Last Updated: 5/20/2024

Welcome to The Elder Scrolls Online!

Welcome to The Elder Scrolls Online, an online RPG set in the Elder Scrolls universe. Limitless adventure awaits you in Tamriel – and we're here to help you begin your epic journey. This guide is designed to give you a starting point in a world where you can go anywhere and do anything.

Create Your Character

In The Elder Scrolls Online you will explore a vibrant, living world in turmoil – but first you have to create your character! ESO provides a huge amount of customization options for your character, including your Race, Class, and appearance.

Notably, your Alliance determines where you start and who you fight for in the Alliance War (one of ESO's player versus player game modes), while your Race selection provides unique bonuses to your character for certain weapons, attributes, or abilities.

Finally, your Class determines what kind of warrior your character is going to be and provides you with unique abilities. Do you wish to wield the fiery might of a Dragonknight to heal, harm or protect, or would you rather do it all with the dark and mysterious powers of a Nightblade? Even a studied Sorcerer can be played as a cunning wielder of steel or an iron-clad tank for their team instead of a Magicka-harnessing powerhouse. The kind of hero you become is entirely up to you!

Take Your First Steps in Tamriel

Once you have created your character and completed the in-game tutorial, it is time to take your very first steps into the open world of Tamriel, and there are some simple things you can do to jump right into the game. Most importantly, understand that you can explore Tamriel at your own pace. You can go anywhere and do anything you like -- there is no “right" way to play!

For starters, take the time to get used to how the game controls (with either the keyboard and mouse or controller). You can find the complete controls and keybindings here. Next, look for non-player characters (NPCs) and interact with them to learn their stories and complete some quests for XP and loot.

Finally, explore outside of the towns and take on some monsters. We will provide more information about combat later, but try out your regular attacks (Light and Heavy Attacks), defensive moves (Blocking, Dodging), and abilities, and don't forget to collect and equip your well-earned rewards!

Play How You Want

The Elder Scrolls Online is a world without limits, meaning you can play how you want to play. Are you a solo player at heart? There's an epic main story that's sure to grab your attention. Want to group up? Join a Guild, party up, and take on a host of challenging group activities such as dungeons, world bosses, and more. And that's just scratching the surface of what's in store.

Our advice? Take it all in and explore at your own pace. There's plenty to see and do.

Have additional questions about the game? You can check out our additional New Player Guides on the right of this page, and don't forget you can always ask the ESO Community for help on our Players Helping Players forum.

Next: Getting Started Guide - Part 2/3.

Getting Started Guide - Part 1

Welcome to The Elder Scrolls Online!

Create Your Character

Take Your First Steps in Tamriel

Play How You Want

Guides

Guides

Community Guides—Update 44

Community Guides—Update 43

Learn the Basics of Housing & Update 43’s Home Tours

Community Guides–Whitestrake’s Mayhem PvP Special

Prepare for Your New Adventure in West Weald by Watching Arttea’s Gold Road Overview!

Community Guides—Gold Road and Update 42

Community Guides—Scribing

Learn About Gold Road’s Upcoming Scribing System in this 101-Style Video Guide

Community Guides—Update 41 and Scions of Ithelia

Community Guides—Whitestrake’s Mayhem and PvP

Getting Started

The Basics

Character Management

Activities

Advanced Guides

Community Guides

Support