Today was apparently the press day for ESO’s Morrowind expansion, because in addition to the first gameplay trailer, there were tons of interviews and articles revealing more information!
So here’s the gameplay trailer:
[video:youtube:HVdzUBwA4-k]
So here’s a compilation of all the new information revealed today (thank you to UESP member Circuitous for putting together most this list!), and links at the end to all the articles and videos. Will there be silt striders? What are battlegrounds like? Can you only play Warden on new characters? Find out the answers and more after the break:
Vvardenfell
– ESO’s Vvardenfell is less desolate than TES3, owing to the Tribunal’s increased power at this point in time.
– The Ghostfence hasn’t been erected and Red Mountain hasn’t erupted much as of ESO:M, explaining why many areas that were dry and ashy in TES3 are now more lush and vibrant.
– Cliff racers haven’t learned to fly freely yet; instead they’re Cliff Striders, a bit more grounded.
– Many locations are off the beaten path, and the player won’t be pointed towards them. Exploration will be rewarded.
– Silt Striders will be present in Morrowind, and can be used as fast travel to unknown locations. That said, they won’t actually move; they’re just as rooted as they were in TES3.
– Matt Firor is “90% sure” that Morrowind’s many pockets of water are shallow enough to run through on a mount.
– As of ESO:M, Ald’ruhn is more of an Ashlander camp, with many of the smaller houses not yet constructed. (Though the main giant mudcrab building is there.)
– Imperials at some point tried and failed to colonize Vvardenfell, before the larger-scale colonization as of TES3.
– Most or possibly all of Vvardenfell did not join the Ebonheart Pact, and thus slavery, especially of Argonians, is still in effect.
– Red Mountain may be climbable by enterprising players. The interior of Red Mountain won’t be accessible, as it’s not a focus of the story. It will, however, be visible from nearly every locale in Morrowind, undergoing various degrees of volcanic activity.
– One of the public dungeons leads near to the lip of Red Mountain.
– There will be public dungeons, delves, world bosses, etc.
Game Mechanics
– No new skills are being added with Morrowind, aside from the Warden class.
– No new weapon types are being added with Morrowind, though they haven’t been ruled out for future updates.
– There are conflicting sources on whether Champion Point cap will be raised or not; Rich Lambert said it would be and Matt Firor said it might in the future but not with Morrowind.
– Spellcrafting will not be introduced with Morrowind.
– Morrowind will add new houses and furnishings.
– A new feature for pet users (Warden, Sorc, Maw of the Infernal, etc.): heavy-attacking a target will make your pets target them as well.
– ESO:M’s base game patch will introduce many changes and updates to Cyrodiil.
– Buff tracker!
– Devs are strongly considering where to go with two-handed weapons counting as two slots for sets, but nothing is concrete.
– The RNG of loot, like Undaunted chests, are considered a “pain point” that the team is considering ways to solve, with a token system possibly being one such way.
Quests
– Vivec’s power is failing; it’s up to the player to help him discover why. The developers put a lot of effort into ensuring that this meshed with the lore of TES3, and that it makes sense in the context of the storyline as well.
– ESO:M’s storyline will have the player visiting many different clans of the Dunmer, including the Great Houses.
– ESO:M’s main storyline will run 30 hours. This does not include side content/exploration.
– During the storyline, Baar Dau will continue descending as Vivec gets weaker, even erupting into flames at its most dire.
– Most playthroughs from level 1 see the player reaching level 30 by the end.
– Vvardenfell is ~30-40% larger than Orsinium.
– One exploration activity is a “zone-wide scavenger hunt”.
– A particular sidequest involves an Argonian’s journey to become a Telvanni mage.
– ESO:M’s new tutorial is more open and “in the world” than the Coldharbour prison. Naryu will be your guide.
– If you do ESO:M’s tutorial instead of the base game’s, once you head to mainland Tamriel you’ll start the main storyline, including your death at the hands of Mannimarco, as a main story quest.
– ESO:M’s lore will cover the important aspects of Morrowind, Vvardenfell, and the Tribunal, so even new players who’ve never touched TES3 will understand the importance and weight of them. This will include books and dialogue.
– If you encounter Naryu in the base game after completing quests involving her in ESO:M, she’ll recognize you and your accomplishments.
Dungeons and Trials
– Morrowind will feature two public dungeons, one focusing on the formation of the Sixth House, the other a large Dwemer ruin.
– There will be a 12-person trial, the Halls of Fabrication
– The Halls of Fabrication are introduced by Divayth Fyr, who has discovered the entrance to one of Sotha Sil’s workshops.
– The trial will fend against Sotha Sil’s many workshop defenses.
– The Halls of Fabrication will have similar types of rewards to Maw of Lorkhaj, including a cosmetic effect.
– The Halls of Fabrication should have the same number of bosses as MoL, with a greater focus on the bosses and the travel to those bosses, less on trash mobs.
– A description of the Halls of Fabrication: “You go into Sotha Sil's Clockwork City, and he's trying to create an exact copy of Tamriel inside a little sphere under Mournhold. So in this trial it actually takes you into a part of that to adventure around. And also, the main story of the chapter takes you into a little bit of the Clockwork City as well.”
Warden Class
– To play a Warden you will have to start a new character, no class changes.
– A big reason they included the class with the Chapter was because if it were in DLC and included in ESO Plus, it raises questions as to whether you could continue to play the character after your subscription lapses, so this makes it a permanent purchase.
– The “defensive ice magic” line is called “Winter’s Embrace”, the “nature-based healing” line is called “Green Balance”, and the “animal DPS” line is called “Animal Companions”.
– The Winter’s Embrace line includes offensive and defensive self-buffs and protective magic.
– The Green Balance line includes Fungal Growth (cone-shaped AOE heal) and Healing Seed (gets dropped on the ground and can be used by anyone). In general it’s more “healing what’s in front of you” and less AOE.
– The Animal Companion line includes an ability to summon a cliff racer to attack your enemy and a swarm of bugs that does AOE damage.
– The Warden’s bear summon ultimate needs to be on the active bar to be maintained, so be prepared to slot it on both bars.
– The bear has two morphs. One automatically re-summons the bear if it dies, without requiring you to recharge your ultimate. The other becomes a DPS machine, and you gain ultimate while it’s active. Using the gained ultimate triggers the bear’s enrage, gaining overall strength and doing more damage to enemies in execute range.
– The Warden’s netch ability can be used on the back bar and then swapped.
– The Warden is very flexible; Rich Lambert expects it to best fill the off-tank/off-healer role in large group content, and to do well in PvP as an all-arounder. In tests it has functioned perfectly well as a main tank, healer and DPS, but seems to shine best as off-tank/off-healer.
– The Warden may shine as part of a Bow DPS build, possessing many ranged Stamina abilities.
– ZOS wants the Warden to be a competitive DPS.
– The Warden cannot ride its summoned bear. Sorry, folks.
Battlegrounds
– Battlegrounds are designed to be “pick up and play” PvP games lasting about 15-20 minutes.
– Battlegrounds are restricted to owners of ESO:M, but may eventually expand to the base game, or at least other areas of Tamriel besides Morrowind.
– Battlegrounds are split up into three types of game: mobile flag, stationary flag, and deathmatch. At launch there will only be one game of each type, and you’ll queue for that.
– When more game modes are added post-launch, rather than queueing for a specific game type, you’ll queue for these general types and enter a random game of that type.
– Mobile Flag Matches will include CTF at first (capture the enemy’s flag and return it to your base), with Murderball (with a central flag captured in the enemy’s base) and maybe more coming later.
– Stationary Flag Matches will include Domination at first (capture multiple control points), with King of the Hill (capture a central control point) and maybe more coming later.
– Team Deathmatch will be available at launch, though it’s unknown what other modes in this vein may come later.
– There will be Battlegrounds Leaderboards for each game.
– At launch, queues will be from Level 10-49, and Level 10-50. There may be a no-CP variant of 10-50.
– You can queue for multiple game modes at once, with or without a group of 4.
– Quitting a match or going AFK will result in a currently-unknown punishment.
– All three teams will receive rewards at the end of the match, though the winning team will of course receive the better loot.
– The three team structure is not tied to the alliances.
– The lore of the 4v4v4 Battlegrounds harkens back to TES: Arena.
– Teams will be Purple, Orange, and Green.
– Battlegrounds maps can include various traps and hazards to spice up the fighting.
– Battlegrounds will offer unique set items as rewards. Sets include armor, weapons, and jewelry. Other rewards include cosmetics, and even furnishings.
– Battlegrounds sets may be offered as Rewards for the Worthy, possibly only for people who have purchased Morrowind.
– Battleground maps are designed to create first contact with an enemy within 5-10 seconds, with a “first-person shooter” sort of feel.
– Battlegrounds reward Alliance Points at the end of matches.
– In Team Deathmatch, the killing blow awards the point, regardless of damage done.
– In Capture Point modes, flags will not be guarded by NPCs and the capture timer will be much faster.
– Battleground game modes will be simple, familiar game types that won’t need a tutorial.
– Maps will have ways to block off line of sight from other players, but won’t allow players to easily hide for entire matches. “There is no running away in Battlegrounds, not at all.” Stealth will still work, however.
– Quests from tip boards around Tamriel and in Morrowind will lead players to Battlegrounds as a quest.
– Alliance Points earned from Battlegrounds still level Assault and Support skill lines, but do not count towards Cyrodiil leaderboards. No Batlleground Emperors.
– Feats in Battlegrounds (like high crit burst damage or burst healing, capturing or returning flags, etc.) reward medals that are the basis of the three leaderboard scores.
– Battleground leaderboards will be weekly, with rewards.
– Battleground AP rewards will be based on calculations from Cyrodiil AP earnings (average AP/hour, etc.). The goal is to make it a viable way to earn AP/XP, without making it the way to do so.
– Formal tournaments may become a thing later.
Miscellaneous
– 8.5 million copies of ESO have been sold across all platforms
– Future in-game voice on PC is unlikely, due to the many existing solutions.
– Players will not be able to join the Morag Tong.
– Re: Dwemer, “some things are better left unsaid.”
– There will be (very limited) levitation.
– Future DLCs and Chapters will not require ownership of ESO:M.
– Yagram won’t be making a cameo.
– There will be a bear mask costume.
– Developers and playtesters alike went back to TES3 to play around, read up on the in-game lore, and brought what they learned into ESO:M.
– If it’s any consolation, Rich Lambert also hasn’t gotten a sharpened inferno staff from vMA yet, either.
– Rich has eight characters at level 50, with 720 CPs. Over 1,100 hours played. Favors magicka Sorceror in PvP, stamina Sorc in PvE.
– Rich Lambert considers the next jump in MMO “tech” to be the “second screen” – phone apps and social communication without being in-game – but this isn’t something currently being planned for ESO.
– They’re looking at ways to increase the value of ESO Plus since Chapters are not included.
Sources and articles:
Tales of Tamriel Morrowind interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8VDakuM8sM
MMOGames.com – “Morrowind Developer Interview”: http://www.mmogames.com/gamearticles/eso-morrowind-interview/
MMORPG.com – “Morrowind is the Culmination of the First Three Years of ESO's Life”: http://www.mmorpg.com/elder-scrolls-online/previews/morrowind-is-the-culmination-of-the-first-three-years-of-esos-life-1000011570
MMORPG.com – “The Warden is ESO's First True Hybrid Class”: http://www.mmorpg.com/elder-scrolls-online/previews/the-warden-is-esos-first-true-hybrid-class-1000011568
MMORPG.com – “Battlegrounds Bring Small Group PVP to Tamriel”: http://www.mmorpg.com/elder-scrolls-online/previews/battlegrounds-bring-small-group-pvp-to-tamriel-1000011569
Gamespace.com – “Matt Firor Talks Morrowind and More” – http://www.gamespace.com/interview/matt-firor-talks-morrowind-and-more/
Gamerevolution.com – “We Spoke With ZeniMax About The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind, And Here’s What We Learned”: http://www.gamerevolution.com/features/we-spoke-with-zenimax-about-the-elder-scrolls-online-morrowind-and-heres-what-we-learned
Gamerevolution.com – “Morrowind Director Details Clockwork City Based Trial”: http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/elder-scrolls-online-morrowind-director-details-clockwork-city-based-trial-39495
Eurogamer.net – “How The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind transforms Vvardenfell “: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2017-02-22-how-the-elder-scrolls-online-morrowind-transforms-vvardenfell
Gamesradar.com – “The 5 big things you need to know about Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind”: http://www.gamesradar.com/the-5-big-things-you-need-to-know-about-elder-scrolls-online-morrowind/
Massivelyop.com – “Elder Scrolls Online: Setting up the Morrowind story”: http://massivelyop.com/2017/02/22/elder-scrolls-online-setting-up-the-morrowind-story/
Shacknews.com – “Elder Scrolls Online Faces the Future with Morrowind Expansion” http://www.shacknews.com/article/99132/elder-scrolls-online-faces-the-future-with-morrowind-expansion
PCgamer.com – “Elder Scrolls Online prepares to take adventurers back to Morrowind”: http://www.pcgamer.com/elder-scrolls-online-prepares-to-take-adventurers-back-to-morrowind/
PCgamesn.com – “How Zenimax are faithfully realising Morrowind in Elder Scrolls Online, down to the Red Mountain”: https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-elder-scrolls-online-tamriel-unlimited/the-elder-scrolls-online-morrowind-world-map
Godisageek.com – “TESO: Morrowind promises a nostalgic, yet refreshing trip back to a familiar island”: http://www.godisageek.com/2017/02/teso-morrowind-promises-a-nostalgic-yet-refreshing-trip-back-to-a-familiar-island/
Gamespot.com – “Elder Scrolls Online Expands In A Big Way With Morrowind”: http://www.gamespot.com/articles/elder-scrolls-online-expands-in-a-big-way-with-mor/1100-6448118/
Elderscrollsportal.de – “Interview With Rich Lambert”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tXkM42Rk5w
EDIT 2/23: The post previously stated the champion point cap will not increase. Edited to clarify that there are conflicting sources about this.
