Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road Trailer

As a passionate gamer and writer I seek to approach every game I review with an open mind. I try to immerse myself fully in each game I review, and analyze its unique strengths and weaknesses in hopes of delivering an honest assessment that can empower my audience to make informed decisions, and have the best gaming experience possible.

Elder Scrolls Online is a massively popular MMO-RPG that has been going strong for upwards of 10 years now. Set in the Iconic Elder Scrolls universe, a millennium before the events of Skyrim. Players will find Tamriel in a state of unrest, with the ruby throne empty, and the alliances at war. With conflict inevitable, and a Daedric invasion afoot the very world is at risk.

You can easily spend hundreds of hours exploring the vast map, and numerous quest lines. This game takes you through the heart of Tamriel, and its beautiful environments are expansive, and unique. Players have lots to do and explore, which can be daunting to new players. With access to the vast world so quickly after the tutorial, many players can find themselves unsure where to start. In this review I will walk you through what to expect.

Your main quests will center around battling against the evil forces of Molag Bal, a Daedric Prince set on capturing the Imperial throne, and melding the planes of Mundus with his dark domain: Coldharbour. You must face him and reclaim your soul, but that is just the beginning, as each area has its own trials and tribulations. 

Elder Scrolls Online Gameplay: 

The game begins with you creating your character. Elder Scrolls Online has a pretty customizable character creation system, that will have you making big decisions such as; which alliance you will join, what race you will play as, and which class you will play. Race will assign you different added stats, and dictate which alliance is available to you. 

Alliances:

Imperials pick any alliance, every other race is limited to the alliance they follow.

Ebonheart Pact: Dunmer, Nord, Argonian

Aldmeri Dominion: Altmer, Bosmer, Khajiits

Daggerfall Covenant: Breton, Orc, Redguard

Races: 

Brenton: Strong magicka passives, great for magicka damage dealer, or healer builds. 

Redguard: Strong weapon focused passive abilities, great for weapon ability focused builds.

Orc: One of the stronger playable races with health and stamina boosts. They also get a faster running speed making them multifaceted and a great option for players that want to focus on PvP.

High Elf (Altmer): One of the stronger magicka boosted races, with substantial magicka and spell damage boosts. They also get reduced damage when casting or channeling which makes them a great choice for magicka based builds.

Wood Elf (Bosmer): Strong focus on stealth based abilities such as increased detection radius, and faster movement. They are a great choice if you want to pursue a roguelike build.

Khajiit: This race has versatile benefits with both stamina and magicka boosted, and a critical damage buff. You can easily hide in the shadows with detection radius reduction, or take a more offense based approach with strong critical hits.

Nord: Strong focus on tanking based passives. If you are looking for a tank build look no further, because the ultimate regeneration passive is one of the strongest in the game. 

Dark Elf (Dunmer): A versatile playable race with strengths in both stamina and magicka based builds. Also resistant to fire, making them a great option for vampirism. 

Argonian: Strong in healing, and make a great tank. They get an added return when drinking potions, and can swim faster.

Imperial: Get to choose which alliance you join. Imperials receive strong boosts in both stamina, and health. In addition they also get reduced ability costs.

Classes:

Dragonknight: Uses the ancient Akaviri martial arts tradition of battle-spirit to gain powerful buffs, and deal fire damage. Play as a skillful masters-at-arms, and unlock abilities such as Draconic Power, and Ardent Flame.

Necromancer: Play as a master of death, and call upon corpses to serve your cause. Use a mastery of the elements, and weave ghastly spells to both heal and harm.

Nightblade: Utilize the power of physical and magical damage through your blades. Rely on your endless supply of stealth, luck, and cunning to survive any scenario, and deal devastating criticals. 

Sorcerer: Play as a master of dark magic who can summon Daedric combat followers. Use the powers of conjuration and destruction to hurl damage with fire, and lighting magic.

Templar: Call upon the power of the flaming sun to deal powerful light based attacks, and heal your allies. Unlock abilities such as Restoring Light, and Dawn’s Wrath. 

Arcanist: Uses the power of Oblivion through Apocryphal runes to heal, defend, and deal damage. Utilizes the eldritch energies of Hermaeus Mora’s realm.

Warden: A defender of the Green, and balance of nature. Uses the power of nature to heal, and damage with magic abilities such as Winter’s Embrace, and Animal Companions. 

In addition to these important gameplay decisions character  creation will also allow you to choose; to play as a male or female character, height, body type (ranging on a scale of muscular, largeness, and thinness), hair style/color, markings, and comprehensive face customization options ranging from eye size/color/positioning to makeup/markings. You have many choices, and can create a wide variety of character appearances. 

The World:

The World of Elder Scrolls Online has many activities to occupy your time outside of the main quests, from dungeons to home ownership. As you explore the vast world you will find a seemingly endless amount of fun things to try and experience. For instance you can find fishing areas throughout your adventures, and catch your own fish. You can then cook the fish at any cooking fire and eat it whenever you find yourself in need of some extra health. Crafting is a big part of Elder Scrolls. If you seek out the resources, and learn the skills you can spend a lot of time crafting anything from furniture to swords and armor.  

Crafting Skills (Professions):

alchemy: The study of potions and poisons. Craft them by binding two or more reagents with a solvent. 

Blacksmithing: The art of crafting heavy armor, and weapons from metal. Craft using raw materials.

Clothing: The art of crafting light and medium armor. Craft using raw materials.

Enchanting: The art of enhancing weapons, armor, and jewelry using Glyphs. Craft Glyphs from Runes.

Jewelry Crafting: (Summerset expansion DLC) The art of crafting and improving jewelry. 

Woodworking: The art of crafting objects such as staves, bows, shields, and furniture from raw wood. 

The map of Elder Scrolls Online is expansive and easily dwarfs Skyrim, the most recentElder Scrolls installment. For comparison, Skyrim's map is estimated to be approximately 37 kilometers squared, and the Elder Scrolls Online map is estimated to be approximately 400 kilometers squared. You could easily play hundreds of hours and still have new areas and quests to do. 

The NPCs are the heart of this world, and the dialogue while it can be drawn out is interesting. The voice acting is expansive and better than any other MMO I've ever played.  In your exploits you will interact with countless NPCs, and while some are forgettable, some will become comrades and friends that fight by your side. The attention to detail put into these characters is incredible, and certainly adds to the experience. 

Graphics:

The Elder Scrolls Online - Console Enhanced Preview

The environments are truly stunning and detailed, as you might expect from an Elder Scrolls game. The graphics look good in 4k, and most player complaints in this regard have to do with textures, shading, and more widely on action animations. The older areas look a bit out of date, and clothes/hair that have a “fake” look are also a concern. There is definitely room for improvement..

Combat:

Elder Scrolls Online: High Isle Delve

The combat is fun and varied, you will find yourself facing many different enemies in your travels from trolls to cultists. The combat generally can be on the easier side, but if you want a challenge You can always go to a dungeon or play PvP. The combat animations can feel a bit floaty, and can look a bit janky when someone cancels a move. 

On top of the PvE most players would expect of an Elder Scrolls game there is also a robust PvP system. 

PvP:

Dueling: Duels can take place in any overland zone (not indoors or in a dungeon) Players can challenge each other to a Duel, and then the other player  can choose to decline the fight or accept. If accepted  a countdown will begin and then the last player standing wins. 

Alliance War: (Available after lvl 10) Players can travel to Cyrodiil to battle on behalf of their alliance. You can capture Keeps, resources, and Outposts for your alliance. The ultimate goal is to capture all six of the keeps and crown an Emperor.

Battlegrounds: 4v4v4 PvP arenas, available after reaching lvl 10. Three teams of 4 will be pitted against each other in different game-modes. 

DLC:

ESO has acquired a lot of DLC content over the years by adding new expansions, dungeons, and quests each year since its release in 2014. The expansions are certainly worth it if you have invested enough time that you are looking for a new adventure. 

The following DLC contain zone expansions:

Gold Road (June 3, 2024) : Unlocks new quests, and the Colovian region of West Weald, the city of Skingrad, scribing system, new item sets, collectibles, achievements.

Necrom (June 5, 2023) : Unlocks the Telvanni Peninsula, the city of Necrom, Hermaeus Mora’s realm of Apocrypha, the Arcanist class, new storyline, quests, two new companions, item sets, collectibles, and achievements.

Firesong (November 1, 2022) : Unlocks new questlines, the island of Galen, collectibles, achievements, and item sets.

High Isle (June 6, 2022) : Unlocks High Isle and Amenos, new quests, collectible card game: Tales of Tribute, two new companions, item sets, collectibles, and achievements. 

Deadlands (November 1, 2021) : Unlocks Gates of Oblivion adventure conclusion, new quests, the city of Fargrave, the Prince of Destruction’s realm of Oblivion, new item sets, collectibles, titles, cosmetics, and pets.

Blackwood (June 1, 2021) : Continues the Gates of Oblivion questline, unlocks the region of Blackwood, the Companions system, unique loot, and relics.

Markarth (November 2, 2020) : Concludes the Dark Heart of Skyrim storyline, the area of The Reach, and Vateshran Hollows a solo arena.

Greymoor (May 26, 2020) : Starts/continues the Dark Heart of Skyrim storyline, includes new quests, two new zones to explore, and unlocks the Antiquities system.

Dragonhold (October 21, 2019) : Unlocks Southern Elsweyr , includes new quests, item sets, and collectibles.

Elsweyr (May 20, 2019) : Continues the Season of the  Dragon storyline, unlocks Northern Elsweyr,  Necromancer Class, the 12 player Trial in Sunspire, Dragon Attacks world events, new collectibles, and styles.

Murkmire (October 22, 2018) : Unlocks the zone of Murkmire, new quests, Blackrose prison (a group arena), armor sets, styles, furnishing items, and collectibles.

Summerset (May 21, 2018) : Unlocks the zone of Summerset, the island of Artaeum, new Psijic Order combat skill line, 12- player Trial: Cloudrest, new quests, Abyssal Geysers PvE challenge, Jewelry Crafting Skill Line, item sets, collectibles, and achievements. 

Clockwork City (October 23, 2017) : Unlocks the zone of the Clockwork City, new quests, 12-player challenge Asylum Sanctorium, armor sets, access to the Transmute Station. 

Morrowind (June 6, 2017) : Unlocks the island of Vvardenfell, new class: Warden, new quests, Battlegrounds new PvP mode, 12-player trial the Halls of Fabrication, collectibles, dyes, styles, and item sets. 

Dark Brotherhood (May 31, 2016) : Unlocks the Dark Brotherhood guild questline, new region of the Gold Coast, and new faction skill line, costumes, and item sets.

Thieves Guild (March 7, 2016) :Unlocks the Thieves Guild questline, new region: Hew’s Bane, new quests, new faction skill line, 12-player trial: Maw of Lorkhaj, new items, and armor sets.

Orsinium (November 2, 2015) : Unlocks the zone of Wrothgar, The Maelstrom Arena, two new dungeons, and new gear.

Imperial City (August 31, 2015) : Unlocks 6 Imperial City Districts, new quests, two new dungeons, collectibles, and Tel Var Stones (a new currency for legendary armor).

In Game Purchases: 

Other than DLC there are still a lot of additional in game purchases. Everything from bag space upgrades to houses are available to purchase with “crowns” , an in game currency that can be bought with money. These sort of purchases are pretty standard in an MMO game, but it is a bit irritating. 

Developer:

Elder Scrolls Online is developed by ZeniMax Online, and produced by Bethesda Softworks. Zenimax was created to bring Elder Scrolls into an online format, and collaborated on the lore, and quest writing with Bethesda. Fans have certainly had mixed opinions about the frequency and quality of in game patches. Many fans worry about past issues with glitchy updates. 

Price:

Steam: 

Standard Edition: $19.99 
Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road: $49.99

PlayStation: (PS4/PS5):

Base Game Edition: $19.99
Gold Road Edition: $59.99

Xbox: (Xbox One/Xbox Series S/X):

Elder Scrolls Online: $19.99
Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Gold Road: $59.99

Rating:

The game's quests and story are fun and super expansive. I enjoyed the main storyline, and was surprised how many different game openings they have created over the years. The use of various story openings, and the ability of players to choose where they begin their adventure is interesting if a bit daunting. 

Quests throughout ESO are filled with interesting lore. Such as in the quest: Chiaroscuro Crossroads, where you get a fascinating look into ancient Khajiiti myth and religion. As you explore quests can give you insight into the region's past, and present. Like in the quest The Tones of the Deep, in which players get a look into the history of the Dwemer,while exploring the remains of a ruin filled with history, and secrets. These stories make exploring that much more fun. 

The quests and stories are immensely enjoyable. If you are a fan of Elder Scrolls, or fantasy games as a whole, you should certainly give this game a try.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:

• Huge world to explore
• Gorgeous environment
• Fully voice acted
• Good story/lore
• Flexible classes
• Fun and interesting quests
• Lots of content

Cons:

• Developer doesn't always listen to the community
• Combat can be overly simple
• Inventory  space is a constant issue
• A lot of the cool gear/mounts/homes are behind pay barriers
• Can be buggy
• Servers are crowded 

Verdict: 8.8/10

Improvements:

The ESO has been incredibly successful over the years, and has a large player base. There is certainly room for improvement that could make a great game truly awesome. I think that starts with listening to the fan community, and making the changes they recommend possible. The community is passionate, and cares alot about the game, and the subject matter. Working out the details of the in game physics, and animations would be clear improvements, and show that the developers are listening and not just focused on the next dlc. 

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