A standout feature coming in The Elder Scrolls Online's Gold Road Chapter is Scribing. A new system to let you tailor your abilities by unlocking new options and choosing between options, Scribing is set to shake things up by allowing greater build variety.
The ESO team is discussing Scribing in a new preview, talking about their own custom ability choices after giving the system a spin. Along the way, you’ll get to unlock Grimoires that enable new options. Gilliam, a combat designer, talks about the Elemental Explosion Grimoire in its great potential to create some high risk, high reward glass cannon build options. There's satisfaction in being able to unleash a powerful charged area of effect attack, especially when paired with the Knockback Focus. Add in a few other options, like Warmage’s Defense and Cowardice, and as Gilliam notes, “I can now tank plenty of damage from all the aggro it’ll generate from the people I’ve displaced in PvP”.
The Scribing questline will offer your first batch of Grimoires, so you will gain new options just by completing it. Cullen Lee, senior systems designer, appreciated the Soul Burst Grimoire, which allows AoE soul magic, which could be used offensively or defensively. One example given is the ability to use this option on a necromancer tank and using abilities to empower allies and to be able to interrupt an enemy cast.
Traveling Knife gets a mention as a way to toss a knife towards an enemy that will return to you but also hit your enemies on the way back. Using this, you can also apply debuffs to the enemies it hits. Used in combination on a Dragonknight, as one of the QA testers does, with Poison Damage and Minor Berserk, Can help sheer up your own combat and damage but also boost your allies’ damage.
There are other examples given, but the preview does go to show some ways you might use Scribing to complement your class or usual build and other ways to expand upon them, and have a few surprises in your toolkit. The use of Traveling Knight with the debuffs enhances a duel-wield build with even more tricks up the player’s sleeve.
Gold Road is on the PTS and will launch on PC/Mac June 3 and consoles June 18th.
