Bethesda has published their newest DLC expansion pack, Elsweyr, for The Elder Scrolls: Online (ESO) on June 4, but they still took the opportunity at E3 to reveal a fantastic new cinematic trailer that follows the story from the DLC announcement.
Elsweyr marks the third DLC Chapter for ESO, not to be confused with the smaller DLC packs also offered in the game. Those smaller packs that came before these large expansions focused mainly on certain guilds in the game, or adding single provinces with new story lines, and they could be purchased individually or accessed by players who subscribe to ESO Plus.
These larger expansions meanwhile add far more in terms of content and new areas to explore, and need to be purchased for access. First came Morrowind, followed by the Summerset Isles, and finally Elsweyr, the native homeland of the Khajiit.
What Happened In The Trailer, And Who Was There?
Fans of the series were given a blast of information as dragons arrived to burn Elsweyr, along with a bit of confusion with the appearance of Sai Sahan, who for some players is supposed to be quite dead if they made certain choices along their quest line previously.
The trailer begins following the actions of the previous announcement trailer, where Abnur Tharn, High Chancellor and Overlord of Nibenay and an original member of the Five Champions, inadvertently released Kaalgrontiid and his Rage of dragons from the Halls of Colossus. A bit of a silly mistake when considering that the man is 164 years old, he should know better.
In the trailer, we observe Tharn and his allies riding to save the city, including Khamira, the Khajiit who players have come to know as a central character in recent events, and likely a major player in the campaign to defeat the dragon threat as the Season of the Dragon continues to unfold.
The return of Sai Sahan was a high point for many fans watching the trailer, as he was a bit of a favorite during earlier quests. The confusion arises for some players because there is a point in another quest line where the player needs to choose among several characters to sacrifice. Sai Sahan is an option, though popular opinion online leads us to believe that Varen is the one who usually becomes sacrificed. Still, seeing him here feels a bit out of place for that reason.
On the other hand, since the revamp of player level scaling in ESO, players have had the option to go anywhere in the game and at anytime. Although there used to be a specific order to the content of the game dictated by level requirements, now a a new player can literally install ESO for the first time and go right into Elsweyr if they choose, so we need to take the timeline with a grain of salt.
The action rages on in the city, when finally one dragon threat is eliminated, but we see another looming overhead.
The Season Of The Dragon - What Lies Ahead?
Following this, Scalebreaker will launch in August with the inclusion of a dungeon-focused DLC pack, similar in size to the Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood DLC. The two new dungeons to are named Moongrave Fane and Lair of Maarselok. With regards to the Season of the Dragon story line, these will be quite challenging.
As players will no doubt experience throughout the season, destroying the dragons is a controversial subject, as not everyone wants to do so. For those that conquer these new dungeons, the potential reward is not only powerful new gear, but also unique collectibles.
Finally, Dragonhold will launch in November as the final DLC for the year, bringing the Season of the Dragon to a close. Here, a new zone will open in Southern Elsweyr named Pelitine, described as a lawless wasteland that was severely affected by a plague twenty years prior. Sai Sahan will join players there with the goal of reforming the ancient Dragonguard order, and to put a stop to the looming threat of dragons once and for all.
Players should also take note of a cross promotion between ESO and the card game Elder Scrolls: Legends. Players who have purchased and played the new content from now until June 24 can then log into Legends to receive 15 Moons of Elsweyr card packs, along with a Dragonstone card back. These will be accessible on June 27 with the new Legends expansion Moons of Elsweyr, so do not miss out on the free packs!
Conclusion
The future looks bright for ESO, as it has now for quite some time. Each expansion released has been well received and works to maintain its player base. Forbes recently sat down for an interview with Rich Lambert, the Creative Director at Zenimax Online Studio for the game. They discussed how each expansion has brought more and more players, and currently they sit at an impressive 13.5 million across all platforms.
ESO is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, and Mac. We do not usually mention Mac as a platform, but in this case it is relevant because PC and Mac players can play together, whereas PS4 and Xbox One players cannot, as they are on separate servers. With all the recent success of cross play in games like Dauntless, perhaps it is time to revisit this idea.
Also, would it be too much to ask to bring ESO to the Nintendo Switch? Probably, but we can dream.