Originally published January 31, 2014. The original article can be found here.
We take on another round of your questions about The Elder Scrolls Online.
It's time again for us to reach into our mailbag (and our social media channels) and answer your ESO questions. Today, we have answers that cover a wide range of topics - with a special focus on the Explorer Pack and the Imperial Edition, so read on and learn even more about the game. If you have a question to ask us, send it in to community@elderscrollsonline.com and we'll consider it for an upcoming Ask Us Anything. Enjoy!
Do people who order the Imperial Edition gain a big gameplay advantage over those who don’t? – Sven Denteu
No. With the Imperial Edition you get the opportunity to play as a rogue Imperial who has broken from their Daedra worshipping ways, and you get a unique racial skill line of equal gameplay impact to other races’ unique racial skill lines. As an Imperial you also get a mount and the automatic ability to craft items into the Imperial style. All non-Imperial races can also learn this ability after locating the corresponding racial motif. Imperials do not begin the game in a unique starting location or via a separate quest, but they can start in any alliance as befits their status as un-aligned outcasts of their own Province. Being an Imperial includes a racial skill line that offers unique gameplay opportunities, but there is not an overall gameplay advantage. It is an opportunity to set yourself visually apart in the lands of Tamriel.
Gameplay benefits within this edition have been designed to avoid bestowing unfair advantages over players who do not purchase this special edition. This is cool content designed for some of our biggest fans who wish to have something different from other collector’s editions in the market. The only other alternative would have been to offer a collector’s edition that offers no in-game items whatsoever. That simply didn’t seem fair to fans who are excited about the game and want some special digital items.
Is it possible to recruit a companion to fight at your side like in Skyrim? - Kélig Boyer
Many NPCs you’ll encounter will offer up help in addition to asking you for assistance. Some may offer helpful advice, and others will come along with you to help accomplish a mutual goal, fighting alongside you. If you’re willing to stand up to Molag Bal, you’ll need the help of a group of strong allies to save Tamriel. Every NPC will leave and return to normal life when their task is done. None of them will stay by your side all the time—that’s what your guild mates are for!
When the game launches, will there be a strict set of Dark Anchors that can't be touched, or will they appear randomly and be defeatable? - Nick Johnson
Dark Anchors appear in specific places throughout the zones, and they don’t dynamically spawn in different locations. The places where Dark Anchor rituals take places have specific level ranges corresponding to the level of the zone you’re in. When one has been defeated, it takes some time before more cultists return to attempt to activate them again.
If I buy the US game, will I be able to play the game on the European megaserver? Or vice-versa? – Amy Richards
Yes, you can choose to play on either the North American or European megaserver, regardless of your physical location. While you can freely switch between the megaservers as you choose, please keep in mind that your characters will be bound to the server you originally create them on.
When the player "unlocks" The Fighters and Mages Guilds, does putting a point into Intimidate or Persuade and using those options when talking to certain NPCs for certain quests allow the player to gain experience with those factions? - No No
No. Although the Fighters and Mages Guilds are happy to improve your communication skills and teach you these abilities, they demand more challenging tasks from their members to rise in ranks than going around persuading or intimidating people. The Fighters Guild will ask you to fight Molag Bal’s Daedric monstrosities wherever your find them, the Mages Guild wants you to collect rare lore books for preservation.
The face is an important tool to identify and separate yourself from other players. In a lot of your videos, characters weren't wearing helmets. Is it possible to hide your helmet, or do you have to take it off and lose its stats and protection? - Ulrich Kaupe
You can hide your helmet and show your face to friends and foes without losing its protection.
I am aware that abilities melee weapons such as maces and swords require a specific amount of stamina to use, but do bows also require stamina to shoot? And do Restoration or Destruction staves cost Magicka to use? Or is there some other resource used for staves? - loschrim
Normal attacks with your weapon don't require stamina or magicka. If you learn abilities for that weapon, they will have a cost associated with them. Almost all weapon abilities, including those for the bow, will consume stamina. Staves are the exception—their abilities consume magicka.
We know that not all of Tamriel will be available for exploration upon release. This is understandable as quality is more important than quantity. What I wonder is: how will the unavailable zones be separated from the rest? An invisible wall? An impassable fog? - Djem Erez
If an area isn’t ready to be explored yet, there will be natural terrain features preventing access. Slaughterfish will also discourage you from swimming too far out.
Will I get the Imperial Horse on all my characters? – Trevor Willin
If you purchase the Imperial Edition, all your characters will have access to the Imperial Horse.
According to your statement, a guild can only claim one keep at a time. How does this work if you are a member of several guilds? Can you choose which you want to claim a keep for? – Loki
You can indeed choose which guild you want to claim a keep for. There are only two requirements: you have to have permission from that guild to claim alliance resources, and the guild must have declared allegiance to the alliance that controls the keep. Same goes for releasing an alliance resource.
Will there be certain advantages or disadvantages on the battlefield when choosing the vampire or the werewolf's skills? I know for a fact you’ve mentioned that vampires will be weak to fire and werewolves to silver, but are those the only weaknesses? And if so, I feel like rolling a werewolf-mage because I’m straight-out thinking, “hmm … who in their right mind would bother leveling anti-werewolf stuff?” And I think it would also be cool to activate my inner strengths when cornered. - Auxz Fury
The transformation into a werewolf or a vampire comes with both advantages and disadvantages….
What material is the Molag Bal statue made of? – Frank Carwson
The statue of Molag Bal that comes with the Imperial Edition is made out of high quality resin (ABS.)
Does the Imperial Horse have better stats than other horses in the game? – Caren Levac
No. The Imperial Horse that allows you to "travel with speed through Tamriel" travels at the same speed as other horses found within the game. Its stats are identical to the stats of other horses in the game, too.
The Emperor's armor seems to be heavy armor from the concept art. Will there be medium or light armor options as well for those who would prefer it? - Matt Babb
The emperor's armor is a costume that you can wear over your normal armor. This means you’ll be able to look like the emperor without losing any of your own armor bonuses. We have several such “costumes” in the game.
Hello! I am not a big PvP player, so I wonder if I have to live in constant fear of getting killed by an enemy player while I am questing and maybe I will be unable to finish the quest because I can lose items! - René Klee
While Cyrodiil—our open PvP area—is certainly large, rest assured that there is an even larger area that does not allow PvP. You can safely level a character to 50 and beyond without ever going to Cyrodiil if you choose. However, once you venture into Cyrodiil, you’ll have to be on the lookout for enemy players. If one or several find you, you won’t lose items or even have your gear degrade when you die, but you may have to travel to your alliance’s nearest controlled territory to resurrect.
If I buy the Imperial Edition and make an Imperial character, can I switch alliances whenever I want? – Jon Ronnec
As an Imperial character, you can choose any of the three alliances to pledge your allegiance to. Once created, this character will be dedicated to that alliance—you cannot switch.