ESO Quest Marker Series, Vol 1

Is it Possible to Solo The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited?

The Quest Marker is a series of guides for The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited.

In this installment, I will address the issue of whether it's possible to solo ESO, discuss solo questing areas, and will provide a list of content that you can and cannot solo. But first, I’d like to start with a little about me. With certain exceptions, online role-playing games are simply not my thing. However, I have a real passion for The Elder Scrolls series. I’ve played every single installment of the series and, yes, that includes Arena. (I wish they’d remaster that game)

The Elder Scrolls Series is generally considered among the best single-player RPGs, in which one person—you—becomes the sole hero. With that in mind, I was a bit leery when Bethesda announced plans to go down the MMO route with The Elder Scrolls Online, believing that the series was about to leave me behind. Not willing to be a simple naysayer without at least giving it a try, I purchased the game with the intention of ignoring, as much as I could, all of the grouping elements of gameplay. I discovered that most quests are written as though you are the only character present, despite the likelihood that many players will end up tackling the same quests in groups. I will admit that at times it could be a bit immersion-breaking to see another player who’s clearly chatting with a NPC you can’t see yet because you aren’t as far along on a given quest as he or she happens to be. If you can get past these inconsistencies, which are a consequence of individuals and groups all trying to do the same thing at pretty much the exact same time, you may find The Elder Scrolls Online is certainly a great game.

With all that said, I need to warn you: The Elder Scrolls Online is NOT a single player series clone. If you are looking for the exact same feel as a single player game, you will be disappointed. It’s a different game with different skills, different abilities, and different ways to unfold the story. What binds this game to the single player series is what we all love about The Elder Scrolls: the races, the setting, the lore, the gods, the daedra, and the constant struggle for the heart and soul of Tamriel. There is nothing like riding on horseback through parts of Valenwood, fast traveling by wayshrine to Riften, and then stopping off for ales at The Rosy Lion Inn in Daggerfall. I can honestly say that I’ve seen more of Tamriel than I ever had before.

Questing

Like I mentioned above, all the quests are written as if you are the only player in the game. In fact, the alliance quests and the main game story are designed to be played solo. You could do them in a group, but there is no reason to do so. In my opinion, these quests are fairly easy to complete and grouping with another would make the quest line extremely boring. Here’s the interesting part: when you complete your main alliance quest and the main story, you can fast travel to another alliance and solo their quests as well. For example, say you pick the Aldmeri Dominion (as everyone should ) as your starting alliance. Once you complete those quests and the main story, a “not so bad, not so good” daedra (no spoilers!) encourages you to travel to other lands to understand what is at stake in the struggle for Tamriel. You then can choose which alliance you would like to experience. More than that, you have the main story lines for each of the DLCs: Thieves Guild, Orsinium, and Imperial City (Craglorn is not listed because it is designed for group play). It’s that simple.

Most people get confused about how to progress in the main story. The common complaint is that you can complete a few quests, but then no longer get visited by the primary quest-giver. That’s because you must be at certain levels in order to progress. In fact, each new quest for the main story line requires you character to be five levels higher. For example, after your initial escape from Coldharbor, the main quest-giver appears when you are level five. After that quest, he appears when you are level ten. The last quest of the main story should open up when you are at least level forty-five. It would be rather foolish to face down Molag Bal as a weak level five Nightblade. In a future volume, I will discuss the leveling process.

Zones

Assuming that you're following the quests for your faction and/or the main story, you will not have to worry if you are underleveled for the area. However, you should be aware that each alliance area is divided into zones. Each zone contains NPCs, enemies, and bosses of a specific level. If you just wander around, you could find yourself in an area where you simply cannot handle what awaits you. The exception to this rule is Wrothgar and Cyrodiil, which, upon entry, the game "battle-levels" you - increases your health, magicka, and stamina to a higher level. The following are the individual zones and appropriate levels:

Aldmeri Dominion:

1. Khenarthi’s Roost – level 1-5
2. Auridon – 1-15
3. Grahtwood – 16-23
4. Greenshade – 25-30
5. Malabal Tor – 31-37
6. Reaper’s March – 38-43

Daggerfall:

1. Stros M’Kai – 1-4
2. Betnikh – 4-5
3. Glenumbra – 3-15
4. Stormhaven – 16-23
5. Rivenspire – 25-30
6. Alik’r Desert – 31-37
7. Bangkorai – 37-43

Ebonheart:

1. Bleakrock Isle – 1-3
2. Bal Foyen – 3-6
3. Stonefalls – 1-15
4. Deshaan – 16-24
5. Shadowfen – 25-30
6. Eastmarch – 35-40
7. The Rift – 41-48

Neutral:

1. Coldharbour 44–50
2. Craglorn 50+
3. Cyrodiil (PvP) 10+
4. Hew's Bane 3+ (Battle Leveling)
5. Wrothgar 3+ (Battle Leveling)

Delves, Dungeons, and Dolmens - Oh, My!

80% of this game can be completed solo, which includes the following areas :

• Delves (map symbol, ): Contains a named boss, multiple mini-bosses, and a skyshard (collect three for a skill point)

• Public dungeons (map symbol,): Harder than delves, and contains multiple bosses and a skyshard

• Dolmens (map symbols,): Locations where Molag Bal is trying to latch onto Tamriel and drag it into Coldharbor. These can be difficult, but not impossible, to solo. 

• Open World Bosses (map symbol,): A very powerful boss, encamped in a place other than in a dungeon or delve.

EDIT: Ponty raised a good point about solo'ing delves, dungeons, and dolmens. Because they can be a bit trickier, you might want to change your normal skill rotation to include crowd control and AOE (area of effect) skills. Also, the Fighter's Guild skills can be a big help when fighting undead and daedra. Personally, I never had much trouble with dungeons and delves with my normal rotation of skills, but dolmens really made me "work for it" at a lower level. It's really up to you and how comfortable you feel with the particular areas.

In addition to these locations, each zone has a group dungeon or delve, which is identified by a “+” beside the appropriate map symbol. If you have no intention of grouping with other players, stay away from these dungeons. Can you solo them? Yes, but only certain ones. Many group dungeon bosses have a certain attack or mechanic that requires more than one person to overcome. These are, however, the group dungeons that can be completed solo:

• Darkshade Caverns – Deshaan – Ebonheart Pact
• City of Ash – Grahtwood – Aldmeri Dominion
• Banished Cells – Auridon – Aldmeri Dominion
• Spindleclutch – Glenumbra – Daggerfall Covenant

Once you do a group dungeon in your alliance area, the group dungeons in the other alliances will open up to you. Although these dungeons can be solo'd at any difficulty level ("normal" or "veteran"), I strongly recommend that you wait until you have reached level 50 (veteran ranks will be removed soon), perfected your playstyle, and geared your character accordingly. I tried to solo Banished Cells as soon as I reached level 50, but High Kinlord Rillis wiped the floor with me. I'm sure he would have tea-bagged me if the game was so coded! I waited until I was confident of my playstyle and beat him on my next go-around. It was still very difficult, but very rewarding.

Well, this guide has gone on for too long, so I will close it out for now. The next volume will address leveling, skill points, and mundus stones.

Until next time,

I’ll see you in Tamriel (unless you’re going solo )

 

 P.S. - I know this has been very long, but I wanted to show you a video of a veteran level group dungeon - Banished Cells - being solo'd. The video is by Thelon, the GM of the prestigous guild, Elderblade. He and I have had some discussions about soloing this type of content. Although he makes it look easy, notice his flawless technique, skill level, and his use of daedric summons to keep the heat off him.

Great guide, Patriach! I've actually solo'd most of my time in ESO, save for delves, world bosses and dungeons. I enjoy playing both alone and with friends 

Thank you! I also solo'd the majority of my lower levels. I didn't even really join a guild until I was level 40ish, but I didn't do anything with them until Vet levels. 

Good times.

Thanks, Patriarch, for this guide. As much as I enjoy my friends, I really do think that I'm best on my own and your guide lets me know which places are doable. Knowing me, however, I will take Mr. Buttons to a place he's not supposed to go cause he just makes errors like that. LOL

Mr. Buttons - I LOVE it!

It's worth mentioning that some group content like Dolmens and Delves often won't be doable with your regular PvE setup. If you're willing to switch up your skill bar a bit, you can get a huge advantage in these situations - area attacks (preferably with Crowd Control effects) and abilities that let you regain resources like heals and absorbs really tip the scales here, even if they don't do quite as much damage as your regular abilities.

Good points, although, I was able to solo delves with my normal set-up. I'll add additional information.

All the guilds I've joined died so I simply mucked around with friends and the group finder to do what I couldn't. 

They made some BIG improvements to the group finder. It's actually quite useful now. Haha.

Depends on your class and 'normal setup'. I did fine going through with my Templar but my tank Nightblade and single target melee Sorcerer had to switch things up a bit.