Understanding Cyrodiil in the Elder Scrolls Online

Introduction

This note is for experienced players of “Elder Scrolls Online” (or ESO) who are still making their beginnings in Cyrodiil, the game’s only large-scale, player-versus-player (or PvP) zone, or simply struggling to catch the flow of the gameplay in that zone.

Like the Imperial City, but unlike the battlegrounds, Cyrodiil is not a game in the conventional sense of the term. It is a never-ending distribution mechanism for currency and achievements.

In this, Cyrodiil distinguishes itself from other activities in the category “games”, such as team sports, the Olympic Games, or board games.

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Lore is one reason it’s miserable
3. Summary
4. Prepare an appropriate “build”
5. How important are “builds”?
6. Your “build” versus the scale of combat
7. “Build” types and playstyles
8. The currency: Alliance Points
9. Relevant activities: Where the points come from
10. Boost your rank using special remedies
11. Pick your fights wisely
12. Siege weapons
13. The tactics of sieging
14. The four strategic priorities
15. Groups and guilds
16. Movement speed
17. Be “annoying”: Combat without damage
18. Recommended addons
19. Endnotes

Lore is one reason it’s miserable

The lack of an overall outcome in Cyrodiil is written in Elder Scrolls lore.

ESO takes place in the early years of the Interregnum^[Note 1], a 400-year period in the Second Era following the fall of the Cyrodillic Empire^[Note 2] and preceding the rise of the Tamrielic Empire^[Note 3].

The Alliance War^[Note 4] is the armed conflict experienced in ESO’s player-versus-player zones. It begins in the early 580s and will not end for another 270 years, with the crowning of Talos^[Note 5] under the name Tiber Septim, in early 854 –⁠ well past the events of ESO.

In Cyrodiil, players only experience the endless armed conflicts of a Tamriel with no hegemonic political power. For us, there is no end.

This is simply how the game is designed. It makes the question of absolute victory irrelevant. Far better is the question of making the most of your time.

The remainder of this note will provide answers and inspiration to this second question by reducing aspects of Cyrodiil gameplay to the essentials. This is not primarily a how-to guide, but some help to know what to focus on.

Summary

• Only play with a “build” appropriate for PvP.
• Your “build” type is not important because Cyrodiil gameplay emphasizes strategy, tactics, strength in numbers, and speed.
• Choose your fights wisely! You need to be at the right place at the right time for capturing enemy positions on the map and returning elder scrolls to your alliance.
• The most relevant activities are rewarded with more AP, especially capturing enemy positions on the map. (Other strategic priorities include controlling elder scrolls that buff everyone in your alliance, using Volendrung as a melee-range siege weapon, and having an emperor.)
• To efficiently capture enemy positions on the map, your build needs much higher movement speed than in other parts of ESO and you need to use siege weapons and play in groups.
• Make sure to be as “annoying” as possible, meaning using tactics in combat other than dealing damage.
• Boost your rank in the Alliance War using war tortes, Mora’s Whispers, and the Blessing of War buff.
• Use certain recommended addons!

Prepare an appropriate “build”

It is a waste of time to PvP in Cyrodiil without an appropriate “build”. Enemies will tear you apart as easily as a sheet of paper. Whatever your preferred mode of action, your character needs good defense and resource sustainability.

How important are “builds”?

“Builds” are mostly unimportant if only they are appropriate for PvP.

Cyrodiil gameplay emphasizes strategy, tactics, strength in numbers (such as groups or “zergs”), and the generous use of siege weapons and forward camps. Hand-to-hand combat is mainly relevant when capturing resources.

(That said, certain specialized “builds” can be valuable in certain or even many situations.)

Your “build” versus the scale of combat

Combat in Cyrodiil can happen at different scales, referring to the number of players involved. Prioritize a build appropriate for both “zerging” and small-scale combat. Pass on “ganking”.

• Large-scale combat is called “zerging”.
• Small-scale combat: Groups of 2-4 people. Certain groups specialize in this format and are referred to as “small scalers” in the zone chat.
• Ganking: A non-bomber player killing individual enemies by sneaking up on them using invisibility.

“Build” types and playstyles

In Cyrodiil, “builds” are commonly hybridized and often follow one of the templates below. Consider these templates for choosing your preferred playstyle:

• Warrior-tank (DD): A conventional damage dealing setup for PvP.
• Healer-tank (healer): A conventional healing setup for PvP.
• 1vX: A build specialized for taking on multiple enemies at once in regular combat. Requires a careful balance between extra good defense, creative ways of keeping up resource sustainability, and still maintaining an acceptable level of damage output.
• Bomber: A build specialized for invisibility and rapid area-of-effect immobilization and damage, enabling the quick killing of groups of enemy players. Successfully doing this is often a tactical suicide mission.
• Ball group member: A build specialized for groups fighting through synchronized movements and carefully pre-planned, complementary builds.
• Ganker: A build specialized for invisibility and striking individual enemies at critical moments or when they are alone, often popular with nightblades and vampires. Not recommended.
• Troll tank: An extremely defensive build that does little to no damage. Sometimes used to distract groups of enemy players for strategic reasons. Not recommended.
• Scroll runner (or simply “runner”): Any build modified for maximum movement speed, as safely returning an elder scroll^[Note 6] to your alliance requires manually running back to your scroll temples or keeps, often across the entire map.

The currency: Alliance Points

Gathering “Alliance Points” (or AP) should be your clear priority. They are the central resource and currency in Cyrodiil and serve multiple purposes.

• Indicator of relevant activity:
  Certain activities grant more AP than others and should be considered indicators of how relevant an activity is. See also Where the points come from.
• Activity-enabling currency:
  Siege weapons are purchased with AP (or gold in limited cases). These are the key to capturing or defending keeps^[Note 7] and outposts^[Note 8] . The more points you earn, the more funding you have for future relevant activities.
• Achievement-unlocking resource:
  Unlocking the highest PvP rank requires a total of 60,838,400 gathered AP^[Note 9]. (You can speed up this progress using certain remedies.)
• General currency:
  With AP you can purchase armor and weapon sets, furniture unlocked by achievements (including ranks), motifs, style pages, etc. Some items are unbound and sellable at the guild traders, others cannot be obtained any other way.

Relevant activities: Where the points come from

In Cyrodiil, AP are especially granted from the activities below. If your PvP activities diverge from these, you are not making the most of your time.

• Capturing enemy positions on the map.
• Killing players during a battle for an enemy position on the map. (Hitting them with a single light attack is enough for it to count so long as they end up dying during the battle. This also counts for repeatable quests.)
• Handing in repeatable quests at your alliance’s home bases.
• Having gathered a high amount of AP relative to other players in your alliance by the end of the month (referring to the scoreboard of your home campaign).
• Your alliance emerging victorious by the end of the month (referring to your home campaign).

(Other strategically important activities include returning scrolls and using Volendrung^[Note 10] as a siege weapon. See The four strategic priorities.)

Boost your rank using special remedies

You can boost the amount of gathered AP that counts towards your rank in the Alliance War. These remedies do not apply to the AP received as currency, but help you complete certain achievements faster. This list does not include other ways of boosting it, including the low population bonus, low score bonus, or bonus during the semi-annual Whitestrake’s Mayhem event^[Note 11].

• War tortes^[Note 12] are AP-boosting foods. They do not affect your currently active food and scale with any food-extending passives or champion points you may have
  • Colovian War Torte: 50% boost, 30-minute duration. Recommended because of its low unit price.
  • Molten War Torte: 100% boost, 30-minute duration.
  • White-Gold War Torte: 150% boost, 30-minute duration.
• Blessing of War is a buff granted by killing a delve boss in Cyrodiil: 20% boost for one hour. Not necessarily recommended in a population-locked campaign as you may be prevented from exiting the delve.
• Mora’s Whispers^[Note 13] is a mythic piece of light armor for the shoulders: 10% boost permanently if you’ve completed Shalidor’s Library.

Pick your fights wisely

Picking your fights wisely is extremely important because Cyrodiil gameplay emphasizes strategy, tactics, strength in numbers, and speed. You need to be at the right place at the right time for capturing enemy positions on the map and returning scrolls to your alliance.

This makes the following a complete waste of time that can be exploited by enemies to keep you distracted for strategic reasons:

• 1v1 dueling anywhere on the map.
• Most tower fights at resources.
• Trying to take on multiple players without a build designed for 1vX gameplay.
• Large numbers of allies dogpiling on enemy troll tanks.
• Combat of any size near keeps and outposts where nobody uses siege weapons.
• Taking on ball groups without siege weapons, Negate Magic (from sorcerers), Time Stop (from the Psijic Order skill line), or various custom spells from scribing designed to “annoy” such groups.
• Pursuing ball groups carrying an elder scroll without a bomber present.

Siege weapons

Never play without an inventory of siege weapons^[Note 14]. These are mandatory for capturing enemy keeps and outposts. Use different ones depending on the situation. Frequently restock at the quartermaster at one of your alliance’s keeps, outposts, or home bases.

The tactics of sieging

The ideal siege on a keep or outpost is quick and undetected. Achieving this requires multiple siege weapons and players, as well as knowing where and when to attack.

Ideally, the enemy keep or outpost needs to be “tagged” in less than one minute, meaning that the target gate or wall needs to hit 50% health within that time. This prevents enemy reinforcements from reappearing at the keep or outpost itself.

• The main gate is the building’s weakest point but riskier for being discovered.
  • Use a battering ram managed by 4-6 players.
  • Speed up the process by placing up to four ballistae immediately next to the ram to deal additional damage while standing on it.
  • Important: Don’t kill the tabard-wearing NPCs patrolling a keep, it alerts the enemy guild in question.
• The side walls are safer for remaining undiscovered but take longer to destroy.
  • This option works well for opening a second entrance during a large-scale combat while the enemy is distracted.
  • It also works well for “tagging” a keep without being detected.
  • If possible, choose a tactical position that’s difficult to reach for enemy players.
  • Important: Don’t place your siege weapons close to the outer wall of a keep as that’s on the path of the tabard-wearing NPCs patrolling the premises.
• Meat-bag catapults and flaming oils are essential against groups of enemies.
  • Both produce area-of-effect damage with remarkably high ticks per second.
  • Both are quick to recharge for the next shot.
  • Place them creatively!

The four strategic priorities

The bread and butter of gathering AP in Cyrodiil is capturing enemy positions on the map. Certain additional priorities help achieve this. In order of priority:

• A favorable map
  • The ideal map is neither fully captured by your alliance nor fully captured by the enemy.
    • (Note: Participating in the process of fully capturing the map is ideal for gathering AP.)
  • Your alliance must control its home keeps as a minimum.
  • Ideally, your alliance also controls outposts and towns or nearby keep immediately outside its home borders.
• Possessing Volendrung^[Note 10] and using it as a siege weapon (skill no. 5 on the bar)
  • Never wield the hammer alone!
  • Killing an enemy player wielding the hammer usually requires an organized group, ball group, or “zerg”.
• Possessing elder scrolls, including your alliance’s two scrolls (defensive and offensive) and those of other alliances
  • Elder scrolls grant passive benefits to all players of your alliance.
    • Possessing one or two defensive scrolls from enemy alliances grants a buff of 2 or 5 percent total additional resistance, respectively.
    • Possessing one or two offensive scrolls from enemy alliances grants a buff of 2 or 5 percent total additional weapon and spell damage, respectively.
    • These buffs are not essential in the big picture, and your alliance’s home scrolls only grant 10 points each per hourly tick to the campaign score. Therefore, respond like this when your alliance is losing scrolls:
      • Losing an enemy scroll: Defend it if the enemy is weak, otherwise focus on recapturing enemy positions.
      • Losing a home scroll: Defend it if the enemy is weak, otherwise focus on recapturing your alliance’s gate-closing fort:
        • Fort Arrius for the Ebonheart Pact
        • Fort Faregyl for the Aldmeri Dominion
        • Fort Glade for the Daggerfall Covenant
  • Without your alliance’s scrolls placed in their temples, you cannot pick up an enemy scroll of the same type.
• Having an emperor
  • Being an emperor grants certain benefits that make it easier for the player to fight enemies and capture places on the map. These are not, however, granted to other allies. The alliance-wide bonus is a minor improvement to maximum health.

Groups and guilds

Always play in groups. There are multiple reasons to do so:

• Certain skills (such as Barrier) only affect fellow group members, not random allies.
• You can see the position of group members on the map.
• It ensures you have the numbers needed to quickly conquer enemy positions on the map. Speed is essential because the slower you attack the position, the greater the risk of a powerful counterattack.
• Makes it easier to organize and coordinate efforts. (This is true in general, and ball groups take particular advantage of it.)

PvP guilds are important because they make it easier to regularly find quality groups with experienced players whose playstyle and temperament you become familiar with.

Guilds can also claim keeps and outpost for their guild merchant, which may alert them early when the enemy launches an attack.

Movement speed

Movement speed^[Note 15] is extremely important in Cyrodiil, more so than other parts of ESO. The gameplay rewards capturing enemy positions on the map above small-scale skirmishes or “ganking”. Such positions are captured more easily when your character moves fast.

Safely returning an elder scroll to your alliance requires even more speed because the player will have to manually sprint back with the scroll, often across the entire map.

Be “annoying”: Combat without damage

I refer to those aspects of combat that do not involve dealing damage as being “annoying”. This is particularly important in Cyrodiil. It can determine the outcome of a battle. Here are a few examples:

• Focusing on burning enemy siege weapons and keeping the gate or wall free from damage for enough time to begin repairing. (Their efforts make no difference if they can’t use siege weapons, and the gates and walls are constantly being repaired.)
• Healing of all kinds. Enemies keep attacking yourself or an ally, depleting their resources while their target simply doesn’t die.
• Repairing the outer gate of a keep, preventing enemy reinforcements from reentering.
• You spot an enemy forward camp in the distance. As a nightblade or stage 4 vampire, you take advantage of your invisibility to run past enemy lines and burn the camp.
• The many situations where pushing enemies off edges or bridges is advantageous (using skills with the “push” effect).
• Bashing enemy players rushing to the nearest-by gate or door to get to safety, preventing them from entering the keep or outpost.

Recommended addons

Certain addons will help you be at the right place at the right time while keeping track of the current strategic situation, etc.:

• CyrHUD:
  A box on the screen with information about where the action is happening, how long it has been happening for, how many siege weapons are involved, and how many points each alliance can expect at the next hourly allotment.
• Cyrodiil Alert 2:
  On-screen text and chat announcements of much of the same information as CyrHUD, mentioned above.
• Sieged Keeps:
  Use your map to easily see where siege weapons are deployed and by which alliance.
• Forward Camp Preview:
  Use your map to pre-visualize the placement of a forward camp when it’s active in your quick slot. (Can also be used to guesstimate the location of enemy camps.)
• Keep Door:
  Use your map to easily find the outer main gates of keeps
• English POI and Keep Names:
  See the English name of locations as a subtitle below the localized name when playing ESO in another language. (This is important in Cyrodiil because you often respond to callouts to specific locations in the zone or group chat.)
• PvpMeter:
  See the balance between the Alliance Points earned versus your expenses during the current session. (This is handy for making sure you’re turning a profit. That Volendrung furniture costing 2 million AP won’t come by itself.)

Published 31 August 2024.
Last edited 7 September 2024.

Endnotes

1. “Interregnum.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Interregnum. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
2. “Second Empire.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Second_Empire. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
3. “Third Empire.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Third_Empire. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
4. “Three Banners War.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Three_Banners_War. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
5. “Talos.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Lore:Talos. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
6. “Elder scrolls.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Elder_Scrolls. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
7. “Keeps.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Keeps. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
8. “Outposts.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Outposts. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
9. “Alliance Points.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Alliance_Points#Alliance_War_Ranks. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
10. “Volendrung.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Volendrung. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
11. “Whitestrake’s Mayhem.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Whitestrake%27s_Mayhem. Retrieved on 25 August 2024.
12. “Colovian War Torte.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Colovian_War_Torte. Retrieved on 25 August 2024.
13. “Mora’s Whispers.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Mora%27s_Whispers. Retrieved on 25 August 2024.
14. ”Siege weapons.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Siege_Weapons. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.
15. “Movement speed.” UESP. https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Movement_Speed. Retrieved on 24 August 2024.