Elder Scrolls Online's next chapter release, Blackwood, is right around the corner, and the dev team is taking the chance to set the stage for players eager to jump into the world of south-eastern Cyrodiil. Today, the team at ZeniMax Online Studios talked about their world events in this year's Chapter, Oblivion Portals.
Oblivion Portals are this year's version of world events found in ESO ever since its launch with Dark Anchors years ago. In fact, every expansion to this point has had a version of these Dark Anchors in-line with the story of the chapter itself, from the Dragons of Elsweyr to the Harrowstorms in Greymoor. With this being the yearlong tale of Gates of Oblivion, it's fitting that Blackwood would see players venture through Oblivion Portals themselves into the Deathlands.
In a post on the Elder Scrolls Online website, Blackwood's zone lead, Jason Barnes and encounter designer Brad Hoppenstein, talk a bit about the new event and how players will interact with the realm of Mehrunes Dagon.
“Oblivion Portals spawn in Blackwood’s Western, Northern, and Southern regions,” explains Brad Hoppenstein, the Encounter Designer behind these new events. “Each Oblivion Portal region will generate two active portals, for six total, that players must discover for themselves while adventuring through the zone.”
Barnes explains that Oblivion Portals are meant to try something new, something more "exploratory." this means instead of just going to a location and fighting through waves of enemies, payers will actually be venturing into the realm of Oblivion with their friends to explore the Deathlands.
There are three random starting locations once you're through into Oblivion, where players will begin fighting their way through the realm encountering every type of daedra possible. At the heart of every portal is the Duke of Storms, and bringing down the enemy will get you some nice loot.
"Should you brave Mehrunes Dagon’s realm, fight your way through his minions, and confront the Duke of Storms, you’ll have the opportunity to earn special rewards. These Oblivion-infused items can include Blackwood zone set items, potions, and mythic-quality Antiquity leads. These rewards can also include zone set jewelry items (rings and necklaces) and will be the only place in the game where you can find these powerful trinkets. In addition to these items, Oblivion Portals also have a chance to reward you with a series of Deadlands-themed furnishing patterns, including braziers, tables, a bookshelf, and more."
These world events will kick off once Blackwood goes live on June 1st for PC, Mac and Stadia, and June 8th for Console players. Console fans are in for a treat when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S|X versions officially launch as well, bringing higher framerates and better visual fidelity to the console experience. In case you were interested in learning more about the story ahead of next month's chapter release, the ZOS team has you covered.
