Are you new to the Tales of Tribute card game in The Elder Scrolls Online? Then check out this guide to the Tales of Tribute and set yourself rolling out like a PRO in no time!
About Tales of Tribute
A game within a game! Tales of Tribute is a 1v1 turn-based real-time, fast-paced competitive deck-building card game in ESO. It is a native game of Systres Archipelago, but its popularity reigns all across Tamriel. You can play it with both the NPCs (PVE) and players (PVP) anytime you wish.
This card game revolves around strategy planning and deck-building that rewards a player with lucrative prizes for playing and winning. Your ultimate aim is to outwit your opponent through your unique tactics.
The Elder Scrolls Online rolled out its latest ToT card game via its new DLC High Isle Chapter. It was released in June 2022 that brought several new features to the game, including never before seen areas.
Unsurprisingly, many combat-oriented traditional ESO players feel alienated by this as there is no physical combat present. However, given you know the rules of this deck-building card game, an all-new exciting journey beckons you!
Check out this definitive guide to the Tales of Tribute and set yourself rolling out like a PRO in no time!
Pre-Requirements
High Isle DLC Chapter ESO
Having the High Isle Chapter is a prerequisite to starting with Tales of Tribute.
If you do not have access to it, you can still collect deck cards and card upgrades. However, you will not be able to hold matches with both the players and the NPCs all across Tamriel.
What is the point of collecting the cards when you cannot play them? Therefore, having the High Isle Chapter is mandatory!
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Getting Started with ToT
Gonfalon Bay in ESO
The High Isle DLC Chapter brings a new city to The Elder Scrolls Online, Gonfalon Bay.
While you are there, head toward Gonfalon Gaming House. It is located to the South of Gonfalon Square Wayshrine over the harbor to a small island. Gonfalon Square Wayshrine is in the middle of Gonfalon Bay.
While crossing the bridge connecting Gonfalon Bay with the island, you will meet an NPC named Bragas, a wood elf. He will help you through your first card game.
Unlike in other Tales of Tribute PvP matches, there is no time limit for playing with NPCs. Be at your pace and learn the tutorials. After completing the tutorial game, 4 card decks will be unlocked for you (more on card decks down below).
After this, you can start challenging real players and advancing further in the Tales of Tribute questline.
You can contact both the Kishka and Marunji NPCs in the Gonfalon Gaming Hall, and they will set you out on Tales of Tribute quests. Kishka will task you with subduing NPC players, while Marunji will ask you to defeat other real players around ESO.
How to Play Tales of Tribute
Remarkably, the Tales of Tribute in The Elder Scrolls Online is fairly balanced. There is no ultimate edge to any player starting in any game position. Your victory solely depends on how well you make the most of the cards in your hand.
Some key takeaways before you start diving into how to play Tales of Tribute:
- There is a timer count of 90s when playing with real players.
- There is no time limit when playing with NPCs.
- The determination of Player 1 and Player 2 is random.
- Player 1 chooses the 1st and 4th patron.
- Player 2 chooses the 2nd and 3rd patron.
- Player 1 starts the game every time.
- Player 2 has one extra gold to compensate for the delayed turn.
Before a game starts, each player has to choose two different patrons from the collection of 9. There are a total of 5 patrons in any ToT game, with the Treasury patron being constant.
In the beginning, you are handed a few gold coins and ten cards in your draw pile. The rest of the cards are placed in the Tavern discard pile.
The shared pool in the middle, known as Tavern, is a collection of 5 cards. Both players have access to it from where they buy more cards to progress further in the game.
In each turn, you draw five cards from your draw pile and play them in any order. At the end of your turn, all the cards in play go into the cooldown pile.
When you run out of draw pile cards, all of the cards in the cooldown pile get reshuffled and placed onto your draw pile, and any other card that you bought from the Tavern.
The card game goes on like this until you win the favor of all four chosen patrons OR accumulate 40+ prestige points before your opponent.
ToT Game Modes
There are four primary game modes for the Tales of Tribute card game:
Ranked (PvP)
Ranked matches are where pro players face off against each other. Ranked matches affect a player’s tier level and ranking on the leaderboards. Players receive rewards for winning/losing. Ranked matches also help advance in the Tribute quests.
Unranked/Casual (PvP)
Unranked matches are also for experienced players where they confront each other. These unranked/casual matches neither affect a player’s tier level nor ranking on the leaderboards. However, players do receive rewards for winning/losing, and these unranked matches also help in advancing Tribute quests.
NPCs (PvE)
NPC match mode is a perfect candidate for newbie ToT players. It is highly recommended that newbie players must practice with NPCs before they challenge real players in ESO.
Card games with NPCs do not impact a player’s tier level or standing on the leaderboards. However, players do earn rewards for winning/losing based on rival NPCs’ difficulty ratings. Higher the difficulty, the higher the rewards. Card games with NPCs also help in progressing further in Tribute quests.
Friendly (PvP)
As the name suggests, Friendly matches are entirely played for fun between players. There are no rewards involved, no impacts on tier levels or leaderboard rankings, as well as no influence on Tribute quests.
Patrons in Tales of Tribute
The first 8 patrons in ToT
Patrons are “decks of cards” that share a common theme among them. For instance, Grandmaster Delmene Hlaalul is all about gold and acquisition, whereas Red Eagle, King of the Reach is all about power earning.
As of now, in The Elder Scrolls Online there are a total of 9 unique patrons in the ToT card game. The nine patrons are as follows:
1. Saint Pelin
2. Grandmaster Delmene Hlaalu
3. Duke of Crows
4. Psijic Loremaster Celarus
5. Red Eagle, King of the Reach
6. Sorcerer-King Orgnum
7. Ansei Frandar Hunding
8. Rajhin, the Purring Liar
9. Druid King
The first 4 in the above list are gifted by Master Razhamad soon after completing the card game tutorial. The rest needs to be discovered and collected. To unlock more of these decks, players often have to fulfill many specific requirements and complete certain tasks.
One main criterion is increasing your rank in Tales of Tribute. Furthermore, there will be many tasks requiring you to subdue particular foes, complete quests, as well as finding and defeating Masters of Tales of Tribute.
The Role of Patrons in the Card Game
In any ToT card game, there are four chosen patrons. Each of them has three different states: Favored, Neutral, and Unfavored.
Every patron requires a certain amount of power to favor you. A patron’s favor comes with added advantages. For example, having the favor of Saint Pelin returns 1 Agent card from your cooldown pile to the top of your deck!
However, keep in mind that these buffs are not permanent. Your opponents can pay power to a patron favoring you and convert it into a neutral state. A further power from your opponent to the same patron will make it favor your opponent and disfavor you. If you have more power, you can always win the favor back, though.
The “Neutral” Treasury Patron
There is yet another patron in the Tales of Tribute card game: Treasury. However, unlike other patrons, it does not favor or disfavor any player. Treasury patron allows you to get more gold-yielding cards at the cost of sacrificing a card and paying two gold.
Properties of ToT Cards
All of the ToT cards share some basic properties among them. These are their cost, suit, and effect.
Cost
A cost of a card tells you how much gold is required to buy the card. For example, if a card cost is 2, then it means that a player needs to spend 2 gold coins to obtain that card.
Suit
Suits are the color of cards. Each color belongs to a unique patron/deck.
For example, red cards belong to Saint Perlin’s deck, whereas purple cards (like in the picture above) belong to the Duke of Crows’ deck. Powerful card combos can be pulled off with cards of the same suit.
Effect
Effects are the results you get by playing a card. For example, you may get gold or power by using a certain card.
ToT Card Game Resources
The three basic pillars surrounding the Tales of Tribute card game in The Elder Scrolls Online are the following:
1. Gold
2. Power
3. Prestige
In Tales of Tribute, the ultimate aim is to buy cards with gold coins and use them to increase your power.
With increased power, you interact with the patrons and try to win their favor. Moreover, power is also used to launch attacks on your opponent’s agent cards.
Any unused power at the end of your turn gets converted into prestige points.
The two winning conditions in this card game are as follows:
• Either win the favor of all four chosen patrons
• Or increase your prestige to a minimum of 40 points
When you win the favor of all four patrons, the card game is instantly finished, and you are declared the winner.
And when you increase your prestige points to 40 or above, the game enters a “sudden death” mode. Now your opponent has only one move left, where he will either increase his total prestige points more than yours or lose the match.
Types of Cards in Tales of Tribute
There are four different types of cards in Tales of Tribute:
Action
Purchased with gold, Action cards have one-time effects and are immediately consumed upon implementation. When used, they go to the cooldown pile.
Agent
Purchased with gold but also have a health bar. Unlike other cards that are consumed in each turn, Agent cards persist. They are mainly used to launch attacks on the opponent’s cards. When used, they go to the cooldown pile.
Contract (Action, Agent)
Contract cards are either Action or Agent cards that are purchased from Tavern. Upon acquisition, they are put immediately into play.
Contract Action cards last one usage while Contract Agent cards last until they are knocked out or their health bar is depleted completely. Moreover, they do not go into your cooldown pile upon implementation. They are returned to the Tavern’s discard pile.
ToT Tips and Strategies
There are many strategies that you can adopt in the Tales of Tribute card game in ESO. However, we are going to list here a couple of the most effective tips:
Keep an Eye on Your Opponent
More often than not, ToT feels like a single-player experience. However, this is quite not the case. Pay attention to your opponent’s moves and see what he is up to. Even though you cannot peek at your opponent’s cards, seeing what color cards he is using will give you an idea of his motives and planning.
Adapt accordingly and start removing those cards from the tavern.
Stick with Familiar Patrons
Often when choosing patrons before starting the game, your opponent might choose a patron you have not unlocked yet. In such a case, avoid using that unknown patron’s cards and stick to your chosen patron’s cards.
Play Your Gold Cards First
Always try to play your starting gold cards first. Buy better cards from the Tavern and focus on getting same-color cards to trigger powerful combos. Or you can buy better gold-yielding cards from the Treasury that you can later use to buy more powerful cards.
So, this is our definitive guide to the Tales of Tribute game in ESO. Feel like something is missing out? Let us know in the comments below!