Necrom is the seventh chapter expansion to the long-running Elder Scrolls Online game which came out in 2014, and it’s the next big installment to the world with a campaign that has 30+ hours of content, introducing new threats, zones, and a brand new class, the Arcanist, the first since the 2019 release of the Elswyer chapter that brought players the Necromancer class.

The new locations are the Telvanni Peninsula, the homeland of powerful mages and collectors of power lore that they keep to themselves. Broken up into three unique biomes, it’ll keep players experiencing new zones instead of it all being one set theme throughout. The hub city for Telvanni Peninsula is Necrom, a city that holds much lore in its walls, also known as the City of the Dead, for it is the resting place of all the noble family members across Morrowind.

Players can start the new chapter by fast traveling to Telvanni Peninsula where they will be greeted by an NPC that will have a quest called “Eye of Fate,” and this will start the players on the storyline for the Necrom arc. You will find scattered side missions across the peninsula that are worth grabbing, especially if you started a fresh character to play as the Arcanist class, as there are some easy levels to gain and you can unlock some fun skills to play around with in the early section of the content.

Sadly, the content in Telvanni Peninsula did feel light. It offered a nice visual area to explore, but when tracking the main quests, it felt like it was rushing toward the next major section of the chapter. I would’ve liked a bit more time before jumping into Apocrypha.

The next major zone is Apocrypha, which takes on a cosmic horror theme and reuses a familiar biome from the Dragonborn DLC for Skyrim; a very green and black atmosphere, and the homeland of a Daedric Prince Hermaeus Mora, the Patron of Forbidden Knowledge, and Master of Fate. The Apocrypha features a lot of books being used in the base structures; a fitting home for a God that holds the knowledge of many lifetimes, and as you adventure further into Apocrypha, you will get a look into the mind of Hormaeus Mora.

The new class that has been introduced is the Arcanist, their powers granted by Hermaeus Mora. Following the cosmic horror theme, you can attack at mid range with tentacles exploding from your hand, and a wide range of new spells and powers to shift the tide of combat. The Arcanist can be played across the three specs with a tanking class, a damage class, and healing, and a new feature that adds a fresh of breath air when playing as a healer is that instead of just hitting the heal button while targeting an ally, the Arcanist has a beam attack that deals damage to targets but also heals friendly targets that are caught in the beam’s path.

I have been finding this skill very useful as it melts down the target’s health quickly, to the point where I have swapped from being a melee-based fighter to ranged, using a few cheeky arrows to grab aggro and then throwing out the beam, ending an enemy before they even get in arms reach. It is the first time I have played as a class that has some fun aspects for a healing option while still being a deadly threat when going solo.

Two new companions are introduced in Necrom, the first being Azandar, a male Redguard Arcanist who seeks aid in fixing what he caused thanks to an experiment gone wrong. Although he has great knowledge, he has a slight case of madness thanks to his actions and the results. Sharp-As-Night is the second companion, a male Argonian Mercenary with no memory of his past. He just woke up one day, and thanks to muscle memory, knew he was able to fight and defend himself. He takes on odd jobs in hopes of one day being able to regain what memories he lost.

The main antagonists for Necrom are Master Shelreni, a female Dunmer, while she’s a Master within Tevlanni, she wants to gain all the power of the land for herself. Then we have a very interesting addition. A Daedra going by the name Torvesard. Much about him is kept as a mystery; mainly who he answers to and where he gained his powers from. Torvesard was the Daedra that was shown in the announcement trailers for Necrom, and he seems to have a major plot role in the story, but he won’t be the only big bad that you will come across – more antagonists are lurking in the shadows.

The last addition worth mentioning is the new 12-player Trial added to Sanity’s Edge. It’s being compared to Dreadsail Reef in terms of size and scope, and players will enter the mind of a powerful mage as they struggle with a war on their sanity. The Trial will be broken up into three sections, and you will need to help regain control of the mind to finish the Trial.

Necrom is a great new addition to the large world of Elder Scrolls Online. It expands the overall lore that players can gather and brings in new faces to befriend and work alongside, and the new class is fantastic to play and has me hooked, leaving me wanting to main as an Arcanist.

Elder Scrolls Online has always been a great experience to return to, and while I do play many other MMO games, there is nothing on the scale that Bethesda offers here. You’re no level locked out of content and you can play whatever you want is a freeing experience. If Necrom is your first time playing, or even if you are a returning player, you don’t need to be a certain level to start the content. You can access it all from level 1 as the game scales to your level.

Written by: Shane Walsh