Additionally, a new 5-piece set will be introduced, for which crafters will have to put in a lot of effort. The bonus will be impressive: Two Mundus Stones can be activated simultaneously.
They are also adjusting the balance: Stamina users, such as archers and melee fighters, have felt inferior to players who focus on magicka so far. They want to change that, not through a nerf of the magicka users, but by buffing the stamina friends.
Overall, they have prepared 37 pages of patch notes for Update 5. It’s going to be a massive change. The key systems will be introduced in more detail in the coming weeks.
We found a video for you where you can watch an hour-long discussion about Update 5, complete with many screenshots and clips. Additionally, it’s a great opportunity for fans to get to know the different personalities working on the game. Even in the brief discussions, it becomes clear that a diverse group of developers with very different traits is at work.
In the fantasy MMO The Elder Scrolls Online, the Update 5 will be available on the test server next week. Last night, ESO Live took place, and leading developers from Zenimax presented the individual features of what is likely the most extensive update so far. It is already clear that Update 5 will be a massive package.
Since about last month, Zenimax has been hosting a kind of late-night show every two weeks, where they casually discuss the MMO The Elder Scrolls Online (Okay, for us it’s late-night; in the USA, it’s a cozy afternoon talk).
Yesterday, the German Community Manager Kai Schober moderated the round. On a “magical chair,” the heads of various teams at Zenimax appeared one by one to introduce what will land on the test server next week. And it’s really something. Instead of bringing a large new zone or new instances as in previous updates, this time we see the first harbingers of the announced remodeling.
Speech Bubbles and Better Facial Animation
The facial animations are supposed to improve thanks to FaceFX. This should make NPCs in The Elder Scrolls Online appear as if they are speaking when the voiceovers kick in. So far, they look strangely waxy. Here, Zenimax initially focused on English; in German and French, the NPCs still struggle to remain lip-synchronized. They are working on that. The developers are particularly hoping for feedback from players on the test server since the changes are so extensive.
By the way: It is not that hard to animate humanoid cat and lizard beings. There is creative freedom with them. After all, no one has ever had a conversation with them. After the urgently needed current changes (“It could only get better”), they want to continue working on making NPC body language lively and relevant to what is being said.
Surprisingly, speech bubbles are also set to come with the update. This is something that role players have wanted. What someone says will not only be displayed in chat but will also appear – like in a comic – directly above the character. The speech bubbles are disabled by default and can be toggled on as desired.
Delves, Dungeons, and LFG
A dedicated team is working on the Delves, the caves with Skyshards in the world of The Elder Scrolls Online. Here, they will be overhauling 18 caves per update. This is set to happen this time as well. The goal is to make them larger and more diverse. The arts team is also expected to have more opportunities to showcase their talents and impress players. It should become more exciting to traverse the caves rather than just a mechanical “left, left, big room with boss and Skyshard” situation.
The dungeon scaling is one of the main topics in Update 5. With the update, solo instances will also adjust to the player’s level. This aims to prevent a player, who is catching up on missions, from only fighting gray mobs and finding worthless equipment.
In groups, instances will scale to the group leader’s level. The first round of dungeons will scale down to a low value of 10. All normal dungeons will go up to level 50. The veteran dungeons range in difficulty from veteran rank 1 to 12 – not quite reaching the maximum level. Only the newly introduced dungeon, the Veteran City of Ash, will go up to veteran rank 14 and really challenge players.
The City of Ash also continues the storyline of the “normal” version of the instance and sounds fiery, so much can already be revealed. As drops, there will be an armor set in the City of Ash that rewards “heavy attacks.” Here, heavy attacks refer to attacks fully charged by holding down the mouse button.
The LFG system of The Elder Scrolls Online will also be revamped. This should be faster and more practical.
The Undaunted Move, Award Daily Quests
The Undaunted have been driven out of their bars and dives with the next update. But fear not, there will still be plenty of alcohol and treasures in their new location.
They will now award daily quests that lead players into the dungeons. Depending on how successful the players are there, whether they defeat additional bosses or stay within certain time limits, they will receive a bronze, silver, or gold key.
This opens treasure chests that may contain rewards, including a special set that aims to improve interactions between stamina and magicka abilities. When using a stamina ability, it buffs the magicka values, and vice versa. This aims to provide more variety in TESO.
Daily quests will also be introduced for crafting so that aspiring crafters can experience a bit more variety in their daily routine. The reward here includes pieces of treasure maps that lead to particularly valuable resources.
The new crafting style “Dwemer” will not simply be found in a book to be read as the previous styles were. This book will be divided into individual “chapters” (at least 11 could be inferred from a screen). Each chapter teaches the ability to craft an item in the new style. This aims to stimulate trading and bring in more variety.
By the way, those who were particularly clever and hoarded all Dwemer scrap for 6 months, thinking they might be useful, can now dispose of it. The materials to craft items in the Dwemer style will be newly introduced with Update 5.
More Skill Points on Login for Veterans, More Love for Werewolves
Update 5 also brings a change to the veteran system, which is set to be replaced soon. Now, each veteran rank will provide additional skill and stat points. Anyone logging in with a VR-14 character will have quite a few points to allocate. Overall, the presentation was a kind of cornucopia for players. Often the reaction was “It’s like Christmas!”
Also, the werewolves are finally set to receive the long-missed attention of designers in The Elder Scrolls Online. They will acquire magicka abilities to fully utilize both resources.
New Sets; Stamina Abilities Are Set to Become Stronger
Furthermore, they are introducing several new sets into the game and being creative with them: Helmets that drop from bosses in dungeons resemble masks of the respective end boss. Whoever wears these alongside special shoulders from the Undaunted dailies will unlock a 2-piece bonus that grants a passive proc. The bonus is styled after the boss as well.
Additionally, a new 5-piece set will be introduced, for which crafters will have to put in a lot of effort. The bonus will be impressive: Two Mundus Stones can be activated simultaneously.
They are also adjusting the balance: Stamina users, such as archers and melee fighters, have felt inferior to players who focus on magicka so far. They want to change that, not through a nerf of the magicka users, but by buffing the stamina friends.
Overall, they have prepared 37 pages of patch notes for Update 5. It’s going to be a massive change. The key systems will be introduced in more detail in the coming weeks.
We found a video for you where you can watch an hour-long discussion about Update 5, complete with many screenshots and clips. Additionally, it’s a great opportunity for fans to get to know the different personalities working on the game. Even in the brief discussions, it becomes clear that a diverse group of developers with very different traits is at work.
