Talebound PvE action RPG mode coming with Midnight's Echoes of the Worldcore update

Quillgrave: Your Haven from Horrors

Blizzard announces Talebound, a new PvE action RPG game mode for Midnight, coming with the Echoes of the Worldcore content update. Red Hollow draws in unwitting travelers, and the tales of a mysterious Storyteller whose favorite stories lean toward the macabre. Playable alone or with friends, Talebound offers themed levels filled with enemies, bosses, puzzles, treasure, relics, and rewards.

Between adventures, players return to Quillgrave, a cozy, lantern-lit village offering rest and hot cocoa. The village and the Storyteller do not appreciate an unfinished story, so players must strategize for the horrors ahead before heading back into tales that test new skills and abilities.

Talebound launches with four stories, each with its own settings, enemies, and boss encounters, including witches, giants, marshals, bishops, deep-sea horrors, and nightmare royalty. Collections of the stories are also available in town for players who wish to hear them again.

• Darkhaven: home to Konrad von Sonnesheim, The Lord Marshal, and Alexandre Dozsenc, The Blood Bishop.
• Greenthistle Wood: houses Granny Greenthumb, Witch of the Woods, Ylska Vilefang, Witch of the Wilds, and Mobog, The Giant of Greenthistle.
• Greywake's Expedition: the tale of the many who have fallen to Zzyg'th, The Hadal Tyrant, and Chathoa, The Herald from Beyond.
• Grove of the Night Court: a chronicle of Tilywth, The Fairy Queen, and Maernok, The Nightmare King.

A Look at the Talebound Classes

Movement and defense are central across all classes. Every class can double jump, dodge, and guard, making positioning a key part of combat.

• Slayer: a martial monster hunter wielding a sword and a gun. Abilities include Slash, Explosive Shot, Minefield, Shrapnel Round, Throwing Knives, and Silver Bolt. Lesser enemies flinch when attacked, supporting dynamic combat.
• Inquisitor: a zealot whose holy power burns through illusion. Abilities include Purify, Condemn, Denounce, Light's Wrath, Rapture, and Radiant Burst, several of which can be cast while moving.
• Witch: a spell-driven class using lightning, poison, spiders, moonlight, thorns, and ravens. Abilities include Brewing Storm, Bubbling Cauldron, Feline Communion, Winter Spiders, Moonlight Ravens, and Thorns.

A Market to Make Survivability Possible

After each run of a tale, players return to Quillgrave and work with four vendors to improve their odds on the next attempt.

• Arcanist: provides new potions, draughts, and flasks to be found throughout the tale.
• Scribe: provides talents that change the abilities used to best foes.
• Outfitter: improves starting health, damage, energy, and focus.
• Antiquarian: provides passives that augment how each tale may be approached.

Rewards and PTR Preview

Players earn rewards for tempering the horrors of the tales, including the Ensemble: Witch Hunter's Shadow Attire transmog set, haunting home decor such as the Quillgrave Storyteller's Lectern and Quillgrave Talebound Shadowtome, and the Shadowbound Storybook mount, all usable in Midnight and beyond.

Blizzard states an early preview of Talebound will appear on the PTR sometime in October.