I've been rather busy these past few weeks. I started training for WFH, but that's on hold so I'm back into the game while waiting for a resolution from Corporate.

I've got several projects on my honey do list:

Get Stefan Arngrimsson through his Caldwell's Gold. Currently we are about 1/3 of the way through Shadowfen.
Max out Argis's Antiquity skills. Currently he's at 10 in Excavating and just a hair away from 10 in Scrying.
Level up Lady Cora's Antiquity skills by getting all the free greens and blues (and eventually purples) in all the base game zones and she gets the first treasure chest perk.
Help Phae and Stefan with their Alliance skills so they can get the skills they need on their bars (Caltrops). Scouting missions during Midyear Mayhem might be the way to go . . .
Finish decorating Phae's newest housing build, Orbservatory Prior.
Get Julian through Southern Elsweyr and Craglorn, and maybe start her in Vvardenfell.

and the list goes on . . .

I had to look up WTF. . . er, I mean WFH to learn what you meant (Work From Home).

There's always plenty to do in game! I love seeing how Lady Cora has joined Julian and your other familiar characters. Perhaps someday she will inspire you to continue the Barefoot Witch's wonderful story.

Antiquities has been a lot of fun. I don’t even mind digging up the entirety of Artaeum for the steaming treasure chest perk. It’s pretty there and the weather is always nice.

Stamden Jerric took me through our first trial ever this weekend – vet Hel Ra Citadel. He didn’t mean to do it, but some folks needed help and promised that it was easy (for them), that they would call out the mechanics (which they occasionally did), and that it would be fun (it was!). He got the crew a new shiny dye color and there was much rejoicing.

EU character Fleur has hit CP100, and also Rank 9 in her Clothier skill. If we can get her to 10 before she turns CP160, there's a chance she can make a reasonable set of gear to go farming Spriggan's with. We're mainly doing Dolmens for the jewels to deconstruct, and the miscellaneous loot is feeding the other skills. At this level, nothing is worth keeping, as it's all about to be replaced.

She's gone into Cyro for her training, which left her at Alliance rank 3-and-a-half, so she'll need to do some BG's for the Warhorn, Vigor and Caltrops while the double AP is available. Al may do a few more on NA, too, as he also doesn't have the Caltrops,

On NA, only the two youngest are still doing the daily rounds of mount training and Bolgrul delves, although Clark and Leveque have a few more traits to research, so they get loaded from time to time. Unna collects her hireling mail, even though it's the same each time now, and Laurie keeps the bank clear, and does Master writs as they come in. She needs to collect some furnishing materials, and do some more of that this weekend. We have too many empty houses.

Wow, Congrats to Jerric!!!!!

I am also loving the Antiquities, whichever Dev came up with that one = Kudos!!!!!!

*

I broke down and finally bought the house in Wayrest I've been wanting since Housing came out, lol. It won't be decorated for a LONG time; just really glad to finally have it!

In other news: I have three new "Baby" characters = but only one is playing at this time = Amiela Imbel (from Oblivion Lore and Maxical's story, lol).

** In Oblivion Lore she is the wife of Jakben Imbel; but in Maxical's story = Jakben Imbel is actually Dagoth-Malan using illusion magic to LOOK like Jakben Imbel (while the real Jakben Imbel is being held prisoner in Dagoth-Malan's dungeon) and Amiela was technically actually Dagoth-Malan's wife. Since I added Dagoth-Malan to my game; may as well have Amiela too!

Amiela is a Breton Templar. She just turned Level 31 (late last night or early this morning). Here is a picture of her with her pet wolf:


https://imgur.com/tf90QXT




*

Welcome to Amiela!

Fleur, my EU character, needs some advice.

She's at CP154 and has L50 and Rank 10 in Clothier and Blacksmith, so she can make her own set armour when she hits CP160. She has also collected 350 rubedo hide, 200 ancestor silk, and 150+ rubedite, so with a few more hides, she will have enough material, too. She left the quest that grants a Spriggan's bow for later, and has access to all the wayshrines in Bangkorai to go dolmen-running for her jewels. Research completed is a mix of 3 and 4 traits.

What I can't decide is whether to make a set of Night's Silence (only two traits needed) now (at CP150), and keep the materials for when she can make six-trait sets; make a set at CP160 when she gets there, and collect again; or re-spec as a tank, and see if we can make Fortified Brass (4 traits), and collect Plague Doctor.

What is Fleur's class, weaponry choices (looks like DW/?) and intended primary combat use?

She's a DK, and currently DW, but has raised S&B enough to change over if she wants. She has the re-spec scrolls from log-in rewards and so can do so for free. Since we are few on EU, I wanted to leave her flexible on role, except that I don't know how to heal well.

Sounds like a tough line fighter. I think Rider has a DK like that who does very well - not sure on her gear though. Buffy can't help much on this. Her stam variants are bow/bow and trend toward Hunding's Rage + Spriggans + Slimecraw = simple & effective.

@ghastley and @Acadian: Maz my stamDK is actually a DPS build, this is what I"m using for her: https://alcasthq.com/eso-stamina-dragonknight-2h-build-pve/ using the craftable set (third option). However, I'm considering switching her to https://alcasthq.com/eso-solo-stamina-drago...ight-build-pve/ and collecting Briarheart (the second option). Now that I've done vet content (one dungeon, for the Iceheart helm), I'm comfortable going out for more monster heads. I did come across this that might be more useful for Fleur's build - it's worth looking at, and you can start with that and go from there.

Alcast's recommendations aren't perfect, since everyone has a different play style. I find it difficult sometimes to follow his recommendations, especially when it comes to switching bars in the middle of a fight. I don't do that nearly as often as I should, so some of these builds work better for some of my toons than others. I've been using his group/role builds (DPS, tank, healer), but because I've been doing mostly solo work, I'm taking a look at his specialized solo builds for most of my toons. Rescues I've got maxed out on her Sorc Healer build, and I'm really happy with how that is working as a solo player, but Maz's build leaves something to be desired, which is why I'm looking at switching her over to Alcast's solo build. Stefan was originally spec'd as a Templar tank (not the best class for that role but . . . ) but I recently respec'ed him as a solo stamplar DPS to get through his solo content quicker. I did save his Tank armor for those times he'd go as group tank, but he'll never be the caliber that Bear's tanks are.

I'm maxed out at nine toons, so if I'm to add another toon, it would require buying more slots from the CS. As I already spend enough cash on housing (and the occasional motif book for Maz), it's something I'm hesitant to jump into. Especially since none of my toons have completed all the zones (Alise is currently closest)!

I hope that helps, ghastley! Good luck!

mALX, a warm welcome to Amiela! She looks great! I look forward to running around Cyrodiil with her.



Stam DK Jerric is a solo guy now because he got bored with having a tank build and never tanking. He’s using Spriggan’s and Hunding’s. I’d do the CP150 armor set to use until Fleur knows exactly what she wants and/or has researched the traits to get it, but I’d make her weapons CP160. It’s more fun to do more damage and take more damage than to chop wood and dig up ore.

I didn't notice when her latest drop of enlightenment kicked in, so she shot up to CP160 before I could execute on option 1. So she got a CP160 set of Night's Silence (mostly green, as we don't have the embroidery to go further). That made her confident enough to go grab some Spriggan's jewels at the Bangkorai dolmens, and the bow from the Sentinel quest, which make a second set on the back bar. So now she needs Spriggan's axes for the fron bar, and we start looking for WB's in Bangkorai. The first up is the Watcher's camp, and she drops us a second bow! The frostie at Nilata Falls dropped a jack, not a weapon. There's nobody else around at the others, as we aren't ready to solo yet, by a long way.

When she has enough research done, Hunding's is in the plans, but she can only manage 4 traits yet.

@Rider: I run approximately Alcast's Hunding's/Briarheart build on Taminwe and Al (neither DK's, but his builds are similar for all classes), and the other S&B one on Clark. Both of those had the benefit of Laurie's crafting, so they could have the better sets. Fleur has only her own skills, which are not there yet. Note that you can use two Materre's Bodkins if one of your other characters does the quest as well. You can only collect one per character, but they're not character bound, so you can pass it across. That's what Tami has.

Clark likes the S&B power bash as a spammable, but he thinks using Noxious Breath too much may have social issues.

Fleur has passed CP200, and really wants to make herself better gear, but she's only doing 5 traits on the pieces she uses. Naturally, the RNG system is keeping those dropping with traits she knows, or none at all. Similarly, her trips to Wrothgar to do skyshard-hunting and dailies have produced Briarheart armour, where she wants jewelry and weapons.

Back on NA, Ma'Licious and Al have both reached maximum mount speed, and will switch to capacity lessons next. Taminwe wishes more characters were doing Jewel Crafting writs, as she's so close to L50 in that.

Later: Fleur has made her first piece of Hunding's (Boots), but still has to wait for more loot with the right traits for the other pieces. She has Bracers in research at present, so they'll be next, but the Cuirass and Guards are like hen's teeth. The waist will probably be light, but Monster head or shoulders in light is also a possibility.

She did her first Master writ - an Alchemy one for a whole TWO vouchers, and an achievement. If she wants her own home with crafting stations, she'll want to do more. We have the gold for a Sleek Creek, or a Mournoth Keep, but can't choose. Since Sugar Bowl covers the "port home to wayshrine" angle, Sleek Creek's proximity to riding lessons and writs is pulling us that way.

Ma'Licious and Al continue doing riding lessons and Bolgrul's daily. They're also collecting Skyshards to raise crafting ranks.

More: Fleur collected a cuirass with a trait she could research (for #6) and it was Divines, the one she'll want to use. Now just need a research slot for it. Researchable guards are still elusive. She also finally got another Mastic from her refining, and was able to get past purple and gold out her Spriggan's Bow.

She does regular visits to Bangkorai running the dolmens for better jewels, but if it's Spriggan's it's always blue or lower. Meanwhile my NA characters are getting purples because they don't need them.

Fleur did the Northern Elsweyr quest-line (because she's found all the Alliance skyshards, and almost finished Cadwell's Gold) so now she has two homes. Both of them are in Rimmen.

On to Southern Elsweyr, and she is about to start the quest "The Dragonguard". We were hoping that the quest rewards would provide the wood items she needs for research, but the game keeps giving us traits she knows.

Sword and Board reached 50, from just one skill being slotted unused on her main bar. I rotated which one it was, so she has level IV on her Pierce Armour, Heroic Slash, and Absorb Missile. Inner Rage has also taken a turn, so she'll be ready to tank once I get Talons up to speed.

She's still undecided on where to live. We can afford a Sleek Creek, or any of that level. She knows some furnishing plans, scattered around the styles, and can move her Imperial bed from the Sugar Bowl if she needs to do so. Her home needs space for a full set of crafting stations, but so far she only has two vouchers.

Fleur has made herself five pieces of Hunding's (Cuirass, Boots, Bracers and Arm Cops in Divines, and an impen Sash) all purpled. She's waiting (impatiently) for her last couple of levels of Enchanting before she adds that.

This means she can make that set for anyone else, and a few other pieces in other traits. Julianos is also possible, although she won't be using a set. Training is a well-known trait, as she's researched, not deonstructed the early pieces. So if anyone needs gear for their characters, let me know. Fleur has decent stocks of the materials she's outgrown, too.

She'll be farming the dolmens for better Spriggan's jewels, but she's also doing Wroithgar dailies for Braiarheart pieces. If she gets enough, that might replace Spriggan's. Green pact and Plague Doctor items are selectively retained, in case she wants a tank outfit.

Another Hunding's + Spriggans fan - simple and effective.

Some more Fleur milestones passed:

She's got a Nirnhoned trait in research, after completing the Craglorn quests. She still needs a Potent Nirncrux, before she can make anything, but hopefully she'll find one before the research is over. Naturally it was an axe, where she already knew seven traits, so it's almost the maximum research time. Potent Nirncrux dropped along with a Fortified one, from the last rubedite node of her circuit of Craglorn yesterday (08/14).

Done enough master writs to buy a home crafting station - she got Clothier just because her next research slot to open will be one for that. Of course, she wants a complete set, but that takes time.

Made her first Bed. The imperial one from leveling up is in the Sugar Bowl Suite, and more homes need more beds. She can make several types, and they'll probably get used to match the homes, just like Laurie does on NA.

Hired a banker. Then they went on sale.

Visited Western Skyrim. I bought Greymoor upgrade when it went on sale. Fleur hasn't done more than drop in and find the Solitude wayshrine - the one inside the city.

My other EU cjaracter, Nadja the Naked Nord, just hit level 50. Fleur made her her set of CP160 Julianos' (Hat, Bracers, Sabatons, and two lightning staves) and she went looking for her Mother's Sorrow pieces in Deshaan.

Lady Llarel dropped a Sash on our first visit. Then the dolmen around the corner gave her a ring, and we went off to Siltreen for another, ... and got it! So only the Necklace needed.

Every dolmen since, she's had to solo, and has given us more rings, or the wrong set. At least she still has the level 45 one, so she still gets some 4-piece bonus, even if it's not the full amount.

Buffy stepped out of the Snugpod after a good night's sleep. Her feet carried her the short distance to the Elden Root stable where her attention was drawn to a nearby crew digging holes in the ground. When Buffy approached the mage who appeared to be in charge, she learned the group was with the Antiquarian Society and searching for a relic. Accompanying the mage was a Fighters Guild bodyguard and a Dunmeri digger. The group also had a guar and donkey - both heavily loaded with supplies.

The mage informed Buffy that after the dig was over, she had been invited to be a houseguest by several friends and was deciding who she should take up on the offer.



* Indeed, I think Buffy encountered the housing system's first houseguest, likely to be awarded to all owners of the Graymoor Chapter if the current Antiquities event is successful.

Progress on unlocking the community event rewards can be tracked here: https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/losttreasures

Oh, this is Awesome! I am going to hurry over to Davon's Watch stable and see if I see anyone there doing this!

That is so neat! I will have my head on a swivel looking out for that scene!!

The digging crew was still hard at work outside the Snugpod when Buffy got up this morning. She learned the Antiquarian in charge of the site is named Eveline San and that it seems the Antiquarian actually looking for a good home is a colleague named Antiquarian Phedre.

Edit/update: Progress toward the community goal is being updated once a day at 10:00 AM EDT. After one full day, we are 11% of the way toward our goal of 100%. ZoS has not offered any translation regarding what the actual numbers are. Perhaps they are providing themselves a bit of flexibility to assess how progress goes.

Ciri shall likewise keep an eye out for these folks, and might do some digging to contribute a little to the goal.

We've just finished up business in Elsweyr - quite the adventure! The depictions of Khajiiti culture and senche variants were particularly good. The general dragon stuff was kind of meh for me personally, but the characters (both old and new) we met along the way were a ton of fun.

Now Skyrim awaits, and so far we're really enjoying it. Skyrim, specifically Solitude, is particularly significant for Dunmer Ciri. Perhaps this might be the spark of inspiration I need to actually write down the headcanon I have for her. We shall see.

I agree on Elsweyr - love the Alfiqs! Especially little drunken magey ones. And yep, Solitude was well done and generates some nice nostalgia.

I swear those crack me up every time! And at the same time terrify me! A pissed off drunk house cat armed with spells? Yikes! I adore them to bits.

My Nadja the Naked Nord has been a bad influence on the others.

Laurie decided it looked like fun and attempted to solo World Bosses in her undies. (Note: do not let World Bosses wear your undies - they're usually not the right size or shape). After two failures, where others turned up to help before she was finished, she did manage to defeat the Mama Duneripper at Lost Caravan. No pictures, because she's shy. As a tank, it was a slow job, of course. I don't think she'll try it again, but someone else might.

Next up: naked dungeon run! Some would say that Nadja has been a good influence on the others.

And now Blossom heard about the "Master Grappler" achievement, and was ready to strip off and oil up for a bit of wrestling. She was disappointed to discover it was all just a bow and posts obstacle course. She got the title, but thinks it would have suited Laurie Craft better.

ETA: I have since discovered that there is a PvP guild, or at least sub-group of a guild, called the Naked Nords, who have essentially the same dress code as Nadja does. I.e chest/legs/shoulders bare. Many of them waste the opportunity by using male characters.

Fleur finally got the vouchers together to buy the last crafting station for EU Sleek Creek. There was a brief moment of panic when we realised that they're sold by Faustina Curio, who usually won't deal with anyone who hasn't done 100 Master Writs. Fortunately, the Jewel crafting stations are an exception, and we could have one, if a bit grudgingly.

Fleur has now turned her attention to antiquities, as we got a lead for the fancy triptych Echos of Aldmeris; that's at Ultimate level, so she needs to reach level 10 before it expires! And although the NA squad doesn't have the lead, Floozie is trying to grind up the last half a level, too, just in case.

Tiddli has reached that point in the 40's where the n00b buff is wearing off as fast as she's adding to her stats. We're doing dolmens in the mornings, while there are players around to help. Apart from Alik'r where you can't get a hit on anything before the mob kills it, there's nobody running the others. She solo'd all the Auridon circuit one evening, and she doesn't want to do it again for a while. Maybe after she hits L50, and I let her have the CP.

That tri picture antiquity is as pretty as the picture makes it look. Buffy has one in her warehouse and it is indeed gorgeous. I hope Fleur is able to get it.

Buffy as a Magblade, after some tweaks has joined the 'big girl Buffy club' (Magplar, Magsorc, Magward, Bowsorc) so she recently started antiquities for the L7 glowy chest perk (treasure chests, not her own, lol). Acadian (DK tank), Bowward, Bowplar, Bowblade remain on the sidelines as helpful experiments to decide what works for us and what does not. Generally, our cut off for the big girl club is that they feel fun and can no-death solo Vaults of Madness on normal, as well as most alliance zone WBs.

Well, I've just got Floozie up to level 10 in Scrying and Excavation, so she can do that one if it drops. Meanwhile Fleur is down in the 8's, and doing every lead she's got to try and catch up.

At least I'll have more time for that now Tiddli has reached Champion, and bashed Molag Bal. They all still have their daily chores, but Fleur may get more work on Antiquities now.

Both the NA and EU teams got the final lead to drop for the Ring of the Pale Order, so Floozie and Nadja each have one.

Floozie would like to put together a set of Rattlecage (Helm, staves, necklace and ring), so she can use it with a random Undauntyed shoulder. So Clarke went off and tried to gather some from a solo nVoM run. He did OK up to the Mad Architect, but then got swarmed by all the adds he summons. And all he had to show for it was three pieces of armour, none of which was the helm. Today Blossom tried, with much the same result, except that she manged to get a staff - Despair.

So if anyone else fancies a run through there, we'll wait for reinforcements. It's long way for one player with not much dropping, and I don't have the patience to PUG.

Buffy loves nVoM and solos it routinely. This weekend is not good but assuming you're talking PC NA, Buffy could be up for it on Monday? We could certainly duo it but happy to have up to two more join in. Depending on who shows up for next Friday's guild meeting, we could consider running it then too.

Guild meet would be during Undaunted event, so extra good. I suspect multiple runs willl be needed for specific items to drop, so Monday, too.

Buffy will check to see if Floozie is up on Monday at 5 PM EST unless you need a different time.

Though not needed for us to get through, up to two other slots are available for anyone who wants to join us.

More people = more loot, so they'd be most welcome. Getting only one piece from each boss was one of my main reasons for quitting the solo runs.

I will run VoM with you, any excuse for a dungeon adventure!

After all that VoM'ing (and mining for the materials for the upgrades), most of my crew were worn out. So I bought the Warden class + another slot, and created Vicuña the Dunmer (old friend of Clark),

She will probably end up as a tank, but while she levels up she'll do a bit of everything, to try out the skills.

Her outfit may alreadt be settled. If a Nord can do it, so can a Dark Elf, and better!

I think I remember her name from your story! Very pretty!

Welcome to Vicuña! Buffy quite enjoys it when she plays as a warden - a very fun and flexible class.

And she's made it to CP. No appearance change, but the little she wears is now 5xTorug's + 4xFortified Brass, which seems to give her a fighting chance as a naked tank.

Making her the jewels drained most of out surveys - Iridium and Zircon were in short supply. I probably should made her wear plain dropped jewels on the way there, instead of improving some.

Maybe I should take her to VoM and try to get Floozie a Restoration staff.

A couple days ago, I added my 8th character to the roster, something I never thought I'd even come close to. I bought the Warden class with my newly replenished crown and this time started a Nord. Her name is Hjelmina Frostshield. And I gotta say...I don't like the Warden class. Like, at all.

That actually may be a bit strong; there are a few interesting things about it. I still want to see what the other skills are like to try them out and know what's being used against me when I'm in Cyrodiil PvPing. But it seems to be the class that least fits me as a player. There isn't much enjoyment that I'm getting out of it, but I want to see it through.

In any case, that leaves Khajiit as the only race I have not made a character of yet--besides Imperial, but I'm not sure if I'm going to buy that with crowns, because then I'd have to buy another character slot. I don't know if the Imperial Edition upgrade would give me one. But here is the roster as it stands.

• Cincinnatus of Lilmoth - Argonian Dragonknight; the first; does the vast majority of things; you know the guy, he's the Greatest of All-Time
• Evelona Mathieu - Breton Sorceress; magicka DPS and the top thief of the crew, by far
• Mariah the Honey-Voiced - Redguard Templar; easily the poorest job I've done building a character (I know Redguards' passives are not conducive to being Templars, but I just wanted to try out Templar then and I wanted a Redguard character), so she will need some serious respecs
• Grazba Gra-Nagorm - Orc Dragonknight; stamina DPS and she is definitely the most voluptuous Orc you'll have ever seen; she is the designated character I take on PvP raids and she deals death in spades
• Thonir the Thicc-Skin - Bosmer Nightblade; he's my short and fat character, my Murder Bosmer, my Murder Midget; he internalized being made of fun when he was young, and now he kills people (great character development, as you can see); I experienced the Dark Brotherhood questline with him but now that that is over I'm probably going to retire the whole murder shtick--unless it's somebody who deserves it
• Vlera Adranen - Dunmer Necromancer; magicka DPS; haven't used her in a while, so I'll need to take her out for a spin again sometime soon
• Alesanarwen - Altmer Dragonknight; magicka DPS; my attempt at a full-on magicka DK, and I think it has worked out pretty well; she ran her first veteran dungeon the other knight with Gosse and a couple other people we know in Wayrest Sewers 1 and she did very well
• Hjelmina Frostshield - Nord Warden; see the above; she's still an experiment in progress, surpassing level 20 earlier today

While I don't know what class I am going to make him, I can tell you what my Khajiit's name is going to be: S'rathra. Like Mariah, he's a reference to a character from The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard from 1998. But it's a lot less subtle of a reference than Mariah is, given that S'rathra is a pretty unique name. The S'rathra that is the inspiration for this character is in TESA: Redguard's intro cinematic, the one who notifies Cyrus, the game's protagonist and who you play as, that his sister is missing, which is the initial plot point of the game.

Nice run down of the Rader barracks!

Vicuña found the first few levels difficult, too. The useful stuff seems to come in the morphs, later, and don't get me started about the bear blocking every corpse I wanted to loot.

But now she's gone full tank, and stopped using the bear, she's a lot happier. We just solo'ed her first WB today - at 8 days old and still naked. It was that Daedroth at Sren'ja Docks, the only one we know who's obscure enough for us not get help when we're trying to solo.

Ooh, I like this little "playing card" list of all your characters!








Wow, Awesome that she is able to do naked what none of my characters can do fully armored!!!

Vicuña, being in a silly mood, decided to go solo Crypt of Hearts, and get some more pieces of Ebon Armory. This was definitely a silly idea, as Archmaster Siniel can summon zombies faster than a tank can kill them, and he's invulnerable until you do so. So we had a stalemate, and gave up. It's much like taking on Sharpfang the Troll, in that neither will win, and you just get too tired to continue.

And all she came out with was yet another pair of sabatons.

Jerric is hunting for a Leviathan ring and battleaxe, so he is a regular in Crypt of Hearts. Maybe we could get him together with Vicuña. They would probably each get what they don't want, which should work out!

That sounds like a plan!

Well of course my machine threw a wobbly, and it never happened, but Vicuña has made progress on other fronts. She has maxed out all her crafting, level and rank, and has all the skills on her bars that she needs. Warhorn is rising at a glacial pace, but may get morphed by the Guild meet. She has the skill point waiting for that.

So if you find her online, she may just want to farm nCoH.