The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr Review (PC)

Dragons and necromancers don't go well together, unless we're talking about bone dragons or dracoliches. Fortunately, that doesn't apply to Elsweyr, ZeniMax's new The Elders Scrolls Online expansion. The main highlights of the new episode in the ESO saga are dragons, necromancers … and Khajiit, the cat people in the Elder Scrolls universe.

The expansion's main story focuses on the conflict between the Khajiit on one hand, and dragons and necromancers on the other, which makes playing a necromancer a bit weird. As a matter of fact, some of the NPCs aren't afraid to show their dismay towards you if you reveal your class to them and don't assure them that you're one of the good guys.

The world of Elsweyr is completely different than anything I've seen in the game until now, and so it should. The architecture style reminds me of Asian temples, a perfect fit for the Khajiit – a race of martial arts connoisseurs, among other things. You don't have time to admire your new home for the next 30 hours or so, as your character frantically fights to survive an undead attack.

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Killing dragons since 1995^TM

The battlemage Abnur Tharn is the first NPC that reveals to you what's really happening and what are the implications behind the undead attack. Despite being arrogant throughout the entire main story, Abnur Tharn proves to be very helpful during key moments, but definitely not when you get to kill your first dragon because, you know, you have to prove yourself in front of the Khajiit.

The undead army led by a nefarious necromancer is quite formidable by itself, but when it's backed by an army of dragons, the armada becomes almost invincible. The premise is quite appealing, but the structure is outright disjointed and less entertaining than the rest of the content. Unlike Summerset, the previous expansion, Elsweyr's main story is a bit of a letdown, and the fact that the side quests are so much more interesting makes it even worse.

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I admit I got lost in Elsweyr after ending the first main story quest, and that's what I liked most about the new expansion. I don't remember taking on a side quest and not liking it more than the main story, which is rather forgettable. Much of dialogues are outright amusing and some of the NPCs Khajiit NPCs are absolutely adorable, and that's certainly not because I love kitties. Not to mention that the whimsical knight Cadwell, masterly voiced by John Cleese, is making a comeback and he's more hilarious than ever.

It's very easy to lose yourself in Elsweyr, a vibrant world full of mysteries waiting to be deciphered, and roamed by majestic dragons that can kill you with a simple tail swipe. I sincerely didn't expect ZeniMax to be able to build another world at least just as beautiful as Summerset's.

No rest for the wicked

The new necromancer class is true to its name, but there's a catch. Until you reach higher levels, you won't feel that you're playing a necromancer. I mean, you tell everyone that you're a necromancer, but there's no undead army behind you. Since I chose to play a magika-based damage dealer, playing as a necromancer felt like playing a sorcerer at first. But as I leveled up, I started to get some unique skills that became the center of my power later on.

Necromancers have the power to sustain themselves by sucking the energy from the dead. Although you can't raise an undead army, those few bodies that you can keep up at one time are more than enough to divert the enemy from you, but they're also great sources of sustenance after they're obliterated.

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I think the necromancer is one of the best classes in ESO right now, but also one of the most versatile. The stamina-based necromancer is probably the best damage dealer (DPS) in the game, but you'll have no issues playing a tank or healer. More importantly, the necromancer is definitely not a jack-of-all-trades class, so you'll have to focus on certain abilities before tackling the end game content.

The Good

The Bad

Conclusion