Favorite chapter_Survey

Fantalior

Greetings I just wanted to know in a small, unfair survey what your favorite chapters or chapter-like content are (I would also count Orsinium and Craglorn as chapters.
a) because they were the biggest expansions in their respective years, b) because they introduced raids or similar solo arenas)

- Unfair because not everything is comparable over the 10 years of ESO. Because the state of the art has changed and everyone has a different preference for playing in terms of interest and time. For example, Morrowind should be number 1 for me, but without the battlefields it is not in the top 3
- Unfair also because not everyone has been able to quest through all the chapters and can still happily explain why or why a purchase may not have been made.

I would like to know your top 3 (of the chapters) and the one you found the worst (with a brief explanation for each)
and then your top DLC with the explanation (in this case, the rest is fine, including dungeons and areas)

For me:

1st place by a long way "Gold Road" --> and that's despite the fact that I didn't play the main story and only used the area for boss and anchor farming.
The Scribing System is just too good and the story about colleague Crow is simply enough with the 4 symmetrical wings and the update design you are always rewarded and the quests are accompanied by a collecting mood.

2nd place is ancient but Summerset was able to enchant me with the beautiful landscape and the graceful high elves. The main story was pretty slim at the end but I was really into the story of the Psijic Order. There were just these entertaining dialogues with the Skull Augur of the Obscure and the main reason was that the new abilities were great.

3rd place Necrom --> I only got it for the Arcanist but the story about Mora is good and Apocrypha is a feast for the eyes --> The Telvanni Peninsula is unfortunately ugly, sorry, and the quests there didn't capture me either.

Last place --> High Islands --> the marketing didn't convince me (story) so I didn't buy it. In ESO Plus the landscape was always similar to things we already knew from the game --> didn't encourage me to quest --> card game was superfluous and that's despite the fact that I usually play a lot of TCGs (probably a bit oversaturated)

1st place DLC by a huge margin Markarth --> landscape was a bit disappointing compared to Skyrim but we got a new solo arena, that was worth more than 3 DLCs from other years combined!!!

Desiato

Orsinium definitely had all the traits of a modern chapter.

I would agree Craglorn did too, but it was different because it was intended to be an adventure zone designed for groups with a higher level of difficulty. There's no direct analog to it in the modern game.

But if we're calling Crag a chapter, my list would be:

1. Orsinium
2. Craglorn
3. Summerset

I was basically gone between Elsweyr and Necrom, so it's hard for me to judge chapters of that period. I came back a couple of months after Necrom and didn't love it. Arcanist was kind of novel, but I don't like Arcanist PVE gameplay at all.

I guess I'm including Summerset for personal reasons because I used the introduction of Jewelry Crafting to be one of the top sellers on PC/NA for that summer which was a lot of fun. I was actually headhunted by rival trade guilds! I didn't necessarily love the content though.

Morrowind, in contrast, had better content, but I didn't have a good time socially.. ...except for the 8-16 Warden group my pvp guild ran in Cyrodiil, which was epic.

In terms of DLC, it's without question Imperial City. IC launched in Sept 2015, followed by Orsinium in Nov. This was peak ESO for me by a long mile.

Edit: Memories...........

Fantalior

Desiato wrote: »

Orsinium definitely had all the traits of a modern chapter.

I would agree Craglorn did too, but it was different because it was intended to be an adventure zone designed for groups with a higher level of difficulty. There's no direct analog to it in the modern game.

But if we're calling Crag a chapter, my list would be:

1. Orsinium
2. Craglorn
3. Summerset

I was basically gone between Elsweyr and Necrom, so it's hard for me to judge chapters of that period. I came back a couple of months after Necrom and didn't love it. Arcanist was kind of novel, but I don't like Arcanist PVE gameplay at all.

In terms of DLC, it's without question Imperial City. IC launched in Sept 2015, followed by Orsinium in Nov. This was peak ESO for me by a long mile.

Yes, that's true about the Imperial City, I hadn't thought about it anymore, but it might be my favorite DLC after all

JiubLeRepenti

Personally:

1. Morrowind
2. (Craglorn)
3. Elsweyr
4. Summerset
5. (Orsinium)
6. Necrom
7. High Isles
8. Greymoor
9. Gold Road

BetweenMidgets

1. Morrowind - despite Vvardenfel not being my favorite aesthetic location, I really enjoyed the story. And when I walked out of Vivec's room that one time and looked up? I legitimately gasped. I felt like all the story telling was really great.
2. Elsweyr - I liked the reveals a lot, and I enjoyed all the characters. Dragons are always a nice plus. It had it all
3. Orsinium

All the recent ones I've felt have been pretty lackluster. High Isle especially. You could tell who the villain was going to be so early in the story simply by process of elimination alone.
After Greymoor, I've had a lot of difficulty getting into the stories. They just feel ... lifeless almost? Not sure how I'd better describe it.

tinythinker

Desiato wrote: »

Orsinium definitely had all the traits of a modern chapter.

I would agree Craglorn did too, but it was different because it was intended to be an adventure zone designed for groups with a higher level of difficulty. There's no direct analog to it in the modern game.

But if we're calling Crag a chapter, my list would be:

1. Orsinium
2. Craglorn
3. Summerset

Same

Destai

The list changes over time, but some remain unchanged.

Summerset is still my favorite. It’s when I really fell in love with ESO and was a lore location that I’d been wanting for a while. It’s a great hub, especially with the townhouse. If I need to space out, I will just explore this zone. Really is timeless.

Orsinium, while technically not a chapter, is another top pick. The zone is a treat to explore. I still regularly go there to wander around. The story is one of the best. While the hub itself was lacking, the rest of the content more than made up for it.

Elsweyr comes in third. Peak zone design, engaging story, and a new class. This was the game’s zenith for storytelling. It really feels like there’s so much history here. Places like the stitches are quite memorable.

High Isle. Controversial pick, but the theme and zone itself really, really carry it for me. I want to love this chapter. The map and hub workflow gets in the way. And were the story better and there were a better flagship feature, it would easily move up my list. But despite that, still love it. The surrounding content like trials, dungeons, and Q4 dlc were among my favorite. Orders Wrath is still a staple set.

Blackwood. This was the last expansion before hybridization really took hold. I overall enjoyed the expansion. Dagon was a classic baddy. The hub was great. The rest of the year’s content was some of the most enduring. The zone, while not geographically amazing, is still well designed.

Vvardenfell. I was debating where to rank this. It’s definitely fallen down a few spots for me. So, Vivec is a great hub. Arguably the best. The rest of the zone is very hard to navigate. It’s part of the charm, but also a little tiring. But, there’s an undeniable character and charm that was inherited from its single player origins. The writing, especially in Balmora and Sadrith Mora, were exquisite. My main class was introduced here too.

Greymoor. You can tell this was in development over a transitional period. The zone was striking, especially Blackreach. Even though I didn’t gravitate towards the theme, it’s objectively strong. Antiquities and stickerbook are some of the strongest additions to this day. However, this is where the stories started to get less interesting for me. The launch was also really rough. Good chapter that could have been great.

Gold Road. I wasn’t sure what my least favorite chapter was. It’s nearly tied. There’s a few saving graces for Gold Road. Scribing is a big feature that carries this release. There also were some good achievement related rewards. When the orange glow isn’t present, the zone can be quite charming. The crafting hub is also fantastic. And some of the best delves in any zone. But, Leramil is around every. single. corner. There are so many locked doors, that I felt completely discouraged from exploring. Twice a day, there’s a very intense orange glow. The story was my least favorite of any - we randomly find a forgotten Daedric prince in a ruin, who later gets told to touch grass by another Daedric prince. Like, what?

Necrom. New class is great. That’s it. Okay, the Telvanni Peninsula is okay, I guess. Except lorewise, it’s not Telvanni (should be Indori) and that’s not a Peninsula. Necrom is my least favorite city. Leramil is my least favorite NPC. Apocrypha is very hard on the eyes. Feature wise, it’s a strong chapter. Do I enjoy it? Absolutely not.

BelmontDrakul

1- Summerset
2- Necrom
3- Morrowind

I did not play all of the chapters, yet.

TaSheen

High Isle, Elsweyr, Gold Road.

Jenzi

1. Morrowind
2. Elsweyr
3. Summerset

katanagirl1

1. Elsweyr - dragon fights and the last of reasonable drop rates (for me at least)
2. Craglorn - I love this zone, been farming mats here for years just to enjoy the scenery
3. Orsinium - fully explorable zone, every building, no facades

I mainly voted for these because the zones are interesting, none of the stories were the reason

Best DLC - Markarth - love the new Dwarven style (wish we had a small house of that style in Blackreach)

Worst chapter - hard to pick, maybe Gold Road because scribing took so much away from the zone in terms of development time, and the overuse of invulnerable phases for fights

EDIT: typo

AzuraFan

1. Morrowind. It's what brought me back to the game permanently after I'd tried playing ESO and quit. It's also the chapter that gave us the warden class, by far my favourite class in the game.
2. Blackwood. Decent story. I liked Lyranth, and I spend more time in Leyawiin than in any other city in the game. I also really enjoyed the Deadlands DLC.
3. Summerset. Mainly because there was a lot to do and I enjoyed the Psijic content.

I've enjoyed all the chapters and DLCs. It was tough for me to choose third place because of that.

I'd say Gold Road is my least favourite chapter (except for the excellent scribing questline), because there just wasn't much content and I don't use scribing at all. I rarely go back to West Weald. Pretty much only for treasure maps and surveys.

Avran_Sylt

Imperial City - create and curate a build I like that works in such an area (in this case a high-damage one-shot assassin figuring out the best sets and damage burst to do this, though it is at the expense of other players).

Gold Road - unlock, create, and theorycraft methods of using the new scribing system and the new skills

Orsinium - learn and adapt to mechanics, create a build, and unlock gear that can further augment my abilities in the Maelstrom Arena

In general, I like build crafting.

I hope they can experiment with new weapon skill lines in the upcoming seasons.

Wonder what it would be like if they introduced short bows/crossbows into the game. Or various quiver types.

Or perhaps a magicka based melee skill-line, an actual spell sword.

*sigh* but they probably won’t given the motif system is so bloated.

shadyjane62

Peaked with Elsweyr. Haven't really liked anything since then. Too much fluff and I'm still "stuck in combat".

Wolfkeks

Top 3 Chapters
1. Elsweyr; the dragons were a nice change as stronger overland bosses, the trial is still one of my favorites and has the best mount and the Khajiiti lore is really great
2. Greymoor; brought changes to vampires and werewolves and had a nice story, harrowstorms were a nice change
3. High Isle; they gave me Isobel

The one Chapter I liked the least
1. Blackwood; because while fighting Dagon I had to take a call and when I came back Bastian killed him without me and it was really weird how easy it was for my companion

Top DLC
1. Dark Brotherhood; best death animation for the last boss

ssewallb14_ESO

1. Summerset
2. Greymoor
3. High Isle

tmacedo

1. Elsweyr: I remember doing the Demon Weapon and my head exploded. Such a nice story, activities, aesthetics. Everything here I like, even when I'm not into Khajiits myself. Love when you going into a dragon you gotta cross those bridges, like a prelude.

2. Summerset: Mostly aesthetics here. I visited Alinor during a free trial first and my head exploded again. Again nice story continuing from Vvardenfell.

3. High Isle: Again aesthetics first. Story all around. I liked the contrast between forests and lava (mostly in Galen). Also love the lore of the druids in ESO with their circles and such. ToT is cool. I would easily make a collection of those cards if they existed irl.

I got into eso later so Craglorn, Whrotgar already gave me the vibe of a zone, not chapter. So i wont consider them, but I highly like them. Morrowind, Greymoor, Gold Road, Necrom came really close to HI in top three, but my least favorite is, no doubt,
Blackwood: while I like some of the aesthetics and the story overall, the zone itself i found uninspired, pretty much like Cyrodiil. Also, I definitely dont like Eveli (hate those kind of characters that never get scared, never get surprised, know all things, hate when she appears at BDV "what I miss?"). Fargrave was a nice surprise but the south Deadlands, everything orange I really didnt like. And the dungeons seemed all the same for me somehow, all fire themed.

Top DLC for me is Clockwork city because transmute station, story with Dwemer stuff, Sotha Sil, badass Divayth Fyr and one of my favorite quests where you help the blackfeather court "fight" their rivals.

redlink1979

Orsinium still is my favorite after all this time: the best story, the best scenario, the best music.

I_killed_Vivec

Craglorn (to this day I still love it, despite what they did to it).
Orsinium - vastly greater expanse than any "chapter" since.
Summerset, though a distant third behind the other two.

Best DLC, Imperial City. And I do like The Deadlands.

Though my criteria are possibly different from others - I'm talking about the landscape, the content, the quests, the "returnability" factor, the feeling you get from the zone. I don't necessarily include the "extras" (mainly because I can't remember which came with which): new classes, card game, companions (have no use for them), jewellery crafting, scribing, antiquities, etc.

NerfBosmer

1. Summerset by a large margin, just... everything. The architecture, Artaeum, the Altmer lore, the furnishings, the incursions are fun, Raz's emo outfit, just, everything. (Except the Psijic Questline, it's so freaking long)
2. Vvardenfell. Nostalgia. I hadn't realized when I bought the physical collector's edition that I got the version that came with an account, but I don't regret it. It's a beautiful zone, the story is decent, and Vivec City is a well designed hub.
3. Orsinium - I only actually finished the MQ for Orsinium recently, but I've loved the zone itself for years. Especially falling off cliffs (no sarcasm, I think it's hilarious)
4. Elsweyr is probably going to grow on me just because I like the architecture. And Khajiit have always been my favorite race. I am also grateful that the Horn of Ja'daari confirmed a long-time suspicion that the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller is Paarthurnax's horn.
That said, this chapter is the #1 reason why I stopped buying deluxe packages - I do not have the words to explain how much I loathe the Senche-rahts.

I took a long break on chapters after Greymoor and the archiving of accounts that had queues to log in. I only just bought West Weald because the letter said they're not looking to do Chapters ever again - might as well get it while it's on sale. I suspect Necrom will land somewhere under Elsweyr as far as favorites go, for the Hermaeus Mora lore, but I have negative interest in the other chapters. They are all going to be fighting for last place.

Best DLC? Thieves Guild. Like Summerset, I just love everything about Hew's Bane, the Thieves Guild - Maw of Lorkhaj is great too. I just consider it part of the base game, I keep forgetting it was a DLC.

TyrTrolas

Is it bad that i bought Gold Road on day 2 for the scribing system but have never used it once?

KnightofGears

1. Summerset. Great story with engaging characters and a stunning environment. This chapter was the reason I bought this game.
2. Greymoor. Because of Skyrim nostalgia.
3. Elsweyr. Also a great story and DRAGONS!
4. Orsinium. Really liked the story and a closer look at orc society.

BixenteN7Akantor

Nice to see Craglorn is still loved ! I love this zone too, some delves are particularly well done imo. I'm always shedding a little tear when encountering Little Leaf or when passing by the tomb of you-know-who if you've done Craglorn's main quest.
Btw I'm almost done updating all Craglorn's enemies on UESP, only a few places left !
I also rank Orsinium 1st. I don't like the zone itself very much but the writing is top-tier by far.
Morrowind is very cool. Summerset is very cool. Elsweyr is very cool. The Greymoor-Markarth antagonist is very cool. The High-Isle+Amenos and Galen zones are nice to the eyes and amusing to ride through.

Zodiarkslayer

I feel like you cannot judge and rank the ESO chapters as a total, especially considering that most Chapter stories are finished in the accompanying DLC.

I would rank them by specific attributes:
Main Story: Thieves Guild
Side Stories: Summerset
Zone atmosphere: High Isle and Summerset
Main Feature: Gold Road
Hub: Blackwood
World Bosses: High Isle

meekmiko

For me the top three are:

1. Summerset
2. Orsinium
3. Elsweyr

If not counting Orsinium then it'd be:

1. Summerset
2. Elsweyr
3. Morrowind

cyclonus11

Chapters:
1. Orsinium
2. Northern Elsweyr
3. Morrowind
4. Craglorn
5. Summerset
6. High Isle
7. Gold Road
8. Necrom
9. Greymoor

DLCs:
1. Murkmire
2. Hew's Bane
3. Gold Coast
4. Galen
5. Southern Elsweyr
6. Deadlands
7. Markarth
8. Imperial City