The Elder Scrolls Online has pulled back the veil on its next chapter, Blackwood. To avoid confusion, Blackwood is the new chapter which is part of the year-long adventure titled Gates of Oblivion. The setup aligns with last year’s Season of the Dragon story arc and Greymoor chapter.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood will take players on a hellish journey to “uncover the terrible schemes of Mehrunes Dagon, Daedric Prince of Destruction.” The events of this chapter sit a staggering 800 years before The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion takes place. This core narrative will be sandwiched between four DLC additions to further the story. Those Gates of Oblivion content drops are as follows:
- Flames of Ambition (March 8 for PC/Mac and Stadia and March 16 for Xbox One and PlayStation®4)
- Blackwood (June 1 for PC/Mac and Stadia and June 8 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4)
- Unannounced Q3 DLC dungeon pack (date TBD)
- Unannounced Q4 DLC story zone (date TBD)
Flames of Ambition and Blackwood will lead right into the June release of Blackwood, which will then be followed by two more pieces of downloadable content. In regards to Blackwood itself, the chapter comes jam-packed with a new zone, the Rockgrove 12-player trial, the Oblivion Portals world events, an NPC Companions system, and several other quality of life changes.
Long-time fans may immediately zone in on the glaring omission of a new class or skill line. While Bethesda never committed to having either in the newest chapter, previous releases seemed to follow a trend of every other chapter packing in a new class. Blackwood is shaking up the flow by focusing heavier on system overhauls and supplementing existing features.
How this will ultimately sit with the community remains to be seen. However, it’s no secret that some of ESO’s established features have been in great need of attention for a while. Blackwood may polish up those lesser parts.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood will release on PC and Stadia on June 1st with Xbox One and PlayStation 4 following on June 8th. There are multiple flavors available for purchase so be sure to check out our pre-order guide.
