The Elder Scrolls Online will also receive a new chapter in 2021. But what can we expect after Greymoor and the detour to Skyrim? We at MeinMMO have asked the community and have also listed our own speculations at the end.
What are the chapters about? ESO has been bringing out what are called new chapters every year since 2017 and the expansion Morrowind released at that time. Essentially, these are add-ons, but they are not referred to as such in ESO to avoid confusion with the also-called mods.
Since the chapter Elsweyr in 2019, the major expansions have been accompanied by three DLCs that further deepen the thematic setting. This was also true for the Skyrim setting around Greymoor, and fans expect that it will continue like this in 2021. Therefore, there should again be a big new expansion chapter in the summer, and the new setting should be initiated at the beginning of the year with a dungeon DLC and a prologue quest.
But where are we heading this time? What will the setting and theme be, and can we once again hope for a new class or something similar? We at MeinMMO have asked the community about this and also share our own speculations and guesses.
ESO Chapter 2021 – Where will the journey take us next?
Here you will find a list of potential and rather unlikely regions for the next chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online.
These popular regions probably aren’t it
Looking at the map of Tamriel, it is already quite well-filled in ESO. Many regions have already come into play, more or less prominently, so they are not really suitable for a new chapter. After all, one wants more than just a small island or a single province of a country that is already in the game. The last four chapters brought huge new areas into the game with the islands of Summerset and Morrowind as well as the provinces of Skyrim and Elsweyr.
Therefore, according to various discussions in the community on reddit, the following regions are more likely to be improbable:
Valenwood and the Wood Elves: This region was already extensively depicted in the base game, and it is unlikely that there is enough space for a new chapter.
High Rock and the Bretons: As much as this people is desired, their lands have been frequently represented in the base game, and there is hardly enough space to locate an entire chapter in it.
Akavir: This mysterious continent is said by Bethesda to remain mysterious and is unlikely to be used as a setting for a new chapter.
These regions are plausible
Nevertheless, there are still white spots on the map, and fans on reddit speculate on what could come next:
Cyrodiil: 2021 marks the 15th anniversary of the release of the Elder Scrolls game Oblivion, which, despite its name, primarily took place in the central province of Cyrodiil. This region – aside from the Gold Coast from the Dark Brotherhood DLC – has so far only been found in PvP and the Imperial City DLC. However, the Colovian Highlands or Nibenay (after all, the home of Chancellor Abnur Tharn), which are not yet in the game, might make for good settings for the new chapter.
Hammerfell: The province of the Redguards is already in the game in the form of the Alik’r Desert and the peninsula from the Thieves Guild DLC, but there is plenty of space between these two regions. Therefore, fans believe that a whole new chapter could fit here. Additionally, the clueless diplomat Rigurt hints in a final dialogue in Greymoor that he might be sent to the desert next.
Rigurt heard the Skalden king mumble about the distant lands of the forgotten. Or was it the depths of the Alik’r desert?
Rigurt the Rash, Nord Diplomat
Black Marsh: The swampy homeland of the Argonians is still hardly explored. Only one region was included in the base game, and later the DLC Murkmire. However, there is a lot of room in between for swampy lizard lands. The issue is that a large part of these areas is likely to be uninhabitable and impassable swamp land, where only Argonians can survive. Even if there were new Argonian areas, they would probably look like Murkmire 2.0.
Oblivion: The realms of the forgotten were already represented with the region Coldharbour in the base game. You even start the base game there. Additionally, there is a hint from the rogue diplomat Rigurt, who believes it is likely that he could be sent to the deepest depths of Oblivion, alongside the desert. Curiously, Rich Lambert, the creative director of ESO, recently mentioned in a conversation that there is still plenty of space in the realms of Oblivion beyond the unknown regions of Tamriel. So there might be a lot behind the idea that the journey in 2021 goes to the dimensions of the Daedric princes.
Will the setting come from Oblivion?
Why not combine multiple things at once? A fan also points out that the regions of Cyrodiil and Oblivion could be connected. This would indeed align with the idea behind the game Oblivion from 2006. There, one also traveled between Cyrodiil and the worlds of the Daedra. In this case, the Cyrodiil region would not have to be that large since the Oblivion areas would also be added.
The Features – New Class or Weapons?
Will there be a new class? According to fans, a new class is highly anticipated. This was already the case in Greymoor when fans on reddit were sure that a bard class would come. However, this did not happen – although the bard college in solitude provided a great opportunity for it.
On the other hand, based on the previous pattern, it seems that a new class is only introduced every odd-numbered year. In 2017, the Warden, in 2019, the Necromancer, and in 2021, by this logic, the next class would be up for grabs. This could very well be the bard. Or some kind of engineer fiddling with the remnants of the steam-punk elves from the vanished Dwemer race.
At least on reddit, some fans hope for such a class. However, the Dwemer would have to be a part of the new setting and story for the class to fit into the overall picture.
Will we get a new type of weapon? Alternatively to a new class, a new type of weapon could also be introduced. Many fans on reddit wish for this and would actually prefer a new type of weapon that everyone can use, rather than a new class that one would have to start from scratch with.
Current favorites include:
- Spear: This type of weapon currently only exists for NPCs, but many fans wish for them to be usable weapons.
- Magical melee weapons: So far, all magic-based builds have had to use staves. There are no other alternatives. Magic melee weapons would be just right and have been demanded by fans for a long time.
Jürgen’s speculation about the next chapter
As a big ESO fan, I am certainly following the debates about the new chapter with great interest. In my opinion, the theory about a remake of Oblivion sounds the most plausible. Because we actually have relevant regions in Cyrodiil that are not yet in the game, and if a significant part of the next story takes place in the far reaches of Oblivion, that would be a good combination.
You start in Cyrodiil and then keep switching back and forth between the realms of Oblivion in the course of the story. This can then also be combined with DLC dungeons and the big finale DLC at the end of the year.
As for the new class and other features, I am not sure what could be coming. It seems like the most important things are already in the game. The bard as a class focused on support would have fit in nicely, but how that would fit into an Oblivion setting is unclear to me. I also see little hope for an engineer, as real Dwemer would have to provide the setting and I find that unlikely.
Therefore, I much rather think that a new type of weapon will come. And that would be magic weapons, which are possibly adapted to the Oblivion setting in some way.
But enough speculated. What are your ideas and wishes for the new setting in 2021?
Jürgen Horn
Editor at MeinMMO
