Returning player, unsure what to do after main quest.

CiXwOw

I stopped playing a long time ago, but have recently decided to try and get back into it, but I'm not sure what I should do next!

Before I left, I had just finished the Daggerfall storyline. I already had characters in other factions, and would like to complete the stories with them, but I'm unsure what the best choice for continuing my DC character is.

I bought Orsinium just before quitting (I think it was on sale or something), but I never started it and now I'm not sure if people still play it. I wouldn't be opposed to buying something else if it was "better". Morrowind, for example could be fun. I could even make a new Warden character for it.

I've never really tried out the group stuff. I'd be interested in trying, but I'm unsure on where to start. I was always a pretty casual player, so I'm not even sure what gear/skills/etc. I'd need to start with.
PvE interests me more than PvP. I dabbled a bit with Cyrodiil back in the day but I always felt a bit lost in the crowd or like I'm just cannon fodder.

tl;dr What do people usually do after completing the main quest? (other than the doing the other faction questlines) I'm also pretty inexperienced at the MMO aspects, but am interested in learning.

ZioGio

After I completed the AD main quest, I started questing in the DLCs (I'm a subscriber). I found Orsinium a lot of fun. There are lots to do there and there were plenty of people still playing it when I was last there a month ago or so.

You can also return to the cave where you got your main quests and begin Cadwell's Silver and Gold. Your character will be transported to the starting zone of another alliance and start questing there so you don't need to start a new character or use an alt to experience the other zones (unless you want to, of course).

I'll let someone else give advice on grouping, since I haven't grouped for a dungeon in a long time; I found I had more fun exploring the map and finding hidden gems.

Turelus

The DLC is a good place to start. You're in luck with owning Orsinium as well as there is an event coming for it soon so the population of the zone will be much higher for a week.

Ilsabet

I became so attached to my main character while questing through her alliance (which was also DC) and the main quest that I decided to continue with her to experience the other alliances rather than starting those with new characters. It worked out really well for me since I was comfortable with that character's playstyle and the questing experience was more satisfying as part of her overall journey.

Your mileage may vary depending on how much you get out of the story and RP aspects of questing and how well you remember and like your main character.

I found that doing the base game alliances before continuing on to DLCs was preferable for me, since it made for the most sensible story progression and you get some interesting interactions with characters you see in DLCs if you've already done quests with them in the alliance zones. The one exception I made was the Thieves Guild DLC, which is more of a stand-alone thing and gives passive skills that I find super useful in my day-to-day activities.

My general order of activities was/is:

DC/Fighters Guild/Mages Guild/Coldharbour/Main Quest - AD (SIlver) - EP (Gold) - Thieves Guild somewhere in the middle there - Craglorn - Orsinium - Dark Brotherhood - Morrowind - Clockwork City

Consider how you feel about questing and what other activities you find enjoyable. As far as group content, joining a nice guild can be a really great start. I've barely run any group dungeons in all my time playing but I run trials every week with a guild group. You can also find a lot of advice on gear and skills in online guides, or guildmates can help with that too.

CiXwOw

Thanks for the advice everyone. I think I'll go through the Orsinium stuff.
Maybe I'll ask around in the game chat and see if I can find a beginner friendly guild, see if they can help me learn the ropes there.