Stealth is not something i like a lot when playing games- i usually don’t roll rogue-type characters and even in other genres (FPS), i don’t like the stealthy ones. Since the justice system went live in Elder Scrolls Online, i haven’t stolen anything, mainly because i don’t really understand the risk i’d take and the system behind it in general. Of all zone types, the desert is one of the least interesting environments to me, topped only by “lava” zones. Still, as time moves on, i find myself increasingly excited for the Thieves Guild DLC that’ll come to ESO in march- and here’s why.
World Design
I love the world design in Elder Scrolls Online. The maps are plausible, the zones offer beautiful sights and it’s interesting to go out and explore in ESO. After seeing the design for Orsinium, where the designers managed to pull off one of the most interesting snow zones i’ve seen in MMORPGs, i’m very confident that they’ll also do the desert zone in a good way- not too void of things and not too full to make it implausible. The environment in ESO is always nice to look at, i’m sure lore fanatics will find many additional things in buildings that are, for instance, regionally different or relate to the race living in that respective area.
Orsinium also catches the spirit of entering a zone and go out exploring. Since everything is Level-synched, you can enter Wrothgar and walk off in any direction you’d like. While Hew’s Bane is smaller than Wrothgar, i’m confident it will be a blast to explore.
More options for our guild
Our guild is small and we span a huge level-range. We have some members in their early teens and some members already in the Veteran Ranks. It’s not very easy to find something in terms of PvE or PvP content we all enjoy that also feels rewarding and challenging for everyone. Right now, there’s mostly Cyrodiil and/or Orsinium. With the Thieves Guild DLC, we’ll have another option.
More options for gameplay-style
If there’s one critizism i have for ESO at the moment, it would be the combat-focus. Sure, crafting is also very rewarding, but it’s not something you can do exclusively. Maybe fishing is a bit more on the non-combat side, but i haven’t tried that yet, so i can’t tell. Chances are that you’ll encounter mobs on your fishing trip, as well. While i am sure Hew’s Bane will include lots of combat as well, there will be content like the Heists that will revolve around stealth and thievery. This will provide another twist to the PvE-formula that’ll play out differently than what we are used to- maybe a bit more like the sabotage missions from The Secret World.
Content for old zones
The Thieves Guild will send you out to do something in the old zones, as well. It seems Hew’s Bane, as a map, will be kind of small and limited in scope, but ZOS are reusing the older zones for new content- and i think it’s a great idea. It’s cheaper for them and we get to see all those zones again- they will feel alive and thriving because of the players travelling all through Tamriel.
The personal one
Directly relating to my own feelings regarding The Elder Scrolls Online right now, this will be the first DLC i get to see released as an active player of Elder Scrolls Online. ESO wasn’t on my shortlist of MMORPGs i could see myself getting invested in for the long term, but as it happens, i feel good there. So more content being released is a good sign on the health of the game- especially as it’s not only zones or new content done in the same way as the old one that gets released, but ZOS clearly doesn’t think of ESO as being systems- and feature-complete. It’s still a long way to go, but i’m actually beginning to look forward to being “maxlevel” and seeing a lot of those other systems like Champion Points and such and being able to play the game with even more freedom- although the Q2 DLC will probably take care of some of that, as well.
Party Business 