Bestowers for Trial introductory quests will now only be available to players level 50 and above in cities; you can still get them in the trials themselves at any point
DLC/Chapter/ESO+
Note: Bestowers for delve, world event, and world boss daily quests will now only be visible to players level 7 or above (or if they are shared with you).
Character Development / Unlocking Skill Lines / Gear
The motto of The Elder Scrolls Online is “Play your way”. The developers attempt to accomplish this by providing a lot of ways to customize your character’s abilities. There are racial abilities, class abilities, weapon abilities, guild abilities, player vs player (PvP) abilities, guild skills, world abilities, antiquities abilities, and crafting abilities.
Ranks and Skill Points
Since there a so many ways to customize your characters, new players often get overwhelmed. Fortunately, there are a lot of helpful and successful build theorycrafters in The Elder Scrolls Online Community. Builds are popular character configurations (Race, Class Abilities, Weapon Abilities, Guild Abilities, etc.). Need build help? Check my build page for recommendations.
Before you can implement a build, you will need to unlock the recommended abilities. Below are activities to unlock and level abilities.
Base Abilities
Racial Abilities / Passives
Based on adventure level
Class Abilities
Earning Experience while one or more abilities are on slotted on your skill/ultimate bar. More abilities means leveling class section faster.
Weapons
Killing with the weapon at least once.
Earning Experience with the weapon equiped
Soul
Progression through the main quest line (The 5 companions / The Harborage)
The Elder Scrolls Online has one of the better gear systems compared to other MMORPG’s. When you loot bound items or sell/deconstruct item sets in the game, the set item (Set / Location) is added into your Set Items Collection (also known as ‘The Stickerbook’). Items in your book can be reconstructed at any time using a transmute station and a certain number of Transmutation Crystals. The cost will depend on how many items of that set you have already collected.
You can view all the items you have unlocked in the Item Set section of your collections window.
PC: Default key is [U] and the Item Set icon is a flaming helmet.
Gamepad: Menu / Collections / Set Items
Notes: The game will track your progress of certain special sets like arena sets and the game will drop missing items of the arena sets until you obtain one of each item. Once you have obtained all of the items, any of the item will randomly drop from mobs and chests.
Legerdemain
If you like to play the role of a rogue, there are several activities to earn you some illicit gold.
Stealing goods from containers and in populated areas
Pickpocketing items from NPC’s
Fencing / Laundering Stolen Goods
Some people prefer to make (a lot of) money stealing from others. Stealing items in public will often result in a bounty and unpleasant interactions with unkillable guards. Stolen items can not be sold at regular merchants or banked. They can only be sold or laundered by fences located in Outlaw’s refuges in larger towns. The fences will only accept a limited number of items each day depending on the passives unlocked.
The alliance war zone Cyrodiil was designed for large scale battle of small armies (aka Zergs) and employs the use of seige equipment like fire pots, ballistas, catapults, trebuchets, and battering rams.
The zone is unlocked when your character reaches level 10 and you can select a campaign by hitting the ‘L’ key (PC).
Battlegrounds
Notes: Bestowers for Battleground are now only visible to players level 10 or above.
Battlegrounds were designed for arena style combat between 3 teams of 4 players. The battles take place on a variety of maps and have different ‘games’ such a capture the flag, death match, and more. Players can obtain a daily quest for a random battleground each day using the group finder.
Players access the battlegrounds from the battleground NPC in the starter areas of Davon’s Watch, Daggerfall, Vulkhel Guard, Vivec City and more.
Note:
There is also The Imperial DLC which adds an urban combat element to the game with the added complication of swarms of Daedric mobs and bosses.
Crafting
In addition to being able to craft gear for yourself, friends, and guildmates, crafting is a good source of gold and way to pass the time before and/or after a hard day of adventuring.
Availability of crafting certification quests has been standardized at level 6 in most locations.
If adventures are what you seek, no MMORPG would be complete without dungeons.
Trials / Arenas
Trials are intended for large “raiding” groups of 12. Usually Trials are completed in pre-made groups from within the ranks of Trial Guilds. However, solo players can often find base game trial group announcements in Craglorn.
Arenas feature several waves of opposing forces. There are two types: Solo and Group. The most popular arena is Maelstrom Arena (Orsinium DLC). The base game group Arena is Dragonstar arena in Craglorn. Another group arena is Black Rose Prison in Murkmire (DLC).
Bestowers for Trial introductory quests will now only be available to players level 50 and above in cities; you can still get them in the trials themselves at any point
Note: There are weekly leaderboards for this content found on a tab in your journal.
Public Dungeons
Public dungeons are intended for small groups of two or more but a skilled player can solo them. They give decent experience, often drop good antiquity leads, and provide a few achievements. They are found in base game and chapter zones. If doing public dungeons in the base zones, why not grab a Mages’ Guild Daily for bonus rewards and maybe boost a companion’s rapport.
Group Dungeons
Group dungeons are intended for 4 players. The Undaunted offer 3 daily quests each day called pledges.
Undaunted introductory quests are now only visible to players level 10 or above.
Tip: Grab the groupfinder random daily quest before doing your pledges. You may get on of the pledges as the random for bonus experience and rewards.
Veteran dungeons are more difficult versions of the group dungeons and often requires more skill, better gear, and higher champion points. The Undaunted offer 3 daily quests each day called pledges.
Note: Players can do a random dungeon quests each day which is accessed by the groupfinder. The first random offers a much higher reward. The rewards will listed in purple (1st one of day) or blue (2nd or more of the day).
There are 8 rare colours that can be obtained by collecting trophies from the various beasties found around Tamriel. There was a time you had to use them to add them to your collections but it is automatic now and they can be safely sold to vendors.
Examples: Smoldering Ember Heart, Petrified Spider Egg, Whirring Dynamo, Troll Skull, Lashing Tentacle, Banekin Horn, etc.
Daedra forces are attempting to merge their planes with Nirn by dropping huge anchors from the sky. They are a popular spot for levelling characters and a good place to farm zone jewelry.
Tips: Grab a The Fighters’ Guild daily for bonus rewards and increase a companions fighters guild skill lines.
Delves
Delves are explorable areas like mines, caverns, and ruins. They are intended for solo players.
The main quest is obtained from a hooded figure in the starter towns of Daggerfall, Davon’s Watch, and Vulkhel Guard.
Notes: If you started in a DLC/Chapter zone you will not be offered this quest until Adventure Level 5 and have completed the first quest in the respective Zone Story (Chapter / DLC cities)
Relics of Summerset (Lantern of Lies, Heart of Indrik, Silver-Tongued Quill, Unraveling Wand, Skull of Minor Cursing, Shadowcutter Blade, Soulkeeper’s Urn, Chest of Condemnation, Never-Ending Scroll, Inescapable Helm, Sticky-Fingered Lute, Fan of False-Face, Pillow of Sweet Dreams, Mirror of Fatal Premonition, Monochrome Paintbrush, Hourglass of Perceived Time, Jaunt of the Jilted, Ever-Filling Chalice., Chestplate of Dessication, Shattering Sword)
Relic Hunter (Wrothgar) (Agra Chun and Uzdabikh’s Helm, The First Charter, Trinimac House Idol,Guthragh’s Mask, Frostbreak Chalice, Nuzava’s Anvil, Thugbo’s Map of Clans, Torc of Baloth Bloodtusk, Liquid Silver, Black Quill, Thukozodh’s Bracers, Centurion’s Signet, Horn of Beasts, Hammer of Glass, Eye of Zthenganaz, Scepter of the King-Chief, Mad Urkazbur’s Ice-Efffigy, Dwemer Light, Heart of Zanadunoz)