The story concept in both were great, I find the main difference with Dawnguard was there was more walking and tasks in the missions, the initiates ewer mission and area is cool but it takes forever to get through. Dragonborn I can't think of a part in the main quest where I started thinking ugg when am I going to get to this area unlike some parts in Dawnguard.

On the flip side, I loved the length of the Dawnguard questline. Just going through Darkfall Cave, then the Forgotten Vale...

I was actually happy to see the urban setting of Solitude once I got done and went to sell more loot than one character should have.

I don't think it was better but definitely longer. Dawnguard needed a longer questline or else it would have been just vampires and werewolf trees for 20 bucks. There wasn't that much content in it that the main quest couldn't find a way to cover. Dawnguard had a couple side quests and a couple cool items but that was it. Besides Aetherium, it was all about vamps and wolves. Dragonborn as a whole doesn't need such a long main quest because the majority of stuff is found outside of what the MQ can handle. Dragonborn has way more side quests that are very well thought out, and a whole new land to explore. The main quest is kind of secondary in Dragonborn, the main quest was primary in Dawnguard.

Idk if it makes much sense, but I hope you get what I'm saying.

Makes sense to me, but I feel like that is where Dragonborn was a bit of a let down. Having another Dragonborn present is kind of a big deal to the storyline in Skyrim. You would think that the main quest would have been treated better as a result.

agree. if the DLC were to take place somewhere else it wouldn't have received so much praise

Dragonborn's quests are better because Neloth, Mora and Apocrypha. Miraak is neat but the most pressing questions are not answered.

the main quest of dawnguard was almost all the dlc, and apart from the great forgotten vale and some good character it had very little to offer, perhaps only that "dwemer" interesting quest
but a lot of "more of the same"

vampires and werewolves ? really ? interesting like a renal colic

dragonborn is far more ambitious, the main quest its only a little part of a great and immersive game world full of brilliant and engaging sidequests and tons of "new" challenging enemies and interesting stuff ( books, weapons, armours etc.)

not to mention the great artistic direction of apocrypha and the usual phenomenal work of jeremy soule

I totally agree with you, I expected there to be more to it too. I thought Miraak would get more face time because he was the man. The baddest dude in Skyrim for sure, ice cold playa style, he was cooler than a fan. I didn't expect him to be like that, I thought he was going to be all old school wise mean villain, your classic a-hole. I actually enjoyed being punked by Miraak. He should have got way more face time.

I agree absolutely. The most fun that I have in these games is the exploration and collecting all the items, reading (and keeping) the books. The graphics blow me away and make me feel as if I am really there. The music is so beautiful and relaxing. I don't really compare story lines because I enjoy each one as it is. Totally awesome would describe them all, in my opinion!

Meh, I thought that the mystery and ambiguity of Miraak made him such a great character, we only have hints of his backstory, and adding the legend of the "traitor" it really seems like time forgot Miraak/

Mystery and ambiguity can make for brilliant characters. One example that I can think of is TIM, whom you can see in my avatar (lets not discuss what happened to this character by the end of the series). However, there still needs to be a foundation of lore from which that character rests. From there, you also need to develop a presence for the character whether they be a hero or a villain. This is precisely where Miraak kind of falls apart. You only see this character twice (unless he steals Dragon souls from you) and the extent of his influence on Tamriel effectively dies when you cleanse the Stones. Bethesda simply didn't give me a sense of why this guy was such bad news or why I should care. Bethesda can tell me he is threat all they like, but words only go so far. Show me what he can do. I felt that they did a good job of this with Herma-Mora, but they practically ignored Miraak.

If anything, I thought Bethesda made Miraak so ambiguous that I could not even take him seriously as a threat. Within a couple of quests, you effectively neuter his plan to enslave Solstheim unless he can physically return to Tamriel. You later convince his Daedric master to aid you in your quest to destroy him, rather easily might I add. Finally, you shout one of his dragon allies into serving you instead, also rather easily. Miraak reeked of arrogance and I saw very little reason for him to be so convinced of his victory given how much damage you did to his plans in such a short time.

Dawnguard was better in many ways including the main quest.

Not to me. Miraak's was he wants to come back and is tired of HM, and HM wants to get you because Miraak isno longer loyal. Harkon's is he wants to block out the sun, he's power hungry, and he will sacrifice his family to achieve the goal. They're both pretty cut and dry, but at least Dragonborn's has some mystery to it because we don't know HM's motive and role in the story at first.

And The death of the Skaal leader gave us some emotional hits. Dawnguard pretty much relied on Serana to get us into the story, which is fine, but the way that we handled her in the beginning didn't make much sense in my opinion. I'd say both were more about the ride than the actual plot, like most TES stories, and in that regard, I found Dragonborn's ride to be more enjoyable, even if it was shorter.

While you make some good points about Serana, I'd like to see more NPCs like her in the future. Her development was phenomenal, at least when compared to how other NPCs are handled in Bethesda games, and is among one of the reasons many players were upset that she wasn't a marriage candidate, that and she is attractive. I felt practically nothing for the Skaal leader only because he dies within a short time of meeting him. I'll admit it was a little revealing about just how far some of the Daedric Princes are willing to go in their goals, but I felt nothing for the guy. I don't think I could say the same if Serana had died.

I loved how you tell in Storns voice that he was trying his damm hardest to defy Mora.

That is among my favorite scenes from the expansion.

Good point. They may have relied heavily on Serana to make us care, but they did it very well. I love me some Serana, and all the outcries for mariage (Including my own through salty salty tears) is a testament to her quality. I however did really like that old man, and felt like [censored] when I inadvertently caused his death, even if it wasn't actually my fault, unless the player character willingly serves HM, of course.

Yea, it was really sad. I tried cutting the damn tentacles to no avail. I love the Skaal, and hate my role in that whole event. But it's good writing that this happened. They need more dark themes like this.

I


The skaal made me realize that all of Tamriel's religion are now obsolete. Greatest village/ people ever! They are nords, they worship a Monotheistic God, and they make me want to move to the Arctic circle.

Just did, my bad. And I agree, the Skaal are the [censored], and seem like the real true nords of Tamriel.