Revamping The Elder Scrolls Online: Seasons, Battle Passes, and Exciting New Features Ahead

Once again, the developers at ZeniMax Online Studios are revising their development strategy for The Elder Scrolls Online. This year, the game is transitioning to a seasonal model, meaning players should anticipate the introduction of battle passes referred to as «Tamriel Tomes.» The creators assert that the seasonal approach will enable them to «respond to feedback more effectively and introduce various types of content without being bound to a strict structure, unlike previous chapters.»

Starting on a positive note, new zones, classes, challenges, dungeons, and story expansions will now be available for free.

As part of this initiative, previously released expansions such as «Thieves Guild,» «Dark Brotherhood,» and «Orsinium» will be included in the base game with the launch of Season Zero, followed by the addition of «Greymoor» in Season Two. Furthermore, the aforementioned Thieves Guild will receive a new questline, and updates will be released simultaneously on both PC and consoles.

In Season Zero, developers promise to introduce additional difficulty options and enhancements for classes, both visually and in terms of gameplay. The team acknowledged that the introduction of subclasses negatively impacted the competitiveness of «pure» classes, leading them to adjust skill lines to make them more viable.

Another exciting addition for werewolf fans is the long-awaited introduction of a female werewolf model, set for June. Separately, a PvP update is also expected that month, introducing a new development system that will feature unique rewards, including exclusive cosmetics. The team plans to enhance gameplay in Cyrodiil and bring back three-way battles, which will initially only take place on weekends but may continue longer if they prove popular.

Returning to the seasonal battle passes, «Tamriel Tomes» will replace daily login rewards. The mechanic isn’t particularly groundbreaking—throughout the season, players will «flip through» the pages of the tome to unlock content prepared by the developers. Each season will last for three months.

Since the main content will now be free, ESO+ subscribers can expect another perk, as they will earn «tome points» at an accelerated rate. ZeniMax assures that the battle passes will include tasks for all player types, whether they prefer quests, dungeons, or PvP. Three versions of «Tamriel Tomes» are expected in total.

In addition to «Tamriel Tomes,» the team introduced the Golden Coast Bazaar, which will enable players to purchase older items using a new currency called «Trade Bars.» These bars cannot be bought with crowns, and there are no limits on the number of them, unlike event tickets, which will be removed. Players can earn bars both in-game and through the battle pass.

As for the next major update, numbered 49, the developers are proposing the following improvements:

The update is set to be released on March 9, with the launch of Season Zero and the first battle pass scheduled for April 2.