Summerset took us to “Altmer” which is the luxurious homeland of the High Elves society and this time around we’re going to a more savage dried-out area called “Elsweyr” which is the homeland of the Khajiit. As you would expect, traveling to a new area in The Elder Scrolls Online isn’t just for pleasure but also for business… and this new environment will test your skills on a whole other level.
The expansion “Elsweyr” takes you to the homeland of the well-known Khajiit. It seems that there’s trouble in paradise as 2 new threats rose and cause havoc to the inhabitants of this mysterious landscape. A couple of years ago, the Khajiit were confronted with the Imperials. The Imperials invaded the land under the supervision of a powerful sorceress named Eurexia Tharn. She uses her tremendous powers to rule the land of the Khajiit and she does this with the help of her Necromancers. If this wasn’t serious yet, there’s also the half-brother you’ll have to deal with. Abnur Tharn has opened the sealed doors of the Hall of Colossus which cleared a pathway for the horde of dragons awakened from their sleep. As you might expect, the dragons don’t take their imprisonment lightly… They set the area in fire, claiming what’s rightfully theirs.
“Even though the story might not be as original as you expected, it definitely gets you going.”
Seeing the land’s destruction on so many levels, it’s up to you to help the victims, restore order and hunt a dragon or two. What better way to join the fight than to join some brothers in arms, the Khajiit Defense Force. With this team of excellent Khajiit fighters, you plan out your attacks and defend the homeland from the destructive dragons. The story of Elsweyr is filled with interesting characters and story elements. You’ll even come across Sir Caldwell which comes across as one of the most unique characters in the Elder Scrolls Online. The story lets itself inspire by other fantasy stories you might have heard or seen. Even though the story might not be as original as you expected it definitely gets you going.
Once again, the MMORPG style is definitely present in “Elsweyr”. You follow the main quest to get through the story, but this new environment is also filled with lots of side quests to do. All of these side quests help with your progression and lets you explore the new lands while doing them. It’s up to you what side quests you pick up. The game doesn’t force you to do something that you don’t want to do, the game’s designed to play the game at your own pace as the environments and quests scale to your current level. This enhances the gameplay experience for all those casual players out there. The side quests are varied and help you to understand the culture of the Khajiit. They also bring you a new challenge: dragons. The dragons flying over the land is a sight for the sore eyes of the adventurer. The moment the dragon hits land, it’s “AALLLL ABOARD!!”- the dragon hunting train. The world events with the dragons are a great addition to the game and help with the immersion of the new expansion.
Aside from the main story and side quests, there’s also the new class we should talk about it: the Necromancer! The Necromancer opens up our horizons and lets us harness the power of the undead mage. It’s a very unique class that a lot of people will like. The Necromancer can go into different directions: an absorbing the dead kind of tank or a resurrecting sorcerer. Whatever you do, the dead will power up your abilities, making you a versatile killing machine. Just like any other class, the more you use a certain branch of power, the more levels you gain within that certain area. This allows you to morph skills from that branch into something more powerful. The Necromancer often gets the chance to choose between a skill that uses magicka or a skill that uses stamina. The one is more focused on healing yourself while the other one uses stamina to poison your enemies and deal DOT damage. Either way, the Necromancer is a versatile class that allows you to come up with a role that suits your playstyle the best. You can become a tank with bone armor, a healer with an amazing scythe ability or you can go for the support which will grant you debuff powers. Whatever role you choose, there’s something there within the class. Have fun and experiment!
The landscape of Elsweyr gets its inspiration of different fantasy stories within the setting of a desert-like environment. You can tell that Zenimax Studios did some research about lost cities buried under tons of sand. The environment is filled with mysterious temples and ruins of intimidating architectures. All of this, with the sandy breeze included, sets up the atmosphere amazingly. The sound quality of skills and conversations are very well done, but the Khajiit’s way of talking is something you either hate or love.
Conclusion:
Elsewyr is just a great addition to the Elder Scrolls Online universe. The way they’ve handled things like story questing, world bosses, new class options, … couldn’t be done in any other way. The story isn’t original but it’s great to glue all of the missing pieces together to form a masterpiece of an expansion that’ll keep you going for a couple of hours. The new zone is filled with interesting characters, mysterious ruins, lots of things to do and don’t forget the dragons in the form of world bosses. Above all of these elements, there’s also a new class “the necromancer” which opens up so many possibilities for new exciting ways to play the game. Hopefully, the game still grows and delivers quality products just like this one. If so, we’re in for a treat!
