Mix Things Up as Hybridization Comes to Alchemy, Mundus Stones, and More

No need to be limited by your resources as ESO’s hybridization initiative takes new steps in the upcoming Update 51 and Season One.

A while back, ESO began a move toward a hybrid model for characters’ primary resources and stats, such as Magicka, Stamina, Armor, Offensive Penetration, and more. The hybridization changes allowed abilities to scale based on their highest offensive stats rather than a specific set of resources increasing overall player flexibility of choice. We also began to provide more sources for these stats together, rather than as individual bonuses, with gear and other build elements providing both Magicka and Stamina or Weapon Damage and Spell Damage together. However, we could not immediately implement all aspects of this change at the time.

Soon, we will progress farther down that road when Season One’s mid-season Update 51 patch launches (currently scheduled for August 31). What does all this mean? We’re removing or replacing duplicated effects in several areas, and overhauling systems to provide new or streamlined sources for these effects. This streamlining should lower the barrier toward creating effective builds, as well as provide some small performance improvements in combat.

This includes work on Mundus Stones, the buff system, and passive skills for the four original classes—Dragonknight, Nightblade, Sorcerer, and Templar. In addition, we’re making significant overhauls to Alchemy to cover these effect changes, including four additional new reagents to gather!

Making the Mundus Go Round

When Weapon Damage and Spell Damage had separate functions in the game, it made sense for there to be a Mundus Stone for each. The Apprentice and Warrior stones provide Spell and Weapon Damage respectively because of this historical context, but their purposes have overlapped since the initial hybridization changes.

In Update 51, the Warrior Mundus Stone increases both forms of damage, while the Apprentice provides a new bonus of increased Experience and Inspiration gain, making it easy to level up, train crafting skills, and earn Champion Points while you bear that boon.

A Major (and Minor) Consolidation

In a similar example of redundancy, it is currently possible to buff or debuff Weapon and Spell Damage or Critical separately through the buff system, which occasionally has unexpected effects.

For example, Major Sorcery’s increase to Spell Damage doesn’t stack with Minor Bruality’s increase to Weapon Damage, as you only use the higher value between the two. Where there are currently several pairs of weapon- and spell-based effects, these are adjusted in Update 51 to avoid redundancy as follows:

• Brutality (Major and Minor): Brutality provides both Weapon and Spell Damage, while Sorcery (both Major and Minor) have been removed.
• Savagery (Major and Minor): Savagery provides both Weapon and Spell Critical chance, while Prophecy (both Major and Minor) have been removed.

Boost your magic and your might

Additionally, a new debuff initially available from Alchemy has been added, called Vexation. This effect reduces the target’s healing done, as a counterpart to the Mending buff.

Alchemy Changes Brewing

Speaking of Alchemy, fixing up crafted potions and poisons was the largest and most complex set of changes involved in the remaining hybridization effort. As this trade skill revolves around matching multiple ingredients with like traits to create effects, simply consolidating the traits could result in potions having unintended effects. Any alterations have significant implications for Alchemy as a whole and need to be done carefully.

Brew up something different

To make Alchemy a system that fully benefits from hybridization, we combined the effects of the Increase Spell Power and Increase Weapon Power reagent traits, as well as those of Increase Spell Critical and Increase Weapon Critical. These have now been consolidated to two traits down from four to match the changes in the Major/Minor system they correspond to.

New Effects and Reagents

We’ve also added new traits to replace holes created with the consolidation of existing buffs. We’ve even taken the opportunity to create a few additional ones that provide new benefits not previously available in Alchemy. These new options include traits to increase or reduce healing done through Vexation and Mending effects, grant damage shields, inflict heal absorption, and increase critical damage done with Force buffs. The changes also include removing the Lower Weapon Power trait from existing ingredients, which was used to inflict Maim on enemies. This effect is commonly available elsewhere in the game, and very few players used it when crafting.

Harvest new ingredients

To support these changes, not only have some traits on existing reagents been changed, but we’ve also added four new Alchemy ingredients found throughout Tamriel. You can use these new reagents in combination with existing options to create new potions useful for all roles.

Familiar Efficiency

We’ve put in work to make sure the changes to Alchemy provide minimal disruption to your familiar recipes and strategies. Most existing potion recipes remain unchanged after Update 51, with a minimum of swapping from the previous ingredients to achieve results equivalent to those you got before. Daily crafting writ recipes should be wholly unaffected, while Master Writs that are impacted are being updated at the same time as the Alchemy changes to ensure seamless usability. Furthermore, any previously earned achievements remain unlocked, although the new effects of ingredients have to be discovered again for those who have yet to complete the relevant achievements.

There have even been some important upgrades to potion naming and visual representation that will allow you to more easily recognize a specific potion formulation. As potions are complex items systemically, the game labels them according to a listing of what is considered the highest priority effect provided by the ingredients.

Due to the consolidation and introduction of new traits, we have changed the priority of many traits to improve visual communication and differentiate potions further. For example, if a potion provides the Heroism buff, it is classified as an Essence of Heroism over Essence of Magicka. This makes it easier to identify potions with more unique and valuable effects over basic resource restoration potions.

Pass the Passives

Every class in ESO can be built to provide a buff not easily available as a wider group benefit through any of the other classes’ skill lines, such as Wardens’ ability to grant Minor Toughness to those they heal, found in the Green Balance skill line. However, the four original classes only technically fit that model after previous hybridization work, rather than meeting it in spirit.

These classes currently focus on the overlapping effects covered above: Minor Brutality and Minor Sorcery for Dragonknight and Templar, and Minor Savagery and Minor Prophecy for Nightblade and Sorcerer. This means groups seeking to maximize the effect of their buffs don’t get as much from including a Dragonknight and a Templar together, or both a Nightblade and Sorcerer.

Teamwork between classes can provide an edge

Part of this problem is being addressed in Update 51 by the effect consolidation described above. The update also includes a second set of changes specific to these classes: the creation of two unique buffs to replace those removed.

Dragonknights and Nightblades maintain access to Minor Brutality and Minor Savagery, which now provide the combined effects mentioned earlier. For Sorcerers, instead of gaining a source of Minor Prophecy from their Dark Magic skill line, they now gain the ability to apply a unique Offensive Penetration buff to their group. Templars likewise gain a unique buff to replace Minor Sorcery, boosting their groups’ Armor.

Every Resource Available

Once Update 51 arrives (currently scheduled for August 31) during Season One, you can support your builds with all-new flexibility. New buff effects, potion recipes, and more flow together in a package that truly lets you play your way. Are you ready to get to the Alchemy station or to change up your build? Let us know via Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.

Hybridization arrives as part of Season One with the mid-Season Update 51 patch.