Please help, I feel discouraged...my first large group

marshill88

Level 46. Joined a large group today for the first time. They were in the Alik'r desert, running the Dolmens. There was a massive mob of players. I was part of them. It was a large group. I was really excited to join a group finally. I thanked the leader for allowing a new player in his group, I informed my leader I was new and told him I would do my best and to please advise me if I do wrong instead of just kick me. He was super cool. Everyone was awesome, as a matter of fact (this community is great).

So we crushed the first dolmen....so easily. Then the entire group just left. I'm literally standing on the platform and everyone is gone lol. Quickly, I ran after them. They jumped into a wayshrine...poof! I was left standing there wondering "where did they go?" I looked on my map and saw them all and so I quickly teleported to them. I ran to them, they were in another Dolmen. I don't think I even did a thing this time and they had the whole thing killed. I then saw the mob all blobbed together in a single massive ball of humanity and then they ran off again. When they cleared the spot, there was a chest there! "So that is why they all globbed in the same spot," I thought.

Sweet, a chest! I looted the chest and realized I left the last chest in my first dolmen without looting it because I didn't even know it spawned.

By the time I looted the chest, nearly everyone was gone. No worries, I'm a quick learner. Checking my map, I saw them teleporting to another dolmen. And off I went.

We cleared the next dolmen. it was so easy, I literally could have stood there and did nothing as I had no impact in the fight at all. But that's ok. I did my best to whack things. I got the chest this time, even quicker than others. And I was prompt at running back to the wayshrine, there were even veterans behind me this time! I can do this.

So we ended up going back to the first location, a cycle of three. And we cleared that one. And we did it again.
And again.
And again.
And again...
over...
and over...
and over again...

I decided to ask my group more about the purpose of this, most of them were high level champions, and every one of them who spoke with me was nice.

/g Hey guys, is this mainly like an XP farm type of thing we are all doing?
{player} Ya, its basically just grinding XP.
/g I'm guessing you probably use experience scrolls when you do this?
{player} Yes.
/g my inventory is full, is it ok for me to go back to town real quick and decon/sell?
{player} of course. just be sure not to leave the group.

I quickly ported to town, cleared my inventory, and after several minutes, teleported back to Alik'r. They were still at it. Doing the same thing. I gained a level, which was cool.
However, I think after the 15th time (5 cycles) I was incredibly bored. It wasn't fun. It just wasn't fun. At all. Players were just rushing from A-->B-->C-->A-->B-->C, etc., nonstop.

So here it is, I'm nearly level 50 and about to enter The Long Grind, that phase where for many the game actually begins, and I join the world in a push up the champion system.

So please tell me there is more of a "fun way" to raise my skill or is grinding pretty much this sort of thing....huge rush...massive repetition. over and over again.

Of course I want a high level character, of course I want to be a champion, but I want to have fun doing it. Is this what I have to look forward to?

I wonder if I want to have fun while raising my champion points, will that mean it takes me 10x longer to do it than these guys that rush/grind? If it takes months for players who rush/grind to gain levels, does that mean that players who have fun while leveling take years to get there?

How do you raise your champion points in a way that is both A) somewhat fast compared to rush/grind, and fun and interesting?

DragonRacer

Just actually play the game. Grab a quest from any of the NPCs that are happy to throw them at you and quest around the maps. That will also gain you armor/weapons to upgrade to over time, money, and let you actually experiment with skills/playstyles.

Aertew

You can do quests to just get exp. The dolmen thing is just for people that want it. Daily random dungeons also give alot of exp so I would do that. If you havn't done the main quest I would do that. You can also do the main storyline for Vardenfall and other DLC's you have as they give skill points as well.

Honestly just run around and do whatever. Your not at the point where you need to worry about end-game.

ArchMikem

You joined an Alikr Dolmen Farm for your very first group experience, you poor soul. I'm surprised you managed to keep up as well as you did.

If you want a proper large group experience you should try to track down a casual Trial run on Normal. Most of them are created in Craglorn Zone chat, you'll have to put your group role in chat, saying like "DPS looking for Normal Trial". Even if you don't like talking on voice you should enable it anyway just to listen in on everyone else that does talk, especially the Leader so you can learn Boss Mechanics if they're explained.

UntilValhalla13

If you're genuinely new, go play through all of the quests and stories. You'll level up that way. Most of us have already done that, years ago, and at this point, just use the dolmens for faster xp.

spartaxoxo

You will definitely take longer to get to high level if that's all your interested in. But the game will be fun along the way and you will be able to join most content with ease.

The thing you joined was a repetitive grind that people do for jewelry and exp. It's effective for what it is but the point of doing it is the repetition. If you want more variety in your gameplay, just do a variety of tasks and you'll have a good time.

Save the boring stuff for when you have exp scrolls or need a particular piece of gear.

Feric51

A lot of people do the dolmen grind for the guaranteed jewelry drop from the final chest to help them level their jewelry skill line or deconstruct for the improvement material.

Nobody (except masochists) does it because they enjoy it. It’s simply one of the monotonous, mindless grinds that some people partake in.

My personal grind is doing crafting writs on 14 characters each day upon login before ending up on my main to run around and quest, explore, etc.

Everyone has their thing, but as you’re just starting I highly encourage you to try every aspect the game has to offer and you’ll soon enough figure out which repeatable tasks you enjoy the most.

AcadianPaladin

Alik'r dolmen running is amoderately fast way to gain xp but you're right - it's boring! Further, you do not learn how to fight since the Alik'r dolmens are always mobbed with players so, as you noted, your individual contribution is negligible. I think you should focus on having fun instead of grinding levels. With so much of game's content ahead of you, you probably have an endless list of questing available which yields reasonable xp. During events like this, keep the event's xp bonus active and just enjoy questing and trying new content.

When you have a new character there is so much to do and learn - and farming dolmens will result in a higher level char that doesn't know how to survive and kill challenging foes. There is some overhead/grinding that is more important at your level than simply increasing levels: Getting your mount to 60/60/60 takes a quick stop at the stable every single day. Building up the mages guild requires finding lore books and/or doing daily delves for the mages guild (which are in public dungeons). Building up your fighters guild is easy - kill daedra and undead which are all over the place so you don't have to focus on that. Leveling undaunted is done by doing a daily delve quest and when/if you're ready, try normal dungeon pledges with a group. Whew!

As far as levels go, enjoy questing and it will come. Your important checkpoints in order are Level 50 which get you into the Champion Point system. Then get your CP to 160 so you can wear/use top of the line gear. By then you'll know which activities you enjoy and can focus more on those. Eventually you will probably want to level up the Psijic skill line which can be started in Summerset and the Antiquities skill lines which can be started in Western Skyrim.

For info, I am a solo PvE player who started ESO in 2016 and rose to my current CP level of 1460 by following my own advice above.

If you are social and want to adventure with others, join a guild. I'm sure there are plenty of guilds that take on challenging content but in a lighter-hearted way and don't grief players who are not high CP. Every single player started at Level 1.

TLDR: Focus on enjoying the journey, not the distant destination.

Auth3nticGlitch

I find it very funny people still grind Dolemans for XP, I think its literally the worst source for XP I find, not only because its boring but because the actual XP is lackluster compared to many other places. A few public dungeons are usually much more fun and you can get materials and gold along the way. I grind a public dungeon sometimes for an hour and walk away with over 25k gold and materials that can sell for another 10k gold, not to mention there is no downtime, no mounting up and not a bunch of people. Mind you if you do public dungeons you usually need someone who is also strong to help carry you if you're a lower level but its so worth it. So I gain about 10 CP/ 2.1mil exp an hour in some public dungeons with event exp bonus, training gear and 50% EXP scroll and I hear Skyreach and Blackrose Prision (instanced dungeon/arena) are even better than that for exp minus the gold and materials of course.

Anyway I would recommend every new player to play the game, enjoy the story, explore, learn to craft, farm nodes etc and stay away from grinding until you enjoyed the game some first because grinding is the least rewarding part of this game and I generally only do it when I create new characters or just want to do something mindless for an hour while I listen to a podcast.

Eedat

The Alikr dolmens is probably the least fun way of leveling. I cant do it for more than 40 minutes without losing my mind from boredom. You should start queueing up for random normal dungeons using the group finder. You get skill points and XP from finishing the quest in them the first time and get exposed to a bunch of cool dungeons. You also get large amounts of XP upon completion and transmute crystals in the mail which you should hold on to as they'll be very useful later.

SirAndy

DragonRacer wrote: »

Just actually play the game. Grab a quest from any of the NPCs that are happy to throw them at you and quest around the maps. That will also gain you armor/weapons to upgrade to over time, money, and let you actually experiment with skills/playstyles.

This ^^^

Especially the main story quests in all 3 alliances will net you plenty of XP and skill points.


PS: There really is no reason to grind on your first character. You want to experience the story of the game at least once.

Oreyn_Bearclaw

I would really hate for you to judge ESO group content by your experiences with a dolmen grind. There is no difficulty, thought, organization, strategy, comradery, or anything else that makes group content great in this game. It is a mindless grind for XP (not a very good one TBH) or Jewelry for that zone, nothing more, nothing less.

That said, nothing wrong with grinding to 160 CP once you hit level 50. 160 CP is the gear cap. Dont waste a single piece of effort or gold on gear until you are at 160 CP. If on PC/NA, I would be honored to make you your first gear set for free to get you started.

Best way to break into group content is to first take your class, and decide what role you want to do (Tank, Heal, DPS). I am going to suggest starting as a DPS, but nothing says you have to. Look up a build for that role, make an effort to replicate it (doesnt have to be exact), and then start with simple 4 man dungeons on normal.

If starting as a DPS, I also recommend spending a little time practicing a basic damage rotation on a target dummy. It helps both for the muscle memory, and also to think a little bit about the nuts and bolts behind it. What does a rotation consist of, typically its a buff, perhaps 2-3 DOTs (damage over time abilities) and then spam skill. You dont need to start out with a 12 skill rotation to be helpful to a group. Start simple, get a handle on it, and expand when you are comfortable.

As things get easier, try more difficult content. Don't hesitate to ask questions about a build or any specific content.

SirAndy

Auth3nticGlitch wrote: »

I find it very funny people still grind Dolemans for XP, I think its literally the worst source for XP I find, not only because its boring but because the actual XP is lackluster compared to many other places.

Part of the appeal of dolmens is the steady stream of purple jewelry that can be deconstructed for mats which sell for a nice profit.

Wolfpaw

I would rather watch my grass grow....plenty of ways to gain good XP instead of that type of farming.

Main story
Each zone story & daily
Run the story quest in every normal dungeon & daily
PvP & daily
Cyrodiil & daily
Events
Delves/public dungeon quests
Skyshards
Guild quests (fighters, mage, etc..)

Basically do what you enjoy & you will get there.

zvavi

SirAndy wrote: »

Auth3nticGlitch wrote: »

I find it very funny people still grind Dolemans for XP, I think its literally the worst source for XP I find, not only because its boring but because the actual XP is lackluster compared to many other places.

Part of the appeal of dolmens is the steady stream of purple jewelry that can be deconstructed for mats which sell for a nice profit.

Not only, another appeal of it is that it is the most brainless way, you can literally do it while watching Netflix

poodlemasterb16_ESO

Oh my. You don't need to join the group. Just PUG away for stuff like that. That way you don't have to keep up. PUG=Pick Up Group, and you can just run together with no formalities at all..

You can at your level, solo those Dolmens if you get your act together. My last was doing it at level 32, but she is especially well built for that kind of thing.

Grinding for points is a soul deadening activity and should be avoided. What I do is play the game and that generates points as you go. Learning to fight is fun. Go solo some big ass monsters and see what happens.

I play the game solo myself as its kinda easy for someone who was in the beta, and I don't have to satisfy anyone outside of myself.

kargen27

I agree with others. First character enjoy all the game has to offer. Tons of stuff to do. I started a 2nd account and I am taking a character through all quests in zones and guilds like I did my very first character. Has been fun taking time to see everything along the way again.
I have used the dolman grind twice. Both times I was switching a character from stamina based to magicka based and I used the group to level the new skill lines. Other than that I'm never in a hurry to get to a particular level.

Ackwalan

The dolm farming group is not really a group. It is a crowd of people doing the same thing. It is a good place to meet people and earn XP, but it is not comparable to a group for a delv, trial, or PvP. Once you do those, you will see the difference.

fierackas

I always use to tell new players to avoid grinding and just enjoy plying the game. Now with the CP rework everyone is grinding

Danikat

One thing to bear in mind is that while levelling up by doing quests or otherwise playing normally is slower than grinding XP that's not a problem because you're not missing out on anything by not being max level. The vast majority of the game can be played before you even reach level 50 and the few areas (mostly DLC dungeons) which have a champion point requirement don't require much. I think the maximum required is 300CP and you need just 160CP to equip the best gear.

Anything over that is pretty much just a bonus - it will make your character a bit stronger but unless you're aiming to speed clear trials or want to make sure you have the best possible stats (well above what's required to complete content) you don't need it. For a lot of players it's just a number to chase when they've run out of other goals between releases.

More people are grinding CP recently because the last major update changed how it worked and hugely increased the cap on how many points you can spend (as well as re-working how they're used) so there's a lot more numbers to chase than there has been for a long while. But that doesn't mean you have to do it if you're not interested in that as a goal.

Grandchamp1989

Ouch, never powerlevel as a new player.

You only get to enjoy your "First time in ESO" once.
First time doing all the awesome quests, first time getting that awesome lead you were looking for or first time finishing THAT awesome dungeon/trial.

Take your time to mess around in eso.

level 0 to 160 champion points there's not much competitive stuff for you to do anyway, so enjoy it. Fart around doing literally whatever floats your boat. Allow yourself to get lost in the game and what it has to offer. You'll get plenty of levels just by having fun and mapping out your own adventure.

After CP160 you can start focusing more on what part of the game speaks to you the most.

Araneae6537

Yeah, doing the Alikr dolmen grind is a different experience, much much different than most of the group content I hope you’ll do! I have only done it on occasion and with an XP boost when I wanted to level up a skill line fast, max out Fighter’s Guild, etc. But NOT the way I’ve earned any significant portion of my XP/CP!

Dungeons are a great introduction to group content and doing a random normal is large chunk of XP — I think I’ve leveled several characters mostly from doing random dungeons and battlegrounds. MOST people will helpful if you tell then you’re new, make sure you grab what you need for the quest, etc.

Lot’s of great advice in this thread!

JKorr

I don't understand the "gotta grind to the max in 10 minutes, or the world ends" mindset. I've seen a lot of players who don't care about the stories, don't care about the quests, have no idea about what is going on, and only demand to know how to level as fast as possible so they can get gold to let them level as fast as possible so they can totally dominate the "end game". One special soul followed a youtube "how-to" and racked up a bounty that would have taken over six months to clear, chasing piles of gold so they could grind to end-game immediately. They were freaking that all the guards tried to kill them on sight.

Doing the original game quest for your faction will get you to 40/50 easily by the time you finish the story and head off to stop the plane meld and get your soul back. Finishing the faction quests will get you over 50. Cadwell's Silver and Gold will add to that. The dlc and chapters will add to that. There's no need to do the Alik'r mindless lemming rush in circles.

RunForTheHills

I thought this was satire when I started reading the first post. But yeah, that is exactly the Dolmen experience. You don't even need to join a group, just follow the rotation. There are some zones like Auridon that also have Dolmens but less people and they can be a little more challenging and fun. It is possible to solo a Dolmen, but maybe not at your level of experience.

Danikat

JKorr wrote: »

I don't understand the "gotta grind to the max in 10 minutes, or the world ends" mindset. I've seen a lot of players who don't care about the stories, don't care about the quests, have no idea about what is going on, and only demand to know how to level as fast as possible so they can get gold to let them level as fast as possible so they can totally dominate the "end game". One special soul followed a youtube "how-to" and racked up a bounty that would have taken over six months to clear, chasing piles of gold so they could grind to end-game immediately. They were freaking that all the guards tried to kill them on sight.

Doing the original game quest for your faction will get you to 40/50 easily by the time you finish the story and head off to stop the plane meld and get your soul back. Finishing the faction quests will get you over 50. Cadwell's Silver and Gold will add to that. The dlc and chapters will add to that. There's no need to do the Alik'r mindless lemming rush in circles.

I think it's partially due to past experience in other MMOs.

In some (particularly some of the older ones) there isn't a lot to do besides level up and you do that mainly by grinding. In those games gaining XP is often slower and there's more punishing mechanics - like losing XP or even levels if you die - to drag it out even further so getting beyond low-mid levels is a challenge, and sometimes it's pretty much the only long-term goal you'll have.

In others there is more of a story, or at least some world building and quests but anything for players below the maximum level is pretty basic and often focused primarily on levelling (the classic "kill 10 rats" format) and all the interesting stuff isn't available until you reach the maximum level, or something like ESO's level 50 where you change over to a different form of progression which somehow still comes down to collecting experience points.

In either case it trains players that their main priority is to level up and that it's best to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Then they carry that expectation over to other MMOs.

marshill88

thanks for the great advice, everyone. it really helped. i'm so glad this dolmen crush is not representative of champion leveling.

Kurat

Only noobs grind Alikir's dolmens. Some of them may be high cp but there's way better places to grind. Most people who grind there are lazy or have no skill. That's where the 5k bow spamming dps are coming from that we often see in vet dungeons.
If its your first character then you shouldn't grind. You're not gonna learn anything this way and only end up being another scrub pug. Do the main story guests at least and then dungeons, BGs etc. Also you may wanna check out some guides to point you at the right direction.

scorpius2k1

@marshill88 If I could give any advice to a newer player, please don't rush to get to endgame, not to mention it will take a long time to get there with the new CP cap. Just play the game and enjoy it for what it is. You can do all sorts of fun content at any level. Don't get burnt out before you even start experiencing the game.

JKorr

marshill88 wrote: »

thanks for the great advice, everyone. it really helped. i'm so glad this dolmen crush is not representative of champion leveling.

Find a good guild. There are guilds that don't mind questions, new players or otherwise, and have helpful crafters. You can join guild activities or just yell for help if you need it for a specific situation. There are progression guilds, pvp guilds, pve guilds, social guilds, and trading guilds out there.

carlos424

Do random normal dungeons every day, make sure to have xp boosters active. At lower CP levels you will go up multiple levels with just one run. Also, do crafting writs, main story line, then cadwell silver and gold (which is basically just doing the zone quests in each region.). This will keep you busy for a while and will have you unlocking the entire map. Every new area you visit will give you some xp. You will also unlock many needed skill points.

DarcyMardin

I often do a few rounds of the desert dolmen route on new alts for 1. Some fast XP, 2. Jewelry to break down for leveling the jeweler skill, 3. Fast Fighter’s Guild rep. It’s mindless, but, for me, kinda fun. Although I can usually only stand about 10 minutes at a time.