The chronological order of playing missions/DLCs/Chapters

AlandroSul · October 2021

Hello,

I know that since the One Tamriel update it is possible to do quests and DLCs out of order, and thus to ruin the story of the game. So, will it do the trick to simply start from the base game and then buy DLCs/Chapters one by one in the order of their release after all the base game quests are finished? Or are there still, even in the base game, missions that should preferably be done in a specific order?
I know there are guides providing info on which quests do in which order but they always contain some minor spoilers about the game (and also I'd like to discover the game on my own).

Thanks in advance

Smoky · October 2021

https://i.redd.it/lfzcb3da62t51.png

This is what I used to work that out, no spoilers just a flow chart of the order your looking for.

AcadianPaladin · October 2021

No problem with what you propose. In fact, I prefer to go through the game in the order it was released.

There are some caveats to this that involve specific skills and abilities that can only be obtained from later added content: Some that come to mind are Psijic skill line and jewelry crafting (Summerset), Antiquities (W Skyrim), transmutation (Clockwork City).

So my characters do quest through the game in the order released but, depending on their objectives, may have to do a bit of outside work if they want Psijic skills or Antiquiites.

AlandroSul · October 2021

Smoky wrote: »

https://i.redd.it/lfzcb3da62t51.png

This is what I used to work that out, no spoilers just a flow chart of the order your looking for.

So, without following this picture I may potentially travel to a location that is supposed to be done at a later time in the story, even when playing the base game only?

VaranisArano · October 2021

Vernilon wrote: »

Smoky wrote: »

https://i.redd.it/lfzcb3da62t51.png

This is what I used to work that out, no spoilers just a flow chart of the order your looking for.

So, without following this picture I may potentially travel to a location that is supposed to be done at a later time in the story, even when playing the base game only?

The base game is very linear, because originally all the questlines were level locked and you couldn't do them out of order.

It's pretty important that you do each alliances zones in order, or else stuff is going to make much less sense. Especially AD, for reasons that will become clear once you do it.

Two other guides, if you prefer text:

Quest-by-quest: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/525351/a-clear-step-by-step-guide-to-playing-eso-in-chronological-order

Story Arcs: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/413807/what-order-should-i-do-esos-story-arcs-a-guide

AlandroSul · October 2021

Thanks for the input @VaranisArano,

I prefer charts than text, so I'd like to ask whether this one is also valid: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fOtw761I1p0A2ion7j_HW0WfeEwznNSy9c_1UHrWvlU/edit#gid=646492133

BTW, do side quests also should be done in a specific order, or just the main quests?

AlandroSul · October 2021

AcadianPaladin wrote: »

No problem with what you propose. In fact, I prefer to go through the game in the order it was released.

There are some caveats to this that involve specific skills and abilities that can only be obtained from later added content: Some that come to mind are Psijic skill line and jewelry crafting (Summerset), Antiquities (W Skyrim), transmutation (Clockwork City).

So my characters do quest through the game in the order released but, depending on their objectives, may have to do a bit of outside work if they want Psijic skills or Antiquiites.

So, generally speaking, it'd be better do purchase ESO Plus right off the bat and follow the guides/charts? Or it doesn't matter? I'm just a bit afraid of being flooded with content that's not gonna be relevant to me at the beginning.

AcadianPaladin · October 2021

@Vernilon I'm pleased with how things worked out for me (started in 2016). After a week or two of playing I could tell the game was a long-term keeper so got ESO+ and have found it well worth it. Plenty of benefits, including access to all DLC. You still need to buy the newer Chapters and I've done that. The extra content is good for the reasons I outlined above.

You do identify a drawback though. There are lots of questgivers running around that are trying to give you quests in distant Chapter zones. Most of these questgivers are in busy hubs and you simply learn who they are and don't take their quest. If you do take their quest (mistake or curiousity), you can simply abandon it.

Even us vets complain about pushy Chapter/DLC questgivers but you learn to work around it okay. One fix we've recommended to ZoS numerous times here on the forums is to expand your questlog capacity from 25 to 50 or 100. That way you could grab all quests and simply ignore the ones you don't want to do yet until ready for them since they are nicely organized in the log by zone.