ESO BEGINNER GEAR GUIDE
A BREAKDOWN OF STARTER AND EARLY END GAME SETS
HOW GEAR WORKS IN ESO
In the early game, before level 50, focus on training sets or apply gear as you get it from enemy drops and quest rewards. If you are trying to level a new character quickly, you can either craft a set with the training trait on all the pieces or ask someone to craft one for you. These training sets will increase your experience gained from kills, and typically are worn for 20 levels before being replaced. The reason for this is that as you level, the armor and enchantments on gear will provide less benefit the higher above the gear level you go.
For instance, if you get a training set crafted at level 6, it will provide good armor and enchantments to start out, but as you level the armor and enchantment values will go down. Alternately, you can just equip armor and weapons as you get them, from dungeons, level rewards, chests and quest rewards, and these pieces will always be leveled to whatever level you are at the time. This is a good way to keep updated armor until you are ready to farm for gear.
Gear levels are capped at CP 160, meaning any gear you pick up above that level will always be CP 160. This is the point where you want to start looking for early end game content gear sets.
Alternatively, all of the Overland Sets can be bought on guild traders, in case you are not up to farming them. If you have any doubts about how to use guild traders you can check our Guild Store and Traders guide
CRAFTABLE GEAR SETS
These are typically the easiest sets to come by if you have the traits researched or know someone who does.
If you are in the guild on the PC NA or EU server you will find many of these sets can be crafted at the guild hall and you can put a request in with some of our fine guild crafters to have one or more sets created if you are unable to make them.
CRAFTABLE DPS SETS
| SET NAME | TRAITS REQ’D | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night Mother’s Gaze | 6 | Bangkorai, Reaper’s March, The Rift | Stamina |
| Hunding’s Rage | 6 | Bangkorai, Reaper’s March, The Rift | Stamina |
| Magnus’ Gift | 4 | Greenshade, Rivenspire, Shadowfin | Magicka |
| Spell Parasite | 3 | Blackreach | Magicka |
| Law of Julianos | 6 | Wrothgar | Magicka |
CRAFTABLE TANK SETS
| SET NAME | TRAITS REQ’D | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortified Brass | 6 | The Clockwork City | Health |
| Torug’s Pact | 6 | Grahtwood, Stormhaven, Deshaan | Health |
CRAFTABLE HEALER SETS
| SET NAME | TRAITS REQ’D | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coldharbour’s Favorite | 8 | Elsweyr | Magicka |
| Kagrenac’s Hope | 8 | The Earth Forge | Magicka |
| Armor of the Seducer | 3 | Stormhaven, Grahtwood, Deshan | Magicka |
| Magnus’ Gift | 4 | Greenshade, Rivenspire, Shadowfin | Magicka |
DUNGEON SETS
These sets can be found in dungeons, dropped from bosses, found in chests and from general drops from mobs.
Drop rates vary for individual pieces and it can be hard to get a specific piece with the right trait for a build. Even if you don’t get the trait you are looking for, you can use transmute stones to change the trait on an item as long as you have researched that trait on an item.
DPS DUNGEON SETS
| SET NAME | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Viper’s Sting | Fungal Grotto 1 and 2 | Stamina |
| Burning Spellweave | City of Ash 1 and 2 | Magicka |
| Strength of the Automaton | Darkshade Caverns 1 and 2 | Stamina |
TANK DUNGEON SETS
| SET NAME | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Hircines | Selene’s Web | Stamina |
| Tormentor | The Banished Cells 1 and 2 | Health |
| Ebon Armory | Crypt of Hearts 1 and 2 | Health |
HEALER DUNGEON SETS
| SET NAME | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctuary | The Banished Cells 1 and 2 | Magicka |
OVERLAND SETS
These sets are dropped by world bosses, public dungeon and delve bosses and dolmens or other world events like Abyssal Geysers and Harrowstorms. Types of items that can be found are:
- Delve bosses drop waist, foot or a unique item piece.
- World bosses drop head, chest, leg, weapon or other unique piece.
- Public dungeon bosses drop shoulder, hand, weapon or other unique piece.
- Chests from world events drop jewelry.
- Treasure chests in a zone have a chance to drop any set piece.
- Zone quests can give set pieces as rewards.
These sets are typically easier to obtain than dungeon sets and you can often get a full set while progressing through a zone and completing content.
DPS OVERLAND SETS
| SET NAME | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Mother’s Sorrow | Deshaan | Magicka |
| Briarheart | Wrothgar | Stamina |
| Spriggan’s Thorns | Bankorai | Stamina |
| Spinner’s Garments | Malabal Tor | Magicka |
| Spell Strategist | Cyrodiil | Magicka |
TANK OVERLAND SETS
| SET NAME | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Plague Doctor | Deshaan | Health |
HEALER OVERLAND SETS
| SET NAME | LOCATION | RESOURCE |
|---|---|---|
| Winter’s Respite | Western Skyrim | Magicka |
MONSTER SETS
These are unique 2 piece sets that are themed and drop only in Dungeon Content. In order to get the head piece you need to run the specified dungeon that drops the item on veteran mode. In order to get the shoulder piece you need to use Undaunted Keys at your Undaunted Enclave vendors. If you want to find out more information on the Undaunted Guild and how this works, you can head over to our Undaunted Guide.
MONSTER DPS SETS
| SET NAME | RESOURCE |
|---|---|
| Kra’gh | Stamina |
| Selene | Stamina |
| Iceheart | Magicka |
| Grothdarr | Magicka |
| Ilambris | Magicka |
MONSTER TANK SETS
| SET NAME | RESOURCE |
|---|---|
| Swarm Mother | Health |
| Bloodspawn | Health |
MONSTER HEALER SETS
| SET NAME | RESOURCE |
|---|---|
| Chokethorne | Magicka |
| Sentinel of Rkugamz | Magicka |
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