ESO Jerall Pass PvP is a new three-alliance battlefield coming to The Elder Scrolls Online with Season Three. The zone centres on Fanthor Keep, where players fight over control and support their side with supplies, upgrades and special consumable scrolls. ZeniMax is testing a target population of around 40 players per alliance instead of the much larger scale of Cyrodiil.
The PC/Mac Public Test Server already has the zone available to explore. After the first week, ZeniMax announced tougher entry guards, more generous Supply Crates and a higher Pyre Lord appearance rate. Those changes show which parts of the battlefield are being adjusted before the January release.
How ESO Jerall Pass PvP works
Jerall Pass is in the Jerall Mountains north of Cyrodiil, with all three factions contesting the same keep and its nearby objectives. ZeniMax’s intended 40v40v40 population gives a maximum test environment of roughly 120 participants across the three alliances.
The 40v40v40 target is for the entire zone, not an individual party. Testers are concerned that organised ‘ball groups’ could dominate the smaller map, and ZeniMax is considering whether separate party-size restrictions are needed. Those limits are not final in the current ESO Jerall Pass PvP test.
Fanthor Keep, resources and supply crates
Fanthor Keep is the centre of ESO Jerall Pass PvP. Instead of dropping resources at separate farms, mines or lumbermills, players bring them back to the keep. Supply Crates help its upgrades, so keeping a steady supply of resources matters even after your alliance has taken control. On the initial PTS build, Keep ranks 3, 4 and 5 require upkeep and can drop in rank if resources run out.
During testing, you can obtain Keep Supply Crates from Siege Merchants, craft them after buying the relevant blueprints, or earn them from named bosses. Deposit the crates at the Keep Master, not the resource outposts. In the second PTS week, each crate is due to provide more resources so alliances can reach higher upgrade ranks more easily.
Jerall Marks and Offense and Defense Scrolls
Jerall Marks are the zone’s currency. ZeniMax’s PTS notes describe earning them through repeatable quests and named bosses, then using them with Jerall Pass merchants. Offense and Defense Scrolls are consumables for battles in the zone, rather than permanent boosts to your character. The PTS rules let you use one Offense Scroll and one Defense Scroll at a time, with their effects applying only in Jerall Pass.
For ESO Jerall Pass PvP, the team has confirmed that Jerall Offense and Defense Scrolls can be purchased from merchants. In the next PTS week, it plans to add the scrolls as tutorial quest rewards too. That should give newcomers a way to try them, but the developer has not committed to permanent numerical buffs in its weekly feedback summary.
Where to find the Pyre Lord
One of the stranger ESO Jerall Pass PvP encounters is the Pyre Lord, a creature appearing in Jerall Pass Cave. ZeniMax has confirmed the cave as its location and says its appearance frequency will increase during the second PTS week.
An early player report on ZeniMax’s feedback forum describes collecting orange Pyre Residuum crystals and using them to recruit the Pyre Lord to an alliance. That’s a tester account, rather than a complete set of published instructions. ZeniMax itself confirms the cave location and plans to increase how often the creature appears.
Start at Jerall Pass Cave if you want to investigate the Pyre Lord. Read the encounter prompts in your current PTS build, particularly after the planned spawn-frequency change. A fixed crystal map or guaranteed timer would be premature at this stage.
What is changing in ESO Jerall Pass PvP PTS Week 2?
| Feature | Planned change |
|---|---|
| Entry points | More and tougher alliance guards to reduce spawn camping |
| Supply Crates | More resources for Keep upgrades |
| Offense and Defense Scrolls | Added to the tutorial quest rewards |
| Pyre Lord | More frequent appearances in Jerall Pass Cave |
| Quest boards | Fix enemy alliances being able to see boards |
The table describes ZeniMax’s planned Week 2 PTS adjustments. These are not live-server balance values and could change again before Jerall Pass becomes permanent.
When does Jerall Pass go live?
ESO Jerall Pass PvP is playable for testing now on the PC/Mac PTS. ZeniMax’s next organised session takes place on Tuesday 3 November at 8 PM EST, or Wednesday 4 November at 1 AM GMT in the UK.
The main ESO Update 52 patch is scheduled for 19 January 2027, but the studio says Jerall Pass becomes permanently available on 27 January with Season Three. This difference matters if you are planning to return for the new PvP map: the two dates do not mean the same thing.
ESO Jerall Pass PvP FAQ
Is Jerall Pass the same as Cyrodiil?
No. It is a separate, more concentrated three-sided Alliance PvP zone with its own central keep, currency and scrolls.
Where does the Pyre Lord spawn?
ZeniMax names Jerall Pass Cave and is adjusting the creature’s appearance frequency during PTS testing. It hasn’t issued a fixed public timer.
Is 40v40v40 a final group-size limit?
It is the zone population being tested across three alliances. Organised party-size restrictions remain under discussion.
ESO Jerall Pass PvP gives each alliance a reason to contest Fanthor Keep and its resources, while the Pyre Lord and zone-specific scrolls add more decisions to the battle. The PTS is the place to try those systems before Jerall Pass opens permanently in January.
Official source: ZeniMax Update 52 PTS patch notes, version 12.2.0.
