The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood

Over the last couple of years, some major additions have come to The Elder Scrolls Online. For the first time since some of the early Elder Scrolls titles, we’ve gotten to explore Elsweyr. Last year, I got to make a return to my first Elder Scrolls experience when we were put back into Skyrim in Greymoor.

This year looks to be a treat for Elder Scrolls fans. While still building out Tamriel, The Elder Scrolls Online is also taking us to Oblivion. And while I never played Oblivion, I am just as excited to see what this year holds as anyone else. Just look at what they treat us to in the trailer alone:

New Locations, Same Game

While new locales are always fun to explore, I felt that Blackwood was nothing spectacular. Geographically, Blackwood is close to Black Marsh, which is where Murkmire is set. Because of this, we see a lot of familiar flora and fauna. The entire zone is not like the swamps of Black Marsh, but there is nothing special about them either.

While this all makes sense from a geographic and lore perspective, it does make running across the terrain feel a little stale. And there is plenty of running across the terrain. Quests would send you from one side of the zone all the way to the other. This would be fine, but the zone felt empty. It was populated, but I was almost always trying to find the quickest route to wherever I went. Once you are finished on one side of the map, you typically had to head right back to the other side. I spent quite a few coins to use the Wayshrines just to speed up the trip.

I would like to note that I was primarily following the main questline. I’m sure if I took on some side quests, this might be different. I was also playing by myself. While these uneventful stretches felt boring and repetitive to me, it might work better for a group playing together. These calm routes might give a party some reprieve from a particularly difficult dungeon. It might also give them some time to plan how they will proceed. In which case, I could see it working well.

It could also just be that I am impatient.

A Helping Hand

Back in April, I previewed Blackwood, and I have to say that my opinion still holds about the new Companion system. As someone who works odd hours and likes to take games at my own pace, this system gives me some aid when I need it.

While some delves in ESO give you an NPC that may aid you in your journey, they are quickly dismissed once you have helped them. Once you have completed their quest, they rapidly egress, never to be heard from again. Your companion, on the other hand, is stuck with you even after you run through a gauntlet of minotaurs and barely make it out alive.

Though they won’t ever replace playing with other players, the companions are a welcome stand-in for aid. They may not always like you (gotta watch your actions around them), but they will put up with you. Which, in a sense, could make them closer to players than typical NPCs.

Turning Up the Heat

Though I may not be the biggest fan of Blackwood’s zone layout, the Deadlands put a smile on my face. There’s nothing quite like going from the lush, green biome in Blackwood to the red, lava-filled hellscape that is the Deadlands. The Deadlands brings in some new enemies with its terribly horrific (used in the literal sense of the word) atmosphere.

While Blackwood throws plenty of cultists and other humanoid enemies your way, having new enemies to fight from Oblivion is a breath of fresh, brimstone-smelling air. When I saw a Daedra walk toward me for the first time, I was filled with a mixture of glee and dread. Was it cool to watch a four-armed being emerge from a portal from Oblivion? Absolutely. Did I feel like they were about to grind me to a pulp because they toward above me? Also yes.

***Spoiler Warning for the End of Blackwood Below***

As awe-inspiring as some of the Daedra may be, none of them stood anywhere near the sheer scale of seeing Mehrunes Dagon stand to his full height. The last mission of the chapter sees you square off against Dagon’s high priest after he uses someone embued with special powers (known as an “Ambition”) to pull Mehrunes Dagon from Oblivion and into Blackwood. Watching Mehrunes Dagon rise and dwarf everything around him was amazing.

While seeing the Deadlands and Mehrunes Dagon was wonderful, I wish we could see more of both of them. The Deadlands sections felt like I was just running through another dungeon. I would have loved to explore Oblivion more as if it was an actual zone. Dagon was mainly used as a set piece in the background and did not stick around for very long.

However, Blackwood is only a part of this year’s Gates of Oblivion event. I’m sure that I am not the only one who wants to see more Oblivion. And if previous year-long events are any indication, we will get to see so many more awesome things before the year’s end.

For the past few years, ZeniMax has been bringing wonderful stories to The Elder Scrolls Online and done amazingly with building out Tamriel. To see them bring Oblivion into the fold is fantastic. I can’t wait to see what the rest of Gates of Oblivion has in store for us.