Which build should I pick as a beginner?

Glyph

Hey there,

I just decided that I want to try out ESO again, but this time I want to focus on lore, exploration and other PVE content (with a bit roleplay as well). I was thinking about which build should I pick, as I'm playing mostly solo, because I don't have any ESO friends. At first I wanted to play as a Dark Elf Stamina Nightblade, but the problem is that it's not beginner-friendly build (I read tons of guides and comments) and it's a bit different than it was back in Skyrim (I mean stealth kills and such things, but that's okay), which is bad because I really like the idea to play as this build in Morrowind, which I recently bought. I also tried a Magicka Sorcerer, but I'm not feeling "unique" and "needed" where there are lots of them running around. Same with Magicka Templar, but this one really don't fit to my playstyle.

When I was wandering through some ESO livestreams at Twitch, I've found a girl who was playing Warden Healer and I really liked that build. The problem is that I'm not really sure if Warden can solo main/side quests at least, not mentioning some dungeons. She said it's okay to play it as beginner, but it would be a bit hard to play solo.

As I said, I want to focus on lore, exploration, generally pve content, but also I just want to learn the game mechanics and make my way from zero to hero.. or something like that.

Can you help me to decide, please? I'd be really grateful.

VaranisArano

Pretty much any build will do fine at overland content as long as you use a food/drink buff and keep your gear close to your current level. Play what you want. It'll be fine.

If you want to stick with just one character, Wardens are extremely flexible in group content, and will definitely be able to solo overland quests.

Ghanima_Atreides

You don't need a min-maxed Alcast build for pve/lore/exploration. Those are there if you want to get into group content, especially Veteran mode group content.

My personal choice between those would be Magicka Warden, because I simply don't get along with Stamina Nightblade but just about anything works for the content you want to do so don't worry too much about it, go with what appeals to you most.

You can also respec your skills/attributes at any time if you want to switch things around, and there are race change tokens for sale in the Crown Store too (but racial passives are only relevant for min-maxing really).

Plus, you can always start more than one character if you want to play with different builds.

VaranisArano

Glyph wrote: »

VaranisArano wrote: »

Pretty much any build will do fine at overland content as long as you use a food/drink buff and keep your gear close to your current level. Play what you want. It'll be fine.

If you want to stick with just one character, Wardens are extremely flexible in group content, and will definitely be able to solo overland quests.

Thanks for the answer!

Should I use a specific build done by Alcast or other good ESO player? I've heard about doing "what you want" and then respec to some specific build but I'm not certain about this, as Wardens are whole new class for me.

If you say that pretty much any build will do fine then I think I need to decide between Breton Magicka Warden and Dark Elf Stamina Nightblade. Any idea which one will do better with pve/lore/exploration content?

You can do whatever you want for your build. When you reach level 43, you'll get free respec scrolls anyway, so you can change any skills/attributes you want freely. Its also pretty cheap to do that for gold if you change your mind later. The only thing you are really permanently locked into is your class, and even there, you can always make a second character.

If you want to jump right into group content, looking at a build guide like Alcast might help you pick skills for a specific role like beginner tank, healer, or damage dealer. Its not necessary to follow those builds to the letter, but they can give a good starting point.

If you just want to start off with questing, you should be fine to just jump right in. If you want a little more guidance, the in-game Skills Advisor has some fun builds for beginners, magicka, and stamina.

As for which one is best?
I enjoyed my magicka warden.
My SO loved their stamblade.
Both will do just fine in PVE/lore/exploration type content.

I hope you enjoy ESO, whichever class you want to start out with!

Glyph

VaranisArano wrote: »

Pretty much any build will do fine at overland content as long as you use a food/drink buff and keep your gear close to your current level. Play what you want. It'll be fine.

If you want to stick with just one character, Wardens are extremely flexible in group content, and will definitely be able to solo overland quests.

Thanks for the answer!

Should I use a specific build done by Alcast or other good ESO player? I've heard about doing "what you want" and then respec to some specific build but I'm not certain about this, as Wardens are whole new class for me.

If you say that pretty much any build will do fine then I think I need to decide between Breton Magicka Warden and Dark Elf Stamina Nightblade. Any idea which one will do better with pve/lore/exploration content?

Glyph

Thank you guys

I still didn't decide which build I prefer over two mentioned above, but it seems that both will do fine, except that it will be easier to find a spot as a healer in dungeon rather than glass cannon damage dealer probably (also, there are less healers than damage dealers running around). Alcast has some nice beginner advices but he also states that one build is better than other in terms of player's skill and experience.

I always end up with a problem with picking up the right class/build, because I don't like "wasting time" while doing a character which would turn out just to be "okay-ish" rather than great. I always preferred to make one character and invest time and *currency* into it.

Also it's good to know that I can respec my character later. Too bad I can't change class, but as you said, I can always start a new character.

etchedpixels

I would suggest starting a couple of characters from the start and pick different alliances and totally different character types. Once you get both to level 10 and signed up in the guilds and crafting writs then even if you find a style and only play one of them all the time you can park the other one somewhere with all the crafting stuff to hand (eg Northern Elsweyr) and use it as a cash generator, get the crafting skills and research up and spend the money from the crafting writs on improving riding speed (and on riding carry capacity so you can use them as a cupboard!). That way when you finally get to level 50 and move from your main character to your second it doesn't feel like you've swapped your horse for a riding tortoise.

If you have good internet connectivity to EU and US note that you can play on both. You can't move characters, items or anything between the two as they are almost totally unconnected except for some crown store things - but you do therefore get daily rewards and one off levelling rewards on both. Also means you can play when the other server is down.

My initial character to learn the ropes was a warden who turned mostly into a tank with self focussed healing - but more balanced than a lot of group builds. Even without really understanding the combat system I was able to wade through most of the quests because I could just stand there hitting things and taking it. Now I'm building up a fast damage dealer it's a different experience, some of the quest bosses actually require a lot more skill. Very different gameplay.

Glyph

etchedpixels wrote: »

I would suggest starting a couple of characters from the start and pick different alliances and totally different character types. Once you get both to level 10 and signed up in the guilds and crafting writs then even if you find a style and only play one of them all the time you can park the other one somewhere with all the crafting stuff to hand (eg Northern Elsweyr) and use it as a cash generator, get the crafting skills and research up and spend the money from the crafting writs on improving riding speed (and on riding carry capacity so you can use them as a cupboard!). That way when you finally get to level 50 and move from your main character to your second it doesn't feel like you've swapped your horse for a riding tortoise.

If you have good internet connectivity to EU and US note that you can play on both. You can't move characters, items or anything between the two as they are almost totally unconnected except for some crown store things - but you do therefore get daily rewards and one off levelling rewards on both. Also means you can play when the other server is down.

My initial character to learn the ropes was a warden who turned mostly into a tank with self focussed healing - but more balanced than a lot of group builds. Even without really understanding the combat system I was able to wade through most of the quests because I could just stand there hitting things and taking it. Now I'm building up a fast damage dealer it's a different experience, some of the quest bosses actually require a lot more skill. Very different gameplay.

Thank you for the answer, mate. For now I'll just stick with EU server as I don't really have that much time to play on both. Also, that's why I just wanted to play as one character. I think I'll play Breton Magicka Warden and try to make my way through the overland quests while also trying to help people in dungeons. The funny thing is that when I asked other players in the game which build should I pick, some kind player gave me 20k coins and said that I should buy training gear for my new healer. I have no idea where should I do that, but that was very kind of him!

The part I don't understand is that money generator/crafting character thingy. Should I make another character just to research items and craft potions and other stuff and sell it later to npc vendors? Sorry if I didn't understand it right, I'm just a beginner and I don't know stuff like this yet. I'd need a step-by-step guide, but there are lots of guides online so I will definitely check them out.

zvavi

Glyph wrote: »

The part I don't understand is that money generator/crafting character thingy. Should I make another character just to research items and craft potions and other stuff and sell it later to npc vendors? Sorry if I didn't understand it right, I'm just a beginner and I don't know stuff like this yet. I'd need a step-by-step guide, but there are lots of guides online so I will definitely check them out.

Doing crafting daily writs with the help of an addon (lazy writ crafter) takes less than 2 minutes each character (if you ignore loading screens between characters) and generates more resources than you use, bonus resources and 4k gold. Each. Every day.

His suggestion is to generate gold + have horse ready character if you decide playing another class one day.

Eifleber

In my opinion nightblade isn't a very good starter class.

At the moment I am leveling a stamblade (my 7th character) but at times I am struggling compared to most other classes.

Glyph

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your help. I decided to play as Breton Magicka Warden. I also discovered add-ons so I installed recommended ones, though I still need to learn about writs but I suppose it's easy to setup this stuff.

etchedpixels

Glyph wrote: »

etchedpixels wrote: »

The part I don't understand is that money generator/crafting character thingy. Should I make another character just to research items and craft potions and other stuff and sell it later to npc vendors? Sorry if I didn't understand it right, I'm just a beginner and I don't know stuff like this yet. I'd need a step-by-step guide, but there are lots of guides online so I will definitely check them out.

There are things in ESO that are bound by real-time rather than game time activity. Learning to ride your horse is one of them, and crafting research another. Whilst I can understand why they do it, this does mean that when you've gone from beginner to superhero then want to start your second character it can feel really painful. Having a second character you just play a few minutes a day to craft and learn to ride means that when you are ready your second character has the slow to do things ready done.

The crafting writ side of ESO is self sustaining once you start doing it. You can completely ignore it - whilst it provides some sources of stuff, and helps you generate things you need, you can happily do the whole main story and beyond and never craft a thing. Like most of ESO it's very modular, you can take or leave the different chunks of the game.

FizyElf

The best solo pve build for beginners is magicka templar. Chose Breton as your race because they have the best magicka sustain. Make sure you unlock the Puncturing Sweep skill because it's one of if not the best skill in the entire game.