TESO Dev Diary

The latest video for The Elder Scrolls Online has been posted to youtube, and it's a dev diary. Here they cover what the game is supposed to be and how it works.

I have to say that I'm pretty interested in weather TESO will do what no other game has since WoW, redefine basic MMO mechanics. Something that caught my ear in this vid is how TESO apparently isn't bound to the god awful hotbar system that all other MMOs are built around. Just the possibility of not having to see a huge puke of skill buttons boxing in the screen is enticing, and then there's the idea of not using auto attack.

One thing I never liked about MMOs is their over reliance on auto attack, which really puts a wall between you and the most basic activity, hitting things. The system is exactly why most MMOs end up being a redundant cycle of keying up attack chains. It results in combat that's very detached, which resembles creating spreadsheets more than having it out with a monster.

Putting basic attack and defense controls back in the hands of the player for real time use, will no doubt help to vastly set this MMO apart from the others. Of course there's no telling until I get a hands on with the game, but I'm hopeful.

----Strife Out----