My Guess: no DLCs in 2017 but an Expansion "Vvardenfell" /discuss

Seraphayel · January 2017

Important notice: none of the things I mentioned here are announced yet. Everything found here is based on guesstimations.

All of you know that Zenimax didn’t announce any new DLC for 2017 yet. They only talked about Homestead as a nice addition to the game but it won’t be actual content.

The last time they added some real content to the game was when Dark Brotherhood came out months ago. I don’t really count Shadow of the Hist as content because it only brought us two new dungeons and nothing besides that.

I know Zenimax showed us pretty much stuff in 2014/15 like Mephala’s Realm, Murkmire etc. but we haven’t heard anything about it again since they gave us the video material more than a year ago.

Vvardenfell was datamined half a year ago (look here: http://tamrielfoundry.com/2016/05/datamining-vvardenfell/ ) – an interesting point mentioned there is:

Three Player Houses in Vvardenfell

Another obvious indicator as to why a major update or two will come before Vvardenfell is the existence of three specific player housing options within Vvardenfell. This in and of itself is an exciting discovery as it means there will most likely be multiple housing opportunities per zone! If you have a favorite area of Tamriel, you can live there. Getting back to the point at hand, you can’t really have housing areas in the zone if you haven’t introduced and fully released housing yet. One thing is for sure though, you’ll get the chance to live on Vvardenfell Island if you choose.

What if Vvardenfell won’t be a new DLC but a huge expansion like addition to ESO? I’m speaking of a ~ $29 expansion that must be bought by everybody, even by ESO+ players.

Vvardenfell seems to be twice as huge as a normal zone. That’s at least the size a new expansion needs to have for being more than a simple DLC. Maybe they’re even giving us more features, like a new class (that would be awesome!), new weapons or the long awaited Spellcrafting.

The thing that made me think we will see rather and expansion than a simple DLC is the following sentence from Matt Firor:

After that? Well, you’re going to have to wait a bit, but trust me, the wait will be worth it. We’ll talk a lot more about the amazing new things that are coming to ESO as early as we can in the new year.

Source: http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/12/22/thats-a-wrap-on-2016

TL;DR:

“Vvardenfell”

1st Expansion for Elder Scrolls Online coming in 2017

Price: Standard edition for $29, Deluxe edition with a pet and a mound for $49 (must buy if you want to play it, even for ESO+ members)

Release date: Q2/Q3 2017 (I’d say July ’17)

Contents:

– Island of Vvardenfell as a gigantic new zone

– Spellcrafting

– Arenas (maybe some kind of open world Arena somewhere on the Island of Vvardenfell)

– New weapon type(s), e.g. Spears, Totems, Scepters or a Focus / new class, e.g. Necromancer or Druid / new profession / new skill line(s)

– New and exclusive story content with a new "major" threat (like Molag Bal in the base game)

– Level increase to 60

– One new active and passive ability for each weapon and one new active and passive ability for each class line

______________

Tell me: what do you think? What do you expect from an expansion, what would you like to see? Do you think we'll rather see an expansion than usual DLCs? What do you prefer?

Wifeaggro13 · January 2017

Seraphayel wrote: »

Important notice: none of the things I mentioned here are announced yet. Everything found here is based on guesstimations.

All of you know that Zenimax didn’t announce any new DLC for 2017 yet. They only talked about Homestead as a nice addition to the game but it won’t be actual content.

The last time they added some real content to the game was when Dark Brotherhood came out months ago. I don’t really count Shadow of the Hist as content because it only brought us two new dungeons and nothing besides that.

I know Zenimax showed us pretty much stuff in 2014/15 like Mephala’s Realm, Murkmire etc. but we haven’t heard anything about it again since they gave us the video material more than a year ago.

Vvardenfell was datamined half a year ago (look here: http://tamrielfoundry.com/2016/05/datamining-vvardenfell/ ) – an interesting point mentioned there is:

Three Player Houses in Vvardenfell

Another obvious indicator as to why a major update or two will come before Vvardenfell is the existence of three specific player housing options within Vvardenfell. This in and of itself is an exciting discovery as it means there will most likely be multiple housing opportunities per zone! If you have a favorite area of Tamriel, you can live there. Getting back to the point at hand, you can’t really have housing areas in the zone if you haven’t introduced and fully released housing yet. One thing is for sure though, you’ll get the chance to live on Vvardenfell Island if you choose.

What if Vvardenfell won’t be a new DLC but a huge expansion like addition to ESO? I’m speaking of a ~ $29 expansion that must be bought by everybody, even by ESO+ players.

Vvardenfell seems to be twice as huge as a normal zone. That’s at least the size a new expansion needs to have for being more than a simple DLC. Maybe they’re even giving us more features, like a new class (that would be awesome!), new weapons or the long awaited Spellcrafting.

The thing that made me think we will see rather and expansion than a simple DLC is the following sentence from Matt Firor:

After that? Well, you’re going to have to wait a bit, but trust me, the wait will be worth it. We’ll talk a lot more about the amazing new things that are coming to ESO as early as we can in the new year.

Source: http://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/2016/12/22/thats-a-wrap-on-2016

TL;DR:

“Vvardenfell”

1st Expansion for Elder Scrolls Online coming in 2017

Price: Standard edition for $29, Deluxe edition with a pet and a mound for $49 (must buy if you want to play it, even for ESO+ members)

Release date: Q2/Q3 2017 (I’d say July ’17)

Contents:

– Island of Vvardenfell as a gigantic new zone

– Spellcrafting

– Arenas (maybe some kind of open world Arena somewhere on the Island of Vvardenfell)

– New weapon type(s), e.g. Spears, Totems, Scepters or a Focus / new class, e.g. Necromancer or Druid / new profession / new skill line(s)

– New and exclusive story content with a new "major" threat (like Molag Bal in the base game)

– Level increase to 60

– One new active and passive ability for each weapon and one new active and passive ability for each class line

______________

Tell me: what do you think? What do you expect from an expansion, what would you like to see? Do you think we'll rather see an expansion than usual DLCs? What do you prefer?

I would love this. But it goes against everything the game director has said in interviews. My bet is they do an Orsinium size dlc and charge 25$.

Elsonso · January 2017

Anything is possible.

They might also release Vvardenfell in multiple updates, like they did Craglorn.

ShadowHvo · January 2017

I do believe Vvardenfel will be an expansion, however, I do not believe they will increase the level cap or the gear cap.

TerraDewBerry · January 2017

Just an expansion (unless it is just massive), with no new content (DLC) will not do for an entire year. I want the expansion, but there needs to be added content throughout the year as well.

Abeille · January 2017

Maybe Bethesda is involved with Vvardenfell to celebrate the 15 years of Morrowind's release, and ZOS will be able to add their DLCs despite the Expansion Pack.

If Vvardenfell really is an Expansion Pack, of course.

Seraphayel · January 2017

The thing is I rather see an expansion happening than more DLCs just because of the amount of money generated. They'll make more money out of Vvardenfall expansion sales than they would do with some kind of free DLCs or their ESO+ equivalents.

BadLuckCharm · January 2017

If it would be an expansion, i imagine Vvardenfell would have multiple zones in it.

JD2013 · January 2017

Well Pete Hines from Bethesda said this on Twitter in reply to ESO asking people what they're looking forward to in ESO in 2017:

https://twitter.com/dcdeacon/status/815612922605010946

So there's definitely new things coming this year likely as DLC.

I'd like an expansion but I don't see it happening here.

Seraphayel · January 2017

I mean, he doesn't say DLC in that Tweet and Zenimax / Bethesda hasn't mentioned any upcoming DLCs yet (and that's a bit strange).

That's why I find it rather likely that we will have an expansion than just simple DLCs. I don't see them using "it" or "thing" as another word for DLC, it makes me feel they're talking about something new.

JD2013 · January 2017

Seraphayel wrote: »

I mean, he doesn't say DLC in that Tweet and Zenimax / Bethesda hasn't mentioned any upcoming DLCs yet (and that's a bit strange).

That's why I find it rather likely that we will have an expansion than just simple DLCs. I don't see them using "it" or "thing" as another word for DLC, it makes me feel they're talking about something new.

Ah but they haven't said what the next DLC is until close to PTS date since the Dark Brotherhood came out.

We didn't know about Shadows of the Hist or One Tamriel until they announced them much later on in the year and close to testing dates. They keep things very close to their chests these days.

mad0ni0n · January 2017

How is an expansion different from a dlc aren't they just two words for the same thing?

Abeille · January 2017

JD2013 wrote: »

Well Pete Hines from Bethesda said this on Twitter in reply to ESO asking people what they're looking forward to in ESO in 2017:

https://twitter.com/dcdeacon/status/815612922605010946

So there's definitely new things coming this year likely as DLC.

I'd like an expansion but I don't see it happening here.

They are surely taking their sweet time to announce anything new xD

I can't wait for the PTS to be datamined and for the Year Ahead article to be posted.

luen79rwb17_ESO · January 2017

Just a zone as an expansion is a bold assumption IMO

Seraphayel · January 2017

mad0ni0n wrote: »

How is an expansion different from a dlc aren't they just two words for the same thing?

I already tried to explain the difference in the first post - an expansion is a "must buy" for everybody, e.g. Zenimax makes $29 of every player who wants to play the expansion. A DLC is similar to an expansion but with less features and content and it's free for ESO+ members and needs to be purchased only by players that don't use ESO+.

itsfatbass · January 2017

ShadowHvo wrote: »

I do believe Vvardenfel will be an expansion, however, I do not believe they will increase the level cap or the gear cap.

The only cap that will be raised at least for the first half of the year will be an additional 30 cp.

mad0ni0n · January 2017

Seraphayel wrote: »

mad0ni0n wrote: »

How is an expansion different from a dlc aren't they just two words for the same thing?

I already tried to explain the difference in the first post - an expansion is a "must buy" for everybody, e.g. Zenimax makes $29 of every player who wants to play the expansion. A DLC is similar to an expansion but with less features and content and it's free for ESO+ members and needs to be purchased only by players that don't use ESO+.

Ah I see, hopefully they don't do that . It's funny, because if they did that it would be the most pay to win thing they could do and yet somehow people would probably be ok with it.

Seraphayel · January 2017

mad0ni0n wrote: »

Ah I see, hopefully they don't do that . It's funny, because if they did that it would be the most pay to win thing they could do and yet somehow people would probably be ok with it.

How could an expansion be P2W? It's just another kind of content that doesn't makes you stronger or gives you any advantage despite a new class or new skills. You don't have a disadvantage, you just can't use the things implemented in an expansion. It's not like those players could use 10 skills instead of 5 at once or can wear more equip than you.

mad0ni0n · January 2017

Seraphayel wrote: »

mad0ni0n wrote: »

Ah I see, hopefully they don't do that . It's funny, because if they did that it would be the most pay to win thing they could do and yet somehow people would probably be ok with it.

How could an expansion be P2W? It's just another kind of content that doesn't makes you stronger or gives you any advantage despite a new class or new skills. You don't have a disadvantage, you just can't use the things implemented in an expansion. It's not like those players could use 10 skills instead of 5 at once or can wear more equip than you.

Well if they add new combat relevant skills to the existing lines, that you have to pay, for then of course that's pay to win because the people without access to those skills will be at a disadvantage. Like how they recently added weapon skill line ultimates. Imagine if they made people pay for the dual wield or destruction staff ultimate, that would have been incredibly pay to win.

Elsonso · January 2017

Abeille wrote: »

Maybe Bethesda is involved with Vvardenfell to celebrate the 15 years of Morrowind's release

I think that there is no coincidence that ZOS is working on Vvardenfell around the same time as an Elder Scrolls III anniversary. That thought has no bearing, in my mind, on whether it is a DLC or an Expansion.

I don't think that Vvardenfell will be a DLC. Here is why:

First, me thinks that ZOS might be working on something "big" just because they have not been doing enough over the last year for the size of the studio. I know that Firor talked about all the stuff that they accomplished in 2016, but that does not negate the fact that a sizable portion of their team simply vanished this year, at least in terms of output.

Until One Tamriel, the missing parts of the studio were fairly well balanced across all the different talents. Now that One Tamriel is out, the missing part of the studio seems to be more from the "creative" side of the house. The people who do zones, art, quests, and all that sort of stuff.

Until One Tamriel, the idea of them changing gears and doing an expansion was much more likely. My thought was that they would do a bunch of small DLC to distract us while a portion of the team worked on the next big thing to follow Tamriel Unlimited. As it turned out, that was One Tamriel+Homestead.

An expansion in 2017 is off the table, as far as I am concerned simply due to the fact that they would have included the features of One Tamriel and Homestead into any expansion in order to boost the retail value.

Vrienda · January 2017

I think it'll be released in parts. Though an expansion could be interesting.

Acrolas · January 2017

DLC is the absolute best way to deliver new content on three platforms at roughly the same time. And it's not even really DLC with ESO. You're downloading the new content with every update anyway. You just pay to unlock it.

After Update 13 there are probably going to be one larger and two smaller DLC available for 2017. I'm still speculating Bosmer Wild Hunt Dungeon Pack for Q2, Vvardenfell for Q3, and Clockwork City (and possibly Solstheim) for Q4.

But a big no to retail expansions. Some stores can't even manage inventory from one platform. Yes, original Walmart special editions sitting on a shelf almost three years later. We don't need the Vvardenfell special edition expansion with cloth map still sitting at Walmart in 2020. Keep it digital, keep it simple.

idk · January 2017

We do have a strong expectations Spell Crafting will not be coming to ESO in 2017. Devs have already indicated in 2016 that no one was working on it and they did not have immediate plans to start working on itl

We have also received a queue that something was coming. Anyone who finished the main story line should be aware. What and where we do not know.

Have you seen indication Vvardenfell is the first expansion of 2017? I had not seen a date on that. We have already had a expansions. Craglorn, Osrinium, Hew Bane and Gold Coast. Of course both Craglorn and Orsinium were decent size expansions. I think we all hope Vvardenfell is at least their size.

Seraphayel · January 2017

Acrolas wrote: »

But a big no to retail expansions.

My fault: I never meant a retail expansion. I'm talking about a digital only expansion in the style of a massive DLC.

Seraphayel · January 2017

Giles.floydub17_ESO wrote: »

Have you seen indication Vvardenfell is the first expansion of 2017? I had not seen a date on that. We have already had a expansions. Craglorn, Osrinium, Hew Bane and Gold Coast. Of course both Craglorn and Orsinium were decent size expansions. I think we all hope Vvardenfell is at least their size.

I only assumed Vvardenfell will be an expansion, as I stated in my first post. The "signs" are there, at least for me, that we won't see any DLC 2017 but a huge chunk of content in form of an expansion. I mean, we haven't had any content for half a year now and it looks like that it will take at least another half year until we get something. And I don't think they can just release a typical DLC and get away with it as "content".

And no, none of the things you mentioned are "expansions".

jaye63 · January 2017

I want the ability to style craft dropped items. Ya know... so I can actually wear something that is crafted in the Motifs I spend so much time farming.

Bonzodog01 · January 2017

So, I just want to insert this underlying titbit of info that people have overlooked very sorely -

Elder Scrolls has always had a LOT of its story buried in the 12 signs of its "zodiac".

Now, did anyone notice that each release year represents a different sign?

2015 - The Year of the Warrior - Imperial City, Craglorn, Wrothgar

2016 - The Year of the Thief - Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood (third one missed out in order to realign the game for One Tamriel)

2017 - The Year of the Mage?

LinearParadox · January 2017

Giles.floydub17_ESO wrote: »

We do have a strong expectations Spell Crafting will not be coming to ESO in 2017. Devs have already indicated in 2016 that no one was working on it and they did not have immediate plans to start working on it

I honestly hope you're wrong.
This might sound petty or melodramatic or whatever, "another I'm quitting post" etc. But honestly... if I don't see any actual content planned for 2017, actual content like another class or spell crafting, I'll most likely quit.
The meta in this game is becoming horribly stale, and for someone like me that loves to experiment, and PvP, a stale meta is extremely harmful to those two forms of 'endgame' enjoyment.
I've put up with all the crap; bugs galore, cancelled, delayed, and gutted content, clown crate money grabs along with various dubiously greedy monetization practices, 'candy' content like housing taking priority over meaningful content like dungeons and trials...
I've given them ample time and understanding; 1T was likely a very resource-intensive project internally, one they stood no chance of recouping the cost of as they would with a "DLC" But it was some thing that was badly needed for the health of the game. I'm sure that delayed things considerably, and I'm trying to cut them slack for that... but that's all behind us now, and the hard truth of it is that beyond all the 'understanding' and slack, it's still their responsibility to keep their customers, which means regularly delivering compelling reasons to keep playing via routine content drops.

If my business has an obligation to deliver 20 units of X to a customer every month, and one month my supplier doesn't come through, who's it on to keep up my end of the deal? ME. Do you think I get to call up my customer and just tell them they're not getting their X? And if I do, wouldn't you expect I send them 40 next month to make up for it?
I don't get to just call up and say "Whaaaa my supplier didn't come through, feel bad for me and be okay with me just dropping the ball and I'll just send you 20 this month like nothing happened."
Is that fair? Maybe not, but that's business.

Acrolas · January 2017

Bonzodog01 wrote: »

2015 - The Year of the Warrior - Imperial City, Craglorn, Wrothgar

Craglorn was 2014.

But you might be on to something. Dwemer didn't believe in magic so they didn't call it The Mage. They called it The Mechanist. Which might wind up being a better description for 2017.

skiptomyluau · January 2017

Vvardenfell would most def be DLC and not an expansion

leothedino · January 2017

I don't expect they will ever do an outright expansion for the game. It's not that sort of title. So far they have made a ton of money, heaps of profit from bolting on content as additional DLC. I like it a lot, and I think the devs can see it works too.