The Elder Scrolls Online Q&A details combat, party mechanics

If there's a significant element The Elder Scrolls Online picks up from its predecessors, its fighting. Lots of it. That, and players completely disregarding the story and running off to some nearby ruins right after character creation. But that's an entirely different story —the latest round of answered community questions on the official website deals solely with combat and party composition, a pair of mechanics critical to most MMOs. ZeniMax studio members provide answers for both topics.

Responding to a question about the importance of keeping the tank-healer-damager trinity in party setups, ZeniMax reveals it won't be as strongly necessary as in other games. It cites some positive feedback from testing groups using non-traditional party makeups to clear content, including one with a Sorcerer wearing heavy armor and dual-wielding weapons. I'm glad to learn my shirtless, unarmed Orc vagrant character stands a chance during dungeon play.

Other answers deal with the game's soft-lock targeting system, where players can select a specific target to hit in a group of enemies so long as they're facing the correct direction. It should be useful for melee adventurers in singling out a weak enemy during a scrap or for archers and spell-slingers to more easily pick a foe, though the given explanation doesn't elaborate on the possible uses of soft-lock with crowd-control or area-wide abilities.

Lastly, you won't need to worry about kill-stealing, as ZeniMax says The Elder Scrolls Online uses a form of shared mob tapping for experience and loot. So, if you ever see me trying to fend off a snow troll matriarch after failing to steal some precious troll fat, please don't hesitate to help.

The rest of the Q&A features more answers on the game's combat, so have a look here .

Omri Petitte is a former PC Gamer associate editor and long-time freelance writer covering news and reviews. If you spot his name, it probably means you're reading about some kind of first-person shooter. Why yes, he would like to talk to you about Battlefield. Do you have a few days?