I’ve been a bit of a MMO nomad the past few months since Legion lost its luster for me. I’ve spent a lot of time with single player RPGs doing reviews for this site but not much with multiplayer. I stuck my toes back into the FFXIV water the other day. I’ll be attending FanFest in Germany next week so I figured what better time? That fascination didn’t last long. Then the news dropped that ESO was going to have a new “chapter” release this year and my attention was quickly pulled in that direction.
I used to play ESO a lot. Some of you may even remember the weekly video segment I did for about a year. I stopped playing before the Imperial City DLC released and much has changed since then. Turns out most of it for the better. It has taken me a few days to get readjusted and it was intimidating to learn the game over again, and I’m still learning, but I’m glad I stuck with it past that initial shock. I did try to get back into ESO once before and stopped because all of the change but not this time. (Mostly because all my points had been reset and everything was killing me. This was before the One Tamriel update).
On my first night back I spent most of the time just relearning the the different parts of the UI. All of my skills had been reset and I had 10 champion points to spend. I’m sure I don’t currently have anywhere near an optimal build but what I do have is fun. I’m a dragon knight running around with a sword and board and two handed mace as my secondary weapon. I’m able to take on small groups and elite monsters but I don’t think I could handle world bosses solo (which some people apparently can these days). After a bit I headed to Orsinium. It was alive with players. I don’t mean just one and two people here or there, there were players all over the place. I quickly joined a world boss group and we started circling the map taking on new challenges. Killing these world bosses also rewarded me with a few upgrades to my equipment so I don’t feel like such a slacker.
)
But there is so much more to do in ESO than just combat so the next few days I spent exploring. I enjoy the quest lines. Sure there are a few Fedex quests and go kill 10 rats but there seem to be a lot more focused on small stories than just kill a bunch of mobs and earn experience. I took part in one such quest in Orsinium to help a group of orcs take back a quarry.
Apparently a group of orcs took advice from an elf and started to work a quarry. Once they hit a certain depth a mysterious fog rolled out and our friends the orcs came under attack. This quarry may or may not have been built on top of an ancient dwarven quarry. The elf probably knew this and was manipulating the orcs to his own devious ends the entire time.
)
This quest turned into a small delve dive that involved the killing of a lot of machines. Along the way I looted close to 100 baskets, urns, backpacks, and different interactable items in the environment. I also may have spent close to 30 minutes picking the wings off of butterflies. I did this so I could go fishing later, I swear!
The culmination of this quest wasn’t a confrontation. It was a puzzle. I had to figure out how to get 3 light beams to align with refractors on the ceiling. I manipulated these giant rings with spinners I had to hit mounted to platforms around the giant machine. I was able to figure the puzzle out after a while but I did check and you can find the solution online if you get frustrated by these puzzles. Regardless this single quest had combat, exploration, puzzles, and fun all rolled up into one.
)
After that I went and got a house. Turns out Homestead, the newest DLC, came out this week. I couldn’t have timed that one better if I planned it. You won’t just receive a house for logging in, but you will get your first one free after you complete a quest chain. Apparently cooking skooma in rundown apartments is as popular as cooking meth in mid Missouri in rundown shacks. Your job is to hunt down a criminal (at least for the Ebonheart). When it was all said and done I ended up with a studio apartment. I was almost excited about getting a housing until I actually got it. It may be a piece of crap but at least it is mine. Currently it has a log with a Vermilion Skuttler on it. I call him Stinky. He cuts down on the cooked up skooma smell.
)
I took this last screenshot while I was getting my apartment. This scene was going on just outside my room and down the hall. Now we know what all the skooma was being used for. These are two NPCs and there was lute music in the background as well. The one lady seemed to be doing some kind of dance for the gentleman on the bed. I don’t think it went any further than that but I found it just off the wall enough to share with the rest of you. Enjoy!
Currently playing:
MMORPG: ESO
Other: Dragon Warrior 8
