The Endless Archive for ESO is a new, never-ending dungeon packed with challenges and rewards! This guide will explain all the basics plus give you the best strategies to survive this new Endless Dungeon!
Endless Archive Location
The Endless Archive is located in the zone of Apocrypha which you can find by zooming out of Tamriel to view the various realms of Oblivion. You can teleport into the Endless Archive while viewing the Apocrypha zone map, even if you don’t own the Necrom Chapter as Endless Archive is actually free content for all players and is part of the base game, so no DLC or chapter access is required just to teleport here.
Getting Started in Endless Archive
To get started you’ll want to speak to Master Malkhest who wants you to track down Tho’at Replicanum. This is a fairly simple quest that only requires you to complete one full loop of the Archive. More on this in just a bit. But once you complete this quest you will earn a skill point and it then becomes a daily quest that you can keep completing if you want.
Endless Archive Progression
Inside the Archive, you’ll face off against waves of randomly generated mobs pulled in from all over ESO. This first area is called a Stage. Each Stage has 3 waves of trash mobs in total, with the third wave having more enemies and a mini-boss. After completing 2 stages you’ll land in a boss arena where you’ll need to defeat a final boss. This is the Cycle Boss and victory here will clear the first round of Stages which is also called a Cycle.
Inside the Archive, you’ll face off against waves of enemies pulled in from all over ESO. This first area is called a Stage. Each Stage has 3 waves of enemies in total, with the third wave having more enemies and a mini-boss. After completing 2 stages you’ll land in a boss arena where you’ll need to defeat another random ESO boss. This is the Cycle Boss and victory here will clear the first round of Stages which is also called a Cycle.
In terms of progression, you’ll do the same process 5 times in total: 2 stages, then a boss to complete the cycle. On the 5th cycle instead of a random Cycle Boss, you’ll instead have to defeat the more difficult final boss: Tho’at Replicanum.
The progression of every Arc in Endless Archive always follows the pattern below:
- Cycle 1: Complete 2 Stages, then the Cycle Boss
- Cycle 2: Complete 2 Stages, then the Cycle Boss
- Cycle 3: Complete 2 Stages, then the Cycle Boss
- Cycle 4: Complete 2 Stages, then the Cycle Boss
- Cycle 5: Complete 2 Stages, then the final boss: Tho’at Replicanum. The Arc is complete.
Defeating Tho’at is your primary goal within the Endless Archive. Victory here will clear the first Arc and have you start all over but at a higher difficulty and with a few other random twists. But now that you know how it works, what’s in it for you?
Max Players in Endless Archive
You can enter Endless Archive with a maximum of two characters whether that’s you and a friend or you and a companion. You can even play completely solo if you prefer though your progression will be slower this way.
Max Lives or “Threads”
While playing in the Endless Archive you will only have 3 lives to spend while in the archive. These are called “threads” and apply to your entire team. So if you die but your partner lives you don’t lose a thread. If you are using a companion and they die but you don’t, you still keep the same amount of threads.
Endless Archive Difficulty
Keep in mind that there are no normal or veteran mode difficulty settings for the Endless Archive dungeon in The Elder Scrolls Online. Rather, each Stage, Cycle, and Arc gets progressively more difficult.
Endless Archive Rewards
There are plenty of rewards built into the Endless Archive. First, is Class Sets which are a brand new type of 5-piece set, each focused on one of ESO’s seven classes. Each class set buffs a particular skill line for that class and typically offers some unique gameplay element or effect. For example, the Dragonknight class set that players can get from Endless Archive gives them access to Major Heroism when using Earthen Heart abilities as well as increased healing and shields which is quite nice. Players will receive one class set piece at the end of each Arc.
New ESO Class Sets
The seven class sets available in Endless Archive are Basalt-Blooded Warrior (Dragonknight), Soulcleaver (Nightblade), Monolith Of Storms (Sorcerer), Wrathsun (Templar), Gardener Of Seasons (Warden), Nobility in Decay (Necromancer), Reawakened Hierophant (Arcanist).
Basalt-Blooded Warrior
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 129 Magicka Recovery
(3 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Casting an Earthen Heart ability grants you a Rock Stance for 10 seconds. While on your Primary Weapon you gain Molten Stance, granting you Major Heroism, generating 3 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds. While you are on your Secondary Weapon you gain Obsidian Stance, increasing your Healing Done and damage shields by 14%. Bar Swapping will swap your Stance automatically.
Soulcleaver
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(3 items) Adds 1096 Maximum Magicka
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) While in combat and with at least 20 Ultimate, strengthens your non-Ultimate Siphoning abilities at the cost of Ultimate: Increases the damage and healing of non-Ultimate Siphoning abilities by 17% of your current Ultimate, up to 200, from a minimum of 3% to a maximum of 34%. Reduces the cost of Siphoning abilities by 15%. Casting Siphoning abilities drains you of 1% of your current Ultimate, with a minimum of 1.
Monolith Of Storms
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(3 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Dealing damage with a Storm Calling ability’s initial hit or every 5th tick creates a Monolith near the enemy for 10 seconds, up to one every 1 second. You may have up to 3 Monoliths at a time. Monoliths link to your other Monoliths within 28 meters of each other, each link dealing 629 Shock Damage, scaling off of the higher of your Weapon or Spell Damage, every 2 seconds to enemies between and near them. An enemy can only take damage from this set once every 2 seconds.
Wrathsun
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(3 items) Adds 657 Critical Chance
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) When you deal damage with a Dawn’s Wrath ability, you gain a stack of Sunlight for 10 seconds, once per attack. You can have 50 stacks max and gain 12 Magicka Recovery per stack. When at max stacks, your Dawn’s Wrath abilities deal 25% bonus damage and a Wrathful Nova is cast on the enemy, but you cannot refresh Sunlight. When Sunlight expires at max stacks, you lose 50% of your current Magicka.
Gardener Of Seasons
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 4% Healing Done
(3 items) Adds 129 Magicka Recovery
(4 items) Adds 129 Weapon and Spell Damage
(5 items) Casting a Green Balance ability grants you Herald of Spring, causing your Green Balance overheals to apply Minor Heroism for 3 seconds. Casting 2 non-Green Balance class abilities within 2 seconds consumes Herald of Spring and gives you Harbinger of Fall for 10 seconds, causing your Green Balance overheals to create an 8 meter area for 5 seconds, applying Major Maim to enemies and Minor Vitality to allies. You can create an area once every 5 seconds. You cannot gain Herald of Spring while Harbinger of Fall is active.
Nobility In Decay
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(3 items) Adds 4% Healing Taken
(4 items) Adds 1206 Maximum Health
(5 items) Casting a Bone Tyrant ability while in combat grants you Beautiful Corpse, Minor Protection, and Minor Resolve for 16 seconds, reducing your damage taken by 5% and increasing your Armor by 2974. This can occur once every 20 seconds, and is reduced by 2 seconds for each slotted Bone Tyrant ability. Casting a corpse consumer ability consumes Beautiful Corpse, treating you as a corpse.
Reawakened Hierophant
LVL 50 – CP 160
SET BONUS
(2 items) Adds 731 Maximum Magicka, Adds 731 Maximum Stamina
(3 items) Adds 731 Maximum Magicka, Adds 731 Maximum Stamina
(4 items) Adds 731 Maximum Magicka, Adds 731 Maximum Stamina
(5 items) Casting a non-Ultimate Curative Runeform ability grants an effect for 6 seconds to your affected allies based on how many Crux you had. At 1 Crux, allies gain a damage shield that absorbs 3598 damage. At 2 Crux, allies gain Minor Heroism, granting 1 Ultimate every 1.5 seconds. At 3 Crux, allies gain Major Protection, reducing damage taken by 10%.
Other than class sets there are the usual series of ESO achievements dedicated to working through the Endless Archive which does have some great rewards including an earnable mount, non-combat pet, body and face markings, mementos, and more.
There is even a unique currency for the Endless Archive called Archival Fortunes which can be used to buy a variety of useful items from the Endless Archive merchants.
New Currency: Archival Fortunes
After completing a Cycle, Arc, or Portal To The Unknown, players can open a Muniment Chest, which contains rewards including gold, base-game and DLC set pieces, soul gems, and a new currency called Archival Fortunes.
Archival Fortunes can be spent at Filer merchants in the entrance area of the Endless Archive in return for rewards including Monster Mask style motifs, Legendary quality treasure maps, non-combat pets, Companion gear, and more. Some items sold at these merchants will change weekly.
The amount of Archival Fortunes you earn increases as you progress through higher Arcs.
Endless Archive Power Ups (Visions and Verses)
There are two special power ups or buff types available in the ESO Endless Archive which let you further empower your character and customize your playthrough. These are called Visions and Verses.
After completing each Stage, players get to choose one of two random Verses. Verses are powerful temporary buffs that only work during the next Stage or Boss.
There are offensive, defensive, and utility Verses presenting plenty of options. I tend to prioritize offensive Verses when I get them because these can absolutely shred enemies and make the next Stage go faster which is helpful if you just want to collect class sets as fast as possible.
Defensive Verses are good for boss cycles as these will help you survive longer and utility Verses can be a good choice too depending on your build. For example, you can get a tome-shell follower which gives you 75 ultimate every few seconds which is quite powerful.
Remember, verses only work for the next round (Stage or Boss fight) so try to adapt your choices based on your priorities.
Visions are similar buffs that you get at the end of every Cycle for defeating a Boss or at the end of an Arc for defeating Tho’at Replicanum. Visions are different from Verses in that they are significantly less powerful but they also last for your entire playthrough, meaning you can build them up over time! Some Visions even stack up to 3 so you can get more powerful the longer you survive.
Visions also come in offensive, defensive, and utility varieties, and what you choose will depend on your class and your build, but generally speaking, I like to get Visions that boost my overall stats, like extra Magicka, Stamina, or Penetration. These Visions will be solid choices for any build.
Verses and Visions List for ESO Endless Archive
There are dozens of possible Verse and Vision buffs available in the Endless Archive dungeon. For the sake of length, we have listed only the best and most useful Verses and Visions here.
Best Offensive Verses
Augmented Areas
Control the battlefield and take out your enemies! Your Area of Effect abilities have their damage increased by 50%.
Beatdown
Weaken your enemies and rip their defenses to pieces! Your Heavy Attacks fracture your enemy’s defenses, reducing their Physical and Spell Resistance by 90% for 10 seconds.
Class Embodiment
You fight with all the skill and vigor of your chosen path. Your Class Skills have their damage increased by 50%.
Fire Orb
Fire Orbs appear near you! Activating one using the Fire Orb synergy will create a fiery tether between you and the orb, dealing x Flame Damage to enemies the tether intersects every 1 second.
Swift Gale
Your Light Attacks are infused with magic, causing small ice storms to burst forth with every swing! Each storm swirls forward dealing x Frost Damage every 0.5 seconds to nearby enemies.
Archival Evasion
Large-scale attacks just don’t hurt as much as they used to. Damage taken from Area Effects is reduced by 25%.
Enhanced Remedy
Improve your restorative magic! Healing Done increased by 50%.
Eye Catching
Summon a friendly servant of Harmaeus Mora to entice nearby enemies! Every 30 seconds you may summon the aid of the Knower’s Eye which draws nearby enemies’ focus away from you and to itself. This creature lasts for 15 seconds or until killed. When the Knower’s Eye holds aggro, it will weaken nearby enemies, reducing their damage dealt by 40% for 30 seconds.
Head-on Defense
Be better defended from anyone foolish enough to hit you! Damage taken from Direct Damage is reduced by 20%.
Sequential Shield
You are periodically warded against harm. Every 20 seconds you will gain a Damage Shield that absorbs damage for 15 seconds.
Transfusion
Recover health when you damage your enemies! Each tick of your Damage over Time effects heals you.
Best Utility Verses
Bountiful Resources
Your Heavy Attacks restore more resources! Whenever you hit a target with a fully-charged Heavy Attack you restore Magicka, Stamina, Health, and generate Ultimate. This can occur every 3 seconds.
Magical Renewal
Slain enemies leave behind an aura. When you or an ally steps into the aura, your Magicka will be restored to full. This aura lasts for 1 second and may trigger once every 20 seconds.
Stamina Renewal
Slain enemies leave behind an aura. When you or an ally steps into the aura your Stamina will be restored to full. This aura lasts for 1 second and may trigger once every 20 seconds.
Vital Expiration
Defeated enemies create an aura of fortitude! Slain enemies will leave behind an aura. Allies residing in the aura have their Max Health increased by x. This aura lasts for 10 seconds and may trigger once every 20 seconds.
Best Offensive Visions
Brawling Blitz
Increases your Critical Damage with martial-based attacks by 10% per stack. Affects Physical, Poison, Disease and Bleed damage.
Ferocious Strikes
Strike your enemies. Make them bleed! Damage dealt by Physical and Bleed attacks increased by 15%. Part of the Ferocious Set (0/3 Visions) When you acquire 3 unique Ferocious Visions you gain access to the Bestial Transformation Offensive Verse.
Focused Efforts
Odds seem to be going your way. Chance to apply a status effect increased by 10% and damage done by status effects increased by 200% per stack.
Best Defensive Visions
Hearty Vitality
You feel full of life! Max Health increased by 5% per stack.
Refined Restoration
Enemies may hit hard, but you feel better already! Health recovery increased by 30% per stack.
Restorative Protection
Healing energies sustain you and protect you from harm. Healing over time and Damage Shield effect duration increased by 20% per stack.
Best Utility Visions
Archival Intelligence
Your magic recovery rate grows. Magicka Recovery increased by 25% per stack.
Attuned Enhancements
Your weapon enchantments are more effective! Weapon enchant effectiveness increased by 60% per stack.
Magical Reserves
Your magical capacity grows! Max Magicka increased by 5% per stack.
Stamina Reserves
Your endurance grows! Max Stamina increased by 5% per stack.
ESO Endless Archive Bosses
Each Cycle in the Endless Archive is cleared when you defeat the Cycle Boss. Cycyle bosses in Endless Archive are random bosses that come from all over The Elder Scrolls Online, including World Bosses, Dungeon Bosses, Trial Bosses, and even Quest and Story Bosses.
Endless Archive Marauders
Once you pass the first Arc in Endless Archive things start to get significantly more challenging. For example, in Arc 2 and beyond another unique boss will spawn in a random stage. This boss is the Marauder and they have tons of health and armor and can do some serious damage to you.
Since the Marauder will randomly spawn in any Stage at any time, they have the potential to create some serious chaos. In Arc 2 and beyond you always need to be on your guard.
The best strategy for dealing with Marauders that I have found is to try to stay on your current Stage spawn by leaving the weakest enemy alive possible, usually a basic mage or archer type. You can then move away from them and bring the Marauder with you to another part of the map to basically fight him solo. This will ensure that the next wave of your current stage doesn’t also spawn in. The Marauder also drops another class set piece so it’s a good opportunity to fill out your sets if you can survive.
Portals To The Unknown
Portals To The Unknown are a type of random encounter in Endless Archive that have a random chance to appear at the end of any Stage. These portals will take you to bonus challenges which will give you more rewards and potentially a second Verse which you can use to empower you further for the next boss. You will occasionally find surprise bosses in Portals To The Unknown as well so be ready for anything!
How To Reset Endless Archive
Since the first Arc is significantly easier than Arc 2 and beyond, if all you want to do is farm class sets the best way to do this is to complete Arc 1 and then reset the Endless Archive. You can do this by going back to the Index and then ending your run by using the “Thread Weaver.” You can then reset the instance by spinning the hourglass conveniently set up at the entrance.
Endless Archive Builds
If you plan on playing solo in the Endless Archive your build will need a strong combination of Damage, Survival, Sustain, and Healing. Many of my Solo, One Bar, Two Bar, and Heavy Attack builds will be perfect for playing the ESO Endless Archive completely solo. Some recommended Solo Builds for ESO Endless Archive are listed below.
- Stamina Arcanist One Bar Solo Build
- Magicka Arcanist One Bar Solo Build
- Unkillable Arcanist Solo Build
- Magicka Necromancer One Bar Solo Build
- Stamina Necromancer Solo Build
- Unkillable Necromancer Solo Build
- Magicka Warden One Bar Solo Build
- Stamina Warden Solo Build
- Magicka Dragonknight Solo Build
- Stamina Dragonknight Solo Build
- Unkillable Magicka Nightblade Solo Build
- Stamina Nightblade One Bar Solo Build
- Unkillable Stamina Nightblade Solo Build
- Magicka Templar One Bar Solo Build
- God Mode Magicka Templar Solo Build
- Invincible Magicka Templar Solo Build
- Ultimate Stamina Templar Solo Build
- Immortal Magicka Sorcerer Solo Build
- Ultimate Stamina Sorcerer Solo Build
For a full Endless Archive solo run check out the incredible Infinity Magicka Sorcerer build walkthrough below!
For Duos or playing with a Companion, it often works best to have one build as a Tank and one build as a DPS. Having a dedicated Tank becomes more important in later rounds where elite enemies, Maruarders, and bosses hit especially hard. Some recommended Tank and DPS builds for ESO Endless Archive are listed below.
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