Reading 42 pages of Elder Scrolls Online Gold Road patch notes won't make Elder Scrolls 6 get here any quicker, but it's a good way to kill some time

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Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road is a behemoth of an MMO update

Elder Scrolls Online
(Image credit: Bethesda)

With the launch of Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road on the public test realm (PTR), Bethesda has released the full 42 pages - yes, 42 flippin' pages - of patch notes for the 5.3 GB expansion.

For me, ESO has always been the best possible stopgap between mainline Elder Scrolls releases, and I mean absolutely no disrespect by that. With the MMO's big yearly expansions like Gold Road consistently adding 30 hours of compelling new story content and even brand new mechanics and mini-games, it's like we get a full-blown new Elder Scrolls game every year, and I like running through them solo as much as with friends.

I had the chance to play ESO's Gold Road chapter at a recent preview event and was intrigued by the new scribing system - essentially a precursor to full-on spellcrafting if all goes well - but there is so, so much more to this update. As I touched on already, there's a whopping 30 hours of story content exploring the mysterious arrival of a new Daedric prince, and that'll take you on a tour of the expansive, autumnal West Weald zone, as well as two new dungeons and six delves.

Elsewhere, you can get your hands on new item sets, Mythic items, mounts, pets, and 22 new "skill styles," which change up the color of popular existing skills. You'll also want to rally some friends to tackle the new 12-player trial, Lucent Citadel, "which has some surprises along the way."

Now, you might be thinking, that's not 42 pages! And you're right; it isn't. And that's because there is no world where I have time to comprehensively list and explain 42 pages worth of patch notes before the end of my work shift. Thankfully, the good folks at Zenimax Online have done the work for me, and you can read through the full thing right here. If nothing else, it's one way to kill a little bit of time waiting for Elder Scrolls 6.

Elder Scrolls Online: Gold Road is available to test on the PTR now, and it launches fully on June 3 for PC and on June 18 for Xbox and PlayStation.

Elder Scrolls Online studio head says Skyrim completely changed what people even thought an Elder Scrolls RPG was, so the MMO "had to radically change lots of things."

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.