Whether you fully embrace the concept of VR or choose to dislike it, it is simply the next big thing.

Just this past month, Sony released the PSVR, and will continue to support the project in the future. The same can be said about VR for Xbox and PC, since they too will release titles that particularly look to take gaming to a new and, perhaps, wonderful frontier.

Of course, the concept of VR is fascinating to say the least. This illusion that you are in the game itself and have the ability to interact with almost anything is a gamer's dream come true. As a result of that, the possibilities are endless. From being on the battlefield as a soldier to exploring the wasteland, games can take place anywhere, anytime -- while truly bringing you along for the ride.

However, there is one question that begs to be answered... Could MMOs work in virtual reality? 

The Good of VR for MMOs

Elder Scrolls Online

MMOs are open world/exploration games that allow thousands, if not millions, of players all around the world to interact with one another, embark on quests and adventures and set out on journeys all around a game's world. Now of course, most, if not all, MMOs are in third-person. And VR is mainly in the first-person. Can such a concept as a VR MMO actually work?

Personally, I think, "Why not?" Theoretically speaking, it'll still be the same game, but you'll be in the first-person POV, and you'll be able to control all of your avatar's movements. Obviously, the joysticks (or whatever controllers the VR headset will require) will be used to interact with items, battle, etc, but basically, imagine yourself being in some foreign and mystical land and looking at it from your very own eyes. Now, that's something to wander in excitement about! I mean, think about playing WOW, SMITE or SWTOR's Knights of the Eternal Throne using VR? 

The Bad of VR for MMOs

Man, MMO VR could make us really sick ... 

MMOs are very large and diverse games. As stated before, thousands of players will be able to come together at the same time and enjoy the game. Now, if everyone is doing that in VR, are there some any potential problems that could occur? Sure. Here are some that come readily to mind:

• Lag. MMOs can and will lag. Now, imagine the frustration if you lag in VR. Of course, not only will you get annoyed, but there is also the possibility of motion sickness that might result from lag. You yourself may not experience it, but someone else might.
• Crispness and sharpness. If you'll be experiencing the game through your own eyes, it'll be expected that the graphics be in high-def, right? But since MMOs are huge, will the processing power of modern PCs and consoles (or those that are affordable) be strong enough to handle the load? If not, then which graphical concept will be adequate?

The Ugly of VR for MMOs

Runescape

MMOs require a lot of traveling. Think about it. Will there be enough room for you to freely move around and expand your arms and legs in order to fully interact with the game?

One of the biggest problems with VR is the space that's around you. Obviously, if you have a controller, then there is no problem. But, what if an MMO title requires for you to move around? That could be a huge problem, and if you don't have enough space in your room for that, then there is no way to resolve such a situation. 

Full VR haptic rigs still aren't really viable (although they are coming along), and even so, the set up of such big and clunky rigs (oh, you know they'll be big and clunky) just might not be viable for many consumers. Of course, we'll have to wait and see, but range of motion and freedom of movement restrictions could make MMO VR (and really any VR) a little be, well, ugly. 

Putting it Into Perspective

(Credit: SWORD ART ONLINE THE BEGINNING PROJECT)

Needless to say, there is always hope. If MMOs are to become reality in VR, it will be a tremendous step forward for the game industry as a whole. The possibilities are endless.

Currently, Sword Art Online is in development as a potential VR game. If everything works out, then it will truly be a very impressive title, potentially being the first VR MMO to be ever released.

It's heartening to see what's going on in the virtual gaming space, but all we can do is wait. Who knows what the coming years have in store.

The MMO industry can be pretty cyclical. One year, you're up and firing away at full strength; the next year, you're struggling to hold on to your players and still carve out a notable space in the genre. It's a real problem, and one that some of the games in the industry have worked hard to overcome as the days, weeks, and months have gone by.

Of course, the good news for this year is that there are plenty of games that either kept turning out solid material or at least didn't make a huge misstep along the way. The bad news is that more than a few games never really capitalized on momentum... or never generated much to begin with. But enough abstraction, let's talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly. Er, the future.

2016's big winners

1. World of Warcraft

In last year's evaluation, the hideously long wait for WoW's sixth expansion and the lackluster nature of Warlords of Draenor was doing the game absolutely no favors. Now, however... well, it'd be a lie to say that Legion doesn't have issues, but pretty much everyone with even casual interest in the game has been breathing sighs of relief. Legion even reassured the most jaded portions of the audience that yes, Legion is actually good. It took half of forever and has some questionable design baked in, but the core game is still good.

More importantly, the expansion seems to have come with an associated fire and forward motion for the title, so players are enjoying faster updates and more energized content. This is all a good thing. Sure, the game is no longer the dominant force in the industry that it once was, but it's still the biggest game on the market, and seeing resources and energy in the game once more keeps interest high.

2. Black Desert Online

Last year's ArcheAge was supposed to be the great white hope of imported Korean MMOs, but it failed to materialize. This year, however, Black Desert Online showed up and kind of surprised everyone by not just doing all right but actually growing its player base with some regularity. It helps that the game has been out in Korea for some time and has a backlog of updates to work through, but it's also just a buy-to-play game that's been doing quite well for itself ever since it launched.

Whether or not that will persist as we move into the next year remains to be seen; there are certainly some troubling signs on the horizon, and as always accusations fly fast and furious that the game lets you just pay to win. But it still has people's attention, and that's not nothing.

3. The Elder Scrolls Online

The past year has been pretty kind to Bethesda all around, but fans of the Elder Scrolls series might have felt a bit burned at the lack of a new title. The Elder Scrolls Online stepped up to the plate, though, and its One Tamriel update has done journeyman a service and at least made the game play more like its offline inspiration. Add in rumbles of player housing, and there's reason for players to look forward with a nod and anticipation.

2016's big losers

1. Daybreak Games (and EverQuest fans)

It feels like more than a year ago that EverQuest Next was actually canceled, but it was in fact this year; the reason it feels like it was longer is because everyone spent 2015 waiting for that news. When the bad news finally came, Daybreak revealed that it was replacing that big title with... nothing. No other major titles that have yet been announced, not much more beyond a rather lackluster launch for Landmark (which was originally supposed to be a content creation tool for EverQuest Next). In short, it's a bad scene.

That's not to say that the company's existing titles haven't gotten anything worth excitement, but the big loss has been followed by very little to reassure nervous players and not much in the way of subsequent big announcements. That's bad news for fans and the company itself; it's coasting along for now, but it remains to be seen if it can recapture some momentum.

2. WildStar

A transition to free-to-play seemed like exactly the sort of thing that could help pull WildStar out of the hole it found itself in... but it didn't. As it turns out, the game has continued to struggle at attracting a committed long-term audience while also struggling to get out new content at anything resembling a decent pace. That, of course, leads to fewer players jumping in, which makes it still harder to justify more updates, and so on.

The hidden downside here, of course, is that the free-to-play trigger was pretty much the last one the game had to pull. If the game is going to pull out of its nosedive and recover some popularity, it's running out of ways to do so while also attracting attention.

3. Guild Wars 2

Last year was a pretty good one for Guild Wars 2, but this one was not. It was a year marked by a whole lot of stretches without anything for the game in fact, and several of its updates seemed aimed at a playerbase the game simply didn't have (most of the people really interested in progression raiding had either long since left the game or never played it in the first place). Combine that with long content gaps, and the return of actual story updates, it was all seen less as a return to form and more of something, anything to latch on to.

If anything, this is a lesson in how to not capitalize properly on the momentum of a game. Instead of playing off of the existing success, GW2 spent most of the year languishing when it didn't need to. That's not a good thing and not something that needed to happen.

The big stuff for 2017

1. Big games with momentum

While Guild Wars 2 let its momentum flag and falter, several other games have really hit their stride. World of Warcraft and Star Wars: The Old Republic have been continuing to glide along nicely on a very thoroughly outlined update plan. Final Fantasy XIV continues to put out large and reliable patches, with its second expansion due for mid-year 2017. EVE Online has opened itself up to free players, The Elder Scrolls Online is enjoying positive reception to its last few updates, and even games like The Division are delighting and engaging.

MMOs are marathons, not sprints. If the existing big titles can keep players engaged and interested, that will do a lot for the health of the genre as a whole... and help inspire the entries of the future.

2. That Kickstarter movement

We still haven't seen most of these titles actually enter any sort of launch states; Star Citizen was supposed to be further along than it is now, but that's true almost every single year. Still, games like Shroud of the Avatar and Crowfall are both gearing up to hit big persistence and launch-like milestones in 2017, and that's going to have a big impact on how MMOs and funding them by Kickstarter is seen in the years ahead.

3. Destiny 2 and the next big project

Who knows what's going on with Destiny 2? Bungie, probably, but not much of anyone else. But it's going to be a big deal when it's announced. We've had a couple of years since the announcement of the first game, but that just means that we're that much more likely to see another big online project move into that space in the next year or so. Something other than the existing big titles capitalizing off of their momentum.

Will it be Destiny 2? Will it be something else entirely? I don't know. But I'm sure watching.

Elder Scrolls Online’s next update -- Homestead -- comes out on February 4, 2017. It will introduce a feature that will allow subscribers to buy their own houses and decorate them to their liking.

Homestead will feature over 40 variants of homes and more than 2,000 various pieces of furniture and decorative items. All this will allow players to create their own unique places where they can hang out after a long journey.

Let’s see what it takes to own such a home in Elder Scrolls Online and what options you have in terms of adornments.

How to Purchase a Home in Elder Scrolls Online

All the homes in Elder Scrolls Online can be categorized into three main groups (by size): Small, Medium and Large.

You will begin with a tiny room at a local inn, and from there on you will have an opportunity to purchase any type and any number of houses you want. All the purchased houses will be tied to your account -- so no matter how many characters you have, they will all have an equal access to your homes.

You can buy almost any type of home in Elder Scrolls Online with both in-game currencies: Septims (Gold) and Crowns. No actual prices for housing have been revealed yet, but the ESO community supposes that the houses should be somewhere in the range of 100K - 1M Gold.

Basically, you can purchase homes in two formats: furnished and unfurnished. The furnished versions can only be purchased at the Crown Store. This option will fit those users who don’t want to bother with all the decorative stuff, and just let the best talents of Tamriel to do the job. (And they do it quite well.)

The unfurnished homes can be purchased with Gold, but you will have to adorn everything by yourself. This means that you need to buy every single piece of furniture and set it in your apartment or house the way you like it.

How to Decorate a Home in Elder Scrolls Online

As soon as you purchase your first home, you will be given an access to an in-game House Editor. You can either buy furniture or craft it yourself. Also, you will be able to display your in-game trophies on the walls of your home as a sign of great achievements.

Probably the best part about crafting your own pieces of furniture is that you can sell them later and even become a trading house for such things, if that’s what you would like to do. The developers have taken care of this and introduced new features for some of the in-game professions. For example, Clothiers will be able to craft the following items: rugs, curtains, banners, and standards. Other professions, such as Woodworkers and Blacksmiths, will also receive their own specific upgrades.

Another cool feature allows you to invite other players to decorate your home by including them in the Decorators list. The Friends list is very important because it protects your area from trespassers. So, if users are not included in this list, then they will not be able to access your house. The permission settings can be adjusted anyhow you like -- you may permit your buddies and guild mates visit your homes even when you are offline.

Other Housing Features

Styles of the houses and furniture correspond to the races (Khajiit, Nord, Redguard, etc.) of Elder Scrolls Online, but it doesn’t mean that you won’t be able to purchase or decorate a house of a different race. So there are no restrictions in that sense whatsoever. The only limitation is the Imperial style of houses that will be available only to the owners of the Imperial Edition of Elder Scrolls Online.

However, one thing you will have to do to be able to reside in your new home is to prove to the local inhabitants that you are a worthy member of their little community. This will require you to accomplish certain tasks and earn achievements. As a reward you will be granted an access to special items that can be placed in your new home.

The only drawback of the new Homestead update is that you will not be able to build or re-build the existing structures. All exterior designs are fixed and cannot be changed in any shape or form. But you will have access to previews of both furnished and unfurnished houses.

The table below shows all the possible locations of the Elder Scrolls Online houses:

Will you purchase a home for yourself after the launch of the Homestead update? What would be your favorite style of housing? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

While no video game has a truly realistic lock picking mini-game, some put more time into staying true to the craft than others. Simultaneously, realism must be balanced against entertainment, and before you know it, the list of games with decent lock picking mechanics begins to dwindle. Surprisingly enough, after going through a pile of great RPGs with lock picking mini-games, I've settled on an MMORPG as my pick for best lock picking mini game in the genre.

To kick this off, let's go through the basics of breaking in. While I'm not anywhere near an expert, there's a pretty decent chance I could get through the deadbolts on your house in under 30 seconds. This is simply because the majority of locks are very similar and not terribly secure. Their guts consist of a cylinder lined with tumblers. The tumblers are actually two tiny pins that rest together, and when the correct key is inserted, the break between the pins is situated along the edge of the cylinder (the shear line), allowing it to turn.

The goal in lock picking is to artificially stick the top pin by applying measured and consistent pressure with a wrench to the cylinder while you pick. Eventually all top pins are caught above the shear line, the bottom pins fall back into place, and the cylinder turns freely. While some locks have blocks and more complicated pin design, the majority of locks' difference in quality is how sensitive the pins are. It takes a very light touch, good tools and concentration to stick higher quality locks. 

Still with me? Clearly video game lock picking is represented quite a bit differently. There are only a few games that depict tumblers, and many of these are pretty far off from how it actually works. Again, I understand the need for creative license to address entertainment value and pace. I thought Dust: An Elysian Tail's lock picking mechanic was perfectly suited for that game, even though it had nothing to do with real lock picking. 

The Elder Scrolls Online gets the combination of fun and realism right. Of course, they should, they've had plenty of opportunities to tweak their mini-game. The method in ESO is a good combination of the complexity of Oblivion and the satisfaction of Skyrim. 

I'm not entirely sure what the nice folks of Tamriel have been making picks out of, but they are terribly fragile. That's OK though, because whether they meant to or not, this (combined with the time limit) is a good simulation of what happens when the lock picker jams one of the pins. The lock must be reset and attempted again, and sometimes you can break the lock completely. Running out of lock picks in ESO comes with a similar feeling.

The pins rest at different levels and touch is important. While this isn't identical to how the padlock on your gym locker works, it's pretty good for a simulation. The only thing missing from ESO's lock picking mini game is the order in which you pick the pins. For more sensitive locks in the real world, learning the pin order is important to decrease jamming.

My runner up for best lock picking in an RPG takes pin order very seriously. The Risen series is a great example of a creative lock picking mini-game that acceptably veers away from realism in favor of entertainment. The games use a pin order puzzle mechanic, and even the most difficult locks could be opened by a brand new player. What a great way to suck you right into stealing all the loots. I really like that the animations are incredibly realistic, even if the picking is not.

What game do you enjoy picking a lock in the most? Do you prefer a timed mini game or more relaxed? Let us know in the comment section below.

It's a pretty common sentiment that the MMO community is sick of its own games. Questing, tab targeting, objectively boring combat and content drop at end game all take a heavy piece of the responsibility.

Perhaps it's the current state of gaming technology that's holding the genre back,  or maybe it's the complication of vast economies and social networks. Could it be that our World of Warcraft overlords have made innovation difficult to market, or that free to play set ups and cash grabs have ruined the genre altogether?

Whatever the case may be, MMO players are currently suffering a long-coming IP drought and as an adoring and optimistic fan, I want to take a closer look at why. 

While I still manage to stay on the edge of my seat every time a new MMO is announced, the vast majority of my friends have long since given up. Chasing the next big thing can have heartbreaking consequences, especially when an MMO promises to be different, but barely is (which happens far [far] too often). 

For the purposes of this article, we must move past the founding fathers, past WoW and those companies that attempted something innovative within the 10 years after, and on to MMOs that have been developed more recently. We'll be mostly concerned with 2014 to present, as the releases from the last couple years knew they needed to be different, promised something different and then struggled to deliver. I'm talking Wildstar to present day and what it felt like to watch the genre tumble into oblivion.

In the 10 years following World of Warcraft our releases without hot bars or tab targeting is dismal. The combat has gotten slightly more creative, but a true action MMO has yet to gain traction. If you'd like to argue TERA with me, that's fine, but it is pretty heavily handicapped in a western market even with its progressive combat and doesn't showcase any other serious innovations.It's also worth mentioning Planetside 2, and I would love to see more FPS attempts, but it lacks quite a few MMO elements.

So we brush right up to 2014 and both Wildstar and ESO are claiming action combat.

We all remember thinking: "GW2 and SWTOR gave it a shot, but hey, that was several years ago. ESO is going to be exactly like Skyrim and it's going to be like I'm a crew member of the Firefly when I boot up Wildstar."

Wait, no. While both of these games had their merits, and their combat was a nice advance for the genre, neither can compare to action combat experiences in other genres.  

Unfortunately, the answer for why these games still don't feel like action games is a combination of can't and won't. Physical hit detection, or the core mechanic for realistic action in video games would be a huge tax on servers and a commitment from development. On top of that, many MMOers love the complexity a hotbar system allows. There's nothing quite like managing 20 hotkeys and three mob packs as an integral cog in your raid machine. So, to make the leap to a new combat system would require a serious investment for something half of the community may not actually want. 

To pile on top of our stale combat, questing is still an integral part of the MMO experience. There has to be a reason why there isn't a single big MMO since our 2014 benchmark that doesn't blatantly rely on questing and grinding. At least Guild Wars 2 and Rift gave it a shot. This solution to player progression is as old and stale as the Triscuit you found under the old refrigerator when you finally bought a new one last year.  So why does it still exist?

Psychology is the answer, my friends. MMOs must maintain a huge player base, and until the social aspect kicks in, they have to have a way to keep new players logging massive amounts of hours. In addition to the constant stream of rewards, the real power behind the quest log is our drive as humans to finish tasks. This is called the Zeigarnik effect and is a sure fire way to keep your player base engaged. The downside is that when mismanaged, bogged down by boring gameplay or broken mechanics, a full quest log is a popularly cited reason for feeling overwhelmed and ditching the game altogether. 

The more recent end of our time period focus has been represented by two Korean ports, Archeage and Black Desert. While both are incredible games with vast open worlds, the western market just wasn't ready for the RNG. Luck heavily influences the player's end game experience, and when you combine that with economy breaking cash shop monsters, two beautiful games are a misery to play once at level cap. 

So ... money is clearly the driving force behind these two mechanics, and out of my stale list I hope the cash shop is the first to go. If anything, though, games in all genres are seeing steady increases in micro transactions and P2W. We must speak with our money and stomp out this pandemic once and for all, if that means snatching your mom's credit card from your little brother the next time he wants to buy a season pass, so be it. 

So I've hammered in what needs to change or go completely (still looking at you cash shop), but it wouldn't be fair not to include what should be added.

Forced Social Interaction - Make us make friends developers. The trend to cut down on how often an MMO player needs to interact with other players is disheartening.

Up the Difficulty - Sure, PVP will always be a great way to challenge players, but why is grouped content so much easier? Difficulty builds community and creates game attachment. I would never suggest not having lower difficulty options, nobody needs to be excluded, just give us a bit of unique range here. Repackaging old dungeons in harder formats fails to inspire.  

Focus on Expression - Mounts, pets, housing and gear are meant to express the player and show off to other people. Transmog, dies and over stocked cash shops are all cheap ways to mimic this experience. These systems should be challenging and creative, with lore and theme appropriate rewards. Make it easier to share and show off. #socialmedia 

Understand the player-pixel connection - Out of the list, this seems to be the most difficult to achieve. You guys will hate me for it, but convenience is the problem. How will a player learn anything about the village they just stumbled across in the jungle if they skip all of the dialogue? How will they make a connection with the pet they just tamed if it goes straight to some arbitrary storage system? How will they feel like adventurers if their map is already littered with shortcuts? 

Add more hidden areas and secrets in dialogue. Make taming pets and mounts unique and difficult, limit storage. Hide crafting and building ingredients. A player's attachment to an MMO is a plethora of interactions and memories. Stop taking them away for convenience without providing substitute experiences.

Ok, that's enough for the wishlist.

So we've made it to present day and we're looking at the horizon ... 

2017 appears to be a big year for MMOs, but will they break these old tropes? As an optimistic and die hard MMO fan, I'm always going to say yes. As a community, we are aware of the issues, and the developers have taken notice. Well, they took notice previously, but this time they've changed, I'm sure of it.

Some games currently in development that appear to be making an effort to think outside of the box:

• Camelot Unchained boasts PvP only progression and action combat. This would be quite a break from the high fantasy MMORPG mold. 
• Star Citizen will have a massive economy and world and FPS style combat. It is set to release sometime in the next 20 years. 
• Project Gorgon is truly trying to remake the genre and takes the cake for the most original upcoming MMO.
• Peria Chronicles is meant to take house building to the next level, and with the cancellation of EQ Next, MMO players appreciate something on the building horizon. 
• Worlds Adrift is a massive promise of a genre change, with a procedurally generated universe to mine and explore by airship.
• Crowfall is possibly the most anticipated of this list. The player joins long, strategic campaigns on procedurally generated worlds that have life cycles of their own. 
• Dark and Light may no longer be an MMO and I am salty. 
  

Our list of upcoming MMOs is so diverse it's borderline freakish. This should give us hope heading into 2017 that developers are interested in clawing their way outside of the pre-determined lines and on to something that will revitalize the genre.

I hope they will keep in mind that driving force that sets an MMO apart from other genres, and that's the ability to meet and interact with new people in every adventure. All of the innovations in the world won't matter if they continue to make grouping too easy, allow guilds to remain vestigial and implement mostly single player tasks. But, that is a conversation for another day.

Do you think our upcoming MMOs will break the mold? Are there any older ones that stand out as going against the grain? Let us know in the comment section below. 

In a stream today on the official Bethesda Twitch channel, the developers behind MMORPG Elder Scrolls Online announced the newest update (read: expansion) for the game. And after much anticipation...the fan-favorite world of Morrowind will be open for exploration ESO this summer. The update is scheduled for release on June 6, 2017 at a price of $40. 

Not only is this expansion adding a new landmass, it's also opening up a new class and some interesting PvP options for players to have a shorter and more concise combat experience.

Bringing Morrowind to Elder Scrolls Online

Almost the entire map of Vvardenfell -- including the massive mainland of Morrowind and isolated cities featured in its Tribunal expansion -- is set to host both new and old adventurers alike. There's a brand new tutorial coming for players who want to start their journey in the homeland of the Dunmer, and lots of fan service for older players who pine for the olden days of The Elder Scrolls franchise. 

Keep in mind that Elder Scrolls Online is set 700 years prior to the events in Morrowind, so veteran players will be able to experience the area in an entirely new way. 

Set 700 years prior to the events of Morrowind, the update's new story arc will center around helping Vivec -- one of the three immortal god-kings of Vvardenfell -- fortify his waning power. The quests in this expansion will culminate in a new end-game trial, where players will have to test their mettle against the brass god, Numidium, inside the workshop of another god-king, Sotha Sil.

According to the devs, this new map is as faithful as possible to the original map found in The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. But given the time frame of this expansion, many of the catastrophes that characterized the landscape of the main series game haven't happened yet. Dagoth Ur is still sleeping under Red Mountain, and the world hasn't yet been blanketed in ash or struck with Blight. So many of the biomes won't be quite as bleak as players of the original game might remember. And some zones -- most notably the City of Vivec -- will still be under construction when players visit. 

And yes, there will be Cliff Racers. So. Many. Cliff Racers. 

New Class, 3-Way PvP, & Other New Features

The Morrowind update will also introduce a new class to ESO: the Warden. Wardens will be an ice magic, pet-based class with a strong nature focus. Their skills will include the War Bear Ultimate, which summons a giant battle bear that can be healed and buffed, and will stay alongside the player until it is knocked out in combat. If the bear isn't knocked out, it will continue to travel with the player outside of combat engagements.  

Bethesda is also making an effort to listen to their PvP-centric players, and will be offering new options for player combat. This update will add Battlegrounds -- a three-way 4v4v4 battle that's only meant to last around 15 minutes. To start, there will be 3 maps and 3 modes -- with Deathmatch and Capture the Flag confirmed as of right now. 

New housing will be made available in the patch as well, adding fresh content to the Homestead patch that's already planned to go live on February 6th. 

The Morrowind update is coming to all consoles and continents when it drops on June 6th. Pre-orders are currently live on Bethesda's official website, with collector's editions, physical copies, and other rewards available. 

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for buying guides and more Elder Scrolls Online content as the Morrowind update draws near!

The move-in day has finally arrived for Elder Scrolls Online players on Xbox One and Playstation 4. The long-awaited "Homestead" update previously launched on PC/Mac on Monday, February 6, 2017, but is now on consoles. (The update is an estimated 30MB.)

"Homestead" was first announced in December 2016, and is a free update that introduces 39 unique homes throughout Tamriel. Players also have over 2,000 individual pieces of furniture and decorative options available through the Furnishing Crafting trait.

Non-ESO Plus Players are limited to 50 furnishings, 1 Trophy Bust, 1 Assistant, and either a Mount or pet within their home. These limits double for active ESO Plus players (100 furnishings, 2 Trophy Busts, 2 Assistants, and 2 mounts or pets).

The Elder Scrolls Online has created an in-depth guide on how players can obtain their first home -- a modest room inside of a local inn.

Players can also own additional homes (or even all of them) by purchasing them through the Crown Store or with in-game gold.

The update also includes Master Crafting Writs, four new Motifs, updates to PvP, and a large balancing patch for all classes and skills.

The new "Homestead" addition includes the following:

• Player housing, complete with the following:
  • 39 homes, available for purchase with gold or crowns
  • Robust Housing Editor tools
  • Over 2,000 unique home furnishings and decorations available for purchase with crowns, gold, or created with Furnishing Crafting
  • Home previewing
  • Specialty furnishings
  • Customizable home permissions for guildmates and friends
  • Housing achievements with four prestigious new titles
• Furnishing Crafting
• Master Crafting Writs
• Four new Crafting Motifs:
  • Ebony
  • Mazzatun
  • Ra Gada
  • Silken Ring
• Cyrodiil vendor changes and improvements
• Improved rewards for Cyrodiil town quests
• Dungeon ready check added to the Dungeon Finder
• Champion Point cap increase from 561 to 600

Let us know which house you're most excited in Homestead about in the comments below!

Mardi Gras is, of course, famous for its masks and costumes. Celebrating in game is truly paying homage to the original spirit of the holiday. Whether you're celebrating out in the real world or planning a night in your favorite game world, hopefully Mardi Gras 2017 will be the best one yet.

Make Your Own Mardi Gras Bar!

Archeage

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• Location: Home Sweet Home
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Depending on the size of your house, it's pretty easy to turn it into a fun place for your guild to get together on Mardi Gras. This is the most customizable option, from the decorations to the music to the guest list.

Just remember how difficult it can be to get guests to leave when the festivities are over...

Withered Tree Tavern

The Elder Scrolls Online

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• Location: Riften City Plaza
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This tavern is already an RP favorite, and the most likely place to find other celebrators in ESO. It has two floors, with a fireplace downstairs, and a lodging area upstairs -- which means you don't have to risk drunk riding home. It's also only one of two bars in Riften, so if you're not having your best Mardi Gras at Withered Tree, you can just bar hop to Shadehome.

The Drowning Wench

Final Fantasy XIV

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• Location: Limsa Lominsa Upper Decks
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There's really nothing better than an old pirate bar, especially for Mardi Gras. And this watering hole from FFXIV is no different. The best thing about the Drunken Wench is all the fresh adventurers you'll get to harass while you celebrate.

Hey, it wasn't your idea to put the Adventurer's Guild in a tavern.

Dalaran Lounge

World of Warcraft: Legion

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• Location: Dalaran (Broken Isles)
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Just like SWTOR, there are tons of bars to choose from in World of Warcraft. I'm picking the Dalaran Lounge, not only because it's current, but also because both factions can come to party. Booze and opposite factions sometimes don't mix, but you're always free to head to The Underbelly to settle any Fat Tuesday disagreements.

Slippery Slope

Star Wars: The Old Republic

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• Location:  Nar Shadaa - Promenade
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One of the very few neutral Cantinas, the Slippery Slope would be a great place to throw your Mardi Gras festivities in Star Wars: The Old Republic. This Cantina is the best on the list for both a solo celebrator or a group. There will likely be plenty of others to interact with, and there's a ton of space and seating.

Mardi Gras is coming up quickly -- and if you haven't already started celebrating, it's about time to make some plans.

Since we're gamers, we're probably not going to be parading around Bourbon Street and collecting colorful beads by any means necessary. We prefer to celebrate our holidays online, in the worlds we know and love.

Unfortunately, there aren't many Mardi Gras events happening in our favorite MMO games -- but that's not gonna stop us from having a good time!

Instead of chancing the drunken streets on Fat Tuesday, why not go out hit your in-game taverns solo, or crash the scene with a group of friends? Here are some of the best MMO bars around to spend your time and hard-earned gold in for this most inebriated of holidays. 

When Bethesda first announced that they were bringing Morrowind to the world of ESO, my inner nostalgia monster awoke with a powerful screech. 

There is a very specific set of Elder Scrolls veterans that hail Morrowind as the greatest game in the Elder Scrolls series, despite a litany of problems that would make it nearly unplayable for a modern gamer. 

And though we've had some pretty great Elder Scrolls games since then that have brought new fans to the franchise, few of them have filled the void that Morrowind left when we finally had to end our adventure as the Nerevarine. When Bethesda teased a TES remaster at E3 last year, many of us prayed to the Tribunal that we'd get to conquer Red Mountain in high definition. But we didn't have Azura's blessing, and got a Skyrim remaster instead -- leaving a rift in the hearts of Morrowind fans that puts Oblivion gates to shame. 

But months later, the blight (sort of) ended when Bethesda revealed that Morrowind would be the next expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online. And while this isn't the best news we could have asked for, it is something.

The only question is...can it really recreate the Morrowind experience?

For a lot of people, The Elder Scrolls Online is a massively multiplayer knockoff of the main series that doesn't quite scratch the itch. It's lovely and fun to play, but it doesn't really feel like you're playing a TES game. Kind of like drinking ale when what you really want is skooma. 

I bought the Collector's Edition of ESO when it first released, but quickly got bored and set the game aside because it wasn't quite what I'd hoped. And while it's gotten a lot better since its move to Tamriel Unlimited, only something like a Morrowind expansion could really bring me back. 

And luckily for me, I got to play a little bit of it at PAX East while chatting with Creative Director Rich Lambert. While I didn't get to see nearly as much of the game as I wanted to, this old Morrowind veteran has things to say about it. 

First things first, the new Warden class is pretty freakin' sweet. 

I got to demo the Warden during a Battlegrounds match and play around with her druid-like kit. According to Rich, this class fills a very specific role that was widely requested by ESO players:

"The Warden fits that kind of missing player fantasy we have right now, which is the druid/ranger...And like all our other classes, it has 3 skill lines. One is ice, which is focused more in protective magic. One is nature magic, so you have the plants and flower type healing. And then the third is the animal companion line, where you're using animals and summoning them to help supplement your damage."

During my play session, I was using the animal companion skill set. And it was a blast. A lot of the creatures we know and love (or hate) from Morrowind are reappearing as summonable allies. You can spawn a Netch to fight by your side, buff yourself with a swarm of Torchbugs, or even rain fury down from the heavens by calling on a Cliff Racer. 

That's right folks -- you're in control of the Cliff Racers now. Even if your enemy has never encountered these winged vermin in TES III, they'll soon adopt a familiar loathing as you dive bomb their heads from afar.

All in all, the Warden plays much like your standard druid, but with a nice little Morrowind reskin. The bear companion that stays loyally by your side in and out of battle is pretty cool, too. 

And the 4v4v4 Battlegrounds? A smart addition to the game. 

Aside from the new class and obvious nostalgia factor, the biggest draw for this upcoming expansion will be the Battlegrounds PvP mode. This mode pits players against each other in 15-minute 4v4v4 matches on 3 different maps. 

If you're thinking this sounds an awful lot like a MOBA, you're half right. While there isn't as much as much going on in the Battlegrounds as there usually is in an all-out battle arena, the brevity of the matches and constant brawling is definitely reminiscent of that genre. 

In implementing the Battlegrounds, the ESO team wanted to give players the opportunity to hop into the world, get into a quick match, and be able to walk away without having to invest hours of time that they simply don't have. The game's playerbase has apparently been requesting this sort of mode for a long time. And Rich is excited to give it to them:

"I'm really eager for Battlegrounds. In the last six months, I've probably spent more time in PvP than anything else, so I'm really excited about the 4v4v4 Battlegrounds....We have the epic siege 50 on 50 on 50 battles right now. But in order to feel like you're really contributing, you have to play for a couple of hours. But with this, you just get in and play...it'll reacquire those players that wanted more ESO but also wanted more small scale PvP. "

When he says this mode is perfect for short sessions, he means it. Even if no team manages to reach the win condition, the Battleground match will end the moment the 15-minute timer hits zero and calculate a winner based on progress. There's no chance for a game to run longer than you anticipated, and matches are brief enough that you can play one or two during your lunch break.

The map I played on was pretty generic, and I was disappointed I didn't get to check out the others -- especially the high verticality Dwemer map. But even so, I enjoyed the quick and constant action of the Battleground experience. And although the matches are short, I could easily see myself sinking  several hours into this mode by playing "just one more". 

But that still doesn't answer the question all Morrowind fans are asking. Will it really be the Vvardenfell we know and love?

Talking to Rich made it clear that the ESO team understands the gravity of what they're trying to do with this expansion. When I asked him how he was feeling about trying to recreate such an iconic game in the world of ESO, he admitted that he was "scared shitless".

Rich and his team know that the old-school Morrowind players are going to have high expectations of the expansion.  And while rendering the world of Vvardenfell for an MMO was a challenge, he believes that players looking for nostalgia are definitely going to find it.

"We started with a heightmap so we could make sure we were faithfully recreating the space, but we're 700 years in the past. So we wanted to make our own story...our focus was more on nostalgia and giving the player the exploration and doing all those kinds of things."

But I'm not quite satisfied with that answer. So instead, I ask Rich to describe his first experience with Morrowind and what his favorite area was. As he talks about his first time stepping off the boat, his eyes light up like torchbugs. 

"When I got the game, I begged my parents to let me upgrade my PC so I could play it. And I was blown away by a game looking the way it looked. It was just unbelievable. And I went straight out of Seyda Neen, and just ran in a direction. So I ended up in Balmora and I was just blown away."

Watching other play testers grin and gush about the resurrection of their favorite Morrowind creatures, I ask Rich the hardest question of all: Are veteran players going to get that same amazing feeling when they first enter the expansion?

"Absolutely. You're gonna get off the docks in Seyda Neen and go 'holy shit...this is Seyda Neen."

So What's the Verdict?

I honestly can't say. I was only privy to the new PvP mode and Warden class during my demo. And while those were both fun and engaging additions to the game, they weren't really what I was looking for. Am I going to get the expansion and test it out? Definitely. Am I going to keep playing? Who knows.

Rich seems to think that this expansion will fill the Morrowind void, even if it's not quite the same world we remember from TES III. But me? I'm going to have to spend a lot of time wandering the Bitter Coast before I can say for sure. 

Here's hoping that when the Morrowind expansion drops for ESO on June 6th, the sun's golden honey will gild the land of Vvardenfell once more. 

Looking to bring some humor and joviality to Tamriel, The Jester's Festival has made its presence known in ESO. Starting March 23, the festival celebrates fools and jesters until April 4. Pavilions featuring comical jesters dressed as  King Jorunn, Queen Ayrenn, or King Emeric have popped up on the outskirts of Ebonheart, VulkhelGuard, and Daggerfall.

With an introduction quest featuring pie as a reward, you may wonder what is in it for you? This pie is not just a normal, scrumptus pie. When your character eats it, they gain a buff of +100% XP gained for two hours throughout the time the festival is going.

When the festival ends you keep the pie, but that is not the only item included in the festivities.Once the intro quest is complete, each jester ruler will give a daily quest with rewards such as The Crown of Misrule, new consumables, housing items, and a Cherry Blossom Branch.

New items have also made their way into the Crown store. No Jester's Festival is complete without a Royal Court Jester costume (700 crowns) or the Jester Personality (1,000 crowns). 

Will you be joining in on the absurdity that has over taken Tamriel? Let us know of your foolish adventures and the new achievements you unlock! Who among you will be the ones to become a Royal Jester?

I do not dislike all games of any genre, especially of Free-To-Play MMOs. I’ve enjoyed games such as Runescape, Dungeons & Dragons Online, Planetside 2, Elder Scrolls Online, and Star Wars: The Old Republic. There is simply a common trend in these games that do not appeal to me.

That said, I would never write an article with complaints if I didn't think it could prove to be helpful to game creators as constructive criticism. So let’s get into it.

Being Free

Most of these are MMORPG’s that take the same ideas as every other MMO ever, and only run with them. Health bars, mana bars, cool down bars, and little icons you click on to do stuff. Got it. But being free-to-play, which often times have a tighter budget, means they often aren’t allowed to try something new.

I’m glad they’re free so people can easily get their hands on them, but as such, they become obligated to go the safe route, which all too often means unremarkable in virtually every way.

Suggested Fix

Don't be afraid to charge for your game.

The MMO market is flooded with free-to-play titles. Over-saturation has led to stagnation in the field, with games like Wildstar and Elder Scrolls Online switching between the two.

World of Warcraft is still the biggest MMO in the world, with an estimated 4-6 million active players. And how do they keep players entertained after 12 years? Dropping enormous updates and expansions that rejuvenate the game across the board.

How do they do this? By charging a monthly subscription and putting a price on their expansions.

This not only gives them a bigger budget, which is absolutely critical for any business, but also expresses to the audience that they stand behind this product and believe it is worth your money. Free-to-play games are on the rise, but much like mobile gaming apps, majority of the money is made by a very small minority due to the lack of quality pervading the genre.

By no means should everyone abandon the model for a subscription service, but any developer who believes their game is worthy playing, should also believe their game is worth paying.

Marketing

I get it, it’s a product they spent a lot of money and time on and here I am playing it for free. As suggested above, they should at least heavily consider charging for it.

But do they really have to put an ad to sign up and become a member into every little menu? Go to a shop to buy something and boom, sign up now and immediately x amount of in-game money. Go to my character menu to see what my new armor looks like, bam, sign up for monthly drawings to win free gear.

It just gets a little tedious to look after a while of the guilt racking up, sort of like being asked to donate money during your checkout when oftentimes you can’t afford to pay, hence the reason you were playing a free game.

Suggested Fix

Less intrusive advertising.

Keep the main menu and character menu ads, but remove them from in-game menus. Show them during loading screens and the launcher, but not right below my equipment. Have a dedicated screen for it in the options so players can go sign up at any time, but don't show it and that really-cool-weapon-I-wish-I-had right above my claimable rewards.

Let us know we can sign up without shoving it down our throats or rubbing the things we're missing out on in our faces.

Perks

The biggest and by far worst aspect of free-to-play games is directly related to the Marketing point above.

The fact that members who pay a monthly fee get benefits is only reasonable, of course they should. They work for their money and should be rewarded for supporting the game.

But to constantly show this to every non-member is a bit ham-fisted. Sprint ability is a low-level ability for members but you have to wait till you’re 15 so why not sign up? Can’t customize your ally’s appearance unless you sign up. Picking out your end-of-quest reward? Can’t get these two, but members do.

By showing players what they can gain, they are also showing them what they lack. And by slapping that all over inventory menus and quest reward menus, it only succeeds in belittling everything you've done.

How do you feel accomplished after completing a punishingly difficult mission when the game immediately shows you the bonuses you're not going to get. You did the same amount of work and put in just as much effort, but because you haven't signed up (which you genuinely may not be able to afford as kid or student) you're excluded from getting the full package.

It just seems to me that selling convenience to members means creating inconvenience for non-members.

Suggested Fix

Have perks be non-critical items and abilities.

Rather than withhold a low-level ability from non-subs, give those who do pay a sub-only cape, dance animation, or armor piece. Reward your subs not with abilities and items that everyone will get eventually-albeit much slower-but with clothing and color palettes exclusive to those who support the game.

Items like these are visible, so everyone can see who is a subscriber, while also being cosmetic items that don't allow them innate advantages. Overwatch's Loot Boxes are often looked at more favorably that Supply Drops for Call of Duty specifically because they are cosmetic items only.

Reward your subscribers without punishing everyone else.

Now, these are all relatively small matters so by no means am I trying to say free-to-play games are bad, some are quite good.

Play them all, try them out and see which ones really fit your tastes and play style. It’s all a matter of opinion and to be taken with a grain of salt. Hopefully with enough input from us players the companies will listen and make their great games even better.

The name Morrowind spurs pangs of nostalgia for many long-time RPG players -- myself included. My gaming career did not begin in earnest until I stepped off the boat in Seyda Neen and explored the world of Vvardenfell for the first time. Though the game freed me from prison in the first few minutes, it bound me up in an incredible adventure that's kept me under lock and key even 16 years later. 

Aside from the occasional boot up to revisit an old character and wander about the world, I haven't really set foot in Vvardenfell for years. Though I moved on to other games, I still held out hope that one day we might see an Elder Scrolls III remaster -- or that the Skywind project would make serious headway. Neither has happened just yet. But when Bethesda announced the Morrowind expansion for Elder Scrolls Online, I knew I would be diving back in once more. 

I got to demo the expansion at PAX East, and was fairly intrigued by what little I saw. But after spending hours upon hours playing the closed beta, this old TES III veteran has things to say. The ESO iteration of Morrowind may not be quite the sui generis experience that the main series game was, but it is an excellent expansion for the MMO that brings Vvardenfell back to life in its own way. 

Your Journey Through Morrowind Starts in Seyda Neen...

If you opt to skip the tutorial, you'll start your adventure on a ship that will look wonderfully familiar to any Morrowind fan. From there, you step into the lush swampland of Seyda Neen -- the same starting area as the original game. 

This new opening zone, and the new tutorial that comes with it, are a refreshing change from running Coldharbour for the hundredth time. It definitely encourages players to make a new character so they can take full advantage of the expansion -- and its new Warden class -- without forcing them to feel like they have to start over entirely. And the fresh sights when you're starting out make you feel primed for a brand new adventure that's unlike anything else ESO has to offer. 

Questing from there feels different than in any other zone. Zenimax Online took a page from The Elder Scrolls III's book and made quests feel like much more of a discovery process. Arrows are still floating over heads, so finding new quests isn't quite as organic as it is in the source material. But quest-giving NPCs are scattered enough that you have to wander about to stumble across them. The whimsy of random discovery that made Morrowind so engaging resonates here, encouraging players to check every nook and stray from the beaten path.

This expansion still hasn't really remedied the grindy feel of MMO questing, but it does give it an eccentric facelift. Even when quests do start to feel a bit flat or monotonous, they're still infused with the quirky charm that made Morrowind's side quests so fun to complete. Whether you're stealing drunken poetry from a dark elf or clearing Daedric dungeons, the quests in this expansion are a hell of a lot more engaging than trying to farm Nix meat for every NPC around. 

The Warden: A Fresh Class That's Worth Playing

You'll want to play this expansion with ESO's new Warden class. Unless you have something against bears and raining down sharp-beaked fury from the sky. 

The Warden is a fun Morrowind reskin of your standard druid character -- an animal whisperer with access to natural magics. The bear companion that stays loyally by your side is a wonderful (if expected) addition, and it is often very helpful in combat. But that's not really where this class shines.

Zenimax Online took a unique approach to this character, utilizing some familiar Vvardenfell creatures in a new way. The Cliff Racer, for example, is no longer a scourge upon the land waiting to swarm you at every moment. Now you can use their annoying dive-bomb powers for good -- or at least for making your opponent feel like the unfortunate star of a paleo-avian Hitchcock sequel. 

Animal governance aside, this class is highly flexible and able to suit a number of different play styles. It plays smoothly and offers a decent balance between offensive and defensive capabilities. If you're the ranger sort who wants to deal lots of damage with your bow and your creature companions, the nature-based Green Balance skill tree will let you regenerate health and mana so you can kite and summon to your heart's content. If you prefer a more wizardly path, the Winter's Embrace tree offers lots of defensive maneuvers, crowd control, and ice-cold damage.

The freeze magic did feel a bit out of place given that Vvardenfell is primarily a desert and swampland environment, but I imagine those abilities are better suited to the rest of ESO than something like Red Mountain lava magic would be -- though that would imply you'll ever want to leave Morrowind at all. 

What A Wonderful World

Reimagining the world of Morrowind will obviously be the deciding factor in how this expansion is received. Zenimax knows it. Creative Director Rich Lambert knew it when he told me he was "scared shitless" about doing so during our chat at PAX East. If veteran TES III players stepped off that boat in Seyda Neen and didn't immediately feel at home ... then everything else can't salvage that. 

Luckily, the team got it right. 

When I pressed Lambert about the world construction during my PAX demo, he made me one promise:

"You're gonna get off the docks in Seyda Neen and go 'holy shit...this is Seyda Neen'."

And that's exactly what happened. When I left the Census office and saw that little swamp village for the first time in years, my jaded old heart swelled so much it hurt a bit. I was in Seyda Neen. In spite of a few aesthetic discrepancies, the world was immediately familiar. I could have closed my eyes and made it to Balmora by memory. 

The nostalgia really hit me when I passed the Silt Strider just outside of town. Wandering between its spindly legs, I saw this iconic transport bug in more detail than ever before -- from the careful detail on its exoskeleton to the spines protruding from its insectile joints. 

This expansion feels like Morrowind. It's a different version, of course, but the essence of Vvardenfell still breathes inside. Wandering around will be a little surreal for veteran Elder Scrolls players -- a bit like walking through a dream. Everything feels familiar, but it's all slightly rearranged and painted in technicolor.

This is Vvardenfell before the blight turned everything ashen. The Ascadian Isles have never been so lush and shroomy. Balmora never so labyrinthine and striking. Even the stark barrenness of the Ashlands has a certain beauty to it, all dark crags and vibrant lava. Many times, the landscapes stopped me in my tracks, and I just had to take it all in. 

The colorful aesthetic of Elder Scrolls Online that makes it feel like so unlike the main series games works to this expansion's advantage. Where the vaguely Sheogorathian art style makes more well-known areas of Tamriel feel a bit overdone, the approach works perfectly for ancient Morrowind. It feels a lot like revisiting Vvardenfell in its glory days -- seeing the province in its luminous prime before everything collapsed into low-contrast despair. 

All that said, some of Morrowind's character does get lost in translation. This expansion lacks some of the strange little details that made TES III so immersive and memorable. There are no merchant mudcrabs or wizards falling out of the sky. There is no Creeper the Scamp wanting to bang on his drums. 

Of course, streamlining is necessary for an MMO given the amount of content that needs to exist. When there are multiple instances of multiple worlds that are brimming with things to do and see, there's little time for dilly-dallying with easter eggs and minutiae. But in some ways, this version of Vvardenfell has been streamlined to a fault -- so distilled that it loses some of that Morrowind spirit which lived inside the game's many quirks. 

But I can forgive that. And I'm sure many other players will too when they step off that boat. It's truly fascinating to see this world before it became the one we fell in love with in the main series game. Wandering through Vivec City and talking with troubled gods echoes the adventures we had as Nerevarine -- even if the cantons are still under construction. 

Verdict

This is a compelling reimagination of Morrowind. The effort to please TES III loyalists is obvious, and Zenimax has been surprisingly successful in that endeavor. Discerning fans may find this iteration of Vvardenfell a little vapid at times, but it's hard to ignore the amount of care that's been put into creating this fresh world. 

The Morrowind expansion is sure to enrapture players who never got to experience the main series game. If you're an ESO player already, you should find this expansion quite satisfying. And if you're new to ESO, it will definitely pull you in -- and probably make the rest of the game feel a little flat in comparison. 

But if you're a TES III fan who is looking for an exact replica of the main series Morrowind that perfectly captures every ounce of magic and nostalgia ... you're going to have to look elsewhere. This isn't a remaster, and it isn't Skywind. This is Vvardenfell (beautifully) reconstructed with a different sense of purpose. And that's all this salty adventurer wanted anyway. 

Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind is the 6th DLC expansion for the MMORPG since its release back in April 2014. Taking place in the 2nd Era, Year 582, this is the earliest title in The Elder Scrolls timeline to date and sees a number of points only referenced by in-game lore books from other games in the series. 

Set for worldwide release on June 6th, 2017 for PC/Mac, PS4, and Xbox One, ESO: Morrowind is available now for pre-order in a number of different versions: Collector's Edition, Digital Collector's Edition, Digital Collector's Edition Upgrade,  Standard Edition, and Morrowind Upgrade.

Let's go ahead and break down these options to find out what each choice has to offer.

Collector's Edition

ESO: Morrowind Collector's Edition sits at the top of the edition list, and comes with everything offered in all of the other editions -- as well as some really great bonus items. This is the must-have for the die-hard ESO fans out there.

Besides the game and all of the current DLC available for it, the Collector's Edition also includes the following:

• Exclusive metallic game case adorned with the marks of Vivec and the Tribunal.
• A high-quality map of Morrowind for you to chart your adventures on.
• 12" scale model replica of a Dwarven Colossus which was shown in the DLC trailer.
• Naryu's Journal
• This is a full-color book that covers Morag Tong assassin Naryu's journey across Tamriel, and includes a fair bit of concept art for the DLC.

On top of those great physical collectibles, you'll also get the Discovery Pack and the Unique Collectibles -- digital goodies that can be redeemed in game.

The Discovery Pack includes:

• Exclusive Warden Costume
• Dwarven War Dog Pet
• Treasure Maps
• Dwarven Crow Crate
• Experience Scrolls

The Unique Collectibles Pack includes:

• Armored War Horse
• Dwarven Spider Pet
• Morag Tong Armor Converter
• Collector's Edition Gray Bear
• Unique Character Emotes

If the Collector's Edition sounds enticing to you, then you can pre-order it now from Bethesda's website for all platforms. It will set your bank account back $99.99, which is about the average as far as Collector's Editions go. 

Digital Collector's Edition

The ESO: Morrowind Digital Collector's Edition is a tier down from the Collector's Edition. If you are new to the game and wanted to pick up all of the current DLCs -- as well as score the awesome Discovery Pack/Unique Collectibles -- then this would be the pack for you.

While it doesn't come with the physical goodies of the Collector's Edition, it does come with the lower price tag of $79.99 and can also be found on Bethesda's website.

Digital Collector's Edition Upgrade

Let's suppose you already own ESO and possibly the previous DLCs, so you don't need the base game. You're also not a mega fan of the game, so you don't really care about that awesome Dwarven Colossus Statue in the Collector's Edition. If that's the case, then the Digital Collector's Edition Upgrade just might be for you.

It comes with the ESO: Morrowind expansion and Discovery Pack/Unique Collectibles, with the even lower price tag of $59.99. And, as stated above, it can be found on Bethesda's website for pre-order. You can also get it on Steam if you're playing on PC/Mac.

Standard Edition

The Standard Edition comes in at the same price of $59.99 like the Digital Collector's Edition Upgrade, but only comes with the base ESO game content and the Morrowind DLC. This is as basic as it gets for someone who is looking to get into the game at the lowest possible price point.

However, if you purchase this as a pre-order, the folks over at Bethesda will throw in the Discovery Pack on top of the base content. This is only for pre-order, though, so get it while it lasts over on Bethesda's website or grab it on Steam if you're playing the game on PC/Mac.

Morrowind Upgrade

If you already have the base ESO game and don't care about all of the extra frills, then the Morrowind Upgrade is the go-to option for you. Coming in at the lowest price point of $39.99, this upgrade will also come with the Discovery Pack items as long as you pre-order your copy. It can be found on Bethesda's website, or on Steam for you PC/Mac gamers out there. 

System Requirements for ESO: Morrowind

The minimum system requirements for ESO on PC are:

• CPU: Intel i3-3870
• GPU: GeForce 460 or AMD Radeon 6850
• RAM: 3 GB
• OS: Win 7-32 bit
• Direct X: 11
• Disk Space: 85 GB

The minimum system requirements for Mac are:

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo
• GPU: GeForce 460 or AMD Radeon 6850
• RAM: 4 GB
• OS: OS X 10.9
• Disk Space: 85 GB
• OpenGL: 4.1

What version of ESO: Morrowind is most appealing to you and what additions are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments section below.

Crafting in Elder Scrolls Online can be a little daunting. There are 6 professions, each with their own unique resources to gather. And while some professions have recipes, enchanting and alchemy leave it up to the player to find out combinations. Enchanting in ESO can be more confusing than alchemy, as players need to gather three different types of runestones and combine them in certain ways to make enchanting glyphs. And it seems that lately, trying to craft trifling glyphs of Magika, Stamina, and Health in ESO is giving players trouble. 

Would-be enchanters in Elder Scrolls Online need to find three different types of runes: Aspect, Potency, and Essence. Aspect runes govern what rarity the resulting glyph will be: base, fine, superior, etc. Potency runes are just like they sound -- the more powerful a Potency rune, the better the resulting glyph will be. Finally, Essence runes determine the type of enchantment the glyph will be, and which item the glyph can enchant: frost damage on a weapon, health increase on armor, fire resistance, magicka regeneration, etc. How these runes affect the player depends on which item they enchant.

This is skipping ahead a bit, but it’s worth noting now, as it’s not clear in the game. Once you make a glyph, it just sits in your inventory. To actually enchant a piece of armor or weapon, you need to right-click (on PC) the item you want to enchant, and select “enchant” from the drop-down menu. The game will then display a selection menu with glyphs you can use to enchant that item. Click on the glyph you want, and you’re good to go!

Resource Gathering For Glyphs in ESO

The most time-intensive part of crafting is resource gathering. As you venture out into Elder Scrolls Online’s open world, you’ll find glowing stones that look like this:

You can safely ignore the text on that image; it’s woefully outdated, as are some of the guides and wiki entries you’ll find on enchanting in Elder Scrolls Online. Runestones out in the wild are no longer divided between Aspect, Potency, and Essence -- each runestone you gather has a chance for any of the types, and you’ll usually gather two runes.

There are quite a few guides on YouTube that talk about the “best” farming location for runestones. I’ve found that the best way to get runestones is to find your own route around an area you know well. To make sure you don’t miss runestones that are cleverly placed around the world, I highly recommend the HarvestMap addon, which will display resources – including runestones – on your map. You’ll have to tell the addon not to display every single type of resource to unclutter your map, but it’s worth it.

If you find yourself with a ton of Essence and Potency runes, and very few Aspect runes, you can always buy the runes you’re missing from the Enchanter that stands near enchanting stations. These runes will always be white quality, so you won’t be able to do this with anything but the lowest-quality runes -- but it helps when you’re just starting and really need a particular rune. To find the Enchanter, and his station, simply look for the crystal symbol on your map, usually within a city or stronghold.

Crafting Glyphs in ESO

Now that you’ve gathered the runes you need to make a glyph, head to an enchanting station. Actually crafting the glyph at the enchanting station gives you three blank spaces to place runes, with spots for the Aspect, Essence, and Potency runes. There’s no hand-holding here, so if you place runes that don’t work together, you won’t get a glyph.

Here’s the recipes for Trifling Glyphs of Health, Stamina, and Magicka:

Trifling Glyph of Health: Jora, Oko, Ta

Trifling Glyph of Stamina: Jora, Deni, Ta

Trifling Glyph of Magicka: Jora, Makko, Ta

The Jora rune means the glyphs are of Trifling quality, and the Ta rune means they’re white runes (which also governs quality, really). Oko, Deni, and Makko each give a boost to one of your character’s three main stats. Simple, right?

Now, you can remember these combinations, or write them down, but you don’t want to use Trifling Glyphs forever! My last piece of advice is to get the Enchant Maker addon, which streamlines the enchanting process by giving you the “recipes” for glyphs. All you need to do is tell the addon what glyph you’re trying to make, and it tells you what three runes you need to make it.

There you have it! You're now ready to craft basic enchanting glyphs to help enhance your character's three main stats! Know any more tips and tricks to gathering runestones and crafting glyphs in Elder Scrolls Online, or want more guides like this? Let us know in the comments! And be sure to check out the rest of our ESO guides for more help as you venture all over Tamriel.

[images courtesy Zenimax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks, LLC]

The Elder Scrolls: Online has started the Midyear Mayhem PvP Event, which promises increased rewards and Alliance Points gained, as well as a special collectible and event-specific loot boxes.

The event is to "celebrate the legendary hero Pelinal Whitestrake and his victory at the Bridge of Heldon" -- and Zenimax is encouraging players to take part in the festivities by, naturally, killing each other.

To take part in the event, you need to do the following:

1. Find a ticket in the in-game Crown Store ("Details on the Midyear Mayhem") and activate it.

2. Find the quest giver "Predicant Maera" and complete the quest "Midyear Mayhem."

The quest rewards you with a Scroll of Pelinal's Ferocity and a Pelinal's Midyear Boon Box. Using the scroll will give you a two-hour 100% boost to earned Alliance Points -- as long as the points are earned in the Alliance War, Imperial City, or Battlegrounds. As a bonus, the Scroll stays in your inventory, so you can re-use it for the duration of the event!

Pelinal's Midyear Boon Box gives you Tel Var Stones, which, if you have the Imperial City DLC, you can exchange for armor sets, lockboxes, crafting materials, or filled Grand Soul Gems. The Boon Boxes also have the chance to award the following items:

• Alchemy reagents
• PvP consumables (repair kits, forward camps, siege weapons)
• Motif pages for your Alliance
• Style items for your Alliance
• Akaviri-style items
• Coldharbour siege weapons
• Prismatic Runestones
• Books of Pelinal housing items

You'll also earn more of the Boon Boxes as you play in PvP game modes, in addition to the normal rewards for playing PvP.

The event also introduces seven new achievements to earn. Complete them all, and you'll unlock an eighth achievement that rewards you with the Midyear Victor's Laurel Wreath, a special cosmetic hat that makes you look like a Roman emperor.

Additionally, during the weekends in the event (the July 22-23 and July 29-30), a special merchant will appear at the Western Elsweyr Gate, the Northern High Rock Gate, and the Southern Morrowind Gate. The merchant, Adhazabi Aba-daro ("The Golden"), sells Legendary-quality jewelry usually reserved for Alliance War rewards.

On the first weekend, The Golden will sell necklaces; on the second weekend, he will sell rings. Both must be purchased with Alliance Points, as opposed to gold.

For the collectors out there, the Crown Store will be selling the Midyear Mayhem Crowns bundle from June 27-31. The bundle contains three crowns: the Circlet, the Coronet, and the Diadem -- all of which are tied to the Midyear Mayhem event.

The Elder Scrolls: Online Midyear Mayhem PvP Event starts on July 20 at 10 AM EDT and will run until July 31 at 10 AM PDT.

Just a few short days ago, Elder Scrolls Online dropped its first major DLC since the release of the Morrowind expansion. With two new dungeons (and a new Trial) in the mix, plus a colossal difficulty spike, the "Horns of the Reach" DLC is already leaving plenty of unprepared players gored. 

Luckily, we did the dungeon delving for you and walked away with a few tips and tricks to help you through defending the besieged Falkreath hold. So paint those white flags red, and charge into this guide -- then show those Reachmen what happens when you mess with the bull. 

ESO: Falkreath Hold Dungeon Overview

The first and most important thing to realize is that the "Horns of the Reach" dungeons (Bloodroot Forge and Falkreath Hold) are definitely in the DLC-difficulty category, and more in line with the overall power of the White-Gold Tower than, say, Fungal Grotto. 

Many "trash mobs" are familiar enemies to long-time players by now -- the humanoid enemies that mimic a player class and pose a medium threat are still around, and have added a Warden substitute equipped with a bow, Cliff Screecher, and Insect Swarm to their ranks.

The truly dangerous members of the Dreadhorn clan are apparent soon enough, however, as three new Minotaur enemies have joined the fray. 

The first, Dreadhorn Wallbreakers, wield massive axes and can easily one-shot squishier party members on Normal -- and tanks on Veteran. Block or dodge roll the heavy attacks, but otherwise just treat them like the gigantic damage sponges that they are. 

Dreadhorn Tramplers also boast the capability to destroy a player -- though mostly only in Veteran mode. Sidestep or block their bull rushes and avoid the flames. 

Earthbinders are an upgrade on their human allies most of the time, and do many of the same things, but also boast the ability to damage shield themselves. These minotaur mages also create massive delayed AoEs in the form of magma rocks that burst from the ground -- and then burst into the air for massive bleed damage.

Lastly, the dungeon design in this DLC makes "grouping" clusters of enemies together to lay down the Area of Effect damage a bit harder than usual. Whether you're in the woodlands out front or the urban environment of Falkreath Hold itself, be prepared to defend against enemies coming from multiple sides and elevations throughout, or your party will be burning Soul Shards faster than you can say, "Ole!"

Boss 1: Morrigh Bullblood

At least Falkreath Hold eases you into the difficulty curve, giving you "only" a handful of human enemies and a single Wallbreaker alongside the first boss of the dungeon. Luckily for us, Morrigh isn't exactly turning up a ton of new tricks, being a fairly straightforward fight until around half health or lower. Her spinning blade attack does have a stun and silence component, though. So watch out for that.

Once Morrigh dips below half health, she will occasionally protect herself with a wide-area golden shield as fire rains from the sky. Unfortunately for her, we've had plenty of practice with her trump card, thanks to the Vaults of Madness, and know to hide inside her shield until the attack is over.

Boss 2: Siege Mammoth

This woolly wonder is found milling about just past Morrigh, stomping about the gate to Falkreath Hold. Have the tank close distance and keep it facing along the outer wall, while any ranged characters keep their distance and melee users stick to the back of the creature.

Its primary attack -- a horizontal swing of its gigantic tusks -- is a heavy damage cone that can chunk tanks and leave your damage and heals either dead or dying. Block or simply walk backwards to avoid this. 

Usually it will follow up a tusk swing or two with a wild charge, knocking anyone in front of it back and down. Tanks that attempt to keep their back to the wall will soon be forced to face the mammoth towards their back line, but letting it charge back and forth along the gate wall keeps your crew mostly safe. 

Siege Mammoth's last attack, triggered in the second phase subtly cued by its entire back being set ablaze, is a rear-and-stomp that sends some of the flames from its body out in waves. These hurt badly in normal mode, and will regularly one-shot any non-tanks in Veteran. Dodge roll or avoid them, or die. 

With the mammoth extinguished, it's time to head inside the Hold. Help Eeryka evacuate and secure as much of the Hold as she can - usually by fighting off waves of Dreadhorn Tramplers, Earthbinders, and Reachmen - and eventually you'll come upon...

Boss 3: Cernunnon and his amazing friends

See the gigantic glowing blue Bone Colossus up ahead? See how he splits into little spheres that travel inside Tuecille, Mokveda, and Erbogar? Most importantly, see those little altars? 

Engage the three (though be careful of Tuecille, as its Veteran counterpart's heavy attack deals 65k+ damage when unblocked), and be sure to keep the fight inside the swirling circle of smoke. When you see "the Vortex tugs at your soul", it's the games way of telling you that if you leave this circle, you will die. 

Take out Erbogar (the archer) first, and have a DPS pick up the orb he drops upon "death" and walk it to a nearby glowing altar -- but move fast, as the orb increasingly slows and damages its carrier over time. Once the orb is deposited, Erbogar will finally fall (rather than rise at 30% health, as he does if you fail).

Repeat this process with Tuecille, and finally Mokveda before Cernunnon rises from its glowing pit and engages you itself. Stay spread out to avoid killing each other with the splash damage from his meteors (cued by a charged glowing ball of energy in his hands), and make sure to keep your guard up if tanking -- as his bone blade also deals roughly 65k+ damage unblocked. 

Break his bones down to roughly 70%, and Cernunnon will retreat back to his circle to resummon his three minions for another round. Kill them the same way as before to end the phase and drag the Colossus back to this plane, where you can finish him. 

Follow the retreating Nords into the halls of the dead, keep your eyes on the way the draugr bodies glow after they fall, and keep moving until you find...

Boss 4: Deathlord Bjarfud Skjoralmor

Aside from having what is easily the game's hardest name to correctly pronounce with a straight face, the Deathlord doesn't have very much going for him.

Melee attacks and a few draugr servants comprise most of Bjarfud's repertoire, and nothing is particularly that threatening...

...except a red Damage over time that builds up under each player, and will eventually start dealing lethal amounts of damage. To cleanse this, have at least one character head to a sacred glowing urn found in the corners of the room, and begin cleansing the nearby glowing draugr corpses with X. Once enough are cleansed, the damage ceases for a time. 

Luckily, this time is usually enough to chew through the Deathlord's astonishingly low health pool. So claim your prize, and head outside the Halls into The Thane's Hall. Inside you'll meet the current head of Falkreath, and face...

Final Boss: Domihaus the Bloody-Horned

Domihaus, more than anything, is a DPS check. In his first phase he smashes the ground repeatedly, bringing up rocks that chase each individual player and are incredibly lethal. Avoid these and channel damage into him until his next attack.

For the second move in his rotation, Domihaus turns himself to perfectly invulnerable stone and summons four Atronachs -- one of each element -- to do some of his bloody work for him. Down them quickly, because this attack is not triggered by the death of the elementals, but by time. So any leftovers when he wakes up will stick around and continue fighting.

After taking a significant amount of damage (at around 65%), Domihaus will begin to Shout (cued by the message at the bottom of your screen telling you this). Quickly run behind the nearest pillar, putting it between you and Domihaus, or his Fus-Ro-Dah imitation will quickly leave you Fus-Ro-Dead. 

At 20% or so health, he summons a horde of elementals without freezing himself at all. And another horde. And another after that.  

At around 10%, try to keep all the atronachs corralled near the boss so that they die as a result of AoE damage, and burn him down as soon as possible.

The Bloody-Horned may also bring to bear a series of sharp spikes in circular patterns around him, slowing and steadily dealing damage to all players not in the outer circle near the pillars. Typically, this is the best time to avoid the center and attempt any rezzes -- so if you die, try to die as close to the edge as possible. 

A series of fireballs is also in his arsenal, most of them irritating at best. However one fireball -- denoted by a "charge" where he gathers the fire into his hands -- is perfectly capable of taking out any target that missed the cue or isn't blocking, dealing roughly 65k damage in Veteran Mode. 

Usually, after forcing players to the edge of the arena with the hovering shards, Domihaus will then glow and raise his arms to the sky. That's everyone's cue to jump back into the center of the circle, as the outer ring is about to be filled with flame.

Veteran mode is more of the same with significantly increased stats, though a quick look at the pillars after a Shout reveals the real danger of the encounter -- much like Valkyn Skoria before him, Domihaus is "timed". It would behoove your party to bring the best damage they can find -- if the fight takes too long, eventually the players will simply run out of pillars to hide behind, and be subjected to the full might of the master Minotaur's Voice.

With enough courage and determination (and damage, armor repair kits, and soul shards), you can triumph over the Bloody-Horned and save Falkreath Hold. 

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That wraps up this guide to the Falkreath Hold dungeon in ESO. But we still have some questions. What emboldended the Dreadhorn clan so? What led to the alliance of Minotaur and man? Where did these weapons of blood and fire come from? For that, my friends, we'll have to mount an offense against the other Horn of the Reach, and the source of the problem...

The Bloodroot Forge. Stay tuned for another guide on this second dungeon for Horns of the Reach! In the meantime, check out the rest of our ESO guides for more help with the game:

• ESO Morrowind: A Guide to Playing the Warden Class
• How to Craft Trifling Glyphs of Magika, Stamina, and Health in ESO
• A Light in the Darkness: Navigating ESO's Bahraha's Gloom Delve
• In Pirates' Wake: THe Rundown on ESO's Shark Teeth Grotto

In The Elder Scrolls: Online, like in many other MMORPGs, tanks are crucial roles in any group content -- pulling all the monsters and mobs to themselves, then soaking the damage those mobs would otherwise deal to the rest of the group. Dragonknights (DK) in ESO can have some of the best tanking builds in the game, and of the five class options (including the Warden from the new Morrowind DLC), Dragonknight is possibly the easiest to tank with.

Unfortunately, unlike many other MMOs, ESO can be difficult to parse in terms of the best abilities, weapons, and passive skills to use. Where other MMOs have entire websites dedicated to telling players what gear to use, what talents to purchase, and which skills to use when (and in what order, even!), ESO has a handful of dedicated players who publish their personal builds instead.

These guides are no doubt helpful, but some of them outright contradict the others -- leaving players somewhat confused as to what they should be doing. There is an argument to be made that you should just find the skills, gear, and etc that suit your playstyle and have fun with the game. However, other players like finding builds online because someone's done the boring, frustrating legwork for them to optimize their utility. 

Luckily for you, we've perused all the suggested builds for Dragonknight tanks, and put together this ultimate build guide to help you spec your DK as best you can.

The Ultimate Dragonknight Tank Build

This build will take you through the best race options, skill selection, passives selection, Champion Points purchases, and some gear selection. We'll start with optimal races:

Dragonknight Tank Race Selection

Out of the ten playable races in ESO, there are ten that are viable choices for a DK tank. No, that is not a typo. You can safely choose any race at the start of the game and still make a kick-ass DK tank. That being said, there are four races that are slightly better at the job: Argonian, Imperial, Nord, and Orc.

Argonians come with a laundry list of racial abilities and passives that help them to be wonderful tanks:

• Argonian Resistance increases your Max Health by 9% at the max rank, which can be a huge difference in your health pool.
• Quick to Mend increases your healing done and received by 5%, meaning you'll have an easier time getting health back after taking all the damage.
• Resourceful increases your Max Magicka and gives you (at max rank) 12% of all three pools -- Health, Magicka, and Stamina -- back to you when you drink a potion.

Similarly, Imperials have a good list of racial passives that make them ideal tanks:

• Tough gives your character a 12% increase to your Max Health.
• Conditioning gives your character a 10% increase to Max Stamina.
• Red Diamond gives your character a 10% chance to heal 6% of your Max Health when you hit something.

Nords have a very tanky set of passives:

• Stalwart gives you an increase to Max Stamina and Health Recovery, which means you'll have a bigger stamina pool to use skills, and your health will regenerate faster.
• Resist Frost gives you an increase to your Max Health.
• Rugged gives you straight Damage Reduction, which caps out at 6% in the passive skill.

Orcs have a more aggressive set of passives, befitting their race:

• Brawny increases your Max Health and Max Stamina by 6%.
• Unflinching increases your healing received by 5% and your Health Recovery by 20%.
• Swift Warrior increases melee weapon damage and sprint speed, as well as reducing sprint cost.

Any of these four races will make excellent tanks, and the decision is largely up to taste. Some players argue for Argonians because of their Quick to Mend passive in addition to the 9% increase in health (not to mention the ability to drink any potion and get a portion of all your pools back). Others will say that Imperials, with their larger health pool, make the better tank. You should choose which race you want to play, either based on the stats above or whatever your personal tanking style is. In the end, it's your character.

Skill Selection

Unlike other MMOs, ESO only gives players room for five active skills and an Ultimate in their skill bar. This means that having the right skills upgraded and ready to go is imperative. Luckily, you have two skill bars to switch between at the touch of a button, so you can effectively respond to different situations.

First Bar: Your primary combat bar. Use this when you're actively engaged in melee with one or more targets.

• Pierce Armor: Your standard taunt, and also one of your cheapest skills, in regards to Stamina cost. There's a technique in ESO called "weaving", where you use a skill, perform a couple regular attacks, and then use the skill again. This is the skill you want to weave with.
• Heroic Slash: Use this skill to debuff strong enemies, as it reduces the damage they do by 15%. Since they'll be doing that damage to you, keep the debuff up as long as you can.
• Hardened Armor: You want to keep an eye on this skill, as you'll want to keep the buff it provides up at all times. It will also give you a damage shield (essentially extra HP) when you use it.
• Absorb Magic: Just by having this skill on your bar, you get better at blocking! You can also use it to absorb damage from an incoming spell, but it's extremely expensive.
• Igneous Shield: A huge buff to you and your party members, and it's based off your total health -- ideal for a tank. Gives everyone a damage shield, with yours absorbing 200% more than everyone else's.
• Ultimate - Magma Shell: Utterly ridiculous. Use this when everything seems to be going downhill, and watch yourself refuse to die. You only take 3% of your max health in damage from every hit while this is up, and all your allies get a damage shield for 100% of their max health.

Second Bar: Your area-of-effect and ranged bar. Use this to pull mobs before combat, or switch to it to activate your AoE skills and switch back to your primary bar.

• Unrelenting Grip: A ranged pull, which can't be blocked or deflected. Perfect for getting enemies right next to you when you need them to be.
• Inner Rage: A ranged taunt, which is great for starting encounters. You can morph this skill to use either Magicka or Stamina, so it'll fit in pretty much any build you make.
• Green Dragon Blood: Immediately heals you for one third of your health, and also gives you Health and Stamina Recovery, as well as enhancing healing you receive.
  • Make sure to use this before you use Magma Shell. It will top off your health, and you may not need to burn your ultimate if you use this first.
• Choking Talons: An area of effect spell that roots enemies in place, and also reduces the damage they deal. Use this instead of Heroic Slash when you're surrounded.
• Deep Breath: An AoE spell interrupt. If you've got a lot of enemies around you, use this to stop them from using their nastier skills.
• Ultimate - Aggressive Horn: Increases your group's Health, Stamina, and Magicka pools by 10% for 30 seconds, as well as increasing critical strike damage by 15% for a shorter duration. I've seen this called the strongest tank Ultimate, and for good reason -- more of everything means everyone can heal more, deal more damage, and you can tank more hits.

Passive Skills

Many of these are largely up to you to fit into your playstyle, but One Hand and Shield passives and Heavy Armor passives are almost all useful.

Your Dragonknight passives are also wonderful for tanking -- focus on Draconic Power and Earthen Heart passives, especially those that increase block, spell resistance, and restore Stamina. For all other passives, look for things that increase your durability and Health/Stamina/Magicka recovery.

Champion Points

For Champion Points, you're going to want to focus mostly on the Warrior Constellation. Elemental Defender, Hardy, Thick Skinned, Iron Clad, Bastion, and Heavy Armor Focus are your go-to CP purchases.

In the Thief Constellation, go for Shadow Ward and Arcanist, and in the Mage Constellation, go for Blessed and Melee Weapons Expert.

Gear

Gear is the hardest section to give advice on. Lots of guides will tell you that you can find or craft named sets in certain areas, and tell you to go for those. This is fine, but they all seem to think that everyone has the huge amounts of time to spend grinding out materials or killing mobs for random drops.

If grinding is your thing, go for the Hist Bark set, available to craft in Rootwatch Tower, Greenshade; Trader's Rest, Rivenspire; or Hatchling's Crown, Shadowfen (depending on your faction choice). You should also look into Alessia's Bulwark, available to craft in Chancel of Divine Enreaty, Malabal Tor; Hammerhome, Eastmarch; or Alezer Kotu, Alik'r Desert.

If you don't want to spend hours upon hours grinding for a gear piece -- or you're looking for gear to use while you're leveling -- go for the following enchants and traits on your armor:

• Sturdy: Decreases the cost of blocking, enabling you to block more without draining your Stamina so much.
• Health/Healthy: More health in your pool means you can tank more hits.
• Reinforced: Increases your armor, which will reduce the amount of damage you take. Unless you want to run endless calculations, consider this almost interchangeable with the Healthy trait.
• Crusher: This is a weapon enchantment that reduces the armor of whatever you're hitting for 5 seconds. Considering you're up in enemies' faces all the time, you want to give your allies the edge in regards to damage, and Crusher is a great way to do it.

That about wraps up our Dragonknight tanking guide for Elder Scrolls Online. Keep in mind that ESO is a very flexible MMO. Unlike other games, you have a lot of room to change skills, passives, and champion points and still be an effective tank -- so find what suits you best, and run with that!

If you've got your own builds and suggestions, be sure to leave them in the comments. And check out the rest of our ESO guides for other build suggestions, general tips, and more!

• The Elder Scrolls Online: Falkreath Hold Guide
• How to Craft Trifling Glyphs of Magicka, Stamina, and Health in ESO
• ESO: Recommended Starting Build for Templar
• ESO: Basic Recommended Sorcerer Build
• Elder Scrolls Online: Guide to Enchanting

Not too long ago, Nintendo fans found out that beloved MMO Dragon Quest X will be ported to the Switch. While this was invigorating news in and of itself, it's also set a precedent for fans to look forward to seeing other MMOs make their way to the console. And surely some developers are investigating whether or not their MMO games will work on the system. 

There is a possibility that Dragon Quest X will be the only MMO we ever see on the Switch, but that's unlikely to be the case. There are so many other popular MMO games out there that would be perfect for the console-hybrid platform. And there are a few that we would love to see make the move to the Switch. We don't have any official information on whether the following games can actually be ported, but we can hope anyway!

1. Final Fantasy XIV

There has already been some talk about porting FFXIV to the Nintendo Switch, but nothing definite revealed thus far. If it does make the move, this MMO would be a real treat for Switch owners. 

With many classes and races to choose from, and a ton of in-game content and numerous expansions to play through, there's a lot to love about FFXIV. It's already proven to be successful on the PS4, so it's not hard to imagine that it could be similarly successful on the Switch as well. 

2. Tera

Tera is a more recent MMO that might be a good fit for the Switch. For players who enjoy customization and creating tons of different characters, this is the perfect massively multiplayer experience. There are many different classes and races to choose from (and branching customization options based on your choices), and the game adds a new race of class each year. 

It's possible that we won't ever see this game on the Switch because of its 18+ rating, but the recent bout of mature games announced for the console means there's still hope. With a console port for the PS4 and Xbox One in the works, there's also the possibility of Tera getting a Switch version as well.  

3. MapleStory

While MapleStory is old, it's still a great MMO -- and one that I think would be perfect for the Switch since it's more family-friendly than a lot of other MMOs. This MMO is also less graphically intensive than some of its more fantastical counterparts, so it would demand a little bit less of the Switch than other games. 

In spite of its simpler graphics, though, there's plenty of customization abounding in Maple Story -- especially with the multiple class options, and the chance to add more with a Switch port.  

4. Elder Scrolls Online

Since Skyrim is already coming to the Switch, it seems like The Elder Scrolls Online would be a good next step for Bethesda in regards to Switch ports. Considering how all the systems that currently have Skyrim also have Elder Scrolls Online, it seems likely that the Switch could see this MMO in the next few years. 

Should that be the case, Nintendo fans will have plenty of content to sink their teeth into, as ESO comes packed with multiple classes and customization options, different starting areas, and numerous expansions as well. 

5. Black Desert Online

Black Desert Online is a more recent MMO that's become a pretty big hit in North America. With releases planned for the PS4 and Xbox One, it doesn't seem far-fetched to think that there could be a Switch version in the future. 

BDO offers a number of classes and races, as well as in-depth character customization and consistent content updates to keep the game feeling fresh. Its vibrant and detailed graphics would certainly test how much visual intensity the Switch system can actually handle. 

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That wraps up our list! What MMOs would you like to see come to the Switch in the next few years. Let us know down in the comments!

Fortnite: The Fortnitemares

Epic Games's Fortnite is yet another hero shooter joining in the Halloween fun. The Fortnitemares event, starting October 26, brings with it a brand new stage: Hexsylvania. Hexsylvania is full of creepy catacombs and long hallways lit only by the dim light of floating candles and is covered with dense fog that obscures your path. There are plenty of other good things in store, too:

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• 25 new story quests
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• 2 new spooky creatures--Vampire Taker and Pumpkin Head Husk
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• Spooky llama you can buy with candy
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• 8 Hexsylvanian-themed heroes of each class and gender
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• New weapons--pumpkin launcher and grave digger
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Clash of Clans: Halloween 2017

Fans of Clash of Clans won't be surprised to hear that Supercell appears to be gearing up for yet another seasonal event. Details aren't confirmed as of yet, but here's what seems to be in store.

Troops

Supercell is introducing two new troop types: Pumpkin Barbarian and Giant Skeleton Troop. The Pumpkin Barbarian is a regular Barbarian dressed up as a pumpkin and with an extra shield--a pumpkin shield, of course. Don't let the images you might have seen fool you either. The Pumpkin Barbarian doesn't have low HP; that's just for the shield.

The Giant Skeleton has its own unique characteristics that actually encourage you to let it get defeated. It carries around a giant explosive that goes off when it dies. It can even destroy structures like spell factories.

Obstacle

This year's Halloween obstacle is a baby dragon skull. Like other obstacles before it, it costs 25k elixir to remove and gives you 75k in return.

We'll post more as it becomes available, so check back soon!

Pokemon GO: Halloween 2017

Niantic finally announced what dataminers already discovered: Halloween introduces Generation III Pokemon from Ruby and Sapphire! The event runs from October 20th at 12pm PST to November 2 at 1pm PST.

As in previous years, there will be higher chances of finding the returning spooky Pokemon, including Houndoom and Gengar, but you'll also get to catch Gen III's Ghost types as well--Duskull and Dusclops, Shuppet and Banette, and Sableye. And, starting in December, Niantic will be slowly rolling out additional Hoenn Pokemon, though which ones and when specifically have not yet been stated. However, you'll also want to be on the lookout for the special witch-hat-wearing-Pikachu seen in the trailer.

Special boxes are on sale too, with items including Raid passes, Super Incubators, and, of course, candy. Pokemon will be earning twice as much candy as normal during the event too. There's also a Gen VII surprise in store, in the form of a Mimikyu hat you can get for your avatar.

Guild Wars 2: Shadow of the Mad King

The Mad King returns in Guild Wars 2 for yet more Halloween mayhem! The event brings with it numerous spooky diversions for your gaming pleasure, from battles to puzzles and more besides!

The Mad King's Labyrinth

Find your way through the maze, knocking on doors to trick-or-treat, if you have the courage for it. Watch your back, though; monsters prowl the maze, looking for an easy meal. If this all gets too much for you, there's always the Lunatic Inquisition you can try instead, the event's PvP mode

Ascent to Madness

Face off against the Mad King himself--Oswald Thorn. Study his tactics carefully if you want a chance for survival. But be careful--you never can tell what a madman might do next.

The Mad King's Clock Tower

Race your way to the top of the crumbling, haunted clock tower. Mind your step as you go, because one wrong move sends you tumbling into the rising tide of horrors below.

Lion's Arch Festivities and More

Drink in the Halloween atmosphere at the creepily bedecked Lion's Arch, and you might even have Oswald Thorn himself drop in for a game of Mad King Says. But of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without treats, and there are plenty to go around, including Halloween skins, weapons, and armor.

Rocket League: Haunted Hallows Event

Rocket League''s first ever Halloween event is here! It runs until November 6th at 10am PST, and it introduces a brand new form of currency for a limited time: Candy Corn.  You'll be using this throughout the event, so here's a short guide to help get you started.

What is It?

Candy Corn is your spendable reward that you use to purchase Haunted Hallows Crates, alongside Decryptors and other Halloween items. You receive Candy Corn as a reward for completing an online match, so it's a simple and intuitive system.

Your Candy Corn will disappear one week after the event ends, but everything you purchase with it remains in your inventory, including crates. To spend your candy, click the Special Events button on the main menu, and go from there.

What Can I Get with It?

The Haunted Hallows Crates are your the main draw for spending your Candy Corn, and they contain a variety of items for your Halloween enjoyment. These items are separate from the ones you can purchase in the event store as well.

However, you can also purchase Decryptors with Candy Corn, Decryptors are a new way of unlocking crates in Rocket League and, for now, can only be purchased with Candy Corn. Be sure to note that crates unlocked with Decryptors cannot be traded.

Anything Else I Should Know?

There are two other ways of obtaining Haunted Hallows crates. One is through regular online play; there's a chance a crate will drop at the end of each match. The other is through purchasing them directly, with real-world money. However, like crates unlocked through Decryptors, Haunted Hallows crates bought with money cannot be traded. The crates won't be updated for next year either, which means you can wait an entire year to open them, if you so choose.

Trailer Park Boys: Greasy Money Zombie Outbreak

What happens when zombies and killer zombie raykins invade your neighborhood? Well if you want to know, check out the Trailer Park Boys Halloween event, running until October 20th!

Take down the zombie horde before they become out of control, and seek out the source of the creeping plague by taking on the evil raykins. Depending on your performance, you may just unlock a raykin for your wrestling arena too, which boosts profits for your ring.

Minecraft: Spooktacular Server Events

Sandbox fans aren't left out of the Halloween fun either! Mojang's server partners are running several different Halloween events from Friday 13th (quite appropriately) until October 31st. From trick-or-treating to fleeing from zombies, there's plenty to keep you in the Halloween spirit.

Lifeboat

The lobby received a Halloween makeover, featuring pumpkins, glowing green goo, and spiders, but there's more lurking in the dark than the eye can see right away.

You'll need to keep an eye out for a tiny skeleton wandering around the lobby, and if you catch him, you receive a cave spider zombie jockey as a pet to accompany you until Halloween. But beware: the hunter can easily become the hunted. Zombies prowl the lobby, looking for their next snack. However, you can always take a break and enjoy the Haunted House parkour course too--if you dare.

InPvP

There are changes afoot in the lobby here too. The entire lobby has taken on an eerie Halloween-themed neighborhood look, complete with spooky skins for your characters. Get your skin from the Jack-o-Lantern by the spawn point, then head over to the house for your treat--but be prepared for tricks too. You can also bring along one of the limited time DLC pets, including blaze, wolf, or mooshroom, among others.

On top of that, you can play the Halloween themed SkyWars map, where every island is a grave, and you have to keep on your toes to ensure it isn't yours.

Mineplex

The Mineplex event is all about rewards. The Pumpkin King has arrived, and he brings with him an assortment of quests, each with their own rewards, on a three hour basis. There are also flaming pumpkins that will randomly appear in games, each offering prizes to those who smash them, from gems and keys, to Top Rank.

This one has its own limited time DLC too, in the form of trick-or-treat boxes you can gift to your friends (or hoard for yourself). They contain lobby effects, potions, costumes, and food.

Paragon: Shadow's Eve

If Overwatch or SMITE just aren't your favorite, you'll be happy to know Epic Games' Paragon Shadow's Eve event is now live. It brings several new skins and banners, in addition to the return of some old favorites, and the event runs until November 1.

Skins

New Skins

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• Narbosh Bash-O'-Lantern
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• Infernal Wukong
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• Crypt Goddess Yin
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Returning Skins

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• Spider Witch Belica
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• Murdock Dock-O'-Lantern
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• Mephisto Gideon
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• Franken-Grux
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• Sweet Dreams Khaimera
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• Feline Queen Sparrow
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• Skullbot TwinBlast
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Banners and Chests

There are three new banners, featuring the three new skins, you have a chance of winning in a chest after each match. Each chest also gives you the chance to win one of the new or older skins, alongside the usual keys and tokens.

Miscellaneous

The in-game store is also running a 25% discount on these additional Halloween skins.

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• Silver Ghost Kwang
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• Death Mask Sevarog
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• Undertow Gideon
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• Biofreak Murdock
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• White Tiger Greystone
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• Grux Pelt Khaimera
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Be sure to check back for more details as they come in. For now, let us know in the comments which of these you're playing or planning on playing!

CoD: Infinite Warfare -- Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream

Call of Duty: WW2 might be coming out soon, but that doesn't mean you can't still enjoy the series' latest offering in the meantime. Willard Wyler's Halloween Scream is back, with some frightful extras to help spook out your game.

Items

Every week, there will be a free Halloween-themed Supply Drop at the beginning of the week. At the end of the week, you'll get a free Halloween cosmetic item and an extra drop on the 30th, including:

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• Zombie Ear (Friday the 13th)
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• Calling Card and Emblem (Friday the 20th)
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• Gravestone Accessory (Friday the 27th)
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• Zombie Mercenary RIG (Monday the 30th)
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Extra Modes

Boss Battles

Starting Friday the 13th, you can re-challenge select bosses from the zombie campaigns. Do note that you have to own the respective DLC packs in order to access these battles.

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• Zombies in Spaceland + Rave in the Redwoods (Friday the 13th)
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• Spaceland + Shaolin Shuffle + Attack of the Radioactive Thing (Friday the 20th)
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• Spaceland + Director's Cut + The Beast from Beyond (Friday the 27th)
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Carnage

The event also features the return of fan-favorite Carnage DLC map, along with double XP. This one lasts until November 1.

Elder Scrolls Online: Witch's Festival

The Elder Scrolls Online Witch's Festival makes its return this year as well, with a glut of new content for you in the Crown Store. However, a good chunk of it is limited to certain periods of time, so make sure to note the dates for your favorites listed below. Note, too, that everything listed is available on all platforms.

Housing

Like the creepy witch's cottage you see above? It's called the Coven Cottage, and it's for sale from October 19 through November 1. It's allegedly guaranteed not to be haunted...but who knows?

Mounts

Ditch your regular mount for Halloween and pick up one of these eerie rides instead:

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• Shadowghost Guar (October 12-16)
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• Zombie Horse (October 16-20)
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• Shadowghost Wolf (October 19-23)
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• Shadowghost Senche (October 26-30)
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• Jackdaw Daedrat (October 12-November 1)
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Personalities, Polymorphs, and Masks

Dressing up for Halloween is the perfect chance to play around with a new personality, and Halloween in ESO is no exception.

Personality

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• Zombie (October 19-November 1)
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Polymorphs

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• Scarecrow Spectre (October 23-27)
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• Pumpkin Spectre (October 23-27)
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Hats and Masks

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• Deep Elf Executioner's Hood (October 12-November 1)
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• Moonshadow Wings Mask (October 12-November 1)
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• Jhuna's Owl Mask (October 16-20)
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• Rajhin's Cat Mask (October 16-20)
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• Dibella's Doll Mask Pack (October 19-November 1)
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• Nightmare Demon Mask Pack (October 19-November 1)
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Black Desert Online: Halloween in Wonderland

Kakao Games and Pearl Abyss are bringing a unique new crossover and aesthetic to Black Desert Online starting October 18. As the above trailer shows, it centers around mysterious wormholes linking Wonderland to the world of Black Desert -- and, of course, the White Rabbit plays an important role. But so do you: you're enlisted by the White Witch to assassinate the Black Witch.

Other Halloween additions include spooky makeovers for central hubs like Velia and Heidel, and there will also be special Alice in Wonderland- themed areas and props, like the Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

Of course, it wouldn't be Halloween without costumes, and there'll be plenty of those. The Angelic and Demonic Queen outfits are two notable inclusions, and you can also dress your horse up with the Skeletal Horse Set. Throughout the event, you can wear Scarecrow Masks and Halloween pets Neurotic Cabby and Witch Hat Charlotte make their return this year too.

More information is set to come next week when the event starts, so be sure to check back!

Paladins: All Hallows Evie

Paladins: Champions of the Realm's treat bucket is full to bursting with the All Hallows Evie patch. There's something for everyone in the Little Box of Horrors chest, from exclusive VIP content and items to new skins for your favorite characters, making this Halloween 2017 event full of scares and delights.

All Hallows Evie Skins

Hi-Rez has included a number of well-designed skins for this Halloween 2017 event, including --finally!-- the tantalizing PumpKing.

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• Evie Bewitching (Epic)
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• BombKing Pumpking (Epic)
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• Grover Blightbark (Uncommon)
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• Mal'Damba Wickerman (Epic)
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• Strix Raven (Rare)
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The Strix and Mal'Damba skins are connected to the Harrowing Horrors Quest Line -- which involves paying crystals and defeating a set number of enemies -- so keep that in mind. Strix's outfit is tied to the new "Give 'em a Scare" Harrowing Horror quest (more on that later) and once you unlock his, you can get Ma'Damba's as well.

VIP Content

This content is exclusive for VIP members and includes the Bruce Buffer announcer and a special dance for Pip. However, you'll also get the Nightmare Mount, a horse with ram's horns --of course-- and green glowing hooves.

All Hallows Evie Accessories and Weapons

The Little Boxes of Horror could contain a number of other things, including costume pieces for your heroes or, for some, weapons.

Available Weapons

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• Pumpking's Bomb (Epic)
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• Bewitching Broomstick (Epic)
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• Blightbark Throwing Axe (Uncommon)
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• Pip's Boo Blaster (Epic)
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Available Accessories

Note: All of these are rare.

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• Parasite (Seris)
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• Screech (Androxus)
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• Ghoulish Goalie (Jenos)
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• Lil' Andy (Ruckus)
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• Grave-Robbers' Spoils (Torvald)
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All Hallows Evie Quests

The Halloween patch also brings three new Harrowing Horror Quest lines with it:

A Night's Haunting

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• Heal for 200,000 health
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• This unlocks the next quest, Toil and Trouble, and a spray for Wickerman
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Toil and Trouble

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• Win 10 Games
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• This one gives you Strix's talon rifle and leads to the last quest
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Give 'em a Scare

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• Accumulate 40 kills
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• As mentioned, this unlocks Strix's costume
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SMITE: Departure to the Afterlife

Hi-Rez Studios is offering a Halloween 2017 event for SMITE players, too. It comes in the form of its Departure to the Afterlife event, which is part of the latest SMITE patch, 4.19. It includes plenty of features to help infuse your game with some frightful fun.

SMITE Halloween Skins

There are six new skins in the Departure to the Afterlife event to help put you in the Halloween mood. And of course, they're all appropriately afterlife themed:

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• Grim Reaper Thanatos
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• Trick or Treat Cupid
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• Warchief Raijin (Odyssey)
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• Hachiman Mastery
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• Yurei Susano (Odyssey)
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• Mummified Izanami (Odyssey)
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Other Departure to the Afterlife Treats

In addition to the new God skins, the Halloween map makes a return appearance, alongside the Scary Potion. You'll also get some new Halloween chest items, including the Cupid and Thanatos skins mentioned earlier, a  Jack-o'-Lantern Jump Stamp, and the Spooky Music Theme. 

The patch itself includes the return of foul-mouthed announcer Tactless Tina, which may or may not count as frightening, depending on your viewpoint -- and your playstyle.

Overwatch Halloween Terror 2017

Overwatch's Halloween Terror event is back! And the best part is that there's even more to it this year, from new skins and new items to Halloween-themed arenas and a brand new game mode. You've got a good while to enjoy this hero-shooter event, too: it runs from now through November 1.

PvE Brawls

Dr. Junkenstein makes his return in Junkenstein's Revenge, and Blizzard added an endless mode for it -- appropriately named "Endless Night"-- to really test your skills as you battle endless waves of enemies fighting to gain entrance into the castle. You can also choose from four additional characters for this mode: Genji, Torbjorn, Zenyatta, and Widowmaker. Alongside that is a brand new leaderboard to record the highest scores and see who made it the farthest.

New Skins

In addition to the skins from last year's event, there are eight new skins for the 2017 Overwatch Halloween event:

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• Dragon Symmetra
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• Van Helsing McCree
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• Jiangshi Mei
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• Corsair Ana
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• Cultist Zenyatta
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• Totally '80s Zarya
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• Viking Torbjorn
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• Vampire Reaper
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Spooky Arenas

Two maps have received a Halloween makeover as well. During the event, you can play in spooky versions of the Hollywood and Eichenwalde maps.

Loot Boxes

In true Trick-or-Treat style, there are also Halloween themed loot boxes for you to purchase. These loot boxes contain a wide variety of things, from new skins and voice lines to avatars, emotes, and even last year's items -- some of which you might have missed.

It's that time of the year again! Developers are slowly starting to unveil and release their yearly Halloween events. And for gamers, there's a lot to choose from. Every year, there's a wide variety of games that offer Halloween events, from Final Fantasy XIV to Pokemon GO and Paladins to Overwatch and beyond. The events themselves include a multitude of different updates and skins as well, including additional game modes, accessories, and item skins.

To date, there are only a handful of games whose 2017 Halloween events have started or been revealed so far, so this piece will be updated as we continue to get more information about what's to come. For now, check out what's currently on offer to help get you in a spooky frame of mind.

The world of The Elder Scrolls Online continues to grow with the long-awaited Clockwork City DLC, which is now officially available for Mac and PC. 

Packed with brand new content, the Clockwork City DLC allows players to explore the new mechanical land of Clockwork City, which includes a new array of bosses and quests, one of which is a unique story-driven line focused on the mystery of Clockwork City. In addition to the world and quests, Clockwork City also includes a 12-player team trail, which allows players to choose the difficulty of the trial, adding new strategic elements to party play. 

But the DLC offers more than just improvements to the story. The update also gives players the opportunity to obtain the new Scintillant Dovah-Fly pet and access to a new PvP mode called Crazy King. This mode is reportedly a faster version of king of the hill, where players fight for supremacy of certain points on the map; however, the twist here is that you must stay on your feet since capture points are always on the move and won't be in one place for long.

On top of that, the update also includes a transmutation system that allows players to alter gear traits, as well as a variety of bug patches. 

This update is free to ESO-plus subscribers or can be purchased for 2000 crowns in the in-game store. The update will be available for PS4 and Xbox One on November 7. 

If you want to know even more about the update, you can read the entire patch notes here. 

Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more about The Elder Scrolls Online.