What year is Blackwood set in?

HydraShalimara

So to further explain my question, my friends and I are role players and we were just curious what the exact year Blackwood (the new dlc coming out) is set in. For accuracy sake.

According to the timeline, Eso is set in 2E 582/2E 583. Tiber Septim declared the second era over in 2E 897. Then the events of Oblivion happen in 3E 433.

The advertisements claim that the new dlc happens 800 years before the events of Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion. And that we’re getting a time skip. Which would be cool. But when I do the math, that puts us at about 2E 530. Which doesn’t sound right unless they plan to put us back in time for this dlc. Which sounds interesting.

So what is the correct year in the Elder Scrolls timeline for Blackwood? Or was my math right and they’re sending us back in time rather than forward?

VaranisArano

Are we getting a time skip? Every other Chapter has been set in the Worst Year Ever.

RedMuse

I think you're reading waaaaaaaay too much into a minor promotion detain. Someone probably saw 747 years year gap as close enough to 800 and rolled with it. Technically it would be closer to 700 but it's advertising, it's not exactly the place to go to for accuracy.

RaddlemanNumber7

The narrative in the trailer concerning Leyawiin and the Ivory Brigade was all based around it being shortly after the fall of the Empire, like the rest of the game.

The Prologue quest carries on from things we have already done in the game.

I've seen no indication Blackwood doesn't start in "2E 582" like everything else.

HydraShalimara

VaranisArano wrote: »

Are we getting a time skip? Every other Chapter has been set in the Worst Year Ever.

I’m not actually sure. We were just speculating based on how they’ve been presenting it.

RedMuse wrote: »

I think you're reading waaaaaaaay too much into a minor promotion detain. Someone probably saw 747 years year gap as close enough to 800 and rolled with it. Technically it would be closer to 700 but it's advertising, it's not exactly the place to go to for accuracy.

You’re probably right. I figured I was reading too much into it but I just wanted to see if there was a more accurate date if they are moving it forward lol

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

The narrative in the trailer concerning Leyawiin and the Ivory Brigade was all based around it being shortly after the fall of the Empire, like the rest of the game.

The Prologue quest carries on from things we have already done in the game.

I've seen no indication Blackwood doesn't start in "2E 582" like everything else.

My thing is that there are so many events and npcs age with these events to where it almost seems years are passing. It’s hard for me to believe that all these huge events happened all in one year. But maybe thats just me.
I do see where you’re coming from though. And like the comment above, I’m probably reading too much into it. Just was curious if they were progressing time at all.

psychotrip

In the grim darkness of the second era, time has no meaning.

In other words, dont think about it too hard. I think ESO is going the usual route of "dont care about times or dates because this is an mmo". Story isnt the reason most people play this game, unfortunately.

HydraShalimara

psychotrip wrote: »

In the grim darkness of the second era, time has no meaning.

In other words, dont think about it too hard. I think ESO is going the usual route of "dont care about times or dates because this is an mmo". Story isnt the reason most people play this game, unfortunately.

Thats fair. You’re probably right about that. Thank you.

RaddlemanNumber7

I think they've stopped caring about getting all the contextual details right. Like this picture...



We're looking due south in that picture. That can't be the rising or setting sun, but I've no doubt that is what it is meant to be.

Unless ESO is going nuclear.

HydraShalimara

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

I think they've stopped caring about getting all the contextual details right. Like this picture...



We're looking due south in that picture. That can't be the rising or setting sun, but I've no doubt that is what it is meant to be.

Unless ESO is going nuclear.

Eso is turning into Fallout confirmed. Lmao jk jk jk.
And you’re right. I think they have stopped caring about accuracy. Which is depressing.

Nairinhe

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

I think they've stopped caring about getting all the contextual details right. Like this picture...



We're looking due south in that picture. That can't be the rising or setting sun, but I've no doubt that is what it is meant to be.

Unless ESO is going nuclear.

Maybe it's a gate to Oblivion opening in the background. Reflection of the city certainly looks daedric.

ThorianB

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

I think they've stopped caring about getting all the contextual details right. Like this picture...



We're looking due south in that picture. That can't be the rising or setting sun, but I've no doubt that is what it is meant to be.

Unless ESO is going nuclear.

Actually that would be an updated look to the "red sky" that surround oblivion gates in TES 4, or that is how i took it.

psychotrip

HydraShalimara wrote: »

psychotrip wrote: »

In the grim darkness of the second era, time has no meaning.

In other words, dont think about it too hard. I think ESO is going the usual route of "dont care about times or dates because this is an mmo". Story isnt the reason most people play this game, unfortunately.

Thats fair. You’re probably right about that. Thank you.

Dont get me wrong, I wish they cared! Say what you want about WoW but it has a very solid dating system, npcs age overtime etc. But few mmos actually put effort into the "World" part of the open world MMO.

RaddlemanNumber7

Nairinhe wrote: »

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

I think they've stopped caring about getting all the contextual details right. Like this picture...



We're looking due south in that picture. That can't be the rising or setting sun, but I've no doubt that is what it is meant to be.

Unless ESO is going nuclear.

Maybe it's a gate to Oblivion opening in the background. Reflection of the city certainly looks daedric.

Ooh, that's interesting. I hadn't seen that reflection in the river before, and no wonder!

The version of that picture I've been looking at is the PTS login screen, where that most important detail is obscured behind the login dialogue box. Good job ZOS

Nomadic_Atmoran

The same year we are always in Pinky, 2E 582.

Athan1

Unfortunately, everything is set in 2E 582. Because one year can fit 7 years.

Hotdog_23

Still 2E 582 but https://esoclock.uesp.net/ says 2E 610

Stay safe and have fun

Supreme_Atromancer

HydraShalimara wrote: »

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

I think they've stopped caring about getting all the contextual details right. Like this picture...



We're looking due south in that picture. That can't be the rising or setting sun, but I've no doubt that is what it is meant to be.

Unless ESO is going nuclear.

Eso is turning into Fallout confirmed. Lmao jk jk jk.
And you’re right. I think they have stopped caring about accuracy. Which is depressing.

It is, and you're certainly not alone in thinking so. The developers said that they want to keep time out of the limelight because it causes inconsistencies and problems when you can do the chapters in any order. I suppose they mean that If someone is doing the Planemeld story arc in 582, its kind of weird to be ducking in to fight dragons in your own homeland if they've only been released from the Halls of Colossus in, say, 585. Its a very unsatisfying solution for many of us, though.

Luke_Flamesword

Every year we have new chapter with great danger to whole Tamriel so from logical point this cumulation of events in short time is very weird. There is no point for focusing on dates, because it's already lore braking. Why people of 3E don't talk about this "crazy couple years with all possible Daedras attacks, dragons, vampires and performance issues"? If we want to put all these and future ESO histories into lore, than we have definitely the worst time of history in Tamriel.

Eh, ESO is for adults so why we don't get more adult stories (I don't think about 18+ content), more mature and personal histories WITHOUT world in danger? Some wars, politics, romances, local events. I and most of ESO players are not 13 years old anymore, so we don't feel special when we save 9999 time world in computer game. We want some histories to remeber, not next save-the-world filler...

Crazyprophet

Luke_Flamesword wrote: »

Every year we have new chapter with great danger to whole Tamriel so from logical point this cumulation of events in short time is very weird. There is no point for focusing on dates, because it's already lore braking. Why people of 3E don't talk about this "crazy couple years with all possible Daedras attacks, dragons, vampires and performance issues"? If we want to put all these and future ESO histories into lore, than we have definitely the worst time of history in Tamriel.

Eh, ESO is for adults so why we don't get more adult stories (I don't think about 18+ content), more mature and personal histories WITHOUT world in danger? Some wars, politics, romances, local events. I and most of ESO players are not 13 years old anymore, so we don't feel special when we save 9999 time world in computer game. We want some histories to remeber, not next save-the-world filler...

100% this. I'd love to see some more down-to-earth threats to be honest with you. I'd like to see more context or a resolution to the Three Banners War. I'd like to see more of the cultures and peoples of Tamriel, and what they're struggling with BEYOND just the big daedric threat #562. I'd like to see some emulation of the original elder scrolls games in a way. Give us more guild storylines - whether additional stuff for our current guilds or introducing new guilds like the Companions. Give us more political storylines like the Skyrim Civil war - but in other parts of the world. What IS going on with Imperial remnants? How are the Crown-dominated areas of Southern Hammerfall responding to Faharajad's rule? What are the Dunmeri Great Houses up to, who leads them, where are they establishing their spheres of influence and how are they in competition? The ideas go on and on. Not everything needs to be the big save-the-world adventure - the smaller scale stuff is important too.

Supreme_Atromancer

Luke_Flamesword wrote: »

Every year we have new chapter with great danger to whole Tamriel so from logical point this cumulation of events in short time is very weird. There is no point for focusing on dates, because it's already lore braking. Why people of 3E don't talk about this "crazy couple years with all possible Daedras attacks, dragons, vampires and performance issues"? If we want to put all these and future ESO histories into lore, than we have definitely the worst time of history in Tamriel.

We don't hear anything about Lysandus, nor the Staff of Chaos in any of the later titles, either. The average Nord in 201 or Ashlander during the Corprus is far more aware of what's happening around her at this point in time, and may not even be properly aware of the Interregnum. Over history, many, many huge events have come to pass. Think about Noah's Flood, The Bronze Age Collapse, Genghis Khan or even *** Germany. How many times in the last month have they been something you talk about? And performance issues, well, they are from a place so dark and sapping of life that it is taboo to even mention it!

I largely agree with the rest of what you're saying, though. The writing isn't always very compelling, and does not invite any sort of exploration or thought. Is it just an issue of development priority? Do they think that people playing it because its a TES game don't care about such things?

Supreme_Atromancer

Crazyprophet wrote: »

Luke_Flamesword wrote: »

Every year we have new chapter with great danger to whole Tamriel so from logical point this cumulation of events in short time is very weird. There is no point for focusing on dates, because it's already lore braking. Why people of 3E don't talk about this "crazy couple years with all possible Daedras attacks, dragons, vampires and performance issues"? If we want to put all these and future ESO histories into lore, than we have definitely the worst time of history in Tamriel.

Eh, ESO is for adults so why we don't get more adult stories (I don't think about 18+ content), more mature and personal histories WITHOUT world in danger? Some wars, politics, romances, local events. I and most of ESO players are not 13 years old anymore, so we don't feel special when we save 9999 time world in computer game. We want some histories to remeber, not next save-the-world filler...

100% this. I'd love to see some more down-to-earth threats to be honest with you. I'd like to see more context or a resolution to the Three Banners War. I'd like to see more of the cultures and peoples of Tamriel, and what they're struggling with BEYOND just the big daedric threat #562. I'd like to see some emulation of the original elder scrolls games in a way. Give us more guild storylines - whether additional stuff for our current guilds or introducing new guilds like the Companions. Give us more political storylines like the Skyrim Civil war - but in other parts of the world. What IS going on with Imperial remnants? How are the Crown-dominated areas of Southern Hammerfall responding to Faharajad's rule? What are the Dunmeri Great Houses up to, who leads them, where are they establishing their spheres of influence and how are they in competition? The ideas go on and on. Not everything needs to be the big save-the-world adventure - the smaller scale stuff is important too.

Yep, exploration (of world and story) are cornerstones of the TES series. Anyone trying to tackle the franchise sincerely should recognise that. In the SPTs, a lot of the story is left to be teased out by exploring the story - reading books, or talking to people, each of which has their own views and biases. The more you explored, the more complicated and dynamic it became. In Skyrim, in particular, almost any notion or conclusion you might settle on would be challenged by talking to the next person. Just drop in on any forum discussing Ulfric Stormcloak and the Imperials and you can see how true this is. And how heartfelt people debated (and still do, 10 years later). To what degree does ESO do this in a compelling way? How many people will be talking about Ayrenn's opening of Sumerset, or even the Interregnum in 10 years? You're right to point out that there are dozens of plot hooks that might allow for exploration or dynamic storytelling. Each one is another whatever missed opportunity.

MaisonNaevius

Officially, we are in 2E 582.

In RP, we consider that we are in 2E 589 (2021).

Dark_Lord_Kuro

Officially we are in 2e 582
But i like to consider the year passing at relativly the same time as in real life
Id say
582 is basegame, imperial city and craglorn
583 is orsinium, thieve guild, dark brotherhood and shadow of the hist
584 is morrowind, horn of the reach and clocwork city
585 is dragonbone, summerset, wolfhunter and murkmire
586 is the year of the dragon storyline
587 is the dark heart of skyrim storyline
588 would be the gates of oblivion storyline

That how i personally place the event on a timeline

Crazyprophet

Dark_Lord_Kuro wrote: »

Officially we are in 2e 582
But i like to consider the year passing at relativly the same time as in real life
Id say
582 is basegame, imperial city and craglorn
583 is orsinium, thieve guild, dark brotherhood and shadow of the hist
584 is morrowind, horn of the reach and clocwork city
585 is dragonbone, summerset, wolfhunter and murkmire
586 is the year of the dragon storyline
587 is the dark heart of skyrim storyline
588 would be the gates of oblivion storyline

That how i personally place the event on a timeline

I second this to be honest - especially with regards to roleplaying. OneTamriel is great, and like Skyrim allows you to do all stories in any order, but a bit like Skyrim it does feel like it makes more sense to do the DLC in order of release. And again, like Skyrim, if you play long enough it's very likely that there's a passage of time beyond the starting year.

phantasmalD

Even if they stopped dropping exact numbers, there are still hints that time is passing. Most noticeable one was in Elsweyr I think, Abnur Tharn is written as an older, wiser character compared to the base game. He shows physical weakness, something he never did during the Planemeld storyline.

And considering the ending of the Elsweyr storyline and the use of returning characters, it's kinda silly that they keep pretending that you can really play the stories in any order without getting confused.

Zos should include an official story order guide with the new tutorial selection feature.

Kambo

The way the passage of time in ESO works is that it's relative to what you interpret it to be. Officially the year the game starts in is 2E 582, but because you can do any bit of content in whatever order you wish, having each new chapter and DLC take place at a different point in time would serve to railroad new players into playing content in a specific order, or otherwise confusing them on what takes place when. ESO used to be more linear with its story like this, but it hasn't been that way since like 2014.

I brought up a similar question about the passage of time back in 2019 thanks to some dialogue in Elsweyr and I got the chance to ask about it directly in a Reddit AMA, which is now one of the definitive sources I look towards regarding this particular subject.

Also when Greymoor came out the promotional material stated it took place 800 years before the events of Skyrim which also confused and, for some reason, upset quite a few people. I honestly just wouldn't pay much attention to what the promotional stuff says in regards to time because it's not going to be relevant to how ESO's passage of time works, nor is it going to be specific, only approximate.

Nomadic_Atmoran

Honestly a lot of this could potentially be happening in the same year (minus events with the same characters) but our characters would not be involved in it all.

tsaescishoeshiner

I don't believe they've given up on accuracy nor that ESO players don't play for the story, lore, and worldspace (they're huge draws compared to other MMOs), but assuming that someone in a marketing stream meant "exactly" 800 years is taking things way too literally IMO. Promotional material isn't necessarily lore, and tends to be impressionistic, like that "sunrise"/explosion photo above. Which could be fixed, but looks better this way, so probably won't?

I'd expand, but that would feel a bit off-topic. Maybe it's time for an early "Year of Dagon possible inconsistencies" thread : p

Anumaril

Zenimax repeatedly confirms that the entirety of ESO takes place in the same year: 2E 582. However, the non-insane among us roleplay events as happening as irl years pass. So that would mean that Blackwood—this year's chapter—will take place on 2E 588.

Lugaldu

Anumaril wrote: »

Zenimax repeatedly confirms that the entirety of ESO takes place in the same year: 2E 582. However, the non-insane among us roleplay events as happening as irl years pass. So that would mean that Blackwood—this year's chapter—will take place on 2E 588.

I do the same, roleplay that events are happening for my main as irl years pass. Everything else feels just unrealistic, weird.

Supreme_Atromancer wrote: »

Over history, many, many huge events have come to pass. Think about Noah's Flood

Noah´s flood, a historical event... um, well. But I agree, it would be nice if there were other stories beyond "save Tamriel from total destruction".

zornhau66

Nomadic_Atmoran wrote: »

Honestly a lot of this could potentially be happening in the same year (minus events with the same characters) but our characters would not be involved in it all.

Exactly-- just like a realistic story about one of our characters in Skyrim would not likely have them become the Archmage of the College of Winterhold, the Guildmaster of the Thieves' Guild (and a Nightingale), the Harbinger of the Companions, the Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, and the Dragonborn who saved the world from Alduin the World-Eater in the span of a year or two!