The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) is one of the biggest MMORPGs. In general I don’t know much about the game and probably will continue to do so as the amount of content is intimidating and keeps growing. It offers thousands of hours of gameplay, so my job doesn’t even allow me to try everything. Shadows over Morrowind, the new expansion, doesn’t help much as there’s a lot to unravel. Let’s see what Bethesda has added to their already seasoned game.
What I like most about the game is that all missions and characters have a voice for everything. In other MMOs it just shows snippets of text, but in this case I never have to read why I have to kill ten rats. In addition, the game’s voice acting is excellent and well-known actors explain why all the rats must be killed. However, this also slows down the game as most of the characters have a lot to say. Ditto for “Shadows over Morrowind”, although I find it entertaining to listen to.
Shadows over Morrowind’s plot revolves around the domain of Hermaeus Mora, a Daedric prince who is not exactly a normal human. Hermaeus Mora, who you meet at the start of the expansion, is a cross between a many-eyed octopus and something HP Lovecraft could have invented. On the one hand, the cartoon prince tasks you with rescuing his apocryphal kingdom, in which he hides a great deal of forbidden knowledge; and Nirn, the planet where The Elder Scrolls takes place, on the other side. Knowing this from the start, you need to figure out what threat the two worlds pose. You then have access to Apocrypha and the Telvanni Peninsula. The latter is similar to the areas seen in Morrowind; Apocrypha, on the other hand, is a strange and bizarre place where flying mud swirls, tentacle monsters, and creatures that only appear in nightmares coexist. The story takes you through Telvanni and Apocrypha, two vast and diverse areas. Apocrypha are a great place to explore due to their uniqueness, but Telvanni is also great thanks to its strange plants, giant mushrooms, and flying jellyfish.
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The story is quite entertaining and I don’t want to spoil it, but I can say that you meet some funny characters to end up uncovering a great conspiracy that could destroy the existence of everything, which is also not so good. I love the mysterious story and the way she is able to tie the two areas together so effectively. There are also some entertaining side quests that complement the main story quite well. In general, the narration of Shadows over Morrowind is the best.
Other new additions to Shadows over Morrowind include, first of all, a new class, the Arcanist, which has abilities that fit the overall theme of the HP Lovecraft-style expansion. This class, like the others, has skills suitable for those who want to deal a lot of damage, heal, or take a beating, just like typical roles in other MMOs. If you want to cause damage, it must be done at a distance and with magic. The healer’s path is self-explanatory and the more melee-focused path allows you to take hits while dealing out massive amounts of damage. I played solo for a bit and went for the damage dealing option and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The Arcanist features a new scoring system called Crux. These are points you earn through battles that you can spend to improve your skills and do more damage. This exciting new mechanic works very well and I hope it can be implemented into new and existing classes.
One of the two new companions you meet in Shadows Over Morrowind is the one that introduces you to the arcanist class. This is Azandar, an inquisitive Red Guard whose abilities complement the new class in a very ingenious way. It’s great when a partner supports a class in this way, making it more accessible, which I’m sure many other MMOs could learn from. You will also meet Sharp-As-Night, a mysterious Argonian, a lizard-like species that also appears in other parts of the series. He’s at a loss for words, but the more he trusts you, the more he opens up. It fits perfectly with the mystical theme that pursues Shadows over Morrowind. He’s a very cool character and exactly my style.
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There’s also a new Raid, or Trials as they’re called in ESO. I didn’t have much time to try them and when I tried them, things didn’t go very well. However, they worked just like the rest of the expansion, and despite salvaging some elements, it was amazing to see what monsters would devour your party of 12. And that’s exactly what happened. There is also a world event where you can challenge three bosses at once. So if you’re interested, there’s plenty to do and plenty of loot to loot. Of course, there were so many, many things in the exams that I ended up needing a guide to master them. Unfortunately, they weren’t very accessible to a newbie to the game like me, so I ended up focusing on the story.
Not much has changed in the graphics section of the game for years. It’s all nice to look at, Hermaeus Mora is very well done… but it all looks a bit dated. Something unavoidable considering how old this MMO is already, so improving the graphics wouldn’t hurt. The music, on the other hand, is perfect and supports the two new areas wonderfully.
Every time you buy an ESO expansion, you only get a fraction of what other MMO expansions offer. Therefore, there are countless small extensions that can be purchased in the game. It’s completely insane, with some microtransactions that don’t make any sense. I haven’t talked about it much yet, but ESO’s system sucks when it comes to additional purchases. Shadows over Morrowind is a relatively large expansion compared to High Isle, which I reviewed back then. There’s more here. So if my review convinced you, this is a good place to start.
If you want more content, I recommend that you search the web so that you don’t buy anything that doesn’t meet your expectations. I bought Shadows over Morrowind and wouldn’t and wouldn’t buy anything else. I’m quite a fan of the Shadows over Morrowind setting, and if you like Morrowind it’s more of the same thing. It’s a nice, substantial expansion that highlights its story, but beyond the new Arcanist class and Crux scoring system, it would be nice to see something new in ESO’s ever-changing universe.
