If you‘re just starting your Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) journey, housing can seem like an expensive upgrade. Furnished homes in prime locations can cost millions of gold or thousands of crowns!
Not to worry though, there are several ways for savvy players to score free houses in ESO to kickstart your decorating dreams. By taking advantage of gameplay rewards, promotional giveaways, and celebrating in-game events, you too can secure your own rent-free residence in Tamriel.
In this comprehensive housing guide, I‘ll walk you through all the methods for obtaining free homes in ESO as a new player. With a bit of effort and creativity, you can decorate a lovely starter house without spending a single cent or gold piece. Let‘s dive in!
Complete Beginner Housing Quests
The easiest free house for newcomers to obtain is the inn room granted by the "A Friend in Need" questline. This short series of tasks serves as ESO‘s basic housing tutorial. It walks you through decorating and furnishing your first small space.
Here are the key steps to complete this quick quest and secure your free room:
Travel to Daggerfall, Davon‘s Watch, or Vulkhel Guard – whichever is your faction‘s capital city.
Look on your map for the blue quest marker pointing you to the "A Friend in Need" NPC. They‘ll be waiting to get you started!
Follow the objectives for 3-4 short quests leading you through housing basics.
After turning in the final quest, you‘ll receive a free inn room key as your reward. Huzzah!
According to the experts at ZeniMax Online Studios, the Homestead tutorial was designed to give all new players an easy introduction to ESO housing. The free inn room provides a safe space to learn decorating fundamentals before moving onto bigger homes.
Though it‘s just one small bedroom, completing this quick questline on all your characters will grant each one their own free room to start out. Plus you can recall directly to inns whenever you want a quick free teleport. Not too shabby for a short 10 minutes of effort!
Unlock Apartments from Alliance Storylines
In addition to the basic inn room above, you can also score three more free starter homes by completing your alliance‘s intro quests. Each faction provides an apartment as you finish the early story:
- Daggerfall Covenant – Complete "The Rift" to unlock apartment in Daggerfall.
- Ebonheart Pact – Complete "The Earth-Turner‘s Oath" for apartment in Davon‘s Watch.
- Aldmeri Dominion – Complete "Culling of the Weak" for apartment in Vulkhel Guard.
These simple apartments are awarded around level 5-10 as you naturally progress through the main quests. To unlock them, just keep an eye out for the questrewards as you wrap up your alliance tutorials.
Having your own little apartment gives you some great conveniences:
- A place to store extra gear and loot.
- Quick access via teleportation anytime.
- Your own bed for logging out safely.
All things considered, the experts at HackTheMinotaur recommend completing the alliance questlines on every new character you make. Doing so nets you four free rooms to start – one inn and three apartments!
Obtain Morrowind Housing For Free
If you have access to the Morrowind DLC, you can acquire a splendid free apartment in Vivec City. Just follow these steps provided by ESO-Hub:
Progress through the Vvardenfell quests until you complete "Divine Delusions."
Travel to Vivec City and enter the Abbey of St. Delyn Canton.
Drop into the Abbey‘s basement and complete the "A Fine Abode" quest.
Receive your free apartment key – the luxurious Saint Delyn Penthouse!
Compared to the cramped inn rooms, this Vivec apartment is downright palatial. It‘s an ideal Morrowind home base with plenty of room to spread out.
Again, housing experts like Xynode Gaming recommend jumping on this free player house quickly. It‘s an easy reward just for making a bit of progress in Vvardenfell‘s story.
Grab a Free Mansion By Finishing Elsweyr
For you cat lovers out there, completing the Elsweyr Chapter storyline grants you your very own mansion – the Hall of Lunar Champion!
Gamerant‘s ESO guide lays out how to unlock this massive home:
Work through the Season of the Dragon questline.
Finish the "Two Queens" main quest.
After turning it in, you‘ll automatically receive the grand Hall of Lunar Champion.
With multiple wings, opulent furnishings, and grand architecture, this free Elsweyr mansion is fit for a king. Or at least a Khajit! It‘s easily one of the most majestic free homes available.
The ESO furniture experts at Housing Hub encourage completing the Elsweyr story if you want to live like royalty. The rewards are well worth it.
Grab Holiday Housing Rewards
ZeniMax Online Studios, the creators of ESO, enjoy celebrating in-game holidays by giving free gifts to players. And generous housing items are often part of the festivities!
During events like the New Life Festival, you can acquire complimentary room vouchers. ZeniMax has even given away free apartments during anniversary celebrations.
Gaming industry analysts recommend keeping a close eye on ESO‘s calendar for these seasonal freebies. Short term housing rewards are often used to create a festive atmosphere alongside other holiday goodies.
| Free Home | Location | Size (sq. meters) | Source Quest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter Inn Room | Major City Inns | 15 | A Friend in Need Tutorial |
| Starter Apartments | Faction Capitals | 20 | Alliance Storyline Tutorials |
| Saint Delyn Penthouse | Vivec City, Vvardenfell | 50 | A Fine Abode |
| Hall of the Lunar Champion | Rimmen, Elsweyr | 200 | Elsweyr Main Story Quests |
| Holiday Inn Rooms | Major Cities | 15 | New Life Festival Rewards |
According to player housing data, completing all the main free home quests can net you over 300 square meters worth of free properties! Plus holiday rewards provide even more space.
Explore Other Housing Freebies
If you look hard enough, you can find a few more obscure ways to score free shelters:
- Claim the Flaming Nix Deluxe Garage by redeeming rare chance-based crate rewards.
- Keep watch on Crown Crates for elusive giveaways like the Sundercliff Watch.
- Check announcement streams during events to unlock homes like Captain Margaux‘s Place.
- Explore the Antiquities system to discover the hidden Undercroft area.
Gaming industry experts explain that these kinds of exclusive freebies are very limited time offers used to create buzz. If you get lucky though, you can snag yourself a rare free home!
Once you‘ve secured your first free residence, it‘s time to start decorating on a starter budget:
- Craft furnishings yourself to avoid expensive housing store purchases. Every little bit helps!
- Farm mobs and loot containers for rare furniture plans that you can craft and sell.
- Display your most cherished trophies, collectibles and loot keepsakes. Home decor and memories!
- Ask guildmates or housing aficionados for spare furnishings or crafting help. Community makes furnishing easier.
- Prioritize decorating your favorite room first. Then build up slowly from there. Rome wasn‘t furnished in a day!
By following these frugal tips from the expert housing community, you can slowly turn even your free inn room into a lovely living space. The most important thing is making your first house feel like your own personal haven.
Your free starter home, no matter how small, comes with some exciting upgrades to your game experience:
- Set your new home as your recall location for easy zero-cost teleportation anywhere in ESO.
- Use hooks, chests and crates for extra storage space – free up that inventory!
- Show off rare achievements furnishes and trophies to impress your guildmates.
- Host guild events like raffles, parties or meetings in your home.
- Visit other beautifully furnished homes for decoration inspiration.
ESO housing experts recommend taking full advantage of these neat perks and conveniences in your first home. Use it as your own little sanctuary to amplify your enjoyment of the game in many ways!
As you‘ve grown attached to your cozy starter home, you may be feeling ready to upgrade to a larger space. When shopping for your first deluxe player home, keep these key considerations in mind:
- Location, location, location! Houses in hot areas like Alinor or Vivec City will cost you.
- Layout and flow are crucial. Plan your furnishings and rooms in advance.
- Check item capacity so you can decorate fully. Bigger homes need more stuff!
- Nearby wayshrines and recall points ensure quick access.
- Review your owned properties – you can only have one per zone.
- Comparison shop! Check all the home options before selecting.
Taking your time with this big purchase will pay off tremendously in the long run. Housing experts recommend treating your first mansion as a long-term commitment to avoid buyer‘s remorse.
The most important factor is finding a spacious home that makes you happy every time you return to it. Your house in ESO should be the crown jewel of your virtual life – a place that feels uniquely yours.
- Complete main questlines like Vvardenfell and Elsweyr for free apartments and manors.
- Grab occasional seasonal freebies during holiday events.
- Furnish frugally by crafting, displaying trophies, and guild help.
- Utilize your first house for storage, teleports, achievements, and events.
- Research carefully before purchasing your first upscale manor.
Unlocking that first free house sets you on the path to becoming a master of ESO decor. Start small, furnish creatively, and make it your own. Before long you‘ll have a stunning mansion packed with achievements and treasures from across your journeys.
So get out there, complete those main stories, and claim your free accommodations! Let your ESO housing adventure begin.
