least 10 times a night.

    So glad I didn't let the trolls or 1-star-kids sway me from this game, and you shouldn't either.

    I'm excited to feel like a kid again. Thanks, ESO. ;)    … Expand
  23. drcritspam
    Apr 21, 2014
    3
    This game is complete garbage. I'll list off some of the worst issues with this game:

    1. This game uses insane money grabbing tactics. Keep in mind that you have to pay 60 dollars+ 15 dollars a month just to even start this game. Do you want to be able to play all 3 factions? (A required feature in all MMO's) Do you want to start the game with a horse? (if you don't pick this option    This game is complete garbage. I'll list off some of the worst issues with this game:

    1. This game uses insane money grabbing tactics. Keep in mind that you have to pay 60 dollars+ 15 dollars a month just to even start this game. Do you want to be able to play all 3 factions? (A required feature in all MMO's) Do you want to start the game with a horse? (if you don't pick this option you'll have to kill 17,000 monsters to get a horse.) Do you want to play as every starting faction? (again, an option that is required in all MMO's.) Well you'll have to pay 20$ for the "collectors edition." So you have to pay 20$ more for basic features and a horse. So that's 80$ to start up the game. And you have to pay 15$ per month. Paying for basic features is unacceptable. But even the game that's under all of these paywalls is pretty terrible.

    The grinding is insane, even for MMO standards. You have to pay 17,000 dollars for the most crappy horse in the game. While players of MMO's may consider this to be a small amount, this grinding is magnified because every monster only drops 1 gold coin. Bosses only drop 2 gold coins. No matter where I've gone in the world, the gold drops stay the same. I also have friends who tell me its the same at higher level quests. This goes for all items in the game.

    This game's matchmaking/party/group quest fails to meet industry standards. You can't EVER replay quests with your friends (this sucks if your trying to get a noob up to your level quickly). You can only see and play with people from your own faction(unless you play PvP). Unless you're in a dungeon, good luck trying to play with your friends. The pVe grouping in general sucks on every level. People can randomly jump into your dungeon when your playing with friends and steal all of your loot. In fact i've gone to multiple dungeons with my friends only to see that the boss is being farmed by a pack of elite players. The phasing is terrible, it feels like you're playing a single player game with your friends hovering around.

    The quests are bad. Quests in this game either fall into 2 categories, they are either incredibly easy and boring, or they're battles that should of been awesome, but were turned into 10 minute skirmishes against pockets of NPC's. The epic castle siege stage that was plastered all over this games ad campaign literally lasted 15 minutes. And those 15 minutes were just spent taking on weak monsters in single file order.
    The UI is too minimal to convey info to the player. But you can use mods to circumvent it.

    The game doesn't have any of the free-roaming experience that made the original elder scrolls great. Though because this game is an MMO i believe that this was more of a concept problem than an implementation problem. Still a major issue.

    Overall, this game is just... bad. It's a blatant cash grab. It's buggy, boring, and repetitive. Don't listen to these 10 out of 10 reviews, i assume the devs payed them to review this game. This. game. sucks. avoid at all costs.    … Expand
  24. kheas
    Apr 28, 2014
    9
    I started playing this game in Beta and was immediately interested in pre-ordering the game. I am glad I did. This game gives me everything I liked about the single player Elderscrolls games but with a larger area to explore and more options than ever before. I am thoroughly enjoying myself and look forward to the future expansions to come.

    This is the MMO for fans of the    I started playing this game in Beta and was immediately interested in pre-ordering the game. I am glad I did. This game gives me everything I liked about the single player Elderscrolls games but with a larger area to explore and more options than ever before. I am thoroughly enjoying myself and look forward to the future expansions to come.

    This is the MMO for fans of the Elderscrolls series and play style. It is not the MMO to replace WOW but one that will appeal to those of us that like the solo game-play of Elderscrolls and would like the option to play with others. If Bethesda were smart they would market this game more toward the non-WOW players and try to bring on board people like myself, solo gamers.

    I cant give it a perfect 10 but it comes darn close (9.75 if I could). Great game, beautiful graphics, excellent controls and UI. A few glitches and bugs but overall I Love it.    … Expand
  25. Judas_IV
    Apr 26, 2014
    10
    This game follows the Elder Scrolls series It pulls in references from Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim.
    The look of this game is astounding! The game play is familiar if you've played any MMO before.
    The ability to have such an open ended creation tool to create any type of character is far better than the constraints of other MMO's or even single player games. The questing is very    This game follows the Elder Scrolls series It pulls in references from Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim.
    The look of this game is astounding! The game play is familiar if you've played any MMO before.
    The ability to have such an open ended creation tool to create any type of character is far better than the constraints of other MMO's or even single player games.
    The questing is very story driven to where you'll have a chain of quests before it resolves, and gives questing much more significance than simply grinding animals for pelts.

    I love this game and despise the folks that feel entitled to play with out paying for quality in a subscription based model. To them I say....If you can't afford it, don't blame the game. I hope it keeps out the haters and whiners that plagued WoW for so long.

    If you like Elder Scrolls and MMO's, then this game is going to make you very happy.    … Expand
  26. Reaverwind
    Apr 23, 2014
    1
    The good: well designed-world and good musical score, some well-done quests and voice-acting
    The Bad: borrowed the worst aspects of the single-player games - horrible GUI, laughable quest design, face-palming dialog, average gameplay
    The Ugly: Worst customer service I've encountered for ANY business, far too much client-side trust making the game a paradise for hackers and botters, and    The good: well designed-world and good musical score, some well-done quests and voice-acting
    The Bad: borrowed the worst aspects of the single-player games - horrible GUI, laughable quest design, face-palming dialog, average gameplay
    The Ugly: Worst customer service I've encountered for ANY business, far too much client-side trust making the game a paradise for hackers and botters, and terrible community. The game's quest design actually punishes grouping for PVE. As a side note, Zenimax plays fast and loose with their account suspensions (which also lock customers out of canceling subs).

    Caveat Emptor folks    … Expand
  27. JackandJoe
    May 4, 2014
    0
    So very disappointing. ESO is just so terribly bland and uninspired particularly with the endless, boring, on-rail quest chains and character progression, broken and poorly thought out grouping mechanics, dull, empty world with almost zero exploratory value, etc., etc., etc. Zenimax have tried to make both a single player Elder Scrolls game and an MMO in one, and in doing so have rippedSo very disappointing. ESO is just so terribly bland and uninspired particularly with the endless, boring, on-rail quest chains and character progression, broken and poorly thought out grouping mechanics, dull, empty world with almost zero exploratory value, etc., etc., etc. Zenimax have tried to make both a single player Elder Scrolls game and an MMO in one, and in doing so have ripped out almost everything that is enjoyable in each. A real black eye to a beloved franchise.… Expand
  28. Duroga
    Apr 27, 2015
    3
    I couldn't even manage to get to mid level on this one. The graphics and sound are OK, but the gameplay is probably the most horrible I've ever experienced. A complete waste of $60
  29. moholdt
    May 5, 2014
    0
    I keep logging in and try to enjoy the game, I want it to be good. I really do. But it is so boring. It feels like a very slow single player game with other players annoying the **** out of you. Looting chests you want to loot, grabbing ores before you get it. Everything is expensive so you have to grind money. Stay away from this game.
  30. pXel
    May 1, 2014
    0
    The most horrible MMO released in past years. The story is nice as always, but still not as good as other TES. The progression of the character is blocked often by lots of game bugs, and sometimes you don't have any options to where to skip. As you progress more and more the game gets more and more unfinished. I've been goggling for information from other players on how to find a way pastThe most horrible MMO released in past years. The story is nice as always, but still not as good as other TES. The progression of the character is blocked often by lots of game bugs, and sometimes you don't have any options to where to skip. As you progress more and more the game gets more and more unfinished. I've been goggling for information from other players on how to find a way past problems, but there isn't much information on this topic available or none at all. The only option is to rely on the game's support team.

    When you contact the support team(I have good reasons to think there is only a guy hired) you get a few fast copy-paste answers from their poor FAQ section of the site that sometimes is not even on the topic, he also provides you with the link for the FAQ section. They don't even bother to analyze if the answer they provide will be able to help you at all or point in the right direction. When you are completely blocked by game bugs you expect some fast help or a workaround to unlock your progression. I've replied to the poor answer from the support team, and asked for a real solution to get past my problem. The reply was even worse than the first on, complaining that their job is hard and they are doing humanly efforts. The guy still didn't analyzed my problem and try to find a solution on how I could skip to the next map, he just brought in some more excuses. Also you would expect to talk to the support team in-game, but this guy got all my contact information name, email etc. without my consent in order to be able to contact me.

    Regarding maintenance time you will be shocked. They start unplanned maintenance quite often and the scheduled maintenance is sometimes planned the prime time of the evening. I remember one time after wasting all evening waiting for the maintenance to finish, they installed a bad patch and the server crashed, resulting in another 2 hours of wait, followed by server flooding when everyone tried to log in resulting in massive server lag.

    The PVP is a little disappointing, first of all they have a "mega sever" technology, but that doesn't mean your player wont have to join one of the many PVP servers (they call them "Campaigns"). They were smart here by putting some nice names to fool the players into thinking they invented something. In order to play PVP, you have to choose a PVP player that you will not be able to change for 3 months, unless you pay for it). The PVP servers are unbalanced, and when a server get full(they get full!) you have to wait in line to enter. When you enter a full server you'll first notice the mass PVP is a crap because the "mega server"™ can't take the load and lags horribly. The only thing you'll be playing is spamming skills/spells and wait a few seconds to see if the target is dead, or he got healed etc.

    The dungeon/group finding is very poor, at least at middle and end levels, you get only in some group setups that always fail, some even disband before the dungeon is started as people know that the setup will fail gloriously vs the difficulty of the dungeon. Also the wait time is huge.
    The economy of the game is poor due to bugs/exploits.

    Compared with rival games:
    - the number of content blocking bugs is huge, with no chance of getting around some(no one will help you);
    - the customer support is embarrassing(on other games I was really happy with the outcome of the discussion with the support team) ;
    - the cost of purchase and monthly payment is higher;
    - their so praised server is a joke;
    - the PVP is not like you would have expected it because of technical issues(multiple servers just like any other MMO, full servers are extremely lagging, servers that re not full are boring)
    - a lot of time wasted during maintenance that occurs mostly when you have free time to play
    - dungeon grouping is very poor, I doubt you will enjoy doing group dungeons in this game
    - economy is broken

    Conclusion: If you are big fan of TES and want to try it, you have been warned this is not really TES, this is a horrible copy-cat version of TES with lots of problems developed and maintained by an inexperienced team of blunt people. I won't recommend it to anyone, TES fans or not.    … 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.
    Read full review
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