Just a few questions

KingTuri

Hello,

Me, my brother and couple of our friends are thinking about starting ESO and I got few questions about the game.

1) Was there some update which allows you to play any race on any group? Can I play lizard and my bro cat together?

2) How important is min-maxing in this game? If I want to play DK do I have to play dunmer or can I play lizard?

3) Do we get to play full dlc just by buying it or do we need to buy and sub for all the areas, quests etc?

4) How is the class balance and how important is it to have optimal gear, race-class combos and stuff to clear dungeons? Also are there raids?

I played when the game released but I've heard its changed quite a bit and I never got to endgame so dont really know too much about the game.

Thanks in advance!

Turelus

KingTuri wrote: »

1) Was there some update which allows you to play any race on any group? Can I play lizard and my bro cat together?

This is the old pre-order bonus from the original games launch, it's called the Adventurer Pack now and can be purchased in the Crown Store (in game cash shop). There are also still some codes for sale on the internet cheap but I don't know if they still work.

KingTuri wrote: »

2) How important is min-maxing in this game? If I want to play DK do I have to play dunmer or can I play lizard?

It depends what you want to do with the game. If you're going for world #1 scores or god like power in PvP min/max will be important, if you just want to do content to play it and have fun it's not as important.
Player skill will be more valuable than the stats for getting to a point you can clear all content, however you will be missing 10% bonus stats here and there.

KingTuri wrote: »

3) Do we get to play full dlc just by buying it or do we need to buy and sub for all the areas, quests etc?

Depending what edition of the game you have to what DLC you'll have.
Base game or Morrowind (to my knowledge) doesn't come with any DLC so you will either need to buy them separately or pay the monthly sub. Figure out which works best for you financially and remember buying DLC is permanent access, where's the sub is only access whilst subbed (but comes with a lot of other awesome benefits).

KingTuri wrote: »

4) How is the class balance and how important is it to have optimal gear, race-class combos and stuff to clear dungeons?

Class balanced is so/so right now many feel the sorcerer is over performing a lot, but ZOS are very good at keeping the cycle of what's on top changing. As noted above unless you're going for top world times or pure godlike PvP power then it doesn't matter too much.
Gear and builds are important as well as player skill of understanding rotations and animation cancelling. If you check some of the links in my signature they have guides and builds.

KingTuri wrote: »

Also are there raids?

Yes, these are called Trials and there are currently five of them. They're designed for 12 people groups.

KingTuri

Thanks! Very insightful answer and answered the questions. I guess we start our journey with my bro this evening!

Turelus

If you had any other questions do ask, the forums has a great community willing to help with things.

davey1107

Turelus is an expert and his feedback is spot on, but I wanted to expand on your question #3 about dlc access.

Morrowind is considered a "chapter," and the only way to get it is to buy it with real money.

The current DLCs are:

1. Wrothgar/Orsinium: huge area in the north with many solo quest lines, dailies, etc.

2. Imperial City: a pvp/pve combo zone inside Cyrodiil that has a large overland city area and a massive system of underground tunnels in the sewers.

3. Thieves Guild / Hews Bane: a medium sized zone with a main storyline, some delves and world bosses and the thieves guild skill line.

4. Dark Brotherhood / Gold Coast: same deal as thieves guild

5. Shadows of the Hist: two 4 player dungeons in shadowfen, no new zone or anything else.

6. Horns of the Reach (coming summer 2017): two 4 player dungeons in the rift.

7. Clockwork City (coming fall 2017): new area in Morrowind, details not fully released.


To access DLCs, you can:

A. They all open fully while ESO+ is active. If your sub lapses, the zone closes back up, but you don't lose items/achievements/quest progress or anything. If you re-up you get back in and can continue. Having them open via sub is exactly the same as owning them...you get all content, it's just temporary access.

B. All of these can be purchased individually for crowns. And there is a mega pack that includes DLCs 1-4 of 5500 crowns, versus 8000 if you buy separate.

C. There was a gold edition of the game that came with a code for DLCs 1-4. If you can find a copy (it's out of print), this used to be a cheap way to get the DLCs. You just booted the game from that disc, the DLCs unlocked on your account, then you put back the other disc if it's newer and bam, done.


Cost effective strategies

How much you'll play the dlc zones depends on your preferences. I play orsinium all the time...I don't go to hews Bane that often. So whether you want to pay for permanent access or not just depends.

Note that ESO plus comes with 1500 crowns per month. You can therefore use plus as a way to "try before you buy." Crowns you get with plus cost a tiny bit more than buying large crown packs, but there are other benefits to plus as well (listed on a sheet in the crown store). I always tell new players who really like the game to try a month of plus...if there's a dlc zone you love, this'll offer some crowns toward it. Or you might love plus and get access this way.