The Thieves Guild Returns in a New Season One Questline

Scope out the new Thieves Guild quest and storyline, coming soon as part of Season One.

With the launch of Season One on July 8, all ESO players can discover a new story and questline featuring the return of the beloved Thieves Guild. Previously found in Hew’s Bane*, the guild has made their way to Glenumbra and needs your help establishing the nascent chapter in this lucrative part of Tamriel.

Gang Up in Glenumbra

As one of the main trading hubs for the Daggerfall Covenant, Glenumbra has no shortage of opportunities for those criminally minded. However, tensions between the various local gangs have recently been heightened as a dangerous new organization threatens them all.

“The Thieves Guild has received a call for assistance,” explains Richard Baker, one of ESO’s Lead Narrative Designers. “The local gangs in Daggerfall are facing a major threat in the form of the Koldane Cartel. They need help pulling together against a common foe, and naturally the Thieves Guild chapter of Abah’s Landing sees an interesting opportunity to stand up a new chapter in High Rock.”

At the forefront of this assistance and expansion is Quen, a character you will be familiar with from the Thieves Guild DLC and Hew’s Bane zone.

“Being one of the newest senior members of the Abah's Landing Thieves Guild, Quen is energetic and curious and eager to see the world beyond,” explains Zone Lead Ed Stark. “But she also has a problem: a zealous Lion Guard captain is after her for a crime she didn't commit.”

Help Quen and the gang

Of course, as each has their own style and ambitions, uniting the disparate gangs and confronting the Koldane Cartel is no simple task.

“There are three distinct gangs in Daggerfall: the Streethawks, House Menant, and the Roadsworn,” explains Baker. “They’re led by the street-thief known as Edwane the Hawk, the high-class burglar Seline Menant, and the bold robber Abrasia.”

“Unfortunately, these gangs don’t exactly see eye to eye,” says Katherine Souza, one of ESO’s Senior Content Designers. “They have different codes of ethics regarding thieving and different motivations for coming together. They may agree on some things, but they disagree in method, means, and outcome.”

Different thieves with different means

Together with your help, the would-be chapter must find a way to unite the gangs to overcome a dangerous new group.

“The big new development in the region is the rise of the Koldane Cartel,” explains Baker. “The cartel passes itself off as a mercantile league, but beneath their supposedly legitimate business concerns lies a ruthless and powerful criminal organization—and they want to stomp out all competition.”

Pilfer to Profit

As for what kind of hijinks you’ll be getting up to in this new story? The team has developed a classic Thieves Guild questline, with all the sneaky fun you might expect.

“I am a big fan of the Thieves Guild’s code of ethics as presented in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion,” explains Souza. “No bloodshed, stick to the job, and foil those who seek to stop you. We tried to present these as consistent themes in the questline, both narratively and through gameplay.”

Along with the main questline, you can also acquire a series of new daily quests and other Thieves Guild-related activities, ensuring there’s always work for an enterprising rogue in Glenumbra!

“In addition to the Daggerfall Thieves Guild storyline, players can access Thieves Guild Dailies, Heists, and other related activities from the Daggerfall Outlaws Refuge and the new Thieves Den there,” explains Stark. “Players can also gain access to thiefy items from the new Favors system, which encourages exploration throughout Tamriel, but aren’t limited only to scoundrels and rogues pursuing the Thieves Guild questline.”

Find (and steal) new rewards

Of course, with this new storyline comes all-new rewards, and should you help Quen and her merry band take on the Koldane Cartel, there’s plenty of opportunities for profit. This includes fragments of a powerful new mythic item, and the Quen’s Heist Attire costume.

Most notably, complete Thieves Guild story and side content (including Heists and thieves troves) and you can also earn three of the four fragments needed for the Rogue’s Refuge house—the perfect pad to protect your purloined prizes!  

Stash your ill-gotten gains in a new home

Old Zone, New Opportunities

While the Glenumbra zone underwent some cosmetic improvements with Update 50 in June, the Thieves Guild storyline also adds some new features to the base-game zone.

“The Daggerfall bank now has two bankers! When we poked in there for the second quest, we figured it was a great time to fix this very old problem,” says Souza. “But you may also notice some new landscaping, parks, and streets. Our world-building team did a great job improving the space.”

One thing is for sure, Glenumbra is the place to be if you’re a scoundrel on the rise looking for that next big score. When Season One kicks off on July 8, in addition to the new quest storyline, you’ll find no shortage of opportunities to work outside the law.

Are you geared up to help Quen and the gang take on the Koldane Cartel? Perhaps you’re mostly interested in lining your pockets with ill-gotten goods? Let us know via Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.

The new Thieves Guild storyline is free for all ESO players and arrives on July 8 as part of Season One.

* Note that the Hew’s Bane zone (and the entire Thieves Guild DLC) recently made its way to ESO’s base game—meaning everybody can check out these earlier adventures for free!