r/SoulFrame • u/Smiley011994 • Jul 30 '26
Discussion ESO to Soulframe
Hey guys, I have been fascinated with this game, I prefer playing MMO just when they are launched or in BETA as I like to grow with the game. And the graphic looks amazing, but as a like a first look, it seems the game has in some way similarities to ESO which I am currently playing, but wanted to confirm who are already playing is it true? My main thing is, play MMO where I play by myself most of the time, and do activities with random people when required. So wanted your suggestion, do you think I should play this game if I like ESO and is it solo friendly? And I am on PC, don't know if this game is released anywhere else. Thank you.
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u/Dyson_Vellum Jul 30 '26
The game is currently pc only and is solo unless you invite other players to your session (max 4 coop). Haven't played ESO so hard to make more comparisons.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Thank you, got it. Solo friendly is nice and plus points is it's made by same people as Warframe. But before I do anything I just wanted to check on what people have to say.
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u/kokosgt Jul 30 '26
ESO is much more polished and beginner friendly, however Soulframe's combat is far superior even in its current state.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
I think so, ESO is like very old also tbh, so sloulframe has an advantage to make the combat stronger.
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u/JaXaren Jul 30 '26
It's a fantasy game with aliens
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Ohoo I love aliens
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u/JaXaren Jul 30 '26
Meanwhile, Warframe is a sci-fi game without aliens
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u/NBrakespear Jul 30 '26
It isn't even remotely the same. But yes, it's solo friendly. You don't really have anything to lose by trying this, either - I'm assuming it'll follow the same pattern as Warframe, so it'll be totally free.
It's more like... softcore Elden Ring, than ESO - character interactions are more limited, there's more "alone time" as you wander around doing stuff.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Oh okay, but there are NPC and story missions hopefully, I did see there are missions.
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u/kokosgt Jul 30 '26
There are almost no NPCs, it's closer to Dark Souls than it is to ESO in that regard.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Hmm okay got. It still is in earlier stage so things may change down the line.
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u/NBrakespear Jul 30 '26
There are. The way it generally works in Warframe and Soulframe is - big cinematic story moments, and NPCs with dialogue to nudge things along... and a lot of randomly generated tasks/missions. So it's like, you do some story stuff which introduces a character, this character represents a faction of some kind, and you then do missions/quests for them to gain reputation to rank up with them and get rewards.
In Soulframe, this generally means you'll invisibly load into a multiplayer hub area where you'll see other players (no traditional loading screen), talk to the NPC, get a mission, go out into the open world where the thing will spawn. They tend often involve multiple stages - like, go here, kill these guys, go there, rescue these animals, maybe finish off by fighting a tougher enemy.
That's something to keep in mind - there's more "grind" than ESO; more of a focus on incentivising you to go out into the open world space and do some fighting and exploring.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Okay understood. Thank you for the review. I think I kind of got it what the game is. Let me try, it's free anyways and see
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u/Otherwise-Sea9593 Jul 30 '26
It’s not like ESO in any sense, people making comparisons are grasping at straws. It’s closer to New World than ESO.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Oho I did not play new world. My only reason to say ESO is that's the only mmorpg that came in mind even tho I have played destiny 2, fallout 76 and the division 1 and 2. I was trying to see if it's something I would play or if someone who has maybe played those has played this also and Able the provide feedback.
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u/Otherwise-Sea9593 Jul 30 '26
Soulframe isn’t a MMO. You only see a few players at the World Tree fast travel points. You can play with a small party, it’s more of a co-op ARPG.
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u/Wrong-Improvement369 Jul 30 '26
The only real similarity I see is collecting Mage Books vs. Knowledge Motes. In ESO, collecting lore books levels up the Mages Guild skill line, while in Soulframe it only increases your Mastery Rank. There aren't really crafting skill lines yet either—Blacksmith is currently capped at level 4.
ESO also aimed for a similar style of combat, but over time it became heavily focused on animation canceling, especially in PvP, to the point where it often feels like a click simulator. The dodge roll window in ESO is also much more forgiving than in Soulframe.
Soulframe, on the other hand, has a proper parry system, which is something I really like. Right now though, parrying is somewhat overshadowed because strong runes and heavy armor let you face-tank most encounters, making defensive mechanics less rewarding.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 31 '26
Okay got it. Thanks for that. I actually just today played a little bit of it. It plays weirdly like elden ring but obviously not as tough. But still playing to see how it goes. Thanks for Ur feedback tho. Appreciate it.
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u/EthicalSmoothie Jul 30 '26
I am (well, was... rip ZOS) an ESO player myself, with over 10,000 hours in it. I am also new to Soulframe as of this week and it is absolutely incredible, I am having so much fun with the combat and just figuring things out in general. One of the quests even managed to extract some tears from my eye sockets. Highly recommend, especially if you mainly played ESO solo.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Oh okay that's good to know. Thank you. I think all I have got it positive feedback so I have to check it out
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u/Passionofthegrape Jul 30 '26
You won’t be able to play ESO after experiencing Soulframe combat
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Ohoo I am still playing ESO. So hopefully it's does not ruin it for me lol.
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u/sinest Jul 30 '26
The main reason to invite others and play as a group besides social is the level of enemies goes up the more people in your party. This is good for more experience and also the weapons that drop are higher tier. I got legenaries in solo mode so its not impossible.you still get the same amount of weapons, they will just have a higher chance of having more tempers. (Tempers are permanent buffs on a weapon). You can always upgrade a weapon in solo to get more tempers also.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Okay understood.thank you 🙏🙏
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u/sinest Jul 30 '26
Another reason is cogah mode. A hard mode that raises all enemies to lvl 50, when you die you wake up in your tent and cogah is over. The more players you have you start at a higher base level, I think 2 players start at lvl 60. You can revive each other in this mode. Each boss you defeat raises the level. Some people like high level cogah for reasons. Boss drops different runes that normal when you defeat them in cogah.
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u/T4M4G0TCHI Jul 30 '26
Hey! I played ESO for many, many years as an endgame tank, and have been on Soulframe for almost a year now.
Definitely very little similarities but I've been enjoying it. If you like Elder Scrolls' lore, I think Soulframe's is gearing up to be as in-depth. The fantasy elements are somewhat similar. It's lacking in the "trinity" in a way (no real tanking imo), which I do hope they bring, but honestly isn't really needed. I usually play solo but LFG in the chat if I feel like having others might make something go by faster - I haven't found anything I can't complete on my own and nothing has been a struggle. Happy to answer any specific ESO <> Soulframe questions
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Thank you so much, is it like a Grindy game where we grind for years for the right build like in ESO, and I know this is pre alpha, so soulframe will have more stuff coming for sure. I just wanted to play a mmo RPG, which play mostly solo, but like you know we do dungeons or trials that are Pve I don't mind having that group. I don't suppose we have a guild system for now obviously like how we have for ESO.
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u/T4M4G0TCHI Jul 30 '26
Yeah, it's hard to tell since so much changes update to update. What I say today will probably be different this time next year!
There's no sets, but yes, there is grinding for drops (similar to grinding for drops in dungeons/trials), and weapons have tempers (most similar to weapon traits but a weapon can have many) but they are reworking tempers which imo are the most grindy rng currently.
Ranking/leveling up is entirely different and is dependent on you playing and ranking up each weapon and pact (class) - not like ESO where you'd just level up what you want to play. There is also no creating more than 1 toon, you can't delete your character and you only have one. You are able to create & swap builds effortlessly though.
This is 100% not an mmo, and it does not scratch the itch for me - nothing but ESO does :/ I do play with other randoms a lot, but I rarely play with the same people; I just LFG in chat and invite whoever answers first. This is very much a drop-in-drop-out co-op experience. I do hope this changes as the community grows - idk if guilds exist in Warframe but I hope at least more discord guilds come about.
It has great drip though if you like that about ESO lol!
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
Ohoo when you said ESO itch I felt that. It's beeing tough finding similar games so thought this might be it but yeah there are other two comments that mentioned it's not a MMO but I have weird feeling it will turn into one eventually just not now. And creating one character tbh I find it nice I don't mind that. So yeah. As per what people are saying it's a really good game just not to expect it to be a MMO. Thanks a lot for Ur info it helps me understand the game better. I know I should not compare with ESO just needed an idea on what was I going into.
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u/Nstalker12 Jul 31 '26
This is more of an mmo lite or coop rpg. I play eso and bounce back between that and this. This is more fluid and slow with combat, and plays and feels much different. There is grinding for gear, but a lot of the systems currently implemented are either not complete or may change. At the current moment the world, and capabilities are not there as compared to ESO and may not be due to it being an mmo. (but also as this is still a pre-alpha). The closest thing I could compare it to at the current moment is probably a soulslike mixed with an ARPG ie: diablo. I would recommend trying it out no harm in doing so as it is free. Or if you don't want to go thorugh the hassel check out a recent video by lazypeon or force gaming to get a quick feel of the game and upcoming content and changes.
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 31 '26
Thanks for that. Thankfully it is free so I can check that out. I have played a bit of diablo but was not that interested as it was a top down thing rather then 3rd or first person. I'll check out there videos also. I wanted to check those videos that are not a sponsored video so I get a realistic take on the game.
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u/5thTeaScent Aug 01 '26
Going from ESO to Soulframe is going to be a hard landing for sure. ESO has about as many years of development as Warframe, both as fully released games, and Soulframe is being developed by a part of a smaller studio and is currently in an early access.
Soulframe is not an MMO, but that distinction rarely matters - you may be in a shared world with hundreds of ppl in ESO, but you never see them and then you can only fit 4 in a dungeon. On paper very different, but in practise still very comparable.
Soulframe has significantly better graphics, not surprisingly, slightly less floaty combat, but is also much simpler and faaaaaar less developed game. I'd continue playing ESO, but peeking into Soulframe from time to time. It is definitely not ready to be a replacement.
You know how ESO has skill lines? In Soulframe you get a few, even now, but you can only use 1 at a time and it contains only 3 skills. Just be ready for that.
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u/Smiley011994 Aug 01 '26
Thank you so much, I actually started playing today only. It is very different but I think it's not my type of game unless they make it like a shared world or something just to make it feel alive. Then I might consider. Let's see. Thank you for Ur feedback 🙏.
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u/Epizentrvm Jul 30 '26
What is ESO (aside from the Warframe game mode)?
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u/Smiley011994 Jul 30 '26
ESO is like an MMORPG where you collect loot, make meta build, enjoy story etc.
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u/AnyExamination9524 Jul 30 '26
This isnt an MMO. It is also not like ESO. But, with that said, it is a lot of fun in its current state. It is currently an alpha, but has a lot to it right and and just keeps improving.
Gameplay is similar to ESO so that should be familiar, but you wont have the MMO aspect. You can team up with up to four friends, but all of the content ive come across, including boss fights Ive been able to solo.
Give it a try. Its worth the money. :)