The Elder Scrolls Online : PVP Guide
The Elder Scrolls Online offers two types of PVP: Battlegrounds, and World PVP.
Battlegrounds
PVP Battlegrounds are exactly what you would expect. They are smaller arenas in which players fight against one another in various types of games:
- Team Deathmatch: Team Deathmatch is perfect for those who don't want to worry too much about mundane things like "objectives" or "teamwork." Find and destroy enemy player characters with each kill granting your team points.
- Capture the Flag: Capture the Flag mode is a more structured attack-and-defend styled game type that will be most enjoyed by those who thrive as part of a team. Capture your enemies' flags and return them to your base while carefully defending your own.
- Domination: Domination will be favored by those who like capture-and-hold gameplay. Seek out, capture, and hold special locations on the map to earn your team points. A captured point will grant your team points for as long you have it.
- Chaosball: Added with Horns of the Reach DLC
- Crazy Kings: Added with Clockwork City DLC
In each game type there are three teams (though they are a mix of the factions), and you win by either reaching the point limit or by having the highest total by the end of the match.
At launch there were four different battlegrounds in which players can do combat:
- Ald Carac: A dilapidated ruin of an ancient Dwemer city
- Ularra: An old overgrown Daedric worshipping site
- Foyada Quarry: A quarry set in the shadow of Red Mountain
- Arcane University: Added with Horns of the Reach DLC
Since then, additional battleground arenas have been added.
It is worth noting that some battleground content was added with different DLC's, so it is necessary to own any the Morrowind DLC to get into battlegrounds.
** To get into battlegrounds, just open up the Group and Activity Finder and you'll see the option there. **
World PVP
TESO's world PVP takes place in a specific zone: a very large portion of the world dedicated to PVP; this zone is called Cyrodil.
PVP in Cyrodil involves massive conflicts of hundreds of players at a time. There are seige engines, control points, and intense battle to determine who will be crowned as Emperor of Cyrodil!
A player can begin PVPing at level 10, because the game will scale them up to have competitive stats that are aligned with everyone else. The battleground will be composed of the three main factions in the game going toe-to-toe.
How to Get Into PVP
Open the Alliance War screen by pressing "L".
This will show you the current status of the Alliance War, and you'll see three icons at the top right of the screen. Click to right-most one, named Campaigns, to bring up a list of current campaigns.
Campaigns are instances of the PVP zone, named Cyrodil, that you can join. You are assigned a home campaign by default, and to get into PVP just click on the campaign and hit the corresponding "Go to Campaign" button.
PVP Builds
For those who are serious about kicking ass in PVP, I recommend checking out The Elder Scrolls Online Mastery Guides.
Becoming Emperor
In TESO PVP, the greatest recognition a player can receive is becoming Emperor, but doing this is no small task, and it cannot be done single-handedly. There are two requirements to becoming Emperor:
- Your alliance must control six keeps in Cyrodil
This is why you can't gain the title of Emperor on your own; controlling six keeps requires a team effort.
- You must be the highest ranked PVP player in your alliance
You gain rank by doing any PVP-related activity--whether it's killing other players, healing team mates, or completing quests in Cyrodil.
PVP in The Elder Scrolls Online is about teamwork, so your best chance at being crowned Emperor will come if you can PVP with a guild or large group of players.
Here is a great video that goes into a lot more detail on the PVP aspect of The Elder Scrolls Online.
