Zenimax has announced two new dungeons will be releasing alongside Update 27, Stone Garden and Castle Thorn coming with the Stonethorn DLC.
Elder Scrolls Online Stonethorn DLC & Update 27 Announced
The nextDLCfor the MMORPG TheElder Scrolls OnlineisStonethorn, adding two new dungeons and will launch with Update 27. New dungeons means new itemsets, new collectibles, new Dark Heart of Skyrim storylines, improvements to performance, homestead character pathing for the house editor and various fixes plus balances.
Stonethorn DLC
The next DLC Stonethorn will introduce two new dungeons that continues the tale of the Dark Heart of Skyrim started with theHarrowstorm DLCandGreymoor Chapter. Although these dungeons are part of the greater story, you can still dive into them and enjoy what they have to offer.
Castle Thorn
InCastle Thornthe vampire army have overrun the halls, all under the influence of their master Lady Thorn. Stop these dreaded hosts from corrupting the people of Western Skyrim by taking on the dungeon, fight through the monstrous legion and foil their plans for invasion.
New Castle Thorn itemsetsaccording to the PTS patch notes can be found below:
Stone Garden
TheStone Gardenfocuses on the Alchemist Arkasis and his secret laboratory. What lurks there are the terrible creations, found beneath the caverns of Blackreach and will be nothing like what you’ve seen before. Come face to face with his evil genius and his terrifying experiments.
Each dungeon comes with new challenges, plenty of beasts and bosses to best. There are also new questlines to adventure through plus new Achievements to earn, item sets and collectibles.
New Stone Garden item sets can be found below according to the PTS:
There are also new achievements and titles to earn from both dungeons:
Along with a new DLC comes Update 27, this will be a base-game patch that will include improvements, balance changes and new features for ESO, plus it’s free.
Performance improvements include a continued effort by the Zenimax team to improve set abilities, fix server task messaging, introduce new critical memory management and more. This update also focuses on game stability and will reduce load times as well as reduce the number of memory crashes and performance drops.
There is also focus on AoE effects, the new AoE system for the server will help keep latency low and reduce the FPS drops on the client. Zeni is currently testing this approach on theDragonknight Standard(including morphs) for Update 27.
They are also taking a look at intermittent loading screens. At times when you’re running around Tamriel you may get hit with a short loading screen, while it isn’t long it can break your immersion when exploring the beautiful world. An incremental fix will be released for Update 26 but will also be monitored for Update 27, hopefully eliminating this bug.
This update will also add Character Pathing to thePlayer Housingsystem, you will be able to build paths for your house, for pets, mounts and assistants to follow. This means you’re able to pick your favourite merchant (hands down Fezez) and choose a path for them to walk, even adjust their walk speed and whether they will walk in a loop. This new addition will make your favourite home feel more alive.
What’s also coming to ESO are Houseguests, these are collectible characters are unique, with their own distinct appearances and can be added to your home as well.
Notable Changes/Additions
One new thing coming to Update 27 is group mounts, yes you will be now be able to join your fellow adventurers across Tamriel on mounts that can set more than one person. This is something that has been in a few MMOs such as World of Warcraft with the Love Rocket and in Final Fantasy XVI with the Regalia Mount, so this is great ESO will finally get mounts that you can share with a friend. You can actually test these out on the PTS server currently if you want to see how these work, they are available on the PTS Crown Store. You can also check out the clip that was shared the official ESO twitter account:
Group mounts are coming to ESO! Check it out on PTS on Monday.https://t.co/MFZwBLuN2c
— The Elder Scrolls Online (@TESOnline)June 06, 2025
Other interesting changes include some adjustments to skills. For PVP skills you will now unlockVigorearlier in theAssault skill line, taking the place ofRapid Maneuversin terms when the skill unlocked. This has been adjusted to help those who are using Staminabuildsand for a more balanced leveling experience.
Both Stonethorn and Update 27 are now available on the Public Test Server for PC/Mac. In order to check out the PTS you will need to open your ESO launcher, go to the Settings menu and then select PTS. You will need to then download the PTS. you may create a testable max level character and see how your build will fair in the latest dungeons and more. Remember what happens on PTS stays on PTS, any progress will not affect your main account, so it’s a good way to test out new content.
Stonethorn DLCis the next game pack to be coming to ESO as part of the Dark Heart of Skyrim on PC/Mac and Stadia August 24th, on Playstation 4 and Xbox One on September 1st.Elder Scrolls Onlineis currently available to play on Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC and Stadia.
If you’re looking for some help be sure to drop by our Elder Scrolls Online wiki. You can also check out our ESO guides sections for builds and more. Want to know if ESO plus is worth it for you? Be sure to watch/read ourESO All DLC Review: Is ESO Plus Worth It?
