Elder Scrolls Online is set to release its newest chapter Necrom on June 5, 2023, and Rich Lambert, Creative Director at ZOS (Zenimax Online Studios), showcased what is in store for us in their newest preview presentation.
Continuing the Shadow Over Morrowind storyline established in the Scribes of Fate DLC (ZOS’s first update for 2023), Necrom is a chapter bursting with cosmic horror inspiration and Dark Elf lore. Players are tasked by Leramil to defend Hermaeus Mora, Daedric Prince of Fate and Forbidden Knowledge, against a reality-altering threat involving Peryte, Vaermina and Telvanni Magisters. The story will take players through over 30 hours of content in the new zones: Apocrypha and Telvanni Peninsula.
“I am the answer to all questions and the question behind every answer.
No need to introduce yourself. Your name is already recorded in my realm of Apocrypha.” – Hermaeus Mora
Telvanni Peninsula
The Telvanni Peninsula is the starting location for players setting out on their Shadow Over Morrowind questline. Around 40% of the overall content will be found in this new zone before travelling to Hermaeus Mora’s realm of Apocrypha.
Telvanni Peninsula was originally created to ground Hermaeus Mora, an abstract and cosmic entity, to Tamriel. The Peninsula is occupied by powerful mages who value knowledge and pursue wisdom and solitude, which, from what we can gather, will act as the mediators and messengers between players and Daedric Prince.
The Peninsula takes from the Telvanni aesthetic by including clusters of ginormous mushrooms and mountain sides overrun by moss, and it incorporates an otherworldly feel to the zone with its tendril-like masses crawling over rocks and ground and alien-esque creatures scuttering throughout the zone. It will include three unique biomes, the Southern Peninsula, Vvardenfell’s Edge, and Ebonheart (Apart) to help with player fatigue against repeating scenery.
Apocrypha
Apocrypha leans into a surreal aesthetic with piles of books holding up houses and winding through palaces, floating objects and flora within the poisonous green fog and structures made from prehistoric bones. Rich Lambert explains that Skyrim, especially the Dragonborn DLC, was the inspiration behind the feeling emitted from the zone.
The secondary biome within Apocrypha, in contrast to the murky greys and vibrant greens in the prior, encapsulates the fragmented and alien-like mind palace within Hermaeus Mora. Rich Lambert was tight-lipped on the details of Apocrypha, however, players can expect Lovecraftian monsters scattered throughout the zone. Mind terrors, lurkers, hushed and tomeshell are all grotesque and reptilian-like creatures that have been warped and contorted by the knowledge within Apocrypha.
Companions
Azandar Al-Cybiades: A Redguard Arcanist, whose singular focus is obtaining knowledge. Within the narrative, Azandar asks players for help after an experiment has gone dreadfully wrong and must now undo the problems that his testing has created.
Sharp-As-Night: An Argonian Mercenary suffering from amnesia, yet with the undeniable ability to protect himself. Players will be taken on a journey to uncover Sharp-As-Night’s lost memories in an attempt to find his place in the world.
New Trial: Sanity’s Edge
Enter the mind of a powerful member of the Mages Guild, where a war for control rages on the fields of Dreams and Nightmares between the mage’s own consciousness and an agent of Vaermina.
Sanity’s Edge is ZOS’s new 12-player Trial said to be similar in difficulty and scope to Rockgrove and Dreadsail Reef. Taking place within the unstable mind of a mage, Sanity’s Edge will include three major sections, the nightmare, dreamscape and broken mind region, in an attempt to wrangle back control of the mage’s slipping mind.
Players can test and play the new trial on ESO’s PTS, which releases on April 17.
Arcanist Class
Finally, ESO’s new chapter will introduce a new class: the Arcanist. This will be ZOS’s first class since the Necromancer and is a highly anticipated addition to the current class roster. Inspired by Hermaeus Mora, the Arcanist class is deeply integrated into the Necrom lore, revolving around the cosmic horror aspects of Apocrypha. Runes orbit around players, which can be used to summon tendrils or teleport to other locations around the map.
“From the feedback we’ve gotten from players, basically, if you play a certain character type the rotations are the same across the board. So, we wanted to mix that up with the Arcanist class.” – Rich Lambert
The Arcanist has three skill lines:
- Herald of the Tome (Damage)
- Soldier of Apocrypha (Tanking)
- Curative Runeforms (Healing)
The Arcanist’s Mechanics revolve around cruxes, a complex combo system where specific abilities can be morphed into builders or spenders. The Arcanist toolkit allows you to build up your abilities and spend them to deal more damage. Alternatively, you can cast abilities without combo building, however having crux heightens those abilities. This makes for a class that is dynamic and efficient when min-maxing.
You can check out the Necrom Chapter Preview Presentation on YouTube and try out the new content on ESO’s PTS on April 17.
Are you excited to check out Necrom? Let us know in the comments or on social media.
