In the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online was recently presented in the Bethesda live stream, featuring the last DLC Markarth and Update 28. Find out here what new features are available and what major events you can look forward to in 2020.
What is Markarth all about? On September 19, 2020, the grand finale of the ESO annual campaign “The Black Heart of Skyrim” was showcased. With the final DLC Markarth (formerly Darkstorm), the developers at ZeniMax aim to conclude the story surrounding the vampires and introduce a completely new area in the game that Skyrim fans have long missed in ESO: The city of Markarth and the lands of the “Reik”, where dark witches and wild barbarians roam.
This is what awaits you in Markarth and Update 28
When will Markarth be released? The 4th DLC of 2020 will be released for PC, Mac, and Stadia on November 2, 2020. For Xbox One and PlayStation 4, it will be released on November 10. If you want to test the new content early, you can play it on the test server starting September 21.
Can you go to Markarth early? There is now a free prologue quest that introduces the finale of the story in the Markarth DLC. In it, you will get a taste of the new region. You can get the prologue quest in the Crown Store as a free quest starter and start right away. The end of the prologue quest will then directly transition into the story of Markarth when it is released.
What is included in the Markarth DLC? The Markarth DLC will primarily include the new city of Markarth and the Reik lands of the wilderness. Here, you will encounter various quests and public caves. Additionally, the finale of the story involving the vampires and Gramstorms in “The Black Heart of Skyrim” will take place here.
In Markarth, you will also meet a lot of new NPCs. Among them is Lady Belain, a seductive vampire, and the grim despot of Markarth.
The namesake city is already known from Skyrim, but in ESO, which takes place 800 years earlier, the city is much rougher and controlled by the Reik people. At this time, they are still independent and at the height of their power.
You will also be able to meet this people from the other side for the first time, as they have previously been primarily represented as enemies in the game. Here, we first get to know their culture and better understand what drives and moves them.
As with the lands in Greymoor, a large part of the game area here is found in the underground caverns of the Blackreach. Underneath Markarth lie massive ancient Dwemer ruins, where the vampires have taken up residence.
There’s also another highlight that should keep you entertained even after completing the story: the large new solo arena! The first since Orsinium. In it, you can prove yourself alone against increasingly tougher opponents and loot.
The arena allows you to complete the holy initiation rites of the Reik people. You can choose between different arenas and themes, all following the barbaric flair of the Reik people.
Unlike the previous arena, you must now traverse real obstacle courses before you can defeat the bosses. Each level of the arena is dedicated to a different Daedric lord and offers different obstacles and mechanics. Only after completing all three arenas can you take on the final challenge.
One of the rewards from the arena is a new black dye. According to the developers, it is one of the blackest colors that has ever existed in ESO!
What else is in the DLC?
- There will be 17 new sets of items
- 2 new mythic items via treasure hunting
- A new pet, a mechanical beetle
- New houses that fit the theme of Markarth
How can you get the Markarth DLC? Like all DLC content, you can purchase Markarth for crowns in the Crown Store. Alternatively, you can get the new DLC at no extra cost if you have an ESO Plus subscription.
What does Update 28 offer? The free Update 28 for all ESO players will be released simultaneously with Markarth and brings some innovations in combat. Combat performance will improve, as buffs and debuffs are now easier to calculate, saving resources.
Additionally, frost staffs will be upgraded so they are not only useful for defensive players but also for supporters and offensive purposes. For the latter, there is now a new state called “Brittle” that increases critical damage.
There’s also the fact that critical hits are now generally regulated by a common attribute. Physical and magical crits now go through the same attribute.
Another cool feature is the internally referred to as “Sticker Book”. In it, you can restore all your previously collected set items, even if you sold or disassembled them. However, this will cost you, among other things, transmutation crystals.
If you no longer need the item, you can disassemble it again and get all the costs back. This feature is available across your entire account.
Additionally, you can now collect 500 (instead of 100) transmutation crystals at once. ESO Plus subscribers can even have 1,000.
ESO 2020: The preview of the finale in the video
You can watch the stream with all the information about Markarth and more news in the following video with English subtitles:
4 new events and #TamrielTogether campaign
What events are coming? In addition to the major Markarth DLC and the Skyrim finale, the developers are bringing a total of four events until the end of the year:
- “Forgotten Treasures of Skyrim” (September 23 to October 5)
- Witch Festival (October 22 to November 3)
- Unflinching Celebrations (November 25 to December 12)
- New Year’s Festival (December 21 to January 2, 2021)
What is the treasure event? While the last three events have occurred more frequently, the event “Lost Treasures of Skyrim” is something new.
The entire ESO community is challenged to unlock three reward levels with collectibles. These include new body paints, a glowing fawn as a companion, and a new house for housing, which offers a new type of collectible – namely house guests! These are special NPCs that you can place in your houses and they will walk around there.
To unlock it, you need to use the antiquity system to unearth forgotten treasures throughout Tamriel. The more treasures you and the community find, the sooner you will receive your rewards.
In addition to this challenge, there are also additional bonus rewards for everyone who completes daily quests in Western Skyrim.
This is the last chance for a special mount: The 2020 events will in fact be the last where you can earn an Indrik. The purple Indrik will be the last of these unicorn-stags that you can obtain in the game. The beautiful mounts and pets have been around since 2018, but in 2021 they will be replaced by a still unknown new creature.
What is #TamrielTogether? This is a community campaign through which the developers want to celebrate you, the ESO community, for being so great.
As part of #TamrielTogether, there will be a competition, a guild competition, and much more. On the developers’ homepage, there will be further updates on this in due course.
Markarth will be the 4th DLC in the Skyrim series of ESO. But have you already tried the 3rd part, “Stonethorn”? If not, make sure to catch up quickly, as not only our MMORPG expert Alexander Leitsch believes that the dungeons in ESO are once again very well made in this DLC.
