STACK #152 Jun 2017

GAMES FEATURE

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This month, Elder Scrolls Online is getting another chapter for fans to enjoy – it's time to return to Morrowind!We threw a few questions at Zenimax Online Studios president, Matt Firor, to find out what fans can look forward to in this new addition to the world. Words Alesha Kolbe

What kind of feedback did you get from the beta? Matt Firor: The beta has two distinct parts: the base game updates, changes, and balance tweaks, and then the Morrowind Chapter itself. Based on the overwhelmingly positive feedback on the Morrowind stories, setting, and other content, we're pretty happy with the reaction. Players are genuinely excited to return to Morrowind and appreciate the amount of detail we've added to make it feel like a return to a place you know and love. Warden testing is going well.

Have you been wanting to add the new class for a while?Was it difficult to balance theWarden against the existing classes? This is the right time to add a new class. With the excitement of console launch, then a bunch of DLC, we didn't have a lot of time to add something as major as a new class to the game until now. And yes, the major challenge of adding a new class to a mature online game is to ensure that it plays

Having a permanent pet ally like the bear is awesome

well with the other classes, is a lot of fun, but doesn't introduce any balance problems. This has taken a lot of testing – both internal and through the beta – to get right. It has to be fun and balanced. What incentives do you have for people to try out the new class? I think the fact that the Warden is nature based – which is unique to ESO – is a major draw for players wanting to try something new. And there's the war bear, of course.

We've made a bunch of changes based on player feedback, and the Warden is shaping up to be a lot of fun to play. In the base game updates, we've introduced a number of balance changes, and those are always controversial. We still have a round of changes (based on feedback from tests in the beta) to add in, but we're happy with how it's shaping up.

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JUNE 2017

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