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PTS Update 26 - Feedback Thread for Western Skyrim

ZOS_GinaBruno
ZOS_GinaBruno
Community Manager
This is the official feedback thread for Western Skyrim, mainly focusing on the zone, side quests, and other types of content found in the area. If you have specific feedback on the main story, please visit this thread so others can avoid spoilers. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:
  • Tutorial
    • Did you play through the new tutorial?
    • What did you think about the combat tutorial (Vitrus the Bloody)? Was it more or less informative than previous tutorials? Is there something you wish it would have taught you that it didn't?
    • Did you find sufficient items to loot in Deepwood Vale? Were they noticeable enough?
    • Did you encounter the optional lockpicking tutorial? Did you feel rewarded for completing it?
    • What did you think about the tutorial boss fight (Matron Urgala)? How was the difficulty?
  • Quests
    • Did you engage with the Main Story?
    • Did you find it easy to get the Main Story quests?
    • Which Main Story quests did you play?
    • Did you engage with any quests outside of the main story? If so, which ones?
    • Did you find any quests to be problematic from either a directional or difficulty standpoint?
  • World Bosses
    • Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?
    • Were any of them too easy or too hard?
    • Were mechanics clearly communicated?
  • Public Dungeons
    • Did you go into any public dungeons? (Labyrinthian or Nchuthnkarst)
    • Public dungeons are generally balanced for two or more players of average skill and gear. Did you feel sufficiently challenged?
  • Zone
    • What did you think of the Western Skyrim environment?
    • What did you think of the Blackreach environment?
      • Did you enter Blackreach on your own or as part of a Quest?
      • Did you have any issues navigating between Blackreach and Western Skyrim?
    • Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?
  • Harrowstorms
    • Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?
    • Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?
  • Do you have any other general feedback?
Edited by ZOS_GinaBruno on April 20, 2020 3:50AM
Gina Bruno
Senior Creator Engagement Manager
Dev Tracker | Service Alerts | ESO Twitter | My Twitter
Staff Post
  • Glacku808
    Glacku808
    ✭✭✭
    This is the official feedback thread for Western Skyrim, mainly focusing on the zone, side quests, and other types of content found in the area. If you have specific feedback on the main story, please visit this thread so others can avoid spoilers. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:
    • Tutorial
      • Did you play through the new tutorial?
      • What did you think about the combat tutorial (Vitrus the Bloody)? Was it more or less informative than previous tutorials? Is there something you wish it would have taught you that it didn't?
      • Did you find sufficient items to loot in Deepwood Vale? Were they noticeable enough?
      • Did you encounter the optional lockpicking tutorial? Did you feel rewarded for completing it?
      • What did you think about the tutorial boss fight (Matron Urgala)? How was the difficulty?
    • Quests
      • Did you engage with the Main Story?
      • Did you find it easy to get the Main Story quests?
      • Which Main Story quests did you play?
      • Did you engage with any quests outside of the main story? If so, which ones?
      • Did you find any quests to be problematic from either a directional or difficulty standpoint?
    • World Bosses
      • Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?
      • Were any of them too easy or too hard?
      • Were mechanics clearly communicated?
    • Public Dungeons
      • Did you go into any public dungeons? (Labyrinthian or Nchuthnkarst)
      • Public dungeons are generally balanced for two or more players of average skill and gear. Did you feel sufficiently challenged?
    • Zone
      • What did you think of the Western Skyrim environment?
      • What did you think of the Blackreach environment?
        • Did you enter Blackreach on your own or as part of a Quest?
        • Did you have any issues navigating between Blackreach and Western Skyrim?
      • Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?
    • Harrowstorms
      • Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?
      • Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?
    • Do you have any other general feedback?

    so far - I am finding outside weather affects inside buildings, like its totally snowing in one of the lodges Im in rn
  • Taleof2Cities
    Taleof2Cities
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    Thanks a bunch to the Art Team and World Building Team for a job well-done on both Western Skyrim and Blackreach.

    Especially Blackreach ... which is both expansive and visually stunning at the same time. I was not expecting it to cover so much area. Thank You!

    To get to Blackreach, I just wandered around the Eastern part of the overland zone for some time until I found the eastern-most dwemer lift.

    Nchuthnkarst: I started the quest in the Blackreach Public Dungeon and was able to kill one of the bosses and loot a purple Antiquities lead. The lead was for one of the pieces for the Antiquities mount. I was able to head to the overland dig site and successfully retrieved the mount piece. Didn't stay too long but enjoyed the combat and layout design of the Public Dungeon.

    Harrowstorm: I did have one encounter out in the Eastern part of the overland Skyrim. There were quite a few players there ... maybe 15. So, we didn't have much trouble bringing it down other than the brand new level 5 characters that were there. ;) The Harrowstorms do feel a little different from dolmens even through they are marked on the map by the same icon.

    PTS Template Testing Gear (Stamina Warden):

    5x Titanborn
    2x Sellistrix
    1x Maelstrom Perfected Bow
    1x Dragonstar Greatsword (Titanic Cleave)
    2x Agility Jewelry
    1x Malacath's Band of Brutality (Antiquities)

    pV7MCOI.png

    DEq1658.png
    Edited by Taleof2Cities on April 23, 2020 1:16AM
  • crjs1
    crjs1
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    For those on consoles so no PTS :-( how large is the zone in comparison to other expansions? I’m really excited that Blackreach sounds large and fleshed out
  • DeathStalker
    DeathStalker
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    World Bosses
    Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?
    The World boss in Blackreach called/at the vampire hunting grounds. Even got an achievement I think called " No food for you"

    Were any of them too easy or too hard?
    I thought the difficulty was spot on. In the beginning, it was just me and 1 other person and we wiped. Others came and it went pretty smooth. Lots of fun, loved it.

    Were mechanics clearly communicated?
    Yes, Great mechanics clearly communicated.

  • fiender66
    fiender66
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    Too many crashes to form any opinion.
    Besides, it may be me, but I do not find any scrying device by Gabrielle
  • heaven13
    heaven13
    ✭✭✭✭✭
    ✭✭✭
    This is the official feedback thread for Western Skyrim, mainly focusing on the zone, side quests, and other types of content found in the area. If you have specific feedback on the main story, please visit this thread so others can avoid spoilers. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:
    • Tutorial
      • Did you play through the new tutorial?
      • What did you think about the combat tutorial (Vitrus the Bloody)? Was it more or less informative than previous tutorials? Is there something you wish it would have taught you that it didn't?
      • Did you find sufficient items to loot in Deepwood Vale? Were they noticeable enough?
      • Did you encounter the optional lockpicking tutorial? Did you feel rewarded for completing it?
      • What did you think about the tutorial boss fight (Matron Urgala)? How was the difficulty?
    • Yes and this feedback is specifically related to it.
    • Combat tutorial was fine, probably as informative as Elsweyr's which is good. However, it might be beneficial to start including AoE that cannot be interrupted in these fights as well, to teach players to move out of 'red'.
    • Once again, we are left with no restoration staff. It has been 3 tutorials now where the lack of a resto staff is very apparent (you could sometimes find one in Summerset, never in Elsweyr). It took getting further into the barrows to find a waist piece as there was not one in the room with Vitrus the Bloody. There was also no pants of any weight to be found throughout the tutorial.
    • I found Deepwood Tower but the items located in it to loot and the two enemies within were insubstantial. Probably wouldn't waste my time with it on other characters.
    • The difficulty of Matron Urgala is fine, considering this is a tutorial and characters will have access to one skill only and then light/heavy attacks. The focus on interrupting, rather than blocking, is good as that seems to be a weak combat skill for newer players.

    Some additional observations:
    • The atmosphere is great. It's a good looking tutorial and the variance in outdoor/indoor and heights with the ramparts and the towers is really nice.
    • Fennorian follows too close and the interact radius feels larger than it should be. It makes looting things incredibly obnoxious since half the time you end up talking to him instead. Sure, this could be considered a throw back to the original main quest, but let's not.
    • Small pet peeve, but there were a lot of backpacks that visually looked full but were empty. I like to loot everything and a lot of objects were empty or had no loot interaction. I also did not find any furnishing plans for the new chapter in any loot. Both Summerset and Elsweyr tutorials typically dropped at least one furnishing plan from the new region.
    • I felt like I leveled up less in comparison to the previous tutorials. I killed all enemies I found, including the wolves in the corner and barely hit level 3 after killing Matron Urgala. Previous tutorials put me at level 4.

    A final note: the initial look at Western Skyrim is great once you exit the tutorial. Until you turn right. Those mountains look like very low quality 2D backdrop.
    iOgvP3F.jpg

    PC/NA
    Mountain God | Leave No Bone Unbroken | Apex Predator | Pure Lunacy | Depths Defier | No Rest for the Wicked | In Defiance of Death
    Defanged the Devourer | Nature's Wrath | Relentless Raider | True Genius | Bane of Thorns | Subterranean Smasher | Ardent Bibliophile

    vAA HM | vHRC HM | vSO HM | vDSA | vMoL HM | vHoF HM | vAS+2 | vCR+2 | vBRP | vSS HM | vKA | vRG
    Meet my characters :
    IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE THEY'RE ALL THE SAME NOW, THANKS ZOS
  • Olauron
    Olauron
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    • Do you have any other general feedback?
    I am not into anything story-related yet (the zone is beautiful), but I have some general wish.

    The alliance character backgrounds are very good. I have created several characters specifically to get all the backgrounds: Auridon, Alik'r, Eastmarch. The new background is good. I would definitely use it too. But please give us a possibility to choose character background for every character individually. Make it something like a personality that can be selected in the collections and still is visible on the character selection screen.
    The Three Storm Sharks, episode 8 released on january the 8th.
    One mer to rule them all,
    one mer to find them,
    One mer to bring them all
    and in the darkness bind them.
  • ectoplasmicninja
    ectoplasmicninja
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    I've completed the main quest and have now returned to Karthwatch to see if I can assist in the aftermath of its destruction. My only dialogue options so far are to act clueless - I can't make any reference to the fact that I was there earlier just after the harrowstorm, that I know what happened there and what happened to the jarl, etc. It's pretty immersion-breaking.
    PC NA, CP2200+. Character creation is the true endgame.
  • ectoplasmicninja
    ectoplasmicninja
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    At "The Blood of Old Karth" (search for Bjora) once I've found Helsi and the others in the tower, the quest marker is incorrectly located on the door I just entered through. If I exit through it, it remains on the door.
    PC NA, CP2200+. Character creation is the true endgame.
  • Elsonso
    Elsonso
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    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Tutorial

    Did you play through the new tutorial?

    Yes.

    What did you think about the combat tutorial (Vitrus the Bloody)? Was it more or less informative than previous tutorials? Is there something you wish it would have taught you that it didn't?

    Equally informative, but I have to say that as an experienced player, it was super tough to do this one.

    Did you find sufficient items to loot in Deepwood Vale? Were they noticeable enough?

    Yes. I was able to find gear and weapons to suit my class before I got too far into the tutorial. I don't know if new players would do this, but I always loot looking for gear and like it when I can find it.

    Did you encounter the optional lockpicking tutorial? Did you feel rewarded for completing it?

    No, I did not encounter. Until I read this, I did not realize that there was a lock picking tutorial.

    What did you think about the tutorial boss fight (Matron Urgala)? How was the difficulty?

    She was pretty easy with mage's fury and an inferno staff, but then, I am experienced and not sure that she needs to be hard.

    Other

    I liked the wayshrine being part of the followup. It provided more direction than previous tutorial quests and introduced the wayshrines in a very natural manner.
    ESO Plus: No
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • Elsonso
    Elsonso
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    ✭✭✭✭✭
    Harrowstorms

    Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?

    I have seen several, close and distant. I want to say that I have yet to see a computer game that can do an air vortex (tornado) good, and Greymoor is no exception. From a distance, I do not find them to be very impressive. They look like they are made of cardboard with some visual effects tossed in to hide that they are made of cardboard.

    Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?

    I participated in two of them. There are a lot of targets to strike, but not all of them seemed to be engaged in battle. A few mobs sort of acted like they were just watching. It made it hard to figure out what to attack, since I did not want to aggro something that was content with not fighting.

    I did not do the tutorial before doing the Harrowstorms, so I was not sure what to expect, or what this statue in the middle was for.

    The red mist that shows up can be annoying. It resembles being damaged (low HP) and there were a couple times when I thought I was taking damage before I realized that I was just too close to something making red mist. The Harrowstorms that I participated in had about 1000 people doing it. (minor exaggeration) I was never in any danger, but I wonder if this red mist will cause people not to notice low HP as easily or quickly.
    ESO Plus: No
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • fiender66
    fiender66
    ✭✭✭✭
    Rollback in the middle of main quest, again...

    Apart from this, I've tried to solo the Ice Giant in the North section (don't remember the name). Maxed char with good set, but it was still too much for me.

    I've to find some public dungeon yet

    Besides, I appreciate that the client now closes gracefully when I quit on my Mac. Hope this is a permanent improvement
    Edited by fiender66 on April 22, 2020 2:34PM
  • NocturnalRequiem
    Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?[/list]
    I have noticed that the larger mobs In Western Skyrim such as Vampire Scions and such are not affected by the interrupt from Crushing Shock in the Destruction Staff Skill Line.
  • Elsonso
    Elsonso
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    Dragon's Hearth in Solitude is bigger on the inside than it is on the outside! It's magic! :hushed:
    ESO Plus: No
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • Chaos2088
    Chaos2088
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    ✭✭
    Tutorial
    Did you play through the new tutorial?
    -No, been playing since Imperial city launched (whatever year that was).

    Quests
    Did you engage with the Main Story?
    -I started, but I am abit OCD about completing stuff, so waiting for that to go to the live server to complete on my 18 characters ;)
    Did you find it easy to get the Main Story quests?
    -Very easy, like that the starter cities all have links to the DLC's so you can choose a path on a new character and go down that rabbit hole, choosing your own path very much appeals to me.
    Did you engage with any quests outside of the main story? If so, which ones?
    -Did an few in blackeach (OMG amazing zone) and had to check out labyrinthia..like the new feel to nords.
    Did you find any quests to be problematic from either a directional or difficulty standpoint?
    -Did not find any so far.

    World Bosses
    Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?
    -Oh yes I did, I fought the vampire in the feeding grounds, I can solo WB easy, but this was taxing, which I enjoyed. :)
    Were any of them too easy or too hard?
    -Just the right level It think.
    Were mechanics clearly communicated?
    -I steam roll in and figure it out as I go.....LEEROY JENKINS style.

    Public Dungeons
    Did you go into any public dungeons? (Labyrinthian or Nchuthnkarst)
    -Labyrinthian was amazing, didn't check out the other one yet. I love anythign to do with elves, so Dwemer yes please! hehe
    Public dungeons are generally balanced for two or more players of average skill and gear. Did you feel sufficiently challenged?
    -Can normally solo them, which I like doing, so level was ok.

    Zone
    What did you think of the Western Skyrim environment?
    -Amazing, you guys did a very good job! always a hard thing to do to find the balence of making it seem the same but different, hats off to you lot. The zone looks wonderful. Only thing I did not like was the freezing coldness in the eastern part of the map. (unless taht was part of a quest?)
    What did you think of the Blackreach environment?
    Perfect! This zone was everything and more I was hoping. I like the different bio-domes, make it seema lot bigger than it is. Only thing is that want more of it added to the game, hopefully more will get added in the future? Sure parts you can go in skyrim are not there?
    Did you enter Blackreach on your own or as part of a Quest?
    -I cheated and used the vampire house to get there. #sorrynotsorry.
    Did you have any issues navigating between Blackreach and Western Skyrim?
    -Nope, none.
    Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?
    -You put falmer into the game (bloody love snow elfs), would be ace to encounter some that surived the nords purging (lore can be bent) hehe

    Harrowstorms
    Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?
    These were really fun, only thing im concerned about is that if in the future there is no one around to help me will I be able to complete it? probly not.
    Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?
    -Done 5 so far and the bosses really hit hard! lol Maybe scale them to other bosses in teh game, a daedric titan should be more powerful than a vampire?
    Do you have any other general feedback?
    -Only thing soncerned about in the future once the hype has dyed down might not be able to complete these solo. (I play often when everyone else is in bed) lol
    @Chaos2088 PC EU Server | AD-PvP
  • Rhonya
    Rhonya
    Soul Shriven
    Tutorial
    • I thought it was an okay tutorial, but not as good as the others. It seemed pretty short to me, and I could not find a healing staff or pants although I looted everything. I also did not find the lockpicking part in the tutorial.

    Zone
    • Western Skyrim:
      Very pretty
    • Blackreach:
      Looks nice. I found several of the elevators while exploring Western Skyrim. Had no issues finding them.
    • Solitude:
      I really like Solitude, but *please* don't keep the stables in front of the gate. Solitude is laid out nicely to do crafting dailies, but the stables are behind a loading screen, which makes the place useless for any characters that haven't finished riding training yet. Maybe add a second smaller stable inside the city?
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    Quick bit of feedback on Blackreach - if the Greymoor Caverns zone is to be the "main" bit of Blackreach that we see in ESO, then I would suggest renaming the Prologue quest dungeon that is currently just called Blackreach to Blackreach: Mzark Cavern, the same as its name on the local map. Blackreach: Greymoor Caverns can then be renamed to just Blackreach to avoid confusion with the individual Blackreach: Greymoor Cavern (singular) that is found within those caverns.

    Also, I haven't done the quest yet, but I'm hoping that takes you through the Silversnow Mine entrance to Blackreach, just so it's at least possible to RP the zone as more secretive.

    (Personally I would prefer the Great Lifts to not work at all until you activate them from below, given that the mine entrance exists, as that then puts it on par with Coldharbour, southern Bangkorai and Artaeum as "places you can get to all the time but need to put a bit of effort in to do so", and also makes Greymoor Keep a bit more of an exciting find as the "last" section of the caverns, rather than the first thing you see from what is clearly otherwise the primary lift.)
    Edited by Enodoc on April 23, 2020 9:09PM
    UESP: The Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages - A collaborative source for all knowledge on the Elder Scrolls series since 1995
    Join us on Discord - discord.gg/uesp
  • Veesk
    Veesk
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    World Bosses
    Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?
    • Only did two, the Vampire Feeding Grounds and the... Dwarven Centurion looking one with all the fire lol.
    Were any of them too easy or too hard?
    • They felt just about right honestly.
    Were mechanics clearly communicated?
    • Yeah, biggest being don't stand in stupid lol.

    Zone
    What did you think of the Western Skyrim environment?
    • It was really really beautiful. Made me feel really nostalgic about Skyrim. One of my favorite things was just being able to look at the mountains in the horizon and see how well crafted the zone was from a distance.
    Solitude?
    • I really really wish the clothing, alchemy and enchanting stations could be placed outside of their respective buildings to make crafting/writs a little easier. I have a history of only using Alinor, Vivec City and Rimmen as a place to park my alts for writs because the crafting stations are all outside. I was really looking forward to moving all my alts to Solitude because it would be my city of choice by far if it wasn't for those stations being behind two small loading doors. There has been a lot of talk in previous interviews about wanting to create city hubs for players but this felt like a step backwards from all the previous chapters.
    What did you think of the Blackreach environment?
    • Blackreach is one of the coolest looking places in the entire game. I love the bioluminescent deer. The different environment atmospheres. The glowing crystal formations are really nice. Vampire architecture is exactly what I'd want to see. I love all the wood structures like bridges and such, gives it a kinda old west feel in some spots too.
    Did you enter Blackreach on your own or as part of a Quest?
    • I cheated, ported to someone from one of my guilds. I was too eager to get a look lol.
    Did you have any issues navigating between Blackreach and Western Skyrim?
    • Nope.
    Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?
    • I didn't go everywhere in blackreach but my favorite trash monster is the vampiric sabers.

    Harrowstorms
    Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?
    • Multiple both up close and at a large distance. They looked really interesting, very easy to see them from far off with the bright contrast of red in the sky. I enjoy the change in atmosphere as you get closer to them too. Definitely changes the feel of the game and inspires a sense of danger. The red lightning was really fun too.
    Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?
    • I fought in three of them. I started one (first one I found) on my own, and found myself relieved when another player showed up lol. I didn't really know what I was getting into at first but the mechanics seemed easy to learn. It was a fun experience, it felt a lot more immersive than geysers and dark anchors.

    Do you have any other general feedback?
    • Just really want to give kudos to everyone who made these zones, they really are stunning.
    • Please consider moving the clothing, alchemy and enchanting crafting stations in Solitude outside of buildings. That would just make everything perfect lol.
  • RiverBrian
    RiverBrian
    ✭✭✭
    I have completed the main quest with no "bug" issues.

    The tutorial was good, but for the sanity of us who know what to do, add the hooded figure to the end of the tutorial. New players feel lost when you drop them into a new chapter with no background info. When the story makes sense, the game goes smoother.

    As many, many people have stated, antiquities needs a tutorial. And we need more info on where/how to find leads.
  • Hauteecole_Rider16
    Hauteecole_Rider16
    ✭✭✭
    This is the official feedback thread for Western Skyrim, mainly focusing on the zone, side quests, and other types of content found in the area. If you have specific feedback on the main story, please visit this thread so others can avoid spoilers. Specific feedback that the team is looking for includes the following:
      *snip*
    • Zone
      • What did you think of the Western Skyrim environment?
      • What did you think of the Blackreach environment?
        • Did you enter Blackreach on your own or as part of a Quest?
        • Did you have any issues navigating between Blackreach and Western Skyrim?
      • Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?
    • Harrowstorms
      • Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?
      • Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?
      *snip*
    I went on the PTS mainly to check out the landscape and the housing (I'm a Housing addict). I found the zone very familiar after years of playing TESV and camping out in the wild with the Frostfall/Camping mods. Even without the presence of the Thalmor it was very recognizable and I found myself looking for landmarks from TESV. I really loved exploring the zone.

    Blackreach was easy for me to find - I just rode around until I found one of the Dwemer lifts. I was pleased to find those lifts look and function the same as the ones in TESV, even though they are a bit further west than the ones in the older game. And as I moved around in Blackreach exploring the paths and finding all the wayshrines, I found it much more varied and interesting as the original version, and just as foreboding. I certainly gave a sigh of relief when I finally emerged in the fresh air aboveground!

    I have seen a few Harrowstorms, but not yet fought in them. The one thing that I found off-putting about them is the texture of the cyclone felt artificial. I know it's supposed to be otherworldly, but it just seem flat, like red paint thrown on sheet metal. It's hard for me to describe, but it just does not feel as three dimensional as the Dark Anchors and the Geysers do. To me it's a shiny sticker stuck on the sky. I suppose I could get used to them, but . . . That's my initial reaction to them.

    Overall I am pleased with the graphics and design work done here. I'm saving the quests and big fights for when it goes live, mainly because I want to have something to look forward to and experience for the first time :wink:
  • Olauron
    Olauron
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    Has anyone managed to find a Psijic Portal instead of a rune in the Western Skyrim? Are they spawning? Is it a bug that they are not spawning?
    The Three Storm Sharks, episode 8 released on january the 8th.
    One mer to rule them all,
    one mer to find them,
    One mer to bring them all
    and in the darkness bind them.
  • Elsonso
    Elsonso
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    Olauron wrote: »
    Has anyone managed to find a Psijic Portal instead of a rune in the Western Skyrim? Are they spawning? Is it a bug that they are not spawning?

    I have. More than one of them. too.
    ESO Plus: No
    PC NA/EU: @Elsonso
    XBox EU/NA: @ElsonsoJannus
    X/Twitter: ElsonsoJannus
  • Olauron
    Olauron
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    Elsonso wrote: »
    Olauron wrote: »
    Has anyone managed to find a Psijic Portal instead of a rune in the Western Skyrim? Are they spawning? Is it a bug that they are not spawning?

    I have. More than one of them. too.
    Thanks! After two hours riding across the zone I have finally found one (just a minute ago).
    The Three Storm Sharks, episode 8 released on january the 8th.
    One mer to rule them all,
    one mer to find them,
    One mer to bring them all
    and in the darkness bind them.
  • laufey
    laufey
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    World Bosses

    Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?


    Northern Giant, the Undefeatable Poison Guy (not so Undefeatable, it turns out), and the Dwarven Centurion in Blackreach. Tried the camp by the wayshrine close to Morthal, but they were bugged out and didn't attack back.

    Were any of them too easy or too hard?

    I did them all solo on a melee magdk, stage 4 vamp, 810CP. The Poison guy felt right, comparable to other DLC WB in difficulty. The Giant was ok, but the wave stun is very buggy (you break free and then skate around on your head taking damage for a while - didn't manage to kill him because this happened every time I tried) and he kept suddenly sprinting around for no reason - however, I do feel he'd also be a decent fight if the stun was cleaned up and he stopped trying to teleport, as apart from that I thought he had some nice mechanics.

    The Centurion was messy (lots of aoe fire damage, and I was on a stage 4 vamp) but doable, although I found it harder than the others simply due to the fact I didn't feel like I could see enough of the boss to properly react (3rd person with the camera zoomed all the way out, but in melee range). I basically went in circles and dodged a great deal to mitigate that. The adds are a nice addition to the fight too.

    Were mechanics clearly communicated?

    Yes, for the most part - although if you fight the Centurion like I did you can pretty much only see his legs and the rest of the screen is just entirely fire, which makes it a tad difficult to see what he's doing. Ranged characters would probably have an easier time of it. I have no idea why his arms fell off though. Or when they fell off? Or did he never have arms at all? Idk, it was hard to see.
  • Alucardo
    Alucardo
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    For the most part I skipped the quests and story, because I want them to be a surprise for my characters when it goes live. I did however explore the zone, ritual sites, and tackle world bosses.

    Did you fight any world bosses? If so, which ones?
    I think his name was Ysgmar, a very fast giant who summons orbs. He seemed to have an unbreakable stun that would occasionally happen. When I got CCd I could move around but couldn't break the stun animation until he stunned me again. I assume it was a glitch.
    I also fought Skreg the Undefeatable and the Vampire feeding grounds in Blackreach.

    Were any of them too easy or too hard?
    They weren't overly difficult, but challenging enough to call them World Bosses I suppose. I think any well geared max level character could tackle them solo without too much problem, if they knew what they were doing.

    Were mechanics clearly communicated?
    For the most part, yes. Especially Skreg. Like when he ran over to the barrels you quickly knew he was going to throw poison everywhere, and you knew when he was leaving the trap on the ground. I didn't quite understand what the orbs around Ysmar were though.

    What did you think of the Western Skyrim environment?
    When I watched some gameplay of it I thought "Okay, so it's just rock, snow, and grass. Nothing new.". But when I jumped onto PTS myself my mood quickly changed. Exploring it was fun, and the zone is actually quite beautiful, especially the sky at night. Like wow.
    I went into a few delves, and some of them aren't what you expect which I liked. For example, the first one I went into was like an entirely new outside zone instead of a dark cave like you're accustomed to. It was very refreshing!

    What did you think of the Blackreach environment?
    Bruh. I love environments with completely different aesthetics, like Coldharbour, so upon entering Blackreach I could not control my excitement. It's dark and ominous, but there's also something beautiful about it. The vampire feeding grounds were actually pretty challenging, which was nice too. I really love this zone, and I look forward to exploring it more on live. I loved it so much I didn't want to spoil too much of it on PTS.

    Did you enter Blackreach on your own or as part of a Quest?
    I actually found it by complete accident. I was exploring Western Skyrim and came across this lift in the middle of no where, so I obviously I had to see where it'd take me. To my surprise I entered Blackreach. OMFG factor was 10/10.

    Did you have any issues navigating between Blackreach and Western Skyrim?
    I found quite a few invisible walls in Western Skyrim while searching for dig sites, but as long as you follow the paths on your map you can easily find your way around mountains.
    Blackreach wasn't a problem. It's quite open, giving you multiple areas of access. After seeing the feeding grounds on my compass I had no trouble locating it.

    Did you encounter any new monsters you haven't seen before? What did you think of them?
    Yes, the Vampire knight things in Blackreach. Also, I saw ONE Chaurus in Western Skyrim, which I believe is new. I had one of those "OMG I KNOW YOU" moments.

    Did you see any Harrowstorms? If so, what did you think of their general look and feel?
    Are these the ritual sites where the sky turns red? These were amazing. Far more challenging than the old anchors, and extremely fun. As if it the visuals weren't awesome enough, it spat out some vampire lords and gigantic werewolves. Yeah I'm sold on these. Good job.

    Did you try to fight in any of them? Harrowstorms are group events, like Geysers or Dark Anchors. Knowing that, how did the experience feel?
    As I said, they were more challenging than the old dark anchors which was very welcome. Because of its difficulty and mechanics, you become more engaged. Whenever I saw one pop up on the PTS I would rush over because they were incredibly fun to partake in.
    Because they take a bit longer to do now, you have more of a chance of making it over there before someone shuts it down, which is great also.
    Overall they were an amazing addition to Western Skyrim, and that's coming from a PvPer.
    Edited by Alucardo on April 25, 2020 3:24AM
  • Cireous
    Cireous
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    My feedback for Western Skyrim. :flushed::cookie:
  • fiender66
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    Blackreach is amazing. The only real novelty in terms of level design and aesthetics since Clockwork, IMO (but not on par with it, actually).

    Ritual sites are a bit of a mystery to me, maybe there should be more documentation about them (are they vampire shrines? what timing have they?).

    Till now great zone story (yep, but Svana is terribly cliche, are we bound to have a female conflictual adolescent in every DLC?).

  • SidraWillowsky
    SidraWillowsky
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    I can't speak to all of this, but a few comments:

    I mostly just headed to Blackreach. i got there on my own from the lift on the eastern side of the map.

    The Falmer and chaurus weren't new to me, but they're new to the game. You've made them just as annoying as the ones in TES V :tongue:

    I found Blackreach in general to be a bit disorienting, but I'm assuming once I get used to it it'll be better. I'll note that I wasn't in support of making Blackreach an area in ESO to begin with, so I'm a little biased- IMO, you cannot replicate the feel of it in an MMO, but that's neither here nor there.

    The main reason I'm commenting is that the location icons at the top of my screen (in console/gamepad UI) show up way, waaaaay too soon. The Nchuthnkarst icon showed up when I was in an entirely different area and was much further away than the icon would normally indicate. I'd recommend dialing that back so that it shows up when you get closer. I noticed that in general.

    The Harrowstorms look cool as hell though. I found one and no one was around, so I start to try to solo it then realized that the totem things each have 1 mil+ health. I think they'll do a good job encouraging group play. EDIT oh wait, I may have found a feeding ground- red swirly thing with people waling toward the middle? Maybe they're the same as Harrowstorms? IDK I kinda just showed up to Blackreach
    Edited by SidraWillowsky on April 26, 2020 2:56PM
  • saf227_ESO
    saf227_ESO
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    Tutorial
    Did you play through the new tutorial?
    Yes!
    What did you think about the combat tutorial (Vitrus the Bloody)? Was it more or less informative than previous tutorials? Is there something you wish it would have taught you that it didn't?
    I liked it well enough - but I took him to 0 health with light attacks, he didn't move & didn't die. I moved a 1/4" closer & then the tutorial started - with him at 0 health the entire time. Maybe the tutorial fight should start as soon as I get close enough OR attack?
    Did you find sufficient items to loot in Deepwood Vale? Were they noticeable enough?
    You still seem biased towards stam. All kinds of swords and axes, etc. I found an inferno staff. How about a lightning staff also? I would have liked some more armor pieces, but it's fine. However, Fennorian kept standing so close it was nearly impossible to pick anything up. The cursor just kept highlighting him instead of the item. Back up, dude!!!
    Did you encounter the optional lockpicking tutorial? Did you feel rewarded for completing it?
    Nope. Didn't see it at all. Ol' Fenny kept a brisk pace.
    What did you think about the tutorial boss fight (Matron Urgala)? How was the difficulty?
    Super easy. But I've been playing a long time. And it's a tutorial, it should be easy.

    Also, haven't I seen Korvynn somewhere before? On a boat in Khenarthi's Roost, maybe? Maybe she has a twin sister?
    Edited by saf227_ESO on April 29, 2020 4:59PM
  • Enodoc
    Enodoc
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    The main reason I'm commenting is that the location icons at the top of my screen (in console/gamepad UI) show up way, waaaaay too soon. The Nchuthnkarst icon showed up when I was in an entirely different area and was much further away than the icon would normally indicate. I'd recommend dialing that back so that it shows up when you get closer. I noticed that in general.
    Yeah I would agree with that. The radius for POIs in Blackreach showing up on the compass is far too wide - it may be standard compared to an overworld zone, but I think it needs to be significantly reduced while in Blackreach. I would suggest, for example, only marking on the locations that are in the same cavern as you, and not any that are in the next cavern over.
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