Getting Into Cyrodiil (For Players Who Haven't Tried It, Feel Overwhelmed/Reluctant)

tinythinker

Hello, I am writing this for players who have avoided or who just haven't gotten around to visiting Cyrodiil. While not everyone will want to make the Alliance War a regular part of their ESO experience, it is worth at least trying as a part of your purchase cost and subscription fee. If you are shy about "competing" directly against other players, new to MMORPGs, or otherwise hesitant to head into Cyrodiil, read on to get a better idea of what to expect and how to navigate your way after you arrive.

I've included quite a bit so skip to whatever seems interesting or useful. If you are well versed in the Alliance War campaigns, please add whatever you think is important or any corrections to errors I have made.

Welcome to lovely Cyrodiil, enjoy (and try to survive) your stay.


You can access Cyrodiil after reaching level 10.

Just press "L" to access the Alliance War menu. Select the Campaign tab in the menu to choose which version of the Alliance War you want to visit. Don't worry about making a mistake, you change your home campaign later. You are also allowed to choose a guest campaign. You can see how busy a campaign is with the population meter for each alliance.

If you are concerned about not being competitive if you aren't at veteran rank, consider that ZOS is adding added non-vet campaigns as well as vet-only campaigns. Mixed campaigns, which are currently the standard, will still be available. Also, the game will be transitioning transitioned to a Championship point system which will help players of different levels be more competitive and is adding non-Champion campaigns.

And even if you go with the system as it is at the moment, I've had both my active characters in Cyrodiil when they were still under level 20. No, as a level 30 you aren't going to be a match for a VR5 in a one-on-one fight (unless you have awesome gear, the best build, the element of surprise from stealth, an inexperienced opponent in crappy gear, and the personal favor of everyone of The Eight), but there is more to the Alliance War than that. (With Champion points and changes to how stats for lower level characters are scaled for battle leveling in Cyrodiil the level 30 can do better in that fight now.)

Healers are always in demand. People who know how to run siege are appreciated. And yes, some groups do recruit non-vets, although there is a strong bias for veteran rank characters who can last longer in battle and deal out more damage.

No matter your level or class or preferred role, you will be more or less useful in different situations, so find those types of combat (keep siege, keep defense, small-group strike force) that you enjoy and that play to your strengths. Lower level players can still follow large groups (i.e. "zergs") without being officially "grouped", gaining some measure of protection while you earn alliance points and insights into how AvA (Alliance versus Alliance) works in ESO.

Do the tutorial.

It's fairly quick, it gives you a bit of practice, and you earn a skill point.


Participating in Alliance War activities earns you Alliance Points.

You also get regular experience points for your adventures in Cyrodiil, but alliance points (AP) are something else. By agreeing to even go to Cyrodiil, you can complete the Tutotial and earn the Alliance Rank of Volunteer. The more AP you earn, the higher the rank you can unlock. Each rank has a grade one and a grade two.

How do you earn AP? Killing enemy players, helping with the defense or capture of keeps, keep resources, and outposts, completing quests given at your alliance's main gate, etc. The official quests include capturing/recovering elder scrolls (given by the Grand Warlord leading your alliance in Cyrodiil) as well as scouting resources, capturing resources, capturing keeps, and killing enemy players.

Those latter four five types of quests each have their own board at your alliance's main gate where they can be accepted and turned in. Plus, you skill get credit for killing enemy players and capturing keeps/resources even if it isn't an official quest, you just get more if you also have a completed quest to claim. For killing enemy players, there are currently five quests per day you can do: kill enemy players (any class), kill enemy dragonknights, kill enemy templars, kill enemy sorcerers, kill enemy nightblades, and kill enemy players (any class).

To get credit for the alliance war quests from quest boards, you must be present when the keep or resource is captured or help to kill the enemy player. Scouting is a solo quest. To get credit for capturing/reclaiming an elder scroll, you just need to have the quest for the right scroll. You don't have to be present at the capture or the securing of the scroll.

There are many chances to earn AP, so if you keep at it, you will go from Volunteer to Recruit to Tyro to Legionary to Veteran to Corporal, on and on, up to lofty titles such as General, Warlord, and beyond. Each new rank and each new grade within a rank (i.e. going from Volunteer Grade 2 to Recruit Grade1 as well as Recruit Grade 1 to Recruit Grade 2) unlocks a skill point!

You can also spend Alliance Points to change your home campaign and to buy Alliance War equipment.


Buying and using Alliance War items.

Alliance War items can be purchased from siege merchants at either of your alliance gates. They are also found inside every keep and not far from the flag of each resource of a keep (lumber mill, farm, mine). They can sell you many things, such as Keep Wall Masonry Keep Repair Kits, Keep Door Woodwork Repair Kits, Siege Weapons (various catapults, trebuchets, and ballistas), Siege Repair Kits, and Forward Camps. Some items can only be purchased for alliance points, some for either gold or alliance points, and some for only gold (like empty soul gems).

If you want to use Flaming Oil, Siege Weapons, or Repair Kits, you must open your inventory, press Q to highlight items that can be placed in your quickslots, and move them into quickslot spaces next to your provisions and potions.

You can visit an alliance gate to see a Mercenary Merchant to purchase and deploy NPCs to help defend keeps and keep resources. (Removed from game.)

There are also regular merchants at your alliance gates, and one of the gates will also have crafting stations and a bank.


Wayshrines versus Transitus Shrines

When you arrive in Cyrodiil, you will start in one of the two gates for your alliance. Should you want to leave Cyrodiil, you will need to use a wayshrine, just like you would to transport yourself from place to place in any other part of the game. There is one wayshrine at each alliance gate. It will be near the transitus shrine for the gate. There are no other wayshrines in Cyrodiil.

Transitus shines at alliance gates are marked on the local map with a large shield. Transitus shrines are also found inside each keep, but you only have access to keeps your alliance currently controls. Outposts have transitus shrines, but they are broken (in a role-play way, not in a game bug way) -- you can quick travel into an outpost but not out of one.

Alliance gates are represented on the zone map by shields on the edges of the map (Northern and Southern Morrowind Gates, Eastern and Western Elsweyr Gates, Northern and Southern High Rock Gates). Keeps are represented on the map by a symbol that looks like a rook (tower) in chess and are found all over, whereas outposts are smaller and sit between the keeps that ring the imperial capital city in the map.

In order to use the transitus network the transitus lines must be unbroken (these lines show up on the zone map) between your starting point and destination. If an outpost or keep between your starting point and your destination is knocked out, the link is broken. Keeps and outposts can be knocked out by being captured by another alliance. Keeps can also be knocked out if all three of its resources are captured or if its outer wall has taken damage. A keep under attack from siege will light up with yellow flame on the zone map. Isolated keeps are easy targets for enemy forces.


Get a horse.

It isn't required, but you will only be able to go so far via the transitus network depending on how much of the map your alliance controls at a given time. (Other mounts like Guar and Senche are now available but the advice is still sound, get one and get it's speed up as quick as you can.)


Everyone dies. Usually a lot. (It's Different in Cyrodiil.)

Don't worry if you die from fighting enemy players. There is a learning curve and being killed a lot is part of that. Also, being killed gives you the opportunity to earn the Revenge achievements

But it is helpful to know that you can die in two ways and this affects how your character respawns.

There is PvE in Cyrodiil, with mobs that are not affiliated with any alliance. If you are killed by those, it's just like anywhere else. You respawn at the nearest wayshrine (i.e. back at the one of the two alliance gates). That's one quick way to get to a wayshrine if you want to leave Cyrodiil. Plus you take the normal equipment damage penalty. You have the option to resurrect yourself if you have a filled soul gem of the appropriate level.

If you die from damage from player character or from a mob associated with the Alliance War (they will be near keeps, keep resources, outposts, and the areas around alliance gates) you will have to resurrect at a Forward Camp, the transitus shrine of a keep controlled by your alliance (remember, outpost transitus shrines are broken and that also means to respawning there), or a transitus shrine at an alliance gate. Only another player from your alliance can resurrect you with a soul gem of the appropriate level, you cannot self-resurrect.

This is why dropping forward camps near major battles is so important.



Sieging Advice and Bloody Hot Spots

If you are hitting a gate at a keep, that is, a big wooden structure you could drive a truck through, hit it directly with your siege. Rams work well, and regular ballistae/stone trebuchets are also very effective. If you are hitting a wall with a regular-szied door in it, don't hit the door, hit a spot on the wall near the door. Siege that use stone work very well for walls, but firepot trebuchets and iceball trebuchets, and catapults of any type are not recommended.

Also, as a new player, it helps to know where regular action is found whether you wish to seek it out or avoid it. Two examples include the space between Chalman Keep and Bleakers Outpost, especially the Chalman Milegate, as well as the space between Castle Alessia and Sejanus Outpost, especially Alessia Bridge. These are examples of choke points, and when the population is high on a campaign, they are nearly always the site of large battles or of small "gank squads" who are stealthed and waiting to pick off unwary travelers.

(Oh, and just to throw this in somewhere, don't run toward a small group of stealthed allies if you are alone and being chased by an army of enemy players.)


Alliance Competition

Individual players can earn alliance points, but each alliance also earns points by controlling keeps, keep resources, and outposts, holding/capturing elder scrolls. The current status of who is "winning" the war is found under the Overview tab of the Alliance War screen (press "L").

Controlling elder scrolls also gives bonuses to the players of a faction. To capture an enemy scroll held near an alliance gate, it must be taken from it's temple, which requires opening the nearby temple gate. Both the temple and its gate can be seen on the zone map. Opening a gate requires that an enemy faction capture the keep guarding it.

Players who want to be emperor must have the most individual alliance points for their own alliance (the leader board used to be under the Alliance War screen but is currently under the Achievements screen) and that alliance must control all six keeps ringing the imperial capital in the center of the map.


For the completionists

Even if you aren't interested in the many Alliance War achievements, you can find 45 skyshards in Cyrodiil, and if you want to get the Tamriel Expert Adventurer achievement, in addition to earning Hero of Pact, and of the Covenant, and of the Dominion, you also need to earn Cyrodiil Champion. For that you will need to complete the Bruma Adventurer, Cheydinhal Adventurer, Chorrol Adventurer, Cropsford Adventurer, and Vlastarus Adventurer achievements. These are the five cities of Cyrodiil that are part of the Alliance War Zone (places like Bravil are excluded).

The Adventurer achievements for the cities of Cyrodiil are fairly straight forward, with some quests in the city, some in the nearby countryside, and one dungeon delve per each of the five locales. The danger posed by players from enemy alliances can be minimized by going to a low population server at odd hours (and if possible by grouping as well).

The same risk reduction strategies work for collecting skyshards as well; however, six of the skyshards are behind scroll temple gates, which means that except for the two for your own alliance, the rest can only be accessed when the relevant keeps are captured and the scroll temple gates are opened to all. To get those skyshards your best bet is to go with a large group assaulting a particular temple and grab the skyshard while you are there.

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Edited for typos.

Edited more for game changes

drkeys143

Man, thanks so much for the detailed post, just what I have been looking for as a newcomer to PvP, really appreciate the guide!

indytims_ESO

Very nicely written! Bravo for your efforts!

tinythinker

Thanks for the kind words.

And I think I can safely go ahead and say, based on QuakeCon 2014's preview of coming attractions, that when the Imperial City is added as a playable area, the sewer entrances (one per alliance) will be added to the perpetually dangerous kill-zone hotspots.

tinythinker

Heh, well now I feel a little bad .

There was an ongoing clash between two alliances and as I was moving around stealthed I saw a level 11 from the other side standing around checking a map. I thought it was great to still see people exploring Cyrodiil so soon after it opens up to them.

Accordingly, I was going to let the player go, but then the player ran right into me and started an attack. I gave a warning shot and figured the player would run, but my allies had seen the fireworks and arrived very quickly and that, well, was that was that.

Out of respect for the player, I won't mention the campaign or the player's character name, but if this sounds like you and you got swamped late Wed/early morning Thurs near Bleakers Outpost, trust me, it gets better if this is your first character to visit Cyrodiil.

And you did well under the circumstances, for whatever my opinion is worth. We all go down when surrounded by a large mob of enemy players. (Except the uber-vamp DK emperors, who still go down if the mob knows what it's doing.)

Ninnghizhidda

This is a very useful and well written guide indeed, hats off for the effort!

However, I doubt it will convince people who loathe PK, getting in any way "harassed" or even watching their "pretty pixels" getting smacked by other players. to actually start adventuring in a PvP (by default) environment.

I have not set foot there since the Betas, I have heard about the "PvE" content (which isn't PvE, because it can not be, in a PvP continent), I have even heard about "great rewards and drops". No thanks, even if legendary gear would drop left and right.

Just a personal view though, nothing more. Still, a nicely done guide.

hiyde

Ninnghizhidda wrote: »

However, I doubt it will convince people who loathe PK, getting in any way "harassed" or even watching their "pretty pixels" getting smacked by other players. to actually start adventuring in a PvP (by default) environment.

Pretty sure that's not the intended audience.

I'm at VR11 and just started dipping my toe in the Cyrodill waters. This guide is spot on and very well written. A+++

I was pretty nervous about coming out here. It really helped that a few experienced guildmates accompanied me and taught me much of what this guide covers.

For those that hate PvP but would like to get the skyshards / complete the "PvE" quests, the advice given is very good. Find a low-population campaign and with some caution, it's usually pretty smooth sailing. (I've probably spent 6-8 hours doing solo quests/solo dungeons and someone tried to gank me just one time so far - and to my complete surprise and utter shock, I kicked his butt!)

When you do come out to do the solo dungeons, one thing to note is that they work very differently from ones in the other parts of the world. Getting the achievement can involve killing *multiple* bosses that do not spawn at the same time. You need to kill one, then another (yes it can be the same one) will spawn shortly afterwards. My first dungeon completion took me over an hour to get the 3 required bosses to spawn. (it kept bouncing back between boss 1 and 2 before boss 3 finally took her turn lol).

Also, I don't think this was mentioned, when you are walking around in stealth, watch the little 'eye' icon. If the eye starts to open, and you don't see anyone around, it means you are near a stealthed enemy player - and they are getting same warning.

One more note, expanding on the 'don't run near stealthed players if you're being chased by a group', also don't follow stealthed allies if you are UN stealthed or on your horse!

Again, thanks for the guide. If you're nervous about trying Cyrodill, don't be. Yes there's a learning curve, yes you'll die a lot (but no repair bills from PvP!). Hang with the big groups (even if you aren't in the group) and you'll be racking up kills, achievements, AP and e-mail rewards really quick!

-H

Promytius

I started this, but you lost me right away - the L key? I'm trying to move with dying. This seems like a high level explanation to me, and not much help to a starting player, who is lost. Well-written though; maybe in a year I'll be ready to finish this.

mistermacintosh

@Promytius:

The L key, as in the letter "L"... on your keyboard (unless you changed the configuration of keys in settings, then it'll be whatever you changed it to)... it opens the alliance menu, then after you select a campaign from the drop down menu you press the E key (on your keyboard), to join a campaign (it teleports you).

If you're still having trouble figuring that out, then good news - you don't need to go to Cyrodiil yet! Stick to PVE in your home alliance until you get the hang of everything. There is plenty to do in the PVE areas.

Don't feel bad. We all started somewhere, and we've all been frustrated with this game at one point or another.

Also, don't be afraid to reach out to other players on the forum or in zone chat. Some players are selfish garbage, but there are also usually some good players online who won't mind helping you out. I'd recommend joining a guild to capitalize on other player's experiences.

This game is a lot of fun, but you have to learn a lot about it to get the most out of it. Good luck out there!

keto3000

This is, by far, one of the most thorough & comprehensive guides for ESO that I have read! I wish the Facebook page started posting awesome player written guides like this to broaden its scope and "conversation." there.

Madval

Thanks a lot for the guide ! I don't know why I haven't pvp yet, all previous mmo I played I pvp'd a lot and played them for pvp. I figured out perhaps I must wait to be vet 12 for being efficace, because there is no bracket level like other mmo.
Or perhaps I have less time now and played the others all days long until I was extremely high ranked.
Thanks again

tinythinker

I'm glad for those who found the guide useful. I've often heard the same questions being asked frequently in zone chat, and I figured this might help folks avoid some of the common confusion first time visitors experience.

There is clearly not a lot here on any one topic, such as defending keeps, capturing keeps, tactics for large battles in open spaces, and on and on, but just getting some of the most basic stuff covered was long enough, and others are probably better suited to writing those more in-depth guides.

Nonetheless, here are some additional quick-tips I cut out from the original post because it was already so long and because these are a little more advanced, for those who can get around OK and have started actively participating in AvA:

• It really is true that you need to die a lot in order to get better at PvP. I mean, not just randomly running into enemy fire and dying, but trying to fight as best as you can and getting destroyed over and over the first 2 or 3 or 20 times.
  
  
• If you are at a battle and see on the map that there is no forward camp nearby, put one down. Same if you are one of the last ones through before it is used up. Keeping up FCs can be the difference between your alliance winning and losing.
  
  
• If you can't afford a forward camp buy siege repair kits to keep up FCs. They are cheap and restore about 20% of an FC's strength. Otherwise an FC can decay and collapse in around half and hour.
  
  
• Siege that fire diseased meat and oil pots are great for aiming at breaches in keep walls as they are anti-personnel weapons. Disease debuffs (blocks) healing and oil pots cause damage over time. However, neither bring down stone walls.
  
  
• When taking a keep resource (lumber mill, farm, mine) take out the NPC mage guard on the ledge of the tower before engaging the NPCs guarding the flag.
  
  
• If you capture the flag of a keep resource (by standing near it), the resource will be captured by your alliance. This means your siege won't work on the resource tower. If enemies enter the tower and set up oil pots inside, knock the tower down before "capping" it.
  
  
• Trebuchets (a.k.a. trebs) aren't as effective for setting up defense on keep walls as catapults. Use the latter instead to hit enemies surrounding the keep.
  
  
• You can be knocked off of a mount by enemy attacks. The more stamina your mount has, the more damage it takes to knock you off. If attacked while riding a mount, dismount right away. The animation of you falling off of your mount and then getting up is all the time many stealthed enemies need to kill you.

OK, well, maybe these extra tips will also help.

Have fun in Cyrodiil.

shadowz081

To win a fight all you do is hold block and wait for your opponent to run out of magicka and stam. Off course this is only effective at 1v2 at most, anymore and your stam bar will be draining faster than you can replenish it at.

For Vampires, get 5 set night silence, white quality will do and you can run from location A to location B as fast as an 'average' horse while remaining invisible to enemies who don't have a detect potion on. Off course horse purely specced on speed will be slight faster, but they can be seen and you will be knocked down if attacked. So use night silence if you know you are going into heavily contested areas before switching out to your combat gear and engaging.

DeaconFrost

My question is, I joined a non-vet campaign and saw a ton of vet ranked PVPers who chopped me down in no time flat...can you list which campaigns I need to go into for non-veterans? Thanks.

Acemcfly101

DeaconFrost wrote: »

My question is, I joined a non-vet campaign and saw a ton of vet ranked PVPers who chopped me down in no time flat...can you list which campaigns I need to go into for non-veterans? Thanks.

If you were getting killed by Vet level players, you were not in a non vet campaign, as veteran players do not even have the option to enter that campaign. The reverse is true of Vet only.

As of right now, there is only one Non-vet only campaign titled Blackwater Blade. When selecting your campaign, click on the special events tab. Beneath that, choose non veteran. (As of now, these campaigns are only 5 days long.) Right click Blackwater Blade and click home or guest. Then, click enter.

Personally, I would guest it unless you are really low leveled because you might find you prefer the normal campaigns with higher population and more action even though youre overleveled by many. But if youre like level 22 or something then you might as well home it lol. If you decide you like it, you can immediately make it your home after, even if it's also set as your guest campaign.

I can't personally give any feedback on the non vet campaign as it was implemented after I went vet so I can't enter it, but I'm guessing (as with all special events) that it will have the lowest population - however, this is not to discourage you in any way. I think the concept is a great idea, just see what you like best.

PS - If you have a friend in the Non-vet campaign, it is also possible to port to them and try it out without ever assigning it as a Home or Guest campaign. This can be useful as once you set your home or guest campaign, they are locked and you can not change them again for 3 days.

Acemcfly101

@deaconfrost It is also possible that you set the Non vet campaign as your home or guest, but then entered the other one you had set. Or something...

ZoM_Head

Just have some issues with pvp:

- My characters just do not react when i want them to. Can not use potions, ulti, skills and costs me a death (lag, server issues, whatever the reason).

- Lots of skills are repeated like crystal frag, absorb magicka, reflective scales. Basically anything that stuns, knocks back, immobilises your character is being used by everyone.

- Immovable for a lot of players, even for 7/7 light or medium,

-Vampires, due to the game and how magicka is the way to go, so many vampires, and i am never able to knock them down with silver bolts (even when they are not blocking or immovable active).

- One vampire with bat swarm can wipe out a group of 10+ players, never a emperor or former. Fire deals minor damage to them due to fire resist ring or dark elf.

- New campaigns are super short, the 30 day ones are nearly always full.

- Lag/no response/delay or general (excuse me) bullsht, spamming skills that hardly deals damage to a player (lag/server reg who knows), or just "can not swap weapons now" and "can not do that while dead" and staying alive for 3-5 seconds with full stamina/health/magicka (either or more than one attribute) before your character dies. (yes i mentioned this in my first point, and will mention it again since this has become extremely frustrating).

Im sure i missed out a few points here or there.

Carraig

I got into Cyrodiil pretty fast and luckily I'm in a guild that is very active in PvP. In the beginning you really should be in a group, because that group can keep you alive or rezz you after the fight. The first thing they told me was: Stick with the crown, which indicates the groupleader. Yes, it means that you are close to the action, but also close to the healers. Your chances to survive a battle raise with the amount of healers that can reach you.

@tinythinker
Great guide, I read it after I started in Cyrodiil; everything you mentioned is very recognizable.

Jeremiah12LGeek

I did try Cyrodiil based on this guide, signing into a virtually empty campaign as a guest.

Unfortunately, even traveling in stealth at all times, I wasn't able to complete any missions after the tutorial. I tried a letter delivery and a scout mission, but even a nearly empty pvp campaign was too dangerous to move from one location to another.

I thought I had signed into the "non-veteran" campaign, but the other players were all veteran levels, so I must have done something wrong there. Even so, I don't think I would have been able to do any better with non-veterans, as it was pretty much stealth stunlock stuff.

The guide is appreciated, but I would have to pay to respec my character entirely if I was going to get anywhere in Cyrodiil, and I don't really want to do that.

Espionage-

Nice guide.
I've only been into Cyrodiil a few times and had no idea what to do etc.
Bookmarked this page and I'll visit once Ive completed all the PvE stuff

SenRhinoX

Is there a way to go to Cyrodiil without going through PvP Alliance menu? Because I'm not a big fan of competitive multiplayer.

redgreensunset

@SenRhinoX No. Cyrodiil is pvp, full stop. If you ever go there you head into pvp territory. Same for Imperial City.

Though I will say try it before you knock it. I'm an awoved pve player that isn't keen on pvp under any form either and I've een doing scouting missions for the event tickets but I still decided to give Cyrodiil a whirl on Sunday just to see. I found I had a lot of fun. So much that I decided to make a new character (though granted not much incentive is needed for that) that is gping to be a dedicated pvp healer.

mague

SenRhinoX wrote: »

Is there a way to go to Cyrodiil without going through PvP Alliance menu? Because I'm not a big fan of competitive multiplayer.

No, not possible. Without a faction the zone has no purpose. But if you go into the unlocked campaign then there is no real competition, because the purpose is to make emps and farm AP and just do PvP for the sake of PvP. Since everyone can swap character the alliance competition is not really there.

You want open PvP or just visit and do the PvE parts ? First is not possible, second is.

RD065

I actually never know where to go. Its a big place. The first time I went there (first character when game started) I was level 10, got butt kicked. 2nd time I was level 15, got butt kicked. Haven't been back.

Eifleber

It's a nice guide but perhaps it would be a good idea to add a bit on how exactly you can actually participate in the war.

If you go to Cyrodil you basically start in an empty base camp of your alliance.
You see some zone chat from people on your side - but that's basically it.

A few days ago I rode around and collected 38 of the available 45 skyshards (most of which are hidden in mini delves).
During my trip (it's a HUGE province) I met 2 opposing players, one just avoided me while the second killed me.

Thus far I actually still have no idea how to engage in the alliance war.
I did the tutorial (fire and repair siege weapons) but that's all.

tinythinker

Eifleber wrote: »

It's a nice guide but perhaps it would be a good idea to add a bit on how exactly you can actually participate in the war.

If you go to Cyrodil you basically start in an empty base camp of your alliance.
You see some zone chat from people on your side - but that's basically it.

A few days ago I rode around and collected 38 of the available 45 skyshards (most of which are hidden in mini delves).
During my trip (it's a HUGE province) I met 2 opposing players, one just avoided me while the second killed me.

Thus far I actually still have no idea how to engage in the alliance war.
I did the tutorial (fire and repair siege weapons) but that's all.

To be active in the campaign for you Alliance:

Participate in capturing keeps, keep resources, outposts, and towns. It's a capture the flag format, so when possible fight close to the flag being taken.

Participate in defending keeps, keep resources, outposts, and towns. Same as above.

Collect and fulfill quests to capture locations, scout resources, capture Elder Scrolls, and kill enemy players.

To help with the things mentioned above:

Watch the maps and zone chat for call-outs. Maps will show the icons for keeps, keep resources, outposts, and towns as being on fire if an enemy alliance is assaulting them. And in zone chat you will often see people saying a location is being attacked prior that information shows up on a map. Also if an Elder Scroll has been removed from its temple, it will also show up on the map.

Buy siege/use weapons. These can help to take down the walls or main gate of a keep our outpost, while other are more focused on slowing or kill enemy players. These items can be purchased for Alliance Points, which you get for being active and doing the things mentioned earlier.

Join a group. Not required, but for people new to Cyrodiil it will be easier to stay alive, get into the action, and learn the ropes in a group.

To help with scoring and winning in a campaign

Some campaigns have cycles of 10 days and others cycles of 30 days. Each alliance gets points awarded hourly for what they currently control when the hour is up (you can look under the Alliance War tab to see when the current hour of scoring will end):

- points for your alliance on the campaign leader board are awarded for each enemy scroll captured and secured
- points for your alliance on the campaign leader board are awarded for each keep, keep resource, and outpost under your alliance's control

At the end of a campaign cycle, whichever alliance earned the most campaign points wins.

NOTE: Campaign Points are different than Alliance Points. The former count only toward the campaign leader board. The latter are a currency you can use, and also show up on the ranked leader board for individual players. The more you earn, the higher your rank for a campaign cycle. If you are number one in your alliance, and your alliance captures all six keeps ringing the Imperial City, you will be crowned Emperor/Empress and remain so as long as you alliance keeps control of at least one of those keeps. Alliance Points earned over the lifetime of a character count towards the military ranks you can achieve within your alliance.