The Elder Scrolls Online – Gameplay Video.

TESO has a new video out explaining the high level goals of the game.

Of note, they are going for an instanced mega server.  This is smart move and why any game today doesn’t go this route is lunacy.  +1

Combat has traditionally been garbage for the Elder Scrolls and Bethesda games in general.  I’m not sure if this is an active system (only hit when in cross-hairs) or passive (soft target).  It sounds the former, which only Tera has ever done well.  Smart if it works though.  +1

Zones will be phased based on past accomplishments, from the werewolf bit I saw. I can’t see how this will work without phasing when you have multiple players.  Also not sure how you would interact with real people and NPCs if all towns are phased.

Character customization seems limited.  Everyone looks grey.  Sure, you get dark grey and light grey, but everyone is grey. In a game series where player colors are muted in order to make the world stand out, I’m not sure how this will work with hundreds of people around you, especially PvP.

Character progression though sounds neat.  4 basic classes (solider, rogue, mage, healer it seems).  Skill sets seem dependent on outfits though, sort of like The Secret World.  If you’re a dagger player you’ll have a different skill set than if you were using a bow.  Neat.  I’m not sure if the game is skill based or not, which I would think it has to be in some fashion.  How stats interact with equipment should be interesting to see.  TESO games are traditionally stat-less but skill heavy.  You don’t find a sword of +10, you find a sword that absorbs hit points.  Think of UO I guess.

The end game seems the traditionally fare of dungeons and raids.  Ho-hum.  PvP looks like its trying to follow the old DAoC model of realm vs realm vs realm.  I have seen many companies try to get this to work, I’ve only ever seen 1 do it right.  Balancing PvP and PvE is impossible, it’s just a fact.  Where TESO puts their eggs will matter here.  I vouch for PvE since Bethesda has ZERO PvP experience.

There are a lot of good ideas here but then again, we’ve heard them all before.  The difference here is that the game is due in less than a year and mechanics are being discussed instead of content (TOR).  Is TESO going to bring enough new to the table to keep people around?  It depends solely on their ability to make players feel like they have an investment.