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. keysmachine
    Apr 25, 2014
    10
    the graphics, music and sheer quality of game play makes this a solid experience, sure there are bugs and yes there's a butt load of bots right now making it exceptionally difficult to do public dungeons but those will be sorted soon. Also the amount of 0's this game is receiving on meta critic is hilarious. basically they're saying a Barbie game has more class and game play than thisthe graphics, music and sheer quality of game play makes this a solid experience, sure there are bugs and yes there's a butt load of bots right now making it exceptionally difficult to do public dungeons but those will be sorted soon. Also the amount of 0's this game is receiving on meta critic is hilarious. basically they're saying a Barbie game has more class and game play than this game. which is a total lie.… Expand
  2. Alsvha
    Apr 25, 2014
    6
    Decent attempt at a MMO but ultimately falls short leaving a mediocre experience.

    The good; Crafting is good, but whether it's useful outside food buffs and potions I'm not so sure about. But crafting from the bank so you don't have to haul materials around - nice. Shared bank. But this should really be a mainstay 'quality of life' feature by now anyways, so I'd say if it wasn't there    Decent attempt at a MMO but ultimately falls short leaving a mediocre experience.

    The good;
    Crafting is good, but whether it's useful outside food buffs and potions I'm not so sure about. But crafting from the bank so you don't have to haul materials around - nice.
    Shared bank. But this should really be a mainstay 'quality of life' feature by now anyways, so I'd say if it wasn't there it'd be a detractor.

    The potentially good;
    PvP has potential but whether it becomes more than ranged zerg vs ranged zerg with quick death is the crux. The PvP is also hurting due to the lack of combat feedback in the game. (Reliance on mods from the community to make the game playable).
    The class system seems interesting but while the game boasts of 'play as you want', cookie cutter setup is still going to be a focal point for 'end game' giving the feeling that there's not enough skills in the game per class.

    The bad:
    Questing is dull and feels grindy. I found myself speed clicking through the dialogue because it was just a few lines of chatter before I had to start running after quest markers.
    The UI is awful. Yes, I know they wanted it "minimalistic" and wanted the users to make the quality UI, but its a bad idea for a MMO. The lack of feed back makes combat dull and disconnected for example. And while you can use mods to make it better it shouldn't be up to the community to actually make the UI. They should just add flavour to it. Relying on the community to make the game playable seems more lazy than minimalistic.
    The lore is like questing rather dull and the fact that pre-orders can be any race in any alliance just further waters out any distinctiveness of choosing a side which is not so good.
    There's also the distinct problems for the developers to keep on top of gold sellers and bots which ruin much of the starter zones for everybody.
    The economy is hard on new comers due to very low reward for killing mobs (which adds to the grindy feeling of the game).

    All in all a mediocre MMO which greatest achievement is making me want to play previous MMOs again for the various parts. I - like many other - do suspect a F2P future for this game within a relative short time span (from a MMO point of view), and especially when the next Elder Scrolls single player game comes out.

    So - in my opinion it's a 6/10 game.
    Stay away unless you're REALLY into MMOs and need a new one to try out or you're really into Elder Scrolls game and just has to play them all.    … Expand
  3. doser
    Apr 24, 2014
    8
    Probably the second best MMO ever made, after Dark Age of Camelot.

    Obviously there's a little campaign going in certain circles to write negative reviews with no substance to them. Ignore that nonsense, if you're going to pay a subscription fee, spend it on this... not that other out-of-date, cartoony - PvP-less game.
  4. fanabanana
    Apr 24, 2014
    0
    All together, garbage, a complete bore with an absolute lack of depth or quality. The game is missing intelligence. Anyone saying otherwise is either a shill or delusional.
  5. TheMeph
    Apr 24, 2014
    6
    The game breaker for me is the phasing system. You can't play with your friends or family unless you are all in the exact same step of the exact same quest, otherwise you all get separated into your own little realities and it becomes a solo quest. My son was disappointed that even tho we were grouped i could do nothing to help him kill the elite mob I had already killed before, and heThe game breaker for me is the phasing system. You can't play with your friends or family unless you are all in the exact same step of the exact same quest, otherwise you all get separated into your own little realities and it becomes a solo quest. My son was disappointed that even tho we were grouped i could do nothing to help him kill the elite mob I had already killed before, and he had to wait till a random person came by to try to duo it together. Completely ruined it for me, not being able to play with family. Not re subbing.… Expand
  6. Rumblefish
    Apr 24, 2014
    6
    Well, what to say about this game? Firstly, I am a massive Elder Scrolls fan and used to be a big fan of MMOs for many years but have been shaken off by the pervasive free-to-play model and by watching developers dilute the integrity of their own IPs by pandering to self-entitled players.

    So, the biggest plus I can say for ESO is that it has got me playing an MMO again. Other    Well, what to say about this game? Firstly, I am a massive Elder Scrolls fan and used to be a big fan of MMOs for many years but have been shaken off by the pervasive free-to-play model and by watching developers dilute the integrity of their own IPs by pandering to self-entitled players.

    So, the biggest plus I can say for ESO is that it has got me playing an MMO again. Other positives are that the graphics (on maximum settings) are beautiful; lighting, particle effects and the day/night cycle are all the best I have seen in any MMO. Zenimax have successfully created the atmosphere of an ES game, the player is immersed in Tamriel and it's a joy to explore the world and meet its inhabitants.

    There's much to admire. The implementation of class skills and also weapon and armour skill lines means that any class of character is free to fill any role. Are you a heavy armour wearing Dragonknight tank? Well simply respec, pick up a staff and start a new career as a spellslinger or healer. The combat is engaging, with dodging, blocking and interrupting adding elements to the encounters. However, fighting in ESO does suffer a bit from lag and a feeling of imprecision and weightlessness. A player can often move out of the way of a spell or ability only to be struck when they thought they were safe.

    Crafting is very interesting in ESO, it's quite intricate and requires dedication to slowly level up. Armour and weapons can be created, improved and enchanted in a myriad of ways and styles and crafting is actually a viable source of income. Damaged armour is expensive to repair and I absolutely love the fact that this introduces an actual negative repercussion to death.

    All quests are very professionally voice acted and are a cut above the usual "collect ten bear pelts". However, I did find that all the different groups, characters and comrades one meets along the way become indistinguishable from each other and are by and large forgettable. PvP can be engrossing and addictive but the lack of any world pvp takes away a lot of immersion. PvP action in Cyrodill is all manufactured fare and is only slightly better than the "usual jerg, dead, rez, repeat" that no other MMO seems to have been able to innovate on.

    However, there are negatives to this game also and boy are they large and numerous. The thing about an ES game is that you are the focus of a living breathing world. Can you break into an NPCs house, pick their pocket whilst they sleep, steal their dinner and then murder them and permanently remove them from the game? Yes, yes you can. This is not the case with ESO. Here, you are in a facade of a world. Everything is laid out in front of you and if you squint hard enough, you could believe that you're in Nirn. But peek behind the curtain and realise it's a sham. This is the proverbial theme park. Go here, speak to him, go over there. It's linear in the extreme and there is no real opportunity to fashion your own adventures or stories.

    Many useful features, staples of the genre are missing from ESO. You cannot inspect another player, or duel them. There is no worldwide auction house - and whilst I understand the reasoning behind this, the current guild store simply doesn't work. It's inaccessible and unappealing. Inventory space is a premium and most of your time during the first 20 levels will be spend managing bag and bank space. Although, ironically, there is no way to collect the books you find during your journeys.

    And then there are the disasters. The gold spam in this game is like nothing you will have ever experienced before. It is pervasive and intrusive all day long. The world is plagued with bots, either teleporting from node to node or standing in open world dungeons (surely the worst idea ever to grace an MMO) endlessly battering and looting the same poor mini-boss all day long. It's just not good enough. The game crashes regularly and the economy has already been destroyed by those who have exploited bank glitches. Clearly, a lot of work has gone into ESO but, ultimately, not enough.

    And the same can be said with the amount of thought that went into the social aspect of the game. As I've said, public dungeons are the most disastrous, immersion-breaking events in any MMO, but simply grouping up to quest with others is similarly flawed. Quests are phased, so if your partner is not on exactly the same stage of a quest that you are, then they will not even be able to see the NPCs you are tasked with killing (and therefore can offer no help). The game seems to make actions within it as inconvenient as possible. I've already mentioned trading in this regard but any social interaction can become confusing because people chat in zone/group chat etc under their character name, but appear in guild chat and in the dungeon finder etc as their account name.

    The game could have been a lot better, I hope it improves but it's probably already too late.    … Expand
  7. MrKazool
    Apr 24, 2014
    2
    -decent graphics, but very dull armour/weapons; players and npc's look very much alike;
    -peculiar trading/guild design - no AH, trading limited to guild-members; whoever designed this, should be probably fired immediatelly; not to mention that guild bank does not work most of the time;
    -EXTREMELY buggy - feels like a beta, rather then release version - several broken quests, UI issues,    -decent graphics, but very dull armour/weapons; players and npc's look very much alike;
    -peculiar trading/guild design - no AH, trading limited to guild-members; whoever designed this, should be probably fired immediatelly; not to mention that guild bank does not work most of the time;
    -EXTREMELY buggy - feels like a beta, rather then release version - several broken quests, UI issues, missing chats, missing achievements, instance bosses bugging etc - very, very annoying, when u can not finish main story quest for several days; AND - lo and behold - patch notes lied on a number of occasions, mentioning fixes, that actually did not happen, or did not solve the issues;
    -content past lev 50 (so called veteran-level) is extremely repetitive, basicaly a giant grind;

    Summarising:
    Total lack of polish due to numerous bugs, some really poor design issued (guilds/AH/veteran 'content', or lack thereof), this game at its current stage should not even be released - but rather tested for bugs properly...which seems to never have happened in spite of numerous open betas etc.
    Very dissapointing, especially considering the potential of ES franchise. If I could get my money back - Id take it and leave this title alone.    … Expand
  8. xveganroxx
    Apr 24, 2014
    3
    This is a painfully bad MMO that is skinned with excellent Elder Scrolls lore. The environment is pretty nice, the soundtrack is good, the art design is good if uninspired, and the voice acting ranges from cringeworthy to excellent. That's all the good stuff. Here's the bad: there's no active combat, there's no open exploration, and of course it's priced above every other MMO offeringThis is a painfully bad MMO that is skinned with excellent Elder Scrolls lore. The environment is pretty nice, the soundtrack is good, the art design is good if uninspired, and the voice acting ranges from cringeworthy to excellent. That's all the good stuff. Here's the bad: there's no active combat, there's no open exploration, and of course it's priced above every other MMO offering (game cost + subscription + cash shop). It will be free-to-play soon, which will bring in its own problems I'm sure, but I don't see any fixes for the lack of combat or exploration. If you ever shot an arrow into an enemy from a distance in Skyrim, don't expect anything like that here - you target an enemy and click, there is no aiming involved. You can't explore, either, since if you try to leave the area you're in you'll find the next area has much higher level mobs, so you have to grind, move on, grind, move on, etc. Also, the mob AI is laughable. Enemies don't attack you unless you're 5 feet away from them. There's limited instancing, so when you enter a dungeon everything is already dead and dozens of bots and other players are camping the spawns. This is a mess of an MMO that could only be recommended to masochists or people who are willing to put up with awful gameplay just to experience Elder Scrolls lore. I thought I was one of the latter, but it turns out that I'm not. I think anyone interested in this would be better off playing either WoW or Skyrim (or The Secret World, which has lots of its own problems but does what ESO tries to do in a much, much better way). Avoid this mess of a game.… Expand
  9. tafoya77n
    Apr 24, 2014
    9
    Great game, Zos has created a beautiful world with endless potential for great times. The quests are all beautifully voice acted and written. They really try to give the feeling of an elder scrolls game where you can change the world and that you are part of big events, the game defiantly does the best job of this out of any MMO I have played in the last 10 years.

    Classes are fun and    Great game, Zos has created a beautiful world with endless potential for great times. The quests are all beautifully voice acted and written. They really try to give the feeling of an elder scrolls game where you can change the world and that you are part of big events, the game defiantly does the best job of this out of any MMO I have played in the last 10 years.

    Classes are fun and customization, you really feel like you are building your own character, at least as much as a real MMO with this great of PvP can allow.
    There are endless things to do in the game, from dungon delving to massive Pvp battles with hundreds of players.
    This is a great MMO within the great elder scrolls universe and it absolutely does not disappoint.    … Expand
  10. jimredtalon
    Apr 24, 2014
    5
    It's an okay single player RPG one moment, then an okay MMO the next. Which all in all makes for a mediocre game. For a title boasting the name of elder scrolls, a franchise known for setting the pace in the RPG genre, this one falls short of its predecessors, both in elder scrolls, and in MMO's.
  11. Redmaw69
    Apr 24, 2014
    2
    dull as bricks, pay / pre order to win... could be worse but not by much..............................................................................
  12. JJthis
    Apr 24, 2014
    0
    I am a huge Elder Scrolls fan and this has officially gotten me looking at something else to make up for the hole that it's left me with.
    It's a good MMO, no issues there. But firstly I cannot see it justifying the fee. Secondly it's fighting is slow at the best of times.
    It looks good, very good, so at least they have that, which is nice. Now for the bad? This can be the greatest MMO    I am a huge Elder Scrolls fan and this has officially gotten me looking at something else to make up for the hole that it's left me with.
    It's a good MMO, no issues there. But firstly I cannot see it justifying the fee. Secondly it's fighting is slow at the best of times.
    It looks good, very good, so at least they have that, which is nice.
    Now for the bad?
    This can be the greatest MMO it wants to be but in the end it still fails to be the most important thing: An Elder Scrolls game. It doesn't feel like an Elder Scrolls game and, apart from the obvious fact that Bethesda has now also lost it and gone for greed rather than looking after the real fans of the universe, it certainly doesn't have the appeal of an Elder Scrolls game. I spent over 350 hours on Skyrim alone. Not even to mention the amount of hours I'd spent on each of the other Elder Scrolls games. The Elder Scrolls Online will not see me sinking any more hours into it.
    Get Dark Souls or The Witcher, because Bethesda has officially ruined its best franchise.    … Expand
  13. bombrero
    Apr 24, 2014
    4
    I was in the beta for a long time until right before it was launched, and all I have to say is that it must not be considered an Elder Scrolls game (It degrades the ES lore for it's own fitting sake), but it fails as an MMORPG too. As an MMORPG, and having played World of Warcreft, Tera and Guild Wars 2 (I played more than these, but these here are the better templates to compare TESO'sI was in the beta for a long time until right before it was launched, and all I have to say is that it must not be considered an Elder Scrolls game (It degrades the ES lore for it's own fitting sake), but it fails as an MMORPG too. As an MMORPG, and having played World of Warcreft, Tera and Guild Wars 2 (I played more than these, but these here are the better templates to compare TESO's aspects) I couldnt find anything new or revolutionary in this game, or even any aspects with a better or refreshing execution than in the previous games i had played. First time I played, I noticed the combat felt floaty and shallow, since I had the expectations that this would be the strong aspect of the game. The combat was slightly tuned throughout the following beta sessions, but it ended being a mix of Guild Wars 2 and Tera systems that ended up feeling inferior than its counterparts. The quest had no appealing, and the rewards were discouraging, something we beta testers complained about several times during all of the beta sessions, but was never fixed, just like much other things, like race mixing, trade systems, ability approach and development, npc's placement and presence on important areas, broken quest that were never fixed, and for god sake, the party system! You cant share a quest with your friends. Well, you can, but they still will have to do them by themselves, so it doesnt matter that you shared a mission it will be the same as going alone, since you will have to perform the same actions, but with two or more people, meaning less loot , and more time to complete, since there are more people gathering objectives. We complained about those things, we filled the surveys in each beta session, and we got ignored. You looked up in forums just to see hundreds of people complaining about the same problems, which never got fixed.

    In the end, it ended up being a mediocre to average MMORPG that made you constantly think: "This was so much better in Tera/GW2/WoW depending on the aspect you were analyzing".    … Expand
  14. terriptus
    Apr 24, 2014
    3
    This game is boring and painfully 'average'. For a game that promised to break the mold of MMO's, it hasn't done anything new. I won't go into some long winded rant about why I'm only giving this a 3, as Angry Joe and Francis/Boogie summed it up better than I could and I suggest going to watch their reviews. Maybe Wildstar will prove to be better implemented.
  15. bravo872
    Apr 24, 2014
    0
    In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I am no longer able to Log in to ESO.

    If your looking for, a Skyrim sequel, an elder scrolls multiplayer, a better feel than SWTOR, this unfortunately isnt it. It all started like any other MMO, lots of down time, bugs, and many many patches. Problem is that it did not get better and its growing pains only seemed to worsen.    In the interest of full disclosure I should point out that I am no longer able to Log in to ESO.

    If your looking for, a Skyrim sequel, an elder scrolls multiplayer, a better feel than SWTOR, this unfortunately isnt it.

    It all started like any other MMO, lots of down time, bugs, and many many patches. Problem is that it did not get better and its growing pains only seemed to worsen. Patches to fix one problem would just cause more issues. The guild banks had to be taken down, long log in times became login time out errors. New content and TV ads cant fix the flow of retreating customers.    … Expand
  16. AestheticRoy
    Apr 23, 2014
    10
    I'm gonna keep this short & simple, DO NOT listen to these negative reviews. These are all just a bunch of picky players who obviously don't have patience with starting bugs, the bots, the sub fee cause most of you are cheap & the slow leveling. This game has so much potential & apart from that it's still an epic game. If you are a fan of Realistic feeling MMO's & Elder Scrolls series youI'm gonna keep this short & simple, DO NOT listen to these negative reviews. These are all just a bunch of picky players who obviously don't have patience with starting bugs, the bots, the sub fee cause most of you are cheap & the slow leveling. This game has so much potential & apart from that it's still an epic game. If you are a fan of Realistic feeling MMO's & Elder Scrolls series you WILL fall for this game. I have played WoW & Gw2 & this game makes just draws you foward like no other MMO has ever done. A+ A+ A+… Expand
  17. nefariousfiend
    Apr 23, 2014
    3
    It's very disappointing spending 80 dollars on a game plus a 15 dollar subscription per month I expected a lot more out of this game. It's about half the speed of wow and twice as dull if you ask me. The caster classes are underpowered and mana starved. you only get 5 abilities at a time unless you switch weapons then you get another 5 but lose the previous 5. The options are very limitedIt's very disappointing spending 80 dollars on a game plus a 15 dollar subscription per month I expected a lot more out of this game. It's about half the speed of wow and twice as dull if you ask me. The caster classes are underpowered and mana starved. you only get 5 abilities at a time unless you switch weapons then you get another 5 but lose the previous 5. The options are very limited as to what you can do. Bag space fills very quickly and you have to do a lot of crafting and grinding mats yourself to better your gear etc. It's much more of a grind than I expected. Lets not even get started on the bugs and downtime you will experience. The PVE really isn't social based in any way. It's more like playing a console game with a few random people running around with you. The quilds are a joke and not necessary in any way people just start one up and invite as many people as they can. Helpfulness for questions is pretty much non existent from my experience, your better off google searching. The chat in the game for Zones is pretty much bots spamming to sell gold power level and immature kids. Think of the crossroads in wow add 3/4 spam then the zone chat and you have a good idea of what to expect. The group dungeons etc is picking up random people and running through a quick 10 minute dungeon with little to sometimes no reward unless you count a little xp. Gear drops... what gear drops? It's make your own and improve it or run around in greens and maybe a few blues that you don't really want since they don't really help with your whole whopping 5 abilities. With the lack of abilities, the lack of social play, bugs and slow leveling, grinding and constant annoyance of running back and forth to clear bag space, and immature nature of chat and spam, I rate this game a 3. I feel it was a complete waste of money and time. Unfortunately, what's done is done. I just hope to save the next person 80 dollars or 60 depending on what version you buy.… Expand
  18. e7seif
    Apr 23, 2014
    10
    As a long time Elder Scrolls fan, I was very skeptical when ESO was first announced. But Zenimax/Bethesda has pulled of a very enjoyable balance of both the Elder Scrolls world and an engaging MMO.

    I have played many MMOs (Neverwinter, Rift, Allod's Online, Tera, LOTRO, FF11, Vindictus, EverQuest II and more...) By far, ESO is my favorite. It is a world I simply enjoy existing in, and    As a long time Elder Scrolls fan, I was very skeptical when ESO was first announced. But Zenimax/Bethesda has pulled of a very enjoyable balance of both the Elder Scrolls world and an engaging MMO.

    I have played many MMOs (Neverwinter, Rift, Allod's Online, Tera, LOTRO, FF11, Vindictus, EverQuest II and more...) By far, ESO is my favorite. It is a world I simply enjoy existing in, and for me that is key.

    Below are some of the many things I love about ESO (keeping in mind that I favor PvE and exploration):

    - A beautiful and detailed world with so many little secrets to discover. I have noticed some people complain that the game is not one big open world, but that is because they don't understand that MMOs can't work like that. With so many players running around, the fps would be crippled. And it doesn't matter anyway. Each region has so much to offer. Besides, getting to the next area is a loadscreen away. And with the level of detail they have put into each region, I am sure that we can look forward to future expansions with as much handcrafted care.

    - Complex multi-step quests and slow leveling. Just like in The Elder Scrolls single player.

    - The water: Beautiful clear water. I love riding my horse along the beaches, and splashing through the shallows. :)

    - Exploring beaches: The beaches are just beautiful and there are chests and secrets to be found.

    - Treasure Maps! (Much like the kind in Red Dead Redemption.)

    - Molag Bal's Anchors: Awesome.

    - Casual "party" system: As a generally solo gamer, I love that boss kills can be shared with those you aren't grouped with.

    - Crafting: Very different from other MMOs and actually useful.

    - Skill system: It is fairly simplistic seeming at first, but there is a great deal of potential in how you can develop your character's skills, as you progress.

    - Full character voice acting.

    - Lore! Books and notes to discover everywhere.

    - Skyshards: Fun to discover, and every three give you a an extra skill point to spend.

    - Thunderstorms: I wandered into an area where it was still sunny but starting to rain a little. And then the sky darkened and thunder began to rumble and the rain poured down. Lovely and atmospheric.

    The game is not perfect. It has it's bugs and animations can be awkward at times. But these barely scratch the surface of my experience. This is a world I really enjoy spending time in, and there is so much to do and see and discover. :)    … Expand
  19. Eruptox
    Apr 23, 2014
    7
    Reviews here are too long, I'll just summarize it. (Intermediate MMO player here)

    Pros - Great Voiceovers (Not as good as SWTOR imo) - Soundtrack. - If you want to play an MMO. - Amazing Landscapes Cons - Combat - Not the best, a little dumb down version of GW2 - Skyrim - Nothing like Skyrim V, not even close. - Terrible Quest Achievement - Short Quests that doesn't feel    Reviews here are too long, I'll just summarize it. (Intermediate MMO player here)

    Pros
    - Great Voiceovers (Not as good as SWTOR imo)
    - Soundtrack.
    - If you want to play an MMO.
    - Amazing Landscapes

    Cons
    - Combat - Not the best, a little dumb down version of GW2
    - Skyrim - Nothing like Skyrim V, not even close.
    - Terrible Quest Achievement - Short Quests that doesn't feel rewarding.
    - No Auction House (Yet)

    If you're a person who rates it by its launch week, you're honestly not a gamer. No MMO has ever been released with no problems at all. All games go through the same phase.

    TL: DR

    - MMO player: you may like it, it's simplistic, and has an ESO theme.
    - RPG player: Not really a good RPG, especially if you hope it's like Skyrim V.    … Expand
  20. Fancypenguin
    Apr 23, 2014
    4
    Hey kids! Do you like The Elder Scrolls? Have you always wanted to play it online and explore the vast expanses of Tamriel with friends? Well too bad, you're going to be incredibly disappointed. Where do I even begin with the disappointment in this game? There are so many incredibly stupid design choices its baffling. First things first, I just have to come out and say that this game isHey kids! Do you like The Elder Scrolls? Have you always wanted to play it online and explore the vast expanses of Tamriel with friends? Well too bad, you're going to be incredibly disappointed. Where do I even begin with the disappointment in this game? There are so many incredibly stupid design choices its baffling. First things first, I just have to come out and say that this game is a HUGE cash grab. They lock the imperial race behind a pay wall right off the bat. You have to buy the collector's edition to unlock it. WHAT THE F*** This is downright criminal when you're already paying 60$ for the game plus a 15$ subscription fee. Next, there aren't instanced dungeons, meaning that if somebody else is in a dungeon and they kill the boss or take loot out of a chest you then have to wait for it to respawn. I'M SORRY, IS THIS THE ORIGINAL ULTIMA ONLINE? IS IT 1997? This is unacceptable in MMO's now a days. Get used to standing around in dungeons waiting for loot to respawn, or for bosses to respawn so you can run through a mosh pit of people, hoping to get 1 hit on it so as to complete the quest or continue the quest line. Gold is WAY too hard to get, every enemy drops like 1 or 2 gold and horses are incredibly overpriced. Why? Well you didn't think Zenimax and Bethesda would miss the chance to sell you the collector's edition that comes with a horse would ya? The story is generic and uninteresting and while the game is fully voice-acted which is great, it is very hit and miss quality wise. The graphics look dated, but are quite good for MMO standards. Questing is a huge disappointment. Every quest is the stereotypical MMO "kill x amount of x" Or "Fetch x" uninspired and dull. One of my favorite gaming moments is that quest for the Dark Brotherhood in Oblivion where you have to go to a dinner party and assassinate each person in the house 1 by 1 without the others finding out its you. That was awesome. Why aren't there more quests like that in this game? Oh that's right, because its an MMO, its legally obligated to have watered down gameplay and quest variety. The game has a huge amount of content, which can only be added on to as time goes on. This would be great if everything wasn't so far away with so little to do while traveling between quest objectives. Maybe the most heinous, inexcusable offense of ESO is the fact that it takes the signature open world of The Elder Scrolls franchise and condenses it to linear paths to get to the next quest objective. Sure the game is open world, but you won't want to explore anything because you can only really gain experience from completing quests, and not from fighting enemies, you know like a real elder scrolls game! Another serious design flaw is the fact that every enemy levels with you, meaning that instead of having some enemies be a low level and some being a higher level, they just make mud crabs level 30 when you're level 30. This takes all the immersion and exploration factor out of the game because you're rarely if ever going to find an enemy that you can't handle. Overall, when quests aren't being bugged out, (honestly about 2/3 of them) they're dull and uninteresting anyway. Another stupid design choice is the fact that, because dungeons and quests aren't instanced, when you play with friends, every person has to do everything separately, whether it be getting quest objectives or doing puzzles in group dungeons, defeating the purpose of playing with friends which, you know IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THIS GAME! Crafting makes no sense and pvp can be summed up by two words: Running Simulator. Combat is stiff and repetitive and impossible in the weightless and floaty 1st person view. The customization is a step up from past ES games, even if the armor all looks the same and the soundtrack is amazing. When the only thing the game gets truly right is the soundtrack, you know its having a rough go. I went into this game as both a fan of The Elder Scrolls and to some extent a fan of MMOs, knowing that it wasn't going to be a Skyrim like experience, but was so disappointed in both aspects. Ultimately, ESO is nothing more than a lazy cash-in that preys on starstruck ES fans and both Bethesda and Zenimax know it. It doesn't help that the modern Gaming hype machine has brainwashed them into thinking this is a good game. There are far better MMOs out there, like Guildwars 2, FFXIV ARR and hell even WOW is still going strong. This game is un-fulfilling to both fans of MMOs and the Elder Scrolls series. If this did not have the ES name on it, it would be just another mediocre MMO that wouldn't get any time in the limelight. Not worth 60$ plus 15 bucks a month. Wait till it goes F2P or P2W which honestly probably won't be too long. Hopefully Bethesda takes the riches from this game and makes a good Fallout game or new single player ES game.… Expand
  21. Kucha
    Apr 23, 2014
    7
    his is a good MMO that I am playing and plan to continue to play because I'm enjoying it. Having said that, I admit that it's not revolutionary, but one that does most things right. Overall, I'd say that ESO is an Elder Scrolls single player and MMO hybrid. You got some, but not all parts of both. If you are OK with sacrificing some of your beloved Elder Scrolls single playerhis is a good MMO that I am playing and plan to continue to play because I'm enjoying it. Having said that, I admit that it's not revolutionary, but one that does most things right. Overall, I'd say that ESO is an Elder Scrolls single player and MMO hybrid. You got some, but not all parts of both. If you are OK with sacrificing some of your beloved Elder Scrolls single player experiences for the opportunity to play with others, then this game is just for you. If you are inflexible and demand a full Elder Scrolls and MMO game, then you will probably be disappointed.

    PROS

    The developers do a great job of giving you an immersive amount of quests as you level up. The process does not feel like a grind, and one can take the time to enjoy the adventure process en route to max level. Good stories, good (although repetitive) voice overs, lots of lore, and pretty nice graphics. Oh, and the world is HUGE. I have to give kudos to the Devs for that. Second, the classes are incredibly flexible, enabling a player to play any role with any class. It can be rather fun to create non-traditional classes, such as a healing tank. Also, the PvP battles are enjoyable and pretty intense.

    CONS

    On the other hand, the game is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. There are a few too many bugs, some of which are unacceptable as they should never have made it into the game. Also, making auction houses (guild stores) available only through guilds is unwelcome. You won't be able to buy or sell from all players in your faction this way. Furthermore, the game economy is in shambles as a near endless number of gold spammers, and game exploiters threaten the very economic stability of the game. ESO devs should have been more aggressive about removing these guys from day 1.

    The game is missing some of the single-player Elder Scrolls game elements that I enjoy. For example, you'll have to level before going to all of the zones. This kills exploration for me. Also, many of the other tasks that I enjoy doing (killing random villagers and stealing from merchants) are not available. Furthermore, some of the caves and dungeons are static and look the same. The variety of crypt and/or cavern exploring is just not as exciting as in the single player counterparts.

    My personal opinion is that these issues have not kept me from playing this game. I've enjoyed most of my experiences in this version of Tamriel and I look forward to ZeniMax fixing the bugs and stabilizing the game experience (i.e., hunting down the spammers/exploiters). If you like both Elder Scrolls and MMO's, then you will be doing yourself a disservice if you don't give this game a shot.    … Expand
  22. Risson
    Apr 23, 2014
    9
    I gave this game what I did because it is by far the best MMO I've played, and I've played a lot. This is an almost perfect MMO (besides a few things, payment, some generic quest, etc.). Although I am rating this as an MMO and not a Elder Scrolls game. As an Elder Scrolls player this feels nothing like one and is not near as good. 9/10 from an MMO standpoint.
  23. 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
  24. Graay
    Apr 23, 2014
    4
    Decent PvP. Acceptable audio. Average combat. Mediocre visuals. Awful PvE.

    The Elder Scrolls Online is a thoroughly average MMO with a thin veneer of TES paint. The only thing more disappointing than the quality of the game is my fear that this will negatively impact Bethesda's core series. Much like SW:ToR, this game has no heart or soul and is obviously a cash-grab using namesake alone.
  25. Icejoka
    Apr 23, 2014
    10
    Great game, literally the closest ive seen to play it your own way, the pvp is fun the pve is harsh and very very entertaining at end game.
    The quest lines make you want to play more, and although they do occasionally bug so do all mmo's at launch, it's silly to assume they don't WoW still has bugs a decade on.
    The game is very good and easily worth a playthrough, the new content    Great game, literally the closest ive seen to play it your own way, the pvp is fun the pve is harsh and very very entertaining at end game.
    The quest lines make you want to play more, and although they do occasionally bug so do all mmo's at launch, it's silly to assume they don't WoW still has bugs a decade on.

    The game is very good and easily worth a playthrough, the new content adventure zones look amazing. It's not an elder scrolls offline game, they are just a different type but it's a good transfer to mmo for sure.    … Expand
  26. Quorina
    Apr 23, 2014
    1
    Quite literally the worst MMO I've ever played. Generic, mediocre, bland experience. Extreme amount of bugs. Duping glitches. No AH. A publisher hell bent on milking the last dollar out of you. Single-player experience that DISCOURAGES grouping. Certain classes/specs will find it very difficult to kill anything, compared to others that will 1-2 shot anything in their path. I made it toQuite literally the worst MMO I've ever played. Generic, mediocre, bland experience. Extreme amount of bugs. Duping glitches. No AH. A publisher hell bent on milking the last dollar out of you. Single-player experience that DISCOURAGES grouping. Certain classes/specs will find it very difficult to kill anything, compared to others that will 1-2 shot anything in their path. I made it to level 8 before quitting. The worst MMO experience I've had.… Expand
  27. Vorch
    Apr 23, 2014
    5
    It's a good game.

    However, it is definitely not worth the subscription for more than 3 months, imo.

    AvA is probably the most unbalanced I've seen...and you will be stuck there for 3 months...

    PvE is pretty good, I personally enjoyed the story.

    All in all, try it yourself.
  28. damageinc
    Apr 23, 2014
    3
    I love MMORPGS, i love ES franchise for years. I preordered, played in beta, early access, the regular game many days after its launch. But deleted my character and uninstalled the game yesterday. I’m totally disappointed to experience a total mediocre, sadly avarege game. Elder Scrolls Online is a BROKEN GAME. Even they somehow manage to fix all those terrible bugs, fix the economy,I love MMORPGS, i love ES franchise for years. I preordered, played in beta, early access, the regular game many days after its launch. But deleted my character and uninstalled the game yesterday. I’m totally disappointed to experience a total mediocre, sadly avarege game. Elder Scrolls Online is a BROKEN GAME. Even they somehow manage to fix all those terrible bugs, fix the economy, THEY'LL NOT BE A ABLE TO FIX A BROKEN STRUCTURE!!

    This game is boringly linear, most of the time it’s NOT fun, exciting, surprising and challenging. It’s tedious and lame! We’ve been waiting for this game for years but unfortunately it’s a total disappointment for me and my friends. I believe hundreds of thousands of people are angry and sad to have paid for this mediocracy!    … Expand
  29. GhoXen
    Apr 23, 2014
    5
    Playtime: around 170 hours

    Level: Veteran Rank 6 (10 ranks in total after level cap of 50) Experience: All previous TES games, numerous MMOs including WoW, LOTRO, SWTOR, GW2, FF14 (old & new), WildStar beta, etc. Playstyle: Story, group PvE, PvP, completionist. Compared to many recent entries in the MMO market, ESO certainly stands out with some brave novel designs. They've    Playtime: around 170 hours

    Level: Veteran Rank 6 (10 ranks in total after level cap of 50)

    Experience: All previous TES games, numerous MMOs including WoW, LOTRO, SWTOR, GW2, FF14 (old & new), WildStar beta, etc.

    Playstyle: Story, group PvE, PvP, completionist.

    Compared to many recent entries in the MMO market, ESO certainly stands out with some brave novel designs. They've done a better job than SWTOR in terms of story, world and immersion, and the MMO certainly feels more like a TES game than any other MMO on the market with the introduction of first-person view. There is a crazy amount of details put into the making of the game, ranging from random NPCs, exploration to consequences of decisions during questing (some of which you will be reminded of even many zones and levels later). However, it's also suffering from a bland endgame, similar to many recent releases, but that's less of an issue than its problem with management.

    ZOS has been managing ESO extremely poorly. In a short span of two weeks, they have made more bad management decisions than Blizzard has made in years.

    The game is extremely buggy, and feels like an unfinished and untested product. The progression of many essential quests are still broken even weeks after launch, and the devs have been extremely slow at fixing the problems. For MMOs like this, you'd expect massive patches that quickly solve player issues at launch, but that is not the case with ESO. The patches are small, and tend to solve only a small number of issues.

    There are also many very poor designs that are now biting the devs in back. Whether it's unbalanced mechanics or poorly designed reward system that led to people camping bosses. Understandably, these issues appear to be of a lesser priority than game-breaking bugs, so don't expect them fixed anytime soon.

    Then there is ZOS's handling of exploits that are potentially fatal to the game. ZOS has failed to take care of exploits reported during the beta, and as a result an exploit nearly wiped the game world. Then the messy banwave banned lots of innocent players (whose accounts were eventually restored), and lots of exploiters are still unbanned. As I write this review, there are still at least 3 exploits of similar nature in the public domain, and ZOS's reaction is anything but swift.

    Some may say: surely these issues will be eventually fixed? While that may be true, what the recent events have shown is that ZOS has very poor management. As a result, they may not be equipped to deal with on-going problems a MMO may encounter, and I dread to think of the countless issues they'd run into when they release their first content patch, and when they eventually release some expansion pack. It's not about what's currently broken, instead it's about how poorly ZOS has been addressing them thus far, which indicates how poorly ZOS will address similar issues in the future with dreadful efficiency and messy effectiveness.

    The game has a lot of potential, but the current management of the game is very disappointing. As a player, I do not find ZOS trustworthy or capable. Rather than sinking investments of time and effort into this poorly managed game, I implore potential players to look elsewhere, at least for the time-being. Until ZOS manages to prove to the playerbase that they can improve their game management, ESO does not deserve your patience or tolerance.

    PS: Before anyone wonders why I've spent so much time with a this game like this, the reasons are simple - despite all its flaws I still enjoyed the story (once). Aside from that, I'm really just killing time until Dark Souls 2 releases on PC.    … Expand
  30. Vindicator
    Apr 22, 2014
    0
    I know so much work went into this game, but it's such a disappointment. This is not an Elder Scrolls game, this is something else. If it didn't have this name slapped on the box, it would be a different story, but I can't support this direction for the series. The things that could have been kept in the game like unrestricted freedom and opportunity to go where you want and attempt toI know so much work went into this game, but it's such a disappointment. This is not an Elder Scrolls game, this is something else. If it didn't have this name slapped on the box, it would be a different story, but I can't support this direction for the series. The things that could have been kept in the game like unrestricted freedom and opportunity to go where you want and attempt to do what you want in a vast open world would have made this quite the experience. Unfortunately the devs instead made it a very restricted cookie cutter MMO experience and ruined their opportunity for something amazing. Sorry devs, copy/pasting what makes other games successful into an existing franchise that can already stand on it's own two feet neither does your game justice, it doesn't do the fans of the series justice.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 64 Critic Reviews

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