@Tailgers guide to having fun in ESO dungeons

[Tailger]

A Humble Introduction

 

If you know me, I am really just an advocate for people having fun in Elder Scrolls Online (Now known as “Tamirel Unlimited”).  I do not claim to be an expert, but I have done many fun dungeon runs with random players, guild mates, friends and friends I haven’t met yet.  I’m always up for a challenge and a fun time so the more players who are interested in these the more fun we can all have.

 

As such an advocate for fun, I wrote this guide in hopes that it will be useful and at least entertaining to those who wish to venture into the group dungeons.  I believe the information below will serve you well on your journey. This is also not intended to be a comprehensive guide that tells you everything, it is more of an introduction to get you off on the right footing.

 

This is also all derived from my own experiences and opinions on how to best tackle dungeons in this game. Groups may find even better ways to fight together, and I always love to see what people come up with to conquer a challenge.

 

As always, if you have questions or if you want to have someone come with you on a dungeon who won’t get mad if you make mistakes, feel free to reach out to me.

[Tailger]

Group Dungeons in Elder Scrolls Online

 

The group dungeons in Elder Scrolls Online can pose a moderate to very hard challenge to a group of up to four players.  It will test your teamwork, group coordination, how well you know your character skills and abilities, your cunning and wit.  In my opinion, there is no greater reward than being given a challenge and coming out on top when all the dust settles.

 

On top of winning the day with your teammates, the quests in each dungeon will award you a skill point, a nice chunk of pocket change and lots of loot and XP.

 

Dungeon scaling was introduced in update five of Elder Scrolls online.  The foes in a dungeon will now scale upwards above their minimum level to the level of the party leader (the crown) when the first person enters the dungeon and creates the group instance.  That means you can visit a dungeon at any time once you have met the minimum level requirement.

 

At every tier, there are three normal dungeons for the level range of the zone they are in, one for each faction. You can visit the other factions’ dungeons while you are still leveling so it is common to knock all three out in one run.

 

The dungeon entrances also act as one-way wayshrines, so from any wayshrine you can fast-travel into a dungeon for free if you have discovered the entrance.  The undaunted NPCs will also mark them on your map if you talk to them.

 

Tier one - Level 11+

• Fungal Grotto in Stonefalls, Ebonheart Pact.

• Spindlecluch in Glenumbra, Daggerfall Covenant.

• Banished Cells in Auridon, Altmeri Dominion.

 

Tier two - Level 18+

• Darkshade Caverns in Deshaan, Ebonheart Pact.

• Wayrest Sewers in Stormhaven, Dagerfall Covenant.

• Elden Hollow in Grathwood, Altmeri Dominion.

 

Tier three - Level 22+

• Arx Corinium in Shadowfen, Ebonheart Pact.

• Crypt of Hearts in Rivenspire, Daggerfall Covenant.

• City of Ash in Greenshade, Altmeri Dominion.

 

Tier four - Level 30+

• Direfrost Keep in Eastmarch, Ebonheart Pact.

• Volenfell in Alik’r Desert, Daggerfall Covenant.

• Tempest Island, Malabal Tor, Altmari Dominion

 

Tier five - Level 38+

• The Blessed Crucible in The Rift, Ebonheart Pact.

• Blackheart Haven in Bangkori, Daggerfall Covenant.

• Selene’s web in Reapers March, Altmari Dominion.

 

Tier six - Level  45+

• Vaults of Madness in Coldharbor

 

[Tailger]

Normal versions and Veteran versions of dungeons

 

Some dungeons have a “veteran” mode that features a brand new quest separate from the normal one.  The veteran versions usually have much harder foes to deal with, much more complicated bosses to fight, are usually longer and pose a much harder challenge.

 

To be successful in the veteran versions of these dungeons, you need a group that really knows what they are doing and knows the role they are playing.  Using voice communication like teamspeak will be a huge asset.

 

With the exception of veteran City of Ash, you can venture into any of the veteran versions once you hit vet1.  The group tool has a toggle that selects the normal version from the veteran version, and is selectable by the group leader.  The dungeon will scale the foes to the level of the group leader, up to vet12.

 

Not every dungeon has a veteran version, and selecting the veteran version toggle has been known to break some quests if there is no veteran version of the dungeon.

 

As of this writing, the following dungeons have veteran versions:

• Fungal Grotto

• Banished Cells

• Spindlecluch

• Darkshade Caverns

• Elden Hollow

• Wayrest Sewers

• Crypt of Hearts

• City of Ash (vet14 only)

 

There is also a “extra hard mode” challenge for veteran dungeons, usually for the gold undaunted key on the pledges or an achievement.  This usually involves keeping certain foes alive during a boss fight or not taking advantage of some mechanic that would otherwise help you.

[Tailger]

The “Holy Trinity”

 

Group dungeons in Elder Scrolls Online are built around what is referred to as the “Holy Trinity”.  The three roles are Tank, Healer and Damage dealer (DPS).  Generally a group will have one tank, one healer and two damage dealers.  I will get into what these roles’ responsibilities are a bit later.

 

When you sign up for a group, it is important to work with the group to decide what role you will be filling, so the group can make sure everything is covered.  I will also have special considerations for how I interact with other players in my group based on what role they have signed up for.

 

When you are looking for a group, it is also important to list what roles your character can do.  It is common for good players to be able to fill multiple roles with a gear and skill swap.

 

It is possible to complete a dungeon without having one group member set for every role, but it will make it a bit more challenging.

 

There are some boss fights that have mechanics that intentionally take a player out of combat for a period of time.  In those cases, it is important that everyone have some means of being self-sufficient for a time or at least able to take over the role of the subtracted player.

 

It is also possible that a player may fall in combat, so being able to be self-sufficient for a period of time will mean that your group may yet still win the day.

[Tailger]

Before you embark on your journey

 

A couple of things you will want to do before you head off to an adventure:

 

Clear out unnecessary clutter in your inventory.  You will be picking up a lot of neat loot that you can sell or deconstruct for the materials, so having plenty of bag space free will help you.

 

Repair your gear.  You will be taking a beating in these runs, so make sure your gear is in good shape.

 

Check weapon enchantment charges.  Having the extra damage or effect an enchant provides will help your group immensely.  If they are low be ready to recharge them partway through the run.

 

Things you will want to bring with you on your journey:

 

Filled soul gems appropriate for you and your group’s level.  Sometimes people will fall in combat.  In boss fights you cannot self-resurrect, you must rely on group mates to do it.  So having a few soul gems in your inventory to help a fallen comrade will make your journey go that much smoother.

 

Potions for your primary resource.  Stamina or magicka, depending on what you use the most.  Keep a few around and in your quickslot so during a long fight you can use one to get back some resources.

 

Health potions.  The healer can’t be expected to heal everyone all the time, so having a few around for an emergency heal may save you and your whole group.

 

Food or drink for your level.  Not necessary for normal runs, but pretty much a requirement for veteran dungeons.  They do not hurt in both cases to have your stats buffed a bit with some food or drink.

 

For veteran versions, you might consider tri-stat potions and potions of spell and weapon damage.  I’ve done many veteran dungeons without them tho.

[Tailger]

General Vocabulary

 

Here are some common vocabulary terms you may run across when interacting with your group mates:

 

Aggro - Aggression.  Most of the foes you will find in dungeons are very simple minded.  They will select a player and attempt to attack that player.  Having a foe focused on you means that you have their “aggo”.

 

Res - Resurrection.  You can use a soul gem to resurrect a fallen group mate.  In boss fights, you cannot self resurrect so you must rely on your group.  In non boss fights or out of combat, you can resurrect in place with a soul gem or back at the wayshrine at the start of the dungeon.

 

DPS or “deeps” -  Damage output of a player or the group per second.  Only really important in a few specific fights, but generally having good damage output will make your dungeon experience better.

 

AOEs - Area Of Effect.  Some attacks, both player and foe generated, can have an area of effect.  Everything in the telegraphed area will be impacted.  A red circle or cone on the ground will indicate an incoming area of effect that will do damage to you.  Group healing areas will often be yellow.

 

Adds - Additional foes spawned during a fight.  Often bosses will spawn minions during particular phases of the fight.

 

Wipe - When everyone in the group falls in a fight, it is called a wipe.  Usually in boss fights, the boss health and status will reset, forcing you to start anew.

 

Pull - Starting combat with a group or boss.  Generally the tank will open up combat and that initial attack is called a pull because it tends to pull the most dangerous foes to the tank.

 

Crowd control - Skills that immobilize, stun or otherwise take a foe out of combat for a period of time.

 

Damage check - A mechanic that requires the group output a certain level of damage in order to pass.  There are “soft” damage checks and “hard” damage checks.  Soft ones are usually a race to do enough damage before too many foes are spawned and overwhelm you.  Hard checks are usually a timer where the boss will do something when it expires that will unavoidably kill the whole group.

 

Heal check - A mechanic that requires the group be able to survive a certain level of unavoidable damage in order to pass.  These can be overcome by healing through them or mitigating the damage, or a combination of both.

[Tailger]

All purpose tips and principles

 

Each role has a set of principles that prioritizes what they should be doing.  If the top priority is being met, then you can dip into the second priority.  If the top two are being met, then you can work on the third one.

 

Regardless of roles, these are good tips that apply to everyone to help the group run smoothly:

 

Stay together.  Watch your group mates and their health indicators on your screen.  If any of them turn grey, hold up and let them catch up.  This is especially true in combat because it becomes increasingly difficult to provide group support if the group member is out of range.

 

Do not start combat until everyone is ready.  I usually look back and check all my group mates before starting combat.  If I see that we are not together or someone has their bag open, I will hold up.  Often times specific battles will require specific skills, so before a fight it is common to pause a moment to let everyone get their skill bars setup right.

 

Stay out of the red.  The game will telegraph a hard hitting attack with a red circle or cone on the ground.  If you see one show up under your feet, get out fast.  Roll dodge out of the way or at least block and back up.

 

Block, dodge and interrupt.  Foes will telegraph a heavy attack with yellow “sparkles” coming off of them, and a magic attack with red “sparkles”.  Block or dodge if you see yellow ones, and interrupt red ones.  There are many skills that will interrupt, the most common are bashing or a venom arrow.

[Tailger]

Playing tank

 

A tank is a character who is built to be able to take and mitigate a large portion of the incoming damage.  They will also be focusing on keeping the foes in line so the damage dealers can effectively burn them down without too much trouble.  The tank is usually the one who opens combat on a group of foes, identifies the biggest threats in a group and keeps them under control by managing their aggression

 

A tank’s staple is their taunts.  Taunts force foes to focus their aggression on the one who taunted them for a time. In Elder Scrolls Online, it is not practical for a tank to taunt everything. There are also boss mechanics that are scripted to completely ignore the tank’s taunts and attack a random player. Usually what the tank will do is taunt the most threatening foes and use crowd control and group buffs to help keep the rest of the group trouble free.

 

A tank should also watch their group mates and if any of them are getting pestered by a foe, pull that foe away.  This is particularly important if the one being pestered is the healer.

 

The first priority of the tank is to keep themselves alive.  Block heavy attacks, dodge out of telegraphed AOEs, keep self heals, damage mitigations and potions at the ready. Preform heavy attacks when you can to reclaim stamina.

 

The second priority of the tank is keeping the biggest threats under control.  Taunt, use crowd controls and AOEs to keep as much aggression focused on you.  If any of the foes are giving your team mates a hard time, make them a priority to get under control.  This is especially important if the healer is under pressure by a foe.

 

The third priority of a tank is group support.  Damage buffs, healing received buffs and incoming damage mitigation for the group are great if you can spare the resources to do it.  Also applying armor and spell resistance debuffs to your foes is a good thing to do if you can spare the resources.

[Tailger]

Playing healer

 

A healer is a character who is built to undo the results of incoming damage on the group.  This is usually done by healing spells, group cleanse and purify spells, keeping healing over time spells up and warding or shielding.

 

In Elder Scrolls Online, a healer’s staple is their healing over time spells.  They are usually low cost and will undo a lot of the incoming damage before it becomes a problem.  A healer should have a good burst heal if possible to undo a large amount of damage.  Healers should have at least one restoration staff equipped, and use restoration staff heavy attacks to reclaim magicka when you are not needed to cast.

 

The first priority of a healer is to keep themselves alive.  The usual block, dodge and interrupt are important here, but also pay close attention to positioning.  If you can position yourself such that you are still well within range of the group so your healing will work but it makes it harder for foes to target you, then use the terrain to your advantage. Watch the boss, for they often telegraph that they are about to do a scripted attack that will ignore the tank’s taunts.  For some reason, bosses love to pick on healers in this game, so be prepared to defend yourself if the boss does something mean.

 

The second priority of a healer is to keep the group alive.  Healing spells of course do wonders here, but also do not forget about interrupting archers and casters on the sidelines.  If you can prevent the damage from landing on the group, that is just damage you will not have to undo later.

 

The third priority of a healer is group support.  If you can spare the resources, keeping damage buffs or incoming damage mitigations up on the group will make everyone’s job easier.  There are also some spells that have synergies that allow others to reclaim resources.  If you can spare it, give some resources to your group mates.

[Tailger]

Playing damage dealer (DPS)

 

A damage dealer (or “DPS”) is a character who is built to output damage on one or more foes.  This area has probably the most diverse skills and abilities available in the game.  A damage dealer will have a weapon or two and a set of complementary skills.  It is generally best to have at least one ranged weapon available since there are many boss fights with heavy hitting damage at close range.  You should also have a good single target damage setup that has high damage on a single target, and a good AOE damage setup that will do moderate damage to a group of foes.  Be ready to swap skills around for the upcoming battle, some are AOE heavy, some are single target heavy.

 

The staple of a damage dealer is their primary resource pool, magicka or stamina.  Make sure you always have enough to react to what the game throws at you.  If you are stamina based, always have enough stamina around to roll-dodge or block.  If you are magicka based, always have enough for an emergency self-heal or damage shield.

 

A damage dealer’s first priority is to keep themselves alive.  The usual block, dodge and interrupt skills are important, along with positioning.  You should also have a decent self-heal or healing potion available in the case that you need to run self-sufficiently for a while.  Situational awareness is key, watch for heavy attacks aimed at you, and watch the boss for telegraphed attacks.

 

The second priority is to group support.  If another team mate falls, try to resurrect them if you can do it with minimal risk.  The group can usually go without outputting damage for longer than they can go without healing or someone wrangling the foes.  Watch your healer, and if they are under pressure from a foe, make the foe picking on the healer your next target.

 

The third priority is to kill things.  If you are about to face a boss with a lot of health, get your good single target damage skills slotted.  If you are dealing with lots of random little foes, get your AOE skills slotted.  In each battle there is also a priority on what to kill first.  This is highly dependent on the battle, but generally speaking if the boss spawns adds during a fight, they are the first priority to burn down, then return to the boss fight.

 

[Baeleth]

Excellent write up, Tailger! Very good advice! Following these basics makes gaming more fun and less aggravating. For anyone new (or old) to dungeon delving, if you want to roll like the pros then this guide is your starting point.

P.S. I think you misspelled "agro"

[Tailger]

Baeleth wrote:

Excellent write up, Tailger! Very good advice! Following these basics makes gaming more fun and less aggravating. For anyone new (or old) to dungeon delving, if you want to roll like the pros then this guide is your starting point. P.S. I think you misspelled "agro"

 

Oh yes, I fixed it, thank you.

 

[Armithist]

This is grate work and will help all that read it thank you.