And Even More TESO

Laggy footage, because ShadowPlay doesn't capture TESO (yet), so I had to use Fraps instead.

and

I've managed to acquire two extra beta keys for the family this weekend and everybody is hooked. Again, I don't think any one of us actually gives a shit about TESO's MMO features. Claire met "nigger guy" in global chat, who kept calling people all kinds of nasty shit. Then there was naked Nord guy who was constantly asking for sexy Argonians (lizard people) to make out with. People loot chests before you get to them, they butt in on your fights and for what? The opportunity to play instanced 4man dungeons and large-scale PvP, which nobody ever requested as a feature for any Elder Scrolls game?

Look, the PvP is nice. It's not bad at all, if you can stand the overblown egos in chat and having a bunch of 14 year olds calling each other names and what not. I don't care for it, I'll probably ignore it. We've been streaming the first 3 group dungeons today with me as a tank and while I enjoy TESO dungeons more than those in, say, Guild Wars 2, I seriously don't care for group content in this game and one can easily ignore it. The loot was bad, battles are a huge clusterfuck (as a tank, I get one taunt, which works on a single target) and boss tactics never go beyond "don't stand in the red shit" or "destroy the magic healing bubble before it reaches the boss". Again, we had fun, I'm not gonna knock those instances, but I wouldn't shed a single tear if they were suddenly removed for whatever reason.

Release is just around the corner. And so is this character's impending wipeout. *sniffles*

I had to start a new character this weekend - you know, for work. I've decided I wated to try something tanky, so I went for the most defensively-specced toon I could come up with. I've rolled a dragon knight with armor-boosting abilities, thorns, a decent self-heal, as well as ye ole sword & board. I've put every last point into health and defense and ignored both stamina and magica, using an equal mix of special attacks and skills to draw from two very finite pools of resources.

And as you can see in the first of the two videos above, it worked like a charm. As someone who prefers to play warrior-types, I absolutely loved playing a "tank" on there. And I dare say that TESO has undone something that has fucked up warriors in just about every modern MMORPG since WoW. Let me try to explain by rewinding time a little.

Have you played the original Diablo? Or maybe Baldur's Gate? Warriors (or fighters, respectively) used to be tough, but back in the day, they also knew how to dish out. And unlike warriors in, say, Azeroth, they still knew how to do both!
Most modern MMORPGs "balance" classes by forcing you to be either a tank or a healer or a damage dealer. Tanks and healers dish out shitty damage, damage-dealers are squishy. Holy trinity and all. I'm sure I've already explained it in more detail than I have to.

TESO is full of heart.

My "tank" in TESO never felt weak in the DPS department. I've played a nightblade, I had dual-wielding characters, characters with greatswords, yet sword & board didn't really feel any weaker in comparison. And that's for a reason. First of all, "tanky" abilities still deal decent damage. The basic taunt ability also deals damage and reduces enemy armor 40 percent, all in one hotkey. Later on, I have upgraded the ability, so it would add the reduced enemy armour to my character as a buff.

Heavy armor, whilst raising resistances and recovery, also comes with a flat-out damage bonus to melee attacks, which also makes it a valid choice for mroe DPS-orientated specs. Unless you're a sneaky type, of course, as medium armor provides crit bonuses and makes sneaking easier, making it a more suitable choice.

Another reason why tanks are heavy hitters is how spells and special attacks work. Even with a tanky class you can put powerful spells and AoEs on your hotbar. And going sword&board doesn't make your special abilities hit any less hard. Your weapon of choice really just affects the corresponding weapon skills you can use and unlock, as well as your actual weapon damage (aka left-clicking a baddie). So, of course a basic attack with a giant two-handed war hammer will deal more damage than one dealt by a single one-handed sword. Your abilities and spells, however, will hit just as hard, whether you use a massive greatsword or a puny dagger. So, for as long as you have enough magicka and stamina to pump into special attacks, you'll deal damage.

I find Argonians disturbingly adorable in a strictly non-sexual way.

Still, even with fully pimped armor and health stats, the actual "tanking" rarely goes beyond keeping a single boss aggroed on you while the group finishes off the trash. There is no AoE taunt, you don't just run around and collect every single mob in a dungeon so the rest of the group can zerg 'em down. You protect the squishy ones from the most dangerous enemies and that's it. So, with your aggro-managing abilities somewhat limited, it only seems fair to be able to dish out more than your average MMO tank.

In all fairness, we didn't have the time to play much beyond level 20. Can I say for sure that pure DPS-specced characters won't kill enemies twice as fast as "tanks" at level 50? Of course not. That said, a friend has posted a video of herself soloing a dungeon on her level 50 templar (also sword & board) and she was doing just fine and felt pretty much the way I did - using a shield doesn't slow you down and is perfectly valid, even if you wanna kill shit.

So, if tanky characters can kill baddies just as well as folks focusing on DPS, is there any reason to go with medium or light armor at all, two-handers or dual weapons or staves and spells? Of course there is! Fun! Individualism! Doing whatever the fuck you want!

As mentioned above, if you want to sneak, medium armor is your best option. Same thing if you want to rack up those crits. You want to be an efficient healer or spellcaster? All the most powerful casters use light armor, which gives you all the extra spellpower you need for that extra oomph! Of course you can also be a sorcerer in full plate and swing a warhammer. Your spells will never be as powerful as those used by your robed colleagues, but you may be able to take an extra hit or two. It all has its strong and weak points.

It can't remotely compare to a well-modded Skyrim, but it looks alright.

And that's the one thing we've all taken with us from the beta. Many of the races and classes were fun to play. There are countless enjoyable, valid play styles. Even the three different alliances (read: player factions) were all great in their own way. We're having a really difficult time deciding what race, class and play style to "main" when the game goes live. Or which alliance we wish to join. And release is only a month away...

-Cat