After playing this game a whole lot this week (and still not reached lvl 50), I think I came to the conclusion that I like it more than I like Skyrim. (and my rating goes like; The-vision-of-Daggerfall-that-exists-only-in-my-head -> Skyrim -> Morrowind -> Oblivion -> Arena -> Actual-Daggerfall)
It's pretty obvious when you think about it, but the name is actually very accurate. It is Elder Scrolls Online; it plays so much like a single player Elder Scrolls (despite all reviews saying "this is not skyrim online" which seems like a line Zenimax PR fed journalists to avoid backlash), but the backbone of a MMO really enhances the experience a lot.
On single player Elder Scrolls, you usually make-believe you are a trader and crafting is only there to give you OP gear. Here, you are actually a trader and what you craft may actually be worth its trouble (also, it is OP gear). At the same time, it is probably the best crafting system I ever seen on a MMO because you don't grind materials; materials are one of the many rewards of exploration.
And this is where it feels like a genuine Elder Scrolls experience. I'm still feeling I'm exploring; and with another 2 storylines waiting, there is a lot more of exploring to do and since the setting is the entire Tamriel, there's a diversity of locations that is very pleasing.
Being a MMO, there is no saving and even if you lose very little by dieing, just the fact that enemies go back to full health and you get bumped back to a wayshrine is an incentive to stay alive (which didn't really existed in single player ES games since you could save scum forever). At first it is a little annoying to share dungeons with other players (and 100% immersion breaking to see them being accompanied by the exact same NPC as you), but then it becomes always a pleasant situtation. There's no downside to have other players around and people inside a dungeon often start to work together as soon as they realize you're both doing the same quest.
And leveling in this game is great because the actual levels don't matter that much. I mean, they increase your overall power, but the best part about leveling - getting to learn how to do more stuff - is done by the skill points and this is another area where the game rewards exploration big time. Searching for skyshards (which means doing a bunch of dungeon crawling no related to quests), doing side quests, completing group dungeons; a lot of "optional" things reward skill points. And so, if you'e not power leveling to 50, you're always getting a lot of them, which truly is what allows you to be specialize torwards being a PVPer or a crafter or a PVE-oriented dungeon player or a really good thief; because the basic skills that allows you to be a decent DPS/Tank/Healer really don't consume a lot of skill points. What does is directing your character torwards the part of the game you like the most.
And so alts become a really good thing, because not only there is still two more storylines to complete (and I'm finding the writing on this significantly better than other Elder Scrolls games), but it makes sense to have one or two crafters, one super thief, one PVP-oriented fellow and just variants of variants since the skill system allow any class to fulfill any role.
Anyway, I'm loving this game. Not in the sense of being an amazing MMO, but in that Elder Scrolls way of losing yourself in the world. And being a shared world actually improves the experience.
).
