User:SarthesArai/Back to the land of giant mushrooms

This is an approximate translation of GameStar's article "Zurück ins Land der Riesenpilze". Any users are allowed to edit this page for typo corrections and translation improvements.

There's something in Morrowind we've all hated. Cliff Racers! In the Morrowind-Addon for ESO we meet these animals again. But different than expected.

What do you think of if you hear the name "Seyda Neen"?

A) an automobile brand

B) a rice dish

C) The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind?

Of course C), we are here with afficionados, after all. And they know that Seyda Neen is a sleepy port town at the southern coast of the dark elf land Vvardenfell in the province of Morrowind. There we made our first steps 15 years ago into a compelling adventure about a disappeared people, a dark god and a chosen one.

Morrowind enthused whole generations of players. And not only because of the unbelievably realistic water for that time. A remake has often been wanted, and for several years an ambitious team of hobby developers have been working on Skywind, a giant Morrowind mod for Skyrim. Everyone can whistle along to the title song. Yes, this Morrowind - it has left marks. And thanks to Elder Scrolls Online we will be able to visit this remarkable region again.

Screenshot Gallery:

• On Vvardenfell we find new styles and items. For example, this grim armor.
• The time-honored dark elf city Balmora is also a stage of the Morrowind Addon.
• The gloomy ashlands in the center of the isles are pervaded by glowing lava streams.
• The mages of House Telvanni live in giant mushroom towers. Whoever has the largest mushroom is the greatest mage.

After the first rumors, first maps and contents were brought to light by dataminers, the Khajiit is now finally out of the sack: The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind will be a true Addon and no small DLC bite like the previous expansions, Orsinium or Dark Brotherhood. So in Morrowind we don't just get a small map with a few new quests. Moreover, we're travelling over a giant landmass, the island of Vvardenfell, that equals nearly the whole map of The Elder Scrolls III. There are not just a lot of new quests waiting for us, but also a continuation of the main story. Additionally in the package: another class, new PvP battlefields, and a fresh raid instance in a steampunk world.

The Different Editions The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is a complete Addon that's not bought in the real money shop like the previous DLCs [i.e. not available through the Crown Store]. Moreover we can obtain this expansion as a digital upgrade edition or a nice physical copy. The latter is also available as a deluxe version including an artbook, the statue of the Dwemer clockwork golem and some ingame goodies. These goodies are also available as a digital deluxe version. The Euro prices were not known to us at the time of this preview.

Why Morrowind?

Morrowind was the first Elder Scrolls game that was really successful and could, according to Zenimax boss developer Matt Firor, who we visited in the USA on the occasion of the presentation of the Addon, establish the good reputation of the series. The earlier parts Daggerfall and Arena were too large and undeveloped. While the other Elder Scrolls games had classical fantasy landscapes, Morrowind offered an alien and fascinating world.

Image: Again it takes us to Vvardenfell and its mysterious Dwemer ruins.

Gloomy dark elves lived on an volcanic island in bizarre houses made of mushrooms or crab shells and traveled through ash deserts on giant insects. The region itself was the star of the game. Since Morrowind was not included in The Elder Scrolls Online except for some small areas of mainland, Zenimax decided to bring the whole island from The Elder Scrolls III to ESO! The game's official name is even The Elder Scrolls Online: One Tamriel. And without Vvardenfell, Tamriel wouldn't be complete.

Image: The island Vvardenfell with the volcano of the same name is the setting for the first ESO Addon.

Journey to the past

Morrowind should for the most part be freely walkable and at least be 30% larger than the currently largest map in ESO. Only the giant volcano in the island's center and the surrounding lands are off limits. The evil half-god Dagoth Ur, who appears in The Elder Scrolls III, still slumbers there. Remember, The Elder Scrolls Online occurs several hundred years before the first single-player adventure of the series. That also means that the ashlands around the menacing "Red Mountain" haven't spread that far.

Image: On Vvardenfell we find new styles and items. For example, this grim armor.

Nonetheless there will be enough references to the original Morrowind. That time we were on our way as a reborn saviour and asked the ghosts of those that posed as false prophets and found their death for these insolences. In the addon, you are yourself responsible for the demise of one of these deceivers. And players who always lost themselves in the city of Vivec may rejoice: by the time of the ESO Addon, the city is only one-third finished and thus less complex.

Of Gods and Catastrophes

This city of Vivec is named after a living god, who suffers from a deadly disease at the time of the Morrowind Addon. He becomes weaker and weaker, and without his power, the volcano threatens to erupt and destroy all life on Vvardenfell. Our mission in the Addon is to heal Vivec and ensure that he can fulfill his task in The Elder Scrolls III. Through the course of the story, all known factions of the old Morrowind make an appearance. So we also meet the cynical mages of House Telvanni, who live in gigantic mushroom towers.

Image: We'll meet gloomy Dark Elves nearly everywhere on Morrowind.

Whoever has the largest is also the strongest mage! Also cool: The mysterious "Sixth House", which played an important role in Morrowind, is also present in the Addon. Of course, the altruistic assassins of the Morag Tong are there as well. With targeted assassinations, they ensure that none of the local noble houses becomes too strong. The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind offers full nostalgia. Let's hope that newcomers who haven't played the original get their money's worth and don't feel lost because of the many alien names and concepts.

My friend, the ... Cliffracer?

As a full Addon, Morrowind doesn't only bring a new region with story and quests. After two years, we finally get the long awaited new class: the Warden. It's a type of hero that has been missing from ESO completely – a druid/ranger with an animal companion at his side. As a damage dealer, he calls all kinds of animals, for example a diving cliff racer – an especially annoying flyer hated by everyone in the original!

Image: The Bear can take a lot of damage and makes for a perfect Tank.

Oh god, what a joy to always call cliff racers and let them die in battle. Ha! Revenge! Revenge for all the moments in which we watched the sky above the volcano with tired eyes, only to have such a cliff racer appear directly behind us to craw our ear off our body. Revenge for all the moments we thought : "Hey, I'll take a shortcut over this hill!", only to fight for our lives with beginners' weapons against such a shitty thing.

Image: The time-honored dark elf city Balmora is also a setting of the Morrowind Addon.

But enough of cliff racers, they have stolen too much of our lifetimes already. As an Ultimate ability of the ranger skill line, the Warden can summon a bear as a permanent battle pet. It is both suitable as a Tank and does good damage, as well. Zenimax has to take good care not to make the furred one too strong. Additionally, the Warden can be skilled as a pure Tank without bear and annoy his enemies with control abilities. For example, he can lay traps that teleport the enemies directly to him.

Image: With an ice shield, the Warden defends his companions.

Ideal to protect less-armored group members from attacks. Lastly the new class also possesses a healer skill tree. Here the Warden plays tactically as well and utilizes many spells with area effects. In addition to these three skill lines, the Warden – like every other hero in ESO – can be equipped with all available weapons, armor, race, and guild skills. This leads to uncountable abilities: from the classical ranger with leather armor and bow and arrows to the heavily armored brawler with a two handed hammer.

Into the Dwemer depths

Everyone who played Morrowind back then knows that the Vvardenfell region is not only home to the Dark Elves. Historically, the mysterious techno mages of the Dwemer had their subterranean strongholds there, characterized by their cool steampunk elements. For all those who haven't played Morrowind but have played Skyrim: recall Blackreach with its strange buildings, and you'll have a relatively good impression of how the Dwemer lived. Everywhere in the Addon we find leftovers of this long-gone people, but the peak of the steampunk fun is found in the new raid instance "Clockwork City".

Image: The gloomy ashlands in the center of the isles are pervaded by glowing lava streams.

It is a city full of clockwork and steam pipes, where evil machine beings have taken over our lives. Despite all the dangers we have to go to the clockwork hell, as the demonic Daedra plan to invade the world of Tamriel through the Clockwork City. We must close this path before it is too late. Cool detail: Our questgiver is a mage named Divayth Fyr, who at that time is not as powerful as he is later in The Elder Scrolls III. According to the developers, this new raid in the Clockwork City should be the hardest instance of this kind in ESO.

Image: Dark Elves have a thing for bizarre mounts. Traveling as a Dark Elf The Dark Elves of Vvardenfell don't travel by horse or wayshrine, like other people. Instead they have tamed giant insects, so-called Silt Striders, and cross the country on the back of these 18 meter high bugs.

Finally, Battlefields

Regarding PvP, The Elder Scrolls Online was restricted to open battle between players of the three factions in the zone of Cyrodiil until now. Smaller PvP arenas known from other Online RPGs have been searched for in vain in Tamriel. That changes with the Morrowind Addon. Here, special PvP Battlefields are introduced, where three teams by four players each fight for tactical goals or a deathmatch in an overlookable arena. Because of the three teams the matches always stay exciting, since it leads to the forming of temporary alliances. But in the end, there's only one victor.

Image: The mages of House Telvanni live in giant mushroom towers. Whoever has the largest mushroom is the greatest mage.

The first three battlefields are found in the new Morrowind region and differ greatly from one another. One map is a quarry with open fields – ideal for ranged fighters. Another is the complete opposite, since we're fighting in and arround an angled tower. According to the developers, more Battlefields in other regions of the world shall follow. We can enter the fighting easily through the Battlefield Browser, and earn loot and PvP points there. Rewards are only awarded if you stay in the game until the end. Anyone leaves earlier gets nothing!

But no matter if you're a PvP fan or PvE enthusiast, with Morrowind, the already vast world of The Elder Scrolls Online becomes a sizeable portion larger. And if you liked Vvardenfell and its inhabitants back then, they will get to your heart today as well. And those who weren't around back then may now experience for themselves what the old rabbits [yeah] found so good. At least, not the Cliff Racers.