Welcome to the ESO How to prepare for Subclassing Guide. As part of the Season of the Worm Cult release in June 2025, The Elder Scrolls Online is introducing a fun new base game feature called subclassing, which allows you to have much more freedom to play the game exactly how you want. In this guide we will explain how you can prepare your favorite character for subclassing as soon as the Season of the Worm Cult releases.
If you don’t understand something and it isn’t covered here you might find it in the ESO Subclassing page, otherwise join the Discord where you will find a helpful community!
Table of Contents:
- Subclassing explained
- How to prepare your character for subclassing
- Choose a class for subclassing
- Unlock Skill Points for your character
- Level up class Skill Lines to rank 50
ESO Subclassing Explained
Templar character using Radiant Destruction with an Arcanist as the subclass in ESO
Simply put; subclassing allows you to pick two other class skill lines and use them on your favorite character. This is great for all of the players that have fallen in love with their character, but would love to try out other skills from other classes. Progression in ESO subclass skill lines is completely separate from regular class skill lines and skills. Importantly, every account is required to level all subclass skill lines and skills once per account, regardless of previous character knowledge.
ESO Subclassing Requirements and limitations
- Subclassing is a base game feature, no purchase required.
- Have one level 50 character.
- Complete “A Study in Discipline” introductory quest
- Players must retain one original class skill line; all three cannot be replaced.
- ESO Subclassing permits the selection of complete skill lines only—individual skills cannot be selected independently from different classes.
How to prepare your character for ESO subclassing
Before you can prepare your character for different ESO subclasses, you first must have one level 50 character on your account. The character you choose to use subclassing with does not need to be level 50, but you do need to complete the very short subclass intro quest. You may choose skill lines to subclass via a shrine, a Respecification Scroll, or by talking to Bahtra at-Hunding. You must subclass a skill line until you reach rank 50 in that skill line.
Below we will list all the different ways you can prepare your character — feel free to pick and choose, as all preparations are completely optional.
Choose a class for subclassing in ESO
ESO has seven different classes, each of them having three skill lines to choose from. Now you can play your favorite character and pick the skills that fit that character the best, be it a solo character, dd, tank or a healer! Below you’ll find a short description of each class, along with a link if you’d like to learn more of the specific skills they utilize. Do you want to make a sorcerer with even more pets? You can now do that by adding the Warden bear ultimate and Necromancers pets!
Sorcerer
The Sorcerer class in ESO can use conjuration and destruction spells to hurl lightning bolts, wield dark magic to snare and stun, and summon Daedric combat followers from Oblivion.
Templar
The Templar class in ESO calls upon the power of light and the burning sun to deal massive damage to their enemies while restoring health, magicka, and stamina to their allies.
Dragonknight
The Dragonknight class in ESO are skillful masters-at-arms, using the ancient Akaviri martial arts tradition of battle-spirit and wielding fearsome magic.
Classes that you must purchase separately
If you wish to use the Arcanist, Necromancer or Warden class skill lines, you must own the class on your account. You can purchase each class separately from the Crown Store for 1,500 Crowns each.
Warden
The Warden class in ESO are defenders of the Green — master storytellers whose nature tales become magical reality.
Necromancer
The Necromancer class in ESO are masters of death, able to call upon corpses to serve as undead thralls and weave ghastly spells to both harm, heal, and defend.
Arcanist
The Arcanist class in ESO is a mystical class that harnesses powerful runes, tomes of ancient knowledge, and the energy of Apocrypha itself.
Unlock Skill Points for your character
Subclass skills cost 2 skill points in ESO
Each ESO subclass skill and passive will use two (2) skill points instead of one (1) bringing the total requirement to 40 per skill line compared to the normal 20. Of course you do not have to unlock all skills or passives from the subclasses you choose, but the double skill point cost is something you should keep in mind.
There are many ways to unlock Skill Points for subclassing in ESO, the most common ones are listed below.
- Absorbing Three Skyshards awards one skill point (Skyshard Beginner Guide)
- Killing a Public Dungeon Group Event boss awards one skill point
- Each Zones main story quests awards several skill points
- Completing a Group Dungeon quest awards one skill point (Dungeon Guides)
- Each Alliance War rank awards one skill point
Level up class Skill Lines to rank 50
Screenshot of a level 11 Sorcerer that has access to a mastered rank 50 Necromancer skill line, but can not use all skills immediately.
Skill Lines are able to be used on all characters once you have mastered them by leveling them to rank 50. This means it’s time to dust off your alts and start leveling them if you wish to use their skill lines on other characters when subclassing launches. Check your class achievements for the skill line rank 50 Master achievements or collections for skill line upgrades to see if they are usable for subclassing. Keep in mind that lower level characters unlock skills at different levels even if the skill line is rank 50.
If you do not have a class skill at rank 50, you must unlock it through the ESO subclassing system and level it up. The only difference to leveling the subclass skill line without the original skill line being rank 50 is that you are locked into that subclass until you reach 50 in that subclass skill line. All ESO subclass skill lines and skill levels level up slower than on a normal class, but the progression is account wide meaning you only need to level them up once for your account.
All ESO Subclass Skill Lines need to be leveled again starting at rank 1 even if you had the skill line rank at 50 previously.
A simple explanation of ESO subclass skill line access
- Having a rank 50 skill line on a character only gives you access to choose it as a subclass skill line.
- ESO subclass skill line leveling progression is completely separate from regular class skill lines and skills.
- Everyone needs to level up all subclass skill lines and skills once per account – regardless of previous character knowledge.
A Rank 50 skill line will show up as an unlocked account upgrade. Screenshot taken on an account that did not have any level 50 characters so no skill line shows up as unlocked.
Good sources of Experience
- Normal Daily Random Dungeon found on the Dungeon Finder. (Dungeon Guides)
- Grinding specific spots (Power Leveling Grind Guide)
- Completing Daily Crafting Writs (Daily Crafting Writ Guide)
- Completing Master Writs (Master Writ Guide)
Experience boost tips for leveling Skills and Skill Lines for ESO Subclassing
Easiest way to level up skills is to just play ESO normally, slot as many of the skills from the skill line you want to level up. Below are ways to boost your experience gain in ESO.
Consumables
- Crown Experience Scrolls 50%, 100%, 150%.
- Psijic Ambrosia 50%.
- Aetherial Ambrosia 100%.
- Mythic Aetherial Ambrosia 150%.
Gear and traits (Extra XP is gained only from kills)
- Armor Training Trait up to 11% per armor piece.
- Weapon Training Trait up to 4.5% for one-handed and 9% for two-handed.
- Mora’s Whispers Set up to 15% based on how many Lorebooks your character has read. (Enable Lorebooks filter on our interactive map to see where they’re located).
- Heartland Conqueror set boost your training weapon trait by 100% (up to for 9% XP Boost one-hand and 18% XP Boost for two-hand weapons).
Other Experience boosts
- Rationer Champion Point adds 10 minutes to the duration of Ambrosias.
- Connoisseur Provisioning Passive adds 5/10/20 minutes duration to Ambrosias.
- Use the Discipline Artisan Champion Point Passive (3% Increased Experience to currently active skills and their skill lines. Maximum XP of 15% is reached when you allocate 50 CP)
- Active ESO Plus Subscription: 10%.
- Grouped up with one player 10% (a group larger than two will decrease your XP gain).
- ESO Events that include a passive Experience Gain Boost.
- Pledge of Mara Ring adds 10% Experience Gain when worn and grouped up with the player the Ring of Mara is pledged on. (Bought from the Crown Store for 1000 Crowns).
- High Elf Race passive Highborn gives 1% bonus to Experience Gain.
We hope you enjoyed reading this this ESO How to prepare for Subclassing Guide! If you have questions or want to report an error, you can join our Community Partner Discord.
