Taking the rose-colored glasses off for a moment

Sheezabeast

I finally had time to explore Blackwood a fair bit, and it made me feel kind of sad. It's a mix of the worst things about Murkmire with some of the worst things about the Gold Coast, with the dungeon design of Southern Elsweyr mixed with Vvardenfell.

I wanted to love it. I really did

Has anyone else felt similar about the landscape/feel of the Blackwood zone as a whole? The ambience, the feel, the terrain, the experience?

fiender66

I said elsewhere that Blackwood falls a long shot behind Summerset and VVardenfell (and Murkmire too, which I love). Also, the novelty of the underworld in WS is missing.

I fear the effort has been concentrated on the realisation of the companions, that, with all its shortcomings, is still a relevant feat of programming IMO.

I share the OP opinion that the environment at large is not very interesting and looks like a puzzle of old pieces, but delves are not so bad, and some secondary quests are enjoyable.

What I cannot condone is the toddler level of the puzzles (rotate the cube, sigh...) and the shallowness of the main quest, with Eveli utterly wasted as a character

Orion_89

Sheezabeast wrote: »

...with the dungeon design of Southern Elsweyr mixed with Vvardenfell.

Can you clarify which dungeons you meant? Public?

Speaking of impressions, despite the low quality of content, it wouldn't be so sad if there were much more of it. I finished the chapter in two days (evenings) without hurry and now I just don't know what else I can do in this game except farming gold. Companions appear to be too plain and there is no depth in them so... Idk.

NoxiousBlight

I think the Blackwood public dungeons and delves are fantastic. The design is really nice and I enjoy looking at them. Feels unique and like something fresh.

The overland is meh. Kind of a never ending greenish black swampy blob. Honestly it feels like a COVID induced zone. Everyone was working from home, under stress, so they tried to keep it super simple.

Frustrates me to the end of the earth that oblivion portals are so difficult to find. Instead of running through them over and over if I want to farm, which is fun, I have to find one and just stand there at the end boss until he respawns. Very lame. Dragons should have been the model to use for how to make an overland event feel epic. Wish they would have used the giant Oblivion portals and just had stuff pour out of them.

Eveli drives me insane. Couldn't stand her in Orsinium and can barely tolerate her now. Very sad they put her in the main story.

Design wise I think Orsinium was their best work. Story wise I think Northern Elsweyr is the winner (and I don't even like khajiits, so that is really saying something).

So yeah, I think Blackwood is... somewhere near the bottom. But I am still working my way through the content so I won't condemn it quite yet. There are moments of glory so far. The Stibbons quest made me laugh multiple times, for example. Regardless, I am happy for new content to eat through and I am trying to make it last a month or two.

emilyhyoyeon

I'm a bit hesitant to comment because the Blackwood area is probably my first or second favorite in TES of all time so I don't think I can really tell if I'm really being unbiased.

Murkmire to me was essentially flawless except for the fact that it's the only zone where I drop from 40-50 fps to 10-15 no matter what I do. I don't experience that in Blackwood.

The only substantial negative about Gold Coast to me is the smallness of the content, and I thought the Blackwood delves are beautiful and relatively engaging.

I think my only real complaints with Blackwood are that I wish the west/southwest parts were more similarly forested as they were in TES4, and that I wish we got more variety in Leyawiin style furnishings. I also wish the main storyline didn't go for an epic premise and were more like Thieves Guild. I haven't fully done all of Blackwood yet though.

VaranisArano

So far, Blackwood in ESO looks a lot like Blackwood did in Oblivion.

That's not really a compliment. With a few exceptions, Oblivion did not really have the same striking landscapes and vistas as Skyrim and Morrowind. Except for flooded Leyawiin, Blackwood was pretty much a swamp. Nothing I've seen has brought anywhere near the sense of nostalgia I got from ESO's Gold Coast zone strolling down the main street in Anvil or walking up the road to a not-burning Kvatch.

priestnall.andrewrwb17_ESO

It lacks the attention to detail that other zones HAD; especially base game… literally every nook and cranny had something to discover. Blackwood (overland) is rather “phoned in” or rushed - the zone is largely devoid of NPCs and feels dead or dying… that being said, the public dungeons are AMAZING - so good job to the team / person responsible for those.

anitajoneb17_ESO

I love the general feel and esthetics of the zone, but I agree with you that there's too little original design / textures / items in it and too much recycling of previous stuff, which makes it lack the feeling of novelty and discovery.

Elsonso

Sheezabeast wrote: »

Has anyone else felt similar about the landscape/feel of the Blackwood zone as a whole? The ambience, the feel, the terrain, the experience?

Yeah, it is pretty sad to walk through the zone. It is much easier if you just ignore it and not realize how much ZOS just phoned it in (almost literally). I went through PTS hoping that maybe it was just unfinished, since they did say that not all monsters and resources were placed. They did that and ... well... that's it? Just a quick afternoon of work before hitting the no-masks-required bars in Baltimore?

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/comment/7229307/#Comment_7229307

NoxiousBlight wrote: »

Honestly it feels like a COVID induced zone. Everyone was working from home, under stress, so they tried to keep it super simple.

If this is the case, they have excelled in their efforts. While I think that working from home definitely had challenges, particularly with command and control over content, I don't think this is the whole story. They can maybe use COVID for the next chapter, but after that, they are going to need new excuses.

This is supposed to be a big Chapter zone, but the quarterly DLC zone of Southern Elsweyr is better than Blackwood. Blackwood may be larger, but only because they stretched it to fit chapter sized zones.

VaranisArano wrote: »

Nothing I've seen has brought anywhere near the sense of nostalgia I got from ESO's Gold Coast zone strolling down the main street in Anvil or walking up the road to a not-burning Kvatch.

That is actually a good thing. I am tired of ZOS rolling out "nostalgia zones" to bring in the teary memories of gaming long past feeling. There are 800 years between what I remember and what ZOS is showing. Vivec City was good. Kvatch was good. Anvil was not good. Solitude was not good. Markarth was good. I have not decided about Leyawiin.

Blackwood does not feel like TES 4 to me, outside of Leyawiin, and I like that.

Lugaldu

I think the landscape is pretty (and with great music), but not spectacular, there is no "wow"-effect. And I'm glad that there isn't that much extensive swamp, because I personally would not have liked another Shadowfen / Murkmire. But as has already been noted several times in other threads: In my imagination we should have encountered dense, gloomy forests that do justice to the name "Blackwood". And unfortunately there are ... none at all.

Odovacar

I like that its easily navigable and it does look pretty especially during certain times of the day. As far as love it …I wouldn't go that far but at least its pretty large.

cyclonus11

I love it. But then again I also love Murkmire and swampy zones, so...

Finedaible

I have not purchased Blackwood because they have proved over these last two years that, aside from trial content, the chapters are pretty lackluster with all the cool content being saved for the last dlc of the year. I'm not even gonna bother getting blackwood until it goes on sale because the dlc is where it usually gets good.

Year-long stories are also awkward to tell when you have to wait months between parts, it just breaks immersion too much.

Elsonso

Finedaible wrote: »

I have not purchased Blackwood because they have proved over these last two years that, aside from trial content, the chapters are pretty lackluster with all the cool content being saved for the last dlc of the year. I'm not even gonna bother getting blackwood until it goes on sale because the dlc is where it usually gets good.

Year-long stories are also awkward to tell when you have to wait months between parts, it just breaks immersion too much.

Honestly, they should have ended the year on the chapter, not some quarterly DLC.

Vevvev

fiender66 wrote: »

What I cannot condone is the toddler level of the puzzles (rotate the cube, sigh...)

That "puzzle" is an insult to many player's intelligence. There are puzzles in ESO that are equally simple that at least have you try to match something correctly. I ended up sprinting down those cubes hitting interact with little care as to actual combination since it really didn't matter.

agegarton

I hate the swampy stuff. It reminds me of Murkmire (which I absolutely detested and it remains the only zone I have not fully completed) and Shadowfen. Yuk!

The Northern Territory is OK, if a little uninspiring.

My overall conclusion is that the chapter feels a bit "small" for the price of a full Chapter. It's more like a bigger than usual DLC area. There are other issues too:

• Mister Dagon turned out to be a big wuss. Hardly the stuff of nightmares. Not exactly a major play-a
• Oblivion portals are repetitive and a bit naff, to be honest
• Loot drops are practically non-existent. The folks of Blackwood are poor for a reason!
• The main quest is a good story, but it's not the best implemented. It's no Summerset, for sure. I had to force myself to finish it.
• Companions are nice and I'm having more fun with it than I thought I would, but there are sooooo many missed opportunities here and ultimately, what are we all going to do with our companions in a month or two.......? Once we've all ground our way one Rapport Point at a time to having a virtual friend who can't stomach me zapping a butterfly, how much use are they really?

I'm struggling to see where I got value for money on this one. Even the base game updates is yet another confused mess of buff changes that is more and more often leaving everything feeling a bit vanilla and over-managed. The next DLC will be yet another set of incredibly uninspiring group dungeons (snooooooze).

They don't play their own game and they don't listen to those who do, so at the moment I'd say they're as off-track as they have ever been. Of a group of 12 from 2014, I'm the last one subbing.

Elsonso

Vevvev wrote: »

fiender66 wrote: »

What I cannot condone is the toddler level of the puzzles (rotate the cube, sigh...)

That "puzzle" is an insult to many player's intelligence. There are puzzles in ESO that are equally simple that at least have you try to match something correctly. I ended up sprinting down those cubes hitting interact with little care as to actual combination since it really didn't matter.

If the puzzles were any harder, the toddlers would melt down here in the forum and demand Crown puzzle bypasses like some random game that I probably never heard of offers.

More seriously, I don't expect this to be Myst, and really don't want it to be. A good puzzle is fun, but once I do them, I know them. The puzzle is less fun with each repeat attempt, so faster is better.

danno8

Vevvev wrote: »

fiender66 wrote: »

What I cannot condone is the toddler level of the puzzles (rotate the cube, sigh...)

That "puzzle" is an insult to many player's intelligence. There are puzzles in ESO that are equally simple that at least have you try to match something correctly. I ended up sprinting down those cubes hitting interact with little care as to actual combination since it really didn't matter.

It is often faster to just randomly try combinations for puzzles in this game than it is to try to read some book (often lying on the ground right next to the puzzle) and figure it out since the number of combinations is usually around 5-10 and it takes only a minute or two to try them all.

SeaGtGruff

VaranisArano wrote: »

So far, Blackwood in ESO looks a lot like Blackwood did in Oblivion.

That's not really a compliment. With a few exceptions, Oblivion did not really have the same striking landscapes and vistas as Skyrim and Morrowind. Except for flooded Leyawiin, Blackwood was pretty much a swamp. Nothing I've seen has brought anywhere near the sense of nostalgia I got from ESO's Gold Coast zone strolling down the main street in Anvil or walking up the road to a not-burning Kvatch.

I haven't played through all of the content yet-- not by a long shot-- but I'm enjoying the zone itself well enough. That's a little odd, I guess, because the Blackwood region of TES4 was probably my least-favorite area in that game. And Blackwood does share some of the more annoying aspects of Murkmire and Shadowfen, such as Kotu Gava. But for some reason I'm finding Kotu Gava less annoying than I used to, probably because I've gradually found better ways to deal with them.

It's too early for me to decide how much I'll keep enjoying this zone versus any of the other zones, but in general I enjoy going back to revisit each zone even if I don't tend to spend a lot of time there, just because I love being able to wander all across Tamriel and experience the differing environments, architectures, and so on.

The Gold Coast, though-- yes, when I started running around there for the first time, it triggered me to start playing TES4 again because of the heavy nostalgia I got from the landscape and cities. I don't quite get the same degree of cross-game triggering between ESO and TES5, although ESO and TES3 come close.

kargen27

I start new content on one side of the zone and zig-zag across to the other side just to discover stuff. I usually fish and farm along the way. This time I also did side quests. Last chapter I did main quest first then some of the side quests mentioned problems I already solved so decided to go a different route.

Has been plenty of times in the new zone I have stopped just to look around because I find the scenery interesting and/or aesthetically pleasing. I do a lot of screen shots and don't tend to rush anywhere and I think the zone has many areas that look really good.

starkerealm

agegarton wrote: »

They don't play their own game and they don't listen to those who do...

This is one that I can say, without question, is incorrect. I've been in unscheduled dungeon runs with Rich, and I've seen him climb to the top of the BG charts when he's on vacation.

Brian doesn't do what you want him to do. I'm not wild about his decisions more often than not, it feels like. That said, no, they do actually play their own game.

Artemis_X_

It does feel very lackluster. In much of what I've seen so far I'd not expect it to look different if the devs had a random terrain generator hit the seed button a few times and left it.

Iccotak

NoxiousBlight wrote: »

I think the Blackwood public dungeons and delves are fantastic. The design is really nice and I enjoy looking at them. Feels unique and like something fresh.

The overland is meh. Kind of a never ending greenish black swampy blob. Honestly it feels like a COVID induced zone. Everyone was working from home, under stress, so they tried to keep it super simple.

Frustrates me to the end of the earth that oblivion portals are so difficult to find. Instead of running through them over and over if I want to farm, which is fun, I have to find one and just stand there at the end boss until he respawns. Very lame. Dragons should have been the model to use for how to make an overland event feel epic. Wish they would have used the giant Oblivion portals and just had stuff pour out of them.

Eveli drives me insane. Couldn't stand her in Orsinium and can barely tolerate her now. Very sad they put her in the main story.

Design wise I think Orsinium was their best work. Story wise I think Northern Elsweyr is the winner (and I don't even like khajiits, so that is really saying something).

So yeah, I think Blackwood is... somewhere near the bottom. But I am still working my way through the content so I won't condemn it quite yet. There are moments of glory so far. The Stibbons quest made me laugh multiple times, for example. Regardless, I am happy for new content to eat through and I am trying to make it last a month or two.

Same - Delves & Public Dungeons are Top Notch, but the overland is disappointing. Blackwood lacks any woods and doesn't feel like a forest.

If the rest of the zone felt like the public dungeons and delves then it'd be great - but Blackwood is overall very bland and disappointing. Terrain is meh and it lacks an interesting atmosphere that the Delves & Public Dungeons have

Oliviander

cyclonus11 wrote: »

I love it. But then again I also love Murkmire and swampy zones, so...

Same here - and i didn't like

Vvardenfell
Summerset
and Elsweyr that much

so this is something for us

gary.mcleodeb17_ESO

Rose tinted glasses aside, Despite being a ESO Plus Sub for many years now, I'm usually slow at entering new Chapters, DLCs etc. This time, I piled straight into Blackwood. I can honestly say that I'm thoughly enjoying all elements of Blackwood. In particular, the music, the map topography and a refreshing sense of humour many of the NPC have. It's relaxing, and at times, oddly quiet, with other players seemingly somewhere else! I really like the way the crafting area is set up and after years of crafting there, (thank you Morrowind!)have relocated from Vivec City to Leyawiin to do my crafting dailies. The sound of the bell tolling (I assume coming from The Great Chapel) evokes memories of my travels around Europe, and wandering into sleepy towns and cities looking for breakfast, or an evening meal and a beer.

A reluctant public dungeoneer, usually doing so, to only complete achievements, I really enjoyed doing the two in Blackwood. I've also found some nice furnishing plans, sold some and learned some. It's also my opinion of course, the Kothringi Tidal Canoe, is one of the most beautiful leads/furnishing items I've seen to date.

There are some negatives too of which I won't bore the reader with, however, the positives so far, exceed any negatives. I'm happy with my purchase of Blackwood.

Thank you to all involved in creating and working upon Blackwood. (edited, typo!)

SerafinaWaterstar

Totally disagree with OP & others on this thread. Think Blackwood far superior to Greymoor, and much prettier than Orsinium (which is such a bore overland).

But then I like Mirkmire & Shadowfen. 😉

Have been running around just having a look and there definitely are those little quirky things for you to discover, just like in other areas.

The dungeons & delves are well designed & interesting; the portals ok but annoying at the moment due to people farming. The towns feel real.

All in all really like this chapter, much more than Greymoor & Morrowind - but then I’m not into nostalgia.

Elsonso

SerafinaWaterstar wrote: »

Think Blackwood far superior to Greymoor, and much prettier than Orsinium (which is such a bore overland).

But then I like Mirkmire & Shadowfen. 😉

Have been running around just having a look and there definitely are those little quirky things for you to discover, just like in other areas.

The dungeons & delves are well designed & interesting; the portals ok but annoying at the moment due to people farming. The towns feel real.

All in all really like this chapter, much more than Greymoor & Morrowind - but then I’m not into nostalgia.

Vvardenfell was fun for nostalgia because it was the first attempt, and I think they did a very good job rolling back the island. At least, what they chose to show us of the island. After that, it was down hill on the nostalgia axis. Kvatch was good, but Anvil was basically "new coat of paint", which they basically repeated with Solitude. Markarth was as I expected for a rollback. Not much for ZOS to do there, other than muck it up, which they managed to avoid. Leyawiin is better than the work they did on Solitude, so I commend them on that.

However, the rest of the Blackwood zone and chapter are bothersome. Blackreach was a gem hidden in Greymoor, and a place where ZOS could really stretch out and make a statement. I think they did that, and it remains one of the most visually impressive locations in the game. Blackwood has nothing like that.

ZOS had an interesting chance to make Deadlands into something, but they didn't really do that. They didn't even go for the nostalgia angle, they just tossed some lava into a zone with Daedra and made it look hot. It is boring. I have no desire to even go in there, now that I have done it a couple times. The monsters are boring. The zone is boring. It is just a throwaway location.

Maybe the Deadlands in Q4 will be more than just islands surrounded by lava with a few Daedra milling about the proverbial water cooler.

I don't do Trials. I have not completed all of the dungeon content in the Chapter. Right now, I feel like the Companion System eclipses the rest of the chapter. Buy the Companion System Chapter and get a free zone based on TES 4!

Maybe I am in a pessimistic mood today. Eh?

Astiron

I liked the story (too short for me though) and parts of the zone are nice to look at, but it really felt more like a small DLC than a full blown chapter.
(Edited for word salad, lol)

Orion_89

Elsonso wrote: »

ZOS had an interesting chance to make Deadlands into something, but they didn't really do that. They didn't even go for the nostalgia angle, they just tossed some lava into a zone with Daedra and made it look hot. It is boring. I have no desire to even go in there, now that I have done it a couple times. The monsters are boring. The zone is boring. It is just a throwaway location.

This. I thought the Deadlands would be an additional zone to explore like Blackreach, with pieces of dremora's culture, maybe a daedric city but... There are several similar islands and nothing else.

NoxiousBlight

Orion_89 wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

ZOS had an interesting chance to make Deadlands into something, but they didn't really do that. They didn't even go for the nostalgia angle, they just tossed some lava into a zone with Daedra and made it look hot. It is boring. I have no desire to even go in there, now that I have done it a couple times. The monsters are boring. The zone is boring. It is just a throwaway location.

This. I thought the Deadlands would be an additional zone to explore like Blackreach, with pieces of dremora's culture, maybe a daedric city but... There are several similar islands and nothing else.

I am pretty sure an entire Deadlands zone is the Q4 DLC.

Elsonso

NoxiousBlight wrote: »

Orion_89 wrote: »

Elsonso wrote: »

ZOS had an interesting chance to make Deadlands into something, but they didn't really do that. They didn't even go for the nostalgia angle, they just tossed some lava into a zone with Daedra and made it look hot. It is boring. I have no desire to even go in there, now that I have done it a couple times. The monsters are boring. The zone is boring. It is just a throwaway location.

This. I thought the Deadlands would be an additional zone to explore like Blackreach, with pieces of dremora's culture, maybe a daedric city but... There are several similar islands and nothing else.

I am pretty sure an entire Deadlands zone is the Q4 DLC.

It it were something like Shivering Isles for TES 4, this would excite me. Lots of places to go and things to do and interesting people to meet. ZOS, however, has a formula, so that tempers any excitement that might build up. Two delves and one public dungeon. One group world boss, or a couple normal world bosses. Some city that should not be there. Some sort of world event in a couple locations. Whatever the checklist demands.