Five Things I Want to See In Elder Scrolls Online: Oblivion

Oblivion Gates

Of course, this is pretty much the most obvious thing here. Oblivion was always about the gates opening up, allowing you to enter the daedric realm. The idea was that the enemy was using these gates to attack Cyrodil and no doubt other parts of Tamriel too. However, there was more to them, they offered a strong puzzle element, having to unlock gates, find keys, and most importantly find the route to the Sigil Key. That key was valuable and offered powerful enchantments for weapons and armour. Obviously, with ESO things are done differently, but it should be the source of some good loot drops.

New Skill Lines

THe release of the Dark Heart of Skyrim saw a complete overhaul of the Vampire skill line, and certainly made it a lot more fun to role-play as a vampire in PVE, while offering some interesting options for PVP too, albeit they’re not quite meta. I’d like to see similar skill line revisions that sharpen up and define the existing classes. A new class would be interesting too, but right now, I think improving what they already have is the right course of action.

Graphics Improvements

This has actually already been put on the timeline by some of their development team. Where and when, I do not know, but with some other major MMO’s getting an overhaul in the last 12 months, it seems Zenimax is following the trend. I would expect this to actually fall under some of their overall optimisations for the game too with regard to performance. However, there are some assets and textures in the game that are looking pretty dated now. Furthermore, rendering techniques have moved on a lot in the last few years, with DLSS, Ray Tracing and much more becoming common place. Even WoW has ray tracing these days!

Lands, Lore and Beyond

I guess this goes with the territory, but Oblivion, as in the game that came out in 2006, is still my favourite. The history of that game, and the lore it provided, have been some of the most pivotal in the franchise. My only concern is that Oblivion was located in Cyrodil, which is currently tied to the PVP campaign in the ESO. Does that mean we won’t get a new zone that features the classic areas of the original game? Who knows. Personally, I’d love to see PVP moved to its own unique space, freeing up one of the most beautiful zones in Elder Scrolls history for us to explore in PVE.

Keep in mind, that when it comes to lore, ESO is set in 2E 583, Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion took place in 3E 433, with Redguard, Legends, Arena, Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Blodmoon to name but a few events happening in between, so don’t expect familiar faces from the old game in ESO: Oblivion.

Experience, Skills and Abilities

This is a sticking point for ESO, literally, as the level cap has been fixed for quite some time. The current system works well, up to a point, but with a rapidly growing community of end-game players, and a lot of new players, there’s always call for new dynamics. We’ve seen them revise the level system before, when they introduced CP, and that system its self has been overhauled over the years too. We’ve heard them say they’re exploring new solutions to the current skill point and Champion system, and I am looking forward to this.

New skill lines such as the Mytics and Antiquities will no doubt see some additional items and loot added too, which can bring sweeping changes to many builds; much like the Malacath Band of Brutality and Ring of the Wild Hunt have done thus far.

Of course, new content brings new dungeons and trials, so we will see new gear too. Either way, I look forward to exploring some new builds for various classes throughout the coming year.

Elder Scrolls Online: Oblivion Release Date

Destruction comes to Tamriel with the Gates of Oblivion, The Elder Scrolls Online’s next big year-long adventure. Tune in to the Global Reveal Event via twitch.tv/Bethesda on January 21 at 5PM ESTm, 10PM GMT to get a first look at ESO’s upcoming Chapter, DLCs, and the epic new storyline that’ll take you and your companions to the very edge of oblivion.