The Elder Scrolls Online Wolfhunter DLC is out now and there's a lot to look for players to look forward to. Obviously, there will be dungeon and quality of life improvements across the whole of Tamriel as with any other ESO DLC, but today we're taking a closer look at one of the two dungeons that are to come, along with some of the improvements to the werewolf abilities. If you've been a fan of the Elder Scrolls since Morrowind then you already know just how much fun the Werewolf 'class' can be, but the online version gives the developers more of an opportunity to develop it over time. This is definitely something you'll want to sink your teeth into.
Improvements to the Werewolf Skill Line
First of all, once the DLC goes live you will be able to respec everything as your morphs/skills will be wiped. You can, however, change one ability rather than the entire build, which will come in handy if you don't want to spend a lot of time staring at your skill tree. Additionally, the werewolf skill line will now be much easier to maintain while allowing you to be more savage. In other words, rather than just an aesthetic change with a few skills, the werewolf form will be a true primal and savage experience. If you've ever wanted to get the full werewolf experience, or if you've been putting off playing as one, then now would be the time to really get into it.
New Locations in WolfHunter
Along with bringing serious improvements to the wolf form, the DLC is going to give us plenty of new and fun locations to explore. Those who love PVP will find a home in the new battlegrounds while players who are craving all-new story and content experiences will benefit by dropping into one of the two new dungeons which include:
Moonhunter Keep
An ancient werewolf has taken over Moonhunter Keep and is in the process of abducting people from all over Tamriel. His goal: Create an army. Your goal: Free them before he succeeds.
March of Sacrifice
Participate in the Great Hunt and seek out the hare- an entity that can take on different forms.
Experiencing the March of Sacrifice
For my dev walkthrough, I chose to go through the March of Sacrifice which is more of a competition than an outright dungeon. You, along with several other players will compete to defeat the hare which is definitely not as easy as it sounds. If we've learned anything from popular culture, it's NOT just a rabbit.
One of the primary questlines in the March of Sacrifice is the finding of Hanu's father. Hanu, an Ashlander, has sought her father for a very long time, and those who know Elder Scrolls lore are aware that Ashlanders are able to commune with their passed relatives. Hanu's father, however, died while in werewolf form, which sent him directly to the hunting grounds. As this is beyond the reach of the Ashlanders, her goal is to free her father which she can do only with your help. This sets off a fun and interesting chain of events that will lead you across five bosses, including the Wyrd Sisters and Aghaedh of the Solstice. You will also battle through three distinct areas, each of which boasts an entirely different environment for you to experience:
-Bloodscent Pass
-Wispwood
-Nightlands
To get the full effect, make sure you play with your audio on so that you can hear the banter between the Daedric gods as you traverse the lands and fight new, interesting creatures not found on the overworld.
Enhanced Mechanics and Gameplay
The dungeons that we see in the Wolfhunter DLC are above and beyond some of those in previous DLC, for example, one boss battle requires you and your party to crouch so that you can search the area, eventually causing the boss to appear. In addition to that, all of the boss encounters require you to make full use of the mechanics, ensuring that you will need to do far more than just stand around and launch attacks. For these fights, coordination is required and you'll need to use all of your skills. You can take the Wyrd sisters as one great example of enhanced mechanics, in which you need to separate them so that they cannot draw upon each other's powers; only then can you properly defeat them.
Appropriate for Everyone
As always, The Elder Scrolls Online has brought us dungeons that are appropriate for players of all levels, which is something I really loved about the One Tamriel update. It's an innovation that puts it on par with games like Guild Wars 2, allowing the player to go anywhere and do anything at any level. To make it even better, you're able to group with other players who are higher or lower level than you. Returning or new players will be able to group with their friends and fully experience the game without working your way through the entire leveling experience. Some say it's a bit too easy, I say it's a great way to bring new content to new players.
Getting Into It
The Wolfhunter DLC has set release dates for each platform:
PC/Mac – August 13th
PlayStation 4/Xbox One – August 28th
The DLC will be available directly from the Crown Store in your client, but subscribers to ESO plus will be able to experience the DLC for free so long as they maintain their subscription. There's a lot of fun to be had, but it's far from the end of DLC offerings from Zenimax.
Looking Toward the Future
Along with Wolfhunter, the Murkmire DLC was recently announced. While Wolfhunter has a definite release date, Murkmire is still a bit sketchy. What we do know, however, is that it is comparable to Summerset in size, which makes it more like an expansion than a simple DLC. True to every Elder Scrolls title, there is going to be plenty to explore and it will have much more content than Wolfhunter.
Overall, it looks like there's going to be plenty to see and experience in the Wolfhunter DLC. While this might be small in terms of content, the update brings us improvements to not only the werewolf skill line but also jewelry crafting. If you've been thinking about coming back to ESO, now would be the time to not only drop back into Tamriel but to bring back that inner wolf you left back in Solstheim.
