The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online was released in 2014 and has since received many new contents and expansions. But what does the endgame of ESO look like currently? We from MeinMMO reveal to you 7 activities to keep you occupied for hundreds of hours.
The Elder Scrolls Online impresses mainly with its exciting and voiced stories, which are expanded with each expansion and DLC. But eventually, you have not only reached level 50 but also experienced all the current stories.
Therefore, we would like to introduce you to 7 activities to engage you in ESO endgame.
If you are generally looking for tips about ESO or thinking about starting, you can find helpful guides here:
- 5 reasons why you should start with the MMORPG ESO in 2021
- ESO: 13 tips for beginners to ease your entry
- Want to return to ESO? 13 tips for your comeback
Veteran Dungeons and Trials
What does ESO offer in terms of instances? Basically, you can start in the 4-player dungeons of ESO as early as level 10. However, these dungeons are quite simple, and you will rarely have problems completing them.
For experienced and really good players, ESO offers 3 instanced contents to try out:
- Veteran dungeons for 4 players
- Veteran dungeons with special hard modes
- Trials for 12 players
What are Veteran Dungeons? These are a more difficult version of already existing dungeons. The mode unlocks as soon as you reach level 50. After that, you can access it via the open world and through group search.
Some bosses in the veteran mode also have a hard mode. This makes this particular boss fight even harder. It can be activated before the start, allowing you to approach it optionally if the group feels capable of mastering this challenge.
For veteran dungeons, you should bring some experience and also appropriate equipment. It is beneficial if you have already played the normal mode of the dungeon.
How many Veteran Dungeons are there? Currently, there are over 40 different dungeons where you can let loose. At the beginning of 2020, we reported which dungeons are considered the easiest and which are regarded as the hardest in ESO .
What are Trials? Trials are the king discipline of instances in ESO. You enter them with a total of 12 players and must deal with challenging boss mechanics that test your skill and team play.
Each trial in ESO offers an additional reward once a week, making it worthwhile to repeat them. Additionally, there are plenty of achievements and skins that you can only obtain through trials. If you seek the ultimate thrill, you can also find hard modes in some trials that make the fight even harder.
How many Trials are there? Currently, there are 9 trials in ESO, with Rockgrove being the 10th trial announced. It will be released with the upcoming expansion Blackwood.
Solo Arenas
If you don’t like going into groups but are looking for a challenge for solo players, you will find it in two special arenas:
- The Maelstrom Arena is located in the Orsinium DLC and offers several boss fights that increase in difficulty.
- The Vateshran’s Ground was introduced with the Markarth DLC and revolves around the grim Reiklanders, a people of barbarians. They prove their strength in this solo arena.
Both arenas are considered challenging and require that you have good equipment and master your class. If you want to face a boss in the Vateshran’s Ground, you can find a guide here on MeinMMO.
Collecting Sets and Styles
In ESO, as is common in an RPG, a lot revolves around your equipment. This is about your stats but also about the appearance of the armor.
In ESO, you can collect sets and unlock certain values for your equipment. Additionally, there are styles that relate to the appearance of your equipment.
What are Sets? Sets are the composition of bonuses that your equipment offers:
- Some sets grant, for example, additional damage or additional health.
- Other sets increase your Magicka or Stamina.
- Furthermore, there are set bonuses that reward you with additional effects when you wear the respective set in multiple slots (e.g., head, shoulder, and chest).
Sets can be earned in various ways, including random drops in the open world, from public or instanced dungeons, as well as from world bosses, PvP, or crafting. You can find a guide here on how to get sets in ESO.
Why is the set system so interesting? Once you have bound a set to yourself or destroyed it or sold it to a merchant, it is unlocked in your collection. This allows you to easily restore old sets using transmutation crystals, which is practical if you want to change your entire equipment once.
The crafted sets then adjust to your level.
What are Styles? Styles, on the other hand, relate to the appearance of your equipment. You can unlock styles and change them at any outfit station in the game. The styles are account-wide unlocked, so you can also immediately dress up new characters correctly.
PvP
What PvP content is there? If you are not interested in pure PvE content, you can dive into PvP. ESO also offers several variations:
- In the region of Cyrodiil, you can engage in open alliance wars. Here, you can seek duels alone or lead huge battles with a large group.
- In the battlegrounds, however, it is a bit smaller. Here, you fight in 4v4v4 and can easily enter these via group search.
- The Imperial City, a mode where you fight against other players but also against minions of Molag Bal.
What exactly is Cyrodiil? If you are into brutal mass battles with heavy siege machines, hundreds of players, and months-long, fierce ranking fights, you are in the right place.
Basically, Cyrodiil is the fight for the Imperial Crown. If an alliance conquers all six fortresses spread around the Imperial City, the player from that faction with the currently highest score in Cyrodiil becomes the Emperor.
This grants buffs and corresponding advantages in the battle. Consequently, the other two factions often ally against the alliance currently holding the emperor. If the emperor’s alliance loses control over all six fortresses in the center of the map, he is instantly dethroned.
As exciting as this all sounds, the race for the imperial crown is rather insignificant for most players. They prefer to fight just for fun and for conquering fortresses. In addition, Cyrodiil also has some PvE quests and sky shards that help you progress even outside of PvP.
What are the Battlegrounds? In the battlegrounds, three teams of four players each fight against each other for victory. Champion points are ignored here, which usually causes many rapid deaths because players simply do not have such abnormally high resistances.
The teams are formed randomly and independently of the alliance affiliation. You simply open the group search and sign up for a battleground. A battleground lasts until one team reaches a predefined point limit or a timer of 15 minutes expires.
Additionally, there is an extra reward for the first daily victory in a battleground.
What is the Imperial City? The Imperial City is part of the alliance war and can be accessed by pressing the “L” key. Here you mainly fight for Tel’Var stones, which you can exchange with merchants for unique equipment sets, cosmetics, and valuable crafting materials.
The Imperial City is divided into six districts. In each, Molag Bal’s minions are up to no good and beg for a beating. If you defeat the AI opponents, they drop the coveted Tel’Var stones.
Your main goal is to defeat as many enemies as possible and collect stones to buy rewards. Importantly, opponents drop more stones the more you already possess. This naturally motivates you to carry as many stones as possible. However, this has two drawbacks.
Criticism of PvP: The PvP in ESO offers many opportunities but also has some issues, including the poor performance of the game. In recent years, the content has also been neglected, claim some players:
Achievements
Almost every MMORPG now uses a system with achievements that you can hunt and complete. These are divided into various categories, including:
- Character achievements
- PvP achievements
- Dungeon achievements
- Quest achievements
- Housing achievements
- Achievements related to the different DLCs and expansions
The tasks vary quite distinctly. Some focus on repeating content, while others you unlock through special challenges, such as in dungeons.
If you want to achieve all achievements, you have a lot of work ahead of you. One player has managed to unlock all achievements. He required 405 days of pure playtime:
A player achieves all achievements in the MMORPG ESO, needing 405 days
Housing
Fashion is endgame, as we mentioned in the “Collecting Sets and Styles” section. Regarding Fashion, ESO also includes Housing. Here you can seek out various residences, move in, and decorate them as you wish.
In addition to aesthetic effects, housing can be quite effective. You can earn achievements, unlock additional storage space, set up crafting stations, and even receive buffs.
Twinks
What are Twinks? Twinks are additional characters you play alongside your main character. Here, the focus is mainly on trying out new classes, new races, or new paths in the story.
What is special about Twinks in ESO? Twinks in ESO have the great advantage that you “only” need to play them up to level 50. The champion level you earn beyond level 50 is account-wide and applies to all characters.
The same applies to general collectible content such as sets or styles. You also unlock these account-wide. This makes it significantly easier on additional characters, and you don’t have to grind as much as in other MMORPGs.
Bonus Tip: With the Right Guild, Everything Gets Better
ESO offers plenty of content, but it becomes really fun when you set out with friends and acquaintances. Therefore, we from MeinMMO recommend finding a guild and making friends with them.
Some guilds even create their end content themselves by organizing events or funny adventures. A guild like this had an interview with MeinMMO author Larissa Then:
Easter egg hunting and naked raid – A good guild makes the MMORPG ESO even better
