The Elder Scrolls Online trailer details character progression

A new trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online details character progression, explaining the great number of ways to customize abilities and attacks.

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After previously showing off the heavily-nuanced character creation system, a new trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online explains how those characters will fight. Players will be able to gain attributes and skills, just as in previous Elder Scrolls games, but they'll also earn abilities through a skill line system that can be customized as their character levels up.

"Skill points allow you to define your character in a specific way," said lead gameplay designer Nick Konkle. "So you can spend a point to learn an ability or a spell, and abilities or spells belong to a skill line, which is a thematic connection of abilities. The more you use abilities from a specific skill line, like Stone Fist from the Earth magic skill, the more you'll have access to the abilities later in the line, like Petrify or Magma Armor."

After gaining enough experience with an ability, players will be able to "Morph" it into one of a number of selected evolutions. Konkle cites the Templar ability Rush Ceremony, which can be morphed to either heal three allies (as opposed to the standard one) or restore magicka.

For more on The Elder Scrolls Online's character progression system, including Ultimate attacks and passive abilities, check out the trailer below.

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Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?

From The Chatty
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    December 3, 2013 8:00 PM

    Ozzie Mejia posted a new article, The Elder Scrolls Online trailer details character progression.

    A new trailer for The Elder Scrolls Online details character progression, explaining the great number of ways to customize abilities and attacks.

    • reply
      December 3, 2013 8:03 PM

      The Elder Scrolls might be the most epic single player game to ever exist, but I'm not thrilled with it going online.

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        December 4, 2013 4:39 AM

        Me neither, that's the opposite of what I want. I've never, ever been into MMOs, but I love single-player games like the Elder Scrolls series. But I guess nobody can resist trying when they see all the money WOW rakes in (assuming it still does)? It's not like anyone is crying out for more MMOs, it's just that publishers and/or developers want to get in on the action, I think. Look at all the big MMO launches that have sank without a trace trying to emulate WOW's success.

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          December 4, 2013 6:55 AM

          WOW made it big because they focused on accessibility. EQ had a steep learning curve and an even higher penalty for failure. MMOs between EQ and WOW, like DAoC improved on it to the point that my wife would try them, but it was WOW that got it right to where more casual players would join in.

          I think SWTOR is the best example of where the industry is now, and where we're seeing ESO landing as well. A decent single player game that happens to have your friends running around in it as well with some group/raid stuff tacked on. It's more short lived, and your expense in the game is really based on how long it takes you to 'finish' the single player story line. This is what pretty much happened to most of my friends with SWTOR and I see will likely happen with ESO if they play.

          I can see developers still working on the MMO formula for a while longer, if only because it's the closest thing we can get to social gaming right now - literally the group play of a single player game that has points here you can play together if you want. It's a function of getting the accessibility right so that my wife can play it balanced with the depth to keep me interested (not to mention some new mechanics beside EQ/WOW stuff that keeps getting rehashed).

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      December 4, 2013 7:10 AM

      This looks The Witcher-ish.

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      December 4, 2013 2:33 PM

      All those skills & abilities yet only 5 slots on the action bar.

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