The Elder Scrolls Online

KevinC · 2014-12-05T07:22:40.000Z

Thanks for not being as derpy as me this morning, Oghier. For some reason (Read: lack of caffeine) I thought he was asking when all the inaccessible provinces were going to be implemented.

jostly · 2014-12-05T08:15:02.000Z

ElGuapo:

Quick question for vets o this game. How soon into it before you can freely travel to every province on the map?

I don’t have a huge interest in the game but I would like to check out Hammerfell, High Rock, The Black Marshes, Daggerfall, etc.

If all you want to do is wander around and look at the places, you can do so immediately, though you’d have to create one character per faction to see all areas. There are no level requirements stopping you from going into other provinces.

You’d have to walk quite far of course, but that’s the best way to see the place anyway. :)

Telefrog · 2014-12-30T14:08:42.000Z

F2P in six months or so? Massively thinks maybe because they’ve removed the six-month sub option.

The official ZeniMax response on the forums is simply that players indicated they preferred the shorter billing options, so the six-month option was removed. General sentiment in the thread is that this answer is not entirely credible. If it really is a harbinger of something more to come… well, we’ll find out about it in about six months. Maybe five.

stusser · 2014-12-30T14:25:37.000Z

If they have a 3 month option, that means f2p in 3-6 months, yep. If not, 1-6 months.

IMO, ESO should go B2P (buy to play), like Guild Wars 2.

rei · 2014-12-30T14:51:19.000Z

game was deserted when I quit 2-3 months ago.

Gordon_Bleu · 2014-12-30T15:12:47.000Z

If they are still planning to release a console edition, they will have to drop the subscription fee to attract players.

Sam_Jones · 2014-12-30T16:15:02.000Z

I love how they were touting the console controller UI a couple of months ago as if it were a massive achievement. If they released this on console with a monthly fee, it would die a screaming death.

Ultrazen · 2014-12-30T17:09:27.000Z

gurugeorge:

Also, all that assembly chat was useful in terms of getting the measure of your PUG-mates - who was a newbie and might need instruction, who was a dickwad, who was a rock, who was nutso but obviously knew his stuff, etc. Which made for more effective teams than just a total bunch of strangers being plonked into a dungeon by an automated dungeon finder, and hustling through the mission in grim silence, only to find too late that the dickwad was a dickwad, the newbie a newbie, etc.

This was also an era, albiet the end of one, where your server reputation actually meant something. I really miss the days of knowing most of the people on your server. The soap opera portion of MMOs has been largely removed, other than inter guild stuff, and oddly, I think it’s one of the main draws.

Razgon · 2014-12-31T00:30:44.000Z

Yeah, back in Pre-everything wow - I knew pretty much everyone who had been on our server longer than a few months. And they knew me as well - it was a different time for sure.

Morrolan · 2014-12-31T03:15:28.000Z

stusser:

If they have a 3 month option, that means f2p in 3-6 months, yep. If not, 1-6 months.

Hope so I will pick it up again if it goes f2p.

robc04 · 2015-01-21T07:21:52.000Z

Like you guys were thinking, TESO going to a 1 time purchase with no monthly subscription. There will be some premium service you can choose to subscribe too.

KevinC · 2015-01-21T07:25:27.000Z

Nice! I’m reasonably happy with my $60 purchase but a subscription fee pretty much means I won’t play these games past the initial month. I’ve been wanting to jump back in and check out their justice system once it’s in but the sub fee was holding me back.

Telefrog · 2015-01-21T07:56:55.000Z

Good to see this turning into the client purchase with optional sub model. I might try this for a bit.

malkav11 · 2015-01-21T08:06:28.000Z

I am shocked. Shocked, I say.

No wait, I’m not. Subscription is pretty much dead as an MMO business model and ESO certainly wasn’t sufficiently well received to be an exception. I’m glad they figured that out so I can dip back in when I feel like it. I do like what they’re doing.

Razgon · 2015-01-21T08:12:17.000Z

Well, I’m pleasantly surprised by this. This will certainly get me back from time to time. I wonder what they will monetize then?

Telefrog · 2015-01-21T08:19:10.000Z

Razgon:

Well, I’m pleasantly surprised by this. This will certainly get me back from time to time. I wonder what they will monetize then?

They’re offering ESO Plus which is an optional subscription. You get buffed XP and in-game gold, and a stipend of “Crowns” the funny money the in-game cash shop will use. Presumably, they will offer the kinds of things Guild Wars 2 does in the cash shop to support the game.

DaveLong · 2015-01-21T08:26:12.000Z

That’s nice. We subbed for a couple months, but the bugs and problems at the start put my son off playing it. This will let us back in and validates the purchase too.

stusser · 2015-01-21T09:11:54.000Z

They talk about DLC separately from cosmetics, so I expect future content updates to be paid as well. Either you stay F2P and purchase that content outright, getting permanent access to it, or get access to everything with an active subscription.

Telefrog · 2015-01-21T09:44:38.000Z

I just checked and ESO for PC (retail) is $24. http://www.amazon.com/Elder-Scrolls-Online-PC-Mac/dp/B0081Q58AW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421862205&sr=8-1&keywords=elder+scrolls+online

You could get it and hold on to it for the B2P change, then get the month of premium goodies.

instant0 · 2015-01-21T11:50:03.000Z

I thought LOTROs was very nice - enticing you to subscribe, also nice would be Warframe’s F2P (Well, its all they have).
SWTORs however tries to punish you into subscribing (only way to describe it)

Will be interesting to see how TESO does it, and what those crowns could be used for.