Played Orsinium DLC for the first time

Nemesis7884

So i have played all the other dlc's except orsinium and started that now yesterday and am probably 75% through....people often told me it was by far the best dlc, and not just one or two but the majority of people seemed to like it the most. I have to agree - the story line, the writing, the characters, just all seem much better than the dlc's that followed... It even seemed that the writing, story and character got weaker with every new dlc?

Did they change writers or other involved people after this dlc? I think the difference is quite noticeable?

Liley

I think they had more time for this DLC than for the others. Since they've been releasing a new dlc every 3 months they probably don't have the time to do bigger & better dlc's anymore. The others are not bad, but orsinium is my favourite, too.

Radinyn

for me Clockwork City is the best + Thieve's Guild

Nemesis7884

its not even the size alone i just think the quality of the writing is a lot better and the voice acting, at least for the main quest

Taleof2Cities

It’s a great zone for sure.

My main crafter parks there to do writs ... even with the long distance turn-in location.

Problem is, would we ever see this breadth of content as a DLC again? I hope some day.

Turelus

I believe they change lead writers for them, if I remember correctly Orsinium was Zeb Cook for the most part, where as some of the other newer DLC were lead by other writers.

Dawnblade

Orsinium was developed before they fully shifted from trying to deliver a quality subscription based game with ongoing content updates to a model of delivering as little as possible while milking fans by selling them chances at IP based pixels.

boggo

Dawnblade wrote: »

Orsinium was developed before they fully shifted from trying to deliver a quality subscription based game with ongoing content updates to a model of delivering as little as possible while milking fans by selling them chances at IP based pixels.

Because people were too tight to pay for a sub.

boggo

By the way: I prefer CWC and Morrowind stories to Orsinium. But Orsinium was nice.

Darkonflare15

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

So i have played all the other dlc's except orsinium and started that now yesterday and am probably 75% through....people often told me it was by far the best dlc, and not just one or two but the majority of people seemed to like it the most. I have to agree - the story line, the writing, the characters, just all seem much better than the dlc's that followed... It even seemed that the writing, story and character got weaker with every new dlc?

Did they change writers or other involved people after this dlc? I think the difference is quite noticeable?

Like Morrowind and Clockwork City better, Orsinum was fine but not as great to me as everybody always seem to make it.

Dawnblade

boggo wrote: »

Dawnblade wrote: »

Orsinium was developed before they fully shifted from trying to deliver a quality subscription based game with ongoing content updates to a model of delivering as little as possible while milking fans by selling them chances at IP based pixels.

Because people were to tight to pay for a sub.

No, it's because people didn't feel enough value was offered for the sub - there are several very large and successful MMOs that require subs, and people willingly pay the sub fees.

In other words, it's on the developers for failing to deliver a game people would willingly pay to play, not on players refusing to pay a sub.

Menelaos

I must say I liked Thieves Guild the most. It almost felt like an entirely new game with the very detailed city and the general "hide & seek" tone of the update.

I did Orsinium as well but that was mostly during the time when apparently everybody was just circuit racing through the world bosses for achievements and goodies.

SirAxen

For me personally, Clockwork city has had the best overall main story. Followed closely by Orsinium/Thieves Guild. It is just tough to beat that final act of the CWC storyline. I (no shame) teared up when all those discussions of grief came up. The wealth of Sotha Sil interaction at the end was just flat out enchanting, not to mention the music over that part.

Rex-Umbra

First 4 dlcs all good but orsinium aged the best.

Menelaos

I confess I still have to get CWC and it's good to know it's not a waste of time

adriant1978

Taleof2Cities wrote: »

Problem is, would we ever see this breadth of content as a DLC again? I hope some day.

Sure, but it will be called a Chapter rather than a DLC and you will be expected to pay $$$ for it.

Balamoor

Turelus wrote: »

I believe they change lead writers for them, if I remember correctly Orsinium was Zeb Cook for the most part, where as some of the other newer DLC were lead by other writers.

Turelus wrote: »

I believe they change lead writers for them, if I remember correctly Orsinium was Zeb Cook for the most part, where as some of the other newer DLC were lead by other writers.

Yeah Zeb is an awesome writer he came up with much of the original AD&D modules content

Smmokkee

I cant believe TG is getting love.. I could barely bring myself to finish the first quest.

Menelaos

It's a bit like Bill Bryson saying: "I come from Des Moines. Someone had to."

wendal

People will blame writing styles, development costs or the change in direction of payment model.... The true fact of the matter is that Orsinium, and Wrothgar in general is most awesome because it is 100% orc-sauce.

MakeshiftSage

I guess I am the odd man out cause I just didn't see the appeal of Orsinium. I mean it was okay but I was happy to get out of there. I don't know if it was all the mountains, stark landscape or just my general disinterest in orc stuff... I definitely prefer the none dlc world, and Morrowind better.

pauli133

The only part of Orsinium I enjoyed was Orzorga - she was entertaining, and her voice acting kept up with the writing. The rest of the DLC...

I don't like the geography. I strongly dislike falling off of cliffs, and far too much stuff is a significant distance from the nearest wayshrine. It's simply tedious and unenjoyable for me to move around the zone, so I avoid doing so as much as possible.

The pacing was slow. Too much waiting for NPCs to finish talking, too much waiting for NPCs to finish walking. I found it frustrating, having artificial limits on the rate at which I could actually engage in the parts of the game I enjoy.

The story itself did absolutely nothing for me. Orc clan politics are profoundly dull; I simply do not care, at all, whether King Jerkface doesn't get along with Big Chief Smirkface. Partly this is an issue with my dislike of the hamfisted TES lore and characterization of orcs. The part I like - the origins of the Orsimer - is ignored in favor of Noble Savage tropes. The garbled handling of Trinimac and Malacath helped nothing.

I do think it's great that other people enjoyed the DLC, but for me - I eventually finished it with my main character, and I definitely have no plans to take any of my alts there. A handful of skill points aren't worth the hours of tedium.

Korah_Eaglecry

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

So i have played all the other dlc's except orsinium and started that now yesterday and am probably 75% through....people often told me it was by far the best dlc, and not just one or two but the majority of people seemed to like it the most. I have to agree - the story line, the writing, the characters, just all seem much better than the dlc's that followed... It even seemed that the writing, story and character got weaker with every new dlc?

Did they change writers or other involved people after this dlc? I think the difference is quite noticeable?

I think what really worked for Orsinium was that there wasnt some malicious paranormal entity behind the scenes pulling the strings. You didnt have to go through any absurd leaps in disbelief to accept what was happening around you and what was being asked of you. All of the relevant participants in the story had a reason for being where they were, what they believed and how they reacted to events unfolding.

You dont really get that in the base game. You have your classic good guys and classic bad guys. And not much in the way of inbetween. Its so dry and bland. Theres experience jarring options where you can just simply interject your real world ideas into the situation to convince them not to do something (like preventing the execution of a Knight gone rogue because some Daedra had "manipulated him". It doesnt matter that a Dukes wife is dead and many others after a near mutiny of the Knightly Order). Absolutely disregarding the setting or the emotional state of those involved in the scene.

As for some of the more recent DLCs. Thieves Guild and DB were carbon copies of each other. I dont think they really thought them through enough. They just needed to introduce the Justice System and Executes so people would stop pointing at the lack of those two as proof this wasnt an Elder Scrolls game. So they rolled out the most basic premise they could think of. Guild/Organization under attack by an outside group, find out someone that was once an insider is aiding the outsiders. Put together plan to stop ex-insider and outsiders.

Morrowind was a cash grab. Simple as that. Theres times I look at it and think...How could so much space go unused? An entire single player game utilized that space at one point. And we got a fraction of a fraction of content out of it in a DLC that cost near as much as the base game at launch.

luen79rwb17_ESO

Orsinium was awesome, from story to music, from voice acting to plot development, from innovation in zone desing (we owe OT to Orsinium) to originality (not a nostalgia driven zone).

Morrowing on the other hand felt like a punishment to me, even though the zone can be pretty at times, the stories are not even close as engaging as Orsinium's, totally predictable plots and SO annoying to do with all the running back and forth OMG

Nemesis7884

cwc was sure extremely atmospheric...and sotha sil was great, i just thought the main story was a bit generic...thieves guild was a better story but the characters and writing wasn't as strong. Morrowind for me is similar as CWC, the story just felt a bit generic..i think besides the returning characters, the newer dlc's miss a bit those characters that you really remember and want to see again.... the only ones that come to mind for me are neramo, naryu virian, eveli sharp-arrow and of course narsis dren who i hope to shove in or down somehwere in EVERY upcoming dlc in the future (and i cant wait for that narsis dren costume in the crown store)

FrancisCrawford

My Elder Scrolls experience is simply Morrowind years ago plus ESO now.

I think they're at their best when they have either flawed or downright corrupt leaders and quest givers. They also do well with wholly admirable rogues, such as Crafty Lerisa or Razum D'ar.

I think the DC lived up to that most of the way through, from Stros M'Kai to King Casimir to the Camlorn story to Sir Hughes to King Emeric to the Verandis/Dorell/Tamrith trio. (It weakened a bit after that.) Orsinium fits the model beautifully. The squabbling scoundrels of the Thieves Guild sort of fit as well.

Faulgor

I really like TG, DB and CWC, too. They all manage worldbuilding very well. The main reason why Orsinium stands out to me is the writing in regards to interactions between characters and cinematic scenes. I see these qualities in the smaller DLCs as well, but Orsinium managed to use them more effectively because it had more room to play with - in terms of actual world space, content and development time.

Morrowind (which seems a better comparison than the small DLCs) on the other hand is a bit of a mess. Instead of creating one great overarching story that draws from all locations in the zone, they split their resources on the main, Morag Tong and Telvanni questlines. This left the main quest starved and didn't draw the zone together like Orsiunium did. You never feel there's a threat to Vvardenfell as a whole when, for example, you only encounter Clavicus Vile's cult once or twice in the whole zone, compared to followers of Trinimac in Orsinium.

It will be really interesting to see where they are going with the next chapter. I hope they'll focus on one great main quest again.

Beardimus

I agree.

Imperial City and Orsinium are by far the better DLC's

I'm hoping Skyrim DLC is to the same Calibre.

f047ys3v3n

I still think Orsinium substantially the best DLC but I would rank Clockwork second which is a good sign. As for Morrowind. You charge $40 for something is basically needs to be a game not a DLC and it was far more of a DLC that a full game.

zyk

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

So i have played all the other dlc's except orsinium and started that now yesterday and am probably 75% through....people often told me it was by far the best dlc, and not just one or two but the majority of people seemed to like it the most. I have to agree - the story line, the writing, the characters, just all seem much better than the dlc's that followed... It even seemed that the writing, story and character got weaker with every new dlc?

Did they change writers or other involved people after this dlc? I think the difference is quite noticeable?

Orsinium was in development -- and apparently mostly complete -- prior to the change in direction the game took after its bad launch.

Faulgor

zyk wrote: »

Nemesis7884 wrote: »

So i have played all the other dlc's except orsinium and started that now yesterday and am probably 75% through....people often told me it was by far the best dlc, and not just one or two but the majority of people seemed to like it the most. I have to agree - the story line, the writing, the characters, just all seem much better than the dlc's that followed... It even seemed that the writing, story and character got weaker with every new dlc?

Did they change writers or other involved people after this dlc? I think the difference is quite noticeable?

Orsinium was in development -- and apparently mostly complete -- prior to the change in direction the game took after its bad launch.

Yeah I assume that also has something to do with it.
TG and DB were also in development prior to the B2P change, though I'm unsure to what extent.