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- Bethesda Softworks
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- Bethesda Softworks
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- Bethesda Softworks
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- Bethesda Softworks
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood
Released On: Jun 1, 2021
75
4.4
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
75
50% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
45% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
75
50% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
45% Mixed
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Once again, fans of The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion can celebrate. They can look forward to rediscovering many well-known characters and locations like the Black Forest. On the downside, the main storyline is boring and our relationships to the new companions do not matter at all. Overall, the new expansion is worth playing for fans of Oblivion as well as for newcomers.
I am a huge fan of the entire Elder Scrolls franchise, and have played ESO since beta. My absolute favorite Chapter was Elsweyr and that will forever be a hard one to top, but Blackwood was quite enjoyable. The addition of Companions is fun for both new and veteran players, but I am kind of left feeling like this could have been a DLC rather than a full-blown Chapter. I had a good time questing through the area and completing the main story, and the throwbacks to Oblivion with the story and portals were very cool. I definitely hope to see more Companions added to the game, even if it’s through the Crown Store. My only request is to add on to the already amazing story that is being told!
User Score
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
4.4
23% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
27% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
50% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
User Score
Generally Unfavorable
Based on 22 User Ratings
4.4
23% Positive
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
27% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
50% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
— Zone is small.
— Story is copy/paste from TES4: Oblivion, but within a vastly smaller area.
— Writing level of a fanfiction.
— Too many agenda (strong wamen and weak useless men)
— Main feature – companions – is only two characters with no dialogues at all. They are like talking sorc pets. We can't even change their hairstyle or put on helmet, so there are dozens of clones everywhere.
— Side quests are all the same except few. Each of them has template like: strong waman who is the bestest evaaar needs trying to save her poor useless male lover, or brother, or son, or friend.
— ESO always had not much of a variety in choices, but now there's no at all. And not only that, now our character is just a mercenary: he doesn't make decisions, he has no thoughts on what's happening, but only asks stupid questions like "Who are you again?", "What we are doing right now?", "What is three banners war?" "Who is Mehrunes Dagon?" etc.
Story isn't complete, but I don't want to buy DLC-ending, because previous (Northen Elsweyr, Markarth) had content for three hours and then I never visit them again.
Chapter feels raw, It isn't complete as well. ZOS should stop their "Year long story" because they are just breaking the game in hurry.
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In the end, The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood provides enough intrigue and content to whet one's appetite for new experiences, but won't be enough to fully satiate every player. Thwarting the Daedric machinations of Mehrunes Dagon and the Order of the Waking Flame is a fun experience, even if the current story didn't have a satisfying conclusion. It is absolutely clear that the developers put immense effort into the creation of Blackwood, from its sound and level designs to some of its more haunting and hellish landscapes.
In the end, Blackwood improves where Greymoor stumbled. The setting is tighter and more focused than last time, and the performance at launch harkens back to prior launches during the Before Times. The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood is a good addition to the MMO’s expansion roster, and one that’ll be a definite draw for those who remember walking the streets of Cyrodiil fondly once upon a time.
Though Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood piqued my interest because of its familiar characters and areas, and though they were exciting for a short time, I never found myself excited to push on in this chapter.
Over the course of its expansions, The Elder Scrolls Online continues to deliver what is expected of it ... or almost. With Blackwood, the content available is certainly interesting, especially when you are a fan of Oblivion, but you should not expect more. By choosing to direct it towards new players, Zenimax Online is probably forgetting its hard core a little on the side of a road that is too monotonous. The observation made in 2019 as in 2020 is therefore the same here, and what could be understandable at the time is much less so in 2021 when the competition sometimes competes with ingenuity to surprise us. A first warning shot that must however be weighed in view of the work carried out on the lore, which is still as fascinating as ever.
ESO: Blackwood is familiar territory for fans of the universe. While it provides heaps of armour sets to collect, enemies to defeat, and captivating characters to meet, it won’t be anyone’s favourite. This chapter of the MMO lacks an unseen and astounding setting, like Elsywere and Summerset had before it. The chapter relies on nostalgia, where that hole was filled with the previous Greymoor chapter. Lacking player versus player content, a memorable main story, and environments, Blackwood just isn’t up to scratch. However, as a complete package, The Elder Scrolls Online continues to be one of the best quality MMO experiences.
I bet this chapter took a large amount of work (new locations, Oblivion portals scenery, voice acting and so on..) but the actual content is absolutely dead. From one of the worst methods of farming leads for mythic items to another dirt easy zone for new players (all 16 now! Cool concept for new players that dont exist anyway). Zone Craglorn was released only few months after release in 2014 and it was quite tough zone back in the day with very limited CPs and game knowledge.. Craglorn, 7 years after release is probably still the hardest zone in the game - that can't be right. There HAS to be serious rethink of PAID chapters for the future.. You basically buy this to get 2 mythic items and Trial if you have guild to run it with.
Also wrong focus with the companions (which are garbage anyway). Honestly ZOS don't even have the quality of developers required for proper AI, most companies don't and thats for singleplayer games. Wrong focus on something they can't achieve. MMO, create better grouping tools for dungeons and trials, have an actual store with auctions and so on, this Ultima Online vendor system from 1999 is really something else. Focus on under 50 level players is wrong at this point, majority of population is high level - fact and yet they have Trial and two mythics with the most impossible and toxic farming ever made in MMO. Low level players don't exist, i only see 1000+ CPs around and one under leveled that can't even run fast enough through that new, empty Oblivion portal that is already cleared by high CPs...
DLCs are fine, they come with sub, chapters have to improve big time. Better content for high levels, improve group tools and possibly Veteran difficulty for overland content, i can't bring myself 7 years after release to pretend to be low level and do the stories in the zonei. If it was challenging and rewarding for high levels, i'd do it gladly. Very active game with strong high level population but very much in stagnant state of development. No surprises, no challenge to improve the game, move the game forward. Just the same stuff for 17th zone to what was done at release 7 years ago (not Craglorn, that one is harder anyway). Oh, still not another class or race... cmon. Terrible value product.
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The story is ok-ish. The zone is small, the enemies too easy, the fights boring - even the bossfight in the end of the story is underwhealming. The new "dolmen" which are oblivion portals are bland and boring. Most of the time, when you enter a portal the enemies are dead - even if it just spawned - , because players stay inside to farm - which ruins the experience if you want to run thorugh your first portal - or in general any portal - from start to end. To top all of this off, the game in its current state is full of bugs - I experience one in almost every quest. The game forces you to play with a subscription and even then it has a very overpriced shop. I really dont know, why i come back every now and then. Bethasda should just focus und elder scrolls 6 and let eso die in peace.
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There's barely anything to do and the new companions are useless plus the storyline was shody at best imo.
The worst thing though is that as of their last privacy agreement update with this DLC it states they will sell users information including but not limited to their legal name, age, gender, email, billing address, and other private information to basically any third party companies (and yes that includes social media and advertising companies) and since there is no way of playing this without accepting those terms. you basically need to be willing allow your private information to be sold in order to play this dlc.
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Summary The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Blackwood is the ultimate Elder Scrolls experience and includes the Base Game and all Chapters: • Blackwood (New for 2021) • Greymoor • Elsweyr • Summerset • Morrowind ULTIMATE FREEDOM—Create your ultimate RPG character, play solo or adventure with friends, and determine your fate in a...
Rated M
for Mature
Platforms:
- PlayStation 4
- Xbox One
- PC
- PlayStation 5
Initial Release Date: Jun 1, 2021
Developer:
- ZeniMax Media
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Genres:
