ESO Enters its Final Beta Weekend

This weekend marks the start of the final beta for the upcoming Elder Scrolls Online, and for the first time gives testers the opportunity to play as Imperials.

Set thousand years before Skyrim (in the middle of the Second Era, for those familiar with the in-game history), Elder Scrolls Online takes place during a period of major political instability. Of the franchise’s ten major races, all but the Imperials have split into three major alliances, each with its own interests in—and rationale for— ruling Tamriel. Meanwhile, the Fighter’s Guild has taken it upon itself to fight the forces of the Daedric lord Molag Bal, who threatens to merge Tamriel with his own hellish dimensional plane and serves as the game’s major antagonist.

Following developer ZeniMax’s decision to lift their non-disclosure agreement in mid-February, the ESO beta has been receiving generally positive reviews from testers. Given the lack of interest following the initial hype of its announcement in 2012, removing the NDAs has been seen as a strategic move that’s paid off. The wealth of screencaps, videos and streams being generated by beta testers, as well as the MMO’s impending release on April 4th, has done quite a bit to drum up interest from the franchise’s traditionally single-player fanbase.

Most interesting about the final beta weekend is the opportunity for testers to play as Imperials, who will be an exclusive race only available to players who preorder the “Imperial Edition” of Elder Scrolls Online. Players who preorder the game will also have five days of early access to the game and several other pieces of exclusive content.

Participants in this weekend’s scale beta test will also receive an exclusive monkey vanity pet for PC and Mac copies of the Elder Scrolls Online. Sign-ups are open to the public on the game's website.