The Elder Scrolls Online

[Miasma]

You expect a mount, a pet, some sort of booster and vanity armour but blocking off a whole race, one of the most popular races?  That's a f2p move right out of the gate.  I'm sure in six months when it actually goes f2p there will be an "Imperial Pack" that you can use ElderEmeralds© to buy.

Also, wow Euros really get screwed over by currency conversion.  That same page tells me the Imperial edition that costs you eighty Euros would also cost me eighty Canadian dollars.  That works out to $121.37 in Canadian dollars.  I know there is some VAT in there but still.

[Triforcer]

I missed this the first time around, but the "Explorer's Pack" (which comes with any pre-order of the regular or Imperial edition) gives you the ability to roll any race in any alliance(!)  Say goodbye to identification of enemies in PvP, apparently...

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en/preorder

[sam, an eggplant]

It's not like most of them had unique profiles anyway, so who cares? Attack the guys with red names.

I just bought the imperial edition with a 25% off coupon from GMG myself. And yes, I'm in the betas.

[Paelos]

Hey look, scamming people out of more money with lies and day one DLC. Geez, who didn't see this coming?

[Threash]

I missed this the first time around, but the "Explorer's Pack" (which comes with any pre-order of the regular or Imperial edition) gives you the ability to roll any race in any alliance(!)  Say goodbye to identification of enemies in PvP, apparently...

http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en/preorder

That is such a desperate money grab, they have to know this is going to bomb horribly.

[Triforcer]

Being someone with disposable income who is always a willing dupe for MMO launches, I was going to buy this.  But the "any race any alliance thing" has finally convinced me they KNOW this will bomb and are trying to reel in as many fish as possible. 

[sam, an eggplant]

Being someone with disposable income who is always a willing dupe for MMO launches, I was going to buy this.  But the "any race any alliance thing" has finally convinced me they KNOW this will bomb and are trying to reel in as many fish as possible. 

Why? That's a preorder bonus, you don't have to pay for it. It's just a neat little cosmetic thing.

[Senses]

I just really can't believe they are making an entire race part of the collector's edition and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I am a fan of the subscription model for many reasons but I absolutely hate double dipping and if the trend is going to veer towards having to buy content in a game I've already paid for while enjoying a service I've already paid for, then I absolutely want this game to fail and fail hard.  

[Paelos]

Why? That's a preorder bonus, you don't have to pay for it. It's just a neat little cosmetic thing.

Hiding the most popular race behind paying more, and previously lying to people about it when questioned? No, it's more than just a neat little cosmetic thing.

[Rendakor]

Why? That's a preorder bonus, you don't have to pay for it. It's just a neat little cosmetic thing.

Hiding the most popular race behind paying more, and previously lying to people about it when questioned? No, it's more than just a neat little cosmetic thing.

The preorder bonus is not Imperials, its any race, any faction which is just a cosmetic thing and does not cost more money.

[sam, an eggplant]

Why would you think the imperials are the most popular race?

Again, it's all just cosmetic.

[Sir T]

My reading of it is that you are paying for the ability to join any of the 3 alliances in the game at will. thats a little different than cosmetic.

Besides, I thought the most popular races in the game were the furries.

[Ingmar]

I did a quick internet search and the couple random forum polls I saw does seem to indicate that the cat and lizard people are surprisingly popular.

[Threash]

Why would you think the imperials are the most popular race?

Again, it's all just cosmetic.

It's not cosmetic, each race has unique bonuses.

[sam, an eggplant]

That's true, I should have said largely cosmetic.

Also I think there's some confusion. If you preorder, you can use any race in any faction. They do not charge extra for that, you just need to order before April.

The imperial race comes with the imperial (collector's) edition.

[tazelbain]

See that sort of double dipping is so offensive. We are going to charge you a sub fee and we are doing to nickel and dime you

[Paelos]

See that sort of double dipping is so offensive. We are going to charge you a sub fee and we are doing to nickel and dime you

It's their scam-cash-grab on the sub. Nobody believes that's real in 6 months.

[Threash]

Did the long ass cinematic get posted yet? I'm not sure what the hell happened there but whatever class the elf chick was looked cool.

[calapine]

Why would you think the imperials are the most popular race?

Again, it's all just cosmetic.

Well, technically yes. But imagine what big thing being able to roll an Alliance Orc or Horde Gnome in WoW would have been. Especially if it was "Collectors Edition only".

[Ingmar]

I find the race thing fairly obnoxious, especially the imperial thing. Race feels a lot less cosmetic in this game than in most others due to their unique power trees.

[Lakov_Sanite]

Why would you think the imperials are the most popular race?

Again, it's all just cosmetic.

Well, technically yes. But imagine what big thing being able to roll an Alliance Orc or Horde Gnome in WoW would have been. Especially if it was "Collectors Edition only".

A million times this.  One thing wow in the past got right was being able to easily identify pvp opponents by silhouette. In a pvp game it is definitely not cosmetic and since it's a collectors edition thing it will be even worse because instances of faction-switched races will be rare and a pvp advantage to them.

[Ingmar]

Why would you think the imperials are the most popular race?

Again, it's all just cosmetic.

Well, technically yes. But imagine what big thing being able to roll an Alliance Orc or Horde Gnome in WoW would have been. Especially if it was "Collectors Edition only".

A million times this.  One thing wow in the past got right was being able to easily identify pvp opponents by silhouette. In a pvp game it is definitely not cosmetic and since it's a collectors edition thing it will be even worse because instances of faction-switched races will be rare and a pvp advantage to them.

Nah. The identification thing won't really be a big deal in PVP in this game - there are no highly stylized silhouettes like a WoW or TF2, there aren't any tiny gnomes or lurikeens or asura to hide inside terrain features, etc. It's the racial powers that will make the difference, if there's going to be an issue.

[Triforcer]

Why would you think the imperials are the most popular race?

Again, it's all just cosmetic.

Well, technically yes. But imagine what big thing being able to roll an Alliance Orc or Horde Gnome in WoW would have been. Especially if it was "Collectors Edition only".

A million times this.  One thing wow in the past got right was being able to easily identify pvp opponents by silhouette. In a pvp game it is definitely not cosmetic and since it's a collectors edition thing it will be even worse because instances of faction-switched races will be rare and a pvp advantage to them.

Again, the "any race any alliance" thing is available to ANY preorder of EITHER the imperial or standard edition.  The Imperial race (any alliance) is limited to Imperial Edition only.

I don't think the "any race any alliance" perk means ESO is horrible because it is a money-grabbing move- the bar keeps getting moved on that, and I'm long since numb.  It means ESO is horrible because they need more preorders before the NDA drops.  Once the avalanche of "This is the suxiest MMO ever" starts, nobody would preorder.  

EDIT:  I should add that the ESO website does NOT state that the pre-order bonuses are "exclusive" and will never be offered again.  While the Imperial Edition bonuses are exclusive (editor's note:   ), they don't even bother to lie about the pre-order bonuses.  I would bet anything that "any race any alliance" will be purchasable by anyone shortly after launch. 

[Paelos]

The NDA won't drop until release day.

But that day will be glorious. I really want Fabricated to post some of his rants.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I've seen games from EA that were absolute trash with less day one cash grabs so I'm predicting this will be warhammer level.

[Lucas]

You know, ok, lore and/or RP in MMOs is useless and whatnot, but first they build this three faction thing with a backstory on the "whys" and "hows" a certain race chose this or that alliance, all based on the single-player canon, nicely presented and all.....And then it goes crumbling right on Day 1 with that offer. As most of you already said, it speaks volumes about their expectations 

[sam, an eggplant]

So you betrayed your alliance. Maybe your argonian character was banging an elf chick when war broke out. I don't see the major malfunction. Shrug.

[Venkman]

... It means ESO is horrible because they need more preorders before the NDA drops.  Once the avalanche of "This is the suxiest MMO ever" starts, nobody would preorder.  

We here respect the NDA in part because we're old fashioned and would prefer to stay a part of this community. But that's a choice.

In all of our various alter egos, is there anyone here whose been anywhere on the net that has exhibited a large degree of ignorant interest in TESO? I mean of course, beyond the pay for post, the idealists moving to their first ever second MMO or the delusional who think glowing endorsements can get them a gig in the industry?

Because I have not.

I have seen mostly lukewarm interest that will survive only as long as nothing else compelling comes along down to outright mocking. There were people who, rightly or wrongly, were excited by it. But that's long since faded.

All this is to say they could keep the NDA up after launch and it won't matter to sales.

tl;dr: the damage has already been done.

[Bhazrak]

They should have gone the EQ2 route and had an involved betrayal quest line if anything.  Lore wise, restricted races on factions works for some and not for others, so that can go either way, plus there's always the outliers. I guess it comes down to convenience of playing with friends as what ever race vs. faction pride, lore and tiny racial balance issues. I'll still be an orc in Daggerfall most likely, so eh.

But that Imperial race CE incentive is very off-putting. You can upgrade your account to the Imperial edition at anytime, but at that point you really are then paying for that race solely.

[Sjofn]

Ring of marriage gives bonus XP... Time to get hooked up!

(Dibs on Lantyssa  )

Won't lie, I'd totally love games to steal that idea so I can make Ingmar fake-marry me (again! We were totally fake-married on our MUD back in ancient times) (don't judge me!) and get an XP boost. :P

[Rendakor]

... It means ESO is horrible because they need more preorders before the NDA drops.  Once the avalanche of "This is the suxiest MMO ever" starts, nobody would preorder.  

We here respect the NDA in part because we're old fashioned and would prefer to stay a part of this community. But that's a choice.

In all of our various alter egos, is there anyone here whose been anywhere on the net that has exhibited a large degree of ignorant interest in TESO? I mean of course, beyond the pay for post, the idealists moving to their first ever second MMO or the delusional who think glowing endorsements can get them a gig in the industry?

Because I have not.

I have seen mostly lukewarm interest that will survive only as long as nothing else compelling comes along down to outright mocking. There were people who, rightly or wrongly, were excited by it. But that's long since faded.

All this is to say they could keep the NDA up after launch and it won't matter to sales.

tl;dr: the damage has already been done.

Not online, but IRL I know a lot of people who are excited for TESO because "SKYRIM ONLINE ERMAGERD!!!" These guys are mostly console players, not MMO players, so they're just imagining Skyrim with their buddies and not, well, what they're actually gong to get.

[Ingmar]

Also as I've mentioned before, buzz in the in-game channels was quite positive. For some reason.

[Ginaz]

Also as I've mentioned before, buzz in the in-game channels was quite positive. For some reason.

It usually is.  Anyone pointing out flaws or criticizing the game get called out as heretics, though, its not unique to ESO.

[Zetor]

Yea, I experienced that in most closed betas I have played... including FFXIV v1.0 

[Fabricated]

Must suck to work on MMOs, knowing you're probably going to be laid off in 3-9 months after it launches because that's pretty much what happens to every MMO that isn't WoW.