

“We always knew it was something players were going to want.
CONPOSER OF THE ELDER SCROLLS GAMES SERIES
This should come as a relief to players who feared that one of the defining features of the series had been ignored, and I asked Matt Firor why the company had kept its inclusion so quiet. While it wasn't present in the build I tried, I was shown the game being played Skyrim-style in a later demonstration. "First-person view also makes it easier to appreciate the above-average degree of interactivity." Status bars and numbered hotkey slots only appear when they're needed, leaving your view of the world uncluttered. Most of the time you'll only be looking at a crosshair, a minimap, and a subtle chat window in the corner of the screen. The first thing that struck me, wandering the streets of the coastal town of Hunding, is how minimal the interface is by MMO standards. It should feel comfortable to people who play Elder Scrolls games, but it's its own game in its own right.” “If you want to play Skyrim – go play Skyrim! We're doing something a little bit different. “We're not trying to top Skyrim,” game director Matt Firor says. I played the first six levels of the game as a member of the Daggerfall Covenant: the Bretons, Redguard and Orcs who form The Elder Scrolls Online's final faction.

The Ebonheart Pact are an alliance of convenience between Skyrim's Nord, Morrowind's Dark Elves and the stealthy Argonians – they're keen to hold on to their independence, but need each other in order to do it. The Aldmeri Dominion, composed of High Elves, Wood Elves, and the catlike Khajiit, are imperious conquerors from the south. Where you end up after Coldharbour depends on which of the three factions you belong to. My time with the game began immediately after this point. Your escape from this place and back to reality constitutes The Elder Scrolls Online's tutorial. Unlike Mehrunes Dagon's Deadlands – which you stormed through again and again in TES IV – Coldharbour is a drab, lifeless reflection of the surface world. You wake in Coldharbour, Bal's particular plane of Oblivion. You've been captured and sacrificed to the Daedric prince Molag Bal, harvester of souls. But The Elder Scrolls Online's take on the series' traditional opening is a little different.
