Older returning player looking for a way to do dungeons in a story/lore based approach

Caroloces · June 10

The title kind of says it all. Part of the reason I quit in 2022 was that the game was actually becoming stressful, rather than fun and relaxing. Being a long-time ES fan (started with Morrowind) I'm a big fan of the lore and all of the stories connected with the lore. A month or so ago, I started playing again by creating a new character and approaching the game as if everything was new. I paid attention to all of the NPCs and how the quests in the game all told a vast story that plugged into the compelling lore of ES. I would stop and read all of the lore books, search every bookshelf, and delve into every nook and cranny. By taking this approach, I'm finding myself loving the game more than ever before. I want to continue this approach as I think of doing the harder content like dungeons and trials. The challenge is, how to connect with other players that have the same mindset. In my previous time with the game, I remember doing dungeons in which everyone would just rush through only thinking about how much DPS they could extract from their "build". I longed to pause and savor the atmosphere and peek around those shadowy nooks and crannies, and yes, listen to the NPCs and let my imagination dwell on the stories they told.

Yes, I know that I should join a guild that seems to cater to that style of gameplay, and I have joined some nice guilds, but not being a highly ranked member of the guild, I can't use the mail function to enlist those players that would like to take the same approach. What's a good approach to find like-minded players that really believe in the suspension of disbelief and long to let their imagination dwell in the world?

Soarora · June 10

You don't need access to the mail system in order to find people. Use the guild chat in story mode guilds, or even better, join their discord. I've seen more casual guilds that have weekly dungeon story mode events. You can also try the group finder with the playstyle set as story, but no promises on that filling.

Caroloces · June 10

Thanks, Soarora, for your suggestion. What are story mode guilds, and how do you find them? Do you have any names of these types of guilds?

Soarora · June 10

You can try the guild finder and asking in zone chat, but it will be difficult. I'm not really in those spaces but I do know one guild who runs story mode dungeons: For The Clear. Seems they do it every Friday at 8PM Eastern.

Sheridan · July 27

Caroloces wrote: »

Thanks, Soarora, for your suggestion. What are story mode guilds, and how do you find them? Do you have any names of these types of guilds?

There's a very nice guild on PC EU dedicated to the story mode dungeon runs, that is literally called Story Mode.

YffresTrill · July 27

I am not sure how confident you are in your combat abilities, but you might want to give soloing dungeons a try. You may find this easier than you expect. Most do not have mechanics which cannot be done solo. I always first run a new dungeon solo where possible. (If it isn't, I find someone to duo it with me).

I have done full group story runs in the past, but in my experience many people still get somewhat impatient in these, as people have different ideas of what a comfortable questing/exploration pace is, and mine is spending a few hours in a single quest area.