The Elder Scrolls Online is still a young whippersnapper – and you can see what our Nick thought about it in his Elder Scrolls Online review – but ZeniMax Online are already thinking about the future. At QuakeCon, the team held a panel teasing the audience with what’s to come for the fantasy MMO.
One of the big things is the centre of the titanic PvP war that’s consumed the Imperial province of Cyrodiil. At the heart of the region sits the Imperial City – that place you probably spent a lot of time in while playing Oblivion – and the for the time being, it’s impenetrable. But that will change.
Eventually, the city will be unlocked by Cyrodiil keep ownership, and the main goal of the forces entering the half-demolished capital will be to stop Molag Baal’s attempt to use the Planemeld to completely consume the city. But that’s just the end goal, and ZeniMax promises a lot more from the iconic area.
Even getting inside might prove to be tough. The entrance is through the sewers, evoking memories of escaping through that very same maze at the start of Oblivion. And the entrance to the sewers is in Cyrodiil, where the three alliances and their many guilds fight for dominance. It’s going to be tough to cut through all of that.
Luckily, each faction has a safe zone within the sewers. PvP designer Brian Wheeler explained that this is so players can get to grips with the story of the Imperial City and get given their objectives. It’ll be free from camping and other things, so heroes can just relax before going out into the battles.
In the rest of the sewers, players will get a taste of the conflict going on topside. The alliances will meet and get into scraps, all while daedra pour out of portals that come from below. It’s a four-way war.
The city itself is split into districts that you’ll probably be familiar with if you’ve played the fourth iteration of the series. And they’ve all got different things going down. There’s the Arena District, where the dremora have enslaved Imperials, making them fight to get their jollies. The Market District is where players can duke it out for control, allowing them to make special daedric armour once they flip it. And there are others, all being consumed by Coldharbour.
The Temple District is at the centre of the conflict, as that’s where Molag and his chums are kicking off the Planemeld, sacrificing folk in grisly rituals. It’s how players died at the start of the game and ended up in Coldharbour in the first place.
I’ve really struggled to get into The Elder Scrolls Online. But I must confess some interest about the Imperial City. It sits at an intersection between PvE dungeon and PvP warzone, with big bosses to slaughter and stories to explore, all while fighting other players for domination.
You can watch the whole panel, which covers everything from PvP to art (and goes on for over an hour) right here.
What do you lovely lot think about it? Is it tickling your fancy?