The Elder Scrolls: Blades

"For centuries, the Blades protected the Dragonborn Emperors. An elite group of fighters, they commanded fear and respect. But the Great War against the Elves ravaged the Empire... The Emperor was forced to sign a costly peace treaty. The Blades were outlawed and disbanded. The Thalmor hunted them down throughout the Empire..."

- Introduction

The Elder Scrolls: Blades is an upcoming free-to-play game developed by Bethesda Game Studios that will be playable on iPhone, iPad, and Android devices in early 2019, and also on PC, consoles, and in VR. Pre-registration is currently available from the official site. The game's score was composed by Inon Zur. On March 1st, 2019, Bethesda announced that the game would be entering early access in the spring, preceded by a closed beta for iOS (under NDA). Early access for The Elder Scrolls: Blades officially began on March 27, 2019.

Plot
''In The Elder Scrolls: Blades you are member of the ancient order of the Blades. Forced into exile, you seek refuge in your remote hometown (which you get to name) only to find it reduced to rubble. Now, it’s up to you to restore your town back to its former glory.''

The game is set after the events of the Great War, in an unknown town within the Third Empire. The Fugitive, who is the player character, returns to his home town only to find it up in flames. While on their way to the town, they are ambushed by mercenaries under the employ of the Bloodfall Queen, known as Urzoga gra-Batul, who is the Imperial vassal which the town answers to. Upon arrival, the Fugitive speaks with Junius the Elder and has to return the townsfolk who fled, after which they must aid in rebuilding the town.

Blades begins with a brief prologue talking about the Blades and how they disbanded. It then goes on to give a combat tutorial, which consists of the player learning how to attack and block by killing a Thalmor agent. After this, the player is shown how to walk and must cut through some vines to progress into their destroyed town. In doing so they will

Release
The Elder Scrolls: Blades was released on March 28, 2019, in early access. To date the official release date has not been announced.

Early Access
If granted early access, players must first download a somewhat large patch (around 800mb), which is probably graphics and game mechanics.

Gameplay
Not much is known about the gameplay in Blades so far, but it is currently known that there are at least three modes of play. The player can level and customize their character, and on mobile devices the game can be played in both portrait and landscape perspectives. Custom combat maneuvers can be performed by making specific swiping gestures.

Abyss
The "Abyss" game mode is infinitely repeatable and contains a dungeon filled with a never-ending stream of enemies which become progressively more difficult as the player continues. Each level of the abyss, the player earns progress towards different items, from crafting supplies to alchemy ingredients. They may sometimes get chests, which have a random selection of gems, coins, ingredients, crafting materials, building material, or weapons and armor.

Arena
The "Arena" game mode contains one-on-one combat against other players.

Town
The "Town" game mode is the main part of the game and focused on rebuilding the player's hometown after its destruction.

Gallery
de:The Elder Scrolls: Blades es:The Elder Scrolls: Blades fr:The Elder Scrolls: Blades pl:The Elder Scrolls: Blades uk:The Elder Scrolls: Blades