ESO Gold Making 2023: Best Ways for a Solo Player

TL;DR

  • Farm high-demand Overland sets like Briarheart and Mother’s Sorrow in specific zones for consistent income
  • Master crafting professions to create high-value items and leverage Master Writ opportunities
  • Focus on alchemy material harvesting in resource-rich areas for quick returns
  • Develop dedicated thief characters to maximize profits from stealing and motif discovery
  • Convert Tel Var Stones, Alliance Points, and Writ Vouchers into gold through strategic purchases

ESO gold serves as the primary economic backbone throughout Tamriel, enabling players to acquire everything from essential gear to luxury housing and convenience upgrades. This universal currency facilitates transactions for mounts, equipment repairs, consumables, and bank expansions, making wealth accumulation a fundamental aspect of character progression and gameplay enjoyment.

While numerous gold-making approaches exist in The Elder Scrolls Online, solo players benefit from methods that don’t require coordinated group activities. Many of the most valuable items actually come from accessible overland content rather than exclusive endgame activities, positioning independent adventurers for significant financial success.


This comprehensive guide from ArzyeL Gaming delivers battle-tested strategies that transform gold acquisition from a grind into a strategic gameplay element.

Targeting Popular Gear Sets for Maximum Returns

Overland set farming represents one of the most accessible and profitable activities for solo adventurers. Sets like Briarheart (Wrothgar), Spinner’s Garments (Malabal Tor), and Mother’s Sorrow (Deshaan) maintain consistent high demand due to their meta relevance across multiple builds and playstyles.

Strategic farming involves targeting specific content types in designated zones: Dolmens for jewelry, World Bosses for shoulder pieces, Delves for waist and feet items, and Public Dungeons for the remaining armor slots. This targeted approach significantly increases your efficiency compared to random exploration.

Treasure Chest Hunting and Route Optimization

Treasure chest farming provides an excellent complementary method to enemy farming, offering not only set pieces but also supplemental gold, crafting materials, and valuable glyphs.

Unlocking a Treasure Chest in ESO

Unlocking a Treasure Chest in ESO

Navigating Tamriel’s vast landscapes efficiently requires understanding spawn mechanics. Chests typically respawn every 5-7 minutes in fixed locations, making route planning essential. Popular addons like HarvestMap or LoreBooks can display chest locations, but manual route memorization in high-density areas like Auridon or Stonefalls often proves equally effective for dedicated farmers.

A common mistake new farmers make is immediately selling items at their dropped quality. Investing in improvement through crafting stations typically yields 200-400% higher profits for purple and gold quality items, making the initial investment in upgrade materials well worthwhile.

Crafting Potions in ESO

Crafting Potions in ESO


Crafting represents a long-term investment that delivers exceptional returns once properly developed. The initial time commitment researching traits and leveling skill lines pays substantial dividends through access to high-demand crafted sets, furniture, and consumables.

Successful crafters focus on mastering specific niches rather than attempting to excel at all professions simultaneously. Specializing in alchemy and provisioning often yields the quickest returns, while master blacksmithing and clothing provide sustained high-end profitability.

Market timing significantly impacts crafting profitability. Capitalize on new content releases when demand for specific crafted sets spikes, or focus on consistently popular items like training gear for new players or specific meta sets requested through custom orders.

Advanced crafters leverage market fluctuations by stockpiling materials during off-peak periods and crafting during high-demand windows, often around major updates or seasonal events.

Collecting Materials in ESO

Collecting Materials in ESO


Material harvesting stands as the most beginner-friendly gold-making method, requiring no prior investment or skill development. Even fresh characters can immediately generate income through resource collection in resource-dense regions.

Strategic harvesting focuses on high-value alchemy ingredients like Columbine, Mountain Flower, and Bugloss, which consistently command premium prices at guild traders due to their essential role in endgame potion crafting.

Prime farming locations include Craglorn for its concentrated resource nodes, Hew’s Bane for alchemy plants, and Coldharbour for its varied material distribution.

Creating a dedicated harvesting character with the appropriate Champion Point allocations and gear sets can increase yield by 40-60%, though this optimization becomes more valuable for dedicated farmers than casual collectors.

Many players underestimate the value of provisioning materials, but certain rare recipes require ingredients that sell for substantial sums, making comprehensive harvesting more profitable than selective collection.

Pickpocketing in ESO

Pickpocketing in ESO


Thievery introduces an engaging gameplay loop that generates consistent income through multiple activities including pickpocketing, lockbox opening, and general theft.

The most substantial profits from criminal activities come from discovering rare motifs, particularly those from newer zones or limited-time events that command exceptional market values.

Building an effective thief requires investment in the Legerdemain skill line for reduced detection and increased yields, complemented by Thieves Guild abilities for enhanced escape options.

Zone selection dramatically impacts thieving profitability. Target newer DLC zones where motif drop rates remain favorable and item values stay elevated due to lower market saturation.

Advanced thieves often incorporate Vampire skills for the passive movement speed and detection reduction benefits, though this requires careful management of vampire stages to avoid unwanted attention from guards and NPCs.

Tamriel’s secondary currencies—Tel Var Stones, Writ Vouchers, and Alliance Points—offer specialized conversion opportunities that complement traditional gold-making methods.

Tel Var Stone Conversion Strategies

Tel Var Stone accumulation provides PvP-oriented players with substantial gold conversion potential. Beyond daily rewards, these stones are exclusively obtained through Imperial City activities, both PvE and PvP.

Strategic purchasing from Tel Var vendors focuses on items with the highest gold-to-stone conversion ratios, typically crafting materials, specific gear sets, and valuable consumables.

Alliance Points Utilization for Profit

Spending AP at the Golden Vedor

Spending AP at the Golden Vedor


Alliance Points accumulated through Cyrodiil campaigns enable purchases of exclusive items from Golden and Town Merchants that can be resold for significant gold profits.

PvP enthusiasts should focus on AP-earning activities that align with their playstyle, whether through large-scale siege warfare, small-group skirmishing, or objective-focused play.

Writ Voucher Maximization Techniques

Writ Vouchers represent the pinnacle of crafting-based currency conversion. These vouchers, rewarded exclusively through Master Writ completion, enable purchases from Rolis Hlaalu and Faustina Curio.

Advanced crafters maximize Writ Voucher profitability by targeting furnishings, rare recipes, and motifs with consistent market demand and limited availability.

Action Checklist

  • Identify 2-3 high-demand Overland sets and map their farming zones
  • Create dedicated farming routes in resource-rich zones like Craglorn or Deshaan
  • Level crafting professions focusing on alchemy and provisioning first
  • Develop a thief character with optimized Legerdemain and escape skills
  • Convert accumulated secondary currencies during peak market demand periods

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