I love MMORPG, except for one thing: multiple other players. You know, these human AIs who love ganks, fly loot, mourn players, generally boring with their names destructive of immersion and their tendency to be much better than me and have much more time to play than me. Don’t get me wrong, I was a member of many guilds and raids, it’s just that my favorite MO when I play a MMO is solo. This is one of the reasons why I come back from time to time on The Elder Scrolls Online. In addition to an incredible amount of things to do, it’s a very solo friendly game. And now, with the new Blackwood extension, it has become a little more friendly.
In addition to being a love letter in a relatively dark corner of the Elder Scrolls IV card: Oblivion, Blackwood presents two PNJ companions, which the player can recruit via his quest lines. Their names are Mirri, a stealthy assassin and Bastian, a magic user and a potential healer. In addition to ensuring that the solo player feels a little less alone, the companions can be useful in small group situations in which another human has been killed, because the companions can be invoked and returned at will. Although they are progressing in parallel with the player, their smallest XP rewards are not a part of the player’s cake but a separate dessert. Companions have their own assignable equipment and capacities and they can support the player throughout the game, except in PvP situations.
For solos like me, the companions are a welcome addition to the game, at least in terms of utility in combat. They look a lot like these situations where an PNJ quest donor accompanies you in a dungeon and adds a little more healing or strengthening, and in general, they do not hinder or do not make stupid errors. As credible friends with an authentic spirit and personality, let’s just say that no one will confuse them with living and breathable human players. There is a report system in which the companions react to the actions and success of the player, but it is quite lukewarm and not very coherent.
Thus, the companions are a relative victory for the franchise. With each annual extension, The Elder Scrolls Online continues to grow, or even improve. Blackwood introduces a new important main quest filled with magic and political intrigue, a large number of secondary quests, new dungeons and Antres, bosses, flora and fauna and cities, with the main centers of Gideon and Leyawiin Architecturally distinguished. The environments of the Blackwood zone are not as colorful as certain areas of the game, but nevertheless varied when they pass swampy swamps with ancient ruins invaded by vegetation. At this point, ESO’s graphics are starting to age, and it’s always a little shocking to return to ESO after several months and other more graphically advanced games, and to remember how much the faces and animations can be horrible. Blackwood, like the rest of the series, has an effective musical partition that almost continuously underpins action and exploration. The bland dubbing and pedestrian writing are less convincing and overall, the tone has trouble finding a balance between humor and legitimate drama.
Bugs and performance problems are not unknown to the long -standing players in the series, and on the PS5, my characters and my group have had a certain number of unsuccessful clashes with the geometry of close -up environments, being wedged in the Walls of caves or hovering in the air. This game has beaute of loading screens but on the new console, at least, they are abbreviated and not too flagrant.
The Elder Scrolls Online cannot be blamed for the lack of content, and although each new extension opens up new unexplored regions or incorporates the older traditions and landscapes of Elder Scrolls in the game, the DLC begins to seem quite stereotypical. New companions are certainly a welcome addition for those of us who prefer to play solo, and Blackwood has a main quest, cities and characters that are worth explored. Blackwood – The region and the DLC – could be a strange and confusing place for new players to start their trip with the game, but for longtime players, the companions and the nostalgia factor integrated into the extension could be enough for their Give a little freshness. energy.
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