Last Wednesday, I had the opportunity to spend some time with Kye Sutton (Assistant European PR Manager) and Rich Lambert (Creative Director) to discover the Blackwood chapter, an adventure from the Gates of Oblivion saga. The presentation began with a small retrospective. Last year was a big hit, with a dark, gothic storyline that explored the myths and legends of Skyrim. There have never been so many players in TESO, and the feedback from the community regarding the narrative arc system is very positive, so the studio intends to continue on this same path. The year was also marked by the pandemic, which caused the studio to operate differently, both for day-to-day work and how to announce updates. Working from home has become a new norm, and while the exchanges may not be as rich as they once were, there's no denying that they've found a new dynamic, so this chapter is going to take full advantage of it. experience gained!
This chapter is for all players, not just veterans, as it is inherently non-competitive. The map of Tamriel expands from the base game at launch, then with the various DLCs and chapters added year after year. This time, we are heading towards Blackwood, a region on the border of two cultures: the Imperials and the Argonians. The places will seem familiar to regular players, but the biomes will change a lot from those that have recently been added to the game. Moreover, this diversity is the basis of many creative choices made by the studio, Rich insists on many times on their overall plan, alternating various places to avoid any monotony. This also goes for NPCs, although they are also colored by the personal preferences of the studio developers.
The story is very focused on exploration, and testing something different, with the goal of solving a murder. This will be an opportunity to start learning more about Oblivion, this year's big theme. Among the places to visit, there will be Leyawiin, the major hub of the area, a place well known to players of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, even if the city here will be much larger. There will be all the usual services of a city (vendors, banks, craftsmen...). Another hub to the east is Gideon, an Imperial city ruled by Argonians. There will be more places to discover, from familiar places with original stories, to completely new ones, in an area the size of Elsweyr. You should know that in ESO, the timeline is fixed, there is no order, time does not advance. Players can enjoy more contexts according to their choices, but DLCs and chapters are freely discovered.
The big villain of the year is Mehrunes Dagon, a creature with four arms, who embarks on a story of a pact with the devil. If you do some research on the internet, you will learn that this deadric prince is linked to "destruction, change, revolution, energy, ambition as well as natural disasters" (source). A charming character, therefore, who has always tried to invade Tamriel. To help the player in his quest, two characters return: Eveli (a young wood elf who loves investigations) and Lyranth (a dremora very curious about mortals). Other guides will no doubt join the adventure... But it's still too early to talk about it.
Like the anchors of the base game, and most of the other chapters, world events are part of the game: the Portals of Oblivion. They appear in random places, but they are not displayed on the map, you will have to explore, or rely on the cooperation of other players. A first step is to reach the portal itself. Once this encounter is complete, the portal takes you to the Dead Lands, in a style of event very similar to adventures in a public dungeon. The system works on a principle of instances, the server will "fill" phases with players, and will create as many as necessary. Once the adventure is over, the player returns to where they found the portal.
The big feature of the chapter is the addition of companions (as the previous chapters had a class, the antiquity system...). These friends are unlocked by doing quests in Blackwood, there are two at the moment (one imperial and one dark elf). They will be usable everywhere (except in arena and in PvP). The team is still working on dungeon balancing, the objective is to allow four players to go into dungeons with two players, each with their companion. The objective, however, is not to completely replace a player, a companion. Even if he can play one of 3 roles (tank, healer and DPS), the companion will never be as intelligent as the real players, and will be overwhelmed by the mechanics of too difficult contents. He also won't be immortal, if his life points drop to zero he must be brought back to life, like a player. The AI works on a CD and priority principle: spells are cast in the order they are placed in the bar, and as soon as a spell is available, the companion casts it.
Companions level up, from 1 to 20, and have equipment (in several qualities and which drops when the companion is summoned) and skills which progress by being used. These new friends like and hate certain very specific things, which will change the way the relationship is forged between the player and his companion. If they don't like the player, they will let it be known. If they like it, the same! Speaking of romance options, it's not planned at the moment, but the studio has noted the interest and it's quite possible that it will be added later this year. Sexuality will be open, as is already the case in TESO, the characters belong to the world, regardless of their gender.
A few questions have been asked about companions:
- a lot of work has been done so that they don't impact performance, but we will have to check that on the live server
- they will not be able to complete the most difficult tests
- they don't steal EXP
- they cannot change weapons (only 1 bar)
- they don't have sets
- they can change the color of their armor and their mount.
Rockgrove is a new twelve-player trial that brings three unique bosses with a hard mode. On the program, equipment, of course, but also a title, cosmetics, and a mount by completing all the exploits. This small village in the Black Marsh is facing a cult of Mehrunes Dagon, who has come with his army from the Dead Lands, and the inhabitants are in dire need of help. The studio is especially proud of an encounter that the developers thought was impossible to implement in ESO, but it did!
The chapter will also bring updates to the base game for console players:
- improvements for consoles (Xbox Series X|S and PS5), with a free port for all owners of an Xbox One or PS4 version
- a performance or loyalty mode
- improved loading time.
All new players will be able to enjoy a revamped tutorial, with a new story that gives the opportunity to choose your path. Note that existing characters will not be able to access this tutorial.
The "endeavors" feature (translation to be defined) is being adjusted. It's a new reward system, which automatically fills up as you play. There is no need to accept tasks or turn them in to obtain Seals. This currency, linked to the account, then allows you to buy special cosmetics, in a separate shop, where you will find items from the current season. The seals are kept from one season to another, without risk of loss, to be able to use them during the next season, in the event that nothing pleases in the current one.
Finally, various improvements to the quality of life are also planned:
- many changes in the background (backend)
- voice chat update
- combat performance work
- added "action duration" reminder addon, a popular community addon that lets you know when an ability should be used again (can be disabled for those who don't want it)
- perfect and non-perfect sets work together
- the ability to choose their music.
A few other questions were asked:
- the two-up mount has caused a lot of issues, but most of them are now fixed and should be arriving soon!
- other addons may be added to the base interface in the future, the studio is aware of community favorites
- the team is aware that farts can block crafting stations or other, they are thinking about solutions, especially since companions may make the problem worse
- 4 new mythical objects are added, you will have to find which ones
- compared to the antiquity system, the feedback does not show the need for major changes, but there will be new antiquities in the new area
- Adding more stuff in PvP is currently not a good idea, as the performance is already bad, needed to work on optimization first, which is well on its way. For now, there will be nothing more than equipment.
See you very soon for more information!
