The Elder Scrolls Online launched last week – here’s our Elder Scrolls review – and ZeniMax Online is already showcasing new content, due out later this month, in the form of the game’s first Adventure Zone, a veteran area with group PvE, new instanced delves and leaderboard challenges.
Craglorn will be the sort of place you go once you’ve exhausted the 1-50 content, where the story quests and side-quests require groups to overcome.
The instanced delves might end up being the most welcomed element. We’ve got Nick reviewing the game, and he was telling me that delves are a nightmare right now. They are overcrowded, empty of monsters because the mass of players kill them so quickly, and folk just camp around at the boss, waiting for it to respawn.
Craglorn also introduces Trials, where groups fight waves of enemies and the clock. A timed challenge with leaderboards sounds like it might have been fun in a PvP setting, where competing against others is the name of the game, but in PvE, fighting brainless monsters, I’m not sure it sounds quite as compelling.
ZeniMax does seem to be attempting to create a robust end game, or at least one where there’s a lot of content. It’s a tactic that could pay off by giving a reason for players to not drop the game entirely after a month.