Zenimax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks took to a livestream Direct today to discuss changes coming to The Elder Scrolls Online. The Night Market and Season 0 are here!
Earlier in the year, Zenimax Online Studios and Bethesda Softworks launched an epic direct presentation where they basically told fans that The Elder Scrolls Online would be going back to the drawing board with how they approach released content. In that January broadcast, ESO Game Director Nick Giacomini and Executive Producer Susan Kath detailed all of the big changes coming to the base game of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, and today, they expanded on those details, sharing exactly what’s coming with Season Zero on April 2.
The Elder Scrolls Online – Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk
Launching simultaneously for PC and console players on April 2 (the first time new The Elder Scrolls Online content hits both platforms at once), Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk will hit Tamriel at no extra charge (unless players want to). Season Zero introduces the highly anticipated limited-time event zone, The Night Market.
The Night Market is a new area in the Oblivion realm of Fargrave, available for seven weeks when Season 0 drops, and may be brought back permanently if the fans demand it. In the standalone region of Fargrave (where The Night Market is), combat difficulty is intentionally elevated to be closer to Trials and Arenas, while still maintaining an open-world structure. Players will be able to join one of three factions in their exploits through The Night Market, not unlike the base ESO experience.
- The Glittering Goad – A faction led by Patron Tachien, filled with the upper class who control wealth. Power is earned through gold and influence; ESO‘s guide to capitalism.
- The Ruckus – Another faction, led by Kharakhal Moon-Eye, filled with the roughshod-natured enforcers who rule through strength and intimidation. Like the world’s most cliche mafia, they demand a cut of all business in exchange for protection.
- The Thousand Eyes – The last faction, led by Patron Molto the Whisperer, and this faction features an ancient collective of the overlooked and insignificant. Much like Oblivion’s reliance on thieves to peddle whisperers, that’s the mantra of The Thousand Eyes. Information is wealth.
The Elder Scrolls Online takes this faction system a step further than who’s your favourite; rewards from The Night Market will be different based on which faction you choose. Players will also have to fight through three distinct districts in order to defeat the oddities thrown at players with reckless abandon. The Night Market takes over as a type of Game Master, and in this zone, numerous enemies not normally seen in Tamriel appear. Players may run into the occasional oddity, a surprising Trial boss, World bosses, Dungeons, mini-bosses, and even race each other to the finish.
The Night Market lands in The Elder Scrolls Online on April 2, with the rest of Season 0. Players who complete the starter quest for the event region will be awarded a Night’s Den house just for participating, so no one will enter the market without lodgings.
Also coming in Season Zero is the long-awaited Challenge Difficulty. Like in other RPGs, an optional overland difficulty system will be implemented into The Elder Scrolls Online as fans have requested. Those looking for an additional challenge will have four difficulty tiers to choose from, and each will increase rewards as it scales higher. Unlike The Night Market, Challenge Difficulty will unlock on June 8, two months after Season Zero kicks off.
Significant updates to PvP and combat are also coming to The Elder Scrolls Online in Season Zero, such as the new Veterancy PvP progression system. Players who have said there is no progression to PvP gameplay will now be able to accrue rewards and proudly display their PvP-related swag without having to be the literal Emperor to do so (that title and Ruby Throne Red dye are incredibly hard to get).
Earlier in the year, The Elder Scrolls Online promised further class identity due to player complaints over Subclassing. ESO is hard at work to continue to differentiate classes from one another after the Dragonknight Class recently got a gameplay overhaul. This overhaul included new animations, flashy blue fire skills, and fans resonated well with it. ESO is going to continue emphasis on class identity, with New Class Mastery skill lines.
The Elder Scrolls Online didn’t stop there, earlier in the year they’ve implemented over 20 Player Experience Improvements designed to reduce the grind and onboard players easier. Faster mount training and UI-based skill respecs and bag upgrades were just the start, the developers have promised to continue ironing out more quality of life updates for players.
While Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk is roight around the corner, the developers took some time to let fans know what’s coming in Season One, and beyond. In Season One, the Thieve’s Guild will return with a whole new original story that occurs after the conclusion of the original story that launched with Hew’s Bane. With the arrival of Season Zero, the original Thieve’s Guild questline and area will be available for all fans to explore (with ESO Plus, or without it), so fans unfamiliar can jump in and get acquainted with the cast before the story continues. Familiar faces will show up, but fans can skip the original story if they want as this serves as a standalone adventure.
A new story set in a visually refreshed Glenumbra zone will continue the original narrative that debuted a decade ago and will introduce a new activity, The Sage’s Vault. The Sage’s Vault is a puzzle-focused gameplay area, that serves as a space between realms guarding Sage Varnet’s prized possessions. Players will need to earn Nowhere Keys to unlock doors inside to confront The Vault as one giant puzzle. Over time, players will be able to piece these puzzles together and get greater rewards. Like The Night Market, this content is experimental and will return by fan vote (if it’s liked).
Further into Season One, The Daedric Prince of Madness,, Sheogorath, will also return to take players on a mind-bending new questline across Tamriel. This time, Sheogorath’s antics allow him to embrace mortality, which means Tamriel will have some serious trouble (and general weirdness) to wade through. His mission sees him embody basic trades through Tamriel, and enemies of Nirn want his power for themselves, so conflict will be avoidable.
The Elder Scrolls 2026 Seasons Direct didn’t stop there. The ESO development team gave fans a glimpse into 2026, as experimental content will come to ESO with the High Seas of Tamriel event. This new experimental content will feature naval combat (yes, with ships) and underwater exploration.
Solo Dungeons will introduce reimagined versions of existing dungeons for solo play (starting with Moon Hunter Keep and March of Sacrifices). New monster masks and other cosmetics will be added as rewards for those who triumph over the newly tuned solo dungeons, and like everything else ESO is doing, this will be event specific and may not stick around. Fans of trials will be elated to learn the Crimson Veldt, ESO‘s first new base game trial since ESO launched over ten years ago, will be the first new base game Trial for players to tackle.
At the end of the show, The Elder Scrolls Online developers had one more surprise: Skyrim. The Elder Scrolls Online is returning to Skyrim in 2027 with dynamic weather that will undoubtedly be troublesome for players. This new trek into Skyrim will feature “an iconic region of Skyrim not previously seen in ESO,” so chances are fans of the 2011 release (or any of the releases after) will be happy.
The Elder Scrolls Online Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk arrives on April 2, with big updates following on June 8. Fans looking for more information can hit the official site.
