Some of the most entertaining content The Elder Scrolls Online brings every year is the introduction of new zones to explore. Sometimes these new zones are revisiting locations seen in more recent additions to the mainline series, such as the Greymoor expansion. Other times, they visit locations fans have never had the chance to explore in mainline games, and last year's High Isle expansion was an example of that.
This year, at the Xbox Developer Direct, The Elder Scrolls Online made an appearance, announcing the newest zone coming this summer. It was revealed to be Telvanni Isle in Morrowing, which will be fraught with towering mushrooms, snotty but powerful Telvanni mages, and another world-ending scenario story. One particularly interesting aspect of this expansion is the reveal that players will be able to return to a city not seen in nearly three decades: Necrom.
Revisiting The Dunmer City of Necrom
During the Xbox Developer Direct, players would get their first glimpse of the city from both afar and up close. The city originally appeared in the very first entry of the series, The Elder Scrolls: Arena. At the time, the city's lore had not been very fleshed out, so it looks very unlike the version players will be presented in The Elder Scrolls Online. Due to the fact that The Elder Scrolls: Arena came out in 1994 and included every single province in Tamriel, not enough detail was given to each location to make them feel unique. It was also originally meant to be an arena-based fighting game, a very different focus from the now open-world RPG. The Necrom expansion will provide its own unique look at what the city is now intended to be.
One of the most appealing aspects of the city of Necrom is the fact that its history is foggy at best. This is due to the "36 Lessons of Vivec," a strange series of in-game books written by the warrior poet and god-king, Vivec. Each book details a series of events that should always be taken with a grain of salt, as Vivec is known to lie as often as he will tell the truth. In the 34th sermon, Vivec claims that the bones of a beast he slayed named GULGA MOR JIL became the foundation of the city of Necrom. The towering pillars of rock seen around Necrom in the cinematic trailer for Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom are suggested to be its ribs. However, there are also claims that the city existed long before Vivec became a god, making his story less believable. The history of the city is shrouded in mystery, making it feel all the more exciting to explore.
Another thing to look forward to is the return of Elder Scrolls' infamous House Telvanni. House Telvanni is home to the most uptight but talented mages found in Tamriel. Despite constantly barraging the player with insults and arrogance in The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, many fans took a liking to the group. They will likely have a large presence in Necrom, considering the city is surrounded by Telvanni, though not controlled by it. Regardless, they will play an important role in the stories to come, probably equipped with potent spells and even more potent insults.
It will be interesting to see how ZeniMax Online Studios will choose to interpret the lore surrounding the city in the Necrom expansion. While there has been pre-established lore, The Elder Scrolls Online is famous for expanding on and fleshing out lore previously only mentioned in books. Perhaps players will finally learn the true origins of the city, or maybe players will get to see an infusion of the province of Morrowind and Lovecraftian horror themes.
However ZeniMax Online Studios chooses the approach Necrom, the chapter will likely bring tons of new lore for fans to pick from and various stories to enjoy. As such, The Elder Scrolls Online: Necrom will likely become another important moment in Elder Scrolls history due to its narrative relevance compared to Arena.
The Elder Scrolls Online is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.