Returning Player to ESO - What should I do

MEBengalsFan2001

Hi All,

I am a console players using the PS4. I have purchased all the collectors editions and most of the DLCs for ESO. I started to play ESO at launch on the PS4 and I stopped as I waited for my friends to catch up to my level and eventually I stopped all together and went back to the prior MMO I was playing DCUO.

Than in 2016 I started to play NWO and after a few months of that I got bored of NWO and did not want to go back to DCUO so in December 2016 through early January I played ESO but I got sucked into the world of NWO after many updates that drastically improved that game. I continued to play NW until recently as I am bored as I have two characters that are at end game and end game content is boring in NWO at the moment and the grind in that game is really same old quest over and over and over doing that on 3 characters have worn me out of playing NWO.

I am not new ESO or MMOs. Even though I got my first character in ESO up to level 40 and my second is now sitting at level 20 I still consider myself a new player to ESO and wanting to learning, though I am far from new to MMOs.

With that said I want to dive deep into ESO as I know it has much to offer given all the updates and even what the original release had as I only got through most of the DaggerFall story.

With all of that said I would like to discuss about my character experience thus far.

I originally played as a High Elf Sorcerer to about level 40. I enjoyed that class a lot, did crafting for my gear and played that for about 2-3 months prior to leaving.

In late 2016 I started a Dragon Knight Dark Elf and I still have this character. I maxed out his mount speed and have 5 into the inventory and stamina. I played this character up to level 19 and recently came back and got him to 20. I am following the old Ebonheart pack story path and want to finish that up prior to getting into the other story lines.

My question is should I continue to play my DK and level him up to end game or should I start another character over. I was planning to play my DK as a tank and DPS in end game but I'm not sure if that is even possible. If it is possible, does anyone know a good guide I can review. Also, can a DK be a healer/buffer in end game PVE? If so, would it be easier to pull off playing as a Magika Healer/DPS?

I was thinking of playing as a Brenton Templar to play as a Magika DPS/Healer as I know that the Templar class offers the best up front healing abilities and can be a good Magika DPS.

I do own the Warden class and that class looks interesting as well, not sure how that class will play out and if it is a better Tank or Healer for a support build.

As a long time MMO player, I like to play support first, usually a healer, and than a DPS or Tank second.

I'm open for suggestion on what Race and Class to play. I am not worried about building myself a support character at the start of playing as I know I can respect down the road but if I pick the right class at the start it will be easier to transition to that role once I get my character some proper gear, skills and stats.

Sparr0w

Well you've got yourself the joint 2nd place Mag DPS characters there (only beat by MagNB).

You could also respec your DK to a tank, as they're the best tanking class, plus Dark Elves get a Stamina boost.

If you go DPS/Healer roll a Templar, Breton/Argonian/High elf. If you're not too bothered about BiS you could roll a NB/Warden.

I'd advise finishing the main quest for skillpoints on your main character, then work on getting yourself up to CP160 (gear cap) so you can focus on putting your build together & get yourself into a guild, very beneficial for newer players.

With coming back now you do get level up rewards (might be only on new characters?) but you'll get XP scrolls, training armour/weapons & respec scrolls as you level up!

All in all tho, I'd just enjoy the game, ESO is really balanced at the moment & Summerset is beautiful!

Bregilad

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

Hi All,

I am a console players .....

Ok, that was a wall of text... it's really unnecessary to know all your previous MMOs to answer this question.

I have both rerolled a character before and also jumped back into a previous character too. I prefer just jumping back into the game with the character you already have.

I would caution you to not judge a class by its meta. The meta changes very often in this game and it would be a good idea to play a character for awhile before jumping ship. I thought about deleting my magblade when it wasn't in a great spot... but now it's meta and playing it again is the fun I have been looking for.

However, others can comment further about whether the MagDK is what you are looking for, as that is one I have little experience with.

Edit: also, the game becomes much more endgame when you get to CP160... I remember getting gear and items that I can actually keep without throwing away in another couple levels... what a difference!

fred4

I am primarily a PvPer and don't do end-game PvE. With that said, here is what I know:

The meta class for end-game (12-man trial) healers is still templar, and for tanks: DK, as it's always been. ZOS tries to make it so everything is feasible, but the gamer community is very mixed. Some are friendly and accommodating, some are elitist and may occasionally even kick you from a group, if you are not running something meta. Of course the latter will tend to be people who don't know you, so if you are playing with your guild or with friends, that won't be a problem. Getting high-scores on trials is another matter. I believe that's how the meta gets established, so you'd probably best stick to a templar healer for that.

You must have done your research on the races, since high elf is probably still the best race for magicka sorc, and Dunmer the best all-round DK race, although more for a DPS-focused DK.

The best resource on tanking is probably this guy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAVCXJDR4GjY1P-c2H30Tdg

The best fountain of information, primarily for end-game PvE, is probably Gilliam the Rogue. Look him up on YouTube.

I don't think Deltia plays anymore, but Alcast is well known, puts out a lot of content, and has a web-site.

Magicka DKs are said to be strong in duels, and I think they are / were strong in end-game PvE, as DPS, albeit with the caveat that they depend on melee skills. Playing ranged is generally safer / easier.

The other race you might look into, for healers, possibly also for tanks, is Argonian.

Warden is probably the second-best class, for a healer.

THEDKEXPERIENCE

First, welcome back!

A few things ...

- Any possible combination of class and mag/stam can be end game viable if you know what you’re doing. Don’t screw up the race though cause that actually can kneecap you pretty bad. My main is a Magplar and I went with a High Elf. I don’t regret it at all.
- Level 40, level 20 or new don’t even think about end game now aside from getting your race and class to match well. In many ways you’re essentially still in the tutorial until level 50. The actual end game level at this point is Champion Level 750. Now, CP levels come faster than regular levels (I think anyway, it’s been a while) but you’re basically on level 40 of 800 now, not 40 of 50.
- You also no longer have to do everything in order. One Tamriel opened up the map so if you want to play an EP character but hang out in Daggerfall, then have at it.
- You can level many ways. Quests give great XP. I’d absolutely recommend finding as many lore books as you can to level your Mages Guild line, and maybe do some Undaunted stuff to level that, along with Cyrodiil for a few more skills. After that if you want to zoom up in levels go find a sweet grinding spot and kill stuff. With a few XP Scrolls you’ll be getting Champion Points before you know it.
- One last thing, if you start getting CP on your first toon you can equip them on your new toons as well, but you cannot earn CP below level 50. So the first grind will be the hardest but if you’re capped out on CP down the line and apply those to your alts you can fly through content.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

My Advice is to stick with your magic sorc and get yourself at least to the CP gear cap 160. Magic sorc is not the best at anything, but they are a great class to break into both end game PVE and PVP. From a PVE DPS perspective, they have the shortest learning curve and are in a pretty good spot. From PVP openworld perspective, they have a pretty stratight forward offensive and defensive rotation, so again, a great class to test the waters.

I think it makes sense to figure out what you really want to play before making a third charcter without having any at the level cap.

Your DK will make a great tank and a pretty darn good melee PVE DPS if you want to go that route instead. They are also very strong in 1v1 PVP, and pretty strong open world as well. The big difference is that they are going to be more of a brawler class in PVP, so its often kill or be killed. Your sorc will have better mobility to escape when the fight goes against you, but the flipside is that the DK can take more of a pounding, especially when outnumbered. Sorcs are about lining up burst combos to get kills, and DKs are about CCs and sustained pressure to wear down your opponent.

I think the strongest class overall right now is Nightblade, but they have a very steep learning curve (both magic and stam). Even if that was your goal, learning first on an easier class like Sorc is still probably a solid move. Been said a lot, but sorcs basically do 90% of the damage of nightblades with 50% of the effort (yes that is probably an over-generalization, but the point is valid).

fred4

Oreyn's first sentence bears emphasizing. CP160 is the milestone you want to reach before you seriously start to think about finalising your build. This is the point where battle-levelling stops and the CP160 gear you can wear, then, will no longer become weaker as you level up further. You can buy many sets in guild stores that you might like, such as Necropotence, but you'll only want to invest in CP160 gear.

A set, like Necropotence, which is not really an end-game DPS set, but a solo pet sorc PvE / PvP set, will probably be quite expensive for a new player, so don't waste your hard-earned gold while below CP160. Using the in-game economy is a great way of playing only the parts of the game you enjoy, while leaving the grinds you don't like to others. To make gold, I recommend you start doing daily crafting writs as soon as possible, and sell gold tempers. If you were on PC I'd tell you to use Dolgubon's Lazy Writ Crafter addon, which makes this quick and painless...

fred4

I think Oreyn made good arguments for sticking with sorc. I also think that, as long as you are new to the game and enjoy questing, that is absolutely the best way to level characters. Explore the beautiful lands. You won't really do that anymore at endgame.

For perspective, let me talk a little about where the time goes when levelling your subsequent characters. In terms of getting from level 1 to 50, you craft some training gear, drink some Mythic Aetherial Ambrosia, and you enlist a friend to help you grind by killing undead in a group of two. The first levels, up to around 15, will go by so fast, you will barely keep up allocating your skill points, while your friend levels you. It slows down a bit thereafter, but getting to 50 is the least of your trouble. You can complete it in a matter of hours, if you have a CP750 friend helping you. There are additional tasks, however, before your character is end-game ready:

(1) Skyshards. You need a certain amount, maybe at least 120 of these (or a lot of skill-point paying quests), so you have enough skill points. Half of them are in delves, and it's the load screens entering and leaving delves, as well as riding on a slow, unlevelled horse, that makes this a slow grind.

(2) Lorebooks. As a magicka character you will want the Mage's Guild skill line for Meteor, Magelight and Entropy - one or all of those skills. Collecting lorebooks everywhere is the only way to level this. The most inane grind outside of the new Psijic order questline. Best done at the same time as questing or collecting skyshards.

(3) The Fighter's Guild levels from killing Undead and Daedra, and usually takes care of itself. More useful for stamina toons, but the Banish the Wicked passive is a must-have for everyone.

(4) Undaunted Mettle is a must-have for every endgame character, as it increases your health + mag + stam by up to 6%. You typically run a fair amount of Undaunted pledges over the course of weeks to level this.

(5) Every character should do the PvP intro quest, in Cyrodiil. This gives you a skill called Rapid Maneuvers, which increases your riding speed. You don't need to PvP for that skill. It's something you should get, before going for skyshards. Stamina characters will want to do some actual PvP to get the Vigor and Caltrops skill. The former tends to be fairly essential in solo play.

(6) Some characters can make good use out of Soul Assault in PvP. Those need to complete the main questline, which is quite a grind when you're doing it for the nth time.

(7) I've probably forgotten something. There's usually a skill line you have insufficiently levelled and end up grinding.

The reason I mention all this is to provide some perspective on you saying you have a level 19 and a level 40 character. It hardly matters which one you continue with, or whether you make a new one. Your characters are both still babies and have tons of stuff ahead of them after level 50.

Tasear

Enjoys playing on sorc...wishes be healer. Why not mix the two

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/349428/sorcerer-healers-collection-dragon-bones-updated-new-build-added#latest

MEBengalsFan2001

I forgot to mention that my Sor is no longer with me. I ended up deleting him quite a while ago, when I thought I would not come play ESO. I believe it has been over 2 years now since I had my Sor; it was why I created my DK back in December 2016.

I did start up a new Imperial Templar. The game places me right into the Sumerset zone, should I just play those quest or should I go into another zone. Also, the start intro quest has been changed, found that to be interesting.

fred4

I think for a templar healer you'll want to be Argonian or Breton. Imperial might make an OK stamplar or tank.

You can quest anywhere.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

I forgot to mention that my Sor is no longer with me. I ended up deleting him quite a while ago, when I thought I would not come play ESO. I believe it has been over 2 years now since I had my Sor; it was why I created my DK back in December 2016.

I did start up a new Imperial Templar. The game places me right into the Sumerset zone, should I just play those quest or should I go into another zone. Also, the start intro quest has been changed, found that to be interesting.

Nothing wrong with playing templar, but I do question your racial choice. If you want to tank, imperial is a great choice (only behind Argonian). If you want to be a stamina DPS, it is a solid choice (behind Redguard and probably Khajiit). If you want to be a healer, it's a lousy choice (Argonion for pure healing is the best). If you want to be a magic DPS, its also a lousy choice. Best option is (highelf and Darkelf, which are really close). If you want to be a mix of Damage and Healer, I would go with a magic DPS race personally. Race matters the most to a DPS.

All that said, you can play this whole game with any race you want. Racial passives matter, but they arent the end of the world unless going for a leader board score as a DPS.

Templars make the best Healers, the third best Tanks (IMO), and magic Templars (magplars) are making a comeback this patch as DPS. That said, a templar isnt my first choice for a pure magic DPS.

Stamina Templars (stamplars) are a very average PVE DPS race when compared to other stamina classes. They are insanely strong in 1v1/dueling, in fact, i think that they are my toughest counter in the game.

As to the quest, start anywhere you want. You can certainly start in summerset, but it it where me, I would do the main zones first. When morrowind dropped, I breifely started it on a baby warden. Than I realized all the new gear and stuff I was getting was below the CP cap. In other words, I would get to CP 160 before you tackle the DLC zones, but thats just me. With battle scaling, they can be done at any point.


Just food for thought...

MEBengalsFan2001

Oreyn_Bearclaw wrote: »

MEBengalsFan2001 wrote: »

I forgot to mention that my Sor is no longer with me. I ended up deleting him quite a while ago, when I thought I would not come play ESO. I believe it has been over 2 years now since I had my Sor; it was why I created my DK back in December 2016.

I did start up a new Imperial Templar. The game places me right into the Sumerset zone, should I just play those quest or should I go into another zone. Also, the start intro quest has been changed, found that to be interesting.

Nothing wrong with playing templar, but I do question your racial choice. If you want to tank, imperial is a great choice (only behind Argonian). If you want to be a stamina DPS, it is a solid choice (behind Redguard and probably Khajiit). If you want to be a healer, it's a lousy choice (Argonion for pure healing is the best). If you want to be a magic DPS, its also a lousy choice. Best option is (highelf and Darkelf, which are really close). If you want to be a mix of Damage and Healer, I would go with a magic DPS race personally. Race matters the most to a DPS.

All that said, you can play this whole game with any race you want. Racial passives matter, but they arent the end of the world unless going for a leader board score as a DPS.

Templars make the best Healers, the third best Tanks (IMO), and magic Templars (magplars) are making a comeback this patch as DPS. That said, a templar isnt my first choice for a pure magic DPS.

Stamina Templars (stamplars) are a very average PVE DPS race when compared to other stamina classes. They are insanely strong in 1v1/dueling, in fact, i think that they are my toughest counter in the game.

As to the quest, start anywhere you want. You can certainly start in summerset, but it it where me, I would do the main zones first. When morrowind dropped, I breifely started it on a baby warden. Than I realized all the new gear and stuff I was getting was below the CP cap. In other words, I would get to CP 160 before you tackle the DLC zones, but thats just me. With battle scaling, they can be done at any point.


Just food for thought...

I picked Imperial as it will provide me flexibility if I want to play as a Stamina DPS or tank and if I go for a magika build I can skip adding points to health or stamina due to the racial passives that Imperial have.

I was not around much this weekend but my character is progressing nice and slowly, enjoying the extra I get from the daily logins.

I know about meta builds and using specific races for obtain max stats for min / max builds. I am no longer a hardcore MMO players like I was in the past. Now I am now playing MMO games for fun and I will play what I like vs. worry about the slight increase that a race can provide.

And right now I'm having fun playing ESO and that why I am playing. I still got plenty of land to explore, just finished up Bleak Isle or is it Bleak Rock. Either way, I'm slowly going through the story.

Just a side note about starting a new character with the Summerset chapter is that it appears the main quest is either bugged or maybe I have not gotten far enough to open it up yet. I will find out once I get into Stonefall.

MEBengalsFan2001

I played around a bit more with my Imperial Templar and eventually found out that a friend of mine is coming back to ESO and has his main in Dagger Fall Alliance. I have created a Breton Templar that will eventually be a healer.

All my other characters are on hiatus as I am now focusing on my Brenton Templar. With limited time to play each week I have gotten him to level 18 or is it 19 now. Either way, coming along nicely.

I also figured that if I go to the first major town I was able to start the main story quest for ESO.

I'm enjoying this character quite a bit, a lot more than my DK. Not sure why but I feel Templar abilities fit my play style more. I got plenty of leveling, gearing and grinding in front of me with this character.

Thank you all for your input.

Tasear

If that doesn't work you might like magnightblade. They do dps/healer best.