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A guide to character creation in The Elder Scrolls Online
Creating the perfect character in an MMO can take hours. In Elder Scrolls games, it can take longer -- mostly because you have to download mods. However, in the Elder Scrolls Online, you can't mod your character's appearance, and you might not want to anyway. In the following video, Massively ESO columnist Larry Everett takes a moment to explore the different aspects of the character creator. Who knows -- this might be the first Elder Scrolls game where you aren't forced to make a hideous Elf.
The Elder Scrolls Online answers a variety of questions (and the CE question)
If you've read about The Elder Scrolls Online lately, you surely heard about the whole collector's edition thing. The latest batch of answers for community questions tackles that head-on, stressing that the only exclusive for Imperials which other races won't have is a single skill line. That line will be balanced along with all other racial skill lines, so players who decide to go the Imperial route will just have a bit of extra visual flair, not a gameplay advantage. No mention is made of the cross-faction races for pre-orders, however. Aside from the obvious question and a few corresponding bits of confusion, the array of questions cover topics from open PvP in Cyrodiil to death gates to skill resources. If you're eagerly anticipating the game or just want to see more clarification on the whole function of the Imperial option, take a look at the full set of answers for a clearer picture of the CE bonuses and the game as a whole.
Tamriel Infinium: Fleecing Elder Scrolls Online fans with preorders
Are you as excited as I am about the Imperial Edition of the Elder Scrolls Online? When I introduced the announcement to my friends, I said something closer to, "Welp, this is a thing." Don't get me wrong; I am looking forward to the launch, and I will likely get the Imperial Edition because I want to play an Imperial. I played one in Skyrim and Oblivion; I want to play one in ESO, too. Some players are upset that if you get this collector's edition, the Imperial race is open to any faction. Even some of my friends are annoyed. Another issue that struck them hard -- probably harder than the Imperial race addition -- was the preorder bonuses. And I'm not talking about the five-day early access. No, the hate swelled over the preorder ability to play any race in any faction. I'm sure that some of them would say that I am being obtuse, but I really can't wrap my head around why they seemed more upset about this bonus more than previous bonuses given for MMORPG preorders.
Pantheon interview offers glimpse of economy, housing, and more
With the imminent shut down of Vanguard: Saga of Heroes on the horizon, eyes are turning to the upcoming Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen project spearheaded by one of the earlier fantasy game's creators. Brad McQuaid, first known for his work on the original EverQuest, is looking to fill the niche for old-school games that focus on group content and slow progression. How much will Pantheon fit the bill as the go-to game for all those old-school gamers looking for a challenging new home? Before the weekend announcement caught everyone off-guard, we nabbed McQuaid and Director of Development Salim Grant to find out a few more details about the game and its economy (no bind-on-pickup!), crafting, housing, and classes and races.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Exiles of WildStar
It's a truism you can see in literally any project you undertake: As a project wears on, standards for success slip lower and lower. The Exiles of WildStar have seen their major project go on for a very long time now. It started with Brightland's rebellious activities, yes, but at the time, those were actions of protest. That was a long time ago now, down what seems like an almost unfathomably far road. The Exiles of today certainly aren't fighting to reverse policies or change the Dominion; they're fighting for a home. We're introduced to the game's setting as a conflict between two opposing factions, but let's not mince words. The heart of the conflict has been over for a very long time now. The Exiles lost. What players will be jumping into is not the latest part of an ongoing struggle but the last stand of one faction that survives partly on the simple ignorance of its greatest enemy.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Cassians of WildStar
Imagine, for a moment, that your self-esteem has been validated completely by an external force. In fact, let's turn that up a little more -- let's say it's been validated by every single person you've ever idolized. Imagine that they all showed up at your front door and said you were awesome and that if you would just give them your cat, you would be granted a marvelous dominion over everything. First of all, it would be time to say goodbye to the cat. Second, it would mean that from that moment on, your future actions would all be entirely validated no matter what you did. Seriously, how could it ever be otherwise? Every authority you respect came around to tell you that you are supremely awesome, and you are apparently the last person any of them talked to. This should give you the barest hint of what it's like to be one of the Cassians in WildStar. You are born into greatness, into a legacy of being the greatest thing ever, and you don't just have to live up to that legacy -- you have to outdo it.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Aurin of WildStar
The Aurin aren't the same as their allies in WildStar. The humans are still fighting a long, lonely war against the Dominion for slights that were so long ago the Dominion has likely forgotten about them. The Granok persist in their fight out of a dogged need to make their exile from the homeworld seem palatable. And the Mordesh have a long history of loathing to go along with being undead monstrosities, for which they (somewhat unfairly) blame the Dominion. But the Aurin? They aren't fighting for anything. They were dragged into this war by humans, propelled by a promise that grows ever more unlikely in its potential fulfillment. All that the Aurin wished to do was help people in obvious need, and their thanks -- and ultimate reward -- seems to trap them in an endless cycle of violence in which they're not naturally inclined to participate. In some ways, they're the most victimized race of the Exiles because they're limited by not just the Dominion but their fellow faction-mates.
Massively's hands-on with WildStar's character creation
Character creators are a big deal to me. If I didn't have to make my characters quickly enough at launch to avoid losing my precious names, I would probably spend the better part of a month before clicking "create" the first time. So you know that the first thing I did when I sat down to play WildStar's recent press beta was to play around with the character creator. All right, that's the first thing everyone does: You have to make a character, but I was playing that to win, people. Character creation in MMOs usually falls short of what's offered in games like The Sims and Saints Row IV. At the low end you have games like Final Fantasy XI (pick a race, pick a face, pick a hair color, am I seriously done now?), and at the high end you've got Champions Online or the dearly departed City of Heroes. WildStar does not hit the high end, but it does do some things pretty nicely, even if it also misses some opportunities.
The Eldar invade Warhammer 40k: Eternal Crusade
Warhammer 40,000: Eternal Crusade's racial roster continues to expand, as Behavior Interactive officially added the Eldar Craftworlds to the races and sub-factions page today. As the name and common sense implies, the Eldar are ancient, old, and qualified for senior citizen discounts in every part of the galaxy. However, as they have access to advanced technology and powerful psychic soldiers, they're not content to putter around Walmart on scooters but are instead right in the thick of the intergalactic conflict. Interestingly enough, the Eldar can also see their own future in which they meet a bitter end, but they fight on with severe denial even so.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Chua of WildStar
Last week I proposed a theory about two of the game's races, one of them being the Mordesh. That theory, in case you didn't catch it (and it wasn't stated outright anyway) proposed that WildStar's dirty little secret races are that way in part because they say something about their home fashion. The Mordesh serve as a reminder that the Exiles are not, in fact, purely heroic figures struggling against insurmountable oppression. They're just as culpable as the Dominion in places, and they do not like thinking about that. So what about the Chua? What do they remind the Dominion of, aside from the ironclad law that every single MMO has to have one token short race? The Chua hit that button pretty hard. Just like Gnomes or Asura or Lalafells or countless other races that fall into the same role, they're a short and smart race known to be full of energy with an affection for technology, magic, and the usual assortment of things smart people like. The biggest difference is that WildStar's short race is both furry and insane.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Mordesh of WildStar
No single race in WildStar has less to lose than the Mordesh. And no one has more to lose, at that. The simplest way of explaining the Mordesh is that they are the dirty little secret of the Exiles as a whole. They're the assassins, the pressure, the people who don't worry about doing something awful when it absolutely needs to be done. For all that the Exiles want to think of themselves as the good guys unfairly set upon by the Dominion, the Mordesh are the subtle reminder that there are no good guys -- there are just people. But that's not the whole of it. Unlike when I discussed the Granok, the Mordesh aren't just in this to bloody the Dominion's nose as much as possible. No, they've got all of their chips in this part of the game. And to understand why, we're going to need to zoom out a little bit and take a look at what got the Mordesh to their current position first.
Tamriel Infinium: The critical elements of Elder Scrolls Online character creation
When I think of The Elder Scrolls Online character creation or MMO character creation in general, my thoughts usually extend beyond the mechanical idea of what my avatar looks like. I'm usually contemplating motivation, history, and skillset as well. When I'm creating a pen and paper character, the actual appearance of the character is secondary to what the character could do or where he came from. Of course, I always end up drawing the character, but the art was born on the character sheet. MMOs, and frankly most RPGs, do character creation backward. They usually start with the appearance of the character when it should start with some sort of history or class. But there are some very important elements that every MMO character creation screen should have and still more that I'd like to see specifically in ESO.
Five features I really want from the next expansion
So everyone's handily speculating on just what the next expansion will be, and what it will have and not have. That's pretty awesome. I love speculating. So in the spirit of things, I've decided to throw my hat in the ring and natter on about what I'd love to see from the next expansion, whatever it ends up being. Let's just jump right into it. What stuff do I think would be awesome? An overhaul of the leveling/alt process I definitely think we need to reconsider how we deal with alts. I'd love to see a system that reduced the time you had to spend getting them leveled once you got the first one to max - heirlooms work for that, but that long-rumored heirloom tab would make it a lot easier. Another thing which would definitely help are more heirlooms like Hellscream's Decapitator - our current heirlooms don't take us all the way to max level the way it will, and it's also useful now as a raid-level item an alt can make use of. It's an experiment I hope they continue. I've seen some arguments that we should be able to start a high-level alt to skip over a lot of the leveling process, especially as we get closer and closer to the likely new level cap of 100. If that was implemented, it would need to be done carefully, but I'd definitely support some way to preview a class at or near max level so you could figure out if you'll like it or cut down on having to do the full 1 to 100 (or whatever it ends up being) march again.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Draken of WildStar
Let me open this third column about the racial lore behind WildStar with a simple statement: The Draken are relentless hunters, stalkers, and combat monsters. Unlike the last two columns, this one will not suggest in any way that this is not what they are. I know the past two have raised some questions regarding the nature of the races compared to how they are presented, but the Draken are exactly what they suggest they are collectively. That doesn't mean there's nothing more to be said or understood. The Draken are an old acquisition of the Dominion, one of the first member races afforded some degree of respect by the Cassians. And however cut-and-dried that might seem, I think there's a lot more going on beneath the surface.
Choose My Adventure: Off to Never, Neverwinter land
Twenty-four hours after voting for this round of Choose My Adventure started, I had no idea who was going to win. All the games were neck-and-neck. But on the last day of voting, Neverwinter pulled out ahead of the pack with 40.8% of the vote. A friend of mine who will likely be joining me for my quest suggested that you voted for Neverwinter because I said I would make a Foundry quest with your help. I am interested in why that was your final decision, so let me know in the comments why you voted for Neverwinter too. Of course, I need to create a character before I actually step into this world. And unlike most MMOs that attempt to be balanced in every possible way, Neverwinter isn't afraid to dole out impactful choices at the very beginning. Even my character's race matters in Neverwinter. Not only does each race have its own set of abilities, but it also has its own stat bonuses. Now, I'm assuming that in the endgame that these bonuses turn into quality-of-life additions, but at the beginning of the game, they are more meaningful. And this is before we even choose my class, which we are also going to do today.
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Granok of WildStar
The Granok are the polar opposite of the Mechari. Where the latter are covered in mysteries and elements that don't make a whole lot of sense without invoking conspiracies, the former is a race that you can pretty much understand as soon as you see a trailer involving the race. They're rock people who like to fight things and probably blow stuff up, and they don't really need a whole lot in the way of subtlety. Discussion over. Enjoy WildStar's boisterous bruisers. Heck, the Granok are more Exiles by practice than anything. The Granok that we know aren't lending their support to the Exiles for nothing; these are mercenaries by trade, first and foremost. At a glance, you could easily see these men and women fighting alongside whichever of the two factions paid better. They certainly don't care about Nexus in particular. But they do care about a lot more than beer and a good scrap, and when you understand the race a bit more, that punch-drunk attitude starts to look a little thin.
EverQuest Next debates which small race will make the cut for launch
The EverQuest Next team is tackling the issue of smaller races and is using a round table poll as a way to assist the devs in deciding which iconic shorties should make it to launch. While Dwarves are a given for a launch race, several other short races are up in the air as to whether they'll make it in the initial cut of the game or be held back until later. Fae and Gnomes ended up at the top of the poll, while Ratongas and Froglocks tied for last place. The devs were surprised by how popular the Fae ended up being in the poll, which in turn caused them to take a closer look at their potential as a launch race. One of the issues that the team is grappling with is the difficulty in giving shorter races the new "heroic movement" that will take place in EQN. Watch the debate after the cut!
The Nexus Telegraph: Examining the Mechari of WildStar
Who's afraid of the big bad Mechari? As it turns out, a lot of people. Possibly for good reason. Of all the races in WildStar, the Mechari represent the biggest question mark. Part of that is by design; when you have a race of sapient machines controlling the information flow of an entire empire, you aren't supposed to know everything there is to be known about them. But there are a lot of questions that pose themselves based on what we do know. Starting with the fact that they don't exactly make sense. I've touched on this briefly before, but the fact is that the stated purpose of the Mechari is at odds with what we know of their creation and behavior. They're intelligence gatherers that don't actually have obvious tools for that role. They're left in the dark in ways that don't make sense, and they are altogether a race of contradictions if you accept everything at face value.
Black Gold unveils the Kosh race
The races of Black Gold are getting plenty of attention from Snail Games recently, with three of the races already unveiled. Today marks the fourth race reveal with a video and an article dedicated to the felinoid Kosh, direct descendents of the Sun God (according to their own propaganda, anyway). These former conquerors have joined the Erlandir Union to help defend the eponymous Black Gold, which they consider holy and unsuitable for use in technology. Kosh characters can be Demon Hunters, Elementalists, or Alchemists, all aligned with the race's rather mystical and contemplative nature. As a whole they're known to be serious and aloof, filling the game's need for something of an elven race without ever actually hitting the "elf" stereotype. But you don't have to take our word for it; you can take a look at the reveal trailer past the break, or read the full lore article for a bit more history.
EverQuest Next devs decide against class/race restrictions
Should EverQuest Next have class/race combo restrictions? This controversial question was at the forefront of the latest developer roundtable discussion following a player poll that showed 40% of fans were in favor of the game limiting combinations based on lore. Interestingly enough, the developers have decided against the plurality of the playerbase on this issue. The devs said that they never wanted to put players in the position where they'd make decisions they'd later regret. With over 40 classes, multi-classing, and all of the items in the world, the team felt that players would not be able to be informed enough to pick a race in the beginning if it would be restricted, class-wise, down the road. Another issue is if the team added new races and classes in the future, they'd be forced to arbitrarily restrict some people from playing them due to information the players didn't have up front. You can watch the full explanation from the team after the jump!
