The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) has dedicated the year 2020 to Skyrim. We wanted to know your thoughts on this year in a survey, and here are your results.
The crazy year 2020 is coming to an end, and so is “The Dark Heart of Skyrim” in The Elder Scrolls Online. This was the overarching story in the MMORPG, and the name was fitting. The latest chapter took you to Skyrim, in line with the renowned games of the Elder Scrolls series.
We at MeinMMO wanted to know in a survey how you felt about this Skyrim year in ESO. You had 6 options to choose from, whether you played Skyrim or not, and how much you enjoyed the annual adventure. 237 readers participated, and we reveal the results.
This was the Skyrim Year 2020
So 2020 started: The DLC Harrowstorm kicked off 2020. It brought the prologue quest for Greymoor and two new dungeons:
- Iceflame – Here you will investigate dangerous gramstorms that are making their way across the sea.
- The Unholy Tomb – An ancient burial site awaits you here, which has been reopened.
So 2020 continued: With the Greymoor expansion, released in May for PC and in June for consoles, the Skyrim year reached its peak. The chapter took you to Skyrim, or in English, Skyrim. A dark story surrounding vampires and monsters awaited the players. Additionally, you had:
- The gramstorms/Harrowstorms – These are group events in the open world. They resemble anchors, and you can save the world while looting.
- Kynes Aegis – A new raid for 12 players, known as trials in ESO. You have voted in a survey about these raids and revealed your ranking.
- The Mythic Gear.
- The new antiquity system.
- New vaults and open dungeons.
With a Skyrim addon, the new maps of Skyrim and the underground Blackreach must not be missing. The latter constitutes about 40% of the playable area, making Greymoor the largest expansion of ESO in terms of area.
The 3rd DLC Stonethorn was a dungeon package. This time, two new dungeons awaited you:
- The Stone Garden – The dungeon is located in the underground Blackreach. Your task here is to take down a mad alchemist.
- Castle Dorn – A dark fortress where you will encounter Lady Dorn and her dark vampire army.
This was the finale of the Skyrim year: The last DLC of 2020 was named Markarth. It also had some new features:
- The continuation of the main story about the vampires that MeinMMO author Jürgen Horn likes to beat up.
- A new arena "Ground of Vateshran", for which we have a guide from MeinMMO for you.
- Two new maps – The Reach, including the picturesque city of Markarth as well as the Arkthzand Caverns.
A Celebrated Chapter?
Here is how you voted: Most of you, 42.19%, voted for the answer “I played Skyrim and thought it was great”. In addition, there were votes from those who thought it was awesome but had not played Skyrim, totaling another 7.59%, giving a total of 49.78% for the top rating.
Some of you found the chapter just OK, not bad, but also not thrilling, making up 39.66% of the votes. Only 10.55% of MeinMMO readers found the addon terrible, so the positive votes definitely outweighed the negatives.
This is what makes the result special: It is remarkable that a surprisingly high number of players had played Skyrim before, totaling 81.85%. Most of them celebrate the new chapter or found it at least OK.
This reflects the developers’ plan to treat The Elder Scrolls Online as a Skyrim Online.
This is what a developer says about ESO: The lead developer Matt Firor had distanced himself from the MMORPG term in an interview a few years ago. He believes that ESO could just as well be played solo, like all other parts of the Elder Scrolls series.
Every player has the choice to engage in group content or simply enjoy the game solo. They can play the game as an MMORPG, but are not forced to do anything. Therefore, Matt Firor prefers to refer to ESO as an Online RPG or Console RPG and not as a classic MMORPG. An adventure that players can undertake with friends but also alone – basically just an Elder Scrolls.
Of course, a connection to MMORPGs cannot be denied. ESO also features elements from classics like World of Warcraft. Still, the target audience has always been TES fans, with the desire to cater to these players. This is also reflected in our survey.
Your Votes at a Glance
This is the exact distribution of votes: To the question “How did you like the Skyrim Year in ESO?” you responded as follows:
- I played Skyrim and thought it was great – 42.19% (100 votes)
- I played Skyrim and thought it was just OK – 32.91% (78 votes)
- I have never played Skyrim and thought it was great – 7.59% (18 votes)
- I have never played Skyrim and thought it was just OK – 6.75% (16 votes)
- I played Skyrim and thought it was terrible – 6.75% (16 votes)
- I have never played Skyrim and thought it was terrible – 3.80% (9 votes)
And in 2021, the journey into the Elder Scrolls continues. A teaser announced Oblivion as the next chapter for ESO. So TES fans will hopefully get their fill in 2021 as well. Let us know in the comments how you experienced this Skyrim year and if you are looking forward to Oblivion.
