Quick Start Guide to Dyes
For me, character customisation is a wonderful, immersive part of any rpg experience, and the Elder Scrolls Online is no exception. From the character creation screen to the racial crafting motifs and dye system, the Elder Scrolls Online makes shaping your perfect character very easy. However, as deep and wonderful as the dye system is, starting off you will find the colours available to you rather limited. There are great resources out there that list the various dyes and the Achievements required to obtain them, my favourite being ESO Fashion. But without any way of sorting through the dyes to see what ones are achievable at your current level these lists can seem daunting for a new player.
So allow me to present my quick start guide to filling up your wardrobe with dyes you can achieve from your alliance’s starting zones, plus a few easy extras. Complete with suggestions on how to use them and a few examples to get your creativity flowing. Obviously this is aimed at new players, but hopefully even experienced ones will get something out of this as well. You never know, the perfect gold to complete your outfit could be hiding in your starting zone.
To start the guide off here are three easy dyes you'll pick up without even trying.
Soul Shriven Gray
Soul Shriven in Coldharbour
Nothing flashy, almost a muddy gray on some items of clothing, but a solid colour for a traditional look on the metal pieces of your outfit. As with most gray’s it is very versatile with what hues you can pair it with
|
Novice Tan
Reach level 10.
A simple brown great for a light leather look and matches well with yellows, reds, browns and greens.
|
Ransacker Blue
Loot a Superior quality item.
This achievement will most likely take the form a blue provisioning recipe or a racial motif. If you’re lucky, you may even earn it before leaving Coldharbour. A lovely deep blue that was a favourite for my Templar for quite a while.
|
Volunteers Iron, Hunding Gold, Ransacker Blue
Guilds:
Assuming you are following Oneness’s guide you’ll pick these up anyway. Before heading to your starting island, find the Mages Guild, Fighters Guild and the Undaunted and in return for a few lines of dialogue you’ll have three new dyes, easy as.
Fighter Guild Red
Not a particularly flashy colour, works well with browns, some greens and other reds.
|
Mages Guild Blue
A simple blue that will take you from Soul Shriven to Arcane.
|
Dried Blood Brown
Much the same as Fighters Guild red, but with less tendency to turn into a pinkish colour on some materials.
|
Woodsman Green, Hunding Gold, Bookcover Brown
Crafting:
Crafters will probably pick most of these up without trying. But even if you have no intention of crafting, these are a few easy achievements for you:
Amethyst Violet
Research a trait.
Simple, when you find a weapon or piece of armour with a trait that isn’t exquisite or ornate, head over to the appropriate crafting station and research it. Then in six hours you’ll have a lovely violet dye.
|
Dragonthorn Yellow
Harvest any crafting material 10 times.
This makes a reasonable gold replacement for your early levels and works especially well with Ransacker Blue.
|
Hyacinth Pink
Harvest any crafting material 50 times.
Pink! A more vibrant pink than Forge Ember Red, this dye works well with blues, reds and browns.
|
Woodsman Green
Get certified in every craft.
This is available once you’re out of the starting zone. As well as an excellent way to learn about the different crafting professions available, it will net you a lovely dark green. The darkest green on this list and my favourite colour for my ranger so far.
|
Forge Ember Red
Deconstruct 50 items.
Any blacksmiths/clothiers/ woodworkers will get this one without trying, while non crafters may want to nick a few extra pieces of equipment off weapon and armour racks to fast track this one. More of a dull pink than a red, can work well with browns.
|
Obsidian Black
Deconstruct 100 items.
Again crafters will grab this without trying, will non crafters might find it a bit daunting. If there was an easier black to grab this one probably would have been left off the list, but as the only black in this guide you’ll likely find it to be an invaluable addition to your early wardrobe.
|
Battaglir Green
Read ten provisioning recipes.
Recipes are easy enough to find if you’re looting everything, especially if you’re not afraid to steal.
|
Bugloss Blue
Refine 30 raw materials.
A nice purplish blue that has a similar arcane feel to it as the Mage’s Guild Blue.
|
Book Cover Brown
Learn any Racial Motif.
If you don’t intend to craft armour or weapons, you can sell basic motifs for a small profit and I don’t blame you if you find a few more gold pieces towards your first horse more tempting than another brown. None the less this is a great addition for a ranger type colour theme when matched with green dyes.
|
Obsidian Black, Khenarthi Red, Hunding Gold
Starting Area Dyes
Each alliance has an Uncommon dye as the reward for fully exploring the beginner's areas. To get all three you will either have to reach level 50 when you get to explore other alliance areas, or create a new character for that alliance. Obviously, we’ll go with the latter. Even if you aren’t going to get invested in the character, a quick run round of these areas will net you some rather nice uncommon dyes. Links to maps provided, and all points of interest will be marked with an eye symbol.
Khenarthi Red
(Dominion)
A deep rich red, match with Obsidian Black for a classic Dark Brotherhood look, or a brown for an colour scheme that echoes Skyrim’s Imperial armour.
Khenarthi Map
|
Hunding Gold
(Daggerfell Covenant)
A rich gold colour on metal and a deep brown on clothes. It’s a very versatile colour that can be a royal trim on armour or a deep leather brown for your nature inclined characters.
Stros M’kai Map
Betnikh Map
|
Netch Jelly Blue
(Ebonheart Pact)
This bright blue matches well with lighter colours such as Volunteers Iron for an ice mage look, and can also create a nice blue steel appearance on certain metal aspects of an outfit.
Bleakrock Isle Map
Bal Foyen Map
|
Obsidian Black, Hunding Gold, Khenarthi Red, Netch Jelly Blue
Volunteers Iron
So last on the list is Volunteers Iron. While it isn’t achievable in your starting area it is still super easy to grab. If you have zero interest in pvp it would be easy to overlook but as a simple light grey it is extremely versatile and will be another invaluable addition to your early wardrobe. Once you’ve hit level ten, open up your campaign menu, and select a campaign and pop over to Cyrodil for some pvp intro quests (don’t worry these quests take place in your alliance’s safe zone so you won’t have to deal with enemy players). This will earn you the rank of Volunteer and a nice light gray that will work with all other colours on the list.
Ransacker Blue, Dragonthorn Yellow
Well that's all for this guide, I hope it has proved useful to some of you. Either by helping you pick up some extra easy dye colours or by giving you some inspiration for your future outfits. Just starting out doesn't mean you have to be dressed in drab and can't get into character immediately with the perfect outfit.
Quick Start Guide to Dyes
For me, character customisation is a wonderful, immersive part of any rpg experience, and the Elder Scrolls Online is no exception. From the character creation screen to the racial crafting motifs and dye system, the Elder Scrolls Online makes shaping your perfect character very easy. However, as deep and wonderful as the dye system is, starting off you will find the colours available to you rather limited. There are great resources out there that list the various dyes and the Achievements required to obtain them, my favourite being ESO Fashion. But without any way of sorting through the dyes to see what ones are achievable at your current level these lists can seem daunting for a new player.
So allow me to present my quick start guide to filling up your wardrobe with dyes you can achieve from your alliance’s starting zones, plus a few easy extras. Complete with suggestions on how to use them and a few examples to get your creativity flowing. Obviously this is aimed at new players, but hopefully even experienced ones will get something out of this as well. You never know, the perfect gold to complete your outfit could be hiding in your starting zone.
To start the guide off here are three easy dyes you'll pick up without even trying.
Soul Shriven Gray
Soul Shriven in Coldharbour
Nothing flashy, almost a muddy gray on some items of clothing, but a solid colour for a traditional look on the metal pieces of your outfit. As with most gray’s it is very versatile with what hues you can pair it with
|
Novice Tan
Reach level 10.
A simple brown great for a light leather look and matches well with yellows, reds, browns and greens.
|
Ransacker Blue
Loot a Superior quality item.
This achievement will most likely take the form a blue provisioning recipe or a racial motif. If you’re lucky, you may even earn it before leaving Coldharbour. A lovely deep blue that was a favourite for my Templar for quite a while.
|
Volunteers Iron, Hunding Gold, Ransacker Blue
Guilds:
Assuming you are following Oneness’s guide you’ll pick these up anyway. Before heading to your starting island, find the Mages Guild, Fighters Guild and the Undaunted and in return for a few lines of dialogue you’ll have three new dyes, easy as.
Fighter Guild Red
Not a particularly flashy colour, works well with browns, some greens and other reds.
|
Mages Guild Blue
A simple blue that will take you from Soul Shriven to Arcane.
|
Dried Blood Brown
Much the same as Fighters Guild red, but with less tendency to turn into a pinkish colour on some materials.
|
Woodsman Green, Hunding Gold, Bookcover Brown
Crafting:
Crafters will probably pick most of these up without trying. But even if you have no intention of crafting, these are a few easy achievements for you:
Amethyst Violet
Research a trait.
Simple, when you find a weapon or piece of armour with a trait that isn’t exquisite or ornate, head over to the appropriate crafting station and research it. Then in six hours you’ll have a lovely violet dye.
|
Dragonthorn Yellow
Harvest any crafting material 10 times.
This makes a reasonable gold replacement for your early levels and works especially well with Ransacker Blue.
|
Hyacinth Pink
Harvest any crafting material 50 times.
Pink! A more vibrant pink than Forge Ember Red, this dye works well with blues, reds and browns.
|
Woodsman Green
Get certified in every craft.
This is available once you’re out of the starting zone. As well as an excellent way to learn about the different crafting professions available, it will net you a lovely dark green. The darkest green on this list and my favourite colour for my ranger so far.
|
Forge Ember Red
Deconstruct 50 items.
Any blacksmiths/clothiers/ woodworkers will get this one without trying, while non crafters may want to nick a few extra pieces of equipment off weapon and armour racks to fast track this one. More of a dull pink than a red, can work well with browns.
|
Obsidian Black
Deconstruct 100 items.
Again crafters will grab this without trying, will non crafters might find it a bit daunting. If there was an easier black to grab this one probably would have been left off the list, but as the only black in this guide you’ll likely find it to be an invaluable addition to your early wardrobe.
|
Battaglir Green
Read ten provisioning recipes.
Recipes are easy enough to find if you’re looting everything, especially if you’re not afraid to steal.
|
Bugloss Blue
Refine 30 raw materials.
A nice purplish blue that has a similar arcane feel to it as the Mage’s Guild Blue.
|
Book Cover Brown
Learn any Racial Motif.
If you don’t intend to craft armour or weapons, you can sell basic motifs for a small profit and I don’t blame you if you find a few more gold pieces towards your first horse more tempting than another brown. None the less this is a great addition for a ranger type colour theme when matched with green dyes.
|
Obsidian Black, Khenarthi Red, Hunding Gold
Starting Area Dyes
Each alliance has an Uncommon dye as the reward for fully exploring the beginner's areas. To get all three you will either have to reach level 50 when you get to explore other alliance areas, or create a new character for that alliance. Obviously, we’ll go with the latter. Even if you aren’t going to get invested in the character, a quick run round of these areas will net you some rather nice uncommon dyes. Links to maps provided, and all points of interest will be marked with an eye symbol.
Khenarthi Red
(Dominion)
A deep rich red, match with Obsidian Black for a classic Dark Brotherhood look, or a brown for an colour scheme that echoes Skyrim’s Imperial armour.
Khenarthi Map
|
Hunding Gold
(Daggerfell Covenant)
A rich gold colour on metal and a deep brown on clothes. It’s a very versatile colour that can be a royal trim on armour or a deep leather brown for your nature inclined characters.
Stros M’kai Map
Betnikh Map
|
Netch Jelly Blue
(Ebonheart Pact)
This bright blue matches well with lighter colours such as Volunteers Iron for an ice mage look, and can also create a nice blue steel appearance on certain metal aspects of an outfit.
Bleakrock Isle Map
Bal Foyen Map
|
Obsidian Black, Hunding Gold, Khenarthi Red, Netch Jelly Blue
Volunteers Iron
So last on the list is Volunteers Iron. While it isn’t achievable in your starting area it is still super easy to grab. If you have zero interest in pvp it would be easy to overlook but as a simple light grey it is extremely versatile and will be another invaluable addition to your early wardrobe. Once you’ve hit level ten, open up your campaign menu, and select a campaign and pop over to Cyrodil for some pvp intro quests (don’t worry these quests take place in your alliance’s safe zone so you won’t have to deal with enemy players). This will earn you the rank of Volunteer and a nice light gray that will work with all other colours on the list.
Ransacker Blue, Dragonthorn Yellow
Well that's all for this guide, I hope it has proved useful to some of you. Either by helping you pick up some extra easy dye colours or by giving you some inspiration for your future outfits. Just starting out doesn't mean you have to be dressed in drab and can't get into character immediately with the perfect outfit.
