How hard is it to get geared without buying any DLC?

Atariz · June 2016

I wanted to gear up a stam dk, but I dont play the game enough to justify buying DLC/paying for eso plus. On my magicka sorc back when I played a lot I just grinded in the sewers to buy my VR16 mats with stones, but that won't be possible now.

How can I get geared without buying DLC?

Silver_Strider · June 2016

Best way would probably be deconstructing.

You could farm Cyrodiil for mats but the raw materials might take awhile to gather that way and there is the potential for getting ganked.

Taleof2Cities · June 2016

You can get appropriate level mats by farming in Cyrodiil which is a scaled zone ... it might be a bit harder as there are enemies about.

Don't forget about your crafting writs ... the rewards and writ surveys offer appropriate leveled mats.

Along those lines, be sure to turn on the crafting hirelings on all eight (8) characters (or all twelve characters if you purchased extra character slots).

Finally, check with friends, guildies, and the guild traders for supplies.

Rohamad_Ali · June 2016

It's not too difficult . You can also grind gold while leveling and save as much as possible and buy decent gear .

phaneub17_ESO · June 2016

I'm an altaholic (7 characters at max level) playing the base game and I have all my characters geared out in mostly 160CP items. All my tanks and casters use 5pc Bahraha's Curse then it's either crafted Seducers for the casters with 2 piece Willpower for weapon/shield; for my tanks its Kagrenac's Hope and 2 piece Endurance for weapon/shield. All my stamina based characters are using a combination of 5pc Syvarra's Scale on some, 5pc Briarheart on others with crafted Hunding's Rage and Night Mother's Gaze combos.

Briarheart, Trinimac, and Pariahs are available in Gold zone treasure chests and sometimes from Anchor chests as mostly 150CP, sometimes 160CP. You'll also get a lot of Ruby items to deconstruct, even though you get 1 mat per item. Hireling mail on 7 characters for extra Ruby mats works for me, and even if you don't PvP Cyrodiil is a nice spot for most Ruby mats except Leather which is better in Dungeons like Wayrest Sewers.

IcyDeadPeople · June 2016

Atariz wrote: »

I wanted to gear up a stam dk, but I dont play the game enough to justify buying DLC/paying for eso plus. On my magicka sorc back when I played a lot I just grinded in the sewers to buy my VR16 mats with stones, but that won't be possible now.

How can I get geared without buying DLC?

Easily, depending on what you are trying to do. Probably go with some crafted set like hunding's rage or eternal hunt plus any of many options available from guild traders, AP boxes or cyrodiil vendor. (Agility, Ravager, Skirmisher, Leki's, even monster helms, etc)

Or were you asking how to get the mats? They are all easily available in Cyrodiil now.

Drakoleon · June 2016

Eso+ or DLC or trading! Cyro farming?(fanboys are funny) forget it! needs great deal of time and effort unless you enjoy getting ganged too.

phaneub17_ESO · June 2016

Drakoleon wrote: »

Eso+ or DLC or trading! Cyro farming?(fanboys are funny) forget it! needs great deal of time and effort unless you enjoy getting ganged too.

Just look at where your side controls and avoid heavily conflicted areas. I've gone in there for a couple hours of endless farming without getting attacked once. I have characters on each faction, I just pick which one has the most coverage at the time.

IcyDeadPeople · June 2016

Drakoleon wrote: »

Cyro farming?(fanboys are funny) forget it! needs great deal of time and effort unless you enjoy getting ganged too.

Oh yes, there are 10 nightblades hiding behind every flower in Cyrodiil.

Around the time of ESO's launch were there battles all over the map, but these days most of the zone is empty even on Trueflame.

AlnilamE · June 2016

IcyDeadPeople wrote: »

Oh yes, there are 10 nightblades hiding behind every flower in Cyrodiil.

Nobody touches my Columbine!

But yes, Cyrodiil is not bad for mats actually.

Though if you are going for medium armor, I would recommend running normal Fungal Grotto, Normal Wayrest Sewers and Blackheart Haven. You'll get a fair amount of leather from those dungeons.

Also note that the updated Sanctum drops v16 items/sets, which you can deconstruct for mats.

As for how easy it is to gear up without the DLC, it depends. If you want something very specific that's only craftable in a DLC zone you'll have to ask someone to do it for you. Otherwise, you should be fine.