Presentation of the Combat System
Combat Principles
All in-game characters have a skill bar that has six slots: weapon skills and class skills are allocated on the first five slots marked with numbers 1 to 5 and the sixth slot can be used for placing an Ultimate Ability default marked as letter R.
Weapon skills are derived from the kind of weapon the character currently is equipped with. The same is true for class skills. In general, slots that are on the skill bar can be filled with any class skills. However, they should be selected to support one another. Characters all have an Ultimate Abilities set. It is quite powerful. That is exactly why only one is allowed to be used, and so it fills the skill bar slot that is designated for it.
The game also has armor skills. They are passive, so they don’t fill any of the skill bar’s slots. These skills directly depend on the kind of armor being worn by the player. Characters don’t have to use just one kind of armor. However, more pieces of the same type of armor will provide access higher up on the related skill tree.
The main character stats in ESO are magicka, stamina and health. Health is the character’s total life points (amount of damage it is able to take before death takes place). Stamina is a resource that is required for dodging, sprinting and weapon attacks. Magicka is required for casting spells.
Targeting Mechanics
The soft-lock targeting of ESO enables the player to choose its target through using a reticle controlled by a mouse. What this means is that the character must face and aim its target in order to hit later with an attack. The only way the target can escape the attack is through evasion or dodge abilities. There is a hard-lock targeting option as well that allows the player to focus on a specific target. During massive encounters (with many NPCs and/or players) this is very useful.
Combat Avoidance and Damage
There are three specific abilities with Elder Scrolls Online for these purposes.
You can use blocking and dodging to avoid having an opponent hit you, whether that is another player or monster. With dodging, basically the player moves away from an incoming attack. The player uses his weapon or shield to block an attack with.
The stealth ability enables a player to move around undetected in the area of enemies without having to enter into combat. There are also disguises available as loot in the game. These outfits can be used by players to walk near enemies unrestricted.
Varying degrees of stamina are needed for the sprinting (running) as well as other abilities.
Finesse and Synergy
In ESO, synergy is a system that basically rewards two or more players who work together. So when ability is used by one player, the other player is able to interact with it and improve it at a certain moment. So players get rewarded when they pay close attention to the fight and then promptly react at just the right times. There are various benefits when use during the fight for example stamina points to help the team get kills more quickly.
The other system offering player’s benefits is finesse. It is given when the payers are able to use their skills efficiently during fights. A fair reward system is also sustained where no benefits are given if there is no effort. Finesse points are given for using synergy, blocking, interrupts, successful attacks and other actions. For Ultimate abilities, you must have finesse points. So when they are earned faster, it allows players to utilize their Ultimtates more frequently.
Player vs Player
In ESO PvP is currently available in organized form. When it comes to enemy areas, players have unrestricted access. The zone it’s called Cyrodiil and it has been created by the developers between all three alliance territories. Bottlenecks have been created by the developers between all three alliance territories in order to increase how hard it is to progress into the regions that their opponents control.
During an Alliance vs Alliance battle, players fight for strongholds and resources in order for them to achieve the ultimate objective, which is to take control of Imperial City. The winning alliance’s highest-ranking player becomes Emperor. He receives special skills that boost his combat abilities significantly. Alliances, guilds and players have achievements and leader boards to show their fighting skills and progress.
The combat system of ESO is easy to understand and also very refined. It rewards good fighting skills and team play, with players being encouraged to fight as well as they can.
