The Elder Scribe: January Highlights


The Elder Scribe: January Highlights

By Shannon Doyle (Leliah), OnRPG Elder Scribe

 

 

The last half of January has seen a huge surge in news and activity from Zenimax. It started with the announcement of beta sign ups on the 21st. And since then it seems like every day they’re posting something new on Facebook. From promoting a fan site to rereleasing videos and interacting with the community. Right now the Elder Scrolls Online Facebook page is the place to be for news and discussion on the upcoming game.

 

 

Before you take your first trip to the Facebook page though be sure to keep reading to get yourself caught up in a quick highlight article of the month of Elder Scrolls. I’ve left out fan site promotions because I want to give them a closer look as we get further into the year.

 

Ask Us Anything: Daggerfall Covenant

Released January 7, 2013 (Pt 1)

January 18, 2013 (Pt 2)

 

Last year I was covering the juicy details coming in about the Aldmeri Dominion  and general questions about ESO. These were all questions submitted by fans. And they’re back at it again this year. They’ve started off with the Daggerfall Coventant. There has already been two parts so I’ve just picked a few of the most interesting questions which you can read below.

Based on known lore and from previous Elder Scroll titles, the Orcs traditionally seem to keep to themselves and to their strongholds, with the odd exception. What is the motivation for the Orcs and the Orsinium Kingdom in joining the Daggerfall Covenant? What connects these three races of unlikely allies to band together as they have? – By Wade Johnson

 

As a race, the Orcs have what we would call an inferiority complex. They’ve been kicked around Tamriel and looked down upon by the other races since the beginning of time, and they crave respect. It was a big deal for the Orcs when, in relatively recent history, Orsinium was finally admitted into the Second Empire as a full province. The clans that have joined the Daggerfall Covenant remember that period of recognition, and seek to revive it. The Bretons promised the Orcs could revive Orsinium unmolested, and that once the Covenant re-established the Empire, Orsinium would once again be an Imperial province.

 

 

How are the Breton and Redguard peoples reacting to the alliance with the Orcs? They are historical enemies, the Redguards and Bretons destroyed Orsinium several times, the alliance may be formed purely out of necessity, but surely the people would be unhappy about the alliance.  – By Aron Grafhorst

 

It’s definitely an alliance of convenience, much as when the Nords and Orcs marched to the aid of the Dwarves at the Battle of Red Mountain. Individual Bretons and Redguards may not be happy about it, but the residents of their border towns say it’s better to have the Orcs marching against their enemies than raiding their flocks and their farms. The Redguards and Orcs have always respected each other as honorable opponents – and while the Orcs may not trust the Bretons, as a general thing, they do trust King Emeric, who’s proven reliable. And serving side-by-side is building trust between the races.

 

 

I wonder how you will make the Alik’r Desert come alive. In so many MMOs the deserts are neglected and just full of sand and rocky hills with little to no vegetation, snakes, scorpions and buzzards. Which usually leads to players being totally bored in desert zones. How do you plan on making them interesting?  – By Lori Brock

 

The Alik’r Desert has a vibrant ecology, from small critters like lizards up to apex predators such as dunerippers and giant scorpions. And nearly everything in it is either venomous or carnivorous. You won’t be bored – because if you let your guard down, you’ll be dead.

My question has to deal with the Forsworn faction. Will they be implemented in the game, either as a faction or through quests? If they are a faction, will they be just an enemy class or will they be part of the Daggerfall Covenant, since the majority are indigenous Bretons? I always thought that their story was very interesting and wanted to know if it will be explored in ESO since they have been around at least since the First Era, well within the time the game takes place. – By Jason McKinney

 

The Forsworn are a faction of the Reachmen that exist in the Fourth Era during the time of Skyrim. While the Reachmen are mainly of Breton stock, they have their own culture and society and don’t consider themselves Bretons – and the Bretons agree. The Reachmen definitely appear in ESO, as they’ve allied themselves with dark Daedric forces that have sacked the Imperial City. Reachmen clans have been giving trouble both to the Bretons of the Daggerfall Covenant and the Nords of the Ebonheart Pact.

 

 

Will there be books in game, and if so, will the number of books be comparable to the number in past games? – By Emmy Mariner

 

There will be more books in ESO than in previous Elder Scrolls titles, including some that you’ve seen before – if their inclusion is appropriate to the Second Era.

 

 

On the Facebook page and on most ‘banners’ we see a Nord man with war paint, an Elf woman, and then a rogue of some sort. I would like to know who or what that rogue-ish character is because it seems to me he represents the Covenant, as the Elf represents Aldmeri and the Nord represents Ebonheart. Is he a Breton? Is he an important character or is he just a placeholder? And why a rogue, why not a mage which Bretons are ‘famous’ for? – By Thaddeus Blasé

 

The Rogue in our Facebook cover photo is indeed a Breton, representing the Daggerfall Covenant.  You’ll be learning more about this character very soon!

 

 

The Alliances at War

Released January 18, 2013

 

A video featuring Loremaster (best title ever!) Lawrence Schick talking about the reasons why the alliances are at war. The five minute long video goes into why the three alliances are at war. It basically boils down to a land dispute over the fertile land of Cyrodiil which lies between the three alliances. Each alliance has it’s own reason for wanting to lay claim to the land and the leaders of Cyrodiil are considered weak. He goes through each alliance, talking about the leaders and why they believe the war is necessary. Have a look and listen as Loremaster Schick tells the the story behind the alliances at war.

 

 

Have you watched it yet? It’s ok, I’ll wait…

 

Done now? Awesome!

 

Ok, so I think this is what it really took to get me excited. I mean like take all my money excited. For me games are all about the story and the world. Now, I will admit to something that will likely get me beat. I haven’t played any of the Elder Scrolls games…yet. I’ve been meaning to! I promise. And I will play them before the game is out. So for me, this was really the first look into the history of the world using terms and pictures I could understand. And if I ever make a game, even if I’m the CEO, my title is going to be Loremaster.

 

 

Beta Registration

Released January 21, 2013

 

Hopefully this won’t come as a surprise to anyone. But just in case, you can now register to participate in the Elder Scrolls Online beta. The registration is a bit lengthy and part of it requires information from your computer so you need to be sure you’re filling it out on the computer you’ll be playing on. And there have been quite a few troubles with people trying to register while using Internet Explorer. There aren’t any dates announced yet. But as soon as there are I’ll be sure to scream it to the world in our weekly alphabeta soup feature. If you want to register you can do so by filling out the application here.

 

 

Alliances Cinematic Trailer

Released January 22, 2013

 

A new cinematic trailer for ESO was released the day after beta registration started. It’s filled with five minutes of epic fights, awesome music and explosions that make you squee. They may have failed somewhat in what they were going for. Not because it was poorly done, oh no. Now I want a movie! And I want my own awesome set of armor. All of that aside though, if I saw this the next time I went to the movies I’d go out and buy the game now! Nevermind that I can’t yet. Though I’d find a way.

 

 

So that is January for you! We should be getting another Ask Us Anything installment quite soon. And when we do you can expect to see more coverage of it here in addition to anything else that gets released.

Social Media :