The Elder Scrolls Online Tamriel Unlimited doesn't require CD key, and no fee

[Saner]

Do you know what that means? That means I can buy it used and trade it in.
And if I like it, I can keep it.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1045765

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthre...1042267&page=3

UPDATE - Bethesda have clarified Zenimax's original statement was incorrect - the game does NOT need a key to use and the media can be resold. ""The physical console version of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited does not require a one-time game code, as with any other boxed PS4 / Xbox One game only the game disc is needed for verification," Bethesda said in a statement this afternoon. "Any previous statements counter to this were incorrect."

And there is no subscription fee, just whatever sub PS4 or X1 requires to play games online.

So with those hurdles out of the way, this makes ESO worth trying and exploring, in my opinion.

As an Elder Scrolls fan since Morrowind, I am open minded with the way ESO does things.
It's foolish to expect a "Skyrim with multiplayer attached", Reading more about Tamriel Unlimited, ESO is its own hybrid that is neither a theme park mmo clone (FFXIV is actually more like a theme park mmorpg, but ESO looks to go in a different direction), and is not a plain TES game either. I'm sure this could become the new favorite for at least some TES fans.


Over an extra year of development was put into this, so it will be a better launch than PC version.

Gathered some neat trailers, I'm really liking it's look and feel. It seems like it has some
of Morrowind's atmosphere combined with Skyrim, along with a fresh war theme, which is
a unique theme compared to FFXIV where the city states are together and getting invaded,
but there's no constant sense of urgency, the Garleans just camp until the next story quest
that uses them.

Having 3 alliances at war with unique races per alliance, does make things more interesting,
and each perspective stand out more, with the pvp content exclusive to Cyrodiil, which is
a great balance and keeps the heart of the conflict active for those that wanna participate in it.

cinematic trailers

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soKDyDjc3KQ

Freedom and Choice

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB72w3qSSs0

ESO with friends

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufGRyhtizq8

major updates

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0c08A3vswQ

Character Progression: Be Who You Want to Be

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU07krDtruw

The Elder Scrolls Online: Character Creation

Spoiler!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFhB6bSZLRw

I know some are upset about no text chat box, but playing FFXIV, I see that
text chat brings its own problems. ESO can do better without those issues.

1. a lot of nonsense, immature, perverted and needless things said on the chat
2. arguments and drama spilling in the chat
3. shout abuse
4. currency sellers harrassing players every day and messing up economies.
5. blacklisting becoming a minigame and hassle.
6. the chat box taking up visual space, like a compass/minimap does.
7. RP breaking immersion, with people being able to communicate
at unnatural distances. too convenient and unnatural for RPers, and casualizes things a bit much.
8. text chat/communication isn't required to complete most of the dungeons/content in mmorpgs anyways, text chat is mostly a luxury, not a necessity in most cases.
9. shows the worse side of communities. I play FFXIV so I know.
10. text chat broke more parties than keeping them together due to drama, complaints, and insults that can happen. I've been in a lot of parties where silence would be better than
people just grinding words at each other.



So in a lot of ways, text chat does break immersion (like voice chat does also). but I'm glad ESO's story is solo friendly, adventurers are more combat flexible, and most TES fans prefer to adventure solo anyways.

of course on the flipside, the cons to no text chat is that it will be challenging for those without mic to organize guilds and market what they sell, but I think people will find a way to adapt to this different social enviornment, whether they use things like PSN/Xbox Live Party Chat, or other means to network with people.

but mute adventurers can still band together without needing words,
it's really based on how you approach and adapt to the world.

Yes it will continue to be debated, but I will not let the text chat issue bother me at all. Overall, I think ESO will do better without that "noise" getting in the way, and the experience will feel one with the world's nature, instead of feeling like some internet cafe.
They just got to make sure there is option to turn off mic chat, or at least make mics only hearable if you have a headset, because voice chat can sure be worse than text chat, almost
no one wants to hear the BS that goes on in voice chat.

the class system is looking great. FFXIV has a lot of classes but they are strict playstyles,
but ESO looks like each class has lots of viable builds and can fit into any role.

It actually seems pretty open for build development to me. Think about it like this. You can only slot 10 skills at once. So your class trees present you with 15 to choose from. 5 more from the destruction staff skill tree. 5 more from mage guild. 5 more if you want to off hand... let's say a bow. Or 5 more if you want to off hand a restoration staff. 1 more for your armor skill. Then all the ultimates to choose from. That's a lot of variety. Here's to hoping we all enjoy that variety and don't just stick to cookie cutter builds!

Edit. That's not even considering the dozens of passives to choose from!

in the last few ES games there were no classes AT ALL just a bunch of skill trees..

In this game you have unbelievable freedom of choice for how to build ESPECIALLY for an mmo. The class doesn't restrict your stat allocation or gear equips, and the 3 trees within each classes ARE the subclasses.

With this setup you can mix and match any subclass skill with any PAIR of weapon trees, giving you two hotbars with two different weapons with skill entirely to your choosing.

In an MMO, ROLES are extremely important for tough team based activities.

The difference between ESO and oher MMOs is you have freedom to achieve those roles outside of traditional classes based on how you build it.

Nightblade Siphon heavy tank? Yes that's a thing, just because your nightblade doesn't mean you are a burst assassin dps.

Templar vamp/wolf hunter? Yes that's a thing.

Draco knight CC suport? Sure.

Sorcerer Daedric Summoner Knight? Mhm.

Throw the crafting trees in the mix and it adds a whole new dimension of complexity. You would not believe how huge of an affect custom gear/potions/food has.

You can be full fire/ice mage using the appropriate destruction staff.

You can be bow based completely by using the bows.

Each weapon has its own skill line; nothing is forcing you to use you class abilities. One of my builds uses 2 class abilities total, and they are both just buffs; my other 8 abilities come from the weapons I am using. Destruction staves each have an element; their attack spells are based upon the element of the staff. So the skills for a fire destruction staff are fire based, while an ice destruction staff are ice based.

Seriously, you sound like you don't understand how the skill lines in general work; cobsidering it has been explained multiple times that you can.

Now, is your build going to be optimal if you ignore your class abilities, probably not, but viable, definitely.

See this is one of the things I liked about PSO games, you didn't need to be optimal to be viable.


The crafting looks very deep too

Yes, the crafting in this game is very good. Each item you make can have specific attributes (only 1) added to it. For example, early on, a lot of new players seek crafters to make Armor that have earthier the Training (which increases your training/level with light/medium or heavy armor) or Exploration (which as you discover new areas, you gain more experience based on how many pieces of armor has the Exploration trait).

There are about 9-10 traits you can add to armor/weapons as you craft them. Then there are magical items you can add on top of that to enchant the item. For example you can enchant an item that gives it a +100 to Magic regeneration. These are all crafted items that are available to you.

It is a really robust system. But it does take time. In order for you to craft an item that has the Training Trait, you first have to find an item that has that trait and then use the research option, in short this makes you character learn that trait and once it is learned you are able to add that trait to items you make.

But it is specific to the piece. So if you research a helm with training, then you can make a help with training. If you want to have boots with training, you need to find some with that trait and then research it.

Researching can take some time, especially as you research more and more for a specific item. For example, my main crafter is currently researching the 2nd to the last trait I need for helmets (heavy armor) and it is going to take 28 days (real life days) for it to complete the research. It basically breaks down that the first time you research, it may take an hour, but when you go to research the 2nd trait it may take 2-3 hours. It takes longer the more research you do. (very balanced so people can't make OP gear fast.)

So on top of having the materials to make the items, you need to have traits to modify them. You also then can find Motifs, which are books that once you read you can make armor for different races that are in the game. Then finally there are the trait stones, so if you researched training and you want to add that to the item, there is a special stone you must find that allows you to add training.

That is just the tip of the crafting, then there are items you can find that are rare that you can improve items, you can make Legendary items, if you have the needed items to do so.

Looking to be more my kind of mmorpg Well we'll see.

[Anduril]

I played in the Open Beta for ESO, and it honestly didn't strike my fancy. Even reading all the changes they did for the soft relaunch as Tamriel Unlimited, I ended up passing on a the free weekend (you could download the game without having to purchase a key) they had a few weeks back. Then again, maybe Elder Scrolls games just aren't my cup of tea since I was never pulled in by Oblivion and Skyrim like a lot of people.

[The Walrus]

Did it ever stop being terrible?

Actually being serious idk anyone who plays it that I can ask >.>

[Korazenn]

Did it ever stop being terrible?

Actually being serious idk anyone who plays it that I can ask >.>

Nope. TESO is in a sorry state, actually. I gave Tamriel Unlimited a try because, what the heck, I had bought the game anyways so it was free to go back into the game again. Upon playing the game, I noticed cosmetic changes, but nothing else that really gives me a reason to return to it fully just yet.

No major overhaul to what it was from launch last year, the end-game (or lack thereof) is still a massive grind and bore to go through and doesn't make the least bit of sense even in the game's own lore, even after barring the lore of all TES games before (err...after?) it.

The game is still in relatively the same position it was left in since June of last year with cosmetic additions and new veteran group dungeons to make it seem like there is any actual end-game. What we need is more actual game content in the form of new zones to explore like Craglorn was. Even then, though, they need to open up these zones and allow for more freedom of exploration rather than this hand-guided tour of the game they have going on still.

I don't like the fact that each playthrough of the game on every character I make has to go through EVERY. SINGLE. ALLIANCE'S. TERRITORY. That to me defeats the point of choosing an alliance in the first place or the purpose of why I am fighting AGAINST this certain alliance's army in PvP while in Cyrodil. The reason they did this is because they didn't want to spend the time developing actual areas solely for end-game content. Instead, they thought they'd be able to get away with tacking on an end-game that makes you go through each zone on each alliance's side after you finish the main story. As obvious at this point, it didn't work out anywhere near like how they had originally planned. There's very minimal replayability as a result of that logic.

I mean, it's still a solid game that is worth the $50-60 bucks you shelve out for it, honestly. But once you play through everything on one character, there's little reason to go back and invest more time in the game again on another character. So I've never personally seen a reason to go back to it.

[Saner]

It's not for everyone. I'm reading impressions from the ESO community that do like it (those that ESO is really for), and more and more it's looking to be my kind of mmorpg .


http://teso.mmorpg-life.com/eso-skill-calculator/

Just wondering why people are complaining this much.

I play this game in 3rd person(in hectic battles) but mostly in first person with my FOV slider all to the max.
And i must say it works really well.

How can people say this game doesn't feel like an elder scrolls game?
Maybe they should play in first person more (might be a bit getting used to)
but i feel that it draws you into the experience much more.

With the loss of subsciption fees and the justice system (with stealing and all).
Its a really great game. I've played Guild Wars 1+2 and WoW for some time. But ESO is keeping my interest and fun factor much higher then those other 2.

Especially the combat in this is great.
I must admit i play this mostly solo but because of that it doesn't feel much different then a skyrim. (im playing ebonheart pact).
But once i see a stranger i work together with them most of the time while in dungeons.

People complain because their only impression of the game comes from either the Beta or the first month and because some Youtube reviewers don't understand that you don't review a game the moment it comes out, especially if it's an MMO because there are always teething issues with them.

I'm with you TC. I do find this rather enjoyable. If you actually play, you find most people in game are enjoying it. It's the people sitting back not playing or trying it that do most of the trash talk.

Glad you are having fun. I'm there with you.

This game had a lot of negative press on release (both deserved and undeserved). Most of that has stayed with it. Personally I'm with you on it feeling like a TES game, and I play exclusively in third person. There's just no mistaking that art style or character design, and the adult lean is much appreciated after WoW's Disneyland motif.

To be fair, the combat was rather wonky when it first came out. The core was there, but the animations could be weird, light/heavy attacks weren't incorporated as well, few other things. It's much improved now. Also, quests really were glitchy, to the point where it seriously affected progression - I remember one quest in the last zone, name escapes me now, but it was one of the last in the main story and it glitched so hard some people couldn't finish it at all. Plus several dozen minor example of the same.

It was also a sub game during a time when the general consensus of the industry was subs were gone for good, and "subscription mmo" was a curse. That feeling doesn't seem so prevalent anymore, but the fact that it went b2p after less than a year doesn't help its perception any.

This is the core of the reason. The game came out of beta into full launch, still in beta. Maybe even alpha. The game at launch was a bug filled, glitched up, half broken, and for a lot of people unplayable, mess. Add to that that it was an MMO that had significant problems with co-oping things, a very static and lifeless world (this is the area that's had the most improvement imho) and the fact they had the gall to not only charge full price for that mess, but demand a monthly sub on top of it.

The game now, that it's had nearly a year of work put into it post launch mess, is actually pretty great. As someone who played the first few months post launch, and have recently came back with the sub removal, I can say without a doubt if THIS is the way the game launched, that negative rep it has wouldn't be there.

skyrim bored me and i couldnt get into it at all.

but im loving this been playing the last few days and its great fun feels so much better since launch and the combat feels much more solid and fluid.

performance has definitely improved that's for sure

Overall, I would say Tamriel Unlimited could turn out like Diablo III console reception
(a success and more appreciated on console than the PC crowd),
where despite its bad PC launch and bad reputation, it made a comeback without needing
an overhaul the size of FFXIV 2.0 to be enjoyable, playable and popular.

Some people expect too much from an mmo, but those with more flexible expectations and
tastes, could find ESO to be better than P2P mmorpgs like FFXIV.

It could also fill the void that is lacking in mmorpgs in general that are too much like WoW (or Korean MMOs)
and compared to WoW and FFXIV, ESO is has more differences than similiarities, in good ways.

A problem some could have is playing ESO like they would WoW or FFXIV (or a plain TES),
when they really shouldn't play it that way, it would just create a misconception of right and wrong instead of understanding its fundamentals and principles first.

it really helps to be open minded about these things.