On March 11, 2024, the new dungeon DLC “Scions of Ithelia” for The Elder Scrolls Online will be released on PC and Mac. MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz was allowed to conquer one of the new dungeons with the developers and ask various questions.
One of the perks of the job is occasionally getting to try out the group challenges of an online role-playing game with the developers themselves. When the author of these lines meets Creative Director Rich Lambert, Lead Encounter Designer Mike Finnigan, and Project Content Director Jeremy Sera on the PTR of The Elder Scrolls Online, the four Tamriel veterans have almost become a well-rehearsed regular group.
Accordingly, the welcome was very warm last Thursday when the three Zenimax developers wanted to show us the two new dungeons of ESO. The instanced content belongs to the DLC “Scions of Ithelia” and is available starting today, March 11, 2024, on PC and Mac – via the Crown Store or free as part of ESO Plus. The versions for Xbox and PlayStation will follow on March 26, 2024.
In the following, we will reveal what we experienced on our tour through the Veil of Uprising, what awaits you in the Pit of the Oathsworn, and what information nuggets the developers have shared.
Connection between Necrom and Gold Road
You may have noticed: the chapter Necrom from last year ended with a cliffhanger that has not yet been resolved due to a lack of story DLC in the fourth quarter. What is clear, however, is that an until-now unknown Daedric princess will be at the center of the upcoming events with Ithelia.
The Daedric Princess of Fate is considered so powerful that even Hermaeus Mora quakes in fear. Therefore, she was locked away, and all memories of Ithelia were erased.
The spectacular announcement trailer for Gold Road showed the liberation of Ithelia:
With the freshly released DLC, the authors are now laying the groundwork for the upcoming chapter – the big questions about Ithelia and her motives and plans will likely only be answered in Gold Road.
A Feast for Orsinium Fans
For many veterans of Elder Scrolls Online, Orsinium is one of the best DLCs of the MMORPG. The adventure in Wrothgar was well-told, there were two open dungeons, and with the Maelstrom Arena, a fresh challenge for solo players.
The new dungeon Veil of Uprising takes you back to the Maelstrom plane, as Half-Prince Fa-Nuit-Hen needs your help. The Blind and the cultists of the Blind Path have stormed the Veil, and you are to stop them and find out the reason for the invasion.
During the quest, you will enter completely new areas, but fans of the Maelstrom Arena will continually encounter familiar elements, biomes, enemies, and mechanics, some of which have received a new twist.
For example, you will reunite with some bosses who have teamed up this time to take your group down. We don’t want to spoil more about the second boss fight of the dungeon at this point.
Also striking are the crystalline Daedra, which were introduced for the first time during the announcement event of Gold Road. They come from the Mirrormoor and want to take your skin in the upcoming chapter as well. Caution: If the cultists channel a bright gold beam onto one of these crystal beings from the background, it becomes invulnerable.
This mechanic reappears in the first boss, the Shattered Champion. There, you must also place harmful area effects as far at the edges as possible, knock out various minions, and deal with ever-less space to maneuver safely.
The final fight against the Blind, however, is even more intense in terms of movement. She has designed a type of siege weapon that constantly sends harmful waves rolling through the area. You must not only avoid this but also various other area attacks. Additionally, the boss teleports continually throughout the area. Especially prepare for an intense battle at the veteran level.
Malacath sends you to the Pit
If you have ventured through Wrothgar during the Orsinium DLC, you have certainly come across traces of Malacath. The vengeful Daedric prince is worshipped there by his followers under the name Mauloch.
The most devoted followers of the God of Curses gather in the Pit of the Oathsworn to master combat styles and learn how to best follow the Code of Mauloch. This very Pit is being overrun in “Scions of Ithelia” by a mysterious group of Wood Elves who will also play a role in the upcoming chapter Gold Road. The name of the group: the Recollection.
Your task is to intervene in the ongoing battle between the two factions in the name of Malacath, stop the attackers, and save as many Oathsworn as possible. By your side: Ork Bazrag, who was once made king of Orsinium by the Tamriel veterans.
Among the bosses, you will face a fight against Anthelmir and her construct, which will constantly engulf your surroundings in fire. A lifesaving tip: Watch out for and avoid wooden barrels!
Both dungeons reward you at the end with achievements, new equipment sets, mementos like Malacath’s helm, or the appearance Bloodmarks of Malacath.
Big Chapters, Long Development
During the appointment, the developers told us that the lore of Elder Scrolls is rich enough to find new ideas for dungeons and other content even after all these years. When designing the DLCs of the first quarter, it also helps that the authors know exactly what players will experience in the subsequent chapter – the dungeons serve as teasers and connecting bridges.
According to the devs, it is trickier to select the suitable locations for the new challenges. It would be a mistake to pack too many dungeons into a single region. Equally challenging: enriching the known gameplay standards with always new mechanics that can be easily read and understood by players even in frantic fights (and which can be implemented in the outdated engine of ESO).
At the end of the run, Rich Lambert revealed to us that the team casually works on a chapter for 16 to 18 months. Therefore, development must already begin well before the release of the previous chapter. Accordingly, the developers were quite happy about how positively the announcement of Gold Road was received by many players. There is a lot of sweat and passion involved, Rich Lambert added.
With Scions of Ithelia, the free Update 41 has also been released. PvP enthusiasts can look forward to stackable siege devices, the developers promise performance improvements, and there is a standardization of repair sets – the latter improvement still had some issues on the PTS and should only land on the live servers when there is an appropriate fix available.
How does it look: Are you excited about the dungeons of “Scions of Ithelia”? Have you played Orsinium and the Maelstrom Arena? You can find more information about the content planned for ESO here: Everything about the Gold Road expansion and the new content that the MMORPG will receive in 2024
