The Elder Scrolls Online expansions guide

Not only have we gone back in time to 2014 when ESO was released, The Elder Scrolls Online took us back in time too. Set a thousand years before Skyrim and 800 years before Morrowind, Daggerfall, and Oblivion, ESO took us to the Second Era.

A time of war when the continent of Tamriel was torn between three Alliances, each vying for power over the world that would become the Empire. As is tradition for The Elder Scrolls series, extra-dimensional threats abound, this time in the form of the Daedric Prince Molag Bal who threatens to pull the entire continent into their dimension, Coldharbor. 

The Elder Scrolls Online launched with four playable classes, but in a twist from the usual MMO formula they offer a far greater degree of customization. This means you can tailor them to how you want to play rather than have that be defined by role, though there are preferences for the classes.

Dragonknights, Templars, Sorcerers, and Nightblades made up the starting roster, each allowing you to express your style of play however you saw fit. The Elder Scrolls Online met with a mixed response on release, however, after a retooling and a re-release as The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited the game was on the path to being the MMO juggernaut it is today.

Now the world of Tamriel is free to explore regardless of your Alliance and even better - the subscription isn’t necessary, meaning you get more Tamriel for your Septims.

It’s no secret that the third game in the Elder Scrolls series, Morrowind, is a fan favorite. So when Bethesda announced that we were heading to the island of Vvardenfell expectations were high.

Thankfully, this expansion completely delivered for fans of the original game. We were able to take a look at our beloved Vvardenfell in a way we’d never seen before, at a time when major events in Morrowind history were occurring.

The plot for ESO: Morrowind sees you help ascended godling Vivec deal with an existential threat which threatened the entire island, if not the world. Morrowind took you back to places unseen in the series since 2002 and diving deep into the lore and world fans loved.

In addition, an entirely new class, the Warden, was added which let players experience a truly flexible role in combat. Even better, Wardens can summon bears to do their bidding. Who doesn’t want that.

Summeret was the next destination for The Elder Scrolls Online. This chapter in the ongoing MMO took us to somewhere we hadn’t been since the original Arena, the High Elf homeland of Summerset.

ESO: Summerset focused on diving into truths and exploring the layers of civilisation that the High Elves, or Altmer, had built on their home islands. The Psijic Order also made a re-appearance, putting a mystic twist on your adventures.

Summerset also included a new profession for crafters, and also instituted the tradition of the previous expansions being included in the base game, meaning an extra purchase for Morrowind as a separate game wasn’t necessary.

Now we’d spent two expansions with the homelands of some of the elves, where would we go next, especially if we have coin? Ah yes...

The home of the Khajiit, Elsweyr - like Summerset - hadn’t been seen in-game since the days of the first Elder Scrolls game. A dusty land filled with cat-like creatures, this chapter took players to the far south of the lands of Tamriel.

Dragons were the big focus of ESO: Elsweyr as they returned to wreak havoc on the skies of Tamriel. The Year of the Dragon was unleashed on ESO players through Elsweyr with a whole season of dragon-related content to adventure through, with their beloved cat-pals, of course.

The new major addition for the game from Elsweyr was the Necromancer class, a class which saw the dead become weapons in the hands of terrifying magic-users.

Currently at the time of writing, Elsweyr is the most recent expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online. But we hear drums in the distance and the clarion call of war horns. That means it’s nearly time for…

Greymoor is the title of the next chapter in the ongoing story of The Elder Scrolls Online and will take us somewhere that many of us are familiar with. Skyrim. Parts of Skyrim have been accessible in-game since the release of the original ESO, but Western Skyrim with places such as Falkreath, Haafingar, Hjaalmarch, The Reach, and Whiterun all are now coming to the game.

Vampires will be heavily featured throughout ESO: Greymoor with an entirely revamped Vampire Lord questline and skill tree. In addition we’ll be working to uncover deep dark secrets with the year-long season being named The Dark Heart of Skyrim. To help us in our discoveries a new profession titled Antiquities will help us become adventuring archaeologists, much like a certain Doctor Jones. But with heavy armour and dragon breath.

We don’t yet know where we’ll be heading after Greymoor but if the previous expansions and chapters are anything to go by, it’ll be somewhere exciting. The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor launches on May 26th, and you can join in the adventure right here!