GUIDES

ESO Housing from Scratch

The Premise:

  • To see how difficult it would be to get housing on a brand new character with no help.
  • To see how drop rates seemed balanced for materials and patterns.
  • To see what restrictions would appear on housing.

Experiment 1:  Level 1

For my first foray, I set off with a brand new character. The goal here was to see how many materials and recipes I could gather in the starting island. I went the Ebonheart Pact route, as that was the official Gaiscioch faction.

Starting off, I decided I would loot everything I could. This left my inventory strained by the time I left the first island, and I shortcutted Bal Foyen to get to a banker. However, I noticed I had a decent haul, with a couple dozen materials for furniture and two recipes.

Of course, I had nowhere near enough gold to buy, nor the skill to craft my housing items. Thankfully the first inn room is free, but to get there I needed to access quest locations several zones away. I decided to put this experiment on hold, since that was a long ride!

Experiment 2:  Level 50 base

For my second experiment I pulled out one of my characters who was level 50, but had done next to nothing at level 50. I had only used the character to set VR1 dungeons! So off I rushed to see how long it would take to complete the quest, and what I could gather in the course of things!

One hour later, I had results. Not only had I completed the quest, I had spent half an hour just running around looting. My gathering had resulted in 18 crafting materials for housing items, and my thievery had scored me an epic pattern for a rug. The material cost for the epic pattern was far higher than the normal patterns found on my first experiment. My gathering attempts in dungeons did not produce a pattern. I would, however, not be surprised if that was another place they dropped.

Still, it wasn’t exactly expensive to complete the first quest, given that buying a piece of furniture costs a mere 100g. Doing this allowed me to play with the system.

As reported, pets, mounts, and assistants can be placed, and the system locking your placements to the ground/walls/ceiling can be turned off.

Requirements:

One thing I did notice, while running around, was that completing the housing lead in quest seemed to be required to proceed. No matter how much gold I had, whether I had done it on another character, or had housing items on me, attempting to purchase a house with gold was locked without completing that introductory quest.

Since travel to the third tier zone is required, if you have not been there already you have a long trip ahead of you. Which means a lot of chances to gather materials and patterns, if you look at things as a journey! Still, don’t expect to spend an hour on a character who is new and end up with a house.

Gold costs are fairly high, and many houses are locked to an achievement or quest. This means completing content will often be required for those looking for a particular house, if they have not already done so.

Advice on housing as a new player:

Since you tend to need a variety of materials, if you wish to craft housing goods or have somebody else craft them for you, then gathering everything is important. A great method of making the money required to cover your expenses will be taking many of the normal materials and selling them, whether to a vendor or to other players.

Trying to have a nice home without help, as a new player, will take some patience. You will be able to enjoy a decent home without spending too many weeks on it. Do anything you like, just save up as much gold as possible if you want a bigger home. Advancing your inventory size will likely be a requirement, but outside that you are most likely better saving than spending.

Remember that all the equipment items you get and are not using should be broken down or researched at a crafting station. You’ll need the inspiration to make your furniture. Don’t forget that daily crafting quests can help you here, as well as provide a decent gold haul and maps. Maps will be especially important as they provide nice, dense harvesting chances for materials.

Finally, depending upon what you are looking for in a house, don’t be afraid to try to trade patterns or offer your crafting services. You may be able to obtain items cheaper, or make a good profit, by doing so!

Published: April 26th, 2017   |  7,790 Reads

About the Author

Jairone
Senior Editor

Robert joined Gaiscioch during the Rift chapter, and decided to stick around because the people are awesome! He has a long history of playing games, mostly RPG or Strategy, and has played MMOs since they were born of MUDs.

Aside from his gaming, he also enjoys reading and cooking. Robert has also been previously published as a contributor with Rift Junkies for several articles during the 'Storm Legion' expansion. He does not always use the moniker 'Jairone' but it is a frequent choice in honor of one of his Grandfathers, as it is based on his middle name of Jerome.

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About Elder Scrolls Online

Experience an ever-expanding story across all of Tamriel in The Elder Scrolls Online, an award-winning online RPG. Explore a rich, living world with friends or embark upon a solo adventure. Enjoy complete control over how your character looks and plays, from the weapons you wield to the skills you learn – the choices you make will shape your destiny. Welcome to a world without limits.

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