Everyone has a fighting chance
The latest "Road Ahead" has been published on the Elder Scrolls Online site. The article begins with a retrospective look back at all the team has accomplished in the last several months and then starts a long look at what is yet to come. Of most notable interest is the news that Update 6 will be heading to the public test server in January and that, while no release date is yet set for console versions, they are closing in.
Update 6 is a big one. Not only is it going to have the Provisioning Revamp, introduction to the collector system, and even the Champion System, but one addition to Update 6 is one that hasn’t received a lot of attention. One I think is a pretty awesome change. In Update 6, as long as everything goes according to plan, we’re going to be seeing some massive combat animation changes.
With Thanksgiving here in the US this week, it is probably a good time to talk about food. Namely, the long-awaited Provisioning overhaul that is set to arrive in update 6 of The Elder Scrolls Online. The changes to crafting in the game continue, but Provisioning will not just intend to increase immersion in the game world, but help players with management as well.
As much as this is an Elder Scrolls Online column, the topic I want to discuss branches itself across almost every MMO. It is something that no game has really figured out how to master. What I would like to discuss this week is Private Test Servers (PTS).
Timing is everything. The last time in this space, I wrote about The Elder Scrolls Online rebounding from mistakes and negative first impressions moving forward. Since that was published, a major error happened with the latest round of patching, causing discrepancies between what was supposed to be included and what actually made it to the live server, as well as additional bugs, and, for a time, major login errors.
Patch 1.5.2 went live on Monday and with it came some major improvements that we already knew about. But it also included a few changes that we did not expected. Were these unexpected changes good or bad?
A recent column on this site argued that the critical reception for Destiny wasn’t relevant since the game’s sales were high. Yet, developers want to foster a reputation for quality as well. ZeniMax, too, suffered from mixed critical feedback before ESO was released, and in the weeks after launch. Yet ZeniMax embraced the feedback of its community, and now, with a big update set for the live server, is at six months and thriving out there.
Titan Books has announced that it has gained the worldwide rights to two lore-related collections to give Elder Scrolls Online players and fans of the other Elder Scrolls games more information about the games they love and play. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tales of Tamriel and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim take players a look at original art and historical lore behind the series.
One thing that has always bugged me about The Elder Scrolls Online was the lack of a need to login to do something. As much as it bugs me to admit this, World of Warcraft did it right with dailies. Dailies give an additional reason to login every day, and give another avenue for players to feel like they are progressing. At least they had that in WoW, no so much ESO. However patch 1.5 is trying to change that.
One thing that has always bugged me about The Elder Scrolls Online was the lack of a need to login to do something. As much as it bugs me to admit this, World of Warcraft did it right with dailies. Dailies give an additional reason to login every day, and give another avenue for players to feel like they are progressing. At least they had that in WoW, no so much ESO. However patch 1.5 is trying to change that.