General:Murkmire and Update 20 Preview

Originally published September 13, 2018. The original article can be found here.

thumb|500px|centre|Venture into Black Marsh and experience Argonian culture like never before in Murkmire, The Elder Scrolls Online’s next DLC game pack. Explore what’s coming with this new zone and learn about the Update 20 base-game patch in this preview article.

This new DLC game pack brings an entire new zone to explore, a new main quest line to experience, a challenging new group arena to conquer, and more. Update 20 will arrive alongside the new DLC game pack and will bring big changes to Cyrodiil, new Music Box furnishings, and a series of Home Editor improvements and balance changes.

Discover the Hist

With Murkmire, you’ll be able to explore an all-new zone located on the southern coast of Black Marsh. As you venture into this new world, you'll navigate through knee-deep swamps and dense, living jungles, encountering incredible stilt houses, long-forgotten temples, and crumbling Imperial ruins.  

center|300px|thumb|Venture deep into Black Marsh

In this new zone, you’ll be able to experience the mysterious Saxhleel (known to the rest of Tamriel as the Argonians) as you explore the deepest depths of the marsh and uncover secrets never before revealed about the nature of the relationship between the Argonian tribes and their sacred Hist trees.

As you travel across this new world, you’ll encounter new challenges and dangers, including unique world bosses, delves, quests, and more. Of course, this new zone is also filled with riches, such as new item sets, furnishings, styles, collectibles, and more. The wilds of Black Marsh are teeming with life and many hidden dangers, but it is also a world of great opportunity for those who dare uncover its secrets. 

Recover a Lost Artifact
Murkmire also features a main story quest that takes you all over the new zone to help intrepid explorers and enigmatic Argonians recover a legendary Saxhleel antiquity. During your adventure, you’ll encounter a host of colorful characters and delve into the hidden histories and secrets of the Saxhleel. In discovering this relic, you will also discover the rich and colorful culture of the most alien race in Tamriel.

centre|300px|thumb|Experience Argonian culture first hand

In this new story quest, you’ll contend with the dangerous Blackguard faction, suspicious and leery Argonian tribes, menacing grave-robbers, ancient traps, savage beasts, and even flesh-eating plants! Fortune and adventure await in the deep murk, but for those who delve into its fetid swamps and dilapidated ruins, Murkmire’s greatest prize is knowledge.

Fight in the Arena

Built in a single day centuries ago by the powerful mage Pelladil Direnni and his Stone Atronachs, Blackrose Prison was once one of the Empire’s most feared penal colonies. Those unfortunate (or unlucky) enough to be sent to the prison, located in the southern swamps of Murkmire, were rarely seen again. Now, the dungeon’s crumbling ruins serve a new role as a proving ground for the Blackguard, a monstrous band comprised of the descendants of the prison’s former inmates. 

(In original article there is a youtube video titled Bethesda Gameplay Day - Day 1 | Friday, August 31 feat. Prey, ESO, and Quake Champions at timestamp 2:06:45 link here)

Should you wish to prove your worth, you can enter this all-new, four-player leaderboard arena and fight your way through its five stages. If you survive, you will earn powerful new weapons, such as the Blackrose Greatsword that boosts your Uppercut ability, and new item sets. The new arena is extremely challenging, but as you progress, you and your squad are able to make use of four powerful new sigils, including the Sigil of Resurrection that can revive your entire team at once!

Cyrodiil Crumbles
Arriving as part of the free Update 20 base-game patch, the shape of the Alliance War in Cyrodiil will undergo a dramatic change with the inclusion of fully destructible bridges and Milegates. Just as you might bring the walls of an enemy keep crumbling down under the withering hail of your siege weapons, you can now completely destroy Cyrodiil’s many bridges and Milegates, potentially blocking off (or certainly delaying) an enemy advance. 

(In original article there is a youtube video titled Bethesda Gameplay Day - Day 1 | Friday, August 31 feat. Prey, ESO, and Quake Champions at timestamp 2:15:34 link here)

To help your faction’s warriors contend with these obstacles, new goat paths can now be found nearby, giving you a secret-but-confined way to sneak into enemy territory. However, should the enemy know of your coming, these same pathways could also lead you and your group into a deadly ambush. Finally, new Outposts are being added all over Cyrodiil, giving you new strongholds from which to launch your assaults or make a desperate last stand. 

Update 20
In addition to the changes and additions to Cyrodiil we’re also bringing a host of improvements to the Housing System. Now, when using the Housing Editor, you can select and move multiple items at once, allowing you to effortlessly shift entire scenes. To help you build the perfect home, we’ve also added an undo function when using the Housing Editor, allowing you to quickly revert a change you made. Finally, we’re also adding a new furnishing type: Music Boxes. Now, you are able to enjoy some of the sounds of Tamriel while relaxing at home!

centre|300px|thumb|Bring music into your home!

Of course, that’s not all we’re bringing with Update 20. With this new patch, we’re also providing some quality-of-life improvements, such as the much-requested ability to reorder your characters on the character select screen. Finally, we have made a series of broad changes to ESO’s combat that are designed to help balance sustain across all Classes, provide counterplay opportunities for Damage Shield Abilities, and improve the effectiveness of Light and Medium Armor Passives.

Keep an eye out for more information on all the changes coming with Update 20 in the near future.

Begin Your Expedition
With a new zone to explore, new stories to experience, and new challenges to overcome, The Elder Scrolls Online: Murkmire brings the mysterious world of the Argonians to ESO players like never before. ESO: Murkmire will be available first for ESO Plus members and in the in-game Crown Store, but we’re excited to announce the entire DLC will also be available as a Daily Reward during the month of November. Keep an eye out for more information on how you can earn ESO: Murkmire as a Daily Reward in the coming weeks.

Do you dare to venture into the uncharted swamps of Black Marsh? A whole new world is ready to be discovered by intrepid explorers and adventurers alike. Head to Twitter @TESOnline and Facebook and let us know what Murkmire and Update 20 features you’re most looking forward to!

The Elder Scrolls Online: Murkmire is coming soon for ESO Plus members and the in-game Crown Store, and it will be available as a Daily Reward for the month of November. This new DLC game pack will arrive with Update 20, a free base-game update for all ESO players.