Skill points are a valuable resource in The Elder Scrolls Online, essential for unlocking abilities, passives, and crafting proficiencies. For a new Arcanist, efficiently acquiring these points is crucial for building a powerful character. This guide will help you understand how many skill points you’ll likely need and the most effective ways to earn them quickly in Tamriel.
How Many Skill Points Will You Need for the Arcanist
There are over 500 skill points available across Tamriel, but you won’t need them all right away. For a well-rounded Arcanist capable of handling most daily content, aim for approximately 100 skill points initially. This amount allows you to unlock core combat abilities, essential class passives, and utility skills like Continuous Attack for faster mount speed and Medicinal Use for potion efficiency. With these foundational points, your character can perform strongly in various activities and reach significant damage output benchmarks.
As you progress and seek to optimize your Arcanist further, you might target around 150 skill points. This enables you to delve into more weapon passives, self-healing options, Major Resolve buffs, and even unlock skills from guild lines like the Psijic or Mages Guild. Players who engage in both PvE and PvP on the same character might require even more flexibility. If you also plan to invest in all crafting professions and hireling passive skills, the total need could expand to roughly 250 points. Remember, skill points can be reset at shrines for a gold fee, allowing you to adapt your build as needed.
Where Are the Easiest Skill Points
Leveling (65 skill points)
The most straightforward way to earn skill points is simply by leveling up your character. As you advance from level 1 to 50, you will automatically receive 64 skill points as part of the level-up rewards. Additionally, completing or even skipping the initial tutorial provides an immediate extra skill point. This brings your total from character progression alone to 65 points. These fundamental points form the bedrock of your Arcanist’s development and are acquired naturally through gameplay, making them a passive yet highly significant source.
These points are distributed evenly throughout your leveling journey, ensuring a steady influx of resources to invest in your character’s growing capabilities. They are perfect for unlocking your main damage or healing abilities and their associated class passives as soon as they become available. Focus on enjoying the game and these points will accumulate without special effort, setting you up for success in your initial Arcanist build.
Main Quests (10 skill points)
The main questline in The Elder Scrolls Online offers an accessible and quick source of skill points, especially for new characters. You’ll gain approximately 10 skill points by progressing through the initial stages of the main story, specifically the quests involving the Prophet and the Five Companions. These early quests are generally solo-friendly and provide not only skill points but also substantial experience gains. It’s often recommended to complete these first few chapters as they are efficient for rapidly increasing your skill point count.
While the initial main quest is highly rewarding, skill points from other zone stories vary. Large base-game or Chapter zone stories typically award fewer points (around 3), making them less efficient for skill point farming. Conversely, smaller DLC zones like Murkmire or Clockwork City can be more generous, offering 6-8 points. Clockwork City is particularly notable, providing 8 skill points and a unique 150% experience scroll upon specific quest choices. Prioritize the introductory main quests for a quick boost, then selectively engage with other story content if you desire more narrative-driven skill point acquisition.
Random Dungeons (52 skill points)
Delving into dungeons is an excellent way to earn skill points, with each dungeon’s unique story quest granting a skill point upon completion. There are 52 such dungeons across the game, allowing you to net a total of 52 skill points. The dungeon queue system unlocks content progressively:
- Level 10: Three dungeons become accessible.
- Every 2 levels: Two additional dungeons unlock.
- Level 45: All remaining base-game and DLC dungeons become available.
This staggered unlocking system ensures that early on, you’ll encounter new dungeons frequently, making it an efficient method for gaining both experience and skill points. The daily random dungeon bonus also provides a significant XP boost. However, as you reach higher levels, you might start encountering repeat dungeons, especially if queuing with lower-level players. While still valuable for XP, the rate of new skill point acquisition slows down due to the chance of replaying completed story quests. For dedicated skill point farming, focusing on uncompleted dungeon story quests is key.
Public Dungeons (44 skill points, including skyshards)
Public Dungeons are often overlooked but are a fantastic source of skill points. Each of the game’s 32 public dungeons features a “group event” boss that, upon defeat, awards a skill point. Additionally, every public dungeon contains one skyshard, which contribute to the 3-shards-for-1-point system. This means completing all public dungeons can yield up to 32 skill points from group events, plus roughly 12 more from their embedded skyshards, totaling 44 points.
A smart strategy is to prioritize public dungeons within newer Chapters, such as High Isle, as they uniquely offer two skill points from their primary objective, plus an additional skyshard. For other public dungeons, simply defeat the group event boss and collect the skyshard. These dungeons are technically “group” content but are almost always soloable, though bringing a self-heal or shield can be beneficial for tougher encounters. Group events respawn quickly, often within 30 seconds if other players are nearby and haven’t earned the achievement, making them highly farmable. Look for public dungeons with entrances close to Wayshrines for even faster runs.
543 Skyshards (equals 181 skill points)
Skyshards are scattered across every zone in Tamriel, providing a massive pool of skill points. Collecting three skyshards grants you one skill point. With 543 skyshards currently available in the game, you can potentially earn a staggering 181 skill points through this method alone. Skyshards are generally marked on your map once discovered, and many add-ons can help pinpoint their exact locations, making them easier to track down.
While the sheer number can seem daunting, you don’t need to collect every single one immediately. A strategic approach involves gathering the “easy” skyshards first—those located near Wayshrines, within delves (one per delve), or in relatively open, low-threat areas. These quick pickups can efficiently fill any immediate skill point gaps you have for your Arcanist. You can always return later to more remote or challenging skyshards as your character grows stronger or when you have more time to explore. This method offers unparalleled flexibility in how and when you gain points.
Alliance War Tutorial (3 skill points)
Even if you have no interest in player-versus-player combat, completing the Alliance War tutorial is a mandatory step for any new character, especially an Arcanist. This brief, 3-minute introduction to Cyrodiil will grant you 3 skill points immediately upon completion. More importantly, it instantly advances your rank in both the Assault and Support Alliance War skill lines to Rank 3.
Reaching Rank 3 unlocks two crucial passives: Vigor (a strong self-heal) and, critically, Continuous Attack. This passive provides a permanent 30% increase to your mount speed, making travel across Tamriel significantly faster and more enjoyable. Skipping the siege training portion of the tutorial will prevent you from reaching Rank 3 and obtaining Continuous Attack, along with one of the skill points. Beyond the tutorial, gaining subsequent ranks in Alliance War (up to Rank 6 initially) also awards a skill point per rank, and daily Battleground quests offer good XP, making PvP a potential source for a few more easy points if you dabble.
Summary
Building a capable Arcanist requires a strategic approach to skill point acquisition. You’ll naturally gain 65 skill points by reaching level 50 and completing the initial tutorial. Supplementing these, aim for a balanced approach to gather an additional 100+ points efficiently. Start by completing the first 10 skill points from the main quest for a quick boost. Then, dive into the Alliance War tutorial for an effortless 3 points and the vital mount speed passive.
Regularly engaging in random dungeon story quests offers up to 52 skill points, which pairs well with leveling. For rapid farming, target public dungeon group events and their skyshards, providing around 44 points. Finally, selectively collecting easy-to-reach skyshards can quickly add another 30-50 points without extensive travel. By mixing these methods, your Arcanist will swiftly accumulate the necessary skill points to master their unique abilities and thrive in any content.
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