#Bleakrock Isle

[silver-horse]

The Elder Scrolls Online loading screens (part 9)

[elluvians]

Bleakrock Isle - ESO gifs 1/∞

[falmerbrook]

Updating my ESO base game zone list (from roughly most to least favorite), adding the EP zones I'm done with (up through Deshaan), and elaborating on my thoughts for each zone and on the writing overall because I like yapping. Moving on to DLC now.

TLDR:

Grahtwood

Rivenspire

Coldharbor

Auridon

Glenumbra

Stros M'kai

Malabal Tor

Alik'r Desert

Betnik

Reaper's March

Greenshade

Stonefalls

Bangkorai

Bleakrock Isle and Bal Foyen

Khenarthi's Roost

Stormhaven

Deshaan

More detailed thoughts below (spoiler warning for these 10 year old quests):

1) Grahtwood - I would say Grahtwood and Rivenspire are tied for my favorites, with Grahtwood being all over strong while Rivenspire has a particularly strong environment and main quest. While for me most other zones maybe had a few standout quests if any, the side quests in Grahtwood were very consistently getting me invested and were fun/interesting (stand outs include: The Grip of Madness, Bosmer Insight, Keeper of Bones, The Wakening Dark, and The Unquiet Dead). The environment is just stunning too. It's one of the few base game zones where things truly feel grand and huge. I love the giant trees in this game and Grahtwood is full of them. The Bosmer towns are really cool too, and Gil-Var-Delle was very cool. I appreciate all the Bosmer lore and culture fleshed out by all the Valenwood zones, and it feels very unique compared to the other cultures fleshed out (in the base game at least).

2) Rivenspire - I love the main quest for this zone so much. The characters are more memorable, the story doesn't feel as forced (and the player's inclusion feels less forced) compared to the other zones, and the twists and emotional connection to the events are stronger. I love all the Ravenwatch characters. Verandis alone boosts my opinion of this zone. The scenery of this zone is probably one of the strongest in the base game too. Entering the zone to see the Doomcrag (A+ name btw) with the red lightning in the distance immediately got me excited for what the zone had in store (especially after the bore that was Stormhaven) and the way it sorta hangs over everything on that side of the map makes it such a strong set piece. Even beyond it, I love the gloomy and lightly gothic vibes of the zone and the Main Quest. The main reason I put it below Grahtwood is that I really didn't get invested in any of the side quests I did.

3) Coldharbor - I actually didn't realize this was going to be an entire zone, so when I first got to it I was a little put off, especially because my experience with planes of Oblivion in past games was mostly annoyance (the Deadlands and Aprocrypha), but I ended up really liking it! I liked how pretty much everything in it related to the main quest, so it made for a nice focused change of pace, and every quest relating to the same goal made me more invested in them. A lot of the quests felt more unique than the rest of the base games ones too. The scenery was really grand and cool and impressive, and the environment paired with the sound design really made the place feel uneasy and unsafe to explore (even if it wasn't really that much more dangerous than the other zones)! I also found a lot of the characters fun and likeable. Some stand out quests for me were Vanus Unleashed, The Endless War (and its follow-up quests), Special Blend, and The Soul-Meld Mage.

4) Auridon - I ended up spending a ton of time in this zone so I became pretty familiar and fond of it. The environment is so pretty and picturesque. I also liked how a lot of the side quests either related to/built on the main conflict with the Veiled Heritance or helped to elaborate on the current context of the Aldmeri Dominion. It helped the whole zone feel more cohesive. I certainly remember the quests of this zone better than most others. Razum-dar and Ayrenn are absolute treats as well!

5) Glenumbra - (bumping up) I might be a little biased in liking this zone more because it was one of my first, but I'm also pretty fond of Glenumbra. The biggest negative of it for me is that I barely followed the main quest storyline at all. It felt kinda all over the place and like different parts of it barely connected to others. However, the vibes and aesthetic are great. I love all the marshes and fog and general moodiness, which really fits a lot of the quests in ghost towns and cemeteries. I enjoy going back to Glenumbra for events and antiquities because I just like running around it (although it really suffers from having enemies on every square inch of the map, but that's an issue I've noticed to a lesser extent everywhere with the game so far). The environment is just very pretty, and a cool touch is the huge moving vines everywhere. Also, gotta say, I hate Daggerfall's layout. It's a really cool looking city and it feels more like a large city than most others in the base game, but it sucks for doing daily crafting. Overall I just had fun here.

6) Stros M'kai - So given this was the first zone I ever experienced, and I had just started Redguard right before earnestly starting ESO so it was fun going "like the one in Redguard!", I might have a bit of bias on how much I like this zone. But I am very fond of it! I found the characters of the main quest endearing and memorable (even if they and their story wasn't relevant almost at all to the rest of the DC) and the player's inclusion in the story didn't feel forced. I like the aesthetics of Port Hunding, and the desert around it just felt warm and big despite how small the map actually is.

7) Malabal Tor (after thinking about it more I'm bumping this one up a little) - I didn't really care for this one while doing it, but in hindsight, it's grown on me. I really like the lore and development of the Silvenar and Green Lady that they do in this zone, and I like how so many of the side quests help to flesh out those lore concepts and backstory beyond the main quest. It makes the storyline of the main quest for this zone feel more developed and worth getting invested in. However, I didn't really get invested in anything else very much. The scenery was pretty beautiful too.

8) Alik'r Desert - I was surprised how beautiful I found this zone given that it is a desert, but I really loved the scenery! I also liked the quests here fine enough. They weren't my favorite, but I didn't necessarily dislike them either. I liked the old Redguard temples you got to explore, and the way they implemented and introduced the Yokudan religion/gods. It was fun to engage with. This was a perfectly middle zone.

9) Betnik - I like the setting of Betnik. The rocky and foggy beaches are pretty. The history of the island is pretty interesting. in hindsight having done the first zones for the other alliances as well, I now appreciate that the characters from the Stros M'Kai main quest are here and the story is continuing with them, it feel more natural for why my character is invovled. However, I barely remember anything else from this zone, and in hindsight the environment isn't as pretty or as impressive as later zones, so I don't care too much more for it.

10) Reaper's March - This zone was very hit or miss for me. The scenery was nice, and the music stood out to me and I really liked it, but the quests and character writing was either something I really liked or something I really didn't. I loved Shazah and Khali, and while the whole concept of of the Moon Hallowed felt super contrived, I like that it gave us an opportunity to really get to know them and get invested in them. They were both charming and likeable, but it is for that reason that I was not a fan of how the main quest in this zone ended. I was looking forward to how they would handle which twin would be the Mane (or maybe push against tradition and make them both Mane or some other compromise...), but one ultimately dying felt like a stupid way to solve that issue. They could've been so much more creative with it. This feeling of enjoying parts of a questline and disliking others from some reason continued through the quests of this zone.

11) Greenshade - I wasn't a fan of the scenery in this one. Not only was it just not as cool to me, but I think I've developed a bit of a pet peeve over how everyone kept refers to it as a forest when it was clearly some kind of savanna woodland. Sorry Bosmer, that is not a forest to me. Anyway, the story and side quests for this zone didn't stick out to me at all with the exception of a few MVP characters. I liked the Wilderking quest, in part because the idea of the Wilderking is interesting (in theory, it's ok in execution) but mostly because I really liked Aranias and the story we see with her (I think it's kinda weird that the original Wilderking and her are Altmer, especially in the context of the politics around the formation of the Aldmeri Dominion, but besides that I enjoy the idea). I was got a little emotional over the very sweet short quest, The Flower of Youth, and it has really stuck out in my mind. And finally, I liked Indaenir. I found him very charming. To the extent that I was sad at his sacrifice at the end of the main quest and hyped for him when he becomes the Silvenar. Mid zone with some stand out moments.

12) Stonefalls - The story for this one baffled me a bit too much, in the sense that there were several moments where I feel like I didn't get enough explanations as to why what was happening was happening. I was truly just along for the ride. There weren't really any characters that stood out to me either. Like, I recognized them and remembered them as the kept popping up, but I wasn't invested enough in them, which is a shame, because I think the last few quests of the main zone quest would've been a lot stronger if I actually liked or felt endeared by Tanval, Garyn, and their relationship. The second half of the main quest felt drawn out and I think the writing was just kinda bad for this zone tbh (more than usual). Now, saying that, the scenery and environment for this zone was gorgeous, and the music stood out and really accentuated the mood! One of my favorites so far environment-wise. I think it felt very Morrowind-y, and I loved the mountains and the volcanoes and the land coral and the ash effects. I also love the look of the Dunmer architecture in this game, and I think it fits them well. I took so so many screenshots in this zone. I genuinely enjoyed just wandering through it.

13) Bangkorai - Nothing about this zone really caught my attention. I didn't care for the main quest, I didn't get invested in any side quests, and for me this zone feels more frustrating to navigate with how many areas as controlled entirely by enemies. It also does nothing new or interesting with the Reachmen, unfortunately. The scenery is pretty, but it is similar to everything else we've seen in the Daggerfall Covenant, so by the time I got to it it wasn't anything special. My opinion on this zone was also probably colored by the fact that at this point I just wanted to get further in the main quest. I also want to highlight this one quest, Freedom's Chains, which has a super interesting basic idea and hypothetical choice at the end, but is so horribly buggy and terribly written that it is one of 2 quests I've done so far in this game that made me angry.

14) Bleakrock Isle and Bal Foyen - I did the entirety of these in a little over an hour each, and really nothing stuck out to me. Not the characters, not the setting, not the quests, nothing. The only thing of note is that I was running around Bal Foyen at sunrise and it was very pretty, and there was a guar in Bal Foyen named Rollie.

15) Khenarthi's Roost* (I did it slowly over a few months while my hands were in pain and nothing about it stood out to me) - So there is an important context to this one, which is that I started this zone in January after the New Life Festival, but soon took a break from the game because my hand pain was really bad and I couldn't play. I attempted to play every few weeks (in this zone) and every time my hands hurt really bad, and I had forgotten what was going on. It took me months to finish this teeny zone, and I just don't have a great association with it. Outside of that bias, I just wasn't invested in the plot or characters (outside of Raz, of course), and I feel like the Maomer were uninteresting and a waste of potential. The aesthetics of the island were pretty nice, but I didn't find it as cool or pretty as most of the other zones.

16) Stormhaven My dislike of this zone was mostly circumstantial when I first played it, but in hindsight having gone back to it for other random things, I continue to dislike it. The wayshrine placement sucks. Somehow by the time I got to this zone I was already a little burnt out on all the Daedric prince involvement, and the involvement of Vaermina and her cult did nothing new or interesting. I could not bring myself to care about pretty much any quest in this zone, with the notable exception of the part at the end where you enter Emeric's dream and talk him off the ledge. I like Emeric, and I feel like this detail made it make more sense for why he can trust you so much. But other than that, it was a very mid zone. The scenery was Glenumbra but less cool in every way.

17) Deshaan - This is only below Stormhaven because of that one quest with Emeric (and maybe I'm a bit jaded right now). In a game where it feels like the Daedric Princes are invovled in every other quest, you're telling me that a questline focusing on an organization creating a plague had nothing to do with Peryite? Justice for Peryite! Speaking of, the main quest for this zone was so... what? The writing for this alliance so far has been really weak imo and this quest really exemplifies it. It's just antagonist doing miscellaneous antagonist things without a solid connection between their actions. Despite building up to the main antagonist's backstory throughout the zone, I still don't understand her motivation for just about anything she did until the last 3rd of the story, and the kinda interesting conflict of her backstory was written in the least interesting way it could be. None of the other quests stood out to me, and the environment, while fine, didn't catch my attention either. I did like that Mournhold felt larger than most of the cities in the game, and I loved how the temple looked and loomed over everything.

-

Daggerfall Covenant Overall Thoughts:

These zones were my starting zones so I was learning how the game works and doing the big main quest while going through them. I straight up can't remember whatever the overarching plot of these zones was, but I remember each zone as its own individual thing better. At the time I felt sorta meh towards it, but having done the other alliances it has grown on me because of the characters and pacing. The way you get invovled with the leader in this faction feels more natural and less contrived than the other two (and the build up to getting to that point is longer and more developed) since you have to prove yourself and work your way up the High Rock leadership to finally impress Emeric and get him to entrust you with things. You don't just do him one favor and he goes "ok I trust you with alliance secrets now", but compared to the AD it felt like the over arching story of the alliance is much much weaker and less developed. it feels more like each zone has its own story only loosely tied together with "WAR IS HAPPENING" (EP is sorta the same). The antagonists weren't memorable, but the side characters like Emeric, Darien, Gabrielle, Skordo, the gang on Stros M'Kai, Lady Laurent and Stibbons, etc. were fun! I read on Reddit that the team that made the DC also made Coldharbor, which is why so many DC characters feature in it, which definitely helped me feel connected to them more. Overall, not the most striking alliance, but I liked the characters and am probably more fond of it because it was my first one

Aldmeri Dominion Overall Thoughts:

I appreciate that there are overarching storylines between the zones (beyond just "[other alliance] is attacking!") between the Veiled Heritance, the death of and new Silvenar and Green Lady, etc. The other two factions' zones can sometimes feel too disjointed from each other or the way they are connected feels contrived, so the reoccurring characters feel more random (like, why are you here too??) or there are way less of them, while in the AD you meet a lot of the reoccurring characters in the first two zones and then it makes sense why you keep running into them. It makes the relationships you build with them feel more genuine, and there were a number of stand out characters for me. I think for this reason, having one small starting zone as opposed to 2 might've helped with that feeling. On the other hand, I feel like the build up to how you get invovled with the alliance leadership was way more rushed (in a bad way) compared to the other two zones. Like, you happen to be picked out as competent and trustworthy by one of the right hand men of the queen (no offense to you, Raz, you are one of the highlights of this alliance) and then you save the queen from an assassination attempt in the first story point of the next zone and she just trusts you immediately (once again, no offense to you Ayrenn, you are also a highlight). But once we're into the main storyline, I enjoyed it and followed it a lot better than the other two zones. I also appreciated how the antagonists had motivations that felt like they actually informed their decisions and related to the political and interpersonal dramas going on. It made them more memorable. I felt in general that the side quests were a little stronger here as well.

Ebonheart Pack Overall Thoughts (so far)

I've only done Bleakrock Isle, Bal Foyen, Stonefalls, and Deshaan, and hopefully I'll come back to do the rest later, but I'm a little sick of the base game and would like to move on to DLCs. With that disclaimer out of the way, I've found it so far lack luster compared to the other two. So far the zone stories aren't that connected (although that may change), and there seems to be less reoccurring characters. The one that I do know for sure shows up repeatedly, Naryu, didn't actually make her first appearance until Deshaan (not a fan of her so far tbh... why does she neg me so much??). Altogether, none of the characters so far stood out to me, and they've been overall less endearing and less memorable (so far). None of the quests have either. Generally in this series, but particularly in this game, and even more so in this alliance for some reason, the player's involvement in a quest or situation feels really contrived. The one positive for this alliance for me is that I think the environments are consistently pretty strong (so far). Finally, the antagonists have been weak in the sense that they aren't memorable or interesting (similarly to the DC). These ones frustrate me a bit more because they feel much more like wasted opportunities. So far there's a theme of family or parent-child relationships going on, but it's really shallow and I'm not sure it's purposeful. Like I said, maybe I'm just jaded with the base game zones because they are pretty same-y (and it makes sense why tbh), but this alliance has been my least favorite so far and I don't feel bad about skipping the rest of it for now.

[kumasan-tes]

❄️🎄Happy Saturalia🎅🐏

He is my ESO OC Managarmr🎅

‘Managarmr’ means ‘moon dog’ and he is a werewolf.

He is from Bleakrock Isle and adventures across Tamriel with his sheeps🐏🐏

He loves dragons because he grew up hearing dragon legends from his grandfather!!

[unsettlingcreature]

outfits for my three eso characters when they're not out adventuring ^^ info beneath the cut because I love to ramble

Paddles-Upstream

Non-binary argonian, they/them pronouns

Currently working with House Ravenwatch in High Rock

Templar, primarily using Sword and Shield. Tank.

Most people (humans & elves usually) at first assume that they're just very short for an argonian, hearing the raspy voice and seeing their skills in combat. However, anyone who's familiar with argonians realises that they're actually only a teenager. They recently turned 17.

Their family lived on Bleakrock Isle, mostly as fishermen but also helping recover lost cargo from shipwrecks. Paddles trained with their older brother and they both intended to join the Ebonheart Pact's forces when they got older. When the island was attacked by the Daggerfall Covenant, the family were separated and Paddles-Upstream was forced to fight for their survival.

Incredibly optimistic and loyal, but also merciless when it comes to a fight. Although they want to save people, they also know that many people cannot be trusted (and redemption is far more complicated and lengthy than just putting someone down.)

Khaahni the Fleet-footed

Female khajiit, specifically a pahmar-raht (and tall for one too)

Recently left Auridon for Grahtwood with Sha-briri.

Warden, switching between Sword and Shield and a Restoration staff. Healer.

Used to work as a healer in Mistral and was called to help heal the sailors caught up in the maomer attack. She and Sha-briri were quickly recruited by Razum'dar - Khaahni only agreed to join in the first place so she could try and get closer to him (infatuation can be a powerful thing).

Owns the Warm Sands Tavern (and its adjoining guild), mainly taking on mercenary work outside of her duties as an Eye of the Queen. Somewhat, the tavern works as an information brokerage but is mainly for its patrons to relax.

Very passionate, when there's something to do then she puts her whole self into it (and sprints right at it, earning her epithet). It does mean she often has to drag Sha-briri away from things that catch his curiosity so they can stay on track though.

Dorian Renault

Male breton (with an altmer parent, leading to his more elven appearance).

Constantly moving between the Summerset Isles, Artaeum and Western Skyrim.

Necromancer... technically. is incredibly secretive about it and mainly roams around in hunting leathers and uses a bow. Only really wears his mage robes when he's at the tavern or on Artaeum, he thinks it marks him as a target.

Used to be a teacher at the Mages' Guild on Auridon, a job he got thanks to his (altmer) grandparents' influence. He quit in order to pursue his interest in relics and researching ayleid ruins. In the process, he got recruited into the Psijic Order (leading him to discover Mannimarco's research on necromancy).

He relies on stealth and his silver tongue to get through danger. He will easily lie or put on an act if it furthers his goals. He has no real desire to hurt or screw people over, he mostly just wants to pursue his own research and curiosities without disturbance.

Has a soft spot for younger people or those with a desire to learn. Literally he will cave so fast. Paddles-Upstream unintentionally has him wrapped around their finger.

[famewolf]

my little quest to complete all the achievements in every zone is going pretty well. started back on square one (Bleakrock Isle), and i'm just about to finish The Rift!

starting at the beginning has really made me appreciate how gorgeous the game is

[hircines-hunter]

Favorite ESO zones AKA ESO Sexyzones

[goldshitter]

so ive done the EP starter stuff, bleakrock isle and bal foyen a few times and never realized that bc i always go to seyne and rana that a lot of the other refugees die. and then i looked up what happens to the woman who loses her whole family, aera earth-turner, and what can happen in the rift and if you kill her there, in coldharbour, and uh ouch. i hurt.

[wynteol]

Elder Scrolls Online Storylines: Kihana

It's been awhile since I did something like this , probably like a few months . Technically speaking for one of the storylines (Thieves Guild) , there is the quest " The One That Got Away" that I need to complete but for the main quest for the Thieves Guild , it is done ... which was the last storyline I need to finish before moving onto the next batch of storylines with this character .

Anyways here's what I have done with the character plus other information as well

Summerset - 8/16/2022

Bleakrock Isle - 12/12/2022

Bal Foyen - 12/12/2022

Thieves Guild - 8/16/2024 ( Just finished it )

Stonefalls - 7/26/2024

Total Gold earned : 478,548

Timed Played: 24 days , 19 hours , 12 minutes and 40 seconds (not doing the math )

Up next for Kihana: Deshaan , Shadowfen , Eastmarch , Western Skyrim and The Reach Storylines

[sleepymarmot]

So, after playing ESO for almost six years, I finally started the EP questline for the first time.

I, of course, knew what the starter zones were, but I didn't know how the plot moved you from one to another. So when that quest happened, I went "Wait a second" and opened the map to confirm that it was as weird as it sounded.

How the Bleakrock Isle questline ended: the only person in the group who knows how to sail gets the survivors "down the river" "to safety".

What it apparently was: one tiny boat, or at best two, manned by a single navigator, carrying a dozen shivering, grieving refugees with nothing but the clothes on their backs, goes right past the nearby shores of Eastmarch and Vvardenfell, travels through half of the Inner Sea, passes the place that the leader actually wanted to reach but was afraid of being intercepted, and finally makes land in a small harbor far to the southeast.

???

[lnaliazmcithilien]

Andy continues on his quest to rescue the people of Bleakrock Isle from the impending Aldemeri Dominion invasion. Today, he must descend into a frozen cave haunted by a spirit from an old cave-in to rescue a villager's brother. Can Andy save her brother? Can he even save himself?

By the way, let me know in the comments if you like the subtitles for a dialogue heavy questing video like this?

[clyde-bluesnake]

Ebonheart Pact zone story quests Bleakrock Isle & Bal Foyen - The Elder Scrolls Online part 2

[ilona-art]

Some new wayshrine pieces I’ve made over the past few days. Enjoy! :)

[ladymarinamart]

Bleakrock Isle

[daedriclorde]

What are your favorite Brynjolf headcanons? The next Elder Scrolls game is probably years away, but what do you see yourself playing as (and creating an OC around)?

Oh man, where to begin!

So, in my world head, the whole Thieves Guild questline took place like, 2 years ago, not 25. So though we never get an idea of how old Brynjolf is, if he was already a solid upper member 25 years ago, he’s probably pushing 50 by 4E 201. So I just noped that, and he’s early thirties in 201.

I also decided to borrow a bit from ESO. Since Brynjolf has a unique voice in game, and literally no one else in Skyrim has that accent, I’m headcannoning that Brynjolf is from clan of Norss unique to Bleakrock Isle. It would also explain the lack of red headed Nords like him in game. Something tragic happened to his family—what other origin story is there— and so young Brynjolf was sent to the orphanage in Riften. I will likely end up pulling tidbits from Scottish culture whenever I get around to writing this. I imagine that he still remembers some of the songs his mother sang to him. Which he will one day sing to Aerisif 🥰

If I hadn’t made it apparent in my fics, Brynjolf chugs his Respect Women Juice.

As for TES VI, whenever that happens...man, I don’t know. For my first play through, I’ll play as whatever race is native to the land it’s set it. I’ve heard rumors it’s Hamerfell, so a Redguard (which now that i think back, was what i played through Skyrim the very first time as!). If I find that she clicks with me as a character, then y’all can bet that I’ll be writing for her. After my first play through, all bets are off. I guess it depends on how Bethesda treats the races in VI. I’d love to see them do right by Argonians and Khajit. ESO is a major improvement to them (and Orcs) so I’d like that carried into the single player games.