Upon its release in 2020, just like every other game expansion of The Elder Scrolls Online, the Greymoor DLC was jam-packed with amazing new content, particularly the Antiquities System that stole the stage light.
Every year, ZeniMax Online Studios, the developer team behind ESO, releases several DLC expansions and updates for the Elder Scrolls Online in order to keep the iconic game thriving and brimming with life. When writing this article, the latest DLC for Elder Scrolls Online is the Firesong Expansion, launched on November 1st, 2022.
Regardless of whether you are a beginner or a pro, this updated 2022 guide to the Antiquities System in ESO is all you need. So, stay tuned with us till the end!
What Is The Antiquities System
The Antiquities System, which came as part of the Greymoor DLC game expansion in 2020, brought a significant revamp to everyday ESO gameplay style. To help you understand the term, according to Bing, "Antiquities" are works of art (which can be any object, building, etc.) that belong to the ancient past.
The Antiquities System in ESO is just about that: finding lost relics. Ancient relics dating to ancient times in the Elder Scrolls Universe are buried everywhere across the Tamriel. If you participate in the Antiquities System, your job is to collect all of the lost artifacts.
Apart from the possibility of finding valuable treasures, attractive outfits, and lethal weapons, the ESO antiquities also contain mythic items that provide you with some of the highest character stat boosts and powerups in the game!
What's more? Some of these finds can even be sold to earn gold in Elder Scrolls Online! But if you do not want to go through all the struggle and want to enjoy the game, you can instantly and securely get ESO money at MmoGah.
How Does the Antiquities System Work
1. Find Leads for Antiquity Items
2. Scry the Antiquity Items to Predict their Location
3. Excavate the Antiquity Items to obtain them
So, this is how you work through the Antiquities System in Elder Scrolls Online. Now let us proceed stepwise in a detailed manner.
Prerequisite Condition
The prerequisite for starting the Antiquities Quest is that you need to have the Greymoor DLC Expansion, which can be purchased separately and added to the base game. Otherwise, you need to be an ESO Plus subscription in order to have access to it.
Start the Quest
Visit Verita Numida in ESO
When done with the above, visit the city of Solitude, located in Western Skyrim. Visit Verita Numida, who is on the upper level of the building. Talking with her will give you the option to start the quest called "The Antiquarian Circle".
When you complete the quest, you will be given two new skills, Scrying and Excavation, and a tool, The Antiquarian's Eye, to get started with the Antiquities System.
Even though you are all set to embark on your archeologist journey in the Antiquities System, however, there is another optional next step.
OPTIONAL STEP: Talk again with Verita (or with Gabrielle Benele, who is downstairs within the same building) to start "The Antiquarians' Art" quest which will properly guide you on how to work through the Antiquities System.
In order to find antiquities of higher significance, you need to upgrade both the scrying and excavation skills along your journey. You can find more information on scrying skills and excavation skills here.
Find Leads for the Antiquity Item
What Are Antiquities Leads
Leads are items that give you insights into Antiquities in Elder Scrolls Online. They drop all across Tamriel. You can find them by speaking with merchant dealers, looting chest treasures, and killing world bosses, among many others.
This is where the skill of Scrying comes next into the picture. First, you find leads, and then you scry them. Scrying leads help in determining the location of antiquities.
Note that leads are bounded by zones/regions. Even though you might have a lead of antiquity, if you are in the wrong region, you would not be able to scry it. To scry a lead, you must be in the correct zone/region.
You can find the available list of leads in your journal's Antiquity Tab. Leads under the Available section show your leads for the zone you are currently in.
5 Types of Antiquities Leads in ESO
In ESO Antiquities System, leads are of 5 types which are represented by their distinctive colors. The different lead colors represent the varying level of difficulties that they require to be scried. The following list will help you further broaden your concept:
• Green Leads: Simple Difficulty
• Blue Leads: Intermediate Difficulty
• Purple Leads: Advanced Difficulty
• Gold Leads: Master Difficulty
• Orange Leads: Ultimate Difficulty
Different difficulty-level leads require different levels of scrying skills. So, if you do not upgrade your scrying skills in the game, you will not be able to scry higher-difficulty leads.
Antiquities Leads are Not Permanent
Antiquity leads are not permanent, though. The leads you collect will expire in 30 real days times. So, do make sure that you scry them before they get expire. In case your leads get expired, you can again search for them.
Also note that even if you do not have access to the Greymoor DLC, you can still collect antiquities leads all across Tamriel, but you would not be able to scry them. Remember, the Greymoor DLC is a prerequisite condition for the Antiquities System.
ESO Scrying Mini-Game
Scrying an available lead starts up a puzzle mini-game. Successfully completing the mini-game results in the determination of possible "dig sites" across the zone.
ESO Scrying Mini Game
When the mini-game starts, you are presented with a grid of hexagons and glowing foci that you need to claim. You have an area of control from where you start claiming adjacent hexagons.
Hexagons consist of different symbols, and you have a limited number of turns. Your main goal is to claim as many glowing foci as possible by reaching out to them via claiming hexagons which opens up the path route.
However, if you fail to capture any foci within the limited number of turns or did not capture enough in your previous attempt, you can always try again and do better. The number of limited turns will remain the same, so try strategizing better the next time you start the mini-game.
Depending on your success in the scrying mini-game, you get 1-6 "dig site" locations on your map where you can find antiquity. One of these is the actual location of the antiquity you are searching for.
Travel all the dig sites and use your Antiquarian's Eye tool to help you determine the exact location of the excavation site.
When you are in the right dig site and near where the antiquity is hidden, you will see a dirt mound with yellow/golden/orange light sparkles floating above it. You can then start excavating the mound, which, in turn, will start another mini-game.
ESO Excavation Mini-Game
ESO Excavation Mini Game
The excavation mini-game is based on a 10x10 grid consisting of rocks and dirt. This needs to be excavated appropriately in order to find the required antiquity without damaging it.
Higher-level antiquities require more powerful tools, which can be unlocked by upgrading the excavating skills. In the start, however, you have access to only two tools: an Augur and a Hand Brush.
Use Augur to determine the grid location under which the antiquity is buried. While using Augur, wherever on the grid you click/select, a hollow-colored square will be highlighted on that grid. The color will assist you in determining the distance from your clicked/selected grid to the actual grid under which the antiquity is hidden.
• Red color: Far away
• Orange color: A little closer
• Yellow color: Close
• Green color: The antiquity is directly underneath the grid
When you have pinpointed the accurate grid location, start digging down with the hand brush and remove layers of dirt and rock until you reach the antiquity and excavate it.
How to Get Mythic Items in ESO
Mythic Items are the greatest rewards you can get from the Antiquities System in Elder Scrolls Online. These mythic gears equip your in-game character with powerful buffs and let you easily dominate PvE and PvP combats.
Since Mythic Gears are of the highest category, obtaining them is also more difficult when compared with other Antiquity items such as Furnishings and Mounts.
To get mythic items, one has to collect five different leads of the highest difficulty and obtain the corresponding fragments of the mythic gear. Once you have collected all five fragments, the relevant mythic gear will become available in your inventory.
