ESO Main Story Quests Complete Walkthrough

Walkthrough and video of the main story quests in Elder Scrolls Online showing you quest objectives, locations and tactics to beat bosses.

Soul Shriven in Coldharbour

Once you have completed the introduction missions and enter a capital city, you will be met by a hooded figure. This interaction starts the main story quests. Talk with the hooded figure who delivers a message that her benefactor wants to speak with you. You must seek out the benefactor. The location will vary depending on your faction but should be marked on the map. Go to the location and talk with the benefactor to get started.

Things did not go well, and now you find yourself in a Coldharbour prison. Wait for Lyris to break the door so you can escape. Follow her through the dungeon, defeating Vaekar the Forgemaster and onward to the Prophets cell. Unfortunately, things aren't that simple and the door is locked, so seek out Caldwell who will show you the back way in. Proceed through the next prison dungeon until you get to the Prophet's cell where you will perform a ritual to release him.

Once complete, follow the Prophet's instruction to get to the anchor mooring, defeat the Child of Bones and escape.

You can now continue the zone story missions until called upon by the Prophet.

The Harborage

Once you reach a capital city again the Prophet will summon you to the nearest Harborage. Head there to start the next mission.

All you need to do in this mission is follow the Prophet along the path and watch the story play out. Once you've heard the entire story you will return to the Harborage to complete the quest.

Return to the capital city to be summoned for the next quest.

Daughter of Giants

The Prophet has contacted me across great distances for some important purpose.

Head to the Harborage and speak with The Prophet. He will inform you that he has located Lyris Titanborn and that you must enter Coldharbour again to rescue her. Head into the portal. Lyris is just the other side of the portal. Talk with her to discover that they have sapped her soul and taken memories and feelings. You must take Lyris on a journey to recover these things.

Follow the path from the Foundry of Woe to an open area where you will need to settle Lyris's regret. Approach the gravestones and wait for the apparition to appear. Follow it into the house and defeat Ragjar and settle Lyris's regret.

After that, continue down the path to a campsite. You will need to sneak around to locate the three parts of Lyris's armour which is held in strongboxes. Once you have all three return to Lyris and give them to her. You can now take on the enemies in the area with her help. Once done, head through the door.

Continue through the mine and defeat the Demora in your way. Eventually, you will reach another outdoor area where you must resolve Lyris's uncertainty. For this, listen to Abnur Tharn then head to the raised area with a glowing rune. A Clannfear will appear which you must defeat. Once done, take the axe and give it to Lyris. She will open up a path to the next area. Just follow the path until you get a notice to investigate the chamber. Head in and watch the apparition.

Continue onwards along the path killing dremora that get in your way and eventually you will reach the end - where you have to vanquish Lyris's terror. This manifests itself as a giant tentacle eye, so go ahead and kill it. You can then take the portal back to the Harborage, and speak with the Prophet and Lyris to complete the mission.

Chasing Shadows

I've been summoned back to the Harborage in preparation for our battle against Molag Bal.

Talk to the Prophet who will ask you to investigate the Worm cult's presence in the capital city closest to you. The actual requirements of the quest vary slightly depending on which city you are near. For me, it was Davon's Watch and there were two people to speak with.

They both give clues about a mysterious stranger and a new marker will be placed on the map for a small cave to explore. Head inside and defeat Aldimon then use the crystal ball to speak with Abnir Tharn. Once the conversation is over there will be another enemy running at you from behind. Defeat Severinus Falco then return to the Harborage to complete the quest.

Castle of the Worm

I must find a way into the Castle of the Worm. There will be many dangers ahead, so I must make sure I am prepared.

Head once again to the Harborage and speak with the Prophet. He will inform you that you need to rescue Abur Tharn from the Castle of the Worm as he knows where Sai Sahan is being held captive. Head into the portal and speak with the vision of Tharn. Explore the building until you find that Cadwell knows how to get into the castle but is being attacked. You must rescue him as well. Head down the hill and into another house where you must defeat Warden Cornexius then speak with Cadwell who will give you a way into the castle. Follow Cadwell as he tampers with the steam pipes and protects him from the various mobs.

Eventually, you will reach the open gates, but there is a problem. The door guarding Abnur Tharn is sealed with a magical seal and needs a flesh atronach to break the ward. You need to gather 4 chunks of chilled meat which are scattered around or dropped from the flesh atronachs on the way to the laboratory. Once you have all the pieces, place them in the laboratory and read from the ritual book. The atronach will spawn and proceed to destroy the ward on the door. Head inside through the door, along the bridge until you find Abnur Tharn. Speak with him to learn Mannimarco's plan.

Mannimarco will appear and you will need to fight a few waves of skeletons and a bone colossus before attacking Mannimarco himself. Once this has been done speak with Tharn again and head out along the path to the gate which Cadwell will open for you. Follow this until you reach a drain in the floor. Head through and drop into the water, then climb up to the portal and return to the Harborage.

Speak with Abnur Tharn then to the Prophet to complete the quest.

The Tharn Speaks

Abnur Tharn seeks an audience with me away from the Harborage. I should see what he wants.

You will be summoned by Abnur Tharn to visit the nearest Mages Guild, so head to the marker on your map for the city closest to you. Speak with Abnur Tharn and learn that he needs more information which is hidden inside Knife Ear Grotto in Deshaan. If you don't have a wayshrine in Deshaan you can get there via the passage from Stonefalls in the southwest. Follow the path south from Ashen Road Wayshrine. From there you will need to follow the path to the east to find Knife Ear Grotto. It would be nice if there was a portal or even a wayshrine in the city for Deshaan, but then you'd lose out on the adventure.

Once at the grotto there are a few speaking stones you need to interact with. Once you have all of them speak with Tharn and then return to the Harborage to complete the mission.

Halls of Torment

Varen Aquilarios as Abnur Tharn has found the location of Sai Sahan within the Halls of Torment. I need to venture into these halls and save the final, missing companion.

Head inside the Harborage and speak with Varen Aquilarios and enter the portal to get started.

Once in the Halls of Torment proceed down the path taking care of the skeletons and avoiding the spike traps. Continue to the first chamber where you will see Sai Sahan being tortured by Abnur Tharn. Kill the doppelganger and speak with Lyris before continuing along to the next chamber. In this chamber, we see Sai being tortured by Lyris doppelganger. Before you can attack the doppelganger you must lower the shield by deactivating the four wards. These are guarded by Dark Seducers. Once the shield is down you can proceed to kill the doppelganger and then speak with Lyris once more. Make your way to the final room where you will encounter the real Sai and the Duchess of Anguish.

Once the Duchess has been vanquished, speak with Sai and return to the Harborage to complete the mission.

Valley of Blades

Varen Aquilarios asked me to accompany Sai Sahan on a trip back to his ancestral home. An old friend, Kasura, may have knowledge of how to sneak into Sancre Tor.

Enter the Harborage and speak with Sai to get started, then step into the portal.

On the other side speak with Sia again then head down the path. Find Kasura in the central area and speak with her. She will tell you something of what has transpired, after which you must close the portals. Simply interact with the sigel stones to close the portal. You don't need to defeat the daedra that comes through. Once all four have been closed keep an eye out for the titan, it will land near you. Defeat the titan and return to Kasura who will show you where to find the ring.

Once inside the tomb, continue to the end and up the stairs. The ring is in the jewellery box. Take it and speak with Kasura again, and be ready for an ambush. This can be a tough fight to kill the undead waves. Once you have defeated all of them, speak with Sai then return to the Harborage to complete the quest.

Shadow of Sancre Tor

Sai Sahan has recovered from his experience in the Halls of Torment and is ready to guide me to the Amulet of Kings. He hid the artefact in Sancre Tor, an ancient Imperial catacomb.

Speak with Varen then Sai to get started. Follow the path through the catacomb to an opening where you will confront Mannimarco. After listing to the conversation continue along the path into Sancre Tor Interior. You will confront Mannimarco once more, this time there will be a few waves or Worm Cult and finally a bone colossus to deal with. Once done, continue along the path, stopping for Sai to catch his breath.

Continue west into the Dragonguard Tomb. This is a basic maze with a few skeletons to deal with. Once on the other side, you can consecrate the shrine and exit via the way you came in. Back in the interior area, head straight across to the Reman Vault where there is a puzzle to lower the bridge. The objective is to get all the switches in the downward position. As you pull one switch the ones next to it also toggle. See the video for the sequence to lower the bridge.

Once across you can consecrate the shrine, but watch out for the Worm Cultists who appear. Defeat them all and head back across the bridge to the interior. You can now head north through the door to the Vault Antechamber. Once more you must confront Mannimarco and defeat his Worm Cultists before heading down the path to the Vault of Kings. Use the Ring of Stendarr's Mercy to open the door, after which, you guessed it, you must confront Mannimarco.

This time you battle with Mannimarco himself. As he teleports around keep your attention on Mannimarco and let the NPC do the work on minions and closing portals. Once you have weakened him, Molag Bal will appear to claim his soul, after which the Amulet of Kings is yours. Head back through the portal and complete the quest.

Council of the Five Companions

I've been summoned back to the Harborage in preparation for our battle against Molag Bal. Varen called me back to the Harborage. His words carried a sense of finality. I should make my way there.

Head to the Harborage and speak with Varen. You can optionally watch the scene of Mannimarco or skip it, either way, you will speak with Sai then Lyris then Abnur then listen to the discussion. Finally, you must speak with Varen and complete this short quest.

Messages Across Tamriel

You will be contacted by Vanus Galerion who will give you a secret mission. Speak with him then travel to Mournhold Mages guild and speak with Thrush, then meet with Vanus Galerion. Enter the portals and speak with the leaders in turn. Depending on your alliance your mission will vary, just follow Vanus lead and speak with them.

Return to Mornhold to complete the quest.

The Weight of Three Crowns

Open the portal to Stork and head up the path to the meeting area after speaking with Vanus. Listen to the leaders and how the negotiations proceed. It's no surprise that it fails. Speak with each of the leaders then return to Vanus.

Watch as Molag Bal makes an appearance, then proceed to save each of the three leaders in turn. That show was enough to unite the alliances. Speak with Vanus once more then follow him up the path to the portal. Once it's open, step through to Coldharbour.

Speak with Cadwell to complete the quest.

Coldharbour

The Hollow City

After speaking with Cadwell, head across the bridge and into the Hollow City. Once inside, speak with the Groundskeeper and follow her on the tour around the city. You can skip if you wish.

After the tour you will be outside the cathedral. Speak with the Groundskeeper once more to find out what must be done next and to start the next quest.

The Army of Meridia

This quest requires completing two other quest chains. You can do these in either order, and you can optionally do the side quests on the way to these if you are levelling.

Light from the Darkness

Into the Woods

From the Hollow City, leave via the western gate, the one just south of the wayshrine. Head west towards the Library of Dusk Wayshrine and then continue until you reach a small camp where a bag will have a quest marker. Interact with it to get the quest. Follow the trail of the missing guild members by following the waypoints until you meet Faraniel. She knows how to get to the tower the king is imprisoned in, but won't tell you unless you help her by completing an honour deed.

First, you'll need 5 pieces of bark from a spriggan which when you return to her, she will magically alter to allow the wisps to light your way. This next part is the most challenging part of the quest.

You must touch a wisp, find the shadow runner and follow it to find the others, and an alive member of the fighters guild held by the wood elves. You have a short amount of time to complete the quest as the effect of the wisps doesn't last long. My advice is to avoid combat and touch wisps along the route to get extra time.

When you locate the other wood elves and fighters guild, make your way through the dialogue and you will need to make a choice - to help the wood elves or to help the lamia.

The only effect of the choice is the version of the next quest. I chose to aid the wood elves to get the quest "The Shadow's Embrace", helping the lamia gives the quest "An Unusual Circumstance" Both quests are similar, for the elves you have to destroy eggs and cause chaos, for the lamias you have to rescue the eggs.

The Shadow's Embrace

Head into the lamias camp and create chaos. This means slaying lamia and burning their nests, 12 in total. Once done, you can confront the champion at the top of the hill. Kill this large lamia then return to the camp and speak with Faraniel. She will set up a meeting with the elders, but before that, you need to speak with each of the elves around the camp.

When the portal opens, step through and speak with the elders in turn. I'm not sure if there are right or wrong options here, the quest completes in the same way seemingly regardless of the dialogue options chosen.

At the end of all that, the path to the tower will be unlocked and you can continue to rescue the king.

Light from the Darkness

Head up from the camp and into the Lighthouse Oubliette Use the Ancient Branch of the tree to gain access to the Light of Meridia. Talk with the king who will tell you how to release him from the magical prison.

First, you must collect three crystals - the Lifeshadow, Mindshadow and Flameshadow crystals and place them in turn into the receptacles in the main room. Just follow the map markers to each of the rooms where you have to collect a crystal, deposit it in the main room then get to the next. When the last is in place the big door will open.

Once inside, King Laloriaran will tell you that to unlock the prison, you need to destroy the north and south receivers.

Activate the first receiver with the Light of Meridia then proceed to rotate the crystals 90° at a time until the path of the light reaches the red receivers. You must do this for the north and south side. Once both receivers are destroyed, the king will be free. Speak with him atop the stairs, then follow him down where he will open the portal. Step through and find yourself back in Hollow City where you can introduce the king to the fighters guild and complete the quest.

Vanus Unleashed

The second part of completing "The Army of Meridia" is to rescue Vanus from within the Great Shackle. Head to the great shackle and speak with the projection of Vanus before crossing the lava and entering the Black Forge.

Once inside, head down the passageway and speak with Galerion's Health essence. You'll need to kill vampires in this area and collect their essence. When you have enough, return to Galerion's Health essence and follow the light to restore the next essence.

In the next section you have to restore Galerion's stamina. If you have the persuasion and intimidation passives you can try and get the essence by conversing with the other prisoners. If not you'll have to use force. Head into the side room and defeat taskmaster Vyrotesn and collect the essence extractor. You can use this on the prisoners to extract their essence and return it to Galerion.

Follow the light to the next part which we restore the final part of Galerion - his Magicka. To do this you'll need to unlock the four siphons surrounding his essence shade, then to find Galerion's body we need to defeat Kothutuilk. You can then combine the three essences with his body to complete the quest.

Breaking the Shackle

Cross the bridge and wait for Vanus to unlock the door. Go inside and follow the path killing the beasties along the way. Eventually, you will arrive at the Great Mooring. Interact with the mooring to reverse the polarity. Exit the room via the northern door and follow it around, freeing the mages as they call out for help. When you get to the end, kill the watcher and head up the stairs. On the platform, there are three other conduits that you need to reverse. Once done, head through the door and drop down. You can avoid the monsters if you want to, or just jump on top and kill them.

Once down, head through the door at the end and watch the scene play out. When it's over you'll need to defend Galerion from several waves of Daedra assault. They come in from two portals on either side of him. Once the battle is over Galerion will destroy the mooring and open a portal back to the hollow city.

Speak with Vanus again and head inside and introduce Galerion, then step outside and speak with the groundskeeper. Finally, exit the mages guild and go to the cathedral where the groundskeeper will again waiting for you.

Having listened to what she has to say, head inside the cathedral and join the war council. When it's done, speak with the king to complete the mission.

Crossing the Chasm

Head back outside and to the northern entrance to Hollow City where Cadwell will be waiting. Speak with him before exiting through the door. Pick up the wayshrine once through and follow the path. The path is fairly linear with multiple spawns of daedra along the way. You need to destroy 4 Focus Stones in the chasm. These are fairly close together along the path and are marked on the map. Interact with them to destroy them, then speak with Cadwell again.

Now you must enter two pyramids and close the portal inside. These are just a case of defeating the waves of daedra whilst the mages seal the portal. First close the east portal, then the west, picking up the skyshard which is in the same room.

Now you can continue up to the gatehouse where Caldwell is waiting. He will accompany you as you cross the bridge and instruct you on how to open the gate. There are two flywheels, one on either side of the gate which need activating and each is guarded by several daedra. Once they are defeated and the gate unlocked, head through. This will start a boss battle where you will have to kill "Tiny" followed by Molag Grunda. Exit the gatehouse and talk with Galerion to complete the quest.

The Harvest Heart

Now we must turn our attention to vampires as they are all over this part of Coldharbour. As you kill vampires you collect their blood. You have to use this blood on the 4 vampire lairs. Once done you can speak with the head vampire, Virgar the Red to make a new ally. You discover that Molag Bal has corrupted the vampires and if you break that corruption the vampires will aid you on the quests ahead.

To aid the vampires you need to defend Virgar the Red as she conducts some rituals on either side of the Harvest Heart, then destroy some binding totems around the heart. Once those are destroyed, the Harvest Heart is destroyed and the mission is complete.

The Citadel Must Fall

King Dynar has devised a two-pronged attack to take control of the Reaver Citadel. It utilizes the old Fighters and Mages Guilds' halls located in this ancient Nirn city.

While the Fighters Guild troops use the secret passageways to enter the Fighters Guild hall, I need to find the ward key and deactivate the wards that seal the hall. But first, I'll need to find my own way into the city.

From the vampire ritual ground, head north towards the black chasm, taking to Lyranth on the way. Once inside the area, follow the wall east until you get to a broken section and optionally head towards the Survivors Camp area of interest. Head back to the wall and head inside and talk to Lyranth again. Collect the Fighters Guild Ward Key by heading to the marked area and into the house, looting the Ram Horn Lamp. Next, deactivate the Guild Hall Wards from the marked location through the warded door. Once inside, speak with King Laloriaran Dynar who will instruct you to go to the Upper City marked on the map. Just follow the path around trying to avoid mobs and enter the door.

Next you need to collect 4 portal stones which look like unlit sky shards and can be found in carts, crates or just lying around. Once you have all four, head inside the Mages Guild Hall and place the portal stones in the marked locations. Talk to Vanus Galerion to progress onto the pyramid. Although not clear on the map indicators, you need to follow the path directly north, turning right at the top of the stairs to go up some more. At the top, you can speak with Lyranth again and then enter the pyramid.

Once inside you must defeat some enemies inside before the objective will show to find the labyrinth key which is in the chest opposite the way in, in front of Lyranth. Head back out, down the steps, turn right and find Vanus Galerion to complete the quest.

The Final Assault

The final assault to end the Planemeld is at hand. We need to fight our way through Molag Bal's defences and reach the portal to the planar vortex. Only then can we end this threat and save our world.

I need to speak to Hahnin and Gabrielle to receive their briefings on the Fighters Guild and Mages Guild battle plans.

Talk to both NPC's then chose a companion to accompany you on the final assault. Speak with King Dynar who will then open the portal. When he's done talking, head through and discover the way shrine before following the path. You can optionally head up the ramp to discover the Endless Overlook striking location. Continue back down the path towards the waypoint where you need to defeat the Guardian of the Gate. Once defeated, head up the stairs to close the Reinforcement Portal and continue on the path to the next waypoint. Talk to Vanus then enter the Labyrinth.

Once inside, speak with Gabrielle who will instruct you to open the library gate. Speak with Malkur Valos who will tell you to light the fires to activate the device. There are four points marked on the map. Simply head to each one jumping the platforms. What isn't in the journal is that you need to use the daedric flames to gain their power and then hurl the fire into the daedric cold fire across the void. Once all four are lit you can enter the door at the top to the next area.

You now need to cross the dark chamber. Speak to Zur to get a light, then head across the large room to the door, avoiding the mobs. Cross the bridge and through the door to the statue room. Speak with Gabrielle then find the path through the statue room to the door to the endless stair. You need to stick with Gabrielle and defend her along the path.

Once inside the endless stair room, speak with Vanus before heading to the Planar Vortex Portal. Some dremora will try and stop you followed by the Guardian of Coldharbour who once defeated will let you continue to the portal, but be warned, Talkor the Unforgiving will block the portal. Once defeated, speak with the groundskeeper and enter the Planar Vortex.

Now you need to destroy your first dark anchor, which is as easy as watching the gatekeeper do it for you. Speak with Meridia and destroy the remaining dark anchors by defeating the daedra spawns and letting Meridia do her thing. When both are destroyed you need to head up the path and place the Light of Medidia in the centre of the circle, then confront the Council of Molag Bal. The three will then attack in turn, followed by an assault of Dremora from Molag Bal, during which you will need to activate the light of Medidia. This will transport you to the chapel of light where you must speak with Meridia, then King Lalorarn Dynr to complete the quest.

Head outside to pick up the final quest and head to the Harborage.

God of Schemes

The time has come to confront Molag Bal and reclaim my soul. I need to travel to the Harborage.

Once inside the Harborage, speak with Varen Aquilarios to get started. Once the portal is opened, head in to return to Coldharbour. Talk to Abnur Tharn then follow the path to enter Heart's Grief. Along the way, you will have to defeat Balefire the Implacable Guardian. Once inside you need to explore the hall which means defeat the Titan and head to the central altar. Release Mannimarco then continue to the throne room via the Path or Woe. Talk to Abnur Tharn again, then you will need to sacrifice one of the companions. Which companion you sacrifice will determine the quest rewards. Sacrifice Sai Sahan to receive Sword Saint's Blade (2H Greatsword), sacrifice Varen Aquilarious to receive The Emperor's Blessing (restoration staff) or sacrifice Lyris Titanborn to get Great Axe of the Titanborn (2H Axe).

Once you have made your choice, stand in the marked area to perform the ritual. After it is complete, head down the path and through the fortress wall to vanquish Molag Bal.

Thanks to the ritual you now have super powers and can kill most of the mobs in one shot. Simply follow the path and blast your way through. When you get to the chasm, wait for the daedra to appear and after killing them all stand in the correct position to use "Aedric Command". Cross the new bridge, defeat the army of trash mobs and titans then blast through the final wall. Now you must defeat Molag Bal himself.

Keep moving and keep hitting him. Once he reaches around 75% health he will disappear and summon 4 titans (which you can easily kill with 2-3 shots each) then he will reappear. When he turns silver and disappears in a flash, roll-dodge to avoid him smashing on top of you. Keep moving to avoid the balls of lightning and when you get him to 10% health he will fall. When this happens, approach to gain the Sword of Divine Light, and cut him in half at the waist. After this, you will be teleported to the next phase.

Approach the source of the voice by following the path, then reclaim your soul. Witness the vision, then speak with Meridia who will send you back to the Harborage. Approach the survivors and speak with each in turn. Afterwards, head around the corned to speak with Cadwell to complete the main story quest line.

You can now talk with Cadwell again to pick up the Cadwell's Silver quest.