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The Elder Scrolls: Legends

The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a 2D CCG based on The Elder Scrolls lore. Players battle in turn-based gameplay tactically playing cards on one of two lanes using a variety of class-defined decks.

Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Playerbase: Medium
Type: CCG
Release Date: March 08, 2017
Pros: +Based on The Elder Scrolls artwork and lore. +Unique lane system. +PC and tablet compatible.
Cons: -No Android support.

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Overview

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Overview

Experience strategic turn-based card battles in The Elder Scrolls: Legends, a collectible card game set in The Elder Scrolls universe. Play through the single player campaign and follow the legend of a forgotten hero named Tyr as he saves the empire from the evil plots of Lord Naarifin and the Aldmeri Dominion.Challenge other players in real-time card battles in Versus and Versus Arena modes or test out your skills against AI in Practice and Solo Arena modes. Collect cards by winning matches and build decks suited to your playing style. Master the game's unique Lane system and the use of card combos to gain the upperhand and secure victory. Play at home on the PC or on the go through your mobile phone.

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Key Features:

  • The Elder Scrolls CCG – immerse yourself in a strategic collectible card game based on The Elder Scrolls lore.
  • Unique Lane System – place cards in one of two separate lanes simulating two different fields of battle.
  • Story Mode – play through the story mode and follow the legend of a forgotten hero through card battles of increasing difficulty.
  • Card and Deck Customization – build your deck from cards earned from card packs and matches, upgraded through progression, or crafted with Soul Gems.
  • Classes – choose deck classes suited to your playing style, from the hard-hitting Red and Yellow Crusader deck, to the spell-filled Blue and Purple Mage deck.

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Screenshots

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Featured Video

The Elder Scrolls: Legends - Gameplay Overview

Full Review

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Review

By Marc Marasigan

The Elder Scrolls: Legends is a CCG (Collectible Card Game) set in the mythical Elder Scrolls universe. The game’s storyline tells the legend of an Imperial soldier named Tyr and his rag-tag group of heroes as they save the Empire from the evil plots of Lord Naarifin and the Aldmeri Dominion. Like most CCGs, The Elder Scrolls: Legends features simple 2D graphics and effects. The game, however, features phenomenal artwork comparable to those seen in Magic: The Gathering cards rather than the cartoony style favored by popular CCG’s like Hearthstone, Chronicle: Runescape Legends, and Heavenstrike Rivals. The game also features epic background music, great sound effects, and high-quality voiceovers that players have come to expect from an Elder Scrolls title.

Choose Your Avatar

Before entering the game for the first time, players will be required to choose their avatar. Players may choose from 4 different avatars for each of the 10 iconic races inhabiting the Elder Scrolls universe. Choose your avatar wisely, because, unlike other games, avatars in The Elder Scrolls: Legends determine the type of cards that you receive as rewards during the course of the game. Choosing an Imperial avatar, for example, allows players to quickly acquire cards that build large armies, while a High Elf avatar rewards them with more spell-related cards. Avatars can easily be changed through the in-game profile page although it’s probably best to stick with one or two avatars to maximize your chances of collecting cards that match your preferred playing style.

The First Chapter

After choosing their avatars, players are treated to a quick cutscene before proceeding to Chapter 1 Act 1 of the story mode. Act 1 is divided into 8 chapters and serves as a tutorial which must be completed in order to unlock Practice and Versus Battle Modes. The tutorial is similar to that of Hearthstone and gives players step-by-step instructions on how card battles are fought in the game. Battles start off small and easy, slowly feeding players with information until they progress to a full card battle upon reaching Chapter 8.

The Legend

The entire story mode is divided into three Acts spanning 20 chapters. The story follows the legend of a forgotten hero named Tyr and how he changed the course of history during the Great War fought between Imperial forces led by Titus II and the forces of Lord Naarifin and the Aldmeri Dominion. Quick trivia: you can find and talk to a number of Great War veterans in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. During the course of the campaign, players are given what might seem like story path choices but have no real bearing on the storyline itself. What it does though is give players the chance to acquire a few rare cards early into the game. Don’t worry, cards that you don’t pick during the story mode can still be acquired in card packs or by crafting them using Soul Gems. I was able to finish the story mode in around three hours. Factoring in the number of times I had to replay the final 3 chapters, let alone the final boss, it’s probably safe to say that a lucky player can play through the entire thing in about two hours or so.

Changing Lanes

For the most part, The Elder Scrolls: Legends plays exactly like traditional CCGs such as Magic: The Gathering and online CCGs like Hearthstone. Players start off with 30 points of life and alternately play randomly drawn cards from a deck until one player’s life points is reduced to 0 or he/she quits. What’s unique about Elder Scrolls: Legends is the addition of lanes. Instead of having one playing field, the playing area is divided into two areas called lanes. Cards can be played in either of these two lanes and only cards on the same lane can attack each other. One lane functions as a regular playing field while the other, called the Shadow lane, gives played cards attack protection for one turn. Spells and actions, however, can still damage cards on either of the lanes. This unique lane system calls for a slightly different approach to playing cards and prevents one powerful card from dominating the entire playing field, an all too common occurrence in typical CCG’s.

Deck-Out Your Deck

Like traditional CCG games, building a deck that matches your preferred playstyle is the key to success, along with a little luck of course. In The Elder Scrolls: Legends, cards are differentiated into six different colors: Red for Strength, Blue for Intelligence, Green for Agility, Yellow for Willpower, Purple for Endurance, and White for Neutral; ranging in rarity from common to unique, the best cards in the game. A deck may contain one no more than one or two colors, and may or may not contain neutral cards. My personal favorite, the Red and Yellow Crusader deck, for example, focuses on relentless damage and overwhelming opponents with units, while, Blue and Green Assassin decks, another type that I like to use, focuses on picking off enemy units leaving opponents open for more powerful attacks.

Players start off with five starter decks which are automatically unlocked by completing certain points in the story mode. These starter decks initially start off with 50 cards which players can tweak through the deck builder. The deck builder also allows players to make their own deck from scratch. A deck may have up to 70 cards but keeping it at 50 usually works better since it raises the chances of the “right” cards being drawn.

Choose Your Mode

Aside from the story mode, The Elder Scrolls: Legends also features Practice, Versus, Solo Arena, and Versus Arena modes. Practice mode allows players to battle with AI, while Versus allows them to battle with other players. Both modes are unlocked upon completing Chapter 8 of the Story mode and lets players use their own decks. The Solo Arena mode, on the other hand, is unlocked by completing Chapter 14 of the Story mode and the Versus Arena mode by playing a match in Solo Arena. Both modes require Arena tickets to play and players to build their own decks on the fly. Players must choose one card in three until they reach 30 cards. They then battle 10 AI in Solo Arena, or a succession of players in Versus Arena until they lose three times. The more times you win, the better the rewards you get. Unfortunately, joining an Arena isn’t free. Players can either buy Arena tickets from the cash shop or use the in-game currency called Gold to buy into an arena match.

Packs and Tickets

The Elder Scrolls: Legends’ in-game cash shop is as simple as they come and contains just two items: card packs and arena tickets. Both items can be bought singly or in bundles which give more bang for your buck. Aside from entering arenas, gold can also be used to buy card packs. Gold can be earned through the story mode and by completing daily quests like winning three matches using a specific deck type, or destroying a certain number of creatures.

Final Verdict – Excellent

Online CCGs based on popular video game titles seem to have become a necessity this past year. It’s like no great game would be complete without a CCG to milk even more game time and money from the gaming community. That doesn’t mean I don’t like them though. I got hooked on Magic: The Gathering way back, and these online CCGs aren’t that much different. They even have the added convenience of not having to protect the cards themselves using sleeves, hard cases, or binders. Although virtual cards aren’t nearly as valuable as real ones. Please excuse that brief bout of nostalgia. Now, I’ve played a couple of these online CCG’s, including Blizzard’s Hearthstone and Square Enix’s Heavenstrike Rivals, and so far, The Elder Scrolls: Legends seems to be the best. The artwork is great, the sounds epic, and the game’s unique lane system gives a new twist to traditional CCG gameplay. Overall, The Elder Scrolls: Legends is an excellent game and one that I would highly recommend to CCG fans and those looking to try the genre.

Screenshots

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Screenshots

Videos

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Videos

The Elder Scrolls Legends - E3 2015 Reveal Trailer

System Requirements

The Elder Scrolls: Legends System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows XP 32 bit
CPU: Pentium D 805 2.67GHz or Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core 3600+
RAM: 2 GB GB RAM
Video Card: GeForce 6800 GT or Radeon X1600 Pro 512MB
Hard Disk Space: 3 GB Free Space

Official system requirements have not yet been released for The Elder Scrolls: Legends. The requirements above are what the developers are aiming for, but may not represent the final numbers.

Music

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Music & Soundtrack

Coming Soon...

Additional Info

The Elder Scrolls: Legends Additional Information

Developer: Dire Wolf Digital
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks

Open Beta: August 04, 2016

Release Date: March 08, 2017

Development History / Background:

The Elder Scrolls: Legends is developed by Colorado-based game studio Dire Wolf Digital, and published by Bethesda Softworks, a video game company known for The Elder Scrolls series. The game was first revealed at Bethesda's 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo Conference, and was initially scheduled to be released in 2015 but was later postponed to 2016. Closed beta testing began on April 21, 2016. A playable version of the game was also made available at PAX East, from April 22, 2016 to April 24, 2016. The Elder Scrolls: Legends entered Open Beta on August 04, 2016. The game fully released for PC on March 08, 2017.