Patch Notes: Arcane Specialisations
A mage is the schools they master
- Master two schools of magic and you can choose a specialisation: fifteen of them, one for every pair of schools. The choice is permanent, like a mastery.
- Each specialisation has its own passive and a signature spell. The Mages Guild sells that spell only to its own specialists, and it does something extra when they cast it.
- You are asked once, the first time two of your schools are mastered. If more than one specialisation is open to you, you are told which, and you choose on your skill screen. After that, choose any time from your skill screen: the Specialisation card on the Master Skills page (enhanced), or the S row on the skill pages (classic).
| Specialisation | Schools | Passive | Signature spell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Battlemage | Alteration + Destruction | Spellsteel: +15% spell damage while your Shield holds | Aegis Bolt: shields you for twice what it hits |
| Trickster | Alteration + Illusion | Slip Away: turn invisible when badly hurt | Fleeting Hold: paralyses, and you fade from sight |
| Riftwalker | Alteration + Mysticism | Between Moments: cast 20% faster | Rift Lance: a third of its damage tears through foes nearby |
| Warden | Alteration + Restoration | Steadfast: regenerate while your Shield holds | Living Aegis: shield and heal; blows land 20% lighter for 30 s |
| Wardwright | Alteration + Thaumaturgy | Attuned Wards: Alteration and Thaumaturgy spells cost 20% less | Prismatic Ward: resist fire, frost and shock; absorb Destruction spells |
| Shadowcaster | Destruction + Illusion | Unseen Strike: +25% spell damage while concealed | Shadow Bolt: wraps you in shadow when it lands |
| Spellbreaker | Destruction + Mysticism | Sunder: your damage spells pierce saving throws | Unravel: damage and silence; a third of its cost back |
| Bloodmage | Destruction + Restoration | Sanguine Tide: more spell damage the more you are hurt | Blood Boil: a foe left under 30% boils again |
| Elementalist | Destruction + Thaumaturgy | Conflux: each cast that lands builds up to +15% damage | Chain Lightning: arcs to two more foes |
| Seer | Illusion + Mysticism | Foresight: one foe blow in eight misses you | Psychic Lance: lays the foe open to your spells |
| Lightbringer | Illusion + Restoration | Dawn's Ward: +20% spell damage against undead and daedra | Dawnbolt: heals you; undead and daedra burn again |
| Enchanter | Illusion + Thaumaturgy | Glamour: +10 Personality, +15 Etiquette and Streetwise | Beguile: calms a foe and refunds its cost |
| Necromancer | Mysticism + Restoration | Death's Due: each kill restores health and magicka | Siphon Life: half its damage heals you |
| Soulbinder | Mysticism + Thaumaturgy | Soul Well: each kill restores magicka, more if you soul-trapped it | Soul Lance: soul trap and damage; magicka back |
| Hierophant | Restoration + Thaumaturgy | Absolution: a big heal when you are badly hurt | Sanctify: heals, cures poison and disease, wards against spells |
- A signature spell is priced and trained by your specialisation's two schools, so a Necromancer's Siphon Life costs what their Restoration says, not their Destruction. That stays true while you mentor a lower party.
- Chain Lightning and Rift Lance never arc onto your allies, onto foes you have calmed, or through walls.
- Signature spells show their names in your language.
- Specialisations work wherever Master Skills is on. They do nothing in duels and other refereed fights, and nothing against other players.
Every school pays past 100
- Online, every mastered school past 100 now strengthens its own spells, not just their price. The bonus is 1% per effective point, up to +40% at 200, the same rule as Destruction's damage.
- Restoration: your heals heal more.
- Alteration: your Shield holds more.
- Illusion: your invisibility, chameleon and shadow last longer.
- Thaumaturgy: your Spell Reflection and Spell Resistance hold more often.
- Mysticism: your Silence, Dispel and Soul Trap take hold more often.
What's Changed
Full Changelog: app-v0.1.8512...app-v0.1.8519