Bethesda Brings Quake, Legends, and Morrowind to Boston – At PAX East we got a chance to meet with the people at Bethesda to talk about some of their upcoming releases, including Morrowind for Elder Scrolls Online, their upcoming plans for the CCG Elder Scrolls Legends and a look at Quake Champions, their venture into the world of e-Sports-friendly shooters.
Quake Champions Coming Along Nicely
First we will talk about Quake Champions, and while it bears a superficial resemblance to Overwatch, and that ilk, upon closer examination, and having experienced some actual gameplay, it cleaves more truly to it’s Quake-style forbears. Rather than present a cast of wildly divergent characters, whose abilities bear very little resemblance to each other, Quake Champions has a roster of characters whose base statistics are close to one another. While there is some variation in things like speed, durability and the like, the competitors are more evenly matched, leaving player-skill the final arbiter in the course of battles. There are nine characters available right now, and we will see more over time. There also a variety of weapons and other tools, that are picked up by the players during the match, changing their native abilities and weapons. These changes are available to all players within the game, and spawn throughout the level. These include Quake standards like the Super Nail Gun and the Lightning Gun.
Gameplay is fast-paced and frenetic, much like you would expect from a Quake game, though I found it easy to follow the action as both an observer and as a player. Controls were very responsive and accurate, with no sluggishness or delay between inputs and actions. The “feel” of the game is also very reminiscent of Quake, in character visuals, arena graphics and weapon effects and the like.
We will see closed beta soon (sign up here), so get involved so you don’t get left behind!
Elder Scrolls Legends is Launched
We also spoke for a while about Legends, the Elder Scrolls based card game, released in beta about a year ago, and that has a ton of new and interesting things coming in the future. First, that pesky “BETA” tag has gone away. That’s right, official release is here, and the latest update provides fixes for a bunch of wonky card interactions!
Proving that devs DO listen to what players are asking for, Legends is coming to mobile platforms, and soon. The timeline we were told has iPad release on March 23rd, that’s about two weeks from today. Then Android Tablet release in April, on Mac OS in May, and finally on Mobile Phones in early summer!
Also, in an effort to provide new and exciting gameplay experiences, on April 5th Legends first new storyline, The Fall of the Dark Brotherhood, is being release! This is a new storyline that introduce 40 new cards, across three new maps and more than twenty new missions! As an added bonus, those who get The Fall of the Dark Brotherhood will also receive the Doom Wolf mount for The Elder Scrolls Online (PC).
Also, come this summer, at E3, prepare for a new announcement of a big expansion, introducing a new card set, with new mechanics and card interactions.
All this is on the gameplay front, on the support front, there is also an improved Spectator mode, awesome Twitch integration, and improved in-game tournament support, with a new Gauntlet mode, that supports time-limited, short term tournaments, where you create decks with the cards in your collection and strive to reach the top of the leaderboard. These will run for about a month at a time, with the rule varying and changing from Gauntlet to Gauntlet. All these new tools should make Legends gameplay much more diverse and customizable, letting players tailor rule sets to suit any imagined theme for any occasion.
These are just the tip of the Legends iceberg, as the future holds more and more releases, including new stories, card sets and more!
Going Back to Morrowind in TESO
Finally, that brings us to Morrowind for The Elder Scrolls Online, a new expansion that introduces a new class, the Warden, as well as a vast new landmass. Now, since TESO takes place 700 prior to The Elder Scrolls 3, of course things are different. First off, using the same world maps from TES3, the scale of the world was made compatible with TESO. Also, Morrowind in TESO is more vibrant and vital than the Morrowind that would emerge 700 years later. There are similarities still present in the world, including some famous characters from history, before they became who they would be.
The new class, the Warden, who wields a variety of nature-based magics that can be combined in typical TESO fashion, to sort of create a power set that is most conducive to your individual play-style. Powers vary from ice-based protective and defensive powers, to neat animal companions, to healing magics, making the Warden a highly sought after member of your team.
Speaking of teams, there are also new PvP 4v4v4 battles in the Ashlands. These are competitive, fast battles that take place in three environments, one filled with lava, one a Daedric ruin and one a Dwemer tower.
With all the new areas to explore, game modes, and the new class, Morrowind looks like it will be a tremendous new experience for TESO veterans, as well as a great starting point for new players to begin their TESO journey.
