ZeniMax Online Studios has promised big changes for The Elder Scrolls Online, a sweeping overhaul that will in particular affect the class structure and design philosophy in the game. As confirmed in a blog post, it's mentioned that the long-term goals of this update will be to make "every class viable in any role" and that this will mean introducing modernised abilities, all sculpted with player and community feedback.
The reason why this change is coming about is down to the fact that "subclassing" is currently far stronger in-game than simply following the core class philosophy, a meta that has caused "vast differences in individual skill line designs." ZeniMax notes that "ESO was not built from launch with subclassing in mind, and the system highlighted issues with the current class skill line design that were not previously a factor but are untenable going forward."
As for how the game will be adjusted to address this problem, class identities are being re-examined with the long-term proposals that each class will eventually be "fun and rewarding" and "thematically unique and engaging to play," while simultaneously being better balanced, more "varied and distinct," and all built from player feedback and data.
Looking at what we should expect from these changes, ZeniMax has shared the graphic below.
We should expect each class to be methodically updated, with the first being Dragonknight and then being followed, in this order, by Warden, Sorcerer, Templar, Nightblade, Necromancer, and Arcanist. For more on this plan, an update stream is being hosted on December 4 at 19:30 GMT/20:30 CET.