Is the Elder Scrolls Online worth buying or not?

A lot of people are already expecting the Elder Scrolls Online to go free-to-play within the first 6 to 12 months from release. Bethesda and Zenimax haven't shown any signs of such a plan however. It all comes down to whether or not users will be willing to shed so much money on a game. So, arriving at the core of the issue, is ESO good enough to justify the costs?

[GutZ31]

Not that my opinion counts, but I would say NO.

Skyrim was possibly the best game in the series for a lot of people, but this bastard of MMO and conventional RPG can't marry without Bethesda working their magic on this(this game is not made by Bethesda).

If it was a true homage to Skyrim, they would have taken care to keep art stylings, and leveling systems similar to the offline game.

I can't feel excited about this game, no matter how much I wished for a Skyrim multiplayer game, this is not what I wished for.

[Jyndal]

This isn't about Skyrim.
This is about giving us the opportunity to finally be able to join up with multiple players, and explore the entire world of Tamriel.

I'm sure there'll be another ES single player game down the road, most likely with Bethesda at the helm, but for now ESO is the new thing, and will probably be the only way you're going to enjoy a new Elder Scrolls game for the next few years.

[GutZ31]

I think I'll upgrade my PC, download some epic mods, and find that Skyrim mod that allows multiplayer online.

I think that will be much more to my liking at least.

[GutZ31]

http://www.nexusmods.com/sk...

There are others btw.

[joab777]

This isn't even about joining up players in Tamriel...not entirely. They could have easily made another sp game w/ co OP.

Nope. Its an MMO through and through. But, having been in production for a long time, zenimax was smart to listen to all those that loved Skyrim to make their game as close it as possible, with the intent of enticing sp rpg players. It is smart b/c many rpg players will fall in love with the mmo genre. Also, the console market is untapped for the most part, and this could work.

The quality is there. Now, mmo fans are hard to please but will stick around for awhile. SP players will b harder to please but as I said many will be new mmo players...and will get hooked on it. So, the question is...how much content is there? Thats it. What is the end game...and how much content will b available in the first 18 months.

If zenimax listens to experienced mmo players, makes adjustments, and releases high quality content at a decent clip, they will be successful. I believe that they will be despite the community of naysayers. Yes, its hard to convince console players to pay $15/ month...but it can b done. And many dont realize how much better a sub model can actually b.

I for one, hate an over abundance of microtransactions. I would prefer a yr of modest nickel and dining while I enjoy Tamriel...as an mmo player.

[Boggie01]

Genuinely curious. In what way is the art style and leveling system different? You still level up skills by using them and then it levels up your character as a whole after gaining so many levels in skills. The only difference I can see in the leveling is that you can mutate a skill at a certain level if you wish and that it doesn't have a pretty astrological look to it. As for the art, the graphic style is slightly different yes, but im not sure they could quite get the same amount of detail in a MMO as in a Single Player due to amount of content and characters you see on one page, especially pvp battles. They have all the same structures and ruins as in the previous games and have you zoomed in on the characters in the character selection? Because in my opinion the amount of texture detail is pretty insane.

[GutZ31]

There are action MMO's that look better, albeit less likely to have as much detail in the world in some cases, but character models, battle systems, and leveling.

The fact that they neutered the skill/level menu is pretty annoying to me, I wish they would have left at least a little color, or even just put some type of mytho's of design that gave it an ancient feel.

http://questgamingnetwork.m...

I hate everything about this look, down to the character moving for no reason in the menu.
I have played many MMO's, and admittedly, I have pretty much given up on playing them anymore, but really, I like my games to engulf me in the world they are portraying.

I'll take your shot if you say skyrim didn't have a much better item menu, but really, there are more things that just the menus that bother me.

This game is very much fine for MMO players, but if its to draw none MMO players in, I think they missed the mark pretty badly if my response is like others.

[Boggie01]

I mean no offense when I say this. But in my own opinion I don't really feel like a pretty skill menu and characters moving in menu are a game killer for me. I know people that still pay 14.99 for Everquest when they have a f2p plan as well. You just get half the content and that thing is from the 80's. Talk about clunky and graphics. I honestly remember playing the beta at times and zooming into first person and honestly feeling like I was playing skyrim. For some reason the way the graphics in this game are makes it look as though they are slightly dulled when zoomed out. But the one thing I noticed is while in creating a character if you zoom in on your character in say character creation when he has the dotted scarring marks on him the texture is actually amazing. Skin looks life like. But then when you zoom out the scarring is just barely noticeable. In my opinion how it should be. Due to shadowing, and the focusing of distance.

[GutZ31]

Everquest was free to download, buy on ps2.
It didn't do so well on PS2...

Now, we have a similar issue. the game is pay to play, and you must buy the game.
It doesn't show its worth to console gamers, not as it stands at least.

If they had(this is actually stupid/funny to say this) a single player portion to play for buying it, then the console crowd might actually fall into it.

The subscription value has to mean something past a namesake. It not having Bethesda's full backing/development also makes it less desirable.

None of that means the game is bad, in fact, it could be the best MMO this generation. Problem is, I don't see it.

[colegonzales003]

first off, let me make it clear I in no way intend to be a dick here. but of course they arent trying to make it like skyrim. the MMO is set 1,000 years BEFORE skyrim. so of course the armor is totally different.

i can totally respect your opinion cause some people just arent into MMOs. however, that skyrim mod, while impressive for a mod, is trashh. theres a reason it only has like 800 subs.

i played the beta and as an elderscrolls fan boy im definitely willing to pay for the game. if you actually take a second to look at the lore, youll find this game is more involved than most other single player games. and lets not forget guys, the more money we give them, the more content they give us. its not like theyre just taking all our money for nothing. admittedly though, at first i was very turned off to the sub model. but now, i actually HOPE it stays. that way pay-to-win players stay out and we get great content quickly

[ovnipc]

I played the beta and i like it. Im getting this for the ps4. Gives me times to plays lots of titanfall before i sink lots of hours to this game.

[Hardtarget]

No.

[cheats]

It defends upon the situation. If you have lots of money and instead of buying a beer The Elder scrolls is much worthy but if you have only few bucks in your pocket you better save it for a better games, there are lots of great games out there. more than the elder scrolls

[andrewsimons]

No

[mister_zolos]

its a beta(dident really liked it)....but if this game had no monthly fee it will be worth geting it but...damn that subscription

[ziggurcat]

i honestly don't think any MMO is worth buying.

[spaceg0st]

$15 a month? No thanks. Otherwise I definitely would've

[PS3Freak]

Agreed. I'm completely against the idea of paying a monthly fee for a game that I already paid full price for.

It absolutely not worth it in the slightest. I like to experience many games, and I would not play an MMORPG enough to justify the monthly fee.

[GamerzElite]

Same thought, Game should be free if monthly subscription is mandatory.

[gamerheadlines]

The pay to play model is not a novelty for MMORPGs. It's been done for ages, since the very first MMORPGs. I had subscriptions for DaoC and Anarchy Online for years. In fact, adding up the 7 or so years of constantly paying for Anarchy Online, I spent well over $1000 on the game (plus the base game and expansions). Worth it? Definitely so for me, I was constantly entertained.

On the other hand, I get why people wouldn't want to pay a sub for a game. It comes down to your budget, finances, and principles. I know that I'm getting constant updates, customer service, server hosting and other aspects for my sub. Then again, other people see it differently.

Anarchy Online remains a pay to play game even after more than a decade. It still has a constant playerbase, albeit small (probably around 20.000 subscribers a month).

If you want to play many games, subscribing for ESO is not going to be worth it. If you want to play one single game because you love it (assuming you love MMORPGs and like ESO in that regard), and want to keep playing it for a long time, it's a solid buy.

Like the article states though, the Imperial-class money lock is a cheap move from Zenimax though, by any standards.

[sgtGanGreen]

If game is Free to download then it's worth to play it coupole of months for 15$ a month

[PS3Freak]

True.

[Truthandreason]

I played the beta and while my friend seemed to really enjoy it I found it pretty bland overall and was honestly surprised how he could be hyped over it.

I could see myself giving it a go when the game gets much cheaper and use the first free month included + waiting for some overall game improvement from patches is usually a decent idea for a MMO.

I did appreciate the condensed skill selection. I've grown tired of having to manage 40+ skills with toolbars all over the screen, but overall I would much rather go back to Guild Wars 2 or to a lesser extent pay for a SWTOR sub and finish another class story line.

[Summons75]

After playing the beta (unlike most naysayers) I'm going to say yes. You have an open world Tamriel (which most Elder Scrolls have been dying for since ES2) hundreds of hours of content (like a traditional ES game) game play feels the same aside from some minor balance tweaks (which is great, if it was like WoW it would have been awful) and the choice to play with friends and others (which new to ES fans were wanting for skyrim).

So I've been sold and so have a lot of the beta players who've been playing ES since the first and are a true fan.

[Boggie01]

Yes. I have played three beta sessions now, have played The Elder Scrolls Series back to Daggerfall and though there is certain changes to be made it feels like what they were aiming for. Almost any MMORPG worth a grain of salt this day and age is going to have a monthly subscription and $14-15 a month is pretty much the going rate at this point. If you were only into the single player Elder Scrolls and have not really experienced to much MMO play in your life to this point then I can see how it might be discouraging to pay a monthly fee. But that's how games like WoW constantly updates its system and keeps adding content. If a game of this scale goes f2p then you are going to have little to no added content and they are going to slack on updates and that is only going to lead to an even unhappier fan base. So either pay for the game or get ready to have half a game.

[colegonzales003]

first off, let me make it clear I in no way intend to be a dick here. but of course they arent trying to make it like skyrim. the MMO is set 1,000 years BEFORE skyrim. so of course the armor is totally different.

i can totally respect your opinion cause some people just arent into MMOs. however, that skyrim mod, while impressive for a mod, is trashh. theres a reason it only has like 800 subs.

i played the beta and as an elderscrolls fan boy im definitely willing to pay for the game. if you actually take a second to look at the lore, youll find this game is more involved than most other single player games. and lets not forget guys, the more money we give them, the more content they give us. its not like theyre just taking all our money for nothing. admittedly though, at first i was very turned off to the sub model. but now, i actually HOPE it stays. that way pay-to-win players stay out and we get great content quickly

[colegonzales003]

Boggie01 i couldnt agree more. lol