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During the Global Reveal 2024, Zenimax Online Studios revealed Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing system - a part of the upcoming Gold Road expansion, coming later in 2024. It is something players have wanted for years: more customization. Instead of customizing a character’s look, they’ll be adjusting how some of their attacks and skills will work, in a way never done before in the game. This could be the greatest customization system to come to an MMORPG, period.
Among the many features and updates to the game, Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing system will allow players incredible options to adjust and change how they approach things. While it won’t be as powerful as TES: Oblivion’s Spellcrafting system, this can be seen as a precursor to how that magical power would be used 1,000 years in the future.
What is Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing system?
Fans of TES: Oblivion are going to love Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing mechanics. While it’s not as overpowered, it’s just as interesting. Available as a part of the Gold Road expansion that’s recently been revealed, you will have the ability to play with the very nature of magic itself, using this ability.
You have had the power to morph your abilities a little bit in-game, but using Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing system, you will be able to collect and customize unique skills, and then further shape them your way. This system requires a trio of resources, which will be available to everyone:
- Grimoire: The skill or core of the ability that never changes (EG: Vault in the Bow Line).
- Scripts: Grimoires have three sockets (script slots). Each of these slots change the characteristics of the ability itself (damage, buffs, debuffs, et cetera).
- Inks: Consumable reagent used to change or scribe an ability.
The great thing about Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing system is that anyone can use this, regardless of what class or build they’re going with. At the launch of this system, a few skill lines will be usable: The Weapon & World Lines. This means your weapon skill lines, the Mages and Fighters Guild, Soul Magic, Assault and Support.
Each tree will have at least one unlockable skill that you can tinker with and adjust using this Scribe system. The way this works is that you can take one of these abilities, and slot in a variety of special traits to the skill.
For example, you can take the Vault ability from the Bow Line, and change it to deal Poison damage and a temporary debuff to the targets it hits. However, we did learn that you cannot deal damage and heal at the same time, with the same skill. This is primarily for balance purposes.
We’ve also learned that Styling is also on the way, where you can adjust your abilities' visual effects. The example given was making Wall of Elements look purple. There will be 22 styles at launch, and all can be unlocked or earned in-game; none will require real-money purchases.
More information about this will be available closer to the Gold Road expansion's launch. Elder Scrolls Online’s Scribing mechanic does promise to be incredible. In the interim, you can still explore the Endless Archive, which we spoke to Creative Director Rich Lambert about in November 2023.
