So, I destroyed Dragonborn

[EmuXanadu]

Dragonborn was certainly worth it. I'm pretty sure I got a good 20 hours or so out of it. However in some respects Solstheim feels far smaller than it was in Bloodmoon. Maybe its the fact that I don't have to walk around at a snail's pace everywhere or that it is actually far smaller.

A lot of the new locations seem very close to one another so it doesn't really feel like theres a massive amount of exploring. I have to say some of the new dungeon designs were really good such as the one in the mine where you have to get the Bloodskal blade.

 

Much as I love Morrowind I don't really get that nostalgia a lot of people mention apart from the classic music playing in the DLC. Well I do sort of but in a sad way. Its kind of heartbreaking to walk around and see a tiny slice of Morrowind with ash heaped all over it. The last silt strider reduced to nothing more than a tourist attraction. It really makes me miss the colour and oddity of Morrowind, the swamps of Seyda Neen and all the varied plant life growing all over the place. I know its part of the story to move on and have Vvardenfell devestated but in some ways I feel like Bethesda said "Stuff Morrowind" just to prove they aren't ever going back.

I actually feel Soltsheim was really depressing to adventure in, since it was either ash covered landscape or frozen wastes. In all honesty I prefer Skyrim and thats purely a choice not a criticism.

The ending was a bit of a let down really. I don't like the idea of serving Mora either but maybe its always been the Dragonborn's destiny to serve him, Bethesda know but we don't. However its not very heroic to make deals with Daedra to defeat an evil villain only to end up essentially becoming another Miraak yourself.

 

As for Dawnguard everyone seems to pan it but I actually enjoyed it. I liked the whole artistic style of the Forgotten Vale and although its flawed in the sense that both questlines essentially play the same I don't think its as bad as everyone makes out. Maybe I just got something different for it, boring world if we all felt the same.

[UrgeNexus]

Dragonborn was certainly worth it. I'm pretty sure I got a good 20 hours or so out of it. However in some respects Solstheim feels far smaller than it was in Bloodmoon. Maybe its the fact that I don't have to walk around at a snail's pace everywhere or that it is actually far smaller.

A lot of the new locations seem very close to one another so it doesn't really feel like theres a massive amount of exploring. I have to say some of the new dungeon designs were really good such as the one in the mine where you have to get the Bloodskal blade.

 

Much as I love Morrowind I don't really get that nostalgia a lot of people mention apart from the classic music playing in the DLC. Well I do sort of but in a sad way. Its kind of heartbreaking to walk around and see a tiny slice of Morrowind with ash heaped all over it. The last silt strider reduced to nothing more than a tourist attraction. It really makes me miss the colour and oddity of Morrowind, the swamps of Seyda Neen and all the varied plant life growing all over the place. I know its part of the story to move on and have Vvardenfell devestated but in some ways I feel like Bethesda said "Stuff Morrowind" just to prove they aren't ever going back.

I actually feel Soltsheim was really depressing to adventure in, since it was either ash covered landscape or frozen wastes. In all honesty I prefer Skyrim and thats purely a choice not a criticism.

The ending was a bit of a let down really. I don't like the idea of serving Mora either but maybe its always been the Dragonborn's destiny to serve him, Bethesda know but we don't. However its not very heroic to make deals with Daedra to defeat an evil villain only to end up essentially becoming another Miraak yourself.

 

As for Dawnguard everyone seems to pan it but I actually enjoyed it. I liked the whole artistic style of the Forgotten Vale and although its flawed in the sense that both questlines essentially play the same I don't think its as bad as everyone makes out. Maybe I just got something different for it, boring world if we all felt the same.

Who's to say you would become like Miraak? That's entirely your character's choice, as any TES hero is completely unbound by fate, which now that I think of it is probably why Mora is so intrigued by the Dovahkiin. The character I finished Dragonborn with (Valtyr, a Nord warrior) saw Mora as a means to an end, Miraak was dangerous and had to be stopped for the good of all. Miraak also attempted to have Valtyr killed, so Valtyr would have killed him regardless for that reason alone. Once that was done, Mora wasn't really all that useful to Valtyr anymore, he's not the power hungry type, he does what he has to do to accomplish his goals and no more.

[EmuXanadu]

Depends on your own interpretation really, all are equally valid opinions. That was just my own personal feeling on the issue. :)

[sisterof]

I adored Dragonborn. A very good change from Dawnguard, which I found quite inane. Dragonborn ties up and adds to the legend of the Dovahkiin - which also makes it pointless for any character who isn't taking the mantle. The story is quite good, as far as Bethesda's writing goes, and Miraak was a very nice adversary. It's good having a villain that isn't all maniacal laughter and "boss fight". He has some story, motivations and such.

Dawnguard, on the other hand, is about some random vampire dude wanting to block the sun (wouldn't that end up killing all his food?) on a purely Disney-level villain mindset. Having Durnehviir and the Snow Elves in it make it totally worthwhile, but the quest itself is hardly Dovahkiin-worthy, in my opinion. Harkon is an extremely lame character and Serana, Gods bless her, hasn't grown out of her teens in all her millenia of existence.

[UrgeNexus]

Depends on your own interpretation really, all are equally valid opinions. That was just my own personal feeling on the issue. :smile:

True, I have other characters who could easily become worse than Miraak. In retrospect I'm not sure what the point of my earlier post really was, I guess sort of playing devil's advocate. Anyway, there it is. That really is the beauty of TES games, for all their flaws (And there are plenty) they allow an incredible amount of flexibility to those who want to make use of it.