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The Elder Scrolls Online’s One Tamriel patch adds the series’ signature freedom to the MMO

The Elder Scrolls Online

If there’s one thing that ties all the Elder Scrolls games together it’s the opening. You start in a dank sewer somewhere and you have to fight your way out as the game teaches you the basics. When you finally get outside you’re met with the land stretching off in every direction around you, begging to be explored. It’s a great feeling, but that sense of freedom wasn’t replicated by The Elder Scrolls Online at launch. Today’s patch should change that. 

For more online questing, check out our list of the best MMOs on PC.

Now, as tradition dictates, when you’ve completed TES Online’s tutorial you can head off in any direction you wish, making the game world feel like you’re properly exploring it. Enemies will now scale with you as you trek around, too, so you don’t have to worry about getting owned by a beastly mudcrab.

Loot has also been standardised across zones, so you’ll need to travel to find the trinkets you want.

Additionally, there are now no restrictions on alliances, so you can group up with people not aligned with your outfit. Completing quests and raiding dungeons with strangers who pretend to be cat people has never been easier.

All the changes are focused on bringing freedom back to the game, making it feel like a proper Elder Scrolls adventure. That’s also why now, anywhere outside of Cyrodiil, you can also draw your blade and engage another player in a duel.

It’s a meaty update and you can get the full lowdown on the official site. It’s live now, but get in the mood by watching this trailer: