The Summerset Isles is the idyllic home of the High Elves and is one of the most-loved expansions in The Elder Scrolls Online. Its white walls, enthralling rivers, gardens, and beautiful bridges are sure to make you wish you could visit the place for real. But what other things can you expect from the ESO Summerset downloadable content (DLC)? Is it worth getting? This article will tell you everything you need to know about the ESO expansion and help you decide if it’s something you would like to try.
What Is the Elder Scrolls Summerset DLC?
A DLC is an area or chapter that is exclusive to those who have purchased it. Summerset is one of the 21 DLCs or add-ons currently being offered in the Elder Scrolls Online. It is one of the most popular mainly because of its aesthetics and lore. It is located southwest of Tamriel, next to Auridon and Valenwood. In it, you will find public and exclusive dungeons, housings, ESO Summerset skyshards, and treasure chests if you have the Summerset Treasure Map. Take note that you will not find treasure chests in the basic ESO Summerset map.
ESO Summerset Skyshards and Housing
Skyshards are magical stones that give you skill points. You would need to use three skyshards to get one skill point to improve your character. Housing, on the other hand, lets you own a room or an apartment in any one of the housing areas in the region. You can design it as you please, keep items in your storage chest which you can only access in your room, and most importantly, you can teleport there anytime without extra cost!
Summerset Treasure Map
As for the treasure map, you can acquire it either by completing a quest, leveling up, or downloading it from the Crown Store. The treasure map is not exactly an obvious one. It will not show you the actual location of the treasure chest. Rather, it will be a sort of oblivious drawing which will show you a resemblance of the chest’s location. Sometimes, you will see an “X.”There will also be times where there won’t be one so you can imagine that this can be frustrating. To locate the treasure, you must find the place that looks like the drawing on the map and search from there.
Dungeons in the Summerset Isles:
- Archon’s Grove
- Eton Nir Grotto
- King’s Haven Pass
- Tor-Hame-Khard
- Wasten Coraldale
- Karnwasten (public)
- Sunhold (public)
- Cloudrest (Trial)
Housing:
- Alinor Crest Townhouse
- Colossal Aldmeri Grotto
- Golden Gryphon Garret
Crafting
Once you have purchased the Summerset DLC, you will also be able to develop a unique crafting skill, Jewelry Crafting. This skill is not available to other players who do not own the expansion.
Why is Jewelry Crafting important? By crafting your own jewelry, you can add unique enchantments to your rings and necklaces that can give you an advantage. While it’s true that you can enchant jewelry without this skill, crafting your own is advantageous because it lets you refine and upgrade them from their raw components.
Pricing: The ESO Summerset DLC is approximately worth 3,000 crowns in the ESO Crown Store.
Download the ESO Summerset DLC now
The Land of the High Elves: Is It As Good As They Say?
One way to gauge if you would enjoy The Elder Scrolls Summerset Expansion is to venture into the isle of Auridon. If you have unlocked the Auridon area by traveling there either by boat or by swimming yourself, you will see how much resemblance it has to the Summerset Isles. It is the isle right beside Summerset, after all. Maybe you have done a quest that requires travel to Auridon. If so, you would have met some of the main characters of Summerset like Queen Ayrenn and Razum-dar. More about them later. You may have also encountered quests there requiring you to go to Summerset and if you haven’t purchased the ESO Summerset DLC, you’d notice that you are unable to proceed with the quest until you have the Summerset expansion.
Auridon is the property of Summerset and it is free to access to all players who have the Standard Edition of ESO. Try to get to Auridon to see its aesthetics and the types of quests available. It is very similar to Summerset and if you like Auridon, chances are you would very much love the DLC as well. But what’s the story behind ESO Summerset and what makes it worth downloading?
The Story Behind the Summerset Isles
We will discuss Summerset as spoiler-free as possible, but we’ll have sneak peeks at the Summerset DLC. Some information here is also freely given to those who already have the ESO Standard Edition so don’t worry about reading spoilers about the main quests or storyline. At the beginning of the game, you may have done a quest where you need to access a port. In that port, you have access to two boats: one going to other areas of Vvardenfell and Morrowind, and one going to Summerset. If you click or try to talk to the boatswain who is taking passengers to Summerset, you may have noticed that there’s no option to go there. It will only appear once you own the expansion.
The boatswain will tell you that the Summerset Isles, once closed to foreigners, are now open. Why is that? The story is that Summerset is once an exclusive city, accessible only to the High Elves, their slaves, and their hirelings. Now, Queen Ayrenn has opened the borders, and anyone—no matter what race, class, or political affiliation—can go there. A warning: you will not be met by friendly elves. You will learn more about the High Elves’ animosity towards strangers later.
A Coup That Freed the Elves
They were once ruled by a monarch before the elves started a coup that allowed them to take complete control over their lands. A coup or coup d’etat, if you’re not familiar, is the overthrowing of someone in power. The coup was led by a political party called the Thalmor. The party then started taking control of the government. Unfortunately, it has a nationalist dogma that gives you an idea of why these elves are inimical to the other races.
If you are fond of stories with these types of political intrigue, mutiny, and power struggles, and fancy being part of such a story, it is highly likely that you would enjoy the DLC.
Summerset’s Enchanting World
As briefly mentioned, Summerset has perhaps the best aesthetics in all areas of The Elder Scrolls Online. You will see gleaming white castles and bridges covered in flowering vines, breathtaking mountains and rivers, and of course, the beautiful elves themselves. When you first step into the isles, you will have access to the queen’s castle and have the privilege to join an exclusive party. You will witness how grand the location is and even venture into its beautiful garden. You can try to navigate the labyrinth—although that is not a requirement—but even the location is enthralling. Since the High Elves are a magical race, you will encounter lots of quests involving magic. Be prepared to also face enemies with dark magical powers.
You will experience having your appearance transformed into another’s, be given temporary enchantments to help you succeed in your quests, and many more!
Enthralling Soundtrack
ESO features unique soundtracks for every area in Tamriel, the region is where the entire Elder Scrolls Online is set, and the soundtrack for ESO Summerset is nothing short of enthralling. It fits perfectly into the magical realm and is quite relaxing. The soothing feel fades when you face someone or something in combat, of course. Exploring Summerset while the sound is on is like walking into a heavenly dream world!
What’s With the Racist Elves?
As you may have guessed based on Summerset’s history, the High Elves can be acutely racist towards other classes. Yes, they’re even skeptical of the Wood Elves, their close relatives. This xenophobia is deeply-rooted in their fundamental beliefs. The High Elves are also called the Altmer because they are of the Aldmeri Dominion. For thousands of years, they believed that their race and culture are most superior to all others. They have employed a rigid hierarchy in their system. As you’ve read above, the High Elves owned slaves just like the Dark Elves. These two races are also inimical to each other but that’s another story. High Elf slaves are mostly Khajiits, the feline-looking people in ESO. They also enslave Wood Elves since they believe them to be inferior.
Don’t be surprised to be met with animosity or even disgust when you first venture into the Summerset Isles if you have chosen a different race for your character. But don’t worry because in the storyline—even before Queen Ayrenn opened the borders—their younger generations have begun questioning this racist culture and have been advocating for social change. You will do just fine.
Download the ESO Summerset DLC now
ESO Summerset Quests
Without giving spoilers, here are some of the quests you can do in the Summerset DLC. We are listing these just to give you an idea of what other quests you can expect in Summerset.
Main Quests
Main Quests, just like in the ESO Main Quests, are often more difficult than side quests and reveal a lot about the main storyline, as the name suggests. If your character is at a lower level, you may have to level up first and come back to the quest when you have more skills.
The Mind Trap
This is the quest that will trigger The Queen’s Decree but is only available to new players. In this quest, you will be tasked to help a woman who is trapped in some sort of hidden realm. It involves some combat but is mostly about figuring out how you can lead her out of it.
The Queen’s Decree
Though Queen Ayrenn has opened the borders of Summerset to foreigners, there are still many who are against this ruling. You need to help the queen and protect her from their attacks. You also need to be perceptive and find who is truly loyal to the queen and who is secretly betraying her.
The Tower Sentinels
Someone has stolen an important relic by altering someone’s memory. You need to find where it is hidden and warn the others of the trouble they are about to face if it is not recovered.
Daily Quests
Keep in mind that daily quests must be completed within 24 hours of starting them. After that, the quest will be abandoned and you cannot go back to them anymore.
A Rose’s Beauty
In this quest, you need to collect a special type of rose for a minor character to help resolve a problem.
Birds of a Feather
This quest involves some combat so be prepared to equip your character with higher-level weapons and armor. You need to defeat two mini-bosses to collect some special feathers.
Culling Serpents
Another combat-focused quest, this task involves killing a viper’s nest to help keep the order in an area in Summerset.
Summerset’s Main Characters
These are some of the interesting characters you will meet and do quests with when you download the ESO Summerset DLC.
Razum-Dar
This Khajiit character has proven to be one of the fan favorites in the Elder Scrolls. He is a loyal agent of Queen Ayrenn, but not everybody knows his position. Razum-Dar plays a significant role in the entire Elder Scrolls Online storyline. His quests are intriguing and thought-provoking that you will spend hours playing just to find out what happens next. He is an essential character in the main quests of Summerset so you will work closely with him throughout. He’s witty and mysterious at the same time, sometimes making you doubt if he is really on your side. However, you won’t find the answer here. Go ahead and try the quests with him to see what happens!
Queen Ayrenn
The ruler of the Summerset Isles, Queen Ayrenn may seem flat. However, she is one of the more complex characters in The Elder Scrolls Online. She is also known as the Unforeseen Queen. A young woman who has taken rule over the isles, Ayrenn is responsible for forming the First Aldmeri Dominion. She is a fun character to work with during the quests, and you will see just how she loves her people despite all her detractors. The queen is not one to sit and give orders. If you’ve seen her in some minor quests, you can see that she is also wearing a set of armor and she is willing to participate in battles as well. She will be helping you in your quests so you won’t be alone.
Oriandra
She is a member of the Psijic Order who is one of the first characters you will meet when starting the first few quests in the ESO Summerset DLC. You will join Oriandra in dark places where you face cunning enemies, and it is up to your character how to outwit them. She is also an inspiring character who will encourage you to use your strength and your power when all seems to be failing.
How and Where to Download the ESO Summerset DLC?
Any ESO DLC must be purchased from the ESO Crown Store. You must purchase the ESO Summerset expansion using ESO Crowns. You can purchase the crowns there as well using your credit or debit card. As mentioned, the Summerset chapter is available for approximately 3,000 crowns. You must be signed in with your ESO account to purchase the expansion.
From the store, click the plus (+) sign beside DLC on the right menu and click All. From there, you will see all ESO DLCs currently being offered. Click on Summerset and choose the platform where you are playing your game. If you don’t have crowns in your account, it will lead you to a page where you can purchase them.
You will not download the expansion directly from the website or the store unless that’s where you purchased the game. It will have to come from the platform where you installed the game. If you installed the game via Steam, your download will come from Steam as well.
If you’re looking for more games to play online, here is our list of the best online games to play with friends at home.
Access to ESO Summerset With an ESO Plus Subscription
If you subscribe to ESO Plus, you don’t have to purchase the DLC anymore. It will be part of your subscription so long as it is active.
ESO Plus is a membership program where you can unlock VIP perks. With a subscription, you will have access to all DLCs or chapters. You will also get monthly crowns that you can use for any add-on you wish to purchase. Other perks include exclusive access to dungeons and events. You will also have extra storage in your inventory solely for crafting materials. This is very useful so that you don’t run out of inventory storage quickly.
Download the ESO Summerset DLC now
ESO Summerset DLC is truly a beauty to behold. While it is one of the most popular DLCs, not everyone may want to download it due to personal reasons. Hopefully, this Elder Scrolls Online Summerset review has helped you decide if this is an expansion that you would like to purchase. Make sure to look back at the sections above and see if its lore, characters, quests, and other add-ons appeal to you.
