The Elder Scrolls Online Deluxe Upgrade: Necrom (DLC)

Necrom is the seventh major chapter for The Elder Scrolls Online, and it arrives with a clearer creative identity than some of its recent predecessors. The setting does a lot of heavy lifting: the Telvanni Peninsula delivers that familiar Morrowind atmosphere of giant mushrooms, obsidian cliffs, and Dark Elf architecture that somehow manages to feel both alien and lived-in. Then Apocrypha opens up and the whole tone shifts. Hermaeus Mora's realm of forbidden knowledge is genuinely unsettling, a place of infinite libraries, tentacled horrors called Seekers, and pathways that loop back on themselves like an Escher woodcut. If you have any fondness for cosmic horror or the weirder corners of Elder Scrolls lore, Apocrypha alone justifies the admission. The main storyline involves a threat to Hermaeus Mora's own realm: someone is attempting to steal a memory so fundamental that its loss could unravel reality itself. It is the most mythologically ambitious story ESO has attempted in years, and the voice performances, especially for Hermaeus Mora, carry it well. The main quest runs shorter than some previous chapters, and a determined player can clear it in a day or two of focused play. Side quests are a mixed bag: a handful are genuinely memorable, but the genre staples of fetch tasks and kill objectives show up regularly enough to feel like padding. The Necrom Necropolis itself is underused, which stings given how atmospheric the setup is. The real news is the Arcanist, ESO's seventh playable class and the first addition since the Necromancer arrived in 2019. The Arcanist draws power from Apocrypha itself, throwing Runeblades as Oblivion-charged projectiles, deploying the Apocryphal Gate to teleport allies across the battlefield, raising a Gibbering Shield that writhes with tentacles for tank builds, and channeling Fatecarver, a sustained beam that punishes enemies who stand still. The defining mechanic is Crux: a combo-point system where certain abilities generate up to three glowing rune stacks, which you then spend on other abilities for amplified damage, healing, or shields. The system is optional at lower difficulty, but mastering the generate-and-spend rotation is where the class genuinely rewards attention. Build variety covers DPS through the Herald of the Tome skill line, healing through Curative Runeforms, and tanking through Apocryphal Soldier, and the class holds up in all three roles. Worth noting: wanting to play Arcanist on an existing character means rolling a fresh one, since ESO does not allow class changes. The Deluxe Upgrade specifically bundles in the chapter alongside a set of cosmetic rewards that lean hard into the Apocrypha theme: the Hermitage Servitor mount (multi-eyed, Daedric, decidedly not a normal horse), the Cipher's Eye Pocket Watcher pet, the Dark Lady's Headrest memento, the Knowledge Eater Armor outfit style, and a trio of scholar-themed idle poses. None of it affects gameplay, but the mount in particular is one of the better thematic fits any ESO chapter has offered. Two new companions join the roster: Azandar al-Cybiades, an eccentric Redguard Arcanist with an ego to match his forbidden knowledge, and Sharp-as-Night, an Argonian Warden whose questline digs into his past. The 12-player Sanity's Edge trial rounds out the endgame offering. Necrom does not overhaul ESO's fundamentals or introduce any groundbreaking new systems beyond the Arcanist's Crux mechanic, but it executes the familiar chapter formula with enough craft and atmosphere that returning veterans and curious newcomers both have a solid 30-plus hours waiting for them.

Monika · Scout Team

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