Story progression question. Want to keep it simple.

Quantonius

Hi!

I like to keep things simple and NOT do more than perhaps 2 main story lines at the same time, now and then broken up with a random small quest.
Example: Main story + Fighters guild.

My problem is that I really want to get the full story in a logical chronological order. I've seen people say you need to do the Main quest, alliance quest, fighters guild AND mages guild pretty much at the same time for them to continue to make sense in regards to each other...?

My question is this: Is there questlines (particularly the ones I mentioned), I can completely finish before going back and doing another of the questlines, WITHOUT losing coherency and "order"?

TLDR: Read it... it's a bit complicated

In advance, thanks!

dovakiin5574

Proper order is Alliance > Main > (Fighters AND Mage at the same time) > Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood > Craglorn > Morrowind > Clockwork City > Summerset

madchuska83

Mages guild and fighters guild quests unlock as you level their skill lines, you'll get quest givers who appear in main cities when they're ready. Main and Alliance quests should be completed simultaneously. You can finish the main quest first but will then have to complete the alliance quests to get to the final confrontation. DLC goes Wrothgar, Morrowind, Clockwork. Thieves guild and Dark Brotherhood are a grind and can be done whenever you please.

Valkysas154

There are things tied to DB and MW just fyi tho can't remember any thing with TG


Your faction allience story along with mage/fighters guild should be first
Then Orsinium
Thieves Guild
Dark Brotherhood - Dose have some things that tie into MW

Morrowind
Clockwork City
Summerset


And if you are into PVP Imperial City came out be for any other DLC and it dose have a story but pvp meh

Quantonius

Thanks for the answers.

Keep the opinions coming! And feel free to use the "agree" button on other people's posts if you agree with their thoughts.

VaranisArano

This is a long post on the order of quests. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/413807/what-order-should-i-do-esos-story-arcs-a-guide

You should be fine doing Main Story and Fighters Guild, you just won't know the Mages Guild characters well when you get to Coldharbor.


Pre-One Tamriel, you did a Main Quest every five levels, and a mages/fighters guild quest every alliance zone after the starter islands until you reached Coldharbor. But the main quest and guild quests aren't very tied in to the alliance storylines, just by location.

Numerikuu

I did the Pacts, Main, Fighters and Mages Guild all at the same time. Then Azura's Morrowind pre-quest, then Orsinium. The Thieves Guild doesn't really tie in to anything, however the Dark Brotherhood does (or rather a side quest involving Naryu and Raz that's unlocked once you progress far enough in the DB... which was a dumb idea imo since your character shouldn't be forced to do the DB...)
After all that, Morrowind, CWC pre-quest, the CWC, Summerset pre-quest, Summerset.

Valkysas154

Numerikuu wrote: »

I did the Pacts, Main, Fighters and Mages Guild all at the same time. Then Azura's Morrowind pre-quest, then Orsinium. The Thieves Guild doesn't really tie in to anything, however the Dark Brotherhood does (or rather a side quest involving Naryu and Raz that's unlocked once you progress far enough in the DB... which was a dumb idea imo since your character shouldn't be forced to do the DB...)
After all that, Morrowind, CWC pre-quest, the CWC, Summerset pre-quest, Summerset.

Pretty sure the MW/Sumer pre quests are removed - CWC could still be in it tho not sure

NewbieOKS

VaranisArano wrote: »

This is a long post on the order of quests. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/413807/what-order-should-i-do-esos-story-arcs-a-guide

You should be fine doing Main Story and Fighters Guild, you just won't know the Mages Guild characters well when you get to Coldharbor.


Pre-One Tamriel, you did a Main Quest every five levels, and a mages/fighters guild quest every alliance zone after the starter islands until you reached Coldharbor. But the main quest and guild quests aren't very tied in to the alliance storylines, just by location.

Recommend this reference

davey1107

As a general rule the lines from the vanilla game don’t overlap...they just all meet up at a certain point where a council meeting is called in Coldharbour. If you wanted to understand everyone present there, you’d run the three factions, mage, fighters and then proceed with the main story to that point. However, this isn’t necessary. In the original release, you couldn’t even do this since you have to do the other two factions beside your own after the other content.

My recommendations for people who are interested in the stories (because yes they can get convoluted):

Fighters and Mage: these are both nice little 6-8 quest side storylines. I’d personally level the skill lines first, so that I could do the quests for each over a couple of days rather than weeks. Doing like the mages guild all together over a couple of days helps keep the story straight. These can be completed at any time, and even months in advance of doing the main story. You’re mostly learning about the state and structure of the guilds at the time of the dolmen crisis.

Factions (alliance): these are the lines that can get most convoluted and confusing. This is partially because you can accidentally do them out of order more easily now.

For those who don’t understand how these work, each of the three factions has a major quest line that starts in the zone one starter cities. That line continues through each of the five zones, beginning at the entrance gate to each and weaving all over. A problem is that you can pick up any zone entrance quest even without having completed lower zones. You will then be completely out of order and the stories will get utterly confusing.

So for factions, work one zone at a time...auridon, then grahtwood, then Greenshade, etc. You can play through the factions in advance of doing the main story, or domthem later and say “ok, that’s what was going on while I was all worried about Molag Bol.”

Main: the original game sort of forced you to do the main and your faction at the same time. Now you get total flexibility. To make the most sense you might want to do one faction through before finishing the main, or if you’re a completist hold the main for way down the road when you’ve done all three factions.

Highlor3

I have a character that I intend to play in a way like this.

Alliance/Main Quest/Fighter's Guild/Mage's Guild/Group Dungeons (of that Alliance) all advancing together.

Fighter's Guild/Mage's Guild quest keep advancing to your Alliance's next zone, so it makes sense to do the concurrent with the Alliance's quest line.

If you end the last Alliance quest, It will direct you to your Alliance capital's Mage's Guild for the quest "Messages Across Tamriel", so, finish the "Council of the Five Companions", the 9th quest from the Main Storyline, before finishing the the Alliance's last quest.

As the Guild's play an important role in the last stages of the Main quest, and they advance well zone by zone, I intend to complete them before the Alliance's last quest.

I also intend to collect lorebooks (not just the ones for MG skill line), complete Master Angler, World Bosses. Delves, Public Dungeons, all by zone as I advance them.
I'll read notes and books that are tied to a area/quest as I find them, the other lorebooks I'll read later (maybe send to Kindle instead of reading in game).

Order I intend to use:

0 - Soul Shriven in Coldharbour. If you started in Vvardenfell or Summerset, take a boat off those zones after completing the Tutorial Quest to your Alliance's first zone (Auridon/Stonefalls/Glenumbra) and meet the Hooded Figure to start this quest. Do all quest in the Alliance's starting zone(s);
1 - First Alliance Zone quests (all), First quest from Main Storyline ("The Harborage"), First quest from Mage's Guild & Fighter's Guild, First part of Group Dungeon quest from that zone (e.g.: Spindleclutch I);
2 - Second Alliance Zone quests, Second & Third quests from Main Storyline ("Daughter of Giants" & "Chasing Shadows"), Second quest from Mage's Guild & Fighter's Guild, First part of Group Dungeon quest from that zone (e.g.: Wayrest Sewers I) & Second part of last zone's Group Dungeon quest (e.g.: Spindleclutch II);

After this zone I want to start doing Cyrodiil quests (not Imperial City), delves and etc. Also collect it's books and fishes;

3 - Third Alliance Zone quests, Fourth & Fifth quests from Main Storyline ("Castle of the Worm" & "The Tharn Speaks"), Third quest from Mage's Guild & Fighter's Guild, First part of Group Dungeon quest from that zone (e.g.: Crypt of Hearts I) & Second part of last zone's Group Dungeon quest (e.g.: Wayrest Sewers II);
4 - Fourth Alliance Zone quests, Sixth & Seventh quests from Main Storyline ("Halls of Torment" & "Valley of Blade"), Fourth quest from Mage's Guild & Fighter's Guild, Group Dungeon quest from that zone (e.g.: Volenfell), and Second part of last zone's Group Dungeon (e.g.: Crypt of Hearts II), if there's one;
5 - Eighth & Ninth quests from Main Storyline ("Shadow of Sancre Tor" & "Council of the Five Companions"), Fifth quest from Mage's Guild & Fighter's Guild, Fifth Alliance Zone quests, Group Dungeon quest from that zone;

After all done in the last Alliance zone, go for "Messages Across Tamriel" quest then "The Weight of Three Crowns";

6 - Coldharbour Zone quests, Vaults of Madness quest, and closing with "God of Schemes";

7 - Cadwell's Silver & Cadwell's Gold, and the respective zone's Group Dungeons quests;

You can do Group Dungeons quest from DLC that are in zones that you already completed or are current doing, if you have the necessary level/gear. Do it on normal, search for people that want to enjoy those Dungeons' quest and no just rush them.
I haven't went into these Dungeons' timeline yet, so, feel free to do them in order of release (while advancing into other DLCs and Chapters);


8 - Imperial City DLC quests and Group Dungeons;
9 - Craglorn quests (lower & upper), and it's trials/arena;
10 - Wrothgar quests (Orsinium DLC), and Maelstrom Arena;
11 - Abah's Landing quests (Thieves Guild DLC), and Maw of Lorkhaj trial;
12 - Gold Coast quest (Dark Brotherhood DLC);
13 - Vvardenfell quests (Morrowind Chapter), and Halls of Fabrication trial. Also Battlegrounds;
14 - Clockwork City DLC quests and Asylum Sanctorium trial;
15 - Summerset Isle Chapter quests and Cloudrest trial.

This is the order I intend to play. It may change if I discover something new (timeline wise). I accept suggestions too.

I'm using addons for some immersion with this character (e.g.: True Exploration, Pin Killer, Pocket Apocrypha, etc).

MLGProPlayer

dovakiin5574 wrote: »

Proper order is Alliance > Main > (Fighters AND Mage at the same time) > Thieves Guild & Dark Brotherhood > Craglorn > Morrowind > Clockwork City > Summerset

You're missing Orsinium, which chronologically comes before Dark Brotherhood and Morrowind as it leads into both of those DLC (see message in book and prophecy from familiar NPC ay end).

Thieves Guild and Craglorn also jave standalone stories and don't lead into the other content (although Craglorn definitely takes place after the main story.

So the proper order is:

Alliance + main story + FG/MG (you're forced to complete them together by the game) > Orsinium > Dark Brotherhood > Morrowind > CWC > Summerset