Return guide
Returning to The Elder Scrolls Online?
Coming back is a different decision than starting fresh — you want to know what you missed, whether your progress survived, and if the game deserves your comeback. Pick roughly when you left; we'll fill in the rest.
When did you drop off?
What you missed since the early era
Chapter years (2017–2019)
- · Antiquities (scrying) became the best chill progression loop in the game
- · Companions arrived for solo players
- · Tales of Tribute added a full card game inside the MMO
Greymoor – High Isle (2020–2022)
- · Necrom added the arcanist — the first genuinely new class feel in years
- · Scribing (2024's Gold Road) added customizable skills
- · The yearly-chapter model gave way to a seasonal content structure, and subclassing opened build-mixing across classes
Necrom – now (2023–now)
- · You're nearly current — seasonal content drops replaced the single yearly chapter
- · Try subclassing: old characters can borrow lines from other classes now
8 major changes across 3 eras since you left The Elder Scrolls Online.
Did your progress survive?
Level scaling means your 2017 character walks straight into current content. Champion Point rework converted your old points; gear sets you farmed mostly still exist and many are still meta-adjacent.
Catching up
- ✓ No level catch-up needed — everything scales
- ✓ Craft or buy a cheap current set and you're dungeon-ready
- ✓ ESO Plus trial weekends are a free way to test whether the craft bag is worth it to you (it is)
Your first week back
- Log in and clear your 400 hireling mails like the rest of us
- Run the newest zone's story — ESO's writing has stayed reliably good
- Do one antiquities session; it's the best returning-player loop in the game
Worth playing in 2026?
Yes — for the right playerThe Elder Scrolls Online in 2026 scores 71/100 on the overall lens — updates keep coming, and reviews aggregate to 75/100. It's one of the genre's most casual-friendly games.
Worth it if
- ✓ Elder Scrolls fans
- ✓ Solo questers
- ✓ Explorers
- ✓ Housing enthusiasts
Skip it if
- ✗ floaty combat feel divides players
- ✗ eSO Plus sub feels near-mandatory for crafting bags
- ✗ crown store is pushy
Composed from this page's data — score, update cadence, monetization — not from a reviewer's mood. Same inputs as the tier list.
What it costs to start
One-time purchase- · Buy once; an optional subscription adds perks
- · Buy once — base editions usually bundle most chapters cheaply
- · ESO Plus sub is optional: DLC-zone access plus convenience (the craft bag); new seasonal zone content is free to base-game owners since 2026
Prices and bundles change — verify on the official site ↗.
Guilds recruiting
No guilds recruiting for The Elder Scrolls Online yet
Playing with a community? Yours could be the first listing here — an evergreen recruitment page beats weekly forum posts.
List your guildNot ready to come back yet?
The MMOlist Monthly includes a returning-player deep dive every issue — we'll tell you when The Elder Scrolls Online is worth another look.
No spam, no sharing — your address is only ever used to send the monthly issue.
Era digests are curated editorial — spotted something outdated? Tell us and we'll fix it.