Don't know what exactly has changed since last beta but I find myself unable to progress past level 7. Basically because of getting killed an awful lot more.

I am sticking to quests of my level of thereabouts, although with the various ones that are buggy that is precious few now. And I keep getting slaughtered by mobs of scamps - last time round when you part killed a mob they stayed dead, now when you respawn they are all back again and simply zap you again.

I'm a more than prepared to admit this may be some failing in my build or play style or just a deep personal & spiritual flaw in me (just to save the haters some typing time) - but I am a reasonable player of most games and I also accept player death does happen for all sorts of reasons but it seems like they have ramped up the difficulty too far for me at least which is seriously putting me off. I don't mind dying but I do mind dying over and over again on the same spot regardless of my approach.

In other news for any devs that might be around...

I think it is a shame to have removed the starting progression, it gave a sense of background and immersion that is lost by being tossed straight into the save the king/queen missions.

Still liking crafting.

More quests/less bugged quests would be good so level progressions is not so dependent on the big quests.

Mobs less close together would be nice - many is the time I have sneaked past one mob, triggered a second and while disposing of them have been killed by the mob I just sneaked past who spotted me as soon as I got auto-stood.

Been playing on the EU server and it seems less... something... than the US one last week.

Overall still enjoying the game and may go start in a different alliance to see if the constant deaths are a factor of this particular alliances areas.

I agree with you. I started off as an Altmer Sorc but had to stop at level 8 because I was stuck. Just no more to do with this class. All my outstanding quests were coloured orange or red, I couldn't find anything to do on K. Roost so now I play any character but the want I want to play.

Atm, I am playing a Breton Sorc in EP area and getting along much better but I suspect I am adapting to this game (this is my 3rd beta). But I really want to play as a mage and as a High Elf.

The starting area change is a bad move imho. The immersion has now been broken. I liked the idea of working on the starter islands to book my passage off it on the boat at the docks. I felt I was working to a goal and not just spamming indifferent quests.

I feel that I am playing the game backwards now. I can join the Mage's Guild, Fighter's Guild and the Undaunted, get loads of skill increases across the board, get to level 4/5 without doing quests and minimal killing.

I feel that you shouldn't just be able to walk into a guild at level 3 and be accepted (albeit on trust) into every guild. These are prized gulds and I want to work my way up to joining them & I felt the starter Islands provided that.

I could leave the starting areas with potions, armour, weapons etc that I had crafted myself. By the time I had earned my passage off the starter areas I felt good about my character now level 6 with 4 abilities and one morphed.

Now all that has gone. I understand the searons for this and I understand the XP/difficulty has been adjusted to compensate for this. I am just expressing my 2 cents. I've already bought the game and will play it.

I have commented in the /feedback about my opinion of the starting area and offered the solution that if peeps are tired of playing the starting area yet again (all beta'd out?) then put the boatswain on the starting island to go to the mainland and not as it is atm.

That way the rest of us can play the immersed version of ESO as it was originally intended while the bored players can get on as they please. Everybody wins. As it stands now, I feel I am playing ESO backwards. I want the skyshards on the starter areas, the plunder, the experience, but it should flow naturally and not by altered design based on feedback by some ppl that effects everybody so close to launch.

Do the tutorial then option to go to mainland for those that want this

or do the tutorial and option to continue on the starting island as was the original plan.

This gives everybody the choice they want. As it stands the enforced starting areas which may bore some peeps is now replaced with an enfocred mainland starting area with an option to go back to the starting area

Playing the game backwards, losing the immersion and a whole bunch of re-writing for the devs so that convos with NPC interaction still make sense is not imho a good move.

EDIT: spelling typos

Same here. Last beta I felt like a badass. This beta, I feel like a loser.

Part of my problem is that I use an Xbox controller and this mapping software I built, so getting everything mapped right takes time and effort. I play WoW, SWTOR, and Neverwinter with my controller/mapper so it's eminently doable, but until it's just right, it's a svcky process.

However, I already had a mapping set up from last beta. I wanted to make a better one but even with the old one, I was getting my rear end handed to me by level 5 mobs.

The tutorial islands were a good thing. Skipping them was pretty stupid and probably just to shut up the "l33t" players. If people are upset that they have to do the islands for every toon, then just give us the option, for every toon after the first, to skip the islands and auto-ding us up to the level you're at when you leave the island.

Regardless of how feasible that idea is, the bottom line is you can't dump people in the middle of a new world in rags and shackles and say "go help npcs defend the city, kill groups of mobs, and figure it all out". At least, not for a game that you never stop paying for, and certainly not for a 2.5 day beta.

My only idea as to why the level 4-8 mobs are difficult is that mobs have mechanics beyond simple level-based health/damage that add to difficulty. Generally, starter area mobs don't have 'mechanics' at all. If Beth just lowered the levels then that may not have changed mechanics that they previously expected you to have mastered on the starter islands. Also, changing levels doesn't affect the mob density.

For example, the starter mobs may do their special attacks a bit more slowly than the later mobs, so you can get used to reacting before it gets too challenging to develop the muscle memory (ie blocking/interrupting).

I wish I had more experience to add, but for some reason the game now crashes 2-5 minutes after I log in so I stopped playing entirely. This was not the case in the last beta.

All in all, I'm wondering if spending 80 bucks on the IE was the exact same STUPID choice I made when I pre-ordered FFXIV, Aion, GW2, SWTOR, and probably more that I'm blocking out of my memory. It's probably like how people proclaim over the toilet that they'll never drink again, but this could be my last MMO pre-order. We'll see how it goes at launch...

Lastly, after playing Neverwinter Hunter Ranger with an Xbox controller (and my custom mapping software), the 'action' combat of ESO seems a bit lame. Also, in NWO I can rip through (literally) a dozen mobs, come out with almost full health, and feel like a demigod. I'm finding it hard to spend so much time on a single mob, almost getting killed every time, and running away from two mobs by default. I would be happy to admit I svck, but this isn't my first MMO nor is it my first TES game.

I was so excited for launch that I wished I could be put into a coma until April. Now, I'm wondering if I made yet another idealistic yet naive MMO pre-order...

Let's keep hoping cuz it is just a "stress test".

The "starter" islands weren't removed. Now they're just islands full of optional content. You can still go to them and level up.

Yes, the islands are still 'there' but the *starter islands* are gone. Saying the content still exists but it's not introductory anymore doesn't really counter the essence of our concern. If they replaced the islands with a different introductory area, we wouldn't be concerned at all. It's not like I loved the zone itself and need to find it, hehe.

No offense intended to you personally, but this is the entire problem with MMOs. You are not, in fact, a demigod. You are just another adventurer amongst many. You have the potential to be great - as your personal skill increases.

I just don't get why people fear death and failure in games. The risk/reward duality doesn't work if there is no risk. Would you feel like a tough guy for winning a fist fight against a 5 year old?

While the current difficulty may be adjusted, mowing through mobs like the last Beta was extremely unsatisfying. Our characters are supposed to be talented up-and-comers, and overcoming tough opposition fulfills that.