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. Ser_Riggers
    Apr 17, 2014
    7
    As a person who has been playing World of Warcraft since 2007 and hopping MMORPGs for a little longer, I can honestly say that Elder Scrolls Online is a breath of fresh air. That being said, there are areas that it definitely can improve on, the bulk of which are unpolished and bugged quests which block progression in certain areas. These bugs can definitely put you off the game entirely,As a person who has been playing World of Warcraft since 2007 and hopping MMORPGs for a little longer, I can honestly say that Elder Scrolls Online is a breath of fresh air. That being said, there are areas that it definitely can improve on, the bulk of which are unpolished and bugged quests which block progression in certain areas. These bugs can definitely put you off the game entirely, but if you can look past what Zenimax are working on fixing, the game is a definite look-at. The days of one-button-spam and win is over. This game is a genuine challenge, and as you level up the mobs become progressively harder and greater in number, and require more thought and tactic to overcome.

    The quests themselves are interesting and immersive, although clearly because it is an MMORPG not as many quests are as great and epic as they were in Oblivion and Skyrim, but this is to be expected as it was said early on that this game was a spin-off of the Elder Scrolls Universe, not a new game in the series. That being said, if you don't like this game, don't feel the need not to buy the next game (Elder Scrolls VI) because you were put off by this game.

    By far, my favourite part of this game is the crafting system. In WoW the only way to gain materials to make stuff and progress through a profession was to go out into the world and mine nodes or trade with players via them or the Auction House (which this game does not have, thank the Nine). This game has that too, but it allows you to "deconstruct" items, which in turn give you the materials, as well as levelling the profession at the same time. You may find your inventory chock-a-block full of items from quests and drops, and instead of selling these items to a vendor for a tiny profit, you can deconstruct them, and in turn, make better items for yourself and your friends.

    This game deserves a solid 7/10, and I've waited until I hit the max level to write this review, so that way I had a better grasp on the game than people that release a review two days after it's release. Zenimax needs to address the issues within the game, and if they do so, this game could very well be around for a long time.    … Expand
  2. MARKET_DAY
    May 2, 2014
    1
    What a big fat turd.

    Yet again our hopes are dashed to pieces by a big name developer under-estimating what it takes to make a good MMO. And let me be clear, I'm not one of the players bashing this game because of all the bugs and technical issues at launch. That's whatever. Seasoned MMORPG player here back from vanilla EQ. I've sampled every big name mmo to date and I'm more than    What a big fat turd.

    Yet again our hopes are dashed to pieces by a big name developer under-estimating what it takes to make a good MMO.

    And let me be clear, I'm not one of the players bashing this game because of all the bugs and technical issues at launch. That's whatever. Seasoned MMORPG player here back from vanilla EQ. I've sampled every big name mmo to date and I'm more than familiar with rocky launches. They don't bother me, that's not the issue. This game is flawed at its foundation. Rotten from the inside, and no amount of tweaking or bug fixes will ever make it good. Bandaids don't fix cancer. (At least not yet? =D)

    The 2 fatal flaws:

    1. The combat sucks. That right there will murder your mmo in the womb. If they fixed every other issue and flaw this game has, it would still be a bad game if they left the combat the way it is.

    2. Half the players just wanted Skyrim with a multiplayer function. They didn't really want an mmo at all. They wanted their single player elder scrolls game, with the ability to run around with their friends and kill bandits together. The other half wanted a true-blue MMORPG with all its implied faculties. So what did Zenimax do? ~*The king said, "Get me a sword." So they brought a sword before the king. The king said, "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other."*~ WHACK! And just like that, each crowd wound up with one bloody, viscera-leaking half of what could have been a deeply beloved game. ~*[Zenimax looks at their accountant] Where is TESO? Is she safe? Is she alright? [accountant replies] It seems...in your greed...you killed her... [Zenimax, clutching their collective skulls] I...? I couldn't have! She was alive, we made it playable on consoles AND the PC, I felt it! [Zenimax watches as their years of work and investment spiral the toilet bowl towards the inevitable F2P model] NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

    And now some knitty-gritty rambling.

    The combat is terrible (did I say that yet?) Whoever keeps peddling this "action MMO's are the future of the genre" idea should be castrated. No one wants to click their mouse for every single swing of their weapon in an mmo. Grinding trash mobs, while integral and necessary to the genre, needs to be as painless for the players as possible. TESO's combat system makes it incredibly punishing and tedious. And this whole active dodge/block mechanic is ridiculous and it needs to go away, it doesn't belong in an MMO.

    The story-line is mediocre, nothing new or exciting. Oh noes, a necromancer raising an army of the dead!? Whatever shall we-oh wait no one cares because this is boring.

    Leveling up is tedious (yeah, I'm using that word again because it suits this game so perfectly. In fact, I could have just typed that single word for my review and you'd know everything you need to know) even for an mmo. Again, mostly because of the failed combat system.

    I never even bothered trying the PvP due to all the horror stories I was hearing from other players.

    The 3-sided faction war was a great idea. There were a lot of great "ideas" behind this game. My hopes were so high. They got greedy, for one thing. For another, none of development staff were real MMO gamers. You can't make a good mmo if you're not good at playing MMO's. There's more I could say but I think I've gotten my point across to the whopping 2-3 people who will ever read this far. Time for pizza.    … Expand
  3. valandor
    May 17, 2014
    8
    I'm sure everything that can be said about ESO, both positive and negative, has been said so I'll make this short and to the point. I give the game an 8/10 rating because of its current state which I think is still unfinished. On potential I'd give it a 10. As an MMO it takes a few liberties with the beloved franchise but I find them to be minimal. ESO is above all else an Elder ScrollsI'm sure everything that can be said about ESO, both positive and negative, has been said so I'll make this short and to the point. I give the game an 8/10 rating because of its current state which I think is still unfinished. On potential I'd give it a 10. As an MMO it takes a few liberties with the beloved franchise but I find them to be minimal. ESO is above all else an Elder Scrolls game. Yes it has many bugs, yes there are spammers and bots galore, yes to all of that and more BUT it is still the best MMO I have played in a long time, and that includes my experience in WoW, Guild Wars, Guild Wars 2, RIFT, Neverwinter and many other fantasy MMOs. ESO is fun and it is engrossing and I remain hopeful that it will only get better. If you're an Elder Scrolls fan, buy it. If you're not an Elder Scrolls fan I still recommend it but remember it is best played slowly with every nook and cranny explored (and every in game book read).… Expand
  4. Moza_m
    Sep 14, 2014
    1
    This was the most I had ever spent on a video game. Pre-Ordered the imperial collector's edition and really was so looking forward to it. Took some time off work for release week, and was pumped.

    Unfortunately, I couldn't stomach more than a week of playing :( Quests are repetitive. PvP was simply running and running and running for 5 seconds of actual fighting. Everything they had in    This was the most I had ever spent on a video game. Pre-Ordered the imperial collector's edition and really was so looking forward to it. Took some time off work for release week, and was pumped.

    Unfortunately, I couldn't stomach more than a week of playing :( Quests are repetitive. PvP was simply running and running and running for 5 seconds of actual fighting. Everything they had in the game, has been done better before. Nothing new. They played the "safe" card, which just meant grindy quests and absolutely shocking inventiveness. What a massive waste of money. What a waste of time. What an upset.    … Expand
  5. Nugget
    Jun 7, 2014
    1
    This game could have been so much more than it is. It is not terrible, but overall the game is lacking so much. I wanted to play a 4 person instanced skyrim, but we got this instead. I find that the game will maybe get better with time, but this game overall needs a ton of polish. They rushed the game, and gave the public a sub par experience. Sad face panda.
  6. ElderScrollsFan
    Jun 23, 2014
    1
    Highly disappointed in this game, what were you thinking, should of done an online game that was more like Borderlands and not so much like WoW. Well back to Morrowind.
  7. Razier
    Apr 15, 2015
    9
    If youŕe looking for a good review to base your decision on about this game, I ask that you look for a newer review from 2015. When this game first came out, I will admit, it was not great. I played it right after it first came out and was not thrilled. The monthly subscription was too much and the game play lacked. Now with all of the recent updates and with Tamriel Unlimited beingIf youŕe looking for a good review to base your decision on about this game, I ask that you look for a newer review from 2015. When this game first came out, I will admit, it was not great. I played it right after it first came out and was not thrilled. The monthly subscription was too much and the game play lacked. Now with all of the recent updates and with Tamriel Unlimited being released, it is an entirely different game. The quests are captivating and very well written, the combat while perhaps lacking a little bit, is still very fun. The PvP is still remarkable. Walking around the world the graphics are truly remarkable. I am very excited for the future of the game and look forward to seeing the future improvements they have planned.… Expand
  8. jackel
    Apr 4, 2014
    10
    this game is so good and bad ass ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
  9. macharius39
    Apr 18, 2014
    2
    It looks pretty, has Elder Scrolls tagged on to it and has some interesting concepts. Yes, I'll give it that.

    However, game crushing bugs plague this title: e.g. people losing their bank items, slots, gold, skill points, being banned for having duplicate emails sent to them by Zenimax due to a bug THEY created, etc,etc,. Thousands of people have been affected (I am not exaggerating).    It looks pretty, has Elder Scrolls tagged on to it and has some interesting concepts. Yes, I'll give it that.

    However, game crushing bugs plague this title: e.g. people losing their bank items, slots, gold, skill points, being banned for having duplicate emails sent to them by Zenimax due to a bug THEY created, etc,etc,.

    Thousands of people have been affected (I am not exaggerating). Zenimax's answer? "Fix" the bug, then try to bury the official thread about people who have lost stuff with no compensation (which Zenimax bald-facedly lied about) and then ban accounts.

    Customer support is a joke. They close your ticket after canned responses and do nothing to actually help you. Zenimax obviously outsourced it to a company who is only interested in closing tickets and padding stats and not resolving problems. I've had multiple tickets closed on me with no action taken by Zenimax other than to send me an automated Customer Satisfaction Survey

    I can't recommend this game. It never should have been released in the state it was in. Bugs that plagued the beta all made it into release and then got worse. Patches have helped but it's still unacceptable to release a game in the state it was released in.

    The complete lack of customer service and the lies from their "community managers" just add insult to injury. STAY AWAY FROM THIS GAME!    … Expand
  10. Lirlore
    Apr 13, 2014
    10
    The game is so amazing the lvling it is enjoying i can't believe i am saying it yes you will enjoy to lvl . Every quest is a nice story :)
    The crafting is fun. Don't listen to those haters dont miss one of the best mmo out there :)
    Sorry for my bad English
  11. xVinci
    Apr 5, 2014
    6
    Definitely worth trying out for yourself. No MMO was perfect on launch and a lot will depend on where Zenimax is going with this and what content will be delivered, but I for my part was immediately immersed and I hope that you will too, you will miss out on something if not :)
  12. drstarling
    Apr 22, 2014
    10
    ESO is a very, very good MMO. When you read a review on this site from a user who has scored ESO zero, what you're witnessing is a threatened neckbeard; those wow players who are aware of three things:

    A) they've invested incredible amounts of time and energy into wow. Maybe they've achieved a lot of cultural capital and status on their server. B)Wow subscriptions are inflated, servers    ESO is a very, very good MMO. When you read a review on this site from a user who has scored ESO zero, what you're witnessing is a threatened neckbeard; those wow players who are aware of three things:

    A) they've invested incredible amounts of time and energy into wow. Maybe they've achieved a lot of cultural capital and status on their server.
    B)Wow subscriptions are inflated, servers are closing left right and center, and wow is dying.
    C) elder scrolls is the first MMO that can and will supplant wow as the world's favorite MMO.

    What these users are hoping to do is to bastardize ESO so that you--yes you, the potential wow player, or existing wow player, won't be tempted to leave azeroth. Ignore them; ESO is a better game than wow ever is, was or ever will be. It looks better. It isn't a grind. The combat is more fun and kinesthetically based--this means that no longer will you be beaten by some keyboard warrior who has ten thousand key bindings; it's a level playing field. No cookie cutter specs. No worrying about patches which will nerf the class you're spent a year building into oblivion.

    It's a fresh, new, beautiful world. I played wow from Vanilla, and ESO compared to vanilla wow is like comparing the horse and cart to the ship that landed at roswell. I mean ESO is just so, so much better than that. Yes it has some bugs, and yes they are systematically and rapidly being ironed out. And here's something the devs are doing that blizzard never did and never will do; listening to the community, and trying to work with it--not telling it what should happen. The game is young. It's already great, and it is going to get better. ESO is the most well executed MMO release in history.

    Don't listen to the neckbeards. Get a copy, and go play. The game really, really picks up after level 13. PVP is fantastic. Crafting is fun, not a chore. Profession grinding anybody? Gone. ESO let's you skip the parts you hated about wow, and play the parts you loved about it. It's a great achievement. Here's to the future!    … Expand
  13. Exokaz
    Apr 9, 2014
    10
    Ive played a few other elder scroll games before and ive always enjoyed what those games had to offer, lore, awesome battles, etc. This game isnt bad, but then again there will always be haters for everything. If you enjoyed WoW or the elder scroll games, check this one out. There's one mega server, people need to remember that...especially when they take the servers offline forIve played a few other elder scroll games before and ive always enjoyed what those games had to offer, lore, awesome battles, etc. This game isnt bad, but then again there will always be haters for everything. If you enjoyed WoW or the elder scroll games, check this one out. There's one mega server, people need to remember that...especially when they take the servers offline for maintenance. Worth it to see 100 v 100 v100 battles in pvp… Expand
  14. kurios
    May 16, 2014
    10
    The type of MMO I have been waiting for. One where I can play they way I want and explore where I want. The open class system is terrific, and should be implement in more MMOs, let me play they way I want vs. the way you think I should play. The world is open to exploration, and the NPCs you interact with have varied and interesting conversations. Also, a game that finally awardsThe type of MMO I have been waiting for. One where I can play they way I want and explore where I want. The open class system is terrific, and should be implement in more MMOs, let me play they way I want vs. the way you think I should play. The world is open to exploration, and the NPCs you interact with have varied and interesting conversations. Also, a game that finally awards crafters, by allowing them to produce the best gear, weapons, food, potions, enchantments available, vs solely bing in the province of the uber PvP or Raider.

    On the bad side those are the several quest bugs, group phase problems, and features for shopping at the guild store. For me these are minor problems, myself I only ran into one bug that was patched that week, and can find the stuff I need to buy in the guild store. Most areas are not instanced so you will not have to deal with groups being out of phase, but hopefully it will be addressed and allow the character who has already completed the phase drop back with his grouped partner.

    Overall I never expected them to able to replicate the deep complexities of the sand boxed Elder Scroll games, and was surprised they were able to get so close on MMO platform. I have found it to be very enjoyable, and believe that the future will hold even better things for this game, because the foundation game play is very solid.    … Expand
  15. Alexanderschwed
    Jul 20, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Für mich persönlich, mit Gw2 zusammen, eins der besten MMOrpg die es gibt.

    Die Atmosphäre und Detailgrad ist einzigartig.
    Die Quests sind Abwechslungsreich und mal Traurig und mal Lustig und immer sehr spannend!
    Das AvAvA ist grandios und für mich als Ex-Daocler ein Traum.
    Für mich kommt nur ein P2P Spiel in Frage,weil ich eigentlich jedes F2p durch habe und sie teilen sich eines "Schlechte Community" "L2P Kids" usw*
    Ich finde diese Paywall ganz erfrischend und finde es das beste Geschäftsmodell,denn im Leben gibt es nichts umsonst!
    Wer regelmäßig Content will,muss eben Zahlen.

    Ihr solltet es antesten und einfach ausprobieren und euch nicht an die Reviews halten. Denn ihr selber entscheidet !

    Ich bereue keinen Euro und zahle regelmäßig mein Abo seitdem es raus ist und habe viel Spaß im Spiel.    … Expand
  16. Poper
    Jul 31, 2014
    0
    Bethesda tryed to rush this game out without ewen polishing it . Maybe they needed fast money because the game costs 60 dolars + monthly fee. Bethesda didn't have any experience with masive multiplayer they took a leap of faith for this game and it failed. if you love the elder scrols game lore don't play this game it destroys it completely deletes it just wait for tes 6 it will be moreBethesda tryed to rush this game out without ewen polishing it . Maybe they needed fast money because the game costs 60 dolars + monthly fee. Bethesda didn't have any experience with masive multiplayer they took a leap of faith for this game and it failed. if you love the elder scrols game lore don't play this game it destroys it completely deletes it just wait for tes 6 it will be more worth the money.… Expand
  17. Plagued
    Apr 4, 2014
    9
    All of the negative reviews I've seen so far are such BS. 1 guy claims this game is a WoW clone... this game is SOOOO far from a WoW clone it's ridiculous. If you think that an MMO that has leveling, and swords and magic is a WoW clone, I guess you're right.

    Another guy gives a negative review because of some Customer Support issues? Sure, it sucks to have bad customer service... but    All of the negative reviews I've seen so far are such BS. 1 guy claims this game is a WoW clone... this game is SOOOO far from a WoW clone it's ridiculous. If you think that an MMO that has leveling, and swords and magic is a WoW clone, I guess you're right.

    Another guy gives a negative review because of some Customer Support issues? Sure, it sucks to have bad customer service... but having issues the day of launch is expected, and putting a negative review because of something that isn't even related to any of the game's development, gameplay or anything... ludicrous.

    Does the game have problems, sure. Is the game 100% unique, pretty sure that it's been proven mathematically that there is almost 0 ideas that haven't been thought of before. Is the game fun? Definitely, and it gets far better after you put in more than 20 minutes into it. Exploration and unique play styles abound.    … Expand
  18. Toxicsix
    Apr 7, 2014
    10
    This will be a review in progress. Starting with a 10 because this game is the best i have played to date and I see so many zero's that it drives me crazy that people can even give something a score like that when they haven't even played through the content. Going to leave you with a few points that I posted on another discussion.

    1) You can play without being consumed by the HUD.    This will be a review in progress. Starting with a 10 because this game is the best i have played to date and I see so many zero's that it drives me crazy that people can even give something a score like that when they haven't even played through the content. Going to leave you with a few points that I posted on another discussion.

    1) You can play without being consumed by the HUD. Most immersive MMO to date.
    2) Voice acted quests that are well delivered. Don't want to be smacked in the face with walls of quest text any more? This could be for you!
    3) Crafting that is actually engaging and relevant.
    4) Character creation that is diverse enough that I don't see clones of myself everywhere. that what killed WS for me =(
    5) Combat system that actually requires you to think. I have played a tank in every mmo and the sword and board feel amazing.

    Currently Level 12 and I will update at 25, 50, and then post 50 impressions.
    I am huge into pvp and I havent even experienced it yet but will keep you posted.    … Expand
  19. TheSpiralAim
    Apr 10, 2014
    8
    The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG following the Theme Park model started by Everquest back in the day. I wouldn't really call it a WoW clone since it's really just one way of presenting an MMORPG, and if you get down to it WoW is an EQ clone. That being said let's take a real look at TESO.
    TESO presents itself with some of the paradigms the game has had since TES III: Morrowind. It    The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG following the Theme Park model started by Everquest back in the day. I wouldn't really call it a WoW clone since it's really just one way of presenting an MMORPG, and if you get down to it WoW is an EQ clone. That being said let's take a real look at TESO.
    TESO presents itself with some of the paradigms the game has had since TES III: Morrowind. It has the TES theme arranged in a new way but still familiar, and that is always a bonus. After the character is made and one's faction is selected you start... as a prisoner, go figure. The Player even has to find their way out of a starting dungeon, a thing that was a trend in four of The Elder Scrolls games. So I can give them bonuses for sticking to their tried and true model of throwing the player into the world.
    The villain of the game is one many TES fans should be familiar with and this will make most players smile a little hearing and seeing a familiar name. The story presents itself like a single player game and like any TES game might. Every few levels the player is summoned to speak with the Prophet and deal with the problems caused by the villain. The overland questing is fun, and doesn't really feel like the standard progress questing found commonly in Theme Park style MMORPGs.
    There are some beautiful charms to the game, as well as fantastic choices in voice actors. The best example of this is a gentleman named Cadwell that is met in the starter dungeon. He is voiced by John Cleese! The graphics are very impressive and fluid feeling for an MMORPG, with some exceptions on how the arrows look when fired from the bow.
    The game play is dynamic and fluid, which is a departure from most Theme Park MMORPGs. The fact one has to aim(Mostly) and move around a whole lot, has made the group dungeon content very interesting. There is also the ability to switch weapon, and with it your abilities chosen for your hot bar. This can become frustrating at times, since one only has five hot bar slots, and a lot more fun abilities to use than one can slot, even with the ability to switch weapons.
    The crafting is nice but, doesn't really feel that necessary until higher levels, and some of them are actually rather difficult to level up. One bonus to this crafting system is the ability to make armors and weapons that look like whichever race's style--providing you have the racial motif. There is a great deal of frustration involved with upgraded pieces as well, it seems that I destroy more than I upgrade, even when I have a 90% chance of success.
    While I haven't noticed too many things I don't like, other than way too many people being on around me, nothing stands out too sharply either, it's just a fun fluid feeling MMORPG. This is a great break from the older more standard models like WoW, EQ2, Rift, EQ ect... I'd recommend it to anyone who wants a Theme Park style MMORPG but more modern than previous examples.

    While fun I'm giving this an 8/10. When I find the perfect MMO I'll give it a 10 but, I have a feeling that'll never happen... EVER. Also nothing deserve's a 0... even SWG had merit to give it a score higher than not.    … Expand
  20. 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.
  21. max_lives
    Apr 8, 2014
    3
    Let’s get some things out of the way first:

    This is neither the best TES experience, nor is it the best MMO experience. Of all the things I’ve disagreed with over previous TES games, the opinion that the graphics are amazing is top of the list. While I really enjoy playing through each Elder Scrolls title, the characters, the materials used on scenery (glossy bricks overload!) and    Let’s get some things out of the way first:

    This is neither the best TES experience, nor is it the best MMO experience.

    Of all the things I’ve disagreed with over previous TES games, the opinion that the graphics are amazing is top of the list. While I really enjoy playing through each Elder Scrolls title, the characters, the materials used on scenery (glossy bricks overload!) and the terribly ropey voice and motion capture acting all put a knot in my stomach when I first start playing. But hey, I forget about it after a while and get down to just enjoying the freedom and little side-stories that are going on.

    Now, the graphics in ESO for me are much, much better. Unfortunately, after you’ve gotten over the graphics, the stuff that makes TES games so endearing and involving - the “meat”, isn’t there. The progression-style gameplay and hand-holding takes away all real sense of adventure, and while you can still just go off and explore, don’t expect to be able to enjoy the fruits of your explorations until you’ve gone back to where you came from and followed the breadcrumbs until they lead you to these amazing places you’ve discovered.

    Which aren’t amazing. Most public dungeons are carbon copies of one another - a small circuit, sometimes ending in a Shard - which makes me wonder if the only purpose of these places is to stop lower level adventurers (yes, you, you dirty explorer types!) from farming shards.

    Some of the group dungeons are interesting, until you’ve done them once and realise that actually they’re really a-b-c. There’s no intelligent thought behind them, and when puzzles (cartographic or mental) are present, they’re of the tic-tac-toe variety you expect to find in airport crossword puzzle books. Dungeon Master has more to offer.

    Above ground things aren’t much better. Kill X rats is replaced with Rescue X Guan, or X prisoners, or X *insert bright new idea here*. The point is, there is still copious use of # / # in the Quest Tracker.

    Quest Tracker.The worst quest tracking system I’ve ever seen in any game, single or multiplayer. When you pick up a new quest, or hand in a milestone on a quest you’re on, the tracker changes to highlight something else. Support helpfully informed me to press T to cycle through the quests. Thanks for that. How many quests do you have in your Journal?

    The UI in general is a nightmare. We invented floating windows for a reason, people. FullScreen mode for every-single-aspect of character and inventory management is like stepping back to the ‘80’s. I don’t care if it’s for console too… I’m a PC MMOer and we’re your bread & butter, fools.

    And Chat. Well, you have /zone and you have your /g# guild chats. That’s it. Because there’s no public AH, everyone spams /zone with their WTT messages. So technically /zone is mostly spam. Meanwhile, because everyone can join 5 guilds, /g# is often either dead, or filled with the worst offenders of /zone. I’ve found one guild which isn’t like that, and I like em, but 95% of the people shown as online don’t respond to chat because they’re only listening to some *other* guild … their presence in this guild is only so they can access the guild bank & store. Don’t ask about chat lag…is it 2014 or 1992?

    Crafting is quite good. Anyone can make anything, so you don’t need to worry about selling in a few months.

    Combat blows. I died 3 times last night because the hotkey input was lagging … movement and combat are in separate packets it appears, so you can find yourself able to move but not fight (and NPCs don’t care, pew pew).

    3/10 .. 2 points deducted for wasting $200 on this thing, which is the most galling part of it all.    … Expand
  22. awais142
    May 5, 2014
    3
    An elder scrolls game thats trying too hard to be an elder scrolls game and an mmorpg, cant make its mind up. Graphics are dull textured, the gold you get off enemies is ridiculously low, horses cost way to much and they made sure of that by limiting the gold income from grind. Game is disgusting in party grouping, you cant help other people quest that you have done, so you just watch themAn elder scrolls game thats trying too hard to be an elder scrolls game and an mmorpg, cant make its mind up. Graphics are dull textured, the gold you get off enemies is ridiculously low, horses cost way to much and they made sure of that by limiting the gold income from grind. Game is disgusting in party grouping, you cant help other people quest that you have done, so you just watch them do it on thier own, wtf is the point in grouping for quests then??

    Once again, a game trailer misrepresenting a mission with the cinematic to this quest with an epic invasion of daedric army, which of course only consisting of only 2 enemies ingame at a time and having them greet you like its just another sunny day at the beach really? Tricking your fans with trailers is just sad. Many areas you see people just waiting to kill a boss, where the hell is the innovating combat ? You just wait around for major enemies to spawn during a quest line, its disgusting and very boring. Entire game feels like a borefest, very soon to go free to play in no time.    … Expand
  23. CountryPetInn
    Apr 7, 2014
    8
    It is fun to level and it seems like there is no grinding to speak of (gather 10 turtle shells). It's fun to explore and the npc character acting is decent too (LOTRO was missing that and was boring me to go to bed too early) I give it an 8 because there are still areas I'm having trouble trying to figure out.
  24. aXBlackDeathXa
    Apr 7, 2014
    8
    Ok wow where to start? Most of these reviews I'm reading are way off base (both positive and negative). Let me start with saying the MetaCritic score (83) - at this time - is a fair score for this game. The game is not a 10 and it's certainly not a 5 or lower.
    I am not paid, reimbursed, or work for anything "industry related". I’m a 30+ year old father of two who actually played the    Ok wow where to start? Most of these reviews I'm reading are way off base (both positive and negative). Let me start with saying the MetaCritic score (83) - at this time - is a fair score for this game. The game is not a 10 and it's certainly not a 5 or lower.
    I am not paid, reimbursed, or work for anything "industry related". I’m a 30+ year old father of two who actually played the last three beta's and purchased the Imperial Edition of the game.
    Having 200+ hours into Skyrim I can honestly say ESO does a fairly solid job mixing that Skyrim first person adventurer with that MMO feel. However what it does not do is excel at either. If you are a hardcore PvP player chances are you're not going to like ESO. You can’t just troll low level areas and “gank noobs”. If you are a hardcore Skyrim player chances are you may like ESO.

    What I like: Awesome PVE experience, areas, towns, dungeons are well laid out. The writing and acting for the quests is very well done. It's easy to navigate and the only real thing keeping you in one specific area from another, are the level of mobs around there. I have yet to see game breaking lag even in densely populated areas - including PVP / Cyrodiil. I REALLY enjoy the “look for group” feature. This is a great idea and its executed well. If you’re outside a dungeon or instance and looking for players to team up with…instead of spamming chat looking for folks you simply go into the group interface of the game, click the search icon, refine the search by filling out drop down menus related to size of group, areas, or specific dungeons / instances. You can even filter based on roles (tank, healer, dps, etc.) Like Skyrim you can get lost in the PVE experience and not even touch PVP if you so desire.
    What needs work: There are still some minor annoyances. Some quests are still bugged and prevent progress - this is exceptionally frustrating when you could be in the 5th part of a 6 part quest. However since go live I've only had one quest not fix itself by just logging out and back in. Another nuisance is having group members not in the same "game instance". Instead you see them just as a floating arrow. In fact what they see on their screen will actually vary from what you're seeing (in terms of lootable items, etc.) It would be nice to see some UI / inventory

    Neither here nor there: Since the game does not force you down specific class / race paths you are open to design your character essentially any way you see fit. One issue with this is if you’re looking to specialize in crafting the enormous amounts of resources involved quickly fill up pack and bank space. You will easily find yourself creating mule characters just to retain crafting materials.

    Conclusion: Did I buy the game – yes. Do I have any buyer’s remorse – absolutely not. Although Zenimax does offer some marginal discounts for buying advanced chunks of subscription time I was really hoping to see some sort of “family plan” implemented. For those old farts like myself who actually like to game with their kids, this title will break the bank! Three copies of the game ($120 – 180) 6 months subscription for 3 players ($250). 6 month sub discounted 13.99/mo = $83 per player every 6 months.
    ESO gets an easy 8 out of 10 from me.    … Expand
  25. Stardog2537
    Apr 11, 2014
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I am writing this review based upon my impressions of the game shortly before launch as I was a Beta participant. Having said that, some of the content I've rated/discussed here may have been changed. My disappointment was such that I created an account here just for the purpose of writing this review. Sorry for the wall of text in advance.

    The writing is horrible. The AI is awful. If I were to make a Twitch stream it would be a comedy, and not only because of my dumb mistakes. I can tell that they responded to feedback I gave on previous beta weekend events, but I can also say that the game is actually less impressive now than it was when I first tested it. I’m not sure how that’s even possible. The player choices are all inconsequential. The NPC motives are foggy at best. HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD (all from the first 6 levels of play).

    Reasons I Hated This Game:

    Reason 1: Here, you stranger, I am a commander in this army and I can’t make a decision to save my life about some undead peeps wandering about of late. You look as good as any other passing stranger, why not come and tell me how to do my job. Thank you very much. Which commander am I? Take your pick, because apparently there is no shortage of officers here who cannot make a decision without asking for help and advice from any wanderer who happens by.

    Reason 2: Hey, you’re new here. Before you set one foot inside this city of mine, I need to know if you’ll follow me and begin your next quest. Now choose. What? Oh those objective markers we’re passing on the way to my oh-so-important goal? Just ignore them until it’s too late to do anything about them, or you can stop following me to check them out and get lost on the way. Oh, and when we get there, I’ll tell you to wait outside while in reality I want you to follow me inside. And once inside, some silly noble is going to ask you to kill some of his ancestors and rob their tomb. And then you’ll be asked again if you want to follow the next guy in the quest as he leads the way past other things you might like to investigate on your way to your next quest marker. But don’t worry, we’re not trying to force you into a linear play style or anything.

    Reason 3: Look, you’re dead and I’m not. But don’t worry, I’m eventually going to sacrifice my own freedom so you can get out of this awful place, even though we’ve just met. Oh, and don’t worry about me when we get to those spear traps. I’ll be sure to go and stand right on top of them even though we will both watch them pop up and down repeatedly beforehand. They won’t kill me anyway because apparently nothing can here. Just watch.

    Reason 4: Look, you’ve been unconscious for a bit because you apparently had some accident before turning up on our island, but you obviously can handle jobs that my entire company couldn’t take care of, so why don’t you run around like an errand boy and personal goon for a few days because nobody else around here is clearly as capable as you, Mr. Washed-Up-On-The-Shore-and-Laid-Up-In-Bed-Until-5-Minutes-Ago…

    Reason 5: Yay! You’re our hero! You saved the fort, Mr. Stranger! Apparently killing 5 or 6 weak and uninspiring mobs was a job that nobody else in the entire fort could handle, so thank you for saving us all! Yay!

    Reason 6: Hey, you! Yeah, you! Get this… even though you’re this awesome amazing nobody who can save everybody, if you want to do some dirty work for money, go steal me a bottle of liquor from some guy because clearly anyone interested in the art of acquisitions must also have nothing better to do than take unimportant nothings from unimportant nobodies for shiftless losers who are too lazy to go and steal it themselves.

    Reason 7: Hello Mr. Mysterious-Sounding-Nickname, I know that flashbacks are horrible methods of sharing boring exposition in all sorts of fiction, so I’m not going to give you a flashback to clue you… I’m going to force you to wander through one of MY flashbacks instead. Why? Because boring exposition is so much more fun when you’re beat about the head and shoulders with it and forced to endure it to completion. Because even though you have no clue who these people are and why they are here, I want you to care about them. NOW CARE, DARN YOU, CARE!!!!    … Expand
  26. geormigk
    Apr 11, 2014
    10
    Fantastic game fresh start to mmo genre and something different than click and play. Thegraphics are stunning and the quests deep...The pvp is also a great experience
  27. jay6426
    Aug 31, 2016
    6
    Originally many negative reviews came from players who wanted another ES game and not a MMO. I was very excited at the start and played for a couple months, but the game failed to deliver the gameplay in quests, dungeons, pvp and exploring that other games have offered.
  28. BrokenMan
    May 13, 2014
    0
    Эта игра полностью разрушила все мои надежды на хоть какую-нибудь принадлежность к серии The Elder Scrolls. Первое, что я увидел, войдя в игру - это плохая анимация персонажей. Второе - ну просто отвратительная система боя. Хуже я нигде не видел. Про луки вообще и говорить не стоит. Оказавшись на Нирне, нас начинают грузить невообразимым количеством квестов, бессмысленных и нудных. А доЭта игра полностью разрушила все мои надежды на хоть какую-нибудь принадлежность к серии The Elder Scrolls. Первое, что я увидел, войдя в игру - это плохая анимация персонажей. Второе - ну просто отвратительная система боя. Хуже я нигде не видел. Про луки вообще и говорить не стоит. Оказавшись на Нирне, нас начинают грузить невообразимым количеством квестов, бессмысленных и нудных. А до какой степени нудны все эти разговоры... Я скажу, что если слушать/читать всё, что нам говорят, узнавать от разных персонажей какую-нибудь информацию, вы почувствуете себя на уроке истории, который не будет заканчиваться никогда. Хотелось бы добавить единственное замечание про графику. Она не оптимизирована. По моему мнению, Skyrim выглядел бы намного лучше и там было бы в три раза большее FPS. Вообщем, ваши заслуженные ноль баллов, Bethesda. Ах, да, учитывая всё это, она стоит просто огромных денег. Это позор.… Expand
  29. Spryngsnowstorm
    Apr 11, 2014
    8
    Preface

    In general, I don’t like MMORPGs. The auto-combat is boring. Grinding is boring. The quests are boring. Everyone looks the same. I’ve never gotten to end-game (because of the boring), but I have seen friends having epic 30 person fights with giant beasties and it seems more like doing math and less like playing a game. I’m just not into it. Therefore, this review is only    Preface

    In general, I don’t like MMORPGs. The auto-combat is boring. Grinding is boring. The quests are boring. Everyone looks the same. I’ve never gotten to end-game (because of the boring), but I have seen friends having epic 30 person fights with giant beasties and it seems more like doing math and less like playing a game. I’m just not into it. Therefore, this review is only applicable to the low levels of the game and my impressions thus far. I don’t have a lot of experience, but I want to explain why I like this MMORPG.

    I love the Elder Scrolls series, which I picked up at Morrowind and never looked back, so I was a sucker for the game world. That’s what convinced me to try it in the first place. I was hopeful but also skeptical. With nothing to lose (my roommate who loves MMORPGs let me make a character on his account to see how it felt), I dove in.

    Actual Review

    Character creation was a blast. It’s one of my favorite parts of a game. I had been disappointed with the limitations MMOs had concerning look. This time I was glad to see an aspect of ES games carried over (my strong hope being that much of the feel of the games translated [and it did]) in the character creation station. Oh, the glorious sliders! I’ve made 3 characters and they each took 30+ minutes to make and they don’t look like everyone else. I was off to a good start.

    The tutorial was a little ambiguous. Some things only brought up an explanation if you happened to click on it. Most of the tutorial was meant to teach you how to equip a weapon and fight with a rudimentary understanding of the battle system. The narrative broke down a little bit as I was being rushed through with this sense of urgency, but then there are 20+ urns with stuff to loot all over the place.

    So I got free and was in one of the faction’s starting isles. This was something that bothered me. I want to play a Kajit, but I wanted to be on the same team as my friend. It was not clear to me that the races can only be in their assigned faction (unless I had spent more money on an upgraded account), so I played this character for 5 levels before my friend tells me he never saw that island and I’m not on his team. Damn it! So I can either play the race I want OR play with my friend. I made another character.

    Time to talk about combat. This is one of the major selling points for me. It’s point and click per hit, rather than auto-fighting. It livens up the experience and requires more of my attention. Also, the first person option is another carryover I was happy to see. For a lot of the time it feels like playing single player as far as combat. The controls were already familiar to me, so I got the hang of it quickly. I’m not a fan of hotkeys, but it’s a symptom of not being able to pause which is my #1 hang up about MMOs, but there’s nothing for it.

    That leads me to my next smiley face, XP distribution, aka Freedom From Grinding. Killing things is fun and sometimes necessary, but that’s not going to get me levels or gold. Missions and little story lines are what this is all about. Yes, the missions start out somewhat trite, but they’re clever and cute and not “go get me 10 of these” level of banal. You know where you’re going, what you’re doing, and there’s an at least moderately compelling reason you’re doing it.

    Also in the realm of XP, I am so grateful for the shared kills. We get the same XP and the same loot if we take something down together, making this a co-op venture. There’s not petty squabbling about who gets the stuff or the kill. I feel a camaraderie when I see someone else is on the same path, killing the same things. We have each other’s backs because there’s no reason not to. There’s no more trepidation when I’m playing peak hours because, “Cool, other people to enjoy this experience with!”

    Crafting is another thing I love. At first I was daunted by all the huge amounts of instruction, but then I read through a bunch of forums and wikis. Turns out explaining the system is more complicated than the system itself. I was hoping for a little more visual customization, but there are enough mechanics (many, but simple) involved. (I saw someone in a Kajit helmet and I Want It!! I’ll be learning that racial armor style since I can’t be a Kajit because I’m broke [whine].)

    To sum up, EOS is a MMORPG I don’t hate, and that’s a glowing recommendation in my book. I’ve always wanted to be able to quest with my friends, but been too annoyed with game play to get there. Now if I can get my friend to stop leveling until I can catch up, I’ll be set.

    Thank you, Bethesda.    … Expand
  30. Lillepekka
    Apr 25, 2014
    1
    Game is still beta, a horrible buggy mess.
    Customer service is full of roleplaying trolls.

    PvP is crap. Just grind your ass to lvl 60 and defeat your opponent by looking in their general direction and undress and gently touch the number keys with your balls.
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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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