The Elder Scrolls Online Announces Gold Road Chapter — January 18, 2024
The next Chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online has officially been revealed. This year, ESO will take you to the West Weald, a region of Colovia featuring Skingrad as a major city on the eponymous road. The region will also feature the Dawnwood, a sudden growth of Valenwood into Imperial-controlled Cyrodiil. Separating the two is the Wildburn, a particularly dangerous region with magic sickening the trees, altering the wildlife, and even modifying the landscape itself.
The story centers around the return of the forgotten Daedric Prince Ithelia, who was wiped from all history by Hermaeus Mora. Now with Ithelia let loose in the West Weald, you must investigate her wanderings and her scheming followers, the Scions of Ithelia. There are also new Daedric threats to face, but you will not be alone while uncovering the activities of this Prince or her followers. Old allies will come to your aid, including Leramil the Wise, Beragon, Fennorian, and Mizzik Thunderboots. New faces include Alea Idolus, in the service of Count Calantius of Skingrad.
Included with the Chapter is the new Mirromoor Incursion World Event, where you and any nearby players will have to fend off Daedric invaders that are appearing in the West Weald due to Ithelia's return. A new Trial awaits twelve-person groups in the form of the Lucent Citadel, where you will explore a vault in Fargrave in search of the "mysterious Reanimating Crux". With the Gold Road Chapter, you will also gain access to Scribing, a new system that serves as a progenitor to the spellmaking practices of later years in Tamriel. Scribing lets you customize special new Skills called Grimoires, which allow you to change a primary, secondary, or tertiary "script" of the skill. Your journey into the Scribing will also involve exploring the very origins of magic itself, along with the Mages Guild and a knight of the Order of the Lamp. Similarly, there will be "Skill Styling", which lets you visually modify your skills, making your particular actions in combat more distinctive.
The Zenimax team used this opportunity to provide a roadmap for all of the content for 2024.
- The year will start with Update 41, featuring the Scions of Ithelia dungeon pack and miscellaneous improvements to the game. This will arrive on PTS January 29th, and officially releases March 11th for PC/Mac and March 26th for PlayStation and Xbox.
- The previously described Gold Road Chapter will launch June 3rd for PC/Mac and June 18th for PlayStation and Xbox.
- Update 43 will release with a new Housing feature, as well as more improvements and bug fixes.
- The year will conclude with Update 44, which will bring two new companions to the game, as well as a new PvP feature.
Numerous articles were released by Zenimax to support this reveal, including a zone exploration guide, a breakdown of purchasing options and rewards, a look at Scribing, and a general overview. They also started an ESO Plus Free Trial to go along with today's reveal. Finally, you can watch the announcement trailer and full presentation on YouTube.