New Player Questions

CaveBear · February 2021

So I keep trying to like this game because it seems so cool, but I just cannot get into the combat style (I'm sorry, a mouse, the number row, and WASD is too much as I do not have three hands).

This is my main question: is it possible to play this game just as a crafter? I couldn't care less about leveling quickly or end-game content (since I assume EG is combat-based anyway), but I wouldn't mind just exploring Tamriel, gathering mats, crafting cool stuff with them, selling stuff, rinse and repeat. Can I do this or are recipes and such locked so I cannot access them until a higher level?

Also, can somebody explain how the selling system works? Guilds? And are there multiple servers or are we all on just one (and if multiple, how do we find out which one we're on?) And is there a key somewhere that says what all the different icons on the map mean? And is there a map of the whole world and not just individual zones so I can see how it all fits together?

Are there any must-have mods? If there were ones that gave me a minimap and people's names above their heads that would be fantastic. It took me HOURS to figure out that I was meant to click on random NPCs because they had pertinent information or were merchants (well, no, not click, that attacks them apparently and then the guards kill you; talk about a hard habit to break). What about a quest tracker that shows more than one quest at a time?

Sorry for all of the questions; I have a lot more but I can't write a novel here lol. I just find this game to be extremely counterintuitive, and if it didn't look like it could be so interesting I'd have given up on it a while ago (according to Steam I have spent 22+ hours playing it. I'm at level 9. Most of that leveling happened over the course of a couple hours where I actually ended up someplace and did a quest chain for a king, but I left that area because I was prompted to do the New Life Festival and haven't figured out how to get back to where I was (not that I even know where I was). Most of the rest of the time I've just been running around trying to find something to do and not really succeeding aside from a random quest I happen to pick up here and there. (And no, before you ask, I'm not new to MMOs.)

Any help or assistance would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

LtClungeX · February 2021

CaveBear wrote: »

So I keep trying to like this game because it seems so cool, but I just cannot get into the combat style (I'm sorry, a mouse, the number row, and WASD is too much as I do not have three hands).

This is my main question: is it possible to play this game just as a crafter? I couldn't care less about leveling quickly or end-game content (since I assume EG is combat-based anyway), but I wouldn't mind just exploring Tamriel, gathering mats, crafting cool stuff with them, selling stuff, rinse and repeat. Can I do this or are recipes and such locked so I cannot access them until a higher level?

Also, can somebody explain how the selling system works? Guilds? And are there multiple servers or are we all on just one (and if multiple, how do we find out which one we're on?) And is there a key somewhere that says what all the different icons on the map mean? And is there a map of the whole world and not just individual zones so I can see how it all fits together?

Are there any must-have mods? If there were ones that gave me a minimap and people's names above their heads that would be fantastic. It took me HOURS to figure out that I was meant to click on random NPCs because they had pertinent information or were merchants (well, no, not click, that attacks them apparently and then the guards kill you; talk about a hard habit to break). What about a quest tracker that shows more than one quest at a time?

Sorry for all of the questions; I have a lot more but I can't write a novel here lol. I just find this game to be extremely counterintuitive, and if it didn't look like it could be so interesting I'd have given up on it a while ago (according to Steam I have spent 22+ hours playing it. I'm at level 9. Most of that leveling happened over the course of a couple hours where I actually ended up someplace and did a quest chain for a king, but I left that area because I was prompted to do the New Life Festival and haven't figured out how to get back to where I was (not that I even know where I was). Most of the rest of the time I've just been running around trying to find something to do and not really succeeding aside from a random quest I happen to pick up here and there. (And no, before you ask, I'm not new to MMOs.)

Any help or assistance would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I played eso for years on console, I've only just switched, to me it feels optimized for a controller, if you don't own one or don't want one, you could try a moba mouse so the skills are on the mouse button, i like the looks of the naga trinit, personally after playing years of eso the controller felt just nateral out of the gate, I tried mouse and keyboard but after 3 hours I though what am I doing? and now im back to my former glory with a controller.

LtClungeX · February 2021

as for trading, you wont really have much to sell except potions unless you play end game content.

but potions sell well!! level alchemy it levels fast!! keep your flowers though!!! just make poison for leveling, for lots of flowers grind telvar stones and buy them at the vendor, much better than foraging. also you can get loads of water to make potions if you go to ic and got to a key vault, collect all the water in alchemy bottles, log out then log in, you get infinite as they always replenish, don't loot the chest though!

for crafted sets, from my experience, your best off writing in zone chat to sell, in grahtwood, wayrest and mournhold, saying 9 trait crafter here any one need a set, then you will get whispers. or WTS 9 trait crafter.

If you join a trade guild they will expect weekly donations of gold so they can secure a good trading spot, and generally drop sets and crafting materials sell well here, you can grind overworld chests for these, or world bosses.

Feric51 · February 2021

Okay, so you brought up multiple points and I want to hit each one independently. I might go a little out of order, but I'll try to get them all.

CaveBear wrote: »

click on random NPCs because they had pertinent information or were merchants (well, no, not click, that attacks them apparently and then the guards kill you; talk about a hard habit to break).

There is a toggle in settings (not sure where it is on PC since I'm on console) that "prevents attacking innocents / npcs" - I always have this toggled to the safe setting unless I'm specifically doing a quest that requires me to kill an npc. This should prevent those accidental attacks in the future.

CaveBear wrote: »

This is my main question: is it possible to play this game just as a crafter? I couldn't care less about leveling quickly or end-game content (since I assume EG is combat-based anyway), but I wouldn't mind just exploring Tamriel, gathering mats, crafting cool stuff with them, selling stuff, rinse and repeat. Can I do this or are recipes and such locked so I cannot access them until a higher level?

This is honestly the only thing I do anymore. Now, for you to unlock all the crafting passive skills you will probably required to do some of the main storyline and zone quests that award skill points, as well as run around and locate all the skyshards you can for their skill points (skyshard hunting can be done with minimal combat). Crafting takes a significant amount of skill points and you'll still need enough for a couple offensive skills to deal with the random mobs that you encounter while trying to harvest materials. But to summarize, I don't do any of the "endgame" content like dungeons, trials, and PvP, and I find the crafting and selling aspect enjoyment enough. You will want ESO+ for the craft bag if you plan on crafting, however, otherwise you'll go crazy doing inventory management.

CaveBear wrote: »

Also, can somebody explain how the selling system works? Guilds? And are there multiple servers or are we all on just one (and if multiple, how do we find out which one we're on?) And is there a key somewhere that says what all the different icons on the map mean? And is there a map of the whole world and not just individual zones so I can see how it all fits together?

The most productive way of selling is through a guild trading stall in a major hub city. I'm assuming PC works similar to console in that most of these sales guilds will have a weekly fee to be a member, but this allows you to list up to 30 items at a time in one of their trader stalls. As items sell, the money is mailed directly to your account and as soon as 1 item sells you can list another in its place assuming you were at the 30 item cap.

You can belong to a maximum of 5 guilds at a time, and if you leave a guild, any items you have listed in their trader will immediately be pulled and mailed back to you. Also, items will stay listed for up to 30 days. If they are unsold at the end of the 30 days they will be returned to your account via mail.

There are two servers per platform. A North American and an EU server for PC, Xbox, PS respectively. At the initial sign-in screen it prompts you to select NA or EU... this is how you know which server you're on. You can only interact with the people on your own specific server. There is no crossplay between platforms nor between servers.

There is a map of the whole world. From the map selection screen I think it's called "Arubis" or something like that.... on console we're able to zoom out with a controller button that will take us up to the world view from any zone, so I always just do that. Not sure how that works on PC.

For map icons, there should be a zone guide feature that will give broad explanations of the iconography. Otherwise google or one of the ESO apps might be your best bet.

Okay... I promised full answers but just realized I have to log off and run. If that left something still confusing let me know and I'll try to expound further when I get a chance to get back online.

driosketch · February 2021

You can absolutely be a crafter and just do that. You can buy just about anything relating to crafting from other players, though stuff that drops from more difficult content will cost a bit more.

There are 3 platforms, PC, Xbox, & Play Station, with two megaservers each, North American (NA) and European (EU) regions. You can see which one you're in at the top of the password login screen.

Selling is mostly guild based. You can sell directly using zone chat, meeting players face to face, F for options like trade, or sending items by mail with cash on delivery COD option. Note there is a fee for mailing, none on face to face.

In the guild menu you can search for a guild. Different guilds will have different standards, and you can leave a guild at any time. Look for one that fits you. If the guild has at least 50 people, you can access the store through any bank. There you can list up to 30 item slots for sale. Anyone in the guild can buy from you, and if they have a kiosk, so can anyone else in the game. Note, stuff you sell in a guild store has a 7% cut, plus 1% listing fee. Half the cut goes to the guild, the rest is a gold sink.

Most zones will about 7 kiosks, the majority in one group in the main city. You can zoom out your map to see not just all of Tamriel, but a few other planes as well.

DarcyMardin · February 2021

ESO has a lot of complex systems that are not particularly intuitive or all that well explained. You might find it helpful to try a few YouTube vids on subjects like Beginner’s Guide to ESO. Or you could drill down by searching on something like Crafting in ESO. If you feel like joining a guild, you might make some friends in game who can answer your questions in real time (although this is not necessary —it’s also possible to do many things in ESO solo). Also, you can get a free teleport to the wayshrine nearest any guildie, which can make moving around the landscape easier and cheaper.

It IS possible to play as a crafter by collecting mats and recipes. ESO Plus, the monthly subscription, is almost a necessity for this since it includes an infinite-quantity carrying bag to hold crafting mats. Fighting on the main landscape is relatively easy, even for low levels, and you can find crafting nodes everywhere and recipes and provisioning items in lootable containers. At low levels, you can also craft simple gear for yourself, or you can wear whatever drops from the mobs you kill while exploring.

Must-have mods for a newcomer would, I think include a minimap (this is available) and the mod that shows the location of skyshards, which, when you collect 3, give you a skill point (useful for crafting). If you join the Mages Guild, you’ll want to find lorebooks, which are also scattered on the landscape. There’s a mod that shows where those are. There’s an app called Minion for PC that helps you to find and install and update mods.

Depending on when you bought the game, you’ll have a different starting zone. There is an overarching main story, though, that begins in one of the 3 first Alliance zone cities, depending on which alliance you chose for your character. Those cities are Vulkel Guard in Auridon (AD), Daggerfall in Glenumbra (DC) or Davon’s Watch in Stonefalls (EP). When you go to those cities, you’ll be invited to meet a mysterious hooded figure, and eventually you’ll meet The Prophet who gives you the main story missions, each of which results in a skill point that you’ll need. If you also follow the story line quests that begin in those cities, they will gradually lead you through all the areas of the original game. The main quest for any area is usually indicating by a double chevron sign that looks a bit different from the arrows indicating side quests. Blue arrows signify repeatable daily quests.

If you are crafter, there are daily crafting quest that offer good money and crafting mats when you turn them in. You’ll probably have to collect some basic level mats to start out with these, and you also need to get “training” from the master crafters (Milleth and Daniel Tellano) whom you can find in most of the main starting cities.

That’s a start, I hope. Feel free to ask questions — folks are usually happy to try to answer. And have fun!

CaveBear · February 2021

Thank you everyone for your kind help. How do I join a guild? It sounds like this is important. I am in one that randomly invited me but their discord is chat only which drives me crazy; there is no text channel for random questions and the like so it hasn't been helpful at all.

[quote="Depending on when you bought the game, you’ll have a different starting zone. There is an overarching main story, though, that begins in one of the 3 first Alliance zone cities, depending on which alliance you chose for your character. Those cities are Vulkel Guard in Auridon (AD), Daggerfall in Glenumbra (DC) or Davon’s Watch in Stonefalls (EP). [/quote]

I started in Vvardenfell. That's just where the game dumped me. I started a questline for a living god in Vivek City but ran into a wall with it because there were mobs that I just couldn't survive solo at my level, so I gave up and took a ship to someplace else (it was sort of a medieval-theme city with a king; you started out doing quests to help townsfolk and eventually ended up helping the king kill some sort of assassin's ring. That was kind of fun and I was getting through it before the New Life Festival person told me to go do that; I wish I hadn't because I cannot get back to where I was and have absolutely no idea what the place was called.)

Are the mods on curseforge or is there another place for them? Any specific names I need to put in the search bar?

Are the daily craft quests the ones with the green markers on the boards? I just discovered those the other day.

Thanks again.

lethality_ESO · February 2021

FWIW here's how I play ESO:

- Main quest of the current expansion
- Crafting (and related gathering, focused on housing items)
- Side quests of current expansion
- If I run out of the above, I go back to the main quest or side quest of a previous expansion

That's it... depending on what I feel like doing a given night, I decide one of those activities, and play. it's like reading 1 or 2 chapters of a good book at night before bed!

I am a vet MMO player, and while ESO is not a sandbox, it gives a lot of freedom in allowing you to do whatever you really want.

RedMuse · February 2021

@CaveBear The place you were with the king and the assassin would have been Daggerfall in Glenumbra. If you find a wayshrine (those sort of short, stubby, tower looking things on the map) you can find the Glenumbra map and then port to the wayshrine there. Or if you insist on going there by mundane means then find a ship or wagon that'll take you to Covenant territory, should be locatable in the major city on whatever map you're on, then if you don't land in Glenumbra just travel through the Covenant zones until you get there.

Nestor · February 2021

Here is a hint, combat in the game for overworld PVE really only needs a 2 or 3 skill rotation. So, that should cut down the number of buttons you need to use.

While, yes you can just be a crafter, or an explorer, you will find that some combat makes things go better. Here are some general hints

Combat in this game comes down to Skill Rotations, with Light or Heavy Attacks interspersed. So, it's more like 1,2,3,4,1,2,3 dead. Pick your skill rotations so that one skill will set up or buff another skill. For example, use a skill that Snares, then a skill that gives Damage over Time to an area so the snared mobs spend longer in pain, then use a spam damage skill. This is just one example.

Once you learn a good rotation, then you can weave in light or heavy attacks between the skills to extend the resource pool you play from. So it's more like 1, LMB, 2, LMB,3, LMB, 4, LMB, 1 Dead. Then once you learn how to weave attacks, then you can start animation canceling to up your DPS.

So, attacks are not just a spam of the Left Mouse Button, but an application of your skills and weapon attacks.

You add in Blocking (reduce damage), Bashing (interrupting a caster or heavy attack wind up), Dodge Rolling (double click on a WASD key to avoid damage and get out of red quickly). Throw in some terrain advantage, and your basically a Mobile, Agile and Hostile wrecking machine.

katanagirl1 · February 2021

Nestor wrote: »

Here is a hint, combat in the game for overworld PVE really only needs a 2 or 3 skill rotation. So, that should cut down the number of buttons you need to use.

While, yes you can just be a crafter, or an explorer, you will find that some combat makes things go better. Here are some general hints

Combat in this game comes down to Skill Rotations, with Light or Heavy Attacks interspersed. So, it's more like 1,2,3,4,1,2,3 dead. Pick your skill rotations so that one skill will set up or buff another skill. For example, use a skill that Snares, then a skill that gives Damage over Time to an area so the snared mobs spend longer in pain, then use a spam damage skill. This is just one example.

Once you learn a good rotation, then you can weave in light or heavy attacks between the skills to extend the resource pool you play from. So it's more like 1, LMB, 2, LMB,3, LMB, 4, LMB, 1 Dead. Then once you learn how to weave attacks, then you can start animation canceling to up your DPS.

So, attacks are not just a spam of the Left Mouse Button, but an application of your skills and weapon attacks.

You add in Blocking (reduce damage), Bashing (interrupting a caster or heavy attack wind up), Dodge Rolling (double click on a WASD key to avoid damage and get out of red quickly). Throw in some terrain advantage, and your basically a Mobile, Agile and Hostile wrecking machine.

This is the one thing tutorials never explain, and why most players level skills like armor and weapons to 50 but never put any skill points into the skills themselves or even put them on their skill bar, just spamming light and heavy attacks.

Athan1 · February 2021

Yes, it is possible to play this game just by exploring and crafting, in fact it's more fun this way. Like others said, you probably need to have done a bit of fighting first though, in order to get skill points and unlock a few important features. In fact, a peaceful lifestyle is a more fun way to play this game. And if you play your cards right you can make lots of money.

I understand that combat feels a little clunky, but most real-time free battle games nowadays require you to control your character, the camera, and press skill buttons, all three at once.

newtinmpls · February 2021

This is my main question: is it possible to play this game just as a crafter?
[/quote]

Short answer is yes. Long answer is it will be complex and challenging.

CaveBear wrote: »

I just cannot get into the combat style (I'm sorry, a mouse, the number row, and WASD is too much as I do not have three hands).

I use a gaming mouse. WASD on my left hand, right and left mouse buttons to attack/defend; thumb to use the skill buttons. Took a bit, and I do have "favorite" buttons, but it works.

CaveBear wrote: »

I couldn't care less about leveling quickly or end-game content (since I assume EG is combat-based anyway), but I wouldn't mind just exploring Tamriel, gathering mats, crafting cool stuff with them, selling stuff, rinse and repeat. Can I do this or are recipes and such locked so I cannot access them until a higher level?

Crafting is locked by crafting level which is unlocked by

1-your base crafting skill (50 max in each, leveled by creating or de-conning). Some go faster or slower ... Glyphs and Jewelry are a Pain in all the Parts.

2-the number of points you put into each of the sub-skills (not just what you can craft out of, but how much goodies you get when you refine, decon and so on).

You get points by leveling (actual levels, levels in Alliance/war stuff, skyshards gathered).

CaveBear wrote: »

Also, can somebody explain how the selling system works? Guilds?

Short version is:

1-Guild stores and traders (major)

2-Zone chat other other personal offers. (minimal)

A guild of 50 or more folks has a "guild store".

Guild members with appropriate permissions (this may vary by guild) can put stuff up for sale. There is a small fee which you have to have on hand/on the character and it will be charged as you put things up for sale. Max limit of 30 items per guild. All these transactions can go through any banker; you can buy and sell from all your guilds. But via a banker, you only have access to buy from your own guilds.

Guilds can go through a serious bidding system to get a "trader" who is the "face" of the guild store and anyone can interact with them. So "trading" focused guilds spend a LOT of money each week to maintain a good trader in a good location.

Members of those guilds need to sell a LOT; sometimes there are fees or minimum sales quotas.

Depending on what you like to do in game, and who you want to sell to, there are many options.

More later!

PS... leave your in-game name/username here and lots of folks will help you out.

PeachVsEggplant · April 2021

I don't know how old this thread is, but I just wanted to say I plug in my Xbox controller through my USB on my computer and play ESO with it!

Beardimus · April 2021

CaveBear wrote: »

So I keep trying to like this game because it seems so cool, but I just cannot get into the combat style (I'm sorry, a mouse, the number row, and WASD is too much as I do not have three hands).

This is my main question: is it possible to play this game just as a crafter? I couldn't care less about leveling quickly or end-game content (since I assume EG is combat-based anyway), but I wouldn't mind just exploring Tamriel, gathering mats, crafting cool stuff with them, selling stuff, rinse and repeat. Can I do this or are recipes and such locked so I cannot access them until a higher level?

Also, can somebody explain how the selling system works? Guilds? And are there multiple servers or are we all on just one (and if multiple, how do we find out which one we're on?) And is there a key somewhere that says what all the different icons on the map mean? And is there a map of the whole world and not just individual zones so I can see how it all fits together?

Are there any must-have mods? If there were ones that gave me a minimap and people's names above their heads that would be fantastic. It took me HOURS to figure out that I was meant to click on random NPCs because they had pertinent information or were merchants (well, no, not click, that attacks them apparently and then the guards kill you; talk about a hard habit to break). What about a quest tracker that shows more than one quest at a time?

Sorry for all of the questions; I have a lot more but I can't write a novel here lol. I just find this game to be extremely counterintuitive, and if it didn't look like it could be so interesting I'd have given up on it a while ago (according to Steam I have spent 22+ hours playing it. I'm at level 9. Most of that leveling happened over the course of a couple hours where I actually ended up someplace and did a quest chain for a king, but I left that area because I was prompted to do the New Life Festival and haven't figured out how to get back to where I was (not that I even know where I was). Most of the rest of the time I've just been running around trying to find something to do and not really succeeding aside from a random quest I happen to pick up here and there. (And no, before you ask, I'm not new to MMOs.)

Any help or assistance would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

@CaveBear You can play how you want for sure.
Overland game is pretty easy, clearing zones etc. Yep you can just gather resources and sell them. But ideally as you harvest zones you would clear them of skyshards, dolmens etc and then farm gear to sell as well.

Mats are big money, so I know loads of folks who harvest mats and sell them.

I would say start in your alliance starter zone and just explore. Clear a zone down and see if you enjoy it.

In NA trader guilds seem to have a surcharge which is weird. Xbox EU don't have that, just ensure you stock your 30 trader slots and guild erns income that way.