E3 2012: Elder Scrolls Online
We got a very lengthy video demo of the highlights of the game. No actual gameplay was played live, first disappointment. They showed that all of Tamriel will be playable. Cyrodiil is a neutral location among factions that are warring, all three of them. All art shown was not final, but capture the look and feel of Elder Scrolls. Except that it lacks the pop in visuals that say, World of Warcraft has. The combat is in real time and features a hotbar and health, mana, and stamina. This being all third person is the second disappointment. PVP is going to be HUGE, offering 150 players (50 vs 50 vs 50) all in one area at one time.
It looks amazing on a technical level but I worry deaths will be too quick to be fun. Dungeons come in two forms, instanced and public. You can find players and gain full XP and loot for helping and being helped, being very generous for all players. Quests are dynamic and of the example they showed, very interesting and even involving time travel to stop a werewolf in the past from terrorizing the future. In the quest if you save certain people or not – new quest lines open up or new opportunities arise. I have no predispositions for MMOs, but ESO did nothing for me. Offering bigger numbers in PVP and using the Elder Scrolls IP is not enough. I hope over time as we see and hear more, it improves.
