Our author Lucas has played the new chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online “Summerset” on the test server. This is what he thinks of the new expansion.
Currently, a closed beta of the new ESO chapter “Summerset” is running on PC, where interested players can explore the new area. Our author Lucas, a long-time veteran of The Elder Scrolls Online, has ventured into Summerset. Here are his impressions:
Summerset – for ESO fans
Zenimax does not take big risks with “Summerset” and expands The Elder Scrolls Online in its usual manner with a new area full of quests. ESO fans can look forward to the familiar quality. Critics of the game are unlikely to be convinced of ESO by this chapter.
Even while playing the latest ESO chapter, the unique blend of atmosphere and depth that defines The Elder Scrolls Online returns.
Before you know it, you find yourself immersed in this atmospheric fantasy world of Tamriel and lose track of time. The quality of world design and quests was already high in the base game, but with “Summerset,” Zenimax raises the bar again and provides players with a colorful new island to explore.
Summerset is friendly to newcomers
Before new players can take their first steps in Summerset, they must first create a character. After character creation, a ghostly figure guides you through a tutorial that teaches you the basic mechanics of the MMORPG.
Good for ESO veterans: After completing the tutorial once, it can be skipped.
During the tutorial, you are given a bit of story. So, the tutorial is also worthwhile for experienced players, even though they are already well acquainted with the game mechanics.
Dark deeds and magical elk
The new area of Summerset greets players with beautiful scenery and rich fauna. The new animals, especially the magical elks known as Indrik, are particularly eye-catching.
We can’t say much about the main story yet, but what I have seen so far looks promising. Especially nice: Razum-dar, a familiar Khajiit from the main story of the Aldmeri Dominion, graces you again with his presence.
An important part of the great atmosphere of ESO is the fully voiced quests. Even in Summerset, there are some highlights that take you across the beautiful island. I want to write a bit more about a quest you will find there.
A zoo in ruins
The royal house of the High Elves has its own menagerie (a zoo), where various animals are bred. Queen Ayrenn often visited as a child and played with her personal Indrik.
However, when the player arrives there, the zoo is in ruins. Something has caused the animals to go wild. During the quest, you learn that the once beautiful menagerie also has a dark side. Together with a spy from Queen Ayrenn, you uncover this dirty secret.
This quest symbolizes what awaits you in Summerset. On the surface, the island appears idyllic and beautiful, yet many High Elves are not happy that Ayrenn has made the island accessible to other races.
The overt racism you will encounter stands in stark contrast to the beautiful Summerset. Many High Elves will refer to you as Nebarra. The word means unwelcome.
The Psijik Order: Mastery over time
Through a special quest line, you unlock one of the highlights of “Summerset”: the Psijik skills.
While ESO does not receive a new class, as it did with Morrowind, all existing classes gain access to the new guild skill line. Thus, you receive new skills without having to create a new character right away.
With the new skill line, you gain access to 5 active skills and an ultimate skill, as already found in the Mage and Fighter guilds. However, these are not the only similarities with the two guilds. Like the Mage and Fighter guilds, you must complete certain tasks to increase your rank in the guild and gain access to active and passive abilities.
After traveling across Summerset for the Psijik Order and closing time rifts scattered across the island, you will be rewarded with the skill line. However, to level it up, you must complete tasks for Knowledge Keeper Calus. He will send you back to the already known areas of Tamriel to close time rifts there.
Your reference point is a map in your inventory that indicates the approximate locations of the rifts on the map.
Players will likely develop an extension for ESO that marks the exact positions of the time rifts on the map. Similar extensions already exist for the Mage Guild books.
Until the release, much may change, but I still want to draw a small conclusion about what I have already experienced in “Summerset”.
The familiar ESO formula is improved for “Summerset”
The new chapter already impresses with a strong atmosphere and interesting quests. Summerset brings, apart from the jewelry crafting and the Psijik skills, no major innovations to The Elder Scrolls Online.
Even the new geysers that appear all over Summerset are very similar to the dolmens from the base game. ESO thus brings more of the familiar good quality with Summerset. But that has also been the recipe for success that has allowed the MMORPG to establish itself so well in recent years. And 2017 was even ESO’s strongest year!
The new chapter will likely continue to fail to excite critics who demand profound gameplay innovations in ESO. But fans can look forward to more of what they love with The Elder Scrolls Online Summerset.
Note: The impressions described here refer to the currently running Closed Beta. This is not yet the final version.
There seems to be nothing standing in the way of the steady content supply for The Elder Scrolls Online. Players simply want more, even though ESO already offers so much
