I have questions...

CMFan1966

Like the title says...I have questions and I hope someone or several someone's have answers. I've been pretty much playing around with this game and learning it since September. I pretty much just do PVE, but I'm hoping to branch out to a bit of PVP eventually. Here we go...

1. Will someone please tell me what the heck the word 'zerg' means? And can you explain it to me like I'm a six year old? I've Googled it and I just can't find a sufficient answer.
2. People talk about their 'builds' all the time. I kind of get it. For example, if your class is Sorcerer, it kind of makes sense to go heavy on the magic attributes. Does that mean you ignore the others?
3. I think I may have finally found my main character I want to keep forever. She's a Breton DK and I've been splitting up her magicka, health and stamina pretty evenly so far. Is it feasible to have her master more than 2 different weapon types? Right now she's dual wield on the front and bow on the back. I'd also like her to learn 2 handed and destruction staff. Is that stupid?
4. I was at a dolmen tonight and another player beside me was a skeleton. How exactly is that possible? Was it a polymorph I missed out on? I whispered and asked the player but he/she never answered me back.
5. Speaking of dolmens...how are people sitting in chairs waiting at dolmens? Is this something that came with housing? You have a chair in your inventory so you can sit in it wherever?
6. Just exactly how many champion points are possible to get in this game? I've got somewhere between 260 and 270, but I've seen people at 600 and others at 800. When I look at my CP constellations, the points add up to 600. How do you go beyond that and what does it change?
7. Final question of the night...If I ever get brave enough to try PVP in a dungeon run or trial or whatever PVP content entails, will someone actually take the time to help me or will I automatically get kicked because of my lack of experience?

I thank anyone and everyone who takes the time to read all that and to explain whatever you can. I'll be able to sneak and look at any info on my phone at work tomorrow, but I won't be able to respond because I kinda need my job. Thanks again!!!

Magdalina

Oh boy, this is going to take a while

1)Did you ever play one of those lemming games? Like, where 50 similar creatures all work after another mindlessly doing what #1 does and mindlessly dying if #1 does, too? That's basically it.

2)Uhh well a build is just how you choose to build your character. Some things are definitely more effective than others, but for example stamina sorcerer is really strong atm.

In ESO, your damage/healing scales with your max stamina, weapon damage, weapon crit and physical penetration for stamina costing abilities and max magicka, spell damage, spell crit and spell penetration for magicka costing abilities. Only exception being shields such as Annulment that scale with max magicka only.

So to be maximum effective with a stamina oriented character - and this leads us to 3) - you'll want to put all your attributes into stamina, wear medium armor and use sets contributing to your weapon damage/stamina/procing off stamina skills like Hunding's or Night Mother's Gaze. Or for PvP Eternal Hunt and some others could be good as well. Actually PvP meta ("best" builds) is a bit different now with most/many people wearing heavy for surviveability, many using Black Rose set for sustain which lets you be very tanky while, if coupled up with a damage set, still dealing good damage. Most people see that as broken but it is what it is for now.

You don't want to be splitting your points between resources unless you're a tank, it's extremely ineffective. Generally you should aim for 17-20k health in PvE with food(if you're lacking sone, use health enchants or healthy jewelry, it's easier than changing your attributes). For the same reason you also don't really want to be using magicka costing abilities unless for utility, such as cc(crowd control, like chains and talons) or purifying negative effects etc.

Far as weapons go, there's nothing wrong with learning every single one of them if you have the skillpoints to do so, but keep in mind that to be effective with staves you'll need to respec completely, going all points into magicka, light armor, etc. Otherwise you're going to be hitting like a wet noodle(though it'll probably still be enough to get you through open world mobs but don't let that fool you). S&b is great for tanks and is actually great for most anyone in PvP for damage mitigation on offbar. Bit less so to a DK I guess since you have your own reflect skill(the wings one). S&b damage also scales with stamina but isn't as good as DW/2H/bow. 2H is great for PvP for its cc and burst potential, DW is better for PvE for higher overall damage.

4) It's a polymorph that you get as a reward for completing a certain quest. I think it's in Shadowfen but I might easily be wrong on thst one...it's called Gem of Skeletal Vision(Visage?) or something like that, on cell so harder for me to look it up.

5)Awww you're cute:) It's called emotes and everyone has access to them, that one would be /sitchair. There're hundreds of them really, a lot of really cool ones too. /Wave, /kiss, /dance, /poke, /faint, /bucketsplash, /sweep, /heartbroken and what not, try them

6) The maximum number of Champion points is 3600. However, while you can technically (....in theory) earn as much, there's a cap on how many you can use. Right now the cap is 600, so even if someone has 1k cp they'll still only be able to use 600. Gear cap is 160 cp which means that once you hit 160 cp you won't have to keep upgrading your gear every few levels etc(but that's about all it means since you're getting battle leveled prior to cp 160, scaling you up there, so you're not really getting stronger there).

7)Uhhhh well I personally wouldn't mind helping you but it seems that you're rather inexperienced when it comes to the game's mechanics and not everyone likes to deal with that, especially in pug groups. There's also some content, like some vet dungeons, thst can simply be uncompleteable unless players meet a certain threshold(don't worry it's not that many instances and the threshold is nothing insane, but it's generally more than you can do with splitting your points between different attributes).

You could probably try normal dungeons because they're really easy and don't have (m)any requirements, that's also where a lot of new/inexperienced players come for their first runs so you likely won't be alone for that. Veteran dungeons are quite a different story and people will usually have some expectations for someone joining them. Nothing op, but like, running, for example, 2H/destro might get you kicked. Overall I'd recommend joining a guild for nice smooth first runs where people won't mind explaining stuff. Most people only run dungeons for pledges now which means they've run them 63378843 times before and just want quick completion now when they pug. It's not always the case but it's really common. I'd advise you to look some into your build before doing a dungeon though, it'd make it a lot easier for both you and your group

In PvP, tbh if you join one of big pick up groups that lfg in zonechat, no one will even notice what you're using because those are 20+ people usually and either they outnumber everyone and steamroll them or they all get steamrolled by outnumbering/more skilled/organized players of opposing faction. You likely won't find any judgement in these groups but probably not any help either.

Good luck, and hope that helps

Hallothiel

What are you playing on -pc / ps4 / xbox?

QUEZ420

I have answers...

pattyLtd

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Danikat

1. Will someone please tell me what the heck the word 'zerg' means? And can you explain it to me like I'm a six year old? I've Googled it and I just can't find a sufficient answer.

A zerg is a big, largely uncoordinated group of players all running around together completing objectives. It actually comes from an RTS game called Starcraft where one of the races is called the Zerg and a common tactic when playing as them is to make lots and lots of cheap units quickly to overwhelm your enemy with sheer numbers while they're still building up their forces. From there the term spread to other games where it was applied to similar tactics.

In MMO RPGs its usually applied when more people than can fit in a party or other organised group are all doing the same thing at the same time, usually with little/no coordination. It's relatively safe and therefore easy - there's enough people to quickly kill enemies before they can kill any of you and you probably don't even need to know the mechanics of a fight because everyone spamming skills will add up to enough damage anyway. But it can be boring and it can be hard for an individual to do enough damage to get credit for the fight before the enemy dies.

2. People talk about their 'builds' all the time. I kind of get it. For example, if your class is Sorcerer, it kind of makes sense to go heavy on the magic attributes. Does that mean you ignore the others?

You've got the general idea - a build is how you 'build' your character, which skills and attributes you use. But there's usually more than 1 option for each profession and there can be many variants. But when you see people talking about things like a stamplar or magblade that's short-hand for a specific build, in that case stamina templar or magicka nightblade.

Focusing exclusively on certain things is one option, called 'min maxing'. It has obvious advantages in that it makes your character stronger at those things but the downside is they can be extremely specialised. For example a min maxed damager dealer is sometimes called a 'glass cannon' - because they hit like a cannon but they have so little defence that they shatter like glass if someone hits them. Also if you focus entirely on a few specific advantages of your character and then a balance patch changes how they work you may need to re-do everything.

3. I think I may have finally found my main character I want to keep forever. She's a Breton DK and I've been splitting up her magicka, health and stamina pretty evenly so far. Is it feasible to have her master more than 2 different weapon types? Right now she's dual wield on the front and bow on the back. I'd also like her to learn 2 handed and destruction staff. Is that stupid?

That's the opposite of min maxing - what's known as a hybrid build. They are generally weaker but can be better all-rounders and some people really enjoy them. I wouldn't say don't do it but be aware that while you'll have more options you'll be weaker at them than someone who specialises.

Although that mainly applies to the attributes. How many weapons you can use depends entirely on how many skill points you have and what else you want to spend them on. I can't remember how many skill points there are in total but it's not enough to unlock everything, so for every weapon you take you'll have to sacrifice another skill line.

4. I was at a dolmen tonight and another player beside me was a skeleton. How exactly is that possible? Was it a polymorph I missed out on? I whispered and asked the player but he/she never answered me back.

That is a polymorph. There's a few that will do it - a straight forward skeleton from the quest "The Bargain's End" in Shadowfen, the Cadaverous Assassin from the Dark Brotherhood DLC, and the Witchmother's Brew from Halloween (this one is a memento, and I don't think it works any more).

5. Speaking of dolmens...how are people sitting in chairs waiting at dolmens? Is this something that came with housing? You have a chair in your inventory so you can sit in it wherever?

It's an emote - /sitchair makes a chair appear behind you and then you sit down.

6. Just exactly how many champion points are possible to get in this game? I've got somewhere between 260 and 270, but I've seen people at 600 and others at 800. When I look at my CP constellations, the points add up to 600. How do you go beyond that and what does it change?

I don't think there's a limit to how many you can actually earn, but at the moment you can only spend 600. They might increase that in future.

7. Final question of the night...If I ever get brave enough to try PVP in a dungeon run or trial or whatever PVP content entails, will someone actually take the time to help me or will I automatically get kicked because of my lack of experience?

Your best bet is to join a friendly guild. There are some who specialise in training for certain things and others who simply aren't that picky. In either case I recommend letting them know you've not done it before so they don't expect you to know exactly what to do and will warn you about upcoming fights.

CasNation

You've already gotten some great answers, but I wanted to expound on your last question:

The answer is a join a guild. You can generally find them recruiting in the subforums here, or you can just ask in game. Try to find one that is friendly and has some sort of training program. Yes, they do exist. Generally the really good ones will want you to sign up on their website and go through a vetting process so that they know you are serious about joining their community and not just trying to steal their guild bank.

Once you get into a good guild, be very sure to communicate your inexperience with the kind of content you want to try. Be goal-oriented about it, and frame it in terms of what you want to acheive. That will help others help you.

Good luck!

P.S. I am sure there are some people in this thread even that would be willing to help out, so sharing your server information (ex. PC NA) will help you find others to run stuff with.

CMFan1966

Sorry, I am PC/NA.

driosketch

1) Zerg is a term that first came from Starcraft, a Real Time Strategy game, were you build up your base and space army to take down your opponent. Zerg is one the factions that was known for being able to quickly and cheaply build troop units. One of the cheap, and often frowned upon, strategies was to over run your enemy's base at the start with these cheap units before they had a chance to develop their base defenses. This practice was known as a Zerg rush.

In PvP, this term is used as an insult for any large group of players. Those using the term often assume all the players in the "zerg" are unskilled who are robbing their "betters" of victory by outnumbering them. Also, there is no definitive size before a group becomes a zerg. Generally in the eye of the player, the group larger than you is a zerg. 30+ players of the same alliance, grouped and ungrouped but in the same place is considered a zerg by nearly everyone. But a solo player getting run over a by a coordinated 12-man group probably also considers themselves having been "zerged" down.

Speaking of, as a new player you will probably be joining the "zerg" at first. It's honestly the safest place to learn the basics of Cyrodiil without a lot of discouraging deaths, even if you are reaffirming the stereotype of zerg players.

2) You often want enough health to get between 17k and 20k in PvE for a non-tank, adjusting as needed. (PvP will gift you an extra 5k health.) After that you do want to place the rest of your attributes into Magicka or Stamina depending on which you use mainly for your damage skills.

3) Your hybrid build may work while leveling and for solo quest PvE. However, as you move into dungeons, trials and PvP, you will feel the pull to "pick a side". I guess Dual Swords and Flame staff will work if you go magicka, stick with the DW/Bow/2-hander for Stamina. I won't get into more details because this post is getting pretty long, but feel free to ask follow ups.

4) Polymorh comes from a quest in Shadowfen, The Bargain’s End. It's from a northwestern village. There was also a cloaked skeleton effect from the Holloween/Witch's Festival holiday event, and a dungeon monster helm that's a skull from Blackheart Haven. I don't know which you saw, but I assume it was the first one.

5) Type /sitchair in chat.

6) You can apply 100 points per star, times 4 stars per constellation, times 9 constellations. This means a maximum of 3600 possible CP. However, there is a rising cap on usable CP, though you can still earn more than that. Currently the max is set to 600.

7) When you first enter Cyrodiil, there is a tutorial quest. I recommend running it to get the basics of the war mechanics. You are free to ask questions in zone chat. You will usually get helpful answers, although depending on the campaign and faction, you will also get joke and sarcastic answers. There will also be groups recruiting members in zone chat. You can join them, they usually only require you follow the player with the crown. That's becoming part of the zerg I mentioned earlier, but you will probably learn more by doing so.

CMFan1966

I'd like to thank all of you for your responses. This is really good information and I'm keeping it bookmarked so I can refer to it whenever I need to. At least I can go to the crown store or one of the shrines to re-do my skills and attributes if/when I need to because I really do like this character. I really enjoy the Templar class and the Dragon Knight class. I'll try the warden when Morrowind comes out, although when I hear the word warden, I think of prison wardens.

Basically what I want to do is have one character that does it all. I want as many achievements as I can get just once. Sometimes I have to mix it up to keep my interest. I swear the older I get, the more I think I have adult onset ADD. Thanks again!!!!!

geonsocal

@CMFan1966 glad to hear pvp interests you ...ugh, I sound like i'm in timeshare sales...

buff your mount, or, run rapid maneuvers...templars and dragonknights are very good classes for pvp (read: forgiving of fools), consider some heavy armor...unless you have your resource management down, maybe try going with regen drinks...

it can be convenient to have a ranged weapon on one bar, a melee on another...stay in stealth as much as possible...you can learn a lot initially just doing some zerg surfing - a lot of fun too

check out chat with a bit of a discretionary eye (block is your friend ), try to learn to use siege...wish I was just discovering pvp in eso for the first time...

IcyDeadPeople

1. Will someone please tell me what the heck the word 'zerg' means? And can you explain it to me like I'm a six year old? I've Googled it and I just can't find a sufficient answer.
the formula for zerg = (n + 1) where n is the number of players in your party.

2. People talk about their 'builds' all the time. I kind of get it. For example, if your class is Sorcerer, it kind of makes sense to go heavy on the magic attributes. Does that mean you ignore the others?
I don't quite understand this question

3. I think I may have finally found my main character I want to keep forever. She's a Breton DK and I've been splitting up her magicka, health and stamina pretty evenly so far. Is it feasible to have her master more than 2 different weapon types? Right now she's dual wield on the front and bow on the back. I'd also like her to learn
Depends on your goal. For quests and killing enemies in most areas of the game, the attributes and even the choice of gear doesn't matter too much. You can get by with just any random equipment you find. Whenever you want to start doing veteran dungeons or PVP, then you need to figure out a build concept and plan which sets you want to wear. The extremely min/maxed kind of builds that are heavily promoted are really only necessary if you want to compete at the highest level in endgame PVP

4. 2 handed and destruction staff. Is that stupid?
Hybrid builds, using both stamina and magicka abilities are quite challenging to plan and to play. For quests and just general exploration it doesn't matter too much, but for endgame PVE or PVP, those kind of hybrid builds require specific hybrid sets like Pelinals and very careful planning to make them work.

5. I was at a dolmen tonight and another player beside me was a skeleton. How exactly is that possible? Was it a polymorph I missed out on? I whispered and asked the player but he/she never answered me back.
there is a quest in Shadowfen that gives you this item.

7. Speaking of dolmens...how are people sitting in chairs waiting at dolmens? Is this something that came with housing? You have a chair in your inventory so you can sit in it wherever?
type /chair in chat window

8. Just exactly how many champion points are possible to get in this game? I've got somewhere between 260 and 270, but I've seen people at 600 and others at 800. When I look at my CP constellations, the points add up to 600. How do you go beyond that and what does it change?
Maximum is 3600, but out of these you can only spend 600 total so far.

9. Final question of the night...If I ever get brave enough to try PVP in a dungeon run or trial or whatever PVP content entails, will someone actually take the time to help me or will I automatically get kicked because of my lack of experience?

I've found PVP to be a lot more relaxing and less drama than veteran dungeons and trials. In dungeons someone might kick you, but in Cyrodiil everyone can help their faction, even if you are a complete beginner.

KimberlyannKitsuragi

If you're on PC/Mac add me @Meri20098. I go really slowly wanting to experience everything and I look everywhere for stuff. I'm also a master crafter so if you need gear, I'll make it for you. My guild (Savage Blade) is very friendly. We usually hover around max cap for members. Though if you're looking feel free to ask