Elder Scrolls Online: 10 Best Activities For New Players

Elder Scroll’s Online offers a massive assortment of various activities for every player to jump into, no matter the preference or experience. With the new expansion, High Isle, coming this summer, there is bound to be an influx of new players looking to start their journey.

That being said, it may be difficult to know where exactly to start, given the sheer amount of in-game systems and features to explore. For newer players, there are a few important activities that will have them leveled up and ready to conquer Tamriel’s challenges in no time.

Base Game Questline

No matter the initial alliance a new player chooses, the base game quest will always begin with “Soul Shriven in Coldharbour”. This is the beginning of the base game’s main story, which takes players through the basics in a rising effort to slay Molag Bol, an evil Daedric prince.

It’s a great starting point for any player, as it provides enough backstory on the Elder Scrolls universe to fill in newcomers on lore and mechanics. It’s also quite easy compared to other content, meaning there’s no leveling required to jump in.

Cadwell’s Silver 

Once the main story is completed with one alliance, the player is approached by their new ally Cadwell, who offers them the chance to play events out under a new banner. The story itself doesn’t need to be completed again, but it gives new players the chance to complete the alliance quests outside of their own.

These quests are great because they provide additional backstory to the player around Tamriel. Elder Scrolls Online has an incredibly deep collection of lore and shifting political schemes, so it’s a great option if players want to learn a little more about the world and deeper conflicts at play.

Zone Stories

Every single zone in the base game and online expansions has a zone questline, recognizable by a unique marker usually in one of the zone’s major settlements. Zone stories are another great option for story players, as they advance the overall plot of the main game or expansion while providing an easy challenge.

It’s also important to note that zone stories will unlock a ton of XP and skill points during the journey, as they expose players to some of the major features of each area. These areas are one’s that new players don’t want to miss, as they provide a great introduction to some deeper exploration and combat systems.

Daily Dungeons

Dungeons are isolated levels of ESO that are accessible through the “Dungeon Finder” option in the Social tab of the menu. They have unique encounters, enemy types, and bosses that offer their own gear sets at higher levels early in the game.

These are available to join as low as Level 10 for any player, and they provide a great first experience in terms of learning role and group play dynamics. Doing a dungeon at least once per day also nets the player a massive amount of XP, meaning it’s one of the best options to level up a character quickly.

Daily PvP

For new players who want a more competitive setting for their MMO experience, ESO also offers bonuses for daily PvP matches in the Social menu. It’s also available at Level 10 and there is a wide range of game modes for the player to choose from, like capturing zones or all-out slayer gameplay.

Even if a player isn’t too keen on PvP, the gameplay is very helpful for learning how to maximize ability usage and weapon swapping, which is vital for mid-to-end game activities. It also offers a huge XP bonus for daily completion, so paired with a dungeon, it’s easily the fastest way to level.

Delves

Acting as a type of solo dungeon, Delves are smaller excursions scattered around each zone that offer a short and easy challenge. They have a few standard encounters, a boss at the end, and some valuable loot along that way that new players don’t want to miss.

If a new player isn’t quite comfortable jumping into group play, or simply wants to explore each area before moving on, Delves are a great option to net some better gear and experience. They are also repeatable, offering the ability to master combat against certain enemy types and walk away with more gold to expand things like inventory space or mount upgrades.

Guild Questlines

In ESO, there are a number of distinct guilds scattered across major zones, such as The Mages Guild, The Fighters Guild, and more. Each one has an associated questline that can be progressed by completing certain actions around the game, such as collecting lore for The Mages Guild or completing dungeons for The Fighters Guild.

What is especially enticing about these questlines is that they unlock skill trees and abilities exclusive to each guild, some of which are essential to endgame builds later on. Upon completion of each questline, they also offer a new title to show off, so new players looking to show off a bit of prestige can turn to these as an easy achievement.

Open-World Combat 

While it’s not a specific activity, per se, simply fighting combatives around the map is an extremely useful tip for new players. Rather than heading straight to the next quest marker, it can provide more experience and practice for those hoping to master combat mechanics in a low-risk setting.

To build on open-world combat, if there is a large group of players fighting one of the many in-game world bosses, it is a great opportunity to jump in, join the fight, and net some exclusive rewards that would be otherwise unobtainable solo.

Crafting 

Crafting is a vital aspect of ESO, as leveling up these skills trees early on in the game will set the stage for an effective loadout in higher-level content. Each piece of gear in the game belongs to a specific crafting ability, such as blacksmithing for swords and heavy armor and woodworking for staffs and bows.

The best way to level up these skill lines early in the game is via the disassembly of gear on a regular basis. That is, rather than just ditching low-level items, new players can take to any workbench, disassemble these pieces, and reap the rewards for each skill branch.

Cryodiil

One of ESO’s more unique features is Cryodiil, which is a massive PvP arena upon which the Aldmeri Dominion, the Daggerfall Covenant, and the Ebonheart Pact fight for control over the Three Banners War. Here, players of each alliance fight in real-time over key points of the map, such as bridges, fortresses, and siege weapons.

As newcomers, players will be automatically boosted to Level 50 to even the playing field, allowing them to participate without grinding out XP prior. Cryodiil’s group gameplay, defense mechanics, and open-world strategy offer a great starting point for players hoping to get a feel for larger PvP battles and exposure to brand-new skill trees.