It is highly advisable to install add-ons that help you track how much XP you are earning from each kill, such as Foundry Tactical Combat[tamrielfoundry.com], Combat Log Statistics [www.esoui.com] and XPView[www.esoui.com]. To install these, simply download, unzip and copy to your AddOns folder (located in C:\Users\[your windows username]\Documents\Elder Scrolls Online\live\AddOns\ )
















There are several ways to boost the rate of XP gain in ESO. Just being in a group of two people gives you a 10% bonus. If you both use the Pledge of Mara, you get another 10% on top of this. ESO Plus membership provides 15% XP bonus. If you are grinding in Cyrodiil in your home campaign, if your faction controls your home keeps, you get a 5% XP bonus. If your faction controls a certain number of enemy keeps, you can get up to 13% XP bonus.

You earn 10% more experience for each kill if you are grouped together with one additional person. If there are multiple other players grinding in the same area, whether grouped with you or not, you will earn less XP for each kill, but you will probably also kill more mobs in a shorter period of time.

When you are grouped, you even gain XP for mobs killed by other group members within a distance of about 30 meters. As long as your party member killed the mob within that range, you will receive the XP. This can help a small group of 2-3 players earn lots of XP quickly by dividing up a grinding area to kill different groups of mobs at the same time

Try to be considerate of others as some grinding spots can support two or more groups if you are coordinated, for example both following clockwise routes or slightly different routes. However, sometimes it devolves into chaos. You want to make sure you are at least getting some hits in on every mob. If a spot is too crowded, try moving ahead to the next area, or work on improving your dps so you are doing more damage to the enemies.

If you see someone else grinding at the same spot, lowering your XP, before sending salty tells keep in mind your paths will probably cross again at various spots, and you may need their help at some point when your other grinding partner is not available.

Your XP gain per hour increases significantly when using Area of Effect (AoE) abilities, for example the destruction staff abilities "impulse" and "wall of elements." These may not be the abilities you want to level for your final Cyrodiil PVP build or end-game PVE content build.

If there are certain other abilities or skills you want to level up while grinding, put some of them on your bar, and it is advisable to put on one or two pieces of different armor, so you can level up heavy and medium armor while wearing mostly light, for example.

Don't worry about repairing your armor or collecting loot. If you keep stopping to repair your armor, or empty your bags, it slows down your leveling tremendously. I have done this a number of times with completely broken armor, and zero available inventory space.

Instead of repairing armor, simply use an armor spell when necessary, like Immovable, Volatile Armor, Combat Prayer, etc. Instead of stopping to empty your bags, don't collect any green or blue items. If you find a purple item you want to keep, you can free up some space by sending 5 items via in-game mail to a friend with "Bounce" in the subject line, and ask them to select "Return to sender"

Keep the XP train running, move through your route as quickly as you can, killing mobs fast without stopping to repair armor or collect loot and in some spots you can gain a level every 15-20 minutes.

Ideally you will be leveling so fast, you will quickly outlevel any armor or weapon set, so the only items worth collecting are purple weapons and armor that you can deconstruct to extract Elegant Lining or Mastic, for example. (Wait to decon these after you have mastered the relevant crafting skill, so you have highest chance to extract the mats.)

Remember to join the Mages Guild and Fighters Guild before starting, so you can advance in these skill lines as you level.

As you will observe from making use of XP tracking add-ons, if a mob is more than 5 levels below your character level, you stop gaining XP. If a mob is 6-7 levels above your character, you can still gain XP, but it becomes challenging to kill them quickly, and if your dps is not high enough, you might not receive any XP if it is killed by other players. Make sure you are moving on before you outlevel the mobs in each area. (Note: this does not apply to veteran rank mobs in Craglorn.)


The best grinding spots have several groups of mobs that quickly respawn, and there is usually a circular route you can take to keep killing them just as they spawn again. Keep an eye on your XP gain per hour and make sure you are using your time effectively. Ideally you want to be arriving at each mob group just as they respawn.


This guide is intended to explain the fastest possible way to level up your character. However, I have observed many players who leveled to VR12 through PVE suddenly realize they must completely change their build for PVP, pay for multiple respecs and go back to level up different abilities and skills.

Going back and leveling up resto staff from 1-50 for example, can take a long time. In my view, this defeats the purpose of leveling up quickly.

In order to make sure you are leveling the appropriate skills and abilities, I highly recommend to take regular breaks from grinding to spend some time trying out your skills in PVP in Cyrodiil. This is the best way to test your build and determine which abilities work better than others when fighting other players.

The first recommended grinding area in the Aldmeri Dominion territory is South Beacon, a small coastal area just west of Windy Glade Wayshrine.

You can quickly level up here fighting level 5 Sea Viper NPCs from level 3 to about 9 or 10. Try to circle the small camps of Sea Vipers in a clockwise route, killing the groups as quickly as you can, to catch them when they respawn.


Ezduiin is an Ayleid ruin in central Auridon, just northwest of the city of Skywatch.

You can quickly level up to 15 by grinding various ghost mobs outside the dungeon.

Firsthold is a city at the northwestern corner of the island of Auridon, east of the Firsthold wayshrine.

The North Beacon map marker is in the center of the city. You can level up to 20 here by traveling in a clockwise circle, killing various groups of level 15 Dremora around the city.

The Ossuary of Telacar is a graveyard in eastern Grahtwood, east of Elden Root and north of the Ossuary wayshrine.

You can make a clockwise route around the outer ring of the Ossuary grinding level 21 Telacar spirits. Unfortunately, there is a lot of running in between the mobs, so it's recommended to move on to the next spot quickly.

The Falinesti Spring Site is the spring location of Falinesti, in northeastern Greenshade, west of the Falinesti wayshrine.
Follow the path around the corner of the hillside, grinding level 28 Thunderbugs, Ogres and Senche-Tigers.

Hectahame is an Ayleid ruin in northern Greenshade, north of Verrant Morass wayshrine.
Here you get to play the part of a bridge troll, going back and forth under a bridge killing the numerous groups of level 31 Veiled Necromancers, Flesh Atronachs and Skeletons.

This is a very small area, but the mobs respawn quickly. If there are more than three players here, however, it becomes too crowded and you will not earn XP fast enough.

Fort Grimwatch is a fort in northwestern Reaper's March, south of the Fort Grimwatch wayshrine.
For a small group, this can be the fastest grinding spot in the Aldmeri Dominion area. Divide and conquer this area with a grinding partner, leapfrogging the groups of mobs. Make sure you are killing every mob, and if there are only two of you, you can earn a level as fast as every 20-30 minutes here. If there are more players, just make sure you are at least tagging everything before it dies.

There will be some players in the area completing quests, keep an eye on these folks, as their quest will cause 5 or more additional mobs to spawn at the areas that look like this:

By this time you should be getting some of the important abilities for your class and weapon skills, such as Impulse, Reflective Scales, Bolt Escape, Snipe, etc. It's a good time to take a break and practice using some of these new abilities fighting other players in Cyrodiil.

Deleyn's Mill is a farm and lumbermill in southeastern Glenumbra, east of Daggerfall and just south of Deleyn's Mill wayshrine.


This is an excellent spot for grinding up to level 8 or 9, many quickly respawning level 5 Imps and Spriggans, which summon additional level 5 mobs.

Camlorn is a city in north-central Glenumbra. The Lion Guard Siege Camp is just south of the city gates, east of Eagle Brook Wayshrine.
It is very important that you do not start the quest here. There will be other players entering the area to do the quest. Each time they do this, it causes 20-30 additional werewolves to spawn around the camp. If there are a lot of players doing the quest here, you can go up a level every 20-25 minutes.

If you complete the quest, it phases you into a different instance, where all the werewolves are dead, so it prevents you from being able to grind here. In the event there are not enough players doing the quest to make the werewolves spawn here, you can go just outside the camp and grind zombies.
Shinji's Scarp is a fortified escarpment in eastern Stormhaven, east of Windkeep wayshrine. A camp of the Murtag Clan and a few scattered buildings can be found to the south of the scarp.

This is another area where you need to be careful not to start the quest. There will be other players entering the area to do the quest, and cause many level 22 ogres to spawn around the area.


Northpoint is a city in northeastern Rivenspire, just north of the Boralis wayshrine.

You can quickly level up to 36 here. Start out with the level 31 Montclair's soldiers grouped around the farms to the east, then work your way to the coastline, killing more groups of soldiers to the west, and then back toward the farms as the mobs respawn.

By this time you should be getting some of the important abilities for your class and weapon skills, such as Impulse, Reflective Scales, Bolt Escape, Snipe, etc. It's a good time to take a break and practice using some of these new abilities fighting other players in Cyrodiil.

5. Main Quest up to Halls of Torment (level 35-36)

At this stage it is recommended to go back and do part of the main quest, if you haven't already done so. Try to complete the Halls of Torment quest, and ideally level up at least once.

The Hall of Heroes is a crypt in southern Bangkorai, just east of the Onsi's Breath wayshrine.

You can kill many quickly spawning groups of level 42 Imperial Battlemages and Imperial Assassins here in the exterior area (don't enter the crypt). This is another area where you need to be careful not to start the quest.

If you have a good grinding group, this can be the fastest spot for leveling in the entire Daggerfall Covenant area. It is possible to level up every 15-20 minutes or so. If you are on a roll, you can keep going up to 45 or 46 or so here, or proceed to Coldharbour earlier if you prefer.

1. Starved Plain (level 3 - 7)

This area is just outside the Davon's Watch Southern gate, you will find many level 4 spirits, and if you stand in a spot right near the center of the area, they will continually respawn all around you.

2. Vivec's Antlers (level 7 - 15)

This area is just north of the Vivec's Antlers wayshrine. There are often other players leveling here among the numerous level 11 dreughs and Covenant soldiers that respawn rather quickly.
This spot can support quite a few players, and it is recommended to grind here until you reach level 15-16.

3. Muth Gnaar (level 15 - 20)

Muth Gnaar is a monastery in western Deshaan, southeast of the town of Narsis, and just south of the Muth Gnaar wayshrine.

There are many level 15 plague husks and Vereansu warriors here which respawn quickly. If there are not too many other players here, you can grind here until you are high enough level to handle Sunscale Strand in Shadowfen; otherwise if it is too populated, try Silent Mire to the East.

4. Silent Mire (level 20 - 25)

Silent Mire is an Argonian town in eastern Deshaan, just east of Silent Mire wayshrine. The town is under attack by Renrijra pirates, who have captured several of the town's inhabitants.

You can progress from level 20 - 25 here killing the level 21 Renjira Deckhands.

5. Sunscale Strand (level 25 - 34)

Sunscale Strand is a ruin in southeastern Shadowfen, southeast of Alten Corimont, and directly east of Percolating Mire wayshrine.

This is one of the best spots for grinding in the game. If you are moving fast with an organized group, you can earn levels in under 20 minutes.

Keep moving in a clockwise direction around the path. If there are a lot of players grinding here, make sure to tag everything with some hits. If there are only a couple of you, it may be a bit slower.

By this time you should be getting some of the important abilities for your class and weapon skills, such as Impulse, Reflective Scales, Bolt Escape, Snipe, etc. It's a good time to take a break and practice using some of these new abilities fighting other players in Cyrodiil.

6. Main Quest up to Halls of Torment (level 34 - 35)

At this stage it is recommended to go back and do part of the main quest, if you haven't already done so. Try to complete the Halls of Torment quest (just below your level), and ideally level up at least once.

7. Lost Prospect (level 35 - 44)

Lost Prospect is a mine in the eastern part of The Rift, north of Fullhelm Fort wayshrine.

This is an excellent spot for leveling up to 44 by killing many level 41 Worm Cult Savages and Zombies.

1. Getting to Coldharbour

In order to access Coldharbour the first time, right click on the name of someone in your guild roster or friends list who is already in Coldharbour, and select "Travel to Player." If you have high DPS, you will gain significant XP in these areas starting from level 39-40; however, it is a bit easier once you are at least level 42.

2. Cliffs of Failure (level 42 - VR1)

The Cliffs of Failure is a battlefield in eastern Coldharbour, northeast of the Court of Contempt wayshrine.


At the map marker, travel through "Portal to the Cliffs of Failure," then take the portal on the right side labeled "Portal to the Battlegrounds Antechamber."
In the Battlegrounds Antechamber, go forward and pass through the door directly in front of you. This leads to an exterior area where there are many level 47 Skeletal Warriors and level 47 Bloodthorn Zombies.

(Alternate) The Black Forge (level 42 - VR1)

The Black Forge is a Daedric ruin in eastern Coldharbour, northeast of the Everfull Flagon wayshrine.

This is an alternate area where you can kill many Level 47 mobs, as much as 250k XP/hr. It is smaller than the Cliffs of Failure, so if there are too many players grinding here, it is recommended to use Cliffs of Failure instead.

9. Finish Main Quest / Defeat Molag Bal (VR1+)

When you reach Veteran Rank 1, you will no longer advance in level from killing non-veteran mobs (below level 50).

At this point you need to complete the Main Quest in order to unlock Craglorn and the Veteran Zones (enemy faction territory). If you have trouble with the final boss fight, you can do any of the following to unlock more skill points:

• go back and collect all the Skyshards in your faction territory and Coldharbour
  
• do some of the skill point quests in your faction territory (main story quest in each zone)
  
• complete public dungeon skill point objectives
  
• do group dungeons
  
• participate in PVP in Cyrodiil (if you haven't started yet, you can quickly earn 2 skill points by ranking up to Volunteer and Recruit)
  
• complete daily quests in Cyrodiil

Note: there have been some significant changes to XP gain recently, with more coming on Monday March 23, including significant bonus to XP in Cyrodiil and Trials.

I will be revising this section with updated information about the fastest way to level veteran ranks and adding a new section about leveling Champion Points.

Grinding in Craglorn

If you want to get to VR12 quickly, this is where you need to go. To reach Craglorn the first time, simply right click on someone in your guild roster or friends list who is already in Craglorn, and select "Travel to Player." (Keep in mind, you must have already completed the main quest and killed Molag Bal.)

There are multiple groups here grinding at any given time, and the most popular are Tower Grind, Shadow Grind and Burial Grind. Each of these involves quickly killing bosses that reward 22,000 - 37,000 veteran points, depending on your level. You can ask in zone chat to join one of the grinding groups by posting "LFG Tower Grind" for example; however, you really do not need to be grouped together with anyone to earn the XP.

The way it works is when each boss is killed, the top 12 players who contributed the most dps or healing all receive 100% of the reward. If you do not get the reward when the boss dies, this means you need to be dealing more damage (or switch to healing).

It makes no difference whether you are grouped, or not grouped. There could be 10 other players fighting the boss with you, in which case everyone gets the XP, or there might be 20 other players. As long as you are among the top 12 damage dealers / healers, you will get the XP every time.

Before commencing, it is recommended to buy or acquire a stack of grand soul gems, so you don't waste any time spawning back at wayshrines if you die. The going rate is 7k - 8k for each stack of 100 filled gems.

Also, stopping to repair equipment or empty bags will massively slow down your progress here, better to keep the train rolling and massacre these VR11 mobs while wearing broken armor like a boss. Hang on to the purple items, but don't worry about saving blues and greens unless they are VR12 or VR11 set armor pieces, which can be quite valuable.

Tower Grind (Elinhir) (VR1 - VR12)

In my experience, as of patch 1.2.5 this is by far the fastest spot to earn Veteran Points in the game. I recommend going directly here and staying here until you reach VR12. There are four bosses in Elinhir, who each spawn quickly, with lots of adds. To reach the grinding area, travel to Elinhir wayshrine and either sneak past the mobs in the village to reach the tower area, or simply die and corpse run to the Tower.

Some videos demonstrating the Tower Grind:

Shadow Grind (Seeker's Archive) (VR1 - VR12)

This spot can be fast, but it relies on one of the bosses here to get a bugged respawn. It often gets reset and requires long delays in between the bugged respawns. Ultimately, I found this grinding spot to be significantly slower than the Tower Grind, which is a non-stop XP train. I would not recommend going here unless you want to try a change of pace, or are having trouble dealing enough damage / heals at the Tower Grind.

The boss with the bugged respawn time is Kareth of Shadows. In order to set it up so that she spawns repeatedly, your group must follow the following steps (Note: if anyone in the area starts the associated quest, or if anyone kills Kareth while her shade minion is still alive, the entire process becomes reset and must start over again):

1. go to the adjacent mage boss Sihadid's spawn location
   
2. kill Sihadid (once)
   
3. go to the adjacent warrior boss Pharethil the Unbending's spawn location
   
4. kill Pharethil the Unbending once
   
5. wait 5 - 10 minutes for Pharethil the Unbending to respawn
   
6. kill Pharethil the Unbending one more time
   
7. go to Kareth of Shadows spawn location
   
8. if Kareth of Shadows spawns a shade minion, you must kill the minion before Kareth
   
9. kill Kareth of Shadows
   
10. wait several minutes for Kareth to respawn

Here are a few videos demonstrating the Shadow Grind:

Sihadid
Pharethil the Unbending
Kareth of Shadows