Well, we have declared Skyrim the best WRPG of the decade, and now continuing our decade in gaming retrospective, it is time to look at the best MMORPG of the decade, and our choice is The Elder Scrolls Online. ESO is masterful example of taking a game that seemed destined to be a failure and turning things around. was Elder Scrolls Online. Rather than write the game off as a failed spinoff and move on, Bethesda Softworks and Zenimax Online instead decided to take a second look and find a way to make it work.
After masking necessary changes, the developers managed to win back the audience, people began to see the Elder Scrolls Online as being unlike any other Online RPG. The game actually has a lot of single player content available and adds heavily to the world of TES and the series lore by building either on mentioned events or showing previously undocumented ones. Journeying across Tamriel and exploring the different regions is breathtaking and the combat is actually much more fun this time, while still remaining true to the spirit of the series.
Whether it is exploring the land of the Orcs, to stopping the Planemeld, or returning to Morrowind in a beautiful expansion that acts as both a prequel to that game and at the same time also managing to offer clues and hints to what happened later in the main series ( you have to love that non linear storytelling), Elder Scrolls Online has something for everyone. We finally get to see the homeland of the Altmer and the Khajit and actually see things that have only been referenced in the lore before. This has become the breeding ground for new ideas in the series and exploring ideas only vaugley discussed before. The interesting thing however, is the fact that the game often has hints at future ideas that could happen in the franchise, as well as presenting some established figures in a new light.
What makes ESO work so much better than other MMORPGs is how it not only eases into playing with others, but also provides an experience for those who want to experience the game on their own. After all, the game has a lot of new lore additions and content, but some people may not want to play an MMO to experience them. Elder Scrolls Online instead perfectly marries the MMORPG and single player RPG styles of gameplay, and creates something special. At the same time, teaming with other players to take on dungeons and quests is excellent, and there are also mechanics to prevent griefers from bothering people playing by themselves. Gameplay ideas from Skyrim were taken and expanded and adapted for a multiplayer style such as expanding the marriage system and actually making it useful, while mechanics from Morrowind and Oblivion returned such as Oblivion style lockpicking, but much more refined now.
The Elder Scrolls Online is many things. It is a game that brings the world of Tamriel to many people at once, as well as a game that allows the developers to test out new ideas for future games. At the same time, however it is a game that allows players to see locations from previous games or that were mentioned in lore and see them in all there glory. It is a tribute and an expansion of the Elder Scrolls series, and serves to compliment it rather than replace it. It is the best MMORPG of the decade.