The Elder Scrolls Online: Dragonhold Preview – Conclusion of the Dragon Arc

The beauty of MMORPGs is that there’s always room for growth. When an MMORPG releases, it’s far from being in its “final state”, it’s only just the beginning as the game gets update after update and turns into a whole different beast over time. ZeniMax Online Studios’ MMORPG set in the Elder Scrolls universe, The Elder Scrolls Online, has gone through several improvements since its 2014 release, getting numerous DLC packs — like Elsweyr — patches, updates, and so much more that both veterans and newcomers have enjoyed.

At PAX West 2019, Noisy Pixel had the opportunity to go hands-on with the upcoming and final DLC of the year, Dragonhold, and go on a brief, dragon-filled adventure before it releases sometime later this year on PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Given that the DLC is still a work-in-progress, there were a few hiccups here and there, but similar to Elswyer, all players are bound to find something that they’ll love. For me, the best part was all the Dragon Hunt events.

With Dragonhold, players can expect to explore a whole new zone to explore in Southern Elsweyr called Pellitine, a lawless wasteland that suffered a devasting plague many years ago. I began my adventure in Dragonhold in the Khajiit city of Senchal. Right at the start, I was taken back by just how vast and full of life the city was, as slews of NPCs strolled through the city streets, and there were, what seemed like, hundreds of quests to take on — for instance, hunting quests (my personal favorite). That said, a good chunk of the NPCs couldn’t be interacted with, but of course, as mentioned before, the DLC is far from being complete. Regardless, it’s safe to say that players won’t ever have a dull moment exploring different areas within the new zone that Dragonhold is going to offer.

Players can also expect to buddy up with allies, whether it be fellow players online or even just NPCs like the fan-favorite Sai Sahan, a general who’s on a mission to finish off all dragons before they swarm in and burn all of Tamriel to nothing but ashes. Achieving this mission isn’t going to be a cakewalk, I mean let’s be real, dragons aren’t the easiest beasts to kill, so players are going to need to level up and upgrade their character. Thankfully, Dragonhold will let players craft powerful new tools and weapons that will make dragon killing a bit easier to achieve. As someone that experienced a Dragon Hunt event, trust me, the events are challenging and an absolute thrill to play through.

Long-time players can finally enjoy the conclusion of the year-long Season known as the Dragon arc. ZeniMax deserves praise for this, being able to tie in DLC packs into one interconnected adventure is an impressive feat. Dragonhold will end up telling major stories full of ups and downs, but smaller stories will also come into the picture, which will make it have a unique mix of storytelling.

Whether it’ll be your first time going on a Dragon Hunt, or your umpteenth time doing so, hours upon hours of playtime are going to fly by as you play Dragonhold. With so much new content to explore, along with its quality of life improvements, Dragonhold will bring The Elder Scrolls Online to new heights like never before.