Vateshran’s Hollows achievement guide for ESO
Vateshran’s Hollows is a four-player dungeon in ESO’s Greymoor zone, and its achievement list rewards both a clean full clear and mastery of the encounters. This guide to the Vateshran’s Hollows dungeon achievements covers the core completion entries, optional encounter goals and the separate challenges for Hard Mode and a fast clear. The route runs through The Lady of the Dead, The Gleaner, The Smith and The Hollow Queen. Learn more about How To Get The Aetherial Ambrosia Recipe Explained.
Most groups begin with the standard Vateshran’s Hollows clear, which unlocks the basic dungeon achievement. Separate entries cover the harder difficulty and a speed target, while hidden encounter achievements reward specific handling of Blood Spawn adds, lightning, Dwemer constructs and the final Queen. Those goals are not all awarded at the end, so a boss kill by itself may not complete every related condition.
Australian players use the Gondolier server and should plan around AEDT and AEST rather than a vague evening slot. Brisbane stays on AEST while Sydney and Melbourne move to AEDT during daylight saving, which can shift a planned start by an hour. Storefront purchases appear in Australian dollars with GST included. Local group chat is likely to contain g’day, no worries or chucking, but precise role calls remain more useful than slang.
Treat the first run as a mechanics run, not a race. Learn where the group can stack, which attacks need interrupts and how quickly the optional enemies must die; only then should the group attempt the strict timer conditions. Members can come from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and overseas, so Group Finder is usually quicker than assembling a code and hoping everyone has the right client, chapter and language settings.
The achievement checklist at a glance
| Achievement or goal | Requirement | Practical focus |
|---|---|---|
| Vateshran’s Hollows | Defeat all four bosses | Learn the route and collect the encounter goals |
| Vateshran’s Hollows Hard Mode | Enable Hard Mode and meet the stricter journal conditions | Survive stronger patterns and respect the timing windows |
| Vateshran’s Hollows Speed Run | Complete the dungeon within 20 minutes | Skip optional fights and pull only required enemies |
| It’s a Gas | Complete the Lady of the Dead encounter objective | Handle Blood Spawns promptly and follow the current tooltip |
| Against the Horde | Meet the Blood Spawn quota | Clear the spawned enemies before they overwhelm the group |
| Shocking! | Complete The Gleaner encounter | Control the lightning mechanics and support enemies |
| Machina Supremacy | Complete The Smith encounter | Manage constructs and interrupt dangerous casts |
| Deadly Acquire | Complete The Hollow Queen encounter | Finish the final encounter without losing time to avoidable mechanics |
Start with the standard clear as the baseline. A normal clear and a Hard Mode clear count toward different entries, while the speed run has its own clock, so one flawless but leisurely group clear may unlock only part of the list. The encounter achievements can be collected during the same run because they concern encounters that must be defeated anyway.
Read each entry’s tooltip before the pull. It shows whether a condition concerns adds, damage taken, elapsed time or something more specific, preventing a group from earning the standard boss kill while missing a separate challenge. The checklist above maps the goals, but the current Collections wording governs any recent game changes.
The normal four-player dungeon is the direct route to the original achievement set. Do not confuse it with The Unhallowed Crypt, which has its own bosses, requirements and rewards. Likewise, Hard Mode must be active from the beginning rather than selected after the first boss has already fallen.
Building a group that can finish cleanly
Four players make the mechanics easiest to read: one tank holds priority, one healer watches boss attacks and incoming damage, and two damage dealers clear the enemies. Composition matters less than communication, though a group with two tanks or two healers can still finish. Assign one add killer before the Lady pull and establish an interrupt rotation for The Smith; otherwise the main health bar can fall quickly while important enemies remain alive.
Before queuing, confirm that everybody has the same tutorial status, can see ground effects and knows who carries corpse bags and repair kits. The Group Finder description is also the place to state whether the group wants a patient learning clear, a Hard Mode run or a speed attempt. Making that intent clear reduces the chance that members join with different expectations.
Community information can fill the gaps left by patch notes, and Darkflight Games is a useful place to check for ESO-related community resources and updates. Treat such advice as supplementary, though: the in-game Collections menu remains the best source for achievement requirements and reward icons because those entries change whenever a mechanic is corrected.
The four-boss route and optional goals
The Lady of the Dead is the first real test because the Blood Spawn adds must be handled quickly. Tank her at the assigned angle, spread only when the cast requires it and have the add killer collect every spawn. It’s a Gas and Against the Horde are the two Lady-related entries to watch: one follows the encounter itself, while the other tracks clearing the required Blood Spawn. Check the journal rather than assuming that the boss kill completes both conditions.
The Gleaner punishes players who spread without purpose. Follow the shock indicators, rotate out of marked ground and clear totems or other support enemies before they restore the boss. Shocking! is the Gleaner’s individual achievement. A Magicka Necromancer build overview is written for solo arena play, so its sustain and control principles can help a damage dealer, but the opener and pressure should be adjusted for grouped boss attacks.
The Smith changes the priority from avoiding damage to protecting the healer. Constructs and projectiles can arrive together, so the tank should hold the boss away from the group while the interrupt player deals with the heavy cast. Machina Supremacy is tied to this encounter; clear the constructs instead of racing the health bar, especially on Hard Mode, where an unchecked wave can turn a good attempt into a lengthy cleanup.
The Hollow Queen is the final test and often the easiest place to lose time. Assign interrupt priority, call out soul or orb mechanics before they land and keep ranged players available for adds without leaving the healer exposed. Deadly Acquire is the Queen-related entry to verify at the kill. Finishing her promptly also provides the endpoint for the ordinary dungeon clear, leaving only the mode and speed conditions if they remain.
Hard Mode and the speed clock
Hard Mode must be selected before the run, either in the dungeon finder or at the entrance. Every player should verify that the Hard icon is visible; starting normally and switching later does not retroactively qualify. The journal imposes stricter total-time and boss-spacing conditions, while the encounter scripts add harsher versions of familiar attacks. Read the current tooltips because ESO can adjust these conditions, and treat any death or revive as a bad sign even when it is not an explicit rule.
The speed target is 20 minutes, which becomes demanding only if the group fights every optional enemy or pauses to explain every mechanic. Establish a clear pull order, move immediately after each reset and use area attacks when enemies stack. Approach the clock from the first planned pull rather than the queue timer, so waiting at the entrance or collecting an unusual drop cannot consume a large share of the allowance.
A speed group needs cleaner movement than a damage race: one player calls skips, another watches the route and the healer does not need to rush. The same preparation serves Hard Mode, but practising a blind clear is smarter than repeatedly spending consumables on an unready attempt. Record the slow run, mark the point where time disappears and rehearse that section until the route becomes automatic.
Turning the checklist into a finished run
Completion is easiest when treated as a short series of goals. First clear all four bosses and collect the five encounter achievements; then repeat with Hard Mode selected; then make a dedicated speed attempt. This order reduces pressure on a new group and prevents optional tasks from being overlooked if one member leaves before the Queen.
Supplies matter in the final stretch. Bring enough food, restore potions and repair provisions for the planned number of attempts, and decide before the pull whether the group is testing mechanics or racing. If you are preparing consumables rather than buying them outright, the Aetherial Ambrosia recipe guide explains how to obtain that recipe. On the Australian store, AUD pricing and GST make it useful to compare the cost with crafting ingredients before making a large order.
Finally, inspect the reward icons in Collections. The main entries award achievement progress, while the encounter goals can carry their own collectible or cosmetic rewards, so they should not be dismissed as ordinary boss counters. The next concrete step is to open Collections, select Vateshran’s Hollows, pin its first unmet achievement condition and enter Group Finder with that objective clearly noted.