10 Best Beginner Tips for The Elder Scrolls Online

The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) throws you into a massive, ever-expanding world full of quests, dungeons, crafting, and PvP action. Whether you’re a long-time Elder Scrolls fan or completely new to MMOs, jumping into Tamriel can feel a bit overwhelming at first. With so many classes, skill lines, zones, and systems, knowing where to start makes all the difference. In this guide, we’ve put together 10 of the best beginner tips and tricks to help you get your footing, level up smoothly, and enjoy everything ESO has to offer right from day one.

#10: Explore and Experiment

One of the best parts of The Elder Scrolls Online is the freedom it gives you—so don’t be afraid to explore and try different things. Whether it’s venturing into new zones, testing different weapons, or mixing skill lines, experimenting early helps you learn what fits your playstyle. You won’t be locked into choices forever, so take your time figuring out what you enjoy most. Roam the world, talk to NPCs, pick up random quests, and just soak in the experience. ESO rewards curiosity, so dive in and enjoy the journey.

#9: Do the Cyrodiil Intro for a Speed Boost

Even if you’re not into PvP, it’s worth doing the Cyrodiil introduction quest early. Not only does it give you a feel for ESO’s large-scale PvP, but completing it also unlocks a free and permanent mount speed boost, which is super helpful for getting around faster—especially before you’ve upgraded riding skills. You don’t have to actually fight anyone; just follow the quest steps and you’ll earn the bonus. It’s a quick win that gives you long-term convenience across all your characters.

#8: Claim Daily Login Rewards

The Elder Scrolls Online offers Daily Login Rewards that provide valuable items such as gold, experience scrolls, Crown Crates, and even exclusive collectibles. Each month features a set sequence of rewards, unlocked by logging in on different days. To claim these rewards, simply log in with your character and access the Daily Rewards section in the Crown Store. Consistently logging in ensures you don’t miss out on these beneficial items.

#7: Don’t Buy Gear Early, Loot or Craft Instead

When you’re just starting out in ESO, there’s no need to spend gold buying gear from vendors or guild traders. You’ll find plenty of usable weapons and armor just by questing, looting enemies, or crafting your own. Early gear gets replaced quickly as you level, so it’s better to save your gold for essentials like inventory upgrades, mount training, or repair kits. Stick to quest rewards and basic crafting at the start—you’ll have everything you need to survive and progress without wasting your gold.

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#6: Join the Fighters, Mages, and Undaunted Guilds

These three guilds aren’t just for roleplay—they unlock unique skill lines that are useful for almost every build in ESO. The Fighters Guild gives you strong passives and abilities against undead and Daedra, the Mages Guild offers powerful magic-based skills, and the Undaunted helps with survivability and group dungeon play. You can join all three early by visiting their halls in your faction’s main city. Even if you don’t use all the abilities right away, leveling these skill lines over time gives you more flexibility and options for your build later on.

#5: Train Riding Skills Early

Your mount isn’t just for looks—it’s a huge part of getting around and carrying more items in ESO. Every day, you can train one riding skill: speed, stamina, or inventory space. These upgrades add up slowly, so the earlier you start, the better. Head to any stablemaster in a major town, and spend a small amount of gold to train once every 20 hours. Even if you don’t use your mount much at first, building up these stats over time will pay off massively as you explore more of Tamriel and need that extra speed or bag space.

#4: Grab Skyshards for Skill Points

In The Elder Scrolls Online, Skyshards are collectible items scattered throughout Tamriel that grant additional skill points. For every three Skyshards you collect, you earn one skill point, allowing you to unlock or morph new abilities, enhancing your character’s versatility. Skyshards emit a bright beam of white light, making them identifiable as you explore. They are often located in the open world, as well as within delves and public dungeons.  

To efficiently locate Skyshards, consider using in-game addons that mark their positions on your map. Prioritizing the collection of Skyshards early in your journey will provide a significant boost to your character’s development, enabling you to diversify your skill set and adapt to various challenges throughout your adventures in Tamriel.

#3: Wear Mixed Armor Types

When you’re just starting out, don’t worry about sticking to one armor type—wear a mix of light, medium, and heavy pieces so you can start leveling all three skill lines. Each armor type offers its own benefits, and having them unlocked gives you way more flexibility later when you fine-tune your build. For example, light armor helps with magicka builds, medium boosts stamina and stealth, and heavy offers better defense and sustain. Once you settle into your preferred playstyle, you can specialize—but in the beginning, mixing armor helps you stay versatile and future-proof.

#2: Slot Skills to Level Them

In ESO, skills don’t level up just by unlocking them—they only gain experience when they’re actively slotted on your bar, even if you don’t use them. So if you want to level a new weapon, guild, or class skill line, make sure to put at least one of its abilities on your skill bar during combat. This works in both PvE and PvP, and it’s especially helpful when you’re trying to level a secondary skill line on the side. Rotating skills in and out of your bar while questing or grinding XP is a smart way to level everything up more efficiently.

#1: Start with the Main Quest and Your Alliance Story

ESO gives you a ton of freedom, but if you’re feeling overwhelmed, the best place to start is the Main Quest and your Alliance’s story quests. These not only introduce you to the game’s core lore and systems but also reward you with skill points, gear, and XP that really help in the early game. Plus, you’ll unlock useful mechanics like soul gems and the ability to respawn. Following these storylines first gives you a solid foundation before diving into dungeons, zones, or DLC content—and helps everything feel a little less chaotic when you’re just starting out.

Conclusion

Jumping into The Elder Scrolls Online can feel like a lot at first, but once you get the hang of it, there’s a ton to enjoy. These beginner tips are meant to help you avoid early mistakes, level up smarter, and explore Tamriel with more confidence. From grabbing skyshards and joining key guilds to understanding combat and unlocking essential skills, starting strong makes all the difference. Take your time, experiment with different playstyles, and most importantly—enjoy the freedom that ESO gives you. There’s always something new to discover.