ESO Witches Festival 2026 runs from October 21 to November 4, bringing a passive 100% XP bonus, Plunder Skull loot boxes, Dremora rewards and Trade Bars to The Elder Scrolls Online. The year’s new Zhekleg outfit pages can be obtained through festival rewards or the Impresario.
The 100% XP bonus activates automatically while the festival is running, so the Witchmother’s Whistle is optional unless you want its skeleton transformation. For rewards, begin with a qualifying boss to pick up your daily Trade Bars, then hunt different boss categories and complete the two special quests for extra gold Dremora Skulls.
ESO Witches Festival 2026 dates and UK start time
ZeniMax’s event calendar confirms Wednesday, October 21 through Wednesday, November 4, 2026. The advertised event window begins at 10 AM Eastern Daylight Time on October 21, which is 3 PM BST in the UK. The end is listed as 10 AM Eastern Standard Time on November 4, which is 3 PM GMT in the UK after the clock changes.
The ESO Witches Festival 2026 double-XP effect is passive while the event is active. It isn’t conditional on remembering to drink a potion or using the Witchmother’s Cauldron every two hours, although other boosts may have their own requirements.
How to start the festival and get Witchmother’s Whistle
To join ESO Witches Festival 2026, open the Crown Store’s Quest Starters section for the free The Witchmother’s Bargain quest. You can also speak to the Crow Caller outside Olyve’s Brewery in Glenumbra, Stonefalls or Auridon. Finish that introduction to earn the Witchmother’s Whistle, which remains in Collections for future festivals.
Blowing the whistle summons the Witchmother’s Cauldron. Use it if you want the skeleton appearance. Players who completed the introduction in an earlier year don’t need to repeat it. The cauldron can’t be summoned in Cyrodiil, but the festival XP bonus itself doesn’t rely on this item.
ESO Witches Festival 2026: Up to 10 gold skulls a day
Defeat qualifying bosses during ESO Witches Festival 2026 for a regular Plunder Skull. Eligible encounters include delve, public dungeon, world and final dungeon bosses, arena and Trial bosses, incursion bosses and Infinite Archive encounters. These containers can award reagents, furnishing and provisioning recipes, furniture, treasures and event-themed style materials.
The first kill of each distinct qualifying boss category each day also awards a legendary Dremora Plunder Skull. The special skulls can hold additional style and event rewards. A player who completes both special daily boss quests can earn two more legendary skulls from their quest turn-ins.
You can still earn up to ten gold Dremora Plunder Skulls per day. ZeniMax initially printed a three-skull limit in its 2026 event article, but community manager Kevin Gbolie corrected that figure before the event began. The cap hasn’t changed from last year: gold skulls come from the first qualifying kill in each boss category plus the two special daily quests.
How to earn 300 Trade Bars each day
Your first eligible ESO Witches Festival 2026 boss defeat of the day also supplies 300 Trade Bars under the updated event currency system. Trade Bars have replaced the former Event Ticket currency, and they’re shared across your account. The daily boss reward is therefore worth collecting even when you’re not chasing a particular rare cosmetic.
Spend Trade Bars with the Impresario on available festival styles, collectible fragments and returning items. The exact stock rotates by event. If you’re considering a costly cosmetic, inspect the live vendor menu first; Trade Bars also have uses outside this Halloween event.
ESO Witches Festival 2026 Zhekleg outfit style
The new Zhekleg outfit style is one of the confirmed ESO Witches Festival 2026 cosmetic additions. Official Update 51 test notes describe its armour style pages as rewards from Dremora Plunder Skulls or purchases from the Impresario during the Witches Festival. The Crown Store also advertises matching Zhekleg weapon styles separately, which should not be confused with the event’s armour pages.
If you want the Zhekleg armour pieces without spending Trade Bars on every page, focus on the daily gold Dremora Skulls first. Any pieces you haven’t earned can then be checked at the Impresario. The separately advertised Crown Store weapon styles aren’t an alternative way to unlock the armour set.
Plucking the Crow and The Lord of Fear daily quests
For Plucking the Crow, speak to Witchmother Taerma at Olyve’s Brewery or the Impresario tents. Defeating the Crowborne Horror and completing the daily quest provides an additional special Dremora Skull. The boss is part of the Witches Festival event, not a standard delve boss whose reward arrives automatically without the quest.
For The Lord of Fear, start with Priest Maxien inside Olyve’s Brewery and defeat Lord Hollowjack. Once you’ve completed the quest with a character, subsequent daily attempts can skip much of its introduction. The completion rewards another special skull, with separate trophy and possible furnishing rewards.
Double XP and a quick daily farming route
The ESO Witches Festival 2026 100% XP bonus applies throughout the event. For a straightforward daily session, log in, kill a qualifying boss and collect its loot and Trade Bars, then tackle any different boss types you can comfortably defeat. If you’re also doing Plucking the Crow or The Lord of Fear, complete their quest turn-ins to collect the additional skulls.
If your goal is gold Dremora Skulls, vary the bosses you defeat instead of repeating one type all day. You can keep collecting regular Plunder Skulls from further encounters, but the higher-quality first-kill rewards reset by boss category. The festival is scheduled to finish November 4.
What else arrives with Season Two?
ESO Witches Festival 2026 begins alongside Season Two: Echoes of Skyrim. If you want something new to play between Halloween boss runs, the Solo Dungeon rewards guide explains the new Undaunted Crests and style sets. The Season Two overview covers the broader update.
Related Guides
Official source: ZeniMax’s 2026 Witches Festival event calendar.
