At what level do you really start putting effort into builds and/or weapon choices?

ReachDaBeach

I am new to ESO but have played some other rpgs with somewhat similar build mechanics, though ESO's seem a a bit more complex. I am lv 17 High Elf Templar right now, and so far I have mostly been using found items when they look to be upgrades and bought a few things when I browse before repairs and see a significant upgrade available for something I am about to repair. I went out and looked at the UESP build editor and it looks like from the submitted builds that lv 50 is when people start putting them up there.
I am mostly using the recommendations and kind of stumbling along. been using the 2 handed great swords the most but really need to swap out more to get a feel for what seems to work best for me. It's not the bow; I like the javelin spell as my ranged weapon.
Serious learning curve in the game.

Aislinna

Character level 50 with 160 Champion Points (CP) is the max gear level, so until that point you will constantly be upgrading your gear. Most builds you see online are designed for max level gear. Up to level 50, the game scales to your level, letting you experiment with weapon and build types. I recommend just have fun trying different things until you get to level 50 and at that point you'll have a better idea of the play style/build type you'll enjoy; then dig more into learning and making a good build and I'm sure you'll make several more builds after that as you grow and meta's change.

Welcome to ESO and have fun!

opalcity

You'll be constantly picking up and replacing gear as you level up, so don't worry too much. As has been said, l50cp160 is when it really kicks in.

If you're in a guild or have friends who can craft, get some training gear to help level up. Everything else you can deconstruct to get your crafting levels up.

merpins

Level 50, then Champion Point level 160. Before that, you can just go with what drops from mobs and experiment, play how you want with what you want and see what you like and what works for you. Then, based on what you're enjoying when you hit that level, you can figure out some builds and what gear to go for.

Danikat

I try to decide on the type of weapons and armour I want to use early on, because you need to level up the relevant skills to get the most out of them and you do that by using them. But the actual items will change constantly.

You don't need to worry about the specific items you're using until you've got 160 champion points. That's when you can equip the highest level gear in the game, and until then you'll be levelling up frequently so it's not really worth going out of your way to get good items because you'll replace them quickly.

As for what skills to use at first it's best to just try out different things to find out what you like using. Ideally you want to pick skills and morphs you think you'll want to use, but you can get more than enough skills points for all the skills you'll want and it's possible to change what you've got unlocked by going to one of the shrines in a major city (there's also a crown store item, but that's a waste of money, it's much cheaper to do it with gold).

Elsonso

When I am leveling, it is just whatever I pick up that matches the general theme (light, medium, heavy). If I get multiples for a set, and the set helps me, then I go with that until better stuff comes along. I don't get too concerned about old gear that is way below my level, but I do keep my eye open for gear to replace it. I also equip any quality (green, blue, purple, gold) that is better than what I have. I make sure to bind all new set gear to my account.

I avoid using crafted gear, or trying for specific gear, until Level 50 CP 160. After that, obtaining, crafting, or transmuting set gear is how I get to the gear I want, and gold gear where I want. I tend to keep the head and shoulders free from being parts of sets and just use filler gear until I can get a monster set. I also keep an eye on the Golden Vendor for those monster helms and shoulders, as well as set rings for sets I use.

I do not gold out all of my gear. Most of my gear ends up being Purple, except in cases where I know I need the extra that gold gear offers.

ReachDaBeach

Thanks. There is so much to learn; glad it's not a big deal to pick it up slowly as I progress. I am only about a third of the way to 50 and doing it with quests, killing things along the way. I just got a dungeon access and may try that with a scroll to get to 20 quicker, assuming I don't get slaughtered in there, though the quest I am currently on, Armies of Meridia, is giving me a fair amount of xp. I am glad it is broken up into sub quests as it has been crazy long for me. The annoyingly low xp fetch quests have eaten up a lot of time, though I am learning game geography and I do watch the map and veer off to unlock wayshrines I pass. getting around is a pita at first.

ghastley

On your first character, you have to grind up through CP11 to CP159, but you’ll never see those levels again. Use the time to try out the other weapon lines, and gather the gold for a few respecs.

ReachDaBeach

I watched a "10 things I wish I knew" video that pretty much pushed the idea of spending gold on nothing but bag space and mount upgrades until CP 160. I also spend it on repairs. I have spent about 1000 on repairs trying to beat the Gray Host boss in the castle; putting that off until I get more skilled. It was also mentioned that at a couple of levels there are skill reset scrolls given to you. I will likely need to do that.

Mik195

While at low levels the build doesn't matter much, if you want to be able to craft at high levels, start researching traits now. They start off requiring a few hours for 1 of 9 traits on 1 item and end up taking something like 30 days per item & trait if you have ESO Plus and longer if you don't. Researching everything takes months.

phaneub17_ESO

3 heavy, 2 medium, 2 light so you have at least the core down. Primary stuff in front, mixture of different trees on backbar you switch to when turning in quests or closing a dolmen.

DreamyLu

I had sort of 3 steps:
- Until level 50, I never purchased anything. Pieces I got as drops (foes and chests/troves), were more than enough to cover my needs.
- At 50, I invested a bit, purple level only, to complete the pieces I was missing.
- At CP160, I invested in a full gold (yellow) equipment.