On April 2nd, The Elder Scrolls Online Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk will begin. Over the three months from April 2nd to July 8th, a wealth of free content will be added to the game.

This marks the official end of the previous model, which relied on large annual Chapters and paid content updates. It may well be one of the most exciting changes ESO has seen in a long time. Let's take a closer look at what this shift will bring to players.

What Is a Season?

You may already be familiar with the term “season” from other games, but in ESO, it's a brand-new concept.

Fundamentally, a season replaces Chapters and DLCs. The development team will still maintain the familiar quarterly update rhythm, but all new content will be directly accessible to every player without requiring an ESO Plus subscription or any separate acquisition of new DLC. This includes fresh quests, dungeons, zones, and gameplay systems.

The developers have stated that they don't want to lock themselves into a fixed template. Some seasons may focus on story and narrative, others on system overhauls, some on quality-of-life improvements, and still others on bold experiments.

Why the Shift to a Season Model?

The developers realized that Chapter model not only created a barrier in terms of cost but also caused confusion among players. On Discord and Reddit, players repeatedly asked: What content should they get? Which Chapters do they need? What is required to keep up with the current mainstream gameplay? What is optional?

Beyond the confusion, Chapter model also seemed to lock the open-world team into an 18-month development cycle, where everything had to revolve around that year's major Chapter. This made it difficult for them to respond quickly to player feedback.

They believe the new season model will provide the development team with greater flexibility, allowing them to adjust direction in a timely manner, address emerging issues, and fix designs that aren't working.

Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk

Base Game

The release of Season Zero: Dawn and Dusk on April 2nd should be considered a transitional phase, but for new players, it's still exciting. At that time, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and Orsinium will all become part of the base game for every player.

Of course, this isn't brand-new content. If you've already experienced these zones and completed their storylines, the change will have limited personal impact. But at the very least, even if you cancel your subscription in the future, you'll still retain access to this content.

Season Zero offers much more than that. It also includes a series of quality-of-life updates, such as finally raising the furnishing placement limit for some houses, and adding new mounts that can be obtained using Elder Scrolls Online gold. Going forward, the developers may move more items out of Crown Store or provide more options outside of it.

Night Market

Perhaps the most eye-catching new feature is Night Market – a PvE zone with higher difficulty. It is designed for group play, with all enemies posing a greater threat, making it more suitable for max-level players. It also offers both 4-player and 12-player raids.

Between April 29 and June 17, you can earn reputation with one of three factions by completing activities in this zone. Each faction offers different rewards in terms of items and costumes, and as your reputation grows, that faction's merchants will unlock more goods. Once Night Market starts, it is sure to become a major focus for players.

Class & Skill Line Updates

Season Zero will also include the previously mentioned Dragonknight class update, along with changes to Werewolf skill line and Two-Handed skill line. Although these are existing skill lines, the changes seem to introduce new incentives, encouraging players to invest time in them again to unlock new skill styles or other collectibles. Additionally, PvP will see significant changes that go beyond Vengeance mechanic, introducing a brand-new progression system along with various PvP-exclusive rewards.

Tamriel Tomes

On April 2, the game will also introduce Tamriel Tomes system – which you can think of as a kind of Battle Pass. It will replace the daily login rewards, Endeavor system, and the content pass.

A very important note: while the new gameplay content is free-for-all players, and part of Tamriel Tomes is also free, unlocking all collectibles within a season – meaning all cosmetic items – will require a fee for that season's Tamriel Tomes.

Starting with Season 0, all new gameplay content will be completely free for players who already owns ESO or plays through Game Pass. The developers have clearly stated that there will still be optional paid items. While optional paid features will still exist, most of ESO's content will be accessible to all, potentially attracting a large influx of new players.

Crossplay

There are also some practical changes worth noting. After Season Zero, each season will last three months, and updates for PC and consoles will go live simultaneously. This is likely a necessary step in preparing for cross-platform play.

The developers have confirmed once again that cross-platform play is actively being developed, although it sounds like it is not expected to launch within 2026. But the sooner this feature arrives, the better – crossplay can ensure that there are enough players for in-game activities, making it easier for everyone to find teammates, while also allowing the community to actively report bugs and suggest improvements. In short, it would create a positive feedback loop.

How do you feel about ESO's Season Zero? Are you looking forward to the changes ahead? Dawn and Dusk will be here soon – let's hope it brings positive changes to The Elder Scrolls Online.

To fully optimize a powerful character build in Diablo 2 Resurrected, incorporating various items is essential, and Hellfire Torch is one such item you simply cannot afford to miss.

In the game, Hellfire Torch is classified as a Unique Large Charm. It grants unique magical attributes that offer benefits far superior to those provided by standard magical charms.

In this guide, we will detail the specific functions of Hellfire Torch and explain how to farm it most efficiently during Ladder Season 13.

What is Hellfire Torch?

In D2R, all charms fall into one of two categories: magic or unique. Hellfire Torch belongs to the unique category as a large charm. Charms themselves are accessory items designed to provide various magical attributes.

While Hellfire Torch does not have further internal sub-categories, the bonuses it provides include one specific randomized effect based on character class:

• +3 to random class skill levels
• +5% chance to cast level 10 Firestorm on attack
• +10-20 to all attributes
• +10-20% to all resistances
• +8 to Light Radius
• Level 30 Hydra (10 Charges)

This means that if you intend to optimize a specific build for a particular character based on D2R Hellfire Torch, you must continue farming until you obtain a version with the appropriate class-specific skill bonus.

Consequently, whether for your own use or to sell for other benefits,Hellfire Torch remains one of the top-priority resources you should aim to farm in any season.

How to obtain Hellfire Torch?

The only source for this item drop is Pandemonium Event. As a dangerous endgame challenge, this event consists of three interconnected stages; all three must be completed successfully to obtain Hellfire Torch.

1. Acquire the three keys

First, you must defeat three specific bosses located across Acts 1-5 on Hell difficulty to obtain corresponding keys:

• Key of Terror: The Countess in Black Marsh (Act 1).
• Key of Hate: The Summoner in Arcane Sanctuary (Act 2).
• Key of Destruction: Nihlathak in Harrogath (Act 5).

The Countess

As an Act 1 boss, The Countess is not particularly difficult to defeat. Furthermore, she is a source for various rune drops, making her a highly worthwhile target for farming.

However, if you wish to acquire as many runes as possible while simultaneously farming for keys, you must ensure that your party size is not too large.

The Summoner

The unique aspect of The Summoner boss fight is that provided your party consists of an odd number of players. The larger the party, the higher your chances of obtaining Key of Hate.

Furthermore, if you locate and open Super Chests found within the dead-end paths of Arcane Sanctuary, you may also be rewarded with high-level runes.

It is worth noting that The Summoner's spawn location shifts every time you enter Arcane Sanctuary; therefore, exercise extreme caution to avoid wandering into a dead end.

Nihlathak

The greatest danger posed by Nihlathak boss lies in his Corpse Explosion skill, which can instantly kill you if you are even slightly careless.

To reliably counter this threat, recommended strategies include equipping specific gear or playing a character class that holds a distinct advantage in this matchup.

Additionally, locating Nihlathak tends to be more troublesome than finding the previous two bosses. The specific steps are as follows:

1. Complete rescuing Anya main quest in Act 5.
2. Enter the red portal that appears to travel to Harrogath.
3. Locate Halls of Anguish, situated deep within Nihlathak's Temple.
4. Proceed to find Hall of Vaught.

2. Obtaining the three special organs

Once you have acquired the three types of keys mentioned above, return to Harrogath in Act 5. Place one of each type of key into your Horadric Cube and transmute them to open a portal leading to one of three random bosses.

Since this stage requires you to defeat three distinct bosses, if you wish to complete all three battles within a single playthrough, you must ensure that you have farmed at least three of each key type during the initial farming phase.

The combat mechanics, locations, and specific organ drops for each of the three bosses are as follows:

• Uber Izual - Furnace of Pain - Mephisto's Brain: Primarily deals physical and cold damage via melee attacks; he is also immune to cold damage himself.
• Uber Duriel - Forgotten Sands - Baal's Eye: His mechanics are largely identical to Izual's, though he is generally easier to defeat.
• Lilith - Matron's Den - Diablo's Horn: The most dangerous of the three bosses; she deals poison damage and is immune to poison damage herself.

3. Opening Uber Tristram

Once you have obtained the three organs mentioned in Step 2, place them into Horadric Cube to transmute them. This will open the ultimate portal leading to Uber Tristram, where the three bosses: Mephisto, Baal, and Diablo, will appear simultaneously.

To avoid having to face all three bosses at once, we recommend that upon entering Tristram, you first move to the left, then slowly inch your way toward the center to take down Mephisto first.

Afterward, you can circle around to the river in the bottom-right corner to locate and kill Baal; finally, return to the center to defeat Diablo. The primary mechanics of these three bosses are as follows:

• Mephisto: Deals damage and is immune to lightning damage. Once enraged, he will also summon additional skeletons to assist him in combat.
• Baal: Possesses immense durability and will use Teleport to close the distance and harass you.
• Diablo: Immune to fire damage. Once enraged, he will summon many Pit Lords, minions that can be even more dangerous than Diablo himself.

Upon defeating all three Uber Tristram bosses, you will be rewarded with Hellfire Torch.

Of course, if you intend to farm this encounter repeatedly, it will inevitably require a significant investment of both time and effort. Therefore, please proceed according to your own capabilities!