Which Elder Scrolls game had the best expansions?

[Linkuya]

I saw we haven't had a topic like this, and I was curious as to what the community's favorite set of expansions were!

[Jeelius-Tei]

In my opinion, Oblivion did. Shivering isles was way more interesting than Solstheim. Although I did quite like Mournhold, I prefer New Sheoth to it in every way. Never played Dawn Guard, but that's because I don't want vampire raids everywhere, Dragons are enough. I also found that Knights of the Nine to be quite fun too. Ah and Hearthfire. I love that expansion, but it lacks design choice.

[OblivionDuruza]

This is actually a really tough question, for a number of reasons. I have to say, I think Morrowind's two expansions fit best of all three sets within the pre-existing game, continuing the story of the Nerevarine in a meaningful and pointful way with Tribunal, while also providing an interesting and complimentary experience with Bloodmoon. I think that the Shivering Isles also captures this sense of complementarity, and is arguably the best expansion of the series, but the rest of Oblivion's DLC doesn't maintain the same level of engagement. Having not experienced much of Skyrim's 3 DLC items, I can't really comment, although my inclination is to say that Dragonborn seems to mirror the meaningful continuation of the Last Dovakiin's story, although perhaps, like Oblivion, the collection is less cohesive as a set due to the somewhat contrived Dawnguard tie-in. Still, tough to say.

[DikaSmausha]

Morrowind,but Shivering Isles was awesome.

[Linkuya]

As for myself, I don't think I'll vote just yet. Morrowind's expansions were great, but I didn't like the never ending story of the world's biggest sewer dungeon. Oblivion had the astounding Shivering Isles, but Knights of the Nine was only decent. Skyrim is my favorite Elder Scrolls game, but I only recently bought the Legendary Edition and I haven't started the DLC yet.

[The SheoDovah]

I've only played Oblivion and Skyrim due to me only owning them and have a PS3 so instead of saying which had the best expansion, i'm just going to leave my thoughts on them.

Shivering Isles, Easily one of the best things to happen to TES since M'aiq the Liar. It gave us a welcome breath of fresh air and gave us an insight to what a realm of Oblivion looks like apart from the Deadlands and the theme of the Prince that rules it. Sheogorath was the best character of the expansion and it managed to remain light hearted whilst being serious. Not many things can pull that off. And the insane NPCs enchance the experience. It resolved the COC's story in a bit of an ironic way.

Knights of the Nine. This was just the typical holier then thou must defeat ancient evil story but it was done well. Apart from the initial quest where you must go on Pilgrimage. It was interesting to see an ancient order get rebuilt by the COC and don artifacts made by the Nine. And did imply that Talos himself got involved. The Prophet is often said to be Talos's avatar. Although the lack of things to do with the Order was disappointing but I can't blame that on the expansion as Oblivion lacked radient quests.

Dawnguard, I've yet to complete it and do a proper playthrough but it's interesting. And actually makes the vampires a threat. Instead of waiting for you to kill them, they attack random settlements and NPCs do die.

Dragonborn, the reuse of Sothism was lazy but Bethesda managed to pull it off in a way that didn't feel lazy. If that makes sense. It gave us insight to Mora and the first dragonborn. However, i hate the fact that the Dovahkiin is forced into something. Again, i've yet to complete it and play it properly.

Hearthfire, it's a neat little add-on and adds immersion if you are a roleplayer. However, the linear house design, the lack of being able to truly customise the layout and being limited is disappointing. A minor gripe i have with this is that one of the 3 Jarls sends a letter at level 10 and you've not really done anything as it makes no sense.

[Mr.Argonian]

I think Morrowind had the best expansions. Oblivion had the worst. While SI was good, the rest were easily the worst the series has offered, excluding Hearthfire. Dragonborn and Dawnguard were both good expansions, adding lots of new items and quests, even if Dawnguard seemed a little bit repetitive in some places. Tribunal and Bloodmoon were both great, offering up new locations, new storylines and great storylines. Expanding on the Nerevarine's story was great with Tribunal, and the focus on Hircine was a total switch up that was needed. All in all I enjoyed Morrowind's expansion the most.

And don't take this as Morrowind nostalgia/favouritism because Skyrim is my favourite TES game, but it's expansions weren't as great.

[Br3admax]

How is reusing Solstheim lazy when it's completely redesigned, TLD? In that case, using any part of Tamriel is lazy, I mean all of it was in Arena first, amirite?

As to the OP, I don't particularly like any of the expansions, but I like killing all of the final bosses that think that antagonizing someone over every little thing is smart, so it's a tough one.

[BetaB17]

I will admit, shivering Isles was a grand expansion<_< oblivion itself was far from the best. Thus my vote shall go to Morrowind<_< it had 2 grand expansions and multiple official add-ons. While many of the DLC tend to just add a new story or a means to flush out the experience, Morrowind's main story received a well deserved continuation into Tribunal. While you could say Skyrim did the same with Dragonborn, it still cannot compete

[Linkuya]

Whoa, I'm really surprised Morrowind is winning by such a wide margin. I thought the Shivering Isles would have everyone vote Oblivion. :p

[OblivionDuruza]

If the poll were on which game had the best expansion, I would bet that The Shivering Isles would put it in the bag for Oblivion Knights of the Nine wasn't bad, but I thing there is something to be said for the sense of cohesion and purpose expansions/DLC bring as an oeuvre complete.

[cybrxkhan]

In terms of the first expansion, my opinion is

Tribunal > Dawnguard > Knights of the Nine

Knights of the Nine was literally just a couple of new dungeons using old assets and, one armor set, and a new kind of lame quest line and that's it. Dawnguard has grown on me a bit, and at least it includes some new art assets, and a few gameplay mechanics (like crossbows) and side quest stuff, so it actually feels like it has new stuff. But Tribunal actually expands really well on the main questline.


For the second expansion, it's a little trickier as all three are well-made explorations of new territory not really covered by the original game, and, in my opinion, they have stronger storylines (or at least more interesting ones) than the first expansions. However, if I had to rank them, it'd be

Shivering Isles > Dragonborn > Bloodmoon

Bloodmoon's nice, but someone had to be on the bottom. Dragonborn gets ahead probably because it's a bit more modern, otherwise I put it ahead out of gut instinct. Shivering Isles is the definite winner though because it's just insane; in fact I wish more of Oblivion's cities and towns were like Shivering Isles' in some respects - parts of Shivering Isles looked more like generic fantasy in a good way than Oblivion. Only real complaint about Shivering Isles were that some of its quests were really boring. Like really boring and annoying fetch quests. More boring and annoying than the fetch quests from any other expansion or original game.

[Avron the S'wit]

I always liked the idea of the Morrowind expansions, because they built on the main quest offered by the base game. Oblivion's expansions added a little more to the lore of the world to me, and they were definitely fun, but they were just extra sides apart from the whole Crisis. I personally didn't find the Skyrim expansions to be anything special, but they were enjoyable - except for Dawnguard, which was just downright exceptional. I actually really loved that story, as well as the Dawnguard armor. Nothing looks classier!

[Br3admax]

Lol, Dawnguard. Personally I didn't like it that much, nor did I like the fact that it's forced onto you as early as level ten.

Vampire girl has vampire father, who walks back and forth with a cape in a dark castle, how will this end? The answer may surprise you.
Hearthfire, pure fan service, although I appreciate it. Plus the price was not that bad.
Dragonborn was by far the best expansion for Skyrim. It added much more landmass, more lore on the Dragonborn Lineage, many new armor types with plenty of nostalgia, an actual challenge for an enemy, with a very interesting boss fight(I found dodging fire breath much more entertaining than Harkon running away behind gargoyle. And Miraak had an actual reason to attack you in any situation besides, "Muhahahaha, Serena is my daughter. You can't have my daughter.") Daddy issues meets vampires was just dumb, IMO.

[Avron the S'wit]

To each their own, young grasshopper.

[philfredobob]

I've played Knights of the Nine, Shivering Isles, and Dawnguard.

Dawnguard is Skyrim's only triumph in the area of story over it's predecessors. It adds in a fun questline, with good characters, and a great storyline which leads through interesting places. Knights of the Nine was also a good Add-On, but Dawnguard manages to win out over it.

However, Shivering Isles alone is enough for me to grant this to Oblivion. Shivering Isles, in my opinion, had a much better main questline than either of Morrowind's or Skyrim's main questlines, DLC or otherwise. It adds a number of great characters. It adds a great map, good equipment, all round good stuff. the only real problem is that the side quests feel a bit underdeveloped and have a bit of a boring fetch quest-y kind of feeling to them.

But still, Oblivion and Shivering Isles stand tall over the rest of the TES series in my eyes.

[Yaije]

between the three they seem to keep making a pair of add-ons where one is an apparently large, new landmass and then one that ducks you into a series of dungeons?

new land mass (relative to the base game): Bloodmoon, Shivering Isles, Dragonborn

Lots of Dungeon crawling: Tribunal, Knight's of the Nine, Dawnguard

Personally I prefer tribunal and bloodmoon over the rest with how they interacted with the game. but I'm biased and rocking some seriously tinted glasses over my old super assassin fortimanser (specialized in various fortification spells).

[Br3admax]

I've played Knights of the Nine, Shivering Isles, and Dawnguard.

Dawnguard is Skyrim's only triumph in the area of story over it's predecessors. It adds in a fun questline, with good characters, and a great storyline which leads through interesting places. Knights of the Nine was also a good Add-On, but Dawnguard manages to win out over it.

However, Shivering Isles alone is enough for me to grant this to Oblivion. Shivering Isles, in my opinion, had a much better main questline than either of Morrowind's or Skyrim's main questlines, DLC or otherwise. It adds a number of great characters. It adds a great map, good equipment, all round good stuff. the only real problem is that the side quests feel a bit underdeveloped and have a bit of a boring fetch quest-y kind of feeling to them.

But still, Oblivion and Shivering Isles stand tall over the rest of the TES series in my eyes.

You just hate heroes. Bias is bias.

[Da_BossMaN69]

How anyone can not vote Oblivion as the best due to the SI alone must be on some serious felldew.

Hands down best expansion of any game Ive played. It offered enough quests, totaly unique setting and characters that made the game great.

The reason I rate it so high is because of the 180 aestheic wise it gave the game. Vanilla Oblivion was a great game, dont get me wrong. But with every game, I feel theres a cap on immersion, where after x amount pf hours the game just loses its magic, and you see it less as a world, than merely a game, if that some how makes sense.

The game tried to be serious, which in many cases it was, but after a while the world just felt cartoonish and so too did some of it characters. I feel like Beth realized this and played on that cartoony feel to make it dark.

As in they played off the humor in a dark manner, so it balances it out. SI was mucb darker because, every character was insane and half of them reveled in murder, extrotion, debauchery and more. They were all extremes of certain vices, And because they made it humourous only made it that much more dark. Almost like insult to injury.

Then theres just the world itself. The enviornments of Mania/Dementia beat anything in Skyrim or Morrowind, and that includes its expansions. Sure the ashlands are cool, but giant mushroom swamps, filled with frog men and large protuding monoliths agaisnt a cosmos backdrop is cooler

[BetaB17]

A single expansion can be great, but it doesn't always mean it'll take the gold home<_< SI is undoubtedly great, overrated maybe, but it holds true to it's word. That said<_< it's side quests were rather weak. Only the setting, characters, and main story are what draw our fathom.
In contrast, Knights of the Nine was far from best. Good? It'll pass but I wouldn't give it a bronze medal. And followed up by the lesser DLC that were rather bland, but still outdid Hearthfire which was purely for the fans<_<

In relation, Dawnguard and Dragonborn were good, but appeal to separate things. Not many people were fans of how overly similar both faction's quests were, and much of the story lacked depth. However the scenery and exploration into Falmer lore was grand. The shear architecture of the temple was so splendid amongst the pearly white snow. However the Soul Cairn as rather a disappointment from the expected<_<
As with Dragonborn, the expansion of the dragonborn's lore and the nostalgia of revisiting a much loved sight was all too well. The story was well in focus, and the scenery wasn't all too bad but a nice change.

However Morrowind surely had the largest selection of expansions, with the usual 2 majors<_< Tribunal was more than just a separate story, but a continuation of a saga. It continued that sense of fulfillment that would usually die off after the vanilla's main quest ended. It didn't just start you up upon a new tale, it simply kept it flowing with the depth it offered.
Following such, you have Bloodmoon, a dramatic change of scenery from the ash and swamps to the tundra and forests. Two conflicting questlines unfolded, and neither were mere copies of the other. Rather it offers a different perspective rather than just a change of faction and gear<_< something Dawnguard fell short to understand. And if you want to spread out you joy or boast up with some gear, plenty of DLC are there to offer.

So while SI may be the best expansion on it's own, that doesn't mean it instantly wins without question. On average I would only give it silver<_<
But then you see Morrowind, while individually they may not compete with SI, collectively their average would out-weigh it's foe. This is why it's taking the lead here. The point of this thread is to ask which game had the best expansions, not what was the best expansion thus far

[Mr.Argonian]

A single expansion can be great, but it doesn't always mean it'll take the gold home<_< SI is undoubtedly great, overrated maybe, but it holds true to it's word. That said<_< it's side quests were rather weak. Only the setting, characters, and main story are what draw our fathom.
In contrast, Knights of the Nine was far from best. Good? It'll pass but I wouldn't give it a bronze medal. And followed up by the lesser DLC that were rather bland, but still outdid Hearthfire which was purely for the fans<_<

In relation, Dawnguard and Dragonborn were good, but appeal to separate things. Not many people were fans of how overly similar both faction's quests were, and much of the story lacked depth. However the scenery and exploration into Falmer lore was grand. The shear architecture of the temple was so splendid amongst the pearly white snow. However the Soul Cairn as rather a disappointment from the expected<_<
As with Dragonborn, the expansion of the dragonborn's lore and the nostalgia of revisiting a much loved sight was all too well. The story was well in focus, and the scenery wasn't all too bad but a nice change.

However Morrowind surely had the largest selection of expansions, with the usual 2 majors<_< Tribunal was more than just a separate story, but a continuation of a saga. It continued that sense of fulfillment that would usually die off after the vanilla's main quest ended. It didn't just start you up upon a new tale, it simply kept it flowing with the depth it offered.
Following such, you have Bloodmoon, a dramatic change of scenery from the ash and swamps to the tundra and forests. Two conflicting questlines unfolded, and neither were mere copies of the other. Rather it offers a different perspective rather than just a change of faction and gear<_< something Dawnguard fell short to understand. And if you want to spread out you joy or boast up with some gear, plenty of DLC are there to offer.

So while SI may be the best expansion on it's own, that doesn't mean it instantly wins without question. On average I would only give it silver<_<
But then you see Morrowind, while individually they may not compete with SI, collectively their average would out-weigh it's foe. This is why it's taking the lead here. The point of this thread is to ask which game had the best expansions, not what was the best expansion thus far

Can I just ask, what's with all the <_< ? I swear everyone of your posts has at least one of them. This one has six.

[Avron the S'wit]

That might be a better question for a PM or the General Discussion subforum. You guys are so easily sidetracked by commenting on people's opinions or writing styles - save it for outside of threads, please!

Also, Beta, everything you said was just...

:

Very well expressed post! And I totally agree.

[Mattbott]

Shivering Isles edged it for me, Morrowind a very close second

imo SI and the strongholds made Oblivion the most well expanded game as it were, not because of the SI side quests which i agree were pretty normal, but because it was a complete territory you could refresh your character in.

I played KOTN once and never again - I can't believe they put that pilgrimage in and i can't remember anything about KOTN after that except boots that made animals friendly and if you do something wrong you have to do the rounds again lol (I think i accidentally picked up an apple in a shop and my holy armour rejected me)

the lairs and towers in Oblivion were useful (much like Hearthfire) and were the cornerstone of many a replay character cos it was a good way of getting where you wanted to go without enrolling in the guilds. I managed to play an entire character to mid - high level (54th i think) just on SI and then retired him in the Warriors stronghold

I found Solstheim very bland - a white version of the brown stuff Vvardenfell was mainly made from (on the xbox at least). And the final werewolf maze was silly - repair hammers and health potions and the depletion thereof Bloodmoon was another dlc i played only once.
Loved being a werewolf in bloodmoon tho, first person ftw

dragonborn is brilliant, dawnguard is great - it is linear but gives us some good lore and has it's moments (ice lake dragons were a lot of fun), and the third biggish Skyrim dlc i had in my head was amazing too. Guess fanboy expectations can be a terrible curse

[Unionhack]

It isn't even a contest in my mind. Shivering Isles absolutely blew me away. Sometimes I wonder if I spent more time there than on Nirn.

Morrowind's were good too and I haven't had a chance to play any of Skyrim's. But my vote goes to Oblivion due to the sheer scale of SI and the good times provided by KotN, et cetera. Let's just not talk about Horse Armor.

[Ygern]

I really don't know how to choose.

While I think that Morrowind will always secretly be my favorite game, that has a lot to do with it being my first encounter with the TES series. All three games have made significant advances to gameplay so in a way it is zero-sum game to try to compare them fairly.

In all three cases the DLCs have added good content to the game.

Morrowind: what was really great about the expansions was that they added new lands that were dramatically different from the island of Vvaardenfell, it broke the monotony of the Blighted desert and added a lush subtropical city, a super-weird clockwork city and a frozen island full of dangerous new encounters and epic loot. (The free DLCs ranged from the not bad - Helm of Tohan & Area Effect Arrows - to the downright sucky Entertainers.esp)

Oblivion: the two main addons KOTN and Shivering Isles are the ones that really count here. KOTN added a good adventure that was not only somewhat related to the ancient history of Cyrodiil but also used parts of the existing map that were until then, really under-utilized. (It also happens to be good background for Skyrim, but that is just a bonus). Shivering Isles was just wonderful: crazy new realm of Oblivion, rollicking adventure, more Golden Saints than you could shake a stick at and a sky that looked like an acid dream at night. It was the perfect antidote to the sometimes bland green lands of the main game.
Honorable mention has to go to some of the smaller DLCs as well - I really liked the Wizard's Tower and the dungeon crawl in the Mehrunes Razor. Even the Fighter's Castle was kind of nice, although I am not really a castle-loving kind of person. How these add-ons were implemented was pretty dire though. There was no subtlety to it whatsoever. If you started a new game with all the official DLCs loaded, you effectively had inherited half of Cyrodiil before you got out of the starter dungeon.

Skyrim: Bethesda got a lot of things right with these DLCs. Firstly, they are integrated in a much more plausible and subtle way, all three add a lot of new content including new skills (crossbows, vampire perks, building houses, riding dragons, baking bread ) and abilities. They also tried to not make any lore mistakes where they referenced previous games - this is something that may not be important to everyone, but it's a nice extra touch. It was also kind of nice that the main expansion referenced the lore of the original main quest and expanded upon it. If there was a downside to it, it is that the completed game pretty much all takes place in the same cold northern parts of Tamriel, there are no radical changes of scenery - the Oblivion realm of Hermaeus Mora *is* very different, but you can't live there, so it doesn't count - beautiful though it is). What I highly appreciate about Skyrim in its completed state, is that as an RPGer, you can start a new game and literally go your own way as soon as you have left the starter dungeon. You can avoid all the Guilds, ignore the major questlines, and just go your own way. The game will keep you occupied for a long, long time while you do exactly what you please: explore, hunt, mine, build, adventure and become a warrior, a wizard or a thief (or a farmer, landowner, merchant or general dogsbody) on your own terms.