Well...typically getting Emperor is an act of politics anyway. You have to do the AP grinding yourself (getting friends on another faction to feed you AP is shameful poor play) but when it comes to the final push around the ring keeps unless you have your own PVP guild or can gather sufficient forces yourself, you are typically relying on your faction players and particularly your faction guilds to get their siege to the right keeps at the right moment and put the crown on your head. That usually takes a certain amount of politicking and not irritating anyone too much and, well, everything that you would expect that comes with herding a bunch of PVP-playing cats.

Can you hire people? I suppose everything's possible. Can you ingratiate yourself with the right guild and get yourself into whatever Emp-trading shenanigans they're already doing? Sure, its not like that doesn't happen. Can you ask a PVP guild to help you out once you are in position to be Emp? Yeah, there's a fair amount of guilds willing to help out if you just ask and are already in position even if you aren't a member but will help the faction. Can you work hard with a guild, get in position to be emperor and get the full-fledged support of your guild and the support they can help you get? Yeah, that's how your guild should work. (Not to diminish solo or small group players, but pushing the Emp ring keeps on even a mildly competitive server takes allies.)

So it really comes down to how you want Emperor. Do you want so badly you'd stoop to exploits like having AP fed to you by friends on other factions? Do you want it for money or as part of an Emp-trading bargain? Or do you want it as a culmination of your work and effort to gain AP through the cooperative effort of you, your faction players, and your faction guilds?

Any of those methods will get you the coveted title, costume, etc., provided the stars align and the ring keeps fall. But I think we all know which method is the right method of getting the Emperorship and the best method for healthy play in Cyrodiil campaigns.

ArchMikem wrote: »

With in-game gold? Knock your socks off. With real money? Terms of Service would like a word with you.

Yeah, this is the threshold. You're allowed to spend your in game gold, and hire mercenaries... or turncoats. A lot of people, myself included will grumble, but ultimately, those kinds of interactions aren't really regulated.

What you can't do is pay players with real currency to do... well, anything really. It's explicitly forbidden. Don't do it. This doesn't mean that ZOS is omniscient and will instantly know you're messing around. But, at the same time, it is behavior that can get your account suspended or banned, so probably not worth it to you.