The Elder Scrolls Online has received a revamped entry with the latest expansion Blackwood. New players and fresh characters can now choose which chapter and story they want to start with. But which ones are the best?
Where should you start? Basically, you can start in any of the chapters. ESO is designed so that the world around you scales with you. The mobs will adjust to your level, and the equipment doesn’t play a major role.
After the new tutorial from Blackwood you have the choice of the following beginnings, provided you own all expansions:
- Summerset
- Elsweyr
- Blackwood
- The Western Skyrim (Greymoor)
- Vvardenfell (Morrowind)
- Khenarthis Rest (Aldmeri Dominion)
- Stros M’Kai (Daggerfall Covenant)
- Stonefalls (Ebonheart Pact)
However, there are certain advantages and disadvantages to playing a specific chapter.
For beginners, starting in Blackwood is ideal. Because here you get the new companions after a relatively short time. These are NPCs that assist you in combat in the open world. And that’s particularly useful for beginners.
An alternative is starting in Elsweyr. The area is visually stunning, feels very modern, and often has you fighting enormous dragons, which is a lot of fun. Even the developers recommended starting directly with Elsweyr in 2019 and designed the content accordingly well.
The only disadvantage of both areas is that you don’t start the story in the correct order. You essentially start in the middle or, with Blackwood, “at the end,” and do not experience the story of the original base game. For that, you would need to follow the campaign of your respective alliance.
Is the story a big problem? No, because on one hand, you can catch up on all story content later, and on the other hand, the NPCs in the story, whom you might know from previous stories, react to you as if you were encountering them for the first time. This is really well handled in most cases.
Playing ESO in the Right Story Order
How do you play ESO in the right order? If you want to experience the story from the very beginning in the correct order, you must start in your own campaign. After that, you will need specific DLCs that you can purchase for real money or obtain through the ESO+ subscription.
The first major expansion is Morrowind with the area of Vvardenfell. After that, a wild mix of DLCs and expansions follows.
If you are interested in experiencing the story of ESO in the completely correct order, take a look at this article:
Here’s How to Play ESO “Correctly” – The Optimal Order for All 17 DLCs and Chapters
