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The Elder Scrolls Online has a vast amount of content that can overwhelm new players very quickly. Multiple storylines, DLCs, expansion content, PvP, and so much more make up this behemoth of an MMO. If you are just starting and need some advice on how to get started in Tamriel, you're in the right place.
This guide will cover your first steps in The Elder Scrolls Online, including Classes, Races, Alliances, starting quests, and how to jump straight into the latest expansions. Since there's a bit of ground to cover, this guide is quite long. Feel free to use the table of contents above to jump to a section you're interested in.
Updated November 5th, 2021, by Charles Burgar: With the recent release of the Deadlands DLC for ESO, we figured it was time to give this beginner's guide a new coat of paint. We've reorganized a lot of the information in this guide to convey more information while being much easier to read. Some entries were also expanded to give additional information on creating a character and how to start your adventure on Tamriel.
Which Class Should You Play In The Elder Scrolls Online?
Once you boot up the game and log in, you'll be directed to the character creation screen. This is where you'll make three important decisions, your class, race, and faction. Let's start with the most important option, your class.
Before we delve into the classes, it's important to note that classes don't make up your entire skill rotation. They do play a large role, but skills and passives come from more than just your class. There are skills and passives obtained from your weapons of choice, guilds, PvP, and even Vampirism or Lycanthropy. You can play a Necromancer that's a tank, a Dragonknight who uses Magicka abilities for DPS, a Warden who is a healer, etc. A class does not inherently dictate your playstyle or role. The holy trinity (DPS, Tank, Healer) is in full force in ESO's endgame, although DPS is split into two categories: Magicka and Stamina. For solo play and questing, you can play whatever you want.
There are six classes in The Elder Scrolls Online. These are:
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Class |
Common Builds |
Playstyle |
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Dragonknight |
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Necromancer |
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Nightblade |
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Sorcerer |
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Templar |
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Warden |
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Note: The Necromancer class requires the Elsweyr expansion, whilst the Warden class requires Morrowind. The other four classes are available for all players. |
Roles form the core of every MMO party, so you should aim to fit into one with your character in The Elder Scrolls Online. The different roles are:
- Stamina DPS
- Magicka DPS
- Tank
- Healer
Each class can play as any of the roles listed above, depending on the skills that you pick as you level up. However, the classes are optimized to fit specific roles thanks to their class abilities. Dragonknight and Necromancer are naturally suited to Tank or Stamina DPS, for example.
Nightblade is also good at Stamina DPS, whilst Templars and Sorcerers are better at Magicka DPS. Templar and Warden both have lots of restoration skills that also make them good healers.
Which Race Should You Be In The Elder Scrolls Online?
There are ten races in The Elder Scrolls Online. Each has its own skill tree and passive bonuses that you should take note of before you choose a race. While your race won't make or break a character, it does assist in fine-tuning a build's strengths and weaknesses.
Races are also tied to a specific Alliance, unless you purchase the Any Race, Any Alliance pack from the Crown Store. Here is a full list of every race, with their starting bonuses and Alliance:
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Race |
Passive Bonuses |
Alliance |
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Nord |
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Argonian |
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Dark Elf |
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Breton |
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Redguard |
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Orc |
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Khajit |
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Wood Elf |
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High Elf |
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Imperial |
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The final race, Imperial, is purchasable from the Crown Store. It can join any alliance and has increased health and stamina. All of their abilities also cost fewer resources to use.
What Are Alliances In The Elder Scrolls Online?
Alliances are factions that your character is aligned with. This determines your main city, which you can visit to start the main quest as noted below. Alliances also determine who you fight for in The Elder Scrolls Online's PvP mode, Alliance Wars.
There are three factions in The Elder Scrolls Online:
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Alliance |
Starting Zone |
Zone Control |
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Daggerfall Covenant |
Glenumbra |
High Rock and Hammerfall |
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Ebonheart Pack |
Stonefalls |
Morrowind, Skyrim, and Black Marsh |
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Aldmeri Dominion |
Auridon |
Summerset Isle, Valenwood, and Elsweyr |
Those familiar with the Elder Scrolls might wonder who owns Cyrodiil. No one does. Each faction contests over it through ESO's PvP activity, Alliance Wars.
Alliance Wars takes place in Cyrodiil, which is a large zone dedicated purely to PvP combat. You capture points of interest and castles for your faction to earn points and, ultimately, control the area.
If you are playing with friends and want to do PvP, make sure you join the same Alliance. Fortunately, Alliances do not impact any PvE content, so you can adventure with all players, regardless of their Alliance.
Where Do New Players Start In The Elder Scrolls Online?
New players start the tutorial in the main zone of the latest expansion they have. This means that if you have Greymoor but not Gates of Oblivion, you will start in Greymoor's Western Skyrim zone. If you only own the Morrowind expansion, you'll start in Vvardenfell, et cetera.
The tutorial introduces you to the core mechanics of The Elder Scrolls Online, such as attacking, blocking, rolling, and how to overcome various status effects.
This is the bulk of your gameplay in The Elder Scrolls online, so pay attention. The controls depend on your input device, but you can always find them in the pause menu if you need a reminder.
How To Start The Main Questline In The Elder Scrolls Online
If you've started in an expansion zone and would rather experience the original questline from The Elder Scrolls Online's base game, you will need to go to a Wayshrine. These are marked on your map.
At the Wayshrine, go to locations on the menu to the right and look for your alliance's starting zone. The starting area for each alliance is listed below:
- Daggerfall Covenant: Glenumbra
- Aldmeri Dominion: Auridon
- Ebonheart Pact: Stonefalls
You can also select Tamriel in the list of locations, which will bring up the entire world map. You can then select a specific zone to zoom in on it. To fast travel to another zone, you will need to locate a Wayshrine in that zone. Some zones will already have Wayshrines unlocked when you start, so you can fast travel straight away.
When you arrive at your alliance's starting location, you will be greeted by a hooded figure who gives you a new quest to follow. This starts the base game's questline and you will shortly end up in Coldharbour.
How To Start Expansion Questlines In The Elder Scrolls Online
If you would rather jump straight into one of the other expansions or DLCs in The Elder Scrolls Online, you can do that too. To start the questlines for different expansions, open up your collection menu (which you can find on the menu bar, alongside Skills and Inventory) and go to DLCs.
Each expansion will have a brief description, followed by a button that you can press to start its questline. Simply activate the quest to get a marker on your map, which you can follow to start that expansion's story.