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My question is a bit blunt IMO: Has anything been done about the terribly stylized Orsimer?

I can't post external links? Ooook.

I'm also really hoping they include books.



There will be? I was under the impression it was something we "shouldn't look for on release."

There's one thing that makes me rather quite curious about... Aside from seeing swords, daggers, and staves like in the concept art, screenshots and diary interviews... Will there be other weapons to choose from that has been seen throughout the TES Series? Maybe like spears, halberds, throwing weapons, as well as the classic items such as the claymores/greatswords, warhammers, battleaxes, and so on?

Unfortunately not as a new user; a quick review of our forum rules can help you with that question and a few more. If you're heading over from the wiki thanks to the main page announcement, I would recommend giving it a quick read through, and, for the more wiki comfortable, you can always ask me questions on my talk page. Or you can introduce yourself in our thread for welcomes.


That aside, let's get those questions in! There have been lots of great ones so far. Dave and I would like to wrap this up after the weekend.

While level progression is going to be based on experience rather than advancement in skills will the skills still be present so that, for example, someone could focus on light armor and eventually bridge the gap in armor bonus to heavy armor like one can in other games in the series?

Will you be able to forge you own items in the game and will there be some form of fast travel?

Do to the nature of MMO games, will there be only default classes to choose from, or fully customizable custom classes like in the main series?

Default classes. Nightblade, sorcerer, warden, dragonknight, and templar have been revealed. Supposedly, you can really develop and customize your character through the perks you unlock and stuff.

I want screenshots of all player customization options that are currently available for initial character build.

What's the scaling of the world going to be? Like, how long will it take for a Player Character to get from Black Marsh to Hi Rock on foot?

1) The core gameplay aesthetic in Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim was discovery. As time progressed these games became more streamlined, the interfaces became more minimalist and the stat system disappeared, allowing the core gameplay aesthetic to shine without interference. Existing MMO's on the market (WoW, ToR, GW2) have convoluted interfaces that take away from the legitimacy of the physical spaces in the game. This is incompatible with the core gameplay aesthetic of the Elder Scrolls. What improvements have been made to ensure that from the moment a player logs into ESO, that there is a virgin continent waiting to be explored? How does ESO add mystery to the physical spaces, which so many MMOs lack?

2) MMOs are designed in such a way that they insulate the actions of players from each other. Players are not allowed to influence the experience of other players. In the Elder Scrolls, the player can kill gods and destroy towns. In other MMOs, enemies respawn instantly, thus the player has absolutely no impact on the world. How does ESO address this contradiction?

3) PC games often require the use of the keyboard and mouse. Interactivity with a keyboard tends to be very mechanical and PC games tend to require player "skill" with the medium of interaction between their hands and the game. This can be especially difficult for left-handed players, even in existing Elder Scrolls games. What accessibility improvements does ESO bring to the table over the other MMOs in the market?

4) Most MMOs follow a pattern of extremely high inflation of player and item power. In TES, the materials that are available to the player cap out at Daedric. If the game releases and players can craft Ebony and higher armors, what materials will be left to use in expansions? Do the designers think that far ahead or not?

5) In existing MMOs, NPCs are absolutely broken. They can provide extremely powerful gear that the player could never craft, they often cannot be attacked and killed, and they can provide services or quest advancement events that players cannot provide. They can combine unique items in ways that the player cannot, and they can lead armies into battle in scripted events. What does ESO do to ensure that the players are not overshadowed by the absolute power of NPCs to influence the world?

6) In the ESO demo video, one of the developers says that the worst part of MMOs is trying to pick a server to play on. MMOs commit many atrocities in user experience design, and the server selection screen is not the worst. Does he really think that's the worst? How does the sever selection screen even compare to the over-the-top complexity of MMO in-game interfaces?

7) SWToR is not just like WoW. It IS WoW. The way players interact with their characters is identical, and there were absolutely no improvements over the old paradigm. If players detect even a hint of WoW in ESO, the game will crash and burn like ToR did. What precautions are being made to ensure that players do not even detect a hint of existing MMOs in ESO?

In Elder Scrolls games, the player can purchase property and become politically important in the towns and villages they choose to settle in. To date, few, if any, MMO's provide dynamic player housing. What features will ESO have to ensure that the player can carve out a place in the world to call their own?

9) Many MMOs include a competitive component. When designing competitive experiences, it's important to consider both the aggressor and the victim of any given mechanic. BOTH must benefit from a mechanic in order for it to be included in a game without taking away fun. Rogues in WoW and Sniper Rifles in Halo are two examples of this common failure in game design taken to the extreme. League of Legends is the paragon of good counter-balance design in the competitive market at the time of writing. Using specific examples, what mechanics in ESO PvP are fun for both the caster and the victim?

The way I've understood it, you're locked into the region of the Alliance you chose (aside from Cyrodiil,) so that shouldn't be an issue.

What a [&@%!] boner kill. So if I choose to be the Aldmeri Dominion I can't take part of content like quests, dungeons, raids etc from regions the Aldmeri Dominion does not own?

A more simple question I have: For the less magically inclined characters, will scrolls be available to perform select spells?

and I suppose for the sake of clarity, Are we unable to travel into the lands of another alliance? If we are able, can we do quests there? -although all information so far has suggested we cannot do so

maybe, Is the overworld* divided into zones with loading screens, or can we expect a seamless, open world experience? *I define it as "overworld" so they don't dodge the question and say something akin to "it varies, our dungeons for example.." as they have with other questions about the physicalities of the game world.

and I'd like to reiterate on my previous question, The developers of TESO have clearly taken care to maintain true to TES lore. Ever since Daggerfall, in-game books have been an integral part of expanding upon the games' world. Can we expect the same from TESO?

On buildings, In TES games, every building has an interior. Can we look forward to this in TESO as well, or are some buildings simply set pieces?

somewhat related, Especially in TES IV and V, if you see a mountain on the horizon, you can most likely climb to the top of it. In TESO do geographical features serve as just that, or more as boundaries to fence the player in?

Yay, they will have Nightblade! My #1 favourite class! Dragonknight sounds cool too!

I would love to hear more about this "superserver" initiative.
My first reaction was YES! and then NO!

The thought of having a questing zone with about 50 instances of that zone is just bizzare.
But perhaps this is not the way it will be, please, explain!

-envelope91

A lot of these questions have been covered already if you guys took the time to actually read what ZeniMax has already announced.

PS. Haven't read all the posts here, has anyone asked about whether they have a specific cause for Cyrodiil not being a jungle, or are they going with the "1st PGE propoganda" cop-out? (or is it even specifically in the do not ask?)

I think lore questions would be the best things to ask since they haven't released too many details on some things and they're not likely to give us an answer that changes by release.

does every class know every school of magic (if you so choose?) or will each class specialise in a different school of magic? i know that the dragon knight uses alteration (spiky armor) and i could imagine there being a summoner class that will use conjuration or do they use certain spells from certain schools of magic like a stealth class using illusion spells like invisibility but a tank could also use illusion spells like calm and frenzy for crowd control

ooh and will there be daedric quest so i can get my dirty mits on those daedric artifacts? if so in what form? will it be similar to previous elder scrolls games or will the artifacts be loot drops?

thank for your time guys

Well done on getting an interview set up
I'll try not to ask any questions here that they've already answered, but I will repeat the questions that I asked in their "Ask Us Anything" (since they didn't answer them), in addition to some others I came up with.

Gameplay:

• +1 to the common question: Will players be confined to their Alliance areas? I know some people have said that you are, but I don't recall an actual statement to that effect by ZeniMax themselves. As an extension: What will happen if we try to enter another Alliance's land? For example, will we be: Blocked by an invisible wall? Killed by the other alliance (scripted death)? Attacked by the other alliance, but if we kill them we can get in?
• Secondary factions question: Are the Fighters/Mages Guilds (etc) pan-alliance, or are there three different "versions" of them, one for each alliance?
• Player factions question: (This one may exist already) Will there be player-created factions/guilds? As an extension (which I think has been asked, but not answered) Can player factions be pan-alliance, or will membership be restricted to the alliance-mates of the faction creator?

Lore:

• +1 to the Aldmeri Dominion question: Pocket Guide to the Empire, 1st Edition, states "the Aldmeri Dominion has its origins in CE830". So why does the Dominion exist in CE582?
• Ebonheart Pact question: Why was the alliance named for Ebonheart, when Mournhold/Windhelm are the centres of power in the East? or alternatively (if they are likely to answer "because that's where the pact was signed") Why was Ebonheart chosen for the signing of the pact?
  
  • (Question for anyone, bring it up if you like) I assume that this is not the Vvardenfell Ebonheart, but the mainland "Old Ebonheart"?
• Valenwood question: Some of the settlements in Valenwood are said to be migratory. How will this be implemented? or alternatively How will this element of lore be retconned if it is not possible to implement?
• +1 to the Climate of Cyrodiil question: Prior to 2E896, the climate of Cyrodiil was tropical. Following Tiber Septim's conquering of Tamriel, he changes the climate of Cyrodiil to temperate. Hence before 2E896, and therefore during ESO, Cyrodiil's climate should be tropical, so why isn't it?

Megaserver:

• Accessibility question: With one mega-server for the whole game, how accessible will the game be to players outside the US? What is being done to combat the lag that a player from Europe would likely experience? (Personal interest is in UK, but this applies worldwide, presumably with increasing relevance depending on physical distance from the server itself.)

Apologies that there are so many, and hopefully some will be answered. Thanks

All very good questions Enodoc.

I especially like the Fighters Guild question. That's a great point! How are factions and groups broken up to deal with the three main alliances?

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Fighters Guild! Been a while since I've played Morrowind and Oblivion... Need to get them on Steam since my retail versions broke... Boo... Everytime now I think about the Fighters Guild, I keep thinking about The Companions instead...

Will there be first person

Will you be able to switch factions (IE orc in the ebonheart pact)

Will guilds be able to be cross-faction.

How will daedric artifacts work? Will all players be able to have them at once, or are they temporary powerful items that only one person can have at one time?

Since I see no reference to the 2E Molag Bal crisis in the lore section I think that a more concise question would be - How does the Molag Bal crisis effect the current established lore?

edit - I am asking this because the set of events has not even been referred to in the books scattered through the games
as well as forcing the Aldmeri Dominion to form (or take an active role) before the oldest record of their activity.

The new TESO info hasn't yet been integrated into the wiki's lore pages.