In thisElder Scrolls Onlinearticle we’re going to be taking a look at some of the bigger changes coming to the MMO, along with some of the smaller ones.Elsweyrreleases in just a few days, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t give you a heads up of what’s in store. We have not covered Class changes in this, and these will be covered by a separate article, since there are simply too many to list here. So, keep your eyes out for that while we fill you in on the changes coming with Elsweyr.
Elder Scrolls Online Elsweyr: 6 Biggest Changes
The first of the major changes to the game probably comes as no surprise since it’s been advertised all over the place, and that is the addition ofNecromancersto ESO. Players will finally get to summon undead and use the forces of darkness to aid Tamriel.
1. New Class – Necromancer
TheNecromancer Classfeatures 3 newSkill Lines:Grave Lord,Bone TyrantandLiving Death, and these are their DPS, Tanking and Healing lines respectively. Though this Class is not a “Minion Master” type of Necromancer that maybe some players wanted, you’re able to summon at least 1 undead at a time and use corpses to further enhance your spells, some of which use the undead in unexpected ways.
In addition, practicing necromancy in Tamriel is a criminal act. In most cases, mages caught casting necromantic spells can feign ignorance or insist that the spell originates from a different school of magic. Some spells, however, are too horrific to overlook, and any necromantic ability marked as a “CRIMINAL ACT” is a major crime, and will offend the locals and alert the guards. You can see what these are in your Skill list or on theWiki.
This Class will only be available to players who purchase the Necromancer expansion, and much like theWarden(at the launch ofMorrowind), all early indications are that it will be very powerful at launch. Prepare for the rise of the Necromancer, as you see them spring to life all over Tamriel, includingCyrodiil. This brings us to our next topic: PvP.
2. PvP Artifacts
PvP Artifactshave finally made their way to Cyrodiil in ALL campaigns. These legendary Weapons will replace your entire skill bar with a brand new set of Skills, and your stats will be adjusted accordingly as you become the living embodiment of these Weapons. These will spawn in Cyrodiil 4 or 5 times a day, but whether or not they will make their intoBattlegroundsremains to be unseen, however it seems unlikely.
Players will have a small tutorial explaining these weapons led by none other than Sheogorath at each Alliance stater gate (where quest boards are located). There players will learn that you must keep feeding these weapons Alliance Points (repairing structures or resurrecting other players doesn’t count) or else the power of the weapon will drain your life, killing your character.
Currently only Volendrung has been added to the game, but more are expected to be added with future Updates, all containing their own unique Skills.
3. Cyrodiil Campaign Adjustments
All currently-existing campaigns will be shut down onceElsweyrlaunches, and will be replaced with entirely new ones. In keeping with theSeason of the Dragon, Zenimax will be introducing 6 brand new campaigns with some additional rules added, all named after Dragons. These are as follows:
Alliance Locked Campaigns are a new style of Campaign that’s only being applied to 30 day variants. In theseCampaigns, each account will only be able participate with, and represent, a single Alliance for the duration of the Campaign. This means no more switching between alts that belong to different factions if you don’t like how the map looks.
There are two methods of locking in your Alliance for a Campaign. In both cases, Alliance selection is determined by the Alliance of the character you are currently logged in with. Method 1: Assign a “home” Campaign in the Alliance War menu. Method 2: Enter Cyrodiil on a Campaign you’ve not previously joined. Once you’ve locked in your Alliance, only characters of the same Alliance on your account will be allowed to enter Cyrodiil in that Campaign.
There is no option to change your locked Alliance until the Campaign duration has elapsed. Multiple in-game notifications have been added to warn you when you’re about to join an Alliance-locked Campaign. Campaigns not flagged with the “Alliance locked” rule set remain unchanged. Any character above level 10 from any Alliance can play in those Campaigns at any time.
Imperial Cityis now its own Campaign and the doors in Cyrodiil have been shut down and no longer work. To get into Imperial City, you simply use the Campaign selection menu. You’ll end up in the Sewers just as if you had entered from Cyrodiil. Note that Imperial City now has its own population cap (including the Sewers and Districts) which is now removed from Cyrodiil’s population caps. Rejoice!
Guest Campaign will no longer exist as a status, so you no longer need to manage your “guest” Campaign and are now free to play in any Campaign at will. Note that a Home Campaign status is still needed for earning Leaderboard rewards at the end of Campaigns and participating in Emperorship leaderboards. Emperor Leaderboards have also been adjusted. Once you have served as Emperor in a Campaign, you cannot be crowned as anEmperorfor a different Alliance for the rest of that Campaign’s duration.
A few other miscellaneous Cyrodiil changes are as follows:
4. Guild Finder
Guild leaders now have the ability to list their guild within the Guild Finder, a new tool for connecting players to like-minded guilds. A new section is present within the Guild menu for Recruitment. Here, a guild leader can fill out information about their guild, as well as include a custom headline and a guild description. Once they’ve provided enough information, they can then list their guild in the Guild Finder. Other players within the guild will be able to see their guild’s listing while it is active as well.
If you’re looking for a guild, you can now access the Guild Finder within the guilds menu, located below the list of any guilds you may be currently in. From here, you can browse by multiple different types of guilds and filter down potential matches by several additional criteria. Once you’ve found a guild that looks like a fit, you can send an application to the guild that includes some basic information about your character and account, as well as the option to include a custom message. Members of a guild with the new “Manage Applications” permission will be able to view and respond to applications. Accepting an application adds the player to your guild, and declining removes their application.
5. Skyshard Achievements for Alternate Characters
Fully completing aSkyshard Hunter achievementon one character will now unlock the ability to purchase that achievement on other characters from the Crown Store. The purchased achievement will award all associatedSkillpoints, or any remaining Skillpoints, that your current character has not yet acquired. This is huge because one of the biggest things that prevents players from rolling alts is not the XP needed to reach max level, but the Skillpoint grind. This will give players the option to bypass this all together, albeit for money. Still I’d rather have this option than not, and will probably end up using this on my Necromancer, as I have a ton of Crowns fromESO Pluswith nothing to spend them on.
6. Dragons
Lastly, it wouldn’t be the season of the Dragon without actually having Dragons, and now they have finally made their way to Elder Scrolls Online. With the Elsweyr Expansion players will face these terrifyingly huge monstrosities out on the landscape, and they will need all the help they can get to bring them down. Featuring unique mechanics and health pools of 8 figures, Dragons will not be defeated without the help of many players, and they should see tons of action at launch. Imagine Dark Anchors at the release of One Tamriel, but more fun…and with Dragons!
But that’s not the only place players will face them, as they make an appearance in the game’s new Trial: Sunspire, as well. There you will do battle with several Dragons, again all with their own mechanics, and all new Trial Sets as rewards. Team up with 11 other to take them down, in Normal, Veteran, or Hard Mode.
Miscellaneous Changes
In this section we’ll take a look at some miscellaneous changes coming to the game that are somewhat notable and we felt should be shared. These are as follows:
Final Thoughts
These are some pretty big changes to the game, or I should really say improvements. The addition of Guild Finder will be a god send for new players and those who play less frequently, and should help Guilds in general become more active. I fully expect Guild rosters to see a substantial increase, and that’s great news for everyone. Nobody likes being a part of a dead guild, and Guild Leaders can get exhausted from recruiting constantly.
Cyrodiil has also made some great changes, with the addition of character locks for the 30 day campaigns. This prevents some players from just swapping to the character of the faction that’s dominating when things look grim. This should help to keep the longer campaigns more interesting, and with this change (and the the Imperial City change), hopefully decrease queue times to get into them as well.
Removing Guest Campaigns is also a great change, and I’m really looking forward to the increase in Siege damage in CP campaigns. This has been sorely needed for a long long time. What I’m not sold on is the newPvP Artifacts, as there is potential for abuse by factions already dominating. This is something that could go either way, and my guess is that we’ll find out real quick.
With the addition of theSkyshard Achievementscarrying over to other characters if you pay in the Crown Store I think you will see many more players trying out new characters. There isn’t an overabundance of things to spend Crowns on if you’re like me and don’t care for all the cosmetics, and this seems like a good use of them. I am sure, however, we will see a few people scream “pay to win” at this addition. It should make for some “interesting” forum discussion to say the least.
Stay tuned as we dive into the Elsweyr Class Changes in detail. There were simply too many to fit in this article, so we decided to cover it separately.Elsweyrreleases on PC on May 20th, and Xbox One and Playstation 4 on June 4th, 2019.
