Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/2014/03/03/preview_elder_scrolls_online_beta/

Beta tasting: The Elder Scrolls Online preview

Worlds away from Warcraft

By Lucy Orr

Posted in Personal Tech, 3rd March 2014 10:00 GMT

Game Theory Up until now, there had been only one MMO in my life, but now I think I might have to become polyamorous. The Elder Scrolls Online beta has had me up every night recently, bashing my way to level 10 so I can PvP in my nifty lava spike armour.

During the course of just one week in which players were allowed to try it out, the beta of the most anticipated massively multiplayer game of 2014 became my Valentine. We were also given a second bite of the cherry over the weekend, more on this later.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

A game of skill?

First things first, let's not forget that this is an early version of the game and not the polished product due out in April. That being so, there are still elements that need tweaking and subject to change in Tamriel, all at a developer's whim.

Logging on to the beta, you'll be suddenly transported to the familiar land of Tamriel where there are three individual factions struggling for political supremacy. This narrative takes place 1,000 years before the events of Skyrim and 800 years before oblivion and Morrowwind.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Ooh, shiny

Suddenly you're dropped in the middle of a rather disorganised prison break where you hastily snatch a weapon of your choice and bash a skeleton. You have the option of several character classes: Nightblade, Templar, Sorcerer and Dragon Knight. I played a couple of the different characters trying out a Nightblade stealth archer and a Sorcerer, but finally settled upon a Khajiit Dragon Knight for this beta foray.

Your character's skills are based around five slots plus one ultimate skill. Trait points are divided between stamina, health, and magic/mana. With only one new point available per level, it’s not an easy decision on how to allocate them. My character's skills were fire-based – including an awesome chain called Fiery Reach that had me pulling enemies towards me and shouting "Get over here!" like Scorpion from Mortal Combat.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

On the pull

One of the best things about this game is the more you use a skill the more it levels up. Once you level up a skill, you can morph it into two branches/. For example, the skill tree for Fiery Reach splits into the two branches of greater damage or extended reach.

The look and feel of the game so far definitely tends towards The Elder Scrolls. When I first started playing I felt like I was starting a traditional MMO but the more I played, I soon lost the feeling of being in a multiplayer environment due to the remarkable voice acting and fantastic score.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Going places

That said, this being a beta, the graphics aren't refined and the towns felt somehow lacking, and at this stage of the game’s development it is strangely without a soul. I have to keep reminding myself this is an unfinished product and I am only just catching a glimpse of how The Elder Scrolls will build on its RPG foundation to become an MMO of impressive complexity and depth. Well, here’s hoping.

There were so many interweaving quest lines in the short time that I played that I had but the smallest glimpse into this MMO world and its rich narrative. But I have to admit that as I explored and conversed with NPCs, some of the quest chains became overly similar. Quest givers are easy to spot (they have a symbol above their heads) but it’s the stumbling upon quest through exploration that excited me the most. Skyshards are found purely through exploration and after collecting three of them I can add a skill point.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Downing a dinosaur

Be warned though, quests might start out simple – such as donning a guard's uniform to speak to the queen – but soon enough there are some challenging quests with dickhead dinosaurs kicking your ass. So it’s best to go looking for group or at least team up with one other hero to go back and reek some prehistoric vengeance.

Luckily, the design of the zones, so far, means that I don’t end up a complete cropper. Even though quests seem demanding, they are undeniably suited to my level. This makes exploration a pleasure rather than a chore – good old Fast Travel!

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Fast Travel has its advantages

The exploration during Skyrim was one of the aspects that really helped with the suspension of disbelief and had me entirely immersed. Levelling is slower than in most MMOs I have played – but this is a good thing. In recent years, Blizzard has changed WOW to make it much easier and quicker to level. Personally, I’m not sure why this sugar rush has been implemented just to attract n00bs.

Combat rocks

In The Elder Scrolls Online, each quest definitely had a purpose and was part of the narrative rather than a grind. So maybe it’s a good thing to let the complex interweaving narrative consume me, rather than worry about what level I'm at. I particularly enjoyed picking locks of the many chests and massive vases littered about each cave, dungeon and sea shore. Becoming talented at lock picking requires all the dexterity of getting at least 20 on Flappy Bird.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Scenic route

I really liked the thrust and block of the combat which, again, is familiar from Skyrim . The combat felt really intense and miles away from the rapid-fire clicks of most MMOs. Admittedly, it’s not quite up to the standard of Chivalry Medieval Warfare, which I’d say is the standard Bethesda should be aiming for.

Another thing you won’t see in combat in most other MMOs is the blocking option: being familiar with dodging and blocking have saved my life on several occasions but it does take heaps of stamina. The FPV helped with the immersion of the game but wasn't that great in combat due to collision issues and the lack of depth predictable for a beta.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Van der Graaf generator, anyone?

I spent a lot of my very limited time in The Elder Scrolls Online busily crafting, as it's an essential part of any MMO. Indeed, making dark meat beer is an indispensable speciality, as far as I'm concerned.

PvP combat across Cyrodiil

So, not at all pretending I’m like your every-day dictator (rather that I enjoy acting like one), I’m always up for some mass war. Naturally I’m talking about how I had the chance to PvP again very recently and spent a few hours bashing my way to level 10 to get there. It was worth it though as it has given me a glimpse of what might be the light at the end of The Elder Scrolls Online's tunnel. Here, I finally experienced the sense of community that might make this game worth a monthly fee.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

The PvP map covers a lot of ground

Cyrodiil, the PvP map, looks a lot like I imagine the Crimea must be like, pretty dull and full of bored wolves. In this environment, I am caught up in a battle between the game’s three major factions: the Daggerfall Covenant; Ebonheart Pact and the Aldmeri Dominion. All of them are waging war for control of The Elder Scrolls themselves.

The Scrolls – and the dominance of the keeps and forts the scrolls are held in – are the reason I'm here. To endlessly fight as they switch hands is my personal PvP purgatory.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

"Have you got the scrolls?" "No, I always walk like this."

After entering Cyrodiil, I had no time for the tutorial on understanding the art of deploying the machines of war, including ballistas, catapults and trebuchets. I mean, after the hours I put into playing Medieval: Total War there isn't a castle safe anywhere.

The PvP map is huge, I can use the Transitus network to fast-travel between areas, but only those claimed by my alliance. Luckily, I redeemed my Imperial Pack press code and acquired a heavenly ashen steed, so I didn't have to jog for miles with level 50 wolves biting my arse or try to save up a zillion gold in game.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Pony express

I’d also received an Explorer Pack code which gave me a mini squig that I’m rather taken with. Incidentally, if you pre-order you get this code automatically. Setting up my siege machine in front of Farragut Keep was a bit of a faff but the thrill of watching my allies pour into the breach to slaughter the players inside made any moaning about UI interface issues just pedantic.

My Dragonknight is still only level 10 though, which meant I died A LOT. Still, playing with a group, capturing the keep by slaughtering everyone in the area to secure another territory on the Cyrodiil map was, despite my initial trepidation, a rewarding couple of hours. The Battle felt very chaotic but fortunately I was grouped with much higher level players who did most of the work and resurrected me on more than one occasion.

Elder Scrolls Online preview

Upward scroll?

At times I felt like I was a mounted samurai in the castle attack scene from Akira Kurosawa's film Ran, an experience that makes me suspect that PvP will play a pivotal role in the initial success, if not the prolonged survival of The Elder Scrolls Online.

The Reg verdict

I'll admit that I'm bored to death of traditional massively multiplayer online games and my one wish for The Elder Scrolls Online was to give me something different. Is this a victorious transition of The Elder Scrolls into MMO territory? Does the combination of classic RPG franchise and MMO work? Will the end product convince me to spend another £10 a month or switch my austerity-lightened direct debit from Blizzard to Bethesda?

For now, these questions will remain unanswered while The Elder Scrolls Online is still in beta. Needless to say, what will make or break The Elder Scrolls Online will relate to its community and how long groups of players will stick around.

From what I have seen so far, I think fans of the franchise will find plenty to enjoy and there’s a lot I saw that looks extremely promising. Don't consign The Elder Scrolls Online to free to play just yet. ®