I feel like I'm dying way too much.

Soafee

I bought this game back in July and stopped playing after having some bad experiences with it. I decided to pick it up again and i'm still having the same problems. I'm in the "newbie area" and I'm just being stomped by everything. My first character a level 8 has a bunch of healing potions but I wanted to start a new character. I'm level 4, and I'm on a quest to kill level 4 monsters, and they kill me. I've died 5 times on one quest. I try blocking, I try moving around but they just hit me too freaking hard.

I need some advice because I'm about ready to delete this game for good. I'm very frustrated... I shouldn't be dying this much so early in the game.

FriedEggSandwich

What class?

Usara

More than what class, I would ask which zone/which quest.
That early in the game, class doesn't mean much.
However, the zones do. For instance, Crow's Wood (Stonefalls) and Bad Man's Hallows (Glenumbra) are accessible basically at the beginning of the game. For beginners who do not understand this is/what is a Public Dungeon, this could prove rather frustrating.

I would advise you to begin with the Starters Islands (Bleakrock if you are Ebonheart Pact, Stros M'kai if you're Daggerfall Covenant and Khenarth'is Roost if you're Aldmeri Dominion)

BreacaT

Stick with it, I'm sure you'll work it out. My wife, who has never played any pc game, started playing at Christmas, is now hooked and has reached lvl30. Watching her fight I have no idea how she has gotten this far. I've never seen anyone make using a keyboard and mouse seem so painful! She innocently wandered into fungal grotto on her own way too soon, but yesterday completed it with my assistance as a v16 healer.

KhajitFurTrader

What @Usara said, plus

• it's not just blocking, dodging is important, too. Special MOB attacks are marked ("telegraphed") as red fields on the ground, you can get out of them quickly by double-tapping the movement buttons. This demands a little bit of stamina management, as dodges use it.
• Try to "read" the enemy, because states, heavy attacks (which will damage you regardless of blocking), and special attacks (like magic spells or special abilities) are displayed as graphical effects around the MOB, e.g. an aura of red sparks flowing inward announces a heavy attack.
• Interrupting by pressing LMB and RMB together is a great way to stun an enemy who's preparing a heavy attack, so that you can respond with a heavy attack of your own.
• Positioning and movement are important, too, so be aware of your surroundings and use it to your advantage. Try not to engage more than one opponent at a time, avoid positioning where movement/dodging, (AoE) attacks, or nearby patrols might "pull", i.e. bring in, more enemies to the fight. Fighting multiple enemies at once promises a swift death, as they stun or interrupt you.

ESO has a very dynamic combat system. It takes some getting used to, but when you've leaned how to read the signs and how to properly react, or even how to proactively concert a fight with CC (read the skill descriptions, even short time stuns, roots, interrupts, etc. help a ton), it's a lot of fun and doesn't become as boring with routine as other system, where spamming ("facerolling") the same "three button combo" over and over again can win every fight regardless of the situation.

Woftis

Another small wee tip is to try and do a bit of provisioning (making food, drinks etc). You can create food that will give a small boost to your health for about 35 minutes. Make in bulk and keep eating as the effect wears off. That little extra health will make all the difference if you're struggling...and as you get better will make you unstoppable!

UrQuan

I'd also ask if you're wearing any armour, and if you are if it's damaged badly enough that it's not giving you any protection.

Alucardo

If you let us know what class you are and what monsters you're fighting we might be able to help more. I wouldn't give up just yet.. once you learn this game, the PVE content is incredibly easy. No lie, I fell asleep while grinding at 3:30am. I woke up when I heard my character getting attacked.

Nax

Which server and faction do you play? I'll help you out in-game if I can.

Heindrich

Find a friend to craft u some basic gear, it completely transforms ur power level, + some provisioning as @Woftis mentioned.

If u're on EU PC, I can help u directly. (With gear and food).

izJordy

level 4 you said? don't worry bro.. it happends, some monsters are same lvl like you but they can do massive damage or have so much health, depends how you play, how you use u abilities, combos, and movement, but this early in the game you shouldn't even worry.. no gear whatsoever, nor abilties or anything, just don't give up you'll be fine.

Sharee

Wild guess: you're level 4 and are getting killed by the level 4 werewolf behind the bank in Daggerfall?

If so, forget about him for a couple of levels. That thing is brutal for unequipped level fours. Or alternatively, wait until some other players are near to help you kill it.

Soafee

Thanks everyone for your replies. I figured it out. I basically needed to avoid doing anything that has to do with killing stuff for a couple of levels and just did quests around town or gathering quests or killed lower level creatures until I leveled.

I almost quit this game because of frustration. How many people did quit but didn't come to the forums and ask questions? I so want to like this game, I really do.

If I was the game designers of this game I would re-think the newbie quests and the damage some creatures do. I couldn't find groups for anything. I had to wait around for another person to come by to get the quest finished. That's in no way fun, or "immersive".

The community isn't exactly nice to new players either. Asking a question in Zone chat gets a bunch of sarcastic, rude replies before you get the actual answer to your question. The few guilds I've joined were all talking about sexual explicit content, which wasn't for me so I left.

So here is a new question. If I had bought a newbie pack from the Crown store, would I have had the same issues? I'm considering re-subbing my account. Does that make leveling easier?

@Sharee I don't think so. I was having trouble with that one assassin that appears when you're trying to find the poisoned meat for that one merchant. I finally just ran away from him. I thought I had to kill him to complete the quest.. Ugh. Then ended up having trouble with Sand Pirate Vipers? I think that's what they were called. If I accidentally pulled more then one I was doomed.

---One thing this has made me realize though. I'm a current WoW player. and I thought for sure the reason I wasn't enjoying WoW is because they made it too easy. Well, playing ESO made me realize if they made WoW hard again, I would hate it. I hated it back in Burning Crusade, I would hate it now. Reality check....I don't like dying. lol.. ah well.. I want to play ESO!!

Nestor

Soafee wrote: »

Thanks everyone for your replies. I figured it out. I basically needed to avoid doing anything that has to do with killing stuff for a couple of levels and just did quests around town or gathering quests or killed lower level creatures until I leveled.

Sounds to me like you landed in the first city in the first zone and are trying to do quests there. Other than a few city fetch quests, most of the mobs are going to be more than you can handle at L4.

Go to the Starter Islands and work on those. Those mobs are scaled for a fresh player in the game with no gear to speak of. Once you finish with the starter islands, then you will be L6 to L8 and ready for the mobs in the first town you are dropped in. Plus you will have some gear as you can looting the mobs. Don't worry about it matching, in fact, wearing a mix of armor types is better early one as you want to level each armor skill line while leveling your character.

To find these islands, find the quest NPC with a marker over their head that talks about the sailors that rescued you. You will be given a quest to go help those sailors and be taken to those islands.

UrQuan

Buying stuff from the crown store won't really help you, aside from giving you some potions & food to use (but those can be obtained in-game anyway).

What @Nestor says is correct. The real issue is that you're questing in Auridon without going to the starter island of Khenarthi's Roost first. Unfortunately, back when ESO was still in beta there were some idiots who complained loudly about having to actually start in the starter islands, and ZOS made the huge mistake of listening to them. So now, when you first wake up after the tutorial you don't wake up on the starter island for your alliance, and instead you wake up in the first full zone for your alliance.

Many people who are brand new to the game (myself included back when I started playing) don't realize that you're actually supposed to immediately leave the zone where you wake up (because frankly it's completely counter-intuitive). So people end up struggling with content that they're not really supposed to face until after they've done the easier starter islands, leveled up a bit, gained some skill points, gained some gear, and started to learn how combat goes in this game (along with learning some common quest mechanics).

So stop doing any other quests in Auridon for now (you don't have to abandon them - you can come back to do them later), go to the khajiit on the east part of the docks (Sugar Claws, or some name similar to that), take a boat to Khenarthi's Roost, and go do all of the quests there. By the time you're done you should be about level 8, you'll have more skills (both in terms of the skills your character puts on his skill bar, and in terms of you as a player knowing what you're doing in combat), and you'll have adequate gear. Then you'll have no problem with the quests in Auridon.

Soafee

@UrQuan

Thank you for your reply! You're right, I didn't know I was suppose to go back. I thought I was in the right area this whole time, people kept saying "starter island" I had no idea I wasn't there already.

I've figured it out, and thank you for your input too. I don't know how I managed to get one character to level 8 because I didn't go back on my first character either but this was months ago!

I'm really enjoying my caster I made. She's in the snow area right now(can't think of the name), I'm loving it. They should really change how that works for new players.. It was sooo confusing and irritating. I just feel bad for people who have left the game not knowing you need to go back like I almost did.

UrQuan

Soafee wrote: »

@UrQuan

Thank you for your reply! You're right, I didn't know I was suppose to go back. I thought I was in the right area this whole time, people kept saying "starter island" I had no idea I wasn't there already.

I've figured it out, and thank you for your input too. I don't know how I managed to get one character to level 8 because I didn't go back on my first character either but this was months ago!

I'm really enjoying my caster I made. She's in the snow area right now(can't think of the name), I'm loving it. They should really change how that works for new players.. It was sooo confusing and irritating. I just feel bad for people who have left the game not knowing you need to go back like I almost did.

I know right? It's so counter-intuitive the way it works now. When I started playing almost 2 years ago, it just seemed completely illogical that I would immediately leave the city I started in rather than do the quests I found in that city first. So I ended up banging my head against a couple of enemies in quests that i just couldn't beat at the time, until I got so frustrated that I decided I had to take a break from those 2 quests in the city that were giving me problems (in my case I was playing on a Daggerfall Covenant character, and the enemies I couldn't beat were a werewolf in one quest, and an assassin trying to kill the king in another quest). That was when I decided to go and check out the boat taking me away from the city, and after that my questing progressed pretty smoothly.

I mean, sure the quest giver who sends you to the boat is the first quest giver you'll come across, but to me (and to many others - this topic comes up over and over on the forums and in zone chat and in guilds) it just seems so bizarre to think that you're actually supposed to immediately leave the city you wake up in, rather than explore it first.

KhajitFurTrader

UrQuan wrote: »

I mean, sure the quest giver who sends you to the boat is the first quest giver you'll come across, but to me (and to many others - this topic comes up over and over on the forums and in zone chat and in guilds) it just seems so bizarre to think that you're actually supposed to immediately leave the city you wake up in, rather than explore it first.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, c'mon, how can they want for people to skip the introduction to awesome characters like Razum'Dar, or Crafty Lerisa and her bunch of misfits that call themselves a crew? They could've done this the other way round: wake up on the starter island, get asked whether you feel experienced or seasoned enough, and if yes, great, here's your ride to the mainland; if not, you're welcome to explore to your heart's content and start picking up your skills on the way. I wonder whether this has ever been discussed as an option or not, and if so, why they decided against it.

Ishamaeli

I did my first character the same way, i.e. not visiting the starter island until I was, uh, level 9 or so? It didn't particularly seem like it was necessary to hit that first but I can definitely see how it is counter-intuitive and confusing for new players who want their game to progress smoothly. (Oh yeah, that werewolf. That werewolf.)

To be honest, I skipped the starter quest for a long while too precisely because immediately leaving the city I was in felt weird, so I didn't. On top of that I thought that the island would be harder, difficulty-wise, than where I was as it appeared to be the "next area".

On the other hand, the starter islands do have a good number of small quests, so I understand why it'd be frustrating to be stuck there before access to the mainland as well. If ZOS had left things the way they were in the beta, it'd have made the most sense to give the option to skip the starter island, like KhajitFurTrader suggested. (And if they wanted to be mean about it, not give the option to come back... "Oh yeah, you think you can get right in the thick of things? Begone, fool!" )

vamp_emily

If you really are having a hard time fighting, and are just getting killed. Here are a few options:

1. Grind a few levels, this might make it easier for you to kill the mobs.
2. If you are having a hard time with a specific quest.. skip it and come back later when you are a more skilled fighter.

Also just some tips:
Keep your armor repaired, or put on new armor as you level up
Eat food, or have some drinks
Use potions
Add some gyphs to your armor/weapons

Nestor

KhajitFurTrader wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

I mean, sure the quest giver who sends you to the boat is the first quest giver you'll come across, but to me (and to many others - this topic comes up over and over on the forums and in zone chat and in guilds) it just seems so bizarre to think that you're actually supposed to immediately leave the city you wake up in, rather than explore it first.

Yeah, I feel the same way. I mean, c'mon, how can they want for people to skip the introduction to awesome characters like Razum'Dar, or Crafty Lerisa and her bunch of misfits that call themselves a crew? They could've done this the other way round: wake up on the starter island, get asked whether you feel experienced or seasoned enough, and if yes, great, here's your ride to the mainland; if not, you're welcome to explore to your heart's content and start picking up your skills on the way. I wonder whether this has ever been discussed as an option or not, and if so, why they decided against it.

Back in the Beta, when they were wiping our characters each week or session even, we had to do the starter islands over and over and over and over and over. Even when they offered content in the first zones we had to do the starter islands over and over and over again each week. It was not until the latter days of the beta that we had characters we could carry over from session to session. So, in response to the uproar repeating the Starter Islands caused, ZOS created this situation we are in now.

Why they did not place us on the starter island and give us an option to leave early I will never know. It's kind of backwards right now. I will say that if you have experience in the game, and, even better, a crafter to make some starter gear with, you can skip the starters. But, a new player with a fresh character? They will have mostly frustration.

Pheefs

Soafee wrote: »

I shouldn't be dying this much

....I don't like dying. lol.. ah well.. I want to play ESO!!

I know exactly how you feel!
Mostly I try to be a level or two above the level of the quest, if you do all the delves & find all the skyshards it kinda happens automatically after the first Map.

BUT!
when you are in solo scaling instances and get killed the difficulty gets adjusted downward, soooooooooo....
sometimes I ummm... well, let's say I don't mind so much getting killed in those circumstances and leave it at that.


Have filled soul gems with you & try to laugh it off when you die, and then go back and get sweet vengeance.
Good Luck!

Johngo0036

@Soafee - So from the sounds of you post and the poisoned meat i assume you are in the Aldmeri Dominion area,

You want to go to the docs and speak to an NPC that will take you to the Starter area for AD,
Kenarthi'sroost(spelling not correct)..

You will find the quests in this area are the correct level for your character.

nordsavage

Stop trying to play this like a traditional Elder Scrolls. Start using gear sets. Synergize your abilities. Using only light and heavy attacks is not dps in this game. Use provisioning food and drinks. Use potions. Fight enemies at or below your level until you get into the swing of things. Grab a questing buddy or join a guild. Learn the defensive mechanics and their cooldown/nerfs. Maintain your gear. For starters.