How does “The Thieves Guild”, the latest DLC of The Elder Scrolls Online (PC, Xbox One, PS4) play? Is it worth returning for?
Saddle your camel, put on light clothing and bring enough water. Because the new expansion of The Elder Scrolls Online takes you to Hew’s Bane, a new area in the northwestern part of Tamriel. The land was made habitable by Prince Hubalajad. The city, the statues in honor of Zeht (the Yokudan god of agriculture) and the tombs and structures date back to him and his retinue.
Hew’s Bane impresses with its partly barren wasteland, its flourishing nature, and beautiful rocks. Basically, it must be said that while the textures may not always be high resolution upon close inspection, sometimes you want to take a picture of the surroundings and hang it on the wall: Whether outside, at the city gates, from the sea, the blooming plants or from the rooftops of Abah’s Landing.
And Abah’s Landing may not be a very large city, but because you can jump from roof to roof and everything is winding, you really feel like a thief who knows countless sneaky paths through the city to escape his pursuers. The Thieves Guild and the numerous buildings that can be “visited” also look lively. It is this consistency that often tempts you to simply stop and let the happenings sink in.
The Music of the Thieves Guild
It is these moments of calm when the music comes to the forefront. I always listen for the music in video games and also hear a lot of it in my free time. Therefore, a few words about the soundtrack. The slightly oriental-tinged music is convincing both as atmospheric support in open areas and during the numerous heists that you complete as a member of the Guild. However, it feels to me like the “Thieves Guild” could have benefitted from a greater variation.
Because with recurring events, the same music track is played repeatedly. A rather oppressive piece during infiltrations and heists, with Arabic sounds in the city and surroundings. For less attentive listeners, this may not be noticeable, and with the generally good music quality, this is also niggling at a high level.
This is how the 14 hours of the main campaign play out
Now let’s get to the most important point, what you experience in the “Thieves Guild”. At the beginning, you meet Quen, a young thief who asks you to help her with a heist. In the process, you are apprehended by the so-called Iron Wheel, a paramilitary organization whose actions in Hew’s Bane are closely intertwined with the failed theft of the Thieves Guild from Abah’s Landing. A member of the Guild saves you from the Iron Wheel and leads you to Hew’s Bane.
Once there, you learn more about the guild’s failed heist. Now it’s up to you to put the Guild back on the right track. To do this, you recruit former members and clarify the circumstances surrounding the failed theft of the Guild. Some residents of Abah’s Landing and members of the Thieves Guild accompany you on your endeavor. During the approximately 14 hours it takes to complete the main campaign of the “Thieves Guild”, you learn more about your Guild members and their pasts.
Each of the characters grows on you more or less. Be it Velsa, a dark elf with her nasty demeanor, Quen, who is still unsure about what to do with herself and her life, or Sneak-Leise, an Argonian with an impeccable taste for fashion and wonderful remarks. You even get to dress up for a wedding within the main quest. According to the guests, your outfit is right on trend, even if you wear a dress. You only experience such tolerance as a transvestite in Tamriel.
Gameplay and Mission Design
The story, atmosphere, and soundtrack are good, but what about the gameplay and mission design?
As a member of the Thieves Guild, you basically have the option to help Spencer Rye, a man with many connections, who can retrieve lost items of symbolic value. With the four repeating daily quests, it’s less about breaking in somewhere and more about taking everything down and returning the item.
The Thieves Guild also asks you to carry out pickpocketing and similar tasks during their daily repeating assignments.
Finally, Fa’ren-dar, a ruthless Khajiit, allows you to perform heists, which brings you closer to the core idea behind the “Thieves Guild”. Here, you sneak into heavily guarded areas where you must steal valuable items. If you do this within the given time, you will receive a bonus. Guards who discover you reduce the time you have left.
And here lies one of the problems of the expansion. If you want to advance in the main story, your rank must reach a certain value. And how do you improve your rank? Correct! Through the three daily missions. Thus, it is entirely impossible to play through the “Thieves Guild” in one go. You may find that fine, many may not be bothered, but it also means that more than a maximum of two hours per day are not filled with interesting content. If the main missions are short, it’s even less.
At first, breaking into guarded areas can be quite difficult. For example, I was frustrated by the, in my opinion, unfair guards. They attacked me as soon as I came into their line of sight. I couldn’t take them out. Without a soulstone in my possession, which revives you on the spot, I had to run to the mission from the last way point again and again.
Holes in the Stealth Mechanic
I had these problems until I realized how full of holes the concept behind the stealth mechanic actually is. Let’s delve into it further. A new type of guard has been introduced that patrols with lamps. When you crouch, you now have the ability to see the light radius of patrolling guards. As soon as you enter the effective area, the guard sees you and you can no longer crouch.
However, this rarely poses a problem as you need to run only a few meters during heists or burglaries and must hide so that no one sees you. Alternatively, you can simply switch areas through a door or hide in what are called “hiding spots”. These are usually boxes or clay pots that you can jump into. If you know the hay bales from Assassin’s Creed, then you have a rough idea of what I’m talking about.
The problem with this is, however, that the guards are not disturbed if you hop into a so-called hiding spot just 30 cm in front of them. They simply turn around and continue on their way. Unfortunately, there are also no options to lure guards somewhere with items or to stun them for a while. So you have no choice but to wait it out in the hiding places until the guards patrol past you.
How does playing the Thieves Guild feel at a low level?
But the stealth mechanic is not the only weakness of the “Thieves Guild”. Unfortunately, it is also the case that a bounty is quickly placed on you as soon as someone sees you in non-public areas. So if you do not take everything around you and then conceal it, a character of low level can quickly find themselves being offered a sum they cannot pay.
For him, it is nearly impossible to pursue the quests for the Thieves Guild in Abah’s Landing since he often has to pass guards that he cannot get past unnoticed. They immediately apprehend the player and kill him if he cannot pay the bounty.
I really wanted to test how feasible it is to tackle the new expansion with a low-level character, as all characters are raised to Veteran Rank 16. Within the expansion, my mage leveled from level eight to level fourteen. Some enemies can be quite tough, but it is certainly possible to play through the “Thieves Guild”. Especially since you can avoid many fights simply by sneaking past the enemies.
Did I enjoy the newest expansion of The Elder Scrolls Online?
On the one hand, I really enjoyed getting to know my guildmates better, listening to the wonderful music, exploring nature and the amazing and complex city, and sneaking into heavily guarded areas to ultimately escape without being detected. On the other hand, the stealth mechanic is anything but refined. Compared to Assassin’s Creed or similar games, everything feels just a bit unpolished. Moreover, the fact that progress within the Guild is tied to daily missions unnecessarily stretches the story.
In the end, a piece of advice. Bring plenty of lockpicks. Otherwise, you will stand before a quest-relevant door and be unable to open it, while your companion kindly reminds you to bring enough door-openers next time.
Thanks Velsa, you nasty dark elf.
The report from Tamriel comes from our reader Lucas Kaczynski.
