Would you prefer it if ZOS got rid of skill morphs and simply double the number of skills?

moderatelyfatman · July 2025

In the past morphs made more sense because you have stamina and magicka based build but with homogenisation each build can now utilise the same morph. Now one particular morph is clearly better than the other no matter whether the character's main stat is stam or mag.
Is it time to replace some of the morphs with news skils instead? A very nice perk is that the character will have access to all the skills if they have the skill points.

Erickson9610 · July 2025

No

Not all skills have "stamina or magicka" morphs. For instance, none of the Vampire skills or their morphs cost Stamina. The morphs are there to give the base ability more of a distinguishing use case, such as Vampiric Drain being able to morph to either restore Ultimate or to restore Stamina.

Doubling the number of abilities would make the UI more cluttered (adding one or two new abilities via Scribing is fine though), it would require ZOS to make way more abilities than they should have to, and it would be confusing for players who are trying to figure out which abilities work for their builds. That's not to mention the increased number of assets that would be needed, the number of new skills that would need Skill Styles, and of course the fact that it's really difficult to come up with 5 new abilities for each existing skill line that would fit a thematic and/or functional purpose.

Ragnarok0130 · July 2025

No

I'd rather scribing be able to add effects to the existing skills rather than we we got.

Solariken · July 2025

No

Get rid of morphs entirely and put everything on the scribing system.

SilverBride · July 2025

No

There are too many skills to choose from now. No more, please.

CalamityCat · July 2025

No

No, we have an incredibly complex combat system already, I don't think it'll help anyone if we have twice the number of skills to sift through. At least with morphs you pick whichever suits your purpose and have a more streamlined set of skills.

I know there are players who enjoy theory crafting new builds and using spreadsheets etc to come up with their new build. But I hate the whole character building/gearing up part and just want to get out there and have fun. I want enjoyable gameplay rather than spending half my time farming gear and trying to figure out the best combination of skills.

Araneae6537 · July 2025

No

I like when skills can have different benefits/utilities, like one might be good for tanking vs DPS or stealth, PVE vs PVP, individual vs group benefit, different play styles, etc. I recall there being some morphs that seem little different than magicka vs stamina, and I’d like those to have more meaningfully different morphs (some of the warden green balance and animal companion skills).

Supreme_Atromancer · July 2025

Yes

A couple of reasons:

1. From a power fantasy perspective, morphing skills no longer make much sense: at base game, there was a clear idea behind morphing; as you advance in your mastery with some skill, you can eventually specialise. But the skill system was subsequently convoluted in order to accommodate evolving ideas of class identity and role versatility. What's supposed to be the idea when I start with a magicka skill then "morphed" it into a stamina skill? I use magicka to cloak myself in Lightning (Lightning Form)... but then I morph it so that I'm using my stamina to turn myself into a hurricane?

2. The armoury, and even respec shrines, largely make switching between morphs trivial. Which sort of highlights the question of their value.

Sarannah · July 2025

No

Would prefer a third morphing option/choice actually!

Danikat · July 2025

No

Morphs have always been about more than just which resource skills use. They all add extra effects too, but not so much that it's a completely different skill. Having both available would just be needless duplication, but as much as you claim every single skill has a clear best choice I can absolutely guarentee you if ZOS removed morphs and just had 1 version of each skill they would not pick all your favourites, and even if they somehow did the forum and the game would be full of people raging that their favourites were gone (and likely claiming it was because they were obviously the best).

BXR_Lonestar · July 2025

I'm going to say yes. The reason is that there are SO MANY useless morphs out there because one morph is clearly more useful than the other morph. For instance, EVERYONE who is a dedicated healer uses combat prayer. There is simply no reason to use the other morph of this ability.

Rather than be in this cycle where they try to nerf and buff different skill morphs to encourage us to use different morphs, why not separate out the morphs into different skills, which can be altered independently of the base skill and the other morph. Or perhaps if you notice one particular morph is dominant (such as in Combat Prayer), they can then take the other morph and change the skill function in its entirety so that you could potentially use BOTH skills at once. Example?

Combat Prayer remains the same as it is now - its an AOE burst heal that provides minor berserk and minor resolve.

Then the other morph will provide an AOE HOT over a wider area and that provides a 2k Shield that renews every tick of healing and which provides minor aegis or minor protection.

Then BOTH of these skills could be equipped and used in conjunction with one another. This would help increase build diversity because you can basically use both morphs of a skill at once.

mdjessup4906 · August 2025

Yes

This would be so convenient even with needing extra skill points. Some skills, both morphs are actually useful in different situations. Would be nice to have access without having to respec.

The Elder Scrolls Online

Would you prefer it if ZOS got rid of skill morphs and simply double the number of skills?

Would you prefer it if ZOS got rid of skill morphs and simply double the number of skills? 83 votes