As a new player in The Elder Scrolls Online, there are a few Crown Store items that are definitely worth snagging right off the bat. Keep in mind that tons of useful and beautiful items in the game are earnable, however, and that many Crown Store purchases aren’t worth it at all. In this guide, learn what you should buy first in the ESO Crown Store as a new player to upgrade your experience of the game.

At the risk of sounding like a shill trying to convince you to give the developers money, I do want to provide some guidance on which items in the ESO Crown Store are most valuable, give you the most bang for your buck, will improve your experience in ESO the most as a new player.

In this guide, I’m going to cover the top 10 items you should buy in the Crown Store first as a new player, explaining why each option is valuable and what you get out of it.

Crown Sales & Free Earnable Items

Before we dive into the list, I want to provide some context on how to use the Crown Store to your advantage. First, I want to make sure to mention that so much in the game is earnable.

There are some good items you can only get for real money, that’s for sure. But despite what the haters say, so much good stuff in the game is earnable through gameplay, achievements, etc.

This has become even more the case with the new Tamriel Tome system. And Seals of Endeavor, now called Seals, have been around for years, and you can use them to get free rewards out of Crown Crates.

So, it’s simply untrue that you have to open up your wallet to get the best stuff in The Elder Scrolls Online. Some of the best personalities, mounts, costumes, etc. are 100% earnable.

And with Seals, you can get even the best mounts in the game — Radiant Apex — the best skins, etc. for free just by playing the game. But if you do want to pay real money to get stuff in the Crown Store, definitely wait until Crowns are on sale.

Crowns generally go on sale three times per year, once in April, once in August, and once in December. I always time my crown purchases to coincide with these sales. If you buy the biggest pack of crowns, it’s 40% off. You can get 21,000 crowns for $100.

I also do want to point out that I have a video on what not to buy in the ESO Crown Store. So, as a new player, definitely check that out to learn which scams to avoid.

Now, with those disclaimers out of the way, let’s cover the top 10 things you should buy in the Crown Store as a new player in ESO.

#1) ESO Summonable Assistants

Summonable assistants are arguably the most valuable items you can get in the Crown Store. They cost 5,000 Crowns each, which can seem pretty steep. I mean, it just objectively is pretty steep, but the level of utility that these items provide is incredible.

There are five different types of assistants you can get overall, with four of them being purchasable from the Crown Store. There are bankers, deconstruction assistants, armory assistants, and merchants.

Once you have an assistant, you can summon them anywhere outside of PvP areas. You can interact with them to deconstruct any items in your inventory. The same is the case for banking assistants. You can access your bank from anywhere, though notably not your guild bank.

Merchant assistants are also very useful. The one thing they can’t do that actual merchants can is repair your gear. But as a new player, you’ll find that your gameplay flow is constantly being interrupted by having to go back to town to deconstruct, sell, or go to the bank.

The deconstructor is especially useful because they combine all the different deconstruction tables into one, so you don’t have to go from one to the other. You can deconstruct all your gear in one centralized location.

I don’t really use the armory personally, so I don’t have an armory assistant.

And there also is a fence assistant you can use to sell or — starting in Season One — launder stolen goods. As of right now, the only fence assistant is acquirable through the Thieves Guild questline.

If you can justify the Crown expenditure, I recommend getting a merchant, a deconstructor, and a banker assistant as soon as you can.

#2) Inventory Pets in ESO

Kind of along the same line are these special Non-Combat Pets that increase your inventory capacity. There are three of them and they each cost 1,200 Crowns, but once you buy one, your inventory capacity is increased by 5 slots across all your characters.

This is an account-wide bonus and you don’t have equip the pet to get it. You simply buy either the Bristleneck War Boar, the Explorer’s Pack Donkey, or the Mournhold Packrat, and your inventory capacity is increased by 5 accountwide.

Even if you only get one, those 5 extra inventory slots will not go amiss. Especially for players who don’t have ESO Plus, managing your inventory is a major pain point in the game.

These pets are relatively low-cost Crown Store items that provide incredible utility, especially for new players and non-ESO Plus members.

If you’re struggling to find enough space in your inventory for all the items you pick up, definitely consider buying one of these pets out of the Crown Store for 1,200 crowns each.

#3) Storage Chests & Coffers

Something else inventory-related that might help you manage all the stuff you pick up is Storage Chests. You can buy these directly from the Crown Store, even though they’re also earnable with Tel Var Stones in Imperial City and with Writ Vouchers from the Master Writ Vendor.

But let’s face it, as a new player, you are probably not grinding Imperial City or doing Master Writs yet, meaning the Crown Store is the best place to get these.

You can place both Storage Chests and Storage Coffers in your home to provide a place where you can drop stuff off that’s outside your bank — where you can stash away items so they don’t clutter up your inventory.

You get your first Storage Coffer for free on the first character you get to Level 18. But from that point, there are three more Storage Coffers you can get.

Each coffer has 30 item slots, meaning that with coffers alone, you can get an additional 120 slots for storing items. Storage Chests have double the capacity. These are also placed in your home, and they have 60 slots each.

Just like coffers, you can have a total of four of them. Four Storage Chests gives you 240 slots. So, adding that to your coffers gives you 360 additional inventory slots.

Again, these are super useful for new players or people who don’t have ESO Plus. If you’re struggling to find enough room to store all your gear, etc., just buy some storage coffers in the shop.

It’s a relatively low-ticket investment that offers incredible quality-of-life gains. Coffers are usually 1,000 crowns each, and chests cost 2,000 crowns.

#4) ESO DLC Classes

Two other purchases that will dramatically improve your experience of the game are the DLC classes, the Arcanist and the Necromancer. The third DLC class, the Warden, is included in the Morrowind chapter for free now, so you don’t have to pay to get it.

But the Necromancer and the Arcanist each cost 1500 Crowns and dramatically expand your gameplay experience in ESO.

Out of the two, the Arcanist is probably better in my opinion, especially for new players. It’s very easy to understand and it’s quite powerful.

The Necromancer is good in its own way, but it’s not at all like a traditional Necromancer like from the Diablo series, and it has a much steeper learning curve. So, if you can only get one, I recommend the Arcanist.

But to fully experience the game with all seven classes, you’ll want to buy both the Arcanist and the Necromancer, which again cost 1500 Crowns each.

For more guidance on which class to pick as a new player in ESO, check out this guide.

#5) ESO Cosmetic Pack: Adornments

Moving on to cosmetics — and I do want to take a moment to mention here again that there are so many cosmetics that are earnable in the game through events or normal gameplay through the Gold Coast Bazaar or Tamriel Tomes — but there are a couple items in the Style Parlor section of the Crown Store that I think are fully worth it.

The first is the Adornments Cosmetic Pack, which contains a whopping 119 items for 1,000 Crowns. It contains a ton of different facial hair, crowns, other adornments, earrings, etc.

As a new player, you won’t have a lot of drip yet. You won’t have a lot of ways to customize your character.

This is one of the first purchases you should make, in my opinion, to start that character customization journey that many players consider to be the true endgame of ESO. This offers a much better value than buying cosmetics separately in the shop.

This is actually probably one of the highest-value purchases in the Crown Store overall.

While I’m on this topic, I do want to advise against getting the similar Face Markings Cosmetic Pack. You will find as you progress through the game that so many other face markings are earnable. You get them through Crown Crates, etc. — and to be honest with you, none of these are really that great.

They’re just the base ones you can choose when you’re in the character creator screen. If you have to choose between one or the other, I’d definitely get the Adornment Pack and probably skip the Face Markings.

#6) ESO Cosmetic Pack: Hair Styles

Another similar item that I feel like is totally worth it is the Hair Styles Cosmetic Pack. There are 92 different hairstyles in this pack, and this will allow you to dramatically change the appearance of your character by choosing a new hairstyle.

I do want to mention you cannot actually change the color of your hair using these hairstyles unless you buy an Appearance Change Token. That’ll take you back to the character creation screen, allowing you to choose a new hair color.

But, there are tons of hairstyles to choose from in this pack for male characters, female characters, different races. Definitely a very high-value item that new players should get as soon as possible. Like the other cosmetic packs we’ve been discussing, this hairstyle pack is also 1,000 Crowns.

#7) ESO Imperial Edition Upgrade

Something else that I feel like is worth it to experience the full breadth of the game is the Digital Imperial Edition upgrade.

Along with some other goodies including a horse, a pet, and a Pledge of Mara, this pack also gives you access to the Imperial race in the character creator and the full Imperial Outfit Style.

The Imperial race is interesting. It gives you a bunch of different aesthetic options. The racial bonuses are really good for sustain.

It used to be the preferred race for PvP, and especially if you are a player of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, it might be fun to experience what the Imperial is all about.

So, kind of in the same vein as the Arcanist and Necromancer DLC classes, I recommend you get the Imperial Edition upgrade to experience the Imperial race, give you another option in character creation, and give yourself the opportunity to experience the full scope of the game.

This is a bit steeper, though, in terms of how many Crowns it costs. The Digital Imperial Edition upgrade is 2100 Crowns, so some might not find that worth it just to experience a new race. That’s why I left it toward the end of the list.

#8) ESO Crown Store Featured Items

Something else you should keep an eye on as you figure out what to do with your Crowns — especially if you’re an ESO Plus member — is the Featured section of the Crown Store.

This updates every few days or so, and the items in it are often offered at a discount to ESO Plus members.

Featured items are often brand-new. They allow you to follow the trends in the game, look as snazzy and dapper as the biggest whales.

This is also a great place to grab discounted items or come across things you might never have seen before. As a veteran ESO player, the Featured section is the first place I go when I open up the shop.

These are items that I cover every month in my monthly Crown Store showcase videos. So, if you ever want to get a head start on what’s coming to the featured section this month, just check out my provided Crown Store showcase.

#9) Crown Crate Items

It’s also worth keeping an eye on the Crown Crate items that are currently in the shop.

It’s important to note that you do not have to buy these with Crown Gems. You do not have to buy Crown Crates and gamble to access these items.

There’s a system in the game called Seals that allows you to buy Crown Crate items using an earnable and free currency in the game.

Seals are now earned through the Tamriel Tome system. As you complete challenges and enjoy the game every season, which lasts three months, you can get 8,000 Seals, meaning that over the course of two seasons or 6 months, you can afford a free Radiant Apex Mount.

I feel like it’s really important to reiterate that you do not have to buy Crown Crates, you do not have to use Crown Gems to get Crown Crate items. Seals are 100% earnable, meaning that in a sense, Crown Crate items are the first free options I’ve mentioned in this video.

Of course, people do spend hundreds of dollars on crates to hopefully get the item they’re gambling for or simply accrue enough Crown Gems to buy it directly. But, that is not your only option.

So, don’t feel like you can’t check out the Crown Crate section of the Crown Store just because you don’t want to buy Crates or you don’t have gems. You can get everything in here with Seals that you’ll be earning as you play the game anyway.

#10) Premium Tamriel Tome

Lastly — and this is not strictly a Crown Store purchase because you do use real money to buy it — but I’d recommend you consider buying the Premium Tamriel Tome each season.

Especially for new players, these contain some pretty excellent rewards. And for only $15, you can keep unlocking these rewards throughout the season.

If you do buy the Premium version, you can keep unlocking the rewards even after the season ends. The Premium Tamriel Tome is probably the highest-value item in the shop right now, given how much you can get for only $15.

And with next season — Season One — the value proposition is going to go up even higher because you’ll be able to get an Assistant out of the Premium Tome — a fence assistant for stolen goods that, for the first time, will be able to launder your items as well as fence them for gold.

So, definitely think about grabbing the Premium Tamriel Tome in Season One, which starts in July 2026. And, just keep an eye on the rewards in the Premium Tamriel Tome with each season as it comes out to decide if there’s anything in there that you want to get.

Conclusion

All right, that’s going to do it everybody. Those are the 10 items in the Crown Store I suggest you get first in your journey in The Elder Scrolls Online as a new player. Even for returning or longtime players, there may be some items I mentioned that you don’t have yet — and that you might want to pick up.