Some New Player Questions

Piffo

Hi there

This coming Wednesday I will be joining the Elder Scrolls Online, after leaving my previous MMORPG of six and a half years. I have a few questions I was hoping you would be able to answer so that I can start on the best footing/mindset. Sorry that there are so many, but you can answer just one or two if you like. Many of these will vary depending on what server I am on I imagine, so just answer for your server and state what it is

1. The Three Faction System - Are the factions currently even and balanced? Like, did everyone and their grandmother roll a Nord which is leaving the other 2 factions weakened? Or does it seem to be pretty even keel?

2. Character Classes - I know that ESO is a bit like the traditional Elder Scrolls experience in that you build your class as you go along, instead of pre-defining and limiting it, but I imagine there would still be the good old fashioned tank, heals, dps, buffing, debuffing etc. Are they all balanced too or does ESO constantly find itself short of healers? Or tanks?

3. Storylines - Are the stories engrossing and fun? Do they match up to what we experienced with the traditional Elder Scrolls series?

4. Endgame - Does ESO have interesting endgame content, with raids etc. Are the raids and PVP up to standard of what you would expect? The reason I left my last game which I played for 6.5 years is that although it was an amazing game, the Devs eventually just concentrated solely on making money and not at all on content. Now they are constantly pouring all of their effort into micro-transactions and other money-traps and leaving the endgame completely barren.

5. Community - Possibly the most important question. Is the community made up of mostly literate, mature people? Or can I expect to meet a screaming, homophobic 12 year old every 3 minutes? I know every MMORPG has it's good and bad apples, but most games swing one way or the other.

Thanks in advance for any answers, it it's nice to make my first post as part of the community

Piffo

ers101284b14_ESO

Piffo wrote: »

Hi there

This coming Wednesday I will be joining the Elder Scrolls Online, after leaving my previous MMORPG of six and a half years. I have a few questions I was hoping you would be able to answer so that I can start on the best footing/mindset. Sorry that there are so many, but you can answer just one or two if you like. Many of these will vary depending on what server I am on I imagine, so just answer for your server and state what it is

1. The Three Faction System - Are the factions currently even and balanced? Like, did everyone and their grandmother roll a Nord which is leaving the other 2 factions weakened? Or does it seem to be pretty even keel?

2. Character Classes - I know that ESO is a bit like the traditional Elder Scrolls experience in that you build your class as you go along, instead of pre-defining and limiting it, but I imagine there would still be the good old fashioned tank, heals, dps, buffing, debuffing etc. Are they all balanced too or does ESO constantly find itself short of healers? Or tanks?

3. Storylines - Are the stories engrossing and fun? Do they match up to what we experienced with the traditional Elder Scrolls series?

4. Endgame - Does ESO have interesting endgame content, with raids etc. Are the raids and PVP up to standard of what you would expect? The reason I left my last game which I played for 6.5 years is that although it was an amazing game, the Devs eventually just concentrated solely on making money and not at all on content. Now they are constantly pouring all of their effort into micro-transactions and other money-traps and leaving the endgame completely barren.

5. Community - Possibly the most important question. Is the community made up of mostly literate, mature people? Or can I expect to meet a screaming, homophobic 12 year old every 3 minutes? I know every MMORPG has it's good and bad apples, but most games swing one way or the other.

Thanks in advance for any answers, it it's nice to make my first post as part of the community

Piffo

1. Most people seem to roll Aldmeri Dominion. I personally love Ebonheart Pact. But choose what you enjoy don't worry about balance on that.

2. Most people seem to think light armor and Magica builds are overpowered, I play heavy armor and sword and shield which is supposedly underpowered and I still do fine. Supposedly Nightblades are underpowered. Balances are something that is going to be tweaked for the life of the game so I wouldn't worry that much about it

3, The story lines are the best in any MMO. All fully voice acted and you will enjoy it as much as any other ES game

4. Endgame is still being added by the time you get to endgame without rushing your probably gonna have way more content than right now. They are also reworking endgame so right now it might not be the best time to look at it.

5. Most of the in game community is pretty good, there are some ***** heads out there like any other MMO but the majority is good. The Forums Community sucks majorly.

Aett_Thorn

1) Not a PvPer, but from what I've heard, depending on the campaign it is fairly balanced.

2) There is always a need for healers and tanks, because almost everyone wants to be DPS in any game. However, the role you play and the class you play are two different things, and you can do any role in any class. Naturally, some will be better at some things than others, but you can be a Nightblade Tank, a Dragonknight Healer, etc.

3) I like the stories so far, but that's just my opinion.

4) There is a bit of a shortage of endgame stuff right now, but that is true of any new MMO. Give it time, and more will come.

5) The community is highly negative, but I haven't really seen it being immature.

KariTR

Hey Piffo

If you check the top of this page - http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/categories/EN-general-discussion - you will see there are forums specifically for new player questions and also a sub-forum of player guides, both of which will have answers for you hopefully (and maybe more questions!).

Welcome and happy Wednesday (so long to wait).

Piffo

KariTR wrote: »

Hey Piffo

If you check the top of this page - http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/categories/EN-general-discussion - you will see there are forums specifically for new player questions and also a sub-forum of player guides, both of which will have answers for you hopefully (and maybe more questions!).

Welcome and happy Wednesday (so long to wait).

Thanks! I will take a look at that. If the mods can move my thread there, that'd be great

ebondeath

1. AD seems to be the most populated, with DC and EP close to even. There doesn't seem to be a severe imbalance as far as I can tell, but this experience will change depending on which pvp campaign you join.

2. ESO sort of has the traditional trinity, but it"s not limited by class. All classes can tank and heal (though templars are the only class with a dedicated healing skill line, all classes can heal with resto staves). Tanking seems to be a little different with the way aggro works, but I haven't tanked, so I'm not really qualified to talk about how it works. As always, there's usually more dps than tanks and healers.

3. The stories and voice acting are superb (in my opinion) and worth the money I spent on this game

4. End game is a bit of a sore spot for people at the moment. Instead of traditional raids, ESO has timed trials. Unfortunately, because of the timed nature of the trials, it seems to be a pure dps race and right now staff/light armor combos are favored over any sort of stamina build/melee combination. Other than that, there's not much endgame at the moment. But if you're just starting out, it will be a while before you hit max level and they have plans for more stuff coming.The AvA PvP in Cyrodiil is enjoyable and supposedly they're adding more to that as well.

5. In-game, the community is (mostly) friendly and mature. Always going to be a few crazies in the game's closet. The forums..eh...if you're not used to dealing with the monsoon of negativity that is mmo forums, it's probably best to steer clear. The in-game atmosohere is much nicer.

Welcome to the game.

Vendersleigh

1/PvP seems to have somewhat more AD. RPers have clustered more in DC.

2/There are slightly fewer people willing (and decent at) playing tanks or healers but not hugely so. Many people can cover two of tank/dps/healer reasonably well, depending on their build. I enjoy the freedom of trying out 7 different types of healer.

3/Decent stories, best I have come across in an MMO.

4/Not there yet myself (all my 7 are level 27-35) but endgame seems to be moving in the right direction, albeit not fast enough for some (mostly those on the forums).

5/The community on the forums is often negative. Ingame, zonechat can be bad at times but most people actually playing are decent folks.

KariTR

Piffo wrote: »

KariTR wrote: »

Hey Piffo

If you check the top of this page - http://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/categories/EN-general-discussion - you will see there are forums specifically for new player questions and also a sub-forum of player guides, both of which will have answers for you hopefully (and maybe more questions!).

Welcome and happy Wednesday (so long to wait).

Thanks! I will take a look at that. If the mods can move my thread there, that'd be great

Hi Piffo - I 'flagged' your post and asked a mod to move it into the appropriate forum for you.

Nice to see you are already getting helpful (I hope) answers though. We are not a bad community in general.

ZOS_UlyssesW

Hey, all. We've moved this thread to the New Player Questions section. Thanks!

Piffo

Thanks for the help everyone, and thank you for the thread help ZOS_UlyssesW.

I'm still trying to wrap my head around this new era of MMO-dom. After over a decade of 'traditional' MMOs, this will be a handbrake turn level change, haha.

I do plan to go as a dedicated healer though, although I do also intend to do a fair amount of PVP.

Piffo

Oh, and here's a kicker - is the Imperial Edition worth it? Considering getting that.

Artemiisia

Piffo wrote: »

Oh, and here's a kicker - is the Imperial Edition worth it? Considering getting that.

it has a lot of benefits the well best one is, that you can choose every race and put them in every factions you want.

other versions the races are divided 3 pr factions

so you will get more options and freedom.

the promise of that you can convert your gear to imperial is true, all crafted gear you make can, world drops if the gear has a name to it, it will not convert. and you cant sell the gear if you convert it.

The Class Imperial is a great class for sure

The dog is cute, I dont have it though since I have played since early release, ill probably buy the brown dog when it comes out

Rosveen

Welcome to ESO, Piffo! Hope you have a great time when you finally get in the game.

Artemiisia wrote: »

Piffo wrote: »

Oh, and here's a kicker - is the Imperial Edition worth it? Considering getting that.

it has a lot of benefits the well best one is, that you can choose every race and put them in every factions you want.

This misconception is still alive? 'Play any race in any faction' is a part of the Explorer's Pack, a pre-order bonus (but codes are still floating in the web). What the Imperial Edition does is let you create an Imperial character who can start in any faction because they don't have their own. Other races are still locked.

Artemiisia wrote: »

Piffo wrote: »

Oh, and here's a kicker - is the Imperial Edition worth it? Considering getting that.

The dog is cute, I dont have it though since I have played since early release, ill probably buy the brown dog when it comes out

Only the Steam version gets the dog. Thought it'd be worth pointing out, in case the OP was planning to buy it straight from ZOS.

Anyhow, the Imperial Edition is still worth buying: Imperials are great if you like this race + they natively learn the rare Imperial motif, making them a good race for a crafter. The horse is very useful, saving you thousands of gold (not a big deal later on, but quite an investment for a brand new player). And the mudcrab is cute.

nudel

Artemiisia wrote: »

Piffo wrote: »

Oh, and here's a kicker - is the Imperial Edition worth it? Considering getting that.

it has a lot of benefits the well best one is, that you can choose every race and put them in every factions you want.

other versions the races are divided 3 pr factions

so you will get more options and freedom.

the promise of that you can convert your gear to imperial is true, all crafted gear you make can, world drops if the gear has a name to it, it will not convert. and you cant sell the gear if you convert it.

The Class Imperial is a great class for sure

The dog is cute, I dont have it though since I have played since early release, ill probably buy the brown dog when it comes out

That is not part of the Imperial Edition. That is part of the Explorer's Pack, which is only available if you find a leftover physical copy in a store somewhere. It was a pre-order exclusive that has not been re-released.

The dog is a Steam exclusive promotion that is also now over. You can no longer get it.

The perks to Imperial edition are as follows:

Imperial race

Imperial horse

Mudcrab pet

Rings of Mara

Convert Imperial gear

I'd say the horse and the race are the biggest draws. If you don't care about either, I wouldn't bother. For me personally, I wanted every race available to me. I have not regretted my purchase.

Rosveen

nudel wrote: »

Artemiisia wrote: »

Piffo wrote: »

Oh, and here's a kicker - is the Imperial Edition worth it? Considering getting that.

it has a lot of benefits the well best one is, that you can choose every race and put them in every factions you want.

other versions the races are divided 3 pr factions

so you will get more options and freedom.

the promise of that you can convert your gear to imperial is true, all crafted gear you make can, world drops if the gear has a name to it, it will not convert. and you cant sell the gear if you convert it.

The Class Imperial is a great class for sure

The dog is cute, I dont have it though since I have played since early release, ill probably buy the brown dog when it comes out

The dog is a Steam exclusive promotion that is also now over. You can no longer get it.

They already removed it? Huh, I thought it would last more than just a few days. It's going to be such a rare pet now.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Welcome, @Piffo!

Thanks for the helpful answers, everyone. It's nice to see folks helping out a new community member.

Artemiisia

I must have brought the explorer pack then without knowing, since I can make what ever I will:)

but great you guys made some of my mistakes clear so he wont get confused.

Nestor

Get the Imperial Edition. The Horse alone makes it worthwhile. Playing as any race in any Alliance is also very nice.

Piffo

Thanks for the help I do intend to make the purchase on Steam. At £70, this will top in terms of cost any game I have ever purchased before, not to mention the future pay-per-month. However it looks to be worth it, as long as it plays on my machine!

It is very nice to see so many people willing to help me. One day, when I am more experienced, I shall be sure to return the favour.

To be honest I am currently torn between Breton, Nord or Imperial so will have to put some thought into that in the coming days ^_^

Unfortunately, one of my best friends has gone High Elf and will have to be put to the sword like the traitor to humanity she is

Piffo

My money got here early, so I actually just bought ESO via Steam. That download time is killing me

I'm also looking at this:

http://store.bethsoft.com/the-heros-guides-to-the-elder-scrolls-online.html

But I feel I need to restrain myself before I end up selling all of my possessions.

_subjectnamehere_

Piffo wrote: »

Hi there

This coming Wednesday I will be joining the Elder Scrolls Online, after leaving my previous MMORPG of six and a half years. I have a few questions I was hoping you would be able to answer so that I can start on the best footing/mindset. Sorry that there are so many, but you can answer just one or two if you like. Many of these will vary depending on what server I am on I imagine, so just answer for your server and state what it is

1. The Three Faction System - Are the factions currently even and balanced? Like, did everyone and their grandmother roll a Nord which is leaving the other 2 factions weakened? Or does it seem to be pretty even keel?

2. Character Classes - I know that ESO is a bit like the traditional Elder Scrolls experience in that you build your class as you go along, instead of pre-defining and limiting it, but I imagine there would still be the good old fashioned tank, heals, dps, buffing, debuffing etc. Are they all balanced too or does ESO constantly find itself short of healers? Or tanks?

3. Storylines - Are the stories engrossing and fun? Do they match up to what we experienced with the traditional Elder Scrolls series?

4. Endgame - Does ESO have interesting endgame content, with raids etc. Are the raids and PVP up to standard of what you would expect? The reason I left my last game which I played for 6.5 years is that although it was an amazing game, the Devs eventually just concentrated solely on making money and not at all on content. Now they are constantly pouring all of their effort into micro-transactions and other money-traps and leaving the endgame completely barren.

5. Community - Possibly the most important question. Is the community made up of mostly literate, mature people? Or can I expect to meet a screaming, homophobic 12 year old every 3 minutes? I know every MMORPG has it's good and bad apples, but most games swing one way or the other.

Thanks in advance for any answers, it it's nice to make my first post as part of the community

Piffo

1. AD seems to have the most players. EP and DC are about even, but if I had to guess, EP is probably the least populated.

2. In general, due to class skill lines...Dragonknight seems to have some good tanking skills, Templar some good healing ones, Sorcerer and Nightblade tend to be DPS-based. Having said that, any class can do anything if you build it right. Healing and DPS in this game seem to be the "normal" MMO playstyle, however, tanking is much different. There are only two taunts in the game and they are both single-target taunts. Believe it or not, there are some situations you will come across where tanks are simply not necessary...I have done a lot of Craglorn content with 3 DPS and 1 Healer. Plus with weapon swapping, roles can be switched mid-battle. I could go on and on, but let's just say that the possibilities are endless no matter what class you roll; it all depends on how you want to build your toon and what role you want to play in combat.

3. Yes, in my personal opinion, the stories are quite fun. If you listen to what the NPC's have to say instead of clicking through everything, I am sure you will enjoy the "points of interest" quest areas as well as the main story and guild stories. Some are pretty funny and others quite dramatic.

4. This is still a young MMO, so endgame is still being developed. The two "raids" in the game right now are in the form of trials...12-man content with a timer, and they are quite challenging. You can get with a guild/guilds who focus on time or you can get with others who simply want to learn the fights and not worry about the times. Also, the "adventure zones" are soley group-content, requiring four people. There are quests, dungeons, and repeatable events there. Right now, we have Craglorn, with more to come (previewed at Quakecon this year). Finally, PvP can start at level 10 (scaling you up to even the playing field in terms of health, magicka, and stamina) but to really experience it, you want to be a higher level so you have more abilities at your disposal. As the other posters mentioned, you really want to be patient with endgame because they are still developing it and working out the major group bugs that exist, which make it challenging to complete group content such as Craglorn.

5. So far, I have had nothing but good experiences with the community. I have yet to find any immature players who whine and cry...everyone has been helpful and understanding. I had some pretty bad experiences in other MMO's *cough* WoW *cough* with a ton of little kids and young teens who just did not respect the community; ruins the experience for everyone, in my opinion.

I hope this helps. Just rememebr the number one rule of any MMO...don't stand in the fire!