Elder Scrolls Online Interview With Matt Firor

Matt Firor answered several of ZAM's questions regarding TESO.

There are still some unanswered questions leading up to The Elder Scrolls Online launch. Are you curious what payment methods will be accepted, or what will be available in the Zenimax store? Will there be several rulesets for the PvP campaigns? What happens to skill points gained in ability trees when you respec or a tree becomes unavailable? We had the chance recently to speak to TESO Game Director Matt Firor to ask these questions and more!


With the launch date approaching, what are the anticipated subscription plans and payment methods? Will there be a discount for paying for several months upfront (multi-month plans)?

Yes, you can expect to get a discount for buying multiple-month subscriptions and we accept a variety of payment methods including PayPal, WebMoney, etc in addition to the ones you’d expect.

 

What types of items or services can we expect to find in the Zenimax store?

The purpose of the store is to offer interested players a variety of additional services. At launch we’re going to have two items: the ability to upgrade to the Imperial Edition, and an entry level horse (Palomino colored). The horse you get in both purchases is functionally the same, but the Imperial Edition is the only way to ever get the White horse. We have the Palomino horse available to allow players to purchase a basic mount without purchasing the entire Imperial Edition.

 

Is there any information you can share about the Adventure Zones?

For those that don’t know, Adventure Zones are ESO zones that offer end-game PvE group-based content. We’re going to make some announcements shortly about what else Adventure Zones will offer and when you can expect to see the first one roll out.

 

How will the social engine work on the Megaserver? Will players be able to choose multiple options, including preferred language, roleplaying and so forth?

Things can change during game development, and this was one such feature that has evolved over time.  We have put a focus on connecting those who have similar interests through friending, guilds, and zone chat channels. At launch, when you log in, the game will select your zone instance based on your friends (in your friends list) as and your guild affiliations. You will be able to play in any language you wish on either Megaserver, as there are chat channels for English, French, and German in every zone – and your game is user-settable to whichever language you prefer as well for game text and NPC voices. Over time we will be adding more features to the social engine so that you can further refine the types of people you want to be placed into the world with.

What rulesets will be available for PvP campaigns, apart from length variations?

We have one Cyrodiil ruleset available at launch – all campaigns will last for 90 days. Over time, we may consider adding new rulesets, and when we do, we’ll let everyone know.


What role will crafters play in PvP? We know that there are resources to gather and PvPers to gear, but can crafters have a real role in the war effort, such as crafting stones to help rebuilding keep walls?

Crafters still make the best gear in the game and can improve all gear found. So, because everyone wants better gear, crafters play a huge role in PvP. At launch, crafters won’t be able to directly rebuild keep walls, but this is something that may happen in the future.


We noticed that it’s quite difficult to tell PCs apart from NPCs, especially early on, which makes the game feel somewhat lonely near the beginning. Is there anything being worked on that will make player characters stand out better?

This is one of those things that fades over time as you play the game and become more familiar with the differences in the ways NPCs and players act. Very quickly, you’ll be able to pick out PCs fairly easily when it is necessary to do so, and of course when you are grouped, you see a chevron over your groupmate’s heads.


When you respec a skill tree, what happens to the experience gained in a morphed skill since you’ll ‘forget’ the morph?

If you respec back to a morph you had previously trained, you’ll keep the experience that you had in that skill before the respec.

 

When you recover from vampirism / lycanthropy (you can cure yourself, right?), what will happen to the skill points spent and the acquired experience in those trees, and what will happen if you get infected again later on?

You can be cured of both vampirism and lycanthropy. When you are cured, you lose the skill lines, but if you are infected again, you will regain the skills at the level that you dropped them when you were cured.


In summary, the skill tree information that Matt shared is very important, as players can respec where they put their ability points but skills need to be levelled to be morphed (a skill has four ranks, then a choice between two morphs which themselves each have four ranks) and trees need to be levelled to spend points in them. If you respec a fully ranked morphed skill and put back a point in the skill, you'll be able to morph it immediately. If you chose the morph you knew, you'll be fully ranked again, but if you pick the other unknown one, you'll have to level this new morphed skill. You'll also keep the skill tree progression even if the tree becomes unavailable to you for a time (in case of cured vampirism or lycanthropy).

Thank you Matt Firor for taking the time to speak with us! Players will now be better prepared for launch day and can now better plan what they’ll do once in game. We'll keep our eyes out for new information on Adventure Zones and the subscription plans!


Guilhemette "Whilhelmina" Giacopazzi

Comments

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Nice.
# Mar 26 2014 at 7:19 PM Rating: Decent
So,they made sure the mounts cost 17.000 gold so people would be punished for not paying extra to get one from their store. Nice.
ESO is an awesome Game
# Mar 17 2014 at 11:42 AM Rating: Decent
I can not wait, I need my Skooma fix

SMH
# Mar 17 2014 at 9:56 AM Rating: Decent
The horse they are selling basically sucks. It's not much faster than people sprinting, and I was being passed by people with speed buffs. It's not as if ESO is the first sub-based MMO to sell mounts in a store.
Scammed
# Mar 14 2014 at 12:18 PM Rating: Default
Devs Lying through their teeth again to sell more copies. They said they were going to have a item mall. Everyone had pitchforks. They said it was a mistake only Character Services.

Okay Their legit I will pre-order.

NOPE JUST KIDDING SELLING HORSES. Level 50 Characters Next Week!
LOL
# Mar 14 2014 at 9:10 AM Rating: Decent
LOL I thought the store was going to be nothing more than Account services? I mean that's what everyone spouted off when we pointed out how ludicrous is was to pay for the box, a sub, and a cash shop.

But I'm sure there's a valid excuse to again make this not matter and somehow not count as triple charging customers to experience the full content experience.
UI issues
# Mar 14 2014 at 7:45 AM Rating: Good
Quote:
We noticed that it’s quite difficult to tell PCs apart from NPCs, especially early on, which makes the game feel somewhat lonely near the beginning.


You hit the nail right on the head. This is exactly what put me off the game and almost made me not log back in again. The UI does feel very different and alienating, and can be very offputting for a new player. I truly hope this is addressed with perhaps a UI nameplate toggle, or maybe a mod will be developed to let us customize our UI into something a little more comfortable.

I've been struggling with the idea of pressing the devs to "fix" this, and realizing that different can be good. With the vast array of MMOs out there, it's important to encourage innovation so there truly IS a choice.

-T.
UI issues
# Mar 14 2014 at 10:11 AM Rating: Decent
Tepetkhet the Shady wrote:


You hit the nail right on the head. This is exactly what put me off the game and almost made me not log back in again. The UI does feel very different and alienating, and can be very offputting for a new player. I truly hope this is addressed with perhaps a UI nameplate toggle, or maybe a mod will be developed to let us customize our UI into something a little more comfortable.



I have to agree with Matt on this one. I have played many of the MMOs that have come and gone, so I am very use to the "Typical" MMO HUD/UI. I have also played almost all of the Elder Scrolls games through the years. When I first logged into the Beta test for ESO, I thought, "What the hell? Where are the nameplates?" After about three levels I changed my opinion. I adapted the way I look at characters to help determine if they were PC or NPC. I started to really like the fact that there was not a bunch of text jumping through the countryside. Sure, I still had the occasional clicks on a PC to get the quest started, but it wasn't big enough deal for me to get too upset.

Though that being said, there are a lot of people that agree with you Tepetkhet. I am sure if they do not add the option, someone will figure out how to write the AddOn that does just that.

-Shaz
UI issues
# Mar 21 2014 at 5:49 PM Rating: Decent
theshaz wrote:
Though that being said, there are a lot of people that agree with you Tepetkhet. I am sure if they do not add the option, someone will figure out how to write the AddOn that does just that.

Heh, have to agree with Tepetkhet on that one, the lack of nameplate/guild names really bothered me and I ended up enabling health bars for PC just to tell PC from NPC. I hope some mods will allow to show them.
Excellent!
# Mar 13 2014 at 6:44 PM Rating: Decent
I'm very excited for this release!
Good stuff
# Mar 13 2014 at 3:45 PM Rating: Decent
Can't wait!
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