ZeniMax Unveils Details Of The Next The Elder Scrolls Online Year-Long Adventure ‘Dark Heart Of Skyrim’

elder scrolls online fort greymoor bannerThe time has finally come for the promised The Elder Scrolls Online Dark Heart of Skyrim reveal. ZeniMax Online Studios took to the stage of the Luxor HyperX eSports Arena in Las Vegas earlier tonight to unveil the juicy details of their flagship MMORPG’s next year-long adventure.

As the studio revealed back in December during The Game Awards, Dark Heart of Skyrim will take players to Skyrim, an important location in the Elder Scrolls franchise. Today’s community event keynote reveals that vampires will be replacing dragons as the main antagonists. And, like last year’s Year of the Dragon, the storyline will be divided into three DLCs and one Chapter. The first DLC, titled “Harrowstorm”, will be coming out in February followed by the Greymoor Chapter in May.

“The Dark Heart of Skyrim beats from the depths in The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor, the latest adventure in the Elder Scrolls saga. A chilling evil from the First Era awakens, and Skyrim needs heroes. Explore the snow-swept region of Western Skyrim, discover Tamriel’s hidden history, and face an ancient threat as part of a year-long story.”

Harrowstorm will feature two new dungeons: Icereach and Unhallowed Grave. Unfortunately, information on the upcoming DLC is a bit limited. What we do know is that Harrowstorm will mark the start of the Dark Heart of Skyrim storyline and that the DLC gets its name from the mysterious storms that players will encounter during their adventures which will eventually lead to the discovery of the vampire threat to Skyrim in the next chapter, Greymoor.

The Greymoor Chapter is named after Fort Greymoor, an abandoned fort near the western edge of Skyrim. The significance of the location to the storyline, however, has yet to be revealed. Although, Lyris Titanborn, one of the original five companions in the original storyline, will be making a re-appearance in Greymoor to help adventurers overcome the challenges of the frigid new zone.

Greymoor will introduce a reworked Vampire skill tree, a new 12-man trial called Kyne’s Ages, and the new Antiquities system. The Antiquities system is a new game mechanic that will encourage players to explore old and new locations game locations in search of relics that can be exchanged for a variety of rewards including gear, mementos, and house furnishings. The studio also teased a new World Event called Harrowstones.

The Greymoor Chapter is now available for pre-order and marks the return of Physical Collector’s Editions. The Greymoor Collector’s Edition will include a map of Western Skyrim, a steel box, various replica coins, and a Vampire Lord statue.

“New players can jump right into The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor and start a character in an updated tutorial and starter area in Western Skyrim, without needing to play previous ESO content. Since the original base game is included with The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor, new players also have access to hundreds of hours of additional adventures throughout Tamriel. New players get immediate access to the base game, Elsweyr, Summerset, and Morrowind Chapters, with any Greymoor full game pre-purchase.”

Of course, no ESO announcement will be complete without a cinematic trailer to go with it. You’ll find that right after the jump. Greymoor officially launches on May 18th for PC and Mac and on June 2nd for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

The Elder Scrolls Online: The Dark Heart of Skyrim Announcement Cinematic Trailer