College of Winterhold- Adding the Schools of Magic

SaliciaKeyz · July 17

The Schools of Magic- Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, Restoration

The discovery of these schools of magic is said to have taken place around our time, and this would be a great part of the game! Tying together the College of Winterhold and Shad Astula.

These would be Amazing skill lines!
Here are just a few ideas:

Alteration could have spells that slow your fall, add armor, allow you to walk on water.
Conjuration could have protective barriers and summons.

Destruction and Restoration could have damage and healing spells, independent from the staves, but perhaps enhanced when combined with a matching staff.

The storyline could also incorporate the fact that our current classes have already been practicing some of these magics.

And maybe we would have to be taught these spells or discover them somehow, between Shad Astula and The College of Winterhold, and be instrumental in bringing this magic into the teachings of the Mages Guild.

These are just a few ideas. I have a lot more thoughts on this and I’m sure your developers do too. Adding this into the game seems exciting and I hope you decide to do it.

Thank you.
Keyz

Radiate77 · July 17

We only have Destruction and Restoration Staves, would have been the perfect time to introduce a new Staff type.

SaliciaKeyz · July 17

The Schools of Magic are one of the more nostalgic components of the Elder Scrolls series, and I think this would be one of the most satisfying additions to the game.

AScarlato · July 17

Would love an Illusion stave but may require a bit of creativity.

Conjuration stave for temp summons would be cool too.

SaliciaKeyz · July 17

Restoration would be an entire skill line of healing spells that don’t require a Resto Staff. The Staff would still be the best Healing possible, with the passives and the heavy attacks.

Same with Destruction. A whole skill line of Destro skills without needing the staff. But maybe the staff passives could work on those spells too.

Usureki · July 17

I'd love to see Schools of Magic from the Elder Scrolls lore! It'd be so great, it could introduce many abilities those are conceptually missing from the game, such as mirror image illusion, specific elemental damage shields, additional summons etc.

Pixiepumpkin · July 17

This would be amazing. I always hated how magicka users got a resto staff and a destro staff.

YffresTrill · July 17

I would particularly really love to see an Alteration staff added to the game. It would be perfect for my Psijic mage, who currently uses a Restoration staff due to the limited options.

But yes, having skill lines based around each of the schools of magic, unrelated to weapons, would also be a lot of fun. Things like levitation and waterbreathing are probably off the table, but detection through walls (we already have a mythic that does this), new types of shields and armour buffs, spells to distract enemies or charm animals, or magically open locks... there is a lot of potential here.

(It would also be a good way to implement the ability to hide vampirism, perhaps via a passive in the Illusion skill line. (The other option would be a toggle, but sacrificing two skill slots just for that would feel painful to use.) My one vampire character is meant to look pallid and sickly, but not so obviously vampiric (and definitely not red-eyed) as in stage 1. And people have been asking for this for as long as I can remember.)

(Edit for typo.)

Gagoimaliu · July 17

I remember starting my Sorc, being excited, thinking I'd get to use all these types of magic, and then seeing my choices were Lightning, Daedric Pets and Dark Magic (I was brand new so I only learned about MG, Scribing and Psijic later on)

Still, Magic in ESO feels to me like an afterthought, hopefully if we end up getting a Sorc refresh, would be the perfect time to introduce more schools of magic, and especially for me - non staff magic, I want to shoot fireballs and lightning out of my fingers like Palpatine (Arcanist beam is similar I think? Don't play Arc)

SaliciaKeyz · July 17

Thank you to all who have commented on this post with positive feedback. It’s important to offer our support to good ideas on the forums!

Lots of people are suggesting a new staff type, and I really like that idea. Maybe some kind of Mage Staff with an attack that behaves differently based on the type of magic you specialize in.

Maybe it could cast with magic damage or oblivion damage.

Somebody mentioned a levitation spell- part of that could be 5seconds where you hover over ground AoE.

A toggle skill that lets you walk over water would be a cool Alteration spell too.

Some degree of spell customization like scribing would be cool with these spells too.

Everybody who is into this idea, let’s talk about this more. Because this truly needs to happen!

SaliciaKeyz · July 17

Gagoimaliu wrote: »

non staff magic, I want to shoot fireballs and lightning out of my fingers like Palpatine

Non staff magic could work, with an item that adds one more set piece count to each set equipped. So you could wear four pieces of 2 sets and wear this item instead of a weapon, and still get the set bonuses. Just a thought!

Nemesis7884 · July 17

I see potential for a alteration staff which offers a lot of flexibility and the benefit while being a new weapon not needing a new weapon model...

Alp · July 17

If I was Zenimax I would add some of them to the scribing system like they originally intended with spellcrafting. Use the college as an excuse to expand on scribing now that its a basegame feature. Doesn't even have to be added with the release. can always add it later.

Either that or tie it into a new weapon line.. say one handed weapon + a spell in the other hand hmm? please..?

Gagoimaliu · July 18

SaliciaKeyz wrote: »

Gagoimaliu wrote: »

non staff magic, I want to shoot fireballs and lightning out of my fingers like Palpatine

Non staff magic could work, with an item that adds one more set piece count to each set equipped. So you could wear four pieces of 2 sets and wear this item instead of a weapon, and still get the set bonuses. Just a thought!

I mean, you could add a new weapon type into the game instead of staves, have something like a "Sorcerer's Glove" or some kind of focus or spellbook, the skill line could be stuff like throwing soul gem dust into an enemy face to stagger them, or summoning sparks or roots

Gabriel_H · July 18

"The model has proven to be efficient and a petition by Gabrielle Benele was made around 2E 582 to Vanus Galerion, archmage of the mages guild at the time, to adopt the system into the Mages Guild's study program"

Therein lies your problem. ESO is set in 2E 583. There are no graduates as yet in the defined schools of magic.

CaptainVenom · July 18

Wish they could add Alteration Staves for tanking/barrier and rebalance Ice Destro into a better critical damage focus.

metheglyn · July 18

Gabriel_H wrote: »

"The model has proven to be efficient and a petition by Gabrielle Benele was made around 2E 582 to Vanus Galerion, archmage of the mages guild at the time, to adopt the system into the Mages Guild's study program"

Therein lies your problem. ESO is set in 2E 583. There are no graduates as yet in the defined schools of magic.

I think they never actually said how much time had passed between base game and Solstice. We started in 2E 582, I believe, and were there forever. Then came Solstice and time moved forward, but how much? Even if we are in only 2E 583, maybe there are some quick studies amongst the magic users who became adept with these schools of magic.

I think expanding the magic system would be a nice addition to the game.

Radiate77 · July 18

Notice how the Scribing sanctuary is located within Eyevea, a beautiful island filled with NPCs, buildings, shops, and everything… yet it has nothing going for it other than a few crafted sets at the moment… this city along with Shad Astula would make the perfect launching points for introducing the schools of magic with a time skip questline.

Shalidor, a Nord, could have us go to Winterhold to begin that questline… 😁

IZZEFlameLash · July 19

No thanks. Many weapon lines don't really have great use case for anything outside of DW already if DPS, resto is not exactly really useful to anyone but healers proccing their arena weapons for the group. We do not need more redundant weapon lines.

Also, 'charms' are already sort of mesh of Alteration and Illusion, and many other skills are, in a way, mix of various 'schools of magic' already. Besides, MMOs do not function the same way as a singleplayer immersion focused RPGs, that is why we even have classes that lock us down in a way unlike in singleplayer TES games.

Aliyavana · July 19

The schools of magic's founding is contradictory. ESO attributes it Shad Astula in Gabrielle's proposal to the Mages Guild. The Black Arts on Trial attributes it to Vanus Galerion, while a Minor Maze attributes it to Shalidor.

Gabrielle Benele, Vanus, and Shalidor could have met each other on Eyevea, so I wonder if they will perhaps rectify these contradictions by making it so that they collaborated on the idea to make it popular within the magical community.

duagloth · July 19

This would have complimented the old idea of spellcrafting being developed.

Carlos93 · July 19

I discuss this in one of the points.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/690309/suggestions-2-classes-and-skill-lines-part-1#latest

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/690316/suggestions-2-classes-and-skill-lines-part-2#latest

Gabriel_H · July 20

metheglyn wrote: »

Gabriel_H wrote: »

"The model has proven to be efficient and a petition by Gabrielle Benele was made around 2E 582 to Vanus Galerion, archmage of the mages guild at the time, to adopt the system into the Mages Guild's study program"

Therein lies your problem. ESO is set in 2E 583. There are no graduates as yet in the defined schools of magic.

I think they never actually said how much time had passed between base game and Solstice. We started in 2E 582, I believe, and were there forever. Then came Solstice and time moved forward, but how much? Even if we are in only 2E 583, maybe there are some quick studies amongst the magic users who became adept with these schools of magic.

I think expanding the magic system would be a nice addition to the game.

It would cause havoc. The magic system as described is a gathering under umbrella terms magic of a certain type. It's a fictional system (within the lore) to help learning magic easier.

The in-game time pre-dates this formal adoption. A deliberate design choice that then allowed the creation of classes. The magic in those classes are or varying types. Restoration and Destruction are well-know at this time, being pivotal to any war, and so are separated out into distinct lines. The other schools are more spread out across the various professions/classes. For example:

Conjuration Magic:

Illusion Magic:

Alteration Magic:

So, any new schools of magic being introduced would have to compete with the class lines. Too weak and they are pointless, too strong and what's the point of classes?!

Luneca · July 20

Need a skill to turn a tank holding block in PvP into a piece of cheese.

KalevaLaine · July 20

Would love this!

Even to choose the Element would be nice.

Seraphayel · July 20

I‘m pretty sure Winterhold is/was planned for later this year or next year before the layoffs hit the team.

They heavily teased a new zone and something adjacent to Skyrim. Could have been some kind of Schola 2.0.

I don’t think it‘ll get cancelled, but delayed until maybe Q2/27.

Kendaric · July 20

Seraphayel wrote: »

I‘m pretty sure Winterhold is/was planned for later this year or next year before the layoffs hit the team.

They heavily teased a new zone and something adjacent to Skyrim. Could have been some kind of Schola 2.0.

I don’t think it‘ll get cancelled, but delayed until maybe Q2/27.

According to some videos interviews their current team is about as big as it was when they created Wrothgar, Morrowind & Summerset. I don't expect it to get delayed to be honest. Or if it is delayed it will be delayed by a quarter at most, so Q1 27.

LootAllTheStuff · July 20

Kendaric wrote: »

Seraphayel wrote: »

I‘m pretty sure Winterhold is/was planned for later this year or next year before the layoffs hit the team.

They heavily teased a new zone and something adjacent to Skyrim. Could have been some kind of Schola 2.0.

I don’t think it‘ll get cancelled, but delayed until maybe Q2/27.

According to some videos interviews their current team is about as big as it was when they created Wrothgar, Morrowind & Summerset. I don't expect it to get delayed to be honest. Or if it is delayed it will be delayed by a quarter at most, so Q1 27.

My suspicion has always been that they wanted to hit Skyrim's 15th anniversary with some related new content. If so, I can see that as still being an aspirational goal, but not necessarily a realistic one. It really depends on how the staff were assigned before the layoffs, and who exactly got affected. We'll see, I guess.

IviRo · July 20

If you’ve looked into Spellcraft 2014, you know that it was originally planned to be based on spell scrolls, and we were supposed to have entire lines of passive skills associated with specific schools. But then 2024 came along, and we got Scribing. I don’t mean to say anything bad about the creators of Scribing, but I like the idea behind Spellcraft 2014 better—it’s much more interesting and appealing.