Five things to try in Elder Scrolls Online after completing the main quest

As someone who has been a regular player of ESO (Elder Scrolls Online) since 2015, I have encountered many different players with many thoughts, opinions and questions about the game.

One thing that has cropped up repeatedly in all of that time though is the question of “what’s next” after finishing the main questline or simply getting to a point where overland quests feel “too easy”.

If you are one such player who is looking for ideas about things you can try, then hopefully this article will help set you on a path to further entertainment in ESO.

When ESO originally released way back in 2014, it was marketed quite heavily on its PvP. There wasn’t much end-game PvE content in the beginning, so the game relied quite heavily on its massive Alliance War battles in Cyrodiil to give players something to do besides quests. While in the years since then, the PvE side of Elder Scrolls Online has doubtless received more attention and new content, there is still plenty to try out in PvP. If fast-paced and competitive gameplay is your thing, then I definitely recommend giving it a try. There are three main types of PvP in ESO: the Alliance War, Battlegrounds and Dueling.

The Alliance War is the oldest of the PvP game modes and takes place in Cyrodiil. Here you can join other players from your alliance to fight against the other two alliances for control over the Ruby Throne. There are often massive battles involving dozens of players on each side, as well as sieges where you will need to help your comrades overcome the enemy’s defenses in order to capture keeps - a key part of winning the campaign in Cyrodiil.

If you prefer smaller scale PvP, there is also Battlegrounds, which pits three teams of four players against each other in various game modes, including the classic death match format, as well as some other game modes that you may or may not be familiar with, including “Capture the Relic” and “Chaos Ball”.

Lastly, if honing your skills and your build in the ultimate test of 1v1 combat appeals to you, then you can always give dueling a try. You can send a duel request to any player in the game, but dueling random people isn’t a great way to get high quality duels. I would recommend joining a guild that is specifically intended for dueling if you want to explore this route - perhaps try asking around when you are in Cyrodiil, chances are that you will find someone who can invite you to such a guild or at least point you in the right direction.

ESO (Elder Scrolls Online) now has many dungeons and arenas that you can explore. All of this content, with the exception of the solo arenas Maelstrom Arena and Vateshran Hollows is aimed at groups of four players.

You may have already been to a couple of dungeons, perhaps on normal difficulty. The jump up to veteran difficulty is definitely worth doing in order to find better items, meet new players and hone your skills. You can also activate the hardmode on the last boss if you want an extra challenge.

I generally recommend starting with the non-DLC dungeons as they tend to be easier. The game has pretty good progression from its easiest dungeons like Fungal Grotto I and The Banished Cells I to harder ones, such as The Dread Cellar.

Also remember to check out the Undaunted Enclave in a hub city (Wayrest, Mournhold or Elden Root) to pick up the daily dungeon quests, known as "pledges". You get extra rewards for these, and it’s easy to find people to do the daily dungeons with you - just ask in zone chat or use the group finder tool!

Trials are arguably the ultimate end-game of ESO’s PvE. But that doesn’t mean that they aren’t accessible for newcomers!

Trial groups consist of 12 players - usually two tanks, two healers and eight damage dealers.

As with dungeons, there is a good range of difficulty with trials, from easier ones like Aetherian Archive to the more challenging Rockgrove and Cloudrest. As with dungeons, trials also have a normal and veteran difficulty setting, and an optional hardmode on some or all of the bosses, depending on the trial.

You really don’t need any experience at all to join trials on normal, so this is a great way of starting to get a feel for the content. When you want to make the jump up to veteran, it is generally advisable to at least do a bit of research into builds that are suitable for your role (tank, healer or damage dealer).

I also strongly recommend finding a guild to run trials with. Don’t listen to people who say that all trial players are elitist and won’t let newcomers in, I have been playing trials since 2017 and this is honestly nonsense. There are lots of guilds out there that organize regular raids where they teach the trials to newer players, and this is a great place to get started. Use the Guild Finder, check the ESO Forums or ask around in zone chat to find a guild that’s right for you. To find out more about joining guilds, check out our guide on the topic.

For the best experience, have a working mic so that you can communicate with your teammates if needed.

If you think you might enjoy gradually progressing towards the game’s hardest achievements, and making some friends along the way, then trials could be perfect for you!

At its core, trading in ESO is all about getting your hands on rare or useful items that players want to buy, and selling them for a profit. This can range from simply selling crafting materials or potions, to style motifs and weapons or armor.

If you have something that you think maybe worth selling, then check out Tamriel Trade Center to get an idea of its current market value. You can sell to other players via zone chat, but the most efficient way to do it, especially when you are selling a lot of items, is to join a trading guild. There are plenty of these in the Guild Finder, and you will also often see them being advertised in zone chat.

Some trading guilds are more “hardcore” in the sense that they are competing with other trade guilds for the best trader spots, and therefore expect members to have a certain amount of weekly sales (a small share of anything you sell via a guild trader goes back into the guild), while others are more relaxed in their approach and probably more suitable for beginners.

Experienced traders can sometimes rake in millions of gold every week - and while you probably aren’t going to making that much when you first start out, making some gold via trading will help you a lot with pretty much every other aspect of ESO, especially the final item on this list…

It’s often joked that housing is the true end-game of the Elder Scrolls Online, and for some players this is probably not a joke at all. Housing has been a feature in ESO since the Homestead patch in 2017, and by now the developers have added a huge amount of houses and furnishing items.

There are three small houses you can get for free to give housing a try, but if you want a larger house then you will have to pay a substantial amount of gold or buy it with Crowns. Once you have made the initial investment though you are able to start planning and decorating your dream house in ESO! You have probably already discovered a few recipes for housing items on your travels. You can double click on these to learn them, provided your character has high enough crafting skills. If you want to buy some more with gold, then check out guild stores.

There’s really so much to housing in ESO that it’s hard to do it justice in this article, so feel free to check out our Housing Guide to learn more about how it all works.

We hope you enjoyed this article about ESO (Elder Scrolls Online). ESO is a massively multiplayer online game (MMO) and is developed by Zenimax Online Studios.