Where do you begin with such a vast and expansive game such as The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited? It has been a long time coming for consoles. The Windows release was a little hairy to say the least. A year has passed and the game has since been molded into the one it is today. The addition of new content and the removal of their subscription fee undeniably made it far more accessible to console owners.
As you would expect from the launch week of any multiplayer title, Elder Scrolls Online was plagued with instability and lag. However, the MMORPG was playable and largely problem-free within a few days after launch. Firstly, I have to say, Elder Scrolls Online feels like the first proper MMORPG for current generation consoles. Yes, there was Neverwinter, but the lackluster crafting and that overwhelming feeling of needing to buy Zen left a sour taste for many of my fellow gamers.
Developers ZeniMax Online have done a great job of making it feel natural on a console. The controls and button layouts don’t feel out of place and you can assign your skills and spells to specific buttons. The action bar is very simplistic which means no messy tabs across the screen. This does leave you with the problem of what skills you want to keep as you simply wish you could use all your spells. Fortunately at level 15, you gain the option to have a backup weapon set, which luckily allows you to have a whole other action bar. This is great as it allows players the option to have a maximum damage or ranged skill set or offensive and defensive skill sets.
The action bar itself only has space for 5 buttons, which extends to 10 by swapping weapons on the D-pad. The extension of having different weapons grants fluidity in engagements. The combat, unlike other MMORPG titles, makes you feel like you are in control as you physically have to block the attacks or cast your spell at enemies. Tapping hotkeys doesn’t work here.
Another key aspect that Elder Scrolls Online brings to the MMO, which strangely is uncommon in the genre, is that you can use any weapons and any weight of gear you want with any of the four classes. This is quite unique and something that will allow many types of custom play styles. The only main limiting factors are the abilities associated with the class, which offer specific powers such as calling down an AoE that burns enemies or leaping towards the enemies with dragon wings as the Dragonknight.
The freedom to use whatever there is at your disposal means that there is nothing stopping you from being a Templar and fully embracing the healer side with light armour and staff. I like to keep to my role, and with the right points in your skills it allows you to make the most of it. Skills can vary from new spells and moves to more passive ones such as increasing the effectiveness of certain armour types when equipped.
The area of the world you inhabit depends on what faction you pick. This influences which lands you explore first. One thing to note before you play is to check what faction you and your friends want to play, as only players from the same faction can play together.
Once you’ve established yourself into the story, you’ll notice that the world does genuinely feel like the Elder Scrolls. The world isn’t as open-world as the previous single-player counter parts. This is due to the game coaxing you through zones. With that said, you wouldn’t expect it either. Each area is absolutely huge and you often have dark anchors descending in areas where dozens of players flood in to destroy evil.
I have decided to go down the route of the Aldermi Dominion and I’m really enjoying the story. There are the plot twists, lies and deceit that permeate the quest line which I find really intriguing. However, I have found from other friends that other faction storylines are less exciting and somewhat predictable. This is obviously subjective to the player, but it’s worth keeping in mind.
Something which has concerned a few people including myself is the use of area voice chat as the only way to effectively communicate. You can of course still send Xbox Live messages to one another or send mail but this isn’t effective for trying to find dungeons or groups. A quick set of short phrases are available, but are not quickly accessible in the menu. Area chat has often left me reaching for the mute button or I switch it off entirely due to people shouting over Kinect or some random guy munching and slurping Doritos and Mountain Dew down the mic. One upside is that you occasionally meet some great people and because you can partake in five guilds you can guarantee there is always something going on.
Voice chat however works extremely well in Cyrodiil (ESO PvP area) and group dungeons. This is because you can communicate by voice (and not keyboard). In one instance in Cyrodiil, I spotted a skirmish of players traveling across the fields between a keep and lumber mill and because of voice chat, I was able to warn my group that was now in line to face them dead on…evidently saving them from getting wiped.
Unfortunately questing in groups through the main storylines is tedious at best, even if you want to group and complete a quest together it simply doesn’t work. You end up having to redo sections of the same quest and it’s a shame. It really breaks the immersion.
In conclusion, this game is certainly so vast that even after almost two weeks, I feel that I’m only scratching the surface. So with this said, I’m willing to sink more time over the coming weeks and months to see how I feel when the economy and world is fully established.
Elder Scrolls Online is a relaxed version of what an MMO is with the classic single-player twist and I really enjoyed the majority of it. However, some fundamental flaws such as broken group questing, limited and awkward social chat dampens the experience. Hopefully being an MMO, updates could be made so that the less forgiving can still get stuck in with the wonderful world of Tamriel. I really genuinely believe if you are a fan of the Elder Scrolls worlds and you’re willing to dive into this unique blend that Zenimax are offering, then you will certainly enjoy yourself.
If you are still on the fence then be sure to send your questions over to me on Twitter @Jack_XboxMAD. Additionally, if you are looking for a great guild, leave your gamertag below for an invite. Hope to see you in Tamriel.
Jack contributed 16 articles to ICXM between 2014–2015, covering game reviews, and Xbox news with a focus on hands-on impressions and verified-source reporting. Their bylines on the site span the Xbox One’s first full year of post-launch coverage, including the early days of Backwards Compatibility and Windows 10 gaming. They post on X as @Jack_XboxMAD.