The Elder Scrolls Online team have shared additional information on the changes coming to the vampire skill line in their upcoming chapter, Greymoor.
The re-VAMP (I had to) skill line will be a part of Update 26 which coincides with the release of Greymoor, which is May 26 on PC, and June 9 on console. Kyle Nowak, Combat Designer for the update, provided the following explanation,
“The Vampire Skill Line has not seen significant changes since its inception, beyond some minor combat balancing tweaks. Given the timing of this Chapter and the feedback we’ve seen from players over the years, it felt like the right moment.”
New abilities will be introduced in addition to actual changes. The goal, according to the team, was to really make the skill line much more engaging with combat in mind. Again, here’s Kyle Nowak,
“For the combat, we used a set of clearly defined gameplay concepts to help describe the experience and the ability synergies we wanted to create. With the main themes being Blood Magic, hit-and-run aggressiveness, and stealth and elusiveness.”
Blood Frenzy is an example of an ability which will drain your own health in exchange for dealing more weapon and spell damage. Eviscerate, on the other hand, is meant to be spammed and simply deals more damage depending on how much health you’re missing.
A new ultimate was also revealed, called Blood Scion. Casting this transforms you into a beast which boosts your magicka, stamina, and health. You’ll also be able to heal yourself when you damage others, plus you’ll be able to see enemies through walls.
Blood Curse is also receiving changes, with each stage of the curse decreasing your vampire ability cost and activating passives. But, as expected, there are trade-offs like a reduction in Health Recovery, an increase in damage from Flame attacks, and an increase cost for non-Vampire abilities.
You can learn more about the update, including how vampirism affects the Justice System, at the official news post here. For example, according to Gameplay Lead Rob Garrett,
“One of the ways we’re attempting to make the choice of becoming a vampire more consequential is by having the world acknowledge and respond to your status as a vampire. Vampirism is feared and shunned by most people in Tamriel, so it makes sense to trigger Justice reactions when townsfolk notice a visitor with a Stage 4 affliction, or witness a gruesome act that is overtly Vampiric in nature.”
