Leveling Guide

Elder Scrolls Online Leveling Guide

Elder Scrolls Online drops you into the world and lets you walk in any direction. This lack of linear progression can be overwhelming at first but makes for a lot of fun when you let go of the expectation that the game will constantly be telling you what you have to do next.

With that being said, there are definitely things you should make sure to do as you level, and most of them are easy to miss! So let’s go over things every character should make sure to do, and when they should do it!

Power Leveling Guide – Don’t use this on your first character! Enjoy the journey!


ESO BUILDS UPDATED FOR NECROM

►Brand New Power Level Guide! Right Here!
►Brand New Companion Guides! Right Here!



Level 1 – 10

  1. The game will start you out on a Zone Story quest. Zone story quests give skill points and other cool rewards (cosmetics, houses, gear, gold, etc. The reward varies from quest to quest and zone to zone).
  2. Join the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild and pick up the first passive in each. Intimidating Presence and Persuasive Will. (very useful while questing!)
    • Learn how to join the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild in this video
  3. Visit the Stable Master to upgrade your mount once every day. (20 hr cooldown) (also this video)

Level 10-45

  1. Continue to do everything above.
  2. Queue up for 1 random dungeon a day. The first random dungeon you do each day will give you a huge pool of bonus experience.
    • This bonus XP is usually good for anywhere between 1 to 3 levels!
    • Queue times for DPS can be long. Don’t stand around, go collect skyshards or do quests while you wait for your queue!
  3. Queue up for 1 random battleground a day. Similar to the dungeon, the first random battleground will grant a large bonus experience pool.
    • There are 3 teams in battlegrounds, as long as your team does not get last place, you get the bonus XP.
    • This bonus XP is identical to the dungeon XP amount.
  4. After your first “random-dailies” of the day, feel free to do as many dungeons as you want.
    • Dungeons are an excellent source of materials for crafting and gear to wear, research or deconstruct.
    • The first time you do a dungeon, you get a quest that gives great XP and a skill point when you turn it in!
  5. Begin leveling your crafting benches by deconstructing gear you don’t need.
    • Hint – all of the gear you find before Level 160 is NOT WORTH SAVING. Go ahead and deconstruct anything you find that you are not going to wear.
  6. Visit the Pack Merchant regularly to upgrade your bag space (explanation on how to do that included in this video)
  7. Begin doing writs! (you can start this at Level 6)
    • See the full Daily Writ Crafting Guide here
  8. If you are not loving your character, don’t hesitate to try out a new one! You get 9 character slots included with the game (8 if you do not own Elseweyr). Use them!
    • Create your alts sooner than later to begin leveling the mounts and doing writs on them for extra gold.
eso crafting guide jewelry writs leveling power leveling

Level 45 – 50

  1. Everything above.
  2. Join the Undaunted Guild and begin doing pledges every day.
    • Follow the Guide here
    • Pledges give you keys, the keys are a currency used to buy the shoulder piece of your “Monster Set”
    • DO NOT SPEND THE KEYS UNTIL YOU REACH CP 160! (you want the shoulder piece you acquire to be max gear level)

Champion Level 1 – 160

  1. Continue doing everything above.
  2. Level the guilds that are relevant to your character. For example:
    • Stamina DPS / Tank

Champion Level 160 – 300

  1. Farm your gear!! From here on out, all gear that drops for you will be max level. The typical ESO build consists of 12 pieces of gear.
    • Two-piece Monster Set
      • Head and shoulders
    • Five-piece set #1
      • Typically chest, legs, belt, boots, hands
    • Five-piece set #2
      • Typically necklace, ring 1, ring 2, main hand weapon and either a two-hand weapon or two one-hand weapons
        • note: two-hand weapons count as 2 pieces of your 5 piece set.
  2. Normal Trials
    • Once you have one or two sets, begin doing trials to collect trial gear! (trial guides here)
  3. Veteran Dungeons
    • You can also begin doing non-DLC vet dungeons. I recommend farming your sets in NORMAL as it is much easier and quicker, (and quite cheap) to upgrade them from blue to purple.
    • The exception is jewelry. Jewelry is expensive to upgrade, so feel free to re-farm this on veteran as veteran dungeons drop purple gear.

Champion Point Level 300+

  • At this point, you are allowed to queue for vet DLC dungeons.
    • These can be quite punishing and most of us are not prepared the first time we go in there. But the only way to learn is by doing! Be brave, and don’t feel bad if you are unable to clear it your first time. The challenge is half the fun!
  • Veteran Maelstrom Arena – aka vMA (a solo arena)
    • This place is TOUGH the first time. I will not lie to you. Try it on normal difficulty first to learn the mechanics before jumping into veteran! The following weapons drop in normal and veteran:
      • Currently, the best-in-slot Magicka DPS back bar weapon drops here (maelstrom Inferno staff)
      • Currently, the best-in-slot Stamina back bar weapon drops here (Maelstrom Bow)
  • Veteran Dragonstar Arena
    • Not as difficult as vMA but can be challenging for first-timers
      • Best-in-slot healer restoration staff found here
  • Veteran Trials
    • Everyone progresses at their own pace and every raid lead has their own requirements. Once you have all of your best-in-slot gear farmed from normal trials, consider stepping into some vet trials!
  • Unlock skins that you can earn through achievements
    • See all skins and how to earn them here

Champion Point Level 600+

  • Veteran DLC Trials
    • Clearing these trials often rewards you with skins and “Perfected” versions of your trial gear.
    • Perfected gear has an additional stat or an improved stat over its non-perfected counterpart.
  • Veteran DLC Hard Mode Trials
    • The End-Game. Veteran DLC Hard Mode Trials are modified veteran DLC trials and they are the hardest content in the game. The newest Vet DLC HM trials are considered the Mt Everest of ESO. These trials will require the knowledge and gear from the trials and dungeons before them.

This is just a flexible outline of what you can expect to do and when. Most of these things can be done earlier or later depending on you and your groups. Go at the pace that feels right for you!