Online:Dark Anchors

thumb|right|A Dark Anchor
Dark Anchors, also known as Dolmens, are enormous inter-planar hooks sent to Tamriel by Molag Bal from his realm of Coldharbour. The hooks are immense magical constructs, designed to break the boundaries between Oblivion and Mundus; they hook into the ground and the great chains attempt to pull Nirn into Coldharbour. The Anchors are visible from large distances and they affect the environment around them, displacing local weather for a portion of Coldharbour's dark and violent weather. 

Anchors can be found anywhere on Tamriel. Unlike the Alliance War, they are not confined to Cyrodiil. Dark Anchors pseudo-randomly spawn and are protected by Daedric and undead guardians. High-level players may be able to defeat the guardian single-handedly, but it is recommended to attack in groups. Each Anchor is different each time it spawns, with different enemies and bosses, perhaps including the rare generals if you are lucky.

Each Anchor destroyed grants everyone who contributed a   Reputation boost with the Fighters Guild, a loot chest, and the possibility of a unique item if you fight a General.

For a list of Dark Anchor spawn points, see the page on dolmens. Bruma also has an Anchor, which needs to be closed to clear the location on your map.

Gameplay
Summoning the Dark Anchor
When a player approaches a dolmen, six Worm Cultists of various kinds will appear at the base of the dolmen and perform a ritual with a sacrifice. Dark Anchors in the same zone are set to spawn in a way that there will always be one new one within 10 seconds of the last one being destroyed. Once the ritual is complete, a Dark Anchor appears and hooks into the ground. If the player interrupts the ritual by attacking the cultists, the Anchor will be summoned early.

Once the Anchor is open, it will randomly suck up and kill some of the cultists below. New cultists will then spawn to replace them. Regardless, when all the cultists are defeated, only then will the Daedra and undead start spawning.

Defeating the Daedra
Four pinions will appear around the base of the anchor, and enemies will drop down from the sky. Enemies will do moderate to minor damage in the area where they land (this damage shows up as Drop Anchor in the death recap). When an enemy is defeated, its body disintegrates and its animus is captured within the nearest closed pinion. When the pinion is full, it opens. A nearby player can then interact with the pinion to destroy it. Having a low number of players at a dolmen reduces the number of enemies needed to open each pinion, while higher numbers increases it.

Whenever a pinion is destroyed, all players nearby will have their health, stamina and magicka restored to full. A player that destroys a pinion will gain a buff for 30 seconds called Power of the Daedra, which makes their hands glow blue just past their elbow. The process continues until the last pinion is destroyed. When that happens, all remaining Daedra and undead will immediately die.

thumb|right|An Anchor is destroyed

The Final Wave
Molag Bal will then taunt you, and send some slightly stronger creatures to face you. Occasionally, a spark of lightning called a Static Charge is released from the portal above, which deals moderate shock damage. Once all enemies are defeated, Molag Bal taunts you again, and the final pinion opens, at the base of the anchor itself. Activating it will release the chains and destroy the Anchor. As the Anchor disappears, some Daedra will fall down and disintegrate on impact.

A chest containing rewards such as gold, soul gems, random leveled gear, Azure Plasm and jewelry from relevant overland sets can then be looted by all players who helped close the Anchor.

Enemies
Dark Anchors are direct portals to Molag Bal's realm of Coldharbour, and thus the creatures that emerge are all Daedra and undead. These enemies come in various difficulties as listed below.
Normal Enemies
Worm Cultists
Worm Cult Nightblade
Banekin
Clannfear
Dark Seducers
Seducer Assassin
Seducer Predator
Draugr:
Draugr Archer
Draugr Bane
Draugr Stormlord
Dremora 
Cold Flame Atronachs
Flesh Atronachs
Ogrims
Scamps
Various skeletons:
Skeletal Healer, 
Various kinds of vampires:
Bloodfiends
Vampire Assassins
Vampire Battlemages
Vampire Brutes
Vampire Sorcerers
Winged Twilights
Xivilai
Various zombies:
Ra-Netu

Elite Enemies
Sometimes more powerful creatures can be seen emerging from Dark Anchors. The animi of these elite creatures are larger than those of normal creatures and will fill pinions twice as fast.

Daedroths
Frost Atronachs
Flesh Colossus
Grievous Twilight
Harvesters
Liches
Spider Daedra
Storm Atronachs
Watchers
Xivkyn Banelord
Xivkyn Cauterizer
Xivkyn Chillfiend
Xivkyn Dreadweaver
Xivkyn Soulbrander
Xivkyn Voidstalker

Bosses
These enemies are only summoned during the final wave accompanied by other reinforcements. They can be challenging to kill alone.

Draugr Deathlord
Dread Bone Colossus
Dread Clannfear
Dread Daedroth
Dread Flesh Atronach
Dread Flesh Colossus
Dread Frost Atronach
Dread Grievous Twilight
Dread Harvester
Dread Lich
Dread Ogrim
Dread Storm Atronach
Dread Watcher
Dread Xivilai
Dread Xivkyn Banelord
Dread Xivkyn Cauterizer
Dread Xivkyn Chillfiend
Dread Xivkyn Dreadweaver
Dread Xivkyn Soulbrander
Dread Xivkyn Voidstalker

Generals
A boss spawns at an Anchor|thumb|right
These rare enemies occasionally replace the normal boss wave enemies, and will grant an achievement when they are defeated. Each general has two unique introduction lines associated with it. Molag Bal will use either line when announcing their arrival. Generals also have a small chance of dropping unique loot.



Dark Anchors Dialogue
Summoning Ritual
Worm Cultists offering a sacrifice to summon a Dark Anchor|thumb|right
When a Dark Anchor is about to be activated, a group of Worm Cultists will appear and they will start the sacrificial rite, in which a Soul Shriven is seen floating inside the dolmen before burning up as the anchor arrives. There are a few variations of the ritual:
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "Summon the blood sacrifice."
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "Let Coldharbour remake Nirn in its own image!"
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "Lord of Domination and Brutality, we sacrifice this innocent in your name!"
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "Through the spilled blood of an innocent, we call forth your anchor to join our worlds!"
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "We submit to your will and call forth the chains of Coldharbour!"
:   

:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "Bring forth the blood offering."
:Worm Cult Battlemage: "When Coldharbour calls, Nirn obeys!"
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "God of Schemes, we offer this victim to honor you!"
:Worm Cult Battlemage: "Through the spilled blood of an innocent, we call forth your anchor to join our worlds!"
:Worm Cult Pyromancer: "Bind this world with your chains! Draw it ever closer to your realm!"''
: 

 

Molag Bal's Dialogue
thumb|right|The Worm Cultists maintain their ritual after the chains drop
The below generic lines of dialogue are used by Molag Bal to address the player during various stages of attacking a Dark Anchor.
 

Gallery
 

See Also
Dark Fissures
Abyssal Geysers
Dragonscours
Harrowstorms
Oblivion Portals