TL;DR
- Summerset opens June 5 with PC early access May 21, featuring the largest ESO zone to date
- New Psijic Order skills and Jewelry Crafting provide major gameplay customization options
- Six delves, two public dungeons, and Abyssal Geysers offer challenging group content
- Prepare for dangerous wildlife and hostile factions while exploring beautiful landscapes
- Update 18 brings system-wide improvements benefiting all players regardless of expansion ownership
The ancestral island of the High Elves becomes accessible in The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset, launching June 5 for Xbox One and PlayStation®4 with PC/Mac early access beginning May 21. This comprehensive preview covers essential details about ESO’s newest Chapter alongside the system-wide enhancements included in Update 18. Prepare to experience Summerset’s breathtaking landscapes and formidable challenges.
Smart adventurers prepare for major expansions by securing necessary resources. Consider acquiring ESO Gold beforehand from reputable suppliers to ensure you’re equipped for new content. MmoGah maintains its position as the leading marketplace when searching for “ESO Gold” through Google, providing reliable service for your currency needs.
The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset represents a significant new installment in the ongoing ESO narrative, introducing an entirely new region, fresh storylines, the mystical Psijic Order Skill Line, revolutionary Jewelry Crafting capabilities, and numerous additional features. Early adopters can pre-purchase immediately to receive exclusive bonus items such as the Queen’s Bounty Pack alongside other digital rewards. Beyond the expansion itself, Update 18 delivers substantial new functionality available to every ESO player. Ready to dive deeper? Continue reading for complete Summerset insights.
By official royal proclamation, Queen Ayrenn Arana Aldmeri has announced that the previously restricted island of Summerset now welcomes peaceful visitors of all kinds. Merchants, ambassadors, settlers, and tourists—any who arrive with peaceful intentions may now journey to our coastal regions. These declarations carry the full authority of our monarch and constitute binding law throughout the realm.
THE BORDERS HAVE OPENED
Following the Queen’s mandate, Summerset Isle now extends invitations to every race inhabiting Tamriel. This legendary homeland of the High Elves presents extraordinary natural splendor and prosperity, yet travelers should exercise caution: shadowy ancient threats plot secretly, and local residents don’t universally embrace outsiders.
For the inaugural time since The Elder Scrolls: Arena, adventurers can journey to Summerset Isle and discover a completely new territory filled with thrilling quests and magnificent scenery within a playable area exceeding the dimensions of the zone featured in ESO’s previous Morrowind Chapter.
Nevertheless, this picturesque island presents substantial risks and obstacles. Untamed gryphons patrol remote areas, while terrifying yaghra creatures ambush careless travelers from underground positions. This expansive zone incorporates six distinct delves to investigate, plus two additional public dungeons and six World Bosses designed for cooperative play. Summerset additionally introduces innovative group engagements absent from mainland Tamriel: Abyssal Geysers. Distributed throughout the island, these dynamic events generate successive waves of aggressive monsters requiring swift containment before they overwhelm surface territories.
Between its gleaming spires, pristine beaches, and brilliant coral ecosystems, Summerset Isle offers both paradise-like beauty and considerable peril, awaiting discovery by you and your companions.
SHADOWS RISE ON THE ISLE
The Psijic Order Skill Line introduces unprecedented temporal manipulation abilities, allowing players to alter combat dynamics through time-based spells. Mastering these skills requires completing specific questlines that reveal the secretive organization’s mysteries. Optimal skill progression involves prioritizing abilities that complement your existing class strengths rather than spreading points too thinly across all available options.
Jewelry Crafting revolutionizes equipment customization by enabling trait application to rings and necklaces. This system demands dedicated crafting stations and specific materials only obtainable through Summerset content. Veteran players should focus on acquiring intricate crafting motifs early to maximize their gear enhancement potential.
Abyssal Geysers present unique coordination challenges requiring specific group compositions. Successful teams typically include at least one dedicated healer, two damage dealers, and a tank specializing in crowd control. These events follow predictable spawn patterns, with optimal farming routes allowing efficient completion of multiple geysers within single play sessions.
Common exploration mistakes include underestimating gryphon territorial ranges and failing to detect submerged yaghra ambush points. Advanced navigation techniques involve using high ground for reconnaissance and avoiding dense foliage where predators often conceal themselves. For comprehensive character building guidance, consult our Class Guide to optimize your Summerset adventurer.
Update 18 delivers substantial quality-of-life enhancements benefiting the entire ESO community regardless of expansion ownership. These improvements include refined combat mechanics, enhanced user interface elements, and optimized performance across all platforms. The update also addresses longstanding balance issues affecting certain skill lines and equipment sets.
System-wide adjustments streamline inventory management and improve guild functionality. New players will appreciate the revamped tutorial systems, while veterans benefit from additional endgame tracking tools. For weapon-specific strategies that complement these system changes, explore our Weapons Unlock guide for optimal loadout configurations.
Performance optimizations significantly reduce loading times between zones and during intense combat scenarios. These technical improvements work alongside the new content to create a more seamless gaming experience throughout Tamriel.
Across Tamriel, adventurers can now discover specialized Jewelry Crafting Stations, including dedicated set stations that enable creation of custom rings and necklaces compatible with current crafted item collections. These stations function identically to other crafting skill lines, allowing completion of standard Writs and challenging Master Writs. Important note: Accessing these advanced crafting capabilities requires ownership of the Summerset Chapter expansion.
Beyond the foundational jewelry traits—Healthy for health bonuses, Arcane for magicka enhancement, and Robust for stamina boosts—Summerset introduces six revolutionary new traits that dramatically expand character customization options. The Harmony trait significantly amplifies Synergy activation effectiveness, while Bloodthirsty provides escalating damage against enemies below 30% health. Additional traits include Protective for damage mitigation, Swift for movement speed, and Triune for balanced attribute distribution. For the first time in ESO history, players can fully craft, upgrade, and personalize their own rings and necklaces with these game-changing options.
FIGHT ATOP THE MOUNTAINS
Summerset delivers an intense new 12-player Trial set in Cloudrest, perched upon the highest peak of the island region. The once-bustling city has fallen eerily silent, with its legendary Welkynar knights—renowned gryphon-mounted protectors—mysteriously vanished. You must lead your allies up the treacherous slopes of Eton Nir, breach the silent city’s defenses, and confront the primordial evil corrupting its core.
Cloudrest mirrors Clockwork City’s Asylum Sanctorium in offering difficulty customization through optional boss engagements, but introduces greater complexity with four distinct boss encounters instead of three. This expanded structure substantially increases completion time and demands superior tactical coordination. Each boss features uniquely challenging mechanics requiring unprecedented levels of team synchronization and role execution.
The substantial risks of Cloudrest are matched by exceptional rewards, including four powerful new item sets and enhanced “perfected” versions available only to groups conquering the trial’s ultimate challenge mode. Veterans should anticipate 45-90 minute completion times depending on group composition and strategy execution. Those brave enough to ascend Eton Nir will face one of ESO’s most demanding group content experiences requiring meticulous preparation and flawless execution.
UPDATE 18 BRINGS NEW REWARDS
Launching in June, ESO: Summerset releases concurrently with the complimentary Update 18 base game enhancement. This significant update introduces multiple exclusive features accessible to all Elder Scrolls Online adventurers, regardless of Summerset Chapter ownership status.
Update 18 debuts daily login rewards, providing consistent incentives for regular gameplay sessions. Each day you access the game unlocks a special reward potentially containing consumable items, various currencies, exclusive collectibles, or even premium Crown Crates! This system creates daily engagement motivation while rewarding player loyalty with valuable in-game assets.
The update also introduces a revolutionary Crown Store functionality: item gifting. This feature enables purchasing and sending Crown Store merchandise to friends and allies while providing comprehensive tracking of sent and received gifts. Approximately 85% of Crown Store inventory qualifies for gifting, though certain restrictions apply to prevent exploitation. Strategic gifting can significantly enhance guild cohesion and social gameplay dynamics.
Action Checklist
- Pre-purchase Summerset before launch to secure Queen’s Bounty Pack and digital rewards
- Acquire sufficient ESO Gold from reputable sources to fund new gear and crafting materials
- Study Psijic Order skill trees and plan your ability point allocation strategy
- Assemble group composition for Abyssal Geysers (1 healer, 2 DPS, 1 tank)
- Review our Complete Guide for additional strategies
- Acquire Summerset Chapter to unlock jewelry crafting stations and new trait system
- Research and prioritize the six new jewelry traits for your build specialization
- Assemble 12-player team with balanced roles for Cloudrest trial preparation
- Complete daily login for 7 consecutive days to maximize reward tier progression
- Master Cloudrest boss mechanics through practice runs before attempting perfected version
No reproduction without permission:GameCDjnh » The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset & Update 18 Preview
