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Stepping off the boat in Seyda Neen at the beginning of The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind

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“ The writing in the main storyline of Morrowind instills a sense of urgency.

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“ The Warden actually encourages you to use a mix of its three distinct skill lines.

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“ The Warden's versatility can supplements group with whatever it needs.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind Screens 5 IMAGES

“ Success is based on what your opponent is wearing.

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If there is a downside, it’s the fact that Vvardenfell is so faithfully recreated here that it diminishes the sense of discovery and wonder for series veterans. I pretty much knew where everything is located, and that costs it some of the luster that ESO brought when it first launched. That said, while you can find familiar locations, the ESO: Morrowind takes place 700 years before the events of the single-player game, and that allows for some differences that make it worthy of exploration. The Red Mountain volcano dominating the heart of Vvardenfell lies dormant during this time, leaving greener landscapes around its northern slopers. The labyrinthine ziggurat city of the demigod Vivec is still under construction, and the Warrior-Poet himself is more inclined to receive visitors than Morrowind players will remember. The giant mushrooms that pepper your view serve as a reminder than this is a wilder and more exotic place than the comparatively cookie-cutter fantasy settings found on much of the Tamriel mainland.The gameplay formula for those adventures is the same in Morrowind as it has always been in MMORPGs of this style: long quest chains leading you from one place to another, with optional stops for sidequests along the way. However, thanks to the One Tamriel update, which removed level requirements from content and allows everyone to quest and explore as they wish, you are no longer limited in what you can do based on you level as you were during ESO's bumpy first year. As a result, One Tamriel really helps to make Morrowind incredibly accessible for both veterans and new players alike. You can start anew with a character in Morrowind thanks to an excellent new player tutorial, and existing players can travel to Vvardenfell (the wayshrine is already available to returning players) and continue their journey. This helps set Morrowind apart from other expansions in the genre. You aren’t forced to level through all the previous content before starting the expansion – you can simply pick up and go.The drawback, though, is that the centerpiece skill – the bear companion – is a big disappointment. As pet classes go, The Elder Scrolls Online has always fallen short of its peers, and the Warden is no different. In fact, the bear companion is simply the Sorcerer class' Storm Atronach in another skin and comes with all of the same issues. As you have virtually no control over your pet beyond it attacking whatever enemy you hit with a heavy attack, it kind of does its own thing. And while it does help keep some enemies busy during group fights, the lack of direct control for a skill that occupies a precious ultimate skill slot on an ability feels like a handicap.But playing solo brings up one of Morrowind’s central disconnects between its gameplay and its otherwise strong storytelling: the desire to live up to its Elder Scrolls single-player heritage in a multiplayer setting. ESO has struggled with this duality, and it feels further exacerbated within the confines of Vvardenfell.One of the long quest chains in Suran, in which you’re asked to find out who is at the center of an illegal slaving ring, serves as an example. It’s a quest that continually makes the point that you – and no one else – are the hero. Yet every time you zoom out of the conversation with the quest givers, you’re presented with the image of crowds of other people, all identically costumed (as one part of the story requires you to dress up), all huddled around the same character being told the same story. It’s a feeling that came up more than once, especially in the main questline, as I worked through the PvE content. In a game that has always been more single-player or small-group focused like ESO, it’s not a huge issue. But it does sour the experience some.This isn’t to say that Morrowind doesn’t offer plenty of multiplayer-focused experiences. The expansion brings with it an exciting new player-versus-player arena mode called Battlegrounds, which pits three teams of four against each other in deathmatch, capture the flag, and domination. The mode feels fresh – it’s a definite change of pace from the large, hectic and sometimes unfocused battlegrounds in Cyrodiil.However, when matchmaking manages to place you in a competitive group, the Battlegrounds can be plenty of fun. It’s a lot more focused than Cyrodiil, and the multiple game modes keep the matches from becoming stale. It would be nice if you were able to stay in a Battleground queue in between matches instead of loading back into the main game and then having to requeue. But it’s a start.