Delve into the secrets of the past with the new Rumors system, coming soon as part of Season One.
Arriving with the Update 51 base-game patch on September 28 as part of Season One, the new Rumors system is a fun new way to experience the world of The Elder Scrolls Online, allowing you to you collect and interpret clues, explore Tamriel, and unravel its mysteries.
I Heard a Rumor…
When designing this new system, the team wanted to provide a new way to delve into the world of Tamriel beyond the traditional questline pathways.
“The goal of Rumors was to create an old-school questing and narrative scavenger hunt experience,” explains Jason Barnes, ESO’s Associate Design Director. “By removing most traditional quest UI assistance, we wanted players to put their thinking caps on, decipher clues, and engage more directly with the world of Tamriel.”
“Rumors still deliver narrative, but that’s about where the similarities end. Players won’t be told exactly where to go or what to do. They’ll need to piece together clues, separate truth from red herrings, and often decide how they want to resolve the Rumor.”
Investigate Tamriel’s mysteries
The handholding you experience when on a traditional quest is completely absent with Rumors—forcing you to rely on your knowledge and wits! That said, some assistance is provided in the form of a new kind of Journal entry.
“Rumors have their own section within the Quest Journal, with a new tab players can cycle back and forth from their regular quests,” explains Barnes. “Each unsolved Rumor also includes a hint to point players toward where they should begin investigating.”
Discoverability, Difficulty, and Rewards
When you investigate a Rumor, you’ll discover three different types, each varying in difficulty and complexity.
“The difficulty mostly comes down to how straightforward or obscure the clues are,” says Barnes. “Whispers should be easy if you’re paying attention, Plots require a bit more logic, and Conspiracies ask players to really dig in and figure out how all the clues connect. Good luck with the Nowhere Vault Conspiracies!”
Aside from the satisfaction of a mystery solved, completing Rumors can also reward you with consumables, set items, gold, and even an upgrade item for the Prowler’s Amulet mythic necklace!
Sleuth It Out!
With the upcoming Rumors system, you can truly delve into the secrets and mysteries that lie at the heart of Tamriel. Are you excited to begin investigating Rumors? Let us know what you think of this new system via Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
The Rumors system arrives on September 28 as part of Update 51 and Season One.