PTS Update 25 - Feedback Thread for Greymoor Prologue Quest

ZOS_GinaBruno

This is the official feedback thread for the Greymoor prologue quest, Darkness Falls in Skyrim. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:

• Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?
• Do you have any other general feedback?

LonePirate

For EP players, when looting the note from the Harrowfiend corpse in Eidolon's Hollow in Deshaan, the quest says to follow the magic trail to the next objective. However, there is no magic trail, assuming it is supposed to be the same red magical orbs that appeared in the two prior quest steps. There is a blinking map marker for the next objective; but there is no magic trail leading me there.

Sennecca

As an AD player, after reaching an objective and having to go to a different section of the map, the quest still says follow the magic trail even though there is no magic trail for me. i can zoom out on the map and see the highlighted area of where i am supposed to go, but no magic trail that it says there is

Saucy_Jack

So this is about the "Coven Conundrum" prologue quest (couldn't find another thread for it) but once you get to the end of Blackreach, to where the Windhelm guy got stabbed, you talk to Lyris and you have the option to fast travel to the next part of the quest or search around. If you don't choose either but hit escape to get out of the convo, and then take the elevator up in the next room, it takes you to an exit high up on a cliff above the inn you first entered, but there's NO lever there to take the elevator back down, meaning in order to progress the quest, you have to go alllll the way back through the inn and through Blackreach to get back to Lyris. Can a "down" lever be put at the elevator exit?

michaelemanuel11b16_ESO

I thought that the prologue quest was incredibly well done, and it absolutely sets the stage for Greymoor. Can I also commend the fact that we finally have Windhelm's Palace of Kings in-game, and that you can go back in after the quest is finished!

There are a few gaps in the collision around the Blackreach area. I was able to get out of the map at one point (close to the sun-orb-thing), I think it needs another pass over. It would be great to be able to come back here after the quest was finished, as well.

In the tavern you're sent to in Eastmarch, the first thing I did was run behind the bar (and see the blood on the floor/cellar door). I really think you need to have a re-think about this, as having to run upstairs and back down again to get the "hints" in the right order didn't make sense.

After you've taken the elevator up at the end of the ruins, you can see the stone of the solid platform beneath the mesh floor of the elevator. It makes you wonder how the lift got up through solid rock, maybe have a quick look at that? It really stuck out to me.

Fata1moose

This may seem like a small thing, but it would be awesome if the exterior of the palace of Kings matched with its TES V counterpart. Having the old ESO generic wooden nord building with the stone interior is weird. It would also be a boon for continuity which I think is important.

For reference:

Veesk

Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?
Nope!

Do you have any other general feedback?
This has by far been my favorite prologue quest created to date. It felt like a good length, it wasn't grindy or too fetch quest like either. The settings within The Palace of Kings and Blackreach were stunning. Really liked the new vampire and death hound enemies aesthetically. The ambient dialogue from enemies was neat too. The small combo of a little traveling, a little combat and a little sneaking (following an NPC) was a good balance. It didn't feel like new players will have a difficult time with this.

The rewards were really nice too! Momento was cool looking but I really like the style unlocks. Especially the shoulders. For anyone wanting to not have a shoulder piece showing this seems to be a nice trade off since it's not really on the shoulders, plus it's dyeable fur which is a bonus.

I'm really hoping a lot of the new furnishings I saw in The Palace of Kings will become recipes too... there were some really neat food items lying around.

Epona222

I really enjoyed the quest - good job!

HOWEVER - I had problems multiple times looting bodies of mobs I had just killed in Blackreach - it may be an issue other places as well, but I only did the prologue quest so far, I don't know if it is a wider issue.

It does need to be fixed, people do not like missing out on even the smallest loot drop!

I do not have any addons installed in PTS.

Epona222

ArcaneFeathers wrote: »

Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?
Nope!

Do you have any other general feedback?
This has by far been my favorite prologue quest created to date. It felt like a good length, it wasn't grindy or too fetch quest like either. The settings within The Palace of Kings and Blackreach were stunning. Really liked the new vampire and death hound enemies aesthetically. The ambient dialogue from enemies was neat too. The small combo of a little traveling, a little combat and a little sneaking (following an NPC) was a good balance. It didn't feel like new players will have a difficult time with this.

The rewards were really nice too! Momento was cool looking but I really like the style unlocks. Especially the shoulders. For anyone wanting to not have a shoulder piece showing this seems to be a nice trade off since it's not really on the shoulders, plus it's dyeable fur which is a bonus.

I'm really hoping a lot of the new furnishings I saw in The Palace of Kings will become recipes too... there were some really neat food items lying around.

Aye, the dishes with the racks of ribs - yes please!

Was delighted to finally get inside the Palace of Kings after all these years of being turned away at the door - and it looked similar to how I remember it from Skyrim, which is going to give fans a nice smile - very good job.

RaddlemanNumber7

Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?

No. Did it with an EP toon.

Do you have any other general feedback?

I don't like that we were taken deep into an old quest location like Eidolons Hollow. I feel like I'm going to need some blinkers to help me with immersion. There are going to be too many things to see that just shouldn't be there anymore.

Too many big spaces with nothing going on. Makes recreating those areas from TES V seem like a wasted effort.

A nice surprise with the boss at the end. Wasn't expecting that

Jorun's voice over was too far off the original.

It's a bit silly leaving Jorun sitting on his throne inside his palace at the end of the prologue while he is still sitting in his chair in the house around the corner.

Anska

Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?

None. I did it with a maxed EP character.

Do you have any other general feedback?

I enjoyed it very much. It felt like coming home to familiar places to experience a new adventure. The newly added old locations looked and felt great - though I would prefer it if the Ratway was filled with a more ordinary brand of thugs once the prologue quest is finished. (But even filled with vamps, I am just so happy to have the Ratway back.)

The only thing I didn't like were the two locations you had to visit in Deshaan. Eidolon's Hollow and the wilderness near Shad Astula felt very random when it's implied the victims were lured there by a business proposition. The first location near the Shrine to Saint Rilms was fine though.

Quest aside I agree with what was written about the furniture and food items (and the board games)! I too do hope most of them will become recipes so we can decorate our houses with them. They look incredibly beautiful and I am very happy to see how well the old and the new Nord style mix.

Anska

I am wondering if I missed something or aren't there any dailies connected to the Prologue this time around?

I am mostly asking out of curiosity, since I am not the hugest fan of dailies and loathed the ones for Elsweyr. I (dare I say it) kind of liked the ones for Murkmire though: some actually are fun enough, most locations are easy to reach and with the chance to collect a cute pet and get some furnishing nick-nack from the related dlc, they have awesome rewards. A part of me (the one that likes furnishing nick-nacks and cute pets) was kind of looking forward to this kind of repeatable quests for the upcoming chapter.

Kendaric

[*] Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?

Did the quest on a max level EP template (Stam Warden) and didn't have any issues starting or completing the quest.

[*] Do you have any other general feedback?

I loved the addition of the Ratway and Windhelm palace, especially as they remain opened opened for access after the quest is finished. I also love the quest rewards, the outfit pieces in particular. My only gripe with the outfit is that the fur shawl can't be dyed currently.

After finshing the questline I think the Harrowfiends in the Ratway should be replaced with generic bandits, skeevers and/or other appropriate critters if possible.

Anska

• Do you have any other general feedback?

The animation for the amulet you are given in Deshaan does not work properly if you activate it from sneak. The animation will play, but the amulet itself doesn't show up.

The door to the ratway closes, shutting Lyris out, even if you avoid the trap, that should (logically speaking) trigger it. If, however, you then turn around and step on it, it will trigger a metallic sound - either of the trap or of the already closed door, I couldn't tell.

When you meet Hrolt in the tunnel and start speaking with him, his and Lyris' dialogue overlap. Maybe making the option to talk to him only available after Lyris actually tells you to do so would solve that problem.

If you leave Kagalthar via the elevator, it is weird that there isn't an elevator lever on the platform when you reach the top.

All the new bookshelves and containers in the Palace of the Kings are still unuseable. I suppose you are aware of this but for me, unuseable bookshelves and containers are very frustrating.

There are still Royal Workers in front of the Palace of the Kings, demanding to be let in. While it is true that there still seems to be some costruction-work going on in the interior, it might be nice to give those poor workers additional dialog now that the palace can be entered - or actually let them work inside for a change.

RaddlemanNumber7

If you leave Blackreach by the Kagalthar elevator it's weird that the bottom of the lift is located some way to the north of the Tower of Mzark and the top of the lift comes out right next to Fort Morvunskar. That dwemer tech is pretty freaky.

Anska

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

If you leave Blackreach by the Kagalthar elevator it's weird that the bottom of the lift is located some way to the north of the Tower of Mzark and the top of the lift comes out right next to Fort Morvunskar. That dwemer tech is pretty freaky.

Hundreds of Falmer will move it in the years to come. That's why you don't see any of them down there, they are all hard at work relocating Blackreach.

kind_hero

My first impression is.. underwhelming

This is Skyrim, the stakes have been set very high and you need to do this right

My first turn off is how casual you get into Blackreach... In Skyrim we had to use dwemer elevators and two stage dungeons to get there. Blackreach felt epic, getting there was like finding an other world, while in the prologue it is like any other delve. Sorry, I am impressed only because I played Skyrim and loved Blackreach, otherwise this would not feel any different than any other dwemer delves in the game. I appreciate seeing the dwemer sun, even though right now I can't see how you will integrate that into the game. Feels like it will light up an other huge expensive house.
My impression is that you chose convenience rather than trying to make the player overwhelmed by the epicness of Blackreach.
- as a suggestion, I would put a dwemer elevator between the basement tunnel and the Blackreach cave. You can make that without to much effort. It feels more natural if whomever owned the inn dug and found some dwemer structure which turned to be an elevator to a world below.

The Ratway does not feel like the one in Skyrim, just barely, but hey that is OK. I wish you could revisit that and find different type of mobs, like thugs or bandits.

The Palace of Kings looks OK, even though I was expecting the grey tones from Skyrim. I can understand this is centuries earlier, so that is fine. But please, that metal sconce is so cheap! Can't you put some embers on the model? It looks lazy and it is immersion breaking
- a suggestion for the throne room would be to have banners from various holds, not only the pact banner
I like the food/drink furnishings, the shelves, especially those with books, and I hope you will release one filled with vegetables, like in the kitchen. The art related furnishings are great, again I hope you will release the existing easel we saw in Summerset. It would be lovely to get the armor/weapon racks furnishings.

In the palace there are to many loading screens between very short corridors. Moonhunter keep has interactable doors, why do you need separate cells for such small corridors in 2020?

The dialogue with the housecarl did not feel right to me. Lyris is a hero, tasked by the king to investigate, yet she can't see him to report what she found, and that he is in danger. Also, it is same for the vestige... the dialogue makes not sense to me.

There is a lot of potential now to catch up with the dwemer furnishings people are asking for years. Walls, large doors, sconces, technology... I would love to see a centurion frame with an inactive centurion as furnishings.

The quest is OK, however the Dragonguard prologue was more exciting. I was hoping for some new mechanics like the ones we experienced last year (moving boxes, grappling hook, etc).

The Windhelm outfit style looks ok, but the shoulder piece does not dye, why is that? Also, I don't understand why the set is not complete, like the corsair outfit we got from S. Elsweyr? The tunic does not look right on female chars because the animation is weird when the character runs. Otherwise the tunic is awesome, I hope to see more like this.

Anska

kind_hero wrote: »

- as a suggestion, I would put a dwemer elevator between the basement tunnel and the Blackreach cave. You can make that without to much effort. It feels more natural if whomever owned the inn dug and found some dwemer structure which turned to be an elevator to a world below.

I liked the comment you made in that other "ladder-thread" about having to fix the elevator. It made me think, that the witches maybe tried to cover their tracks or hinder pursuit. (Afterall they bribed one soldier, they might know someone is onto them)

Apart from that, I think it's a good idea, because I have the impression, what bothers most people about "reaching Blackreach using a ladder" is related to reaching the exact spot in Blackreach we know from Skyrim (and not some previously unknown bit) via ladder. So a bit more actual travel-time and effort might help there.

kind_hero

@Anska My impression is as well that some more story telling is needed, and this introduction is a bit rushed.

From Skyrim, we get the impression that Blackreach area is very deep underground, because we reach it using dwemer elevators. In the prologue it does not feel like that.

Think about how cool would have been to have some animation while using an elevator or crashing down. Remember Depths of Malatar? How they surprised us with that imperial structure falling down? When I did that for the 1st time, I knew it was to good to be true, that something bad would happen, but did not imagine the floor will fall. That was one of my favourite moments in that DLC. It was so Indiana Jones style. They have the tools to do amazing things, yet they took short cuts here, where you have the most potential to create jaw droping moments. I also have to mention the Vile Manse public dungeon. You fall so much, it must be deeper than Blackreach. That was also an amazing moment.

What I loved about Blackreach is how it reminded me of Jules Verne Journey to the Center of the Earth SF story. You got to this deep, isolated, underground world with its own strange ecosistem populated by cursed creatures (Falmer) and remnants of a civilisation that disappeared mysteriously ages ago.
In the prologue all this is more casual, I do not feel the difference from the prologue Blackreach area and a delve. There are many dwemer themed delves which are of the same size or even larger.

The descent to Blackreach is a missed opportunity, and I fear this will be the case with the entire chapter...

P.S. I would love to see more weird plants and creatures. In Southern Elsweyr we got to see glowing vines, moon blessed water, all all sorts of flora. This is Blackreach... you can go wild.. I pray that you do!

Pwoo

I just completed the quest on a max level AD sorcerer without any issues (or complaints)!

However, I did run into a funny "bug" with Jorunn the Skald-King during the boss fight quest stage where he's bound by chains. Since my character has the Mud Ball Merriment (New Life Festival quest) active in her quest journal, I got the prompt to throw a mud ball at him - not only did I receive a 46 gold bounty but his bound animation broke and after shaking off the mud he just nonchalantly stood there (still in chains).

Not exactly a game-breaking bug but it sure made me laugh

Anska

@kind_hero You don't even have to look as far as the Vile Mance. The corridors in the Palace of the Kings feel much vaster than the tunnel which leads to Blackreach - despite what Lyris says about it. I suppose, since the DLC got a release date yesterday, it might be too late for special effects such as in the Depth of Malatar but adding a segment of dwarven ruin between the cellar and the Blackreach-tunnel is maybe still possible. Along with a follow the blood-trail sort of quest or renewed use fo the amulet that you were given in Deshaan? I mean, it is the thing's singular purpose.

Concerning story-telling, something else came to my mind. In fact something, that I have complained so much about to friends, that I completely forgot to maybe mention it where it makes sense: I loathe that you have to pick quest starts from the interface. It is such a horrible way to introduce a quest. I much rather have another messenger follow me around, find a letter in one of the guild halls or have someone chat me up in a tavern or at the market. Anything really but having to open the interface for it.

And finally, since repeating requests sometimes helps: I love to have the Ratway back but repopulating it with ordinary riff-raff and maybe one or two memorable corners and npc (like the fellow with the traps in Skyrim) after the prologue is completed would be awesome.

Elsonso

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

This is the official feedback thread for the Greymoor prologue quest, Darkness Falls in Skyrim. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:

• Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?
• Do you have any other general feedback?

Purchased the quest from the Crown Store, used map to find the Agent.

After being teleported to Stormhaven and using the medallion to show the magic trail, Lyris wanted me to go in one direction, while she went in the other. It was not clear which direction she was going to go. Just a bit of awkwardness.

At the end of the first "marked location", the quest said to follow the "magic trail", not "go to the next marked location". I expected the latter.

I share some of the concern that Blackreach is too easy to find, for something that is a legend. Hidden passage, or not, I would expect that a lot of people know about Blackreach.

Something to think about in the future. The Palace of Kings has too many instances where there is a "teleport" door, then we walk about 10 feet to another "teleport" door. I have to think that these could have been combined so that we were not constantly having to pass through this type of door.

Enodoc

Agreed with the above that Blackreach was a bit too "simple" to get into. The secret passage is a nice idea but doesn't really mesh with the status of Blackreach, nor the depth that it should be at.

That aside however, it was nice to see a bit of Blackreach that was instantly recognisable - the Derelict Pumphouse, the entrance to Raldbthar, the Silent City, and the Tower of Mzark. I'll be interested to see some of the new "western" Blackreach once the chapter comes out.

One final point - the loading screens for the Ratway, Blackreach and the Palace of Kings don't have any artwork or flavour text. I hope artwork and flavour text aren't being done away with.

RaddlemanNumber7

Patch 5.3.3

Using a character that had already done the prologue quests.

Greymoor Prologue Quest
Riften Ratway and Blackreach now have proper load screens.

Only seeing generic loading screens when entering the ratway, blackreach or the palace of kings.

Added new lore text to all associated loading screens.

Not seeing any text on loading screens when entering the ratway, blackreach or the palace of kings.

The great lift now has proper assets in place to make your elevator journey more exciting.

The lift animations are visible for about 0.1 seconds, at best.

Edit: Found same thing with another character while doing the prologue quests.

RaddlemanNumber7

If you don't choose the Fast Travel options in Lyris's dialogue all the white arrow map pins that show you where to meet her are way out of place. Going to Deshaan I had to run around a while near the shrine of St Whatsit until I found the place where Lyris was going to appear. When travelling to Riften I reached the arrow near the south gate, then entered the city and headed for the Inn as directed, meanwhile I could hear Lyris talking off somewhere in the distance as she ran towards the Inn. When you travel to the inn in Eastmarch the white arrow map pin is also a long way away from where you meet Lyris.

Anska

It's probably too late to comment on this now, but I did the quest again with another character and encountered the same problems mentioned above (no new loading screens or descriptions and a very short elevator animation) but what puzzled me most was, that you get the same ending-dialogue if you finish the prologue on a DB (and I assume AD) character, than if you play it with an EP character.

What Jorunn says about not being able to send you to the Western Holds instantly, makes sense for an EP character - after all, he is the leader of your alliance in this case - but it makes absolutely no sense for characters belonging to the other alliances. I also missed the "appreciative hostility" with which the leaders of the other alliances adress you during the old main quest, when you invite them the Stirk.

DMuehlhausen

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

This is the official feedback thread for the Greymoor prologue quest, Darkness Falls in Skyrim. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:

• Did you have any trouble starting or completing the quest?
• Do you have any other general feedback?

Umm yeah how do you even start this? I'm not finding Lyris anywhere?

Elsonso

DMuehlhausen wrote: »

Umm yeah how do you even start this? I'm not finding Lyris anywhere?

She quit because she kept hitting her head on the doors at ZOS.

On PTS, you buy the quest starter from the Crown Store. After that, there was a quest marker to find the messenger that leads you to Lyris. She was no hard to find.

On Live, you wait, since it has not been released, yet.