Originally published January 15, 2015. The original article can be found here.
Update 6 introduces a brand new progression system to ESO. The Champion System offers you more choices for your characters' development as they explore Tamriel and gain experience, granting them access to powerful passive abilities. Once you achieve Veteran Rank 1 (or if you have an existing VR character when Update 6 launches), the Champion System will become available account-wide. Let's take a closer look at how the system works.
Champion PointsEdit
In the Champion System, all of your Veteran Rank characters earn Champion Points as they participate in activities that grant experience. Only Veteran Rank characters are capable of earning Champion Points, but those they earn are available to all your characters (even non-VR characters). That means any time you earn a Champion Point, each of your characters on that megaserver can spend it however they like. Each character can invest the total number of Champion Points you've earned differently.
The ConstellationsEdit
The Warrior, the Mage, and the Thief are known as the guardian constellations. They each have three lesser constellations in their charge, and together they represent aspects of power. Every constellation contains different abilities that you can purchase with Champion Points.
When you earn a Champion Point, that point will be assigned to the Warrior, the Thief, or the Mage, in that order. Once you earn a point in the Thief, for instance, your next point will be assigned to the Mage, and the next after that to the Warrior. You choose which of the three constellations under that sign to spend your point on.
Champion PassivesEdit
Each of the guardian constellations has a general theme. Points spent in the Warrior increase your health and allow you to improve your defensive capabilities. When you spend points in the Thief, your stamina will increase and you'll be able to choose utility bonuses, and points spent in the Mage increase magicka and grant benefits to physical and magical offensive power.
The passives offered by the constellations are diverse and allow you to customize your characters to your liking, no matter what kind of build you have in mind. Each constellation is comprised of individual stars, each with their own special bonuses. You can spend a total of 100 points on each star in a constellation.
As you spend points on stars in a specific constellation, you'll unlock very powerful passives. These unlock at 10, 30, 75, and 120 points spent in a constellation. There are 36 of these strong passives total, and they offer the most impactful enhancements you'll find in the Champion System.
EnlightenmentEdit
To help you earn Champion Points, we've introduced a new mechanic called Enlightenment to the game. Over time, your account will accrue Enlightenment. You do not have to be logged in to accrue Enlightenment.
As you participate in activities that grant experience to your Veteran Rank character, Enlightenment provides you with a bonus to Champion Point progression, helping you earn points faster. Eventually, you may run out of Enlightenment, but don't worry—more Enlightenment is added to your account every 24 hours.
Activities that grant experience include questing, killing enemies, fighting in Cyrodiil, exploring dungeons and delves, and facing Trials and the Dragonstar Arena.