ESO Events 2025: Witches Festival Event Guide

As the autumn chill settles across Tamriel, The Elder Scrolls Online community eagerly anticipates the return of the Witches Festival, a Halloween celebration that transforms the game world with spooky decorations and exclusive rewards. This beloved annual event combines festive atmosphere with substantial gameplay benefits, making it essential for both new adventurers and veteran players. The 2025 edition introduces fresh content while preserving the most popular elements from previous years.

The Witches Festival officially commences on Thursday, October 23rd, at 10:00 AM EDT and concludes on Wednesday, November 5th, at 10:00 AM EDT, providing exactly two weeks of Halloween-themed activities. Beyond the cosmetic appeal, the event delivers tangible progression advantages through its experience bonus system.

One of the standout features this year is the enhanced Hollowjack questline, which has been refined based on player feedback to offer more engaging content. More importantly, all participants receive a passive 100% XP boost that applies to all characters on your account, making this the optimal time for leveling alts, mastering skill lines, or progressing through the Champion Point system.

Pro Tip: The XP boost stacks multiplicatively with other experience bonuses like training gear, ESO Plus, and scrolls, potentially yielding over 200% bonus experience during the event period.

Initiating your Witches Festival journey requires minimal effort but understanding the optimal approach can save valuable playtime. The event utilizes a straightforward activation system that veteran players may already have completed.

1. Quest Acquisition Methods: Access the Crown Store’s free section to claim “The Witchmother’s Bargain” quest, or locate Crow Caller NPCs stationed near breweries in Stonefalls, Glenumbra, and Auridon. New players should prioritize visiting the NPCs to familiarize themselves with event locations while veterans can instantly claim the quest remotely.

2. Quest Completion Protocol: Finishing the introductory mission rewards you with the Witchmother’s Whistle utility item. If you’ve participated in previous Witches Festivals, your character automatically retains the whistle, bypassing this step entirely.

3. Cauldron Activation Mechanics: While blowing the whistle is no longer required for the XP bonus, activating it summons the Witchmother’s Cauldron, which provides the signature skeleton polymorph transformation. This cosmetic effect lasts for two hours and can be reapplied as desired throughout the event.

Common Mistake: Many players unnecessarily re-complete the introductory quest each year. Check your collections under tools before starting to avoid redundant gameplay.

Time Investment: First-time setup requires approximately 15-20 minutes, while returning players can begin farming immediately.

Wickerchain Soul Outfit Style in ESO

Hagmatron’s Body Markings in ESO

The core reward mechanism during the Witches Festival centers around Plunder Skulls, special loot containers that drop from defeated boss monsters. Understanding the distinction between standard and premium variants is crucial for maximizing your haul.

Standard Plunder Skull Contents

These baseline reward containers offer randomized items from two distinct categories:

Category A (Guaranteed):

– Various alchemy reagents for potion crafting

– Event-themed furnishing recipes for housing enthusiasts

– Halloween-inspired provisioning recipes for cooks

– Complete festival furnishings ready for placement

– Festival treasures that can be vendored for substantial gold

Category B (Additional):

– Style items for Hollowjack or Dremora motifs

– Common crafting materials including worms, crawlers, guts, or insect parts

Dremora Plunder Skull Premium Rewards

Your first unique boss defeat each day guarantees a Dremora Plunder Skull containing all standard items plus:

– Witches Festival Writ for achievement progression

– Glenmoril treasure map leading to additional loot

– Glenmoril armor outfit style page for fashion customization

– Crowborne Hunter outfit style page for completing the set

– Brand new 2025 additions: Hagmatron’s face and body marking runeboxes

– Tradable Wickerchain Soul outfit style pages for economic gain

These special containers drop from various boss types including arena champions, incursion leaders, delve bosses, dungeon final bosses, trial end bosses, public dungeon bosses, world bosses, and Tho’at Replicanum in the Infinite Archive.

Optimization Strategy: Plan your daily routine to encounter at least 5-7 different boss types to maximize Dremora Skull acquisition without excessive repetition.

Heavy Dremora motif dyed Hyacinth Pink and Void Pitch Black

The Witches Festival introduces two premium boss encounters that demand specific strategies and offer superior rewards compared to standard world bosses.

Crowborne Horror Engagement Protocol

Acquire the daily quest “Plucking the Crow” from Witchmother Taerma at Olyve’s Brewery or various Impressario tents throughout Tamriel. Successfully defeating this spectral entity rewards a curated Dremora Plunder Skull containing:

– Complete Dremora motif style book for outfit crafting

– Glenmoril treasure map folio containing multiple map pieces

– Hagmatron marking runebox for character customization

– Full set of Wickerchain Soul outfit style pages

Lord Hollowjack Raid Mechanics

Lord Hollowjack represents the event’s most demanding encounter, requiring coordinated group play. Obtain the daily quest from Priest Maxien Roudille at Olyve’s Brewery. This challenging fight necessitates proper role composition (tank, healer, damage dealers) and coordination for success.

Exclusive rewards from this challenging encounter include:

– Unique achievement accolades and trophy furnishings

– Bust furnishings depicting Lord Hollowjack for housing displays

– Premium jackpot items mirroring Crowborne Horror’s best drops

Group Composition Advice: For Lord Hollowjack, ideal teams include one dedicated tank, one healer, and six damage dealers with strong single-target capabilities.

Common Mistake: Attempting Lord Hollowjack with insufficient healing or without proper tanking will result in rapid party wipe. Ensure your group meets minimum requirements before attempting.

Wildgrown Chapel of Julianos house

Throughout the Witches Festival, participants can accumulate up to 20 Event Tickets by engaging in designated activities. However, the ticket storage system imposes a 12-ticket maximum capacity, necessitating strategic spending throughout the event duration.

The Impressario merchant features an extensive inventory of event-exclusive items:

– All three fragments required to assemble the Stonewisp of Truth and Law pet

– The initial two fragments for the Wildgrown Chapel of Julianos house collection

– Individual Wickerchain Soul outfit style pages for immediate use

– Hagmatron’s face and body markings for character appearance modification

– Special event furnishings and consumables including:

  – Webs, Cone furnishing for atmospheric decoration

  – Hollowjack lantern, Ouroboros furnishing for lighting

  – Specimen Jar, Spare Brain furnishing for laboratory themes

  – Ruby Candlefly Gathering furnishing for ambient effects

  – Vampiric Lamp, Azure Tall furnishing for gothic interiors

  – Vampiric Container, Yellow Liquid furnishing for alchemy stations

– Group Repair Kit for equipment maintenance

– Companion Guild Commendations for ally progression

– Witches Grab Bag containing randomized collectibles from previous festivals

Additionally, the Impressario’s assistant maintains stock of legacy items from past events, including components for pets like Soulfire Dragon Illusion and costume pieces such as the Daggerfall Paladin outfit.

Ticket Spending Priority: Focus first on pet fragments and house pieces as these represent permanent collections, then prioritize the current year’s outfit styles before considering grab bags or consumables.

For players pursuing Indrik mounts, a specialized vendor in Craglorn offers various Indrik feathers and berries for transformation progression.

The Witches Festival incorporates a comprehensive achievement system that rewards dedicated participation with exclusive titles and collectibles. Understanding the time investment required for each accomplishment helps prioritize your activities.

1. Pumpkin Pairs Well with Guts: Simply consume the Witchmother’s Brew during the event period to unlock this straightforward achievement.

2. Cauldron Conjurer: Activate the Witchmother’s Cauldron 10 times throughout the festival duration.

3. Sacking the Skeletons: Eliminate 100 skeleton enemies while benefiting from the Witchmother’s Brew effect.

4. Gruesome Feast: Sample various Witches Festival food items available through provisioning or vendors.

5. The Plundered Masses: Collect one specimen of each Plunder Skull variant available during the event.

6. Wicked Writ Achievement Series:

– Initiate: Complete your inaugural Witches Festival Writ.

– Apprentice: Finish 13 Writs to receive the Witch’s Infernal Hat cosmetic item.

– Witch: Accomplish 28 Writs to earn the prestigious “Witch” title.

Time Estimates: The Writ achievements require consistent daily participation, with the Witch title demanding approximately 45-60 minutes of focused activity each day throughout the event.

These accomplishments introduce additional gameplay objectives beyond simple reward farming, providing structured goals for completionist players.

Beyond the basic event mechanics, experienced players can optimize their Witches Festival participation through strategic planning and knowledge of game systems.

Efficient Farming Routes: Create circuits that combine world bosses, public dungeon bosses, and delve bosses in adjacent zones to minimize travel time between encounters.

Group Efficiency: Form dedicated farming groups with role specialization to rapidly clear boss content while distributing loot opportunities among participants.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

– Ticket Overflow: Failing to spend tickets before reaching the 12-ticket cap results in lost earning potential. Set reminders to visit the Impressario regularly.

– Boss Type Confusion: Not tracking which unique bosses you’ve defeated daily, missing out on Dremora Skull opportunities.

– Inefficient Routing: Haphazardly traveling between unrelated boss locations wastes precious event time.

– Underutilized XP Boost: Neglecting to combine the event bonus with other experience multipliers misses optimization potential.

Pro Tip: Combine your Witches Festival activities with other gameplay goals like zone completion or skill line mastery to maximize the value of your play sessions.

For players seeking to deepen their ESO knowledge, our Complete Guide offers comprehensive strategies beyond seasonal events.

If you’re particularly interested in character customization, check out our comprehensive Weapons Unlock guide, or explore our detailed Class Guide for specialized build advice.

The Witches Festival remains one of ESO’s most anticipated annual events, blending festive atmosphere with substantial gameplay benefits. Whether you’re pursuing rare cosmetic items, accelerating character progression, or simply enjoying the Halloween spirit, this event delivers memorable experiences and tangible rewards for all participant levels.

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