The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel One Thousand Years Ago

Following ZeniMax's recent AMA for The Elder Scrolls Online on Reddit, MMORPG.com has written up a new piece that explores the important elements that will separate TESO from the assortment of other fantasy-themed massively multiplayer RPGs out there. If it plays like a refined version of Skyrim with an enormous world and much greater character progression options, they might have a winner:
One of the things that is very exciting from the Q&A was the mention of Dragon Shrines in the Skyrim region. It is elements like this that will make the game feel very much like Elder Scrolls and not just another MMO. It will be these minor touches that really work the player into the game world. If I am traveling in Skyrim the first thing I want to do is go out and find the Dragon Shrines. Or possibly explore cities like Riften. These places stay with you as a gamer. So having them presented to you in a brand new game should be rewarding. The fact that the team is working heavily with other source materials from other games helps. However the real challenge is the re-delivery of these epic places, and making them feel like they did originally.

This is where the game of Elder Scrolls Online really needs to step up and capture what players come to expect from the world. As Bill mentioned in his (Making it Feel Like TES) article, there's a large need for many Dungeons. This is a major element to the world of Tamriel as we know it. Dungeons in any game are critical, they are the core of RPG ideals. However, bringing to life these dungeons presents a challenge to developers. The ability to get dungeons right in the eyes of the Elder Scrolls lore and then gear them for groups of players is really a hurculean task. Especially when you consider the fact that they will likely be open to anyone and not always instanced. You also have the team adding in the Public Dungeon system which will bring large groups of players to accomplish different goals in a separate zone. PDs are very different from raids or regular instanced dungeons, because anyone can enter them and begin battling monsters or doing quests without a preset group and they're not private to that group.