Zerith-Var appreciation thread: best character & story in ESO (that I played 'til now)

SkaiFaith

I have NOT played all the quests in the game: I just played all Main Quests (both base and DLC), Guilds, base game Dungeons, and just a few Trials/DLC dungeons, plus some random secondary quests.
I played all companions aside from Tanlorin. When they announced these 2 new companions I was reluctant to both - I usually don't enjoy necromancer characters.
The more I heard about Zerith-Var during tests, the more it started to intrigue me.
I then decided to give him a chance, having hope it could become a positive surprise...

What a wonderful character and story I've witnessed! Thank you to anyone involved with this NPC!

His voice is perfect.
His aesthetics are cool.
Being a Khajiit and "having a pet" is wholesome.
His backstory is cool.
All side characters during his storyline felt good and I couldn't really see where we were headed - everything was well-written.
The moral side of the story with the thoughts it wanted to give to the player were done in a way that, to me, never felt forced and instead have taken me to feel something personal, attached and involved, wishing to see a good outcome and feeling "I learnt something I already knew but may still struggle to accept".
What a great touch having my character's name and race used in so many dialogues/documents! Fresh air.
Locations were beautiful too, could have taken such cinematic screenshots!
I found the final fight very well executed.
He's also nice to keep around when wandering casually, and his perk is so well done IMO.
Initially I found bothering not being able to fill soul gems but then I kinda got why he's not ok with it.

Overall, I loved every moment of Zerith-Var and his story.
I even started playing Tales of Tribute for him! And I discovered I enjoy it! After avoiding for more than 2 years hating on it! Seems like I have something to make amend for... "Shall we, Tamiit?"

fizl101

His story is great and I have alot more of an understanding of the background to what is happening in MoL

zaria

Second quest was an shock. Very good writing.
And done all the quests in ESO at least all on quest locations and others I found.

Only critic is that his voice is a bit soft / low, it can be hard to hear over other npc talking.

Syldras

I found the quest generally well-written.

There are a few things I disliked; I found it a little predictable (can't go into detail because of spoilers, but let's say it was obvious who would cause problems and the "big surprising reveal" was also what I expected from the beginning), I'm generally not a big fan of stories that convey obvious moral lessons, and I also disliked that some the player character's replies (that cannot be avoided) are too much "from a real world perspective", in particular where we have to express astonishment, although what was happening might not be that strange for our character's race or upbringing at all.

BUT, I generally found the narration to have a nice style, most characters were likeable, it was emotional but not cheesy, it avoided silly jokes and clichés, and I especially loved the additions to lore. In general, I found it nicely written and if all writing was on this level, I would never complain again! Really, this was a nice experience, even if I'm personally not that much interested in Khajiit at all. If a story is told on this level, I don't care if it's about an Orc, a Breton or a Dunmer, it's entertaining regardless.

As for the perk, I personally don't need it at all, but that's okay, as different people like different things, and my main interest in companions is the story anyway.

Cloudtrader

I just finished his quests, and I agree! This is one of the best stories so far in the game. I really enjoyed it!

kind_hero

I came to the forums to see other opinions on Zerith. I am glad that other players appreciate the work that has been done for this character!

I have been playing since the beta, and doing 99% of the quests in the game, I can say that he has one of the best quests so far. The quests provided an unexpected depth to the Khajiit lore, and what is also great, that old zones are revisited for new content such this.

I like the theme of this char. In my opinion, Zerith should have more lines when visiting certain places that he knows from the past.
Hopefully the earlier companions will get more quests and content to do. Playing Mirri and Bastian again feels like a demo compared to Zerith or Azandar.

LalMirchi

Zerith-Var has edged out my dearest Sharp as my most easy-going and congenial companion.

Extra points for the most awesome sarcastic comment ever spoken by our companions.

"At last. The shores are free from this terror you call … mudcrab."

The voice acting here is exquisite

fizl101

LalMirchi wrote: »

Zerith-Var has edged out my dearest Sharp as my most easy-going and congenial companion.

Extra points for the most awesome sarcastic comment ever spoken by our companions.

"At last. The shores are free from this terror you call … mudcrab."

The voice acting here is exquisite

His other line about the same subject is equally funny

SkaiFaith

kind_hero wrote: »

I came to the forums to see other opinions on Zerith. I am glad that other players appreciate the work that has been done for this character!

I have been playing since the beta, and doing 99% of the quests in the game, I can say that he has one of the best quests so far. The quests provided an unexpected depth to the Khajiit lore, and what is also great, that old zones are revisited for new content such this.

I like the theme of this char. In my opinion, Zerith should have more lines when visiting certain places that he knows from the past.
Hopefully the earlier companions will get more quests and content to do. Playing Mirri and Bastian again feels like a demo compared to Zerith or Azandar.

Glad to see even players with more experience in terms of questing agree that this is a masterpiece of story and character.

I am also reading he can be the best tank and that would challenge my dedication to Isobel...

StarOfElyon

SkaiFaith wrote: »

I have NOT played all the quests in the game: I just played all Main Quests (both base and DLC), Guilds, base game Dungeons, and just a few Trials/DLC dungeons, plus some random secondary quests.
I played all companions aside from Tanlorin. When they announced these 2 new companions I was reluctant to both - I usually don't enjoy necromancer characters.
The more I heard about Zerith-Var during tests, the more it started to intrigue me.
I then decided to give him a chance, having hope it could become a positive surprise...

What a wonderful character and story I've witnessed! Thank you to anyone involved with this NPC!

His voice is perfect.
His aesthetics are cool.
Being a Khajiit and "having a pet" is wholesome.
His backstory is cool.
All side characters during his storyline felt good and I couldn't really see where we were headed - everything was well-written.
The moral side of the story with the thoughts it wanted to give to the player were done in a way that, to me, never felt forced and instead have taken me to feel something personal, attached and involved, wishing to see a good outcome and feeling "I learnt something I already knew but may still struggle to accept".
What a great touch having my character's name and race used in so many dialogues/documents! Fresh air.
Locations were beautiful too, could have taken such cinematic screenshots!
I found the final fight very well executed.
He's also nice to keep around when wandering casually, and his perk is so well done IMO.
Initially I found bothering not being able to fill soul gems but then I kinda got why he's not ok with it.

Overall, I loved every moment of Zerith-Var and his story.
I even started playing Tales of Tribute for him! And I discovered I enjoy it! After avoiding for more than 2 years hating on it! Seems like I have something to make amend for... "Shall we, Tamiit?"

Even though I cancelled my ESO plus and I was planning to quit until ESO possibly impressed me next year, the high praise for this companion's quest got me to log in and start playing through it. I only just completed the quest to unlock him as a follower. I just want to emphasize the importance of user reviews (user generated content) for the game to the team at Zenimax (@ZOS_Kevin). I know Kevin has a lot on his plate but I hope he passes this along.