The Elder Scrolls Online: Harrowstorm DLC & Update 25 Live on PC and Mac

The Harrowstorm DLC, the first chapter of The Elder Scrolls Online’s year-long Dark Heart of Skyrim storyline, is now live on PC and Mac along with a free update for the base game. The DLC introduces a couple of fresh challenging dungeons while the update focuses on improving the game’s performance and adding new PvP rewards. You can find the complete patch notes here and watch the official gameplay trailer below:

Here’s an excerpt from the introductory article:

HARROWSTORM DLC GAME PACK

The Elder Scrolls Online: Harrowstorm features two exciting new dungeons for four-player groups: Icereach and Unhallowed Grave. These new PvE challenges also kick off your Dark Heart of Skyrim year-long adventure, beginning a story that will take you to the upcoming Greymoor Chapter and more throughout the entirety of 2020.

Icereach

A supernatural storm lashes Skyrim’s northern coast, threatening the longboats and livelihoods of the local Nords. You and your party must investigate the mysterious origin of this storm: the barren island of Icereach. There, you must find the first lost expedition, confront the witches of the Icereach Coven, and put a stop to their terrible ritual before all of Skyrim is lost.

Unhallowed Grave

Deep beneath the sands of Bangkorai, the ancient remnants of a long-forgotten evil lies buried—forgotten to all but the crypt’s last guardians. Now, a gruesome band of Necromancers and monsters has looted the tomb for an unknown purpose. You and your allies must storm the Unhallowed Grave, repulse the mercenaries, and discover the dark secret at the heart of their invasion.

Both dungeons challenge you and your teammates with cunning enemies and monstrous boss battles, and you can attempt both Icereach and Unhallowed Grave in Normal and Veteran difficulties, with a Veteran Hard Mode option available if you wish to truly challenge yourselves. Finally, you can discover new rewards in both dungeons, including new item sets, Achievements, collectibles, and more.

For more information on these two dungeons, check out our previews of both Icereach and Unhallowed Grave.

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UPDATE 25’S NEW REWARDS & PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS

Releasing in tandem with the new DLC, Update 25 provides a host of new features and improvements for all ESO players, completely free. In particular, this update continues the performance work that began last year with a major Patching Overhaul and introduces new, unique rewards for PvP.

Patching Overhaul & Performance Improvements

The biggest change arriving with Update 25 is the Patching Overhaul. This update completely changes how the ESO game client is downloaded, patched, and stored on local hard drives. Because of this change, ALL ESO players are required to re-download the game client. Once complete, you will see improvements to the game’s load time and reductions in hard drive space requirements for future updates. You can learn more about this major overhaul in this article. There’s a free pet to be snatched up, too!

Additional performance updates associated with this patch include improvements to frame rates, the loading of fixtures and characters, and more, so don’t hesitate to check out our performance improvements timeline or Update 25’s patch notes on the official forums for everything you need to know.

New PvP Rewards

If you enjoy battling your fellow players in Cyrodiil, Update 25 introduces new rewards for PvP players: The Knight of the Circle Armor and Weapon Outfit Styles. You can obtain these new styles by purchasing a Knight’s Resolve or Knight’s Rebuke from a War Researcher in Cyrodiil.

• Combine Knight’s Resolve with 20 Arena Gladiator Proofs to generate a random style page for armor in the Knight of the Circle style.
• Combine Knight’s Rebuke with 40 Arena Gladiator Proofs to generate a random style page for a weapon in the Knight of the Circle style.

Don’t forget, you need to complete Conquest daily quests in Cyrodiil to receive Arena Gladiator Proofs—no easy task! Finally, because the new style pages are not bound, you can trade them with other players.