Miraak is mentioned in the Necrom DLC, but you do not meet him. Since he is around, we can always meet him at another time. Since we know he is not defeated until the fourth era, then maybe he would be less of an antagonist role this time around.

Cosmo_Nova wrote: »

It's hard for Dragonborn characters to be relevant when there's no dragons. Elsweyr chapter would have been the time, but that's come and gone.

The Thu'um, on the other hand, is something that can be relevant even without dragons. Consider characters like the Greybeards or Ulfric who were able to use the Voice solely through practice. If a chapter or DLC ever decides to explore Central Skyrim, the location of High Hrothgar, Shouts could be a potentially relevant plot point. Unlikely, but maybe even a skill line?

That sounds exciting, but there are a lot of barriers in both writing and game design to implementing this. It's fairly well established that you either spend a lifetime getting good, or you're the Dragonborn. Not to mention that it effectively mutes you if you do get really good.

To me, it looks like the proposition of introducing the Thu'um to players in ESO is a lose/lose for the studio no matter how they implement it. If they make the grind representative of how difficult it is for non-dragonborn to master it, people will be aggravated, just like with scribing, probably even worse. Not to mention it would still technically contradict established lore as all of the game's events happen in the same year. Part of one year isn't a lifetime, no matter how grindy it is to level up. So, If they do contradict established lore, the narrative and their writing credibility suffers.

And lastly, If they limit it to what non-greybeards / non-dragonborn can feasibly achieve in our available timeframe, it's supremely disappointing in gameplay compared to TES V. We aren't in it for second-level unrelenting force, we're in it for the THU'UM.

I'm fine leaving Shouts in TES V. I don't think there's an elegant way to bring it back.

Renegade Greybeard villain when?

Joke aside, I've always thought they if they ever do High Hrothgar and the 7000 steps they should do it as a dungeon with a Greybeard boss. That way it can be linear but still lore happy.