Elder Scrolls Online Alliances: The Complete Guide

We already did a guide on the best beginner classes. This time we will look at one of the staples of the Elder Scrolls Online world – alliances. When starting the game, before you choose your character’s class, you need to choose an Alliance that determines which races you can choose. Most new players struggle a bit when choosing their Alliance’s classes and character paths, so we at Fiction Horizon decided to write the complete guide of Elder Scrolls Online Alliances.

First, we will present the Alliances from Elder Scrolls Online, answer a few questions about them, and then conclude which is the best Alliance to pick for the start of a journey through Tamriel.

What Types of Alliances Are in Elder Scrolls Online?

There aren’t that many Alliances in Elder Scrolls Online. Three main Alliances are available for players to choose and in the game’s lore, they are all at war. According to the official Elder Scrolls Online lore about Alliances, in 2E 579 (Second Era 579), a huge arcane explosion in the Imperial City (also known as Soulburst) echoed across the Nirn, which resulted in the disappearance of an Emperor Varen Aquilarios’.

His successor Clivia Tharn also disappeared after being manipulated by Mannimarco, which led to disbanding of the Elder Council. During the Emperor’s absence on Ruby Throne, the Empire fell into chaos and led to The Three Banners War. After everything that transpired, many provinces united into different factions, each with the goal of reclaiming power and becoming the best group in the Land. All in all, there is more but this is the gist of it – your need to choose the Alliance before picking the character and fight against other Alliances and factions for the strongest Alliance in Tamriel.

The First Aldmeri Dominion or just Aldmeri Dominion

This Alliance is one of the three you can choose at the start of the Elder Scrolls Online. The Aldmeri Dominion Alliance consists of the Altmer race or High Elves, The Bosmer race or Wood Elves, and Khajit, which are not tied to the faction for players who pre-ordered the game. This Alliance is quite interesting since it includes magical races. High Elves are proficient in magic and consider themselves a sophisticated race that has descended from gods. A very elegant race that is naturally proficient with magic.

The Bosmers or Wooden Elves are quite different than their cousins. They inhabit the near-impenetrable forests of Valenwood and are extremely good hunters, guides, and masters in sneaking and thievery. Of course, they love nature and forest, and according to lore, the only Elves with a sense of humor.

Then we have Khajit who is a proud feline race from Elsweyr. They are very agile, quick-witted, and fiery, very impulsive, which can get him in trouble. The Khajit have one more weakness, and that is anything sweet (who would tell). Fearsome, brave warriors with an amazing skill of wielding weapons. and are always standing proudly on frontlines.

Daggerfall Covenant

Second, of the list of Alliances, you can choose before you start Elder Scrolls Online. Daggerfall Covenant Alliance does not like Aldmeri Dominion Alliance, because, well, High Elves are part of it.

The first race in an Alliance is the Bretons race. These Nedic humans of High Rock have a bit of Elven blood in them, and because of that fact, they are gifted in diplomacy and magic.

Then we have the Redguards race. They have two factions – Sentinel Redguards and Hallin’s Stand. Both of these Redguards are part of the Daggerfall Covenant Alliance and they came to Tamriel from the lost continent Yokuda. They are very dignified and brave people who are probably the most suspicious of magic out of all races in the game, and would rather fight with swords.

In the end, we have the Orsimer race. They are hard people from the mountains who are usually considered uncivilized because of that fact. Despite that, they are recognized as the finest blacksmiths in the whole Tamriel, and their armors and weapons are the most expensive ones.

Ebonheart Pact

The last Alliance of Elder Scrolls Online has the weakest bond between provinces but is probably the strongest military presence in the whole Land.

Nord race is the first race of this Alliance. These humans of Skyrim are quite strong and fearless. They are similar to Redguards because they value weapons in combat over magic spells. Fierce warriors and expert weapon masters.

Dumner race or Dark Elves is next. They come from the land of Morrowind and are proud, but really ruthless. Very loyal to their allies but you need to work hard to earn their trust. Dark Elves are quite balanced when it comes to combat – they can wield magic, weapons, and stealth just as equally. They also have a natural talent for fire, that’s why the Dragonknight class is quite good for them.

Argonian race is quite interesting. They are a reptilian race of lizards who come from the dark swamps of Black Marsh. They seem a bit cold to others, but with a good reason – they spend a lot of time protecting their homeland from danger, and that is why they are good with magic and weapons. Fun fact, they can swim 50 percent faster than other races in Elder Scrolls Online.

Starting Areas For Alliances

Since they are different, each Alliance has different home areas and areas of activity.

If you choose the Aldmeri Dominion Alliance, you will spawn and play in these areas (some are part of DLC packages):

• Island of Khenarthi’s Roost (starter island)
• Auridon,
• Grahtwood,
• Greenshade,
• Malabal Tor,
• Reaper’s March.

If your decision falls onto the Daggerfall Covenant Alliance, your character will start their journey and have available these areas:

• Islands of Stros M’Kai and Betnikh (starting spot)
• Glenumbra,
• Stromhaven,
• Rivenspire,
• Alik’r Desert,
• Bangkorai.

And if you consider Ebonheart Pact, you will spawn and play in these areas:

• Bleakrock Isle and Bal Foyen (starting areas)
• Stonefalls,
• Deshaan,
• Shadowfen,
• Eastmarch,
• The Rift.

Can You Play With Other Alliances In Elder Scrolls Online?

Playing with the players of other Alliances was a frequently asked question in the ESO community by newer players. Let’s start with PvE. You can play with whoever you want, regardless of the Alliance they are part of. You can complete quests together, besides the specific solo quest focused only on your character. So, if you decide to play this game, go for it, because you will be able to play Dungeons and Raids with your buddies, and destroy enemies together.

When it comes to PvP, well, this is another story. You see, an area called Cyrodiil is specifically used for PvP battles, and you can only group with the players from your Alliance. Recently, the game mode called Battlegrounds was introduced, and there you can play with the players from the different Alliance in the same group. This game mode is essentially a battle of three groups of four battling amongst each other. Other than that, playing with other Alliances in PvP is impossible.

You can also have players from the different Alliances in the same guilds.

Do Alliances Matter in Elder Scrolls Online?

There is a reason the Alliances seem so fleshed out in the game. The solo quests, world-building, and story itself are quite interesting. But regardless of those facts, in PvE (Player versus Environment), Alliances are not that important. In fact, they do not matter that much at all.

The only difference is that your character spawns in different areas, and certain items’ locations are not the same.

First and foremost, when it comes to PvP, the Alliance is an in-game mechanic that makes your character fight other players. So yes, Alliances in PvP do matter. Also, you get Alliance points which you can spend on weapons, spells, and other items.

How To Change Alliances In Elder Scrolls Online?

Unfortunately, Elder Scrolls Online developers limited a lot of perks about Alliances and this is one of them. You can only go to other Alliances areas if you reach level 50 – only then you can stroll the all lands in Tamriel. For different Alliance, a player must make a new character.

What Is The Best Alliance In Elder Scrolls Online?

This is probably the most important question a new player asks themselves before starting their journey through Tamriel. It all depends on what races are the most popular ones and according to recent percentages Elder Scrolls Online published, the Ebonheart Pact is the most popular one and has almost 40 percent of the player base in their Alliance.

Aldmeri Dominions Alliance characters are more in the background of their storyline – they are essentially supporting characters. Daggerfall Covenant Alliance characters are also supporting characters whereas ESO’s NPCs are leading characters. The Ebonheart Pact Alliance character is truly the center of their stories and is the main character.

Why is Ebonheart Pact the most popular? Well, players just really love Nords, Dark Elves, and Argonians. Or do they? As we already mentioned before, every Alliance gets specific quests they need to complete in the PvE part of the game – the lore and storyline of the characters are really important in ESO. The Elder Scrolls Online is an MMO but it is also an RPG.

So yeah, that is maybe the reason why players prefer these characters. Our advice is this – go with the Alliance you like the most. Games were made for players to explore the wonders and the worlds and storylines, and everything else that comes with the games. You never pick a class or a story path for the best outcome – you pick a side or an interaction that you in that feel the best about.

That’s what is Elder Scrolls Online about. Yes, this game is not like previous games in terms of role-playing, but it can be. This game is not a grind fest, this is foremost an RPG for players to immerse themselves into the worlds of Skyrim, Morrowind, and more.

So it doesn’t matter. In the end, if you master your character, that is the best Alliance. Also, this is an important fact – every server is different. For, example, on North American servers, you will see more Daggerfall Covenant Alliance members during the night and Aldmeri Dominions members during the day. That is also a huge factor when going into PvP.