How do I play with other PAers?
Roll Aldmeri Dominion, both the EU and NA guilds are there.
What is The Elder Scrolls Online?
A new MMO from ZeniMax Online Studios, sister company to Bethesda Game Studios (developers of The Elder Scrolls series and Fallout 3). It takes place in the Elder Scrolls universe, but in the Second Era - well before the events of Morrowind, Oblivion (both Third Era) and Skyrim (Fourth Era).
Another MMO, huh? How does it play?
Surprising like an Elder Scrolls game. A character's abilities are defined less by their class and more by what weapons, armor, and magic a character uses. There are some conceits, however, as characters are locked to one class. But this class doesn't define a character's role so much as inform it: you can be a Destruction Staff wielding Dragon Knight focused on fire magic, or a Sword-and-Board Sorcerer that can tank the world. You get two weapon loadouts that have five active abilities per loadout, so it's kind of like Guild Wars 2 meets Skyrim.
Force Strategy Games (these guys have awesome TESO videos) explains it best:
Character Builder at ESOHead
What about end game? Are the raids?
There are Adventure Zones (areas designed for 4 players), and Trials (areas designed for 12 players). Trials are interesting in that there are a set number of revives a group is allowed, and a leaderboard for those who complete them.
What about PvP?
The president of ZeniMax Online Studios is Matt Firor. That name should be familiar to long time MMO players, specifically due to Dark Age of Camelot. Firor was VP of Production Development at Mythic Entertainment before behind hired by ZeniMax. That heavily informs the PvP specifically and the game in general. How? Well, there are three factions.
Aldmeri Dominion
This alliance, led by Queen Ayrenn (as voiced by Kate Beckinsale), consists of Altmer, Bosmer, and Khajiit. It controls the Summerset Isles, Elsweyr, and Valenwood. The Dominion was formed by the Altmer after restoring order to Valenwood and Elsweyr.
Both the NA and EU guilds will be Aldmeri Dominion.
Daggerfall Covenant
This alliance, led by King Emeric, consists of Orcs, Bretons, and Redguards. It controls High Rock, Hammerfell and the recently-recognized "province" of Orsinium. The Covenant was formed by the Bretons through much diplomacy, trade, and marriages.
Ebonheart Pact
This alliance, led by Jorunn the Skald-King, consists of Dunmer, Argonians, and Nords. It controls Skyrim, Morrowind, and Black Marsh. The Pact was formed by the Dunmer, Argonians, and Nords through diplomacy due to the recent Akaviri Invasion.
PvP takes place in the province of Cyrodiil, and is a three-way tug of war between the factions. They compete to control keeps, seize Elder Scrolls, and defend them against attackers. There are catapults, ballista... did I mention the development lead was a bigwig on Dark Age of Camelot?
Anything else I need to know?
- Force Strategy Gaming's Elder Scrolls Online playlist
- The Elder Scrolls Online (official page)
- Diversify. The experience you get is divided among the armor you have equipped and the buttons on your hotbar.
- For an invite to the EU guild, send a whisper to Zhakti (@Echo)
- For an invite to the NA guild, message any of these people: first ten (image), eventually all of these folk will be able to invite
- NA Guild Registration Form (if you want invite permissions) <--- PLEASE SIGN UP HERE THANKS!
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- NA PvP Campaign voting form
- Visual crafting guide
- A Reddit thread on efficient crafting and its results spreadsheet
Some neat addons:
- EsoHead database - does nothing on its own, but lets you upload data to EsoHead.com.
- EsoHead Markers - uses the EsoHead DB to put map markers for gathering nodes. Very handy if you're going deep into crafting.
- LootDrop - this is great if you have autoloot enabled. Shows what you've just looted in the corner.
- Item information (rarity and damage) added to item border/decals
- Slightly Improved Attribute Bars (bar percentages)
- Spam Filter
- Research Assistant
- Crafting Research Timer
- Guild or Friend? Character Icons. Rainbow Reticle fills a similar role, but also makes hostile mobs more visible.
- Bag filters!
Crafting tips:
reddit thread
its google doc
Patch notes: