Markarth is the endgame of Elder Scrolls Online's Dark Heart of Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls Online's next expansion takes players to a familiar place: The city of Markarth, in Skyrim. It's a location very familiar to Elder Scrolls fans, as Markarth featured prominently in Skyrim, the singleplayer predecessor to Elder Scrolls Online. The ESO implementation is pretty familiar looking, though it's controlled by the wild men of The Reach and covered in banners, mammoth tusks, and red paint.

This year's storyline for ESO is called Dark Heart of Skyrim, the story of a war of vampires and werewolves, and the Markarth update storyline ties directly into it: A confrontation between the players and a big, nasty vampire called Rada al-Saran. It also features an older character: Verandis Ravenwatch, a vampire that has shown up in earlier ESO stories. Beneath the zone of The Reach there are also sprawling caverns filled with glowing fungus and ancient libraries.

(Image credit: ZeniMax Online Studios)

The new zone of The Reach in the Markarth DLC will also include a new solo arena, something ESO players have been clamoring for. The release date for Markarth is November 2nd on PC and Mac, and ESO Plus members will automatically get it. The prologue questline for Markarth is available immediately in ESO's Crown Store.

A new event will also begin next week, called  Lost Treasure of Skyrim. Players in Lost Treasure can unlock new collectible rewards like cosmetics, a pet, a house, and new houseguests. That all works using the Antiquities system from earlier this year.

Contributor

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.

Latest in The Elder Scrolls
Image of a sweetroll with a candle in it
Bethesda marks Oblivion's 19th with a sweetroll, a candle, and absolutely no happy birthday gift for fans eager for the still-unannounced remaster
Skyblivion
Fan remake of Oblivion in Skyrim has a new video, looks amazing, is set for release 'this year,' and I struggle to imagine the rumoured official Oblivion remake doing much better
Skyrim man fighting a wolf
Skyrim was 'personally rebalanced' by producer Jeff Gardiner just 2 weeks before launch: 'Well, I hope this is good'
Skyrim intro cinematic skill - Hey, you. You're finally awake.
A Skyrim dev broke the game before launch when they made thousands of tiny ants cast individual shadows: 'Why is the game running so slow?'
Gang wars in modded Oblivion
Bethesda refuses to announce that Oblivion remaster to spite me specifically, so I'm consoling myself with this gamejam based on its terri-brilliant persuasion wheel
Daggerfall Unity - GOG Cut
GOG's bespoke cut of The Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall gets delisted tomorrow, so you've got a day to grab it for free as the store works out how 'to publish and maintain such projects better' in future
Latest in News
Shadow of Mordor's beloved nemesis system exists because the publisher threw a tantrum about second-hand sales
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
Silent Hill f is not messing around – now it's been banned in Australia
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'