Ultimate Scrying Guide

What is an Antiquity?

The Antiquities system in The Elder Scrolls Online was introduced with the Greymoor expansion in Q2 2020. This feature allows players to become ‘antiquarians’, uncovering ancient relics and lore across Tamriel. Through a unique Excavation and Scrying mini-game, players can unearth a range of collectible items, including:

  • Ancestral Motifs: Unlocks new armor and weapon styles from different cultures.
  • Outfit Styles: Adds customizable appearance options.
  • Housing Items: Rare furnishings to decorate homes.
  • Personalities & Emotes: Unlocks character animations and expressions.
  • Pets and Mounts: Unique companions and rides.
  • Mythic Items: Powerful, one-of-a-kind gear with unique effects.
  • Treasure and Gold.

This system adds both a lore-rich exploration angle and various incentives for players who enjoy discovering Tamriel’s history.

How To Begin

To begin, you must join the Antiquarian Circle in Solitude, Western Skyrim.   Inside the College of the Bards you will meet Verita Numida who gives you the introductory quest. 

Please note that you must own the Greymoor expansion for this to become available to you.  Also note that even if you do not have Greymoor, you may still acquire Antiquity Leads.  You simply won’t be able to use them.

The Antiquities skill lines will unlock after you have completed the small introductory quest, ‘Calling All Antiquarians!’.  You will also gain a new tool called the Antiquarian’s Eye.  The Eye can be quick slotted and, when used within a dig zone, will indicate the direction of the active dig site.

You can only use the Antiquarian’s Eye once every 30 seconds.  Look for the tail of the mist and follow that direction to more easily locate the dig site.

This symbol will appear in your compass.  Once you are in the excavation area’ it will disappear and the compass will glow.  You can only use the antiquarian’s Eye when you are inside the excavation area.

What is a Lead?

An Antiquity Lead is a clue that guides players to a specific, hidden relic or item within the game. Leads are essential for the Antiquities System, as they reveal where to scry and dig for treasures scattered throughout Tamriel.

Leads are time-sensitive and may expire.  A Lead normally has a 30-day expiration period.  You must scry this lead in 30 days or it will disappear and you will need to require it.  If you have scryed a Lead, it will remain active until you excavate it.  Note that you may only have FIVE active Leads at one time.  Leads are also account-wide.  All Leads have fixed locations in which they are available.

Leads come in various difficulty levels.  You will begin with a simple lead to practice and hone your skills in both scrying and excavating.  

Lead difficulty levels are:

  • Green – this is a simple lead.  Simple leads can be scryed by default and usually contains treasures, motif chapters, or antique maps.  Each zone has one simple lead that is given to you for free.  These ‘beginner’ leads automatically replenish and the ‘treasure’ gained can be sold to a merchant for gold.
  • Blue – this is an intermediate lead.  Intermediate leads usually contain treasures, motif chapters, cosmetics, and mount components.  You will need to be at least a Level 3 in the Scrying skill line and have the Antiquarian Insight II passive to scry for immediate leads.
  • Purple – this is an advanced lead.  Advanced leads usually contain treasures, motif chapters, mount components, and epic-quality furnishings.  You must be at least a Level 5 in the Scrying skill line and have the Antiquarian Insight III passive to scry advanced leads.
  •  Yellow – this is a master lead.  Master leads usually contain Mythic item components, mount components, and some legendary-quality furnishing.  You will need to be at least Level 7 in Scrying and have the Antiquarian Insight IV passive to scry for master leads.
  • Orange – this is an ultimate lead.  Ultimate leads usually contain a range of selected legendary-quality furnishing.  You will need to be a Level 10 in Scrying, and have the Antiquarian Insight V passive to scry for ultimate leads.

The in-game Antiquities section will show four types of leads:

  • In Progress – you have scryed the lead but have not yet excavated it.
  • Available – you have obtained the lead but have not yet scryed it.  You will also note that the ‘days left’ appear under each lead helping you keep track of expiration dates.
  • Requires Lead – you have not yet obtained a necessary Lead to scry.
  • Unknown – you have not yet found a lead so no additional information is displayed.

What is Scrying?

Scrying is a mini-game where you connect runes to ‘scry’ for a relic’s location. Higher skill levels in Scrying can reveal more precise dig sites and unlock higher-level antiquities.  

Scrying in Detail

When scrying, you must link hexagonal nodes on a grid to reveal dig sites. Each successful link brings you closer to discovering the exact location of a relic. Scrying is somewhat strategic—you use a limited number of turns to complete the puzzle, and there are skill upgrades that can improve the number of possible turns or make connections easier.  More complicated grids scale in difficulty based on your lead difficulty.

As you improve your Scrying skill, you will gain access to higher-level antiquities with better rewards. You can also unlock abilities that make the mini-game easier, such as the ability to claim multiple nodes at once or to identify high-level dig sites.

There are a couple of possible endings to Scrying.  You may run out of turns completing only a few of the facet connections required.  For each connection that you miss, you will be shown possible dig zone areas on your map.  To only see the dig area where the excavation site is located, you must complete all the connections.  You can scry as often as you like so if you do not get the results you want, you can try again.

Scrying Skill Passives

Scry

Adds the selected contiguous group of facets to your area of control. Consumes 1 turn. 

Antiquarian Insight

Allows you to scry for Antiquities of up to Simple difficulty.

Level 3 – Allows you to scry for Antiquities of up to Intermediate difficulty.

Level 5 – Allows you to scry for Antiquities of up to Advanced difficulty.

Level 7 – Allows you to scry for Antiquities of up to Master difficulty.

Level 10 – Allows you to scry for Antiquities of up to Ultimate difficulty.

Scrier’s Patience

Level 2 – Grants you an additional turn of Scrying.

Level 5 – Grants you two additional turns of Scrying.

Coalescence

Level 2 – Unites a hexagonal cluster of facets in the Antiquarian’s Eye, converting the symbols to match that of the central facet. Consumes 1 Magicka Charge.

Level 6 – Unites a hexagonal cluster of facets in the Antiquarian’s Eye, converting the symbols to match that of the central facet. New Effect: The ability’s range increases by one facet, creating a snowflake-like pattern. Consumes 1 Magicka Charge.

Future Focus

Level 4 – Grants you an additional Magicka Charge for use in Scrying.

Level 8 – Grants you two additional Magicka Charges for use in Scrying.

Dilation

Level 4 – Claim all facets of the selected type that touch your area of control, as well as matching facets directly adjacent. Consumes 1 Magicka Charge.

Level 8 – Claim all facets of the selected type that touch your area of control, as well as matching facets directly adjacent. New Effect: Dilation now claims ALL contiguous facets of the same type. Consumes 1 Magicka Charge.

Farsight

Level 6 – Claim a line of facets, stretching out from your area of control. Consumes 1 Magicka Charge.

Level 9 – Claim a line of facets, stretching out from your area of control. New Effect: Range increased from 4 facets to 6. Consumes 1 Magicka Charge.

Preemptive Power

Level 9 – Start each Scrying attempt with an additional row of facets already claimed.

Excavation in Detail

Once you have successfully scryed a location, you then need to head to the designated zone to excavate.  This is marked on your map as a highlighted area.  

This game takes place at the dig site and requires you to carefully dig up the treasure without damaging it. Using the wrong tool, for example, can damage the antiquity. 

Players have several tools at their disposal:

  • Hand Brush: Gently reveals dirt and uncovers the area.
  • Augur Tool: Reveals the locations of buried objects.
  • Heavy Shovel: Removes larger amounts of dirt but risks damaging the item if used carelessly.
  • Trowel: Allows for more precise digging in tight spaces.

You must be mindful of a limited number of moves and avoid damaging the relic. Excavation becomes a balance of speed and care, especially for high-level antiquities, which have complex layers and require precise digging.

Occasionally, dig sites contain “bonus” items hidden alongside the main antiquity. Players with strong excavation skills and strategy can unearth additional rewards, like gold, treasure maps, and unique furnishings.

Excavation Skill Passives

Hand Brush

Level 1 – Removes 1 layer of soil or rock from a 1×1 area. Generates: 1 Intuition Maximum Intuition: 2.

Level 6 – Removes 1 layer of soil or rock from a 1×1 area. Generates: 1 Intuition Maximum Intuition: 4.

Augur

Level 1 – Indicates how near the Antiquity is to the selected location. Can only be used a limited number of times, based on the Antiquity’s Difficulty. Only works on the lowest three layers of dirt and rocks. Cannot detect Bonus Loot. Using Augur does not consume a turn.

Level 5 – Indicates how near the Antiquity is to the selected location. Can only be used a limited number of times, based on the Antiquity’s Difficulty. Works on the lowest six layers of dirt and rocks. Cannot detect Bonus Loot. Using Augur does not consume a turn.

Trowel

Level 2 – Removes 3 layers of dirt or rock from a 1×1 area. Costs 2 Intuition to use.

Level 7 – Removes 3 layers of dirt or rock from a 1×1 area. Costs 2 Intuition to use. Can safely trigger Fissures to create explosive chain reactions.

Keen Eye: Dig Sites

Level 2 – Antiquity Dig Sites will be easier to see when you are 20 meters or closer.

Level 4 – Antiquity Dig Sites will be easier to see when you are 30 meters or closer.

Excavator’s Reserves

Level 3 – Increases the amount of time you have available when excavating a dig site.

Level 10 – Further increases the amount of time you have available when excavating a dig site.

Heavy Shovel

Level 4 – Removes 1 layer of dirt and rocks from up to a 3×3 area. The shovel only affects a single contiguous height of dirt and rocks. Costs 2 Intuition to use.

Level 8 – Removes 1 layer of dirt and rocks from up to a 3×3 area. The shovel only affects a single contiguous height of dirt and rocks. Costs 2 Intuition to use. Has a chance to consume no Intuition on use.

Keen Eye: Treasure Chests

Level 7 – Treasure Chests will be easier to see when you are 20 meters or closer.

Level 9 – Treasure Chests will be easier to see when you are 30 meters or closer.

Best Moves

The image above shows some of the ‘best moves’ to make finding dig spots easier to find.  If you choose each of the corner areas you should see a yellow square meaning you are close to the location of the treasure.  If you land on the treasure, the square will turn green.  Orange blocks mean you are not close.  

In this example, the antiquity is in neither of the corner areas.  The easy choice is then to select near the middle of the previously selected areas.  

Level Your Antiquity Skills

While you could travel around Tamriel finding your Simple dig sites in each zone, an easy way is to visit Artaeum.  With a single wayshrine and an enemy free area, Artaeum is a great place to level Scrying and Excavating.  In some cases, you will receive Intermediate leads which increase your skill lines at a higher rate.

ESO Artaeum Wayshrines Location Map

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