So, I have entered 3 different instances and ALL of them have been bugged in a different way.

1. First was all empty.
2. Second one people were at the third stage (I guess), firing ballistas, but stuck at 63% at Zysax.
3. Third time people were stuck in front of Guuffetarez's gates unable to breach them.

Fantastic experience so far!

In the meantime, the temporary workaround is for all characters who were engaged in the final boss fight to die and reset the encounter

That's possible in a group (dungeon, trial) but in a public "dungeon" with 20 or more players + the people leaving/joining, that is just unrealistic.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

We have added a known issues summary for Phase 3 and/or post-Update 48 launch here.

Then you should add the point as mentioned by Aliniel
3. Third time people were stuck in front of Guuffetarez's gates unable to breach them.

Tried to enter the dungeon several times and always ended in the situation as described [PC-EU]
The quest repeatedly pointed back to the Khajiit at the start (is it a Khajiit?)

Pretty bad for an on-week timed event

Same here on PC EU. Infernum just hold his position. But tbh, I have no clue what I have to do there.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

We have added a known issues summary for Phase 3 and/or post-Update 48 launch here.

I can confirm that the workaround "drop "the worm turns" quest" for Skordo does actually work. Fortunately I just had taken that quest without actually starting it.

It's simply a shame

I sincerely hope some sort of apology to the players is in the works, in addition to extending the availability of the fortress.
The Writhing Fortress is the only new or interesting portion of this event. Everything else has been done before; dailies to move a progress bar have been a thing in many other events.
The fact that the only unique, event only, time sensitive portion of the event was broken when it became available and is seemingly still broken in several ways is beyond disappointing, and advising people to die to reset a boss to try and fix a bug during an event that has been hyped up for months is embarrassing.

And ballistas do not do anything in Writhing Wall... All stuck in all instances where I were visiting...

Hopefully 7 days countdown is on pause allso. (doubt)

I hope the fortress availability will be extended, phrase 3 is totally bugged and confusing.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

We have added a known issues summary for Phase 3 and/or post-Update 48 launch here.

Additional one for the list.

PC-EU has multiple Fortress instances that are bugged on escorting the Infernium. At the last Mystical Barrier before the West boss encounter, after the barrier has been taken down, the Infernium does not advance.

We did our best, but the Wall won

jle30303 wrote: »

Honestly. There needs to be a timer on every instance.

If not completed within a specified time, then tick tick tick tick BOOM, it ends, all players inside it are thrown back to Solstice. This would allow bugged instances to end and a new fresh instance be restarted. THis timer should be generous enough that the game could assume "the instance must be bugged or it would have been completed by now even if all players in it had the skill of a potato".

And if completed within that time, then again, it ends. Close the entrance portal, give 10 minutes for all remaining players in it to rush to the end, complete the dungeon and pick up the prize, then tick tick tick tick BOOM, The End, new instance is started.

This is a good idea. Have the timer show in the UI under the active quest objectives. Unfortunately, it's probably way too late for them to add this to the writhing fortress.

UPDATE, Saturday 15th Nov, 2025: Adding this about 19 hours after the initial post below the divider:

Saturday night on PC-EU, and it is working as intended now. So given my previous post was (fairly and validly) scathing - I will also do credit to the content itself, and seemingly improved functionality.

Went in at a busy time, with a fresh instance. Quest worked normally, I chose the West side again. Updates came in of the East side progress.

More and more players were joining, and you had to pick the paths you'd take to clear things as a big loose group. I can see why they chose to make it a Public Dungeon now. It's kind of like how PvP in Cyrodiil works with lots of real-time player, but PvE content.

It was genuinely fun. You blast through the West-side grapple and ballista stuff, and meet all the East side clearers, and rush as a horde over the bridge.
It's actually sensible now that there isn't NPC interaction much as you go through. Trying to stop and enjoy story dialogue properly would mean that you fell behind the group - which would suck if you're doing the actual event quest.

Smashed through the spire, and the final boss fight gauntlet is actually pretty epic. Grapple platforming, bring ballista parts up to platforms. Getting off of them when Stormcallers appear etc.


Got my Wallbreaker title, and was able to hand the quest in just fine.


Went back through for another go, to see what the East side is like + take the alternative path on the dash to the Spire. It reset fine, and even with the quest done, I was able to enjoy it in a similar way. There just weren't the same updates from the other side, and markers for things of course.

The final destruction moment can only be triggered by someone on the quest, which is cool - as on my first run through, I got to trigger that. Seeing it go off on my 2nd go, when I'd just stepped inside the Spire confirmed that it was me that triggered it on my first run. Which made that a bit more special.


I'm going to leave the post I wrote last night - below - present, as ZOS made a solid bit of special event content. In fact, it's pretty epic - and if it had been more thoroughly tested and rolled out well it would have gone down a treat. And definitely compensated for the rather tedious first 2 phases.
I feel kind of bad for the team that worked on this though; to make something so cool content-wise, and have that be permanently and irreversibly undermined by the deployment and apparently sub-par testing. So much potential goodwill was wasted and inverted into anger and frustration.
Some suggestions:

A. The indicator that phase 2 was complete should have started a 24 hour countdown - announced in the server wide message itself (with suitable copy)
B. The Writhing Fortress should have been much more thoroughly tested. A required hotfix should never have been needed
C. The instancing resets should be handled better in future efforts like this. The team know that the most keen and active players are going to hit this ASAP, and there will be a surge on the servers. Mechanics and considerations should be in place to pre-empt and handle things that occur from that.


Or you end up with the frustration I wrote (and many others wrote) last night - given below:

---

ORIGINAL POST, Friday 14th Nov 2025:

What a broken mess the Writhing Fortress is...

I was on PC-EU when the Phase 2 grind-a-thon finally hit 100% on the bar. Wait 24 hours, right after a server-wide on screen pop-up tells you that Phase 2 is done.

Log in, and get to access the Writhing Fortress.

Speak to the Blackfin Argonian, head to the West side.. and there's already a 'shortcut portal' open in front of the main one. There's no 'shortcut' portal on the East side, so it seems like I should take this unique-looking access point.
All it actually means is I don't use the correct entrance, and jump 3 stages ahead.
Then the real lack of fun begins...

1. Weird ghostly empty dungeon that's massive, but you can't mount up - and there's various named NPCs standing about and you can't interact with them.
2. After a LOT of faffing about exploring and looking for guidance, I figure out I can repair Ballista's.
3. I repair some, and aim at various things to no effect. The towers seem to be designed to be shot. Shooting them does nothing.
4. Explore some more, grapple about a bit
5. Run back to 'Black-fin' as the game now thinks I didn't talk to her; same dialogue again.
6. Go back in via the proper entrance. I now realise that all the barriers and fun progression have been cleared - because this is a Public Dungeon. So I get to enjoy none of it, and the NPCs are stuck before the first boss
7. Leave the dungeon, to see if that resets it - explore a small part of the other side of the wall
8. Go back in. Writhing Fortress is still broken, the Western Infernium bit can't be progressed and hasn't reset.

Log off, and quit, my limited evening gaming time totally wasted.


What an absolute sh1tshow, that was not at all ready for primetime, seemingly not QA's well enough, and clear as mud of what to do.

The supposed 'Hotfix' seems to have had a non-existent effect.

Jesus *** christ! Do you ever test things?? Isn't that what PTS is for?? Or other testing. Or what are the developers doing??

Completely bugged on PC-EU. Infernium stuck in literally every single instance. And they are -different- instances, as the Infernium is stuck in a different place every time. Incredible