Any guesses where we’re going next chapter?

I_killed_Vivec · October 6

Sorry about the downer but..

Gold Road chapter was released four months ago and we are already looking forward to what might come next... in eight months time...

Theist_VII · October 6

LunaFlora wrote: »

Rohamad_Ali wrote: »

Akavir and Tang Mo when?

probably never as Bethesda wants Akavir to remain mysterious

You could say the same thing about the Psijic Order, yet here Arteum is.

LunaFlora · October 6

Theist_VII wrote: »

LunaFlora wrote: »

Rohamad_Ali wrote: »

Akavir and Tang Mo when?

probably never as Bethesda wants Akavir to remain mysterious

You could say the same thing about the Psijic Order, yet here Arteum is.

we got Artaeum 6 years ago which Bethesda obviously allowed to happen.
if they change their mind about Akavir in the future, great but we won't know until it happens if ever.

AzuraFan · October 6

I hope it's Hammerfell. Skyrim has been done to death (which includes anywhere with snow), and I'm not a big fan of Argonians.

Syldras · October 6

I think Solstheim would be interesting. It might be Skyrim, but it would be mostly the Skaal (and Rieklings). Hircine might also play a role and there are also a few Dwemer ruins on the island. They could even include a bit of snow elf lore, if they wanted.

BixenteN7Akantor · October 6

Hammerfell will not happen until TES6 is close to be finished internally, which is not happening soon...

ArchMikem · October 6

Very likely it'll be Hammerfell. Only place on the map with a lot of open space and we haven't been there since Thieves Guild.

Syldras · October 6

ArchMikem wrote: »

Very likely it'll be Hammerfell. Only place on the map with a lot of open space and we haven't been there since Thieves Guild.

There are also still bigger parts left of Skyrim, Blackmarch and Morrowind (although I doubt it will be Morrowind again that early). Plus daedric realms. Islands are also possible as a location.

SkaiFaith · October 6

I need snow... Snow is never enough.
Just saying

LaintalAy · October 6

Syldras wrote: »

ArchMikem wrote: »

Very likely it'll be Hammerfell. Only place on the map with a lot of open space and we haven't been there since Thieves Guild.

There are also still bigger parts left of Skyrim, Blackmarch and Morrowind (although I doubt it will be Morrowind again that early). Plus daedric realms. Islands are also possible as a location.

That map has Sheogorad 'completed'. Haven't been there in ESO.

Hammerfell does seem the logical choice.

Syldras · October 6

LaintalAy wrote: »

That map has Sheogorad 'completed'. Haven't been there in ESO.

That's the maps from the game files copied over the world map. Sheogorad is visible on the Vvardenfell map in game:
https://images.uesp.net/thumb/e/e2/ON-map-Vvardenfell.jpg/1200px-ON-map-Vvardenfell.jpg

Elsonso · October 6

No idea where it will be, but I think we can guess what it will be.

It will be a huge zone, but only about half of it will be playable. It will be very pretty, but overland will be largely empty except for precisely spaced mobs. Probably wolves or some sort of insect. It will have one public dungeon, six delves, six world bosses, four incursions, three overland sets, and around 30 hours of advertised content. The main story will strain the lore (as it should). Writing will be a fairly shallow and there will be no surprises in the outcome. The stories will be very linear; the player is just there to move the story forward. Due to the extensive NPC dialog, the content will be able to be completed in 10-15 hours if NPC dialog is skipped.

It will cost $40 to upgrade and be worth about half that.

WitchyKiki · October 6

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

Sorry about the downer but..
Gold Road chapter was released four months ago and we are already looking forward to what might come next... in eight months time...

Thats how bad it was lol.

SilverIce58 · October 6

SkaiFaith wrote: »

I need snow... Snow is never enough.
Just saying

I feel like a snowy environment might be next. Been awhile since we've been somewhere cold (4 years, 5 if not next year). It's a big change from all the temperate/tropical places we've been going, and somewhere frozen like Winterhold, Dawnstar, and the Sea of Ghosts might be exactly how they'll change it up. And then that would break up the climates enough to be able to do a desert following snow, and then swamp after that.

Of course they could do the opposite and take us to like Herne or Cespar if they want to do Redguard-esque stuff, but not on Hammerfell. These two islands are considered by the Empire to be Hammerfell's territory as of 2E864, but maybe Hammerfell recognized them first as like the Redguard version of High Isle, as it was for the Na-Totambu (Yokudan Royalty) as a temporary refuge on their way over from Yokuda. They're pretty big so one island could be a chapter location, and the other saved for the following/or another year.

MasterSpatula · October 6

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

If there were to be no Chapter released in 2025 I would not be at all surprised. I think U44 may show the future: refreshing existing parts of the game, accompanied by a variety of FOMO chores using endlessly repeatable quests and the like.

I think you underestimate the sheer number of people who would quit without new story content. I wouldn't imagine ZOS would take that risk.

Elsonso · October 7

MasterSpatula wrote: »

RaddlemanNumber7 wrote: »

If there were to be no Chapter released in 2025 I would not be at all surprised. I think U44 may show the future: refreshing existing parts of the game, accompanied by a variety of FOMO chores using endlessly repeatable quests and the like.

I think you underestimate the sheer number of people who would quit without new story content. I wouldn't imagine ZOS would take that risk.

I hope not. I am fairly certain that ZOS will do a Chapter. If their business model is to continue on as they did in 2024 with a chapter , two dungeons, and two lame updates to round out the year, that would continue the tragic sadness that was 2024. The 10th anniversary year that never happened.

MoonPile · October 7

TaSheen wrote: »

Erickson9610 wrote: »

We could go somewhere completely unexpected, like somewhere in Black Marsh.

Oh, I hope not....

Wow there are a lot of agrees with this. Do people really hate Black Marsh?

I'd love to see another, fuller expansion on them and more furnishings in the stone style + amazing plants!

16BitForestCat · October 7

MoonPile wrote: »

Wow there are a lot of agrees with this. Do people really hate Black Marsh? I'd love to see another, fuller expansion on them and more furnishings in the stone style + amazing plants!

Agreed! Argonians and Khajiit have frequently been rather overlooked even in their own canon. ESO gave us a wonderfully deep look into Khajiiti culture, and we got to see the rainbow of furstocks at last, especially during 2019. Murkmire gave us a smaller but still expanded peek into the Saxhleel over previous games. Which made me love and appreciate them much more than I ever did in earlier TES titles, where both Argonians and Khajiit are often just...kinda there...being "strange" and "foreign" compared to the more generic fantasy elves, orcs, and humans.

I would be thrilled if we finally got the same kind of deep dive into Argonians and their culture that we got for the Khajiit. I don't even like swamps—I live near a big one IRL, so I know how awful they are—and I'm fine to deal with it if it means I get to experience interesting Argonian stories. (Unfortunately, with so many of the "old guard" employees changing positions or leaving ZOS in recent years, including multiple loremasters and many of the writers responsible for the most lauded content, we might not ever get that kind of true deep dive into any Elder Scrolls lore again in ESO.)

LaintalAy · October 7

Syldras wrote: »

LaintalAy wrote: »

That map has Sheogorad 'completed'. Haven't been there in ESO.

That's the maps from the game files copied over the world map. Sheogorad is visible on the Vvardenfell map in game:
https://images.uesp.net/thumb/e/e2/ON-map-Vvardenfell.jpg/1200px-ON-map-Vvardenfell.jpg

Yes, interesting.

Pelanora · October 7

colossalvoids wrote: »

Apart from in-game hints, crown store and cosmetics on NPCs is also more or less indication for parts of Hammerfell and Solstheim.

I've heard Solstheim every year

moderatelyfatman · October 7

Libonotus wrote: »

Leramil mentions about going to something Tarn at the end of Gold Road but i think thats for her vacation. Any guesses where we’re gonna go next?

The next expansion will be in a place called QoL which will feature a zone smaller than Arteum. If will also feature a second zone with companions and a Trial, but you will need to be subscribed into ESO+ to access this area.

AnduinTryggva · October 7

Erickson9610 wrote: »

We could go somewhere completely unexpected, like somewhere in Black Marsh.

Black March would be awesome! The Murkmire dip into Argonial heartland culture was a bit shallow and would deserve some more attention.

(That is for the Bosmer part in Gold Road too imho).

Although Redguards currently lack an entire chapter they might be in.

However: I think ZOS will decide along the line which chapter might sell better and knowing how popular Skyrim is they might be tempted to add a third chapter...

colossalvoids · October 7

Pelanora wrote: »

colossalvoids wrote: »

Apart from in-game hints, crown store and cosmetics on NPCs is also more or less indication for parts of Hammerfell and Solstheim.

I've heard Solstheim every year

It's not the first year of hints for it, hopefully the last one. But idk if I want zos'ed Solstheim really, will see.

Tazzy · October 7

I'm actually less interested in what location the future Dlc will take place, for me it's more important what kind of characters will appear there. I have nothing against new characters, but since a while I found the characters introduced in the last Dlc's quite boring and interchangeable. (I can't judge Gold Coast because I skipped that, because Necrom didn't convince me at all.) I miss cheeky characters with personality, like Abnur Tharn. He wasn't the most likeable guy, but his dialogs and his 'charming' insults made the stories more interesting and amusing for me. The last character with personality I can remember was Elam Drals in Darkforest. Every else since than..well, so interchangeable and lacking any personality that I can't even remember their names.

katanagirl1 · October 7

Syldras wrote: »

I think Solstheim would be interesting. It might be Skyrim, but it would be mostly the Skaal (and Rieklings). Hircine might also play a role and there are also a few Dwemer ruins on the island. They could even include a bit of snow elf lore, if they wanted.

I don’t read the lore section of the forums here to keep up, but that sounds pretty dreadful to me. I despise Rieklimgs, doubly so for their stuff clogging up the Luxury Vendor’s inventory instead of something that is actually nice. As for the Skaal, they were annoying mobs in Clockwork city but that one guy in Fargrave and Apocrypha was alright I guess.

I’ll be hoping for Hammerfell then, since you can’t go wrong with Redguards (I hope). Also because it sounds like PS gets shut out of the next TES installment completely.

LaintalAy · October 7

When we say 'Hammerfell' is this the same region that earlier games like Redguard and Arena occupy?

Sorry, I don't know too much about those. But most of the other areas available possibly have licensing issues.

Syldras · October 7

katanagirl1 wrote: »

I don’t read the lore section of the forums here to keep up, but that sounds pretty dreadful to me. I despise Rieklimgs, doubly so for their stuff clogging up the Luxury Vendor’s inventory instead of something that is actually nice. As for the Skaal, they were annoying mobs in Clockwork city but that one guy in Fargrave and Apocrypha was alright I guess.

Not Skaafin, Skaal - a "pagan" Nord tribe with their own religion and culture:
https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Skaal
I think it would be interesting to elaborate on them. In general, there are quite a lot of ruins of different types on that small island, I think it could be interesting to make something out of that (the only question is whether ZOS writes interesting stories and new lore).

LaintalAy wrote: »

When we say 'Hammerfell' is this the same region that earlier games like Redguard and Arena occupy?
Sorry, I don't know too much about those. But most of the other areas available possibly have licensing issues.

Since that one npc from the random encounter in Gold Road mentions the city of Abibon-gora, I suspect it would be the Western coast. That region has been in TES2 Daggerfall (which took place around the Iliac Bay; while TES Redguard was only Stros M'kai; and Arena had whole Hammerfell, but I think Abibon-gora was not on the map as a settlement back then).

Sarannah · October 7

Instead of going to a new zone, ZOS could choose to create a new secondary main story for an already existing zone.

For example a new expansion: "Morrowind: The new era!", where we finally remove the stone from the sky. This would have a twofold effect, players will want to play the first Morrowind story, and they will want to buy the new expansion in the same zone. At the same time this would save ZOS money due to re-using an already existing zone, allowing them to focus on the main story much more.

SilverIce58 · October 7

Sarannah wrote: »

Instead of going to a new zone, ZOS could choose to create a new secondary main story for an already existing zone.

For example a new expansion: "Morrowind: The new era!", where we finally remove the stone from the sky. This would have a twofold effect, players will want to play the first Morrowind story, and they will want to buy the new expansion in the same zone. At the same time this would save ZOS money due to re-using an already existing zone, allowing them to focus on the main story much more.

You want to get rid of Baar Dau? The Ministry of Truth (as it later becomes known as)? That rock is up there for a reason, and won't be coming down until 4E 5, in which it absolutely destroys the city.

Syldras · October 7

Sarannah wrote: »

Instead of going to a new zone, ZOS could choose to create a new secondary main story for an already existing zone.

I think adding quests to old zones is no bad idea, but I'm sure that some people would be disappointed because they enjoy exploring completely new zones. Also, if just new quests are added, ZOS should not charge the full chapter prize for that. I think it would be okay as something like a small dlc (although that might lead ZOS to sell single questlines through the store at some point, which wouldn't exactly be something I favor - as they would probably be much too expensive).

Sarannah wrote: »

For example a new expansion: "Morrowind: The new era!", where we finally remove the stone from the sky.

It's still there in the 3rd era and it has to for lore

Sarannah wrote: »

This would have a twofold effect, players will want to play the first Morrowind story, and they will want to buy the new expansion in the same zone.

And for everyone who wasn't interested in the first story, the second would be just as useless. Also, it would go against ZOS' "play chapters in any order" concept.

Sarannah wrote: »

At the same time this would save ZOS money due to re-using an already existing zone, allowing them to focus on the main story much more.

I sadly don't think time or money is the problem when it comes to writing. Also, the people who do zone building, graphic assets and such things are not involved in story writing. Completely different team.