The Elder Scrolls On-line’s newest chapter, Gold Highway, is coming in June, ZeniMax On-line Studios has introduced, and with it a serious new addition to the Elder Scrolls universe: a never-before-seen Daedric Prince.
Ithelia is the prince’s identify, and the story of Gold Highway, which launches on June 3, 2024 for PC and June 18 on consoles, will revolve round her surprising awakening. ESO artistic director Wealthy Lambert shared particulars concerning the upcoming chapter throughout a media briefing forward of its official reveal, and described the story of the chapter as a race to determine who freed Ithelia and to seek out her earlier than others with a extra nefarious goal do. She has no reminiscence of who she is, however unusual issues comply with in her wake as she slowly regains her powers. Lambert described Ithelia’s introduction as a “big addition to the lore” of The Elder Scrolls, and stated she is on the polar reverse aspect of the Daedric Prince spectrum in comparison with the squid-like prince Hermaeus Mora, who performed a big function in final 12 months’s Necrom chapter.
“She’s not horror, she’s crystal and colour,” Lambert stated. “That is type of her jam.”
Gamers will seek for Ithelia within the West Weald space of Tamriel. It is a location little doubt acquainted to Elder Scrolls followers, who beforehand visited the world as a part of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, with Skingrad serving as the principle metropolis for the chapter. Lambert stated the group wished to offer a a lot totally different expertise from final 12 months’s Necrom, and opted for the Gold Highway, the place the group may give attention to fall colours and forests as an alternative of cosmic horror. The West Weald will include three biomes; The Gold Highway itself, a magical rainforest that has instantly sprouted seemingly in a single day known as the Valenwood Annexation, and the rocky hills of the Colovian Highlands.
Whereas final 12 months’s Necrom launched a brand new class, the Arcanist, Gold Highway will as an alternative add a completely new recreation system–Scribing. Lore-wise, the system is a “precursor” to Spellcrafting as seen in different Elder Scrolls titles, which occur additional forward within the Elder Scrolls timeline in comparison with ESO, Lambert stated. He careworn there’s a purpose Scribing has a completely totally different identify, and that is as a result of whereas related in some methods, Scribing is basically a distinct beast, one that enables gamers to customise particular expertise to their liking, together with points of their look.
Over the course of their journey and a brand new Scribing questline, gamers will discover Grimoires, which grant new customizable skills in particular talent strains. At launch Scribing expertise will solely be present in weapon and world talent strains (such because the Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, Soul Magic, Assault, and Help), Lambert stated. As soon as acquired, Grimoires can then be additional modified utilizing as much as three totally different Scripts, which increase the flexibility in numerous methods. Lambert gave an instance of a Scribing bow means that causes gamers to launch an assault and leap backwards. Gamers can then socket Scripts into the flexibility to additional change its results, like modifying the flexibility to deal area-of-effect injury and extra poison injury. Styling, one other new system tied to Scribing, then offers gamers the flexibility to customise the look of the Grimoire means. At the very least at launch, Styling can be restricted to altering the colours of the flexibility’s results, however Lambert stated that the door was open for different customization choices, like skins and totally different spell results, later down the road.
Apart from the brand new area of the West Weald and Scribing, Gold Highway will embrace all of the options ESO gamers have come to count on from a brand new chapter, together with a brand new storyline to play via, new Public Dungeons, Delves, a brand new world occasion, and new 12-man Trial. Two new companions, which have turn into a core a part of ESO ever since their introduction again 2021 with the Blackwood chapter, will not be arriving at launch. As a substitute they may come within the fourth quarter of this 12 months, Lambert stated, alongside new PvP characteristic. Updates introducing a brand new participant housing characteristic and numerous quality-of-life enhancements are additionally coming later this 12 months.
2024 moreover marks ESO’s tenth anniversary (at the least on PC, the console model of ESO launched in 2015). As such, Lambert stated followers can count on celebrations and occasions over the course of the subsequent 12 months and into 2025, together with an in-person occasion in Amsterdam later this 12 months and one other occasion subsequent 12 months in North America.
“In 2025, we have an enormous second in North America…to type of exit with a bang so that everyone can have fun with us at the moment…It is loopy to suppose that it has been 10 years,” Lambert stated.
For these ready for the subsequent single-player entry within the franchise, the excellent news is The Elder Scrolls VI is formally in pre-production. The unhealthy information is the sport continues to be years away, with Bethesda stating extra information on the RPG is not coming anytime quickly. Within the meantime, followers do produce other methods to scratch their Elder Scrolls itch, together with ESO and the not too long ago introduced The Elder Scrolls: Castles, a cell recreation just like 2015’s Fallout Shelter.
