When I was a kid, I used to get sleep paralysis about giant flying books flapping at me. They wouldn’t stop unless I was under the covers and holding my breath. For some reason, that was terrifying–big books flipping through their pages with the threat of maybe sending a light breeze my way. Regardless, there’s something uncomfortable now about seeing big books flying in the air. So, when I got to try out The Elder Scrolls Online’s newer dungeons, I quietly kept that to myself as we destroyed a whole bunch of them, while the devs later asked if I was okay with spiders. You know, the slightly more normal fear.
The Elder Scrolls Online is ushering in its Shadow Over Morrowind storyline this year with two new dungeons, Scrivener’s Hall and Bal Sunnar, both centred around Apocrypha, Hermaeus Mora, and the Dunmer people—hence the books. I got a chance to run through both of these dungeons, and like the last few additions to ESO, they’re upping the ante. These two in particular are designed with tanks in mind, with bosses that usher in other enemies or disgustingly powerful AoE attacks that, if aggro slips even a little, could jeopardise your whole party. Luckily, I was running a DPS build, but I can’t wait to go back and put my tank to use to really test its mettle.
Scrivener’s Hall has three bosses, Ritemaster Naqri, Ozezan the Inferno, and Valinna. Naqri is the one summoning the giant books, which is perfect given we fight them in a gigantic library in the middle of a rickety makeshift cavern base. This is where Scribes of Fate immediately stands out, as, like many of the more recent dungeons added to ESO, there’s a lot more going on than simply trying to survive as you whittle down the boss' health. They throw out themed books that you have to destroy, otherwise ghosts will be summoned and AoEs will spawn, keeping you focused on your surroundings. All the while, the tank has to keep the boss away so the DPS can circle around and clear out any pressing threats. It’s an intricate dance that sees each role utilised to its full potential.
Valinna, the final boss, is the most interesting new addition. They are found alongside a spider called Lamikhai, who serves as the ‘main’ boss until they’re finally defeated. At the end of each phase, they’ll scurry out of the room as it fills with lava. Think Indiana Jones running from the boulder, only he’s chasing down a giant eight-legged freak as the corridor is flooded with burning hot slag. If you get caught, you’re instantly killed. There’s a window to revive yourself before the next phase of the boss begins, which keeps things from becoming too unfair.
If you make it, the second room doesn’t offer much respite since you’ll now be fighting smaller ensnaring spiders as well. They can put you into a cocoon that is then dragged toward them to be eaten, killing you instantly—that’s where your teammates come in, pushing you to work together rather than splintering off and doing your own thing, adding a sense of synergy that’s often lacking in dungeons. There’s a lot going on, and the arena is constantly changing until you’re surrounded by foreboding mist-covered bridges stretching out into an endless expanse, leaving you to fend off Valinna on the edge of a neverending drop. It’s far less mundane than the usual dungeon boss, as it mixes chase sequences and huge, stunning set pieces, keeping things interesting between phases.
The spiders aren’t just there because they’re terrifying, too-many-legged monsters perfect for any boss. They’re here because we’re fighting in Mephala’s Realm, our first proper venture into the Webspinner’s Spiral Skein, giving the ESO team complete freedom in finally envisioning a world we’ve heard so much about but seen so little of. It’s beautiful, akin to Morrowind with its giant alien mushroom fauna, but also oppressive with jutting crystals that rip out of mountains where deep black gothic fortresses are carved into the walls. The architecture has a cobwebbed texture, from the gateways to the bridges, with smaller spiders dangling from the latter. It’s an uninviting place, but at the same time, it’s strangely alluring.
Then we have Bal Sunnar, which has three total bosses: Kovan Giryon, Roksa the Warped, and Matriarch Lladi Telvanni. Kovan is an interesting fight, as they can teleport around the room while summoning giant rectangular beams of death. Roksa is a Nix-Ox who will tether orbs to you–if these aren’t destroyed or interrupted, you die. And after fighting for a while, the room will sink into a darkness that can choke the life out of you. Once conquered, they fire off a laser at the tank, which is unblockable, meaning that the healer and tank have to work in tandem to survive the onslaught. Finally, we have Lladi, who will vomit on you and fill the room with a poison AoE—it’s not a great first impression.
Each boss has an interesting hook, whether it’s sucking you into the centre for immediate death, scattering magical tombs around that you must destroy, or plunging everything into darkness, forcing you to find safety in the light. There’s not one fight that feels dull or uninteresting, and the new mechanics and focus on AoE push you to intimately learn each boss’ patterns and signals, rather than leaving you to spam a bar of abilities until they drop dead. It’s a sign of how far ESO has come, as its dungeons are becoming more and more complex, while still retaining the MMO’s signature approachability. AoEs have warmups marked by giant circles, giving you ample time to get out of the way, while new attacks like the floating books are colour coded, so you know that the white book will summon the white ghosts.
For veterans, it’s a fresh experience that doesn’t feel like the last lot of dungeons, giving tanks far more to do, in turn giving healers more to work with. You can’t just focus on your own thing, expecting to be kept alive while you spam damage, and for tanks, you can’t just sponge every hit—you have to be conscious of where you’re leaving AoEs and the boss’ position, as each attack shapes the arena and can drag everyone down with you. but for new players, more specifically those playing DPS, it’s an interesting experience filled with secrets and fair challenges.