The Elder Scrolls Online – Flames of Ambition Dungeon Previews

Flames of Ambition, the first part of The Elder Scrolls Online’s Gates of Oblivion story arc, will be going live next month and expanding Bethesda’s MMORPG with a couple of new story dungeons. And if you’d like to know what to expect from these new bits of instanced content, you might want to read this preview article focusing on The Cauldron and this one that’s all about the Black Drake Villa.

Here’s a quick overview for the former:

INVESTIGATE A CURSED MINE

Hidden within the eastern hills of Deshaan, a long-abandoned mine has become the site of cult activity, and Drathas, a local Dark Elf from a nearby village, needs your help to rescue his enslaved family. However, Drathas is not the only one interested in the mine, as the fan-favorite Dremora Lyranth also has reason to explore its depths, too. For the dev team, adding Lyranth to the dungeon, with her obvious connection to Oblivion, was an easy decision to make.

“Lyranth is a great character because she very much has her own agenda, and no one is really quite sure what it is,” explains Mike Finnigan, ESO’s Encounters Lead. “She is mercurial and aloof, but her motives often align with the players, and her rebellious nature is very endearing to the community.”

With both Lyranth and Drathas at your side, you must venture deep into the Cauldron, confront the Order of the Waking Flame, free their captives, and put a stop to the ritual at its heart.

As part of the Gates of Oblivion year-long saga, this dungeon sets the stage for the events of The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood and the rest of the year’s stories.

And the latter:

A MANSION ABLAZE

The ever-enthusiastic adventurer Eveli Sharp-Arrow has been hired to retrieve a mysterious tome from the archives of the Black Drake Villa. This long-abandoned mansion, located in the Gold Coast’s northern hills, was once the home to the infamous Durcorach the Black Drake, a Reachman conqueror and progenitor of the Longhouse Emperors dynasty.

“Eveli is here at the behest of a mysterious benefactor who sent her looking for something very particular within this secret library,” explains Mike Finnigan, ESO’s Encounters Lead. “She is always up for an adventure, and I think that’s what makes her so appealing and such a fun character to work with. Her stakes in the fight are the same as yours, and she loves to go where the road takes her.”

However, this job is not a simple smash and grab, and upon entering the estate’s grounds, you’ll quickly discover that a band of monsters now calls it home. Even worse, black smoke rises from the archives deep below the villa, and it’s up to you and Eveli to race into the fire, confront the mercenary group known as the True-Sworn, and retrieve the tome at its heart.

But who are these flame-touched mercenaries? You’ll have to discover that for yourself.

“You see very early that the library is on fire, so finding out who the True-Sworn are and why they’re there is part of the fun of the dungeon,” says Finnigan. “In fact, some of the mysteries of Black Drake Villa may not fully be revealed until the upcoming Blackwood Prologue or even the Chapter itself.”

As part of the Gates of Oblivion year-long saga, the adventures you and Eveli have within Black Drake Villa will set up the stories to come in 2021, including those within the Blackwood Chapter.