The Elder Scrolls Online has released more details for The Dark Heart of Skyrim, which will be the focus of this upcoming year-long narrative starting with Harrowstorm DLC in February and continuing with an all new chapter in June, Greymoor.
Players will venture into Western Skyrim where a powerful Vampire Lord looks to cause trouble with dark and mysterious plans. Players will be tasked with defending the Nords there and to uncover the evil of this Vampire Lord.
Antiquities And Vampires
While there is no new class announcement this year, there are two major related pieces of news that should have a large impact on every class. First is the new skills lines that will be available through Antiquities. This looks to challenge players to explore the world in the search for lore-specific objectives, puzzles, mini-games, and more and will reward a broad range of furnishings, trophies, emotes, PvP siege weapons, and an exclusive mount.
Little else has been announced about Antiquities, but it looks to provide completionists players with a substantial amount to do in and around Tamriel. In many ways the concept of the Antiquities system looks similar to what World of Warcraft had in mind for the Archaeology system before it was shelved in its initial form.
The second piece of class-related news comes in a rework to the Vampire Skill Line, which should come as no surprise given the importance of Vampires in the upcoming story. The current iteration of Vampirism in Elder Scrolls Online has been available for years and can be purchased directly from the Crown Store or may also be acquired by being bitten by another Vampire at certain locations in the game.
It will be interesting to see how the Vampire Skill Line is adjusted, because right now it heavily favors use by Magic users above Stamina and has not seen much change since its initial release.
The Massive Blackreach We Wanted
A fan favorite activity in Skyrim is visiting Blackreach, the massive area filled with secrets and lore that can be entirely missed on early playthroughs. Prior to the reveal of this year’s content in Elder Scrolls Online, the general online consensus was that Blackreach might be too ambitious to be a part of the map, and instead might be a large dungeon, but the developers have invested fully into making the area a substantial part of the map.
Based on the initial presentation, roughly 40% of the entire new content map will be based solely on Blackreach with new areas that were not present in Skyrim. This of course can only mean that once the map for Blackreach is revealed in Elder Scrolls Online, it will only be a matter of time before all of the new areas are available in Skyrim through a mod.
In addition, mid-March will see the release of Ice Reach and Unhollowed Grave in Harrow Storm, consisting of new dungeons to explore and conquer. In addition, a massive new 12-player Trial awaits those who love a challenge for their groups in Kyne’s Aegis.
New Year, New Styles
The new content will also bring both new furnishings for player housing and new gear styles. There was no specific mention of an increase to the furnishing limits of current housing, which is rather strange considering it has been a highly-requested quality of life improvement for years now, and the addition of even more items themed after this year’s narrative is the perfect time to up the limit for each property.
Players will have a new, one-piece Mythic items to look forward too that will provide a distinct benefit, but of which only one can be worn at a time. As expected, these will require characters to be at CP160 to equip.
More information is sure to trickle out over the coming months, especially since the content for the third and fourth quarter has yet to be announced, though like last year, the emphasis is sure to be the continuation of the story as it develops and we learn more of the Vampire Lord and the plans for the Nords in Western Skyrim.
As always there are several pre-order bonuses, including:
- Sacrificial Pocket Mammoth pet
- Nightfall Preview Crown Crate featuring a select collection of Nightfall-themed items
- Western Skyrim Treasure Maps
- Player Adornment with a Jarl Crown, Crafted from horker leather and metal reworked from weapons, and Jarl Finery
- Two XP Scrolls
- Holdbreaker Warhorse Mount
2020 looks like another great year for Elder Scrolls Online, and it will be great to see what changes await the Vampire Skill Line, especially since the developers will need to balance the interests of current users who have grown accustomed their builds over the last several years, and newcomers who may be swayed to try the skill line with the development of the story.
Source: elderscrollsonline.com