It’s probably fair to say that if you’re into PvP in your MMOs, the Elder Scrolls Online isn’t your first port of call. Generally players dive into Tamriel for the lore, world, quests, and the weird stuff you find along the way, with PvP being a distant consideration. There is a dedicated core of PvPers, however, and they haven’t been eating very well recently. That is all set to change, as update 44 for the game will launch soon and players will be waving goodbye to one PvP mode, and hello to another.
In the Elder Scrolls Online there’s two primary ways PvP will rear its head for players. The first is in Cyrodiil’s Alliance War, the other is in the MMORPG’s battlegrounds. These battlegrounds feature three teams, one for each of the game’s alliances, facing off against each other in brutal combat. While fun, they can quickly become extremely chaotic and confusing, especially if you’re hopping into the mode for the first time. In the next update three-team battlegrounds are going the way of the Dwemer and will disappear from the game.
Instead players will have a new mode featuring PvP battlegrounds with two teams facing off against each other. Initially these will consist of 4v4 and 8v8 variants, with the latter mode having power-ups that will give some temporary buffs to liven things up a bit. All the previous battleground variants will return, including Chaosball, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Relic, Domination, and Crazy King. What is new, however, are seven maps which will be making their appearances for the first time with the launch of this new PvP system, giving players fresh places to commit digital murder in.
One of the best new features added to the game in recent years has been the companion system, which lets you travel about with your own friend who levels up, helps you in combat, and judges you harshly for doing innocuous things (yes Ember, I’m looking at you). Two new companions will be added to ESO with update 44, both of which will need purchasing from the in-game Crown Store, or for free if you have a subscription to the game.
Tanlorin is a non-binary High Elf who uses a mix of Dragonknight and Soul Magic abilities, giving an additional passive buff to your lockpicking. Zerith-var is a very serious Khajiit Necromancer, who will enhance your avarice by helping you spot bags of loot found throughout the game world. By completing their related achievements their buffs can be permanently unlocked, giving you access to their benefits even when you’re not questing with them.
Scribing is also under the spotlight with a new Grimoire, the first added since the introduction of the system. Banner Bearer lets you hoist a flag on your back, applying buffs to your entire team – be they NPCs or other players. There’s also 14 new Focus Scripts coming, giving more options to tweak your abilities for damage, support, and healing.
The game’s tutorial will see a reversion to the original questline involving Coldharbour, there’s a challenges system that will give unique rewards, itemization from adventures in the Imperial City are being improved, and there’s lots more coming.
Update 44 for the Elder Scrolls Online will launch on Monday October 28 for PC, with the patch hitting the Public Test Server on Monday September 16. You can learn more about what’s coming with the full preview, over on the official site.
Should that prove too long to wait, our guide to the best fantasy games will find you in a new world in no time, and our picks for the best single-player MMOs you can play will keep you questing for a long time to come.
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