I really hope that playing alone is decent

[pmm_fin]

Hello all and long time overdue registration from me.

I wonder what kind of online is this game going to be. I've always been very reserved towards any MMORPG and have never really tried anything besides Ultima Online and even that only because it was the only way to get to Britannia left when single player series was terminated. Now I feel a bit same and wouldn't want to miss a chance to get to explore the whole Tamriel and also the areas I've grown to love, Skyrim and Vvardenfell (not that fond of Cyrodiil, sorry).

My understanding is that modern (popular) MMORPG's force the social aspects on you bu really blocking your advancement if you don't get involved with guilds, scheduled raids, grinding and leveling and other nonsense I'd rather not get involved in. I've seen people waste their free time away playing WoW while admitting it but not being able to break free. Of course it's the way to keep people playing and paying but that's not for me.

Has there been any indication about TES Online's game mechanism? Is there a place for a lone adventurer who doesn't want to agree on schedules, keep up with clans. I'd rather just have my base somewhere in southern Vvardenfell and have fun exploring the whole Tamriel.

[Enteum]

I stand fairly confident that the devs will keep older elder scrolls fans happy and cater for all tastes. I too like solo characters. Given the aspect of past games I'm fairly sure they will keep eso solo friendly.

[Gaffer]

ESO will be a themepark MMO, so it should be solo playable to a large degree.

Of course, being a themepark MMO, there will be restrictions: perhaps "heroic" areas that require large groups with better rewards and further story content, some sort of PvP bonus etc. I don't know specific details yet.

I'm playing Star Wars: The Old Republic to see how BioWare morphed their single-player series into a themepark MMO.

[cypruss11]

I hope it doesn't cater to solo players. They can go play Elder Scrolls I to V for that.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

I hope it doesn't cater to solo players. They can go play Elder Scrolls I to V for that.

What if they want to enjoy the scenery and new story without having to party up with others in order to experience all the content? Why so elitist?

[Witchery]

I hope it doesn't cater to solo players. They can go play Elder Scrolls I to V for that.

What if they want to enjoy the scenery and new story without having to party up with others in order to experience all the content? Why so elitist?

It is an MMO, after all. Those who love TES (including me) for all of its single player content are probably not going to be the priority here.

[cypruss11]

I hope it doesn't cater to solo players. They can go play Elder Scrolls I to V for that.

What if they want to enjoy the scenery and new story without having to party up with others in order to experience all the content? Why so elitist?

It's not really elitist.

Massively Multiplayer Games are made for people who like to play games with others.

Singleplayer Games are made for those who want to play their games alone.

You can play both, but don't expect multiplayer to be very easy to do in singleplayer, or for singleplayer to be very easy in multiplayer.

[Skrofler]

Well ESO will have a single player main quest similar to what we're used to. It will play out in instances where no other players may enter.
If they care enough to make that happen I suppose solo gaming support is one of their design priorities i open PvE.

Reaching level 50 won't be a problem. At 50 only about 1/3 of your character skills will be maxed so the rest of development takes place there. Presumably character development is still very much solo business. Gearing up won't be though. The best equipment will be spread out across open and instanced dungeons, battlegrounds, PvP rewards and player made items. Antisocial players would have to settle for second best I guess.

[Yaije]

It's just a shame that most MMO's tend to only go with "you must play with X/Y/Z amounts of people to do anything more than stand around in town/grind worthless trash"

I like multiplayer games but when I'm looking for MASSIVE multiplayer I'm not looking for interacting with a mere 3-9 other people in 15 minute to 2 hour blocks at say.... the day after server resets.

Waiting to see how some of those activities in the world pan out after hearing that people can go around taking forts or something and not be in some set up established group

Spoiler:

i.e. we all randomly show up at the same spot and do what we do. You know, instead of just being people who are potentially stealing one another's kills/resources and worrying about "tapping" targets.

Really the solo vs multiplayer thing isn't so simple as being antisocial or not, there's the ways and methods the game puts in to encourage certain actions. I know WoW and ToR encourage solo play to the point that it feels like you're slowing down your character advancement trying to group up with one another (except on the day of release of new content) and then at the level cap your solo activities mostly involve leveling a new character and grinding repetitive quests (think skyrim rediant quests for each major faction).

[Khajiit *Nyao*]

I've always liked playing TES games for the lore and to see new areas and new characters. Though I'm not at all an avid MMO player or for that matter do much in the way of multiplayer at all. I can understand that this is, at it's core an MMO, and I will do what I can singleplayer. I'll admit I'm a little nervous since TES has always been a singleplayer game how the theme will translate into an MMO. In summary, I'll play what I can singleplayer and deal with what I can't do, then wait for TES 6.

[Theificka]

The thing about the TES series is that is has been exclusively single-player forever. If the official Bethesda dev team is working on it, then it will be plenty viable for 'singe-player'. Besides, stealth wouldn't work if there was a requirement for teammates.

[Yaije]

Well Battlespire had multiplayer and stealth would depend on it's implementation. Generally, the stealth bonuses we're familiar with are granted in the form of some bonus while "flanking" or landing attacks to the target's backside or while subdued.

Beyond the damage side of the effect it's up to the devs. I've seen games that tried to make NPC's only able to notice targets that are standing with an amount of themselves not "hidden" behind something and sneaking up on them was like crouching down and "crawling" up on them through bushes and behind walls.

Then there was the DDO that did opposed spot/listen checks against your hide/move-silently skills as you approached. Failing their checks repeatedly and they never become aware of you. Not sure on the frequency of those checks though.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

The thing about the TES series is that is has been exclusively single-player forever. If the official Bethesda dev team is working on it, then it will be plenty viable for 'singe-player'. Besides, stealth wouldn't work if there was a requirement for teammates.

They're not. An entirely different development team is handling it. Todd Howard's team is either working on Skyrim DLC or Fallout 4 right now if I had to hazard a guess.

[Br3admax]

I wonder why people still believe that Bethesda even owns the rights to the game. We keep saying to death that they don't.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

I wonder why people still believe that Bethesda even owns the rights to the game. We keep saying to death that they don't.

I have no idea how we could be so far along in the development process and there are actually still people who believe either

A - Bethesda is developing this

or

B -That it means the single player games won't be made any more.

[Skrofler]

That's easy because the informed are in minority. While the majority...
A) make assumptions.
and
B) have been reading a lot of comments about how Bethesda will hold off TES6 now that they're making ESO.

[Tesknowitall]

Yeah i heard in a vid that solo would be also be really fun and you can do a huge part for your alliance by working solo

[argigagon]

*bumping this thread instead of creating a new one*

Most MMO:s require leveling your character to maxlevel and that is usually done alone. That is not what I am asking in this thread.
I intend to play the game solo. I don't mean all alone, interacting with other players in town square is nice but I want to explore the world by myself.
I want to quest and do missions on my own.

My question is: Will they will force me to play with other players?
I guess they will. Best items (except for artifacts?) will probably drop from bosses and my best guess I wont be able to solo all bosses since in fact,
it's a multi player game and I am just being stupid trying to play a multi player game as single player. However I should be able to get all best items anyway, assuming that
I learn how to craft super-mega-powerful potions which makes me super-mega-rich and then I buy all I need from other players.
but maybe it is possible to rush through most areas solo and if the best items is rewards for quests I could sneak in and clear the quest without killing? (thinking thieves guild style)
It is possible to clear Mirrors Edge without killing anyone and there is the achievement "only one bullet" in HL2, some games are just harder to play when you decide to not kill anyone.

I've decided that I will try solo even if it is almost impossible so the main question for me should me...what is best? how do I clear a quest made for a group of people?
Balance should be the key to success. Blocking (not dying), Attacking (killing). It will probably be impossible to play solo as high defense since that implies low damage output, likewise if you try the opposite.
Sneak and detect enemy should be an essential since it gives you the ability to avoid unnecessary fights. Maybe I could conjure creatures to draw away attention from me or if I'm fast enough I could just rush past the enemies.

What do you guys think work best?
medium armor, dagger+bow, conjuration+illusion, alchemy (run through all enemies) or heavy armor, sword+shield, magic?, enchant (crush all enemies).
I would like your thoughts about the solo concept.

[Skrofler]

My question is: Will they will force me to play with other players?
I guess they will. Best items (except for artifacts?) will probably drop from bosses and my best guess I wont be able to solo all bosses since in fact,
it's a multi player game and I am just being stupid trying to play a multi player game as single player.

Of course nobody will force you into groups, but from the sound of your reasoning you won't settle for second best in slot. If that's the case then you will have to socialize a bit. The sources for best gear will be divided between crafting, PvE and PvP so for anyone to get the best items they would have to do it all or spend some gold. No word yet on the soulbound issue.

[Jun Satou]

As much as I love defeating bosses solo in MMORPGs, I still would not mind at all having a hand or two (two, maybe three at the most).

It's just those bigger...bigger groups (clans) that I can't stand. Makes me feel puny.

But hey, who doesn't like having 2 buddies of the separate race of your pact/alliance to help you out?
Might love to see an Orc Ranger, Hammerfell warrior and Breton mage take on Miraak (example)

[Corty]

Normally in MMO you can't clear the end game dungeons alone

[AbiwonKenabi]

From what I've been hearing about the PvP aspect of ESO, they are catering to a lot of different preferences. The three groups (Aldmeri Dominnion, Daggerfall Covenant, Ebonheart Pact) are warring over Cyrodiil and, ultimately, the Imperial City. Whichever group currently controls this city, the highest ranked player will be Emperor--I have no idea what that will entail, but it seems kind of cool.

Even within PvP, apparently you can do several things to help your side-- 1)Huge, massive-scale sieges with hundreds of players 2)Small-scale excursions with a party of allies or 3)single player infiltration. As far as PvE and storyline goes, it seems most of it can be done alone.

It appears the development studio (Zenimax online?) is playing a balancing act, and they're fully aware of it. The two basic types of fans they have to please are TES fans and MMO fans. I think they are headed in the right direction as far as that is concerned, and this is coming from someone who mere months ago was cynical of the whole project.

Edit: Just found this nice video going over all the basic aspects of gameplay for ESO. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD7x1KF8N8o

[lostlast]

I am almost DRAGGED into this game... as an ES game.. I have never been an MMO player... in fact I avoid them where ever possible.
I know how they work. I understand that you need groups of player to get through areas. All fine. But I still am thinking I will play this game solely base on the fact it is an ES game. I am open to try new things (new for me) I have issues with online games, as cheaters generally ruin most games.
Ah, but you say you have no experience with MMO's lostlast... I hear you say... Well I although I don't I am still aware of how people roll. That's why I will always favor single player games... no people.

[Avron the S'wit]

Every online game (or place, really) always has those few people who want to ruin people's fun or act like crazies, and if you're into roleplaying your character, it definitely gets pretty tough. However, in my experience, you can learn to sort of ignore them. Rolling with a guild or some friends is also a good tactic, because then you surround yourself with people who are into the same play styles as you, you're going to have fun, and you probably won't concentrate on all the people around you more than you have to. Most people in games are there to have fun, too, so it's just about finding your crew!

[Alarra]

MMOs have a reputation for that, and like you I was a little bit leery at first. But like Avron said, it's not nearly as prevalent as you might think. Back at the end of May I picked up Guild Wars 2, wanting to try an MMO before playing ESO. Of all the amount of time I've played in the last two and a half months or so, I have only seen one instance where people were being slightly rude. In my experience, most people tend to be friendly and helpful - they'll cheer and say "great job" when you beat a boss, and answer any noob questions you have. I've even had someone leave what they were doing and come find me in the world and help me get to the place I was trying to find. Maybe it just depends on the game, but it's not all as bad as you might worry about.