Juicy and spoilery new Skyrim Dragonborn info leaks ahead of tomorrow's release
Doesn't Monday drag on?
Skyrim add-on Dragonborn arrives tomorrow on Xbox 360 and god knows when on PC and PS3. New detail about what's inside has leaked courtesy of a Dragonborn beta tester.
I want to share the new abilities and spells and some of the juicier additions. Note, then, that the below is spoilery. Don't read on if you don't want to know.
You can ride dragons, something only hinted at before but never confirmed. An Achievement is awarded for taming (via a shout) and riding five dragons, according to The Out Housers.
Spears don't appear to be usable by the player; they go into the inventory as arrows when looted from Riekling enemies.
The Dragonborn quest can be started at any time but behaves a bit differently if you're already finished Skyrim's main quest. You could rush through the content in 10 hours, the tester reckoned, although that tester had poured in 30 hours and still wasn't finished.
The isle of Solstheim, the location of the DLC, has its own discrete map separate from Skyrim. Maybe dragon riding is only permitted here? It's unclear.
New shouts include Cyclone to create a tornado, and Battle Fury to buff someone else in a similar way to Elemental Fury. Dragon Aspect doesn't turn you into a dragon, rather it summons flashy dragon armour, gives you stronger shouts, stronger melee attacks and summons an Ancient Dragonborn to fight with you when low on health. You can only use this once a day.
New weapons and armour include Deathbrand armour that's similar to Stalhrim; Bonemould armour; Chitin armour; Stalhrim armour (Achievement for crafting a piece of this); heavy Carved Nordic armour; light Morag Tong armour; and new Telvanni and Miraak robes.
There's a new ring that allows resurrected creatures to explode into frost and fire damage, apparently.
New spells and enchantments are Poison Rune; Whirlwind Cloak; Ash Shell: encase enemies in ash (paralyse) or slow them down with damage; Waterwalking (enchant and spell) and staff enchanting.
There are five books each offering one of three active effects presumably for your armour, and there's an Achievement for collecting them all. The effects are Mora's Mercy, Mora's Wrath and Mora's Agony. There's no detail on their stats.
There's a new summoning power that the beta tester didn't want to spoil, and there are three new summon spells: Ash Guardian, Ash Spawn, Seeker.
There's one new quest you can only start if you're level 81 called Ebony Warrior.
There are new dragon types to encounter as well as a new Dwemer automaton (a walking Dwarven ballista). There are werebears, the hostile Morag Tong fighters, a serpent-like creature the tester wouldn't specify, Ash Spawn, Rieklings and Lurkers. Lurkers are apparently a real challenge; they're as big as giants, have loads of health and dish out a lot of damage.
You can buy new houses on Solstheim, and apparently the final battle against the first Dragonborn will be more than you at first expect.