ESO Main Story Quest Order is easiest to follow by playing the base-game alliance and Harborage quests first, then tackling the Chapters and story DLC in release order. ESO lets you travel nearly anywhere, but doing later zones early can introduce characters before you’ve met them.
You can still explore freely or take a break for dungeons and crafting. If you want the story to make sense from the Soul Shriven opening through the Worm Cult chapters and 2026 Seasons, use this route and pick up each prologue just before the story it introduces.
Base-game quest order: alliance introduction and Harborage
Start with Khenarthi’s Roost for the Aldmeri Dominion, Stros M’Kai and Betnikh for the Daggerfall Covenant, or Bleakrock Isle and Bal Foyen for the Ebonheart Pact. The quest order then follows your alliance’s zone story, meeting the Prophet and completing the Harborage quests as they become available. Visit the Mages Guild and Fighters Guild in your first major city too. Their main quests were written for this early period and make more sense alongside the original alliance narrative.
Coldharbour, Molag Bal and Cadwell
Complete the main story through Coldharbour and the fight involving Molag Bal. Afterward, Cadwell’s Silver and Cadwell’s Gold guide you through the other alliances’ zone stories. Play the Harborage finale before the later Chapter plots, even though those zones can be visited early. Cadwell’s adventures aren’t required to unlock every later DLC, but they’re a good way to experience the original three-faction story from a single character.
ESO Main Story Quest Order- The earlier standalone DLC stories
The post-base-game quest order begins with Craglorn and Imperial City, followed by Wrothgar/Orsinium, Hew’s Bane/Thieves Guild and the Gold Coast/Dark Brotherhood. These arcs introduce regions and organisations that appear again later. Their stories are generally less tightly connected than a later year-long chapter, so you can take them at a comfortable pace. Dungeon packs from this period can be slotted in when you have a group instead of blocking the whole story run.
Daedric War quest order
Play Vvardenfell/Morrowind first, then Clockwork City, then Summerset. Pick up each area’s prologue before starting its zone quest. These three stories share recurring characters and major plot reveals, so playing them in order avoids spoilers. Summerset’s opening quest, The Queen’s Decree, also leads to Artaeum and the Psijic Order unlock. After that trilogy, Murkmire can be played as its own Black Marsh adventure.
2019: Season of the Dragon
For the 2019 quest order, begin with the Wrathstone dungeon stories, then follow the Elsweyr prologue and Northern Elsweyr zone story. Scalebreaker dungeons fit between Northern and Southern Elsweyr. Finish with Dragonhold in the south and its epilogue. Hall of the Lunar Champion is earned partway through Northern Elsweyr’s main quest line, so this is a useful story chapter to complete even if you’re primarily interested in free housing.
2020: Dark Heart of Skyrim
The 2020 quest order is Harrowstorm, Greymoor in Western Skyrim, Stonethorn and Markarth in The Reach. The DLC dungeon stories support the main year-long narrative but don’t require a veteran clear to understand the major plot. Complete Western Skyrim before Markarth in The Reach so the Dark Heart of Skyrim conclusion makes sense. Older chapters may now be included in the base game or other entitlements, but the order of their story beats hasn’t changed.
2021–2022 quest order: Oblivion and the Bretons
For Gates of Oblivion, play Flames of Ambition, Blackwood, Waking Flame and Deadlands. The following year brings Ascending Tide, High Isle, Lost Depths and Firesong in Galen. Do the prologue for each main zone immediately before entering it. If you pick up an unrelated prologue from the Crown Store too early, leave it for later rather than following a quest marker that jumps you into the middle of another story.
ESO Main Story Quest Order – 2023 and 2024: Necrom into Gold Road
The 2023 quest order begins with Scribes of Fate leading into Necrom, which takes you through the Telvanni Peninsula and Apocrypha. Its narrative continues into the 2024 Gold Road period, with Scions of Ithelia introducing the next chapter in West Weald. Playing Gold Road before Necrom can spoil character developments and the larger mystery. Play Necrom before Gold Road even if you’ve already visited West Weald.
ESO Main Story Quest Order- 2025: Seasons of the Worm Cult
The 2025 quest order begins with Fallen Banners, continues through Seasons of the Worm Cult Part 1, then tackle Feast of Shadows and Part 2. These are tied to the next major storyline rather than standalone repeatable systems. Don’t mistake a dungeon pack for a numbered chapter of the main quest: dungeon stories can enrich the plot, but you can usually make progress through the zone narratives without doing every dungeon achievement.
ESO Main Story Quest Order- 2026 Seasons and story-order guidance
In 2026, ESO moved towards a seasonal release model. Tamriel Tomes, Class Mastery and Challenge Difficulty are reward or gameplay systems, not mandatory main-story Chapters. After finishing the 2025 Worm Cult story on Solstice, follow later seasonal story quests as they release, using the story-order guidance introduced with Update 50. This list distinguishes story releases from system updates.
Complete ESO story and DLC release-order checklist
| Order | Stories to play |
|---|---|
| 1 | Starter islands, alliance zones, Harborage, Coldharbour, Cadwell’s Silver/Gold |
| 2 | Craglorn, Imperial City, Orsinium, Thieves Guild, Dark Brotherhood |
| 3 | Morrowind, Clockwork City, Summerset, Murkmire |
| 4 | Wrathstone, Northern Elsweyr, Scalebreaker, Dragonhold |
| 5 | Harrowstorm, Greymoor, Stonethorn, Markarth |
| 6 | Flames of Ambition, Blackwood, Waking Flame, Deadlands |
| 7 | Ascending Tide, High Isle, Lost Depths, Firesong |
| 8 | Scribes of Fate, Necrom, Scions of Ithelia, Gold Road |
| 9 | Fallen Banners, Worm Cult Part 1, Feast of Shadows, Worm Cult Part 2 |
| 10 | Relevant 2026 seasonal stories; other features whenever you like |
This quest order puts each major zone story before its epilogue, especially when one year of DLC forms a connected storyline. Prologues are usually available through the Quest Starters section, while the Zone Guide helps you identify the main quest for the area you are currently visiting. If a chapter is outside your owned content, you can skip ahead and return without destroying your character progression.
Related ESO Main Story Quest Order Guides
Official resource: ESO’s player and story guides.
