Will Spellcrafting Debut in 2023?
Spellcrafting has never appeared in The Elder Scrolls Online, but it was a planned and developed feature in early 2014 that was nearly complete! Spellcrafting is also a potential New Feature we might see coming in ESO’s 2023 Chapter Release! In this guide we’ll review the main features of the proposed Spellcrafting System for ESO as it was introduced back in 2014 as well as look at ways the system may have changed if it debuts in 2023.
What Is Spellcrafting In ESO?
Spellcrafting as it was originally designed for The Elder Scrolls Online back in 2014 allowed players to find and combine various spell effects, some of which were familiar to the game and some of which were completely new. These effect combinations also had different affixes like AOEs, Summons, and Ultimates which could further alter the skill and also had different potential rarities. While the feature ultimately did not make it to live release it promised a lot of versatility and build options that players have been asking for ever since.
How To Unlock Spellcrafting
Spellcrafting was originally going to be part of the Mage’s Guild questline. After uncovering the Island of Eyevea, players unleash the full research potential of the Mages of Tamriel, who then begin discovering several “Ancient Doorways” that lead to unique forms of magic. Players would then be tasked with tracking down all of these Ancient Doorways and cataloging all of the different Spells and effects contained within which could then be harnessed into new Active Skills through Spellcrafting. The amount of Skills that could be created is unknown but it was said that players could fill up their entire Skill Bar, including Ultimates, with nothing but Skill created through Spellcrafting.
Spellcrafting Rune Tablets
In the proposed system, each Ancient Doorway would unlock access to a Spellcrafting Rune Tablet. Each Tablet’s Runes contained a unique set of inscriptions in an Ancient Language, which looked a bit similar to the Enchanting System. Runes also came in a variety of qualities including Pristine or Broken which made them easier or more difficult to work with.
Players would then need to use a piece of paper and charcoal to make a copied sketch of the rune in order to use the effect. This all took place in an interactive UI or mini-game similar to how dig sites work now in the Antiquities System.
Spellcrafting Runes sometimes were broken into multiple pieces which may have meant that you needed to find multiple Ancient Doorways to sketch the complete Spell.
The Spellcrafting Spellbook
In the 2014 version of Spellcrafting players could also collect their spells into a type of journal or “spellbook”. This book gaves players additional hints about the purpose of each spell as well as which spell school it belonged to. Some examples are seen below.
How To Recreate Spellcrafting Tablets
In the 2014 version of Spellcrafting, finding and sketching a complete Spell Rune from the Tablet pieces was only the first step. Players would then need to recreate their own version of the Spell Tablet in a seperate user interface. This process had a similar look and feel to enchanting in ESO. Crafting their own Tablet would allow players to customize the Spell’s base effect even further with new effects called a “Focus.”
The 5 types of Focus available to customize each spell in Spellcrafting were:
- Ultimate – the spell becomes an Ultimate
- Enduring – the spell becomes permanent
- Reduce Cost – the spell has reduced cost
- Ritual – unknown
- AOE – the spell becomes Area of Effect
Tablet Materials
In the original Spellcrafting System, players could also take advantage of different Tablet Materials when creating their custom Tablet. These materials would increase the power of the Spell’s effects and included options like Stone, Marble and Runestone. It’s unknown how these Tablet Materials were collected but they could be purchased, found or even gathered as a crafting resource similar to mining.
How To Use Spellcrafting Tablets
Once the final Spellcrafting Tablet was created by a player they could use that item anywhere in the game to add that Skill to their list of Skills. If the Skill was the first in a new school, for example, Conjuration Magic or Destruction Magic, then it would also add the Skill Line to their list.
How To Sell or Trade Spellcrafting Tablets
In the original system of Spellcrafting, a finalized Spellcrafting Tablet seemed to be an unbound item, meaning that it could be used by the player that created or it could be sold or traded to other players. My guess is that this would still be true in any new version of Spellcrafting as it makes for an interesting and valuable addition to the current economy and could even allow players to become “Master” Spellcrafters.
Confirmed Spells in 2014 Spellcrafting
Some spells which were confirmed to be available through Spellcrafting back in 2014 are listed below.
Spellcrafting Spells
- Oakflesh
- Muffle
- Conjure Flame Atronach
- Conjure Familiar
- Ice Cloak
That’s all for now! I’d recommend bookmarking this page as it will be updated if and when we learn about Spellcrafting being confirmed as a new ESO Feature!!
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