The Elder Scrolls Online Morrowind, the first major standalone expansion for ESO, will be released on June 6. However, selected players can already explore Vvardenfell on the test server and tame bears and cliff racers as Guardians. Jürgen was one of those testers and shares his experiences. Spoiler warning.
The Elder Scrolls Online Morrowind really kicks off from the start! As soon as we create a new hero on the test server – selected players can live test the new ESO chapter since April 18 – the action begins!
Attention: Spoilers ahead!
ESO Morrowind – Shattered Chains and Sea Battles
The freshly baked Guardian heroine is still sitting neatly in her cabin, wondering why a mysterious letter calls her to Vvardenfell, when her ship crashes into a reef! The hull is shattered and waves crash over you! Is the adventure already over before it has begun?
Of course not, because you wake up as a prisoner in a camp of slave hunters on an offshore island before Vvardenfell. Covered in rags and in chains! Mess! But help is on the way! The Dark Elf assassin Naryu Virian from the Morag Tong guild (a kind of official assassin squad with a license to kill) happens to have the task of eliminating the leader of the slave traders. If you agree to help her, she will set you free.
The Elder Scrolls Morrowind – Already Thinking in the Tutorial!
Since you do not want to serve as a lackey to spoiled Dark Elf nobles for the rest of your life, you agree and slash, sneak, and blast your way through the slave hunters’ camp in a thrilling tutorial. At the end, there’s even a climactic showdown on the villain’s ship, which is currently under fire from Vvardenfell’s coastal guard.
Compared to the rather boring and colorless crawling in Coldharbor from the regular ESO tutorial, the new introductory mission is much better and more atmospheric!
ESO Morrowind – “Ah, Seyda Neen!”
The ship brings us to the sleepy harbor town of Seyda Neen, and anyone who played the old “The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind” back then will immediately feel transported 15 years back in time. Because the Imperial Customs Authority still stands in the same place as it did back in 2002 in TES 3.
And as back then, your heroine is saved from bureaucratic hassle thanks to the intervention of an NPC and is allowed to immediately dive into the beautiful, vast, and wonderfully exotic world of Vvardenfell with her returned equipment and explore the huge island freely.
Morrowind – “Khajiit needs help!”
From then on, Morrowind really kicks into high gear and you have practically the whole island at your disposal as a playground. At every corner, there are NPCs who need your help and quickly lead you to the strangest places. For example, right before Seyda Neen, you meet a Khajiit who claims to be “just a harmless farmer.” His farm has been taken over by bandits. What does he grow? Of course, only herbs to season fish dishes. How this all ends, we won’t spoil, but this first major quest already makes you excited for more.
But not only elaborate side quests are presented atmospherically. Early on, we help an envoy of the Tribunal (the religion of the Dark Elves) and thus come to Vivec, one of the three living gods of Vvardenfell. From Vivec, we also receive the main quest of the new chapter, which takes us across the island and uncovers many old mysteries.
If you remember the old Morrowind, you will encounter many cool hints, cameos, and Easter eggs as an additional treat. For example, cryptic warnings about “a evil that is yet to come” or the return of the “Nerevarine”.
The Elder Scrolls Online – With Bow, Bear, and Cliff Racer!
Like almost all other players on the test server, we also played a Guardian for Morrowind. The new class focuses on nature magic and heavily relies on various animals that can be unleashed on enemies. The first skill learned is a diving attack from a Cliff Racer. These were the annoying flying lizards that everyone hated back in Morrowind.
Now you can throw them in the face of your enemies as a surprisingly cheap and quick ranged attack. Since you can skill the croaking death via Morph to deal more damage at long distances, we decided on a bow as our main weapon for our Guardian. Only it becomes a problem when the enemy doesn’t stay at a distance.
ESO Morrowind – Guardian – Only real with Bear!
Enter the black bear! Early on, you can skill your ultimate in the damage area and then summon a permanent bear companion. This ideally occupies the enemy, allowing you to calmly and at maximum distance hurl swarms of cliff racers at your foe.
This barrage of croaking flying creatures and bear paws hardly allows any enemy to withstand it for long. Only if you go overboard with the damage, the bear sometimes loses aggro. So the bear does not replace a full-fledged player tank, at least not in the first levels we played. Nevertheless, the Guardian is a successful class that performs well as a ranged damage dealer with pet support.
Jürgen’s conclusion: The Elder Scrolls Online Morrowind promises much and carries a great legacy. Morrowind is, for me and many other TES fans, the best game in the series and the first title with which many experienced the beautiful world of the Elder Scrolls. So I expect a lot from the first major ESO expansion. I am even happier now, after spending several hours in the beta, that ESO-Morrowind has so far truly met my expectations.
The exotic flora and fauna of Vvardenfell, the quirky Dark Elves, the grim mysteries of the island: all that was already great in TES 3: Morrowind is back in TESO: Morrowind. And the new hero is also a lot of fun. Of course, I haven’t seen everything of Vvardenfell yet and therefore can’t say how the rest of the new chapter develops, but anyone who enjoys ESO and loved Morrowind back in the day will likely get a lot out of this!
Also interesting: The Elder Scrolls Online – Morrowind – All details about the new addon chapter
