When diving into The Elder Scrolls series for the first time, it can be a little intimidating to know where to start. The Elder Scrolls: Arena, the first game in the series, was released in 1994, and since then there's been multiple mainline games and spin-offs. When it comes to the timelines, the games jump around a bit, and some are considered better than others when it comes to world, story, and gameplay.

While the expansions jump around a bit when it comes to eras, the main games are in chronological order for the most part, with the first game being set in years 3E 389-399, the next game, The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall 3E 405, and so on. Even so, it can be difficult to decide what order to play these games in - especially if you factor in ease of access. When it comes to the best order, there's more to consider than just chronology, as some of these experiences are just better than others.

9 Start With The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim

Released In 2011, It's The Definitive TES Game

The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is set in the Fourth Era, specifically in 201, and released back in 2011. It is meant to be 200 years after the events of the previous game, Oblivion, though it's not exactly a sequel. In this game, you must defeat Alduin the World-Eater as the last Dragonborn while navigating through the continuous Civil War in the world and helping others when you can. Skyrim offers countless enemies, a few hundred side quests, and the ability to choose your own path when it comes to abilities.

The game will be even bigger if you get the Dawnguard and Dragonborn expansions, as the number of quests increases significantly. Dawnguard alone adds over 20 quests between main quests and side quests, while Dragonborn adds 28 sidequests. With the DLC, this game is easily over 700 hours if you go for 100% completion, and the remaster and Anniversary Edition contain the DLCs at a low cost.

Skyrim is the most accessible, is available on pretty much every platform, and is arguably the best in the series. If you're trying to get into the series, it's best to start here before diving into the old entries. It's like discovering a band - most people start with the hit single before diving into the deep cuts.

8 Play TES: Arena Early To Appreciate The Series More

Released In 1994, The First In The Franchise

If you start with the very first game that came out in 1994, then you can notice and appreciate the progression of the graphics quality as it slowly increased over the years. The Elder Scrolls: Arena is set in the Third Era, year 389. It was released as an MS-DOS-based program and does require an emulator if you want to play it on newer systems. It revolves around you trying to uncover a conspiracy that goes against the Emperor Uriel Septim VII. While there are only 10 main quests, there are various other side quests involving killing monsters, delivering items, talking to NPCs, and finding artifacts.

HowLongToBeat has The Elder Scrolls: Arena down at 26 hours to beat the main story, so while it might not be as big as the newer games when it comes to playtime, it's a great early entry point to the series. It's a bit rough around the edges compared to later entries, though, but the real drive here is seeing how much the series has evolved over time. Playing Arena early on lets you better appreciate TES' evolution.

7 Play The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion Remastered Next

Originally Released In 2006, With A Remaster In 2025

Six years after the events of Morrowind, in the Third Era 433, you are destined to prevent the Cult of the Mythic Dawn from opening the gates to the demonic realm in Oblivion. Typically, since it comes before Skyrim in the timeline, I'd recommend playing Morrowind, then Oblivion, then Skyrim. However, the recent release of Oblivion Remastered makes it not only the most recent TES release, but also one of the best.

While Skyrim is starting to show its age, Oblivion Remastered looks and feels closer to a remake than a remaster. With updated mechanics and new additions, this is one of the best TES games out there, and it's well worth checking out early on, even if it might not happen that way in the timeline. Because it's on most newer systems, it's easy to get - and the remaster also contains all the DLC, making it a steal.

6 Move Onto The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall

Released In 1996, The Sequel To Arena

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall is the direct sequel to The Elder Scrolls: Arena, making it an obvious choice to try out when getting into the series. The game is set in the Third Era, 405-417, giving you a more in-depth understanding of Tamriel's history with the different races and factions. It expands on Arena's plot, revolving around the Dragonborn's Prophecy. This is one of the easier 90s games to play, as it's actually free on Steam.

The Elder Scrolls II: Daggerfall establishes characters and locations seen in later games such as Oblivion.

The Emperor requests that you investigate a missing letter that was addressed to the former queen, and he wants you to find out about the ghost of King Lysandus of Daggerfall. Your choices in the game determine the fate of Mantella and will influence the destiny of the region. There are over 220 quests, making this a great and immersive choice. This is really where Elder Scrolls starts to feel like its later entries, so it's definitely worth checking out.

5 An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire Is Worth Playing

Released In 1997, Overlapping With The First Game

An Elder Scrolls Legend: Battlespire was originally planned to be an expansion to Daggerfall but actually released as a spin-off. Because of this, it makes sense to play after Daggerfall. Set in the Third Era, 398, you find that everyone is nearly killed by an army of Daedra that was led by Muhrunes Dagon, who just so happens to be holding your partner captive as well.

Within seven levels, you need to travel through the realms of Oblivion to find and defeat Dagon before escaping back to Tamriel. In total, it should take you roughly 15 hours to complete, and around 30 hours if you want to 100% it, making it a relatively short entry in the franchise. This one is also available on Steam, for just $6 at the time of writing.

4 Experience The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind Next

Released in 2002, Following Events From Daggerfall

Morrowind takes place in the Third Era, year 427, and lightly follows the events at the end of Daggerfall. Your character must go through many quests to prove you're the Nerevarine, the reincarnation. All the while, you must go on a perilous journey to save everyone from enslavement.

You may notice some overlapping Daedric Princes appearing in Daggerfall, such as Azura, Malacath, Mephala, and Sheogorath. In the base game, you have nearly 500 quests to complete. However, if you add the extremely popular mod Tamriel Rebuilt, you can play over 900.

For a game released in the early 2000s, Morrowind is pretty impressive in how expansive it is. Some even say the spell system is better than Skyrim's. Either way, it's a high point for the series and worth playing before getting into some of the rougher TES games (some of which you can even skip).

3 Add The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard To Your List

A Standalone Game, Released In 1998

In The Elder Scrolls Adventures: Redguard, you can see the graphics improve from earlier entries, but it still doesn't hold a flame to the newer games. This is one of the key reasons why you may want to start with the older games and working your way upward throughout the years, playing in chronological order, as it's much easier to adjust from older graphics to new.

The whole plot of the story revolves around rescuing Iszara, your missing sister in the Second Era, 864. Along the way, you must defeat pirates and speak to NPCs about recent events happening in the area. As a standalone game, it does not follow the events of any previous Elder Scrolls games, but is still worth a play if you're a fan of the franchise. Redguard is also priced at a wallet-friendly $6 on Steam.

2 The Elder Scrolls: Blades Isn't One Of The Greats

Though You Can Play It On Nintendo Switch

The Elder Scrolls: Blades is set after Oblivion in the Fourth Era after the Great War in the year 180. One of the more criticized Elder Scrolls games, you'll be forgiven for skipping this one entirely, as you can definitely tell that it's more for the mobile game audiences it was originally intended for.

Featuring a linear game design and combat revolving around tapping and swiping, this is the least like a typical Elder Scrolls game. Still, if you want to play through the entries, you can play it easily on Nintendo Switch, among other platforms. It's arguably worth getting it out of the way early on so you have more of the mainline games to look forward to, but you definitely don't want this to be your first TES game.

1 The Elder Scrolls Online: An Ongoing Experience

Another Recent Release From 2014

In 2014, The Elder Scrolls Online was released, and it's still supplemented with new content to this day. Set in the Second Era, specifically in the year 582, Online serves as predecessor to the first game. However, unlike other TES releases, here you team up with other players to complete many of the missions.

While it's hard to say TES Online is a better game than mainline favorites like Skyrim and Oblivion Remastered, I recommend playing this one last for one reason: it's still getting new content and is a major time sink. Once you've beaten every other game on this list, Online will - hopefully - give you enough content to keep you satisfied with TES until the release of The Elder Scrolls 6. Or at least, we hope so. If not, you might have to start replaying all The Elder Scrolls games on repeat until that day finally comes.