The Ultimate Compendium to ESO Blackwood
148 pages of guides for new and returning players, including a free extra: ESO base game, Morrowind, and 25% discount on Blackwood at Gamesplanet.
Windhelm – Winding annoyance
What kind of city is this? Windhelm is located in the Eastern March region in the province of Skyrim and in the game, it is the seat of Jorunn, the King of the Nords. The city is ancient and considered the oldest still inhabited city on the continent.
It was once built by the legendary hero Ysgramor, who had the settlement erected as a monument for his dead son by enslaved elves.
What is the most annoying thing? The sorrow of the former builder and the suffering of the enslaved elves seem to have transferred to the players when they spend more time in Windhelm. As the city has become increasingly winding and confusing over the course of its formation.
Moreover, even the pathways are often walled off, creating even more of a sense of claustrophobia and winding.
Anyway, you spend much more time in this city trying to find the quest giver or a specific location in the maze of alleys and paths. Fun looks different.
Why isn’t everything terrible? The ancient Nord metropolis Windhelm features an epic bridge and a massive palace, where the ruler of the Ebonheart Pact resides. You can hardly get tired of these colossal structures, and both are fortunately easy to find.
Sentinel – Less would be more
What kind of city is this? Sentinel, or Shield Watch, is the capital of the province of Hammerfell and belongs to the realm of the Redguards. The settlement is located on the edge of the Alik’r desert and is particularly spacious in layout.
What is the most annoying thing? Exactly this expansiveness of the city, reminiscent of the desert, is its biggest problem. The place is just too far spread out! Even central points of contact are extremely far apart, and heaven help you if you have a quest that requires you to go to the outskirts of this elongated settlement. You might find yourself walking for a while.
If you spend a lot of time in Sentinel, you wish nothing more than for the Redguards to simply tear down the city and rebuild it in a more compact way.
Why isn’t everything terrible? As long as you’re not a Redguard with a penchant for patriotism, you don’t necessarily have to go to Sentinel. But if you happen to be there, you should check out the magnificent royal palace and look out for theater groups with their often bizarre performances.
What do you think of our selection of five terrible places in The Elder Scrolls Online? Leave it in the comments. The possibly worst cities in the ESO world would probably belong to the Dwemer if they still existed. Because the underground tunnels are extremely winding. But we will probably never get to fully unravel the mystery of the Dwemer in ESO.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a game full of beautiful locations. However, some of them are not very welcoming, especially when it comes to these 5 worst cities in ESO!
Not every place in Tamriel is constructed the same. Each race has its own styles, and the city planning varies greatly by region of the world. There are positive examples, such as the mostly straightforward cities of the Imperials and the High Elves.
And then there are architectural nightmares that drive (almost) every player mad with their winding alleys, confusing structures, and frustrating verticality.
These are the most annoying cities in Tamriel
The following 5 cities were unanimously chosen by the ESO team at MeinMMO as the worst places on the continent. The main factors here were clarity and accessibility to important locations in the city.
Vivec City – Beautiful, terrible pyramids
What kind of city is this? The city named after the living Dunmer god Vivec has already driven players to despair in two games. Because the metropolis of Vvardenfell in the province of Morrowind is a temple city designed according to the god’s specifications, consisting of several pyramid-like structures (districts) built in a swampy area.
While the city frustrated players in full bloom in the game Morrowind, ESO players at least have the grace that during this game, the city is not yet finished and not all pyramids stand.
What is the most annoying thing? The pyramid-like districts are horrifically structured. The entrances to the various levels of the colossal structures are never where you need them, and you spend a lot of time walking around the massive buildings just to realize you need to be one level higher or lower.
This doesn’t get any better once you find the access because often you have to go somewhere completely different inside if you are looking for a specific NPC or shop. Navigation in the halls of the Dunmer is more than tedious, and some players are just glad when they finally complete all quests in Vivec City. At some point, you might be longing for the day when the asteroid hanging in the air finally falls down and this miserable construction project ends.
Why isn’t everything terrible? As annoying as the districts in Vivec City are: They look extremely cool. The city has a unique appearance, and the palace of the God King, which towers over all the districts, is truly impressive. And who knows, maybe the confusing construction is also pure intention so that the subjects of the living god don’t get any foolish ideas?
By the way, who only visits the outskirts of the city will appreciate the conveniently accessible crafting stations that, luckily, are not located in the districts.
Abah’s Landing – Alleyways, towers, and canals
What kind of city is this? Abah’s Landing is located in the southern province of Hammerfell, primarily inhabited by Redguards. The city was introduced with the whimsical DLC “Thieves Guild” and was meant to impress players with its lively flair of honorable rogues, intrigues, and a lot of oriental charm.
What is the most annoying thing? In Abah’s Landing, the designers probably took inspiration from cities in the medieval East, such as Baghdad or Damascus. Because the city consists of various angles and levels. While you can still get along quite well on the main road, it becomes extremely confusing in the backyards and alleys.
Additionally, throughout the Thieves Guild storyline, you constantly have to climb the towers and roofs of the city since that is where the thieves prefer to hang out. The access to these lofty places is often located in completely different areas than indicated by the quest marker, and even those who find the right path often fall from the unsecured walkways and have to start over.
Why isn’t everything terrible? Despite the terrible navigation, Abah’s Landing unfolds a certain rough charm precisely for that reason. And those who once fled from the guards after a botched theft will find the many winding alleys an ideal escape route and may not curse them as much.
Valenwood – Tree cities are always problematic
What kind of city is this? The place Valenwood is – oh surprise – a city of tree-dwelling Wood Elves. The settlement is located in the Green Shade area in Valenwood, the realm of the Bosmer.
As it befits a Wood Elf city, the colossal trees make up a large part of the buildings there and you often find yourself at dizzying heights.
What is the most annoying thing? You can already guess it, but these tree houses are a nightmare for anyone who isn’t a squirrel. Because, as in all vertical places in ESO, the quest markers only indicate where a target is located, not how to get there. And while you are usually guided to a house in a “normal” city, in Valenwood, you often stand in front of a tree trunk wondering, “How do I get up there?”.
The solution is usually some staircase or a bridge leading from another tree to the desired place. That’s frustrating!
Additionally, the way shrine in Valenwood seems to be built miles away from the location. Hence, one has to crawl through the forest for an eternity before being able to finally explore the miserable tree city.
Why isn’t everything terrible? In Valenwood, there isn’t much good to talk about. Unless you like trees and can come to terms with the overall beautiful and harmonious architecture.
The Ultimate Compendium to ESO Blackwood
148 pages of guides for new and returning players, including a free extra: ESO base game, Morrowind, and 25% discount on Blackwood at Gamesplanet.
Windhelm – Winding annoyance
What kind of city is this? Windhelm is located in the Eastern March region in the province of Skyrim and in the game, it is the seat of Jorunn, the King of the Nords. The city is ancient and considered the oldest still inhabited city on the continent.
It was once built by the legendary hero Ysgramor, who had the settlement erected as a monument for his dead son by enslaved elves.
What is the most annoying thing? The sorrow of the former builder and the suffering of the enslaved elves seem to have transferred to the players when they spend more time in Windhelm. As the city has become increasingly winding and confusing over the course of its formation.
Moreover, even the pathways are often walled off, creating even more of a sense of claustrophobia and winding.
Anyway, you spend much more time in this city trying to find the quest giver or a specific location in the maze of alleys and paths. Fun looks different.
Why isn’t everything terrible? The ancient Nord metropolis Windhelm features an epic bridge and a massive palace, where the ruler of the Ebonheart Pact resides. You can hardly get tired of these colossal structures, and both are fortunately easy to find.
Sentinel – Less would be more
What kind of city is this? Sentinel, or Shield Watch, is the capital of the province of Hammerfell and belongs to the realm of the Redguards. The settlement is located on the edge of the Alik’r desert and is particularly spacious in layout.
What is the most annoying thing? Exactly this expansiveness of the city, reminiscent of the desert, is its biggest problem. The place is just too far spread out! Even central points of contact are extremely far apart, and heaven help you if you have a quest that requires you to go to the outskirts of this elongated settlement. You might find yourself walking for a while.
If you spend a lot of time in Sentinel, you wish nothing more than for the Redguards to simply tear down the city and rebuild it in a more compact way.
Why isn’t everything terrible? As long as you’re not a Redguard with a penchant for patriotism, you don’t necessarily have to go to Sentinel. But if you happen to be there, you should check out the magnificent royal palace and look out for theater groups with their often bizarre performances.
What do you think of our selection of five terrible places in The Elder Scrolls Online? Leave it in the comments. The possibly worst cities in the ESO world would probably belong to the Dwemer if they still existed. Because the underground tunnels are extremely winding. But we will probably never get to fully unravel the mystery of the Dwemer in ESO.
