The next DLC for TESO, Horns of the Reach, will be released on PC and Mac on August 14, 2017 (and on August 29, 2017 on XBox One and Playstation 4). But is it worth its price?
As Matt Firor said at the beginning of the year, the third addition of the year will now be a Dungeon DLC. The next DLC, Horns of the Reach, brings two new dungeons in Nordic style, as well as some minor additions (such as battlegrounds). Do these additions justify its price?
The first dungeon added is called the Bloodroot Forge. It will lead you to investigate the fate of the minotaur and crevasse prisoners who terrorize the region, while discovering the secrets of the Bloodroot Forge. You will quickly discover that the Nirncrux has changed both the environments and the creatures you will face.
The bestiary will be enriched, whether by modified creatures (such as magical creatures imbued with Nirncrux), new enemies (eg Nirnblooded beasts), or old enemies with new skills, Sometimes similar to those of the players, with some modifications.
It also adds new mechanics, which will involve observing the environment and the events triggering it, in order to be able to use them efficiently, especially during Earthgore Amalgam boss fights (to use it to interrupt the end boss dungeon will be particularly useful). In short, running headlong without coordinating and watching what happens will be even more dangerous than usual!
The second dungeon donated by this DLC is called the Falkreath Hold. You will find the city that Skyrim players know well, but it will be here much more developed. The ambiance will be neat to give the players a real sense of seating, both by the graphic effects and the effects on the environment; It is up to you to use it to help you in your struggles and help save the city.
Here again, your main opponents will be the crevassais and the minotaurs, accompanied by warlords and giant beasts. You will be able to use the noticed events as you explore the dungeon dungeon, especially against Domihaus the Bloody-Horned, the end boss of this dungeon.
Each dungeon will offer three new sets of armor (light, medium and heavy); Each of the bosses will drop one of these pieces randomly. You can also get two sets of monster mask with indomitable quests (again, one set for each dungeon). Finishing them in normal for the first time will offer you a unique trophy, and in Veteran, a bust. In addition, finishing them in Veteran mode will grant you two personalization elements (a hat for the Bloodroot Forge and an appearance for the Falkreath Hold), which you can proudly wear at the same time if you got them.
Finally, completing the two Veteran difficulty dungeons will allow you to buy Hakkvild’s High Hall home with gold. If you decide to buy it in crowns in the Crown Store, this condition will not be necessary (it is part of the principle of buying houses in crowns, but, in this case, I find it a little shame).
Another important addition to this patch is dedicated to the Battlegrounds, with a new game mode and a new map.
The new game mode, playable on the (now) four cards is Chaosball. The goal of this one is to take and keep Chaosball, which will bring points to your team; The first team to reach five hundred points or those with the most points after fifteen minutes will win the game. Keeping Chaosball is not easy, because in addition to the other team’s attacks (note that even with Chaosball you can defend yourself and use your skills), the wearer will suffer damage as well as the others Players of his team close to him and they will receive a debuff diminishing the care and power of the magic shields. It will also be impossible to pass the Chaosball to the other players or to let go. The goal of this game mode is to offer shorter and frenetic games than other battleground modes of play.
A new map, the Arcane University, has been added to the other three, and will be available for all modes of play. In the Imperial City setting, this map, slightly larger than the others, Fighting in outdoor as well as indoors and on several floors. Portals will move from one point to another quickly, but when they turn red, they will apply a debuff, the “Mark of the Worm”, which will blow you up shortly after; Affecting all the players in the radius of its explosion, it can equally well penalize your teammates and be effective against your enemies. The scenery will also make it possible, using the right skills, to take unexpected paths, putting you out of the reach of an enemy… Or to join him without expecting it!
Note that to take advantage of additions to the battleground, you will have to buy the Morrowind extension and own Horns of the Reach (by buying or subscribing); Requesting the purchase of an extension and buying a DLC (or subscription to ESOPlus) to access new content is quite debatable…
The basic game will, as usual, be entitled to a free patch that will include some additional interface elements.
We can note, for example, the customization of combat cues, and more interesting, the possibility of depositing the Assignats and the Alliance Points in bank, to share them between his characters.
On the guild side, the guild invite history is available (and is apparently retroactive) and it is possible to hide the balance of the guild bank at certain ranks.
Finally, concerning crafting, it will now be possible to cancel a search (but the object will remain lost), and one can improve his clothes without undressing.
These additions seem rather minor, but, having been highlighted on the official website, there is no doubt that this will meet the expectations of some of the players!
Of course, many fixes will be made to the game and some items, such as new furniture, for example, will be added. Three new motifs (Hlaalu, Telvanni and Redoran) will be available by pocketing and searching the Thieves Guild’s chests (in both cases only on Vvardenfell). Finally, the Champions Points cap will be increased by thirty points.
Since the price has not been announced, it is difficult to give an opinion on this. If it is one thousand five hundred crowns, like the previous “DLC of dungeons”, it will be a little too expensive for what it brings (even if these dungeons add interesting mechanics), unless you particularly appreciate The TESO dungeons. More generally, if dungeons are not a major part of your gaming experience, a prize above one thousand crowns would be exaggerated. The additions to the Battlefields are interesting, but, requiring the purchase of Morrowind in addition, they are not addressed to all players likely to buy Horns of the Reach or subscribing to the game.
