Whitestrake's Mayhem 101 - Feb 2022

VaranisArano

Let's cut to the chase: It's Whitestrake's Mayhem time and you are about to willingly queue up for Player vs Player combat in order to get event tickets and other event rewards. Here's a guide to the basics of PVP that you might experience during this event.

Official Announcement: BATTLE IN ESO’S PVP MODES & EARN BONUS REWARDS DURING THE WHITESTRAKE’S MAYHEM IN-GAME EVENT

[img][/img]How do I get my Scroll of Pelinal's Ferocity for double AP and XP from Player kills?
Step 1: If you've never done the quest, visit the in-game Crown Store to acquire the “Details on the Midyear Mayhem" quest.
Step 2: Find the NPC Predicant Maera at either the Battlegrounds camp outside major cities OR your Alliance's Main Gate inside Cyrodiil. She looks like this:

Step 3: Finish the quest to get your scroll. If you've already done the quest, Maera will give you another or you can use the Basin of the Gore Virtuous nearby.
Advice: this scroll is one of the few buff items that can be used in Cyrodiil, so I'd grab the scroll and save it for future use.

How do I get into Cyrodiil?
Navigate to the Alliance War tab. Read through the Campaign Rulesets and choose one that suits your playstyle. Enter that campaign.

(Image from ESO Support, labels by me.)

Note: the higher the population bars are from 1 to 3, the more likely you are to encounter players from that faction. If a bar has the lock symbol on your faction, you may have a queue to enter that campaign.

Now that I'm here, how do I leave?
Travel back to either of your Alliance's Main Gates, i.e. the same place you go to turn in your daily quests or shop at the Golden Vendor. Near the back of the area, you'll see a wayshrine that lets you travel out to other PVE zones. You will also see a transitus shrine that will take you to any connected keep if you decide to stay in Cyrodiil.

How do I get back to my Main Gate fast if I'm in the middle of nowhere?

• Use /stuck.
• Queue for an Imperial City campaign, then exit from there.
• Death Port/Blood Port, where you die to an enemy player or Alliance NPC deliberately.
• Use a Keep Recall Stone if you've gotten one from Rewards for the Worthy.
• Ride to the nearest connected keep and use the transitus shrine from there.

How do I get started with Battlegrounds dailies?
Go to the Battlegrounds Camp outside any base game starter or major DLC city (Davon's Watch, Daggerfall, Vulkhel Guard, Vivec, Alinor, etc.) Find Battlemaster Rivyn. He looks like:

He'll give you the prerequisite quest "For Glory" which asks you to complete one Battlegrounds match, win or lose. This unlocks the three Battlegrounds dailies.

How do I get into Imperial City?
Navigate to your Alliance War Tab. Choose the Imperial City option. Read the different campaign rulesets available, check the population bars, and queue for the campaign that best suits your playstyle.

(Image from ESO Support, labels mine.)

Advice: As before, check the ruleset and population bars when you choose a campaign. If you look at Red Diamond in the picture, it looks like there are a lot of AD players. This might be good for AD players, since they can find lots of allies. It also might be good for DC and EP players who want to fight lots of enemies for Tel Var. So be cautious about making assumptions about how easy Imperial City will be based on the population bars.

Advice II: There IS a Below 50 campaign this year! If you are below level 50, I highly recommend trying this campaign first be ause you won't have to deal with CP 160 proc sets as often. Just be aware that Below 50 isn't the same thing as "inexperienced" so you might meet some old hands at PVP playing on low level characters.
Because there is no Below 50 option for Imperial City, if you are Below 50, I'd suggest going to the No CP campaign because that will be the most comparable experience to how you play now. For leveled players, it's down to personal preference. I found that I preferred the CP campaigns because the miniboss NPCs that are common in the Districts and Sewers were tougher without my CP, but your mileage may vary.
(Apologies for the confusion about the Below 50 IC campaign. ZOS has since clarified that it is a Cyrodiil campaign, not Imperial City. There is NO campaign for Below 50 Imperial City.)

Advice III: Bank your Tel Var before you do anything. When you deposit coin with a banker, you can change the currency to Tel Var and store anything you don't want to lose. Consider buying a Sigil of Imperial Retreat from an NPC Merchant in the sewer base if you want to use that method to get to safety.

Where are the Imperial City dailies?
In your safe underground I underground sewer base, there will be a room with six ladders, each of which will take you up to a raised platform in one of the Imperial City Districts. The questgiver will be on that platform.
Note: once you jump down from that platform into the District, you cannot get back up.
Note: AD players have noted that their quest markers tend to be buggy about directions

If you want to get multiple dailies at once, you need to go back down the trapdoor you climbed out of into your sewer base, and go up a different ladder to another District. Rinse, repeat for each daily you want.
Once you've finished the daily, the questgiver is back in your sewer base. You'll need to get back there to turn it in.
Returning players may remember that the IC dailies used to require the Zone Story as a perquisite. As of Greymoor, they are no longer required.

Now that I'm here, how do I leave Imperial City?
Most methods send you back to your underground sewer base. Once you are there, there's a central room that has one exit into the Imperial City Sewers. Directly opposite that door, there will be an [Exit] door that will return you to your last PVE zone.
Here's the Ebonheart Pact map as an example:

(Image from ESO Support, labels mine)

Methods to return to your Sewer Base:

• Use /stuck. This will cost half the Tel Var you are carrying.
• Die to an NPC or Player. This will cost half the Tel Var you're carrying.
• Use a Sigil of Imperial Retreat. This costs 10k AP from an NPC Merchant in the sewer base and teleports you back to the base.
• Sneak through the sewers to your bases entrance.
• Queue for Cyrodiil, then once there, queue for Imperial City again.

Methods to leave Imperial City

• Queue for a Cyrodiil campaign. This will put you at the Main Gate of your alliance, where you can find the wayshrine to travel to PVE zones or queue back for Imperial City to return to your sewer base safely.
• Enter the dungeons White Gold Tower or Imperial City Prison.
• While in your sewer base, use that exit door to travel back to your last PVE zone.

VaranisArano

I’m not going to focus a lot on build advice here because (A) Any class can do well at PVP, (B.) I’m not a theorycrafter and (C.) getting good at PVP takes practice. I’ve never slapped on a meta build and had it work well for me without practice. If you are new, that will come with time. That being said, here’s some of the things I wish I’d known when I started to PVP.

Get a Group:
In Cyrodiil, one of the best things to do as a new PVPer is to get in a group and stick together with your allies. Not only is there strength in numbers, but they’ll help you find fights and actually feel like you are making a difference. During Whitestrake’s Mayhem, watch zone chat for LFG or “type X for raid” messages. Once you are in a group, stick with your group as best you can!
Imperial City has less groups than Cyrodiil. It may be easier to see if your guildmates who also want a group will join up with you.
Battlegrounds will queue you with a group. Its a 4v4v4 match, so do your best to stick with your groupmates so they can help defend and fight with you.


Buy Siege Weapons in Cyrodiil: one of the easiest ways to feel like you are contributing to your group is to use siege weapons. You can buy them from merchants at your home gates or at any keep or resource your alliance owns. You can quick slot them, then lay them down in a space where they’ll fit, and pick them up again once they’ve stopped their firing animation.
Note: Its generally bad etiquette to use another player’s siege unless its a plain weapon (ballista/oil pot) and you see that they aren’t using it. Sometimes players will say “I’m putting down extra siege” and then you can use it freely. If you do use someone’s siege, you need to immediately get off of it so they they can claim it back if they need to. If its coldfire or a lancer, don’t touch it unless you want to get yelled at because those are rare and expensive.

Sieging a Keep: only 20 siege weapons can be placed (there will be a counter on your screen), and the majority should be plain ballista or trebuchets to break down the walls/door quickly.
Defending a Keep: use anti-player siege like hot oils where players have to stand or on choke points they have to run through.

Here’s a list of most useful types and their uses:

• Rams: requiring 3-6 people, a fully manned ram does the most damage to a keep door. Problem is, you are stuck in position very close to the door where the enemy is probably pouring hot oils. If you’ve got a great healer with you, go ahead and run the ram. If not, use a ranged weapon, like the ballista.
• Ballista: with their fast fire rate, plain ballista are the most efficient weapon for breaking down walls and doors. Fire, ice, and lightning ballista are good for anti-player fighting. Coldfire ones are rare, but very deadly.
• Hot Oils: oil pots are defensive siege. Set them up over doorways and pour the oil over the enemies below.
• Trebuchets: they fire much slower than ballista but do more damage. I don’t use them as much for this reason, but they’ll do in a pinch! Coldfire ones HURT.
• Catapults: Meatbags are the standout catapult, dealing DOT damage to everyone in a wide area. Amazing for choke points like hitting enemies coming through the front gate.
• Lancers: obtained through antiquities, these are powerful but have a significant drawback: they’re expensive and if you get pulled away from it by the Dark Convergence set, you may not get it back.

Gear and play defensively; heal constantly: Most PVPers play with the sort of health and resistances you’d expect from a PVE tank, including impenetrable trait armor that helps prevent them from being wrecked by a handful of critical hits. You also need active damage mitigation like HOTs, buffs running constantly (ideally before you get into battle) as well as being able to dodge roll and break free at a moment’s notice. Magicka players, watch your stamina pool. Stamina players, again, make sure you’ve got the extra stamina to dodge and break free more frequently than you may be used to. Everyone - try to stay out of execute range (50-25% health). Unlike NPCs, players probably won’t let you recover.


Guides I Found Helpful
Joy's 2018 Advice for Midyear Mayhem Event
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/427360/joys-2018-advice-for-midyear-mayhem-event

ZOS has published Alliance War Tips from two members of their ESO Stream Team:
https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/59201

VaranisArano

Ever since One Tamriel, the whole "Alliance War" hasn't impact PVE gameplay very much. We can group with players regardless of Alliance. We can explore all over Tamriel regardless of Alliance. So its easy to forget that ESO's PVP is an integral part of the game and its story...right up until we get an event in Cyrodiil, Imperial City, and Battlegrounds. Suddenly, it can't be avoided IF you want the event rewards.

If you really want to avoid PVP completely, consider sitting this event out. Seriously, there's no way to avoid PVP completely when you queue up for Cyrodiil, Battlegrounds, and/or Imperial City. That’s by design. It wouldn’t be much of a PVP event if there was zero risk from enemy players, right? Don't be afraid to skip this event if it's just not your cup of tea.

If you've queued up for a PVP-enabled zone but still want to avoid enemy players as much as possible while pursuing your event rewards, here's some tips:

• Pick low population Campaigns, and if possible, pick low population times. THe less enemy players around, the better it is for you.
• Have a fast horse in Cyrodiil. Earning 8,000 Alliance Points will let you unlock the Continuous Assault passive in the Alliance War Assault skill line, granting Major Gallop at all times.
• Get Stealthy. If you want to avoid players, the best way is to make sure they don't see you. PVE stealth sets and fast stealthy vampire builds work great.
• Get tanky. If you can't avoid players through stealth, the next best option is to look like a tough nut to crack. Stay alert and be obvious that you are pre-buffed for a fight.
• Use Detect Pots and/or Detect skills. These can buy you precious reaction time in a fight, or in the case of Radiant Magelight, potentially warn off a ganker.
• Pay attention to your alliance's zone chat and the map for warnings about enemy players and movements. Don't be afraid to call out your own warnings too! If there's a ganker around or an enemy team sweeping the Districts, you can warn other questers.
• Group up and work together. If all else fails, there's strength in numbers. Also, PVP is a lot more fun with you're playing with friends. If you don't want to go in alone, see if your guildmates would like to put together a group where you can all participate!
• If you can't beat the enemy player(s), consider looking for a different way to accomplish your overall goal or come back later. Moving to a different area is often the better part of valor.

Finally, manage your expectations. Player vs Player is a gamemode where enemy players can delay or prevent your from getting your desired rewards as fast as you want them, including gankers and bombers. Player vs Player combat is a learned skill that, no offense, you will not pick up in a few days of casual playing during an event. Whitestrake's Mayhem can be one of the hardest events for people who don't have that learned skill, or who only do PVP casually during events.

VaranisArano

Here's a rundown of the available daily quests in Cyrodiil, including my judgment on how easy or hard they are for a inexperienced PVPer or player who wants to avoid PVP to complete.

Scouting: (VERY EASY) Obtained from your Alliance Base quest boards, this quest will send you to a random enemy-controlled resource, where the quest will prompt you to stop, jot down a few notes and return to base. This is easily completed from stealth, but usually requires lots of riding.

• Tip: pick up the quest in a campaign where your Alliance is losing to get a resource nearby your Main Base or a nearby Keep, then queue for a campaign where your Alliance is winning to have a faster and likely safer trip.

Battle: Capture a Resource - (MEDIUM) Obtained from your Alliance Base quest boards, the quest will send you to capture a random enemy controlled resource. You can get credit by being present when your alliance captures the resource or you can solo a resource yourself.

• Tip: As long as no enemy players show up to defend the resource, this is an entirely PVE fight. There will be guards defending a tower, worker NPCs, and a few wandering guards. You need to kill the guards standing on the flag and stand on it long enough for the flag to change color to your alliance. Other people may have slightly different tactics they can share. When I solo a resource, I typically kill the guards at the entrance to the tower along with any nearby wanderers, go into the tower to kill the mage at the top, then rush out to kill the four guards on the flag. (I save my ultimate for players.) The guards do respawn, so it may take some practice to get the timing right so you can kill them all and flip the flag. Be aware that other players can see on their map (and on PC, their addons) when a resource flag is being flipped by another alliance.

Conquest: (HARD) Capture 9 Resources - same thing as above, just 9 different resources, obtained from the Conquest quest board.

Capture a Keep/Outpost: (HARD) If you have the quest active and you are on the grounds of the keep or outpost when it is captured by your alliance, you will get credit for the quest, whether or not you participated in the battle. Obviously, there's a high risk of PVP involvement with this one, even though technically you don't have to PVP to complete it.

• Tip: Join a group or pay close attention to zone chat to figure out where your alliance is going to be attacking the enemy. Bring siege weapons like Ballista to break down the doors/walls or meatbags to kill enemy players.

Conquest: (HARD) Capture 3 keeps/outposts, same thing as above, just 3 different keeps/outposts, obtained from the Conquest quest board.

Conquest: Capture All 3 Towns - (HARD) Obtained from the Conquest Board, this quest requires you to take the flags (or be present when the town is captured for your alliance) at Vlastarus, Bruma, Cropsford. Each town has 3 flags that all need to be turned. Two flags have NPC guards, and the last flag has no guards (except in Cropsford, where all three have NPC guards now).

• Tip: Like with resources, the guards will respawn and can turn the flag back to their alliance, so I recommend starting with the non-NPC flag so you have time to kill the others and flip their flags. You may run into enemy players who are questing in the town or enemy PVPers looking to capture the town for their alliance transitus. Bruma has a Dark Anchor which can also complicate matters.

Bounty: Kill 20 Players / 20 Sorcs/Wardens/Templars/etc: (EASY-HARD)
Note: This quest is technically not listed as giving event tickets, but the Conquest version of it is.
The difficulty of this quest depends on your playstyle. If you are new to PVP, here are some tips for scoring easy kills:

• Group up with other PVPers. You'll see plenty of LFG and guild groups picking up players from zone chat. Don't be shy! Strength in numbers is a great thing in PVP when you are new. If you do join a group, try to stick with the group and follow whoever has the crown symbol. Grouping up will also give you credit from your groupmates' kills, though note that you must get the killing blow for achievements like Wrath of the Whitestrake.
• Grab siege weapons and use them when capturing or defending a keep. Oils and Meatbag Catapults are your best siege weapons versus players, along with any coldfire weapons you get from the rewards. Ballistas and Trebuchets are effective against walls. If you are having trouble getting killing blows for achievements, siege weapons are a great tool!

Conquest: Kill 40 Players
Same as above, just more players. I've had issues with this quest before, so if you are grouped up and not getting credit for kills, try fighting solo alongside the group and see if you get credit.


Cyrodiil Town Quests (VERY EASY)
The Cyrodiil Town Quests are easy, entirely PVE objective quests where the real threat comes from other players.
(PVP Flags) Bruma: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Bruma
(PVP Flags) Vlastarus: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Vlastarus
(PVP Flags) Cropsford: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Cropsford
Chorrol: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Chorrol ; https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Weynon_Priory
Cheydinhal: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Cheydinhal

Map:

Image Credit: https://arzyelbuilds.com/cyrodiil-daily-quests-guide-elder-scrolls-online/

• Tip: Remember that all of Cyrodiil is a PVP-enabled zone. Bruma, Vlastarus, and Cropsford have Alliance flags. Cheydinhal and Chorrol are along travel routes for EP and DC respectively. Beyond this, many PVPers know that Questers flock to these spots and will fight players here for the double AP and Daily Bounty Quests. So stay alert for the enemy!.
• Anti-Ganker Tip: both Stealthy and Tanky builds can make good use of detection potions and skills to spot or warn off gankers.

Capture/Recapture an Elder Scroll
Technically, you can do this one from the safety of your home base. However, it requires a certain about of patience and luck.
You must have the correct Elder Scroll quest and be in Cyrodiil.
Your alliance must capture the Elder Scroll and place it in its Scroll Temple or in a home keep.
When the Elder Scroll is placed in its Temple/Home Keep, everyone in Cyrodiil with the quest gets credit for it.

This method is best used on a populated, competitive campaign, because you are depending entirely on the PVPers in your alliance to go out, capture/recapture a scroll, and share the quest with you (unless you were lucky enough to get it from the Grand Warlord before your alliance grabbed the scroll). If you can't get your desired scroll quest from the Grand Warlord, you can drop the quest he offers and try again, or ask in zone chat for a group to share it.

VaranisArano

If you’ve never done a Battleground before, Battlemaster Rivyn will give you the quest “For Glory!” which asks you to participate in one Battleground match, win or lose.

Let the Games Begin: Participate in five Battlegrounds matches.
Test of Mettle: Earn one thousand Medal Points in a Battleground (not necessarily in a single match)
To the Victor: Win three Battlegrounds matches.

Again, the difficulty of these quests depends on your playstyle and the opponents you'll face. A few tips:

• Stick with your teammates. Again, there is strength in numbers. If you've got Heals Over Time, use them proactively, and cross-heal your teammates when you can.
• Play the Objective. If its a Capture the Relic match, don't play it like a Deathmatch. I found it really helpful to read over the different gamemodes before I started Battlegrounds the first time: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Battlegrounds
• Adjust your build for No CP. If you normally play with CP, the biggest difference you'll feel is the lack of sustain. It'll feel like you are constantly running low on resources. So consider using a gear set (in impenetrable!) that boosts your resources as well as food/potions that give you resources.

VaranisArano

Before we get to the dailies, I'd like to talk about Imperial City’s unique mechanics. These are some things you need to understand before you can do well in the zone.

First, Imperial City was designed as a difficult mixed Player vs Player vs Environment zone. I’ll let ZOS explain it:

"The dangers of Imperial City and the Sewers below are best suited for small groups of adventurers, but highly skilled warriors have been known to strike out on their own. While exploring and fighting your way through the Imperial City, be prepared to face not only Molag Bal's forces, but also enemy players from the opposing alliances. Rewards that are unmatched in power await those who are brave enough to enter the Imperial City and claim them. Fight Molag Bal's personal guard, the elite Xivkyn, and other invaders from Coldharbour to win Tel Var Stones, the currency used to trade for mighty Veteran Rank 16 armor sets. But be on your guard—enemy Alliance members lurk around every corner throughout the Imperial Districts and Sewers. Should you fall to an enemy player, they can claim your hard-earned Tel Var Stones in their own quest for glory."
-Imperial City Launch Details, https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/news/post/25357

Second, Imperial City is designed with a risk-reward currency that you can gain by killing NPCs and enemy players…and will lose if you are killed by NPCs or enemy players.

Again, I’ll let ZOS explain it:

“Since Tel Var Stones are so sought after and valuable, there is also a chance that you could lose yours. If a monster or enemy player within the Imperial City manages to kill your character, you will lose 50% of the Tel Var Stones you were carrying—and the enemy player will get all of them (split among anyone who helped to subdue you.) You will be able to see the amount of stones you lost in your death recap window. You can't lose Tel Var Stones outside the Imperial City (Districts and Sewers.)

“In order to prevent high loses, you can deposit your Tel Var Stones in your personal bank; any banker in Tamriel is more than happy to accept them. All the Tel Var Stones in your bank are safe and can't be lost if your player character dies in the Imperial City. Of course, after you deposited your stones and carry no more on you, your multiplier will reset, too.

“For those who want to avoid any risk, we've added quests, including repeatable ones, in the Imperial City that will reward you with a Tel Var Stone box. Unlike with Tel Var Stones you get by killing monsters and enemy-alliance player characters, you won't lose these boxes if your character is slain. You can take these boxes to your home base, open them in safety, and deposit all the Tel Var Stones inside straight into your bank. Doing so will prevent these stones from increasing your multiplier, but it keeps them safe. Or you just open them right where you got them … deciding if the risk is worth it is up to you!’
Source: Imperial City Tel Var Guide https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-gb/guides/imperialcitytelvar

Third, Imperial City has two distinct regions - the Sewers and the Districts. Both have a lot of PVE mobs, minibosses, and world bosses who can really mess up your day.

The Sewers have no control points, though there are plenty of choke points and narrow corridors as you move farther away from your home base. All three Alliances feed into the Barathrum Centrata. This large circular area has a Boss Fight with Molag Bal’s Simulacrum. I advise bringing a group to do this fight and staying alert for enemy groups who may also want to do the boss fight.

The Districts are controlled by players via an NPC-guarded flag, and grant 33% extra Tel Var to whichever alliance controls that district. The three alliances will try to capture the flags of the Districts in order to increase their Tel Var gains and control spawn points. Your alliance must own a District in order for you to spawn there when killed. Otherwise, you will have to respawn at your sewer base. Killing Patrolling Horrors (World Boss) in the Districts will grant you certain rewards, including leads, event rewards, and some have their own monster helm.


As a final note: Imperial City is tough, close quarters fighting with NPCs and Enemy Players. ZOS designed it that way. ZOS also included it in their events. They didn’t do that by accident.

VaranisArano

Before you leave your safe Sewer Base, here are some wise preparations.

There are a couple important locations to find.
1. The Banker - deposit your Tel Var stones if you want to keep them. The option to Deposit Currency will default to gold, but has a small drop down arrow that will let you change the type of currency you want to deposit. Make sure you do this if you've been accumulating them from other events or daily log in rewards. I once forgot and died with 10k Tel Var on me. Oops!
2. The General Tel Var Merchant - they sell the "Sigil of Imperial Retreat", which is a consumable item that allows you to teleport free back to the Sewer Base without losing Tel Var. It costs 10k AP, and may be useful if you don't intend to use one of the other options for how to return to your Sewer Base. If you buy it, make sure to equip it on your hotbar so you can use it quickly when you need to.
3. The door to the Sewers - each alliance's base opens into one area of the Sewers. If enemy players are hanging around right outside of this door, you'll need to use the next location, the ladders, to bypass the Sewer door and drop into the sewers from the District entrances.
4. The ladders to the Districts - there will be a room with six ladders which lead to the six districts. Climbing the ladder will take you up to a safe spawn tower in each district.

Check the state of the Districts to see which alliance owns them. The map might look something like this for an AD dominated Imperial City, though note that one District is being attacked. You can guess there will be enemy players near that district.

Finally, if you want to see if there are any groups of players doing the dailies, the Sewer Base is a safe spot to organize.

Where are the District Dailies?
You'll need to climb the ladders. Most of the daily quest givers will be on the spawn tower. If you want to grab more than one daily at a time, you'll need to go back through the trapdoor, climb another ladder, go back through the trapdoor, climb another ladder, six times. It's annoying, but I recommend picking up all the dailies. I found that having all the dailies made it easier for me to progress when I died and had to respawn in another district.

Please note that if you jump off the spawn tower, you cannot get back up without dying and respawning in that district. You'll have to get back to your sewer base by another method to talk to the quest giver again. AD players, be aware that there are reports that some of your quest arrows get buggy.


District Dailies
A note on ranking - as with all PVP quests, they can be very easy if there are no enemy players around and very hard if you cannot avoid/defeat the enemy players who come to fight. I’ve ranked these based on my difficulty doing them on a non-PVP, non-stealthy build. My main criteria were how exposed the quests left me to being spotted or attacked by enemy players. It was common for me to complete one quest step, die, complete another quest step, die, and so on until I finished the quest. Your mileage may vary.

Arboretum: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Historical_Accuracy
(HARD) - Fighting the five Daedroths/Atronachs meant that I spent a lot of time exposed, and worse, ripe for a shot in the back while I was distracted with a mini-boss. I completed this one in stages, killing a few daedra, dying to players, coming back later and killing a few more. The Daedroths are more common around the edges of the district near the pillars and doors near big piles of burning books.

Arena District: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:The_Lifeblood_of_an_Empire
(VERY EASY) - If you use something that may or may not be intended. So, ZOS knows about what I’m going to say and has neither said its unintended nor fixed it. So your mileage may vary.
From your spawn tower, sneak on the top to the edges and use ranged skills to kill the daedra/free the prisoners nearby. Be careful, because enemy players can knock you down if they see you. (You could also attack them, so its fair game.) If you want to be even safer, just sit in the Sanctuary portion of the spawn tower and wait for the players on the edge to kill daedra/free prisoners for you. It’ll take awhile, but you’ll be safe.

Word of Warning: PVPers can also read these guides, and thus know that players like to sit up in the tower. This might not be as easy as you are hoping for. Also, its probably not what ZOS had in mind when they designed that quest. Finally, bring a book to read or something, because its boring.

(EASY-MEDIUM) - If you do it as intended. Honestly, I’ve never had a problem with jumping down off the platform and running around until I found enough citizens to release. Its a much quicker and easier version of the Arboretum quest. It was definitely quicker than sitting up in the spawn tower. That might be different if there’s a bunch of enemy players camping the area because they know there’s a bunch of players sitting up on the tower, so be aware of your surroundings.

Elven Gardens: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Dousing_the_Fires_of_Industry
(MEDIUM): This one requires running over the whole district and interacting with certain objects. Also, watch out for miniboss Kazarvel Scathe-Knight in the foundry/forge area. I’d strongly recommend a stealthy character for this one, better to avoid players and packs of NPC enemies as you move through the District.

Memorial District: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Speaking_For_The_Dead
(EASY-MEDIUM): While the fights are easy, the terrain is very exposed and I worried I was going to get backstabbed the whole time. A stealthy character should be able to knock this one out easily. A non-stealthy player may need several tries.

Nobles District: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Watch_Your_Step
(MEDIUM): Like in the Elven Gardens, you’ll be running to all four corners of the District, so either be prepared to fight a lot of NPC packs or sneak past them. The locations are less likely to be camped because of the NPC mobs around, but you may encounter enemy players at the same objective.

Temple District: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Priceless_Treasures
(HARD): This quest itself is easy, but it features a number of easily campable locations. Again, it would be easy if no enemy is around, but I’d be on high alert for gankers. Detection Pots or methods to suppress stealth like Radiant Magelight will be very useful for when you have to interact with objects.

When you finish the quest, you must return to your Sewer Base in order to turn it in.

Minnesinger

Nice work on this subject.

VaranisArano

Most are pretty self-explanatory.
Blessed/Chosen/Hand of the Whitestrake: this requires gaining Pelinal’s Boon Boxes, obtained from doing daily quests or earning Rewards for the Worthy by gaining AP.

Pelinerrif Insurgent: to capture an Imperial City District, you need to defeat the three guards at the district flag that will be close to White Gold Tower. You need to stand there until the flag changes color to your alliance, so I recommend that you block and stay very alert for gankers/enemy players, since they can also see on the map that someone is capturing a district.

Wrath of the Whitestrake: this achievement requires 50 Killing Blows, that is, you must get the last hit on your opponent. If you struggle with PVP, here’s some ideas.

• Using Siege weapons in Cyrodiil - they do a ton of often unavoidable damage from a distance
• Using light attacks in battle - you have to do damage to get killing blows, and this increases your chance of getting lucky
• Killsteal with executes - executes proc extra damage at low health, so its a lot easier to get killing blows if you use an execute when your opponents are vulnerable.

Personal Note: I got Wrath of the Whitestrake over about five days on my MagDK healer by using siege weapons and spamming light attacks in battle. Its doable.

VaranisArano

A Final Note:

When I started ESO, I never expected to like PVP gameplay. I first went to Cyrodiil for my Master Angler achievement. I don’t think that DC Ganker who ambushed me at the side of Lake Rumare knew she was getting me started on a journey that’s given me years of enjoyment fighting alongside and against other players.

Its okay to not like PVP.

Its okay to have fun in PVP.

I hope you all enjoy Whitestrake’s Mayhem. Take chances. Make mistakes. Get messy. Above all, have fun with this event!

WhiteCoatSyndrome

Excellent write up! Something I only saw touched on: you can share the quests. This is especially useful in Imperial City where it’s always the same quests every day. Also re: Scrolls, if you know your faction is going for Scroll X and the Grand Warlord is only offering Scroll Y, it is sometimes possible to reset the quest to the scroll you want:

1. Accept the quest for Scroll Y
2. Abandon it immediately
3. Ask the Grand Warlord for the quest again
4. Repeat as necessary

Important note: If your faction is missing any of their home scrolls (the ones with the handles on the icon that match your faction color), the Grand Warlord will only offer quests for the home scrolls.

Rogue_WolfESO

@VaranisArano Thank you for taking the time to post all of this.

Obsidian3

Was doing the quests in No-CP IP last night, the gankers where there but in No-Cp they are glass cannons so if you can survive their first onslaught, you can usually take em down. Of course since I am PC-NA the Blue Blob was in IC Killing bosses and farming Tel Var, want to thank those 4 members that broke off from the blob to come kill the poor guy doings quests. I hope the four of you enjoyed splitting my 11 Tel-Var.

Also Deltia dropped a nice beginners video I think is worth checking out if your new to PvP.
https://youtu.be/sjRJzPTbmNY

Oreyn_Bearclaw

Come on in, the water is warm. Great post.

Best event of the year, and I am mostly a PVEer.

kringled_1

They appear to be adding a U50 IC campaign for the event.

VaranisArano

kringled_1 wrote: »

They appear to be adding a U50 IC campaign for the event.

Wonderful! I'm glad they've listened to feedback from past years.

ZOS_Kevin

Great guide, @VaranisArano! We pinned it for players to reference when Whitestrake's Mayhem starts.

VaranisArano

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Great guide, @VaranisArano! We pinned it for players to reference when Whitestrake's Mayhem starts.

Hey, thanks a ton!

And also a very sincere thanks to everyone popping in here to offer their own hints, tips, and ways they've found to have fun in Midyear Mayhem. Every year I learn something new from the ideas that folks share in the comments.

vgabor

VaranisArano wrote: »

Be aware that once your alliance holds the Elder Scroll, you cannot obtain that quest from the Grand Warlord and it must be shared with you

Just a bit of correction here, you can get the quest from the grand warlord while the scroll being carried by a player, you only cannot get the quest if the scroll is already in it's place at the temple or home keep.

What you cannot get though is quest for an enemy scroll while your alliance has one of their own scroll missing, then the grand warlord only will give recapture quest for your own scroll.

furiouslog

Great thread as always, @VaranisArano, and it's awesome that they stickied it.

Deltia

Obsidian3 wrote: »

Was doing the quests in No-CP IP last night, the gankers where there but in No-Cp they are glass cannons so if you can survive their first onslaught, you can usually take em down. Of course since I am PC-NA the Blue Blob was in IC Killing bosses and farming Tel Var, want to thank those 4 members that broke off from the blob to come kill the poor guy doings quests. I hope the four of you enjoyed splitting my 11 Tel-Var.

Also Deltia dropped a nice beginners video I think is worth checking out if your new to PvP.
https://youtu.be/sjRJzPTbmNY

Thanks friend for posting!

Wolfkeks

Amazing thread! It's so cool that you put this together and I'll happily share it with my guildies!
Keep up the amazing work!

Auberon1983

Fantastic! Really good "101" for the event! I'm very happy they stickied your post!

The only thing I can add is, to those brand new to PvP, you are going to die, a lot, and this is totally OK and normal. Even the grizzled veterans that basically live in Cyrodiil get killed.

The only reason I mention this is that it is really easy to get discouraged by it when you are first learning, and can feel like a chump. I promise it isn't you, you don't suck, none of that, PvP is just an entirely different skill set and playstyle. Remember, even Grand Overlords started out as lowly Volunteers.

I also hope this helps dispel the (largely) myth that PvP is toxic and unwelcoming. So, so many PvPers are more than happy to help you, to cheer you on, myself included. Our community is small, and often tight knit, but I promise there is always room for more!

WiseSky

Amazing work

NeeScrolls

Auberon1983 wrote: »

The only thing I can add is, to those brand new to PvP, you are going to die, a lot, and this is totally OK and normal. Even the grizzled veterans that basically live in Cyrodiil get killed.

I also hope this helps dispel the (largely) myth that PvP is toxic and unwelcoming. So, so many PvPers are more than happy to help you, to cheer you on, myself included. Our community is small, and often tight knit, but I promise there is always room for more!

Indeed, although tbqh i usually suggest new PVP'ers to just simply turn OFF zone chat alltogether.

Unless you're someone like me who welcomes---and is thoroughly entertained by--certain types of um "hardcore" players.

Anyways, nice sticky thread @VaranisArano ...and if any players wanna come help EP turn the tides within Ravenwatch campaign (PC/NA) server, come join the fun!

mocap

START: 17 Feb 2022 (10am EST/ 3pm GMT/UTC)
END: 1 Mar 2022 (10am EST/ 3pm GMT/UTC)

Jierdanit

Great Work

Now ZOS should just have a way for new players to actually find that kind of information without having to look at the forums for it, since I'm pretty sure a lot of players who actually need that info are not on the forums.

Bitter_Apple21

@VaranisArano

Thanks. Very helpful.

Only tried Mayhem once last year. The tips you have given will be a big help.

FlopsyPrince

I think you missed my favorite way to leave IC: Go through a door or gate to get protected. Then choose a Cyrodiil campaign to zone to. You can then go back to IC the same way and turn in quests if you want to do that.

VaranisArano

FlopsyPrince wrote: »

I think you missed my favorite way to leave IC: Go through a door or gate to get protected. Then choose a Cyrodiil campaign to zone to. You can then go back to IC the same way and turn in quests if you want to do that.

Using the safe sanctuary zones is a great way to use that technique, just not always possible. If players can't get to one safely, holing up in stealth in an out of the way area can be enough.

You can also use it at any time, even in combat. Once your queue pops, you've got a minute to accept it. So players will sometimes take that time to charge into an enemy group and then accept the queue to just disappear.

Magenpie

Amazing guide, thank you so much.

My Mayhem tactic is to do all the IC dailies on 2 alts at the quietest time of the day (pref in the week before the event) and then the Cyrodiil scouting daily on 5 alts (and then do them again once they've all handed in), then gradually hand one IC and one Cyrodiil quest every day over the event. So I'm getting my 3 tickets a day.

For me this is less stressful because I'm not chasing quests for tickets every day, and if I want to dip into the chaos, I can do it for it's own sake.

I can't stand PvP normally but the Mayhem event is so frenzied and silly, as long as you resign yourself to death, no Tel Var but the odd nice reward, it's surprisingly good fun, with moments of hilarity.

Thanks again for the encouraging excellent guide!