Designing The Dark Anchors of The Elder Scrolls Online

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Shawn Hopkins

Active Member

In The Elder Scrolls Online, the Dark Anchors are Molag Bal's attempt to yank Tamriel to his Oblivion Plane Coldharbour. And also a chance for players to team up and kick some Daedric ass.

Theelderscrollsonline.com has a new developer diary talking about what went into designing the Dark Anchors and what they mean to the The Elder Scrolls Online world.

"When we set out to create the Dark Anchor encounters, we had specific goals in mind. We wanted them to be an immediate, obvious reminder that Tamriel is in danger—something you could see in the world to make you realize just how dire the situation is. We also wanted to include more challenges for small groups and provide more options for gameplay activities. When you see a Dark Anchor, it gives you the chance to say, “Oh! I’m going to go check that out,” explore a little more of the world, and experience a formidable encounter that will encourage you to team up with allies. From there, who knows—maybe you'll go back to what you were doing before, or maybe your newly-formed group will go on to adventure together some more," according to the post.

Dark Anchor encounters are designed to be a major challenge, according to the post.

"There’s more to the Anchors than just the intimidating sights and sounds, though. Massive chains drive into the ground, and Daedra pulled from Oblivion pour from the inter-planar space, causing chaos in the vicinity. To loosen the grip of the Anchor, you’ll have to gather allies and drive the monsters back, but it won’t be easy. Dark Anchor encounters feature a huge amount of variations, and you never know exactly what you’ll be up against. To give them even more flavor and challenge, we added a selection of randomized special bosses. You might even find yourself facing one of Molag Bal’s own generals as you fight to send the Anchor back to Oblivion. The whole experience, from the frightening sounds to the chaotic battle, is complemented by Molag Bal himself (voiced by Malcolm McDowell) taunting you—daring you to defy him and laughing at your feeble attempts to defeat his champions," the post says.

Read the full developer diary here.

If you're not already in the beta and want to check The Elder Scrolls Online out for yourself, sign up on theelderscrollsonline.com.

The Elder Scrolls Online releases to the PC and Mac on April 4, 2014 and to the Xbox One and PS4 in June of 2014.
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