All About Elder Scrolls Online’s Greymoor Update
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is not only one of the biggest Elder Scrolls games ever; it’s one of the greatest games ever—PERIOD! To say that it’s a phenomenon is actually an understatement. Now, Elder Scrolls Online is going to bring its adventurers to the namesake tundra that the famous previous installment has made famous in ESO Greymoor.
Table of Contents
A different future’s past: What is ESO Greymoor?
Yes, they’re really bringing players back to the fabled land of the Nords. However, it should go without saying that it’s not going to be a 1:1 replica of the 2011 open-world single-player RPG. Aside from the fact that they can’t make a single region that expansive, it’d be an uncreative move on the part of ESO. Also, with Elder Scrolls Online set a thousand years before the main game line’s fifth installment, it really is impossible, lore-wise, for a very similar titular region.
In fact, creative director Rich Lambert is trying to avoid almost everything that will remind players of Skyrim, including the lore, as they don’t want cheap nostalgia to define the expansion. No mention of Dragonborn lore, and while the ESO already has Aldmeri Dominion, there won’t be Stormcloaks, and there won’t be any mention of them having any local strife with the Empire.
While he understands that the association to and nostalgia for the single-player romp is inescapable, he is adamant to sticking to their own take on the region. If you look at the MMO’s track record, it should already be obvious. Take Morrowind for example, whose region and expansion had a completely different ambiance to that of the classic third installment. Bravely enough, he decided to do it on a region of a much bigger and more popular game.
Fus Roh Dark: How different will ESO Greymoor be?
Rather than the Viking epic-esque atmosphere that has become intertwined with the region, they’re giving the perpetually snowy lands a dark, gothic feel.
Obviously, dragons won’t be your main adversaries–you’ve already faced them in Elsweyr. This time, you’ll be facing a much darker and more cunning foe that better fits the thematic: a vampire lord. Waking from his long slumber in Blackreach, he now leads an army of sinister monsters. Once again, the burden, honor, and glory of stopping him and his minions fall on you and your fellow adventurers.
What quests are available to play in ESO Greymoor?
As for the places Skyrim players will get to revisit, Blackreach is already a given, considering its importance to the new story. Other than that are locations like Morthal and Solitude. Surely, there will be other familiar locales, and you should visit them so that you can see what they were like a millennium before and under a different artistic and narrative direction.
Beyond Vampire Slaying: What other new features are there in ESO Greymoor?
Aside from the overarching quest of taking down this vampire lord, there will be a new trial and world event in ESO Greymoor. The former is Kyne’s Aegis, which will have players defending villagers on an island from invading sea giants. Hordes of monsters and three bosses will be coming for you and your 12-man team, so be ready!
Meanwhile, for the new world event, there’s Harrowstorms, unstable supernatural energies that turn anyone caught in it into monsters and zombies. It is a must that you band together with other adventurers to stop them.
Whether fans will warm up to the idea of a Skyrim removed from the biggest Elder Scrolls game ever has yet to be seen, but it’s commendable that Lambert is sticking to his own guns. It will definitely have its downsides, but it will also certainly have its own charms. See all of it for yourself in ESO Greymoor!
