With all the things to consider and discuss about ESO, it seems many (including myself) were blindsided by Zenimax's emphasis on crafting in the game. Crafting has sort of fallen by the wayside over the years, but ZOS is looking to bring it back in force with Elder Scrolls Online and so far their implementation has been received quite well.
I don't know if this is something they expected to resonate so strongly with MMO fans or were equally caught by surprise, but ZOS recently jumped at the opportunity to take advantage of interest in the game's suite of crafting features by highlighting one of the more interesting but not readily apparent things they are doing with crafting in ESO in a new developer video. In addition to all the interesting elements of the game's crafting system, ESO will also feature item sets, and these item sets can only be crafted at unique crafting tables found scattered throughout the game world.
I first discovered this in a recent beta event and found myself incredibly excited about the possibilities. Making crafting rewarding and also giving those interested in crafting a reason to explore the world instead of just sitting at the forge in town all day are both encouraging to see in a new MMO. The most dedicated crafters will undoubtedly know all the item set table locations and set themselves apart in the market by providing players with fine tuned item set pieces to purchase. I expected something out of ESO's crafting, but I don't think I was expecting the team to put this much emphasis on it.
Even if you don't care about crafting, you'll still want to take a look at the video. Why? Well, ZOS heard players loud and clear about the lack of 'feedback' in combat and it looks like at least some of their efforts to improve feedback have made it into the build used for the video. If you pause the video around the two minute mark and watch the developers fight the tigers, you'll notice the improved melee combat (especially in third person). For example, note the subtle pauses when the player connects his blade with the tiger. This is a common technique used in many action games to deliver a sense of impact and it looks like ZOS is also making use of this technique to amp things up a bit.
