Here’s what’s changing in Elder Scrolls Online’s combat meta with update 17

Coming with next week’s Dragon Bones DLC launch in The Elder Scrolls Online as part of the freebie update 17 patch is an update to the tactical angle of combat in the game. For starters, ability synergies are going to be a lot more obvious, all in an effort to encourage teamwork during combat. Some have been buffed or fixed, while all now have “clear visual indicators” for these tools and for their cooldowns.

There’s more. Area-of-effect damage caps are gone, giving big groups more incentive to let loose (and spread out!); blocking should be easier with a reduced stamina cost and buff to block cost enchantments; and PvP movement speed penalties have been reduced to “better support the quick pace of battle.” And finally, heavy attacks no longer dispel boss off balance debuffs, meaning players have more than half a second to plan their next move when they see it pop up.

The update launches on February 12th for PC gamers.