Elsweyr, the new chapter add-on for The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is here. Our author Jürgen has already explored the lands of the Khajiit and is excited.
I had waited more eagerly for no ESO add-on than for Elsweyr. Now it’s finally here, and I’ve immediately logged into ESO after work.
And just after a few seconds, my anticipation was greater than ever, as the new music from the loading screen perfectly set the mood for what was to come. The ESO soundtrack has always been brilliant to me, and the latest piece impresses with familiar sounds and typical Khajiit desert flair.
If the rest of Elsweyr continues like this, it can only be good.
My first steps in Elsweyr
This is how Elsweyr plays: After I first completed the prologue quest and let the dragons loose in Elsweyr, I set out to recapture the beasts. I reached Elsweyr quickly and easily via teleport to the new capital, Rimmen.
From there, it continues as usual. Elsweyr does nothing differently than the other ESO add-ons. You get quests and get lost along the way in tons of side quests and cool places, which you absolutely have to explore now.
This is how fascinating the new area is: And that is also what many fans – including me – love about ESO. Because ESO never gives me the feeling that I should immediately pursue the main story. Rather, the game invites exploration and research.
And the new landscape is ideally suited for this. The strange land of the Khajiit impresses with wild romantic mountain regions, in which numerous ruins and ancient temples are found. The developers have already revealed that Elsweyr is one of the oldest realms of the continent, and you can definitely feel it.
One gets the impression of wandering through a land that has seen an incredible amount. The current threat from the dragons may be severe right now, but relative to the age of Elsweyr, the current crisis is nothing.
This is the mood at launch: Additionally, ESO still maintains a lively and large community, many of whom were in the game at launch. It’s always a special feeling to be present at the launch of a game or major add-on, and it was no different in Elsweyr.
Everywhere players were exploring the area, completing quests, admiring the view, clearing dungeons, or hunting dragons. There was always someone there who wanted to share an adventure with me. That’s a great feeling of community.
Elsweyr is full of life
How beautiful Elsweyr is: What differentiates Elsweyr from other ESO add-ons in my eyes is the fascinating world that has been created for the add-on. Because Elsweyr is not just any land where strange cats live instead of elves or humans.
The developers have once again put in a lot of effort and invested a lot of passion to create a truly credible and unique atmosphere. This starts with the fact that the buildings of the Khajiit look completely different from those of the other races of Tamriel.
Even those who know the Khajiit outskirts from the base game will be surprised again at how impressive the cat folk build.
My highlight in the cat pub: And then there is the society of the Khajiit. My highlight was actually not a dragon fight, but a visit to a Khajiit pub. There, a furry bard sings continuously about tasty moon sugar, a grumpy Nord complains about the beer, which of course has also been refined with moon sugar (he’s still drunk), and then there’s a 3-meter tall giant tiger sitting in the pub!
That alone is already insane, but then the creature has a water pipe and seems to be reading a book that lies before its massive snout! If that isn’t strange enough: The tiger has a name and can speak. In deep, rumbling tones, the monster (a Khajiit variant called Senche-rath) boasts that this place is very dear to him and that he has his home here.
That later talking little house cats in clothes cross my path doesn’t astonish me anymore.
The naturalness with which Elsweyr incorporates such bizarre elements as talking cats into the game world makes the add-on something truly special.
Dragon fights are epic!
This is how the dragons work: I only learn of the obvious highlight of the add-on late in my first trek. When a dragon appears, it is marked prominently on the map. Then the beast flutters over the map until it is ultimately engaged at a certain location for combat.
This is how an epic dragon fight unfolds: What happens next can be roughly compared to the world events around the dolmens (base game) or the geysers (Summerset). There, you had to eliminate waves of monsters at specific times in specific locations, and in the end, there was a boss and then (hopefully) loot.
In Elsweyr, dragons take this position, but unlike previous world events, they are mobile and can move around.
And these dragons are hefty boss enemies that can only be defeated in a team. I, as a poor Khajiit Nightblade, got too close to one creature and was suddenly engulfed by flames. That was it! Barely revived, the beast whacked me with its tail.
Life number 2 gone. Only after several deaths did I get the hang of it and keep my distance while numerous players bravely fought, only to regularly die in dragon fire.
I involuntarily had to think of a specific episode of Game of Thrones…
Dragons are not supposed to be 08-15 punching bags, and the developers have indeed succeeded well. Only under massive fire from a superior force did the creature’s massive hit points finally melt away, and in the end, it lay in the dust before us. An epic dance and celebration party erupted among the players, and there was nice loot on top of that.
Compared to the rather boring geysers from Summerset, dragon fights are clearly a huge plus for Elsweyr.
Therefore, it feels like half the server is hunting them when one appears. Elsweyr is likely to survive the dragon plague just like all the other crises before it. The players will make sure of that.
Jürgen’s conclusion: Elsweyr is the best ESO chapter so far
Like all ESO add-ons, Elsweyr doesn’t actually reinvent anything. The new chapter is as conservative as the two before and basically only brings new quests, new areas, a new story, and a new form of world events. So nothing that hasn’t already been seen in previous add-ons.
But especially the grandiosely staged world, the epic dragon fights, and the fact that Elsweyr is not a self-contained add-on, but part of a large campaign about dragons makes it something truly new and exciting in my eyes.
I have never had as much fun with Summerset, which was undoubtedly good, as I have had after just 3 hours in Elsweyr. I can hardly wait to log back into the game and continue exploring my Khajiit heroine’s homeland.
Elsweyr simply feels rounded and coherent and promises countless hours of fun. Especially since the story will continue to unfold in two upcoming DLCs.
But enough about me: How did you find Elsweyr so far? Do you feel like I do, or do you see it as just another 08-15 ESO update?
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