UESP Forums :: View topic - Is ESO worth getting?

No matter how much Elder Scrolls is in there you have to like WoW style MMOs to enjoy playing this game at all. I hate MMOs gameplay-wise, and not surprisingly I hate playing TESO. If you like WoW though then it's surely good enough for a playthrough.

IMO. To compare ESO to WoW is a bit like comparing Fable to Morrowind. Both share a similar theme with much the same basic design, but play drastically different where it seems to count. (note I'm not saying that either game sucks or is a let down it's just the first comparison that came to mind)

You seem to be focusing on small differences rather than how similar the games are in general. Fable is literally almost nothing like Morrowind, but TESO is certainly like WoW.

The standard MMO style of game is in full force with TESO, with respawning bosses, grinding quests, large cities that have almost nothing really interesting in them, endless NPCs without much personality, etc. etc. It's a completely different style of game to the normal TES games, and unless you like WoW-style MMOs you will not like TESO. I think that's a fairly obvious thing.

B. Other than the Skyrim styling on parts of the UI, and some of the world design having clear influences from the games, this game could be any other MMO, the Elder Scrolls license is all style with none of the substance, the motto of "Live another life, in another world" has been thrown out in favour of "what would WoW do", or possibly "How can we pimp the Collectors Edition more".

Spoiler:

Dunmerdude wrote:

I have to disagree in part. The 'class system' present is nothing at all like what most MMO's people play these days. The difference between a nightblade and dragonknight isn't to the same degree as the modern MMO's Rogue and Warrior (the archetypes I repeatedly see the ESO classes named get assigned). Really, it's true it's not at all like other elderscroll games, but it's very little like WoW with how combat, loot acquisition, economic trade, and class design are handled... nevermind the current idea on 'endgame' (which currently seems to differ greatly from "what would WoW do").

It's not a single player game... and it beats you over the head with that. It's not your average multiplayer online glame either, and the /z won't let you hear the end of it in some zones. And to top things off, it seems the game overall doesn't know what it's trying to make you do. Once I got into the VR content, I'd keep hitting brick walls (often in the form of 'dmg sponge' boss enemies that I had to solo) and having to find something else to do to hold my attention.

Spoiler:

basically TLDR:
I see people say WoW part when they were hoping for more Skyrim style gameplay, while the people hoping for modern theme park complain about too much Skyrim in their game. I'm thinking it's halfway between.

One thing that absolutely needs to happen is too allow grouping on ALL bosses.

You can dye your armor however you like, so that seems like a silly complaint by whoever made the youtube video. Maybe it was so old that dyes weren't in the game yet?

Author:	magic rainbow [ Sun Apr 27, 2014 2:52 am ]
Post subject:	Is ESO worth getting?
I have never been crazy about subscriptions fees. I originally planned to play through all the quests and experience all the story within a month or two completely ignoring pvp. Then I started seeing a lot of negative reviews. Lots of my friends tell me that the game "[&@%!] on" the lore and it is very boring in terms of gameplay. Some people say that it will go free-to-play by the end of the year but there is definitely no guarantee of that. So is it worth buying the game now to experience the story or is it better to wait?

Author:	StingingVelvet [ Sun Apr 27, 2014 8:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
No matter how much Elder Scrolls is in there you have to like WoW style MMOs to enjoy playing this game at all. I hate MMOs gameplay-wise, and not surprisingly I hate playing TESO. If you like WoW though then it's surely good enough for a playthrough. And yes I am sure it will go free eventually, but probably not for a while, and not until the console versions are out a while.

Author:	Deandra [ Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:07 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
It sounds like you're already going into it with a negative attitude, so I would recommend for you not to get the game. I personally love it. I'm a huge TES fan, and I adore seeing the different areas that I haven't seen in a game before. I'm addicted to trying out new and nonstandard builds, which are surprisingly viable in this game. I think it is well written and has a much more interesting story than, say, Skyrim did. And as far as being an MMO, it's much more to my liking than WoW was. Today I went into maybe 10 different public dungeons with a small group. We had no quests to do in any of them, we were just exploring and collecting skyshards and killing bosses. Each one had its own interesting theme and design, and several times I found myself stopping to think how much care was put into each of these random areas in the world. It's a beautiful game. But if you hate subscription fees, and your friends are already hating on the game, then I don't think this is the game for you. It's expensive. And playing with friends, friends who aren't going to be complaining about everything, is a big part of what makes it fun.

Author:	Yaije [ Mon Apr 28, 2014 6:27 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
StingingVelvet wrote: No matter how much Elder Scrolls is in there you have to like WoW style MMOs to enjoy playing this game at all. I hate MMOs gameplay-wise, and not surprisingly I hate playing TESO. If you like WoW though then it's surely good enough for a playthrough. IMO. To compare ESO to WoW is a bit like comparing Fable to Morrowind. Both share a similar theme with much the same basic design, but play drastically different where it seems to count. (note I'm not saying that either game sucks or is a let down it's just the first comparison that came to mind) Yes ESO is really a Theme Park styled MMO, but soem of the way it handles stuff like character builds and it's approach to combat are interesting as far as MMO's go Spoiler: only real similarities I see with wow are group content concerning instanced dungeons using the 'holy trinity' IMO, if you like the Elder Scrolls series then it's probably worth it. If you're fond of MMO's its worth it. edit: Spoiler: the next few months should give an idea of if/when the game might go F2P/B2P. If it manages to do updates like Rift did, it might take a year or so for that to really happen. But I really get tired of such discussions since people tend to use it or take it as an insult to the game for some reason and not look at anything beyond the payment model as a reason for something's success/failure. edit2: Spoiler: Vids like this are a dime a dozen almost. Really hard to take any game review seriously for me =/ YouTube Link Some points are valid but I can't help but feel like this article isn't taking place. After seeing some FPS players throw [&@%!] fits over looking down their gun sights a split second slower than in CoD or some of the excrement storms brought up over ESO's guild store system compared to any game's global/server wide trading system. Edit3: Vids like the above do have some some good points but lose me in their arguments with how they might rant over certain things. They break down into claims of a nature similar to 'this game lacks [insert whatever] and will die!'. They pop up for every MMO around launch... I just let them get to me a bit too much as I'm usually spending way to much time reading up on the games. And that vid was presented to me as some form of review for the purposes of review and not some angry man comedy skit... as the latter it might be barely passable

Author:	born2beagator [ Sun May 04, 2014 3:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
I actually really liked that article you listed at the end. Thought it was very true

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Author:	legoless [ Sun May 04, 2014 6:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
I hate to be a bigot as I'm enjoying my time with ESO and it's definitely a well made MMO, but unless you have the income it just isn't worth that pricetag. The new lore is quite good and I find the gameplay enjoyable (even PvP), but if you're not a fan of subscriptions then you really need to be a die-hard fan to cash out I think.

Author:	StingingVelvet [ Mon May 05, 2014 7:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Yaije wrote: IMO. To compare ESO to WoW is a bit like comparing Fable to Morrowind. Both share a similar theme with much the same basic design, but play drastically different where it seems to count. (note I'm not saying that either game sucks or is a let down it's just the first comparison that came to mind) You seem to be focusing on small differences rather than how similar the games are in general. Fable is literally almost nothing like Morrowind, but TESO is certainly like WoW. The standard MMO style of game is in full force with TESO, with respawning bosses, grinding quests, large cities that have almost nothing really interesting in them, endless NPCs without much personality, etc. etc. It's a completely different style of game to the normal TES games, and unless you like WoW-style MMOs you will not like TESO. I think that's a fairly obvious thing. If you like MMOs at all and love TES then yes, this game is worth playing. If you have never liked MMOs then this game isn't going to change your mind.

Author:	Yaije [ Wed May 07, 2014 9:01 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
StingingVelvet wrote: You seem to be focusing on small differences rather than how similar the games are in general. Fable is literally almost nothing like Morrowind, but TESO is certainly like WoW. Litterally nothing.... just both are single player action RPG games that have obvious morality/choice elements that can alter how the course of the game is experience. Take on enemies such as bandits, zombies and werewolves as you explore a world where your actions have meaning.... so far I think this goes for both games while you start seeing real differences in the camera view point, how your fighting is done and the primary sources of experience. StingingVelvet wrote: The standard MMO style of game is in full force with TESO, with respawning bosses, grinding quests, large cities that have almost nothing really interesting in them, endless NPCs without much personality, etc. etc. It's a completely different style of game to the normal TES games, and unless you like WoW-style MMOs you will not like TESO. I think that's a fairly obvious thing. Yes, much of that is present... but really to compare it to the 'standard' MMO style while it clearly is missing one of the main selling points of the genre as understood by 'common' knowledge (i.e. what most idiots seem to think). ESO currently doesn't have endgame 'raid' progression and doesn't look like it will have it in the same way as present in any of the other MMO's. This is part of why I use the comparison of Morrowind to Fable, they share some obvious elements but play so very differently.

Author:	Minor Edits [ Wed May 07, 2014 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
I'm a fan. Not a sap.

Author:	Dunmerdude [ Thu May 15, 2014 4:21 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
The general theme of the reviews out there is that it's a profoundly average experience, which doesn't do anything really wrong, but doesn't give anyone much reason to be excited. So I guess my advice would be, wait till it goes free to play in three months time. Some people are going to say I'm bashing it, but the goal of any MMO is to A. Have solid mechanics B. Be clearly distinct from other MMOs C. Produce enough new content to keep players invested after endgame. A. The game is a buggy mess. B. Other than the Skyrim styling on parts of the UI, and some of the world design having clear influences from the games, this game could be any other MMO, the Elder Scrolls license is all style with none of the substance, the motto of "Live another life, in another world" has been thrown out in favour of "what would WoW do", or possibly "How can we pimp the Collectors Edition more". One gets the sense that Zenimax knew they were releasing something average and wanted to get as much up front cash as possible. Examples include the aforementioned Collectors Edition, 20 bucks to be an Imperial, having a full release price tag on a game that has a 15 dollar monthly subscription, and the month free that only comes into effect if you've already paid for one month. All this could be justified somewhat if it was a great game, but no, by all accounts, its profoundly average. They knew they had a license that would sell the game, and they took full advantage.

Author:	born2beagator [ Thu May 15, 2014 4:59 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
I'll say it. You are bashing. Saying this is going to go F2P in 3 months time is bashing no matter how you try to sugarcoat it. They have major content coming out already. IMO it invalidates your entire post from that point forward. its illogical thinking as well. This is a major MMO title. If you really think its only going to sub for 4 months, then....well I'm going to be blunt, you are just being a hater trying to steer people away. My advice? Don't listen to doomsday reviews/posters like this, take their opinions with a grain of salt and decide for yourselves. In fact any opinion you ask for is going to be bias positively or negatively. I'd suggest watching gameplay videos/doing research apart from forum posts and reviews.

Author:	Minor Edits [ Thu May 15, 2014 5:59 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
I would say there was an outside chance of it happening in three months, before the console delay was announced. I don't see them making it free to play until after console player had subscribed (or neglected to subscribe).

Author:	born2beagator [ Thu May 15, 2014 12:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
I don't think there was any chance it goes F2P in 4 months. As far as i can tell, the game is doing really well. Every MMO launch has been rocky, this one apart from the bots and the dupe glitch has been surprisingly smooth with relatively server few crashes

Author:	Yaije [ Thu May 15, 2014 1:19 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Dunmerdude wrote: B. Other than the Skyrim styling on parts of the UI, and some of the world design having clear influences from the games, this game could be any other MMO, the Elder Scrolls license is all style with none of the substance, the motto of "Live another life, in another world" has been thrown out in favour of "what would WoW do", or possibly "How can we pimp the Collectors Edition more". I have to disagree in part. The 'class system' present is nothing at all like what most MMO's people play these days. The difference between a nightblade and dragonknight isn't to the same degree as the modern MMO's Rogue and Warrior (the archetypes I repeatedly see the ESO classes named get assigned). Really, it's true it's not at all like other elderscroll games, but it's very little like WoW with how combat, loot acquisition, economic trade, and class design are handled... nevermind the current idea on 'endgame' (which currently seems to differ greatly from "what would WoW do"). It's not a single player game... and it beats you over the head with that. It's not your average multiplayer online glame either, and the /z won't let you hear the end of it in some zones. And to top things off, it seems the game overall doesn't know what it's trying to make you do. Once I got into the VR content, I'd keep hitting brick walls (often in the form of 'dmg sponge' boss enemies that I had to solo) and having to find something else to do to hold my attention. Spoiler: honestly much of the collector's edition was pretty lame and not at all what people built it up to. The horse was the only real thing to rant over and maybe the imperial race (if you really wanted it ... I thought they were about as useful as in vanilla skyrim). The treasure maps seemed to just waste space and only be for 1-50 content offering up blue equipment (i only ever got blues and not better than I could craft/buy) basically TLDR: I see people say WoW part when they were hoping for more Skyrim style gameplay, while the people hoping for modern theme park complain about too much Skyrim in their game. I'm thinking it's halfway between.

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Author:	legoless [ Thu May 15, 2014 9:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Yaije wrote: Spoiler: honestly much of the collector's edition was pretty lame and not at all what people built it up to. The horse was the only real thing to rant over and maybe the imperial race (if you really wanted it ... I thought they were about as useful as in vanilla skyrim). The treasure maps seemed to just waste space and only be for 1-50 content offering up blue equipment (i only ever got blues and not better than I could craft/buy) I have to disagree. Unlimited free horses is a pretty crazy buff. I find the Imperial racial skill tree to be superior to all others for tanks, and not having to buy the Imperial motif is very nice. If you save the maps for higher levels, the payoff is incredible. Waste of bank space maybe, but the sheer amount of loot is worth it. The CE is suitably rewarding I think.

Author:	born2beagator [ Fri May 16, 2014 12:06 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Yaije wrote: Dunmerdude wrote: B. Other than the Skyrim styling on parts of the UI, and some of the world design having clear influences from the games, this game could be any other MMO, the Elder Scrolls license is all style with none of the substance, the motto of "Live another life, in another world" has been thrown out in favour of "what would WoW do", or possibly "How can we pimp the Collectors Edition more". I have to disagree in part. The 'class system' present is nothing at all like what most MMO's people play these days. The difference between a nightblade and dragonknight isn't to the same degree as the modern MMO's Rogue and Warrior (the archetypes I repeatedly see the ESO classes named get assigned). Really, it's true it's not at all like other elderscroll games, but it's very little like WoW with how combat, loot acquisition, economic trade, and class design are handled... nevermind the current idea on 'endgame' (which currently seems to differ greatly from "what would WoW do"). It's not a single player game... and it beats you over the head with that. It's not your average multiplayer online glame either, and the /z won't let you hear the end of it in some zones. And to top things off, it seems the game overall doesn't know what it's trying to make you do. Once I got into the VR content, I'd keep hitting brick walls (often in the form of 'dmg sponge' boss enemies that I had to solo) and having to find something else to do to hold my attention. Spoiler: honestly much of the collector's edition was pretty lame and not at all what people built it up to. The horse was the only real thing to rant over and maybe the imperial race (if you really wanted it ... I thought they were about as useful as in vanilla skyrim). The treasure maps seemed to just waste space and only be for 1-50 content offering up blue equipment (i only ever got blues and not better than I could craft/buy) basically TLDR: I see people say WoW part when they were hoping for more Skyrim style gameplay, while the people hoping for modern theme park complain about too much Skyrim in their game. I'm thinking it's halfway between. I'm also worried about the difficulty I have heard about in the VR content. But the good news is is enough people are complaining about it, that I'd imagine that Zenimax is probably going to hit them with the nerf bat a bit. The game is still really new. One thing that absolutely needs to happen is too allow grouping on ALL bosses.

Author:	Deandra [ Fri May 16, 2014 6:10 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
born2beagator wrote: One thing that absolutely needs to happen is too allow grouping on ALL bosses. I actually like that the main quest is a series of gauntlets you need to complete solo. Some of them really kicked my butt, but then you've really earned the sense of accomplishment afterwards. And the story wouldn't make much sense if you had friends there.

Author:	MidbossVyers [ Thu Dec 04, 2014 3:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Well, compared to other Elder Scrolls games, how moddable is this one? Although, regardless, I probably won't get it so long as subscriptions are mandatory. I would prefer a free-to-play, pay-to-win model, with subscribers getting bonuses, special gear that can only be bought with RL money, or something but the game otherwise free. I've seen that MMOs that start off with mandatory subscriptions make it less and less mandatory as time goes on (probably after getting enough profits), so maybe that will be the case for ESO?

Author:	Deandra [ Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:09 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Like pretty much any other MMO, ESO doesn't allow you to mod anything that would change the nature of the game itself; all you can mod is the UI. So compared to other ES games, it really isn't moddable. However, other ES games are released with the expectation that the modding community will fix them and fill them out, while in ESO the developers are continually adding new content, so I'm not sure how useful the comparison is. You can currently buy ESO for about $20, which includes a month of game time. Even if you're normally set against the idea of a subscription, this is a great price if you want to try out the game without a lot of commitment. Just immediately cancel the subscription after you create your account, and you'll never get charged any monthly fees.

Author:	MidbossVyers [ Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
So cosmetic mods for races and clothing are out? The obvious example of clothing is that on YouTube, there was an ESO player complaining that one of the patches slightly changed the color of his favorite outfit. "Modding" would involve changing it back.

Author:	Deandra [ Thu Dec 04, 2014 5:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
You can dye your armor however you like, so that seems like a silly complaint by whoever made the youtube video. Maybe it was so old that dyes weren't in the game yet? It's been several months. Sure, you've got to unlock colors first by completing objectives, and some colors are harder to get than others, but I prefer earning things rather than installing a mod anyway. And by "color" I don't mean just a flat RGB value; dyes have varying levels of shimmer and secondary colors that appear based on the material you apply them to and the lighting. Personally I've unlocked well over a hundred colors, and I really love customizing my looks.

Author:	legoless [ Thu Dec 04, 2014 10:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Is ESO worth getting?
Deandra wrote: You can dye your armor however you like, so that seems like a silly complaint by whoever made the youtube video. Maybe it was so old that dyes weren't in the game yet? I assume that's what it was. I think the original Craglorn update changed armour colours.