Elder Scrolls Online: Does Playing With Friends Work?

[persephone]

So, I've been soloing ESO for a couple of weeks now, and I've been enjoying it very much. Now my sister is looking at possibly getting a copy so she can play with me. We did some internet research to see if the functions for grouping together worked properly (this is a first MMO for both of us, also).

However, all the info we found was (a) pretty negative, talking extensively about bugs and unreliability and (b) a year old, or older.

I figure that they've been updating the game since then, and that positive experiences don't really tend to make it onto forums as often as negative ones.

So, I thought the best way to do research would be to just ask everyone here! ESO players, does playing with friends in ESO work reliably and/or well? What are potential problems that might be dealbreakers, etc.?

Thanks in advance to anyone who answers this. It's just a lot of money to drop blind without knowing if teaming up will really work out or not.

 

[sXeth]

Its kind of hit and miss. Some quests have "solo only" stages almost arbitrarily (and guild questlines seem to all be solo).

Even with regular quests, you have to be pretty studious to make sure you're on the same stage alot, and complete the objectives individually. Otherwise your partner will often be fighting enemies you can't see or similar issues.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Greetings fellow Elder Scrolls traveler! My friend and I LITERALLY just started playing the game last night. Allow me to give you my thoughts:

First, we both got the game for twenty dollars, each, brand new. I'm not sure what your situation is, but I don't think you need to worry about it being too expensive. If you end up paying more than that, I suggest shopping around a bit.

But on to the actual game! We started out separate. Both of us had to escape our cells alone. But once we got outside, we immediately found each other and went through the entire area together--until the boss, at which point we were separated again. So it appears that there are parts of the game where you are forced to solo, which makes sense.

Once the boss was dead, and we were back in Tamerial, we were together once more. We have stuck together since, killing enemies together and doing quests together.

HOWEVER, when I say "doing quests together" I mean we were doing the same quest at the same time. If I unlocked a door, or flipped a switch, it didn't flip in my friend's game. He still had to flip it. We could kill each others' enemies, but not do each others' actions. This is in spite of the fact that we both clicked "Share" on the quest. So, while we stuck together and backed each other up the entire time, we weren't technically doing the quests together. I looked into this, and it does sound like co op--true co op--is kind of wonky in the game.
I have also read that a character who had already cleared an area CANNOT go back to previous areas to help another player. While I don't know if this is true--my friend and I have agreed to stick together completely--that may be something to watch for.

We're still having fun with it and it does feel like co op for us, but for others this may be a bit of a turn off. Your call.

 

[sXeth]

HOWEVER, when I say "doing quests together" I mean we were doing the same quest at the same time. If I unlocked a door, or flipped a switch, it didn't flip in my friend's game. He still had to flip it. We could kill each others' enemies, but not do each others' actions. This is in spite of the fact that we both clicked "Share" on the quest. So, while we stuck together and backed each other up the entire time, we weren't technically doing the quests together. I looked into this, and it does sound like co op--true co op--is kind of wonky in the game.
I have also read that a character who had already cleared an area CANNOT go back to previous areas to help another player. While I don't know if this is true--my friend and I have agreed to stick together completely--that may be something to watch for.

If its an area that changes states (for instance, an invaded town that you defend and the invaders disappear), you'll be stuck in the "completed" state, and unable to see the enemies your friend is fighting (you may be locked into a separate instance but not usually), but my buddy often found he could still see me and cast support spells for me, despite not seeing the enemies.

 

[sanquin]

Yea...the grouping in ESO is passable, but a bit annoying at times. As said before, some parts of quests are instanced, and you have to do those solo. Sometimes switches and such also only work for the one using them. But you can definitely play together.

 

[persephone]

Thanks for the info! I showed my sister this thread and it answered all her questions. She was iffy on trying the game already, and now has decided it isn't for her.

 

[DarthCoercis]

If you both want something you can play together, try Guild Wars 2. My old wow guild still gets together every now and then to do some questing and pvp, and it's quite a bit of fun.

 

[WolfThomas]

My friends and I planned this on release. Cue me level 30. One guy level 50. Another level 9. Unable to play together. Well shit.

 

[persephone]

I've looked at Guild Wars 2 before, and it doesn't have controller support, which is a must for me.

If we did do ESO, we'd certainly have to be sure to pretty much keep the characters at damn near the same level, with how the game works. Even a four level gap would be kinda awful.