Elder Scrolls Online – How to Change Servers on PC (with Pictures)

When The Elder Scrolls Online North American megaserver went down, players had the option of either waiting for the 13 1/2 hour long maintenance window to end, or to change to the European megaserver that was still up and running. Most people did not want to switch because it seemed the game makes you download the entire 20 gigabytes all over again.

Good news: You do not have to download again to switch megaservers. I have gone step-by-step through the process to document what to do to get the second megaserver running on your PC.

Step 1: Change Megaserver

Load the game launcher and click on the cog icon in the upper right hand corner. This will load your settings screen. Under the megaserver drop down menu, click on the one you wish to switch to. Click Apply. If it starts to install, hit pause and then close the launcher. If not, close the launcher.

Step 2: Set Up Folders

Go to your Program Files and find the folder for Zenimax Online (for 64-bit users, this will be in the Program Files (x86) directory). The folders that you will need are:

• The Elder Scrolls Online
• The Elder Scrolls Online EU

If you are switching to the European server, you will need to create the EU folder if not already available. If you are switching to the North American server, you will need to create the folder lacking EU. Open the folder that has all your original files. Select all three folders and right-click. In the menu, click copy.

Go back to the new folder and paste the files by right clicking and choosing paste. This will take a while as the computer pastes 20 gigs or more of files.

Step 3:Run the Launcher

The launcher will first check the files and attempt to install the game. Let the install run till about 3% and hit pause.

After you hit pause, look for the Game Options located under the News headline. Click on it and a menu will drop. Hit cancel.

Once you have hit cancel, the launcher should now have an update button instead of an install button. If it still says install, you did not let the install run far enough. Let install run a bit longer and retry game options.

Step 4: Repair Files

If your screen does have an update button, click on Game Options again. You will have four options to choose from. Choose Repair.

The game will then began to check the download for any missing files.

Once finished, the Play button will show.

Note: If patches need to be installed, instead of play button, the game will begin downloading and installing the patch files before showing the Play button.

Be sure to check out all the ESO guides and tips on GameSkinny.