Rhymin' And Stealin': ESO Justice System Coming This January

The first phase of the ESO Justice System is releasing next month in Update 6

The highly anticipated Justice System is coming to The Elder Scrolls Online next month — this according to Game Director, Matt Firor. In today’s blog post aptly titled The Road Ahead, Firor explained that the Justice System will be implemented using a “phased approach.” Gamers will be able to steal from (and kill) NPCs in Update 6, but won’t be able to hunt down criminals PvP-style just yet.

We want to give everyone a heads up that we’ll be introducing the Justice System using a phased approach, much like what we’ve been doing with the Champion System. So, the first iteration of the Justice System will include Skyrim-style PvE elements-you’ll be able to steal from vendors, pickpocket NPCs, kill NPCs, have justice meted out to you by guards-but not with the PvP Enforcer part of the system.

The most important reason to do this is to make sure that the Justice System has a solid foundation before adding the extra PvP elements. As most of you know, PvP is by its very nature extremely difficult to predict. We want to have a stable system in place to build on before we add more unpredictable elements.

ESO Justice System

The ESO Justice System will add an entirely new — yet familiar — game dynamic. Like in Skyrim, players will have the freedom to steal, pickpocket, etc. Stolen goods can be fenced for a profit, and bounties will be placed on sneak-thieves caught in the act of committing crimes. While the changes may add an element of excitement for certain play-styles, Firor acknowledges the challenge of introducing the ESO Justice System to the MMORPG:

These are large changes to the game, and go hand-in-hand with our vision to add more freedom and sandbox-style elements to the world. It’s going to be a lot of fun, and we just need to make sure that we phase it in carefully to ensure the best experience for everyone.

To see the ESO Justice System in action, take a look at the following preview video from Quakecon 2014:

[youtube_sc url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAFdcsmJlKE”]