Hi i have been playing elder scrolls games since arena.

And also i have playing mmorpg's since ultima.

I have some questions for beta players that i don't think will break the nda.

Compared

To FFXI (pre abbysea) where you needed a group to advance in the main story, to level up, to unlock jobs Where crafting was almost a must to make gil . and felt like a MMORPG

To FFXIV where every thing is given to the player on a silver plater, where the main quest is Single player everything is instanced, YOU ARE THE MAIN man in the game, crafiting is useles. and if feels like a single player with multiplayer instances

How is ESO?

thanks for your help.

Hey there, we have the exact same gaming resume pretty much in terms of MMOs and TES except I started with Meridian59 (so I am more leet than you by 1 year, LOL J/K).

ESO is primarily theme park with a few sandbox elements IMO. About 85-90% Theme Park. Its PvP is zoned but the zone is large and seamless and there are PvE activities there such as questing and open dungeons. It utilizes DAOC 3-faction AvA.

There is plenty to love about ESO, most of which I can't talk about due to NDA. The real beauty of the game is in its details.

Crafting is not great but not terrible. It's no SWG crafting but it's not as simple as WoW's or GW2's and it will be vital to end-game.

The combat is great. Could it be better? More like TES? Yes, but just having first-person with hands and having to sorta aim to hit is good enough for me right now. Definitely a refreshing change from most BS mmorpg combat systems.

You will not NEED a group for most things. In fact much of the main story is solo-only (something I find terrible - solo-able is fine by me but I should always have the option to play with my friends through everything if I want).

You will need a group for end-game PvE adventure and progression dungeons, and lone-wolfing in PvP will be nigh-on-impossible unless you are stealth-ganking lone questers.

Sadly the game is highly instanced and highly phased, making group questing a serious PITA. That being said there are no loading screens between zones a la GW2, but there are slight loading screens on interiors, some dungeons and the like, very, very fast.

Can't really say much more than that I don't think.

Also, have not played either Final Fantasy MMO as I always disliked the franchise so I cannot speak on its potential similarity to either.

Ty for your input.

i may, no i sounded jaded, because ATM i am.

I'm the kind of gamer that if a play a mmorpg that is 80% soloable , i play an offline single player then.

The problem with todays mmorpgs, is that imho they are not mmo they are single player games with multiplayer instances or zones that if the game were a shooter the zones would have been called lobby" and the instances a multiplayer map.

i think elder scrolls is to much of a brand to waste on a game like i described above.

to many wow clones out there.

i hope this game is diferent.

Sorry about my english, i'm not a native speaker.

IMO it is different ENOUGH, but not wholly different than the standard AAA MMORPG Theme Park fair out there.

It certainly isn't just a glorified chat lobby, it is an open MMO, but don't be expecting an Ultima or, dare-I-say, a TES level of freedom. There are still level-dependent zones and quest-hubs and all that jazz. That being said you will also be rewarded for exploring and there are quests you can find out in the wilderness but that's not really a new thing.

i......i.....am DUMBFOUNDED....YOU....of all people, talking about TESO being good.....

I cannot believe i am saying this, but he is got it right for the most part. It IS a themepark MMO, but it is NOT WOW-level theme park, and there WILL be reason to explore and has several features for RPers. DO not come into this game expecting Skyrim online (Which is funny considering Skyrim is, by MANY, considered the worst of TES games), because it is not.