Last week, ZeniMax’s Paul Sage showed off what exploring and gathering would be like in The Elder Scrolls Online. Just like in the single-player Elder Scrolls games, you can ransack crates, barrels, and other containers in search of various bits and bobs.
Followers of The Elder Scrolls Online have been hungry for new information and today ZeniMax Online served up a fresh dish. In a brand new video, creative director Paul Sage gives an overview of exploring the world of Tamriel to gather materials or discover lore.
In another edition of Ask Us Anything Elder Scrolls Online gets a lot of questions about the games lore and how it intertwines with other Elder Scrolls games.
For any lore nerds out there it is quite a little treasure trove. For instance what is the lifespan of a member of the elven race who is unnaffected by life prolonging magic? 200 to 300 years, of course.
It goes without saying that slavery is bad. Does that hold true across Tamriel? Why yes, yes it does. Of course barbarians still have slaves but the civilised realms have outlawed slavery and all its forms. The exception being Morrowind, where the Dunmer still keep slaves. Under the Ebonheart Pact they were forced to free their poor Argonian slaves, which means the majority of the Dark Elve's slaves are now Khajiit.
Speaking of Dunmer, some high ranking Dark Elves may be making future appearences in ESO. Particularly Sotha Sil and his pupil Vivec. For those who do not know those two, Sotha Sil is arguably the strongest Dunmer wizard in Elder Scrolls lore and a man with a whole bunch of titles. Vivec is his companion and pupil. During the time ESO is set, the two are taking care of pressing matters that have never really been talked about. Lore nerds rejoice!
Speaking of elves, if anyone misses the Ayleid ruins from Elder Scrolls: Oblivion you should be excited to know that they will be appearing once again in Elder Scrolls Online. The only areas that were not settled by the ancient elves were Skyrim, Morrowind and Summerset.
What do you get when you allow three-factions (complete with siege weapons) to compete over keeps, towers, and castles in a map nine times as large as the other zones? That sounds like the Alliance War in The Elder Scrolls Online, of course! ZeniMax head, Matt Firor is seeking to utilize his Dark Age of Camelot pedigree to bring the most action-packed large-scale combat that the MMO industry has ever seen. The Alliance War pits players of three factions against each other as they scramble to dominate Cyrodiil and wrest control of the Imperial City.
Today Zenimax Online Studios gives The Elder Scrolls Online fans a glimpse at the darkness that seeks to threaten Tamriel and its people.
Prepare to Enter Coldharbour, the Oblivion plane belonging to the the notorious Molag Bal; Daedric Prince of domination and enslaver of mortals.
For those who are unaware, Molag Bal is one of the sixteen Daedric Princes who each rule his own plane of Oblivion. Molag Bal in this case, seems to be the main antagonist of The Elder Scrolls Online upon its initial launch.
You encounter Molag Bal fairly early in game and, as one might expect, this encounter is a deadly one; ending with Molag Bal stealing your soul.
If you intend on getting it back, you best prepare yourself for the monstrosities that lie in wait, as you delve into Coldharbour.
When I began to arrange an interview with the development team at ZeniMax Online a few weeks ago, The Elder Scrolls Online was already the most eagerly anticipated and speculated upon MMO to be scheduled for release in 2013.
In the midst of the hurly burly of development, Matt Firor, Game Director of ESO, was kind enough to answer a few questions on the game’s development. ZeniMax Online preferred not to discuss the details of the recent leak, but Matt Firor provided insight on the current phase of Beta that might answer some questions fans have raised since the video.
Playing an MMO at a convention or press event elicits a complicated mix of emotions. You sit down in front of a game that is intended to be played for hundreds of hours, but instead, your time could be cut off at any moment. What do you do? What should you focus on? My hands-on time with The Elder Scrolls Online has left me with a blur of scattered memories and ephemeral details. Among the dizzying array of mental pictures, there is one aspect of The Elder Scrolls Online that stands out clearly to me: skill lines.
In another edition of Elder Scrolls Online's Ask Us Anything, PvP takes the spotlight. If you'er even half as excited for ESO as I am then you know the province of Cyrodiil is host to a three faction war. You and your faction will fight for control over the Imperial City and ultimately for domination of the White Gold Tower, one of the most famous monuments in Tamriel.
In order to spread your factions banner, siege warfare is necessary as you claw your way towards the Imperial City. Siege weapons range from mobile constructs like a simple ram, to stationary weapons like catapults and trebuchets. These weapons are purchased through a currency called "Alliance Points." Personally I think it would be interesting if crafters made the siege arsenal themselves, but the point system ensures any player is able to obtain these valuable weapons.
One question concerns a valuable strategic element: resources. Some keeps may be too strong to attack outright. In this case it may be in your best interest to cut off the keep's supplies. There are three supply depots with different effects and boosts to the keeps and its occupants.
Controlling all three of these will stop the other factions patrols in the surrounding area, and thus the war of attrition will begin!
Its been an important month for The Elder Scrolls Online. Closed beta invites are trickling out and people are getting even more excited for this upcoming MMO. With all that's going on it has been awhile since an Ask Us Anything has been released. This edition of Ask Us Anything is short, yet it is quite sweet.
The first two questions are about player versus player scaling and how quests will be received. For those of you who may not know, ESO features a three way battle between the three factions. The fighting takes place in Cyrodiil, which is a continent of Tamriel that was featured in the hit game The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. When joining this war players are raised to max level, supposedly characters that are boosted will be able to compete with "true" max levels, but due to a lack of skills and experience they are at a disadvantage.
Questing in ESO will be handled in a very familiar way. According to the fine folks at Zenimax, quests first and foremost have to make sense in the context of the game world. This means that most quests will have a middle-man, some quest-giver who wheels and deals exp. and rewards to heroes and heroines. Rest assured there will be triggered quests; some examples that were given involved circumstances where you stumble upon a corpse or find a special book. A heavy emphasis was also put on the game experience outside of questing, it would appear Zenimax wants to put the spotlight on actions that happen naturally, like exploration.
As part of my visit to the hive of activity known as ZeniMax Online Studios last week, I had a thoroughly enjoyable chat with the driving force behind The Elder Scrolls Online, Game Director Matt Firor. We talked about how the game is progressing, what we might expect from Adventure Zones (or whatever they end up being called) and more.
After having played the game for the second time in the past six months, it was immediately noticeable how ESO (as it’s officially abbreviated) has moved forward since October. As we began our conversation I mentioned how much more responsive and engaging the combat was compared to the previous build. I asked Matt what the main focus of development has been since then.
