Update 12 – One Tamriel, Dueling, Item Changes And Weapon Ultimates

Update 12 (Patch 2.6.0) is the next major update to Elder Scrolls Online and has just been released to the Public Test Server. Update 12 is expected to go live in October 2016.

The entirety of Update 12 is free and does not contain any new DLC content. This update aims to address some quality of life issues and add some commonly requested features to the game like player dueling and Weapon Ultimates. The system which scales players to every zone, called One Tamriel, is also arriving with Update 12, meaning this update is a major change to the core game mechanics of ESO.

One Tamriel

One Tamriel is a system which is going to allow players from all Alliances and Levels play together in all of Tamriel. It will also make all characters scale to all zones – basically making every zone work in the same way as Orsinium, Hew’s Bane and the Gold Coast.

More Info on One Tamriel

Why It Might Be The Right Move

Dueling

A system where players can duel each other has been requested since ESO was first launched. This system is coming with Update 12!

You will be able to request to duel other players, using the same tool you use to request a trade with another player. You can also type /duel <player name> to request a duel.

• Duels may be initiated in any non-PVP overland zone against a player of any Alliance, including your own.
• Duels can only be done between 2 player characters, and only a certain amount of duels can occur within a given area at a time.
• If you don’t want to fight other player characters or receive dueling invitations, the Social panel in your options menu allows the auto-declining of duels.

After the challenged player accepts the duel invitation, a countdown to begin will appear in the center of both player’s screens. All outside influences such as healing and buffs from other player characters will be blocked when a duel begins, and will last for the duration of the duel. If you attack a monster this will NOT break or end a duel.

The Battle Spirit effect (level scaling) will still be applied during duels.

A duel will have a radius you must stay inside, and will be centered around a Dueling Flag. You will be notified if you are nearing the “out of bounds” area of the duel as leaving the duel area results in a forfeit. A duel is completed when one player character is knocked down to 0 Health. You will be offered a free resurrection if defeated, or can be resurrected by other player characters.

Item Changes

Some major itemization changes are bundled with Update 12, including a lot of changes to item sets.

In general, each zone and dungeon in the game will now drop 3 sets – one for light, medium, and heavy armor – and all set drops in the game will scale up to CP160. Most item sets will now drop a piece for each slot and sets that grant a bonus to melee damage will no longer drop staffs or bows. All set drops have a chance to be green, blue, or purple quality. The chance of receiving blue and purple quality items increases as you gain more levels. All set drops from the overland are now bind-on-equip and all set drops from Dungeons and Trials are bind-on-pickup.

Visit Item Sets for more information on every set in ESO as of Update 12 on the PTS.

Dungeon Drops

• Dungeon bosses and Dungeon mini-bosses will now drop a set piece 100% of the time.
• Dungeon bosses will drop either a chest, shoulder, head or leg set piece.
• Dungeon mini bosses will drop either a hand, waist, or feet set piece.
• The final boss of a dungeon will drop weapons or jewelry.
• Normal Mode bosses will drop blue quality items.
• Veteran Mode bosses will drop purple quality items.
• Agility, Willpower, and Endurance sets no longer drop from dungeon bosses. They are now rewarded upon completing a random dungeon using the Grouping Tool. These sets can still be found in the Cache chests in Imperial City.

Delves, World Bosses, Public Dungeons

• The chance for Delve bosses to drop a waist or feet set piece from the zone they are located in has been dramatically increased and each boss also has a small chance to drop a unique set piece.
• World Bosses have a 100% chance to drop head, chest, legs, or weapon set piece from the zone they are located in.
• Public Dungeon bosses have a much higher chance to drop a shoulder, hand, or weapon set piece from the zone they are located in.

Trials

• Mobs and bosses in Normal Mode will drop blue quality gear.
• Mobs and bosses in Veteran Mode will drop purple quality gear.
• The last boss on Veteran Hard Mode will drop gold quality jewelry.
• Hard Modes all contain an item worth 10,000 gold which can only be acquired once every 5 days.

Treasure Chests

• Treasure Chests gained from defeating a Dark Anchor have a 100% chance to drop a ring or amulet set piece form the zone they are located in.
• The above is also true of Unstable Anomalies found in Craglorn.
• Regular treasure chests found in the world have a chance to grant any set piece that can drop in that zone.
• Simple chests have a slight chance, Intermediate chests have a good chance and Advanced and Master Chests have a 100% chance of dropping an item set piece.
• If you have the Treasure Hunter Champion Passive, all of the above chances and quality of an item will be improved.
• Treasure Map Chests have a guaranteed chance to drop one random set piece that can drop in that zone.
• The spawn rate of higher difficulty chests have has been increased, but easier chests will continue to be more common.
• The loot from the CE Treasure Chest maps now scale to your level up to CP160.

Weapon Ultimates

Weapon Ultimates have been added to ESO and each Weapon Skill Line now has one Ultimate, and each Ultimate can be obtained by reaching Rank 50 in its respective skill line. Weapon Ultimates can be morphed as well!

2H- Berserker Strike

Target: Single Target
Range: 5 Meters
Cost: 150 Ultimate
Strike an enemy with a vicious blow dealing (x) Physical Damage. This attack ignores the targets mitigation and grants you Physical and Spell Resistance equal to the amount ignored for 8 seconds.

1 Hand & Shield – Shield Wall

Target: Self
Duration: 5 Seconds
Cost: 100 Ultimate
Reinforce your shield, allowing you to block all attacks at no cost for 5 seconds.

Dual Wield – Lacerate Area

Target: Area
Range: 7×8 Meters
Duation: 8 Seconds
Cost: 150 Ultimate
Slash all enemies in front of you, dealing (x) Physical Damage over 8 seconds and healing you for 50% of the damage done.

Bow – Rapid Fire

Target: Single Target
Range: 28 Meters
Duration: 4.1 Seconds Channel
Cost: 175 Ultimate
Unleash a barrage of arrows at an enemy dealing (x) Physical Damage over 4.1 seconds. You can move at full speed while casting.

Destruction Staff – Elemental Storm

Target: Area
Range: 28 Meters
Radius: 10 Meters
Duration: 10 Seconds
Cost: 250 Ultimate
Create a cataclysmic storm at the target location that builds for 2 seconds then lays waste to all enemies in the area, dealing (x) Magic Damage every 1 second for 10 seconds.

Restoration Staff – Panacea

Target: Single Target
Duration: 5 Seconds
Cost: 125 Ultimate
Release the rejuvenating energies of your staff to swirl around you or an ally for (x) Health every 1 second for 5 seconds.

Game Improvements

There are lots of small improvements to ESO bundled in with Update 12.

• Craglorn has been re-designed so not all content will require a group to play.
• All Dungeons now have both a Normal and Veteran modes.
• There are now three pledge givers for Undaunted Dungeon quests, with each offering a unique Pledge each day. They also have a corresponding chest which, when an Undaunted Key is used, will offer a Shoulder set piece from one of the Dungeon Pledges they offer. Also, there is no longer a Bronze, Silver and Gold key system, instead there is just one type of key called the Undaunted Key.
• Dark Anchors have been improved with new mobs, the chance to spawn any General in any zone, the chance to spawn all types of daedra dealing damage where they land and improved visuals.
• All World Bosses throughout Tamriel have been rebalanced to target groups of four instead of two.
• Recipes in Cyrodiil, the Imperial City, and Dungeons now drop based on your rank in the Recipe Improvement passive.
• In other zones, recipes drop based on your passive rank 75% of the time, and the rest of the time drop the same way they dropped prior to One Tamriel, by zone.
• Legerdemain now influences the quality of loot obtained from Justice activities.

Source Patch Notes