Best "Year Long Adventure" Chapter Main Villian?

KingArthasMenethil

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

Rada has the better quests and build.
Kaalgrontiid suffers from Northern Elsweyr culminating in in him going full Team Rocket at the end of it as he blasts off again.

Zodiarkslayer

Lord Baconator (Legacy of the Bretons)

Judging by the potential that all main antagonists had, their agency and their level of individual power, the Ascendant Lord has to be the best villain.

He is no god, no immortal vampire half god or a legendary dragon almost turned god. Just a mere mortal with plan.
Yet he created a major crisis and almost toppled the world.

Lady_Galadhiel

Kalgrontiid (Season of the Dragon)

Kal, better than the other 3 combined.

Varana

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

Adding to what I wrote earlier:

I didn't choose Kaalgrontiid because like for others, he didn't stand out enough of the bunch of dragons working together. So as a villain character, he was not memorable enough, compared to Rada al-Saran or the otherwise quite forgettable Lord Bacon.

That said, the story of Elsweyr+Dragonhold was the best of the three, by quite some margin. But when it comes to characters, its protagonists were the highlight of the show (Abnur Tharn, Cadwell, Zaji and Caska, even Khamira had her moments), not so much the antagonists. So for this poll, the dragons unfortunately lose out.

Vrienda

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

I'm going through Elsweyr again currently and Kaal leaves much to be desired.

Rada I remember being somewhat ineresting but ultimately a disappointment.

Dagon just continued being Elder Scrolls satan with his actual lore depth completely ignored. So I hate his portrayal.

The Ascendent Lord... Honestly the single most disappointing villain I can remember. He ruined Galen which was an otherwise really enjoyable DLC.

And just because I feel like it...

The Daedric triad, while a good storyline, were awful villains. I hated Nocturnal already but now I just view her as the most idiotic evil and weak Daedric prince of the lot. I mod out having to sell your soul to her in Skyrim and keep the Skeleton Key every time now. It also makes the Dunmer worshipping Mephala even more baffling to me, which is why I always tend to play as faithful to the Tribunal with my Dunmer. I just can't get into the 'reclaimations' headspace.

Now Orsinium? That had a main antagonist I enjoyed. The best of the lot. It has 0 effect on lore or the deeper parts of Elder Scrolls lore and is exactly what an ESO villain should be.

JD2013

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

Voted Rada. At least we got to have a proper discussion with him.

But King Kurog from Orsinium is the best villain so far in ESO.

Shihp00

JD2013 wrote: »

But King Kurog from Orsinium is the best villain so far in ESO.

and Angof

Sidereum

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

Among the year-long stories, Rada Al-Saran.
The whole Dark Heart of Skyrim story touched me a lot. The ending had me crying.

However, if the question was about chapters in general, then Summerset.

ssewallb14_ESO

Lord Baconator (Legacy of the Bretons)

I think I like morally ambiguous shadow-villain type characters more than dualistic embodiment of evil type characters.
I do wish Lord Baconator and Rada Al-Saran Wrap were fleshed out a little more though.

AvalonRanger

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

I wished to play quest of human days memory of the Rada Al-Saran.
He was very interesting character. Hope, we'll meet deep created character like him
in the new DLC of this year.

DP99

Mehrunes Dagon (Gates of Oblivion)

Dagon, because I'd pick any of the Deadric Princes over any of the others any day of the week!

NotaDaedraWorshipper

Kalgrontiid (Season of the Dragon)

VaranisArano wrote: »

Fun! Except I can only assume the writers expected us to refuse. I sold out Count Ravenwatch in a heartbeat, Rada told me enough to figure out his plan to sacrifice the Reachmen in Markarth, and then the writers decided I had to shut my mouth and never share this vital info until after Rada railroaded his way to victory. It went far beyond the usual case of "Vestige-induced stupidity.".

Not only that but you can guess it even earlier, or at least have suspicious of it, from having done Greymoor. Because he's kinda doing the same plan again. The answer is always harrowstorms!
What are the witches doing over there? Harrowstorms.
What are those other witches doing at that place? Harrowstorms.
What are the vampires doing there? Harrowstorms.
What happened here? Harrowstorm.
My goodness whatever could they be planning? Harrowstorm?
After a lot of snooping it seems they might be doing another Harrowstorm, we just didn't think of that they were going to do it under in Blackreach! Sigh
Oh well, we saved Solitude, go now have a party and do whatever, so Rada can continue his next plan in peace. Shouldn't we continue focus on him and chase him?

Ah there you are, Vestige. Rada is plotting something bad about killing and souls, but what can it be! ..harrowstorm related?
Goodness, he sure is continuing doing them here, we should put all the people in Markarth for safety, which lies above Blackreach too while we work on figuring out his next move! H•a•r•r•o•w•s•to•r•m! <Points at Solitude>

Netheniel

No option for "None"?

For me, none of those chapters have memorable villains. I could never connect with the characters. They were cartoonish, always giving monologues about how they are all powerful and will rule the world. And indeed, the writers gave them so many Hail Marys to move the story towards a predictable development that it completely killed any sense of immersion or connection with them. You can literally summarize the stories as such:

* Introduce villain (clown)
* Chase and foil villain
* Give villain a Hail Mary and restore them back to world ending status
* Defeat villain
* Have end game celebration and follow-up with those you helped along the way.

IMO, the adventures in Morrowind was ESO at its best. An evolving mystery, a collection of intertwined characters and stories, a better cultural dive into the Dunmer, and the start of a long story arc, but still manages to end on a note that completes its own experience. No need for super villains or epic finallies. Just an adventure to experience and be a part of something that changes the course of peoples lives.

RedBranch

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

I’m biased since we share a first name but Rada was presented as a multilayered character. By the end you understood his motivations, his character and flaws.

Anhedonie

Rada Al-Saran (Dark Heart of Skyrim)

I mean Skyrim DLC story arc was probably the lowest point (writing quality) in the entire history of this game, but that specific character...I think she was pretty alright.

Hurbster

JD2013 wrote: »

Voted Rada. At least we got to have a proper discussion with him.

But King Kurog from Orsinium is the best villain so far in ESO.

I might go further and say his Mum.