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

    Seriously, you will hate everything about this game. Do not buy it.    … Expand
  2. Blockz888
    Mar 22, 2015
    2
    3 months subscribed and I gotta say.. ESOTU still lacks value.. While everything is new, when you begin the game its great, its awesome! the newness creates immersion and I think for one to enjoy something you have to be immersed! but once you passed that butterfly phase you will quickly lose interest because the game is generally not immersive. As both MMO and Story based. Sadly that is3 months subscribed and I gotta say.. ESOTU still lacks value.. While everything is new, when you begin the game its great, its awesome! the newness creates immersion and I think for one to enjoy something you have to be immersed! but once you passed that butterfly phase you will quickly lose interest because the game is generally not immersive. As both MMO and Story based. Sadly that is the reason it will fail. It has many great ideas but they havent stood to standards, crossed the line many time for "money".There isnt a really clear msg to what eso is about? Its just this mix of elder scrolls content, place for you to do stuff but thats about it! It obvious, if they were doing well they wouldnt of switched to b2p. If you feel like playing it, I say try it out! Im sure you will enjoy it but I am also sure you will lose interest once you get past the butterfly phase. With every game that has existed you will always end up leaving it, but you will either leave satisfied or unsatisfied. ESOTU is definitely an unsatisfied experience... :(… Expand
  3. MaesterBest
    Mar 7, 2015
    0
    Nothing like any of the other Elder Scrolls games at all. If you want to play somthing that feels more like an ES game, play Guild Wars 2. This is just so horrible, i had such fate in this game.
  4. YGint
    May 3, 2014
    1
    Played all beta days shockingly poor game.
    If you have a console then its much better as the game is dumbed down combat to make it work with console payers.
    Fight mechanics are a joke its not inventive its just poor. If you are like me a P.C player avoid this game till it goes Free To Play which will be soon. I love Elder Scrolls games this is not an Elder Scroll game. Joke of an MMO    Played all beta days shockingly poor game.
    If you have a console then its much better as the game is dumbed down combat to make it work with console payers.
    Fight mechanics are a joke its not inventive its just poor.
    If you are like me a P.C player avoid this game till it goes Free To Play which will be soon.
    I love Elder Scrolls games this is not an Elder Scroll game.
    Joke of an MMO I fortunately never had to pay the unbelievable start up costs thank God.
    Good points
    Decent not Nex Gen but decent graphics
    Bad points
    Clueless wanderlust of headless quest seeking completely directionless.
    Worst P.C fight mechanics no skill necessary at all therefore forget a challenge there is none (game mechanics great if you are a console masher and have no skills)
    You are paying a subscription and purchase price to Beta Test a game for a company who have no clue in MMO's
    Or you can believe the fanboys and paid reviewing lackeys    … Expand
  5. John_Mullins
    Apr 28, 2014
    4
    I have now spent over 2 weeks in the game, a week of attempts at solid playtime.. and the second week desperately trying to convince myself to even click the .exe file to load the game. Even after doing so, my play time gets less and less each load up.

    Ignore the "OMG THIS GAME IS TEH BEST EVAH!" reviews on here.. seriously. Your gold prices are absolutely INSANE. Seriously. My    I have now spent over 2 weeks in the game, a week of attempts at solid playtime.. and the second week desperately trying to convince myself to even click the .exe file to load the game. Even after doing so, my play time gets less and less each load up.

    Ignore the "OMG THIS GAME IS TEH BEST EVAH!" reviews on here.. seriously.

    Your gold prices are absolutely INSANE. Seriously. My level 10 Templar just got a 2,000 GOLD REPAIR BILL.. at level TEN. TEN. As in, 1 and 0. TEN. What the ()*#%$ is this crap?! 17k for ONE horse... you're kidding me right?

    Third - While I applaud your battle against spambots, you guys simply aren't doing enough. WHY do I have to ignore a bot, THEN report a bot, THEN type and select dropdown menus, THEN submit the repot, THEN wait around for confirmation? Go play WoW. Take a page from their book. (please, Im BEGGING you at this point..) Click name - Report Spam. BAM. DONE. Instantly Reported/Screenshot/Ignored. All in ONE mouse click. ONE. This is 2014, not 1998. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm working with DoS just to submit a spambot report. DON'T turn into FFXIV ARR and just put this on the back burner.. THIS NEEDS ADDRESSED ASAP.

    Fourth - Spambots are annoying... Bots FLOODING dungeon bosses are even more so. Seriously. My wife and I cannot complete a SINGLE dungeon because of the 30+ Bots named IHSDHSCBHA and ASCFRFJSAS using Templar Spear. Honestly, it's so beyond annoying that it's becoming outright anger inducing at this point.

    Fifth - This is why almost EVERY MMO moved far far away from "public" dungeons ala EverQuest 1998, "Camping" mobs, idiot trains, and a flood of bot farming kills any sense of "immersion." Not to mention there is ZERO challenge involved in any of them due to the fact there is a constant congo line of players running in and out.. so no mobs are ever up to actually FIGHT. IT IS 110% MIND-NUMBINGLY BORING.

    Sixth - Mages suck. Im sorry, I hate to say it.. I dont WANT to say it.. but it's true. They are absolutely TERRIBLE. Unless you take a VERY specific skill selection (freedom of customization is OUT the window for a mage.) you are 100% useless. 99.99% of the time, Im out of mana before I've killed the 2nd mob on a 3 mob pull.. I guess I just tell jokes to the last mob and hope it dies laughing? Meanwhile the Templar/Nightblade/Dragonknight are still wailing away full power with no downtime.

    Seventh - Have I mentioned yet the gold prices in this game are absolutely jacked up beyond all human reason and comprehension? Seriously. When It costs 100 gold to MAIL an item to someone... YOU. ARE. WRONG. 10 Gold JUST to send a regular mail is obnoxious to begin with.. but ADDING massive amounts of gold cost for EACH item sent in said mail is just plain stupid. Flat cost, with a SMALL fee PER item sent, NOT a ridiculous fee per VALUE of item sent.

    The game's grouping is a COMPLETE disaster, utterly boring, buggy and just plain tedious. The Dungeons are the EXACT same way.. the "bosses" are a joke, no challenge, no excitement.. nothing.

    No housing, no wives/husbands, no kids, no pets.. armor designs are bland, brown, and look like stuff I saw in Morrowind 20 years ago.. with about as much enthusiasm.

    No Stealing, no assassinations, no crime.. NOTHING. There is NO "Choice" here. You do WHAT they say, WHEN they say it. PERIOD.

    There is no UI, no nameplates, no way to tell good from bad from merchant or beggar. You waste AGES just trying to figure out which NPC's sell what and where.. the entire time you could be doing something actually FUN instead. Using the weak ass excuse of "immersion" as a smoke screen for their absolute failure to realize what an MMO is actually SUPPOSED to be.

    There is NO Customization for 3 of the 4 classes. Especially mages. Want to be a pure storm mage? #(*$ You. You're useless. Want to focus on a healing staff and Dark Magic? (#$# You. YOU'RE USELESS! Want to just summon Daedric minions with some cool storm powers? .. yeah.. you already know where it's going. USELESS. What happened to summoning weapons, armor etc. What happened to the ACTUAL mage SPELLS?!

    The WORST part is you are supposed to be "The CHOSEN ONE! OMG!" ... again.. for the 10,000th game... only now.. there's 2 million+ other "CHOSEN ONES!" running around right next to you.

    This is a cookie cutter mmo with NO free trial and a LIMITED access Beta to steal as much money as possible before it goes Free to play in 6 months once the word gets out how absolutely terrible it actually is. Maybe less.    … Expand
  6. Wolfport
    Apr 16, 2014
    9
    This is the first MMO in recent years that seems specifically targeted for a gamer like me. I love The Elder Scrolls games and I also enjoy MMOs. I also feel like the RPG component is missing in most MMOs these days. Elder Scrolls Online provides an incredibly immersive experience with its beautiful visuals and artwork. The musical score is fantastic and I very much enjoy the level ofThis is the first MMO in recent years that seems specifically targeted for a gamer like me. I love The Elder Scrolls games and I also enjoy MMOs. I also feel like the RPG component is missing in most MMOs these days. Elder Scrolls Online provides an incredibly immersive experience with its beautiful visuals and artwork. The musical score is fantastic and I very much enjoy the level of detail put into this world. It is so beautifully crafted.

    In most MMOs it's common to skip the quest dialogue and rush ahead. One can truly savor this game by listening to the NPCs and following their stories. I have fallen in love with the lore of this game and players do get to make choices within quests that can change the outcome of events and NPCs may remember your choices and interact with you differently.

    Though there are only 4 classes to choose from, one can make any of the four classes a healer, a damage dealer or a tank. There are a tremendous amount of skill lines a player can pick and choose from and this already rich system will just become richer when future guild skill lines are added such as from the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood Guild.

    Usually I can take or leave crafting in an MMO, though I am finding crafting in ESO to be very enjoyable. As someone who is actively crafting in the game, there is a lack of storage space for crafting materials and players who craft will spend an inordinate amount of time dealing with managing their inventory. For this reason I am deducting a point from the score.

    For those who enjoy some Player Versus Player action, there is Cyrodiil. It's a vast area where a player can also do PvE, complete quests and explore. It is optional to enter Cyrodiil and no one is forced to if they don't enjoy fighting other players. I have had a blast in my time in Cyrodiil so far.

    For me this game has a great deal of longevity and so far the community is very good.    … Expand
  7. Gabriellogan
    Apr 20, 2014
    9
    For starters this game is worth playing. I have been an avid PC computer gamer for 20+ years, played every MMO under the sun and played all the Elder Scrolls games.

    There are bugs and some are rather annoying but you can get over/around them 99% of the time. As I have seen written in another review " This game is not for everyone" I agree you really have to be a fan of TES and MMOs to    For starters this game is worth playing. I have been an avid PC computer gamer for 20+ years, played every MMO under the sun and played all the Elder Scrolls games.

    There are bugs and some are rather annoying but you can get over/around them 99% of the time.
    As I have seen written in another review " This game is not for everyone" I agree you really have to be a fan of TES and MMOs to get the most out of this game.

    As for a lot of people in the negative reviews I have just read, all I can see if people saying that it is too hard? seriously? I say make games harder give me a challenge I do not want to be spoon fed. I set myself challenges all the way through I would try to keep quests and enemies at least 3-5 levels higher than me, did I have a problem killing them or bosses solo? No not at all. I hate to be saying this but the people who are finding the game too hard perhaps you are not that good a gamer?

    Yes some quests are bugged and don't get me wrong it really annoys me that sometimes they are broken but there is so much content within the game that it really does not break the game, at least not for me.

    This voice acting in the main quest chains is great and I found myself really paying attention and taking in all the story, as I said before you need to be a Elder Scrolls fan and a fan of the lore.

    To another point the pvp is amazing fun from level 10 onwards you can join the war and you will be scaled up so you are not just a useless low level.

    The way the crafting system works is a real breath of fresh air, yeah it copies a few other systems from different games but it has enough of its own charm to really endear me to it.

    As for the lack of diversity in builds or how you form your class to your own playing style there is not much limitation at all, the only limitation you get is if you choose one class you get one set of three skill lines designed for your class but you have all weapon skill lines open to you, all NPC guild/faction skill lines open to you and goodness know how many combinations you can make to form what your perfect tool set is, ALSO you can at level 15 have two sets of weapons equip and you get another active skill bar for that weapon set, so your primary weapons and skill are exactly that, your primary, but the second set can be a "utility belt" idea so as far as not having enough active skill 10 is enough for me plus two ultimates.

    As for the quests being the "same old hat" I would say to the people saying that, you have obviously not explored the game I have found some hilarious quests and some really cool ones.

    To sum up this game is worth it and remember as with any MMO it IS the community you play with/against that marks a great MMO.    … Expand
  8. ravenclaw77
    May 17, 2014
    4
    Level 8, 6 hours /played. Extremely disappointing. Combat is boring, I prefer WoW / LotRO / RIFT / FF XIV style. Story is weak for Zenimax / Bethesda. Hard to know where to go or what to do at times. Still lots of bots, lots of vulgar language, lots of gold spammers. Feels strongly as if the developers vastly under-estimated how much work was necessary to make a good MMORPG. Going back toLevel 8, 6 hours /played. Extremely disappointing. Combat is boring, I prefer WoW / LotRO / RIFT / FF XIV style. Story is weak for Zenimax / Bethesda. Hard to know where to go or what to do at times. Still lots of bots, lots of vulgar language, lots of gold spammers. Feels strongly as if the developers vastly under-estimated how much work was necessary to make a good MMORPG. Going back to RIFT because it has fun and challenging combat, top-notch PvP, Great co-op dynamic content, fantastic instances, and a great amount of personal customization / character builds. This game tremendously hurt my view of one of my favorite developers.… Expand
  9. thierry83
    May 16, 2014
    0
    Well what i tink
    Game is still beta, a horrible buggy mess.
    Customer service is full of roleplaying trolls.
    TESO can be recommended only to the fans of the genre, who accept its flaws: repetitiveness, not very exciting combat and lots of simplifications. This "Skyrim online" is well made, but not very original.
  10. ToughCrowd
    Jul 24, 2014
    3
    ESO is a true flop of its genre. The rough gameplay makes for a unenjoyable experience. While the animation is somewhat groundbreaking, it lacks energy and the voice overs are rather grainy. Voids in the structure and plot of the game create a very unlikeable atmosphere. Having played previous elder scrolls titles Online strayed from the traditional lore that made me fall in love with theESO is a true flop of its genre. The rough gameplay makes for a unenjoyable experience. While the animation is somewhat groundbreaking, it lacks energy and the voice overs are rather grainy. Voids in the structure and plot of the game create a very unlikeable atmosphere. Having played previous elder scrolls titles Online strayed from the traditional lore that made me fall in love with the series. It's saddening to see such a disappointing product from a favourite developer. All in all, Zenimax's first outing into the world of MMORPGs was an anticlimax. Perhaps their next venture may bring some more success, but for now I look forward to what they can do with their minds trained on the franchise.… Expand
  11. D0n0van
    Sep 1, 2014
    3
    This game broke my heart.
    All the hype, all the years of wishes........ and it turns out to be a shoddy and greedy grab for fan$ dollars.
    It was like a bad relationship break up. I was sad, angry and just felt empty inside. And no one cared when you cried about the servers always being down during prime time in Australia. OR that all the servers were flooded with hackers and bots.    This game broke my heart.
    All the hype, all the years of wishes........ and it turns out to be a shoddy and greedy grab for fan$ dollars.

    It was like a bad relationship break up.
    I was sad, angry and just felt empty inside.
    And no one cared when you cried about the servers always being down during prime time in Australia.
    OR that all the servers were flooded with hackers and bots.

    Trying to quest with friends is as much fun as installing windows on an old pc using 50 floppys.
    Why did they make it so hard and unreliable?

    I hope the people behind this game feel bad for what they did to the elder scrolls.
    It really is a crime against a video game franchise.    … Expand
  12. 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
  13. ginnk
    May 4, 2014
    3
    Poor Elder Scroll Licence! This game is purely and simply bad! It's not an Elder Scroll game and not an MMO game, a bad mix of them. Pity.
    This game is not playable alone, if you want to level up , you could do this easily till level 7- After, if you wish to play alone, you have to stop the game, you'll can't do it - it becomes very hard to make XP ( 2 days to go to lvl 8, playing 8 hours    Poor Elder Scroll Licence! This game is purely and simply bad! It's not an Elder Scroll game and not an MMO game, a bad mix of them. Pity.
    This game is not playable alone, if you want to level up , you could do this easily till level 7- After, if you wish to play alone, you have to stop the game, you'll can't do it - it becomes very hard to make XP ( 2 days to go to lvl 8, playing 8 hours a day! That's purely inbelievable) Craft system is so ...bizarre - And there are still yet so much graphical bugs! (ressources dissapear just before you can collect them!) and fight are very frustrated, press on keyboard to escape doesn't work all time - sometimes yes, sometimes no... Then you die often - Very desappointing. Well, I go back to GW2, best solo playable MMO ever!    … Expand
  14. Unworthy
    Apr 6, 2014
    5
    It's just boring. You start in a prison, again, of course. You listen to the pointless babbling of uninteresting characters. Some sort of prophet. Some sort of undead power, some sort of lich king, some ancient artifact and portal. Seriously? Yawn.

    The combat sucks. Hard. It takes the dodging system of The Secret World but leaves out its dynamic abilities. Instead, you just have    It's just boring. You start in a prison, again, of course. You listen to the pointless babbling of uninteresting characters. Some sort of prophet. Some sort of undead power, some sort of lich king, some ancient artifact and portal. Seriously? Yawn.

    The combat sucks. Hard. It takes the dodging system of The Secret World but leaves out its dynamic abilities. Instead, you just have standard MMO abilities on a hotbar -- sic the pet, shoot a poison arrow, and then autoattack. Except you can't even autoattack, you just have to keep clicking the left mouse button over and over. And then push 1 for poison arrow again when it runs out. Every once in a while, a red shape appears. You must double-tap a direction to dodge it within, oh, 5 seconds. Whoop-de-doo.

    The writing is unbelievably bland. The quests are stupid. Go here. Talk to this guy. Listen to him talk about something irrelevant. Collect 5 of X/Meet 3 of Y/Kill 3 Z and collect their soul motes. View unskippable, high-production-quality and utterly boring cutscene about some sort of undead spirit war... oh, come on, what year is this? You can't come up with anything more interesting?

    The graphics are technically excellent and utterly lacking in creativity. Everything looks stoic, sullen, brown and boring. There is no artistry or soul to the landscapes and somehow, nature looks industrial. If id software made a MMO, this is what it'd look like -- straight and to the point, and not particularly interesting. It clearly serves as the backdrop to something else in the game that was supposed to take center stage, not as a thing in and of itself to be explored and loved.

    But... what is that something else? Six hours into the game, I still haven't found it.

    Maybe it was the hype. Maybe it was the promise of freedom, or the lure of better combat. Maybe it was just that faint hope of something, anything different to set it apart from the diseased MMO orgy. But I'm not impressed. The Elder Scrolls died a little today. And the MMO industry slips further into oblivion.    … Expand
  15. johnangel
    Apr 12, 2014
    5
    Not a very good game not a very a bad game average in every way.
    The Good : Voiced quests,Interesting combat,Crafting
    The Bad : Not true to the lore, Unresponsive combat ; press a button wait a second then see it happen.

    Not worth my time.
  16. Gubz
    Apr 29, 2014
    3
    This game is not Elder Scrolls, and it was a ZeniMax online studios game.

    The game lures you in with the lie of Elder Scrolls gameplay and the slaps you across the face with ZeniMax's complete ineptitude at creating an MMORPG. This game has a good crafting system and a good environment, everything else is a complete shlieb. (Something that clearly wanted to be something better, but    This game is not Elder Scrolls, and it was a ZeniMax online studios game.

    The game lures you in with the lie of Elder Scrolls gameplay and the slaps you across the face with ZeniMax's complete ineptitude at creating an MMORPG.

    This game has a good crafting system and a good environment, everything else is a complete shlieb.
    (Something that clearly wanted to be something better, but didn't put for the effort to get there)

    The PvE balance is a joke, the PvP is one giant bland zergfest, and you can safely assume that pay-to-win micro-transactions will soon be on the way.

    Rift is better, and it's free. Alternatively, you could play World of Warcraft for the true 5 star MMORPG experience.

    My advice would be to avoid this game at all costs. I want my money back.    … Expand
  17. The_Noob
    May 1, 2014
    0
    I bought Imperial Edition paid $80 for this game, as a fan of Elder Scroll series.

    After 3 weeks of moderate to intense playing, I reach to conclusion that this game is a FAIL. Pons (Good points in it): --------------------------------- 1. Superb graphics and music/sound 2. Storyline and many side quests to keep you going 3. many items to collect 4. huge maps to explore 5. PVP    I bought Imperial Edition paid $80 for this game, as a fan of Elder Scroll series.

    After 3 weeks of moderate to intense playing, I reach to conclusion that this game is a FAIL.

    Pons (Good points in it):
    ---------------------------------
    1. Superb graphics and music/sound
    2. Storyline and many side quests to keep you going
    3. many items to collect
    4. huge maps to explore
    5. PVP kinda fun at beginning

    Cons. (major limitation/failure)
    -------------------------------------------
    1. No market / Auction House (AH): basically its very hard to sell the item you gain from hunting/grinding or the items you make to other players.

    2. No Admins or Mods in the game, since its early access till now. No customer support at all.

    3. many hackers/ money spammers/scammers/ads: they created their own accounts in the game based on some exploit and spam everyone in the game, you get their spam on chat, private messages, guild invitation, guild messages, admin messages, all sort of things.

    4. Item Duplication: occurred on 18th April (as i heard by some people), game dev. didn't talked about it. Those who knew about it, made more than 100k gold... and it caused collapse of the gold value in the fresh start of the game. (no money removal, or server rollback to remove the excess money), and since there is no online admins or moderators, finding exploits by dev. are always too late.

    5. PVP quest exploit: occurred on the first days of the game, there was a quest in the PVP map (Cyrodiil) that gives a lot of experience and can be repeated indefinitely... Some people reached from lvl 10-50 in 12 hours playing only from playing this quest. Later they fixed the quest but it was late, many people already maxed the levels in the first 4-10 days and made the unbalance in the PVP server.

    many more things, in conclusion, this game only fun at the start, later you will see that there is no fun like playing skyrim or other series of Elder Scrolls, no depth in the game, just grind, do quests, collect items (harvesting) do pvp and pay them $15 a month. No customer support, a lot of gold spammers, many bugs/crashes/ exploits, unbalanced pvp.... not worth it. go play another mmorpg game better, this game got ruined cause of lack of support and early glitches and exploits.

    Perhaps the only way to this game now to be fair, if they open a new mega server...    … Expand
  18. DarknessDragon
    May 23, 2014
    3
    Very bad. Crapy gameplay, boring story and almost has no liberty. Full of bugs, the unique thing i liked is the combat system. I played almost 20 hours and i found it very disappointing. This is not a Elder Scrolls, this is a crapy online game.
  19. Ansatsu83
    Apr 7, 2014
    7
    This review is based upon the issues at launch.

    The game has a ton of potential, IT DOES NOT PLAY LIKE ELDER SCROLLS!!! If you cannot accept that its not like skyrim, you wont like this. On launch, it is beyond buggy, it should still be in beta. They have had two patches to fix broken quests in the starter areas in the first three days of launch. Their beta testing had failed miserably    This review is based upon the issues at launch.

    The game has a ton of potential, IT DOES NOT PLAY LIKE ELDER SCROLLS!!! If you cannot accept that its not like skyrim, you wont like this. On launch, it is beyond buggy, it should still be in beta. They have had two patches to fix broken quests in the starter areas in the first three days of launch. Their beta testing had failed miserably and testers were not given enough time to report bugs. The company still pushed a half finished game out the door and... honestly.... the bugs, at launch, really break it. So far I have encountered six quests where I cannot progress. Since I play in the form of a completionist and not a power leveler I cannot complete a zone and that reduces my play time... Despite the completely unacceptable, buggy, and pathetic release the game is not bad. The real issue is balance, balance in pvp and pve is a joke in this game, it makes wow look halfway decent, in terms of balance... as bad as that sounds. Two handed weapon damage is a joke, there is little point to using two handed weapons. Every other weapon type, in the game, deals a lot more damage... There are no excuses for half of this, just none. If you want to release a beta at least be ready for some very harsh criticism. That having been said, it is still fairly fun and will give you several hours a week of enjoyment... Now hopefully they will fix the bugs before the end of the first month...    … Expand
  20. Phatsnake
    Apr 5, 2014
    7
    The MMO genre has become stale and is in dire need of an overhaul. Unfortunately, The Elder Scrolls Online is not it. TESO is torn between trying to follow in the footsteps of the single player experience of Skyrim and its predecessors while combining the boring mechanics of MMOs that we're too familiar with. In its defense, the game has some of the most gorgeous environments I've seen inThe MMO genre has become stale and is in dire need of an overhaul. Unfortunately, The Elder Scrolls Online is not it. TESO is torn between trying to follow in the footsteps of the single player experience of Skyrim and its predecessors while combining the boring mechanics of MMOs that we're too familiar with. In its defense, the game has some of the most gorgeous environments I've seen in an MMO, but aside from that the core of the game is lacking.… Expand
  21. Joryn282
    Apr 7, 2014
    9
    This game, I like it. I played the beta and it made me want to buy this game. It's fun, gives you enough Elder Scrolls to be satisfying, but enough new things to remain interesting. The character models look better in my opinion than the models in Oblivion and Skyrim, and the environments look pretty good. I look forward to seeing what they do next with this game.
  22. Johan701
    May 1, 2014
    3
    It's a MMO game that ends up being played as a mediocre single player.
    It actually fails at keeping you willing to play it.
    The whole problem of this game has always been and still is, trying to combine the elder scrolls to a MMO environment, someone says they failed, someone says they did a great job, what i think is that they made a mixup that is barely decent in both aspects, the    It's a MMO game that ends up being played as a mediocre single player.
    It actually fails at keeping you willing to play it.

    The whole problem of this game has always been and still is, trying to combine the elder scrolls to a MMO environment, someone says they failed, someone says they did a great job, what i think is that they made a mixup that is barely decent in both aspects, the REAL PROBLEM, sadly is that you don't really want to have a barely decent mixup of these two things.
    That's why people always played single players immersive games and MMOs separetely.

    It lacks the depth and immersion of a real single player "elder scrolls" game. It's not really bad, they made a good effort trying to eliminate the usual mmo-like quests (kill 20 X, gather 15 Y) but they ended up being repetitive in other kind of stuffs(ghosts and dreams anyone?) and that ends up being boring anyway after a bit of time.

    What i found incredibly disapponting on the MMO aspect is the total lacking of game mechanics complexity. There are no builds, the are really no items to choose from.

    It seems like there is a lot of personalization of you character (many skill trees, strange combinations like mages in heavy armor with dual wield)... but it's not really personalization if you can revert that anytime and end up being able to do anything and to complete every single skill tree just by collecting all the skill points.

    When i heard some people from DAOC worked on it, i hoped to finally see a game where equipment wasn't just a dress piece with a color to measure his effectivness for your character.
    I believe i've never seen a mmo with such a dull and pointless equipment system. Crafting is almost useless, enchanting makes a 4/5 dmg difference from droppable glyphs. No personalization, no builds, no creativity involved even here. Nothing even close to resemble daoc really good equip-system.

    PvP is chaotic, the combat system feels strange and doesn't help you at all,.
    You pass all your time trying to understand what to do and where to go, but what happens is just 1 faction alternatively crushing another, forever and ever. You need to make a lot of walking to reach fights that always go entirely 1-way. with not even many people dying.

    Pvp rewards are just non-existent , you make pratically no exp points and after the first levels you advance in rank very slowly, even worse if you aren't in a group.

    Personally i think this mmo is just another useless hole in the water, it could have been an almost-decent single-player experience if he didn't require you so much time to level up and see the main quest ending.

    They tought naming Daoc and inserting a 3 realm RVR pvp system to think people would blindly come to play thing ignoring the fact that it's not 1/8 as deeply structured as daoc was in terms of equipment/builds/classes and setups.

    I mean, even comparing a game with 4 classes with one who had almost 30 different ones? come on...

    Also the 4-people parties are really bad and limitative.    … Expand
  23. windmillent
    Apr 7, 2014
    9
    There is so much to do, craft, and explore. The graphics are wonderful and doesn't look like Pixar or Disney, the armor is realistic and not silly looking and over-sized. The crafting system is simple, yet complicated and interesting to work with, it even takes the trait learning (offline leveling) from EVE, which adds even more flavor. There are quests everywhere, you just have to getThere is so much to do, craft, and explore. The graphics are wonderful and doesn't look like Pixar or Disney, the armor is realistic and not silly looking and over-sized. The crafting system is simple, yet complicated and interesting to work with, it even takes the trait learning (offline leveling) from EVE, which adds even more flavor. There are quests everywhere, you just have to get out and explore to find them, its a remarkably open world feel on the mainland. I started in beta in November and the game did not interest me at all; however, as the beta's trudged along the game improved dramatically. It is deep in lore, the megaserver means your never alone, the PVP is like nothing I have played in years, truly spectacular, even if your not a hardcore PVP'r. The dungeon mechanics are very fun and easy to learn. The skill tree is just complicated enough to make it feel like your choices really count and that your character is unique to you. I think with the modern MMO, ESO has stuck a very good balance. The launch went remarkably smooth; although, some of our guild did find bugged quests, there were work-arounds and they were quickly addressed by Zenimax. One recommendation I would make is to do your homework for this MMO, there is over 20 years of lore behind its story, and when I came into it and started playing I knew very little. This made the game very boring and confusing (for instance some characters call a race a dark-elf, another person might call them a dunmer, and there are 10 races), it doesn't hold your hand or tell tons of back-story. ESO expects you to know the races and their history already; however, I spent some time watching You-tube lore videos (which there are some excellent quality ones available) and suddenly the world made since and the game had much more depth. This is a game where the story matters and really helps the player to feel engaged in the world. If your wanting a fresh take on the MMO genre then give ESO a chance, it just might surprise you and give you an MMO home for years to come.… Expand
  24. tagos
    Apr 8, 2014
    8
    This game almost deserves 10. Stick with me while I knock off 2 points.

    This is clearly a game released 'ready or not' on a marketing schedule. There are ongoing issues that leave some players (like me) virtually untouched while hitting others hard. These issues are being continually addressed but even so - not good enough. Unfortunately Customer Service ranges from at best,    This game almost deserves 10. Stick with me while I knock off 2 points.

    This is clearly a game released 'ready or not' on a marketing schedule. There are ongoing issues that leave some players (like me) virtually untouched while hitting others hard. These issues are being continually addressed but even so - not good enough.

    Unfortunately Customer Service ranges from at best, indifferent through to actively malevolent in the case of the scheduling of the regular EU maintenance for Sunday morning.

    'Our convenience, not the customer' appears to be their motto. Not good enough if you want people to buy into a premium price game with a monthly sub.

    And now I'm going to tell you why I immediately took out the longest (180 day) sub I could. The reason is actually very simple. This is the best MMO I have played in a number of years.

    LOTRO, Star Wars, Guild Wars, Rift and Conan? None come close.

    What makes it so good?

    First - the setting. It's Elder Scrolls. It's Tamriel bought to life. You are in a setting with a depth that shows in the books you find, the look and feel of the regions. the background chatter. The graphics are top notch and very 'Skyrim'. Not seen better in any MMO.

    Second - the questing. Quest chains are constantly engaging. They all have a real purpose and are disparate threads that weave together into an overarching story line. No 'go kill 7 wolves' or 'go gather 8 bits of wood' because basically 'I'm a lazy-ass NPC who can't be bothered' nonsense.

    Plus - it's all voice acted. Not by the usual 'will recite dialogue for food' in off the street bilge. We're talking Michael Gambon and we're talking John Cleese. We're talking real professionals at every turn. The story quality and story-telling is basically first class in every respect.

    Third - and this is the big one. This is what makes this game so good. This is what will have you creating different characters and thinking carefully about your options. I'm talking the character development and progression system, which is as close an implementation of the traditional Elder Scrolls 'build the character you want' as you could get in an MMO.

    It begins with choosing a Race. These have different bonuses but aren't of crucial importance. You them choose one of the 4 classes. Classes each have their own skill lines but are just a starting point on which to build the kind of character that suits you. More on this later.

    You get 3 basic stats -Health, Stamina and Magika. The latter 2 are the resources that power skills. You get points to allocate from levelling and from completing some quest lines.

    These interact with Weapon, Armour, Guild, Race, and Alliance skill lines.

    How you spend the character points you get from levelling, questing and discovering 'skyshards' is what really shapes your character. In other games if you want to tank and be the melee guy you would pick the Dragon Knight ESO class, throw on heavy armour and shove a sword in his hand.

    Not in ESO. You want to be a Sorcerer and be able to tank? Throw on heavy armour, pick up a big sword, develop your healing and shielding skill - maybe learn to summon a big-ass Storm Elemental to take some heat and off you go.

    The freedom is incredible. One of my characters is a Dragon Knight. These are basically tanks with a way with fire. But I'm old and slow. I don't like tanking but I do like some of their cool skills. So - put him in light armour, specialise in fire staff magic, choose a range of supporting skills and you have a Pyromancer Battle Mage. Fantastic. That's just one example and I cannot emphasise enough how great this system is.

    I was going to bang on about the in-depth crafting system but this is going on too long. But I will tell you about the combat.

    This is an action based combat system. You pick 5 of your skills (driven by stamina and magika and which can be morphed into a choice of enhanced version with skill points) for an action bar (and a 6th Ultimate Super Skill). At level 15 when you get to swap weapons in combat this is 12 skills. It sounds limited but it is not. It enables you to develop routines and tactics to suit yourself. I'm a bit old and slow so I like to keep the dodging and rolling to a minimum. I can build for that. You can build for your own strengths and weaknesses.

    Finally I'm giving a big shout-out for the PvP. There is a whole Province where Alliances can wage war (no PvP outside of it). There are Keeps to attack and defend, dungeons to explore and siege engines to hurt people and smash stuff with. It is incredible and I'm saying this as an inveterate non-PvP type.

    Way too long story short. If you are an Elder Scrolls fan or a fantasy MMO player you can buy this game with absolute confidence you will have a lot of fun.

    Bugs are temporary, class is permanent. This is going to be a 5 Star game soon.    … Expand
  25. zombiechan
    May 28, 2014
    3
    It wasn't the bugs that bothered me so much as it was that it was just not Elder Scrolls. I much rather of had a borderlands co-op for games like Morrowind and Skyrim. The combat was interesting and the questing was a little more interesting than most MMOs. But it just wasn't that great, and made me just want to play a real Elder Scrolls game.
  26. momointheunderd
    Apr 22, 2014
    3
    Terrible. Just awful. It's embarrassing to have a title as large as elderscrolls be associated with such a boring mediocre game. Hopefully the next Elder Scrolls Is done right.
  27. 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
  28. gofesnadra
    Apr 7, 2014
    7
    The only MMO I've put tons of hours in and got totally hooked on in the past is WoW. I have tried Rift and Guild Wars 2 but was disappointed in those and didn't play them more than a few hours.

    Elder Scrolls Online is the only MMO after all these years that I have totally got hooked on. The leveling is fun and different, the PvP in Cyrodiil is amazing. I've done a few dungeons and    The only MMO I've put tons of hours in and got totally hooked on in the past is WoW. I have tried Rift and Guild Wars 2 but was disappointed in those and didn't play them more than a few hours.

    Elder Scrolls Online is the only MMO after all these years that I have totally got hooked on. The leveling is fun and different, the PvP in Cyrodiil is amazing. I've done a few dungeons and they've been fun as well. The playerbase so far seems to be more mature too. Also the launch was the smoothest launch of an online game that I've ever been part of.

    Sure, there's a few bugs that they will probably fix in the first patches, but nothing gamebreaking.

    I would highly recommend this game to everyone who likes MMO's and Elder Scrolls and urge you to play to at least level 10 before judging so you can try Cyrodiil and the dungeons!

    It's sad that most of the negative reviews here are written by people who haven't played this game for more than a few hours at most and haven't seen any real content at all. They only judge the game because it plays different from your average MMO. MMO's in general also get a lot of hate and sometimes in justice, but I for one will gladly be paying the monthly fee for this game. It's well worth it.    … Expand
  29. Whifflebat
    Apr 6, 2014
    10
    This game is absolutely incredible. End of story. Leveling is a PLEASURE, with very immersive quests, and an engrossing storyline. And thats just the PVE. The PVP is a massive continually changing battlefield. This game is so well executed its insane, I'm completely converted from a WoW fan to ESO.
  30. CasualClark
    Apr 13, 2014
    10
    ESO is an excellent MMO and frankly a much better game than I thought it would be. I've grown weary of all the negative complaints that the game should be Free to Play or that it isn't innovative enough. What hasn't occurred to people is that they continue to compare the game to Skyrim and the earlier Elder Scroll games in terms of innovation and being more wide open, sandboxESO is an excellent MMO and frankly a much better game than I thought it would be. I've grown weary of all the negative complaints that the game should be Free to Play or that it isn't innovative enough. What hasn't occurred to people is that they continue to compare the game to Skyrim and the earlier Elder Scroll games in terms of innovation and being more wide open, sandbox experiences, but somehow forget that MMOs and Single Player games are very different implementations, the MMO having a much higher level of complexity.

    There is NO other MMO like this, and I'm having a blast with it. You can compare the AvA to Guild Wars 2, and in general, the concepts are similar. But ESO's AvA has a context in the overall ESO universe, reinforces the Elder Scrolls lore, and is absolutely massive in scope. The environments are far more detailed and immersive than any MMO I've played. Crafting has a lot of depth and doesn't force you to spend hours leveling your craft just to make gear for your players level. The soundtrack is epic, and for the most part, voice over work is quite good.

    Point is, people set the bar so high for ESO in expectations, yet even they didn't know how Elder Scroll would be turned into an MMO. In this case, the developers have made a lot of great decisions, and like most MMOs, they will continue to refine and improve it in the future. So I am very excited about ESO, much more so than after my hours in beta. Don't let the negative reviews keep you from trying this game - there are things that can be improved, but seriously, this is a fantastic game.    … Expand
  31. Dirk_B_Daring
    Apr 11, 2014
    5
    meh. Not worth the sub fee. Interesting game but fairly standard mmo mechanics/gameplay. PvP is the only piece of content that pushes the score to 5. Yawn.
  32. KumajirouSan
    Apr 22, 2014
    0
    I'm sorry but this is a casual pile of rushed wank. Horrible combat, Bugged and unfinished PvE and a community of botters, farmers and dupe glitchers that have DESTROYED the economy within a few weeks of launch. This was a terrible MMO and a mediocre Elder Scrolls game. The PvP was okay but nothing you can't get from games like Guild Wars 2. I can't recommend this game at all, I say if youI'm sorry but this is a casual pile of rushed wank. Horrible combat, Bugged and unfinished PvE and a community of botters, farmers and dupe glitchers that have DESTROYED the economy within a few weeks of launch. This was a terrible MMO and a mediocre Elder Scrolls game. The PvP was okay but nothing you can't get from games like Guild Wars 2. I can't recommend this game at all, I say if you want a new Elder Scrolls Experience, Mod Skyrim on PC. If you want a new MMO experience, Play Guild Wars 2 or Wildstar.… Expand
  33. TripleBullet
    Apr 5, 2014
    10
    Im not going to do some in depth review. I will just tell you from what i've played and how much i love it. After putting over a day in this game so far as in 24+ hours it just blows my mind. If you pay attention to the dialog and actually follow along the quest it feels like TES. Every quest has a small story to be told with interesting dialog and at times choices. Which is awesome. TheIm not going to do some in depth review. I will just tell you from what i've played and how much i love it. After putting over a day in this game so far as in 24+ hours it just blows my mind. If you pay attention to the dialog and actually follow along the quest it feels like TES. Every quest has a small story to be told with interesting dialog and at times choices. Which is awesome. The combat is very nice. Although the melee still needs a little work in 1st person everything else is enjoyable. I'm a healer dps and dungeons are fun and very challenging, at least for your average group. There is much to adore in this game. My hopes are that the end game will hold up well. For now, the PvP is amazing! Much better than GW2. I love the game, totally recommend it!… Expand
  34. Mavik
    Apr 6, 2014
    10
    I was pleasantly surprised by this game, it manages to keep the exploration elements from the single player series while mixing the social aspects from other MMOs. The RvR combat is the best I've seen since DAoC. One of the first MMOs that I feel has broken away from the "static themepark" feel that's been so obvious in this genre since WoW came out.
  35. Mach1av3ll1
    Apr 12, 2014
    9
    tl;dr Give it time. It will grow on you like a cancer. But a lovely cancer. Not one of those bad ones.

    I made this review specifically to address a lot of the negative reviews on this game, as well as to balance out some of the overly positive one. I think there is enough coverage on the nitty gritty details of this game, so I want to look at it from a more meta perspective. This review    tl;dr Give it time. It will grow on you like a cancer. But a lovely cancer. Not one of those bad ones.

    I made this review specifically to address a lot of the negative reviews on this game, as well as to balance out some of the overly positive one. I think there is enough coverage on the nitty gritty details of this game, so I want to look at it from a more meta perspective. This review will be in three parts, to address those who are looking for a new elder scrolls game, those looking for a WoW successor, and the pace of the game. Be forewarned, if you are looking for a new, traditionally rooted, elder scrolls game, or a successor to WoW, and will not be satisfied if this game meets these criteria perfectly, this game is not for you.

    1) Those looking for a new elder scrolls game.

    A lot of the individuals who post negative reviews claim how traditionally MMO it is, and how it fails to live up to the elder scrolls standard. My initial reaction to this game was somewhat similar. At first glance, it is so incredibly not an elder scrolls game.Early on, you will often feel yourself clamped into certain paths, limited in a degree you are not comfortable with. The key to overcoming this is to let yourself feel comfortable with the fact that you could never pull off an elder scrolls game in an MMO environment. Elder Scrolls' experience is, at it's core, rooted in the way the player interacts with and changes the world. It is the space, and opportunities that lay waiting just for you. When you introduce other players into that environment, it's not feasible to expect it to flow in the way that elder scrolls does. It would leave you waiting for things to spawn, unhappy with the pace, frustrated with the concentration of players in different regions, and the server side requirements of instancing that much **** would be crippling in expense.

    2) It's not WoW

    If you treat this game like WoW, you will be sorely disappointed. So much of the game is left to you. The skills, crafting, and leveling systems are so much more open than the traditional mmo you will repeatedly be left feeling overwhelmed and confused, which is a frustrating experience for an MMO player. A big appeal, and a big part of the expense, is their attempts to create interesting story lines and quests that specifically aren't tedious. Failing to read these quests, which is easy to do, will make the experience feel incredibly hollow.

    From a meta perspective, this game is really awful in the first 10-15 hours of gameplay. I dont mean that it's actually awful, but the fact of the matter is that you will come into this game with expectations of MMOs, expectations of the Elder Scrolls, and you will dislike how it differs. You will feel simultaneously overwhelmed and uninterested in the world around you. You will view your gaming experience like a giant pile of bureaucratic paperwork, hoping that a raise lies at the end of it. This game does not hook you in right away.

    The first moment I suddenly felt any sense besides tedium was as I began to PvP. Entering cyrodiil, warping to a combat zone, and suddenly being involved in a gigantic siege was phenomenal. I died a lot. But I also saw trebuchets, walls falling, battering rams, and hundreds of players on each side. You feel part of something, and the size of this something is staggering.

    The value of the game comes as you invest in it. The more time you invest, the more chance you give to the story, and what becomes something you skip through instead becomes something you read. Suddenly you'll be faced with making decisions of moral ambiguity, and you'll have invested in the lives of this village, and their fate is in your hands. You begin to feel purpose.

    A similar experience happens with the crafting and leveling systems. The flexibility in these systems is incredibly overwhelming, and it's poorly explained. But as you carry on, you'll begin to find synergies, and where before you had an idea you were treating with casual disinterest, you'll suddenly be going on a 5 minute tirade of the strength of synergies in 2h tree with templar's Aedric Wrath tree.

    Most games these days don't ask anything of you. They do their best to suck you in, and try to put out long enough for you to not get bored. From the get go, it's a sense of "This is how you do it, now look, explosions!" ESO Does not do that. ESO asks things from you. It asks you to learn, and it asks for your patience. And if you give it these two things, you'll begin to uncover the incredibly rewarding game that lies underneath. So, I implore you, give it time. Get to the 20th hour. The feeling of surprise when you realize you care, you want to see more, you want to know more, and you want some more money to afford a goddamn respec, is incredibly rewarding.

    Thank you for taking the time to read the musing of a rambling old man.

    Love,
    Mach1av3ll1.    … Expand
  36. polyandras
    Apr 12, 2014
    10
    One of the best and unique mmos i have played so far. Their idea of mixing a single player game with the mmo genre made questing look like never before and leveling up the most entertaining point. Not to mention the pvp. All these added with the amazing scenery makes it really incredible. Also if you are a lotr fan you gonna love it.
  37. frankwithbeans
    Apr 5, 2014
    9
    I find it quite humorous that you don't have to verify that you own the game before writing a critique hence trolls giving it the bad scores, this is a great game with lots of varieties in equipment, quests, enemies and locations and it defenitivly deserves a high score. best game 2014 so far
  38. redfrick
    Apr 7, 2014
    9
    Finally! I’ve been waiting for a true successor to World Of Warcraft for a very long time. Now when I say a successor don’t get your panties in a bunch, I am merely speaking for me personally. Nothing will ever kill WoW except Blizzard themselves. The term “WoW Killer” should just go off and die already. For me Elder Scrolls Online feels a lot like the game that finally gets me offFinally! I’ve been waiting for a true successor to World Of Warcraft for a very long time. Now when I say a successor don’t get your panties in a bunch, I am merely speaking for me personally. Nothing will ever kill WoW except Blizzard themselves. The term “WoW Killer” should just go off and die already. For me Elder Scrolls Online feels a lot like the game that finally gets me off the WoW drug once and for all. Though I am a realist and I have been on the new MMO train many times before so I won’t really know for a few months. But man, right now nothing compares to ESO. The last time I had this much fun in an MMO was the beast itself, WoW.

    The graphics are great; the questing is fun and not your typical MMO drudgery. The crafting system is deep, incredibly fun and get this, actually useful. I also love the fact that I can be a mage tank or a warrior healer if I really want to. Tired of being melee and want to pick up a bow? Do it! Want to wear plate as a caster? Do it! The possibilities are amazing. And PVP, one word: epic.

    To make it short and sweet this game is the best MMO I’ve played since I first played WoW almost 10 years ago. It’s just fun. Plain and simple this game is incredibly fun.

    One last word on people complaining about there being a subscription fee: I’ve played almost every single major MMO that has been released in the past 10+ years and have not found a single free to play game that is anywhere near as good as subscription games. I am talking about true MMOs. Every free to play MMO I’ve ever played is so limiting in content at the free level it’s not worth even playing. As a matter of fact when I do play those games I end up paying a lot more than $15. You get what you pay for.    … Expand
  39. basadd
    Apr 9, 2014
    8
    fun, fresh implementation of online RPG genre. average level of bugs and other problems standard for this type of game. has potential for future staying power, given rich source material.
  40. SoakingFall42
    Apr 8, 2014
    9
    This game is very fun. As a hardcore tes fan an someone who barely plays mmo games, I was expecting to be disappointed. Much to my suprise, I was not. I still purchased the game because of how much I love the series, and I am glad I did. While it does have it's fair share of bug, and is not "Skyrim Online" it still is worth a try. If you do not like the limited interface I have two thingsThis game is very fun. As a hardcore tes fan an someone who barely plays mmo games, I was expecting to be disappointed. Much to my suprise, I was not. I still purchased the game because of how much I love the series, and I am glad I did. While it does have it's fair share of bug, and is not "Skyrim Online" it still is worth a try. If you do not like the limited interface I have two things to say to you.
    1. Elder scrolls games have always had little interface for immersion purposes.
    2. If you want more ui info try a add on like foundry tactical combat.    … Expand
  41. Congo1977
    Apr 14, 2014
    10
    I would not go as far to say a "breakthrough" game, but this game has a LOT of potential. It is both engaging and detailed. I can not compare it to Skyrim, as this is an MMO. But as far as an MMO goes, as close to it as you can get. I find the story enthralling, and can not wait to try the other factions. This is by far the most exciting game in a while.

    My Pro's: Great Story Love the    I would not go as far to say a "breakthrough" game, but this game has a LOT of potential. It is both engaging and detailed. I can not compare it to Skyrim, as this is an MMO. But as far as an MMO goes, as close to it as you can get. I find the story enthralling, and can not wait to try the other factions. This is by far the most exciting game in a while.

    My Pro's:
    Great Story
    Love the mount customizing!
    Realistic world
    Gaming mechanics blend into the background!
    Realistic NPC's
    CUSTOMIZATION of character!!! (Awesome, being a mage fighting with a sword in the thick of battle!)

    My Cons:
    No player housing. (This is Elder Scrolls after all!)
    No dedicated "healer" class. (I know you can make one, but to leave them out of the start?)

    All in all, great game! I am sure, so long as they maintain the game, I will continue to play.    … Expand
  42. Squicker
    Apr 14, 2014
    8
    I've played all the Elder Scrolls games since Arena and I am loving Elder Scrolls Online. There is no doubt in my mind that ZOS have managed the difficult task of keeping the unique TES vibe and putting it into an MMO. The single player quests are excellent and interesting, I've never felt like grinding at all, and the multiplayer dungeons are lots of fun. I can't really fault the gameI've played all the Elder Scrolls games since Arena and I am loving Elder Scrolls Online. There is no doubt in my mind that ZOS have managed the difficult task of keeping the unique TES vibe and putting it into an MMO. The single player quests are excellent and interesting, I've never felt like grinding at all, and the multiplayer dungeons are lots of fun. I can't really fault the game design or the playability, it's really superb.

    There are issues at the moment with release bugs and support were initially very poor at responding to these. However, over the last few days they seem to be getting on top of things and I am starting to have a lot more faith in the support of the game. I personally have only experienced a small array of non-critical bugs, but I am still only going to subscribe month by month, until my confidence level in support increases. I get the feeling they are a bit overwhelmed right now.

    But as a game, this really is an excellent addition to the franchise.    … Expand
  43. 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
  44. Jonhuggs
    Apr 12, 2014
    8
    So after much debate I decided to take the plunge and purchase TESO. I've played MMO's in the past (Dark age of camelot, GW, GW2 Warhammer and WOW to name a few) and also The last 3 Elder scrolls games. With that being said this game is pretty solid. The combat will be the 1st difference you'll notice from Skyrim, it's more in line with other MMo's. The world an the other hand is all ElderSo after much debate I decided to take the plunge and purchase TESO. I've played MMO's in the past (Dark age of camelot, GW, GW2 Warhammer and WOW to name a few) and also The last 3 Elder scrolls games. With that being said this game is pretty solid. The combat will be the 1st difference you'll notice from Skyrim, it's more in line with other MMo's. The world an the other hand is all Elder Scrolls and if you spent any time in Morrowind, Oblivion or Skyrim, which I'm sure we all have 1000's of hours tied up into those, you'll be familiar with the looks and sounds of the game. One of the strong points of the game is that the game will feel natural weather your going solo or in a group. So if you like world of warcraft and skyrim then you'll probably love this game, If you're looking for skyrim 2 or never really liked mmo's, you may be dissapointed in this game and with a steep initial cost plus the monthly fee may want to wait till they have a trial before you throw your hard earned money at this game.… Expand
  45. newmeta
    Apr 11, 2014
    5
    SPOILER FREE.

    It dries up pretty quickly. It would have been better if it was single player with a co-op experience (rather than thousands, cut it down to maybe 5 friends). It doesn't change the MMORPG world or add anything unique to the culture. Rather it's a weird bridge between single and multiplayer. It's not a bad game...but it's not a good one either. The TES feel is there but    SPOILER FREE.

    It dries up pretty quickly. It would have been better if it was single player with a co-op experience (rather than thousands, cut it down to maybe 5 friends). It doesn't change the MMORPG world or add anything unique to the culture. Rather it's a weird bridge between single and multiplayer.

    It's not a bad game...but it's not a good one either. The TES feel is there but its not an improvement. More often than not you will take a break and want to get a Skyrim fix. But TESO does have a wide variety of quests and leaves good taste for those with a good imagination...but there are plenty of times that feeling is just washed away when you see others in a world you hoped to call your own.

    As roleplayer: You will be pleased to a point, but really be pushing it later on.
    As a TES fan: You will be pleased to a point, but not impressed for the long run.
    As a MMORPG'r: You will be pleased to a point, but stop looking forward to things extremely quickly.    … Expand
  46. Echo-Legion
    Apr 7, 2014
    9
    This game is better than I thought it would be. While the bar that I had set for it was not very high, it sailed over it in the first couple hours lit it wasnt even the warmup lap yet. just getting its shoes slipped on and buttoning up its track pants.

    I started with the assumption that i was only going to play because my friends were playing and never play when they werent and then the    This game is better than I thought it would be. While the bar that I had set for it was not very high, it sailed over it in the first couple hours lit it wasnt even the warmup lap yet. just getting its shoes slipped on and buttoning up its track pants.

    I started with the assumption that i was only going to play because my friends were playing and never play when they werent and then the game would die off in a month or so like all the other mmos ive played the past couple of years. I have not played a single video game for an entire weekend since WoW came out.... forever ago. and This weekend; this grown ass man, with a day job, a girlfriend, a job, and 3 time consuming hobbies set everything aside this weekend and just let this game consume me.

    the only thing i can compare the newness and wonder to is vanilla wow. do you remember back then. when things were new and the systems that we have in place today werent even imagined yet. like duty finders? and crafting your own weapons at the lower levels wasnt utterly useless? remember when the story mattered? no? oh wait... the story doesnt matter in wow? oh ... shoot.. you're totally right.

    thats what this is like, but so much more. i truly believe that this is the mmo for me (for the next couple years as long as they keep updating it) to find out if its the mmo for you i think you have to play it. because to be completely honest i thought i was going to hate it. i even dogged on it. but after i played up to level 10 and was a part of an epic pvp battle I knew there was no going back to FFXIV (my previous mmo home away from home)

    you truly have to play it to form an opinion, but i believe you will be entertained for a while at the very least.    … Expand
  47. 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
  48. 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
  49. toxic20
    Apr 11, 2014
    10
    I had been pretty bored of the MMO genre. Been waiting for this game and didn't read much of it so it would be a surprise. I am really happy with my purchase. It's exactly what you would expect an Elder Scrolls MMO to be. The character creation is really detailed, the voiceovers are great, the quests are really well written and have a lot of diversity. Been playing since launch and I haveI had been pretty bored of the MMO genre. Been waiting for this game and didn't read much of it so it would be a surprise. I am really happy with my purchase. It's exactly what you would expect an Elder Scrolls MMO to be. The character creation is really detailed, the voiceovers are great, the quests are really well written and have a lot of diversity. Been playing since launch and I have no complaints.… Expand
  50. niceburger
    May 1, 2014
    1
    I literally lost interest in 5 minutes, not even kidding it's so boring. Just stick with Skyrim I'm gonna cancel my sub for this game, biggest waste of money in my whole entire life.
  51. ladyjayblue
    May 29, 2014
    8
    I want to express that I am writing this game review from the point of view of a long time player of MMORPGs. I have played everything from UO on up, and I want to assure readers looking for a genuine assessment of the game that the reviews here are generally unreliable. Common sense should make you question straight 10s just as it should make you question so many zeros.

    More    I want to express that I am writing this game review from the point of view of a long time player of MMORPGs. I have played everything from UO on up, and I want to assure readers looking for a genuine assessment of the game that the reviews here are generally unreliable. Common sense should make you question straight 10s just as it should make you question so many zeros.

    More importantly, I believe that the outcry that has generated the bad reviews of '0" are due to people comparing it to the elder scrolls single player games. I have not played any of the previous elder scrolls games and could not for the life of me make sense of why anyone would compare a massive multiplayer to any single player game when the level of depth, immersion, and functionality are so radically different. Get over it and rate the game for what it is; it is not Skyrim. For the individuals who would mourn this, my suggestion is to play what you like; there are plenty of Elder Scroll games available for single players. ESO was created as a multiplayer game. I have my own love of single player rpgs, Bioware classics being some of my favorites, but it would be unfair to compare a game like Baldur's Gate or even Knights of the Old Republic to games intended for years of play time that largely depend upon social interaction.

    I have played UO, Dark Age of Camelot, EQ1, EQ2, Star Wars Galaxies, SWTOR, and WOW and Guild Wars 2. In my experience, ESO compares to the likes of Dark Age in terms of the rvr type pvp, yet its sense of exploration reminds me of Ultima or at least the older generation of games from which Ultima emerged. As of late, with my subscription to wow still available for renewal, and an active subscription to Final Fantasy 14, I have to give my vote to ESO for being the most entertaining and the most addicting in terms of keeping me glued to the keyboard.

    This does not mean that the game does not have some issues that need to be resolved; many of these have already been acknowledged and I foresee them being addressed in future patches. The most significant of these revolves around group play in pve. For example, I consistently quest with a partner; we are a duo. If you advance through the quest line alone, your partner may not be able to be seen in the quest instance due to phasing. Again, this has been acknowledged and I look forward to the coming changes, but until then, I simply stay aware of this issue and adjust my questing to be in sync with my friend.

    On a good note, the vistas are simply beautiful when you set your draw distance to far. The terrain and the skyline in the distance really make you want to go out and adventure, and indeed, I have been out wandering for hours while I run around finding treasure chests, different story lines, and collecting resources. I experienced this sensation in early WOW only momentarily, before the expansions, but I do remember that call of the wild in early games such as the original EQ.

    Additionally, the combat is incredibly fun considering the need to move, dodge, and stay active when fighting foes. This is a huge, huge contrast to games that largely have you standing in one place and roll the dice to determine whether you block or dodge.

    If you are like me, you need to have a game that serves as an outlet for stress and the hustle and bustle of work. For me, ESO has become the next in line to serve this purpose. I am satisfied with roving the hills or inundating myself in the crafting systems, which have a lot of depth and are quite fun to level.

    Of the high points, the liberty to sculpt your character's skills as you see fit is truly refreshing, particularly after coming from World of Warcraft where, over time, the choices in skill trees became fewer and fewer until it was so dumbed down that it lacked any significance at all. Here in ESO, you create a character, and tailor its weapon skills, class skills, crafting skills, guild only skills, and racial skills how you see fit. The truth is that the variety in character builds has the potential to be enormous without the fear that you will not be able to compete if you do not use any one particular cookie cutter build.

    Alternately, the opening tutorial is one of the worst I've seen in all my gaming days; it would be an understatement for me to say that you must get past that and into the meat of the game to truly appreciate what it has to offer.

    These are my thoughts as a long time mmorpg player. As a rhetorician by profession, I would suggest you consider the agendas that might hide behind ridiculous scores like perfect 10s or complete 0s. It's a rarity to find a game that is completely perfect or that incredibly horrendous.    … Expand
  52. Phoenixxl
    Jul 28, 2014
    3
    I played Until Veteran 4.

    Combat system is MEH. Archaic class mix and match system where 75% of people end up being useless in a group . Healers are forced to rely on the AI to know who to heal and ward. You can't select the main tank and heal him for example. There are no true power siphon classes, hybridization is forced on you. Loot / reward system is mediocre and generic. Randomly    I played Until Veteran 4.

    Combat system is MEH. Archaic class mix and match system where 75% of people end up being useless in a group . Healers are forced to rely on the AI to know who to heal and ward. You can't select the main tank and heal him for example. There are no true power siphon classes, hybridization is forced on you.
    Loot / reward system is mediocre and generic. Randomly generated loot was past it's prime even in diablo 2.
    The game engine is simply bad and passé. 50% of what made the last 3 TES games was the engine. This is not one of those games. Period.
    Definite lack of raiding.

    Positive:
    A new and fresh approach to multiplayer pvp in the form of tower/castle capturing.    … Expand
  53. spazzkidd3
    Apr 9, 2014
    10
    Elder Scrolls Online is most likely the best MMORPG to be released in a long time.

    This game is content rich, and makes you want to keep playing to finish the stories you've started while questing. Now if you want to get the full experience out of this game playing levels 1-50 then Veteran Rank 1 - 10 then you have to take it slow the developers made this game with everyone in mind    Elder Scrolls Online is most likely the best MMORPG to be released in a long time.

    This game is content rich, and makes you want to keep playing to finish the stories you've started while questing.

    Now if you want to get the full experience out of this game playing levels 1-50 then Veteran Rank 1 - 10 then you have to take it slow the developers made this game with everyone in mind they crafted these stories to give everyone entertainment. whether that be finishing a dungeon or even running down a road to have a random person stop you and ask for help in the nearby village.

    I love the compass, action bar and attribute bars. The HUD UI is great and it fades away when not in use to give you a more immersive feel to the game. You can play in both Third and First person. So anyone will be able to play the way they would like.

    PVP - 10/10 (AMAZING)

    PVE - 8/10 (Can get repetitive but thats only if you speed through it all and don't follow along with the story.)

    Dungeons - (Bosses really challenge you, and make you figure out how to defeat them.)

    Play this game if:

    You like to play with other an dare willing to join a decent guild.
    You like to take everything one at a time and actually pay attention to what is happening.
    If you enjoy large scale PvP.
    Like to use quality game crafting systems.
    Love the Elder Scrolls
    Love MMO's

    Don't play this game if:

    You don't like earning everything you get and have to work for it
    You don't want to deal with player based economy because believe me everything is player based.
    You don't like other people or playing in guilds.

    This is a short review int he coming months I will have more things to talk about with further patches. Give the game a try, you have to pay it 60 bucks for the game but at least the first 30 days are free and that will give you a feel of the game. Do not judge it based on questing from 1-10 actually do everything you can to get a full feel for the game    … Expand
  54. heartsss
    Apr 11, 2014
    10
    Such a fun and unique MMO! The questing is really, really interesting. They're diverse, with good stories, and it isn't the typical kill X quests. The graphics are really nice to and the game runs really well. They did a great job it's fun to explore, quest, and the combat is a big improvement from Skyrim.
  55. Laxika
    May 4, 2014
    4
    I just want to write down my first impressions with the game. I'm a huge TES fan, played through Morrowind 10+ times at least and played a lot Skyrim too (Well I not really like Oblivion). I immediately jumped into ESO. Well, it was a big learning experience for me. :)

    What I liked in the game: - Voiced dialogues: hell yeah, all of the dialogues was voiced. It was awesome. - TES    I just want to write down my first impressions with the game. I'm a huge TES fan, played through Morrowind 10+ times at least and played a lot Skyrim too (Well I not really like Oblivion). I immediately jumped into ESO. Well, it was a big learning experience for me. :)

    What I liked in the game:
    - Voiced dialogues: hell yeah, all of the dialogues was voiced. It was awesome.
    - TES world/story: yeah I really like the storyline of the TES games.
    - Hard: the game is not easy to play. (Yeah I got killed a few times when not paid enough attention.) This is pretty rare nowadays.

    What I disliked:
    - Quests everywhere: well, in this game I find quest everywhere what's really annoyed me. I don't want to play WoW or smthing like that (really dislike WoW), I want to play a real TES game. Morrowind/Skyrim was all about exploring. Yess, there was a few quest (I'll never forget the quest with the pillow lady in Balmora haha), but not quests to the max level. After like 3-4 quest I stopped listening to the npcs and just clicked all the dialogues randomly till I got the next quest stage. (This ruined the voiced dialogues part very quickly.) I got frustrated after like 15 quest so I went out to do some exploring. I started to search about random daedra shrines/barrows/caves/bandit strongholds etc, but haven't found any cool while in the old TES games it took me less than 5 mins to find a random Tomb/Cave etc! (Ok, I found a cave with a quest in it but thats it.) What i found is a hella lot more quests (what annoyed me even more).
    - World map: everything on the map is a scaled down version compared to the other games. I know its an MMO, but it's really ruining the TES experience for me. (I don't know if High Hrothgar is in the game or not but it would be something like 20 meter high max. Yeah that's what high mean in this game.)
    Vvardenfell is not in the game: SERIOUSLY WHY?

    I'm pretty disappointed with it. (Not because it's bad, but because it's only TES in it's story/name/world.) If you are liking the TES games because the same reasons as me, don't buy this. If you like WoW type questing stuff just go and play.

    Well, I missed the PvP. (Just tried it for a little. Too little to write anything about it.)

    Fortunately they responded to my chargeback pretty fast. :)    … Expand
  56. Sevvy88
    Apr 26, 2014
    5
    What can I say? The game isn't bad. It's certainly not the worst MMO I've played, but does that mean it's great? Sadly, no.

    It does what it does passably. It's a theme-park MMO set in the Elder Scrolls universe. That in itself might be enough to put people off from it. My real issue with the game stems from the fact that everything it does, it does only passably well. Combat? Guild    What can I say? The game isn't bad. It's certainly not the worst MMO I've played, but does that mean it's great? Sadly, no.

    It does what it does passably. It's a theme-park MMO set in the Elder Scrolls universe. That in itself might be enough to put people off from it. My real issue with the game stems from the fact that everything it does, it does only passably well.

    Combat? Guild Wars 2 has better. Exploration? Same. Story? SW:TOR presents and delivers a better RPG element and main story than ESO does. Graphics? Final Fantasy: ARR is much sharper and with the times. The visuals are nice, but ultimately remind me of a Warhammer Online in HD. Dynamic events? See Rift and, again, Guild Wars 2.

    Like many people have pointed out, the game is just so painfully average. It's not the most on rails of the theme parks, so that at least is a plus, and the voice over questing -is- better than the "Read this huge text box" type mechanic, but simply having these traits isn't enough. WoW long stopped being the game that I judge MMO's by, because since WoW, we've had some great additions to the genre. Anyone who has played MMO's in any mentionable capacity in the last 10 years will constantly be feeling like they've done all of this before. I find myself bored after an hour or so.

    So, the game doesn't really bring anything new to the table. For people just picking up their first MMO's or who are truly in love with the Elder Scrolls world (the lore -is- very good) then this game might knock it out of the park. For your average MMO player looking for the next star in an already overcrowded sky of games though? I fear this is not it.

    Not bad, but not great. It just "is what it is." Another theme park. I fear the game often has more considering re-installing Skyrim or Oblivion, even Morrowind, rather than continue playing it. It is hard to tell who they exactly were making this game for.    … Expand
  57. Thylbanus
    Apr 22, 2014
    1
    Many may ask why I voted a 1 when so many have given 10s. Well, it isn't just the impact of the game, but the impact on the whole series. I'm not one of the ones who overly lamented the more generic and simplistic movements that Elder Scrolls has made. I have to be brief, but Morrowind is what captured my imagination and Oblivion was a bit of a let down, but still good. Skyrim's modMany may ask why I voted a 1 when so many have given 10s. Well, it isn't just the impact of the game, but the impact on the whole series. I'm not one of the ones who overly lamented the more generic and simplistic movements that Elder Scrolls has made. I have to be brief, but Morrowind is what captured my imagination and Oblivion was a bit of a let down, but still good. Skyrim's mod community saved that one, but so far, there is little the mod community can do to save this one. The problems are systemic and intellectual. Systemically, the amount of gold spammers is just crazy. I've never had such a deluge of junk text and I've played every major (some minor) MMO since Meridian 59. There is no GM in game to be had. The fastest ticket response I can rely on was 12 hrs. Even a silent, invisible GM who can swing the ban hammer would be welcome, but all tickets must be reviewed and verified later. pfft. I have to turn off chat to not have to deal with constantly scrolling text bots (yes they spam on all channels). If I'm going to play a solo game, release it as a solo game. Advanced levels get a bit tedious since, outside the star level voice talent, all other characters are voiced by the same 5 people (or in some instances, a computer vox) While they are making strides forward with bugs, they are still behind on ones that have existed since beta. They finally fixed the Guild infinite gear glitch and banned 10k accounts for using it. Pretty fair considering it was reported months before the game went live, yet they still left the guild bank functional at launch. You actually have a limit to how many accounts you can ignore (either I've never hit those caps in other games and there are just THAT many gold spammers). Visually it is stunning, but visuals can't save it. The cash store I have a bit of a problem with. I'm paying $15 USD per mo for access to EVERYTHING, but there is still a cash shop. So they didn't want any pay gates and put up pay gates to things. Sure you can say that it's only the Imperial race and a horse, but cash shops never stay small. Look at the behemoth of SWTORs and consider that it's only been a year. Then again, it's a freemium model. So you have to spend the $60 for the game, $15/mo for access, and $20 for the Imperial and white horse, or $15 for a brown Palomino. The horses aren't "necessary" (something many people hide behind, but is a null argument when you have a sub model) and they cost 17,000 per horse (i.e. per character) While it is easier to get it at later levels, it basically prices itself out of anyone under level 20 (unless you like mindlessly grinding for money). We have that love/hate relationship with Elder Scrolls, you love the MASSIVE amount of explorable space, but hate that you actually have to cross it. The teleport shrines are handy, but too spread out and having a horse is almost a necessity, unless you have more than one monitor and watch TV while you set auto-run and loosely course correct until you are where you need to go. The other thing is that it isn't like the other games, in that the enemies don't level with you. I'm on the fence about that. I like that EVERYTHING was a threat, but also understand that sometimes you wanna feel like a beast and womp on some lowbies. It could have easily been handled with a scaled backend that scaled your damage given and taken against any particular creature. They do have some minimal pick up quests. I'm assuming that they are leaving some areas blank to develop later, but my explorer side isn't satisfied. Oh, I almost forgot the dreaded invisi-walls. Yea, they have it. SWTOR may not have had massive expanses (well until later), but there were NO invisi-walls. Just exhaustion zones (which ESO does with slaughterfish that you can't kill, but if you die you get an achievement!). I have MANY pictures taken of the game world from behind because I game parkoured to a "unreachable" area and jumped off into the endless space of game void (one of my favorite things to do). Another favorite thing to do was be an outlaw and see just how many towns I can get a bounty in (would be cool for an ingame bounty system, but no. They passed). I would pick pockets, steal gear, attack unwary travellers, but here every non-monster/enemy NPC is "essential." So much so you can't even attack them. You can swing, blast, or loose your arrows until your fingers bleed, and you will not affect anything. Finally, intellectually, it is in no way, shape, or form and Elder Scrolls game. They systems we all came to love are not there. No pickpocketing, no stealing, no deaths of city NPCs unless it's part of the plot. The last vestiges of what we all loved about Elder Scrolls has been stripped away. I wonder if that is why they call you, "The Vestige"?… Expand
  58. Rekia
    Apr 27, 2014
    4
    As a single player experience, it's obviously lacking, as most MMOs are. The thing that really ruins it for me is that it doesn't do the multi player experience well either. I gave it 4 because it is fun for about 10 hours, by yourself, but then you start to want more out of an MMO.

    The idea of this game is great, but the actual implementation of it is severely lacking. The Elder    As a single player experience, it's obviously lacking, as most MMOs are. The thing that really ruins it for me is that it doesn't do the multi player experience well either. I gave it 4 because it is fun for about 10 hours, by yourself, but then you start to want more out of an MMO.

    The idea of this game is great, but the actual implementation of it is severely lacking. The Elder Scrolls IP is really the only thing that makes this game playable.

    Pros:

    - I've always wanted to explore more of Tamriel and this game allows you to explore a lot of different cultures and environments in the Elder Scroll's lore.

    - Action based combat similar to Guild Wars 2

    - A lot of the quests actually have very interesting stories

    Cons:

    - Imagine an Elder Scrolls game where you couldn't run around collecting all the Daedric artifacts, hoarding random stuff you find in people's homes, or decorating your own home - basically there's a lot of limitations in this game that make me feel very "homesick" for a real Elder Scroll's title.

    - The action based combat is very unresponsive and basically a watered down version of GW2's very successful combat system . You only get 5 skills and an ultimate on your bar at any time, and only skills that are on your bar gain experience and level up. It ends up being that everyone has to choose the same five skills because you don't really have room for situational skills.

    - And by unresponsive, I mean sometimes you want to switch your weapon in combat to pull out that bow, but it takes 2+ seconds after hitting the hotkey before it registers. Sometimes enemies will appear to be several feet away, or facing the other direction, and yet still hitting you. Which makes the dodge mechanic pointless since the red ground indicator is not always in the correct spot. Also, dodging doesn't always work, even with full stamina.

    - Dodging takes stamina. Blocking takes stamina. Weapon skills take stamina, so if you used all your stamina using your weapon skills (there is no auto attack, so you probably did) then you don't get to dodge or block that huge attack that may or may not one shot you. I hope you like caster classes because they're just 100 times better than any melee weapon or bow based build.

    - Some classes and weapon types are just better than everything else, the combat is not at all balanced, not even remotely.

    - Many progression halting bugs. All of the quests are part of a quest chain. Each icon on the map is one quest chain area that you must complete in order to get enough experience to continue on to the next area. There are MANY bugs that prevent a quest from being done, which prevents the quest chain from being continued, which means your character might be super underleveled for the next area.

    - Dungeons and killing monsters barely rewards any exp, only quests are worth decent exp.

    - The end game content consists of doing all the quests in the other faction's areas with absolutely no role play or story reason for doing it. I started out as a a loyal member of the Daggerfall Covenant helping the King against the Aldmeri Dominion and the Ebonheart pact, but now I'm helping the Aldermi queen for some reason. Basically, the reason is because it's the only thing to do at level 50+ and rather than have new content for end game, they recycled the other quest areas, basically eliminating any desire to make an alt of these other factions.

    - More bugs. There's a bug that basically makes it so that you can no longer attack or do anything in combat until you die. Certain weapon skills cause it, so it happens often. There's a bug where everything in your entire bank disappears and all the bank upgrades you bought are gone. There's a bug where your helmet randomly disappears while you craft. A lot of skills are bugged too.

    - Phasing. All the quests are phased, so you're in a different "phase" or instance of the game after completing a quest. You know how in World of Warcraft, when you're in a different phase from your group member, it asks "Your friend is in a different phase, would you like to join them?" This game does not do that. There is NO way to join your friend in their phase, and ALL the quests are phased, so the only way to level with a friend is to never do anything without them. You'll never be able to help a guildy or a random person with their quests.

    - Many instances are solo. Some quest lines can only be done solo and you can't help or be helped during them. Really hope you chose a caster based build because the game gets impossibly hard for melee characters later on.

    So in conclusion, this game is pretty fun at first, then disappointing. I'd put it in the "borrow from a friend, but don't spend $60 on it" category.    … Expand
  59. 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
  60. timt
    Apr 10, 2014
    5
    Objective Review:
    It is not terrible, but it is not great either. If you are looking for a game that will provide an amazing experience - this is not it. If you are looking to kill time, then this might do the trick.

    I would never give this a 10. I have no idea how some have. I also would not give this a zero - it is not that bad. 5 out of 10 is more reasonable, but
  61. nymroth
    Apr 14, 2014
    5
    This is a single player game till level 50 with some people in it. And it is not a good single player game. Game design is seriously flawed. Don't make the same mistake i did: Wait for it goes f2p and don't buy it now.
  62. n91a
    Apr 15, 2014
    5
    Superficially, TESO looks like Skyrim. Similar interface, similar great artwork. However, if you're looking for Skyrim online, TESO isn't it. TESO brings nothing new to the MMO genre, and utterly fails to live up to the pre-release hype. It looks pretty, but contrary to Matt Firor's grand promise of a "polished" and "bug-free" product, TESO is anything but. Unstable, quests riddledSuperficially, TESO looks like Skyrim. Similar interface, similar great artwork. However, if you're looking for Skyrim online, TESO isn't it. TESO brings nothing new to the MMO genre, and utterly fails to live up to the pre-release hype. It looks pretty, but contrary to Matt Firor's grand promise of a "polished" and "bug-free" product, TESO is anything but. Unstable, quests riddled with bugs, and gameplay is generally clunky and laggy. Also, because TESO allows (and appears to favor) the third-person perspective, those of us who enjoy the first-person immersion are at a disadvantage for both PvP and PvE-boss encounters. Is it worth playing for free? Sure. Is it worth the hefty $60 + monthly? Heck no.… Expand
  63. ESOPlayer
    Mar 17, 2015
    0
    If you want to waste money, just click on the "buy" button.

    They haven't released new real playable (new zones etc) content in 7 months. (they claimed new content would come every 4-5 weeks) Game launch was a failure which is why they went B2P and all the issues that where there since game start have yet to be addressed: - AVAVA is laggy, they keep advertising the game with "Epic    If you want to waste money, just click on the "buy" button.

    They haven't released new real playable (new zones etc) content in 7 months. (they claimed new content would come every 4-5 weeks)

    Game launch was a failure which is why they went B2P and all the issues that where there since game start have yet to be addressed:

    - AVAVA is laggy, they keep advertising the game with "Epic Battles" which are impossible because of the lag.
    - Clunky UI.
    - Clunky Combat.
    - No balance between Magicka & Stamina builds
    - No balance between classes.
    - Solo quest feels empty and doesn't feel like a TESO game.
    - Veteran Levels are still there and still a pain to level up to the point hundreds have quit because of it.

    They also recently implemented a "Champion System" that offers endless progression (years of progression), and each point makes your character stronger, which means that any new player that isn't max level yet will always have less points than the older players and will always be weaker.

    Moreover Zenimax Online (which is a horrific company to work for from what reviews say on the net), does not care the slightest about their customers. Many times they have implemented game changing patchs without any compensation to their players thus making them loose a lot of progress and advancement.

    If you want to play a game for a company who cares only about money, that lies repeatedly to it's customers, has a harsh forum moderation (to silence people who complain) and doesn't care about it's customers, Elder Scrolls Online is the place to go!

    This game was supposed to be great, it doesn't deserve to be successful after how they ruined it. Zenimax is just a bunch of liars led by a Marketting team that takes all the decisons and will stay in Mat Frior's resumee like a big failure.    … Expand
  64. Argoss
    Aug 18, 2014
    0
    Duping, hacking, gold spamming, monster farming, money grabbing fest. Paying PC customers treated as beta testers for console versions. This is a scam not a game. Avoid.
  65. faceless-1
    Sep 3, 2014
    0
    IF you are a TES fan stay away from this. This is the worst cash in on good franchise iv ever seen. This is same quality like some of the EA famos franchise killings (command and conquer4). I really hope this game wont kill Elder scrolls like CnC 4 did to CnC.
  66. 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
  67. AuldWolf
    Jan 7, 2017
    0
    A bad time for casuals.

    This game started off as having more of a casual focus, sure. Since One Tamriel, though, it's been supremely exclusionary of casuals. Dungeons scale to appeal to end-game PvE players, balance changes that regularly wreck concept builds to appeal to PvP players, and world bosses that used to be soloable that now require a large group. If you're a very competitive    A bad time for casuals.

    This game started off as having more of a casual focus, sure. Since One Tamriel, though, it's been supremely exclusionary of casuals. Dungeons scale to appeal to end-game PvE players, balance changes that regularly wreck concept builds to appeal to PvP players, and world bosses that used to be soloable that now require a large group. If you're a very competitive sort, you'll love it. It's just too toxic of an environment for casuals. It's moving ever more and more toward appealing to the people who play WoW and League of Legends.

    Crafting used to be a level above all drops, so it was easy to craft great armour. Crafting stats have been nerfed, and crafted gear is the same level as what drops now (and inferior in every way). This is something they promised they wouldn't do, but hey, it's just too easy to get good gear and the high-end PvE players don't like that. They added duelling, which meant that roleplayers are now getting trolled all the time by people checking roleplaying site schedules and having duels there. Unlike Champions Online, it doesn't even have no-duel zones. You can duel anywhere.

    The only thing that ESO still has going for it is slightly above sub par writing.

    If you want the MMO that is all the things ESO promised to be? Hm, that's hard. TSW is a good choice, and it's more in line with casual players than ESO is now. So... I'd suggest giving that a try instead. Just keep in mind that ESO has gone in a Bold New Direction, the management at Zenimax Online Studios now wants that sweet, sweet WoW money. And we all know how well that worked out for Champions Online, Wildstar, Warhammer Online, et al, right?

    So don't bother with ESO and ignore the promises made about it. It used to be a casual game, not any more.    … Expand
  68. DrStrange
    Aug 1, 2014
    4
    Where most MMO's will do their best to engage you at the start, Elder scrolls fails to even set the pace. As you begin your adventures immediately you find yourself surrounded by dull colors, uninspired environments, and NPCs that give a new meaning to generic. The classes the player chooses from are traditional warrior, rogue, and mage archtypes however their skillset is awkward andWhere most MMO's will do their best to engage you at the start, Elder scrolls fails to even set the pace. As you begin your adventures immediately you find yourself surrounded by dull colors, uninspired environments, and NPCs that give a new meaning to generic. The classes the player chooses from are traditional warrior, rogue, and mage archtypes however their skillset is awkward and uninteresting.

    The PVP places the character in what was the map of Oblivion where you are left basically to your own devices. There is no raid group unless player formed to join, there is no life too it, its just mediocore to say the least. That can be said about the entire game its just underwhelming you are better off staying with WOW or SWTOR as they are atleast capable of keeping the players attention.

    Overall Elder Scrolls community seems to be your average Mentally disturbed and quick to anger populace where you will find yourself grinding for loots to keep up with the next guy. The developers of this game clearly never played a Elder Scroll game and the proof is everywhere.    … Expand
  69. Delaro
    May 2, 2014
    5
    Shallow, flavorless, generic, bland, uninspiring and, monotonous.

    Cons: Flooded with Bots and gold farmers at launch. Really slow response from GM's. Multi broken and bugged Quests sometimes for days on end. Boring repetitive quest system. Boring Combat system and Weak AI.... Mash 2 buttons FTW. Repetitive Scenery and landscape. Monotone and very uninspiring NPC's. Pros: Very    Shallow, flavorless, generic, bland, uninspiring and, monotonous.

    Cons:
    Flooded with Bots and gold farmers at launch.
    Really slow response from GM's.
    Multi broken and bugged Quests sometimes for days on end.
    Boring repetitive quest system.
    Boring Combat system and Weak AI.... Mash 2 buttons FTW.
    Repetitive Scenery and landscape.
    Monotone and very uninspiring NPC's.

    Pros:
    Very visually appealing.
    Crafting system is decent
    That's about all I can think of... Really not much more got my attention.

    This game missed the Hype by leaps and bounds, what we have is a $15 a month game that offers less than many of the massive amount of free to play Asian MMO's ripoffs. I felt as though I was playing a game based 12 years ago, there is nothing at all new about this title nothing inspiring or memorable that would make me want to keep playing.    … Expand
  70. Terminal-Rex
    Jul 21, 2014
    3
    Following TESO since its original announcement, i was pretty excited when I finally got to sit down and play. I loaded in and the character creation was a fantastic first step in the game, however from there things gradually go downhill. The first thing you notice is that the graphics have been dramatically downgraded (in terms of skyrim), for obvious reasons, being that it is an mmo, thisFollowing TESO since its original announcement, i was pretty excited when I finally got to sit down and play. I loaded in and the character creation was a fantastic first step in the game, however from there things gradually go downhill. The first thing you notice is that the graphics have been dramatically downgraded (in terms of skyrim), for obvious reasons, being that it is an mmo, this is not such a big problem, however a lot of the animations are also poor, which almost emphasise the fact that the graphics are no skyrim and also the fact that you are now playing an mmo. A lot of people will tell you this game is very different from most MMOs, it is not. The same core principles apply to this as to most other MMOs on the market albeit it has a slighlty different look. However one most important things for an MMO to get right, questing, feels hollow and unimmerssive. The biggest problem I have with TESOs questing is that for an MMO the Multiplayer and Co-operative elements are somewhat lacking. If you decide to do a quest you can follow your own path, but as soon as you try teaming up with friends the quest is not shared, unlike for example guild wars where you group up and alll get the same cut-scenes ect ect, This means that you can take the same quest logs but it never really feels like you have teamed up with friend morte like you are playing a single player game whilst your friends also play a single player game at the same moment. The when you are questing alone often you run through rooms which are already being cleared out by other players making your role in the quest utterly pointless, it makes the game completely unimmersive and frankly a little bit boring.

    My verdict is that TESO is no skyrim if you want the skyrim experence buy skyrim, which is a fantastic game. =
    - If you want an online version of Skyrim, this is not the game, it will leave you feeling utterly disappointed as the graphics are worse, the animations are terrible, its unimerssive, the controls are worse, every aspect of the game is a downgrade on Skyrim.
    +(However)+
    - If you want a decent MMO this is also not the game for you, it is sub-par at best, especially in comaprison to other MMOs currently on the market. Some feature seem pretty cool at first glance but in actual fact they are pretty gimmicky and add nothing to the overall experence. It is also a very expensive game in terms of base price and the per month cost compared to some much better MMOs and most importantly it lacks the core multiplayer gameplay that MMOs are supposed to offer.

    This is a game that can surely only dissapoint two target audiences, MMO gamers and Skyrim fans.    … Expand
  71. TheGroobster
    May 2, 2014
    5
    So I have been playing this game off an on including the Beta. There are some elements that the game does very well at and some that it fails spectacularly at. I will talk about the good things first.

    First of all, I love the class system and progression of your character. You can use any weapon with any class and there are tons of abilities to choose from. It really makes you think    So I have been playing this game off an on including the Beta. There are some elements that the game does very well at and some that it fails spectacularly at. I will talk about the good things first.

    First of all, I love the class system and progression of your character. You can use any weapon with any class and there are tons of abilities to choose from. It really makes you think when it comes to choosing new abilities. I also really like the crafting system. I was extremely disappointed with the GW2 crafting system. It ultimately pushed me to get ESO because it was so disappointing. However, I will say that researching traits can get confusing when trying to remember which traits you have already researched but you can easily find an add on for that which is another positive note. The add on system is really easy to use. Just drag and drop into your add ons folder and you are done.

    On a side note, PVP is very highly regarded in this game. I will admit I never really got to try it much. I went there as a low level and I didn't really like the experience. Sometimes there are players hiding and waiting to ambush you as you are on your way to the objective. I had a very hard time adjusting to the combat and understanding how I was supposed to play. I think it just takes some getting used to.

    Now on to the negatives. First of all, I find the questing system to be EXTREMELY bland and boring. I appreciate that all of the quests are voice acted, but I don't feel like I am having any real influence on the world. Much of the quest text seems very played out and bland. I do not get immersed in the story.

    Another thing is the graphics. They are not bad, but they are not amazing either. For some reason the view distance seems to be less effective over 60-70%. The water and shadows look amazing. But I was expecting more. Also I find the character models to be bland as well. I have never met an ugly NPC. They are all supermodels.

    Another thing to note is that there just aren't enough choices in this game. This is supposed to be an Elder Scrolls game but I can't attack guards or steal. It would be neat if they implemented a crime system or some kind of morality system.

    All in all I find this game very bland and uninspiring. I do regret paying for it but something inside me keeps wanting to give it another chance. Maybe if I level up more and get to the next area things will be more exciting. I might still do that but at some point I am going to cut it off. I am very hesitant to say that this game is worth $15 a month.    … Expand
  72. Qahina
    Apr 8, 2014
    6
    You will either love it or hate yourself for paying money. ESO is a mixed Blessing really. The are some really bright ides and new on the one Hand but massive technical Problems (thanks Bugthesda) lacking of instancing in the gaming world (you kann hear other Player jumping or door closing noices throughout the whole building) and the hated really uninformative skyrim UI which standYou will either love it or hate yourself for paying money. ESO is a mixed Blessing really. The are some really bright ides and new on the one Hand but massive technical Problems (thanks Bugthesda) lacking of instancing in the gaming world (you kann hear other Player jumping or door closing noices throughout the whole building) and the hated really uninformative skyrim UI which stand against it. ESO is fresh and new but also completely ignores standards in UI accessability or quest mapping which most other MMOs abide by nowadays.… Expand
  73. SlachtungFyand
    Aug 2, 2014
    10
    I'm an Elder Scrolls fanatic, so when I heard about ESOs release I was thrilled. I'd be able to explore most of Tamriel! The MMO part of it caused my elation to take a serious nosedive though when I looked up the meaning of MMO. Bought the game anyway, and I'm glad I did.
    It feels like an Elder Scrolls game, It draws you in and makes you feel like you're a part of that huge, expansive    I'm an Elder Scrolls fanatic, so when I heard about ESOs release I was thrilled. I'd be able to explore most of Tamriel! The MMO part of it caused my elation to take a serious nosedive though when I looked up the meaning of MMO. Bought the game anyway, and I'm glad I did.
    It feels like an Elder Scrolls game, It draws you in and makes you feel like you're a part of that huge, expansive world. I still am not crazy about the MMO part but I'm getting used to it. I'm disappointed there is no player housing and I miss being able to interact with the environment like sitting in chairs, diving in water, collecting treasures and displaying them in your player home, having a companion.
    Graphically it's beautiful, which makes exploration a treat. The Scenery is varied and colorful. Morrowind looks different from Skyrim which looks different from Auridon... One drawback to exploring though is different zones go up in level and the critters/enemies are leveled to those zones. So exploring in Deshaan which is level 30 means level 30 enemies. So if you're level 12 you can't freely run around merrily exploring Deshaan cause you will be quickly killed by the many critters and bandits regardless of your prowess with a sword and shield or how skillful you are at kiting.
    Never liked third person perspective til this game, it adds to the combat, I can keep all the enemies in my line of sight and plan my attacks and defense better. And being able to control my character's direction with the mouse makes for smooth and quick movement when in combat or running for your life from much higher level enemies..
    The character creation is phenomenal! I can actually create a sexy Dunmer chick and that's saying something! And the freedom to customize your character however you want. You don't have to strictly adhere to certain class mold types like other games do. You can be a Nord sorcerer wearing heavy armor and wielding a 2 handed greatsword... and if you didn't like that you could change to sword and board and medium armor. Anything goes.
    I've been enjoying the quests, especially those that involve the Nords, they are hilarious. "When we asked Hraelgar Stonecrush to help defend the town, he accused me of being "fancy." I assume that's an insult in Skyrim. Also, I think he was drunk." -Drathus Othral
    Have had only one bug so far and that was in the quest Hrogar's Hold - Protecting the Hall... and I've been playing since the last beta. I will say since the last big v1.2.3 update my game has been crashing 3 - 5 times in a day of playing. It's kind of starting to frost my backside a bit cause Zenimax isn't offering any help with this issue. I submit the error reports but I never hear anything back from support.
    Bit expensive to get started with this game but I think it's well worth the money. I just won't buy my husband a Christmas present this year and that'll make up for the expense. (He's been naughty anyway)
    Over-all, I highly recommend ESO. I like it a lot. I'd actually love the game if they'd have player housing, let me store my treasures in my home and sit in a chair at my dining table with my handsome male Dunmer companion and my pet cat :).    … Expand
  74. Greenicey
    Sep 27, 2014
    5
    As a huge MMO fan, and an even bigger Elder Scrolls fan I was super pumped for this game. However after beta I did not choose to continue playing this game. Graphically the game is fairly good. It doesn't look as good as Skyrim, but that is to be expected. It seemed at first they were going to stylize it to look more like Oblivion, but that's not the case. Everything just looks ratherAs a huge MMO fan, and an even bigger Elder Scrolls fan I was super pumped for this game. However after beta I did not choose to continue playing this game. Graphically the game is fairly good. It doesn't look as good as Skyrim, but that is to be expected. It seemed at first they were going to stylize it to look more like Oblivion, but that's not the case. Everything just looks rather generic. The voice-acting is generally inoffensive, nothing worth noting. Gameplay is probably the startlingly different aspect. It is a mix of typical Elder Scrolls combat and exploration, all with MMO restrictions. You choose a class and you can bring different skills with you into battle. Each class has three trees of skills, nothing we haven't seen. Now this would sound like it would work well with the elder scrolls mechanics, but it doesn't. Playing with friends and other people makes this game a chore more than it really should. I honestly think this game should either have been made more like Elder Scrolls, or much more like an MMO. The two just don't mix as well they should. It's honestly like playing a really cheap copy of Skyrim, it's not even a decent MMO.… Expand
  75. DeciusFrecentis
    Jun 22, 2014
    9
    I must say, the negative reception this game has received has absolutely floored me. Maybe it's because I'm not an MMO buff. Maybe its because I really came to ESO looking for another single player game. But eitherway, I have not had so much fun since Oblivion.

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

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

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

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

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

    But this is the most fun I have had since Oblivion. Maybe it's not a great MMO, because the cooperative and PVP aspects of the game are probably the most disappointing. Cyrodiil, for instance, is either extremely laggy or achingly empty. But it is, without a doubt, a marvelous experience that leaves me feeling like a kid in a candy store.    … Expand
  76. EV1LMADEFL3SH
    Nov 26, 2014
    10
    Best MMO I have played in a long time. well worth the money, after six months of playing, I still find myself playing this game for hours on end after a days work. This game might be the game the internet loves to hate, but it is so much fun.
  77. david271749
    Oct 11, 2014
    5
    After playing out a six month subscription to this game, I think I'm entitled to an honest review. The idea for the game was great. There was a lot of potential there. Unfortunately, there's nothing here that lives up to that potential. Why the developers thought a theme park mmo that stems from a series of single player sandbox rpgs would be a good idea is beyond me. It's a crash grab.After playing out a six month subscription to this game, I think I'm entitled to an honest review. The idea for the game was great. There was a lot of potential there. Unfortunately, there's nothing here that lives up to that potential. Why the developers thought a theme park mmo that stems from a series of single player sandbox rpgs would be a good idea is beyond me. It's a crash grab. We're half a year in, and devs are more focused on working on future content than fixing current content. Endgame is pvp. Pve trials and pve arena are terrible. The game is full of exploiters and macro users who go unpunished. This ruins any purpose in progressing or playing through the game legitimately. This game might have a better chance on consoles, if that project doesn't get abandoned. It's already been postponed for six months, and we haven't heard a word about console release since it was postponed 4 months ago.… Expand
  78. TheLooseHunter
    Nov 11, 2014
    5
    I give this game a 5 because of the fact that this is one of the most disgusting example of a MMO, but i enjoyed the game.
    You have to pay on release day a good $60 with also monthly subscriptions. When i started the game, you received a moment for choosing your class. You get the choice of 4 classes, while one of them is already locked if you pay another 15 to 20 dollars for unlockable    I give this game a 5 because of the fact that this is one of the most disgusting example of a MMO, but i enjoyed the game.
    You have to pay on release day a good $60 with also monthly subscriptions. When i started the game, you received a moment for choosing your class. You get the choice of 4 classes, while one of them is already locked if you pay another 15 to 20 dollars for unlockable content. This game is more a walking simulator than an action rpg game. The looting system shows us that you better pay another 20 dollars because the old feeling of hours of work is not that important anymore.
    Is this how you treat a franchise like TESC? There are a lot of other franchises who have been destroyed because of the same thing Bethesda tried to.
    If you love this franchise, go and buy it. But for people who just love MMOs, think twice before you go to a store.    … Expand
  79. SenseyZ
    Feb 15, 2015
    10
    Update 6, Made a lot of changes... and this game should have a good score by March's time frame.
    Subscription was dropped. so now it's buy to play!
    And Justice system is added along with a great service that replaced the subscription, it's called "ESO Plus" Good to see this game getting back on its feet. I can't wait for the freaking console version coming this June, 9. The hype is    Update 6, Made a lot of changes... and this game should have a good score by March's time frame.
    Subscription was dropped. so now it's buy to play!
    And Justice system is added along with a great service that replaced the subscription, it's called "ESO Plus"
    Good to see this game getting back on its feet. I can't wait for the freaking console version coming this June, 9. The hype is gonna kill me    … Expand
  80. silvan415
    Dec 1, 2014
    10
    Felt I needed to come to the defense of this game. This is a fantastic game, unique to the genre and true to the mythos behind it. I've been a player of the Elder Scrolls series since Elder Scrolls 3, Morrowind. Although aware of the previous titles, they were before my time (or rather I was wrapped up in Ultima Underworld 2). What I'm trying to say is that this game holds true to allFelt I needed to come to the defense of this game. This is a fantastic game, unique to the genre and true to the mythos behind it. I've been a player of the Elder Scrolls series since Elder Scrolls 3, Morrowind. Although aware of the previous titles, they were before my time (or rather I was wrapped up in Ultima Underworld 2). What I'm trying to say is that this game holds true to all of the mythology behind the Elder Scrolls series and even builds on it.
    Now its not a perfect game: My experience with it is that its an incredible game, gorgeous and organic and true to the world, but its unforgiving if you don’t have a mission-plan for your character. There is no way to change your appearance and no ‘respec’ for your character. The skill path you choose is set in stone unless you suddenly win the Tamriel lottery, so if a skill path doesn’t work for you better delete and re-roll. To ‘respec’ you have to buy point by point at a rededication shrine, which can add up very quickly.
    The thing that truly makes this a unique MMO experience is that although there are four unique classes, the rolls of those classes are not set in stone. You can play as a tank Sorceror, or a DPS Dragon knight/Templar. You can essentially wield any form of armor and any weapon of your choosing as any class. Right now I’m playing a pure cut and dry sorcerer, cloth wearing and ‘lightning spec’. At the peak of my power I’m turning into lightning and using dark-jedi style lightning attacks against mobs of enemies.
    Now what truly impressed me about this game is the organic nature in which the animations coincide with one another. Unlike skyrim, you never feel like you’re ‘slicing’ through an enemy. The animations mesh together in such a way that there are times you feel as if your character is engage in actual combat situations. Too many MMO’s have the silly ‘slash and hit till they’re dead’ animation, this game requires actual skill. Power attacks require blocks, you have to time your attacks just right to manage hits, and you can get stunned if you power attack into a block. This is honestly something I haven’t seen since Phantasy Star Online 1. You certainly can’t button mash to get your way, and its is certainly more intelligent than WoW.
    Drawbacks:
    Clunky interface that is at times difficult to maneuver
    Needs work on enemy targeting
    ‘open ended’ but ‘unforgiving’ in difficulty (just like its predecessor titles)
    Difficulty grouping with slow and clunky group finders and dungeon finders. Like all MMO’s that try to herd you into having to group, this MMO becomes frustrating when the enemy difficult randomly shoots above to what you can easily handle. I like questing by myself, so there are times this game becomes frustrating and unplayable.
    Plusses:
    Beautiful well rendered open ended organic world
    Open ended classes that aren’t Pidgeon holed into designated roles
    Solid story with excellent voice acting with voices like Malcolm Mcdowell, Kate Beckinsale, Bill Nighy, Lynda Carter and Michael Gambon ( Dumbledore in Harry Potter)
    Amazing crafting system for those who enjoy crafting
    Phenomenal PVP with an end result of being nothing short of the Emperor of Tamriel ( if you can hold on to the title long enough…)    … Expand
  81. Atikamekw
    Dec 10, 2014
    2
    Let's be honest, if you ever played a MMO you know that TESO can't pretend to be a MMO, it's a solo game wonderfully made, the graphics are awesome, the story sounds and look cool, but IT'S NOT A MMO !!! I played it with 4 friends and we all abandon it because we like to play MMO TOGETHER not each one in his own story without being able to help each other, this game sucks sooooo much whenLet's be honest, if you ever played a MMO you know that TESO can't pretend to be a MMO, it's a solo game wonderfully made, the graphics are awesome, the story sounds and look cool, but IT'S NOT A MMO !!! I played it with 4 friends and we all abandon it because we like to play MMO TOGETHER not each one in his own story without being able to help each other, this game sucks sooooo much when it came to play as a group it's insane !! If you loved Skyrim you will love TESO but if you want to play a game with friends to do a cooperative play, forget this game, go play SWtOR, Rift or GW2 ... even WoW is a better game than this solo game trying to pretend it's a MMO. I tried it for 4 month and then we all cancelled our subscription, me and my 4 friends are now playing a real MMO, good luck TESO.… Expand
  82. Kawai
    Jul 10, 2014
    1
    Graphics: 8 / Sound: 9 / Likeness to ES: 5 / Gameplay: 3 / Character customization: 4
    Combat Melee: 5 / Combat Casting: 6 / Combat Archery: 1 / Gameworld Navigation: 2
    Questing: 2 / Partying: 2 / Guilds: 2 / In Game Chat: 1 / Cheats/Exploits Prevention: 1 Character Control: 6 / Game Economy: 1 / Inventory    Graphics: 8 / Sound: 9 / Likeness to ES: 5 / Gameplay: 3 / Character customization: 4
    Combat Melee: 5 / Combat Casting: 6 / Combat Archery: 1 / Gameworld Navigation: 2
    Questing: 2 / Partying: 2 / Guilds: 2 / In Game Chat: 1 / Cheats/Exploits Prevention: 1
    Character Control: 6 / Game Economy: 1 / Inventory Control: 4 / Crafting System: 10
    Hype/Expectation/Delivery: 2 / Producers Response: 1 / Fanboy Boost: 10    … Expand
  83. millertym
    Jun 22, 2014
    8
    Quick summery: If you loved the elder scrolls games, you will like this game a lot - at least though the leveling up portions. If you are a huge fan of WoW and more classically functioning MMOs, it may not be your ball of wax. What we have here is an MMO that is not quite different enough from other MMOs and an Elder Scrolls game that is a bit too different from Elder Scrolls games.Quick summery: If you loved the elder scrolls games, you will like this game a lot - at least though the leveling up portions. If you are a huge fan of WoW and more classically functioning MMOs, it may not be your ball of wax. What we have here is an MMO that is not quite different enough from other MMOs and an Elder Scrolls game that is a bit too different from Elder Scrolls games.

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

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

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

    If you are an Elder Scrolls fan I predict you would have AT LEAST enough fun with this game to justify the cost and 1 or 2 months of the subscriber fee. And hey, if you end up loving the PvP it may be a fairly long term run for you.    … Expand
  84. lion8797
    Jul 13, 2014
    2
    The Game lacks in the Open World feel, and basically if you want to feel like a badass, try not to get beat down by the super impressive mudcrabs. Please tell the programmers and developers to stop posting 10's on the site. Its ok to vote for your horse but lets be honest ok, you are like the Mom with the my kids #1 sign.
  85. Chrithu
    Mar 12, 2015
    9
    I hit the 5000 character limit with my long review so now I make a short bullet list:

    Positives: + Fully voiced + Best combat system in a Fantasy MMORPG so far. + Skillsystem and Class-System offering a lot of freedom. Any class can be made a Tank, DD or Healer + Crafted gear is often better than looted stuff, thus crafting matters. + No Auction House. (a good thing in my book for    I hit the 5000 character limit with my long review so now I make a short bullet list:

    Positives:
    + Fully voiced
    + Best combat system in a Fantasy MMORPG so far.
    + Skillsystem and Class-System offering a lot of freedom. Any class can be made a Tank, DD or Healer
    + Crafted gear is often better than looted stuff, thus crafting matters.
    + No Auction House. (a good thing in my book for a myriad of reasons)
    + Awesome storyline (for Aldmeri Dominion and Daggerfall Covenant)
    + Best race-specific voice-work and Dialog-writing in any Elder Scrolls game so far.
    + Update 6 brought a Justice System. I can kill most NPCs now, and steal the **** outta them.

    Negatives:
    - Very little group content before end-game.
    - No group Dialogues. SWTOR set a new standart here. Any MMO missing a similar system will have to accept losses in the rating.
    - OUrageously bad storyline for Ebonheart Pact, which consists of Elder Scrolls most favored races. Might be the reason for a lot of the bad reviews mentioning dull quests.    … Expand
  86. inimical
    Dec 30, 2016
    5
    When it was first released, it had some potential for becoming a good mmo. Ultimately, after a couple months I quit due to bugs ruining the experience. I recently tried to reinstall and see how it's come along, but it's still a buggy mess. Not worth the time.
  87. MAX90
    Jun 7, 2021
    0
    the game is filled with toxic LGBT content, it creates a bad image for LGBT people
  88. Barbzilla
    Mar 10, 2015
    6
    Normally I don't feel the need to write a review unless I'm completely blown away by how awesome a game is, and when I do write said review, it is usually on another site or Steam. This game deserves a special award however, and so I am here to let everyone know.

    First off, let me get the negativity out of the way, which is really what I'm here to write about, but I will do my best to    Normally I don't feel the need to write a review unless I'm completely blown away by how awesome a game is, and when I do write said review, it is usually on another site or Steam. This game deserves a special award however, and so I am here to let everyone know.

    First off, let me get the negativity out of the way, which is really what I'm here to write about, but I will do my best to give a fair review of the rest of the game afterwards.

    The game is crashtacular. I have never had a game crash on me this much, and I was around for the Daikatana release. I started out at the beginning of closed beta, and played every event until it went open. After open beta I played 2 weekends (one at the start, and then the final weekend). The game was understandably buggy and the servers couldn't handle the load at all. Many of us begged the devs to delay the release until the issues had settled because they wouldn't be able to push quality content and major bug resolution at the same time without causing more bugs. The devs decided not to take heed of our warnings, and went on to release on schedule.

    The launch was a complete disaster, but it did get better. The problem was, they never did manage to work out a lot of the random crash bugs. To this day, if you go to the official forums under tech support, you will see that about 90% of the reports have to do with crash to desktop. The best part is, every time they release a patch, a new set of crash bugs appear.

    I have been mostly fine since the third patch, however, with the latest patch I now crash every time I attempt to zone. This would be somewhat palatable if I ended up at my destination when I logged back in, rather than where I initiated the zone. I am currently trapped on all of my characters in tiny PvE areas for quests (though i did manage to level my low level character up 4 times just off of killing mobs). So my choices are to either create a new character skipping the tutorial and just stick to the outside areas, or to just quit playing until the issue is resolved.

    I have spoken to their customer support (which is almost non-existent as they are so backlogged with other people experiencing crashes they can't resolve), and followed all of their steps only to be told to uninstall the game and re-download it for the 3rd time (keep in mind this is almost 50gb of download each time, and the launcher installs this in the most illogical and time wasting manner). So, i am currently done with the game. I've canceled my membership since it is going buy to play this month anyway.

    Now, for the rest of the review and about the game itself.

    Elder Scrolls Online is actually a pretty fun MMO on the surface level. It has some rather annoying issues and design choices that will get to you if you are a hardcore MMO player, but if you are more of a solo PvP player, this game may be right up your ally.

    The game rewards you for exploring and uncovering hidden areas and locked chests. It also goes out of its way to make the world feel more like a living world than most MMOs do, as it does away with the typical quest hub style world layout, and opts for a more open system. It is quite normal for a new player to miss a number of quests along the way, and can actually be somewhat beneficial later down the road since you can visit the other factions starting areas and do the quests there at a higher level (though this is also a drawback).

    The combat is fairly intuitive and rewards you for using tactics. You have to watch for on screen queues to alert you to the enemy's impending heavy attacks and special attacks, so that you are about to counter them. There is also a nifty combo system if you do happen to be playing with another player, but you will probably only ever use this in an open world PvE questing area at random intervals when another player just happens to randomly initiate one. The combat also rewards you with multiple types of experience based on what you used in combat, and what you have equipped (for example: you will gain exp for all armor types equipped based on the number of slots each type occupies, you will receive exp for all weapon types equipped as well as bonus exp to which ever types you used and for what percentage of the overall damage, and you will receive exp for every skill type on your hot bar along with bonus exp for the skill types you use in combat).

    The story line varies from completely chaotic randomness to some actually compelling writing from time to time. This is coupled with full voice acting that varies from amazing to complete crap (along with some strange choices on whom an actor will get to voice act, I.E. John Cleese). Still though, compared to most MMOs out there, the story line is gold, and you can expect some fairly deep lore since this is a long running series.

    There is a lot wrong with the game, but it can be good if the developers would just spend some quality time and money on a good QA group.    … Expand
  89. tormentor55
    Nov 29, 2014
    6
    Elder scrolls online can be pretty fun at times but it always has its sights on your wallet. The game forces you to spend $60 AND a monthly subscription, (that's already more money needing to be used than WOW) and you have to grind like crazy to get goods with in-game currency instead of paying. This game could have been SO much more tolerable had it been F2P or a one time payment. In thisElder scrolls online can be pretty fun at times but it always has its sights on your wallet. The game forces you to spend $60 AND a monthly subscription, (that's already more money needing to be used than WOW) and you have to grind like crazy to get goods with in-game currency instead of paying. This game could have been SO much more tolerable had it been F2P or a one time payment. In this day and age monthly subscriptions are an unwelcome form of payment. For elder scrolls fans stick to skyrim or pray that the cost to enter this game goes down.… Expand
  90. Nikademus
    Dec 4, 2014
    8
    One of the few handfuls of MMOs out there that don't rely on "loot" as the primary incentive to keep playing (as opposed to good storytelling or fun gameplay). Gorgeous graphic, sound, and music; voice acting is great too.
  91. Calcium
    Dec 22, 2014
    8
    I'm rating this game based on my CURRENT experience - not what I encountered at launch. Personally, I think the majority of the negative reviews are a result of several game-breaking bugs Zenimax (true to form) failed to patch for 6-8 months following launch.

    Onto my review.. Pros - Gorgeous graphics clearly engineered by people who knew what they were doing. My gameplay    I'm rating this game based on my CURRENT experience - not what I encountered at launch. Personally, I think the majority of the negative reviews are a result of several game-breaking bugs Zenimax (true to form) failed to patch for 6-8 months following launch.

    Onto my review..

    Pros

    - Gorgeous graphics clearly engineered by people who knew what they were doing. My gameplay experience didn't suffer horribly playing on a lower end machine before I finally replaced my old clunker computer.

    - Vibrant music. Rich, immersive environment. ESO mixed the melodies from Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim producing a beautiful, nostalgic feel.

    - Despite the fact this is an MMO, the main story-line was surprisingly attention-grabbing. I found myself wanting to level faster simply so I could complete the next part in the series.

    - Unlike other MMOs, ESO broke away from repetitive gather & deliver quests while leveling. Many (not all) side quests are actually quite involved & I found myself completing them not for the xp or gear rewards but merely because they captured my interest.

    - Many dungeon fights while extremely difficult at times, are incredibly creative. I find it far more enjoyable to defeat a boss with tricky mechanics vs. the plain old tank & spank most MMOs fall prey to. A fine example is where mobs jump on a random player and hook him/her up to a mid-evil torture device. Better figure that one out fast. ;)

    - I really enjoyed being able to see the homelands of many neglected races. Not to mention the fact each race's homeland has unique architecture & stunning environment. The artists did not hold back and breathed life into lands we could only read and imagine throughout the Elder Scrolls series.

    Cons

    - Banking & bag clutter. This issue is exacerbated by the fact gear, pets, collectible toys, etc. are stored in your actual inventory. Trust me, it matters and takes away from gaming experience as you find yourself dealing with full bags mid-dungeon and creating pack mule alts.

    - No auction house. This is (obviously) tied into difficulties players experience with clutter. However, they do have trading guilds and some see this as a more enjoyable feature than a full auction house. Personally I prefer convenience, yet I can understand the logic behind not having to compete with an entire server when pricing items.

    - For lore nuts, it's a bit weird when you find a book that wasn't written until a few ages after ESO. This is barely a con but I know it bugs a few people.

    - The way dungeon quests are executed is absolutely abysmal and really takes away from my gameplay experience. Basically, whomever talks to the NPC first, acquires the quest (and by default others in the group do as well) and the event starts. However, let me point out that only one person actually speaks with the NPC before the NPC runs off and usually that is when combat initiates. Once the dungeon is completed, you don't have the opportunity to re-do the initial story quest. There are dailies and even several high level variations of each dungeon. However, as I said the story quest will no longer be accessible to you. It's.... a really stupid design and I hope they change this in the future.

    That concludes my review. Overall, I would definitely recommend this game. Before I finish this however, I'd like to address the countless 0-5 reviews as they are not without merit given the dates. When this game was first released it was so riddled with bugs certain factions couldn't even level - mine included. At level 25 I had to skip every dungeon/group quest for my faction & dozens of area quests. At this point, the only activity I could participate in was PvP as entire areas would bug out & when I tried preemptively completing the higher lvl areas I'd wind up one shot. Since I literally couldn't play, I canceled my sub for 6-8 months and returned when it was fully patched and was shocked (in a good way.)

    ESO was nowhere near ready for release when it launched. However, the game it is today is far smoother & very enjoyable. Nothing like before. I rarely experience bugs & even then they're usually so insignificant that I only notice when one of my OCD guildies points it out. Also, ESO has been regularly updating & releasing new material making me hopeful for its future. That said, this is an MMORPG. If you are looking for a full RPG style game, you probably won't enjoy this for long. Other than that exclusion criteria, if you're looking for a new MMO you can enjoy from level one through Veteran/Raid content, you hit the jackpot. :)    … Expand
  92. Lizarino
    Jul 16, 2020
    9
    As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy MMOs, I really enjoy this game a lot.

    I've tried getting into a lot of other MMOs in the past and either not liked the controls, the the graphics or something else. Out of the about 10 or so MMOs I tried last year, ESO was the only one I could get into. It looked great for an MMO, I liked the art style, it had controls I liked and was used to    As someone who doesn't particularly enjoy MMOs, I really enjoy this game a lot.

    I've tried getting into a lot of other MMOs in the past and either not liked the controls, the the graphics or something else.
    Out of the about 10 or so MMOs I tried last year, ESO was the only one I could get into. It looked great for an MMO, I liked the art style, it had controls I liked and was used to and already like the world and lore from playing the single player elder scrolls games.

    Classes:

    There are currently 6 classes in ESO (4 free and 2 are with DLCs - warden and necro). All of the classes can do good damage, tank or heal, some better than others if you want to min-max.
    Each class has 3 skill lines and each skill has 2 morphs to choose from, which alter how it works. There's also skill lines for each weapon in the game as well as guilds, like fighters guild, mages guild, undaunted.

    This brings me into one big problem I have with the game: stamina builds and how limiting they are for what skills you can use. If you don't want to be forced into using a stave with a magicka build (another con for me) then you can do a stamina build. This forces you to only use 2 or 3 of your class skills at most which heavily limit your options and make your character much more boring, as well as having more than one stamina character pretty much the same as any other.

    Another thing I like about ESO is how you can solo most of the content in the game, if you hate other humans like me.    … Expand
  93. ruslannikulin
    May 15, 2021
    3
    Постоянные вылеты и отвалы серверов в PvP и в подземельях. Игре уже больше 7 лет, а они ни как не сделают стабильное соединение. Но самое забавное, это когда после отвала сервака вы не можете вновь зайти на очередь подземелья или PvP-арены, так как вам причисляют штраф за дезертирство. То есть за свои косяки они игроков штрафуют. Серьёзно, Зеня, серьёзно?!!Постоянные вылеты и отвалы серверов в PvP и в подземельях. Игре уже больше 7 лет, а они ни как не сделают стабильное соединение. Но самое забавное, это когда после отвала сервака вы не можете вновь зайти на очередь подземелья или PvP-арены, так как вам причисляют штраф за дезертирство. То есть за свои косяки они игроков штрафуют. Серьёзно, Зеня, серьёзно?!!
  94. Andizzzzy
    Apr 19, 2021
    0
    I've thought about whether to give this game a good review or not. I almost did, but it would be unfair to the gaming community as a whole, as I would be advocating online gambling and loot boxes essentially saying that it is OK to include that in games. The most painful issue I have with this game is the in-game shop and the way that this game has been monetized. ZOS claim to only sellI've thought about whether to give this game a good review or not. I almost did, but it would be unfair to the gaming community as a whole, as I would be advocating online gambling and loot boxes essentially saying that it is OK to include that in games. The most painful issue I have with this game is the in-game shop and the way that this game has been monetized. ZOS claim to only sell cosmetics and conveniences, however both of these things clash with the core gameplay of ESO.

    There are a number of rewards which are only obtainable through purchasing crowns with money, and with extremely expensive costs too. The game is objectively worse off by the existence of these things. I can count on one hand the number of mounts you can collect in game, but the number of mounts you can buy or obtain through ZOS's loot boxes is closer to 100. This gives players less things to actually play for, less things to collect and fewer targets to set for themselves.

    In addition, you can buy time-savers which grant you ability points (if you've collected them on other characters), experience scrolls, mount training and the research scrolls for professions. The issue I take with the existence of these items is indicative of the fact that ZOS are aware that these grinds are a slug. They are literally time-gated; you can learn one mount training skill every 24 hours, of which there are 180 skills to spend. That is half a year of spending points to max out your mount training. This grind must be done on each character. The research scrolls speed up the rate at which you research a trait in a weapon. When researching a trait, you must wait an increasing amount of actual time before unlocking it and researching another. My main character has gotten to the point that she must wait 20+ days to learn a new trait in some professions. Or I can throw my wallet at ZOS and get it done instantly. ZOS, I want to enjoy your game, but you're making it so hard. This game has become a chore for people who cannot afford pay-to-win "cosmetics", but has become a breeze for new players who have the money to spend in the Crown store.

    The largest houses you can buy typically sell for around 14,000 crowns (a whopping $140 JUST FOR A digital HOUSE!) and are unobtainable otherwise... - just stop and think about that. On the other hand the housing system in the game is alright. However, it suffers when considering how expensive furnishings actually are, especially when compared to how little gold you actually get for just playing the game. While players can obtain some furniture pieces through playing the game, these are extremely few and far between when considering just how many furniture pieces there actually are in the game (majority of which are sold in store - because "cosmetics". The nicer furniture pieces are often priced at 10,000 gold, up to 100,000 for the fanciest pieces. When you only get 300 gold for completing a quest, as a player, you must look to get money through other systems if you want to engage fully with housing and furnishing. ZOS, PLEASE increase the amount of gold you get from quests. This leads me to the auction house in-game, and ESO plus.

    The best way to obtain money in this game, is by engaging in the auction house. I love the auction house system in the game, and the way it forces players to be a part of a guild(s). One thing to help you make gold is the use of the extra bank storage and (literally infinite) crafting bag you get when subscribing to ESO plus. If you plan to sell any crafting materials and you don't have the crafting bag, be prepared to have a full inventory every 10 minutes. It's like ZOS are aware that not playing with the crafting bag is a handicap, and so they move it to a pay-wall. There are other ways to make money in the game, such as farming for rare item drops for hours on end, hoping that one will eventually drop which you can sell for a lottery cash out

    ZOS are masters at creating problems and selling you the solution - if there is a way to make money, ZOS will find it. The in-game store and the monetization is in direct conflict with the soul of this game, and I never feel satisfied playing this game. I want to engage in the housing, but the rate at which I can actually buy furniture, if I just do quests is extraordinarily slow. The crowns I get with the ESO plus subscription make it a bit better, as they allow me to buy furniture and housing with crowns instead of gold, but I can't help but feel like this doesn't have to be a problem at all.

    ZOS, fix... no improve your monetization such that the game still has a soul, that it still offers players many more chances to obtain amazing loot by just playing the game, reward players - stop putting every damn thing in the Crown Store! I paid for this game and like many/every other PERSON that has also paid, we keep paying for every new chapter as well, let us play it without locking features behind time-gates and pay-walls.    … Expand
  95. hypnopaedia
    May 1, 2020
    7
    Though this game had a rough start in 2014, I can safely say in 2020 that the game is playable, stable, and actually quite fun.

    I'm a long-time WoW player unfortunately, and this MMO is one of the only ones that differentiates itself from being a WoW-like experience. It does so through a number of innovative features, either borrowed from Elder Scrolls' past or completely new,    Though this game had a rough start in 2014, I can safely say in 2020 that the game is playable, stable, and actually quite fun.

    I'm a long-time WoW player unfortunately, and this MMO is one of the only ones that differentiates itself from being a WoW-like experience. It does so through a number of innovative features, either borrowed from Elder Scrolls' past or completely new, including:

    + interactive combat (blocking, block bashing, dodging, being required to actually hit enemies with your attacks)
    + semi-deep quest and world lore that, while interesting, is entirely skip-able if you are not interested, and doesn't get in the way of gameplay if you are interested
    + a reduced number of abilities and active ability hotkeys, with swappable weapon / ability sets, making each individual ability more central to your core strategy, and allowance for swapping between combat "roles" (tank, healer, dps, etc.) quickly and fluidly.

    In addition, with a large world that can be explored at your pace (no level-specific requirements), no questing hubs, quick access between continents, and fast travel to and from cities, exploration and adventure are given incentive. The player is not railroaded into the main quest, specific cities, or anything else for that matter.

    Playing with friends is fun and easy, as players' stats scale to the current content, meaning that all players (except max level players) compete on an even playing field. This ensures that players can maintain cooperative play, even if leveling separately, and reduces queue times for PvP and dungeon content. At the same time, however, players of higher level are still rewarded in these situations, as better gear tiers and new active and passive abilities still provide an edge, and make you feel more powerful than those around you.

    Server and performances issues are at an all-time low. I play on a high-performance gaming PC, while one of my friends plays on a crappy Mac, and another plays on a mid-range Windows laptop. None of us have experienced issues with connectivity or performance beyond singular outliers, separated by hours of stable gameplay.

    Now, on to the negatives.

    ESO used to have a subscription model. However, following a subpar launch and declining subscriptions, they switched to a free model with an in-game store and an optional, perk-based subscription. This can be mostly avoided, but the biggest "incentive" to purchase an ESO+ subscription is the inventory management. Dear lord, is your inventory the most difficult part of the game. Inventory fills up basically immediately, then the bank goes too, and upgrades for both are rare and expensive. Due to the sheer number of crafting materials, daily rewards (which can't be stacked), and gear you're holding onto in order to research it when a slot opens up, you'll constantly be destroying less valuable items (to the point that you're destroying things of value) in order to make room. You'll have to break between almost every dungeon in order to do inventory management. You can't explore for more than 15 minutes without running out of room. It's INSANE. ESO+ gives you unlimited room for crafting supplies. They know how bad the inventory management is, and they're keeping it that way to pressure you into a subscription. A crafty but also extremely low blow.

    Crafting is NOT INTUITIVE. You will most certainly require an outside guide or a friend's explanation in order to understand it. However, when you DO get it, it's extremely deep, unique, and fun (when you're not shifting your inventory around).

    Enemy AI sucks, and attempting to challenge yourself more by pulling more enemies in a dungeon or otherwise often results in some enemies just waiting for other enemies to die in order to reduce server load. It sucks to watch your group pull 30 enemies just to see about 5 of them wait in the back for others to die like the bad guys in an action movie that attack the protagonist one at a time.

    Everything is so easy to access that the community mindset has become, like most other MMO's, grind grind grind. One reason people love WoW Classic is that you can't just grind; you need the involvement of the community to play. This is NOT true in ESO; player communication is shallow, and it's not much of an MMO in reality unless you are playing with irl friends. Players often don't wait for tanks to pull in dungeons because they're trying to grind quickly, and since nobody waits for the lore, if you're interested, you'll be holding up others regularly.

    Ignoring Bethesda/Zenimax as money-grubbing companies who have proven themselves to be nothing but slaves to their corporate overlords, and ignoring the absolute departure from the Elder Scrolls as a whole, ESO is a really fun, standout MMO with unique systems and a beautiful, realized world. The biggest shame is how long it took to get here; I can only imagine the reception this game would've received if it was released as it is now.    … Expand
  96. PatMc1896
    Aug 1, 2020
    7
    A lot of content definitely improved since release , crown store crates and that with rng can be annoying and basically having to purchase eso plus to experience things better isn’t great but I still enjoy the dungeons etc can be challenging and fun
  97. Dan224
    Jun 26, 2021
    0
    this game evokes hatred of the LGBT community, there is a lot of LGBT content in the game, the developers and their streamers launch streams where they subscribe streams for gay, LGBT, gay, if someone asks they immediately block it, all this toxicity causes aggression towards LGBT
  98. Mordus
    Apr 4, 2014
    9
    Many of the positive reviews go into many of the things that I agree with, so I wanted to focus on certain aspects and respond to other criticisms.

    Leveling is Fun - I don't feel the need to rush to max level. I explore the world looking for hidden NPC interactions, lore books, and loot. The combat is more challenging than any other MMO I've played. If you are a fan of Elder Scrolls and    Many of the positive reviews go into many of the things that I agree with, so I wanted to focus on certain aspects and respond to other criticisms.

    Leveling is Fun - I don't feel the need to rush to max level. I explore the world looking for hidden NPC interactions, lore books, and loot. The combat is more challenging than any other MMO I've played. If you are a fan of Elder Scrolls and know the lore, the story line from the beginning is full of fun references and meaningful plot developments from level 1.

    Why not a 10/10? - The game has a few bugs and technical issues that can get annoying.

    Response to Negative Reviews - A lot of the negative reviews on here are completely out of line with reality. They sound like they are coming from bitter players that didn't get the exact game they wanted.

    - ESO is NOT on rails, but it can play that way if you choose to. Just like in Skyrim you can choose
    to go right after the intro and follow the natural quest progression or you can go off and do your
    own thing and come back to complete that content later. The higher level you get the more it plays
    exactly like a traditional Elder Scrolls Game.

    - It is very much in the spirit of other Elder Scrolls games. The only difference is the archery
    mechanic and the limited skill bar which they needed for fast paced, dynamic, and diverse PvP

    - Most quests aren't kill 5 bears pick 10 flowers. They mostly have meaning to the story, if you have
    to kill an enemy it's because they are in your way or have something you need just like in Skyrim.

    - This is the least WoWish MMORPG ever... Those calling it a "Wow-a-like" must think every game
    with an avatar and an action bar is a wow clone...    … Expand
  99. lucasshark33mic
    Apr 25, 2014
    3
    Very much looking forward to this one, but having played the beta my expectations plummeted.

    And the release version is alas no better. On the plus side the game has huge scope, and voice acting throughout (although the delivery is often interminable sloooowww). Now on to the negatives, and alas there are many. - The game is utterly bug ridden. Uncompletable quests, clipping    Very much looking forward to this one, but having played the beta my expectations plummeted.

    And the release version is alas no better.

    On the plus side the game has huge scope, and voice acting throughout (although the delivery is often interminable sloooowww).

    Now on to the negatives, and alas there are many.

    - The game is utterly bug ridden. Uncompletable quests, clipping issues, getting stuck in the middle of scenery and disappearing completely off the gaming area. It still feels like an early beta.
    - The combat is a mess. You have only a minimum of skills available at any one time, and your energy/magic supply to use these runs out after about 1 billionth of on a nano second after each fight begins.
    - User interface is highly unresponsive. I have lost count of the times I have clicked the same skill five or six times before the game actually responds (and no this is NOT because there was no power/magic available).

    With a few months works, and a complete overhaul of the combat system it may yet grow into something worthwhile, but my advise to anyone considering this title is to give it a miss. At least for now.    … Expand
  100. wawekar
    Nov 21, 2014
    4
    Update. Can't explain it much, tired of using the same old skills day after day after day. Tired of no real market except in guilds. Really? You could not add a market in fighters guild, mages guild etc. You put in the guilds hands?. Needless to say my score is now a 4. You will play for a month and then it becomes quite dull.

    Apr 10, 2014 9 The Elder Scrolls Online Image    Update. Can't explain it much, tired of using the same old skills day after day after day. Tired of no real market except in guilds. Really? You could not add a market in fighters guild, mages guild etc. You put in the guilds hands?. Needless to say my score is now a 4. You will play for a month and then it becomes quite dull.

    Apr 10, 2014
    9
    The Elder Scrolls Online Image
    Excellent game. At first I wasn't interested it seemed it was going to be boring. However once you start to learn all the mechanics it becomes quite fun. I love saving a "town" to have it become a thriving community.
    Crafting takes a bit, but is not tedious. The only reason I am giving them a nine, is because I have contacted support numerous times and my issue has not been resolved. The game itself is great, but I can see support might kill it    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 64 Critic Reviews

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