The latest chapter of popular MMORPG Elder Scrolls Online, Blackwood, launches in June with over 30 hours of new story content, a host of new features, and new locations to explore across the map of Tamriel. In Blackwood, players can explore Imperial cities like the new hub Leyawiin, the bogs of Shadowfen, Highland forests, and eventually the Deadlands as they investigate Mehrunes Dagon's plans and the pact the Longhouse Emperors made with him. In addition to the new story content both veterans and newcomers can explore, the launch of the new chapter means dozens of added base game improvements to fix bugs and improve quality of life.
Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood takes place 800 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. The chapter includes a new Trial, Rockgrove. During this event, a 12-person team can retake Rockgrove village from Argonian cultists before they can summon Mehrunes Dagon's army. The Trial includes three new bosses and assorted loot, including an exclusive mount that can only be unlocked by earning all possible Trial achievements. The chapter also includes new world events in the form of Oblivion Portals that will spawn in various places around Tamriel. These Portals take characters to the Deadlands spontaneously to explore and shut down dangerous Daedric constructs.
Fans can expect to see a few familiar faces joining the story, including Eveli Sharp-Arrow and Lyranth the Foolkiller, Alchemy, Lady Laurent, Stibbons, and several others. They can also meet new friends and allies who they may call upon for aid in a fight using the companion system, a new feature added in the chapter. Through completion of quests, players can unlock companions Bastian and Mirri. Bastian is a human and somewhat stereotypical Knight-type character, and Mirri is a dark elf thief. These companions will not ever reach quite the same levels of strength and intelligence as other players but, in a pinch, they can round off a group during multiplayer content and help newcomers who aren't yet comfortable playing and questing with others.
Companions and their specs are accessed in the new Companion UI, which appears in the Collectibles menu. These allies will receive new collectible gear, though not yet in sets. They can level up alongside players, with their current level cap set at 20. There are nine new traits and perks to help build companions. These traits can't be researched and must instead be found and unlocked organically while the party explores. A player character's actions, decisions, and responses in conversation can raise or lower Rapport with the new companions. It is entirely possible one or both new companions will dislike the player character based on their in-game actions. In a preview event earlier this month, creative director Rich Lambert expressed interest in expanding upon the companion system depending on how it resonates with fans.
As with any new chapter, players can also expect new loot and collectibles. There are multiple Oblivion-touched rewards, six new gear sets for the player character, new outfits, costumes, and mounts specifically designed for companions, and new Achievements to unlock. The chapter also includes new Antiquities and Mythic items, though specifics have not yet been released.
For players not yet ready to explore Blackwood, Elder Scrolls Online will also receive important base game updates that should make it easier for newcomers and veterans alike to enjoy their experiences exploring the vast, open world. Players looking to immerse themselves in Tamriel in 4K will have the opportunity to enjoy next-gen console enhancements, releasing at the same time Blackwood launches. Elder Scrolls Online will now run at 60 FPS in Performance Mode or 30 FPS and 4K in Fidelity Mode. This update improves reflections, lighting and shadows, depth of field, load times, and ambient occlusion, as well as increasing draw distance and updating antialiasing.
Developers included a new tutorial system in the base game, allowing the player to choose their own path out of the tutorial into any of the available chapters. This way, fans could be in charge of where their adventure would begin. Another quality-of-life improvement comes from a new in-game currency called Seals of Endeavor. Seals of Endeavor are earned by completing Endeavors, daily and weekly tasks, and can be used in place of real money for in-game microtransactions to purchase items from Crown Crates. This marks the first time in the history of Elder Scrolls Online that Crown Crates can be purchased using a currency earned entirely in-game. Seals of Endeavor are account-based and do not have a cap or reset either, so players who want to save for the items they really want can do so easily and without penalty.
Other updates to the base game include enhanced voice chat performance on console, improved combat performance, an Action Duration reminder that can be toggled on or off, quest completion nodes over the required crafting stations for various recipes, the option to allow Perfected and Non-Perfected item sets to work together and provide a bonus, adjustments to Champions and Item Sets, and the option to select preferred title music. The difficulty has also been rebalanced, making the game's overworld less daunting and more accessible to newcomers while allowing veteran players to receive a challenge from Trials, dungeon-crawling, and optional hard modes.
As the year progresses, Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood intends to eventually allow players to explore more of the Deadlands and uncover additional details about Mehrunes Dagon and the Daedric plot at the heart of the expansion. Players can expect two other Elder Scrolls Online DLC releases following Blackwood that will continue the Gates of Oblivion story and what developers are calling a Year of Mehrunes Dagon.
Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood launches June 1, 2021 for PC, Mac, Stadia, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.