General:Ask Us Anything: Variety Pack 8

Originally published October 7, 2013. The original article can be found here.
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Want to know more about The Elder Scrolls Online? We have a new round of questions and answers for you right here!

In today’s Ask Us Anything, we’ve answered questions on several topics, from PvP to Conjuration. Don’t see an answer to your question here? Send it to us at community@elderscrollsonline.com and we’ll consider it for an upcoming AuA feature. We post a new Ask Us Anything every two weeks, so make sure to check back soon for more answers to your ESO questions.
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''In past games, weapons of one type (such as Orcish, Elven, glass, etc) were all basically the same style. In ESO, will they have different styles and will there be looks for other kinds of weapons like scimitars? - Jared Dennewitz

Our weapons and armor will have a lot of varied appearances. In fact, every race has its own weapons and armor that will progress in looks. At level one, an Orcish sword will look one way, and at level 50 an Orcish sword will look very different. There are other styles of armor and weapons in addition to the nine racial styles, unique weapons and armor, different tints for all of the armor, and different materials armor can be made from.


''I've had one question on my mind for the longest time: will we see a huge amount of wildlife or a hunting activity/skill of some sort? - Allister A.

Yes, there will be a large amount of wildlife, and while there isn’t a hunting skill, you will be able to get hides and leather from some of the wildlife.


''I know that one character will be able to visit all three faction areas, but I have always been an altoholic. I have a favorite race in each faction and I would like to play as each of them. I also like to play all roles in an MMO, so I want one character to be a tank, one character to be a healer, and one character to be a damage dealer. Will there be any way for me to accomplish this? – Cody G.

The first step is admitting you have a problem. But yes, you can have multiple characters.


''Will I be able to wear a heavy armor plate mail with a mage's hood and leather boots, or will it all armor be one set? - Sam Hoch

You will be able to mix and match as you see fit. We do have sets of armor and weapons that confer special bonuses to you when you wear three or more items from that set. Also, if you have gained passive skills in certain armor skill lines, you’ll also get a larger bonus when you wear more armor of that type. And, of course, you may find an individual piece of armor with a bonus trait or enchantment you really like. There will be many choices about how you gear yourself in ESO, with no “right” choice for everyone.


''Is the famous Nightingale armor going to be featured in ESO? If not, is there any chance that we might see something similar to this awesome armor set? Let’s be honest here, masks and hoods are so awesome for stealthy thief/assassin characters! – Henrik v. Ovesen

As we mentioned in one of the earlier answers, there will be a wide variety of armor in the game that you can wear. Don’t worry; you’ll have hoods and masks. As for particular sets, we won’t go into exactly what those are, because part of the fun is in discovering them!


You have teased the existence of veteran points. Can you elaborate on how to get them and what you can do with them? – Rowan Marward

Veteran Points are similar to XP, and your Veteran Rank goes up as you gain them (like gaining a level). You’ll get Veteran Points for accomplishing certain tasks in the game. Imagine you were told you needed to kill a specific NPC or monster in a dungeon. If you’re level 50, you’ll get Veteran Points for accomplishing that goal. When you get enough Veteran Points, you go up in Veteran Rank. There will be lots of ways to gain VP. You could gain Veteran Points in PvP or in Adventure Zones.

VRs do improve your character’s power by granting stats and the ability to equip better gear, though the increases are smaller than the ones you’ll gain through normal leveling. This will make it easier for you to visit wherever you want in the next alliance you play, and will make it easier when you’re grouping with friends who may not be as advanced as you are.

You’ll continue to gain skill points while increasing your Veteran Ranks, so it’s really a time when you’ll be able to broaden your character’s skills. We’ll release a full write-up for VPs and VRs in the near future.


How does resurrection work in PvP? Can I res any player in any situation (e.g. in the middle of a fight)? Does it cost Soul Gems, too? I imagine you might run out of them real quick. – Jenny Balls

You do have to use Soul Gems to resurrect players who have fallen on the field of battle. Provided you have the Soul Trap spell, you can always find monsters or players in the area to fill your empty Soul Gems with. You can also buy filled Gems at a premium. This means that battles are actually won or lost—you want to make sure one side can’t just keep bringing in reinforcements, causing a battle to last forever.


One of my favorite play styles in The Elder Scrolls games is the conjurer. I love summoning Daedra and undead to distract and harm my enemies while I batter them with spells from afar. Unfortunately, I find that in a lot of MMOs, summoned creatures are only useful against NPCs and mobs. Will summons be a viable weapon in ESO’s PvP? – Adam Schuster

We want to ensure that summons have properties in both PvE and PvP settings. Since summoning spells take up a valuable ability bar slot, we give them powerful utilities to supplement their damage and tanking potential. 

I’ll give you an example with the Sorcerer’s Summon Winged Twilight ability: at first, the winged twilight simply has a ranged attack. However, the ability can be enhanced in one of two ways.  Option one adds a passive aura to the summon that increases the magicka regeneration of all nearby allies. Option two causes it to cast a healing spell on you when you’re low on health. In either case, having the winged twilight out can be a huge benefit to you (and your allies) in both PvP and PvE. Plus, she still has her nifty ranged attack.

This is just one example, of course.  We look at each summon individually to make sure it has a unique flavor that is useful in all game modes.  And I promise you that the Summon Storm Atronach ultimate does not have the problem of being too weak in PvP right now!


Will there be items or spells players can obtain that will cast an appearance illusion over them, making, say, a Breton look like an Argonian or a frost troll for a limited amount of time? - Jared Dennewitz

Yes. We have a disguise mechanic in the game, which allows you to equip an item that changes your appearance. This can be used for costuming purposes or, for instance, to infiltrate the camp of an enemy. There are also spells that change your appearance for a limited amount of time—these can change your appearance in more drastic ways than disguises can.


How will players be assigned to the PvP campaigns? Will it be based on their individual PvP skill or history, or maybe on their achievements in previous ESO campaigns? When electing to transfer to a different campaign, is the player able to choose the degree of challenge/skill of their next campaign by browsing various statistics of available campaigns? - Forrester Lavigne''

Characters are assigned campaigns on a character-by-character basis within your own account. You are not allowed to have an Ebonheart Pact character assigned to the same campaign as an Aldmeri Dominion character on your account. There will be campaigns after launch with various special rules (such as higher rank requirements) that you can elect to join.