The Elder Scrolls Online: Dungeons
Zenimax gives players an inside look at some of the systems and challenges ESO dungeons will bring.
This Week Zenimax Online Studios took some time to give MMO veterans and Elder Scrolls fans alike a bit of an inside look at some of the dungeon systems in their highly anticipated MMORPG, The Elder Scrolls Online.
Many know that ESO is adopting the holy-trinity style system as the core of its combat game play; having groups made up of Tanks, Healers, and Damage-Dealers respectively. To the majority of MMO fans out there this is a pretty familiar set-up, one that can trace its roots back to the first table-top Dungeons & Dragons games. However, for Elder Scrolls fans, working in groups might be a bit of a change, considering that the Elder Scrolls franchise has been a predominately single-player experience. To help prepare players for this experience, Zenimax has broken each "dungeon role" down so players can know how they fit in to their group.
Let's start with the damage dealers, or dps, because who doesn't like to slice and dice monsters with cool looking swords or burn them to a crisp with glistening fire balls? As the damage dealer this is exactly your job. Unlike the tank or healer of the group, damage dealers will make up most of the party's outgoing damage, so it will be your job to make sure monsters get to that 0 hp mark as quick as possible. Be warned though, even as a damage dealer you may have to get creative on how you approach each fight. Monsters will attack you, so clever use of crowd control, stuns, and even healing abilities could end up saving you in the long run. A dead damage dealer does no damage.
Moving on to the healer. Your job, as it sounds, is to keep your group alive through use of healing and support skills. As a healer you'll want to keep a careful eye on your combat positioning seeing as how healers typically leave themselves pretty vulnerable when tending to their allies. Get close enough to heal your group, but far enough away so you don't become an evening snack for a monster looking for an easy meal. Monsters typically won't be fond of you healing their prey, so bringing abilities to keep them off you long enough for the tank or dps to pick up aggro will be crucial to your success.
Lastly, we have the tanks. As the tank your primary job is to protect your party through the use of defensive abilities and crowd control effects. While it isn't expected that a single tank will be able to protect your teammates from every single threat; picking out the most dangerous targets and intercepting and interrupting them will be of the utmost importance if you want to keep your party alive to see another day.
In most games once you've selected your role in a group, you're usually locked in to that role for the majority of your game play session. However, in Elder Scrolls Online players will have a pretty decent amount of combat flexibility available to them; allowing you to weapon-swap mid-fight in order to gain access to additional abilities. Taking too much damage? Try switching to a staff and shooting off some healing spells and assist the healer. Choices like these should allow for players to really tailor their character to suit their specific play-style.
Aside from just player roles and interactions, monsters play a huge part in dungeons as well--for reasons other than just crazy good loot drops. Monsters in Elder Scrolls Online will act and react in different ways to the players and it will be up to your group to respond intelligently in order to overcome the packs of monsters you're likely to encounter while dungeon diving.
Monsters in Elder Scrolls Online are "aware" of each another. Meaning that if they see their companions get attacked, they will also join the fray. Zenimax calls this the "pack mentality". Monsters will also typically try to spread out once engaged in combat, having each monster pick its target.
In general, ranged monsters will try and attack players who are also at range while melee monsters will try and attack players who get up close and personal. However, this is not always the case. Some monsters tend to wait near the edges of the battle and join in when they feel as though they have the advantage. It will be up to the players to decide the best way to engage each encounter and adapt to the flow of combat.
Elder Scrolls Online's dungeons represent some of the toughest areas in the game and I'm sure most of you are eager to jump in with your buddies and test your limits. What role do you think you're most likely to play in the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online? Let us know in the comments below!
For more Elder Scrolls Online information be sure to head on over to the official website and as always keep your browser locked to ZAM for more TESO news updates.
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