The Elder Scrolls Online Prepares to Set Sail for Adventure with High Seas of Tamriel, Its Most Ambitious Experiment in Years
Summary
- We talk with The Elder Scrolls Online Game Director Nick Giacomini and Associate Design Director Jason Barnes about the upcoming High Seas of Tamriel event.
- High Seas of Tamriel will be a brand-new in-game event featuring sea battles and underwater adventures as part of Season One in The Elder Scrolls Online.
- The Elder Scrolls Online is available now for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, cloud, and with Game Pass. Play it on both console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere.
Recently, The Elder Scrolls Online shifted its approach to updates to a more consistent seasonal approach with the start of Season Zero back in April of this year, setting the foundation for all future content updates with a new reward system, player-focused improvements, class and combat redesigns, new zones and challenges, and more. Best of all, with the move to Seasons, all new gameplay features, improvements, and additions will be completely free for all ESO players with no additional purchases required.
Among all the exciting events happening this year with this seasonal approach, like the return of the Thieves Guild and the challenging PvE experience of the Night Market, one that really caught our eye is the High Seas of Tamriel in-game event. Immediately we started thinking of the possibilities, like fighting dastardly pirates, looking for sunken treasure, or battling it out across the waves.
Thankfully, at Summer Game Fest: Play Days, we had a chance to get a better idea on what High Seas of Tamriel will actually have in store – we caught up with Game Director Nick Giacomini and Associate Design Director Jason Barnes to learn more about the upcoming High Seas of Tamriel event, how ship-to-ship combat will work, and if this is something we can expect to see more of in the future for ESO.
High Seas of Tamriel sounds like one of ESO’s bigger experiments, especially with naval combat and underwater exploration. What made now the right time to try that kind of fantasy?
Nick Giacomini – “Right now, we’re in a period where we are changing quite a bit, a period of heavy evolution for The Elder Scrolls Online. We’ve switched to this new seasonal model, and we’ve walked away from the chapter model that had defined us for close to a decade which was very consistent and structured. After so many years, players wanted us to change. They wanted things to feel less formulaic, as they characterized it. More excitement. So, this entire year has been about staying true to our roots. We’re still The Elder Scrolls Online, and there are things that we’re not walking away from, but there’s also been a tremendous amount of transformation and change, investing in foundations, trying new things, innovation, experimentation, and so on.
“Night Market is a good example of something that came out recently – and is still ongoing, actually – that is just completely different than any other zone that we’ve done before. It’s action-packed, it’s very difficult, it has these puzzles that you can engage in, and it has just been delightful both to play and to see the reaction from players to it.
“High Seas of Tamriel is similar in that regard. It is very different from any of the events that we’ve ever done in The Elder Scrolls Online. Most of our events kind of amplify existing things. So Whitestrake’s Mayhem is a PvP event, and it makes PvP more rewarding. Anniversary is similar for a lot of our overland content. Witches Festival is similar, et cetera.
“This (High Seas of Tamriel) event is nothing like that. It is a destination as opposed to amplifying the world. So, you go there, and we have designed this instanced content that involves naval battles. It involves underwater combat. It involves these kinds of scavenger-hunt collection-type things, like messages in a bottle. And we’ve created just a completely different loop.
“So, you asked why now? Now we’re changing and we’re trying new things and experimenting. And here’s us doing that with an event that’s going to be unlike anything players have seen before.”
It seems like players have wanted boats and ocean adventures in Elder Scrolls games for a long time. How did you decide what parts of that fantasy ESO could deliver?
Nick Giacomini – “We haven’t built Sea of Thieves in The Elder Scrolls Online. I’d love to do that, but that’s a little more difficult. How do we decide which elements to build? We took parts from other aspects of the game – underwater combat may seem familiar to those who have done Graven Deep, but we’ve created a gameplay loop around it. The ships are just completely different, though. When we set out to do this, it was: ‘Let’s do something completely different.’ We had a bunch of different ideas, and we went with this one because we thought we could achieve this. Yes, it’s going to be a stretch for us, but let’s try to pick things that we think are going to be just totally different.
“Naval battles were one of the things that rose to the top, that this could be so fun if we can pull this off. So, I think it was some of that that went into it, and some of: ‘Let’s see if we can apply what we’ve done successfully elsewhere to this event to create a loop around it that is rewarding and engaging to players.’”
Jason Barnes – “We kind of experimented and dabbled with some naval combat in some of our quest lines and stuff like that. But it was very light, and we were trying to figure out what we could do. We learned a lot from that. The events team would say, ‘Hey, we’ve done this, let’s push it even further. Let’s see if we can do a whole cool event, because people like pirates and naval battles and stuff like that.’ So, they’ve built upon a lot of stuff that we’ve done over the years to make this whole experience and kind of package that together.”
When players hear “naval combat,” they may imagine a very different kind of game. What does that idea mean in ESO’s terms for High Seas of Tamriel?
Nick Giacomini – “Think less like you’re controlling a ship and fighting other ships, and more like enemies are boarding your ship. And they’re not just boarding it; they’re trying to destroy your ship. Your ship can get destroyed, and you can fail the event if that happens. So, it’s more of that, where there are fires to be put out, enemies coming on board, and you’re trying to attack the other ship. It becomes a little more complicated if you decide to go in as a group, where more enemies come, and they start attacking underneath the ship’s hull. So, it’s more like that. It’s chaotic. It can be a little frenetic at times. And we can’t wait to see what players think of it.”
How are you making High Seas approachable for solo players while still giving groups a reason to participate together?
Jason Barnes – “You can go in and do this solo and still get a full experience with it. But if you do want to go with friends, it adds layers of complexity and difficulty, so it doesn’t just feel like everything’s a pushover.
“I think for solo players especially, once you sink the ship and you go underwater to start exploring, that’s the part that’s a really big payoff, because then it’s more of an exploration game – figuring things out and seeing what you can discover. There are some really neat mechanics where the gravity kind of shifts because you’re underwater, so you almost have a super jump and stuff. There are secrets hidden away and things like that, so there are a lot of layers to it, and a lot of just exploration-based content and discoverable things. And I think the actual naval combat is going to be really exciting and fun.
“But once you get underwater, that’s where, especially for solo players, it’s going to open up and become more of a, “What can I discover? Where are all the secrets? How can I put all this stuff together and complete this?” And I think that is where it’s going to really shine.”
It sounds like High Seas will move between ship-based action and underwater treasure hunting. How did you think about pacing those two halves, so the event does not feel like two different activities?
Jason Barnes – “I think the first thing is making sure it all makes sense together. Making sure that, as a package, story-wise, everything just flows kind of seamlessly. Without giving too much away, the flow of everything makes sense: the ship battles, sinking something, and then diving in afterwards and exploring the water. There are different elements and layers to it, and it changes up the gameplay, which is really nice because it is an event. It’s something that will be around for a limited time and likely come back.
“But we wanted to add some variety to it. And I think once you kind of tie the thread, especially with the narrative and what you’re actually doing, it all makes sense. It feels like it comes together in one unique package.
“So, I think it was just making sure it felt connected and not like, “Oh, I’m just battles, battles, battles, and now I’m underwater for some reason.” That’s always something that the team puts a lot of thought into, especially with events: how does everything weave together? How does it connect and not feel like a bunch of different parts that are thrown together?”
I’m pretty sure this answer is yes, but is there combat underwater, or is the underwater portion more about exploration, puzzle-solving, and discovery?
Nick Giacomini – “Yes, it’s all there. There is combat, and actually, I don’t want to get too into the mechanics, but the fact that you’re underwater introduces some combat mechanics that the player needs to get familiar with. Jason already talked about how the physics change because you’re underwater, so that makes exploration different and unique. But yes, it’s both. You are meant to explore, find messages in bottles and things like that as part of it if you’re interested. But there’s also a boss and a few bosses to take out along the way. So yep, a little of all the above.
How does High Seas connect to the broader Season One philosophy of trying new content systems without replacing the core ESO experience?
Nick Giacomini – “We’ve never done an event like this before. So, it very much fits in with the theme of we’re doing something different and seeing if this resonates with players. If so, great. We can take this and run with it, build off it in the future, bring it to other parts of the game. If not, okay, then tell us what you think we should change, and we can pivot or change accordingly.
“In terms of how it fits generally, it’s still fantasy. It’s still very appropriate within The Elder Scrolls Online. The story takes place in the Gold Coast. There are some touchstones there that make sense. And I think that, again, while it is very different, it’s still going to feel like The Elder Scrolls Online. And I think that that’s kind of the path that we’re trying to walk right now, which is easier said than done. We want to evolve, we want to change, we want to try new things, but we’re not trying to become a completely different game, right? There’s a reason that The Elder Scrolls Online has been so successful. And we’re not walking away from that. We’re just trying to provide new ways for players to engage in content that is exciting and novel and different while still feeling familiar.”
If players respond strongly to High Seas, could parts of it return as recurring events, permanent systems, or inspiration for future zones?
Nick Giacomini – “Absolutely. That’s very much something that we’re feeling out right now. If there’s appetite for this, we’ll 100% invest in it if that’s what players are looking for. It could be permanent, like game modes. Or it could be elements that we introduce into other parts of the game.”
Jason Barnes – “It’s been built off pillars of some of the stuff that we’ve done in the past. It could absolutely like pushing things certain ways. We’re always looking at what works and what doesn’t in the game. And if there’s elements of this that just players absolutely love, then yeah, we’re going to totally continue to push that. Whether that’s more events like this, bringing this event back, or maybe having some of the stuff integrated into quest lines and other types of content. We’re always looking at how can we build systems that we can reuse and put different flavors on and make them unique. But there’s a foundation there, especially if it’s something players really like.”
The Elder Scrolls Online is available now for XBOX Series X|S, XBOX on PC, cloud, and with Game Pass. Play it on both console and PC at no additional cost with XBOX Play Anywhere.
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A DIVERSE FANTASY WORLD – Travel Tamriel and discover a world of adventure. Explore mushroom forests in Morrowind, battle Daedra in Oblivion, or duel other players in PvP combat.
RICH STORIES ON A SHARED CANVAS – Immerse yourself in storytelling crafted with the same spirit as your favorite Elder Scrolls games. Discover an ever-growing world with friends or solo.
PURPOSE IN EVERY PATH – Choose from an array of quests and challenges that fit your desires and ambitions. Make this Elder Scrolls world your own – you belong here.
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