How much can I play ESO solo?

Dovah-Zoor

Hello all. I have never played ESO before, but would like to try it. Huge fan of Oblivion and Skyrim. I know this is an online take on The Elder Scrolls, but I'm hoping I can play it as if it were like the previous games, rather than a MMO.

I have googled this, but thought I'd come straight here for very direct answers...

How much, if any, of ESO can I play solo? I don't even want to see other players. Is there a way to make a private game where it's just my character? I read the main story line can be played solo. Does this mean 100% solo, as in no one else is in the same game? Can side quests, guilds and dungeons be played solo?

I guess I'm hoping for ES6, rather than an online game. Hoping to get my questions answered. Thanks guys.

Uzkul

Thing to remember is, this is an MMO in it's core.
So while you can level up from 1 tot veteran rank 12 by yourself (but especially in veteran ranks this will be very slow!), there is content only able to be done with groups (bar some classes/skills that are going to get balanced eventually).

And as it's an MMO using all kinds of phasing (different quest phases) you will see other players popping in and out.
There are specific questline you are forced to do solo, but those are rather scarce (compared to the amount of quests in the game).

Thing to remember is, ESO is definately not another Elder Scrolls game, it is an MMO set in the Elder Scrolls universe. That's a rather significant difference.

Having said that I have leveled my character completely solo frommm 1 to veteran rank 2 at this point (using Nightblade character). I have not ran any closed group dungeons (4man) or trials (12man) so far.
I finished the lvl 50 main quest solo (don't know if you can really consider the veteran area's a main quest still).

Basically if you want ES6 (and I don't blame you, because I definately want that aswell) this might not be the game you are looking for.
And that being said too, don't dismis it at first glance either.
Any way you like it, the choice is eventually yours to make. I can only tell you what the game is about.

Hope this helped you a bit.

columbineb14_ESO

You MUST do the Mages' Guild, Thieves' Guild, and main storyline (Prophet and Friends) solo. At least, all the important parts.

You CAN do almost all other quest content before Veteran levels solo, although there are a couple of bosses where you may wish you had help.

You MIGHT be able to do world bosses (skull and crossbones icon on your map) solo or the "little group" dungeon AKA the public dungeon solo. If you're good.

You will not be able to do the large group dungeon in each zone solo unless you are a true god or you're hugely overlevel.

Coming into an MMO expecting ES6 is a mistake. By the by.

robynheraty_ESO

You can play tons of this game by yourself, and you can always do what my husband does. He treats all the other players as if they were fancy NPC's populating his fantasy world. In his mind, they aren't other players at all.

Dovah-Zoor

Thanks for the replies, guys. Too bad the makers couldn't have made a version of this game for the non-MMO players. Like many ES fans I know in person, i'll pass on this game.
waiting patiently for the next Fallout and/or ES game

kaosodin

robynheraty_ESO wrote: »

You can play tons of this game by yourself, and you can always do what my husband does. He treats all the other players as if they were fancy NPC's populating his fantasy world. In his mind, they aren't other players at all.

Hahahahahahahaahha I love it

Drawberrry

Dovah-Zoor wrote: »

Hello all. I have never played ESO before, but would like to try it. Huge fan of Oblivion and Skyrim. I know this is an online take on The Elder Scrolls, but I'm hoping I can play it as if it were like the previous games, rather than a MMO.

I have googled this, but thought I'd come straight here for very direct answers...

How much, if any, of ESO can I play solo? I don't even want to see other players. Is there a way to make a private game where it's just my character? I read the main story line can be played solo. Does this mean 100% solo, as in no one else is in the same game? Can side quests, guilds and dungeons be played solo?

I guess I'm hoping for ES6, rather than an online game. Hoping to get my questions answered. Thanks guys.

I leveled up pretty quickly, without grinding or really trying to, doing very little group work. You can play solo, but the nature of the MMO is...a massive multiplayer world. If you play during the middle of the day on a weekday you're likely going to see very few other players. But 3pm on a Saturday? You'll see everyone.

There is content specifically made for 4 player groups and above, of which you will find it near impossible to complete solo.

fromtesonlineb16_ESO

NVM, bad mis-reading of the post I commented on.

Whisper292

The PVE quests are mainly geared toward solo players or at least small groups, but I'm afraid you can't do anything about seeing other players. You'll have people coming up and helping you kill things whether you want them to or not, but it really is easy to get used to. I was like you when I started playing, and I still prefer solo play, but the MMO aspects aren't all that bad once you get used to them.

Skillet

I went the entire route 1- V1 entirely solo and then unsubbed. Got bored with the vet content, although the quests were of good quality I just got bored. Worth the money though, go for it.

Pallmor

I wanted a single player game too. But having said that, I rather enjoy having the other players around, and working with them in public dungeons, fighting world bosses, etc. It makes the world feel "alive" in a way that single player games just can't. You see players doing some crazy stuff, which is fun. And there is nothing like having some help when you're taking on a boss that would probably kick your butt otherwise.

I find myself doing impromptu team-ups a lot more than I ever did in any other MMO--primarily because everything in this game isn't instanced like in some MMO's I've played. Here when you run into a dungeon, odds are that some other players are going in with you. And working together can be rewarding.

frozenchicken

Basically, vast chunks of the game are single player content that can be enhanced by the aid of other players, and then there are a few (non-essential, though useful) bits that require teamwork, but can eventually be defeated solo with a combination of a strong build and/or overleveling if you are actively against playing with others. This is an MMO, but it's probably the best MMO I've encountered in terms of allowing solo play to be a good option (excluding some games where PvP is a much stronger and frustrating part of the game).

Tiyamel

You can pretty much solo most everything, even some world bosses and group dungeons can be successfully soloed if your good, but there are some tho that can only be done with a group, for example I can solo melee world bosses with ease but if I go up against a world boss caster I usually get blasted into next week.

Laurelinde

As above, you can get through quite a lot of the content solo. Meeting other players is inevitable, particularly in towns. Your best bet for avoiding a lot of other people is to do a lot of exploring, and play at off-peak times if at all possible; I have found that the zones get much emptier after around midnight.

At the end of the day however it is an Elder Scrolls MMO rather than Elder Scrolls 6.

Shunravi

You CAN go through the game (barring some group dungeons and world bosses) completely solo. I did (At least for the vet lvls as there are so few running arround there. And with a stamina build mind you, so take what you may see whiners say with a grain of salt.) That being said, it is very annoying and hard during the vet lvl's, as most things can chunk your hp quickly.

If you want to stay completely solo you are going to have to learn how to use your self sustains and cc's effectively. Also you will absolutely need to learn tells and how to counter abilities. Also figure out what each ability you have at your disposal can do. What a seemingly worthless ability can do may supprise you. It certainly supprised my dk friend when I helped him respec after the bash nerf.

And if you can't stand seeing other players, try picturing them as intelligent companion npcs, kinda like a Lydia who doesn't necessarily stay by your side and carry your burdens. You can turn off chat if you don't want to see it as well, so that can also cut down on the socialization

boogie95

columbineb14_ESO wrote: »

You MUST do the Mages' Guild, Thieves' Guild, and main storyline (Prophet and Friends) solo. At least, all the important parts.

You CAN do almost all other quest content before Veteran levels solo, although there are a couple of bosses where you may wish you had help.

You MIGHT be able to do world bosses (skull and crossbones icon on your map) solo or the "little group" dungeon AKA the public dungeon solo. If you're good.

You will not be able to do the large group dungeon in each zone solo unless you are a true god or you're hugely overlevel.

Coming into an MMO expecting ES6 is a mistake. By the by.

where is there a Thieves' Guild thought it wasent added yet

catpower

Dovah-Zoor wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, guys. Too bad the makers couldn't have made a version of this game for the non-MMO players. Like many ES fans I know in person, i'll pass on this game.
waiting patiently for the next Fallout and/or ES game

Hmmm, my experience has been that you can pretty much play ESO like ES6 if you want, no problem. That's what I have been doing anyway.

All you other players are just npcs to me (jk!).

Joking aside, you can solo all the way and many of the quest lines actually force you to solo for various parts.

I guess I don't see what in other people's replies made you decide to skip ESO?...

Laerania_ESO

Dovah-Zoor wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, guys. Too bad the makers couldn't have made a version of this game for the non-MMO players. Like many ES fans I know in person, i'll pass on this game.
waiting patiently for the next Fallout and/or ES game

Don't get overwhelmed by some answers, MMO doesn't mean co-op. But don't worry, even not many mmo developers know this.

You can play most part of the game solo (except some group designed content like Craglorn-expansion-the-big-mistake). Maybe in the future they will add more solo content.

The only condition of a mmo is you must "see" other players around. Possibly there are other interactions like saying hi, to decline blind invitations, PvP, trading, etc. but none of those are mandatory.

richiestyles

This is my first MMO and I love skyrim. I was very hesitant at first but like people say, just ignore the others (until they steel your chest).

You can play everything solo except group dungeons, but even grouping up isn't so bad, I don't talk unless I have to and your follower doesn't run in front of your arrows and die when they try to help you. Plus if your like me someone can heal you while you kick some ass.

LariahHunding

The game is well worth the investment to play 1-50 solo. Buy it. Play the hell out of 1-50 with alts, covering all the content. Try different builds/classes/skills. Probably weeks/months of content.

Then unsubscribe.

However, you may find you like some of the MMO/Group stuff. Find a good guild with VoIP server, and you may find socializing with like-minded people more fun than the game.

Phadin

Don't avoid the game because it has some group content. The large majority of the game is intended as solo content. I'm a solo Elder Scrolls/RPG player myself. I generally hate MMOs, but I'm loving this game. There is a small selection of stuff (world bosses, a single group dungeon in each zone) that you need a group for. None of that is required to play through the game, and only the group dungeons really have a reward worth doing them (skill point).

I say go ahead and get the game, it's a good experience, even solo.

Rev Rielle

Honestly, if you've any skill about you you can do a lot of the VR content solo as well. Don't get caught up in what's being said on the forums. Yes, VR content is harder, but that doesn't mean it's hard.

mlecho74

A lot of it depends on your play style and build. For instance, I tried a Nightblade, and died a great deal of the time. I managed to get her to level 43 before giving up and starting over. My Sorcerer does a lot better with two pets and Storm Atronach to back her up. I still die on occasion, but nowhere near as often.

You can solo most of the game. Other than public dungeons and world bosses, I've done everything solo (I've been avoiding group dungeons for now). Granted, I've not hit Veteran ranks yet, so I can't speak to that.

dpr999

I'm a Skyrim veteran and I love ESO. I play it almost exclusively solo. I do miss Lydia, though.

Hippie4927

SydneyGrey

I was about to craft a helpful reply, then saw someone had necro'd this from THREE YEARS AGO. Holy cow, people.
Baby Jesus is disappointed in you.

Megabear

SydneyGrey wrote: »

I was about to craft a helpful reply, then saw someone had necro'd this from THREE YEARS AGO. Holy cow, people.
Baby Jesus is disappointed in you.

That someone is dpr999.

erliesc

Dovah-Zoor wrote: »

Thanks for the replies, guys. Too bad the makers couldn't have made a version of this game for the non-MMO players. Like many ES fans I know in person, i'll pass on this game.
waiting patiently for the next Fallout and/or ES game

I have 2 characters at 50 level and CP 200....and haven't really grouped except in some dungeons cause other players were there. Sometimes they get to stuff before I do (pissing me off)...sometimes they can help overcome a boss level enemy...it's a mix.

Other players just add some spice to the game....keep some variety going...you don't need to interact with them much.

There are plenty of players who don't like other players.

I played Skyrim to death...this game is almost the same...EXCEPT a bigger world...much more going on...you'll only cheat yourself if you pass it by.

Main improvement for me is the fact that I can't use addons to cheat....I had my own gang in Skyrim....I just sat back and let them do the fighting. In this game you can use some addons (PC) but they are minor compared to ES.

** this thread brought back from the dead.....

Motherball

There are players everywhere you will be able to solo. They will steal your nodes and kill your quest mobs. Its still worth it though, imo.

Elsonso

Sadly, I don't think that @Dovah-Zoor stuck around. The game is a whole lot more solo-friendly now than it was in 2014, although you are still going to see people.

SirAndy

Someone needs to stop playing with their Necrotic Orb ...