These are the 9 best beginner sets in ESO as of 2024.
Every set is free drops at any level, which means free to get as soon as you start playing the Elder Scrolls Online.
You don’t need to be in a group, dungeons, trials, or arenas to get them, and they are all extremely easy to get/farm.
To be able to craft anything, you need materials, here are the best farming spots in ESO.
This list of the 10 best beginner sets will include both sets from the Basegame and DLCs, I will make sure to mark every set whether or not a DLC is needed for it. The sets will also be a mix of Light, Medium, and Heavy armor, that way it will be easy for you to pick sets that match the role (Tank, Heal, or DD) you fancy playing.
All sets are what we call overland sets, which essentially means sets you don’t need to go into a dungeon or a trial to get. However, you can get them in Public Dungeons, Delves, and treasure chests. Weapons usually drop from World Bosses, but you may obtain them from treasure chests, random mob kills, and delve bosses, I do recommend though that if you get the chance to get in on some World boss action, you take it, since it’s a guaranteed weapon drop, that you don’t already have.
With update 33, we got a sticker book (in-game press U, tab furthest to the right), and any set item you ever had can be made again with Transmute Crystals.
See how to farm Transmute Crystals here. All you have to do is go to the Transmute machine in Clockwork City and choose the item you want to reconstruct.
Here is how to make glyphs for your armor.
10) Armor Of The Trainee – (Light, Medium, and Heavy Armor)
Zone: Kenarthi’s Roost, Bleakrock Isle, Stros M’Kai (Base Game)
Starting at number 10 we have probably the easiest gear set to obtain in the game, Armor of the Trainee.
This set drops in all weights (light, medium, and heavy) it only comes with the training trait which helps you earn XP faster, making it an even better beginner set for leveling up. However, when you reach endgame content, especially PvP, you might want to reconstruct it with a trait suited for your build.
While most sets in ESO only drop in one specific zone, Armor of the Trainee drops in three!
You can get it from your faction starter zones of Kenarthi’s Roost (Aldmeri Dominion), Bleakrock Isle(Ebonhart Pact), and Stros M’Kai (Daggerfall Covenant).
Unlike most regular overland zones in the game, these three starter zones don’t drop any other armor sets, so every drop you get in this zone will be a match. This will make it very easy to quickly get up to that 5 piece bonus.
Almost every major quest and side quest in these zones will usually drop a specific piece, so doing those starter quests will be a great way to get pieces quickly. In addition to quests, all 3 starter islands have a high probability of spawning treasure chests, which can drop those set-pieces as well, so make sure you bring some lockpicks with you.
Armor of the Trainee increases your maximum health, Magicka, and stamina, while the 5-piece set bonus gives you even more max resources, making this a great all-around set for any beginner build in the Elder Scrolls Online.
This is however only 1 out of the 10 best beginner sets so keep on reading.
9) Mother’s Sorrow – (Light Armor)
Zone: Deshaan (Base Game)
Coming in at number 9 we have another very popular set from the base game and that’s Mother’s Sorrow.
This set is great for all Magicka builds and is even used by some end-game players for PVE Group Dungeon and Trial content.
You’ll get a lot of use from this set if you like playing Magicka builds. For the 2-piece bonus, we have max Magicka and then everything else is Spell Critical.
Mother’s Sorrow has been a popular set for years, and it seems that high crit chance builds are on the decline, this could very well get a revival and be one of those sets you are happy to have in your sticker book.
This set comes from the zone of Deshaan, which is very easy to farm. This area in the northwest corner of the zone has a Delve, a public dungeon, and a Dolmen all in one area which makes it an ideal location for farming pieces for this set quickly. If you are lower level, then start in the Delve and farm the Delve boss while you look for treasure chests, then work your way up to the public dungeon and Dolmens as you get stronger.
Finally, there is a very easy quest where you can obtain a Mother’s Sorrow lightning staff in the town of Silent Mire, and you can always reconstruct it as champion point 160 gear when you get to it.
Set Piece Locations
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
- Quests:
- Argonian Muck Minder of Mother’s Sorrow (Lightning Staff) – given by Leel-Vata for the quest “The Saving of Silent Mire” – Silent Mire
- Plague Mask (head) – given by Aerona Berendas for the quest “Bad Medicine” – Quarantine Serk
- Selforan Temple Sash (waist) – given by Forlorn One for the quest “Rescue and Revenge” – Selfora Temple
8) Beekeeper – (Heavy Armor)
Zone: Greenshade
The Beekeeper set of Greenshade is a great starter Tank set, but also a great set for any class soloing besides the templar (Templar selfheal is more than enough). The Beekeeper set gives you health x 3 and 900 health regeneration.
If you go the passive healing route as this great beginner set invites you to, you should use the Steed Mundus boon, as it will give you even more Health Regeneration, also use the Corrupting Bloody Mara food buff for another 505 Health Regeneration or the Bewitched Sugar Skulls. See the best 10 food buffs here.
Even though the Beekeeper set is on the list of best beginner sets in ESO, some people use it for Turtle PvP Builds, it’s especially great on werewolf builds.
Last but not least, for this PvP werewolf build the Gaze of Sithis mythic item is great, it’s not amongst the best beginner sets, as it will take you a while to collect all the parts. But it is a fun way to make an insane amount of health recovery, as it adds 1025 health recovery!!!
Piece Set Locations
This is an overland set.
Overland sets drop according to the following rules:
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
- Unique pieces:
- Archmage Macano’s Mace of the Beekeeper, a unique drop from Archmage Camaano ruins of Naril Nagaia.
- Beasthunter’s Pauldrons of the Beekeeper, a unique drop from Razorclaw a large white Senche-tiger found at the end of Harridan’s Lair.
- Storm Staff of the Beekeeper, a unique drop from Zymel Etitan a unique storm Atronach Group Boss found at Pelda Tarn.
- Jahlasri’s Shield of the Beekeeper, a unique drop from Jahlasri a Maormar found at the Maomar Camp in Greenshade.
7) Hide of the Werewolf (Medium Armor)
Zone: Glenumbra (Basegame)
If you like to use your Ultimate skills, this is the best beginner sets for you, as you will get extra Ultimate just for taking a punch!
Hide of the Werewolf is a medium armor set, and as such works best with Stamina Builds, but with the hybridization changes made in 2022, this set can be used by anyone. However, Magicka based Damage Dealers might prefer to use jewelry and weapons from this set.
(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) When you take damage, you generate 6 Ultimate. This effect can occur once every 5 seconds.
The top 10 best beginner sets in ESO come down to playstyle, which is why I have tried to list the 10 sets that will give you choices, and ultimately fun!
I love this set on a Dragonknight, as the ultimate Dragonleap in my opinion is the most fun skill in the game.
If you are not into having fun, this should not have made it into the best beginner sets, as it is not the highest damage output you will get from this.
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
6) Shadow Dancer’s Rainment (Medium Armor)
Zone: Greenshade
This might just be the set for you, if you have long fingers, and have a difficult time remembering what is yours, and what belongs to others.
I’m not calling you a thief, but if this armor fits, you might just get away with it.
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 129 Stamina Recovery, Ignore the Movement Speed penalty of Sneak.
If you ever find yourself in Greenshade, I recommend you pick up this set, as it will help you loads with Dark Brotherhood and Thieves Guild quests and skill line leveling. That is why this set made the list of best beginner sets because we all need to level those skill lines at some point. The passives are simply too good to pass up, and doing the quest for the Dark Brotherhood and the Thief Guild is needed to make it happen.
Delve Boss: feet, waist
Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
Dolmen: ring or neck
5) Spriggan’s Thorns (Medium Armor)
Zone: Bangkorai (Base Game)
Set number 5 is Spriggan’s Thorns which is the Stamina equivalent to Spinner’s Garments that you will see at number 4.
Just like Spinner’s, Spriggan’s has very strong 2-4 piece bonuses, and the 5 piece bonus will increase all of your outgoing damage automatically, including single target damage, AOE (Area of Effect) damage, and DoT’s (damage over time).
Spriggan’s comes from the zone of Bangkorai which is a base game zone, so no special DLCs are required for this one.
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 3460 Offensive Penetration
You can get almost a full set of Spriggan’s simply from questing in Bangkorai. For example, the 2 Handed Maul called Foe-Smasher can be earned by talking to Squire Theo in Murcien’s Hamlet.
The unique shoulder piece called Hircine’s Boon can be earned by completing Wyress Linnae’s quest at the Fallen Grotto. These are both fairly simple quests that you can complete in about 10 minutes each. You can find more quests to complete for set pieces below:
Set Piece Locations
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
- Quests:
- Anexiel’s Thorax (chest) – “A Marriage In Ruins” – Nalata Ruins
- Hircine’s Boon (shoulder) – “The Heart Of The Beast” – Fallen Grotto
- Sentinel’s Longbow (bow) – “The Will Of The Woods” – Viridian Woods
- Chausses of the Cured (legs) – “Freedom’s Chains” – Kerbol’s Hollow
- Foe-Smasher (2h Maul) – “The Charge Of Evermore” – Murcien’s Hamlet
- Stone-Skin Gloves (hands) – “Tongues of Stone” – Qharroa Ruins
4) Spinner’s Garments (Light Armor)
Zone: Malabal Tor (Base Game)
Set number 7 is the Spinner’s Garments set. Spinner’s is a popular and classic Light Armor set for ESO and is both powerful and easy to obtain. The 2-4 bonuses are especially strong because Max Magicka and Spell damage are ideal bonuses for any caster build in the game.
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 3460 Offensive Penetration
These two stats will increase your damage and your healing on most skills. The 5 piece bonus to Spell Penetration essentially makes all of your abilities hit even harder because it lets your attacks ignore a significant amount of your enemies’ resistances and increased damage is always good, whether you’re playing in PVE or PVP content.
Spinner’s Garments drops in the base game zone of Malabal Tor and as usual, it can be obtained from Delves, Dolmens, the Public Dungeon, World Bosses, and treasure chests. My favorite location for farming this set is the Black Vine ruins Delve located at the northeast corner of the map.
Remember that Delves bosses can drop waist and feet pieces so you should be able to get those pretty quickly. As you are working on those you can then walk right outside to see if anyone is destroying the Dolmen – get a few hits in for a chance at a jewelry piece once the Dolmen is defeated.
Set Piece Locations
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
3) Necropotence (Light Armor)
Zone: Rivenspire (Basegame)
Armor of the Necropotence is by far one of the best beginner sets, if you have pets that is.
Rivenspire was included in the basegame, so this set has proven itself since 2014, and is still a very strong set if you are a Magicka Warden or Magicka Sorcerer with Pets. The bonuses are as follows:
(2 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(5 items) While you have a pet active, your Max Magicka is increased by 3132.
This is great since this is the list of best beginner sets in ESO, but changes the last two years has made it so Spell Damage is now worth more than Max Magicka, and because of this it is only a very specific Pet build that can use this set in end-game content.
Necropotence drops like any other overland armor set
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
2) Briarheart (Medium Armor)
Zone: Wrothgar (Orsinium DLC needed)
We are closing in on the top of this list of the best beginner sets in ESO, and for most classes/builds this will be the absolute best beginner set.
Briarheart came with the Orsinium DLC, giving us the Wrothgar zone home of the orcs. Wrothgar might just be the best-sized DLC zone Zenimax ever launched. Briarheart was not the only great option from this zone. If you can get someone to craft a set of Julianos for you, it is still a great beginner set.
Briarheart is a medium armor set, which also means you might have to use weapons and jewelry for your build if you want to go Magicka-based Damage Dealer.
But if you go the Stamina route for Damage Dealing, you can use whatever pieces you like.
This set goes particulair well with our number 5 on this list of the best beginner sets, as Spriggan’s is also a medium armor set, and the combination of physical penetration from Spriggan’s with raw power and healing from Briarheart, you are damn near ustoppable!
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(5 items) When you deal Critical Damage, you increase your Weapon and Spell Damage by 450 for 10 seconds. While this effect is active your Critical Strikes heal you for 95 Health. This effect can occur once every 15 seconds and the heal scales off the higher of your Max Magicka or Stamina.
This is an overland set. Overland sets drop according to the following rules:
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
1) War Maiden (Light Armor)
Zone: Vvardenfell (Free DLC needed)
Finally the number 1 on the list of best beginner sets in ESO. War Maiden is from Vvardenfell a huge zone that came with the Morrowind DLC, and because it’s such an old DLC it is now included in the basegame/ free for all players. You might have to collect the DLC from the crownstore.
With that out of the way, the reason War Maiden is number one on the list of best beginner sets in ESO is that it’s the best Magicka Damage dealer set in the game with a whooping +729 Magicka spell damage. This also means that it is only number 1, if you want to play a Magicka Templar or Magicka Nightblade Damage Dealer, as those two classes sit on all the Magicka damage spells.
But as this is a list of best beginners sets, it really needs to be number 1, as no other overland basegame set will provide its class/user with such a big bonus.
I even use it sometimes in my 1-button 70k DPS build since it’s Magicka damage, and it performs just as well as Deadly Strike (not a beginner set, as you need to do a lot of PvP).
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Adds 600 Weapon and Spell Damage to your Magic Damage abilities.
- Delve Boss: feet, waist
- Public Dungeon Boss: shoulder, hand, or weapon
- World Boss: head, chest, legs, or weapon
- Dolmen: ring or neck
Best Beginner Sets in ESO honorable mentions
The Soul Shard skill line and quest will give you some great 1 bonus items, they are not on this list of best beginner sets.
Neither is the Willpower and Endurance sets you can get from doing random daily quests, as these best beginner sets are only from overland zones that you can do yourself.
I do hope you got value from this, and remember to check out the ultimate beginner’s guide I made, as well as the F.A.Q
If you need to make some gold, I recommend using these easy ways to make gold in ESO.
Thank you for reading my list of the best beginner sets in the Elder Scrolls Online.
If you want to play the Elder Scrolls Online on EasyMode, you need the Oakensoul Ring, you can find a guide on how to get it here.