Having launched in 2014,Elder Scrolls Onlinetransported players across the continent of Tamriel, inviting them into an MMORPG setting where they could run around and explore, completing quests and unraveling a myriad of intriguing stories. As is the case with most RPGs, a player’s acts of service are often rewarded with items and, most importantly, gold.

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Gold is the in-game currency used to purchase items and services from vendors acrossthe world of Tamriel. Although players can get gold from completing missions, it isn’t the most plentiful resource and, as is the case with any currency, it must be used sparingly. To save gamers any potential heartbreak, here’s a breakdown of everything inESOthat gold shouldn’t be invested in, and why.

5Basic Mount

Running from place to place, or evenfast travelingall the time, can become a little bit of a chore, and players may be tempted to get themselves a mount to speed things up, while still being able to explore the glorious continent of Tamriel. However, players are given access to a free mount at Level 10, which is often overlooked by a lot of players, especially newbies!

Thisfree mountmay not be the fastest in the game, but that’s where gold comes in handy. As opposed to buying a new mount, players can instead invest in mount training that increases speed, carry capacity, or endurance. Head to any stable and pay a fee of 250 gold, choose what stat needs increasing, and voilà! Players are limited to doing this once every 20 hours, but after a few gaming sessions, the horse should be leveled up to full speed!

elder scrolls online horse

4Armor

While it may be tempting to spend money on better armor, especially if fights seem particularly difficult, or the character is a squishier class, it may actually wind up being a massive waste of money. This may be a mistake that new players make in the early game as the longer someone plays, the more they realize that the game is quite generous with its gifts of armor.

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Whether through level rewards, looting, or even daily rewards, players are guaranteed to build a pretty good armor set from free items alone. With the ability to customize the appearance of armor, regardless of what a character is wearing, there really is no reason for a player to spend their hard-earned gold on armor, and they should just wait to be gifted some useful pieces.

3Weapons

Having a good weapon is important inESOas there will always be something to fight, and a good weapon can make all the difference.Certain weaponscan also provide some invaluable buffs to characters, but this isn’t something players will have to worry about spending their gold on.

Through some pretty consistent level and daily rewards, players will be adequately compensated for the time they’ve invested in the game. Players will eventually have some pretty powerful weapons and will consistently find upgrades throughout the game, whether that’s through looting or reward options.

Elder Scrolls Online Necrom Overland Sets Press Kit Art Dead Keepers Armor-1

2Potions

Potions are a useful resource for players to have access to while they explore the world of Tamriel, and are especially useful when they come in clutch mid-fight. There is a myriad of potions that players can choose from, all of which do different things, and which potions players will gravitate towards depends entirely on their playstyle.

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While potions are very useful, and every player should have at least a few, they aren’t something that players will need to worry about spending their hard-earned gold on. Potions are frequently given as daily rewards and can often be found while looting. So, while they’re super useful resources, the game will ensure that players have access to them, meaning characters needn’t waste gold on potions.

1Buff Food

Buff food describes consumables that players are able to obtain inESO. They’re pretty easy to come by, with buff food often coming in the form of daily rewards. Theseconsumables provide players with buffsfor a certain amount of time, with the most popular of these items increasing XP for a good few hours.

While these items can certainly be purchased in-game with gold, it’s best to avoid spending money on buff foods as players will often get them for free anyway. Buff foods are a great item to use when players are looking to level up quickly, or are planning to spend a significant amount of time in the game and want to make the most of it.

A grid of images of a character with Dual-Wield Weapons in Elder Scrolls Online

There are a lot of great things that players can choose to spend their gold on inElder Scrolls Online, but with how many things are provided to players through rewards and looting, the game will ensure that players aren’t having to spend money on the necessities.

Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimitedis available to play for free on PS5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X, PC, and Mac.

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A Chef standing behind a bowl of cooked fish in Elder Scrolls Online