The Elder Scrolls Online revealed its highly anticipated Gold Road expansion at the 2024 ESO Global Reveal, featuring a game-changing addition that has long been desired by fans. The Scribing system debuting with Gold Road draws inspiration from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion's spellmaking system, albeit with notable distinctions tailored for the MMORPG landscape.
Thematically, scribing serves as a precursor to the spellcraft techniques seen in The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, lending a narrative foundation for the variations in the system. The introduction of scribing is intricately woven into a series of quests centered around Arch-Mage Shalidor's wife Ulfsild and her exploration of magic's origins, culminating in the unlocking of the system, akin to the acquisition of the Eidetic Memory ability from Shalidor.
Initially, the scope of scribing is limited to modifying abilities from weapon and world skill lines such as the Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, Soul Magic, Assault, and Support lines, with the potential for expansion to encompass class-specific abilities in the future. The system revolves around three key resources: Grimoires, Scripts, and Inks. Grimoires represent the base skills open to modification, while up to three scripts can be applied to introduce primary, secondary, and tertiary effects. Inks serve as the consumable resource essential to the entire process, although the precise in-game economy surrounding inks remains uncertain.
The primary scripts primarily focus on the fundamental aspects of the skill, encompassing elements such as damage type (e.g., fire, poison) and critical gameplay considerations like taunting, healing, and immobilization. Conversely, the secondary and tertiary scripts predominantly relate to buffs and debuffs. For instance, modifying the Vault grimoire with Venomous, Hawk Eye, and Vulnerability scripts transforms it into Venomous Vault. This modified ability enables players to shoot the ground with a poison arrow, leap backward, apply the Hawk Eye buff, and afflict enemies with Minor Vulnerability. The potential for diverse modifications is extensive, evident in Bethesda's example of the Vault grimoire being adapted with Restoration, Restoration over Time, and Lifesteal to create a potent survivability skill.
Despite the excitement surrounding this new system, numerous questions remain unanswered. Bethesda intends to delve deeper into the intricacies of the system in the near future, offering detailed insights into what lies ahead for ESO.