The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMORPG that's steadily grown in popularity since its launch all the way back in 2014. Based, of course, in the world of Tamriel, it takes place thousands of years before the events of the mainline Elder Scrolls games and plays much differently from other MMOs.
The Console Enhanced edition of the game released June 15 for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, coming packaged with a huge number of graphical improvements. The Elder Scrolls Online is hailed for giving players an unprecedented amount of freedom in the world and its attention to detail, which is only enhanced by this much-needed facelift.
10 It's Not The Game That It Was On Release
The Elder Scrolls Online was, to put it kindly, a bit of a mess on launch. There were a lot of bugs, imbalances, and frustrating meta mechanics that stymied player experience. Just about all of these problems, though, were remedied with the release of One Tamriel.
The One Tamriel update changed the way the game is played down to its core to make it much more approachable without sacrificing any of its unique mechanics. Players who have kept up with the game for all this time can attest that it feels like an almost completely different game nowadays.
9 It's One Of The Only MMOs That Can Be Played With A Controller
One of the problems with getting MMORPGs to be popular is the lack of access that console-exclusive gamers have. Games like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars 2 are nigh-on impossible to use a controller with, even with custom bindings, but The Elder Scrolls Online was designed with this functionality.
As such, console players will not be at a disadvantage when playing with their PC counterparts. In fact, most players find that the gamepad controls are more intuitive than the keyboard controls.
8 The Elder Scrolls Online Now Encompasses Nearly All of Tamriel...
The Elder Scrolls Online encompassed a large amount of the world of Tamriel upon its initial release. Over the next several years, though, there have been more than a dozen major content updates – now, the explorable area in the game encompasses nearly all of The Elder Scrolls' iconic continent.
Players are able to explore never-before-seen areas that are central to the history of Tamriel and its many races. The Orsinium DLC, for example, follows the story of the Orcs in Wrothgar, while the Greymoor expansion takes players back to the familiar home of the Nords.
7 ...Including Familiar Locale Like Morrowind, Cyrodil, and Skyrim
One of the main attractions of The Elder Scrolls Online for die-hard fans is the inclusion of iconic locations from the mainline Elder Scrolls series. With the most recent Blackwood DLC, players are now able to explore just about the entirety of Vvardenfell from Morrowind, Cyrodil from Oblivion, and Skyrim from, well, Skyrim.
The game takes place thousands of years before the mainline Elder Scrolls games, though, and there are very few direct references to the events of these games. Seeing familiar locations in the game's overhauled graphics is certainly worth the cost of entry, though.
6 The Class System Isn't Bound To Party Roles
Another one of the main attractions in The Elder Scrolls Online is its incredibly open character progression systems. In a traditional MMORPG like Star Wars: The Old Republic, players are bound to the specific roles and gameplay styles assigned to each class.
In The Elder Scrolls Online, though, just about every class can do every task in the group. A Sorcerer can take on mass healing abilities, a Necromancer can be a tank, and a Templar can put out impressive DPS, depending on what the player decides to spec into.
5 The Entire World Levels As You Do
The open world of The Elder Scrolls Online would feel a lot more linear if it weren't for the environmental leveling system. As the player levels up, monsters and quests throughout Tamriel will match their current level.
This makes exploration of any zone from any point in the game possible. Once a new player gets past the initial tutorial segment, they are technically able to go just about anywhere in the game and start their adventure.
4 Voice Acting Throughout The Game Helps Immerse Players
Something that sets The Elder Scrolls Online apart from other MMORPGs is its relatively high-budget sound design. Every single NPC and quest in the game is fully voiced by a swathe of voice actors – many of the characters in the game are even voiced by well-known actors, such as John Cleese of Monty Python.
The game's narrative is accordingly tight, too, although there are some inconsistencies if the player goes between new and old zones. The voice acting in the game is very high quality, there's hardly any repeated talent behind the voices, and more often than not it helps build immersion rather than break it.
3 The Majority of End-Game Is Locked Behind DLC and ESO+
While new players can technically start in just about any zone of their choosing upon creating a new character, there is a lot in the game that unlocks at max level. The Champion Point system, which is very reminiscent of the level-up system in Skyrim, is just one of these things.
If you plan to stick with The Elder Scrolls Online for a long time, it is worth looking up story leveling guides to get through the game and its DLC in an immersive way. Some of these features are even locked behind the completion of the main questline.
2 The Enhanced Edition Ups The Quality Of ESO's Graphics Immensely...
The graphical quality of the base The Elder Scrolls Online game is nothing to sneer at. It's at least on par with Skyrim Special Edition, though it does have its own cartoonish style to it.
The Console Enhanced Edition unlocks high-resolution textures, antialiasing, reflections, draw distance, and the game's framerate. It also improves shadows, the game's overlay effects, loading times, and other minor display options that make it worthy of being available on modern consoles.
1 ...But It's Limited To The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S
Part of the Console Enhanced edition of The Elder Scrolls Online is, as the name implies, that it's a console-exclusive version of the MMORPG. Unfortunately, PC players won't be able to just download a patch and make the game run more beautifully.
PC players, though, have had many of these enhanced options available for a while now. PCs tend to be able to run games much faster than consoles, depending on the build, and although the Console Enhanced edition will no doubt be beautiful, The Elder Scrolls Online still looks great on computers without the need for updates such as this.