General:Face the Welkynar in Cloudrest, The Elder Scrolls Online’s Newest Trial

Originally published May 11, 2018. The original article can be found here.

An ancient enemy has corrupted Summerset's greatest protectors. Discover the poisoned city of Cloudrest and learn about the new 12-player Trial arriving with The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset in this preview article.

The City in the Clouds

Located atop Summerset's highest peak, the once-thriving city of Cloudrest stands cloaked in a toxic, purple mist. To ensure that the corruption does not spread to the rest of the island, the city is under quarantine by the Divine Prosecution, and the fate of its residents is unknown. Even the Welkynar, Summerset's battlemage knight protectors that call the city home, have disappeared without a trace.

"The Welkynar are these elite gryphon riders whose Aerie is located in Cloudrest," explains Mike Finnigan, ESO's Dungeon Lead. "There are four of them in total, with each one representing a different cardinal direction and element, and the whole reason you're going to the city is because they have vanished."

The mystery of the city's fate directly relates to the missing knights and their gryphon companions, and their absence from Summerset during this tumultuous time in the island's history has been noticed. However, the truth of the fate of the gryphon riders is much more sinister than first believed.

An ancient foe has captured the Welkynar and is using them to both protect itself and decimate the city, and the last uncorrupted Welkynar, Olorime, needs your help. You and your team must enter Cloudrest, subdue Olorime's Welkynar brethren, and confront the evil at the heart of the Aerie before it can spread to all of Summerset.

A Shadowy Threat

Like the Clockwork City's Asylum Sanctorium, Cloudrest features a main boss supported by smaller ones, and you can tailor the Trial's difficulty (and rewards) by choosing which bosses you want to face and when. However, where Asylum Sanctorium had two supporting bosses, Cloudrest features three.

For the boss fights themselves, Cloudrest draws inspiration from and builds upon another fan-favorite Trial, The Maw of Lorkhaj.

"We've received a lot of feedback from our players that they really love bosses like the Maw of Lorkhaj's Rakkhat, where some players in your group have compartmentalized roles," explains Finnigan. “With Cloudrest, we wanted to take that idea and expand it to give everybody in the group unique roles that they need to perform in order to succeed."

With Cloudrest, the importance of knowing the Trial's mechanics and your role in it is paramount, and everybody must play their part. For example, in each battle, the team must split up and send some members into a shadow version of the arena. Those who enter the shadow realm need to be assisted by those who remained in the real world, meaning that coordination and communication are vital in this Trial, and it becomes even more important at Veteran and Hard Mode difficulties.

Discover Powerful New Gear

When you and your team enter Cloudrest, you can earn unique rewards not found anywhere else in Tamriel.

"There are four new item sets themed around the Welkynar in Cloudrest, with each being themed to a cardinal direction and element," says Finnigan. "For example, the Mantle of Siroria set summons a fire circle while the Aegis of Galanwe uses ice. We wanted these sets as much as possible to reflect the knights themselves."

Should you attempt and complete the Veteran version of Cloudrest, you can receive “Perfected" versions of the four item sets. Perfected versions have an additional five-piece bonus, truly rewarding those who are looking for a challenge. Even better, the harder you make the final boss fight, the more Perfected items you receive, including Legendary jewelry at Veteran Hard Mode.

In addition to the item sets, you are able to unlock a Trophy and Bust for defeating Cloudrest's final boss on Normal and Veteran difficulty, and finally, those willing to take on the Trial at its hardest will be able to unlock the new Shadow Skin.

"When we talked to our artists and looked at the rewards we've done previously, we realized that everybody loves the Dro-m'Athra Skin from the Maw of Lorkhaj the best," says Finnigan. "It's hard to get and is the most iconic and noticeable Skin in the game, so we asked for and crafted something that is as cool as that. The Shadow Skin is something that players are going to look at and really want for themselves."

When you take on Cloudrest and put a stop to its corruption, you are able to earn some of the rarest and most powerful gear in the game to date.

Save the Welkynar… Or Put Them Down

How you choose to complete Cloudrest dictates how the story of the Welkynar ends, and it even has ramifications beyond the poisoned city itself. Will your team assault the source of the corruption directly? Or will you choose to go through Summerset's protectors first in order to save the city? It's not an easy decision to make! Let us know how you'll be taking on this Trial on Twitter @ TESOnline and Facebook!