Back at E3, we got a sneak peek into The Elder Scrolls Online’s post-Morrowind plans — how could ZeniMax follow something like Morrowind up? Easy: It’s starting with Horns of the Reach, the game’s August DLC and the subject of today’s dev blog.
HOTR’s headlining feature is its pair of new dungeons in both normal and veteran modes.
“The first of these new activities is Bloodroot Forge, an ancient, long-forgotten forge that was recently rediscovered by the Reachmen and their minotaur allies. This forge, rumored to have been created by the Daedric prince Hircine, can create weapons of unbelievable power. When exploring this new dungeon, you will navigate through heavy vegetation and deep, lava-filled corridors to reach the heart of the forge and put a stop to Gherig Crowblood’s plans.
“The second dungeon is Falkreath Hold, a township under siege that will soon fall to the marauding hordes of Domihaus the Bloody-Horned. You and your companions must break the siege, move into the town and Jarl’s Hall, and defeat the monstrous warlord himself.”
The update will also include a trio of new companions, the Arcane University 4v4v4 PvP map, and the Chaosball battleground map. “In Chaosball, you must capture and hold onto the ‘ball’ for as long as you can,” says the studio. “The longer you hold onto the ball, the more points you earn. However, while controlling the ball, it’ll also apply a healing and armor debuff and gradually deal damage to you and your entire party!”
Even those who don’t pick up the HOTR DLC will benefit from the concomitant game-wide patch, which introduces new houses, furnishings, research tweaks, guild upates, and customizable combat cues. The DLC drops on the PTS next week, sans NDA.
