Races in Elder Scrolls Online
The game has 3 factions with 3 playable races in each faction. Here you can find descriptions of all races, their characteristics and talents. This guide will hopefully help you to choose the best race for your class.
Racial Bonuses Comparison Table
The table below displays all racial bonuses of each race. You can compare different races and find the race you need. These bonuses are Racial Skills Rank 3. That means you can see the maximum size of racial bonuses for each race.
| Altmer | Bosmer | Khajiit | Orc | Breton | Redguard | Dunmer | Nord | Argonian | Imperial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Magicka | +10% | +10% | +9% | |||||||
| Max Stamina | +3% | +6% | +10% | +6% | +10% | |||||
| Max Health | +6% | +3% | +3% | +12% | ||||||
| Magica Recovery | +9% | |||||||||
| Stamina Recovery | +9% | +9% (*) | ||||||||
| Health Recovery | +15% | +15% | +15% | (**) | ||||||
| Cold Damage | +6% | |||||||||
| Fire Damage | +6% | |||||||||
| Shock Damage | +6% | |||||||||
| Poison Resist | +23 | +21 | ||||||||
| Disease Resist | +23 | +21 | ||||||||
| Fire Resist | +30 | |||||||||
| Frost Resist | +30 | |||||||||
| Spell Resist | +6 | |||||||||
| Stealth Radius | +3 m | +3 m | ||||||||
| Stealthy Damage | +10% | +10% | ||||||||
| Melee Crit Rating | +3% | |||||||||
| Crit Damage | +15% | |||||||||
| Spell Cost | -3% | |||||||||
| Sprint Cost | -12% | |||||||||
| Sprint Speed | +9% | |||||||||
| Swim Speed | +50% | |||||||||
| Fire Spell Power | +3 | |||||||||
| Armor Rating | +6 | |||||||||
| Potion Effectiveness | +15% | |||||||||
| Received Healing | +6% |
(*) Redguard also recovers 3 stamina once every 3 seconds when damaging enemy with melee attack.
(**) Imperial - Melee attacks have a 10% chance to restore 2/4/6 Health.
Races Poll. Here you can see a list of all playable races. As you can see you can vote for your favourite race by clicking the “Recommend” button. You can chose one race or several races.
| Races | Home | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Imperial | Cyrodiil | |
 |
Altmer | Summerset Isles | |
 |
Bosmer | Valenwood | |
 |
Khajiit | Elsweyr | |
 |
Breton | High Rock | |
 |
Redguard | Hammerfell | |
 |
Orc | Orsinium | |
 |
Nord | Skyrim | |
 |
Dunmer | Morrowind | |
 |
Argonian | Black Marsh |
The Aldmeri Dominion:
Altmer is a race of High Elves. They have good magical skills.
Bosmer are Wood Elves. They are agile and quick. Bosmer are great archers and thieves.
Khajiit is a race of cat-like creatures. They do not have magical talents but they have great agility and stealth skills.
The Daggerfall Covenant:
Orcs are a traditional fantasy race. They are strong and brave warriors with heavy armour and weapon.
Bretons are a race of humans who settled in High Rock. They have fair hair and they are not tall. Bretons are not great warriors but they are good at weaving spells.
Redguards are great warriors, with blade and shield. They are quick and hardy.
The Ebonheart Pact:
Dunmer are also known as Dark Elves. They have above-average intellect, strength, and agility. Such a combination makes them both good warriors and sorcerers.
Nords are a race of humans. They are good melee warriors with resistance to cold.
Argonians is a reptilian race. They have good magical skills and agility, as well as resistance to poisons and disease.
What race is the best? There are no true leaders or outsiders in ESO. All the races are great.
How do you decide on a race?
First of all, you should look at the appearance. You will have to look at your character for many hours during the game, so pick one which you like the look of. The character will be your representative in the game and it is great when you like how it looks. The second important parameter, is your desired class. Some races are better for warriors, others, are better for mages. Every race has its advantages and disadvantages. Racial bonuses can aid you greatly in the game. Here is a small tip: choose a class first and then find a race for your class.
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It is possible to meet a member of other faction in Cyrodiil only. So you can meet your friends from other alliances but you can’t group together because your factions are in war.
Developers answered similar question in one of ‘Ask Us Anything’ articles.