ESO Gold is the lifeblood of The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), enabling players to purchase items, upgrade gear, and trade within the player-driven economy. If you want to amass wealth in Tamriel, you’ll need to combine strategy, effort, and a touch of market savvy. In this guide, we’ll explore the fastest and most effective ways to make gold in ESO, catering to players of all levels.
1. Daily Activities: A Consistent Source of Gold
Crafting Writs
Daily crafting writs are one of the easiest and most reliable ways to earn gold. By completing writs for Blacksmithing, Clothing, Woodworking, Alchemy, Provisioning, Enchanting, and Jewelry Crafting, you can earn several thousand gold per day. Additionally, writs reward you with materials, surveys, and other items that can be sold or used to generate even more income.
Tips for Crafting Writs:
Max Your Crafting Skills: Higher-level writs yield better rewards.
Use Add-ons: Tools like Dolgubon’s Lazy Writ Crafter streamline the process.
Do It Daily: The gold and materials stack up quickly over time.
Daily Quests
Completing daily quests, such as those offered in DLC zones or from Undaunted pledges, can also yield decent gold rewards. These quests often provide additional benefits, such as unique items or materials that can be sold for profit.
2. Flipping Goods: Mastering the Guild Trader Economy
Guild traders are the heart of ESO’s player-driven economy. Buying and reselling items for profit, also known as "flipping," can be an excellent way to make gold if you’re patient and willing to invest time in research.
How to Flip Effectively:
Research the Market: Spend time browsing various guild traders to identify items listed below their market value.
Buy Low, Sell High: Look for items like Intricate gear, crafting materials, or collectibles that are underpriced.
Maximize Listings: Guild traders allow only 30 active listings at a time, so focus on high-demand, high-profit items.
Use Add-ons: Tools like Master Merchant or Tamriel Trade Centre can help you track item prices across servers.
Warning: Flipping requires an upfront investment, and it may take time to sell your items. Avoid overextending yourself by purchasing items that don’t move quickly.
3. Farming High-Demand Items
Perfect Roe
Perfect Roe is one of the most valuable items you can farm in ESO. It’s used to craft Psijic Ambrosia, a popular experience-boosting consumable. To obtain Perfect Roe:
Go fishing at various fishing spots.
Deconstruct the fish you catch to potentially obtain Perfect Roe.
Sell Perfect Roe through guild traders, where it often fetches 40,000–50,000 gold per unit.
Drawbacks:
Fishing is time-consuming and can be monotonous.
The drop rate for Perfect Roe is low, requiring patience and persistence.
Materials Farming
Gathering basic crafting materials is an easy way to generate steady income, especially if you’re high-level. Materials like ores, wood, plants, and runestones are always in demand, particularly by players without an ESO Plus subscription who have limited inventory space.
Tips for Farming Materials:
Equip passives in crafting skill lines to improve yield and efficiency.
Use an add-on like Harvest Map to track resource nodes.
Focus on DLC zones or areas with dense material spawns.
4. Crafting and Selling High-Value Gear
If your crafting skills are advanced, crafting and selling set pieces can be a goldmine. Players frequently seek crafted gear for leveling, PvE, and PvP purposes.
Popular Craftable Sets:
Hunding’s Rage: A favorite for stamina-based builds.
Law of Julianos: Highly sought after for magicka-based builds.
Fortified Brass: Popular for its defensive bonuses.
Steps to Profit from Crafting:
Research Traits: You must know enough traits to craft the desired sets.
Craft CP160 Gear: Endgame players will pay a premium for CP160 items.
Upgrade Quality: Purple or gold-quality gear sells for significantly higher prices.
Price Accordingly: Calculate the value of the materials used, including trait stones and upgrade materials, to ensure you profit.
Tip: Offer custom crafting services in chat to attract buyers directly, bypassing the guild trader’s cut.
5. Dungeon Runs and Selling Loot
Running dungeons can be a lucrative gold-making method, especially if you sell the gear and materials you obtain. Veteran dungeons, in particular, drop high-value gear and motifs.
What to Look For:
Non-Bound Gear: Sellable sets like Mother’s Sorrow, Spriggan’s Thorns, or Spinner’s Garments fetch good prices.
Motifs and Style Pages: Rare motifs can be sold for substantial amounts.
Transmutation Crystals: While not directly sellable, they can be used to alter traits on gear you wish to sell.
Tips for Maximizing Profit:
Avoid Binding: Don’t equip or bind items you intend to sell.
Upgrade Selectively: Only upgrade items if the increased selling price covers material costs.
6. Selling Event and Seasonal Items
ESO frequently hosts in-game events that reward unique items, motifs, or consumables. These items often become valuable once the event ends.
Event Strategy:
Participate in the event to earn exclusive items.
Stockpile items that may increase in value over time.
Sell duplicates through guild traders or directly to other players.
7. Retiring Unused Items: Inventory Clean-Up
Many players accumulate valuable items over time without realizing it. Periodically clean out your inventory and check the value of old gear, materials, or collectibles. Sell anything you don’t need to free up space and earn gold.
8. Long-Term Investments: Housing and Gardening
If you have access to housing, you can use it for profitable activities like gardening. For example, planting rare plants can yield materials used in high-demand potions or crafting recipes.
Closing Thoughts
Gold-making in ESO requires effort and strategy, but the opportunities are abundant. Whether you prefer daily tasks, crafting, farming, or flipping items, there’s a method that fits your playstyle. Focus on one or two methods at a time to build your wealth, and reinvest your earnings to expand your operations.
The key to buy ESO Gold success is persistence, market awareness, and efficient use of your time. With these tips, you’ll be well on your way to becoming one of Tamriel’s wealthiest adventurers. Happy gold hunting!