LIVING WORLD

The Secret of Southsun

The refugees from Flame & Frost who were resettled at Southsun Cove are up in arms over the restrictive residency contracts that prevent them from leaving. Tensions are high, and settlers are brawling with Consortium guards. What’s worse, the island’s local wildlife has been agitated and is even more aggressive and territorial than usual.
The Lionguard’s Inspector Kiel has been charged with quelling the violence so it doesn’t interfere with the upcoming Dragon Bash festival in Lion’s Arch. Kiel takes her job seriously, so she’ll need help from players and Researcher Levvi to keep everyone on the island safe from the local wildlife and each other.

Southsun Cove

1. The Consortium has created a new exotic resort for those looking to get away for a while. Lord Faren and Lady Kasmeer are currently there on vacation.
   
2. New settlements have been created for refugees coming in from Lion’s Arch.
   
3. Animals on Southsun Cove are becoming increasingly aggressive.
   
4. Settlers and tourists have wandered too far from the camps and need assistance getting back to safety.
   
5. Researcher Levvi is looking for brave adventurers to help survey the island and recover samples to determine the cause of the native creatures’ increased aggression.
   
6. Tensions between settlers and Consortium members have led to confrontation that may require mediation.
   
7. The new Crab Toss activity is now available at Sawtooth Bay in Southsun Cove. Players can win karka shells, passiflora, tonics, and more.
   
8. Southsun Supply Crates will drop rarely from creatures during the Secret of Southsun event. These crates contain Southsun crafting materials and a chance at a wide variety of items, such as shoulder skins, new boosts and convenience items, and a rare chance at new weapon skins and minis. Southsun Supply Crates can also be purchased from the Black Lion Trading Company (see below for more info).
   
9. Blooming Passiflora are now growing on the island.
   
10. The larger veteran and champion karka now have a guaranteed drop chance for karka shells upon defeat.
    
11. All players who enter the island for the duration of the event are scaled up to level 80. This content is available from May 14 to June 11.
    

Guild Content

1. Six Guild Trek locations have been added to Southsun Cove.
   

Achievements

1. Added new living world achievements to Southsun Cove: “Consortium Rewards Club Member,” “Southsun Settler Supporter,” “Southsun Sightseer,” “Southsun Volunteer Fieldwork,” “Southsun VIP Meet and Greet,” and more.
   
2. Added new achievements for Crab Toss activity: “Crab Toss Participant,” “Crab-Carrying Competitor,” “Crabtacular!,” “Crabgrabber,” and “Crab Toss Champion.”
   
3. Players who complete 25 of the Secret of Southsun achievements will earn the “Southsun Stalwart” meta-achievement. This achievement awards players with a Sclerite Karka Shell back item and the title of “Southsun Stalwart.” The Southsun Stalwart meta-achievement covers the entire event’s content, some of which is not accessible until the next release.
   
4. A new title, “Crab Toss Champion,” has been added for players who win a game of Crab Toss.
   
5. A new title, “Crabgrabber,” has been added for players who steal 100 crabs during games of Crab Toss.
   

NEW FEATURES AND CONTENT

World vs. World

1. Obsidian Sanctum, the jumping puzzle in the Eternal Battlegrounds, has been moved to its own WvW map.
   
   1. Entering the puzzle will take players out of the Eternal Battlegrounds.
      
   2. Leaving will take players back to Lion’s Arch.
      
2. Added a new vendor: “Traps and Tricks Outfitter.”
   
3. Traps have been added as a new purchasable consumable utility item. Two unique variants are available.
   
   1. When placed, traps last for one hour.
      
   2. Players may only have one of a given trap type deployed at a time.
      
   3. Traps will disappear when a player leaves the map.
      
   4. Traps are sold by the vendor for 15 badges and 525 karma; they will stack to 250 and are account-bound.
      
   5. It takes a 4-second channel to place at feet.
      
   6. Placing a trap uses very short-range ground targeting to assist in orientation.
      
   7. Placed traps have a 600×90 rectangular trigger area; only enemies can trigger them.
      
   8. Once triggered, traps affect up to 20 enemies within a range of 1200.
      
   9. Traps cost 10 supply to place.
      
4. Supply Removal Trap
   
   1. Removes 5 supply from enemies affected by the trap.
      
5. Stealth Disruptor Trap
   
   1. Removes stealth from enemies and reveals them for 30 seconds, preventing stealth.
      
   
   

BALANCE, BUG-FIXING, POLISH

General

1. A Commander’s map pings and strokes are now visible to members of their squad.
   
2. Fixed several shadowstep bugs that let players teleport through WvW gates and exploit various dungeons.
   
3. Fixed a bug that caused some items to lose their functionality after a player has gone into a downed state.
   

Events

1. Malchor’s Leap:
   
   1. Pact cannons near the Shelter Docks are now fully operational.
      
   2. The Inquest Ornithologist has been upgraded to a champion, as befits her Group Event status.
      
2. Metrica Province:
   
   1. Minor UI changes were made to the Mark II golem event.
      
3. Mount Maelstrom:
   
   1. The Branded ogre in the Infinity Coil complex is now properly imprisoned in his cage.
      
4. Sparkfly Fen:
   
   1. Added a skill to the seaweed-mine bundle.
      
5. Timberline Falls:
   
   1. Fixed a stalling bug in the event “Protect krewe leader Dobbs as the krewe clears the excavation site.”
      
6. Wayfarer Foothills:
   
   1. Dredge soldiers outside Molensk are no longer rooted in place.

Personal Story

1. “Down the Hatch”:
   
   1. Fixed a rare stalling bug at the end of the story step.
      
2. “The Ghost Rite”:
   
   1. Fixed the player’s camera position while transformed.

Structured PvP

1. Reverted a change to PvP dailies that increased their difficulty.
   
2. Reworded some custom arena tooltips to be less confusing.
   

Profession Skills

Elementalist

1. Dragon’s Claw:
   - Fixed an exploit that caused this skill to fire at increased rates.
   
2. Shocking Aura:
   - This skill’s icon on the buff bar now displays the same icon as the skill itself.

Engineer

1. Kit Refinement:
   - The cooldown icon will now display correctly when this trait is used with Flamethrower.
   

Ranger

1. Fixed a bug that caused the projectile speed of the following axe skills to be 75% of their intended speed:
   
   1. Ricochet
      
   2. Splitblade
      
   3. Winter’s Bite
      
   4. Path of Scars
      
2. Juvenile Rainbow Jellyfish now uses a unique model.

Warrior

1. Leg Specialist:
   - This trait will no longer function with the Burning Oil siege weapon in WvW.
   
2. Healing Signet:
   - Updated skill facts to show the passive effect and accurately display the healing value for the active effect.
   

BLACK LION TRADING COMPANY GEM STORE

New Items and Promotions

1. You can now purchase the Southsun Supply Crate in the Consumable category of the Gem Store for 1 for 150 gems or 10 for 1200 gems. These special crates contain Southsun crafting materials and a chance at items such as shoulder skins, new boosts and convenience items, and a rare chance at new weapon skins and minis. The Southsun Supply Crates will only be available until June 10. The Southsun Supply Crates will also be a limited-time rare drop off the creatures on the island during this time.
   
2. The Consortium Swim Speed Boost is now available in the Boost category of the Gem Store for 1 for 50 gems or 5 for 200 gems. This boost will increase your swim speed by 15% for 1 hour. This boost is not useable in PvP.
   
3. To celebrate spring, the Gem Store is making one miniature baby animal available each week for the month of May. This week’s adorable addition is the Mini Moa Chick, which is now available in the Minis category of the Gem Store for 400 gems each.
   
4. How to Dance, Volume 1 is now available in the Services category of the Gem Store for 400 gems. This book can be used to gain access to three different dance moves and a skill that will allow you to invite others to participate in your dance party.
   

Optimizations

We’re rolling out our first set of optimizations. This is the first in many steps involved in helping resolve issues with “skill lag.” Some players will experience a slight improvement in skill lag issues with large groups of players, while some players may also experience a slight raise in their FPS.

Profession Skills

Engineer

1. Fixed a bug which disabled certain traits from functioning correctly. This includes Rifled Turret Barrels, Metal Plating, and Autotool Installation.

World vs. World

Arrow Cart:

1. Fixed a bug in the upgraded arrow cart range that caused arrow carts to outrange the siege weapons meant to counter them. The upgraded arrow cart range has been reduced from 3500 to 2800 to match the approximate range upgrade percentage that other siege weapons have received.

A hybrid army erupts through fiery portals in the Shiverpeaks. A Molten Alliance between the dredge and the charr Flame Legion has created a force powerful enough to massacre any who stand in their way. One settlement, one homestead at a time, they’re wiping out all resistance. The razing has begun.

In Flame and Frost: The Razing you’ll meet the norn Braham and Rox the charr, two Tyrians who fervently believe in doing what’s right, no matter the risk. Join Braham and Rox in a desperate battle to defend their homelands from annihilation in the third installment in this four-part series!

Braham’s Struggle
As the cities struggle to handle the influx of refugees, a valiant young norn named Braham seeks help for the besieged people of his homestead. Join Braham on his journey to find aid for those norn who stayed behind in the foothills of the Shiverpeaks—a journey that will bring you into conflict with the deadly Molten Alliance!

Rox’s Mission
During the chaos, Rox—a charr ranger lacking a warband—is sent on a desperate mercy mission by Rytlock Brimstone himself. Team up with this young charr gladium as she strives to prove her worth on a dangerous errand in the midst of a war zone!


We’ve Been Infiltrated!
The dredge have constructed a series of surveillance posts throughout the Diessa Plateau and Wayfarer Foothills to keep tabs on their prospective new territory. Confound the Molten Alliance’s war efforts by destroying these spy posts wherever you find them!

New WvW Progressions and Abilities
There’s never been a better time to play World vs. World! We’re adding a brand-new WvW progression system—which includes new World XP and new WvW Ranks. You can use your WvW Ranks to purchase new titles and abilities that are exclusive to WvW. We’re also rolling out new WvW achievements to help you track and plan your progress; you can keep track of them in your Achievement panel.

Improved World vs. World Performance
We’ve made vast improvements in World vs. World with the elimination of culling, a process that used to make some enemy players invisible in large groups. Beginning March 26, you’ll be able to see way more players on-screen in WvW, even in the largest pitched battles!

New Guild Bounty Hunt Targets
More fugitives are on the run, and the Tyrian authorities need your guild to bring them in! Prepare yourself for a challenge, because these three new bounty targets are more elusive and menacing than ever. Bounty Hunt Training missions are perfect for a new or small guild looking to work their way up to bigger challenges.

Introducing Leaderboards
We’re excited to announce that we’ll activate Guild Wars 2 leaderboards with the release of Flame and Frost: The Razing on March 26. However, the leaderboards website won’t be visible to players until we’re sure it has stable information, which could take up to a week after the release goes live on March 26. Initially, the leaderboards will feature WvW rankings, PvP player rankings, and total achievement points.

Need Guidance?

Heralds in each capital city will bring you up to date on the latest Living Story content. Look for special scouts in Diessa Plateau and the Wayfarer Foothills who will point you towards nearby activities.

Source: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/the-game/releases/march-2013/

What we know so far (20.03.2013)


By: Xeverus
Source: http://www.elder-realm.com/article/104-eso-gameplay-preview-event-continues

1. First-Person Combat mode will include hand, weapon and spell animations at launch.
   
2. You can't manipulate real world objects.
   
3. The UI is minimal, but a more in-depth one can easily be chosen.
   
4. Questing is narrative-driven and dynamic. There is no grinding like in previous MMO's.
   
5. Skills such as stealth bonuses and rapid weapon swapping are unlockable perks.
   
6. Dark Anchors, the ties to Molag Bal's realm of Coldharbour, will present a unique challenge and are defended by daedric 'Titans'.
   
7. Territories are faction-locked, but only up until Level 50. After that any race can visit any playable area in the whole of Tamriel, though each territory will be scaled for a higher level of difficulty.
   
8. When a skill progression tree is maxed out it can be combined with one or more other skill progression trees and morph into something else.
   
9. Two or more mobs can group up and attack in different ways, e.g. a Spriggan can use the surrounding foliage to hurt you instead of rushing in.
   
10. The Hammerfell Island of Stros M'kai will be the starting area for the Daggerfall Covenant.
    
11. Spells do not need to be equipped to be used, but instead fire instantly.
    
12. Disguises can be used to walk around enemy camps, as long as you don't get too close!
    
13. Looting enemy corpses will not award you with the exact items they were wearing.
    
14. Leveling up will grant a boost to either Health, Magicka or Stamina.
    
15. There four known classes to choose from; Templar, Sorcerer, Dragonknight and Nightblade.
    
16. The Fighter's Guild will be tasked mainly with fighting daedra, whereas The Mage's Guild will move against the Necromancers.
    
17. PvP Fortresses will correspond with ruins encountered during Oblivion.
    
18. There will be five crafting professions; Armorsmith, Weaponsmith, Enchanter, Alchemist and Provisioner (cook), though players will only be able to master one of these.
    
19. Crafting can involve reverse-engineering as well as choices in particular styles and the addition of extra ingredients to base items which add perks.
    
20. As well as Race and Guild skill trees, there will also be Vampirism and Lycanthropy skill trees.
    
21. Each character wakes up in Molag Bal's realm of Oblivion known as Coldharbour at the beginning of the game.
    
22. Zenimax have stated that controller support is a possibility for combat, though it won't be there for launch.
    
23. Wayshrines will be usable from any point on the map, but will cost much more.
    
24. Equipping items and putting skills into your hotbar enables them to increase in level. The experience you earn splits among all the active elements.
    
25. When a player decides to enter the PvP territory of Cyrodiil they will automatically be assigned to a smaller 'campaign' somewhere within the larger province.
    
26. Inter-faction communication will be impossible until after Level 50 when players will be able to group up and even run Dungeons with their friends who belong to an rival faction.
    

Recently added information (21.03.2013)

1. NPC guilds will offer ways to broaden your character’s power and add another layer of collection gameplay. This includes additional abilities and perks.
   
2. Spells and abilities can build off of one another, a feature called synergy. For example, a player can upgrade another's Holy Nova into a "Holy Super Nova."
   
3. The stealth skill is available to everyone and will require the use of Stamina to be effective.
   
4. ESO's megaserver technology should help alleviate the "underdog" effect that typically plagues PvP servers.
   
5. Players who choose crafting can improve items found throughout the game world. This includes items dropped in dungeons and rewarded in AvA combat.
   
6. Finding and reading select books CAN increase your abilities.
   
7. Collecting 3 "Sky Shards" will grant a skill point.
   
8. Vanity / Cosmetic items: You can use disguises. Disguises get equipped into your "Costume slot." If you want to look different, you can just change your disguise!
   
9. Crafting is a way to get the BEST items in the game.
   
10. Mounts will be in the game but no further information has been released.
    
11. Sad news for us all: Player housing is not currently planned!

Tamriel Foundry Intel - 23.03.2013 (source: http://tamrielfoundry.com/2013/03/pax-day-two-recap/ )

1. There are several fun mini-games and hobbies that a player can pursue in ESO like fishing.
   
2. There are no load screens separating the three primary portions of Cyrodiil, the entirety of ESO AvA is a seamless experience.
   
3. Healing mechanics function as area of effect and radial group heals. There are limitations on the effective number of players which an AoE heal can affect, first prioritizing group members before other allies.
   
4. Armor types feature passive set bonuses which can be unlocked. These bonuses scale with the more pieces of that armor type you are wearing. Players can either dedicate their character largely to a certain type in order to get that armor type’s capstone bonuses, alternatively they can hybridize to find the sweet spot that best fits their build strategy.

By:Richie Procopio
Source: http://massively.joystiq.com/2013/03/19/the-elder-scrolls-online-interview-paul-sage/


I asked Paul Sage to describe ZeniMax's strategy for keeping players occupied once they hit the level cap at 50. His reply included four main activities:

1. questing in enemy alliance zones
   
2. four-player dungeons
   
3. adventure zones
   
4. PvP alliance war in Cyrodiil.

In ESO, you choose one of three alliances, each with different zones, quests, and stories to explore. Once you hit level 50, you can choose to journey to another alliance's territory and experience a more difficult (and rewarding) version of those areas. After you complete the story within in the second alliance, you can travel to the third faction and complete the content there.

According to Sage, this content is the endgame for a solo player or someone who plays with just a friend or two. Since the Elder Scrolls franchise has been a single-player affair up until this point, it's wise to include scads of content for that audience. It's also ideal for the player who wants to soak up all of the lore and learn the history of Tamriel 1000 years before the events of Skyrim. With each alliance area containing 120-150 hours of content, there's a lot of exploring to do.

The endgame for a small group of friends can be the instanced dungeons found in the world. There is a four-player dungeon in each of the game's 16 zones; most dungeons boast a second level 50 version with a different storyline. Small groups of friends can spend countless hours refining strategies and accruing rewards in the nearly 30 different dungeon experiences ESO will have at launch.

When I asked Sage about raiding, he said that ESO's adventure zones are designed for larger groups of PvE players. You can actually go into the adventure zones with a small group and accomplish some goals, but there are large areas in these maps dedicated to larger group experiences. There will be some warning when you're about to trigger one of these encounters (and they may even end up instanced), so a small group won't suddenly find itself face to face with a Daedric Prince!

The last pillar in ESO's endgame is the Alliance War, which is designed with the PvP player in mind. Players of all three factions will meet in Cyrodiil (a zone roughly nine times the size of a normal map) to wrestle over keeps, resources, and bragging rights.


Obviously, PvP hasn't been encountered in an Elder Scrolls title before. Sage commented on that by saying, There's a real desire in the community to have PvP. It's just one aspect of taking a game online because it's great to cooperate and to see how you stack up against other people. Plus it's not just the rumor of war; it's actually getting to participate in active battles in that war.

It's hard to argue with that logic. I was able to witness a live demonstration of a keep assault in Cyrodiil, and it looked incredible. Trebuchets launched huge boulders at the fortress while defenders scurried along its walls in an attempt to pour boiling oil down upon the manned battering rams. The Q&A team was engaged in a 30v30 skirmish that ran with smooth frame rates, and we got to see the carnage that ensues once a keep wall is breached.

While keep sieges can involve hundreds of players, Sage stressed that there were also activities in the Alliance War geared toward small groups or even solo players. Smaller parties can snipe any enemies that lag behind or wander too far from larger battles. There are also small goals like overtaking enemy farms and mines to secure resources for your alliance.

Since the Elder Scrolls Online employs a megaserver technology that allows the entire population to play together, there was a danger of players encountering unending queues to participate in the three-faction war. ZeniMax's solution is to split Cyrodiil into persistent instances called campaigns that new characters are assigned to. Campaigns allow the developers to maintain some level of control over the populations engaged in the Alliance War as well as combat faction imbalances.

Sage explained that if the Ebonheart Pact on one particular campaign was struggling a bit, the devs could assign an influx of new characters to that faction to even things out. It's not a perfect solution as those players may not choose to engage in PvP, but if one side gets too strong, the other two factions can work together to beat it back.

You'll have some limited ability to transfer to a different campaign, but the details on how that works aren't yet available. The status of the war in a particular campaign will persist anywhere between three and six months to ensure that hard-fought accomplishments stick around for a while. When I asked Sage whether there will be perks offered to guilds that maintain control of a keep -- such as access to vendors, banks, and other conveniences -- he merely smiled and teased, There are reasons to hold a keep for your guild; we'll reveal more of that as the system gets more robust.

Guild Wars 2 also offers large-scale three-faction PvP with its world vs. world feature, but it's been plagued since launch by an issue known as culling. Culling causes a delay in when enemy models render on your screen in order to curtail major performance issues when massive numbers of players are on the screen. Guild Wars 2 hopes to remedy this issue in the March game update, but I was curious how this issue is being tackled in ESO.

Sage emphasized that ZeniMax built ESO with the goal to have 200 players on the screen at once without performance issues or culling. He told me that testing on minimum spec machines has proven that it can be done and that ZeniMax is extremely focused on metrics and getting this right. Given studio head Matt Firor's Dark Age of Camelot pedigree, it's easy to see the source of that confidence.

Lastly, on the PvP front, I asked what sort of progression system there will be for players who participate in alliance battles. Besides being able to level from 10 to 50 by engaging in PvP in Cyrodiil, players will earn alliance points by completing various objectives. You can spend alliance points on different things, such as gear, and there will be a running total of lifetime alliance points earned, which can be used to show off on leaderboards.

While a three-alliance system works perfectly for ZeniMax's PvP plans, I was skeptical about its impact on other areas of the game. Part of the reason the megaserver technology was designed is to eliminate issues that always creep up during MMO launches with groups of friends ending up on different servers. Having three separate alliances (each with three different races) shifts the problem from needing to coordinate server choice to which faction are your friends going to be.

I was curious to hear Sage's take on the impact of three-way PvP, and he agreed that the studio had to make some concessions in order for players to feel a certain allegiance to their faction. We were told during an open Q&A session that communication across factions won't be permitted. At this point, I started to get nervous about a possible design misstep because splitting your playerbase into thirds can be detrimental when you're trying to get a group together for any cooperative activity, such as a dungeon run.


Sage assuaged most of my fears, however, when he mentioned that once you hit level 50 and decide to play in another alliance's areas, you'll be able to play with friends in that faction.

So at the endgame, things begin to open up and you can group up, chat, and run dungeons with players of other factions. The one area where things remain separate is, of course, the Alliance War in Cyrodiil.

I wonder, however, whether it's necessary to segregate the population at all provided folks are in the non-PvP areas. I understand ZeniMax's desire for players to feel attached to their chosen alliance, but it seems clunky to allow people to cooperate only after they've reached max level. Furthermore, the way it sounds, the ability to group up and communicate with other factions is enabled only once you trigger some mechanism that allows you to experience one of the other faction's stories. Do you need to play through two full alliance stories in order to unlock communication with the third faction's players? I sure hope that is not the case.

Switching gears, I spoke to Sage about one of the most important aspects of an MMO: the loot! He said the studio is looking at having five different quality levels for items up until level 50, with legendary being the best. He did confirm that there will be gear progression at the endgame in ESO, stating, The game is going to get more difficult, and the gear is going to get better to match that.

He then explained that crafting would remain viable at endgame because it's used to enhance any of the items you find in the world. This approach will certainly make crafting fanatics happy as they throw themselves into the five professions that ESO has to offer: provisioner (cooking), weaponsmith, armorsmith, alchemy, and enchanting. Players will have a limited number of points to use toward crafting disciplines, so they will have to choose whether they will master one trade or become decent in all of them.

By: Garrett Fuller
Source: http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/game/821/feature/7226/Elder-Scrolls-Online-Crafting-in-Tamriel-Revealed.html

Elder Scrolls Online has an interesting balancing act to deal with when they begin doling out how your weapons and armor will impact the game. We wanted to take this week and talk about what we know and what we think in regards to the balance of armor and weapons. How will players use them to their advantage and what drawback will we see in terms of balance?


In Skyrim I played a greatsword-wielding Orc. I wore mostly heavy armor and everything I had was enchanted up the yin-yang. I maxed out both Blacksmith and Enchanting to make some seriously crushing weapons. I guess the best way to describe this build is as an anti-magic tank.

The best part of Skyrim is that you could build your character any way you wanted. This is not an easy task in an MMO when you have players working together and also PvP.

If you go based on the Heavy and Light Armor models in the Elder Scrolls games, how much protection will these afford players? Now balance this with Mages who are normally known for only wearing robes, yet in Elder Scrolls you can also play a Mage who wears full plate-mail that is even designed to enhance your magic. So, the armor in the game becomes very important.

If you still want your Mage to look the part you can wear all kinds of robes and hoods that also boost your magic. Basically the idea of play how you want is very open in Skyrim.



Now put that equation into an MMO. You have to balance player combat and more importantly PvP. Players can spec their characters with any weapons in the game no matter what class they play. But how will armor play into this build? If I am playing a mage, am I forced to wear full plate for the extra protection? Or can I get away with robes and look the part? What will the numbers come out to? Is it more important to be safe from heavy fighters crushing me down, or can I still wear my robes and be as effective in combat? It really does create a lot of questions and some challenges for the design team.

The next design hurdle comes from the rogue and thief sort of class. The Elder Scrolls series is known as one of the best games for players who love stealth in their RPG. The thieves guilds and Dark Brotherhood are huge parts of the game for many players, not to mention the assassinations you can pull off.

I know players who buy the game just for that reason alone. Now throw into the mix the ability to wear any armor or take any weapons and what does that do to a stealth-style character? How will it work? I think the answer here is even clearer than the Mage, which is that stealth characters should benefit more than anyone from light armor. There is no reason a rogue would wear heavy armor in the game. Now look at the trinity in terms of PvP: does that mean that rogues really will be the glass cannons? Do heavy armor mages and fighters get a monster advantage over them? How do the rogues compete on the same playing field?

Okay, I am asking a lot of questions here and ones that we do not necessarily have the answers to yet. In comparison I am all for the open system that Skyrim gives players. Play the way you want. If you are a full mage who wears Daedric Armor, the go for it! This works great in an RPG and really gets players into their character. I loved changing armors and upgrading enchantments on my gear in the game. It kept things fresh.


Putting this system into an MMO is about the same as a highwire act at the circus. One mistake and the game can plummet to its death. There are no nets in MMOs. So let’s hope that the design team has a very clear system in place for how you will look and how those looks will effect the game.

If they can accomplish this it will open up new doors on how players can design their characters. I know you spend time getting top gear in many MMOs, but how about being able to change it if you don’t like the look? If you can achieve that and not lose the valuable stat boosts it can give you, now that opens up a ton of options. Hopefully Elder Scrolls Online will get some solid information out there soon and we can begin balancing the numbers... or just playing dressing up.