The foundation for all commerce in eso starts with gathering materials from nodes. While there are now many other ways to get materials in eso (items that reside in your craft bag), going from node to node and collecting materials that way can still be a profitable pastime, if you find the perfect area.
Consider installing the addon “Harvest Map” to make your ESO material farming experience more efficient. Once you discover a node for the first time, the addon will mark it on your map, and a visual indicator of the type of node that you just harvested will appear in your world. That way you can remember exactly where each node spawns. Being able to see these large visual indicators can help you establish a route, or at the very least point you in the right direction instead of wandering around randomly! Pair this with a “Mini Map” addon to further assist you.
Finding a place to farm mats in ESO
When trying to establish an area to traverse with the intention of farming nodes, you need to consider three things:
1) Is this area node-dense? Does it take relatively little time to get from one node to the next, or are you finding that sometimes you can walk a long distance without seeing a single node.
2) Does this area have low traffic? You are not going to want to compete with other players for the same resources, as that would negatively effect the criteria above ^
3) Is the terrain easy to traverse? Or are you finding that you have to swim slowly across too many lakes and rivers, go out of your way to find a bridge or stairway etc. Do you continuously run into adds and have to stop farming to kill them all of the time?
Where are the best places to farm nodes in ESO?
Starter Zones
Starter zones are considered the first ever zone that you explore when just starting the game. There are three starter islands, one for each alliance zone, and they consist of Khenarthi’s Roost, Betnikh, and Stros M’kai. These zones are the least populated with other players as well as monsters, since only new players have much of a reason to spend time questing in the zone, and there are a lack of monsters to accommodate these newer players.
“Roleplaying” Areas
There are a few areas littered throughout Tamriel that are tucked away from the rest of the world. These quaint spots are often isolated, far from the hustle and bustle of big cities, and a fair ways away from any dangers. Given these facts, a lot of these zones have become hotspots for roleplaying in ESO. Likewise, these areas meet the criteria outlined above, and are subsequently great locations for farming materials on ESO. A couple areas to check out for yourself are: West of Davon’s Watch, Fell’s Run and the Eldrald Estate next to it, and the fields of Phaer. These are just a couple examples that I have heard of or that I personally know of because I farm mats there! I’m sure there are plenty other quaint little townships and meadows and farmlands out there that have yet to be discovered!
DLC Zones
These zones are not available with just the purchase of the base game. In order for players to access these zones, they must have an active ESO plus subscription, or they must have purchased the DLC. Because these zones are locked behind a paywall, and often offer less reason for players to hang out in these areas (unless players are completing a questline, or farming for specific gear), there are significantly less people around. It also pays to establish a farming route in these zones, so that when a zone’s respective “anniversary event” rolls around and there are double nodes you can doubly benefit!
What is the best gear to wear while farming mats in ESO
What?! So on top of my character having 12 different dps sets for dungeons and trials, and like 12 others for Cyrodiil, Imperial City, battlegrounds, dueling etc…. you mean to tell me that I need to have specialized gear to farm mats on ESO as well?
Yes. Ok, well, not really, but hear me out! Evidently, you are reading this to try to find node-dense spots for the sake of efficiency and likewise, higher profit for the amount of time that you put into farming nodes. So, if you really want to step it up even further, I would highly consider utilizing some gear to help you farm quicker. I used to farm without any specialized gear and man let me tell you, I was living in the dark ages. Ever since I considered building into speed for farming, I have never been able to go back.
Anything that helps you get from one node to another faster is going to be worth considering. Sets like:
–Coward’s Gear (major expedition when sprinting)
–Jailbreaker (minor expedition at all times)
–Fiord’s Legacy (unique 15% speed bonus + sprint reduction)
-and even Skooma Smuggler (major expedition when a potion is consumed)
-as well as the Ring of the Wild Hunt (unique 45% speed increase out of combat)
provide you with a lot of speed. You can also consider swapping to the Steed Mundus for even more speed. Do recall that different speed buffs and boosts can be stacked together. With the right gear combination, you can hit the speed cap on eso and go flying from node to node. Alcast has created a popular farming build that many have highly praised for this exact reason.
Mapped out farming spots in ESO
The reddit user u/Arterra (close to Arttea, but it ain’t me!) did us all a solid and shared their ESO maps with all of the node locations on them. For you console players out there (I see you) that do not have access to such wonderful addons as Harvest Map, this is the perfect resource for you.
Tamriel Trade Secrets 