Main quest closure? [major spoilers]

Thrawniel · May 2014

What should I do to get closure on main quest? I mean, I stopped Planemeld, I defeated Molag Bal.

Why Hollow City is still stuck in pre-Final Assault phase instead of celebrating victory and mourning the fallen? Even king Dynar that lies dead on the floor in Chapel of Light is fine and well in the Fighter's Guild. Is he some kind of Schrödinger's King that's neither alive or dead?

Why the anchors still drop every 20 minutes? I understand why from meta-game perspective, but what's ingame explanation?

Where's my Queen and Razum-Dar congratulating me on my victory? I just feel frustrated with the ending. Like, really, I saved this pixel world and all those pixel people and not even a pat on the back? Ideally there should have been major celebration with all three factions involved. But really, I would be content to just accept Queen's and Razum-Dar's congratulations.

I would understand if the game did not have phasing and thus changing state of the world would be impossible. But it has! All those minor sidequests had their reflection on game world. Why main quest has not? Do I need to hit VR10 and clear all three factions to have the deed acknowledged?

BTW, this is not rant or trolling, I just really want to know answers to these questions. Maybe I'm missing something and get disappointed too early? Maybe I should do something to trigger closure quests and dialogs?

Please don't tell me that those two dialogs with Sai and Lyris were supposed to be all we got for saving the world!

Graem · May 2014

I feel the same way, but from a Daggerfall Covenant perspective. It felt like there was some unwritten script. Are we supposed to just be A-OK from the start with losing our identity and going into a different zone with Cadwell? I wasn't ready for that. I wanted to check in with High King Emeric and Queen Maraya. I wanted to ask around to see if Darien Gautier really DID die or if there's any hope for him somewhere out there (we grew to be like brothers). SOMETHING in the main world at least to help wrap things up!

It's a little pathetic but I was bummed out for about two days after I completed the main quest over this. It just feels like it wasn't intended to be this way, you know?

I really did like the story, to be honest. That's why I'm so surprised at this postgame obliviousness towards the events that transpired.

Thrawniel · May 2014

Veteran content is entirely different can of worms, since it is technically post-game. I share your sentiment, though.

I'm not playing Meridia's games and my character is loyal to Elsweyr and its people(I play a khajit), so as long as Elsweyr is part of AD, the only answer I would choose to question 'what if you were washed on the different shore?' on that character would be 'I'd jump the first boat that goes in general direction of AD'.

So I'm stuck in VR1 and pre-veteran zones, since I do not pvp and do not wish to play 'what if' games (and, btw, why should we use Meridia's magic to travel to other alliances if there's a legit way to do it with neutral Mages Guild and Fighter's guild?) But whatever. Post game is post game, I chose not to be part of it. Will play alts till my paid time runs out. Hopefully, by then devs will fix this hot mess somehow or offer alternative methods to explore game's world without breaking your character.

But I'm just really curious about closure to main story that has already ended and will not be repeated in veteran content. When we are supposed to get it? If at all? Why this reactive world that reflected every bandit attack consequences does not react to the main quest?

I loved the writing, story from 1-50 has been amazing, especially Coldharbor quests, thus all the frustration now. Such a great story ended with nothing. Literally with nothing, since almost every NPC, except those three stuck in the Chapel Of Light, do not even acknowledge the events and act as if they has not happened yet.

Graem · May 2014

I know how you feel. My character has a blue lion tattooed to his chest for a reason. I'm okay with doing veteran content but they made it clear that I'll just be seen as an aimless wanderer even among people I already know. I'm not trying to tailor the story to my exact preference (which, hilariously enough, would be going around the different provinces of the other alliances and helping the people out with their problems as something of a neutral hero-ambassador on special assignment -- and thus not able to aid any side in inter-faction conflicts).

But really, do the most important NPCs have nothing extra to say after all that business in Coldharbour? Seems hard to believe and I hope to find others with this view.

Elember · May 2014

Typically game developers have no idea how to write endings. We all saw this in Mass Effect 3 where the ending sucked so bad that it made the whole three games seem like a complete and total waste of time, and that was from Bioware who is supposed to be known to be able to bring good story to games.

All we can really hope for is that they left it open like this so that in future additions to ESO we get a proper ending, though I would definitely not hold my breath on that one because as I said game developers completely suck at being able to bring their stories to any sort of meaningful closure...sad but definitely true.

Another thing I noticed towards the end was that the written dialogue got worse and worse according to what was actually being said and it no longer matched up at all. So reading the dialogue became a complete waste of time because it was so different from what was actually being said and it was almost like the voice actors had a different script then the writers of the dialogue for the in game text.

Thrawniel · May 2014

Graem wrote: »

But really, do the most important NPCs have nothing extra to say after all that business in Coldharbour? Seems hard to believe and I hope to find others with this view.

I spent last six hours traveling around locations looking for answer. As far as the game concerned, business in Coldharbor never happened. The only place where it seems to matter is inside Chapel of Light, where you have Meridia, Gabrielle, Vanus and dead king. But the moment you step outside, the city is stuck in pre-Final Assault phase. All people are getting ready to fight instead of going home, the king is still alive, Meridia still pretends to be Groundkeeper and says that Mage and King alone won't be enough and that you should gather more allies(same old dialog you get before Crossing the Chasm quest).

Queen and Razum-Dar are nowhere to be found. You never learn the fate of your battle companions because to them the battle has not happened yet. if you go to reaver Citadel entrance, all NPCs are still there, ready to start the battle (King Dynar says 'we have come so far, but still have miles to go'), as if you have not completed the quest already. Cadwell still says that we should not have dismissed the dremora lass so quickly. And so on.

And after completing God of Schemes, you can talk only to survivors (in my case Lyris and Sai) and say your goodbyes and then Cadwell offers you this stupid time travel mumbo-jumbo.

So, you have only six NPCs acknowledging the fact that final quests happened, and that's all.

And that makes it sad, because after completing Guild stories you got nice closures. New Fighters Guild Guildmaster said his cheers after you finished the quest, and you got access to the forge. You get whole peaceful Eyeveya to explore after the end of Mages Guild. That mad eyou feel like you accomplished something. Every location man quests had some closure to them before sending you further. Even minor sidequests like saving village from pirates would reflect the change!

But with main quest, it's just nothing. Would it kill them to change dialogs of people in Hollow City so instead of getting ready to fight, they celebrate the victory and mourn the fallen comrades?

Would it kill them to have your alliance leaders meeting you outside the cathedral, saying something along the lines 'You did a great job, now take your time to relax and enjoy fruits of your victory, we will call on you when we need your aid again.'? That would give closure and at the same time open the story up for future addons.

It's just a little bit of dialog, nothing more, not a new quest or a new location. Small thing, but it would improve the whole experience drastically.

That's why I came asking, when the change happens. If it even happens. Honestly, my desire to play the game dropped to zero because of the lack of closure on the main quest. I want to get my fictional pixel celebration and fictional recognition from pixel people before going on.

Hypersillyman · May 2014

At this point, I'm not even going to do the final quest at all. I am level 49, and have the quest in my log (which is weird in itself because I thought you had to be 50 to get it), but I have no desire or intention of doing it. It's not even the rumored difficulty of the Molag Bal fight, as I've heard many strategies that sound like they will work. I simply have no need to complete a quest that doesn't actually COMPLETE anything. I defeat the main villain of the entire game, 3 people say "good job", and then Cadwell takes me off to do a bunch of quests, at a higher difficulty, for no real reason, that will be MUCH more fun doing on an alt so I can actually enjoy the story as it was intended for that alliance.

So, basically, I've busted my butt to get to the final quest and I won't even do it because there is absolutely no point. Don't get me wrong, I very much enjoyed the journey, and I look forward to playing some alts, I just find the lack of finality in the final quest to be a bit sad. Maybe, in the future, they will improve this and make it all mean something. Maybe they will add some post 50 content that chains off of the final quest storyline instead of just sending you straight into the veteran levels. I will not abandon the quest. I plan to simply leave it undone until Zeni gives me a GOOD reason to do it. Veteran levels and the endless post-game grind is just not a good enough reason. Maybe someday, but not now. I have hope for it though. The game is very young and in the early stages of its life cycle. They have plenty of time to add something with more substance to the endgame. They need to do it sooner rather than later, but I'll wait. That's what alts are for.

Here's hoping.

Thrawniel · May 2014

Honestly, for me Molag Bal fight was quite easy, but I'm syphoning Nightblade and I've read many times that it is easy for this particular class, so maybe there's true to that saying. I expected worse after reading all the forum posts about difficulty.

As for me, guess I'll roll dunmer (ashlander) who has little love for Ebonhar Pact and will be more inclined to do Meridia's biddings, since they worship some some daedric princes anyways. Though it is kinda sad to switch from main to alt in this manner, but oh well, story is more important than metagaming. Main toon will sleep after the hard fight.

7788b14_ESO · May 2014

Rewards were anticlimactic, especially with the xp cap during the final fight. At the very least, a new title would of been called for. "Slayer"

aletad11_ESO · May 2014

I feel the same as the rest of you. I was expecting a lot more after it was all over, not to go outside and find everything in Hollow City "business as usual". And I want to know what happened to the others for pete's sake! Especially Darien. I was going to try the alternate reality stuff and see if I could handle the vet levels, but now I'm not so sure. I'm thinking leveling up alts will be better and easier to get the rest of the stories. If things change enough by the time I do that I'll stick around, but if not that'll probably be the end for me. Definitely not into PVP:)

And btw, the Molag Bal fight wasn't difficult at all really...and I'm one of the players who is usually yelling about mobs and quests being stupid hard!

elrinde · June 2014

You fought to get stronger, stopped the planemeld, you defeated Molag Bal, got your soul back, made friends and enemies on the way, and your reward is ....
To get defeated by the first pair of mudcrabs you run into after getting sent back in time by Meridia, to not be recognized by anyone including your comrades, to get asked to slaughter the people you previously fought for by the people who used to be your enemies, to worry forever about the fate of those you fought and grew with.
Great. Just great. Thanks Meridia.
I guess that's what Molag Bal meant when he said we would've been better off with the planemeld.

Why did we even bother to try forge an alliance between the three alliances if even after we saved all three of their leaders we still can't go to their territory in peace, ungrateful sods.

I don't feel like a hero, I feel like an idiot.

Thrawniel · June 2014

elrinde wrote: »

Great. Just great. Thanks Meridia.
I guess that's what Molag Bal meant when he said we would've been better off with the planemeld.

Why did we even bother to try forge an alliance between the three alliances if even after we saved all three of their leaders we still can't go to their territory in peace, ungrateful sods.

I don't feel like a hero, I feel like an idiot.

Which proves, there's no such thing as 'good daedra'. They all will screw you over in some way.

And welcome to the club, btw:)

Laurelinde · June 2014

I finished the main storyline yesterday and I kind of feel the same way. I went back to Coldharbour to try to check in on all the NPCs that had been with me - Kireth and Raynor, Zur, Gabrielle, Holgunn, Walks-in-Ash...but no closure. And now nobody will remember me.

I can understand Meridia's point that I/we need to focus on the 'big picture' of daedric threats rather than political squabbles - which are comparably 'petty' - but the wars have still killed a lot of people and it still makes me a bit sad. And after the whole 'I eat Argonian baby eggs' thing in Shadowfen, I am not in any great hurry to help out the Dominion, I have to admit. SSSTHK. *twitches tail*

pez8897nub19_ESO · June 2014

I just completed this quest today and a month and a half after the first posting of this thread - we still have no closure. I have submitted feedback to Zen.

theroyalestpythonnub18_ESO · June 2014

I sent feedback too, I hope the devs acknowledge it's an issue at the very least. Seems like a relatively small thing that would go a long way. It may at least diminish some of the bitterness caused by being shuffled off to vet content.

WhiteCoatSyndrome · August 2014

I was likewise disappointed. When I heard we'd get to visit the other alliances post-main quest, I thought it was going to be to do the logical thing and conquer them. Still have all the sidequests, but instead of the help-keep-the-faction-together mainline quests, we'd have quests to break through the other factions' armies, rescue spies, defeat generals, and take them over piece by piece. It was disappointing enough to have to set Ayrenn and Razum-dar aside for Cold Harbor in favor of a bunch of other NPCs, only a third of whom I even recognize with this character. It's worse getting that little twist of guilt every time Dominion forces end up on the wrong side of my sword (minus Ruuvitar). I joined these people because I liked them and wanted to help them more than the people in the other factions. I do not particularly enjoy ACTIVELY working against them. Add to that that I now have zero incentive to try out a different character in a different faction and...yeah, let down.

Gillysan · September 2014

Make sure to feedback in game.

I too feel very let down at the end, it feels like a cheap workaround. I hope someday we get real content.

I came here to see what the main quest is in this VR zone, so I can just do that and move on to the next zone. I was told by other players I can handle it this way. However, my AD character got dropped in Stonefalls and I don't know where the main quest starts. Only answer is to check online.

Morthur · January 2015

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SilverAnna · August 2018

Yeah, the ending sucked a bit, especially not knowing what happened to Darius.

dodgehopper_ESO · August 2018

I just mark it up as Dragon Breakage. Time is broken. Our characters are a wound in Time just like Raziel in the Legacy of Kain series. It'll eventually catch up and either Zero our characters out or we'll have to ship off to the far shores/sovngarde/etc. That's my gut feeling on it. I'm not sure what else will solve the problem as the Vestige breaks all rules for normal mortals.

Minyassa · August 2018

I think this is because this game just doesn't really use instancing to delineate progress like some do. I was also pretty let down and had to give up on the main storyline as any source of satisfaction, and to be honest I've kind of mentaly ditched it as a thing at all and now I just think of Tamriel as enmeshed in a permanent state of daedric incursion and there's nothing anyone can do about it. That's probably a big downfall of making an MMO that you're trying to keep open to everyone all the time in everything instead of instancing a lot of it. They really want that competition factor between players even in so-called "cooperative" play so they sacrificed a lot of functionality for it.

[Deleted User] · August 2018

Hello everyone,

This post is to let you know that we've felt it necessary to put this thread down, as it seemed to have died some time ago. At this time we'd like to try and keep Draugr threads from roaming around front page, pushing down newer and more lively threads. Please feel free to continue this discussion on a recent thread under the same subject, or create one if a recent one is not available.

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