The Elder Scrolls Online development team took the time to answer some of the community’s most-pressing questions about Companions. Check out their answers here!
Earlier this year, we prompted the ESO community for questions for the development team regarding the Companions system. These questions could be related to almost anything regarding Companions, whether it be the individual NPCs themselves or the design and development of the system. You can check out some of the questions and our developer’s answers below, but be sure to review the original thread to read them all.
What tribe is Sharp originally from? I also would like to know his Jel name. Did he even have one in the first place?
Juli Comstock (Writer-Designer): Sharp's tribe and Jel name were details I had planned but ultimately had to cut from the questline to strengthen the story we wanted to tell. I imagine discovering these things would carry some life-altering gravitas for the character, and Sharp needs a reason after his questline to stick around as a summonable companion. He gets to choose his place in the world, and right now, he's content exploring it with you in his tribe of two.
What is the team's stance on vampire/werewolf companions? Are there any plans to introduce more than two companions per year?
Philip Draven (Lead Systems Designer): Vampire and werewolf companions are not off the table for future companions. There are no plans to increase the companion release rate at this time. (They take a lot of work from many talented developers, and we want to make sure we’re taking the time to get them as good as they can possibly be.)
Would the team consider adding a "stand here" command to companions that makes them stand on the spot for 60 seconds?
Tom Murphy (Zone Lead): We do talk about ways to improve the player experience. There are trade-offs to systems like these that we don’t find to be net positives, so we’ll continue to investigate.
Will older companions (Bastion and Mirri) ever be updated to have more dialogue and quests?
Tom Murphy: I can’t go into too much detail regarding our future plans, but I can say that we have big ideas on how we can expand the Companion system in the future, and those ideas certainly involve revisiting Bastian and Mirri!
How do you decide on rapports for the companions like Bastian hating cheese? (Cheese! All hail Uncle Sheo!)
Janet Priblo (Senior Content Designer): If we can come up with something that seems like an interesting or fun quirk to a character we are developing, and that feels like it fits in with who they are, we love to add these small bits of character flavor. We need to make sure it can work with the companion system, to allow the companion to make relevant comments or reactions.
Thank you to the #ESOFam for providing such interesting questions for the dev team—we hope you learned a little more about Tamriel’s most-trusted allies in the process. Don’t forget, this is just a small sample of some of the questions and answers you can find in this thread on our official forums—go check the rest out! Do you have a favorite Companion? Perhaps one of the new ones that arrived with the Necrom Chapter? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook!
Begin Your Legend with the QuakeCon 2023 Free Play Event
Take your first steps into Tamriel and play ESO for free during QuakeCon 2023!
Tamriel Unlimited
The QuakeCon 2023 Free Play Event is now live and continues until Monday, August 21, 2023. During the free play period, you can begin your adventures and experience a world without limit at no cost on PC/Mac (The Elder Scrolls Online Store), Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles.
To get started, simply visit our Free Play page and select your platform. The QuakeCon 2023 Free Play Event gets you access to the ESO base game, which includes four of the game’s classes (Sorcerer, Nightblade, Templar, and Dragonknight), 24 zones to explore and quest in, and access to ESO’s PvP game modes such as the Battlegrounds and the Alliance War. In addition, you will also gain access to the Necrom Prologue, a free quest that introduces the Shadow Over Morrowind saga and leads directly into the game’s latest Chapter. Begin your Shadow Over Morrowind adventure
If you’ve played in previous free play events, you can continue your adventures with no loss to progression. All brand-new ESO accounts will also receive 500 crowns to spend in the in-game Crown Store. Even better, from August 10 until August 15, all of Tamriel’s adventures will enjoy a 100% boost to XP gains—go level up!
Once the QuakeCon Free Play Event has concluded on August 21, you can purchase the game via our Buy Now page to pick up right where you left off! Finally, both the ESO base game and the new Necrom Chapter are currently on sale for a limited time. Check this announcement blog for more information, including key dates and platforms.
Free For All
Discover a world without limits for free during QuakeCon 2023 and venture into the ever-growing world of The Elder Scrolls Online at no cost. Are you excited to take your first steps into Tamriel’s Second Era and begin your legend? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
The QuakeCon 2023 Free Play Event is now live and runs until Monday, August 21, 2023.
Watch Two Top-Tier Teams Race to Complete Sanity’s Edge during QuakeCon 2023!
Tune in to a special QuakeCon 2023 livestream where we host a special competition between two talented PvE teams with some big-time prizes on the line!
Join us on Twitch.tv/Bethesda this Thursday, August 10 at 3:30PM EDT, as Senior Community Manager Gina Bruno is joined by Lead Encounter Designer Mike Finnigan and Stream Team member Eigh1_Puppies to livestream a one-of-a-kind competition between the star-studded teams Genesis (PC NA) and New Watcher (PC EU)!
As part of the excitement of QuakeCon 2023, our two talented teams will be racing through The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom’s new Trial, Sanity’s Edge, and will attempt to complete it with as high a score as possible. To help inspire their best efforts, we’ve put some major prize packs up for grabs!
The winning team members will receive:
Custom Print of Sanity's Edge signed by the ESO Dungeon Team
ESO sling backpack
The Fair Winds in-game home
12-Month ESO Plus™ membership
The runners-up will receive:
5,500 Crown Pack
6-Month ESO Plus membership
During the stream we’ll have Twitch Drops enabled, so don’t forget to link your accounts! Watch the show live for 15 minutes and you’ll receive an Ouroboros Crate. Claim that crate and then watch an additional 15 minutes, and you’ll also receive one Gold Coast Experience Scroll (50% EXP Scroll)!
Two amazing teams battle it out for fantastic prizes in some of the game’s most-challenging content—it’s going to be fun! Are you #TeamGenesis or #TeamNewWatcher? Tune in this Thursday, August 10 at 3:30PM EDT, on Twitch.tv/Bethesda during QuakeCon to catch all the action!
Opt In to The Elder Scrolls Online’s Mailers & You’ll Receive This Free Pet
Verify your account and sign up for ESO marketing emails to receive the fiery Infernium Dwarven Spiderling pet as a free reward.
Want to get your hands on a free pet? Sign up for ESO marketing emails and verify your account from today until Monday, August 21, 2023, and you will receive this combustible contraption free! Here’s what you need to do to get your pet:
Verify Your Email
Confirm whether you have a verified email address by logging in to your ESO account on the official website. If you can log in, your email address is verified.
If you have not verified your email on console, follow the instructions for both PlayStation and Xbox consoles in this help article. If you can’t log in to your account, you can use this account recovery form.
Opting In to Email
Log in to your ESO account, navigate to the Options menu, and select Account. From there, under “Marketing Preferences” you can enable marketing emails.
You can also do this from the official website. From your account page, select “Marketing Preferences” under the Account Summary section, then check the “I would like to receive news about new events and promotions” box and select “Save.”
By opting in to marketing emails, you’ll receive information on the game’s latest news, trailers, sales, and more. You can opt out of marketing emails at any time by changing your Marketing Preferences as noted above (or using the unsubscribe feature included in our marketing emails). Infernium Dwarven Spiderling pet
Receiving Your Pet
Once you have verified your account and opted in to receive marketing mailers by Monday, August 21, 2023, you will receive your free pet code via email. To redeem your code, navigate to the in-game Crown Store and select “Redeem Code.” Alternatively, you can log in to your account on the official website and select “Redeem Code” under Account Summary. At that point, your new pet will be waiting for you in the game!
Should you have any issues concerning your new pet, contact our support team on Twitter or the Help Portal, or reach out to us directly via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook—we’ll see you AND your Infernium Dwarven Spiderling in Tamriel!
Save on ESO: Necrom & Base Game During the QuakeCon 2023 Sale
Begin your Shadow Over Morrowind adventure with big savings on ESO’s latest Chapter and base game.
QuakeCon 2023 kicks off next week, but we’re getting started early with a big sale on select editions of The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom AND The Elder Scrolls Online Standard Edition. As of right now, you can save up to 35% on the Necrom Chapter or up to70% on the Standard Edition by visiting our Buy Now page.
In the Necrom Chapter, you can explore two all-new zones (the Telvanni Peninsula and Apocrypha), master the new Arcanist class, and delve into a mystery that threatens the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, Hermaeus Mora himself! Venture into worlds unknown
In the ESO Standard Edition, you can discover the game’s original 24 unique zones and five classes while you contend with Molag Bal’s invasion of Tamriel. The Standard Edition also includes access to the Necrom Prologue, a free questline for all ESO players that kicks off the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure and leads directly into the events of The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom.
The QuakeCon 2023 sale is available for a limited time only for select platforms and editions*, so be sure to check the dates and details below and don’t miss out!
Are you excited to visit the bizarre and wonderful worlds of the Telvanni Peninsula and Apocrypha? Maybe you’re interested in the eldritch powers of the new Arcanist class? Let us know if you’ll be delving into the Shadow Over Morrowind adventure with the Necrom Chapter via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook—we’ll see you in Tamriel!
*Sale dates based on EDT timezone. Check your preferred retailer to confirm.
See All the Fun from April’s 2023 ESO Celebration In-Person Event
Get a closer look at the 2023 ESO Celebration with a new recap video and photo gallery.
This past April, we were thrilled to host our first North American community event in years with the ESO Celebration 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Check out some of the highlights and community fun from this two-day event by watching the video below and perusing our photo gallery. Be sure to let us know if you spot yourself or any other members of the ESO community!
To view a full photo gallery from the event, click here.
A big thank you to the #ESOFam for making this return to in-person community events such a great success. We can’t wait to host more in the future! As always, keep an eye out on our official website or social channels (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook) for future community-related announcements.
Gift Event Tickets to Receive Free Crown Crates during the Zeal of Zenithar!
Share Event Tickets with your fellow adventurers during the Zeal of Zenithar in-game event and you’ll receive a bundle of Unfeathered Crown Crates for your generosity!
Starting now until August 8 at 10:00AM EDT, when you gift fiveor more Event Tickets from the in-game Crown Store to a fellow player, you’ll be rewarded with four Unfeathered Crown Crates free of charge.
To acquire these complimentary crates, follow the steps below:
Travel to the Crown Store, and gift five or more Event Tickets to anybody in-game during the Zeal of Zenithar.
You can find Event Tickets within the Events section.
You may split the gifts between various recipients, so not all five tickets need to go to the same individual.
Following the conclusion of Zeal of Zenithar, you’ll be granted four Unfeathered Crown Crates.
The Crown Crate delivery will occur by August 31, 2023.
If you’re lucky enough to receive some Event Tickets during the event, visit the Impresario and browse through her various limited-time offers. For a detailed list of the Impresario’s wares during the Zeal of Zenithar, check out our announcement article.
Eager to share the fruits of your labor during this year’s Zeal of Zenithar event? Now is the perfect time to gift a friend or guildmate Event Tickets. You’ll receive four Unfeathered Crown Crates in return—a win-win! Don’t forget: this gifting promotion is available only until August 8 at 10:00AM EDT.
Are you planning to gift a lucky friend some Event Tickets during Tamriel’s celebration of commerce and competition? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Enjoy Unlimited Crafting Space, DLC Access & More During the ESO Plus Free Trial
Discover the benefits of ESO Plus™ membership during a free trial period from now until August 3!
Enjoy the Benefits of Membership
The ESO Plus Free Trial is live from now until Thursday, August 3, at 10:00AM EDT. During the trial period, you can enjoy the following ESO Plus benefits with no credit card required or strings attached:
Full access to DLC game packs—new zones, quests, dungeons, and more
Includes Orsinium, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Shadows of the Hist, Morrowind (zone and story), Horns of the Reach, Clockwork City, Dragon Bones, Summerset (zone and story), Wolfhunter, Murkmire, Wrathstone, Elsweyr (zone and story), Scalebreaker, Dragonhold, Harrowstorm, Greymoor (zone, story, and Antiquities system), Stonethorn, Markarth, Flames of Ambition, Blackwood (zone and story), Waking Flame, Deadlands, Ascending Tide, High Isle (zone, story, and Tales of Tribute system), Lost Depths, Firesong, and Scribes of Fate!
A Craft Bag providing unlimited storage for all your crafting materials
Double Bank space for all characters on your account
10% increase to experience and gold acquisition, crafting inspiration, and trait research rates
Eager to check out ESO Plus for free? Here’s what you need to do:
Log into The Elder Scrolls Online
Navigate to the Crown Store
Select the ESO Plus tab
Select “Free Trial!”
Once you’ve activated your trial, all the benefits listed above will be available to you until August 3. Note that this free trial does not grant access to the Companions from the Blackwood or High Isle Chapters. Begin your Shadow Over Morrowind adventure in Scribes of Fate
If you’d like to continue to enjoy the benefits of ESO Plus beyond the trial, including monthly crown stipends and exclusive in-game deals, you can get full membership via our ESO Plus page! Want to learn more? Check out our ESO Plus guide.
ESO Plus for All
Boosts to XP and gold gains, additional bag space, DLC access, and more await those with ESO Plus membership, and you can get a taste of these boons with no credit card required and no strings attached during the free trial period. Don’t forget, the Zeal of Zenithar in-game event is now live, too—what better time to make good use of the Craft Bag? Are you excited to enjoy the benefits of membership at no cost? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
The ESO Plus Free Trial is now live and will run until Thursday, August 3, at 10:00AM EDT.
ESO Daily Login Rewards–August 2023
Check out some of the in-game items you can claim throughout August 2023 by logging into The Elder Scrolls Online!
With QuakeCon and Update 39 just around the corner, August is primed to be another great month for Tamriel’s many adventures. Whether you’re logging in to continue your journey into the Telvanni Peninsula or simply turning in those all-important writs, you’ll find no shortage of daily rewards (31 in total) this month!
Want to learn more? You can find everything you need to know about Daily Login Rewards in this help article! Check out some of the highlights you can claim during August 2023 below!
Crown Lesson: Riding Stamina ×4—Day 7 Go for longer with Riding Stamina
Sure, it helps to go fast, but when traversing Tamriel, stamina can be just as important as speed. Use these tomes to help your steed(s) maintain their pace for as long as possible.
Flint Pelt Fox Mount—Day 10 Ride a brand-new mount
The Flint Pelt Fox strikes a dashing figure, and even more so while you’re riding atop it! This new in-game mount would make great use of the above stamina lessons from earlier in the week.
Grand Gold Coast Experience Scroll ×1—Day 14 Level up fast with an experience scroll
No matter what adventures you’re on, whether you’re racing to hit level 50, CP 160, or even greater power, we know that a 150% boost to experience gains is always welcome.
Instant All Research Scroll ×2—Day 21 Research traits quickly with these scrolls
If you’re on the path to become a master crafter, these Instant All Research Scrolls can help you unlock new traits in no time by reducing the time it takes to research for Blacksmithing, Clothing, Woodworking, and Jewelry Crafting by one day.
Of course, these are just a few of the useful in-game rewards you can earn by logging in to Tamriel each day during the month of August 2023. To see the complete list, visit the Daily Rewards section of the in-game Crown Store starting August 1! Are you excited to unlock a new mount and more while adventuring next month? Let us know via Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Work Hard to Earn Bonus Rewards During the Zeal of Zenithar In-Game Event!
The God of Commerce ensures hard work pays off for the laborers of Tamriel during the Zeal of Zenithar in-game event.
Honest Labor Rewarded
The Zeal of Zenithar in-game event returns on July 27 at 10AM EDT, and it runs until August 8 at 10AM EDT. To get started, pick up the introductory quest "The Unrefusable Offer" from Amminus Varo at the Belkarth festival grounds or acquire the free quest starter from the Crown Store. Having trouble locating Belkarth? Don’t worry; just head over to the nearest Impresario tent and take the nearby portal. Upon finishing the intro quest, you unlock the daily quest, "Honest Toil." Find Amminus Vario to begin
During the event, the first time you complete the daily quest each day, you receive a Zenithar’s Sublime Parcel box as a bonus reward. Each subsequent completion of the Honest Toil quest during that same day rewards you with a Zenithar’s Delightful Parcel box.
In addition, you can earn Zenithar’s Delightful Parcel boxes by participating in the following activities:
Completing the introductory quest “The Unrefusable Offer”
Completing any Master Writ, per discipline, per account, each day
Subsequent Master Writs of the same discipline won’t provide further boxes until the daily reset
First daily Crafting Writ, per account, completed each day
Each time you defeat a world boss while grouped with a player who is in at least one of your player guilds
Each time you complete a world event while grouped with a player who is in at least one of your player guilds
You also have a chance to earn a Zenithar’s Delightful Parcel box when conquering each round of a group-based arena challenge while teamed up with a player who is a member of at least one of your guilds. Additionally, the final round’s reward chest contains a guaranteed parcel.
Alternatively, if you prefer to earn your rewards through less-than-honest means, you may discover parcels scattered across Tamriel by pickpocketing citizens and looting strongboxes or thieves troves. Why not let others do all the hard work for you?
Within either parcel box (Sublime or Delightful), there is a chance to receive the following rewards:
A tradeable outfit style page for the new Kwama Miner’s Kit outfit style armor
A tradeable outfit style page for the new Ashen Militia weapon style
Durable crafting materials, provisioning ingredients, alchemy reagents, runestones, or a motif style item
Crafting boosters
Chance to drop a gold-tier booster or a research time scroll
Furnishing or provisioning recipes
Repair kits, siege repair kits, or a small chance for an Impresario Group Repair Kit
Treasure Maps, Survey Reports, Imperial City vault keys, Companion gear, or a random currency pouch
The random currency pouch can contain either gold or Tel Var stones; there is an extremely small chance that you discover a jackpot that allots 100,000 of the associated currency!
The earnings from this pouch, jackpot or otherwise, are unaffected by any form of currency boosts
Earn new outfit and weapon styles
Both boxes can contain these goodies, but the Sublime Parcel boxes provide a higher chance to contain the more valuable rewards.
Global Event Modifiers
These boxes won’t be the only bonus rewards you can enjoy during the Zeal of Zenithar event. Throughout the duration, all players benefit from the following modified global in-game effects:
Wayshrine travel costs are reduced by 75%
Repair costs on vendors are reduced by 50%
Crafting inspiration gain from all sources is increased by 100%
Vendor prices across Tamriel are reduced by 10%
These include:
Vendors that sell items for gold, AP, or Tel Var stones, including the Golden Vendor
Houses purchasable for gold
Event Tickets & the Impresario
If you participate in the Zeal of Zenithar event, you also receive three Event Tickets the first time you complete the Honest Toil quest each day. By the end of the event, you can collect a whopping 39 tickets! But don’t forget: 12 Event Tickets is the maximum number you can carry at any one time. If you happen to earn more while already at the cap, Zenithar will penalize you for your hoarding by not rewarding any tickets!
After you’ve gathered enough Event Tickets, head on over to the Impresario’s tent and exchange them for any of the following rewards:
All three Passion Dancer Blossom pet fragments
Chartreuse Lily Petals
Enchanted Silver Flute
Mystical Sheet Music
First Passion Dancer Garment costume fragment
Bolt of Indigo Cotton
Bound style pages for the Kwama Miner’s Kit outfit style armor
Bound style pages for the Ashen Militia weapon style
Group Repair Kits
Companion Guild Commendations
Earn the first fragment for the Passion Dancer Garment
Additionally, during the event, the Impresario’s Assistant Philius Dormier offers the following goodies:
All three Unstable Morpholith pet fragments
Deadlands Flint
Rune-Etched Striker
Smoldering Bloodgrass Tinder
All three Deadlands Firewalker personality fragments
Vial of Simmering Daedric Brew
Vial of Bubbling Daedric Brew
Vial of Scalding Daedric Brew
Last but certainly not least, the Indrik vendor Nenulaure’s shop is stocked with the following items:
Nascent Indrik Feathers
Onyx Indrik Berries
Mossheart Indrik Berries
Ebon-Glow Indrik pet
Sapling Indrik pet
Nenulaure the Indrik Vendor
Zenithar’s Blessing to You!
The assortment of collectibles you can amass during the Zeal of Zenithar in-game event is proof that the harder the work, the greater the rewards. Ready to apply some elbow grease and receive compensation in the form of bonus goods? Let us know if you’re planning to make Zenithar proud via Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
The Zeal of Zenithar in-game event begins July 27 at 10:00AM EDT, and it runs until Tuesday, August 8 at 10:00AM EDT.
