The Elder Scrolls Online News

Find glory in the updated Battlegrounds, recruit new Companions, and develop your mastery of Scribing in the Update 44 base-game patch.

The Update 44 base-game patch is now live on PC/Mac, and it introduces a host of changes, fixes, and additions to The Elder Scrolls Online.




This update is free for all ESO players (and will be automatically downloaded and patched by the game), but note that the two new Companions require either ESO Plus™ membership or purchase from the Crown Store to access. Check out the full patch notes for Update 44 on our official forums. Follow this link for full patch notes.

[h2]New Features[/h2]
The Update 44 base-game patch adds a ton of new features, challenges, and rewards to the game.

Battlegrounds Update

ESO’s fast-paced PvP experience, Battlegrounds, has undergone a series of dramatic changes designed to make the game mode (originally introduced with the Morrowind Chapter back in 2017) more competitive and fun for every type of player.

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Changes include a shift from the original 4v4v4 to the new 4v4 and 8v8-sized matches, the addition of seven brand-new maps of various sizes, new rewards and mechanics, and a unique leaderboard for the 4v4 competitive-styled option.

To jump right into the action, use the Activity Finder, select Battlegrounds, and select your match size. No matter what kind of PvP player you are, you can enjoy the frenetic action of the new-look Battlegrounds—to glory!

New Companions

Update 44 also introduces two brand-new Companions for you to recruit and adventure with: Tanlorin and Zerith-var. The High Elf outcast Tanlorin mixes Dragonknight and Soul Magic abilities (the first Companion to do so). Zerith-var, on the other hand, is a Khajiit Necromancer from the distant past.

Tanlorin and Zerith-var

Both Companions have their own passive abilities to unlock along with their own questlines and stories to tell, giving you the opportunity to discover more about these interesting adventuring allies.

Note that to unlock both new allies, you need to find them within the Companions section of the in-game Crown Store. They are listed as free for ESO Plus members or available for purchase with crowns if you don’t currently have an active membership. Once unlocked, you can find Tanlorin just outside Vulkhel Guard in Auridon and Zerith-var near Moonmont in Reaper’s March.

New Grimoire, Scripts, Skill Styles, and More

First introduced with the Gold Road Chapter and Update 42 in June, the Scribing System also continues to expand with Update 44. This includes a brand-new Grimoire to unlock and customize, called Banner Bearer. Banner Bearer is part of the Support Skill Line and grants you the ability to throw a banner on your back and buff your group’s abilities based on your chosen Focus.

Master new abilities and styles

In addition to this new ability, 14 existing scripts are now applicable to nine launch Grimoires, and a selection of four new Skill Styles help you stand out on the battlefield. Skill Styles include a molten variant for the Puncture ability, a wildburn variant for Force Shock, and more.

You can acquire the new Banner Bearer Grimoire from Chronicler Firandil within the Scholarium. Check the patch notes for a complete list of Scribing additions. Don’t forget, you need access to the Gold Road Chapter to begin your Scribing journey.

Golden Pursuits

A new way to earn in-game collectibles, items, and currencies, Golden Pursuits is a new reward system included with Update 44. Highly variable, a Golden Pursuits campaign asks players to complete various tasks as they adventure in Tamriel with a series of rewards granted for specific milestones.

Earn rewards with Golden Pursuits

The first Golden Pursuits campaign won’t be active until the middle of November, so keep an eye out for an official announcement and get ready to earn new in-game rewards. 

Imperial City Changes

If you enjoy battling both your fellow players AND invading Daedra in the heart of the empire, the Imperial City has also undergone a few changes within its war-torn streets and sewers. This includes improvements to how Imperial Vaults work. For starters, Imperial City keys and key fragments convert to Imperial Fragments, and vault treasure chests become vendors.

In addition, many of the area’s existing vendors have enjoyed upgrades to their wares, including their quality and selection. With Update 44, plundering the capital has never been more rewarding!
[h2]Additional Features & Improvements[/h2]
Arriving in tandem with the above new features are a series of improvements, additions, and features that all ESO players will appreciate. This includes:

• An increase of furnishing base materials in regular harvest nodes
• HDR support for PC players
  • Including various new visual settings such as HDR scene brightness and contrast
• The addition of quest pips for Master Writs
  • Including both quest markers and objective tracking
• The addition of bonus PvP perks for ESO Plus members
  • 10% boost to Alliance Points earned (the currency), your PvP Skill Line ranks, and Alliance rank (not leaderboards or Rewards of the Worthy grant rate)
  • 10% boost to Tel Var Stones gained from killing monsters

These are just some of the changes and additions coming with Update 44. For more on all of the above and info on the bugfixes and balance tweaks arriving with this new base-game patch, be sure to check out the Patch Notes on our official forums.
[h2]New Battles, Allies, and Rewards[/h2]
Whether you’re an experienced veteran of ESO’s fast-paced PvP mode, a humble adventurer seeking new allies, or an explorer of the unknown pursuing new powers and rewards, Update 44 has something for you! Are you ready to rejoin the Battlegrounds? Which Companion will you recruit first? Tell us via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.

The Update 44 base-game patch is now live on PC/Mac and arrives on Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 on November 13.

In addition to the Battlegrounds update, new Companions, and more, Update 44 also introduces Golden Pursuits, a new reward system that allows you to complete activities to earn additional in-game items, currencies, and collectibles.

This new system will arrive when Update 44 goes live on October 28 for PC/Mac and November 13 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles, but note that the first Golden Pursuits campaign won’t be active until later in November—keep an eye out for details!

[h2]A New Way to Earn Rewards[/h2]
When designing Golden Pursuits, the team wanted to create new reasons to play and new ways for players to earn in-game rewards.

“Golden Pursuits are intended to give players the opportunity to earn extra rewards for trying out different systems and features,” explains Katie Yu, one of ESO’s Systems Designers. “They’re meant to highlight specific aspects of the game, or to support an event or theme. We want to ensure that players know exactly what they have the opportunity to earn and that they feel rewarded for completing the Golden Pursuit.”

While Daily Login Rewards are set every month, almost every aspect of a Golden Pursuits campaign can vary. This includes its ease or difficulty of activities, volume and quality of rewards, and even when they’re active and duration.

“Unlike many of the systems in ESO, Golden Pursuits don't operate on a regular daily or weekly cadence. There may be anywhere from days, to weeks, to months in between them, and Golden Pursuits will vary in length when they are live. They're meant to be exciting, spontaneous events. But don't worry, they're pretty difficult to miss: Golden Pursuits will always appear on the Announcement Panel and in the Group and Activity Finder when they're active.”

[h2]A Variety of Challenges [/h2]
As mentioned above, each Golden Pursuits campaign will vary greatly in size and scope, and this variability will be reflected in the activities and rewards each individual campaign may offer.

“Generally, the activities will be very similar to what players have been seeing from Endeavors,” says Yu. “The number can vary—some Golden Pursuits may offer only a few activities, while others may provide more options for players to peruse before deciding how they want to earn their rewards. Broadly, Golden Pursuits activities are meant to highlight different parts of the game, whether that's encouraging players to engage in some friendly PvP, or try out Housing and Home Tours, or even simply explore what the wide world of Tamriel has to offer.”

Pursue new challenges

When it comes to the individual rewards, it was important to the team that Golden Pursuits campaigns varied the kinds of things you can earn.

“Players can expect to see mounts, pets, costumes, furnishings—the list goes on,” explains Yu. “There’s a wide variety of cosmetics, minor utility items such as potions and meals, currencies, and more from Golden Pursuits, and we're really excited to give players new opportunities to earn them.”

With this broad selection of reward types in mind, the team worked to ensure that the ideal balance is struck between the effort required to complete a Golden Pursuit and what it awards.

“Each Golden Pursuit is designed to be fully completable within the duration that it's active. To give a peek behind the curtain, Golden Pursuits are typically put together by a multidisciplinary group before launch. We have data gathered from player feedback, and we review the performance of similar systems in ESO to inform the design and expected level of investment. Our goal is to make sure playing with an active Golden Pursuit is both exciting and rewarding.”

[h2]Golden Opportunities[/h2]
With Update 44’s Golden Pursuits, the team is adding even more ways for you to earn rewards as you play. Note that at launch, a Golden Pursuits campaign won’t be active, but keep an eye out for an official announcement for the first of its kind around the middle of November. Are you excited to complete your first Golden Pursuit? Let us know via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, or Facebook.

The Update 44 base-game patch arrives October 28 for PC/Mac and November 13 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles.

Face down the horrors of Tamriel, including Lord Hollowjack himself, for special in-game rewards during 2024’s Witches Festival in-game event!

This year’s Witches Festival begins next Thursday, October 24 and runs until Wednesday, November 6 at 10AM EST. During this spoopy seasonal event, you can claim ghoulishly good event-specific rewards including Plunder Skulls, XP boosts, Event Tickets, and more!

During the Witches Festival, all adventurers will enjoy a passive 100% boost to XP gain at all times. However, the Witchmother’s Whistle, once the source of this bonus (and a skeletal transformation!), is still available. To collect the whistle and down ladles of hag’s brew for frightful fun, simply follow the steps listed below:

• Open the Crown Store and acquire the free quest “The Witchmother's Bargain.”
  • You can also pick up this quest by speaking with the Crow Caller, who you’ll find outside of each Olyve's Brewery in Stonefalls, Glenumbra, or Auridon.
• Complete the introductory quest to receive the Witchmother's Whistle tool.
  • You won’t need to acquire the Witchmother’s Whistle if you finished the quest in a previous year’s event.
• Blow the whistle to summon the “Witchmother's Cauldron,” from which you can drink to polymorph yourself into a spooky scary skeleton.
  • You cannot summon the Cauldron in Cyrodiil.

Drink the witches’ brew straight from the cauldron
[h2]A Wicked Harvest[/h2]
During the Witches Festival event, whenever you defeat a boss monster, you’ll be offered a Plunder Skull container in addition to any regular rewards.

When you open a Plunder Skull, you have the chance to receive the following items:

• Alchemy reagents
  • A festival-themed furnishing recipe
  • A festival-themed provisioning recipe
  • A complete festival-themed furnishing
  • A festival-themed sellable treasure
• A small chance for one of the following:
  • A Hollowjack style item
  • A Dremora style item
• Worms, Crawlers, Guts, or Insect Parts

What’s more, whenever you fell a unique boss type for the first time each day, you’ll be rewarded instead with a special Dremora Plunder Skull that contains some of the above items in addition to a chance at one of the following:

• A Witches Festival Writ
• A Glenmoril Treasure Map
• A Glenmoril armor outfit style page
• A Crowborne Hunter outfit style page
• NEW Plunder Skull Blunder Memento Runebox
• NEW Senchal Horned Owl pet fragment
• NEW tradeable style page for the Eltheric Revenant outfit style

Both varieties of Plunder Skull are offered by arena bosses, incursion bosses (from Dark Anchors, Harrowstorms, Volcanic Vents, etc.), delve bosses, final dungeon bosses, Trial bosses, public dungeon bosses, world bosses, and Tho’at Replicanum in Infinite Archive (new for this year!).

Perilous plunder, yours for the taking

There are two additional Plunder Skulls acquirable by those brave (or foolish) enough to face the worst of the Witches Festival's horrors.

The first of these frightful fiends, the Crowborne Horror, returns to Tamriel to bedevil its denizens. To locate and slay this living nightmare, acquire the daily quest “Plucking the Crow” by speaking with Witchmother Taerma, located inside Olyve’s Brewery and at every Impresario tent found throughout Tamriel.

For your courage, the first time you overcome the Crowborne Horror and turn in your quest each day, you’ll be rewarded with a Dremora Plunder Skull. This creepy container has a small chance to grant you an incredible offering of tradeable Witches Festival valuables instead of regular Dremora Plunder Skull items, including:

• The FULL style book for the Dremora motif
• A folio of ALL Glenmoril treasure maps
• All 10 Senchal Horned Owl Pet Fragments
• Runebox: Plunder Skull Blunder
• All of the Eltheric Revenant Outfit style pages

If even the Crowborne Horror does not daunt you, you may test that fearlessness against the master of monstrosity and sovereign of spookiness, Lord Hollowjack himself. You can acquire the quest to challenge him from the Priest Maxien, located inside Olyve’s Brewery. Once you’ve completed this quest at least once on a given character, you can take it again on subsequent days and skip ahead to challenge Hollowjack directly.

Should you emerge victorious against the Daedric Lord, you’ll find the quest reward each day grants a special Dremora Plunder Skull unique to Lord Hollowjack. It has a chance to contain a jackpot like that from the Crowborne Horror, and it awards a special achievement and trophy furnishing to commemorate your victory. A matching collectible bust furnishing can sometimes be acquired from looting Lord Hollowjack.
[h2]Impresario & Event Tickets[/h2]
During the Witches Festival, you can collect two Event Tickets from the first boss you defeat each day, earning up to 28 tickets by the end of the event. But don’t forget: You can only hold up to 12 Event Tickets at a time.

For this event, the Impresario will stock the following items:

• All three Molag Bal Illusion Imp pet fragments:
  • Anchor Chain Fragment
  • Dark Anchor Pinion
  • Effigy of the Dominator
• The first two fragments for the Haven of the Five Companions house:
  • Varen Aquilarios’s Key
  • Lyris Titanborn’s Key
• Eltheric Revenant outfit style
• Senchal Horned Owl pet fragments
• Assorted spooky Witches Festival-themed furnishings
  • Webs, Cone furnishing
  • Hollowjack Lantern, Ouroboros furnishing
  • Specimen Jar, Spare Brain furnishing
  • Ruby Candlefly Gathering furnishing
  • Vampiric Lamp, Azure Tall furnishing
  • Vampiric Lightpost, Azure Single furnishing
  • Vampiric Container, Yellow Liquid furnishing
• Group Repair Kit
• Companion Guild Commendations
• Witches Grab Bag (This is purchasable only if you haven’t yet collected all the items contained within)
  • Skeletal Marionette memento
  • Spectre Mask collectible
    • There are four variations of this collectible
  • Apple-Bobbing Cauldron fragment
  • Throw Bones memento fragment
  • Marshmallow Toasty Treat emote
  • Witch's Bonfire Dust
  • Ghastly Visitation memento
  • Witch-Tamed Bear-Dog pet fragment
  • Witchmother's Servant outfit style pages
  • Tome of Forbidden Appetites memento
  • Ghost Netch pet
  • Grave Dancer Weapon style pages

Of note: The Witches Festival will be your first opportunity to begin gathering the fragments for the final event morphing collectible of 2024, the Haven of the Five Companions house!

Haven of the Five Companions morphing collectible

Additionally, the Impresario’s colleague, Nenulaure the Indrik Vendor, has the following items available for purchase using Event Tickets:

• Nascent Indrik Feathers
• Pure Snow Indrik Berries
• Crimson Indrik Berries
• Frost-Light Indrik pet
• Rosethorn Indrik pet

Lastly, the Impresario’s Assistant is offering the following, which you can acquire with Event Tickets:

• All three Unstable Morpholith fragments
  • Deadlands Flint
  • Rune-Etched Striker
  • Smoldering Bloodgrass Tinder
• All three Dagonic Quasigriff fragments
  • Smoke-Wreathed Gryphon Feather
  • Black Iron Bit
  • Bridle Black Iron Stirrups

• All three Soulfire Dragon Illusion Imp pet fragments
  • Hallowed Hourglass Basin
  • Illuminated Dragon Scroll
  • Kvatchian Incense

• All three fragments for the Daggerfall Paladin outfit
  • Blessed Rubedite Enamel
  • Captured Dragonflame
  • Sanctified Metalworking Tools

It’s Tamriel’s most frightful time of year, and only brave heroes can bring light to the shadows of the season. Will you step up to strike down Lord Hollowjack? You’ll be rewarded with XP boosts, collectibles, and other boons for your efforts during the 2024 Witches Festival in-game event. Share your spooky stories with us via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. 

The Witches Festival in-game event begins Thursday, October 24 at 10AM EDT, and runs until Wednesday, November 6 at 10AM EST.

Meet Tanlorin, an outcast High Elf and one of the two new Companions coming with Update 44!

 

Razum-dar’s report on the movements and activities of an oustered High Elf adventurer.

 

To Her Royal Majesty Queen Ayrenn,

 

As you are well aware, there are a myriad of duties that fall under the purview of your humble Eye, Razum-dar. Many of which, this one isn’t afraid to admit, feel tedious. Often, a waste of Raz’s time and beneath his skill set. But for once, Raz is happy to have done his due diligence.

Some time ago, Raz was made aware of the movements of an oustered High Elf by the name of Tanlorin. Normally, such occurrences are of no concern. To be oustered is to be removed from one’s family registry, a personal matter normally not worthy of the Queen’s notice. But in this case? This individual’s movements seem to coincide with matters very much of the Dominion’s concern. If you’ll indulge Raz, this one will paint you a portrait.

A spry, tattooed High Elf enters Reaper’s March one day. They spend the afternoon sampling the delights of a Rawl’kha tavern. They are rambunctious. They sing along with the bard and flirt with fellow drunkards. They tip well. A pleasant visit, by all accounts.

A few drinks into the night, they let slip that they’re originally from a town called Rellenthil in the Summerset Isle. When referring to Rellenthil’s registry of ousters, Raz found the reason behind Tanlorin’s expulsion was absent, including the name of the family they were banished from. Most curious, yes? It would seem Tanlorin comes from a family of high regard and one with enough influence as to request convenient omissions from official records.


But, returning your attention to the night of Tanlorin’s visit, it seems clear that they have left their high society qualities behind. They are loud and unafraid of how they appear, yes. But they are also generous and kind. They purchase multiple rounds for all those in attendance and provide a sympathetic ear to those who need it. Many will remember that night believing they have made a new friend. The next day, Tanlorin departs. With their tab paid and lovers left behind, they catch a carriage to Baandari. Tanlorin has disappeared into the next town long before word of what has happened to Arenthia’s corrupt trade official can reach Rawl’kha.

You see, Raz had been investigating the skimming of Dominion coin by a Thalmor official overseeing trade in Arenthia. Not only was this official taking coin and altering ledgers, but they were using that coin to fund skooma production and then pressuring traders to smuggle the contraband across the Aldmeri Dominion. Now, on the morning of Tanlorin’s departure, this corrupt official was found howling in his office, skooma still fresh on his breath. His private safe was unlocked and emptied of all its contents save for the very ledgers and extortion notes Raz had been hunting for. What is the saying? Everything was served on a silver platter.

And how is this Tanlorin connected? Well, as you know, Raz has a very sensitive nose for theatrics of spycraft. While reviewing Tanlorin’s records as a matter of dull drudgery and administrative necessity, this one realized that Tanlorin had been spotted near the location of an exposed corrupt official more times than Raz has claws. A coincidence? Raz laughs at the thought.

How Tanlorin has pulled off these, if you’ll excuse a wink of admiration, deft acts of justice, this one does not know. Yet. Perhaps there is a greater group at work here and Tanlorin is merely the tip of the senche’s tail? At the very least, this one is certain of one thing. Tanlorin has risen to the top of the list of persons of great interest to the Eyes of the Queen. This one will attempt to learn more as time and circumstances permit.

 

Your humble servant, Razum-dar




Tanlorin’s past may appear checkered at first glance, but for those willing to investigate further, there might be more to the High Elf’s story to discover. Will you earn Tanlorin’s trust and learn the secrets of their quest and craft? Let us know what about Tanlorin caught your attention via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. 

Tanlorin arrives as part of the Update 44 base-game patch, available on October 28 for PC/Mac and November 13 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Access to Tanlorin’s recruitment quest is available via an active ESO Plus™ membership or purchase from the Crown Store.

Meet Zerith-var, Companion, necromancer, and member of the ancient Order of the Hidden Moon, in our latest Meet the Character!

 

Correspondence discovered with “The Ballad of Khunzar-ri,” a long and unfinished moon-singer composition dated to the late First Era. 

My dear friend Talbira,  

When you receive this, it will be more than a year since I entered partnership with Zerith-var. I cannot believe it has been that long already! He is much changed from when I first met him. Or perhaps I should say he is much more himself. You have known him longer and would know better. I find he is more the high-minded acolyte of the Hidden Moon that you described than the aloof hothead who took Azurah’s teachings of self-love too seriously that I first judged him to be.  

When you chose me for partnership with one of the Order of the Hidden Moon, I had notions that traveling with a necromancer would be dour and serious. A true test of my faith. Instead, my days are filled with travel and song, meaningful work, and good conversation. Zerith is warm and easy-going, making friends wherever we travel. But he takes his service to Azurah seriously, endeavoring never to stray from his twilight path. I am every day in awe of his commitment, for he makes it look so very easy. 

We have journeyed far, tending to those most in need of my healing songs or Zerith’s blade. And we talk of you fondly and often. You’ll smile to know that I, too, have now had to tear this cat away from watching games of five-claw cards or war dice. Thank Azurah that we have little gold with which he might gamble. But we are all right. Zerith’s upbringing gave him light fingers, so we are never in want of anything—rather, never anything that another might sorely miss.  

And while I am happier than I have been in some time, there is no denying that we face many dangers in our travels. Everything from dro-m’Athra to beasts that stalk the Tenmar Forest. I am little good at fighting or defending, not being a warrior like Zerith. But I endeavor to learn songs of battle and train with him further. I will look out for him, the same as he watches over me. This I vow. 

But look at me, going on like this. The purpose of this letter was to send you the rubbings you asked for from the Ko’krin Zhab. I send with it a vial of the sacred waters found within. May both aid you in the songs you write in honor of the Laughing Lion. Perhaps Zerith and I can hear your progress when next we meet in person. 

Azurah guide you,  

Ravith  




Zerith-var is a formidable warrior, a master of undeath, and one of Azurah’s most faithful followers. However, he now finds himself lost and in need of a guide and comrade-in-arms. Will you accompany Zerith-var on his journey of rediscovery and crusade against the Twilight Queen’s enemies? Let us know via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.

Zerith-var arrives as part of the Update 44 base-game patch, available on October 28 for PC/Mac and November 13 for Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Access to Zerith-var's recruitment quest is available via an active ESO Plus™ membership or purchase from the Crown Store.