The Elder Scrolls Online Previews High Isle Chapter’s Systres Archipelago
ZeniMax Online Studios has published a preview of the new Systres Archipelago, the setting for Elder Scrolls Online’s upcoming High Isle Chapter. The Systres Archipelago is the home of the Breton elite and is located far beyond the western coast of Daggerfall and across the Abecean Sea. For the first-time in the Elder Scrolls franchise, players will be able to journey to this secluded nation where the Three Banners War might as well not be happening as far as the archipelago’s inhabitants are concerned.
“Technically, this is Breton territory, but it’s also established neutral ground,” explained High Isle Zone Lead Ed Stark (not the one from Game of Thrones.) “[…] As far as the Daggerfall Alliance goes, this is somewhere the Three Banners War isn’t happening. It’s one of the few places in Tamriel where members of all three Alliances can come in safety.”
“The Society of the Steadfast, a neutral organization trying to find a peaceful resolution to the Three Banners War, have established an enclave here from which they can focus their efforts,” he added.
That being said, players will face a whole new set of challenges when they step foot in the new Mediterranean-inspired zone. While the Systres Isles are essentially a neutral zone in Tamriel’s ongoing faction war, there’s more than enough courtly intrigue and politicking within the noble houses to go around.
Players will quickly find themselves up against a secret order of knights called the Ascendant Order with aspirations of creating a crownless utopia by disrupting the peace talks between the three warring factions. The islands themselves also offer their own sets of challenges, including fiery reptilians, lobster-people, ghost ships, and volcanic vents that randomly open up in the ground.
“All the islands of the Systres Archipelago are volcanic by nature. By tampering with the islands’ nature magic, certain forces have caused tectonic shifts, destabilizing the semi-dormant volcano of Y’ffelon, just off the northern coast of High Isle,” said the devs.
“As a result of these shifts, volcanoes on all the islands have begun to rumble,” they explained. “Even worse, fiery creatures accompany these eruptions, and if they are not stopped, the archipelago itself may even sink beneath the waves.”
The Systres Archipelago is now live on the public test server for those who want to check it out ahead of High Isle’s launch on June 6th. More information can be found on the Elder Scrolls Online official site.
