Bethesda and ZeniMax Online have revealed Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood, the headlining expansion of the recently unveiled Gates of Oblivion year-long saga. Blackwood introduces a new zone, 30 hours of new story content, the new Companions system, and a whole bunch more. Check out the trailer up top:
The story of the Gates of Oblivion actually kicks off with the Flames of Ambition DLC on March 8, but that'll be smaller in scope (think last year's Markarth update) with just a couple new dungeons setting up the events of Blackwood.
Like last year's Greymoor chapter, which threw players into a darker, more gothic take on Western Skyrim, Blackwood adds a fresh coat of paint on a familiar locale and tells a new story set roughly 800 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Creative Director Rich Lambert gave me a preview of the story as part of our larger conversation about The Gates of Oblivion and Blackwood.
"The Longhouse Emperors entered into a pact, or made a deal with the devil, essentially, with Mehrunes Dagon, where they would help him invade Tamriel as long as they got to rule in his image. So, that was their offer to him. He took them up on it, and he gave them the power they needed, in essentially creating four weapons of mass destruction," Lambert explained.
In addition to the new story content and zone, Blackwood introduces a new system designed to allow solo players to recruit and play alongside NPCs. You can level up your companions and customize their gear, combat abilities, and behaviors.
Blackwood launches June 1 on PC and Stadia and June 8 on PS4 and Xbox One. You can pre-order the expansion now and get the Nagahide Welwa Ravager mount and Nightmare Bear Cub pet right away.
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