I used to do the main zone quest first and then go back and do the quests at the various points on the map.

With Gold Road I did the reverse and it seemed to work out better.

For base game zones however I think doing the main story quest for the zone would probably be best. I would also grab some mundus boon as soon as you can even if it isn’t the optimal one for your build.

As someone who loves completing zones and questing, there isn't really a set move on how to do this. To be able to follow the story better in a zone, it is better to do all the sidequests first, before starting the main quest in that zone. This is the method I use for new content/expansions/DLC's. As this allows me to really follow the story.

If just clearing a zone I have already done in the past, following the main quest and picking up & immediately completing every side quest I run into feels best. Before moving on to the next part of the main quest. The main quest in zones is set up in oldschool MMO-style to lead you from questhub to questhub and to let you run into quests at set points. (not using persuade/intinidate often lets you run into lorebooks)

For points of interest, world bosses, mundus stones, skyshards, public dungeons, lorebooks... I just pick those up whenever I get near them. This always gets me the zones 100%, and the lorebooks most often 95%-100%. (just make sure to check sidecamps/buildings/ruins for lorebooks if you spot those)

PS: Have 100% completed all three alliance zones(cadwell's gold) on fourteen characters, and the first two alliance's zones(cadwell's silver) on the remaining six characters. The last six are a work in progress on cadwell's gold, 29 zones to go(not counting trainee islands).
PPS: Have 100% completed every other zone (DLC/expansion) atleast once as well.

MrGarlic wrote: »

I have 50 characters across multiple accounts so map clears are time consuming. Therefore I limit what I call a map clear to the following;

1. All Skyshards.
2. Public Dungeon quests.
3. Main story line for that zone.
4. Mages guild Lorebooks

I don't have all expansions and DLCs on all accounts so I have to wait for the free ESO+ to get the zones I don't own.

In addition, I level guild and world skill lines and crafting (to 9 traits) on each character.

I keep track of them all in a spreadsheet. I believe spreadsheets are the 'real' endgame

I can’t do that because life stuff happens for me. I haven’t finished all zones on one character and barely play him regularly. Been playing since game release on console.

I follow the linear path, I start with the main quest and as I go I clear all map objectives in the area between the last point and the next. I'm not sure about the newer stuff but the in Alliance zones some dialog will be different if it sees you have completed other steps of the side quest before you get to the next main quest objective. I got reminded of this today as I worked my way through Greenshade and the Wilderking quest line (first time in about 7 or 8 years).

I kind of take the lazy person's approach. The first goal is to find all the wayshrines or at least enough to minimize the hoofing (snag the low-hanging skyshards along the way). Once that's done, it depends. Alliance zones tend to work from one side the zone to the other, so start the zone story, clear everything on that side of the map and just keep clearing stuff as I work from mission to mission on the zone story. DLC zones don't tend to have that kind of progression, so I'll usually start by clearing delves and gathering skyshards. This also gets me most of the lore books, Striking Locales, and set stations, but also gets rid of a few side-quests. Once that's done, I'll do the zone story, which usually gets me most/all of the points of interest and their side quests. I do not trigger the last zone story mission until the rest of the map is cleared. World Bosses and DLC-zone World Events are an exception and depend on whether anyone is doing them as I'm passing by, but I'll do the Public Dungeon(s) as I get to them and try to snag all the bosses in one pass (the "Conqueror" achievement). By the time I'm done with the zone and ready to pick up that last zone story mission, the only things left are usually one lore book in the Group Dungeon, a World Boss or two, and the Angler achievement.

①Group dungeon

②Side quest

③Group Trial

④Finally do main quest

Because, I want to eat most delicious dish at the finishing timing.

I prefer to do everything else before the main quest, always have.

I just do whatever. No particular order.

Ignore the main quest giver who is always hanging out wherever you first enter a zone. Head to the nearest side story quest giver, then go around the map doing side quests while collecting skyshards, fighting world bosses, completing delves and public dungeons as I go.

Once I have completed all the peripheral stuff, then I will start the main story line quests. That way I get to have everyone there at the end to congratulate me on how amazing I was

I do each zone in order (makes the experience feel more logical and I might get commentary from recurring NPCs), but I clear all optional stuff in a zone first to ensure that I maximize the number of peeps for the end of zone party and to unlock all the wayshrines 🥳

I do the main quest as my goal, but as this unfolds, I divert and do side quests, delves, public dungeons, world bosses, and incursions that are in the area. If the main quest follows a path, rather than randomly jumping around, this tends to be a fairly orderly way to complete the zone.

If I can solo the world bosses, I will do that. If I cannot and the zone is an old zone with no one doing the world bosses, I will just let the world bosses live in peace. If they promise not to attack me, I won't hit them back.

Before the main quest ends, I will make sure that I have done all of the stories in the zone. ZOS likes to put the people who were helped in the final scene, so if they do that, I get a crowd of people I have interacted with before.

After the main quest ends, I will clean up any missing non-story content, like delves, incursions, skyshards, etc.

Wayshrines
Skyshards (including delves and public dungeon)
Zone story quest

Prologue is a maybe, but have been doing them more often

Side quests are usually a no. Most are too long and don't offer much

First of all, I explore the capital. In doing so, I fulfill my membership in the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood

In the past, I did the main quest first so that I could also have the research experience at the same time. However, I then noticed that at the end of the main quest, only the quest givers of the completed quests appear (in the "final room") and have further (sometimes funny) dialogues! So now I do the side quests first and then the main quest.

The last step is that I display all the nodes found using the HarvestMap add-on and can see any "white spots" on the map.

greetings,
Welanduz

I don't. I cleared everything on my main character, all the others will at best get all the skyshards in a couple of centuries.

My way to play is to do a bit here and there around where I am, based on mood of the moment. I don't follow any logic nor any time line. I like a lot to let things go over time and some day, complete eventually. This lazy way to play ensures a nice feeling of freedom and prevents grinding, but it means to accept being slower than others for nearly everything.