Elder Scrolls Online Best Character Creation

[Celedonio Miranda]

Imay still be skeptical of the existence of The Elder Scrolls Online, the MMO no one really asked for, but I'm glad to see they're putting a lot of effort into an aspect of the game I care a lot about: the character creator.

MMOs, generally speaking, have pretty bad character creation systems. The best I've seen has probably been that of EVE Online (a game where you almost never see your character) or APB (a game where the character creator was literally the only redeeming thing about it). The worst? I still can't get past how horrible GTA Online's has been, forcing you to mash up tiny pictures of your parents and grandparents to create a face for you character that has a 10% chance to just be plain old ugly, and a 90% chance to look like a swamp mutant. No wonder everyone in the game wears masks.

But in this two minute video demonstrating the various ins and out of the Elder Scrolls Online system, it seems they've come up with something on the good end of MMO creators, and certainly the best I've seen in any Elder Scrolls game to date, even Skyrim.

The key is in the range of options. Too many games have you stuck to a few face archetypes of a body somewhere in between "Olympian fit" and "superheroic." In The Elder Scrolls Online, you can be tall, short, ripped, chubby, and anything in between. Facial mixing seems to create a diverse set of options as well, and even individual body pieces like shoulders or hands are able to be altered.

And of course, Elder Scrolls has the task of doing all this with a collection of different races, rather than just humans. I like the new looks of the Argonians and the Khajit, especially compared to past games.

Watch the video led by TESO design director Jared Carr below. All this said, I'm still not convinced that TESO is a good idea, or will be a success, but at least the character creator means things will start off well.

The first step on your journey to greatness, Character Creation plays a huge part in your journey. Picking the right class and character will go a long way to ensuring you enjoy your Elder Scrolls Online experience. A true hero must not only be able to bear arms against their enemies, but to also look like someone out of legends.

The first two choices are your character's gender (male or female) and the sound of their voice. There are eight voice options for the varrying gender and race combinations, so be sure to find the one that sounds right to you.

While selecting a race, it's also important to consider the faction you wish to align yourself with. There are three currently in the game. Certain races will start out tied to specific factions, unless you have pruchased the Imperial Edition of Elder Scrolls Online, and the option to change won't come for quite some time. If you and a group of friends want to play together from the very beginning of the game, everyone should talk over which faction they want before hand.

As with any Elder Scrolls game, the first step is picking from the many Races available to you. If you are playing the standard version, there will be 9 available. Adventurers who purchased the Imperial Edition will be able to play a 10th race, the Imperial. A brief outline is below, but more detailed info on each race can be found here.

After figuring out the race you want, you can now choose a class. For some people, it might work best to think about which class they want prior to choosing a race. You can jump around the creation process at will, so if you're unsure of the race you want, pick the class first then it will help narrow down the best racial choice. A brief outline of each class is below, but for all the details head to their dedicated pages Here.

Elder Scrolls has never lacked customization, and ESO is no different. In fact, it's even more so than before. Players can sculpt the look of their character through many separate options. The first is body type, which gives you a sliders for the balance of musculature, largeness, and thiness.

The head gets the same treatment for detail as the body, allowing you to slide your facial structure between Heroic, Soft, and Angular features. Along with it, and in the next tab, comes things like age, adornment (facial hair and small trinkets), hair style, colour, forehead slope, and more.

The Elder Scrolls Online, abbreviated ESO, is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) developed by ZeniMax Online Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks.[2][3] The game is a part of the Elder Scrolls series. It was released for Windows and macOS in April 2014, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2015, and for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in June 2021.[4][5]

The Elder Scrolls Online is set in the continent of Tamriel and features a storyline indirectly connected with the other games in the Elder Scrolls franchise. The game had been in development for seven years before its release in 2014, which required a mandatory monthly subscription model.

Like previous Elder Scrolls games, The Elder Scrolls Online can be played from either a first or third-person perspective. Gameplay is mostly non-linear, with a mixture of quests, random events, and free-roaming exploration of the world.[8] The game does not provide a mode for single-player offline play, although the developers stated that there would be "plenty of content" for online solo play.[9]

Players also choose one of seven classes when creating a character: Dragonknight, Sorcerer, Nightblade, Templar, Warden, Necromancer, or Arcanist. Each class gives the player different attacks, spells, and passive effects. The game has other character choices beyond those of race and class, such as the player character also being able to become either a vampire or a werewolf, each of which grants access to its own skill tree. There are seven different crafting skill lines: Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Clothier, Enchanting, Woodworking, Provisioning, and Jewelry Crafting.

The Elder Scrolls Online is set on the continent of Tamriel during the Second Era, but not all places in Tamriel are playable. The events of the game occur a millennium before those of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and around 800 years before The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Its structure is broadly similar to Skyrim, with two separate conflicts progressing at the same time, one with the fate of the world in the balance, and one where the prize is supreme power on Tamriel. In The Elder Scrolls Online, the first struggle is against the Daedric Prince Molag Bal, who is attempting to meld the plane of Mundus with his realm of Coldharbour, and the second is to capture the vacant imperial throne, contested by three alliances of the mortal races. The player character has been sacrificed to Molag Bal, and Molag Bal has stolen their soul, the recovery of which is the primary game objective.[2]

Many parts of the continent of Tamriel can be explored in the game, with all zones accessible regardless of faction or player level. Some zones become accessible only through DLCs, which can be either purchased from the Crown Store or are available for free as part of the ESO Plus subscription service. Players have the opportunity to join any of the three factions warring over the Ruby Throne of the Emperor of Tamriel:[2] the First Aldmeri Dominion (represented by an eagle) led by Queen Ayrenn and composed of the Altmer (High Elf), Bosmer (Wood Elf), and Khajiit races; the Daggerfall Covenant (represented by a lion) led by High King Emeric and composed of the Bretons, Redguards, and Orsimer (Orcs); and the Ebonheart Pact (represented by a dragon) led by Jorunn Skald-King and composed of the Nord, Dunmer (Dark Elf), and Argonian races. Players may also unlock the Imperial race by purchasing the Digital Imperial Edition Upgrade in the Crown Store, which may be a part of any of the three factions. The other major ruling faction of Tamriel is the Empire itself, led by Empress Regent Clivia Tharn, which has fallen into instability and disrepair and serves as a non-joinable faction. Pre-ordered copies of the game included the "Explorers' Pack" which allowed all races to be played in each of the factions, and this feature is also available in the Crown Store.[10]

The game begins in the Wailing Prison in Coldharbour, where the player character's soulless husk (known as a soul shriven) has been enslaved. This opening continues another Elder Scrolls tradition of beginning the game with the player as a prisoner.[2] After escaping, the base of operations becomes the Harborage, a cave found at each of the starting cities where the Prophet opens portals to the locations of the main questline. Once the Amulet of Kings is retrieved, the headquarters shift to the Hollow City, a location in central Coldharbour blessed by Meridia. Civilians saved from Coldharbour's prisons arrive in the Hollow City, and it is from there that attacks are orchestrated on Molag Bal's controlled areas.[11]

The Elder Scrolls Online had been in development for seven years before its release in 2014.[2] It was the first project from ZeniMax Online Studios, which was formed in 2007 as a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. Matt Firor, studio lead at ZeniMax Online, served as director of The Elder Scrolls Online.[3] ZeniMax Online licensed the HeroEngine in November 2007,[12] which was used as a whiteboard for the game while the main production engine was in development.[13] The game's development was funded by Providence Equity Partners and reinvested profits from the success of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.[14]

Rumors of a massively multiplayer Elder Scrolls game had been circulating for years, first prompted by a domain registration by ZeniMax Media in November 2007 for ElderScrollsOnline.com.[15] Information about the game and its imminent May 2012 announcement was leaked in March 2012 to online publication Tom's Guide by an anonymous industry source.[16] According to the leak, the game was scheduled to be shown at E3 2012 in June and QuakeCon 2012 in August. On November 8, 2012, Bethesda released a video on YouTube called "An Introduction to The Elder Scrolls Online", in which the game's developers talk about the game's content and development.[17] Several actors were announced to voice characters in the game, including John Cleese, Bill Nighy, Kate Beckinsale, Lynda Carter, Alfred Molina, Michael Gambon, Jennifer Hale, Malcolm McDowell, and Peter Stormare.[18] Beta sign-ups for The Elder Scrolls Online began on January 21, 2013, and continued for seven rounds until February 26.[19][20][21]

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