Skyrim has provided a seemingly endless amount of content to fans since its initial release all the way back in November 2011. With it being the norm for Elder Scrolls fans to experience multiple playthroughs of each highly-anticipated release, it is no wonder that Bethesda releases additional post-game content to satiate fans even further.
Over the decade-long lifespan of Skyrim, there have been three mainline expansions for Skyrim: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn. Each of these respective DLCs brought untold amounts of additional content to the already saturated world of Skyrim, primarily in the form of new locations, gameplay mechanics, and quests.
Dawnguard
The first major expansion Skyrim came in the form of Dawnguard, released for the Xbox 360 and PC in 2012 and then the PlayStation 3 in 2013. Still set within Skyrim, this DLC revolves around a focused story and the addition of new skill trees and abilities.
The story for Dawnguard concerns an embroiling conflict between the Dawnguard, a crossbow-wielding faction of vampire hunters, and the Volkihar Clan, a group of vampires intent on blocking out the sun via a ritual foretold within an Elder Scroll. As the Dragonborn, players must then choose whether to aid the Dawnguard in stopping the Volkihar from carrying out the ritual, or otherwise choose to actively help the legion of vampires achieve their sinister goal.
This main storyline is carried out over the course of 12 quests, with an additional 9 side-quests providing a large amount of additional content. In addition to these quests, Dawnguard also introduced two massive areas to the game. First is the Soul Cairn, an eerie plane of Oblivion inhabited by souls and the undead. Being where souls are transported to when they are trapped inside a black soul gem, the area is quite important lore-wise, with the Soul Cairn also possessing a hidden boss and other mysteries. The other location that is introduced is the Lost Vale, a valley in the northwest of Skyrim largely inhabited by the Falmer.
As well as predictably including new items, weapons, enemies, and dragon shouts, Dawnguard also includes two new skill trees. The first of these skill trees is Lycanthropy, a skill tree centered around building strength and abilities as a werewolf, should players be infected with the Lycanthropy disease. The second skill tree is Vampire Lord, which serves as an extension of the vampirism mechanics of Skyrim, allowing players to develop blood magic and night powers.
Hearthfire
The second expansion released for Skyrim is Hearthfire, also released in 2012 for Xbox 360 and PC and 2013 for PS3. Hearthfire is arguably the most unique of the DLCs in that it is not focused on an additional narrative or quest-line, but instead is solely focused on expanding the core gameplay experience of Skyrim itself.
The expansion focuses on the purchase of land and the development of homesteads, with three plots of lands being available to purchase via deeds by the player. Players then have a competent level of customization available to build and furnish their house, which they can then fill with servant NPCs such as stewards, carriage drivers, and personal bards.
To compound the expansive homely nature of this expansion, Hearthfire additionally introduces the ability for players to adopt children in Skyrim, should they wish. If a player chooses to adopt, the child will be given their own room within a chosen house and can then be raised by the player. Additionally, players can move into a house and raise children with a spouse, with pets also being a feature of home life within the Hearthfire expansion.
Dragonborn
The third and final expansion for Skyrim is the Dragonborn DLC, released for the Xbox 360 in 2012 and for PC and PS3 in 2013. A more traditional DLC, Dragonborn is more akin to Dawnguard in that it offers a new quest-line and narrative, although it does also provide some attractive new game mechanics as well.
The plot of Dragonborn sees players travel to the island of Solstheim, a geographically diverse land to the north-east of Skyrim. The primary antagonist of this DLC is Miraak, an ancient dragon priest who is the first known Dragonborn entity in existence. In order to compete with the might of the power-hungry Miraak, the player must additionally travel to Apocrypha, the precarious realm of the Daedric Prince of forbidden knowledge. Within this realm, players have to collect powerful Black Books in order to develop dragon shouts and abilities, with the goal of rivaling the strength of the intimidating Miraak. Alongside a main story that consists of 7 quests, there are an additional 28 side quests to satiate players' desire for adventure.
Like Dawnguard, Dragonborn also includes a plethora of new locations, weapons, enemies, and armor. However, there is a specific new game mechanic introduced in this DLC that puts it a cut above the rest in the eyes of many. As a part of the dragon-centric story of Dragonborn, the expansion introduces the ability for players to tame and ride dragons in Skyrim. While most named dragons will resist, players can gain the ability to perform the "Bend Will" dragon shot, which forces lesser dragons to land and be mounted.
Though traversal of the map by riding a dragon is rather limited, it is an effective form of engaging in combat with other enemies, with the dragon attacking any enemy that the player locks on to from the sky. As an extension of this mounted combat, players can also cast spells and use other dragon shouts on enemies whilst mounted on a dragon, opening up combat versatility quite significantly. Despite there only being three major expansions for Skyrim, it is undeniable that they each offer a holistic level of fresh content that expansions of The Elder Scrolls titles have become known for.
Skyrim is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
