The Summerset Chapter for Elder Scrolls Onlineintroduced a lot of features that players still make plenty of use of in modern times and finally brought the home of the Altmer to life in an Elder Scrolls game. Players could technically visit the Summerset Isles in earlier games, but their randomly-generated world spaces left lots of room for visual improvements.
The Summerset Isles are home to some of the most famous (and infamous) denizens of Tamriel of all time, like the necromancer-lich Mannimarco, as well as near-impossibly gorgeous cities like Alinor. While the lore descriptions of the isle don't quite match up to Elder Scrolls Online's interpretation, it's a Chapter well worth checking out, especially if you have completed the Morrowind and Clockwork City stories already.
The Summerset Chapter Wraps Up The Two-Year-Long Daedric War Arc
The Summerset Chapter is the final part in the two-year-long Daedric War story that started with the release of the Morrowind Chapter. In Morrowind, players are tasked by Azura and Vivec to thwart the efforts of Clavicus Vile to siphon power from the Tribunal, specifically Vivec. In Clockwork City DLC players work with Sotha Sil's Apostles and other residents of the city to save the Clockwork God from Nocturnal, who uses the Skeleton Key itself to access Sotha Sil's mind.
The Summerset Chapter sees players go to the home of the High Elves to defend the Isle of Artaeum and the Crystal Tower (an ancient relic of pre-historic Nirn) from a Tribunal of Daedric Princes - Clavicus Vile, Nocturnal, and Mephala. It's one of Elder Scrolls Online's longest and most detailed stories, and one that every fan of the series should experience just to see how these lands looked in the second era.
The Psijic Order and Jewelry Crafting Are Introduced To ESO
The Psijic Order is an elusive order of mages who aim to master the use of magic and mysticism on their isolated Isle of Artaeum. You might not recognize them immediately, but the Psijics show up regularly throughout Elder Scrolls games. In Skyrim a representative communes with the player during the College of Winterhold questline, and Divayth Fyr in Morrowind is a part of the Order too. With the Psijic Order comes a new skill line dedicated to mysticism and the forgotten arts of magicka.
That's not the only new skill line added with Summerset, though – Jewelry Crafting becomes available with this Chapter, letting players create rings and necklaces at Jewelry Crafting stations throughout Tamriel and beyond. There are new mining nodes added to the world specifically for Jewelry Crafting materials, like Pewter, and stations tend to be located inside Mages Guild chapters or around other magical influences in cities.
New Delves, World Bosses, and Dungeons Are Spread Throughout Summerset
As with every Elder Scrolls Online Chapter, the Summerset Chapter introduces a grab bag of single-player delves, six group world bosses, no less than three public dungeons, and a new Trial - Cloudrest, a location only previously seen in Arena. These delves are spread throughout Summerset itself and the Isle of Artaeum, the home of the Psijics.
Three public dungeons in one location is a pretty sizable number. When most base game zones have only one, if that, three really adds a lot of variety to the mix. The new Trial, Cloudrest, sees players rescue the city of Cloudrest from a strange toxic mist and ends with (spoilers) a confrontation with a Sea Sload sorceress.
Tackling Abyssal Geysers Is A New Group-Oriented PvE Challenge
In the base game players are tasked with destroying Molag Bal's Anchors, found at Dolmens throughout Tamriel (but mostly in Faction starter zones). Summerset has a version of this world event called Abyssal Geysers. Each of these six Abyssal Geysers was opened by the Sea Sload to sink the Summerset Isles.
Each of these Geysers is found along Summerset's long coastline, and they are a fair bit more difficult than a Dark Anchor event. They spawn enemies in waves that must be killed swiftly before the next waves arrive. Later in the chapter, Nocturnal herself takes over these Geysers for her own devious machinations.
How To Get To The Summerset Isles
There are two ways to start the Summerset Chapter and get to the Summerset Isles – through the Collections tab or by heading straight to Shimmerene, a city on the Summerset coast. To start the Chapter from the Collections tab, open your Player Menus, click "Collections", then select "Chapters". In here you should see starter quests for all Chapters currently available on your account - look for a quest titled "The Queen's Decree" to get started. Of course, you must have the Summerset Chapter unlocked either through ESO+ or individual purchase.
Alternatively, players can go straight to Summerset and jump headfirst into the new area. On the world map, zoom in on the Summerset Isles (located south of High Rock and to the west of Valenwood) and look on the eastern side for an unlocked wayshrine. Travel to this wayshrine to get to Shimmerene quickly, then look for Razum-dar or Calibar to start the adventure.
The Elder Scrolls Online is available for PC, PlayStation 4 and 5, and Xbox One and Series X|S.
