Are you interested in the concept of having multiple builds but find the process of swapping out your gear and skills too cumbersome? In this guide, I'll demonstrate how to utilize the Alpha Gear addon to seamlessly switch gear, skills, and appearance with just the push of a button. This addon provides greater control over your builds and enhances optimization in the Elder Scrolls Online. 

With Alpha Gear, you can effortlessly adjust your gear and skills between encounters, enhancing your performance in various roles such as DPS, healing, tanking, and thieving. Let's grab enough ESO Gold and explore Alpha Gear and its capabilities for managing multiple builds in the Elder Scrolls Online.

Intro To Alpha Gear

As a default feature, Alpha Gear enables users to store gear and skills in various configurations. 

Subsequently, users can allocate a gear configuration and two skill configurations to a specific build. Additionally, outfit assignment is possible for each build. Hotkeys can then be designated for each configuration, facilitating the instantaneous application of the associated gear, skills, and outfit upon activation.

Some individuals may inquire about the similarity between Alpha Gear and ESO's Armory system. While there are parallels, the vanilla Armory system permits the preservation and interchange of builds, albeit with some limitations. Access to the Armory station or an Armory assistant is required, and navigating through the dialogue swiftly, especially in group dungeons, can pose challenges. 

Notably, Alpha Gear surpasses these restrictions by offering unrestricted build creation, allowing users to generate numerous configurations according to their preferences.

Alpha Gear Settings

Let's begin by delving into the settings.

Firstly, in the profile and builds section, I opt for a streamlined interface by disabling "Show Build Buttons" and "Show Equipped Build". While we'll configure hotkeys for our builds, if you prefer manual swapping via clicking, ensure "Show Build Buttons" remains enabled. As for the remaining settings, I leave them unchanged.

Moving on to the gear section, I deactivate all three options. I find additional interface icons unnecessary, and since I utilize the Auto Recharge (and repair) addon to mend my gear with repair kits, I prefer not to incur expenses on automatic repairs at stores.

Concerning weapons, I also disable both options. The weapon charge icon isn't essential for me, and my weapons already undergo automatic recharging. However, if you're not utilizing the Auto Recharge (and repair) addon, Alpha Gear can manage this task for you.

Regarding the equipment panel, I maintain the default user interface settings. Personally, I prefer to disable "Show UI Button" as I assign a hotkey for opening the window. Nonetheless, if you prefer using buttons for navigation rather than hotkeys, it's advisable to retain this option enabled. Additionally, the UI button is relatively small and blends well with the default interface, making it inconspicuous in my view.

Keybinds

So, those are the settings, but we need to configure keybindings.

I prefer to set up keybindings, or at least that's what I'd recommend. By default, Alpha Gear doesn't have any keybindings assigned, but I suggest adding some. 

Personally, I utilize the "T" key to toggle the interface, and then I assign the numpad keys for each of my builds. If you prefer not to set up keybindings for each build, you can keep the UI button or build buttons enabled and simply click to swap. 

Additionally, if you intend to use it, make sure to enable the Style Manager in Alpha Gear 2 Integrations.

Creating A Build With Alpha Gear

Now that Alpha Gear is installed and we've configured the basic settings to our liking, let's begin creating some builds.

For this character, I aim to develop three straightforward builds. One for swift traversal around town and the Overworld, one focused on maximizing AOE DPS for handling trash pulls and dungeons, and another tailored for optimal DPS during boss encounters. In both DPS builds, I intend to utilize five pieces of the Order's Wrath set. However, in the around-town build, I'll make space for the Ring of the Wild Hunt and adjust the sets accordingly. Though this entails carrying extra gear, the flexibility to switch builds seamlessly justifies the minor inconvenience.

To initiate a new build, it's necessary to equip all desired gear and skills. For instance, I'll equip the Order's Wrath set, five pieces of Swamp Raiders, and the two-piece Veiled monster set for the AOE-focused build. Using Alpha Gear, I'll right-click on the Gear bar to save the current gear set and repeat the process for the skill bars.

Alpha Gear facilitates the independent saving of gear sets and skill bars, allowing for effortless customization when creating new builds. After saving a gear set and skill bars, proceed to edit a build slot by selecting the gear set and assigning a name. Additionally, options for outfit or Alpha style customization are available, offering versatility in appearance customization.

Following this, let's adjust gear and skills for the second build. I'll maintain the Order's Wrath set and incorporate Sheer Venom as the second five-piece set, along with Arena weapons in lieu of another monster set. Once adjustments are made, save the updated gear set and skill sets, and create a new build accordingly. With both DPS builds established, switching between them during dungeon runs becomes effortless, optimizing performance for different encounters.

Moving on, let's establish the third build, tailored for enhanced movement speed during urban traversal. This build typically complements Legerdemain focus sets, ideal for thieving activities within towns. Incorporating Night's Silence and Night's Tear sets, along with the Ring of the Wild Hunt, enhances speed while Armor of the Trainee provides additional health and armor. Skills can be tailored for combat or enhanced movement as desired.

Similar to previous steps, save the gear set and skill sets and allocate them to the third build slot. Now, an optimized build is available for daily tasks, pickpocketing endeavors, or swift point-to-point travel.

What About Champion Skills?

Initially, Alpha Gear does not include functionality for saving Champion Point loadouts. However, an extension called Champion Point Slots addresses this limitation.

While I've found the Champion Point Slots extension somewhat challenging to navigate, I rarely find the need to switch combat Champion Skills on the fly. Nevertheless, I highly recommend utilizing the Jack of all Trades addon developed by Cyber on ESO.

Jack of all Trades simplifies the process by automatically adjusting your green craft Champion Skills based on your current activity. This eliminates the need to create additional builds or manually swap craft skills.

I mention this addon because it complements Alpha Gear effectively. Particularly, it ensures your character remains optimized outside of combat, especially as you attain higher champion levels and unlock multiple slottable Champion Skills from the craft constellation. Unlike combat skills, I prefer having craft Champion Skills adjusted according to my activities, whether it involves thieving, crafting, gathering, or fishing, given their significant impact.

Build Suggestions For ESO

Now that you're familiar with Alpha Gear, your possibilities are virtually limitless.

I've personally saved 8 builds on my Warden. These include my Falinest Scout solo build, which adeptly combines speed and damage to swiftly defeat overworld mobs and facilitate travel. 

There's also my Dark Ranger AOE poison build, optimized for clearing both trash mobs and dungeons. 

Additionally, I have a Marksman build centered around the Relicin set, specifically tailored for maximizing single-target damage output. 

Another build focuses on solo survivability, finely tuned for conquering Veteran Maelstrom Arenas. 

My Battleground Warden PVP build is designed for intense player versus player combat. 

Similar to the around-town build we previously discussed, there's also my Turbo Rogue build. 

Additionally, there's my Forest Guardian tank build, equipped with 64 points in stamina and suitable tank gear and skills, making even this Bosmer proficient in tanking various content. For quick random normal dungeon runs, I utilize this build with great efficiency. 

Lastly, there's my stamina healer build, which boldly combines stamina-based healing with group buffs, enabling effective healing in challenging situations.

Final Thoughts on Alpha Gear

Alpha Gear is particularly useful for experimenting with new builds since it allows you to save your work in progress, ensuring you don't lose track of the skills or gear you were using. While this approach may not suit everyone, especially newer players who are still refining their first build, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself considering whether one set might outperform another, or perhaps you're drawn to trying out a more thematic build or simply craving speed at times.

It's worth noting that there are alternative addons offering similar functionality. Although I recently made the switch from Dressing Room to Alpha Gear, Wizard's Wardrobe is another viable option. All three operate in a comparable manner, allowing for exploration of various options. My preference for Alpha Gear over Dressing Room stems from the latter's apparent lack of updates. While Dressing Room functions adequately in its current state, there's uncertainty about its future compatibility, unlike Alpha Gear, which continues to receive regular updates and maintenance, making it a safer recommendation.