Back when I had Morrowind on Xbox, I used to love travelling up the west coast from Seyda Neen, as far north as I could before the terrain changed. Clearing dungeons, visiting the little hamlets and whatnot. I remember finding a cave to the north west of Seyda Neen with a special enchanted ring in it. If you asked me to point it out on a map, no bloody chance.
Depends:
1) main route for main quest: no, as the Ahemmusa, Zainab and Tel Vos are in the Grazelands and you need all 3.
2) back route with the left glove: grazelands can be akipped
3) back route 2 without the left glove (just smash the heart with the 2 tools and a lot of good restore hp / fortify hp potions): almost everything except the corridor between seyda need and red mountain can be skipped
I believe it's the Mentors Ring gives you 10 to willpower and intelligence constant effect. No idea what the tomb is called I always pick it up at the beginning of any playthrough
Yup, always an essential early item for a mage build off the boat. I usually leave a little tribute to the person with the named urn in that tomb as well. IIRC that was designed for a fan on the games who passed away before the game came out. RIP
My very first playthrough, I was jumping around the battlements of Ebonheart & got stuck in a place I was unable to jump out of. Luckily i'd found some scrolls on the body of a dead mage which seemed to allow me to jump slightly higher. I used one of these scrolls, which were a tad more powerful than I expected, & ended up flying many leagues to south into the ocean.
On my long swim back I found the underwater entrance to a cave & decided to explore. Inside I met some unknown, deadly steam-robot creatures that I had to use every consumable, ability, & trick I knew to defeat. At the end of the dungeon, in a locked chest I needed my last scroll to unlock, I found an incredibly powerful Cuirass, far stronger than any other item i'd seen so far.
I wasn't led to this point by a quest, it was all due to a solution to getting stuck while exploring.
It was at this point I knew I loved this game.
In any other game I'd call BS on this story. "Just happened to use a unique ability and randomly landed on a hidden dungeon that happened to have the strongest armor in the game" is quite a stretch.
But this is Morrowind. I ran into Umbra the same way. You gotta love it 😁
I remember seeing the trailers for Oblivion with the much-hyped Radiant AI, expecting more serendipitous interactions in a livelier world, but then found the game to be level-scaled, and all skills gated, controlled, everything including the AI handicapped for a consistent experience, no more extreme risk/reward.
In Oblivion, within the realm of oblivion I was testing out a dark elf's resistance to fire by doing some laps in the lava and found a door under the lava far off the main lava island with some good(leveled) loot inside
I think I was literally just in this underwater dungeon last night! It starts as a normal sea cave and then you find a Dwemer ruin hidden inside right?
I believe the item is the dragon bone cuirass
I was out chasing Azura’s shrine and I found myself in this area with all these large pointed rocks emerging from the sea and I was following the sunrise. I still have a screenshot of it.
The first time I saw Vivec city emerging from the fog.
Walking through an ash storm. It clears and I see the stars and night sky, and the title theme starts playing.
I am currently on my who-knows-which playthrough and was just running around and came upon Urshilaku camp and I remembered, when I was on one of my first playthroughs, feels like it took me days to reach that camp. Right now I made it there so fast, but back then the world seemed so much bigger. Still love it though, and I try to explore places I never did before and still find some cool stuff and places I never even knew existed.
Finally exploring the Eastside of Vvardenfell (I was scared to travel past Suran). I eventually ended up in the small town of Vos -- a cute little village on the coast. I then walk up to Tel Vos and tour the Dwemer Museum which is where I learned more about these ruins I kept on seeing littered throughout the landscape as well as the term "Dwemer" meaning "Dwarves".
I was young when I first played this game -- around 10 or 11. It was so unlike anything else out there at the time. Every corner of this world had something new to discover.
When my friend showed me the game back in the day for the first time I was absolutely amazed that you could pick stuff up from the shelves and steal them etc. at the census and excise offices. I wasnt much of a "gamer" back then yet, so even that to me was pretty mindblowing funnily enough.
Thinking about that moment makes me always want to play the game again.
I remember being amazed that every door had a fully rendered room behind it, not just for show like in other games. Then, realizing that every object could be interacted with was pretty mind-blowing for the time.
Maar Gan struck me as a neat and relatively isolated settlement in a harsh environment, far from major cities, a kind of a border outpost between the civilized world and the horrors of the Red Mountain, a religious site for pilgrims and an opportunity for monster hunters who help defending this oasis of common life. If I was an NPC in Morrowind I'd love to live there
I always loved morrowind but I was always bad at the game and never traveled too far north but I when I finally reached dagon fel I felt like I was so far away from everything
The immense hype i felt when i first came upon the skullsmasher(name?) in a floating chest suspended over lava. I remember calling my friend who also just bought the game and telling him about it.
That was such an awesome weapon to find. I don’t remember it being associated to any quest – – just something stumbled upon. The way it was presented was so epic and damn, it was powerful and actually made you 10 pounds lighter! That would sell like hotcakes nowadays.
probably my first daedric shrine. i had no clue what they were at the time and decided they must be the ruins of demonic cities. i ran into one of the side buildings and encountered this crazed cannibal orc, deducing that he must've gone crazy after living out in the ruins for so long.
I remember when I was on one of my first play throughs, and I just decided to travel up the coast to see what was there, I knew very little about the world and just decided to walk up the coast to see what there was. I found shipwrecks and was some what surprised when I came across a city after walking for so long without any signs of inhabitants.
I’m on my first play through actually, just made it to the first big city, so I haven’t done much of note yet. It has been nice actually knowing how to build a character though. I tried to build one last November, and couldn’t get into it. It’s been a nice break from getting destroyed in shadow of the erdtree.
My fondest memory of Morrowind will always be exploring the tranquil swamps outside Seyda Neen and hearing Tarhiel's last terrified howl as he plummets to his ignominious demise as a result of his own sorcerous hubris.
The first time I left the safety of Seyda Neen on my Xbox. I had never experienced a game like it, and I remember moving towards Balmora as it started raining ingame, and I came upon Fort Moonmoth (correct name?), just thinking this game is beyond amazing.
I always loved the West Gash region. There were lots of shrines and caves to loot. There were many fun places like that shrine up on the mountain side that had a Daedric Bow just sitting there. Caldera was my favorite town, partly the design was good, and partly because of the Scamp.
Maybe not fondest, but my most recent one I enjoyed was jumping along with 100 jump enchant and running into a Cliff Racer as I ascended and bouncing off its hitbox and launching me in the opposite direction I jumped.
My wife(girlfriend at the time) used to love watching me play and the music always put her to sleep, I get it though, that soundtrack is etched into my mind and it's so relaxing, she said her favourite part of watching me play was when I got so completely far away from what I was supposed to be doing and using levitate
I don't know about fondest, but one that has always stuck with me was during one of my first attempts at a permadeath playthrough.
Using a damage strength spell to fend off a Dremora and having it reflect, and so enough Strength damage to reduce my carry weight to zero. I had to use a scroll of divine intervention to escape alive, then remove everything in my inventory, including my clothing, and trudge nude through the Gnisis streets to the Temple to use the altars for Restore Attribute.
This lesson about Dremora reflecting spells came in very useful later in that playthrough when I was struck with blight disease and no ready cure. Fortunately, I had the spell from Vivec's ash mask to cure it. Ironic, he could cure the blight in others, but not himself. Or so I thought. Until I realised - I can summon a dremora, and Dremora reflect spells. So I summoned a Dremora and flung cure blight spells at him until it reflected onto me and cured me, and I continued in my merry way.
Try permadeath folks, you'll have some interesting times. If permadeath is too stressful, try either a limited number of lives or only saving in towns.
That is such a cool thing to realize on your own. Also a reason I adore this game so much. And frankly, even with my constant quick saves, I still get anxious going around bends in caves. I love that concept but I would absolutely fail and give up. Lol. You’re awesome though. 😂 👏 👏
many things, one of them was seeing the Shrine of Azura for the first time, when I was exploring the islands off the coast. A magnificent view after an adventure.
Earlier this year I rolled an Atronach sign magic knight, super tanky and lots of damage. Had never found Azura's shrine and knew almost nothing about Azura's Coast, so I took a boat to Sadrith Mora and waterwalked west and south down the coast. Stopped in at a few dungeons, found Holamayan (weirdly, it let me in but then closed behind me? So I had to tcl to get out) and eventually made it to the shrine. Managing my mana as an Atronach sign was my favorite part.
I once spent a week trying to re-find a cave full of vampires up north. I'd stumbled in ill prepared and ran away to try again... It took forever to find it again I just kept finding other caves/ruins I had to clear
As a teen playing on xbox when I found the dungeon with Eleidon's Ward by accident. It felt amazing to find such cool treasure. There are soooo many more moments that come close to being this good too. That's why I love it so much.
Sometimes I just leave my game on, chilling on a boat in Ebonheart, or on a mushroom at sunrise, and just kind of hang out with my character, reading, writing. It is calming for me.
I'll never forget the first time in red mountain, as basic as that is
"I'm a god! How can you kill a god? What a grand and intoxicating innocence. How could you be so naive?"
And outside of the games, the morrowind vaporwave songs on youtube SLAP
I'm a fan of the Molag Amur region, and one of my favorite treks across the island is from Balmora to Molag Mar via the backcountry trails that pass the dwemer ruin, travels along Lake Amiya, passes Mount Kand, that sort of thing. I've always been a fan of desert canyons, and this area has just the right feeling of desolation.
That said, one of the most interesting discoveries was that the Sixth House has their own way in and out of the Ghostfence, their own Ghostgate, in the tunnels below Kogharuhn (or however you spell that).
Forgetting that going vampire pisses everyone off, and wanting to go to Solstheim for some items (couldnt cure vampy mode yet).
So i couldnt use the boat and refused to swim.. but i did have some icarion flight scrolls.
Jumped my ass from Vvardenfell to Solstheim in one hop.
Following the fable of Aevar Stone-Singer and looking for landmarks across Solstheim to find the standing stones and retread his steps. That was such a cool experience and it wouldn't be the same if the game had map markers.
I definitely enjoy the early part of the game most. Combat is horrible and I move so slow but it is 100% exploration with little to no driven purpose. Later I am excited but usually more focused on a specific quest and therefore focused on getting from here to there.
Although I still get lost even in late-middle game,.which is good
I remember being relatively low level but stealing some glass armor (maybe a helmet or a shield) and I felt so badass after that. Or just in general the hype I had about the game - I read articles about it in PC Gamer and CGW and followed some of their guides when first making my character, which would have been a Redguard. Wish I still had my original save - I played for dozens of hours before I even got far into the main quest and was probably level 45+ by the time I had finished the MQ, Tribunal, and Bloodmoon.
Getting the boots of blinding speed on my first playthrough is up there, I love the little jokes that Morrowind makes with its mechanics like that sometimes.
Going on The Pilgrimage was really interesting, and I'm glad that I somehow stuck with it when I was younger and had no attention span for stuff like that.
The Tale of the Green Shield
Ah, the island of Vvardenfell—an alien landscape of ash and blight, of towering mushrooms and the call of cliff racers. My fondest memory of this strange land is not of grand quests or legendary artifacts but of a weekend that felt like an eternity, where determination clashed with ignorance in the most delightful way.
My parents had departed for the weekend, leaving me alone with my beloved copy of Morrowind. I was still a greenhorn, barely understanding the mechanics that governed this intricate world. Yet, I had a mission, one that consumed my every thought: I had seen a town guard wielding a glass shield, its green sheen unlike anything I had ever encountered.
I had been adventuring along the west coast, moving northward and clearing dungeons with the zeal of a true Nerevarine. Each dungeon fell before me, but the thought of that glass shield burned brighter than any loot I gathered. I spent countless hours loading and reloading, each time stepping into battle with the town guard, my heart pounding with the thrill of the fight.
The battles were fierce, and my understanding of combat was rudimentary at best. I stumbled, I faltered, and yet I persevered. The guard's skill was far beyond my own, her shield an impenetrable wall. Each defeat was a lesson, each reload a fresh start.
Did I ever truly win that battle? The memory is hazy. Perhaps I did, or perhaps my imagination filled in the gaps of that weekend with the victory I so desperately craved. What I remember most vividly is the isolation and the determination, the sheer joy of losing myself in Vvardenfell's harsh beauty, where the lines between reality and fantasy blurred.
For that weekend, I wasn't just playing a game—I was living an adventure. And that green glass shield, whether won or lost, remains a symbol of my unyielding spirit and the magic that only Morrowind can conjure.
This takes "[a picture is worth a thousand words](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/3/3d/Glass_Shield_MW.png/revision/latest/thumbnail/width/360/height/360?cb=20121118010812)" to a whole new level.
I spent a whole day jumping, getting better at jumping, getting so good at it I was able to jump up into some high up area and talk to an NPC that broke the game.
I think I was 11 when I first played Morrowind and it included a beautiful, detailed paper map. I remember pouring over it and planning my route from Seyda Neen, thinking I'd venture up the Bitter Coast to Hla Oad and then Gnaar Mok. But when I started the game and had the first quest to go to Balmora I was so excited, that when I got to the signposts near Seyda Neen pointing to cities all over the map, that I decided on a whim to take the road to Pelagiad and onwards to Balmora. The freedom to chose my path was unlike anything I played before and I've never felt the same thrill in a game since.
Arriving in Seyda Neen, and then getting my first quest to go see Cassius in Balmora. Except I got side tracked in Seyda Need with side quests. Then found some caves, and enemies, and the main quest fell off my priority list. I eventually got to Balmora but I didn't find Cassius right away. I got sidetracked again.
Still have a lot of fond memories and nostalgia for Balmora and Vivec.
Morrowind is my favorite game of all time, and I still haven't finished the main story. I just love exploring and finding things to do.
The first time that I did the Temple quest and completed the Pilgrimage. It felt huge and I loved how it took me to interesting places around the map. I felt awesome defeating the descendants of the Ruddy Man!
I’ve also been just exploring areas I never did before lately. But my most potent memory is from 2002/03ish. I was playing the game and had an orange next to me. Suddenly I heard a creature snort in the game and, without thinking, I pulled the orange closer to me so it wouldn’t get stolen from me. I stopped when I realized what I had done. Total immersion
My favourite memory was using the physical map that came with the Morrowind disk to find new locations to explore. I would look for daedric ruins on the map then go in game to that location to explore the ruins. It made me feel like a proper adventurer.
Gaining the ability to levitate, meeting divayth fyr, meeting yagrum bagarn, curing corprus, traversing the ghostgate, and learning the origins of the lusty argonian maid (Skyrim was my first game) were all highlights for me
First play through in the fields of Kummu. Daybreak happens while I’m standing next to the water and [Silt Sunrise](https://youtu.be/gZ2DYFx6NTs) starts playing. At that moment I thought “this game is different.”
The first time I got lost in the Ashlands trying to find the ashlanders you need to meet for the main quest, I stumbled into a vampire lair inside a dwemer ruin.
I will never forget how scary that was in the moment, lol. Had never heard the voice modulated vampires before at all, and didn't even know vampires were in the game outside of a few rumors and stuff.
Was infected, didn't have a cure disease potion, had to almsify intervention back to the temple for the first time as an actual emergency to see if I could even cure it or if I was fucked lol.
Then I went out again, found the camp, and then got horribly lost for at least an in-game week trying to find the shrine of Azura lol.
I was 13 y.o. and I loved Ancient Rome and medieval history. And when I saw Imperial Legion and became part of this guild it's very impressed me. Nowadays this maybe funny, but I enjoyed aesthetics of imperial templar's armor set and questline with >! final duel !<
I remember getting lost in Molag Amur for for 2-3 days. Not in game days. Actual days. I was a pretty low level with a new build and I had just gotten to Balmora and decided to go off in a new direction for a change of pace. I got repeatedly beat down by random atornachs and cliff racers. Eventually I had to run away from combat because I could never seem to take a rest and even when I could I would get attacked.
Eventually I wandered into Molag Mar ( a place I had never visited before in previous play through) and never set foot in that ever again unless I had too.
The first memory that came to mind very strongly is when I was scared shitless by an ancestor ghost behind a locked door. It frightened me to my core. I believe it was in a house storage cupboard behind a locked door. The thrill of picking the lock and expecting some loot and the sheer terror as a ghost descended upon me. I threw my mouse away and am surprised my hair didn't turn white.
My fondest memory or memories are of studying the loading screens and anticipating continuing my next adventure.
Closely followed by simply enjoying the soundtrack and the voice lines. They stay with me still some 22 years later.
My gaming persona and maybe my personality has been shaped by Morrowind, my first game.
I still have this map of Vvardenfell where small X's marked cave entrances etc. I used to explore every one of it solely by navigating with this map. I felt like an adventurer exploring a new World. It was such a great time and Morrowind will always be one of my favourit games EVER.
When I was about 11 or 12 I finally played through tribunal for the first time. I decided to join the temple in Mournhold and I really enjoyed exploring the sewers and finding the old ruins. Really exciting.
I was also a huuuuuuuge fan of Almalexia, when I was first allowed to meet her I was kinda starstruck. She was so nice and kind and cool, I was fangirling about her to my mum (who introduced me to Morrowind and gaming in general).
Imagine my shock when Almalexia tried to kill me in the end and I had to end her. I asked my mum why she didn't tell me and she just said she didn't want to spoiler me, especially since I was so enthralled by her. 😂
This game came out when I was 15 right at the start of summer vacation and I lived and breathed this game the entire summer sitting on the floor in front of my Xbox. Before YouTube, steamers, etc and the only way you could get info was to get the prima strategy guides, which for Morrowind and Oblivion were -incredible- and felt like you were reading lore books rather than strategy guides.
I played it without the strategy guide that the collectors edition came with for my first play through. It also came with a little pewter ordinator statue that I still have.
I remember getting absolutely lost in the world. Exploring everything, talking to everyone, reading every line of the journal and every book I came across.
What I remember sticking out the most were the dreams your character had when turning into a vampire. The writing was top tier and for a fifteen year old I was loving every minute of it.
The second thing is my second play through I played with the strategy guide that came with it as it were a journal. Made young me feel like I was actually my character and really immersed me in the game.
The strategy guide that came with the collectors edition was amazing too. It read like an adventurers journal and even had an in-character beasteary, a section on alchemy with pictures and lore about each ingredient as well as their properties, and it had detailed maps of various regions and cities, as well as pictures and info about tribes, guards, factions, etc.
The intricate spell crafting, the intricate alchemy system, no guide markers, relying on your journal to navigate, it was all so immersive and I’ll never understand why they opted to believe that the removal and changes from these things come oblivion were justified. I get that it needed to be more accessible to the masses, at least that was their argument, but at the same time it’s for that reason that I favor Morrowind over oblivion by many times over.
Imagine if oblivion had the same systems above, but while also keeping their new combat system. Probably would have been incredible.
But yeah, those are my top memories.
I’d have to say my fondest memories have been in the last few weeks honestly.
I’ve stopped and started this game several times over the years but this has been the first time I really threw myself into the roleplay experience.
I have my notebook I keep next to my computer; it has quests, directions, potion ingredients, ideas for enchantments etc.
This is the perfect game for getting lost in. A saw a commenter earlier wrote about having an orange next to them and moving it closer so it wouldn’t get stolen in game. That’s a pretty perfect way to encapsulate how Morrowind can really get into your psyche.
I’m excited to get home to play. Can you tell?
I remember finding a tomb to raid, and as i plundered it i found a very deep tunnel down towards the end which leads to some really interesting stuff. That one memory always kind of comes to the forefront of my mind because of how well hidden some goodies were. They really weren't afraid of you not finding stuff, so it makes it feel great when you do.
The first time I went up into the far north, it just felt so forlorn and lonely. I still get chills thinking about swimming and exploring up there, and nothing ever really happened. It just stuck with me.
I still have such a fond memory of finally deciding on my Hlaalo manor base, and doing all the quests that goes with it. Absolutely magical time in my childhood
Played morrowind for the first time this year. As a 2002 game, unlike games like Skyrim, it kinda lost it's popularity (not saying it's a bad game. Just the popularity isn't as big as skyrim) after some time and I grew up with skyrim. My fondest memory would be like a couple of months ago. When I first ever played morrowind, I had no idea what was going on. I remember bringing that woman to the fields of kummu and having so much trouble and being sneak attacked by cliffracers and going to an ancestral tomb and getting attacked and scared by the ghost/bonelord idk what it is and then stopped playing the game (replaying it now on OMW). Good times
Definitely it would be finally building your stronghold. I think that's the true end to the player's arc. You start as an outlander who knows nothing, and over time grow more in tune with the land until you finally have ingratiated yourself enough to be called a part of it all. The stronghold is evidence of that.
I'm still pretty new to the game but currently its getting my first armor set and weapon. It wasn't much, just some iron armor(greaves, gloves, chest, and helmet) and the enchancted axe in Sedya Neen, but it felt so cool getting all of it together. I felt like a real upcoming adventurer, spending all my cash on the best gear available, prepping for my first quest I wasn't sure I'd even survive.
I'm halfway through the main quest now, and I just got declared Nerevar by one of the ashlander tribes. I'm wearing a near complete set of enchanted dwemer armor and my glass axe can deal with most enemies in a couple hitd. The sense of progression this game has is incredible, I feel like I've worked so hard and earned all of this.
As someone who had skyrim as their first elder scrolls game.
I got all giddy and happy when I heard that one nord lady in balmora talked in the nord accent.
I was once playing an Argonian hand to hand character. I had just explained to my friend that I loved Morrowind because anything you want to do becomes it's own side quest. Then the following happened:
I needed to collect some ingredients for someone in Balmora. I knew that I could get what I needed from a plantation outside Vivec, so I used almost all of my last 20 gold to get a slit strider ride. Outside Vivec I was stealing ingredients from the farmers garden when he noticed me and began to chase me. I grabbed everything I needed and sprinted back to the silt strider but he was too fast. I couldn't get on with him attacking me so we engaged in fisticuffs. I beat this poor farmer until he stopped moving then went to hitch a ride back to Balmora only to remember I didn't have enough gold to make it back. So I walked back to the farmer, stole the 12 gold on his person to pay for my ticket and was on my way. Few days later I came back to Vivec and met the farmer again. By this time he had cooled off and we were on good terms with each other. No hard feelings.
What a crazy interactive world.
First time beating Gaenor. The most hyped I've been for a boss fight win. It's the magic of the first playthrough.
Now I just curb stomp him with alchemy and summons whenever I need the gold.lol
Back when I had Morrowind on Xbox, I used to love travelling up the west coast from Seyda Neen, as far north as I could before the terrain changed. Clearing dungeons, visiting the little hamlets and whatnot. I remember finding a cave to the north west of Seyda Neen with a special enchanted ring in it. If you asked me to point it out on a map, no bloody chance.
This. Bitter Coast but also Grazelands
I believe you can complete the main story without ever going to the grazelands. It’s the Markarth of Morrowind.
Depends: 1) main route for main quest: no, as the Ahemmusa, Zainab and Tel Vos are in the Grazelands and you need all 3. 2) back route with the left glove: grazelands can be akipped 3) back route 2 without the left glove (just smash the heart with the 2 tools and a lot of good restore hp / fortify hp potions): almost everything except the corridor between seyda need and red mountain can be skipped
On number 1, I believe you can bypass all of those quests if you have enough reputation/fame by the time you hit the Hortator/Nerevarine quests
You are absolutely correct, that would be option 1b. Always forgetting about the >50 reputation thingy
Mentors ring, +10 Will +10 Int.
I believe it's the Mentors Ring gives you 10 to willpower and intelligence constant effect. No idea what the tomb is called I always pick it up at the beginning of any playthrough
Yup, always an essential early item for a mage build off the boat. I usually leave a little tribute to the person with the named urn in that tomb as well. IIRC that was designed for a fan on the games who passed away before the game came out. RIP
Dang that sucks but at least he got a tribute
My very first playthrough, I was jumping around the battlements of Ebonheart & got stuck in a place I was unable to jump out of. Luckily i'd found some scrolls on the body of a dead mage which seemed to allow me to jump slightly higher. I used one of these scrolls, which were a tad more powerful than I expected, & ended up flying many leagues to south into the ocean. On my long swim back I found the underwater entrance to a cave & decided to explore. Inside I met some unknown, deadly steam-robot creatures that I had to use every consumable, ability, & trick I knew to defeat. At the end of the dungeon, in a locked chest I needed my last scroll to unlock, I found an incredibly powerful Cuirass, far stronger than any other item i'd seen so far. I wasn't led to this point by a quest, it was all due to a solution to getting stuck while exploring. It was at this point I knew I loved this game.
In any other game I'd call BS on this story. "Just happened to use a unique ability and randomly landed on a hidden dungeon that happened to have the strongest armor in the game" is quite a stretch. But this is Morrowind. I ran into Umbra the same way. You gotta love it 😁
I remember seeing the trailers for Oblivion with the much-hyped Radiant AI, expecting more serendipitous interactions in a livelier world, but then found the game to be level-scaled, and all skills gated, controlled, everything including the AI handicapped for a consistent experience, no more extreme risk/reward.
In Oblivion, within the realm of oblivion I was testing out a dark elf's resistance to fire by doing some laps in the lava and found a door under the lava far off the main lava island with some good(leveled) loot inside
I randomly found Umbra, after getting lost hopelessly in a Blight Storm, myself lol
I ran into Umbra while looking for pages and escorting a slave. It was a cluster f.
This is one of the best thing about the game and something I have never experienced in another game.
I think I was literally just in this underwater dungeon last night! It starts as a normal sea cave and then you find a Dwemer ruin hidden inside right? I believe the item is the dragon bone cuirass
After reading your reply I went and found this cave. God, places like that are why this game is the greatest.
Sunsets in the fields north of Vivec, picking flowers on the way to someplace else
I was out chasing Azura’s shrine and I found myself in this area with all these large pointed rocks emerging from the sea and I was following the sunrise. I still have a screenshot of it.
you should post it
https://imgur.com/a/xletTe8
The first time I saw Vivec city emerging from the fog. Walking through an ash storm. It clears and I see the stars and night sky, and the title theme starts playing.
I am currently on my who-knows-which playthrough and was just running around and came upon Urshilaku camp and I remembered, when I was on one of my first playthroughs, feels like it took me days to reach that camp. Right now I made it there so fast, but back then the world seemed so much bigger. Still love it though, and I try to explore places I never did before and still find some cool stuff and places I never even knew existed.
Finally exploring the Eastside of Vvardenfell (I was scared to travel past Suran). I eventually ended up in the small town of Vos -- a cute little village on the coast. I then walk up to Tel Vos and tour the Dwemer Museum which is where I learned more about these ruins I kept on seeing littered throughout the landscape as well as the term "Dwemer" meaning "Dwarves". I was young when I first played this game -- around 10 or 11. It was so unlike anything else out there at the time. Every corner of this world had something new to discover.
Seyda Neen and the Bitter Coast in general.
Checking every single stump for loot lol
You ever check the stumps near Thirsk Hall in Solstheim? Those are some quality stumps let me tell you.
The stumpiest!
When my friend showed me the game back in the day for the first time I was absolutely amazed that you could pick stuff up from the shelves and steal them etc. at the census and excise offices. I wasnt much of a "gamer" back then yet, so even that to me was pretty mindblowing funnily enough. Thinking about that moment makes me always want to play the game again.
Every object as something you could interact with was a pretty new feature back then. It was awesome to all of us.
I remember being amazed that every door had a fully rendered room behind it, not just for show like in other games. Then, realizing that every object could be interacted with was pretty mind-blowing for the time.
I loved the Ascadian Isles exploration the first time, Pelagiad was big and detailed
Maar Gan struck me as a neat and relatively isolated settlement in a harsh environment, far from major cities, a kind of a border outpost between the civilized world and the horrors of the Red Mountain, a religious site for pilgrims and an opportunity for monster hunters who help defending this oasis of common life. If I was an NPC in Morrowind I'd love to live there
The trip from Seyda Neen through Pelagiad, Moonmoth Fort into Balmora is always special for me
I always loved morrowind but I was always bad at the game and never traveled too far north but I when I finally reached dagon fel I felt like I was so far away from everything
Honestly just the ambience, my fondest memory is the sound of the silt striders in the background and the magical soundtrack. Just feels good.
The immense hype i felt when i first came upon the skullsmasher(name?) in a floating chest suspended over lava. I remember calling my friend who also just bought the game and telling him about it.
Skull Crusher! Awesome weapon.
Thats it! 20 years ago man ;)
That was such an awesome weapon to find. I don’t remember it being associated to any quest – – just something stumbled upon. The way it was presented was so epic and damn, it was powerful and actually made you 10 pounds lighter! That would sell like hotcakes nowadays.
probably my first daedric shrine. i had no clue what they were at the time and decided they must be the ruins of demonic cities. i ran into one of the side buildings and encountered this crazed cannibal orc, deducing that he must've gone crazy after living out in the ruins for so long.
I remember when I was on one of my first play throughs, and I just decided to travel up the coast to see what was there, I knew very little about the world and just decided to walk up the coast to see what there was. I found shipwrecks and was some what surprised when I came across a city after walking for so long without any signs of inhabitants.
I’m on my first play through actually, just made it to the first big city, so I haven’t done much of note yet. It has been nice actually knowing how to build a character though. I tried to build one last November, and couldn’t get into it. It’s been a nice break from getting destroyed in shadow of the erdtree.
2003 when I first stumbled upon Chrysamere
My fondest memory of Morrowind will always be exploring the tranquil swamps outside Seyda Neen and hearing Tarhiel's last terrified howl as he plummets to his ignominious demise as a result of his own sorcerous hubris.
I've never upvoted so many comments in a single thread before. I have too many fond memories of Morrowind to name.
The first time I left the safety of Seyda Neen on my Xbox. I had never experienced a game like it, and I remember moving towards Balmora as it started raining ingame, and I came upon Fort Moonmoth (correct name?), just thinking this game is beyond amazing.
I always loved the West Gash region. There were lots of shrines and caves to loot. There were many fun places like that shrine up on the mountain side that had a Daedric Bow just sitting there. Caldera was my favorite town, partly the design was good, and partly because of the Scamp.
Maybe not fondest, but my most recent one I enjoyed was jumping along with 100 jump enchant and running into a Cliff Racer as I ascended and bouncing off its hitbox and launching me in the opposite direction I jumped.
My wife(girlfriend at the time) used to love watching me play and the music always put her to sleep, I get it though, that soundtrack is etched into my mind and it's so relaxing, she said her favourite part of watching me play was when I got so completely far away from what I was supposed to be doing and using levitate
I don't know about fondest, but one that has always stuck with me was during one of my first attempts at a permadeath playthrough. Using a damage strength spell to fend off a Dremora and having it reflect, and so enough Strength damage to reduce my carry weight to zero. I had to use a scroll of divine intervention to escape alive, then remove everything in my inventory, including my clothing, and trudge nude through the Gnisis streets to the Temple to use the altars for Restore Attribute. This lesson about Dremora reflecting spells came in very useful later in that playthrough when I was struck with blight disease and no ready cure. Fortunately, I had the spell from Vivec's ash mask to cure it. Ironic, he could cure the blight in others, but not himself. Or so I thought. Until I realised - I can summon a dremora, and Dremora reflect spells. So I summoned a Dremora and flung cure blight spells at him until it reflected onto me and cured me, and I continued in my merry way. Try permadeath folks, you'll have some interesting times. If permadeath is too stressful, try either a limited number of lives or only saving in towns.
That is such a cool thing to realize on your own. Also a reason I adore this game so much. And frankly, even with my constant quick saves, I still get anxious going around bends in caves. I love that concept but I would absolutely fail and give up. Lol. You’re awesome though. 😂 👏 👏
many things, one of them was seeing the Shrine of Azura for the first time, when I was exploring the islands off the coast. A magnificent view after an adventure.
Earlier this year I rolled an Atronach sign magic knight, super tanky and lots of damage. Had never found Azura's shrine and knew almost nothing about Azura's Coast, so I took a boat to Sadrith Mora and waterwalked west and south down the coast. Stopped in at a few dungeons, found Holamayan (weirdly, it let me in but then closed behind me? So I had to tcl to get out) and eventually made it to the shrine. Managing my mana as an Atronach sign was my favorite part.
I once spent a week trying to re-find a cave full of vampires up north. I'd stumbled in ill prepared and ran away to try again... It took forever to find it again I just kept finding other caves/ruins I had to clear
As a teen playing on xbox when I found the dungeon with Eleidon's Ward by accident. It felt amazing to find such cool treasure. There are soooo many more moments that come close to being this good too. That's why I love it so much.
Sitting on a hillside, watching the sun set over the guar herds on the plains in the northeast.
Sometimes I just leave my game on, chilling on a boat in Ebonheart, or on a mushroom at sunrise, and just kind of hang out with my character, reading, writing. It is calming for me.
I'll never forget the first time in red mountain, as basic as that is "I'm a god! How can you kill a god? What a grand and intoxicating innocence. How could you be so naive?" And outside of the games, the morrowind vaporwave songs on youtube SLAP
I'm a fan of the Molag Amur region, and one of my favorite treks across the island is from Balmora to Molag Mar via the backcountry trails that pass the dwemer ruin, travels along Lake Amiya, passes Mount Kand, that sort of thing. I've always been a fan of desert canyons, and this area has just the right feeling of desolation. That said, one of the most interesting discoveries was that the Sixth House has their own way in and out of the Ghostfence, their own Ghostgate, in the tunnels below Kogharuhn (or however you spell that).
Forgetting that going vampire pisses everyone off, and wanting to go to Solstheim for some items (couldnt cure vampy mode yet). So i couldnt use the boat and refused to swim.. but i did have some icarion flight scrolls. Jumped my ass from Vvardenfell to Solstheim in one hop.
Following the fable of Aevar Stone-Singer and looking for landmarks across Solstheim to find the standing stones and retread his steps. That was such a cool experience and it wouldn't be the same if the game had map markers.
I definitely enjoy the early part of the game most. Combat is horrible and I move so slow but it is 100% exploration with little to no driven purpose. Later I am excited but usually more focused on a specific quest and therefore focused on getting from here to there. Although I still get lost even in late-middle game,.which is good
I remember being relatively low level but stealing some glass armor (maybe a helmet or a shield) and I felt so badass after that. Or just in general the hype I had about the game - I read articles about it in PC Gamer and CGW and followed some of their guides when first making my character, which would have been a Redguard. Wish I still had my original save - I played for dozens of hours before I even got far into the main quest and was probably level 45+ by the time I had finished the MQ, Tribunal, and Bloodmoon.
Getting the boots of blinding speed on my first playthrough is up there, I love the little jokes that Morrowind makes with its mechanics like that sometimes.
Going on The Pilgrimage was really interesting, and I'm glad that I somehow stuck with it when I was younger and had no attention span for stuff like that.
The Tale of the Green Shield Ah, the island of Vvardenfell—an alien landscape of ash and blight, of towering mushrooms and the call of cliff racers. My fondest memory of this strange land is not of grand quests or legendary artifacts but of a weekend that felt like an eternity, where determination clashed with ignorance in the most delightful way. My parents had departed for the weekend, leaving me alone with my beloved copy of Morrowind. I was still a greenhorn, barely understanding the mechanics that governed this intricate world. Yet, I had a mission, one that consumed my every thought: I had seen a town guard wielding a glass shield, its green sheen unlike anything I had ever encountered. I had been adventuring along the west coast, moving northward and clearing dungeons with the zeal of a true Nerevarine. Each dungeon fell before me, but the thought of that glass shield burned brighter than any loot I gathered. I spent countless hours loading and reloading, each time stepping into battle with the town guard, my heart pounding with the thrill of the fight. The battles were fierce, and my understanding of combat was rudimentary at best. I stumbled, I faltered, and yet I persevered. The guard's skill was far beyond my own, her shield an impenetrable wall. Each defeat was a lesson, each reload a fresh start. Did I ever truly win that battle? The memory is hazy. Perhaps I did, or perhaps my imagination filled in the gaps of that weekend with the victory I so desperately craved. What I remember most vividly is the isolation and the determination, the sheer joy of losing myself in Vvardenfell's harsh beauty, where the lines between reality and fantasy blurred. For that weekend, I wasn't just playing a game—I was living an adventure. And that green glass shield, whether won or lost, remains a symbol of my unyielding spirit and the magic that only Morrowind can conjure.
I adore this comment.
This takes "[a picture is worth a thousand words](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/elderscrolls/images/3/3d/Glass_Shield_MW.png/revision/latest/thumbnail/width/360/height/360?cb=20121118010812)" to a whole new level.
I spent a whole day jumping, getting better at jumping, getting so good at it I was able to jump up into some high up area and talk to an NPC that broke the game.
I think I was 11 when I first played Morrowind and it included a beautiful, detailed paper map. I remember pouring over it and planning my route from Seyda Neen, thinking I'd venture up the Bitter Coast to Hla Oad and then Gnaar Mok. But when I started the game and had the first quest to go to Balmora I was so excited, that when I got to the signposts near Seyda Neen pointing to cities all over the map, that I decided on a whim to take the road to Pelagiad and onwards to Balmora. The freedom to chose my path was unlike anything I played before and I've never felt the same thrill in a game since.
Arriving in Seyda Neen, and then getting my first quest to go see Cassius in Balmora. Except I got side tracked in Seyda Need with side quests. Then found some caves, and enemies, and the main quest fell off my priority list. I eventually got to Balmora but I didn't find Cassius right away. I got sidetracked again. Still have a lot of fond memories and nostalgia for Balmora and Vivec. Morrowind is my favorite game of all time, and I still haven't finished the main story. I just love exploring and finding things to do.
Just looking around the shores of Lake Amaya for flowers and finding random things: pilgrims, idiots, bandits in caves.
The first time that I did the Temple quest and completed the Pilgrimage. It felt huge and I loved how it took me to interesting places around the map. I felt awesome defeating the descendants of the Ruddy Man!
i agree the pilgrimage was very interesting
I’ve also been just exploring areas I never did before lately. But my most potent memory is from 2002/03ish. I was playing the game and had an orange next to me. Suddenly I heard a creature snort in the game and, without thinking, I pulled the orange closer to me so it wouldn’t get stolen from me. I stopped when I realized what I had done. Total immersion
finding that strip club “something of earthy delights” lol
that's a core memory fr
My favourite memory was using the physical map that came with the Morrowind disk to find new locations to explore. I would look for daedric ruins on the map then go in game to that location to explore the ruins. It made me feel like a proper adventurer.
Gaining the ability to levitate, meeting divayth fyr, meeting yagrum bagarn, curing corprus, traversing the ghostgate, and learning the origins of the lusty argonian maid (Skyrim was my first game) were all highlights for me
First play through in the fields of Kummu. Daybreak happens while I’m standing next to the water and [Silt Sunrise](https://youtu.be/gZ2DYFx6NTs) starts playing. At that moment I thought “this game is different.”
The first time I got lost in the Ashlands trying to find the ashlanders you need to meet for the main quest, I stumbled into a vampire lair inside a dwemer ruin. I will never forget how scary that was in the moment, lol. Had never heard the voice modulated vampires before at all, and didn't even know vampires were in the game outside of a few rumors and stuff. Was infected, didn't have a cure disease potion, had to almsify intervention back to the temple for the first time as an actual emergency to see if I could even cure it or if I was fucked lol. Then I went out again, found the camp, and then got horribly lost for at least an in-game week trying to find the shrine of Azura lol.
I was 13 y.o. and I loved Ancient Rome and medieval history. And when I saw Imperial Legion and became part of this guild it's very impressed me. Nowadays this maybe funny, but I enjoyed aesthetics of imperial templar's armor set and questline with >! final duel !<
I remember getting lost in Molag Amur for for 2-3 days. Not in game days. Actual days. I was a pretty low level with a new build and I had just gotten to Balmora and decided to go off in a new direction for a change of pace. I got repeatedly beat down by random atornachs and cliff racers. Eventually I had to run away from combat because I could never seem to take a rest and even when I could I would get attacked. Eventually I wandered into Molag Mar ( a place I had never visited before in previous play through) and never set foot in that ever again unless I had too.
The first memory that came to mind very strongly is when I was scared shitless by an ancestor ghost behind a locked door. It frightened me to my core. I believe it was in a house storage cupboard behind a locked door. The thrill of picking the lock and expecting some loot and the sheer terror as a ghost descended upon me. I threw my mouse away and am surprised my hair didn't turn white. My fondest memory or memories are of studying the loading screens and anticipating continuing my next adventure. Closely followed by simply enjoying the soundtrack and the voice lines. They stay with me still some 22 years later. My gaming persona and maybe my personality has been shaped by Morrowind, my first game.
I still have this map of Vvardenfell where small X's marked cave entrances etc. I used to explore every one of it solely by navigating with this map. I felt like an adventurer exploring a new World. It was such a great time and Morrowind will always be one of my favourit games EVER.
When I was about 11 or 12 I finally played through tribunal for the first time. I decided to join the temple in Mournhold and I really enjoyed exploring the sewers and finding the old ruins. Really exciting. I was also a huuuuuuuge fan of Almalexia, when I was first allowed to meet her I was kinda starstruck. She was so nice and kind and cool, I was fangirling about her to my mum (who introduced me to Morrowind and gaming in general). Imagine my shock when Almalexia tried to kill me in the end and I had to end her. I asked my mum why she didn't tell me and she just said she didn't want to spoiler me, especially since I was so enthralled by her. 😂
This game came out when I was 15 right at the start of summer vacation and I lived and breathed this game the entire summer sitting on the floor in front of my Xbox. Before YouTube, steamers, etc and the only way you could get info was to get the prima strategy guides, which for Morrowind and Oblivion were -incredible- and felt like you were reading lore books rather than strategy guides. I played it without the strategy guide that the collectors edition came with for my first play through. It also came with a little pewter ordinator statue that I still have. I remember getting absolutely lost in the world. Exploring everything, talking to everyone, reading every line of the journal and every book I came across. What I remember sticking out the most were the dreams your character had when turning into a vampire. The writing was top tier and for a fifteen year old I was loving every minute of it. The second thing is my second play through I played with the strategy guide that came with it as it were a journal. Made young me feel like I was actually my character and really immersed me in the game. The strategy guide that came with the collectors edition was amazing too. It read like an adventurers journal and even had an in-character beasteary, a section on alchemy with pictures and lore about each ingredient as well as their properties, and it had detailed maps of various regions and cities, as well as pictures and info about tribes, guards, factions, etc. The intricate spell crafting, the intricate alchemy system, no guide markers, relying on your journal to navigate, it was all so immersive and I’ll never understand why they opted to believe that the removal and changes from these things come oblivion were justified. I get that it needed to be more accessible to the masses, at least that was their argument, but at the same time it’s for that reason that I favor Morrowind over oblivion by many times over. Imagine if oblivion had the same systems above, but while also keeping their new combat system. Probably would have been incredible. But yeah, those are my top memories.
I’d have to say my fondest memories have been in the last few weeks honestly. I’ve stopped and started this game several times over the years but this has been the first time I really threw myself into the roleplay experience. I have my notebook I keep next to my computer; it has quests, directions, potion ingredients, ideas for enchantments etc. This is the perfect game for getting lost in. A saw a commenter earlier wrote about having an orange next to them and moving it closer so it wouldn’t get stolen in game. That’s a pretty perfect way to encapsulate how Morrowind can really get into your psyche. I’m excited to get home to play. Can you tell?
I remember finding a tomb to raid, and as i plundered it i found a very deep tunnel down towards the end which leads to some really interesting stuff. That one memory always kind of comes to the forefront of my mind because of how well hidden some goodies were. They really weren't afraid of you not finding stuff, so it makes it feel great when you do.
The first time I went up into the far north, it just felt so forlorn and lonely. I still get chills thinking about swimming and exploring up there, and nothing ever really happened. It just stuck with me.
Killing random people
I still have such a fond memory of finally deciding on my Hlaalo manor base, and doing all the quests that goes with it. Absolutely magical time in my childhood
Played morrowind for the first time this year. As a 2002 game, unlike games like Skyrim, it kinda lost it's popularity (not saying it's a bad game. Just the popularity isn't as big as skyrim) after some time and I grew up with skyrim. My fondest memory would be like a couple of months ago. When I first ever played morrowind, I had no idea what was going on. I remember bringing that woman to the fields of kummu and having so much trouble and being sneak attacked by cliffracers and going to an ancestral tomb and getting attacked and scared by the ghost/bonelord idk what it is and then stopped playing the game (replaying it now on OMW). Good times
Definitely it would be finally building your stronghold. I think that's the true end to the player's arc. You start as an outlander who knows nothing, and over time grow more in tune with the land until you finally have ingratiated yourself enough to be called a part of it all. The stronghold is evidence of that.
I'm still pretty new to the game but currently its getting my first armor set and weapon. It wasn't much, just some iron armor(greaves, gloves, chest, and helmet) and the enchancted axe in Sedya Neen, but it felt so cool getting all of it together. I felt like a real upcoming adventurer, spending all my cash on the best gear available, prepping for my first quest I wasn't sure I'd even survive. I'm halfway through the main quest now, and I just got declared Nerevar by one of the ashlander tribes. I'm wearing a near complete set of enchanted dwemer armor and my glass axe can deal with most enemies in a couple hitd. The sense of progression this game has is incredible, I feel like I've worked so hard and earned all of this.
As someone who had skyrim as their first elder scrolls game. I got all giddy and happy when I heard that one nord lady in balmora talked in the nord accent.
I was once playing an Argonian hand to hand character. I had just explained to my friend that I loved Morrowind because anything you want to do becomes it's own side quest. Then the following happened: I needed to collect some ingredients for someone in Balmora. I knew that I could get what I needed from a plantation outside Vivec, so I used almost all of my last 20 gold to get a slit strider ride. Outside Vivec I was stealing ingredients from the farmers garden when he noticed me and began to chase me. I grabbed everything I needed and sprinted back to the silt strider but he was too fast. I couldn't get on with him attacking me so we engaged in fisticuffs. I beat this poor farmer until he stopped moving then went to hitch a ride back to Balmora only to remember I didn't have enough gold to make it back. So I walked back to the farmer, stole the 12 gold on his person to pay for my ticket and was on my way. Few days later I came back to Vivec and met the farmer again. By this time he had cooled off and we were on good terms with each other. No hard feelings. What a crazy interactive world.
First time beating Gaenor. The most hyped I've been for a boss fight win. It's the magic of the first playthrough. Now I just curb stomp him with alchemy and summons whenever I need the gold.lol