So the latest Elder Scrolls Online beta test has come to an end, and I’m happy to say it went extremely well.
There were a couple of glitches I came across. One happened upon exiting a vendor, where the game seemed to think you were still in the store. Secondly some quests bugged meaning certain enemies didn’t appear or I wasn’t able to play the quest in a group. All is forgiven though as this was just a server stress test running the server from the original beta.. I still got a decent general feel for the Elder Scrolls world.
I continued this time with my level six female Bosmer. I am currently spec’d to be a full ranged DPS archer using bow and magic skills to take down foes. I’m stuck in the middle at the moment that come release, I don’t know whether to stick to a ranged character or use melee weapons such as a two handed sword or sword and shield combo. That’s something I would like to try come a next beta before release.
ESO Online sees the community split into different factions. My favourite being the Aldmeri Dominion. After choosing your faction your faced with choosing a race. Each race is split between factions unless you’re going to invest in a pre-order and the explorer’s pack. This lets you mix and match class with factions.
The general idea of the game is it’s an MMO. And from what we’ve seen so far, a very good one. It doesn’t follow in the footsteps of your traditional MMO which sees you bashing your number keys to perform skills and spells. It uses a real time fighting style. One mouse click is a swing of your sword. Right mouse click blocks enemy attacks. There are of course spells that are casted by pressing your bind on a keyboard but it doesn’t get in the way of keeping the game as close to the traditional Elder Scrolls way.
Weapons can be equipped in both hands. Using the keyboard binds for a spell frees up both hands for melee or ranged weapons. That’s changed from Skyrim.
The quests are in the traditional style of go here, get this, bring it back, or go here and kill x amount of enemies, which works. I didn’t find myself getting bored at all. And with spoken dialogue it feels a lot more real, like you’re having a conversation rather than reading a text box with the objective in it.
The only other game mode I played during the third beta was the WvWvW, or World vs. World vs. World. This is an open map of Cyrodiil that sees each faction fight for keeps. At one point o found myself on the outer wall of the keep watching hordes of enemies running towards it, weapons ready. It actually made me jump when a trebuchet flinged it’s missile at the crowds. It was madness, but gave you a true sense of what a fantasy battlefield would feel like in real life. After all, it has to stay true to the MMORPG element. It was extremely fun.
The only unfortunate thing is if you fell in combat, unless your faction had a forward base, the game spawned you back at your closest keep. Miles away from any action. So once you have turned up to where you died, the game has moved on. This does add the tactical element of well placed forward camps though. It is hugely satisfying taking down an enemy keep then moving onto the next one.
The Elder Scrolls Online is looking to be a fully polished MMO by the time it hits the shelves on April 4th 2014. It’s a day that all us avid gamers should look forward to. For a one off payment for the game, price depending on package, and a subscription fee of £8.99 a month, this game for what it has shown me so far, is an absolute bargain. Let’s just hope that it receives as much attention it deserves for additional content and updates.
