Thoughts from a Disappointed Breton Fan

francesinhalover

Ratharel wrote: »

ESO stopped pretending to be a true ES game long time ago. It's a casual themepark in ES setting. Nice, relaxing themepark, with sparks of creativity here and there, but nothing as deep as let's say TES III lore.

Hasnt it been that way since day one?
They dont show the stuff people want to see anyways like fox races, water elfs, tsaesci, etc.
, khajit and argonian on morrowind have actual animal/reptile legs. Wes that in eso?

francesinhalover

kaushad wrote: »

Ratharel wrote: »

ESO stopped pretending to be a true ES game long time ago. It's a casual themepark in ES setting. Nice, relaxing themepark, with sparks of creativity here and there, but nothing as deep as let's say TES III lore.

Only on the ESO forum, where "1H & rune" is more important than lore, do I read this.

I mean you have legit time travel in dc. And eso lorewise is pretty boring read comment above.
Es youtubers / lore reddit pretend eso doesnt exist.

Supreme_Atromancer

Keep in mind that ZoS are working under the explicit statement from Todd Howard that Tamriel is essentially a low- magic setting reflected in the thought: "if magic were to disappear from the world today, nothing would change." Thus even Summerset, populated by arguably the most magically-talented race in Tamriel isn't overtly magical.

From what Leamon has said, it looks like there will be plenty of exploration of the magical aspect of the Breton heritage. It will be great to explore the Direnni stuff, but I think that taking one statement about the "Druids of Galen" from a 25 year old game and turning it over and asking what that might mean in this context (and possibly making it speak to the Nedic angle) is both inspired, and something a lot of people have been asking ZoS to do for a long time. This is something I'm actually really excited about.

As to the Renaissance angle, and please don't take this as an attack or an attempt to crap all over what you want (we're all passionate Breton fans here), this sounds really boring to me. That part of history can be interesting for a lot of the implications it has for what came after and all, but its technology, aesthetic, shakespearean prose and its brotherhood of man stuff has never grasped me as the substance of gritty adventure, and I'd be disappointed if they leaned too far into that.

My disappointment for Breton stuff is to do with earlier decisions - giving over half of their province to the Orcs left no room for good Breton storytelling to happen on Tamriel, and that decision went along with an embargo on any Breton stuff in the entire territory. The case for Jehanna is still made loudly by some of us, and many of us will continue to passionately champion this corner of High Rock as a little part of Tamriel that can be theirs. Not that I begrudge ZoS from doing what they've done this year - I'm intrigued and look forward to exploring High Isle!

As for magic, I think that their native bonus to conjuration they had in earlier games is something that offers an interesting potential avenue for exploration and offers a unique angle: if Conjuration tends to be daedric (or even necromantic), then the magical nature of Bretons tends to have a darker, more morally-grey slant to it. That's interesting to me because magic was not High Fantasy in the older games, but dark and a little icky, and I like that.

Sylas_Orin

@ArchMikem I can see that being possible, though the trailer did show the Daggerfall banners hanging on the castles on the island. It's under Breton rule, at least, if not directly part of the alliance.

@Faulgor Appreciate the links! Those do bring me hope, but I do admit I'm kind of wary given the emphasis on the feudal aspects and not the enlightenment bits that Bretons have.

@Hagrett @Marto I'll admit I am a little early, but as I said to Faulgor above, I am wary with what they decided to focus on with the reveal. Maybe I am jumping the gun a bit, but I don't want ZOS to miss the memo, so to speak, so I am hoping that they will take notice before it is too late.

@francesinhalover Yep! Summerset 2.0 with medieval vibes. Because as a matter of fact, Breton children were noted to cast spells in the streets like it was nobody's business, and ESO's pre-release information implicitly stated the TES3 Breton dialogue option was contemporary. As I clearly stated, base game ESO mucked up a bit. I want to see Bretons be as passionate as they were described to be, and flaunt the magical ability.

@Supreme_Atromancer It seems the use of magic becomes unpopular with time as the eras drag on, but remember that by TES5's time, the Mages Guild has fallen out of favor and been replaced by the Synod and the College of Whispers. Magic in the Fourth Era seems to be viewed very suspiciously. The Second Era seems to be the "Golden Era" of magic, so to speak. I think it would be fitting for the Bretons to openly show their magical affinity, as it fits with their descriptors as being passionate, flamboyant and eccentric. As for the renaissance/enlightenment stuff, a reason I want to see it is because I wonder how it would work in a feudal society. Like say if you have freedom of speech. Sure, you can insult your lord, but would that not dishonor you? Seeing how honor, freedom, rights and the feudal hierarchy mix together could make for a very interesting dynamic, imo.

SirAxen

Perhaps wait until you've actually played through the content. As usual, the side-quests will be where they dive into the culture and lore of the Bretons the most.

Samantha5422

Don't forget that we will also be getting a 4th quarter Story DLC this year. That may have more lore to discover than the chapter. And if history is a guide will be in another new area - though it's possible that new area may be another island in the Systres Archipelago

Supreme_Atromancer

BlissfulDelusions wrote: »

It seems the use of magic becomes unpopular with time as the eras drag on, but remember that by TES5's time, the Mages Guild has fallen out of favor and been replaced by the Synod and the College of Whispers. Magic in the Fourth Era seems to be viewed very suspiciously. The Second Era seems to be the "Golden Era" of magic, so to speak. I think it would be fitting for the Bretons to openly show their magical affinity, as it fits with their descriptors as being passionate, flamboyant and eccentric.

My reference was Rich Lambert, who was quoting Todd Howard's vision for the setting, so its safe to say that big, conspicuous magic in everyday life isn't a currently a setting assumption for ZOS or Bethesda, even in the 2nd era. So I wouldn't bank on it being flamboyant to any degree. I still think that leaves lots of room for it to play a significant part in the Breton story, so I'm hopeful.

brylars

In spite of the hype and the promise of a deep dive, the reveal seemed kind of shallow. No end of the world scenario but it seemed the chapter story could actually fit in a quest, much like some cheap movies look like they should be a TV show episode.

In spite of this, I look forward to actually looking into the chapter first hand as many times the presentation does not reveal the cool stuff in an effort to prevent spoilers. I am disappointed in the world bosses are going to be like the Summerset ones but it is a MMO RPG.

Faulgor

step9372 wrote: »

Don't forget that we will also be getting a 4th quarter Story DLC this year. That may have more lore to discover than the chapter. And if history is a guide will be in another new area - though it's possible that new area may be another island in the Systres Archipelago

I think they said in one of the interviews I linked that we'll see two more islands of the archipelago later this year, which I suspect refers to the Q4 story DLC. Technically could have also meant the Q3 dungeons, but I somehow doubt it.

Sylas_Orin

brylars wrote: »

In spite of the hype and the promise of a deep dive, the reveal seemed kind of shallow. No end of the world scenario but it seemed the chapter story could actually fit in a quest, much like some cheap movies look like they should be a TV show episode.

In spite of this, I look forward to actually looking into the chapter first hand as many times the presentation does not reveal the cool stuff in an effort to prevent spoilers. I am disappointed in the world bosses are going to be like the Summerset ones but it is a MMO RPG.

I agree. It seemed very surface-level, which... if you take anything at surface-level, any of the races could be boiled down to their most obvious influences. My hope is that they will cover both modern AND ancient Breton lore, however, so that we get a good mix of lore about High Isle, as well as about High Rock, proper.

Faulgor wrote: »

step9372 wrote: »

Don't forget that we will also be getting a 4th quarter Story DLC this year. That may have more lore to discover than the chapter. And if history is a guide will be in another new area - though it's possible that new area may be another island in the Systres Archipelago

I think they said in one of the interviews I linked that we'll see two more islands of the archipelago later this year, which I suspect refers to the Q4 story DLC. Technically could have also meant the Q3 dungeons, but I somehow doubt it.

As I recall it, they still plan a dungeon pack for Q3, right? I would be happy if they broke the formula, because there will still be room for Breton lore in Western Reach, if they decide to keep it all strictly island-based.