Greymoor is the current latest expansion for MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, released May 26 for PC and June 10 for PS4 and Xbox One. After leaving a few weeks at the first glimpse of Onidra, here are my impressions!
Rest assured, the preview is guaranteed to be spoiler-free!
Before we begin, it's important to note one thing: ESO is a game fully dubbed in spanish. However, due to the crisis at the start of the year, the dubbing of Greymoor could not be performed. The extension is therefore currently only available in the original version for vocals. Rest assured, the texts are fully translated into spanish. Zenimax has indicated that once voiceover businesses and premises can reopen, they will be made and implemented into the game in a free update!
While it's perfectly possible to experience the game [or start it] with Greymoor, Greymoor follows Elsweyr and sends us on a journey to the icy northern lands of Western Skyrim and the underground realm of Blackclaw.
The two regions have a totally different visual appearance and ambiance. One shows us the cold and icy expanses of the North, while the other shows us the dark and gloomy depths that stretch across Tamriel.
Both areas have a lot to do. In order not to spoil the locations of the different places, here is only the list of what we have to do and discover:
- 17 oratories spread over the two maps.
- 6 solo dungeons.
- 23 points of interest.
- 6 places.
- 3 workshops for making sets.
- 2 public group dungeons.
- 10 Mowing Storms [the equivalent of Anchors / Geysers / Dragons. I will come back to this later in the preview!]
- 6 worlds boss.
- 18 celestial shards.
- 10 Knowledge Books [if you've done the basic faction areas, chances are you've already discovered them all!]
Mowing storms
They are the equivalent of the base game anchors, Summerset geysers and Elsweyr dragons. They will ask to destroy 4 large monoliths in order to reveal the final boss.
During the destruction of the monoliths, bosses will arise and hinder the progress of the players. The bosses are very diverse. It goes from the giant ghost to the werewolf, passing by a huge vampire or even a grim reaper.
Storms take a long time to appear and are visually easily detectable from a great distance, so you don't have to worry about missing them. Except at Griffenoir. Being in the basement, it is not easy to see storms from afar!
Antiquity system
It is not a new profession, but rather a new activity. The antiques system allows you to search for ... antiques! [Yes, yes, it's true !). The system is divided into two: Sounding and Excavation.
The first allows you to search for places where antiques are buried, while the second, as the name suggests, allows you to dig them up. The antiquity system makes it possible to obtain many objects, mainly to resell to make money.
However, it also allows you to obtain many other types of items, such as items for housing, special equipment, skin appearances, costumes, face paints, etc., and even a mount.
Legendary equipment is special equipment with unique bonuses / penalties that are difficult to obtain. Much will have to be discovered while traveling the world and / or unearthing “lower level” antiquities.
The antiques also allow you to learn more about the lore of the game, whether it is the zones, regions, races, deities, or others. Each area of the game [except Cyrodiil currently] has a number of antiques to research and collect!
Vampires
What about vampires in all of this? Greymoor was the occasion to implement a total overhaul of the vampire branch [like the werewolves, a few years ago]. The vampire branch has become a “real” branch, with 5 active spells and 1 ultimate [before that it was 1 ultimate and 2 active spells]. Passives have also been changed, bringing many changes to the vampire's gameplay.
The vampire's "level" system has also been revised. Instead of having a level that increases on its own over time, forcing the player to eat to decrease it, now we have a fixed level that the player can raise by devouring humans. And the level will decrease over time in order to return to level 1.
Of course, the bonuses and penalties for the vampirism level have also been changed somewhat. We thus end up with very good bonuses for vampire spells and skills, but, in return, the cost of the spells of other branches is increased, and health regeneration will decrease more and more, until it is zero at level 4. .
Personally, I find these modifications on the vampire very good. They have managed to capture the "dark" and "creature of the night" aspect of the vampire, with stealth increase passives, in speed for example.
Conclusion
Greymoor is a good extension. The main story as well as the side quests are good [even if we are a little hungry for the main story!]. The antiquity system is, for me, the most interesting addition, which allows people to discover [or rediscover] old areas of the game, while learning a little more about lore [and having great rewards! ]. The fact that it is divided into 2 zones allows you to have less the impression of always being in the same environment.
However, I regret that the expansion is based on the same principle as the previous ones in its construction [mower storms instead of anchors / geyser / dragon, more or less the same number of solo / public dungeons, etc.] But this remains a safe bet and, if you liked the old extensions, you will like this last one!
Finally, some screen prints to show you the landscapes!
