The central plot of “Dragonborn” revolves around Miraak, a Dragon Priest and the first Dragonborn. Miraak once ruled over Solstheim in the service of the Dragons before rebelling against them after receiving from the Daedric prince Hermaeus Mora the power to bend the will of animals, men, and dragons. Miraak attempted to enslave all of Tamriel, but was killed in his temple by Dragons who sought to punish him for his disobedience. But Miraak lived on in Apocrypha--Hermaeus Mora’s plane of Oblivion--and plotted his return.
The “Dragonborn” DLC initiates when the player has a random encounter with a group of cultists who work for Miraak. A note found on one of the cultists will lead you to Raven Rock, a mining colony on Solstheim. If you touch one of the five glowing pillars located in different parts of the island or go to sleep, you will suddenly awake to find yourself mindlessly working alongside other townspeople with Miraak’s voice in your head. It is your job to break Miraak’s control over the people and stop him from returning to conquer Tamriel.
New Additions to Skyrim
Aside from a huge new area of land to explore, “Dragonborn” introduces several new types of NPCs to Skyrim. Variations on already known groups, such as the Skaal (a tribe of Nords that practice a monotheistic, nature-focused religion) and the Reavers (groups that behave like the bandits of Skyrim, but are made up exclusively of Dunmer) are common. But there are also the goblin-like Rieklings and more new types of enemies including Serpentine Dragons, Lurkers (think creature from the black lagoon but taller), various types of exploding Spiders, and Ash Creatures.
“Dragonborn” also introduces quite a few new items such as a new weapon type--the spear--and four new types of Smithing: Bonemold and Chitin, which are only provide patterns for armor, and Nordic Carved and Stahlrim (ice enchanted to be extremely hard), which allow you to create both weapons and armor. New unique items such as the enchanted scimitars Soulrender and Bloodscythe or the Deathbrand armor set are very powerful. Plus, if you like playing as a Werewolf, the four purchasable Werewolf upgrade rings will make your beast form even more potent.
Some new spells bolster the Conjuration (Bound Dagger, Conjure Ash Guardian, etc) and Restoration (Ash, Frenzy, and Poison Runes) magic trees. Also, the new shouts introduced by the “Dragonborn” expansion are very promising. For a short time, the Dragon Aspect shout increases weapon and shout damage significantly and envelopes the player in a set of dragon armor. And the power that seemed to capture the attention of most gamers from the moment it was demonstrated at the 2012 Dice Summit in February is made available through the Bend Will shout. Using the Bend Will shout after one learns all three words of power allows the player to tame and ride a dragon.
This list only scratches the surface of the new Skyrim add-on. There is so much more to discover. “Dragonborn” can be purchased on Xbox marketplace for $19.99 or 1600 Microsoft points.
Skyrim fans may also have more DLC to look forward to in 2013. Bethesda promises, “... we also have some more stuff planned for everyone next year as well. We do everything we can to return the support you have given us, whether it’s The Creation Kit, Steam Workshop, game updates, or DLC.”
Update on “Dragonborn” for PC and PS3
Although neither “Dawnguard” nor “Hearthfire” have been ported for PS3, Bethesda has announced that “Dragonborn” will be made available for PC and Playstation 3 sometime in early 2013. In a blog post following the release of “Dragonborn,” Bethesda states, “On PS3 in particular, we turned our attention to Dragonborn, as we thought it was the best content to release first, and we didn’t want folks to wait longer.”
For the past few months, Bethesda has struggled to get “Dawnguard” and “Heartfire” ready for Playstation gamers. The decision to focus their energies on putting out “Dragonborn” first, may indicate that Bethesda made more of a conscious decision to program the newest expansion with the Playstation in mind.
If you still haven't played Skyrim, I can't recommend it more highly. Click on the image below to buy it today.
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