As I venture intothe erupting jungle of the West Weald, pushing through an invasion of roots and towering trees, I stumble on a corpse slumped against a wall, stretching his hand out to a journal he would never finish.
Endemir, driven by a curiosity to uncover the truth behind this overnight floral foray, had succumbed to the terrifying clutches of a new breed of Daedra the likes of Tamriel had not seen in eons - crystalline soldiers loyally fighting for a god who does not even know her own name.
Reading through Endemir’s journal felt like a reflection of my own journey. InThe Elder Scrolls Online’snewest chapter, Gold Road, we venture to the blissful corner of Cyrodiil known as the West Weald, where Oblivion’s Skingrad is located. The idyllic Colovian highlands are home to impressive vineyards and towering cities that call the cliffside home. It’s a place that appears mostly untouched by the Three Banner War ravaging Tamriel, still thriving while the world struggles under the thumb of Daedra invasions and an unending battle for the throne.
But things have changed. Following the Nirn-shattering reveal that Hermaeus Mora buried all knowledge of the Daedric Prince Ithelia, even hiding her existence from the rest of the pantheon, she has returned.
But she’s fractured, her memories scattered across the West Weald as her realm bleeds back into existence. We, like Ithelia, must puzzle together what’s happening, while a mysterious new faction known as the Recollection plots to reclaim their ancestors’ homeland.
Like Endemir, we’re adventurers stumbling into these grander plots that have been unraveling for years, driven by a desire to piece together a truth larger than ourselves. Where he fails, we pick up the torch.
The newly formed jungle roots burst through the ground and stretch out into the Ayleid ruins, uncovering ancient passageways and never before seen citadels, all of which collapsed with the Ayleid people themselves. We’ve seen these same places years ago in Oblivion, but ESO makes them feel fresher than ever.
Not only are familiar hillsides, ruins, and cities brought to life with modern graphics, they’re more grandiose and embellished. Skingrad is a fortress you have to tilt your head up to take in, the streets littered with enormous mansions while the church lays in the centre like a gleaming citadel. Wandering out of town and looking back, you see Skingrad engulfed in the fog as it fades into the distance, leaving only a striking silhouette.
The new expansion is also a huge shift for gameplay. It’s introducinga new customisation system called Scribingwhich creative director Rich Lambert describes as a precursor to the spell crafting we saw in earlier Elder Scrolls games. you may mix and match certain skills and abilities to make them deal more damage or even to change them into healing incantations, altering their visuals in the process.
We’ve returned to cities like Kvatch, Anvil, and Leyawiin in past DLC, but none feel quite so mythical and legendary as this. Only adding to the beauty is the luscious autumnal fauna surrounding the town, with grapes growing as far as the eye can see as locals stack barrels full of freshly fermented wine besides their rustic wooden hamlets. Even the dolmens, where we’ve fought off sky-tearing anchors and volcanic eruptions in the past, are ornate in their design. The giant circles feel less a blemish on the land and more an intricate pattern, with stained glass window artistry flowing from end to end.
Gold Coast is shaping up to be one of ESO’s most beautiful chapters yet, but it’s not stunning to look at, it’s diverse. We have the Colovian highlands we know well from Oblivion, but we also have the Valenwood-like jungle infesting the West Weald with its swampy greens staining the sky. Quests take you through this rich tapestry from the start, unfolding a province that is varied in its biomes, making it a treat to explore.
For a spell crafting-like system, it’s unbelievably intuitive, tied into a quest you find within Skingrad that brings back an obscure sect of the Mages Guild - the Order of the Lamp. I’m hardly the best at putting together a build as is, but already I get the feeling that this will completely shake up both the PvE and PvP metas, giving players far more ways to iterate and fine-tune their builds beyond specific gear.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road
The Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road is an expansion for the popular Bethesda MMORPG. When a lost Daedric Prince returns to West Weald, chaos ensues. A new zone is added, as well as the Scribing system and a 12-person trial, the Lucent Citadel.
