[2023 edition] Which is the best Chapter?

  • Kallykat
    Kallykat
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    I can't vote at the moment as I haven't gotten around to Blackwood or Necrom yet.

    My favorite chapter so far is Elsweyr. I remember being so hyped for it during the prerelease stream. First of all, the Khajiit are my favorite race, and I was eager to learn more about their culture, explore more of their homeland, and get to meet new furstocks. The dragons were exciting additions. There was a new class (and more character slots). While playing through it, Abnur Tharn was amusing as usual.

    I've honestly enjoyed every new chapter and always found the zones gorgeous and fun to explore, the quests entertaining, and at least some of the new features appealing. It's been especially exciting whenever the chapter came with a new class or system such as antiquities or companions. While some of the chapters are more my vibe than others, I always look forward to seeing where ZOS takes us next.
  • Destai
    Destai
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    Summerset
    Summerset, always. It's just so beautiful and well-balanced. The stories were fantastic and nearly all content of the chapter were enjoyable. It's like an immersive impressionistic painting.

    Morrowind didn't have the best main quest, but the side quests made up for it, and I think it was still one of the better questing experiences. It brought us the Warden, which has been my main ever since, so that will always give it a special place in my heart. And of course Vivec city is a great hub.

    Elsweyr is where the game peaked IMO. The zone was really interesting and lush, all of the stories were well done, and it just felt like a feature-rich offering. I think the only I didn't like was Dragon Hunting, just didn't feel worth the effort.

    Greymoor, despite its rocky launch and handling by the CMs here, is something that I've learned to appreciate. It was when the writing quality noticeably declined but did bring some good systems and QoL enhancements.

    Blackwood was probably my least favorite expansion, just nothing caught my eye. Companions weren't for me, the story was forgettable, and the zone was a swamp. There were some cool assets and moments, but overall, I couldn't tell you more than one or two memories I have with the that zone. It's saving grace is some of the sets and Leyawiin being a good hub.

    High Isle was a beautiful but shallow experience for me. As an artistic experience, it's really enjoyable. The music and zones are incredible and I do occasionally enjoy going back. I enjoyed the zones and motifs the most since Summerset, but it suffered from the same writing problems that began with Greymoor.

    Necrom is still cooking for me. Overall, on paper it's good, but nothing I'm in love with. The quests are some of the best in years, aside from a few “you there!” lines. The Arcanist is fun, but I don’t feel like leveling it up right now. The zone is cool, but not something I'll come back to regularly, largely because the main city doesn't make for a good hub. Amazing assets and landscapes though.
    Edited by Destai on July 13, 2023 3:54PM
  • TwiceBornStar
    TwiceBornStar
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    Morrowind
    I'll always love Vvardenfell, which really doesn't mean the other chapters aren't any good. They're just not Vvardenfell.

    Mushroom?
  • Flameweaver1951
    Flameweaver1951
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    Summerset
    Summerset by far the best chapter.
  • markulrich1966
    markulrich1966
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    Summerset
    Summerset and Northern Elsweyr

    Reasons:

    - nice landscape, not a reuse of assets
    - daily quests rewarding (guaranteed drop of Culanda Laquer / Shimmering Sand)
    - worldbosses balanced. You CAN solo them without trial gear but solid overland/crafted/basegame dungeon sets, though some are a challenge like BKorgen. Not as easy as basegame bosses, not almost unkillable like Ghemvas in Blackwood. Important for low-pop servers like xbox EU.
    - I enjoyed the sidequests too, in contrast to Greymoor.
    - crafting stations without additional doors, good layout to quickly turn in writs
    - real overland content (Geysirs in summerset), though the dragons in Elsweyr are not soloable for most players - the only negative aspect.
  • ADarklore
    ADarklore
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    Summerset
    I'll say Summerset because Orsinium wasn't listed. While I love the beauty of Summerset, I think the Orsinium storylines were much better.

    I think Necrom is next, I like the visuals of Apocrypha... but I think they focused too much on 'dungeons' in Necrom and not enough on the open world, especially in Apocrypha. Instead of having an expansive open world, they added many dungeons to create more 'inner worlds'... which IMO just doesn't flow with how I like to play. I'd much rather explore the open world than feel contained in a many small spaces- which is what dungeon exploring basically is.
    CP: 2078 ** ESO+ 2025 Content Pass ** ~~ ***** Strictly a solo PvE quester *****
    ~~Started Playing: May 2015 | Stopped Playing: July 2025~~
  • Vrienda
    Vrienda
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    Necrom
    Morrowind had an incredibly boring main quest and one or two good side quests. Kinda furthered the butchering of Dunmer lore ESO is known and villified for. Warden's good though.

    Summerset had a great main quest that also basically ruined Nocturnal even more than Skyrim did and boring side quests. Jewelery crafting was much-needed.

    Elsweyr... I've played through this again recently, it's not good. I absolutely despised it. Took me several months to work up the will to push through the rest of the zone. Necromancer is really fun though.

    Greymoore has a hilariously bad plot, bad side quests, terrible main quests. It's one of the worst years though I will say antiquities was so much fun at launch, feels way too stingy ever since though.

    Blackwood. Okay man quest, bad side quests. Companions are an okay system. I don't like either of the ones they offered. Most average chapter overall. Plot is awful though, sick of Mehrunes Dagon being JUST about destruction, would've been a better villain for High Isle focusing on his revolution aspect a bit more.

    High Isle. Awful all around, pretty though and Tales of Tribute is fun enough. Isabelle is a good companion, I like her a lot. Ember should be hurled off a cliff. Oakensoul is great. The Ascendent Lord is probably the most well known elder scrolls online character thanks to that amazing trailer but he SUCKS in-game.

    Necrom. Really enjoyed the main quest tbh. It's no Orsinium but it's showing potential and I'm interested in the Elder Scrolls Online story for the first time since Summerset ended. I was disappointed but not outraged with how Naryu was handled, most of the side quests were forgetable. Great companions, arguably the two best. Hermaeus remains my favourite Daedric Prince and I'm excited to see where things go next. (I hope it's not to Disappointment Town). Love Arcanist too

    Overall I'd say Necrom wins. Which surprises me, I had negative hype after the reveal but I wound up thoroughly enjoying my time with the expansion. The City of Necrom is beautiful, the characters are great, the writing has improved considerably over the last few awful years.

    Necrom>Summerset>Greymoore (Entirely due to antiquities)>Morrowind>Blackwood>High Isle>Elsweyr
    Edited by Vrienda on July 5, 2023 11:50AM
    Desperate for Roleplaying servers to bring open world non-organised RP to Elder Scrolls Online. Please ZOS.
  • FantasticFreddie
    FantasticFreddie
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    Morrowind
    Morrowind, but Summerset is a close second.
    Morrowind hit me in the nostalgia, and has some fun little side quests, Summerset is just gorgeous.
  • danno8
    danno8
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    Orsinium for me also.

    I want to shout out Craglorn as well. I just went through it for the first time in a long time and was reminded that had that zone been released in it's current form it would have been one of the best remembered areas in the game.

    The zone is entirely solo able now for anyone who can manage vmsa or Vatesheran (except the trials of course). The landscape is gorgeous, the storyline holds up and the main quest will take you naturally through every delve on the map allowing for a smooth exploration.

    When people talk about more difficult overland, I think current Craglorn is a good starting point. Not too hard but definitely need to stay on your toes.
  • LanteanPegasus
    LanteanPegasus
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    Elsweyr
    For me, it's Elsweyr.

    Having played TES since Morrowind I never paid much attention to the Khajiit, because there wasn't that much lore to experience about them. (And always had an Imperial as my character, anyway.) But ESO actually managed to not only capture my interest in them, it made me fall in love, so to speak. Their whole lore, looks, and cultural references were just my cup of tea.
    And Elsweyr expanded upon that. Culture, history, mythology, everything. The chapter has great looks, beautiful landscapes, wonderful sidequests, fantastic lore, and a main quest line that I loved! It was about the Khajiit, their land (yes, I know, dragons in their own homeland, too), and true Imperials. People like Abnur Tharn (I was so happy to work with him again, and I liked his character arc!), Prefect Calo and General Renmus. Since my one and only character is one of those Imperials, and came to like and respect the Khajiit during his travels (through all the content up to then), this chapter was practically written for him - and me.
    To this day I'm miffed at ZOS for making the marketing of Elsweyr all-and-only about dragons. With Skyrim (in my opinion) being by far the worst TES game, and heavily featuring dragons, that was such a turn-off for me. But in retrospect even the dragons were great, because they were not yet another stupid Daedric prince (hello, Blackwood and Necrom), and didn't waste a whole DLC on some useless Daedric realm.

    Second place goes to Summerset. It wasn't as much of a deep-dive into a culture that Elsweyr was, but still very well written, with a strikingly designed zone, and nice quests.

    Third place for Clockwork City/Murkmire as outstanding DLCs.

    Morrowind is allright, but just looses so much compared to the single player game. Plus, I'm not a fan of the Dunmer.

    Ever since (and including) Greymoor, the chapters took a significant turn for the worse, I'm afraid. In zone design as well as writing. Blackwood still had its highlights, mainly the side quests, but the zones felt less detailed and thought through somehow. High Isle had even less gems, and I haven't bothered to buy Necrom so far. I'll wait till it is one third of the price before putting up with yet another Daedric bore and even more Dunmer.

    As for the "goodies" - Blackwood wins by far. I don't travel anywhere without Bastian. ;-)
    I also like the antiquities. Never found use for the additional classes, the jewelry crafting (aside from making furniture), the psijic skills, don't really play ToT, and never set foot in Battlegrounds.
    But I don't buy chapters for the goodies, I want them for the story, lore, and exploration.


    Edited by LanteanPegasus on July 6, 2023 9:18PM
  • Necrotech_Master
    Necrotech_Master
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    i generally liked most of the content, though i would have to say my least favorite expansion was blackwood

    the story content in blackwood was just awful, eveli was just blonde bimbo levels of annoying and very grating voice
    plays PC/NA
    handle @Necrotech_Master
    active player since april 2014

    i have my main house (grand topal hideaway) listed in the housing tours, it has multiple target dummies, scribing altar, and grandmaster stations (in progress being filled out), as well as almost every antiquity furnishing on display to preview them

    feel free to stop by and use the facilities
  • propertyOfUndefined
    propertyOfUndefined
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    Elsweyr
    Elsweyr! It introduced us to new types of khajiit, dragons, necromancers, and most importantly, it featured Tharn!
  • ThelerisTelvanni
    ThelerisTelvanni
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    Morrowind
    Well my number 1 is Morrowind. Returning to Vardenfell was just awsome! A nice zone with many awsome quests. Some cool cosmetics, Houses and furniture. The Raid was awsome! Well deserved 1st place!

    My number 2 is Summerset. Visiting the lands of the Altmer was always something I wanted. However it felt a bit smal and the Citys all look the same. I was hoping for more different styles. But in the End of the day, I liked the zone. Meeting up with Raz is always a joy! Again there were some nice cosmetics houses and furniture. The raid is ok but nothing special. And I kind of missed some Aylied ruins.

    3rd place for me is Blackwood. All the Oblivion nostalgia of visiting Cyrodiil was kind of taking me home :) I whised it just had more propper Aylied solo dungeons, a Aylied home and some furniture and gear in Aylied style. An Aylied raid is something I also whish for in the future. But well despite those whishes not coming true Blackwood still was a nice chapter. I liked the zone and the raid.

    4th is High Isle. Yes I did dislike the card game. Why waste time to develop that? But the zone felt welcoming! The story was not worldending, but something nice down to earth. I liked the companions and a lot of the quests. The homes left a lot to be desired but the furniture was nice. And a Maormer raid! I realy loved it! But it also disappointed since we did not get any Aylied ruins considering the proximety to the Summerset Isles, as well as the breton ancestory.

    5th is the current Necrom Chapter. I realy loved returning to Morrowind! However that return felt kind of short. I Expected the southern Telvanni peninsular to be the main zone baced on the advertisement "return to Morrowind", so that smal place was to smal. Still the little bit Telvanni terretory we got was awsome! I loved it! Yet it felt kind of halfbaked. Apocrypha loocked kind of nice but was unable to get the right feeling for some reason. It felt so much better in TES V Skyrim. The Raid was kind of lame. It started good with a nice first boss. The second was mega annoying. The minibosses were nothing to speak of. But the last one was kind of cool too. Yet overall the raid was a let down. What really annoyed me were the seeker bosses all over the map! Someone starts a fight and the interrupt you from speaking with a quest giver. I lost some quest dialog thanks to that. Also the need to serch for a grp for the one world quest where you have to go into that thing is something I realy dislike! I perfer worldcontent where I do not need to have to grp up, but can do it with the random player passing by. The need to get someone to do that quest made me drop it. The main quest was interesting and kept my interest the entire time, but since there is no story DLC this year the ending was not a satisfying one! The cosmetic sinde also was a let down. I expected at least one new Telvanni set since this is the Telvanni peninsular! I was hoping for the Telvanni bone armor. But no nothing! I also did not get a new Telvanni home. The furniture department also did not make me happy this time, despite having a few nice additions. Also no realy good Telvasnni mount. The spore horse was not my cup of tea at all (and also per order only). Sorry. I way higher hoped at the time of the announcement!

    6th is Greymore. Well it did not do the theme justice. The main quest was somewhat bad. The cosmetics were ok but not awsome. Same goes for houses and furniture. The zone also was ok but not awsome. The raid was ok I guess. What I realy liked was the Dwemer part of blackreach. But beyond that I was not impressed. The cinematic trailer was so much more prommesing!

    7th is Elsweyr. For some reason that chapter did not get me at all. It had dragons and cats, but it still was unable to make me love it. The raid was ok but nothing special.
  • Wing
    Wing
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    Elsweyr
    Elsweyr because it was the best.

    Greymoor only because The Reach was the last time i cared about ESO's story so i kind of have a sad fondness for it.

    ESO player since beta.
    previously full time subscriber, beta-2024, now off and on, game got too disappointing.
    PC NA
    ( ^_^ )

    You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods You shall be as gods -Xenogears
    DK one trick
  • Twig_Garlicshine
    Twig_Garlicshine
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    Elsweyr
    Elsweyr

    Cadwell and dragons.
  • jcaceresw
    jcaceresw
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    Morrowind
    Subject aside, is not high time we should get Summerset and jewelcrafting as part of the base game like they did with Morrowind?
  • DaleyPia
    DaleyPia
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    Summerset
    Summerset - By a lot.

    I love running around both Summerset and Arteum. It's lovely, the storylines are good, and we were all waiting for the jewelry crafting. To me Summerset is a homerun.

    I know we're talking about chapter upgrades, but after Summerset, my favorite is Hew's Bane.

    I like all the High Isles areas. My favorite base game area is Auridon then Glenumbra.

    I HATE Elsweyr. I do leads, surveys and treasure maps, and that's it; and I groan when I have to do those. I hate going in there.

    Western Skyrim was fun. I love Blackreach. The Vivec story in Morrowind I liked, but I hate the zone.

    It seems like - for my tastes - it's every other year. If I like one, I know next year will be blah, but then the following year will be better.
  • Seraphayel
    Seraphayel
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    Elsweyr
    Okay, I eventually voted (in my own thread) and came to the conclusion that Elsweyr was for me the best Chapter overall.

    While I really enjoyed Necrom and would rank it high, Telvanni Peninsula is what finally made me decide against it - it‘s just too boring and copy and paste of Vvardenfell, whereas Elsweyr felt fresh and brand new and was absolutely fantastic. While being weird at first, I really enjoyed the dragon storyline and Necromancer was a great addition to the game, too.
    PS5
    EU
    Aldmeri Dominion
    - Khajiit Arcanist -
  • Icy_Waffles
    Icy_Waffles
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    Orsinium by far.
  • fall0athboy
    fall0athboy
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    Elsweyr
    Necrom definitely ranked highly for me, but my biggest problem with it is that I wanted more exploration of the Telvanni politics. I was really hoping for a multi-quest storyline continuing Sun-in-Shadow's story.

    Instead, the peninsula was barely part of the plot and it was a lot of Daedric sidequests, which I personally have always found the weakest stories, primarily because I could not give a crap about their lives.
  • vinnyml
    vinnyml
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  • Tyrant_Tim
    Tyrant_Tim
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    Summerset
    Notice how the most popular chapter is the one that’s the most visually stunning, instead of there simply being mushrooms all over the place. (or books)

    Not to mention the fact that this was the only chapter that released anything combat related that wasn’t just gear or a restrictive class. Psijic Order is an open skill line that any existing character can use, and Jewelrycrafting, a craft that all characters could use.

    Summerset was the first chapter that allowed you to continue your main character’s power fantasy, and sadly there hasn’t been one since.
    Edited by Tyrant_Tim on July 18, 2023 5:33AM
  • hashii
    hashii
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    Elsweyr
    I really enjoyed Elsweyr when it came out. Back then I was new to the game as well. Something about it felt magical back then. Plus the year long mystery surrounding the hidden wings of Hall of the Lunar Champion was great.

    Morrowind, Summerset, and Elsweyr years were really nice. Greymoor and Blackwood was alright. High Isle year I felt a bit let down and took a hiatus. Necrom year so far is going well. I really am enjoying the Arcanist.
  • kenneth.friisb16_ESO
    Morrowind
    Tyrant_Tim wrote: »
    ...
    Summerset was the first chapter that allowed you to continue your main character’s power fantasy, and sadly there hasn’t been one since.

    I whole heartedly agree with this. Sure, the arcanist is a interesting class with mechanics that seem to work out great, but my old Templar Nord is feeling a little done for. There is no new skills to train, no new combinations to try.
    We really need something that also affects existing characters in combat. A new skill line, third morphs, new weapon... hell I'd take just about anything at this point. My old characters just need a breath of fresh air.
    PC-EU
    Dastan Kingfrey - Gentleman Thief, Adventurer and Philanthropist
    Kenneth Kingfrey - Spellsword, member of the Mages Guild
    Thurin Hammerhand - Northern Warden, Traveller and NOT a dwarf
    Kenneth Willysson - Wanderer, Mountaineer and Swinger of Axes

    PS4-EU
  • Onomos
    Onomos
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    Elsweyr
    I enjoyed Elsweyr the most at the time. The zone drew me in, the story was a lot of fun. The addition of dragons was great. I don't play Necro often but it was a nice addition.
    Primary: DK Orc DC
    Secondary: Warden Bosmer AD
  • JamuThatsWho
    JamuThatsWho
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    Elsweyr
    Elsweyr, purely for more Khajiit and necro.
    @JamuThatsWho - PC EU - CP2100

    Main:
    Vasiir-jo - Khajiit Magicka Necromancer, AD

    Alts:
    Sul-Mael Hlarothran - Dunmer Magicka Sorcerer, EP

    Ushaar-Ixaht - Argonian Magicka Nightblade, DC

    Rorbakh gro-Khraag - Orc Stamina Templar, AD

    Anduuroon - Altmer Magicka Warden, EP

    Travanius Braelia - Imperial Stamina Dragonknight, DC

    Daeralon - Bosmer Stamina Arcanist, AD
  • I_killed_Vivec
    I_killed_Vivec
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    Summerset
    On balance for a whole chapter, Summerset. Plenty to do, new class line... even Silly Sotha didn't spoil it too much, despite thinking he's oh so clever, when he ain't. I even enjoyed the skull :)

    Also somewhere nobody else has mentioned - The Deadlands. I really liked the daedric/dremora content, and to be honest it's the single chapter zone I revisit most. Who doesn't enjoy a trip to the Atoll of Immolation? ;)
  • Tyrant_Tim
    Tyrant_Tim
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    Summerset
    Tyrant_Tim wrote: »
    ...
    Summerset was the first chapter that allowed you to continue your main character’s power fantasy, and sadly there hasn’t been one since.

    I whole heartedly agree with this. Sure, the arcanist is a interesting class with mechanics that seem to work out great, but my old Templar Nord is feeling a little done for. There is no new skills to train, no new combinations to try.
    We really need something that also affects existing characters in combat. A new skill line, third morphs, new weapon... hell I'd take just about anything at this point. My old characters just need a breath of fresh air.

    For an RPG it’s surprising how little character progression we’ve had over the years.
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