Dungeons are an important part of the Elder Scrolls Online and completing them provides players with a variety of rewards. Armor sets, monster helms, and most importantly experience, completing at least one dungeon per day is a great way to level your character as you adventure in ESO. This ESO Daily Dungeon Guide 2023 is going to break down the basics of dungeons, how to use the dungeon finder, and how to take advantage of the Undaunted Pledges as well!
Dungeon Breakdown
In The Elder Scrolls Online, dungeons are four-player activities that require teamwork and coordination to complete. They will have large groups of enemies that are tougher to defeat than those typically found in overland content, as well as multiple bosses. Bosses in dungeons can represent unique challenges, and often feature special mechanics that need to be managed by the whole group.
Dungeons all drop at least three unique armor sets per dungeon, in addition to a unique monster helm which will only drop at the final boss on a Veteran level dungeon. Most importantly for beginner players (or those leveling new alts), each dungeon has its own unique quest line which will reward you with a single Skill Point when you complete it for the first time.
Dungeon Difficulty
Where should a new player start? Generally, the dungeons found in the early zones (ie, Fungal Grotto in Stonefalls, Banished Cells in Auridon, Spindleclutch in Glenumbra) are the lower-level dungeons you should start with. While dungeons can be entered into at any level, it’s typically recommended that new players do not try a dungeon before level 10.
As you proceed through the zones in the game, the dungeons will increase in difficultly. You will find that the base game dungeons come in dual instances, such as Fungal Grotto I and Fungal Grotto II. The second dungeon will take place in the same location, but the difficulty is increased, and you will face new enemies and bosses. There will be a new storyline and quest to complete, along with another Skill Point you can earn.
Dungeons found in the Chapters or DLCs are where the difficulty of play really starts to ramp up. Many of those bosses will have mechanics which cannot be skipped or abilities which could kill in one hit if not avoided.
The next step in difficulty is Veteran Level dungeons, which are unlocked once your character hits level 50. At Veteran level the dungeon storyline and quest will run the same as in the normal level, but the difficulty of all the enemies, bosses, and mechanics are greatly increased. The rewards, however, are much greater, with drops of better-quality gear as well as a monster helm armor piece which will drop upon the defeat of the final boss.
The final level of challenge is Hard Modes within Veteran dungeons. Hard mode will not apply to the dungeon as a whole, it can only be activated on the final boss. Usually, the activation mechanic is for one of the group members to read a nearby scroll or book. This step is optional – and if your group attempts the Hard Mode but fails, the dungeon will reset the boss fight and the hard mode. Your group can choose to re-activate the hard mode or not before starting the fight again.
Dungeon Finder
Each dungeon has a location in a zone and can be entered into by walking your character up to the door and going inside. However, the most common (and easier) way of entering a dungeon is to use the Group and Activity Finder. Within the Activity Finder is where you will find multiple searches for group play – including Dungeons, Battlegrounds, and Tales of Tribute PvP.
Pull up the Activity Finder from your UI and choose Dungeon Finder from the list provided. Next, make sure that you set your role. The UI will default you to damage dealer but that can be changed if you are playing a healer or tank.
Important note – although dungeons can technically be entered into at any level, the Dungeon Finder cannot be used until your character is a level 10.
With that set, from the drop-down box on the right you now have three choices before you officially queue for your dungeon. You can choose a Specific Dungeon, a Random Normal Dungeon, or a Random Veteran Dungeon.
Be prepared to be patient – especially if you have queued as a damage dealer. It can take time for other players in particular roles to que as well, and you’ll want to have something else to do in game while you’re waiting for the queue to ‘pop’. When a group is finally found an alert will pop-up on your screen. You’ll need to confirm that you wish to join the group. If you do not, you’ll be dropped from the queue and have to start over.
Random Daily Normal
Choosing this option will immediately put you into a queue for any normal dungeon available. If you are ESO+, this means any dungeon in the game. If you do not have a subscription active, then you will be limited to the base game dungeons only.
Doing a Random Normal Dungeon the first time will grant you a daily bonus premium reward upon completion that includes Undaunted Exploration Supplies and XP. The extra experience points for completely a single random daily normal are VASTLY increased, and a great value for the time you take to complete the dungeons. Especially if you land in one of the lower-level dungeons, which are typically quicker runs, depending on the level of the group.
Random Daily Normal dungeons are something that players should strive to accomplish everyday – at least on the character(s) they are leveling!
Random Daily Veteran
Choosing this option will immediately put you into a queue for any veteran dungeon available. If you are ESO+, this means any dungeon in the game. If you do not have a subscription active, then you will be limited to the base game dungeons only.
Like the RNDs, doing a Random Veteran Dungeon the first time will grant you a daily bonus premium reward upon completion that includes Undaunted Exploration Supplies and XP. For random veteran dungeons the value of extra experience vs time-in-game is less certain. Particularly if you land in a difficult DLC dungeon with a PUG group unfamiliar with the mechanics, a random daily vet dungeon can sometimes be more trouble than it’s worth.
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