Guide to Dolmen Leveling - Max Efficiency

bhagwad

I've been leveling new characters and Dolmens are pretty much the most efficient way to level up reliably, and without frustration.

Pros:
No need to log in with a friend. Very solo friendly
No need to have much of a build - can start from lvl 1
No worries about others stealing your kills like in most zombie grinding areas
No skill required

Good XP. As a reference, in the last stretch from lvl 40-50, you should be gaining 1 level every 15 minutes with a 50% XP scroll.

I'm aware that faster xp grinds are available. However, they all require you to team up with someone you know, and face the danger of other stealing your kills. NOT reliable.

Step by Step Guide:
As soon as your new character is created:

• Open your guild roster, find someone in Alik'r desert and travel to them
• If you aren't a member of a guild, or no one is in Alik'r, use this overland travel link to get there ASAP.
• Once in Alik'r, open zone chat and type "lfdg" (Looking for Dolmen Group)
• When you get the invite, accept it
• Go to Social -> Groups -> Current Group, select a player and travel to them. This will unlock the nearest wayshrine to the player
• There are three wayshrines you need to unlock - you can use your map to see which player in your group is at which location. One in the north. One in the east, and one in the middle, a bit south

Once you have the three wayshrines unlocked, join the zerg and tag as many foes as you can. If you have training gear, this will really help. As a reference, the amount of XP you get from kills in Dolmens should be around 50% of the final XP upon Dolmen completion. (Not first time completion!).

So if you get 6k when the dolmen is finished, you should be aiming for 3k additional XP via kills.

Tips:

My preferred weapon is a lightning staff, because the heavy attack is channeled, and you don't have to aim it once it's locked on. This allows you to put 1 second of damage on an enemy before moving to another. This will help you if you have carpal tunnel, since there's no need to spam light attacks like with a bow. Also, the Destruction skill line passive allows you to damage nearby foes with a lightning staff heavy attack. Super useful!

Make sure to tag the two additional mobs that spawn along with the boss. One on each side. Generally I find ground based AoEs are great, since you can lay them down and face the other direction to tag enemies with your staff. The ones on the other side will automatically take damage from your AoE.

Don't wait for the chest to appear after the Dolmen. It's not worth it at low levels. Just tag the boss and the adds, and head back to the wayshrine you came from. You can move quite far away and still get the XP for the Dolmen completion. Experiment and see just how far you can go! The faster you reach the next Dolmen, the more mobs you can tag.

The Dolmens can spawn either clockwise or anti-clockwise. You'll have to test and see which one it is.

If you need to slot new skills or chance some out, just tag an enemy in the Dolmen, and move a few feet away and re-arrange your skills. As long as you damaged even one mob, you will get the full XP for the Dolmen completion. Of course, you won't get XP for kills, but it's more efficient than waiting at your old Dolmen and changing your skills. This way, you still get additional XP. If you have pots or scrolls active, it becomes even more important to maximize the rate of XP gain!

Bonus: Do the Daily Normal Random Dungeon

Do the random dungeon once a day. You'll get one full level at least towards the end. For maximum effect:

• Equip a one hand weapon + shield
• Go out and kill a monster
• The shield skill line will unlock
• Get the "puncture" skill
• Now join a random normal dungeon with the "tank" role
• Use puncture to get the enemies' attention and let the DPS do their thing

If you don't join as a tank, you will

a) Have long queue times
b) Do lame DPS and hold back the run

Queuing as a tank increases the chance that you'll be teamed with a high DPS player who can make quick work of the dungeon. However, do NOT be a "fake" tank. You can try and DPS if you want, but your job is to taunt the enemies and hold the bosses still. If you cannot do this, DO NOT queue as a tank.

Once your random normal for the day is done, get back to those Dolmens!

SirAndy

kargen27

My advice is ignore the OP advice. Sure you might get to level 50 quick but you still need to find skyshards and a myriad of other things before you have a viable character.

If you are DPS do the random as DPS so you can work on your skills and rotations. While waiting in queue explore, kill mobs find lore books and skyshards. Kill everything you see and gather anything you can. You can sell that stuff for gold or use it later. Many builds require skills and passives from the mages guild and just popping dolmen doesn't work for that.

If you are in a guild you can use the travel to player option to discover a lot of wayshrines quickly giving you XP and access to other places to explore. Get out and about in the world and enjoy it. Level 50 will come soon enough and when it does your character will be better prepared for what is next.

While you are out and about of course hit any dolmen you get near but no need to just run the circle doing nothing but dolmen. Hit the delves as you pass also. Some have an easy and short quest associated with them so you get XP for doing the delve and the quest.

Don't turn the game into a grind. Have fun.

R4TTIUS

Don't dolmen farm just imp sewer farm for xp, if u do it right and know where ur going 10-20k a mob depending scrolls and spawn time is very fast I can level 3-50 in 4 hours (inc dolmen time to get to 10) get at least 20k tel var each time I do it, only downside is u need a alliance friend.

Dolmen farming will kill this game for you.

Jpk0012

Nice!!

Skillpoints are much easier to farm when you're CPed and with 160CP gear(its a grind regardless if you're leveling or farming). This is a great guide despite the haters.

Alex_Lex

bhagwad wrote: »

Do the random dungeon once a day. You'll get one full level at least towards the end. For maximum effect:

• Equip a one hand weapon + shield
• Go out and kill a monster
• The shield skill line will unlock
• Get the "puncture" skill
• Now join a random normal dungeon with the "tank" role
• Use puncture to get the enemies' attention and let the DPS do their thing

So. This is the reason 50% pledges I do I tank with my DPS.

All was great except for this part.

Anyone can start queueing to do DPS while doing dolmen grinds.
Not tanking. Tanking needs brain and a bit of skill.

KRBMMO

bhagwad wrote: »

I've been leveling new characters and Dolmens are pretty much the most efficient way to level up reliably, and without frustration.

Pros:
No need to log in with a friend. Very solo friendly
No need to have much of a build - can start from lvl 1
No worries about others stealing your kills like in most zombie grinding areas
No skill required

Good XP. As a reference, in the last stretch from lvl 40-50, you should be gaining 1 level every 15 minutes with a 50% XP scroll.

I'm aware that faster xp grinds are available. However, they all require you to team up with someone you know, and face the danger of other stealing your kills. NOT reliable.

Step by Step Guide:
As soon as your new character is created:

• Open your guild roster, find someone in Alik'r desert and travel to them
• If you aren't a member of a guild, or no one is in Alik'r, use this overland travel link to get there ASAP.
• Once in Alik'r, open zone chat and type "lfdg" (Looking for Dolmen Group)
• When you get the invite, accept it
• Go to Social -> Groups -> Current Group, select a player and travel to them. This will unlock the nearest wayshrine to the player
• There are three wayshrines you need to unlock - you can use your map to see which player in your group is at which location. One in the north. One in the east, and one in the middle, a bit south

Once you have the three wayshrines unlocked, join the zerg and tag as many foes as you can. If you have training gear, this will really help. As a reference, the amount of XP you get from kills in Dolmens should be around 50% of the final XP upon Dolmen completion. (Not first time completion!).

So if you get 6k when the dolmen is finished, you should be aiming for 3k additional XP via kills.

Tips:

My preferred weapon is a lightning staff, because the heavy attack is channeled, and you don't have to aim it once it's locked on. This allows you to put 1 second of damage on an enemy before moving to another. This will help you if you have carpal tunnel, since there's no need to spam light attacks like with a bow. Also, the Destruction skill line passive allows you to damage nearby foes with a lightning staff heavy attack. Super useful!

Make sure to tag the two additional mobs that spawn along with the boss. One on each side. Generally I find ground based AoEs are great, since you can lay them down and face the other direction to tag enemies with your staff. The ones on the other side will automatically take damage from your AoE.

Don't wait for the chest to appear after the Dolmen. It's not worth it at low levels. Just tag the boss and the adds, and head back to the wayshrine you came from. You can move quite far away and still get the XP for the Dolmen completion. Experiment and see just how far you can go! The faster you reach the next Dolmen, the more mobs you can tag.

The Dolmens can spawn either clockwise or anti-clockwise. You'll have to test and see which one it is.

If you need to slot new skills or chance some out, just tag an enemy in the Dolmen, and move a few feet away and re-arrange your skills. As long as you damaged even one mob, you will get the full XP for the Dolmen completion. Of course, you won't get XP for kills, but it's more efficient than waiting at your old Dolmen and changing your skills. This way, you still get additional XP. If you have pots or scrolls active, it becomes even more important to maximize the rate of XP gain!

Bonus: Do the Daily Normal Random Dungeon

Do the random dungeon once a day. You'll get one full level at least towards the end. For maximum effect:

• Equip a one hand weapon + shield
• Go out and kill a monster
• The shield skill line will unlock
• Get the "puncture" skill
• Now join a random normal dungeon with the "tank" role
• Use puncture to get the enemies' attention and let the DPS do their thing

If you don't join as a tank, you will

a) Have long queue times
b) Do lame DPS and hold back the run

Queuing as a tank increases the chance that you'll be teamed with a high DPS player who can make quick work of the dungeon. However, do NOT be a "fake" tank. You can try and DPS if you want, but your job is to taunt the enemies and hold the bosses still. If you cannot do this, DO NOT queue as a tank.

Once your random normal for the day is done, get back to those Dolmens!

YES! Alakir Dolmens need more people during EXP events! 50 is not enough!

Pwnyridah

Its more efficient to go solo or group with one partner. Dolmen groups are for leeches.

badmojo

When you hit level 10 go to Cyrodiil and get the free skill points and unlock Rapid Manouver, it's the best skill to have when dolmen grinding.

Jolipinator

I prefer quests. They give me skill points and don't cause my game to lag/crash.

badmojo

Jolipinator wrote: »

I prefer quests. They give me skill points and don't cause my game to lag/crash.

After you've done those exact same quests more than say... 4 or 5 times, you'll understand why a lot of people choose dolmen grinding.

VaranisArano

This is an excellent guide for leveling via Dolmen Grinding. I used something very similar to this method to unlock my Fighter's Guild skill line quickly on a max level character. It was still mind-numbingly boring, but slightly faster than trying to PUG Vaults of Madness a bunch of times on my healer.

Runefang

Ignore the haters, once all the quests have been done once it's really not that exciting to do them again.

I too prefer to grind to 50, put on my end-game gear and then collect the skill points I need.

kip_silverwolf

I can understand why veteran players use dolmens to level alts. That's fair enough as most have done the quests so many times. Most also have a good, capable grasp on skills, rotation, gameplay etc

New players leveling their first character however, not so much. In regards to these people, you can always tell those who have grown up on an Alik'r diet as they know little more than how to spam light bow attacks.
To these new players I plead - don't go into a 4-man dungeon & treat it as you would an Alik'r dolmen - please, for the love of Kyne, at least learn how to use your other skills

Nifty2g

Runefang wrote: »

Ignore the haters, once all the quests have been done once it's really not that exciting to do them again.

I too prefer to grind to 50, put on my end-game gear and then collect the skill points I need.

Agree with this, I haven't quested in this game for 3 years? Never done a DLC quest

Nerouyn

kargen27 wrote: »

My advice is ignore the OP advice.

Nah. Unfortunately there's really good reasons to grind to 50 and CP 160 ASAP.

Once you're max level, you get better loot. That means more gold and you level crafting faster (CP boost + deconstructing better gear).

Once you're max level, you can invest in gear which you won't inevitably outlevel. That's so important.

ADarklore

Honestly, I love Dolemen grinding... I don't know why, it's just a lot of fun. Plus, as others noted, fastest way to level Fighters Guild skill line and also acquire the General Executioner achievement in the process. Although, I Dolemen grind in Auridon, not Alik'r.

kargen27

Nerouyn wrote: »

kargen27 wrote: »

My advice is ignore the OP advice.

Nah. Unfortunately there's really good reasons to grind to 50 and CP 160 ASAP.

Once you're max level, you get better loot. That means more gold and you level crafting faster (CP boost + deconstructing better gear).

Once you're max level, you can invest in gear which you won't inevitably outlevel. That's so important.

Nah you get higher level loot. Some of the mid level stuff sells for much much more than the 160 stuff. And really the guide has nothing to do with crafting. That is a whole new grind for those in a hurry. I would assume as the guide is for leveling new characters you would already have the CP. If it is your first character then the OP advice is especially bad.

Kharret

This guide is almost useless both for new players and for CPs.
CPs knows that Alik'r dolmens are not the fastest way to grind.
For newcomers is much better to avoid dolmen grind activity (especially Alik'r madness) at beginning and to enjoy the game, to follow the path along which the quests leads them

bhagwad

Kharret wrote: »

This guide is almost useless both for new players and for CPs.
CPs knows that Alik'r dolmens are not the fastest way to grind.
For newcomers is much better to avoid dolmen grind activity (especially Alik'r madness) at beginning and to enjoy the game, to follow the path along which the quests leads them

Is there a faster way to grind solo and reliably, without someone stealing your kills?

Ruckly

My dolmen strategy is to get inner fire then stand at one of the three dolmens in Alik'r far enough so I don't aggro the summoners with my cursor aimed at where boss drops. Then I open a book and read for about 3 minutes until the trash meteors stop dropping. At this point I glance up for about 10 seconds until the boss drops and use inner fire. Once boss is disintegrated I go back to reading book. It's more that three times slower than doing the rotation but requires around 1800% less attention.

maniac4maniac

bhagwad wrote: »

Kharret wrote: »

This guide is almost useless both for new players and for CPs.
CPs knows that Alik'r dolmens are not the fastest way to grind.
For newcomers is much better to avoid dolmen grind activity (especially Alik'r madness) at beginning and to enjoy the game, to follow the path along which the quests leads them

Is there a faster way to grind solo and reliably, without someone stealing your kills?

Skyreach, even solo. And several easier places at the World map that i wont write here of course.

Only noobs lvlup at Dolmens, at least past lvl~10. Its pretty slow and gives you allmost 0 money during lvlgrinding = not good.

Zypheran

For experienced players looking to grind new toons, I get it. It might not be the most efficient way but it is a useful guide in this context.
For new players... imo this is AWEFUL advice! Getting to 50 quickly is NOT the best objective. You are far better off trying to understand how best this game works. This game can be nuanced and deeply engaging in so many ways. Be careful you don't miss out on it. Also the levelling structure in this game more than compensates for what you lack in lack in levels by boosting your stats in the beginning so go out into the world right at the beginning, start exploring and learning how to play the game properly. Because the truth is, level 50 is only small stepping stone and you're not gonna grind dolmens all the way to CP690!
You will be far better served as a new player to join a player guild and learn how this game is really played.
As for the advice on random normal dungeons, new players, please don't do this. If all you're doing is grinding dolmens then you won't have learned how to tank PROPERLY. The OPs suggestion on what constitutes tanking is somewhat over-simplified. Again, this game can be very nuanced... engage with it fully!

erlewine

Is there a faster way to grind solo and reliably, without someone stealing your kills? [/quote]

if you have cp, any mag toon can level solo in skyreach or spellscar (or many other places) the moment they get impulse. you can do alikr dolmens to skill up destro staff (slot all the skills) to lvl 38, you should achieve this by around character level 25. then use annulment + impulse and training gear/exp potions and you can get from lvl 25 to 50 in around 3-4 hours solo.

Fischblut

Funny how zombie grind evolved into dolmen grind - the only difference is now players look like zombies themselves while traveling from one dolmen to another
I used to be sad when dolmens became overcrowded after One Tamriel... But I started to like it for selfish reasons - while most of people grind dolmens, some very tasty overland areas are empty

The only sad thing which remains - dolmen grind, zombie grind and skyreach carries produce many new high cp players of very poor quality. Like when I was enjoying rare opportunity to solo a dolmen, and suddenly wild CP 690 joins... light attacking mobs and then boss with bow, not doing anything else

I'm aware that faster xp grinds are available. However, they all require you to team up with someone you know, and face the danger of other stealing your kills. NOT reliable.

Not at all Maelstrom - solo, reliable. Skyreach - friend is only an option, reliable. Other interesting areas (not those popular zombie spots) - friend is also only an option, and just a slight danger of random passerby occasionally.

GreenhaloX

A guide to dolmen leveling.. nice. Ha ha ha. So someone is actually trying to functionalize grinding with dolmens; which is seemingly just going from one to the next and to the next, repeatedly, over and over and over again. Ok.. no hating here. Hey, whatever floats your boat. You folks grinding whatever (dolmens, Skyreach, bears/dreugh/zombies) just have more patience and dedication to this game than I.

Sure, why not.. for those that can tolerate grinding consecutively over and over and over again, dolmens are a sure way of getting xp and fast leveling. However, for me (which already had leveled up 20 toons; of course deleted 6,) I preferred leveling up while skyshards hunting. You also get xp with all the areas being unlocked as you go through to the different skyshard and zone locations, as well as finding lorebooks for the Mage Guild along the way. You also run in all the dolmen areas and other goodies to find (chests, mats, xp, gold, etc..) It is not as tedious and repetitive as dolmen grinding. Imagine having to grind the dolmens just in Alikr over and over again for all 14 or 20 toons; forget about it.. ha ha. Plus, the lag that occurred during those big group grinding those dolmens are just bad. I'm not sure if those within the group are also experiencing the lag. However, yeah, you have no choice when you get the Fighter Guild's daily for those Alikr dolmens. Just get in there and get it done quick.

Well, dolmen grinding has seemingly become a fixture with ESO as much as bot trains or those bots farming. So, again, if you're able to tolerate the constant and consecutive grinding, and it works for you, then it's all good. Plus, it's a safe bet for non-CP lower level toons for better survivability to be in those big grinding group. Sure, dolmen is solo friendly, but, only if your toon(s) has enough damage mitigation, because certain adds and boss can still pack quite a few heat. I have seen plenty of toons below 300 CP seemingly struggling with a dolmen soloing. I had stood back and watch certain times just to see how they would do and would jump in when they wipe or health is very low. I recall I was able to comfortably solo those dolmens (pre-One Tamriel) in my 300 CP.

Anyways, game on or grind on or whatever works for you..

Emmagoldman

I dolmen grind only when I’m getting things done irl. Get things done, do the dolmen, and get back to important things in life

phileunderx2

If I have a lowbie in alikir we just hang out at goats head and farm the area between spawns. There is quite a bit of good stuff there. So kill dolman, go farm repete. Unless I need some jewelry and I will do the train usually In auridon.

Aurielle

maniac4maniac wrote: »

bhagwad wrote: »

Kharret wrote: »

This guide is almost useless both for new players and for CPs.
CPs knows that Alik'r dolmens are not the fastest way to grind.
For newcomers is much better to avoid dolmen grind activity (especially Alik'r madness) at beginning and to enjoy the game, to follow the path along which the quests leads them

Is there a faster way to grind solo and reliably, without someone stealing your kills?

Only noobs lvlup at Dolmens, at least past lvl~10. Its pretty slow and gives you allmost 0 money during lvlgrinding = not good.

Unless you're talking about levelling up your CP, in which case grinding dolmens can be profitable. Just craft yourself a trash CP 150 training set, go to a dolmen circuit in a zone with popular jewelry drops (e.g. Necropotence, Plague Doctor, etc.), pop an XP pot, and go to town. Also handy for levelling up weapon/armour lines with ease if you respec or want to have multiple lines levelled just in case. As an example, I wanted to give magblade bombing a try, so I turned my stam nb into a Dunmer the other day and levelled her destro staff line from 1-48, as well as her light armour line from 10-50 in just a few hours of dolmen grinding. Also made a hefty amount of gold selling purple jewelry drops, intricate gear, and glyphs, which went towards the purchase of new gear sets for the character.

SugaComa

This should not even be a thing

If you have a character at max cp you should be given the option to play the game from the start with max CP on a new characters , unlocking all 50 levels and their skill points

Jolipinator

badmojo wrote: »

Jolipinator wrote: »

I prefer quests. They give me skill points and don't cause my game to lag/crash.

After you've done those exact same quests more than say... 4 or 5 times, you'll understand why a lot of people choose dolmen grinding.

After I have done one dolmen once, you'll predict the end of this sentence.