The Elder Scrolls Online is still going strong in 2023 with its latest update “Necrom”. ESO has been around since 2014 and has seen its population grow over the years. Even though with a difficult start, the developers have maintained a stable population and managed to keep a lot of players interested and returning to the world of Tamriel. Necrom is the latest expansion that adds a highly- asked new class and a new mysterious region called “Telvanni Peninsula” to roam. Let’s see how the expansion holds its own in the MMO world.
Yes, ESO is still holding its own in the MMO world with a lot of content to go through. The developers genuinely hold their word and try to make the new experience a lot more accessible and yet interesting for the returning veteran/ hardcore fans. It’s not an easy balance to maintain but with each update the ESO team delivers, the world of Tamriel shines a bit brighter. The latest expansion isn’t any different because of its linear story progression with lots of new quests and more options to build the character you genuinely want. ESO offers a lot of customization freedom and stimulates the player to explore and experience the world around the player.
“It’s a moisture pack with lots of green flora and the occasional enormous mushroom jumping out of the scene.”
The Necrom update adds a mysterious region that can be found in Morrowind, namely the Telvanni Peninsula. It’s a moisture pack with lots of green flora and the occasional enormous mushroom jumping out of the scene. It’s an environment with enigmatic ruins to explore but you’ll have to be aware of Cthulu kind creatures that aren’t fond of invaders. It looks a lot like Vvardenfell but with those little touches that make the environment a bit more different than the region I’m comparing it to. You’ll find lots of new landmarks in the zone if you’re open to a bit of exploration during your quest to become the greatest.
You’ll also find the capital city of Necrom and it’s truly a sight to behold if you’re in a crowded area even though it’s nicknamed “The City of Death”. It has a mixture of medieval and Japanese kind of aesthetics that makes the city a unique place on its own. According to the lore, the city has been made out of the remains of a monster whose name I can’t pronounce but Google is there to figure it out by yourself. Within the city, you’ll find catacombs, a graveyard, a palace, a fortress, … In other words, you’ll have plenty of landmarks on which your eyes can feast upon. The first time you’ll enter the capital, you’ll have this feeling of being transported to an alienated planet.
“Nevertheless, there are a lot of quests that will give you lots of playtime which is a good thing!”
Besides the fact that you can explore this beautifully crafted region, you’ll also have plenty of content to do. Just with every expansion, you’ll have to talk to NPCs, accept quests, complete the accepted quests, and eventually do it all again. One thing I’ve noticed is that you won’t be getting out of the quest system quickly as you will gather a large amount of sidequests next to the main quests. It’s hard to keep track of all of these quests… Then again, quests equal experience points, storytelling, and items. It’s a give-and-take kind of situation… You need the quests to get stronger or progress the story, but you don’t want to make this game feel like work. Nevertheless, there are a lot of quests that will give you lots of playtime which is a good thing!
Also, it’s been a couple of expansions ago that ESO has introduced companions that’ll fight beside you during your journey. It’s an NPC that you can somewhat control. This companion can be equipped with skills, weapons, and armor to become the ultimate party member. The way these companions will act or perform their duty depends on the relationship you have with your companion. Companions will act or think about the actions you make or answers you give. This update also adds 2 more companions: a mercenary and an arcanist. Choose your ally carefully!
“It’s been a while since the game had a new class and it’s a breath of fresh air.”
The expansion also comes with a new damaging/ support/ healer class called “the Arcanist”. It’s been a while since the game had a new class and it’s a breath of fresh air. It’s also not a very difficult class to master and the visual effects are just amazing. The Arcanist is a mage that can grow into different talents: Herald of the Tome, Soldier of Apocrypha, and Curative Runeforms. These different talents also come with new skills (active & passive) and ultimate abilities. One of my favorite abilities to use is the green Kamehameha shooting out of the Arcanist’ bible but believe me when I say that the development team did a great job with the visual effects of every skill. For example, you’ll conjure up runes that spark with their glow, you’ll create healing wards to keep your party members’ health up and you can even summon an eye with tentacles that’ll blast your enemies from afar. You’ll probably already notice that the class can go in different directions. You can activate abilities to heal, deal damage, or protect.
The game still performs well and in some ways, the engine can make some of these regions look amazing, even though the engine is showing its age. I didn’t have any stuttering, glitches, … but then again, the world is so big that I’ll probably miss out on bugs or technical hiccups. The base game is free-to-play and offers an in-game shop for mainly cosmetics and additions to your account like extra classes, and expansions, … The in-game shop isn’t too revealing and I didn’t have been forced into buying stuff to complete my progression. Of course, if you want to play an expansion with its quality-of-life changes, you’ll have to buy the upgrade but the prices seem very reasonable.
Conclusion:
The Elder Scrolls: Necrom is a great addition to the available world of Tamriel. The expansion gives you a new class, a new zone, dozen of quests/ items, and companions, … in other words, it gives you worth for its money. The Arcanist class is a very fun class that can easily be picked up and mastered fairly easily. The zone is intriguing with its green flora and defensive fauna. Veteran players will see the similarities to VVardenfell but if you’re an explorer to heart then you’ll see some interesting landmarks or exciting pathways to find. Addition items and companions are always a plus. The ESO is still going strong as every expansion makes the game constantly move forward and also stimulates veteran or even new players to pick up the game and play.
