Factions are organizations vying for control of Tamriel, money, power, or to accomplish any other number of goals. Many factions are joinable, with a variety of benefits for doing so. You can be a member of multiple factions at the same time.
For player-made guilds, see Guilds.
AlliancesEdit
The Alliances are the three primary factions in The Elder Scrolls Online. Every player must swear allegiance to one of these factions during Character Creation, and this allegiance cannot be changed without starting a new character or purchasing an Alliance Change token from the Crown Store.
- Aldmeri Dominion — A newly-formed alliance led by Queen Ayrenn that seeks to reestablish Elven custodianship over Tamriel.
- Daggerfall Covenant — A feudal alliance led by High King Emeric that seeks to restore the Second Empire and secure trade opportunities.
- Ebonheart Pact — A militaristic alliance led by Jorunn the Skald-King, united in its purpose to ensure the territorial integrity of its people.
GuildsEdit
There are a number of lesser factions and guilds that a player can join, which are neutral among the three alliances and usually have bases in each of them.
- Dark Brotherhood — A guild made up of assassins and murderers, serving Sithis and the Night Mother.
- Fighters Guild — A mercenary force that performs a variety of services for those who can purchase their services.
- Mages Guild — A guild dedicated to providing a magical education to its members while providing certain services to the public.
- Psijic Order — A mysterious and ancient order of powerful mages based on the Isle of Artaeum.
- Thieves Guild — A secretive guild dedicated to professional thievery.
- Undaunted — A group of dungeon-delving adventurers.
In addition to these NPC guilds, players may also join up to five player guilds, which use the same name but are a vastly different system.
Battlegrounds TeamsEdit
As part of the Battlegrounds PvP system, players will be randomly assigned to fight for one three teams for each match:
Other Joinable FactionsEdit
The following factions are not guilds but joining them confers tangible benefits.
- Antiquarian Circle — A historical society who scour Tamriel for lost antiquities to collect and catalogue them.
- Dragonguard — An order of dragon hunters led by Sai Sahan.
- Roister's Club — A club for Tales of Tribute enthusiasts.
Joining the Antiquarian Circle is necessary to unlock the Scrying and Excavation skill lines. Joining the Dragonguard grants access to perks that are acquired by rebuilding the Dragonguard Sanctum, such as access to the Dragonguard Armory, Southern Elsweyr's Achievement Furnisher, and the Dragonguard Supply Chest. It also grants access to the daily quests given by Dirge Truptor and Chizbari the Chipper and The Good Bits quest that allows you to harvest Dragon Rheum from slain Dragons. Joining the Roister's Club allows you to play Tales of Tribute and accept daily quests given by Kishka the Broker and Marunji the Broker.
Although you may be offered membership of these minor factions as part of their related questlines, joining confers little to no tangible benefit.
- Ash'abah — A dishonored tribe of Redguards who fight the undead in the Alik'r Desert.
- Blackfeather Court — A court of crows that rules Crow's Wood.
- Brackenleaf's Briars — An order of Grahtwood hunters protecting The Brackenleaf.
- Elsweyr Dragon Defense Force — A group of Dragon hunters.
- Eyes of the Queen — Queen Ayrenn's hand-picked intelligence agency.
- House Ravenwatch — A noble family based out of Ravenwatch Castle in Rivenspire.
- Ordinators — Guards of the Tribunal Temple.
- Shatul Clan — A clan of Orc echatere herders.
- Star-Gazers — An order of scholars devoted to the study of the stars and the meaning of their motions.