With the release of Update 13 today for the Elder Scrolls Online, players will finally get the long awaited housing option. While we could write a whole article in itself about this aspect of the Update (and we have), in this article we are going to look at some of the massive changes to game itself. Here is what this update means to the citizens of Tamriel.

Master Writs

Players who complete and turn in any highest tier Writ for their trade now have a chance of acquiring a Master Writ as part of the reward. The likelihood of a player acquiring one is increased by several factors: mastery of the trade, items researched, Motif knowledge and achievement completion. Master Writs will grant the player Writ Vouchers, varying in quantity based on the rarity of the item asked of you to create. Writ Vouchers are a new form of currency the player can spend on:

• Style Items, individual Motif chapters, and the complete book for the Ebony Motif
• A variety of Legendary Furnishing plans
• The recipe and unique component for the “Target Skeleton, Humanoid” and “Target Skeleton, Robust Humanoid”
• The recipe and unique component for Aetherial Ambrosia
• Crafting station Furnishings for each tradeskill, and a dye station Furnishing
• Attunable crafting stations for Blacksmithing, Clothier, and Woodworking tradeskills, which can be used near crafted item set sites to transform them into Furnishing versions of those set stations
• Hlaalu Furnisher’s Document, a sealed envelope containing a random Furnishing plan of Purple quality

Cyrodiil Changes

Vendors

Cyrodiil vendors will change a few things about what they sell an how they sell it. First, Imperial City Sets will now come with Weapons AND Jewelry and it is possible to barter for Gold Jewelry of each of these sets directly. Each Alliance will now have a Regional Equipment Vendor that sells Zone Bags of the Alliance’s home zones. For example if you are Ebonheart Pact, you can buy a Deshaan Bag with a chance to acquire a Plague Doctor’s, Mother’s Sorrow or Night Mother’s Set piece.  Pieces are usually blue with a small chance of being purple, scaling to the level of the player that opens them, not when purchased. Vendors found in captured towns will have their boxes reduced in price by 75% and will no longer carry the following Sets:

• Armor of Truth
• Barkskin
• Crusader
• Durok’s Bane
• Noble Duelist’s Silks
• Prayer Shawl
• Robes of Onslaught
• Sergeant’s Mail
• Twin Sisters

Alliance Points

Besides the vendor changes, there are many updates to Alliance Point gain. Zenimax has decided, and rightly so, to increase the amount of AP gained from various PvP related activities that aren’t killing players. Let’s take a look at them below:

• Completing a quest to capture a resource will now grant 1000 AP.
• Completing a quest to capture a keep will now grant 1500 AP.
• Completing quests from towns will now grant 250 AP per completed quest, and will also now grant a green-level set item.
• Capture-able towns in Cyrodiil now display the status of individual flags on the compass while in the areas of those towns.
• Increased the base amount of AP for capturing resources to 1,500 AP.
• Increased the base amount of AP for capturing a keep to 6,000 AP.
• Increased the base amount of AP for capturing a town to 1,500 AP.
• Increased the base amount of AP for capturing an Imperial City District to 1,500 AP.

General Changes that Effect PvP

• The time required to exit combat with another player character has been reduced to 6 seconds without performing any hostile actions from 30 seconds. This is a HUGE change and should help to prevent all that time wasted where you were unable to mount.
• Increased the duration of the crowd control immunity buff granted after a crowd control expires on you to 7 seconds from 5 seconds. This will now match the duration of the crowd-control immunity buff granted by Break Free.
• Fixed an issue where the stun from Sneak attacks was not granting the target crowd control immunity after the stun expired. Finally no perma stun by Nightblades!
• Major Evasion: Reduced this buff category’s dodge chance bonus to 15% dodge chance from 20% dodge chance.
• Rapid Mending: This passive now increases the amount of resources your Heavy Attacks restore by 12/25% from 25/50%.
• Wrath:
  • This passive now increases your Weapon and Spell Damage by 5/10 for each stack, down from 10/20, but it now stacks up to 20 times, up from 10 times.
  • Reduced the duration of this passive’s bonus to 5 seconds from 6 seconds.
• Item Set procs which deal damage or healing can no longer Critically Strike.
• Armor of the Trainee: Reduced the Max Magicka, Stamina, and Health granted by this item set to 1250 from 2500.
• Black Rose:
  • This item set’s 4-piece bonus now grants Maximum Magicka instead of Maximum Stamina.
  • This item set now increases the Magicka or Stamina restored by the Constitution passive by 35%, down from 40%.
• Desert Rose: Increased this item set’s proc chance to 15% from 10%, but also increased its cooldown to 4 seconds from 1 second.
• Scourge Harvester: This item set’s proc now provides Major Vitality instead of a generic non-buff category healing received bonus.
• Infernal Guardian: Fixed an issue where this item set’s proc would remove stealthed enemies from Sneak or invisibility. We also fixed an issue where this item set’s proc was ignoring line of sight.
• Selene: Fixed an issue where the proc from this item set could trigger twice.

Skill Changes

Dragonknight

• Lava Whip: Increased the damage from this ability and its morphs by 5%.
• Standard of Might (Dragonknight Standard morph): This morph now increases your damage done and decreases your damage taken by 12/13/14/15% while standing inside the standard, down from 17/18/19/20%.
• Coagulating Blood (Dragon Blood morph):
  • This morph now heals for a flat value (scaling with Spell Damage and Max Magicka), with that heal being increased by up to 33% based on your missing health.
  • This morph no longer grants the Minor Vitality buff.
• Dragon Leap:
  • The damage and knockback from this ability and its morphs can no longer be dodged.
  • Fixed an issue where this ability and its morphs were not granting the caster crowd control, snare, and immobilization immunity while they were mid-flight.
  • This ability and its morphs can now be cast while are you immobilized.
• Volatile Armor (Spiked Armor morph): Increased the damage of the Damage over Time component of this morph by approximately 20%.
• Stonefist: Increased the speed of the projectile fired by this ability and its morphs by 100%.

Nightblade

• Death Stroke: Increased the cost of this ability and its morphs to 70 Ultimate from 50 Ultimate.
• Grim Focus: The Assassin’s Will proc from this ability and the Merciless Resolve morph now only scales with your Spell Damage and Maximum Magicka stats.
• Impale (Assassin’s Blade morph): Increased the range of this morph to 28 meters at Rank IV from 18 meters.
• Relentless Focus (Grim Focus morph):
  • The Assassin’s Scourge proc from this morph now only scales with your Weapon Damage and Maximum Stamina stats.
  • The initial cast of this morph now costs Stamina instead of Magicka.
  • Fixed an issue where the Assassin’s Scourge proc from this morph was being mitigated off the target’s Spell Resistance instead of their Physical Resistance.
• Path of Darkness: Increased the damage of this ability and the Refreshing Path morph by 25%.
• Twisting Path (Path of Darkness morph): Increased the damage of this morph by 32%.
• Strife: Increased the cost of this ability and its morphs by approximately 38%.

Sorceror

• Encase: Reduced the cost of this ability and its morphs by approximately 6%.
• Increased the Physical and Spell Resistance of all Daedric Summoning pets by 100% (18200 resists at CP160, up from 9100).
• Daedric Curse: This ability and its morphs will now deal their Area of Effect damage even if the target dies.
• Summon Storm Atronach: Increased the damage dealt from the pet summoned by this ability and its morphs by approximately 25%.
• Summon Volatile Familiar (Unstable Familiar morph):
  • Increased the duration of this pet’s special ability to 8 seconds from 4 seconds, causing it to pulse for two extra ticks of damage.
  • Fixed an issue where the damage from this morph’s special ability was not being increased by Daedric Prey.
• Summon Winged Twilight: Increased the health of the pet summoned by this ability and its morphs by 100% (15889 Health at CP160, up from 7945).
• Velocious Curse (Daedric Curse morph):
  • Renamed this morph to Haunting Curse.
  • This morph no longer shortens the duration of the curse to 3.5 seconds from 6 seconds; instead, it causes the curse to explode a second time after an additional 8.5 seconds.
• Hurricane (Lightning Form morph): This morph now deals 10% more damage each tick, down from 15% more damage each tick. The final tick deals 150% more damage as a result, down from 225%.

Templar

• Binding Javelin (Piercing Javelin morph):
  • Reduced the cost of this morph by approximately 20%.
• Biting Jabs (Puncturing Strikes morph):
  • Reduced the cost of this morph by approximately 20%.
  • The damage from this morph can no longer be dodged.
• Blazing Spear (Spear Shards morph):
  • Increased the duration of this morph to 8 seconds from 6 seconds, causing it to tick damage an additional 2 times; however, it no longer stuns the enemy when it first hits them.
  • The ticking damage from this morph now has the same radius as the initial damage.
• Focused Charge: Increased the speed of the animation played by this ability and its morphs.
• Piercing Javelin: Increased the speed of the projectile fired by this ability and its morphs by 40%.
• Radial Sweep: The damage from this ability and its morphs can no longer be dodged.
• Spear Shards: Decreased the time it takes for the spear from this ability and its morphs to land after being cast at the target location to 750 milliseconds from 1100 milliseconds.
• Radiant Destruction: Decreased the damage from this ability and its morphs by approximately 21%.
• Healing Ritual: This ability and its morphs no longer heal the casting Templar for an additional 30%.
• Restoring Aura: Redesigned this ability and the Radiant Aura morph so they continue to grant the Minor Recovery buffs (Fortitude, Endurance, and Intellect) while slotted. Activating this ability also now applies Minor Magickalsteal to all enemies in a 12 meter radius around you.

Miscellaneous

• Elemental Storm:
  • Fixed an issue where this ability and its morphs could occasionally cause your ground-target reticle to become stuck and prevent you from using other abilities.
  • Reduced the damage for this ability and its morphs by 5%.
  • Reduced the damage done by this ability and the Eye of the Storm morph by 10%. The damage from Elemental Rage remains unchanged.
• Ancient Knowledge: This passive ability no longer decreases the cast time of your Destruction Staff Heavy Attacks by 5/10%. Instead, it grants you a bonus as long as you have one Destruction Staff ability slotted. This bonus depends on your staff type:
  • Flame Staves: Increases your single-target damage dealt by 4/8%.
  • Frost Staves: Increases the amount of damage you Block by 10/20%, and reduces the cost of Block by 15/30%.
  • Lightning Staves: Increases your Area of Effect damage dealt by 4/8%.
• Elemental Drain (Weakness to Elements morph): This morph no longer restores a flat value of Magicka whenever you deal Flame, Frost, or Shock Damage to the target. Instead, it applies Minor Magickasteal to them.
• Elemental Ring (Impulse morph): This morph no longer adds a small Damage over Time component to the ability. Instead, it allows you to cast the ability at a ground-targeted location up to 28 meters away.
• Force Shock: This ability and its morphs can no longer be reflected. Beam-type attacks cannot be reflected, but are able to be blocked.
• Tri Focus:
  • This passive ability now taunts the enemy after you use a fully-charged Frost Heavy Attack.
  • This passive ability now causes your block to drain Magicka (instead of Stamina) and stops your Magicka Recovery (instead of Stamina Recovery) while blocking when you have a Frost Destruction Staff equipped.

General Changes

• The Champion Point cap has been raised by 39 points (13 in each red/blue/green constellation) for a current total maximum of 600 Champion Points. The Champion Point experience curve has been automatically adjusted with this new cap so earlier Champion Points require less experience and can be earned faster.
• Adjusted the Area of Effect damage thresholds for all abilities. The new thresholds are as follows:
  • Targets 1 – 6: 100% damage taken with all secondary effects applied.
  • Targets 7 – 24: 75% damage taken with no secondary effects applied (formerly 50% damage taken).
  • Targets 25 – 60: 50% damage taken with no secondary effects applied (formerly 25% damage taken).
• Reduced the maximum amount of Ultimate that can be stored to 500 from 1000.
• Increased the Dual Wield Weapon and Spell Damage penalty by roughly 3%. Weapon and Spell Damage while Dual Wielding (without modifiers) is now equal to using a Two Handed weapon.
• Minor Lifesteal: This category is now a debuff applied to enemies instead of a buff applied to allies. It now restores a flat value of Health to the attacker every second (600 Health every second at CP160).
• The elemental status effect Chilled now applies Minor Maim to enemies instead of snaring them.
• The elemental status effect Concussed now applies Minor Vulnerability to enemies instead of Minor Maim.

What does it all mean?

Combat in Cyrodiil should be more balanced with the modest nerfings of proc sets and Eye of the Storm.  Stamina players using Two-handers will now find their Weapon Damage on par with that of those who dual wield. The changes to the Destruction Staff line mean that it may now be possible to tank with a Frost Staff, and these should become significantly more popular with players in Cyrodiil. Although my Templar is getting nerfed hard, (RIP Radiant Destruction) I feel that these changes are more steps in the right direction than not and we should see improved combat on the battlefield. It’s amazing how Zenimax keeps improving their game with each new update. They have really turned what was an average game at launch into something phenomenal over the course of these past two years and we cannot wait for the Morrowind Update in June when they will introduce a new 5th Class: The Warden! As always, keep checking with us for the latest in guides on what these updates mean for you as a player.

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