The Elder Scrolls Online will receive the new DLC Scalebreaker on Monday, at least for PC. One of the two new dungeons is likely to be particularly interesting for PvE fans.
Which dungeon is it about? One of the two dungeons from the upcoming ESO DLC Scalebreaker is called “Hoard of Maarselok.” It involves the titular dragon Maarselok, who has awakened in a deep cave in the border mountains of the Eastern Grahtwood after his brothers escaped from the Colossal Halls in Elsweyr.
What is the story of the dungeon? Maarselok is a blue dragon that spreads corruption and decay. His power spreads like rot, harming the surrounding nature. This, in turn, brings the nearby Wood Elves into action, who live in harmony with nature.
Yet the first team of Wood Elf warriors has disappeared without a trace in the dragon’s lair and so you must keep an eye on things as a dungeon team. In doing so, you will learn what happened to the Wood Elves and meet the forest spirit Selene. Selene plays an important role in the fight against the dragon and his minions.
Dungeon Boss with Cool Mechanics
In a blog post about the dungeon, Mike Finnigan, Dungeon Lead for ESO, explains that the dragons here are supposed to be something really special again:
“Players who have faced the dragons in Sunspire and Elsweyr will realize that the challenge is not just meant for one group alone. We wanted to maintain that feeling that dragons are not just normal enemies that can be defeated easily.”
This is what fans praise about the bosses: According to initial feedback from the test server, the developers seem to have succeeded quite well. Players especially praise the following aspects of the fight:
- “The final boss is a great mini-version of the Sunspire bosses. My favorite part is that you have to cleanse yourself of rot, or else an add spawns out of you. Great!”
- Another player found the mechanics in hard mode of the final fight against Maarselok tricky to figure out at first. But in the end, he liked it very much: “It’s a clever mechanic. I really enjoyed figuring it out, and it was very rewarding when it finally worked. […] It’s definitely one of the best hard mode mechanics I’ve ever seen.”
- “I’ve really enjoyed the hard mode. The dragons from Sunspire are babies compared to Maarselok and Selene.”
The testers agreed only that some of the boss mechanics offer a little explanation in the game and that at least a bit more hints would be needed about what to do to avoid wiping immediately.
This is what you can get as a reward: If you manage to stop Maarselok, you can expect a whole range of unique rewards and collectibles, including three new armor sets and new masks. Included is also the new heavy set “Dragon Desecration.” This inflicts debuffs on all nearby enemies.
When can you play the dungeon? For PC, Scalebreaker and Update 23 will be available on Monday, August 12. On PS4 and Xbox One, the dungeon will be available only on August 27.
On Monday, you can play the new DLC on PC completely free for one day. Maybe you’ll manage to complete the Hoard of Maarselok during this time.
