Why this game needs Vvardenfell DLC and how I hope it will be

Carbonised

I already touched upon the subject in my extensive review here, but I wanted to go into more detail on the subject of the - possible - Vvardenfell DLC.

Now, will Vvardenfell come? When will it come? Nobody but ZOS knows yet. Lots of things have been datamined that aren't in the game, there are still things on PTS that aren't in game (come on ZOS, give us that Sep Adder pet already).
But in this post I will make my views clear on why I think this game needs Vvardenfell as the next DLC, and how I hope it will be.

First a recap. Orsinium and Imperial City were the two first DLCs I experienced in this game. IC is generally well received, WGT and ICP see plenty of use, and IC itself does so too. Whether it's ganking in the districts/sewers, farming TV stones, farming Molag or whatever, IC is rather large, and sees plenty of use.
Orsinium is generally very well liked by all people I talk with. A large landmass, rich in Elder Scrolls lore and culture, visually and aesthetically pleasing, several world bosses and delves, and of course the Maelstrom Arena. Orsinium would probably be the best DLC made for the ESO game, and there are still lots of people doing +Edu and +Ogre etc.
Then came Thief Guild DLC. A tiny landmass, two world bosses, two delves, and that's it. Abah's Landing is a very nicely designed town, but it's a ghost town nevertheless. No one's there, it's empty. Hew's Bane itself is also empty, and the dailies and thief guild quests are all about sneak. The skill line too caters to a sneak build (read: medium armor/stamina/nightblade).
Dark Brotherhood came after. Gold Coast is barely larger than Hew's Bane, and again 2 delves (pretty easy, forgettable and very empty), and 2 world bosses. Again the storyline and skill line were pretty much designed for sneakers.
Last DLC was Shadow of the Hist. Two dungeons, no new land, no new nothing. For 1500 crowns. All the other updates were for the main game, or for earlier DLCs (including the new motifs).
I can't help but feeling severely disappointed by Shadow of the Hist. Sure there are some achievements to farm, for the vet dungeon lovers, and some monster sets and stamina sets completely designed for stamina builds. As a magicka DPS, Shadows of the Hist brings nothing to the table. The dungeons were nice enough to do a time or two on normal, but why bother with the headache of vet when it has no rewards for me.

So the trend for ZOS so far has been from large DLCs like IC and Wrothgar, to smaller and smaller ones, until last one didn't even bring any new land, only 2 new dungeons.

What I hear people say all the time, and what I completely agree with, is that we need another large landmass DLC like Orsinium, or larger. We need more single player content that is not catering towards stamina or sneak, and we need more of the stuff that ESO delivers elsewhere in great quality, and that is visually and aesthetically pleasing design, wonderful music, immersion and Elder Scrolls lore. And Vvardenfell could bring all that back into the game.

Morrowind the game is still loved and cherished by most TES fans, and the legacy it brings would be obvious to include in an ESO DLC. You have the bizarre landscape, the exotic creatures, the strange and enigmatic culture of the Dunmer, their ancestor and Daedra worship, the Tribunal (where is Vivec and Sotha Sil still?), and of course all the stuff from Morrowind to draw upon. Think of all the new motifs that could be made, Chitin armor, Bonemold, Morag Tong, Ashlander, Ordinator etc.
Not to mention the amount of Dunmer/Morrowind related pets, mounts, costumes and other vanity items you could include in the Crown Store.

Apart from another great landmass DLC, another thing I would like Vvardenfell to be, is the magicka update. DLC after DLC I have seen more and more stamina sets introduced into the game, stamina monster sets, trial sets, vet dungeon sets, craftable sets, and a fair bit for tankers and healers too. Magicka DPS were left in the dust, and have seen nothing new under the sun since Julianos in Orsinium. That really, really needs to change soon. Just see all the magicka threads here on the forums, people acknowledge that stamina is both more interesting, varied and powerful to play, and Vvardenfell should bring magicka up to level with stamina.
The Dunmer are a race steeped in magic, and with Vvardenfell you have the opportunity to introduce the famous House Telvanni, known for its magic and wizardry. Many more new magicka sets, craftable, farmable and one or two new magicka DPS monster sets, maybe a new skill line for Vvardenfell or Telvanni, an overhaul of the existant Mages Guild skill line (equilibrium and volcanic rune being the worst offenders), there are many possibilities.

I also hope that Vvardenfell will be a crafters DLC. Morrowind and Vvardenfell is a great opportunity to introduce more alchemical ingredients, more provision recipes and components, or even upgrade and elaborate a bit on the current status quo of the crafting system. I have several ideas for this, but I believe that deserves its own post.
Another thing that is important for Vvardenfell, is the city/cities introduced by the DLC itself. Orsinium sees use, mostly because you have to deliver crafting writs there at endgame. Move these to Vvardenfell, and have a chance to find some rare material on surveys, like you find Nirncrux in Craglorn. But most importantly, design the city/cities so that guild stores and crafting workbenches and bank is close to the wayshrine. That is why Mournhold and Rawl'ka are so popular and crowded. We want the city/cities of Vvardenfell to be populated and have things to go there for, not become ghost towns like Abah's Landing.

For now, let me conclude that I really, really hope Vvardenfell will be our next DLC, and I hope it will be a great landmass like Orsinium, or larger, with multiple world bosses, delves, several dailies and quests, and just full of content in general.
The trend with smaller and smaller DLCs, in terms of content, really needs to stop here with Shadow of the Hist. I also hope that Vvardenfell will be the DLC that brings content back in the game for magicka DPS, for right now we seriously lack things to work for and do in this game, and right now my magicka DPS is pretty much just used as a crafter/gatherer.

Shadesofkin

I wouldn't say it "needs" it, but overall I think that it will be well received and as loved as Wrothgar was/is.

WhiteCoatSyndrome

I suspect Vvardenfell will either be loved - 'oh Morrowind, how we've missed you!' - or hated - 'oh how dare they not include this that and the other thing that was in Elder Scrolls III!'

For myself I hope they don't copy and paste everything out of Morrowind and take some consideration for the fact that we're 800 years earlier in the timeline. Other than that I'm being cautiously optimistic about it.

jeedrzej

I really enjoyed Orisinium DLC, but I know a lot of people who complained about it. Becouse it is solo content. And ESO is MMO, there shouldnt be to much solo content.

I agree with @WhiteCoatSyndrome . VVanderfell will be really risky DLC...

But ZOS has spoken. For now, DLC will be smaller, becouse they are focused on base game patch.

So... we have to wait

BruhItsOver9000

Yes, but only if i get those gondolier hats. My wayfarer character would be complete.

Dracane

I am certain, Vardenfell will bring the 3rd arena, which is a 2 man arena and we finally get the 3rd master weapons. Can't wait for the force shock staff. But beware the uppercut master weapon... will most likely break the game again.

dalodir

Agree, can the content be difficult too? Eg, A number of tough dungeons with a tiered approach. Where you have to gear up your char sufficiently using each dungeon before being able to have a sensible shot at the next hardest one.

Carbonised

jeedrzej wrote: »

I really enjoyed Orisinium DLC, but I know a lot of people who complained about it. Becouse it is solo content. And ESO is MMO, there shouldnt be to much solo content.

This link: "To answer your question about comparing ESO to other MMOs: ESO is not really a traditional MMO, so we don’t use that term much around the office – and it is this distinction that separates it from other games. If you want to play it solo, like you did with other Elder Scrolls games, you can do that. If you want to play it super-grindy with dungeons, Trials, and group bosses as the core of you experience, you can join up with others and do that too."

If your friends are unhapy with Orsinium, they have the wrong expectations of ESO.
And I believe your friends are the minority, of all the people I talk to, there is widespread agreement that Orsonium, and the lands of Wrothgar, is indeed one of the best, of not the best, DLCs of this game.

There are many players who mainly enjoy the solo aspects of this game, and only occasionally explore group content like trials and vet dungeons. I myself am not an 'MMO player' by far.

BrianDavion

sides, if you want a group content zone you can always go to craiglorn and join the large amounts of people in craiglorn... wait no one goes there nevermind

Bonzodog01

From what I can see on the calendar, it seems the focus now will be on One Tamriel. They really want it rolled out before Xmas.

So, Update 12, I believe, will be all about the One Tamriel rollout and little else, apart maybe from a few cosmetic items for the Crown Store.

I reckon Vvardenfell will be out for Q2 2017. We also still have Thornmarsh and The Clockwork City yet, and Mephala's Realm. On top of this there is the forebodings of the Oblivion War.

Zerok

(wrong topic, delete)

Carbonised

Bonzodog01 wrote: »

From what I can see on the calendar, it seems the focus now will be on One Tamriel. They really want it rolled out before Xmas.

So, Update 12, I believe, will be all about the One Tamriel rollout and little else, apart maybe from a few cosmetic items for the Crown Store.

I reckon Vvardenfell will be out for Q2 2017. We also still have Thornmarsh and The Clockwork City yet, and Mephala's Realm. On top of this there is the forebodings of the Oblivion War.

While I have no idea about the current release plans for ZOS, I don't see how One Tamriel can't be combined with new content DLCs. Vvardenfell would anyway have to be battle leveled, like Wrothgar and the other DLC zones, so it makes little differece.

And frankly, if we get no real content DLCs rest of 2016, but only One Tamriel and bugfixes, then I will be severely disappointed.

PriorityBalle

A Vvardenfell DLC sounds amazing

One thing i'd love to see implemented with the introduction of Vvardenfell is the great Mushroom towers that the Great House Telvanni has but for the players to buy, obviously as a mansion since it should resemblance the might of a Telvanni Master.

Gedalya

Agreed; can't wait for Vvardenfell. I will say though I'm looking for improvements in the game engine; I know changes were needed to bring Orsinium to life. I say this because when compared to Morrowing/Oblivion/Skyrim as games, there is more nuance, especially in Skyrim with things like landscape and dungeon/building layout. They've improved the game engine with an number of changes since release so I'm really optimistic things will continue to be great with innovative content and changes.

Sovaso

Absolutely agreed, because I am Elder Scrolls' big fan since TES III: Morrowind.