ESO REIMAGINED

A Player’s Vision for Deeper Classes, Companions, Relationships & Class Identity

Dear ZeniMax Online Studios and the ESO Development Team,
First, thank you for continuing to develop The Elder Scrolls Online.
This proposal isn’t about simply making classes stronger or asking for more damage. It is about something I believe is even more important:
Making ESO’s classes, Companions and world feel more like the Elder Scrolls fantasy they represent.
I would like to present several connected ideas that could be developed over future Updates, Chapters or systems.
These ideas are intended as a player’s vision rather than demands. The goal is to give the ESO team ideas that could potentially be adapted, balanced or expanded upon.
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PART I — THE NECROMANCER REIMAGINED

The problem
The Necromancer should be one of the most distinctive classes in ESO.
It should feel like someone who has mastered death itself.
However, much of the Necromancer’s identity currently revolves around individual abilities rather than a complete system of raising, commanding and manipulating the dead.
My proposal is to make corpses, souls and undead servants the central mechanics of the class.
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THE GRIMOIRE OF THE DEAD

Give Necromancers a unique class system inspired by the concept of Diablo’s Book of the Dead, but designed specifically for ESO.
The Grimoire would allow Necromancers to choose the type of undead they specialise in.
Possible permanent servants could include:
• Bone Warrior
• Bone Guardian
• Skeletal Archer
• Skeletal Mage
• Zombie
• Flesh Atronach
• Revenant
• Bone Knight
A Necromancer should be able to maintain one powerful permanent undead champion.
The champion remains until dismissed or killed.
The Necromancer should also be able to summon temporary undead from corpses.
This creates a balance between having a true permanent undead companion and still allowing the Necromancer to raise an army temporarily.
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COMMAND THE DEAD

The Necromancer shouldn’t merely summon undead.
They should command them.
Commands could include:
• Attack
• Focus Target
• Guard Me
• Return
• Execute
• Sacrifice
Different undead would respond differently depending on their role.
A Bone Guardian might protect its master.
A Reaper might prioritise wounded enemies.
A Skeletal Mage would remain at range.
A Zombie could consume corpses.
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CORPSES AS A TRUE RESOURCE

Corpses should become more than something used by a handful of abilities.
A Necromancer should be able to:
• Raise a corpse
• Explode a corpse
• Consume a corpse
• Turn a corpse into armour
• Extract a soul
• Create temporary undead
• Empower undead
• Restore resources through corpses
The battlefield should become a Necromancer’s resource.
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NECROMANCER SKILL LINES

GRAVE LORD — THE SUMMONER
Focus:
Undead, corpses and battlefield control.
Potential abilities include:
Raise Undead
Summon a permanent undead champion.
Morph — Raise Champion: stronger permanent undead.
Morph — Raise Legion: temporarily raise multiple weaker undead.
Command the Dead
Command your undead to perform a special attack.
Morph — Death Command: offensive command.
Morph — Undying Command: defensive command.
Corpse Explosion
Detonate a corpse for area damage.
Raise the Dead
Raise temporary undead from nearby corpses.
Necromantic Dominion
Create an area where corpses remain available longer and undead become stronger.
Ultimate — Army of the Dead
Raise usable corpses throughout the area and command the resulting undead army.
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BONE TYRANT — THE DEATH KNIGHT

Focus:
Bone armour, melee combat and physical manipulation of the dead.
Potential abilities:
• Bone Armour
• Death Scythe
• Bone Grasp
• Corpse Armour
• Death’s Grasp
The ultimate:
BONE DRAGON
Summon a skeletal dragon that attacks enemies, breathes Disease damage and can respond to the Necromancer’s commands.
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LIVING DEATH — THE SOUL NECROMANCER

Focus:
Soul manipulation, life stealing, resurrection and refusing death.
Potential abilities:
• Soul Siphon
• Reanimate
• Steal Life
• Refuse Death
• Soul Harvest
Ultimate:
LORD OF DEATH
For a limited period:
• Your undead cannot die.
• Corpses become easier to create or preserve.
• Necromancer abilities become empowered.
• Fallen allies can be resurrected more effectively.
• Enemies around you are affected by death magic.
The Necromancer should ultimately feel like:
Death is not the end. Death is my weapon.
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PART II — THE HEMOMANCER

A NEW BLOOD CLASS
The second major class concept is the Hemomancer, a true Blood Mage.
This class should NOT simply be another Vampire.
The distinction should be:
Vampire: consumes blood.
Necromancer: commands death.
Hemomancer: commands blood and life itself.
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THE BLOOD RESERVOIR

The Hemomancer receives a unique class resource:
BLOOD — 0 to 100
Blood can be generated through:
• Dealing damage
• Taking damage
• Healing yourself
• Healing allies
• Applying Bleed effects
• Killing enemies
Blood gradually decays outside combat.
Powerful abilities consume Blood.
This creates a new gameplay decision:
Spend Blood now, or continue building it for something more powerful?
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CRIMSON DOMINION

Offensive Blood Magic
Bloodletting
Rip blood from an enemy.
Crimson Rend: applies Bleed.
Sanguine Rupture: stronger against wounded enemies and generates additional Blood.
Blood Spike
Launch a hardened blood projectile.
Impaling Blood: increased damage against wounded targets.
Crimson Lance: penetrates enemies and generates Blood for multiple targets.
Blood Frenzy
Sacrifice Health to increase offensive power.
Bloodlust: greater damage increase.
Crimson Fury: converts part of the Health cost into Blood generation.
Blood Chain
Link yourself to an enemy.
Sanguine Leech: stronger healing.
Hemorrhagic Bond: greater damage and Bleed.
Crimson Execution
Consume Blood for a devastating attack against wounded enemies.
Blood Reaper: killing the target restores Health.
Death’s Thirst: killing the target generates a large amount of Blood.
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HEMOCRAFT

Healing, Support & Life Manipulation
Living Veins
Send blood magic through yourself or an ally.
Crimson Veins: stronger healing on wounded targets.
Shared Veins: healing is shared between caster and ally.
Blood Transfusion
Sacrifice your Health to heal an ally.
Sanguine Gift: stronger healing.
Blood Exchange: partially restores the caster’s Health.
Crimson Aegis
Create a Blood Shield.
Blood Barrier: stronger damage shield.
Living Aegis: converts remaining shield strength into healing.
Coagulate
Rapidly close wounds.
Rapid Coagulation: stronger immediate heal.
Crimson Renewal: smaller initial heal followed by healing over time.
Life Bond
Link yourself to an ally and partially take their damage.
Sanguine Guardian: stronger protection.
Blood Pact: both players receive healing from Blood abilities.
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BLOOD ASCENSION

Survival, Empowerment & Transformation
Blood Armour
Harden your blood around your body.
Crimson Skin: increased resistances.
Sanguine Carapace: damage received generates Blood.
Blood Step
Become partially liquid Blood and move rapidly.
Crimson Rush: damages enemies when you arrive.
Blood Mist: temporary crowd-control immunity.
Blood Pull
Rip blood from nearby enemies.
Crimson Vortex: larger area.
Hemorrhage: applies Bleed damage.
Ancient Blood
Empower Blood abilities.
Eternal Blood: stronger sustain.
Primordial Blood: stronger offensive power.
Blood Sovereign
Consume a large amount of Blood to enter an empowered state.
Blood Lord: offensive Blood power.
Crimson Sovereign: balanced offensive and defensive power.
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HEMOMANCER PASSIVES

* Bloodletting
Damage generates Blood.
* Crimson Hunger
Wounded enemies generate additional Blood.
* Sanguine Precision
Critical attacks have a chance to generate Blood.
* Blood Price
Abilities become more powerful as the Blood Reservoir increases.
* Shared Vitality
Healing allies generates Blood.
* Living Veins
Blood healing becomes more effective on wounded allies.
* Crimson Recovery
Blood abilities become stronger when the caster is at low Health.
* Coagulation
Taking heavy damage grants temporary protection.
* Ancient Blood
Improves the effectiveness of the Blood Reservoir.
* Crimson Skin
Carrying Blood increases survivability.
* Blood Sovereign
The higher the Blood Reservoir, the stronger Blood abilities become.
* Eternal Feast
Kills and executions restore Health and generate Blood.
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HEMOMANCER ULTIMATE

BLOOD LORD
The Hemomancer reaches maximum Blood and becomes saturated with Blood Magic.
During the transformation:
• Blood abilities are empowered.
• Blood generation increases.
• Blood healing becomes stronger.
• Blood shields become stronger.
• Survivability increases.
• The character’s appearance visibly changes.
• Magical blood flows around the character.
When the transformation ends, the Blood Reservoir collapses.
The fantasy is:
Blood is life. Blood is power. Blood remembers.
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PART III — VAMPIRE COMPANIONS

If ESO Companions can eventually become Vampires, Vampirism should be an actual Companion progression system.
A Vampire Companion should not simply have a vampire costume.
They should actually be a vampire.
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VAMPIRE COMPANION SKILL LINE

Possible abilities:
• Drain Essence
• Blood Frenzy
• Bat Swarm
• Mesmerize
• Vampiric Grasp
• Mist abilities
• Blood healing
• Vampire passives
The Companion should have different stages of vampirism, reflected through appearance, dialogue and behaviour.
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THE OLD BAT ULTIMATE

Rather than turning the Companion into a Vampire Scion:
DEVOURING SWARM
The Companion summons a massive swarm of bats around themselves.
The bats:
• Damage nearby enemies.
• Restore Health to the Companion.
• Continue attacking while the Companion uses normal abilities.
• Visually surround the Companion throughout the Ultimate.
This preserves the iconic older Vampire fantasy.
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MORPHS

Devouring Swarm
Greater damage and healing through damage dealt.
Clouding Swarm
Creates a dark swarm that provides defensive/stealth benefits while damaging enemies.
The Vampire Companion remains in their normal form.
They do NOT transform into a Vampire Scion.
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VAMPIRE COMPANION HUNGER

A Vampire Companion could have a Hunger system.
Possible states:
Sated
Hungry
Starving
Hunger could affect dialogue, personality and combat behaviour rather than simply applying harsh penalties.
This would make the curse part of the Companion’s character.
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PART IV — WEREWOLF COMPANIONS

Werewolf Companions should receive a genuine Lycanthropy system.
They should have:
• Human form
• Werewolf form
• Beast Hunger
• Hunting
• Werewolf abilities
• Unique passives
• Werewolf Ultimate
Different Werewolf Companions could have different relationships with their curse.
One might control the beast.
Another might embrace it.
Another might fear what they become.
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WEREWOLF COMPANION ULTIMATE

CALL OF THE PACK
The Companion howls and summons spectral wolves.
The wolves fight alongside the Companion temporarily.
Pack of Hircine
Greater support and additional wolves.
Bloodmoon Pack
Fewer but significantly stronger wolves with Bleed effects.
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PART V — RELATIONSHIPS & MARRIAGE

ESO’s Companion system could become much deeper by introducing:
Friendship → Romance → Marriage
Marriage should only become available after:
• High/maximal rapport
• Completion of the Companion’s personal storyline
• Appropriate character-specific requirements
Not every NPC should be marriageable.
Selected Companions and appropriate major NPCs could receive dedicated romance and marriage stories.
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SHARED HOMES

A married Companion should be able to live in the player’s chosen home.
They could:
• Walk around the house.
• Sit and relax.
• Interact with furnishings.
• Craft.
• Sleep.
• Comment on the home.
• Greet the player when they return.
The home becomes a genuine shared residence.
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UNIQUE SPOUSAL BONDS

Marriage should provide a small, balanced benefit based on the spouse’s identity.
Examples:
* Mage:
Arcane Bond
Increased Magicka sustain.
* Warrior:
Warrior’s Vow
Increased Health and defensive capability.
* Vampire:
Blood Bond
Improved Vampire-related sustain.
* Werewolf:
Pack Bond
Improved Stamina sustain and movement.
* Thief/Rogue:
Shadow Bond
Reduced detection.
* Necromancer:
Death Bond
Improved interaction with corpses and undead.
The benefits should be useful but never powerful enough to make marriage mandatory for optimal builds.
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UNIQUE COUPLE ABILITIES

When adventuring together, certain spouses could occasionally trigger special combined abilities.
Examples:
* Vampire + Vampire
Crimson Swarm
Bats surround both characters.
* Vampire + Werewolf
Blood Hunt
The Werewolf marks an enemy while the Vampire drains it.
* Necromancer + Vampire
Death Feast
The Vampire drains an enemy while the Necromancer manipulates its corpse.
* Mage + Warrior
Arcane Assault
The Mage empowers the Warrior’s next major attack.
These abilities should be occasional and thematic rather than another mandatory combat rotation.
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WEDDING CEREMONIES

Marriage should have an optional full ceremony.
Players could invite friends.
A priest or priestess of Mara could conduct the ceremony.
Companions and friends could attend.
The player’s home could become the wedding venue.
A wedding could grant an achievement and cosmetic/furnishing rewards.
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PART VI — THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE SYSTEMS

The important part of these ideas is that they should not exist in isolation.
They can interact.
Blood + Vampire
The Vampire consumes blood.
The Hemomancer controls it.
A Vampire/Hemomancer build would therefore have a natural blood-based identity.
Blood + Necromancer
The Hemomancer controls life.
The Necromancer controls death.
Together they represent both sides of the life/death cycle.
Vampire + Necromancer
A Vampire Necromancer becomes a master of blood, corpses and souls.
Vampire Companion + Necromancer Player
A Necromancer could adventure with a Vampire Companion while commanding undead.
Blood Mage + Vampire Companion
The Blood Mage could provide life-force support while the Vampire Companion acts as the predator.
Werewolf + Vampire
Two completely different supernatural curses could coexist in the same party.
These interactions would create builds and party compositions based on fantasy and identity rather than simply chasing the highest damage numbers.
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THE OVERALL PHILOSOPHY

ESO has an enormous amount of lore and history.
The goal shouldn’t always be:
“How do we make this ability stronger?”
Sometimes the better question is:
“How do we make the player feel like the character they are supposed to be?”
A Necromancer should feel like a master of the dead.
A Vampire should feel like a supernatural predator.
A Werewolf should feel like a creature of Hircine.
A Hemomancer should feel like someone who has learned to manipulate life itself.
A Companion should feel like an actual person travelling through Tamriel.
A spouse should feel like someone who has chosen to share their life with your character.
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FINAL THOUGHT

ESO has something that many games would love to have:
Tamriel.
Thousands of years of history.
Hundreds of characters.
Dozens of cultures.
Magic, Daedra, Vampires, Werewolves, Necromancers, gods and ancient powers.
There is enormous potential to make existing systems feel deeper without necessarily needing to constantly create completely new content.
These ideas are intended to build upon what ESO already has.
They are not requests to make everything overpowered.
They are requests to make the fantasy stronger.
Because ultimately:
If I choose to become a Necromancer, I want to feel like a Necromancer.
If my Companion becomes a Vampire, I want them to feel like a Vampire.
If I marry my Companion, I want them to feel like my partner.
And if the Hemomancer ever becomes a class, I want to feel like I have mastered blood itself.
Thank you to the ESO development team for continuing to build Tamriel.
This is my vision for an ESO that feels even more alive, personal and unmistakably Elder Scrolls.
— A player of ESO