Online:Cut Content

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Cut content is content that had plans to be added to the game at one point, but was removed or changed prior to release. It is not to be confused with Deprecated content, which was formerly in the game and later removed, or Pre-Release content, which is planned to be in the game but still subject to change. Due to the constantly updating nature of The Elder Scrolls Online, some elements from cut content still remain in the game or are introduced later on in some manner.

Testing

Quite a lot of content was never intended to be publicly released and were used for testing only.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Books

A number of books were present in the game files at one point and eventually removed.

Battlegrounds

At one point, Battlegrounds was Alliance War related, and PvP took place on Balfiera.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Original Main Quest

The Main Quest went through some changes during initial development. The original version of the main quest involved re-assembling the Staff of Chaos. A large amount of documentation is found at the Imperial Library. The current iteration of the Main Quest has also changed quite a bit.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Aldmeri Dominion

A number of settlements were cut from each zone, and the Imga were once part of Grahtwood's storyline. The southern end of Summerset Isle was intended to serve as a zone at some point, as well as an island called Rictus.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Daggerfall Covenant

The original quest line was very different, with Ranser initially being alive and a major faction in the zone being the Magis Order. Aldcroft would have had a militia known as the Wardens who fought against the Order.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Ebonheart Pact

A Hermaeus Mora cult in Stonefalls, a temple dedicated to Jyggalag, and diseased cliff racers were all part of different storylines.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Halls of the Damned

Halls of the Damned was either a delve or a public dungeon with six bosses. Commander Lefavre would have given you two missions, one killing bosses and another checking on their soldiers.

The Largest Threats

Another quest given by Commander Lafavre that would have you kill six bosses in the Halls of the Damned—presumably a public dungeon—as most delves have one to three bosses.

Cut Content
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	You have killed all the bosses in the Halls of the Damned. X Nazgol the Undying X General Ripfang X Bone Colossus X Orutu X Anarose Direblood X Therion Direblood
	Return to Commander Lafavre

Missing Soldiers

Missing Soldiers would have been a level 35 quest that required you to find four of Commander Lafavre's soldiers that went missing. This would have presumably taken place in the Hall of the Damned public dungeon, as The Largest Threats also did.

Cut Content
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	Commander Lafavre has asked you to find some of his soldiers who have not reported back. He is afraid they are in danger.
	Find Commander Lafavre's Soldiers.
	You found one of Commander Lafavre's soldiers. He did not make it.
	You have found Commander Lafavre's soldiers. Sadly, none of them survived.

Group Dungeons

It was originally planned for each dungeon to get a unique Veteran version (later a mark II instance) that served as a sequel to the story. However, after the success of the dungeon DLC monetary system the plan was scrapped.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Mages Guild

• Eyevea, it's called. In ages past, it was an island in the Summerset Isles. Set aside for mages from across Tamriel, Shalidor worked tirelessly to make it a sanctuary. And just barely escaped when Sheogorath claimed it.
• This journal tells of a four-person group seeking out treasure here in the Crypt. It mostly retells the group's tawdry internal drama, until the Crypt starts claiming members. It may be worth finding other such journals for more information.
• The Mages Guild has an interest in the Crypt of Hearts as well. We have reason to believe there are some valuable Aldmeri relics within the Crypt. If you could retrieve them for us, I have the power to make it worth your trouble.
• The Mages Guild wants to turn one of my precious Isles into their Sanctuary. They want to isolate themselves from the rest of Tamriel, correct?
• You have done the Mages Guild a great service. We shall use Sanctuary to continue our studies in peace and solitude.
• With Shalidor's oversight and assistance, we finished the translations. He's waiting for you at the island. \n\nWe named the place Eyevea. It means "Sanctuary" in the Altmer tongue.
• Before we get to your motivation, we need to set the scene! The scene: Tamriel. \n\nThe three alliances are at war, and the wee little Mages Guild wants none of it. They want to stand alone.
• Well, well, will miracles never cease. By the panic going on around here, I suspect you were successful. Don't get cocky, get off this boat as they'll be looking for who was responsible. Meet me back at Sanctuary.
• Travel to Sanctuary
• Sanctuary it is. Good thing, too. I'm baking out here in this armor.
• Valaste and Shalidor have finished analysis of Sheogorath's books. Now I need to help them take possession of Eyevea, the Mages Guild Sanctuary.
• Valaste and Shalidor have translated Sheogorath's books. Now I need to help them take possession of Eyevea, the Mages Guild Sanctuary.

Molag Bal

Some content featuring or relating to Molag Bal was removed with a patch or cut from the game entirely before release, including fully-voiced lines of dialogue.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Update 6: Justice System

Something called the Enforcer system was originally intended to be integrated with the new Justice system.

Imperial City

The Imperial City went through major changes during development. In an article on the official website, the developers stated that they determined there were too many quests during internal employee playtests: the overall story was difficult to follow, thus the amount of quests available was cut down to seven.

• The Memorial District was initially called the Market District, as it was called in Oblivion.
• There were Dark Anchors located in the Market, Nobles, and Arboretum districts.
• These would apparently be closed by entering a portal to Coldharbour and finding a way to close them.
• A Dark Anchor would have to be closed before the district would be capturable by the player's alliance faction. Only the aforementioned districts could be captured.
• The sewer boss Lady of the Depths was initially named Lady of the Deep.
• Dredaza the Ringmaster was called The Games Master.
• The Gray Vipers would have had some sort of presence in the City.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Orsinium

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Thieves Guild

Characters originally had different names like Gwenneth (Quenneth), Vexa (Velsa), and Nicholas (Nicolas). It originally involved Nocturnal, her Skeleton Key, the "Violet Lodge", and Frikkhild Coldheart, and was set on Cybiades. No Shira Citadel was also called Hiradirge Citadel. A large amount of documentation is found on the Imperial Library.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Dark Brotherhood

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Karndar Watch

The ruins of Karndar Watch were datamined in the files before the release of Summerset, named twice as "Kandar [sic] Watch" and "Karndar". When Summerset was released, many map files for the location were found, showing that the interior descended deep into the depths of Summerset. The exterior location still remains on the map with a main road leading directly to it, but the entrance door was removed and it is unmarked.

Murkmire

Murkmire was originally planned to be an Adventure Zone located immediately south of Shadowfen, in the area around Gideon. The region would eventually be placed around Lilmoth, while the area around Gideon became part of Blackwood.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

Harrowstorm

• Numerous instances of "Frost Giant^M" were added to the lang.csv file in Update 25, yet no Frost Giants appeared. They were likely intended to show up on Icereach, given where they are placed in the file.

Artifacts

Many artifacts were once planned to be added, some as dungeon rewards (which later became Undaunted Monster sets). They were a mix of returning artifacts from the franchise and brand new ones.

The full breadth of changes can be found here.

See Also

• Colovian Crossing — A prototype Battleground featured at the Elder Scrolls Online booth at several gaming conventions