How Elder Scrolls Online Is Adding a New Class, 8 Years After Launch

As part of the Elder Scrolls Online Global Reveal Event last month, we got the exciting news that its Necrom update will add the Arcanist – only the third new class added to the MMORPG since its launch 8 years ago. It’s a major moment for the game – and a major undertaking for the developers at Zenimax Online Studios, who have 8 years of existing content to balance it against. 

Rich Lambert, creative director, discussed the Arcanist’s creation process on Xbox Podcast. He also delved into the difficult task of adding new content to an established game. 

It’s worth emphasizing first how different the Arcanist is to what’s come before. As Lambert put it, it’s “really important for us as developers but also as players that it doesn’t feel like you’re just going, ‘Oh I’ve done this class before but it’s just a different color,’ or, ‘The numbers are slightly different.’ We had to think of a lot of that kind of stuff for sure.” 

The Arcanist has many different options for playing. ESO. “It has three major skill lines just like the other classes,” Lambert explained. “Herald of the Tome – which is essentially like a DPS line – Apocryphal Soldier – which is a tanky line – and then the healing one [is Curative Runeforms]. This class is something that’s very different than anything that we’ve really built before. It’s really tightly integrated into the overarching storyline and themes. The inspiration behind this class was Hermaeus, who is known for his desire for forbidden knowledge. It is a little bit darker, it kind of  hits that cosmic horror vibe, the visuals are really, really cool, the sounds that the audio team came up with are really something you haven’t really heard before.  

“And then, even right down to the individual abilities and the core mechanics of this class are different as well. It is more focused around, I guess, a combo point system – we call it Crux – but the general concept here is some abilities are builders of Crux, and some are spenders of Crux, and if you’re spending Crux your abilities do slightly different things or completely different things. And then with the Morphs and how we’ve integrated everything, you can control some abilities that aren’t spenders or builders from the onset but you can Morph them to do that. So there’s just this huge toolchest to really dig into and play with, and lots of interesting choices for the players to make to really get the mastery of this class.” 

To make a new class fit into a game, it took a lot of effort. “We have standards that we build everything towards […] But in terms of really digging into the class and its inspirations and themes and how it fits into the world, we talk a lot about basically what are the class defining characteristics, what is the vibe you’re going for with a class and how is that different from anything else we’ve already done.” 

ESO is notably story-driven, and that will continue throughout the updates coming to the game this year – which will focus on the Elder Scrolls’ Daedric Prince, Hermaeus Mora. The Arcanist also had to remain relevant in this ongoing story. 

“This class, this Arcanist, is centered around knowledge, and that’s very much within Hermaeus Mora’s wheelhouse – that’s what Hermaeus Mora does, is hoards this knowledge, and so we leveraged a lot of that,” said Lambert. “And as players saw in some of the Global Reveal stuff, but as they’ll see over the course of the coming months, there’s a lot of influences of Hermaeus Mora on this character and it just ties in so well to this overarching story.” 

This story will guide all updates to Scribes of Fate or Necrom, and will change. ESO’s ongoing story in fascinating directions. Most notably, it will take us to the Eastern coasts of Morrowind – a location Elder Scrolls haven’t been able to visit since the mid-‘90s. “Yeah, 1994 in Arena: The Elder Scrolls,” Lambert make clear. “So yeah, a lot has changed obviously, technology-wise, games-wise since 1994, so we were able to go in and show players things and explore things that you couldn’t necessarily do back in the ‘90s.” 

The key is to finding the right balance between old and new. ESOThis book combines a quarter of an era of RPG storytelling with new ways of experiencing it. It feels almost as though the Arcanist is a reincarnation of RPG storytelling. ESO It is about finding that perfect balance. 

Online Necrom: The Elder Scrolls OnlineLaunched for PC on June 5th and Xbox consoles on June 20th, it introduces new areas, stories, updates and the Arcanist Class. You can Purchase the update before you buy now. 

Online Collection of The Elder Scrolls: Necrom

Bethesda Softworks

☆☆☆☆☆
146

★★★★★

$59.99

$47.99

You will embark on a thrilling adventure filled with The Elder Scrolls’ deep storytelling and lore. Journey to Tamriel – a living, breathing, fantasy universe of magnitude, where your choices shape your experience. Loot, steal, battle, and role-play as a merchant, archer, scholar, warrior, or merchant. Solo or with friends, and you can combine your equipment and skills to best suit your play style. No game subscription required – buy once, play anytime.

These truths can’t be revealed. Learn about Necrom, and learn the hidden secrets of Apocrypha. From the Telvanni Peninsula in Eastern Morrowind to the cosmic realms of the Prince of Fate – fight to uphold reality and unlock the runic power of a new Class – the Arcanist!

PRE-PURCHASE

Pre-purchase the Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Necrom now to start your adventure immediately within the game (base game or previous Chapter zones), get instant access to the Sadrith Mora Spore Steed & Pony* pair, plus more items when Necrom launches – as listed below. *Spore Pony pet only available with pre-purchases until 4/18/2023.

Get instant unlocking
• Sadrith Mora Steed & Pony* pair

The following are available at launch
• Sadrith Mora Formal Attire costume
• Apocryphal Bookwyrm pet
• x1 Unfeathered crate
• x3 Treasure maps
• x2 Experience scrolls (+100% for 1 hour)

COLLECTION

Necrom: The Elder Scrolls Online Collection is like an “8-games in-one”. It’s best for adventurers looking to gain access to all the major Chapter zones, biomes, and quest arcs across Tamriel. The Necrom Collection includes Necrom, the base game and all Chapters before it.

• Necrom (NEW for 2023)
• High Isle
• Blackwood
• Greymoor
• Elsweyr
• Summerset
• Morrowind
• Base game

NECROM**

UNLOCK THE NEW CLASS – Become empowered by the secrets of Apocrypha and the forbidden knowledge of Hermaeus Mora. Arcanists are a new class that can perform destructive, restorative and defensive magic. They channel the ancient runes of arcane power, as well as lost tomes.

ALL-NEW ZONES – Explore the Telvanni Peninsula, home of colossal mushrooms, arcane magic, rocky spires and the capital city of Necrom, additionally, behold the forbidden books of the endless library of Apocrypha.

A COSMIC STORY – The Prince of Fate holds secrets too dangerous for mortals or Daedra to comprehend. Hermaeus Moura’s Apocrypha realm is under threat from hidden, but turbulent power. If the Daedric Prince’s secrets are revealed it could be all that stands between reality and chaos.

NEW WARDEN AND ARCANIST CLASS COMPANIONS – Two new allies seek grand quests and glory! Unlock the Arcanist-power-wielding Redguard and Argonian Warden Companions to battle by your side and keep you company on your journey across Tamriel.

**Available when Necrom launches.