Will this game be more forgivign towards inexperienced MMO'ers/"non-MMO'ers"?

I made the mistake of purchaseing Elder Scrolls Online. While that title has a lot going for it, it is sadly not very forgiving towards inexperienced MMO'ers - there are forced single-player sequences, which are just stupidly hard and way over-leveled, which is kinda meaningless to have in what is labelled a MULTIPLAYER game, IMO. This is aggravated by the fact that a vocal part of the fancrowd is acting extremly hostile to inexperienced players ("learn to play, n00b!", "go back to WoW, whiner", "lol this game is so easy my blind cat reached level 50 in less than 48 hours", "haha, anyone struggling in this game is probably fighting level 15 mobs at level 8 wearing entry-level gear" and so on) while the moderators, at least on the official forums, turn a blind eye (or even support the fanboys and elitists).
I really hope SoTA will be more friendly to "newbies" in either not having forced single-player elements at all, or at least making these so that (pretty much) anyone can finish them. And that any elitism and hostility towards inexperienced/new players will be hit upon, hard?

 

It depends. SotA won't be like a typical MMO, and I've found many newer MMOs just largely assume that new players have played games like WoW and come in with a lot of knowledge on how a modern MMO should operate.

Since SotA won't operate anything like WoW or ESO, then a lack of experience in those games won't hold you back.

That being said, as is stands now, this game won't have quest markers. You have to pay attention to dialogue, and explore. This won't be an easy game with hand holding.

I do hope/expect the SotA community will be more helpful than a game like ESO.

Edit: If nothing else @MadViking, I'd encourage you to find a friendly guild in game. You can check out the guild I belong to, http://www.mgt470.info/

We're very friendly and supporting.

And welcome to the forums! Have a round on me!

 

the good thing about this game, if you think a quest is too hard then you don't have to do it. Hell you will not have to do one single quest to play this game. As for smacktards, from what i can tell the MOD's overly mod this forum so you won't have that issue here.

 

This game will be different that other MMO's - you will have to rely more on your wits and be more of an "investigator" of sorts

For example - you have to "discover" the crafting recipies ... there are no quest markers (those things over characters/ior on a map) telling you where to go next

It will also feature a story driven single player campaign (which most MMO's don't really put a lot of emphasis on)

- So this game will be challenging but in other aspects ... as other members have suggested it would be a really good idea to find a guild that can help you acclimate to the game

- I can't promise no one would ever call you a noob ... but I all signs point that this community will be very willing to help and show you the ropes ..

 

All in all sounds like a good thing then. As I said, there is a lot of positive things with ESO, I really like the lore and the style of the game, and I really, really want to enjoy that game, but the forced single-player sequences (which are extremely overleveled to boot) combined with the abuse from the "leet" part of the crowd has almost completely destroyed my motivation to keep on playing it...

 

I still play SWTOR pretty regularly and general chat on the fleet is pretty terrible. Any new player asking for help is generally attacked, as if older players don't remember they were new once as well.

SWTOR/WoW/ESO cater to what is called "Elder Game". Many people feel like those games don't even really start until you're at max level. The leveling process is seen as a chore, and something that stands in the way of PvP and raiding that only occurs at max level. So people group together, and power level in a group, which is MUCH easier and they look down on people trying to level solo who do occasionally need help.

SotA is not like that. It is closer to a single player Elder Scrolls game where you have a giant sandbox and you're encouraged to step off the beaten path and just live in the world a bit. There is no "Elder Game". I don't believe this game will have end game raids.

The journey of living in the world is the game, even though there is a campaign and quests. Those aren't meant to be a chore to be power leveled through. They are meant to be the meat, accompanied by the side dishes of crafting, player housing, exploration, etc.

 

If you follow the main story line you may be pulled into instances - but its been stated that you should be able to do it on your own - and if you need a little more help they plan on implementing companions to help you solo things

 

Can other people join your story instances in ESO? I know that most modern MMOs will allow you to group while leveling and even do solo instances with a group.

 

Some parts of the story are designed to be "only you" ... I can't imagine that they will have you fight 50 dragons with a butter knife

Other quests can be completed as groups

 

Sounds like this is the game ESO should've been, then.

 

WoW is very successful and very popular, so there are people who want a game like WoW with a different setting.

When Bioware made SWTOR, many people just wanted another single player KOTOR game, but Bioware was aiming to make something more like WoW to make money. They blended the two a bit, and the single player leveling portion is better than any other modern MMO I've seen. But in the end, it is still a stop-gap to get to the real game, which is Elder Game at max level where you just raid and PvP all day. There is nothing left to do on all the planets in the galaxy. An Elder Game player seems the same tiny bubble repeated forever and that is simply what the game is.

Bethesda did the same thing with ESO. They made a WoW game more than an Elder Scrolls game. You grind to level so you can sit at max level and repeat PvP and raiding.

With SotA, they're taking a different approach. They're making a spiritual successor to a single player game series with an online component, but balancing the two better. I don't know if you played Baldur's Gate way back in the day, but you could play that game online with a few of your buddies as your adventuring party. SotA will be more like that. Adventure with your friends in an open world. The game isn't linear, nor are there level zones. I don't think you'll see tons and tons of tiers of gear to progress through either.

And they're encouraging player interaction as much as they can.

If I'm primarily a crafter, then I'm not as combat capable as the next guy. But maybe you are, so we group up. I help repair your armor and craft nicer things for you, and you protect me in the dungeon to get rare crafting mats.