The Elder Scrolls universe and I have always had a somewhat tricky relationship. Vast worlds wrapped up in magical lore to compliment the massive size had me hooked early on but it wasn’t till Skyrim that it fully got its claws into me. Through all of Skyrim’s subsequent releases, there has never been a core mechanic update and yet it still holds up today.
When Elder Scrolls Online was released, I was ready to jump in wholeheartedly and I did at first, but a lack of people to play with and the massive world that I struggled to gel with saw me step away as update after update came and yet I never delved back into its dungeons.
On June 5th The Elder Scrolls Online released its seventh chapter Necrom and with it the new Arcanist class. I jumped in with a new character and got straight into the Necrom storyline. Recruited by the Daedric Prince of Knowledge, Hermaeus Mora, you’re tasked with uncovering a mysterious threat that has eluded even the all-knowing prince and could spell the end of Nirn and even all of reality. It’s a little vague on why with all the power of the Daedric why Hermaeus Mora didn’t see this coming.
Set on the Telvanni Peninsula within the well-known province of Morrowind and centres around the ancient Dark Elf city of Necrom itself. Skyrim fans will also be happy to know we get to take the odd trip to Apocrypha, a place with some familiarity at least. Visually the Arcanist uses a gorgeous green for its spell effects. Working on a mechanic that players need to generate cruxes with weaker spells in order to use said crux for a more powerful spell. Being an Arcanist is fun and feels very powerful. Combining spells together to do huge amounts of damage all while lighting the screen up green never gets old and the added plus that movement isn’t hindered as you cast adds to some interesting moments while dispatching your foe.
Throughout the Necrom storyline you will meet some interesting characters like your main source of storytelling High Elf Mage Leramil the Wise or the wise-cracking pessimistic Scruut, one of Hermaeus Mora’s watchers who takes a similar look to its master. As is the norm with ESO the voice acting is nothing short of brilliant with some very familiar voices to listen out for, the world is enormous and beautifully crafted with an attention to detail that still amazes me with Zenimax & Bethesda titles.
While Elder Scrolls Necrom is a brilliant addition to the ESO universe there are still some fundamental flaws within Elder Scrolls Online that make it difficult for new or casual players to jump in and enjoy. I spent way too much time on YouTube to even work out how to start the quest on my returning character before just starting a new one and jumping straight in. Mind you it was only my YouTube time that made me know it was the right one as the user interface and quest logs don’t offer you any insight as to what it is you’re doing or what chapter it relates to.
For all the good magic does in making you feel powerful and a true wizard, if you’re more inclined to wield weaponry combat feels sluggish and outdated for what we have now. I tried to go with a stealthy archer setup as I do in Skyrim only to resort to slinging magic to have some level of survivability. Character building is a massive learning curve that will take some getting used to if you hope to progress through to end-game content. While usually decent when it comes to building characters for harder content or PVP I am struggling to wrap my head around the systems. There is a suggestion tab to get you started on your build which offers you basic assistance to get through the story content though.
As you would expect Necrom brings much more to the table than just the main storyline. Aside from the extra parts of the world to explore there are new dungeons and a plethora of side missions. While some of these missions were mere fetch quests they were all well-acted out with some referring back to the main storyline as you inevitably get sidetracked by some random encounter in the world. I’m slowly learning to collect new gear and blueprints that cover everything from making a restorative tea to a new end table to put into your house you may eventually want to set up.
The Elder Scrolls Online Necrom is a fun trip back into the Elder Scrolls world and has plenty of content for new and returning players to sink many hours into. Necrom itself is an engaging story and starts off a new overarching story for the ESO world. If you’ve never played before and have the patience to delve into learning the key systems of the build it will engross you with a fantastic story and beautifully crafted world. Returning players, you already know what you’re up for.
Best played with friends but has enough there to treat it as a single-player game that occasionally you’ll see other players in. I for one have been bitten by the Elder Scrolls bug once again courtesy of Necrom and see myself going back and enjoying a lot of the content I have previously missed. Even taking another character or two through the Necrom quest line.
The Elder Scrolls Online : Necrom is now available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC and Mac.
