The time is here! Zenimax finally dropped the monthly fee and went buy-to-play. I, among others, have argued that Elder Scrolls Online should have been BTP from the start, but I guess they were trying to milk the sub model as much as they can before they switched. Maybe it was all in plan, who knows?
I remember playing some of this in beta. I was reluctant about the game even before they announced the first closed beta. As I expected, the beta didn't really give me any good impressions, mainly because the game was still a sub model, and that fact alone made me look at the game at a negative light. Sure the quests are nice and all but I just didn't see enough to justify a monthly fee. Well many things have changed, or so I have been told, that improved the overall game. Considering this is my first time playing the release version, this is more of a first impression on what I think of the game thus far.
What I Liked
Getting the obvious out of the way, there is no more subscription fee! That alone changed my outlook of the game. I feel they now have a chance to be more successful in the long run with this change. New players can purchase the game and not have to worry about paying a monthly fee. The question lies on how they will monetize future content. I have hope that whatever they do, it won't be as restrictive like a certain space MMO we know.
The overall questing system is nice and I like how each quest feels like a mini-adventure. Also, the way quests are handled encourages you to go out there and find more, discovering extra goodies along the way. I understand those complaining about choices in the quests doesn't make a difference in the big picture, but the choices do make you think for a second. That is, if you're really into the story line. It feels meaningful to me within the context of the quest. Character creation is robust with options. With 3 factions, 9 races, and 4 starter classes, there is something for everyone. There are your typical options like skin color, hair styles, body height slider and face options. It also goes a bit more detailed with options for nose, eyes, mouth, the bulkiness/fatness of your character and much more. You can't go overboard and make a silly character like in Aion, but you can detail your character as specific as you want.
I'm still finishing up the early quests in Daggerfall, but I can already see that I will like the class system. I really enjoy that I can wear any armor and wield any weapon. Oh yea, I'm gonna make that lightning based duel-wielding rogue I always wanted! The environment graphics, while nothing special, maintain the look and feel of Elder Scrolls, albeit in a generic way. Effects like sun-shafts and water reflections are pretty and realistic and fire in this game looks damn good! The voice acting is also well done. They add to the immersion of the quest-lines and to the world itself, especially when running around the city hearing random dialogue.
I've heard that the first person view in this game is not all that hot; it's not Skyrim great, but it does the job. I like switching from third to first person while traveling or while fighting some mobs. Its' definitely more difficult to fight in first person, but at the same time more fun! For things like dungeons and PvP fights I will definitely stick to third person. Another thing I like about this game but you don't really notice at first is that there is only one server. True story: my buddy Xavi asked for my character name and server so we can link up in game. Without thinking I logged on and attempted to find the server list, but to no avail. I did some quick googling to discover that there was only one server- a megaserver! It's great that Zenimax is utilizing current technology and moving away from the archaic system of multiple servers.
What I Didn't Like
They may be minor nitpicks, but there were certain parts of the game where I felt they could have improved on. First of all, the character graphics. I understand that MMORPG graphics are usually a generation behind, but clearly the developers could have done a better job. It just feels rushed as if they were trying to complete a deadline and this was the end result. I mean you can say they look really good...if this was five years ago. I understand development of an MMORPG takes many years, but they should have considered better game engine or a different art design. The best example is Final Fantasy XIV. Even it's 1.0 version had superior graphics to ESO and that game came out four years ago! Animations are real jerky, jumping feels like I'm jumping in space, and the overall look is dated. It's crazy that games like World of Warcraft still have better looking character animations, especially after upgrading the character models! Even so ESO animations are decent enough and doesn't distract too much from the game play.
Something that is annoying is how expensive the mounts are. So you either hoof it on foot until you can get the gold to purchase one, or you can take the shortcut and pay twenty more dollars (if you haven't done so already) to upgrade your account to the Imperial Version where you and your future characters get a 'free' mount. It has money trap written all over it. People are genuinely impatient, so the best way for them would just chuck the 80 bucks to get an awesome mount without all the hassle. I...will eventually fall in that trap, mainly because I'm one of those impatient people I described!
As nice as the quests are, it only feels like that when you're playing solo. There's really nothing about the quests that encourages you to group with someone, almost like they were designed to do by yourself. Maybe this dislike is premature and I just need to wait to later levels? I'll check that out for myself. Another annoying issue is the use of the compass map. For single player games like Oblivion and Skyrim, they worked fine. For an MMORPG, it's confusing. Maybe I'm just used to the whole mini-map like in other MMOs. I applaud Zenimax for trying to make this game have that ES feel, but this one they could have kept with the single player games. Finally, why in the world is there no auction house?? In order for me to purchase something from another player, I need to visit a guild store in town. While the idea of going to a player run store is nice, having only guild stores as the main source of trade isn't good enough. A better idea (at least in my head) would be to include an AH in the main cities and keep the guild stores as a secondary place to buy off of players. But hey, I'm just a gamer, not a developer, what do I know?
These are just my first impressions and I haven't hit level 10 yet! I just feel with a little bit more time, and better decision making, this game can be much better. It's still pretty early in the game though, so I may get surprised later on (if I make it that far). If I continue on, look for a mid-game update on my thoughts. At that point I would have done more and become more knowledgeable of the game. Until then readers!
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