ESO Quest Order: Best Way To Play Elder Scrolls Online’s Story

The Elder Scrolls Online’s seven years of updates and expansions have made a massive game that can be quite confusing for newcomers. Since its 2014 release, ESO has received five “Chapter” expansions, along with a slew of smaller DLCs. With so many stories available, determining the best ESO quest order can be daunting.

ESO is the earliest game in the series’ chronology. It’s set in Tamriel’s second era in a period of time called the Interregnum, during which there is no unified Empire ruling Tamriel. In the base game’s story, the Alliance War (aka the Three Banners War) is raging, giving players the opportunity to fight for one of three factions: the Aldmeri Dominion, the Daggerfall Covenant and the Ebonheart Pact. The war also serves to introduce antagonist and Daedric Prince Molag Bal, who is attempting to merge Tamriel with Oblivion’s Coldharbour plane.

Each year since 2017 has seen the launch of a new The Elder Scrolls Online expansion. Though these Chapters are self-contained enough that players could reasonably jump in anywhere, each does build on the stories of those that came before it, making the ESO Chapters’ release order the best way to play through its many quests.

ESO Buying Guide: Which Edition To Purchase

In 2021, there are two main versions of the game available for purchase: The Elder Scrolls Online: Standard Edition and The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Blackwood. The Standard Edition, which retails for $20 USD, includes the base game and the Morrowind Chapter. From there, players can purchase other Chapters individually via the in-game store. Purchasing ESO Collection: Blackwood for $60 USD provides the base game, Morrowind and all subsequent Chapters – Summerset, Elsweyr, Greymoor and Blackwood.

Where To Start In ESO: Main Quest, Cadwell’s Almanac & Craglorn

Tutorial & Starting Quest Choice

Whichever edition players choose, they’ll be greeted by a universal tutorial (newly introduced in June 2021) that teaches them how to play ESO. Upon completion, it gives players the choice of taking a portal to any of the starting locations for the content they own. New players who purchased the Standard Edition can go to any of the ESO Alliance War factions’ starting locations, plus the Morrowind Chapter’s starting location. Those who bought The Elder Scrolls Online Collection: Blackwood can go to any starting area. Regardless, it’s recommended new players choose one of the base game’s faction locations, as this will set them up to play ESO’s quests in order.

Main Quest

Commonly referred to as “Planemeld” or simply the Main Quest, the ESO base game’s story has players choose a side and work to stop Molag Bal’s malicious plans. Players looking to join the Aldmeri Dominion will head to Khenarthi’s Roost; those partial to the Daggerfall Covenant will head to Stros M’Kai; and those who wish to follow the Ebonheart Pact will go to Bleakrock Isle. Each faction’s story has it strive to defeat Molag Bal and fight for power in Tamriel.

Cadwell’s Almanac & Craglorn

After completing the Main Story with one faction, players have the option to experience ESO’s other factions’ storylines with the Cadwell’s Almanac system. Next, the story content in the Craglorn area – though not critical to the larger narrative – is set after the events of the base game and offers interesting lore from a new part of Tamriel.

Other DLCs

The ESO base game’s Imperial City, Orsinium, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood and Shadow of the Hist DLCs all feature additional quests, ranging from helping the Orcs rebuild a city to joining two of The Elder Scrolls’ most notorious factions. They offer more lore and could help players level up between quests in the main story, but none of them contribute to ESO’s macro narrative.

ESO’s Daedric War Quest Order: Morrowind, Summerset & DLC

Morrowind & Clockwork City

2017’s The Elder Scrolls Online: Morrowind Chapter marked the next significant addition to ESO’s story. Set in a large new zone, the island of Vvardenfell, this Chapter brought a new class to ESO, as well as a number of side quests and bosses. After the Morrowind Chapter, ESO’s chronological quest order takes players to the Clockwork City DLC. Its titular location is home to Morrowind’s gods, and players are summoned to help uncover a Daedric artifact deep within an Dwemer ruin. Though the evil in Clockwork City is defeated, players are warned that a third Daedric threat is imminent in the Summerset Isles.

Summerset

The second major ESO Chapter, 2018’s The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset, whisks players to the home of Tamriel’s Altmer, or High Elves. Summoned by Queen Ayrenn, they must help the fight against another Daedric threat, saving all of Tamriel in the process. The Elder Scrolls Online: Summerset also introduced jewelry crafting to the game, as well as the Psijic Order skill tree.

Additional Daedric War DLCs

The Horns of the Reach, Dragon Bones, Wolfhunter and Murkmire DLCs were all released around the time of the Daedric War story content, but they’re only supplemental, providing new dungeons and stories for players to explore but not necessary for ESO’s proper play order.

ESO’s Season Of The Dragon Quest Order: Elsweyr Chapter & DLC

Wrathstone

Following the Daedric War, the Wrathstone DLC kicked off the yearlong Season of the Dragon event, the beginning of ESO’s current content release structure. While Wrathstone consists only of some dungeons and no proper story quests, the dungeons’ stories themselves center on the DLC’s eponymous artifact, which has been split in half and must be repaired. Once both halves of the Wrathstone are recovered, it becomes obvious the tablet looks remarkably like a dragon’s head.

Elsweyr

These events lead directly into the third major Chapter, The Elder Scrolls Online: Elsweyr. Released in 2019, Elsweyr sees the Khajiit homeland beset by dragons, so players must work to stop their firey attacks. In an interesting twist for the series, Elsweyr leans heavily into necromancy, inviting players to use death as a weapon and command hordes of undead in battle.

Scalebreaker & Dragonhold

After completing ESO’s quests in Elsweyr, players should jump to the Scalebreaker DLC, which introduces new dungeons and dragons to take on – plus the threat of a vampire trying to feed on a dragon to absorb its powers. The Dragonhold DLC then closes out the Season of the Dragon, bringing players to the pirate-filled Southern Elsweyr zone. In a last stand against the reign of dragons, players are called to join the Dragonguard and save Tamriel.

ESO’s Dark Heart Of Skyrim Quest Order: Greymoor Chapter & DLC

Harrowstorm

Like Elsweyr, the next ESO Chapter, Greymoor, was preceded by a DLC: Harrowstorm. Beginning the yearlong Dark Heart of Skyrim story arc, Harrowstorm introduces some of the supernatural forces players will have to face. As the storyline’s name implies, this segment of The Elder Scrolls Online’s narrative takes place in the western region of Skyrim.

Greymoor

Eight years after The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s Dawnguard DLC, 2020’s The Elder Scrolls Online: Greymoor expansion brought a strikingly similar story to the MMO, despite the two stories taking place approximately 1,000 years apart in-universe. In the Greymoor Chapter, a powerful Vampire Lord rises, attempting to gather souls for a nefarious purpose. This Chapter also introduced the antiquities system to ESO – a fun addition for any player looking to track down powerful, mythical items.

Stonethorm & Markarth

In the Stonethorn DLC that followed, players must delve into new dungeons to put down a whole army of The Elder Scrolls’ vampires. Dark Heart of Skyrim then wraps up with the Markarth DLC, which sets players up in a final battle against both vampires and werewolves, as well as the dark power that feeds them.

ESO’s Gates Of Oblivion Quest Order: Blackwood Chapter & DLC

Flames of Ambition

ESO’s current story arc, Gates of Oblivion, began with the Flames of Ambition DLC. It brings new dungeons and reintroduces a Daedric threat to Tamriel in the form of Mehrunes Dagon, antagonist of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Blackwood

The new Oblivion crisis ramps up in The Elder Scrolls Online’s Blackwood Chapter, set in the titular swampy zone between Elsweyr and the Argonian Black Marsh. Mehrunes Dagon is running rampant, and Daedric forces and portals to Oblivion threaten to overtake the region. Players are tasked with discovering his motive and stopping his destruction of Tamriel. Notably, Blackwood is the first time ESO incorporated NPC allies.

The Waking Flame & Deadlands

The Waking Flame DLC is the most recent addition to ESO’s Gates of Oblivion story. The fight against Mehrunes Dagon and the invading Oblivion realm continues, and players have two new dungeons to take on. The arc is set to conclude with The Elder Scrolls Online’s Deadlands DLC, currently playable on the game’s public test server.

The Elder Scrolls Online’sDeadlands DLC will launch on PC, Mac, Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5 later this year.

About The Author

Brittany Spurlin
(182 Articles Published)

Brittany Spurlin is Senior Writer for Screen Rant’s Game Features. Previously, she was a news editor on VENN’s editorial team. With a screenwriting degree from Boston University, she loves engaging narratives – especially the nerdy ones. More often than not, she can be found playing The Elder Scrolls, Wild Rift, The Legend of Zelda and Stardew Valley.

Follow Brittany on Twitter @bsinitials

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