Yesterday, if you can believe it, marked the tenth anniversary of The Elder Scrolls Online. That’s a whole decade of tromping across Tamriel with your mates, and a whole decade in which I’ve watched tentatively from the sidelines, thinking about dipping my toes into the MMO pool, but never quite building up the courage (or lining the walls of my bank account) to fully take the plunge. I’ve heard all the horror stories about starting a new MMO from other members of the RPS Treehouse – particularly when it comes to the lore-laden shackles of World Of Warcraft and the bloated MMO-service-hybrid Destiny – and quite honestly, it’s enough to put me off them all entirely. But The Elder Scrolls Online might just be the exception to the rule.
I spent a portion of the game’s tenth birthday yesterday playing Gold Road, its upcoming eighth Chapter expansion. In it, you’re whisked over to the West Weald, an autumnal, sun-dappled region whose main city hub, Skingrad, will no doubt feel familiar to seasoned Oblivionites. Seemingly overnight, a strange jungle has sprung up on the city’s outskirts, uprooting the nearby villages of the neighbouring high elves and causing havoc as strange beasts pour out of its curling root beds. There are more mysteries to unravel here, too, including the emergence of the new Daedric Prince, Ithelia (revealed at the end of last year’s Necrom Chapter), and much more besides – too much to realistically take in during a 90-minute preview session, or for this MMO newbie to fully comprehend the significance of. But there’s something about Gold Road and its gnarled-up jungles, strange cults and fantastical beasts that’s definitely made me want to make a return journey here when it launches on PC on June 3rd.
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