Artifact Weapons Arrive in The Elder Scrolls: Online Update 22
Update 22 has now arrived in The Elder Scrolls: Online, and with it comes a powerful new asset for players fighting in the Alliance War; Artifact Weapons. This new addition causes the mighty artifact hammer Volendrung to appear in Cyrodiil. Anybody who claims the hammer gains massive bonuses and personal power, but there are downsides to seizing Volendrung as well.
How Artifact Weapons Work in the Latest Elder Scrolls: Online Update
According to Brian Wheeler, ESO’s Combat Lead, the addition of Artifact Weapons is meant to shake up the Alliance War; “Chaos!” he says; “We wanted to add chaos beyond what is already available in Cyrodiil. At this point in the game, a lot of the Alliance War’s play patterns are fairly well ingrained. There isn’t really a mobile element that exists beyond capturing Elder Scrolls, and so we wanted another way to get more people moving around.”
Now that Update 22 is live, Volendrung will appear in random locations between four and five times each day. It can spawn anywhere in Cyrodiil, and will alert players when it appears, though players will have to find it for themselves. If you pick up Volendrung, the Hammer of Might will grant you some hugely powerful abilities. “It’s OP,” explains Wheeler; “This’ll kill an Emperor. If you’re not paying attention and come across somebody with Volendrung, you’re going to die. Of course, while it’s lethal to players, it’s true purpose is to be a destroyer of keeps. It’s going to have a major impact on the state of your campaign in how quickly and effortlessly it rips down walls.”
However, this power isn’t without a cost. You must keep feeding Volendrung with Alliance Points by killing opponents, destroying fortifications, and capturing areas. If you don’t keep it fed, its meter will empty and you will immediately die, dropping Volendrung wherever you are. Indeed, this can be especially risky if you drop it in enemy territory; if you drop the hammer within 30 minutes of picking it up, anybody else can claim it!