ELDERSCROLLSUPDATE

The Alliance War

The drums of war have reached a fever pitch, calling the warriors of Tamriel to the field of battle.  The Daggerfall Covenant, the Ebonheart Pact, and the Aldmeri Dominion will take up arms and fight for control of Cyrodiil, the Imperial City, and the throne of Tamriel.

Featuring three-sided Player vs. Player (PvP) gameplay, The Elder Scrolls Online supports hundreds of players on screen at once in an open world fight for control of Cyrodiil. Seize, hold, and control the resources of massive strongholds. Utilize massive siege weapons to crumble fortress walls and smash through fortified gates.  Conquer the Imperial City, and your alliance’s top player could even be crowned Emperor!

Get ready for the most intense online PvP experience ever created, with The Elder Scrolls Online.

Game Guide

The Elder Scrolls. Online.

After 20 years of best-selling, award-winning fantasy role-playing games, the Elder Scrolls series goes online. Experience this epic adventure on your own or together with your friends, guild mates, and thousands of alliance members. Explore dangerous caves and dungeons, embark upon adventurous quests across Tamriel, and engage in massive player versus player battles, where the victors reap the spoils of war.

Play the Way You Like

With an enhanced Elder Scrolls combat system, engage in real-time targeting and strategic attacks and blocks. Use any weapon or wear any armor at any time, no matter what type of character you play and develop your own style with deep character customization and abilities.

A Connected Game World

With ESO’s shardless Megaserver technology you no longer choose a server, but instead play in one connected world. The game automatically places you with friends, guild mates, people you’ve encountered before, and other like-minded players. Simply jump in and begin your adventure.

Your Quest to Save Tamriel

A stolen soul. An undead army rising. A quest to recover that which is uniquely yours. Explore the hidden secrets of Tamriel at your own pace using the game’s compass to guide you to areas of interest. Save the world from the evil machinations of the Daedric Prince Molag Bal and his henchman, the first necromancer, the Prince of Worms, Mannimarco.

Creating ESO: The Kwama

Get a closer look at the burrowing kwama and find out more about how we bring the creatures of The Elder Scrolls Online to life.

The kwama, which you’ll recognize if you played Morrowind, are insectoid creatures you’ll encounter in three forms in ESO: the scrib, the worker, and the warrior. Kwama are native to Morrowind, where their eggs are an important food source for the Dark Elves. Their burrows, referred to as “egg mines” when claimed and harvested by the Elves, are dug and expanded by the workers as the colony grows. Kwama warriors, the largest of the species, protect the workers and scrib (their larval form) from intruders.

        

As with any creature that’s been featured in previous Elder Scrolls games, we look at the established lore and appearance when creating our concept art. Once we’ve refined the concept—in the case of the kwama, all three concepts—the creature is ready to be built as a 3D model and inserted into the game. Getting the model from concept art into the game is just the beginning, though.

Animations are important for every creature, and the kwama are no exception. When our animators began creating movement for the warrior and scrib, they had specific goals in mind. For instance, they wanted the warrior to appear twitchy and on edge, always alert for danger and ready to fight off interlopers. Its attacks look powerful and brutish. To create the eight-legged scrib’s scuttling movement, they looked closely at creatures like crabs, spiders, ticks, and mites for inspiration.

       

Each variation of the kwama has its own attacks, and some of these interact with each other to produce new effects—we call these synergies. The worker can charge and knock a character back, and the warrior unearths a giant rock to launch at its foes. If the warrior lifts a rock out of an area the worker charges through, it creates a swarm of scrib! These combinations play on the natural cooperation between the different kinds of kwama and help them feel like a cohesive group. A kwama on its own may not be a big threat, but they can be overwhelming when they work together. Check out this video to see the kwama in action.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this look inside ESO. Stay tuned for our next Creating ESO to learn more about how we bring Tamriel to life!

Story of ESO

It is a time of strife and unrest. Armies of revenants and dark spirits manifest in every corner of Tamriel. Winters grow colder and crops fail. Mystics are plagued by nightmares and portents of doom.

Four years ago, in 2E 578, an arcane explosion of energy in the Imperial City set off mystical aftershocks that swept across Nirn. Mages died or went mad. Supernatural abominations from the plane of Oblivion, the Daedra, appeared in greater numbers than ever before. The constellation of the Serpent grew so large that it dominated the night sky.

So began the grand scheme of Molag Bal, Daedric Prince of domination and enslavement. His Dark Anchors, vortexes of evil magic, weaken the barrier between worlds, threatening to merge Nirn and Oblivion into a single, nightmarish hellscape.

In the midst of this chaos, three alliances vie for control of the Imperial City and the White-Gold Tower. High Rock, Sentinel, and Orsinium stand as one, united under the rule of the High King in Wayrest. Valenwood and Elsweyr have forged an alliance of their own with Summerset, while Black Marsh, Morrowind, and Skyrim have formed a third, uneasy pact.

The Daggerfall Covenant. The Aldmeri Dominion. The Ebonheart Pact.

Three armies will take up arms against the Empire, and against each other, to wrest control of the Imperial City and White-Gold Tower from the dark forces of Oblivion itself.

Where do your loyalties lie?

E3 2013: ESO Arriving on PlayStation 4, Xbox One!

The Elder Scrolls Online is coming to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and we’re celebrating with this new gameplay trailer! The Daedric Prince Molag Bal has stolen your soul and plots to destroy Tamriel. Gather your allies and find out if you can thwart his sinister plan as you explore the world of The Elder Scrolls Online in Spring 2014.

To learn more about The Elder Scrolls Online, visit the official site at http://elderscrollsonline.com. For announce details, read our recently released press release after the break.

THE ELDER SCROLLS® ONLINE COMING TO NEXT-GENERATION CONSOLES

Latest Game in Award-Winning Franchise Arriving on PlayStation®4, Xbox One, PC, and Mac in Spring 2014

June 10, 2013 (Rockville, MD) – Bethesda Softworks® today announced that The Elder Scrolls® Online is in development for both the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft. The game will launch on these consoles, in addition to the previously announced PC and Mac versions, in Spring 2014. The Elder Scrolls Online is the latest chapter of the award-winning franchise – and will bring the legendary experience online for the first time. Players can choose their own style of play as they embark upon an epic adventure across all of Tamriel, playing alone on a heroic quest as in previous Elder Scrolls games, exploring the huge, rich world with a few select friends, or playing with hundreds of others in massive PvP battles to save the Empire.

“We are thrilled to bring this game to consoles, in addition to the PC and Mac,” said Matt Firor, game director of The Elder Scrolls Online. “It’s something our fans have been requesting since we first announced the title, and something our team is excited to offer. Everyone will be able to play The Elder Scrolls Online the way they want to play”

After having experienced extended hands-on gameplay and testing the game’s innovations, quests, and unique features, The Elder Scrolls Online was described by MMORPG.com as “a perfect sauce of awesome.” The game has emerged as one of the industry’s most anticipated titles – and praised by such diverse press outlets as IGN, GameSpot, Game Informer, MMORPG.com and TenTonHammer.com. Millions of Elder Scrolls fans have already signed up for the beta  on PC and Mac to gain early access to the game, and console fans can now sign up to be eligible for the console beta test  which will begin later this year. For more information or to sign up for beta on your preferred platform, visit www.elderscrollsonline.com.

The Elder Scrolls Online will be the first Elder Scrolls title to be played online after nearly 20 years of offering these best-selling, award-winning fantasy role-playing games for single player only. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® is the most recent chapter of the Elder Scrolls story. Skyrim, developed by Bethesda Game Studios, was released in November 2011 and enjoyed worldwide critical and commercial success. As the follow-up to the 2002 Role-Playing Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind®, and the 2006 Game of the Year, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion®, Skyrim earned hundreds of ‘Game of the Year’ awards and has sold over 20 million copies.

The Elder Scrolls Online, is being developed for the PlayStation4 system, Xbox One, PC, and Mac by ZeniMax Online Studios. The studio is headed by industry veteran Matt Firor who has more than 20 years of online game development experience. Working with Matt is a team of highly regarded developers who have created some of the best known online games ever released.

The Elder Scrolls Online has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

About ZeniMax Media Inc.

ZeniMax Media is a privately owned media organization headquartered outside Washington DC with international publishing offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Eindhoven, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Through its subsidiaries, ZeniMax Media creates and publishes original interactive entertainment content for consoles, the PC, and handheld/wireless devices.  ZeniMax Media divisions include Bethesda Softworks, Bethesda Game Studios, id Software, Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks, MachineGames, Battlecry Studios, ZeniMax Europe Ltd., ZeniMax Asia K.K., ZeniMax Asia Pacific Limited and ZeniMax Online Studios.   For more information on ZeniMax Media, visit www.zenimax.com.

About Bethesda Softworks

Bethesda Softworks, part of the ZeniMax Media Inc. family of companies, is a worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment software. Titles featured under the Bethesda label include such blockbuster franchises as The Elder Scrolls®, DOOM®, QUAKE®, Fallout®, Wolfenstein®, Dishonored®, Prey® and RAGE®.   For more information  on Bethesda Softworks’ products, visit www.bethsoft.com.

About ZeniMax Online Studios

ZeniMax Online Studios, a division of ZeniMax Media Inc., was established to become a leading developer of online games, with special focus on Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Games (MMORPGs).  ZeniMax Online Studios is located in Hunt Valley, Maryland. For more information on ZeniMax Online Studios, visit www.zenimaxonline.com.

The Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, Bethesda Game Studios, Dishonored, Arkane, The Evil Within, Tango Gameworks, MachineGames, Battlecry Studios, Prey, Bethesda, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and their related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the United States and/or in other countries. Fallout is a registered trademark or trademark of Bethesda Softworks LLC in the United States and/or in other countries.  id, id Software, DOOM, QUAKE, Wolfenstein and RAGE are registered trademarks or trademarks of id Software LLC in the United States and/or in other countries. “PlayStation” is a registered trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. “PS4” is a trademark of the same company.  Other product and company names referenced herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. All Rights Reserved.

 

Skyrim Team Diary #6: Hearthfire

Welcome to the sixth installment of the Skyrim team diaries. Follow along as we get to know the Bethesda Game Studios team — here and on the accompanying podcasts & videos — with each entry bringing new details on the process of creating the most ambitious entry in The Elder Scrolls series to date.

With Skyrim’s latest game add-on, players can build their own home from the ground up. Beginning with a small, one room cabin in The Pale, Falkreath, or Hjaalmarch, players can eventually construct a fully functioning home with more features than you could possibly expect.

In many ways, this house-building process is analogous to the evolution of Hearthfire’s development.

Like Dawnguard, Hearthfire’s inception came out of Bethesda Game Studios’ first-ever “Game Jam”, a weeklong exercise where members of the team shared in-game ideas for expanding Skyrim.

“When the Game Jam invitation arrived, I was looking for something different from what I’d traditionally do as a designer,” lead designer, Bruce Nesmith recollected. “To make it a reality, I knew I needed an artist to tag team, so I approached Robert [Wisnewski] and we collaborated on the project that was presented to the team.”

Wisnewski, an environmental artist for Skyrim, was inspired to expand upon the game’s housing options in large part because of his enthusiasm for Skyrim’s crafting systems.

“It started as a small idea to expand on the crafting element of the game because alchemy, smithing and enchanting were things I was interested in when we were playtesting the game,” said Wisnewski.
Meanwhile Nesmith, a fan of the popular game Minecraft, wanted players to have more ways to create content in the game. “Being a fan of [Minecraft], I asked, ‘Why can’t I build things in our game?'”

The end result of Cornett’s work provides a new dimension of immersion to the game, as players can find various ways to interact with their children.

“Steve did a great job designing the adoption [system] and making kids in the game really come to life. Simple things like having them ask for money or playing a game with them. While these things don’t necessarily have implications to my character’s adventure, they do make the children feel so much more alive,” added Nesmith.

The evolution of both house building and adoption through time has made Hearthfire a project the whole team is proud of.

“The actual scope of Hearthfire blows me away. It’s one thing to say you’re going to add these things, and it’s another to see a small team build something that’s so complex and rigorous and have all those pieces, ” concluded Nesmith.

To learn more about Hearthfire and its features, watch our official Hearthfire announcement video here.

 

 

 

Although all thieves and thief sub-classes have the ability to pick locks, pick pockets, and steal items, various classes have certain advantages or disadvantages in these areas. The governing statistics for all thief classes are Agility and Intelligence. A high Speed rating is also very desirable.

Thieves
Quick, agile, cunning, Thieves use agility and speed to steal for a living. They are useful in combat to surprise the enemy, scout, or try for critical hits. Thieves have a chance per level of experience to score a critical hit when attacking an opponent. A critical hit is defined as 3x the damage the weapon normally does. Thieves are the fastest to rise in experience levels. They start with 25 health points plus a d10 in health. Thieves have the ability to pick locks and pockets. This ability increases as the Thief increases in levels.
Weapons: Dagger, Shortsword, Broadsword, Saber, War Axe, Short Bow
Armor: Leather only
Shield: Buckler only
Starting Health: 25 + d10

Burglars
Burglars are adept at picking locks and infiltrating different areas. They do this better than any other class, honing their skills to be able to find ways into areas thought inaccessible. They are very useful when exploring new dungeons, palaces, or other areas where others may be stopped by locked doors and/or chests. Because of the delicate nature of their work, they are restricted in the armor they may wear and the weapons they may carry. They may not use shields. Burglars also receive a chance per level to score a critical strike (3x damage) when attacking an opponent, though they are not as adept at this as Thieves.
Weapons: Dagger, Short Sword, Tanto, Short Bow
Armor: Leather only
Shields: None
Starting Health: 25 + d8

Assassins
Assassins are the dark hand of the night, their skills honed to the killing of others. They are very adept at this, able to find weak points or critical areas to strike, often felling opponents much more powerful than themselves. Assassins have the greatest chance per level to score a critical hit (3x damage) when attacking. Because of their training, Assassins have a wide variety of weapons from which to pick, but because of their need for stealth, they are not allowed to wear armor greater than leather or allowed to use shields.
Weapons: Any
Armor: Leather only
Shield: None
Starting Health: 25 + d12
Rogues
Rogues are thieves who have also trained in using arms and armor. They have combined the agile and cunning of their brethren with the skill of arms found in warriors. This makes them formidable and versatile. They are comparable in combat to the warrior class, but still retain the ability to pick locks and pockets. Rogues may wear up to chain armor and use any weapon or shield, with the exception of the Tower Shield. Rogues have a slight chance per level to critical strike an opponent (3x damage).
Weapons: Any
Armor: Any Leather or Chain only
Shield: Any except for Tower.
Starting Health: 25 + d14

Acrobats
Acrobats are thieves who have honed their physical skills in agility and balance to such a degree that they are almost supernaturally adept at scaling walls, running, jumping, and tumbling. They retain the ability to score a critical hit. They also have the ability to leap great distances and climb walls more securely and faster than the average thief. They are, in general, the fastest characters on foot. Further, because of their nimbleness, Acrobats deduct a certain percentage from their opponent’s base chance to hit when engaged in combat with them. This makes them difficult foes to hit, and dangerous adversaries. Because of their need for agility and speed, Acrobats use only leather armor, but never shields, and have a reasonable selection of weapons.
Weapons: Dagger, Shortsword, Broadsword, Tanto, Shortbow
Armor: Leather only
Shield: None
Starting Health: 25 + d8
Bards
Bards are the proverbial ‘Jack of all Trades’. They are able to perform many tasks, including but not limited to: critical strikes, weapons skill, picking locks/pockets, and magic. They are a very versatile class, able to take up slack in almost any situation. Bards receive an amount equal to their INT in spell points. They have a wide selection of weapons, may wear armor up to chain, and use any shield except the Tower Shield. A Bard’s critical strike capability is useful when cornered by stronger opponents, though their chance to score is not as great as Thieves and the others in this subclass.
Weapons: Dagger, Shortsword, Broadsword, Saber, Mace, War Axe, Shortbow
Armor: Any Leather or Chain only
Shield: Any except Tower Shield
Starting Health: 25 + d10

The massive popularity of Skyrim with the critics in its first days of release and

the massive number of perfect 10 scores it received made it seem as if another

perfect game had arrived.  But like the Fallout series and,  if we are being candid,

some of the previous games in the Elder Scrolls series, the shining praise was a bit

premature…  Even though the game had been declared Gold weeks before launch, the

reality is anything but that.

To put it simply, this is one of the most bug-filled releases every to emerge from

Bethesda Studios.  It was clearly not fully tested before it was release — or it was

fully tested and released in what can only kindly be called a late-beta stage simply

to get it in stores in time for the holidays.

If I make that sound bad well, in a way it is.  Don’t take this wrong — the game is

playable — there are only a few really game-breaking bugs and if you are lucky those

can be avoided or at least you can revert to a save before the bug messed everything

up and then not do the thing that triggers it.

I learned these lessons the hard way, being forced to restart twice and revert the

game countless times and that, combined with personal life issues, made this guide

two weeks late.  That is never a good thing.  But it is here now, and that is a good

thing, because you are going to need it.

Even though I found Skyrim to be perhaps the most buggy major title release I have

ever seen, I also found it to be an intense and interesting adventure that in every

way lives up to the reputation and the entertainment levels that have long been part

of this series.  In an even-handed way I would even go so far as to say that this is

the best Elder Scrolls game… Ever.

One of the major points in its favor is that it was built with the same engine that

the Fallout games used, which means that anyone who has played those has a zero

learning curve for the controls and the play style of this one!  Lockpicking is just

like it was in Fallout, and having the ability to fast travel is simply awesome.

Magic and Shouts in the game are intuitive, interesting, and strategically critical,

but where this game really shines is in its crafting system, which if you gather the

correct materials allows you to craft weapons and armor that are far superior to

ANYTHING you can get as loot, including the Daedric Artifacts!  It is always a good

thing when a game developer puts the focus upon the player, and they do that in

Skyrim to the Nth degree!

The Elder Scrolls IV is an open-ended first-person role playing game developed by

Bethesda Softworks and published by 2K Games. First released in March of 2006, the

game features a staggering amount of content that remains unmatched by nearly every

other single player experience released since. Oblivion takes players to the province

of Cyrodiil, which is currently under siege by the Daedric Lord Mehrunes Dagon. It’s

up to you to find the Emperor’s lost heir and shut the Oblivion Gates that have been

popping up all over Cyrodiil.

This is your complete guide to The Elder Scrolls IV. Every quest is covered in great

detail, including all of the add-ons, the Knights of the Nine questline, and the

Shivering Isles expansion pack.

Note: This guide was written based on the Xbox 360 version of the game. Nevertheless,

this guide can still be used in conjunction with the PC or PlayStation 3 version, as

the only major difference between the three versions of the original game is the

control scheme.