The Elder Scrolls Online: Seasons Of The Worm Cult Preview. The latest patch for Bethesda‘s long-running fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, Seasons of the Worm Cult, dropped for PC on June 2, with the console release coming soon after on June 18 for PlayStation and Xbox formats. The patch will add paid content to the store and free content for current ESO owners, with the free stuff largely revolving around the new subclass system, but there’s also a new system for returning players to sink their teeth into. We sampled the patch in a recent preview event, so here’s what we learned!
The Time Bubble Is Broken?
The storyline for Elder Scrolls Online was designed so everything happens at the same time, taking place in a single year. This means anyone can tackle the story content at any time and in any order, but also means the world never truly advanced time-wise. However, Bethesda is now moving the timeline forward for the first time with this latest patch, with the events of the base game have already happened. It’s important to note that this shift doesn’t lock you out from other old content; new players can experience the Season of the Worm Cult and then go back and do the base game, allowing you to enjoy any story first that you desire.
Newcomers can also simply dive into the base game and then go into the Season of the Worm Cult. NPCs will have dialogue that remembers your actions if you have completed any previous content; some characters will be coming back, and they will be shaped based on your interactions with them. As such, this rewards veteran players but also not leading to confusion for newcomers.
A Whole New Island
The new zone is called Solstice, and the island is set off the southern coast of Tamriel. It is a remote island and very difficult to access, and therefore was decide as the perfect spot for the return of the Worm Cult. The island itself is designed around the Mediterranean-inspired tropical aesthetic; the art team wanted sun-drenched coastal architecture and terrain, which is on display in abundance here.
One of the major things you will notice is the giant wall, known as the Writhing Wall, which is visible from pretty much every location on the island. The wall splits the island into two different parts, and the main goal for the year-long story will be to try and get past the wall and find out what is behind it. The story will also cover why the wall even exists in the first place as we explore the island and as the story progresses throughout the year.
Later on in the year, there will be a massive player-focused event, but for now they did not mention much more on this event, but stay tuned for more information as we get closer to those dates. But it will be one of the biggest events they have ever done in the past.
A New Hub City
The new city of Sunport will be your capital city of Solstice, and suffice to say you’ll spend a decent amount of time here. Solstice has some very unique designs from all different cultures that have lived on the island. Originally, Solstheim was inhabited by ancient Argonians (different from those what we would see on the mainland) tide-born and stone-nest tribes. There will be more information in the main story of the zone as you progress with it. Something we do know is that High Evles have been wreaking havoc on the mainland; they were eventually exiled from here and then arrived on Solstice. Once they arrived, they decided to butt heads and eventually ransacked the city and put their own buildings on top of the original buildings.
The Worm Cult has taken over the eastern side of the island; they erected the wall, which is a barrier made of souls, and are now trying to threaten the western side of the island. There is a prologue to tie into this patch, so you might want check it out to catch up with the plot.
When exploring the island, one of the areas highlighted was a broken bridge. One of the new gameplay features that the quest team has been working on is the ability to fix this bridge with magic wands. You can grab stone from around the broken bridge and rebuild it for yourself to allow access across an area you might not have been able to get across before. There will be instances with old magic suits of armour, and you have to guide them through the room while enemies and traps are trying to destroy the suits of armour. I will be honest; one of the things I am most hyped about is a Daedric-style carnival, which will inject some mystery and danger into the proceedings.
This Truly Is Unlimited Power
I think for me, the biggest change in this entire update is the free content, with the team going into detail on how the new subclass system will work. Frankly, it’s a huge game-changer. Current builds that folk are playing with will be severely impacted by this update. The requirement for unlocking subclasses is you need to reach 50 on one character; this will then unlock the feature on other characters on your account. Once you hit level 50, there is a subclass quest.
This quest can be done in three different ways. One way is in the crown store; you can buy a study of discipline quest that will be completely free. This will show you where you need to go to unlock the quest. The second way is to grant the quest from the subclass window on your character sheet; the subclass menu will be greyed out. If you click it, you automatically add the quest to your log. The final way is just to walk to the NPC; there is an icon on the map to show you exactly where they are, which is the fifth zone of every faction.
You can talk to any of the quest givers; no matter which faction you are with, they are not locked behind factions, so this can make it really easy to get. There are also lore books around the quest givers; these books are about different classes in the game, and they can give you some skill point levels to help level up your classes. This can teach you about skills and help you out.
One of the benefits of the subclass system is that because the classes are locked to your character, if you do want to experience different styles of gameplay, this new feature will allow you to swap in other skills so that you can try them out. There are some limits to the system; for example, if you are a Templar, you will need to keep at least one Templar-based skill, though obviously I think this is fair, as you’re still technically that class.
Now that you have done the quest, you can then look at the subclass menu or talk to the NPC. You will have to visit a shrine or use respec scrolls from daily rewards. Players will also get some free scrolls from doing the quest: If you talk to the NPC that unlocked the subclass feature, they will walk you through it.
In the subclass window, you can see a list of all the available skill lines that are playable for your classes. In addition, you can soak up some lore on the classes by putting the cursor over the class you want to learn about. You are able to click the main skill line (for example, Dragonknight) and this will show all the different skills that you can add to your character from that original skill. For the first time you can also see flavour text for each individual skill so you can learn a little bit about the skill and what it does.
When you want to add a different skill, such as an elementalist skill to your Templar, you will have to click the equip skill, and then once you have clicked that, it will open a sub-window with different skills. You swap and remove skills, so you can remove restoring light from the skill line selection and then replace it with another skill of your choice. It’s important to remember, however, that you have to keep one of your original class skills on the list. Furthermore, only one skill from a specific skill cast can be added, so if you add storm calling from Sorcerer, you are then unable to add dark magic or Daedric summoning onto your bar. The first time you swap out the skill lines when doing the quest, it will be free.
One of the benefits of having alternate characters is the fact the skill line experience will be shared on all characters, meaning you can level up a lot faster now with this system in place. The downside is each ability costs two skill points instead of one; this means it’s a larger investment. If you were to purchase everything, you would need a total of 40 skill points, but most players will have a surplus of skill points just from simply playing the game. Another downside: the skills will actually level up slower and receive less experience points than your main class, although Bethesda has added a new star in the champion system called Discipline Artisan. This increases the experience points gained for current active skills and skill lines, boosting the experience gained by the subclass.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Seasons of the Worm Occult launches on June 18 for PS5 & PS4. Based on my first impressions, the amount of content included, not to mention the mystery of the wall and the Daedric Carnival, is something I can’t wait to sample for myself and learn more about. Meanwhile, the subclass system looks like it adds some fresh new ideas to the table as well as vastly improves the overall gameplay, which is always welcome.
Thanks to the folks and ZeniMaxMedia and Bethesda for the opportunity to preview The Elder Scrolls Online’s latest patch!