In its latest update, The Elder Scrolls Online got a new form of hybrid dungeon, known as an Event Zone. The first of these, the Night Market, is now live for all players, and it’s the perfect battleground if you’re looking to stretch your skills or experience the wild thrill of victory that comes with downing terrifying beasts.
The Night Market isn’t a realm for those on lower levels. To put it politely, if you’re under-levelled, you’ll likely be flattened instantly. But with a crew of more powerful allies, or in groups of 12 or so, the Night Market can be a euphoric experience.
The Elder Scrolls Online’s Night Market – quick links
Taking your first steps into the Night Market
Entering the Night Market, you’ll first choose one of three factions, for which you’ll earn points. As Mike Finnigan, Associate Design Director told ScreenHub, these factions are a means of promoting light, friendly competition – but they’re not designed to be hyper-factional or strict.
Players won’t really be going head-to-head or competing with other factions for glory. Instead, point tallies are more for adding some flavour and fun to the experience. You’ll see the tally of your particular faction tick up slowly, and feel some distant sense of camaraderie with other players gathering points for the same cause.
If anything, this system adds a grounding for adventures and a sense of progress as you march onwards. You’ll need that sense of accomplishment as you kick down doors because the Night Market is a terrifying place, filled with danger. Without some sense of achievement – or friends to encourage you onwards – it would be easy to give up and walk away.
With Finnigan and the Bethesda team on board using higher-levelled characters as protectors and healers – the same protection you’ll find by joining any group in the region – my way through the Night Market felt much more dynamic and fair.
I tend to play The Elder Scrolls Online solo, and it was fairly clear early on that the Night Market just isn’t for solo players. Some enemies have instant-kill attacks for those under-levelled. Others whale on you with such voracity that you’ll need to step back or depart if you’re alone.
Of course, not every part of this MMORPG will always be for everyone. Sometimes, you’ll need powerful friends by your side (and to help you swallow your pride at being carried). And that’s where the real magic of the Night Market lies.
Facing down a gauntlet of wandering bosses
As you wander the Night Market, you’ll follow a trail of bosses – some with relatively set locations, and others that wander and may disrupt your latest skirmish. These bosses have set power tiers, from Brazen to Argent to Gilded, with this designation determining how much they’ll rock you.
In my particular Night Market session, my group of 12 faced off with Brazen Plague of Crows (a crow plague doctor), Argent Exarch Molonach (a giant werewolf) and Calamitous Wailing Bedina (a wandering spectre). On any level, it was all stations at panic – frantically flailing clubs and swords, and slinging spells wherever possible.
It was also quite a lot of dying, and needing resurrection.
Teamwork was key, and also the reason why the experience felt so bright and memorable. Everyone tried their hardest to cut away at enemy health, even with lower-powered fighters barely making a dent. When anyone fell, there was always someone keeping an eye out to help them back up.
It’s that feeling of pride in working together that you can only really get with an MMORPG like The Elder Scrolls Online – knowing that your actions have helped someone survive just long enough to get their attacks in, and knowing you’ve contributed even a little bit to the action.
Then there’s just how cool it feels to face off against this boss march. The Elder Scrolls Online has always been a particularly good-looking and creative game, but the enemies of the Night Market really are wonderful, well-designed inclusions.
Inspired by historic plague doctors, Brazen Plague of Crows is a skeleton bird wearing a doctor’s mask, with feathered wings that push you back in each turn. You’ll need to strategise carefully around this one, as it can fly up and drop suddenly, with a wide landing area that deals instant kills to those in its radius.
Perhaps the most layered boss fight in my experience was with Argent Exarch Molonach, who has a multi-phase attack pattern requiring everyone in a group to work together. Molonach can create various wolves to attack alongside him, and at certain points, he’ll unleash shadows that darken the battlefield and force you to perform a ritual to dispel them.
What’s neat is that each boss has a baked-in strategy that brings you closer to their defeat. They’re artfully designed on all levels, with a cleverness to how they attack – which also provides clues as to what’s needed to bring them down.
While occasionally, these boss can feel unfair – particularly when they down multiple heroes with singular sweeps, there is balance here. With enough teamwork, you’ll eventually be able to whittle down health and achieve that glorious, glittering sense of victory.
What to know about The Elder Scrolls Online‘s Night Market Event Zone
The experience of heading into the Night Market taught me much in the way of combat skills, and knowing when to hang back. The major lesson I learned is that I really, really need to spend more time levelling up before I head back to the Night Market again – and going it alone isn’t always pleasant.
At least there’s always a chance to travel alongside fellow players, and fight for something greater together. Starting out as a group of four, my team quickly expanded to a full cohort for wandering, with plenty of folks dipping into the Night Market to explore its rewards.
As Finnigan explained, The Elder Scrolls Online is currently experiencing one of its highest traffic seasons with the arrival of the Night Market, likely driven by its limited time opening and limited time rewards.
Beyond the drive to collect and see everything in the game as quickly as possible – a point of contention for loyal players, who may not have time to see the quest through – the opening of the Night Market is a chance for players to really test their mettle. There’s not much room to breathe in its many boss battles, with its gauntlet being a test for even veteran players.
The rewards make it all worthwhile. All enemies drop a bounty of goodies, including coins and special items, and all players are able to claim these prizes, no matter how much they contributed to the actual battle.
In the spirit of fairness, you’ll want to stay active in the Night Market and fight wherever possible.
As Finnigan told ScreenHub, the aim here is for everyone to have a good time, and levelling systems mean you can pop in to explore and participate as you like. While that may mean hanging back to heal, or letting some ranged attacks loose wherever you see an opening, anything helps.
If you’re looking to get back into The Elder Scrolls Online and face off against a gauntlet of cool, layered bosses, the Night Market is an excellent new zone to explore. Again, it won’t be for everyone, and those under Level 20 (or even Level 30) should outright stay away, but the feeling of joy in battle is unmatched.
The Night Market’s first opening is a limited time event, but it’s worth clearing the schedule for.
