Elder Scrolls Online has surprisingly low representation on my blog despite how much I have played it. I think this is for a couple of reasons. One – I have been playing this game for a LONG TIME. Writing about it would be more reflective for me than anything. Two – this game is god awful for getting screenshots with your character in it. You’d think by now there would be some sort of photo feature implemented that would allow you to get great pictures of your character. There are SO MANY emotes and countless customization options, yet there is no way to pull the camera back and get a nice shot of your character in the elements. That makes me angry! Furious! I even have the furious personality equipped just to demonstrate this!

Anyway, ESO is making an appearance now because High Isle is out!! I cannot find this place on the map at all and had to use zone search to get there (which embarrassingly enough, I just learned about within the past year). Every time I get into a zone I’ve never visited before, I spend a significant amount of time just running. I try to uncover as many wayshrines and points of interest as quickly as possible because it’s easy XP and it helps speed up story progression once you actually start it. High Isle has two islands that you cannot swim between. Trust me, I tried… and then I tried to warn this guy.

I am kind of snobby about what terrains I like and what I don’t. I don’t like dremora areas, deserts, bogs, marshes, and areas that are barren. I’m more of a Summerset, Aurdion, and Rift kind of girl (omg such a high elf!!). I wasn’t sure what aesthetic High Isle would bring, but I love it! The fields of sunflowers are my absolute favorite (sunflowers are my favorite kind of flower) and there’s lots of cute dogs.

Elder Scrolls is a massive game and they are still adding new elements. The last time I wrote about ESO, I talked about scrying and searching for antiquities which was introduced with Summerset. In High Isle, we are given a card game. I have played it a couple of times because it is required for a quest, but I have no clue what I am doing. Much like I never learned Gwent in The Witcher, I doubt I’ll learn the rules of it. I do appreciate that they continuously bring in new elements though so there is always something new to explore and a variety of activities to do. Sometimes I want to game, but as passively as possible. That is why I appreciate ESO – it is a game that I can play for hours and accomplish absolutely nothing in if I really want.

Anyway, things I like to try to get done quickly are world boss fights. When new content drops, it is easy to actually complete world boss battles. There’s loads of people in the zone and everyone wants to get the new loot. I have accepted that there are some older zones in ESO I just will not have world bosses completed in because no one does them anymore. Getting those done quickly gives me a little completionist high and it’s nice to say I’ve done it at least once.

Something else I wanted to point out that I didn’t know until recently is that ESO implemented a way to actually see where skyshards are when you’re close to them. Back in my day, I’d just Google a skyshard map and try to approximate where I needed to go to find them. Now, all you have to do is be in the vicinity of one and they will appear on your map. I had no idea it was a thing until I was playing with my friend who is newer to the game. He said he saw a skyshard on his map and I thought he was just being a lil noob, but I learned something that day. It is a really nice feature that I’m glad has been added.

I’ve been playing this pretty incessantly since it came out and there’s still a ton to do. I have been completing side quests first and filling in my map. I’ve defeated all of the world bosses at least once, but I have only gone into one delve. I’ve been saving the main storyline for last and while I’ve started going down that path, I’m still constantly distracted by pretty much everything I see. I spend a lot of time breaking into people’s homes and robbing them of everything.

It’s a really pretty area and I’m really enjoying the experience so far. The vents are a bit goofy, but I appreciate them mixing up the dolmen concept in different zones. All in all, it’s a solid expansion! I haven’t even begun to dive into new dungeons – I like to save those for the veeerrryyy end.

Do you play Elder Scrolls? Do you have a problem with buying Crown Crates like me? What are your thoughts on High Isle? Share your thoughts in the comments below!