[Megathread] Elder Scrolls Online

[Prancing Minstrel]

Has there been any (non-NDA breaking) word on whether or not we can use necromancy? I've always loved it in the main series.

[Zanag]

Has there been any (non-NDA breaking) word on whether or not we can use necromancy? I've always loved it in the main series.

There has been no word that there will be a necromancy skill line in the game at launch time.

People need to remember that they said they will be adding new content every 4-5 weeks. It would be safe to assume that pretty much every new content patch they put out will include at least one new skill line. So the skills we have now won't be the only skills we will have in 2 years. So we might not have a necromancy line now, but there is a good chance it would be one of those things that will be added in later in the game.

[Tierbook]

There has been no word that there will be a necromancy skill line in the game at launch time.

People need to remember that they said they will be adding new content every 4-5 weeks. It would be safe to assume that pretty much every new content patch they put out will include at least one new skill line. So the skills we have now won't be the only skills we will have in 2 years. So we might not have a necromancy line now, but there is a good chance it would be one of those things that will be added in later in the game.

When did they say there will be new content every month? That seems a little fast honestly 2 months at least

[Zanag]

When did they say there will be new content every month? That seems a little fast honestly 2 months at least

It was from an article, I believe, a few months back. They said that they will be releasing new content every 4-5 weeks, and that this is the goal they will be following. They also released an article a couple months back too stating that they are already working on post-launch content now, and already have a 5 years plan on content they will be releasing and at what time intervals they will be releasing them on. So, the 4-5 weeks goal for releasing content is very doable, especially since they are already creating that content months before the game is even out.

[Greevir]

It was from an article, I believe, a few months back. They said that they will be releasing new content every 4-5 weeks, and that this is the goal they will be following. They also released an article a couple months back too stating that they are already working on post-launch content now, and already have a 5 years plan on content they will be releasing and at what time intervals they will be releasing them on. So, the 4-5 weeks goal for releasing content is very doable, especially since they are already creating that content months before the game is even out.

I hope it's better than SWTORs "occasionally put stuff in the cartel market and call it content" BS.

[Zanag]

I hope it's better than SWTORs "occasionally put stuff in the cartel market and call it content" BS.

I can't remember exactly how big they were going to make each content update, but they said they would be adding things like: New skill lines, add master dungeons for the ones that aren't in yet, new NPC guilds (Thieves and Dark Brotherhood), add new features (justice system), add new content for PvP (opening up the Imperial City), adding new Adventure Zones.

So, they have a lot they want to add with each content update. I'm just a bit reserved on the whole, "4-5 weeks," thing. I honestly believe they can give us content that quickly, but I still believe there will be times they will fall behind a bit on releasing some new content (shit happens you know?).

[noahjam326]

Every MMO release ever has talked about faster content releases. It's not even worth discussing until the game releases and it can be proven over a long period of time.

[Edge-]

I hope it's better than SWTORs "occasionally put stuff in the cartel market and call it content" BS.

Erm, SWTOR is currently on a solid 8 week content cycle. They release good sized patches of content for all level 55 players (5 mans, raids, new BG's etc.) every single patch. Hell this content patch (which they called an expansion...which is a very loose use of the term) added in off the rails PvP space battles.

To the point though: Every MMO always has plans of rapid updates. SWTORS initial plan was monthly releases which fell through very quickly. TSW had a plan for monthly releases, which lasted for a bit but has since fallen behind schedule. And these are all games that have "content planned for up to 10 years" etc.

I really don't believe any developer talking about how they have years of content planned and how they are planning on delivering super fast content updates anymore. After so many developers talk about what they plan to do and then fail to deliver, it's tough to be optimistic : /

[xxf2dxx]

The game is a disease that shall kill your social life.... I played the beta once so far and i'm more addicted than i ever was for wow

Wait, you could actually complete quests after the starter area?! Yea, mind blowing fun. Anyone know when they're doing the next beta weekend? I'm hoping the next time around things will actually function for me.

[obdigore]

I really don't believe any developer talking about how they have years of content planned and how they are planning on delivering super fast content updates anymore. After so many developers talk about what they plan to do and then fail to deliver, it's tough to be optimistic : /

I remember hearing RIFT was doing raid content monthly. Is that no longer true since they went f2p?

[Edge-]

I remember hearing RIFT was doing raid content monthly. Is that no longer true since they went f2p?

That was never the case in classic and I've never heard of that, though they did have near monthly patches for the game during classic which all included some form of content or new feature. It's slowed down a bit after Storm Legion launched, but is starting to pick back up again.

[Deleted]

I remember hearing RIFT was doing raid content monthly. Is that no longer true since they went f2p?

they're currently pushing out "content" on a weekly basis, also it's mostly recycled classic-content ...

as for swtor ... I was quite impressed how much they've done since I've stopped playing a year ago ... also: STARFIGHTERS! (yeah, it's awesome.)

[Zanag]

GW2 seems to be able to quite easily add new content to their game every month. It's usually just not much more than a small new questhub or some storyline event though.

Yeah, it sounds like ZOS wants to add a bit more content then that every month or so. Now, I don't know if they will be able to do it, but I'm gonna have faith that they know what they are doing and can keep this promise.

- - - Updated - - -

New article came out recently talking with Paul Sage. The one interesting thing to come out of this article is this quote:

What kind of instances can we expect in TESO. Will there be dungeons for larger groups, such as raids? Will there be open world encounters?

We are going to have public dungeons, that are more geared towards two players, and four man dungeons, which we internally call instances. Finally, at launch, we'll have what we call adventure zones for larger groups of up to twelve, and we'll be releasing more details on those zones a little bit later. The latter might be compared to what people usually call raids, but they are a little bit different than what people are used to. They are still a lot of fun to play with a number of other players.

Seems we now have a definitive answer on how large the groups are going to be for their raids in the game. They were originally floating around that AZ would be zones where groups, as small as 4 man, could go into the zones and be able to clear a few things, but you need a group of 24 to be able to clear the whole thing. Now it seems that they are going with 12 man raid size instead of 24 man. Personally, I liked it around 24 man groups, but the 12 man number isn't that big of a deal for me.

Also, it seems like they are confident now that they will have their raids out before the game is even launched. I know this was a big deal about 6 months back because they said that they wouldn't include raids at launch and would have them in their first content patch, but this still didn't please people well enough so they started making them as soon as they saw that feedback. Hopefully they will start releasing new information on this soon, because this is one of the only facets of the game that is still a big mystery for most people who have been following the game for a good period of time.

[Tierbook]

One thing that could be interesting, once criminality is introduced and you steal something will a guard come to arrest you by default or will you be able to fight him off causing more guards to come and if this happens could other players attack the guards? Would it be possible for there to be a huge battle in the middle of a faction city that involves loads of players vs NPC's?

Edit: Also looking at the number of skill trees, there are roughly 130 total skills and this is not including tradeskills or the skill lines for the Assassin's guild or Thievs guild as they won't be out at launch

[Jainzar]

http://www.twitch.tv/questgamingnetwork/b/485462080

ESO Podcast with Nick Konkle (Designer @ZeniMax)

starts at 11:50 into the video.

[Deleted]

Was anything interesting said?

[Tierbook]

Was anything interesting said?

-Ultimates can be morphed
-Can spend gold to respec
-The Undaunted?

[Jainzar]

Was anything interesting said?

A few things he talked about:

- Ultimate abilities can be morphed, like every other skill in the game
- They decided to go with the skillpoint and class system so they could have the best of both worlds (freely customizable characters vs. class system)
- When you swap hotbars (weapons), your summoned pets and other strong buffs disappear unless you also have those spells slotted on the second hotbar
- Werewolves and Vampires will have an own skill line, which will offer strong abilities
- The Fighters Guild's skill line will offer good counters vs. Werewolves and Vampires and there will be natural drawbacks there aswell so he doesn't expect everyone to be a Werewolve or a Vampire, in fact most people most likely won't be either.
- New skill lines are something which ZeniMax will add in content patches, not just in new expansions.
- There will be new Ultimate abilities aswell in those new skill lines
- There will be 12 man adventure zones in the game at launch, which are basically the raids in ESO
- He played WoW competitively (hardcore raider back in the day) and enjoys ESO's adventure zones
- Veteran Ranks can be advanced by both PvP and PvE
- A reason why they haven't announced every detail yet (Raids, PvP, Werewolf / Vampire skill lines etc.) is partly also because they feel like the first time people experience something like this is exciting if you don't know everything about it beforehand
- There will be an option to hide your helmet
- Crafted items aren't reserved to their creators, they can be sold to anyone
- There won't be any mentoring system (downscaling) at launch
- Skill points can also be invested into crafting professions

[sergel02]

- When you swap hotbars (weapons), your summoned pets and other strong buffs disappear unless you also have those spells slotted on the second hotbar

This is a little upsetting. Was hoping for it to really be like having 12 abilities, not just 6.

[Tierbook]

I wonder if you will eventually be able to become a bard through the bard's college or be able to learn the Thu'um through High Hrothgar in later patches