General:Necrom Preview

Necrom Preview
Medium/Format	Live Event
Date	January 25, 2023
Interviewer(s)	Dave Humphrey
Hosted By	Twitch, eso.com

I had the great opportunity to travel to San Francisco at the end of March to have an exclusive first look and play test of the new Necrom chapter with a few other ESO streamers and fan sites. Many thanks to Gina and the rest of the team for the invite and the event! Was great to meet the ESO team/devs and hang out with some of the ESO steamers I've never meet in person before.

Keep in mind this preview is based on an early build of the game which will in no doubt be a little different once released on PTS (April 17th hopefully) and eventually on Live (June 5th).

The World of Necrom

The playable world of Necrom has two main areas:

• Telvanni Peninsula -- About 40% of the total area of the chapter East of Stonefalls/Bal Foyen in Morrowind.
• Apocrypha -- A Daedric plane of Hermaeus Mora representing 60% of the total chapter area.

The Telvanni Peninsula definitely has the feel/look of Morrowind, although less "ashy" and more lush than what you see on the Island of Vvardenfell. It has the typical things you find in an outdoor zone like wandering bosses and a new world event, the Bastion Mimic (if I recorded that correctly).

Apocrypha is what you might expect from a plane of Hermaeus Mora and can be found on the main map of the Aurbis with the other planes. Strange and beautiful sights abound although some of the area was unfinished in our preview version. Definitely look for the reversed waterfalls.

Other areas include:

• Vvardenfell's Edge -- Near Bal Foyen
• Necrom -- Ancient city in Morrowind older than the Tribunal. Possibly built on the remains of GULGA MOR JIL.
• The Endless Library -- Similar to Hermaeus Mora' Apocrypha seen in the Dragonborn expansion to Skyrim.
• Chroma Incognito -- A new realm, "the color out of space", tying further into Hermaeus Mora's HP Lovecraft inspiration.

The Arcanist

One of the main features of this Chapter is the introduction of the first new class in ESO since the Necromancer in 2019, which has been in development since late 2021. The devs had a hard time deciding on which class to add and simply named it "Bob" for a long time so as to not pigeon-hole themselves into any particular class. Eventually they decided on the Arcanist as it ties into the book/knowledge theme of the chapter.

The unique mechanic of the Arcanist is the building and spending of "Crux". You can have up to 3 points of Crux at any one time and it is shown both in your ability bar and around your character (and other players) in game. Some of your abilities will create Crux and some abilities will use Crux to create bonus damage or other effects. Some abilities will also gain bonuses from Crux but not spend it.

A short description of all the new class skills are in the following sections. Keep in mind there are still balance tweaks to be made so skills may change once on PTS.

The 3 Arcanist skills lines are:

• Herald of the Tome -- Damage
• Soldier of Apocrypha -- Tanking
• Curative Runeforms -- Heal/Support

The skill line role listed above is general and you'll find useful skills and passives in all lines depending on your desired role. Skill animation are based around using a book in your hands keeping with the theme of Hermaeus Mora for the chapter.

Note that any spelling mistake on the following skill names is my fault (2 hours of play testing doesn't last that long).

Herald of the Tome

The primary damage skill line of the Arcanist.

• Unblinking Eye (Ultimate) -- Summon a "scion" of Hermaeus Mora that does damage via a beam. Morphs into Tide King's Gave (beam follows target) and Languid Eye (adds snare).
• Runeblade (Active, Mag/Sta) -- Costs Magicka or Stamina depending on your max resource. Does Magic Damage and creates Crux. Does more damage with increased Crux. Morphs into Writhing Runeblades (adds Crit Chance) and Scaling Runeblades (adds Damage).
• Fatecarver (Active, Mag/Sta) -- Costs Magicka or Stamina depending on your max resource. Does beam Magic Damage. Spends Crux if you have any to increase Damage. Morphs into Exhausting Fatecarver (increases duration/strength of snare) and Pragmatic Fatecarver (spends crux to reduce cost).
• Abyssal Impact (Active, Sta) -- Adds snare and "Ink". Morphs into Cephaliarch's Flail (creates Crux, adds damage to enemies below 50% health) and Tentacular Dread (Mag, spends Cruxs, adds Ink strength and immobilize damage).
• Tome Bearer's Inspiration (Active, Mag) -- Creates Crux. Adds Major Brutality/Sorcery while slotted. Adds Rune damage to weapons, increases damage with Crux. Morphs into Inspired Scholarship (more frequent damage) and Reperative Treatise (restores mag/sta).
• Imperfect Ring (Active, Mag) -- Does AOE damage. Morphs into Rune of Displacement (creates a rune that damages and pulls mobs) and Fulminated Rune (more area damage).
• Fated Fortune (Passive) -- Adds Crit Damage/Healing whenever you gain or spend Crux.
• Harnessed Quintessence (Passive) -- Adds Weapon/Spell Damage when you restore Mag/Sta.
• Psychic Legion (Passive) -- With a Herald of Tome ability slotted gain status damage.
• Splinted Secrets (Passive) -- For each Herald of Tome ability slotted gain penetration.

Soldier of Apocrypha

The primary tank skill line of the Arcanist.

• Gibbering Shield (Ultimate) -- Absorb damage. Morphs into Sanctum of the Abyssal Sea (adds shield strength) and Gibbering Shelter (gives allies a damage shield).
• Rune Jolt (Active, Mag) -- Does damage, Major Maim, taunt and creates Crux. Morphs into Runic Sunder (Sta, reduces target armor, gain armor) and Runic Embrace (Mag, adds heal and Minor Lifesteal).
• Runespite Ward (Active, Mag) -- Damage shield, uses Crux to increase shield strength. Morphs into Spiteward of the Lucid Mind (crux refunds cost) and Impervious Runeward (much more damage shield for 1 second).
• Fateworn Armor (Active, Mag) -- Adds Major Resolve and Minor Breach. Morphs into Cruxweaver Armor (adds buff duration, creates Crux when damaged) and Unbreakable Fate (adds block mitigation, spends Crux to increase bonus).
• Rune of Eldritch Horror (Active, Mag) -- Paralyzes and adds Minor Vulnerability, undodgeable. Morphs into Rune of Uncannny Adoration (charms and snares) and Rune of the Colorless Pool (adds Minor Brittle).
• Aegis of the Unseen (Passive) -- Adds Armor will using a Soldier of Apocrypha ability.
• Wellspring of the Abyss (Passive) -- Adds Health/Magicka/Stamina recovery per Soldier of the Apocrypha ability slotted.
• Circumvented Fate (Passive) -- Adds Minor Evasion when casting a Soldier of the Apocrypha ability.
• Implacable Outcome (Passive) -- Spending Crux gains Ultimate.

Curative Runeforms

The primary healing and support skill line of the Arcanist.

• Vitalizing Glyphic (Ultimate) -- Spawns a total that adds Weapon/Spell damage and healing. Grows in power when healed. Morphs into Glyphic of the Tides (spawns with more health) and Resonating Glyphic (damage totem to power it up).
• Runemeld (Active, Mag) -- Heals and creates Crux. Heals more if you have Crux. Morphs into Evolving Runemeld (increases HOT heal) and Audacious Runemeld (gain ultimate at low health).
• Remedy Cascade (Active, Mag) -- Beam heal, spending Crux restores Mag/Sta. Morphs into Cascading Fortune (heals more at low health) and Curative Surge (heals more as you channel).
• Chakram Shields (Active, Mag) -- Spawns 3 discs with Damage Shield. Morphs into Chakram of Destiny (creates Crux, recasting increases shield) and Tidal Chakram (uses Crux to reduce cost).
• Arcanist Domain (Active, Mag) -- Spawns an area that adds Minor Courage/Fortitude/Intellect/Endurance. Morphs into Zena's Empowering Discs (effect remains when you leave area) and Reconstructive Domain (adds a HOT).
• Apocryphal Gate (Active, Mag) -- Creates 2 portals that you can walk into to teleport to the other one. Gain Crux when teleporting. Morphs into Fleet Footed Gate (increases move speed) and Passage Between Worlds (allies can use synergy to teleport).
• Healing Tides (Passive) -- Adds healing done with Crux.
• Hideous Clarity (Passive) -- Adds Mag/Sta when creating Crux.
• Erudition (Passive) -- Adds Mag/Sta recovery.
• Intricate Runeforms (Passive) -- When you have a Curative Runeform ability slotted reduce cost and increase strength of Damage Shields.

NPCs and Mobs

There's a few new NPCs and some returning ones that may be familiar:

• Naryu
• Sotha Sil
• Hermaeus Mora (voiced by Wes Johnson)

New mobs in Necrom include:

• Seeker
• Lurker
• Mind Terror
• Hushed -- Mortals who made it to the Plane of Apocrypha, mostly anyways.
• Tomeshell -- Basically a kind of Hermit Crab using a book as a shell. Books with animal tendencies.

Questions

Although there weren't that many opportunities to ask questions with the time frame we had, I did get a few done, or can at least answer it with information gained from the event itself!

Aside from a different daedra, how will they make this feel different from the other eso Morrowind chapter?

I think splitting the chapter world 40/60% into overworld/Daedric Plane makes it feel unique. What little overworld areas I saw definitely felt a little different than what we see in Vvardenfell and Stonefall.

Also idk if this counts as a relevant necrom comment, but i would kill to see a femme ehk [sic]. I would die.

I didn't see any Ehks but also only had 2 hours to play test it (much of that time was documenting skills and other things).

Most of the questions I have are for DLC after Nekrom, such as: Have they plans to introduce any more addons into vanilla UI? Can they tell us any more about the "endless" dungeon which will be in Q4?

Sorry, no answers on these. They are very much focused on Necrom and anything past that was hush-hush as usual.

Who will be voicing Hermaeus Mora?

I heard it was Wes Johnson but not 100%.

On a stream, they mentioned something about your book being made of knowledge you find on adventures. Is that an actual mechanic or flavour text?

A little of both I suppose. Your character ability animations are designed around holding and using a book. So it might be in reference to that or something else I didn't get to see (like in quests).

How "legal" is Arcanist magic- will it have criminal abilities like necromancer and vampire?

There were no Arcanist skills labeled as "criminal" the version I played.

Does the arcanist class have any combat pets?

No permanent pets but there are a few skills that summon a temporary pet or totem you can interact with.

I'm interested to know how big Apocrypha's map will be.

The world is broken up in about 40% in the Telvanni Peninsula and 60% in the Plane of Apocrypha. I couldn't exactly tell size relative to other chapters but its definitely comparable.

Will we have any Telvanni allies at all?

I believe we do (they mentioned some but I didn't write the name down).

Will I get an asthma attack when I look at this zone or isn't it as ashy as Vvardenfell?

Definitely not as ashy but also distinctly Morrowind-like (at least the Telvanni Pennisula area).

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed our quick preview into ESO: Necrom. I'm looking forward to exploring and playing more of the chapter on PTS/Live and figuring out the Arcanist playstyle and which skills work best.