Best alliance for story and zones? in 2020

Strider__Roshin

Daggerfall Covenant

DC is enjoyable throughout. EP has the coolest zones and a solid story, but Shadowfen is incredibly boring which is why I'd put it second. AD was just boring throughout with the worst terrain.

Cloudtrader

Daggerfall Covenant

Everyone talking about Daggerfall zones being "generic fantasy" or "European high fantasy" is kinda whack, the Auridon in AD is more what I think of as generic fantasy. Daggerfall has some of the best writing, and no zones maps that are horrible to navigate. I also really like the desert aesthetic of the Redguard zones. I think the quest flow of the Daggerfall zones work better, too, it's not too samey-samey and there are some GREAT characters that you get to come across later in the game, too.

Crazyprophet

Ebonheart Pact

I think they've all got strengths and weaknesses.

Aldmeri Dominion has the most consistent group of recurring characters and linking storylines, but kinda shoehorns you into a specific role. You don't feel you can be much other than Ayrenn's personal spy.

Ebonheart Pact is what you make it. Your character can really be anything and everything they want. Which is nice, it gives you an element of freedom. The stories are almost entirely disconnected from each other but they feel the most action-packed and fast paced to me... and kinda episodic too. Feels like each zone is a new questline, not the continuation of the last, which is nice in its way. Ebonheart is very narrowly my favourite (though partially this is also because Dunmer are one of my favourite races in game, and I have some rad Skyrim nostalgia that gets scratched in Eastmarch xD)

Daggerfall Covenant would probably be my favourite if not for Al'ikir, which is hands down my least favourite zone (it looks nice but the plotline of the zone is the most generic boring storyline I've ever seen: "oh no, evil villains are threatening the world with dark magic" "Why?" "Oh idk they're evil I guess they were even evil as kids and now they're still evil!" Idk, it just didn't seem compelling at all to me.) It's also a bit TOO Breton focused - 4 out of 5 zones are basically super fun Breton time. But the positives are many. I love the recurring characters. I walked away from that story feeling like Darion Gautier and Gabrielle Benele were friends. I love the structure of the alliance. I LOVE King Emeric - he's my favourite Alliance leader - his sarcasm is amazing.

Alurria

Ebonheart Pact

EP for me than AD than DC but you know each story has its charm. I hope we get to explore Norms oceans next. I would love to set sail on my own ship with my own crew to slay a sea dragon and discover some islands. But I always think that when I look out over the Nirn seas then I remember slaughter 🐠🐟

JMadFour

Each Alliance is honestly enjoyable in its own way.

Daggerfall is the most "traditional" high fantasy of the three. Their zones are basically "Necromancy bad, with a pit stop for Vampires." Each Daggerfall Zone is basically self-contained, each telling a separate story with a beginning, a middle, and an end, with the Main story of each zone having its own unique characters with little carryover. The Daggerfall zones are very "Knights and Castles" aesthetic with the exception of Alik'r which is a huge desert. Daggerfall has the single best Alliance Story Zone of the three, Rivenspire. It also has several very cool set piece battles sprinkled throughout its zones, along with several memorable side characters and side quests. (Like mah boi Stibbons) One set piece has you going back in time to relive a famous battle. Also, Ghosts. DC has LOTS AND LOTS of Ghosts. (there is a funny side quest where a guy is basically trying to stop his ghostly ancestor from continually cussing him out for joining a Necromancer cult)

Aldmeri is one big humongous forest. You enter one end of the forest and then 3 zones later you come out the other side of the forest. Aldmeri has a much more cohesive story between zones, the Story and the Characters travel between each zone in one big overarching storyline. Each Zone has its own Questlines of course, but nearly all of them tie in very neatly to the Main Aldmeri Dominion storyline(Of Queen Ayrenn establishing the Dominion and cementing her rule over it and removing obstacles to forming the Dominion) in a way that Daggerfall and Ebonheart do not. The main Alliance story partners are more of a consistent presence throughout the storyline than in other Alliances. The first few AD zones have the vibe of a secret agent man kind of questline with you and Razum-dar. Outside of Razum-dar, Ayrenn, and the two Mane candidates, most of friendly characters are pretty forgettable.

Ebonheart is the Alliance of variety and weirdness. The Dark Elf Zones are weird and different looking. The Argonian areas are swampy, and Skyrim is Skyrim. Where Daggerfall and Aldmeri have a somewhat consistent aesthetic theme to their zones, Ebonheart Pact is very individual. That is because the Pact exists only for self-defense, which is part of the main theme of the Ebonheart Zone storylines. The Pact is fragile, full of races that REALLY don't like each other, and are only agreeing to work together out of self-preservation. You spend most of your time working to strengthen its bonds. Ebonheart is the Alliance whose storyline most closely ties into the Three Banners War in Cyrodiil, as in the EP storyline you will find yourself fending off various attacks and schemes from the other two Alliances as a primary story focus(where in other Alliances, these things are more sidequests). Such as the ADs attempted genocide of Argonian babies. If you want a waifu, EP has Naryu who shows up fairly often in your quests. The Raynor Twins are really fun to assist on their dungeon-diving endeavors as well. Ebonheart NPCs are surprisingly funny, so if humor is your thing, the EP will surprise you.

jle30303

"Ebonheart NPCs are surprisingly funny"...

And none more so than RIGURT THE BRASH :-)

Sylvermynx

*sigh*

Other: all of them. Though EP is NOT my favorite at all.... I have EP characters. I don't play them as "committed EP" - because that faction is just not really anything I have a feel for/any real interest in.

Crazyprophet

Ebonheart Pact

The Three Hearts as One song is an argument for Pact Patriotism in and of itself :P

Nah in truth my Pact character is a Hlaalu diplomat who's sort of in it for the money.

volkeswagon

Aldmeri Dominion

AD because of the kitties

Snowstrider

Aldmeri Dominion

AD>EP>DC

silvereyes

Ebonheart Pact

I think that it speaks well of the game that each factions’ zones have fans.

My favorite zone story overall was probably Rivenspire’s, but I loved the variety of biomes and art in EP the best, and that’s what sticks with me over time.

mocap

Aldmeri Dominion

VaranisArano, hands down, gave the best answer.

AD - if you like to see some notable NPCs from start till end of campaign;
EP - if you like episodic storytelling with little to no connection between them;
DC - kinda mix, but more like EP scattered narrative style.

Metal_Marty

Daggerfall Covenant

AD has, like others said, maybe the most cohesive story line but imo the worst zones. Hard to navigate stupid forests. Reapers march is very cool though. And of course Raz.

EP' story is the least cohesive but pretty strong individual stories. Least memorable characters imo but some of the prettiest zones.

DC has the best blend of it al I think. Some of the best characters (Darien, Gabrielle, Stibbons, Emeric etc).
Best zone story (Rivenspire) and ties best into the Coldharbour plot.
But in all honesty altough I really like the looks of the Alikr the story or culture just doesn't make sense. Not fighting the undead so just let them overrun you? plain stupid.

Anyway cheers,

Marty

Michae

Ebonheart Pact

VaranisArano wrote: »

They've all got their strong points.

If you enjoy a story with strong recurring characters who go through a lot of growth with you as their sidekick, Aldmeri Dominion is fantastic.

If you enjoy a more episodic storyline with your character as the central hero, Ebonheart Pact does that well.

If you want a mix of the two, Daggerfall Covenant features both relatable NPCs while keeping your character in the driver's seat.

For myself, the Pact was my first faction storyline and its still my favorite. None of the other faction questlines match EP's focus on the war as they mainly cover the internal divisions of each alliance. EP's quests did an excellent job of getting me to care about the Three Banners War, firing me up to fight for Pact, and truly engaging with the NPCs I met along the way. Highlights included the saga of the Earth-turner family that spans from starter island to the final zone and the gut-punch of the Dominion's misdeeds in Shadowfen. No other faction's story made me feel as strongly as the Pact.

Of course, YMMV. Each faction story has things it does well, things it does poorly, and things that are going to come down to personal taste.

This. I wouldn't word it better.

Grandchamp1989

Aldmeri Dominion

From what I have played AD is more interesting.

Reasons?

In the AD questline you actually learn a lot more about the culture, races and customs of the races living there.

You learn about the politics with the queen, the oppositions and the obsticles she faces.
you learn about Wood elven society, Heirachy and the role of Khajiit Manes.


Ebonheart is more character specific - Help Almalexia or the High King

DC is too focused on undead IMO.
Daggerfall focused on some random werewolf threat that made me learn very little about the Bretons..
Rivenspire is more about Vampires than learning about Breton society...
Alik'r you learn something about Redguards but again we're faced with more undead - necromancers and zombies.

Veles

Is it only my eyes hurts, how voting colors do not contrasts with alliances colors and the Covenant only got to the point?

Larcomar

Aldmeri Dominion

I suspect alot of this boils down to which one you did with your first toon. Not least because I know that by the end, I was just wanting to finish cadwell's gold. But here goes:

AD - as others have said, my sense has alaways been best overall story, characters, and it all gells well. That said, while Auridon is fantastic, and Greenshade close behind, Grahtwood felt like a bit of a filler zone - leaving aside it's dark, the quest was pure macguffin stuff. Go get three pieces of errr something, to put err something together. It also felt like the main story sort of climaxed at the end of Greenshade; Malabal tor and Reaper's march felt a little like addendum's. That said, while I didn't much care for Malabal (pain of a zone, boring plot) Reaper's march was a bit of a return to form - great zone, ok story. So looking back, while it hung together well and had 3/5 great zones, there was more filler than I maybe remebered along the way.

EP - Hmmm. Greater started zone but I always struggle to get through stonefalls. One of my least fav zones, and a plot that feels a bit like we did x, now we need to undo x. I wasn't sure what I'd achieved by the end. After that it picks up; Deshaan's not bad, Shadowfen was - though I really wasn't looking forward to torgging around a marsh the whole time - a really pleasant surprise and Eastmarch was excellent. The Rift didn't quite live up to that - I can't actually remember much interestingly - but still, I don't think it was a bad ending. Less high's than AD, and a fragmented plot, but still, actually a good average consistency. If you can get past stonefalls it definitely got better.

DC - Great start with stros m'kai, wasn't a big fan of glenumbra (bloody wyrd tree stuff), stormhaven got better with some interestin court politics, Rivenspire was excellent as other's have said, ALik'r felt like a bit of a stand alone but certainly different to wander around (and I'd take it any day over malabal tor), and Bankorai had some good moments, sort of set pieces that worked well. Overall Id probably say the weakest of the three, but I did this the end of cadwells, and was probably rushing through it. Plus the whole chain has Bil Nighy. And Bill Nighy > Kate beckinsdale.

Setting it out like this makes me realise that the AD line probably wasn't quite as good as I remembered, and the other two were probably better than I gave them credit for at the time. Like i say, alot of it is which you do first. I should probably play through them again.

Hurbster

Ebonheart Pact

EP for sure. By far the best intro with Bleakrock, Bal Foyen and Stonefalls. It shows why the EP are together for mutual protection. Wish more was done with Almalexia, although hands are really tied there I guess. Shadowfen - so yeah Genocide, nice one Dominion. Last two zones pull everything together, (admittedly leaning heavily on Skyrim nostagia) with lots of Reachman.

I do like the other two alliances, not as much as EP though. The much-lauded Rivenspire boils down to 'Verandis is a hand-wringing idiot' - should have been updated for Vampire characters to be recognised.

And AD is just a bit boring with many zones very similar to each other.

Fennwitty

Aldmeri Dominion

AD zone stories feel more 'epic' and world shaping overall. And the most connected. Feels like the most time was spent on these.

DC zones stories feel very generic and unconnected to me. Like it was written first when ESO was in development. Rivenspire's the highlight though.

EP zones look nice, but base game storylines are pretty disconnected. The Rift feels like it was written in a hurry, the quests barely connect to each other internally.

JasonRahl

Ebonheart Pact

The Ebonhart Pact will always be my favorite simply for the song "Three Hearts as One"

Iccotak

Ebonheart Pact

it is a shame that alliance choice is not all that relevant in DLC content

Nirntrotter

Aldmeri Dominion

Best zones, best characters, no humans. But I'm biased.