The Elder Scrolls Online Preview and Video Interviews

While we wait to see the game showcased at E3, we have rounded up some more coverage on ZeniMax Online's The Elder Scrolls Online, which aims to bring Bethesda's fantasy setting in the MMO space, and has already been the subject of heated discussion in the fan community.

EDGE has a feature on the title's monster design:
"When you move in, mages will try and run away and then cast spells, the warriors will try to close with you, the rogues will try and sneak around and backstab you. At the moment we have about 35 different kinds of NPCs, all with their own tactics, and they all work together.)

With the game loaded up, it's fascinating to watch it all happen. Frost mages will try to generate frost shields for their allies to fight behind, and they'll also attempt to freeze players to the spot, so that a standard foot soldier, for example, can then get in close and lay on melee damage. Necromancers, meanwhile, will be on hand to raise any downed allies from the dead as skeletons. It's crucial to prioritise targets correctly.

(Each monster has their own iconic behaviour and attack, and so the combat situations vary depending on who's in the combat,) explains gameplay designer Maria Aliprando. (Combat really depends on monsters, but because of these iconic behaviours we've given them, when you see the monsters, you know what they're going to do.

While PC Gamer has a video interview with team members Maria Alipandro, Nick Konkle and Brian Wheeler and one with game director Matt Firor. Between them there's more than 20 minutes of discussing the game's combat design, how they plan on making the players feel part of a bigger alliance, the game's ability design and more.