Welcome to the Cyrodiil Beginner Guide for The Elder Scrolls Online! This guide is designed to help you understand the core mechanics of Cyrodiil, the central PvP zone in the game where players engage in massive open-world Alliance vs. Alliance (AvA) battles as part of the ongoing Three Banners War, the conflict that underpins much of ESO’s narrative.
This guide will walk you through the most important aspects of Cyrodiil, including how Alliance Points (AP) work, how to use siege weapons, the purpose of keeps, and various other features.
The Role of Cyrodiil in Tamriel
Cyrodiil is the expansive heart of Tamriel and serves as the largest province in the game. It is where the Aldmeri Dominion, Daggerfall Covenant, and Ebonheart Pact clash in a struggle for dominance. This war-torn region includes both Cyrodiil itself and the Imperial City, which is a separate PvP zone.
Once you leave your starting base inside Cyrodiil, you’re fair game for enemy players. There is no safety beyond your faction’s gates, so stay alert.
The main objectives in Cyrodiil include capturing and defending keeps, seizing resources like farms and lumber mills, claiming Elder Scrolls for your alliance, and taking control of towns. In addition to PvP, there are numerous quests and open-world PvE activities scattered throughout the zone that offer valuable rewards.
When you create your character, you’ll be prompted to select a faction. Usually, your choice of race will determine your alliance unless you have the “Any Race, Any Alliance” upgrade, available through the Adventurer Pack. You can also play as an Imperial by purchasing the Imperial Edition upgrade. Keep in mind that these upgrades apply only to the server you purchase them on.
Getting Started with PvP
Once you reach level 10, you’ll receive an in-game mail inviting you to Cyrodiil. To enter the PvP zone:
- Open the Alliance War menu (default key: L).
- Go to the Campaigns tab.
- Choose a campaign and either enter as a guest or set it as your home campaign.
Only your home campaign counts toward your end-of-campaign rewards and bonuses. Be aware that once you set a home campaign, you won’t be able to change it for 12 hours, and only characters from the same alliance can participate in that specific campaign. Changing your home campaign later costs 100,000 Alliance Points.
When you enter for the first time, you’ll be offered a quest called Welcome to Cyrodiil. This includes a tutorial on how to use siege weapons. It’s highly recommended to complete this tutorial, especially if you’re new to the zone.
Your alliance accumulates campaign points based on the number of keeps, resources, outposts, and Elder Scrolls it controls. Campaign points influence the overall ranking and rewards. Guest players don’t contribute to campaign scoring.
At the conclusion of a campaign, you’ll be rewarded based on your performance—specifically the Alliance Points you’ve earned in your home campaign.
Cyrodiil and Imperial City Campaign Types
There are multiple campaign types in both Cyrodiil and the Imperial City, each with its own rules and restrictions:
- Standard No-Champion Points: Open to all players; Champion abilities and proc item effects are disabled.
- Standard Champion Points: Open to all players; Champion Points are enabled.
- Alliance-Locked Campaigns: Once you join with one faction, your characters are locked to that alliance for the campaign’s duration.
- 7-Day Campaigns: Available with and without Champion Points; native objective control grants double points.
- Below Level 50 Campaigns: Specifically for characters under level 50, with all Champion abilities disabled.
- Imperial City Variants: Available with or without Champion Points; these versions lack leaderboards or Emperorship rankings.
- Understanding Alliance Points (AP)
- Alliance Points are both a form of experience and a currency earned through PvP activities and Cyrodiil quests. You can use them to buy equipment, siege items, crafting motifs, and more.
- While AP is tied to individual characters, you can transfer it between characters through the bank. However, transferred AP does not count toward rank progression on the receiving character.
- Every time you earn 20,000 AP, you’ll receive a Rewards for the Worthy coffer by mail. The first one each day contains a Transmutation Geode, which yields 4–25 Transmutation Crystals, and an item from a reward set exclusive to these coffers.
- You can also earn Arena Gladiator’s Proofs from Conquest Missions. These are used to purchase special Arena Gladiator collectibles like emotes, helms, costumes, and pets. Only one proof can be earned every 20 hours per account.
- Campaign-end rewards are based on your AP total. Players in the top 10% of contributors during a 30-day campaign can earn up to 19,500 gold and five Epic items. Anyone who reaches Tier 1 with at least 25,000 AP will also receive a Transmutation Geode containing 50 crystals.
- Alliance Ranks
- As you accumulate AP, you also increase your Alliance Rank. This is similar to leveling up with experience. Rank progression also boosts your Alliance War skill line, awarding you skill points, unlockable titles, dyes, siege item access, and housing rewards.
- Each rank includes two grades, doubling the total number of progression steps to 50 ranks. That means 50 possible skill points to earn just from PvP ranking.
- Becoming Emperor
- One of the most prestigious achievements in Cyrodiil is becoming Emperor. It’s not a rank but rather a status. To claim the Ruby Throne, your alliance must control all six keeps surrounding the Imperial City. Additionally, you must be the top AP earner in your alliance during the campaign.
- If you achieve this feat, you’ll gain access to a unique skill line, costume, and title, all of which remain with you even after your reign ends. While Emperor, your entire alliance enjoys significant bonuses.
- Transitus Network
- Fast travel in Cyrodiil is handled through the Transitus Network. These shrines let you teleport between connected keeps and outposts, provided there’s an unbroken path of friendly-held territory. Enemy forces can break these lines by capturing surrounding resources.
- The map shows objectives like keeps, towns, and outposts, along with Transitus routes and other discovered locations. Any structure under attack will display a starburst icon.
- Note that you can’t use outside Wayshrines to exit Cyrodiil unless you teleport from the home base of your faction.
- Bridges and Milegates
- Six Milegates and three major bridges are critical points on the map. Their destruction was introduced with the Murkmire update. If destroyed, players must take detours through caves or side paths to reach the other side, creating strategic choke points.
- Siege Warfare
- Taking keeps requires more than just brute force—you need siege equipment. This includes battering rams, trebuchets, ballistae, catapults, and oil pots. These can be purchased from Siege Merchants at friendly-controlled keeps and outposts.
- Since regular weapons can’t damage keep walls or gates, siege tools are essential for both offense and defense. Repair Kits help restore structures and grant AP as support contributions.
- Forward Camps, though not a source of AP, allow allies to resurrect near combat zones, proving invaluable in deep enemy territory.
- Artifact Weapons
- Introduced in Update 22 with Elsweyr, Artifact Weapons are powerful tools of chaos gifted by Sheogorath. They spawn randomly across Cyrodiil and offer unique abilities when picked up.
- However, the user must maintain their AP meter by killing enemies. If the meter runs out, they die instantly, and the weapon becomes available for others to claim (if still within 30 minutes of first pickup).
- Quests in Cyrodiil
- There are four primary quest types in Cyrodiil:
- Alliance Quests: PvP-focused tasks such as attacking or defending objectives, scouting, or defeating enemy players.
- Fighters Guild Quests: PvE tasks unlocked by investing a skill point in the Bounty Hunter passive.
- Settlement Quests: Repeatable PvE quests found in towns like Bruma, Cheydinhal, Chorrol, Cropsford, Vlastarus, and Weynon Priory.
- Wilderness Quests: Simple, non-repeatable PvE activities scattered across the zone.
- Delves and Dolmens
- Cyrodiil features 18 delves and 9 dolmens. Defeating a delve boss grants a temporary 20% boost to AP gain for one hour and contributes to achievements.
- Destroying dolmens can reward rare siege weapons, making them worthwhile PvE events even in this PvP-heavy zone.
