New player to ESO

Splat_86

Hello everyone.

You probably can see that my account was created a few years ago but i never got into ESO, i just played the game for 11 hours which honestly in a MMORPG is nothing at all.
I have started playing again yesterday, i got bored and done with what used to be my main MMORPG and now i'm looking for a fresh new experience, a new world to dive into adventure and stories but i need to know if ESO is worth to spend time into it.

As a big fan of the genre, i love the grind either it is in crafting, leveling, character progression etc...Does ESO have any of that? I'm asking because a couple of people have told me that the game is super easy and that the character progression isn't that great, if that's true or not i can't possibly know because i really don't know that area of the game or the systems that the game has to make the player feels rewarded or that progression is worth the time investment.

My fear is that, and i have heard that the game's lore and story is very good, being fully voiced it helps in that regard i guess which is awesome, i really want to enjoy the story but as i mentioned at the start of this sentence my fear is that all the hours dedicated to the story and to leveling would come to feel irrelevant because the end not being good.

I played FF14 for over 600 hours and for example the crafting in that game feels like it's own game within the game, it's own adventure on the other hand and with time as expansions went on i felt like crafting in WoW felt useless or at least irrelevant, now i don't ask for it to be meta in ESO but crafting can be worth for someone that wants to get into that aspect of the game?

Regarding trading is there any way, an auction house, where players can trade with each other or post items to sell for the public demand? If so, is it possible to have a good income of trading? Can i sell to other players the items, gear, potions etc that i get from spending time crafting?

I have noticed that there are raids or trials (?) in ESO also world bosses, is there good rewards from that content for the players who chose doing them? I noticed that there are skins in this game through the store, this is kind of concerning to me as normally games that have this kind of cosmetic, skin stuff going on usually has the best looking gear available in the store...is that the case here or you can get good looking gear and weapons by simply playing the game?

I have subscribed to ESO+, i don't know if i'm wrong or not, but with ESO+ i do have access to the DLC's or do i need to also purchase them from the store?

I'm really sorry for the long post and numerous questions, but having spent time in another MMORPG that i used to love to at the end see all the time feel like it was all for nothing and to feel that player time and investment isn't respected i need to make sure that ESO, far from being a perfect game or even the most popular MMROPG out there, is to this day worth to try and even make it my new home.

I wish you all a great day.

cyberjanet

Splat_86 wrote: »

As a big fan of the genre, i love the grind either it is in crafting, leveling, character progression etc...Does ESO have any of that? I'm asking because a couple of people have told me that the game is super easy and that the character progression isn't that great, if that's true or not i can't possibly know because i really don't know that area of the game or the systems that the game has to make the player feels rewarded or that progression is worth the time investment.

Once you have been playing several years, it does become super easy, not because the game is easier but because you got better. If you're starting out with a new character, no champion points, no gear, no money... er, it's not super easy and you will need help to get through even beginner areas. I started a new character on the NA server, and it was a struggle. There are always people who will tell you they solo veteran dungeons at level 10, so take everything you hear with a pinch of salt.

There is crafting: you have to research traits for months to get crafting fully covered. There are crafting stations you find in the wild, that require you to know a certain number of traits on a specific item in order to craft that item. Knowing 9 traits for gloves doesn't help you craft shoes if you haven't learned any shoe traits.

As far as character progression goes, ESO has the most interesting character progression of any game I have ever played. It doesn't matter what your class is, you can play tank, healer, DPS or even a hybrid build. There are always people who will try to impose their opinions on you: the game is designed to let you have fun the way you want to play, and find a group of friends or a guild that share your values.

Splat_86 wrote: »

Regarding trading is there any way, an auction house, where players can trade with each other or post items to sell for the public demand? If so, is it possible to have a good income of trading? Can i sell to other players the items, gear, potions etc that i get from spending time crafting?

There are trading guilds you can join, where you can sell unwanted drops, or crafted items, or crafting materials. The best way to answer your question, is go to the main areas like Mournhold in Deshaan, or Elden Hollow in Grahtwood, and browse the guild traders. There are a lot around those areas, but there are also small traders sprinkled all across the map and in Outlaws' Refuges everywhere. At first it looks like all they sell is a tabard, in order to see stuff you actually have to search. Just press search and look at everything to get a feel for the trading. Afterwards you can look at how to search for particular things.

Splat_86 wrote: »

I have noticed that there are raids or trials (?) in ESO also world bosses, is there good rewards from that content for the players who chose doing them? I noticed that there are skins in this game through the store, this is kind of concerning to me as normally games that have this kind of cosmetic, skin stuff going on usually has the best looking gear available in the store...is that the case here or you can get good looking gear and weapons by simply playing the game?

In raids/trials, in dungeons, in delves, in chests, with ESO World bosses - every area drops its own armour sets. The way armour works, you get buffs, bonuses, etc depending how many pieces you wear. There are hundreds of armour sets in the game, many crafted, many drops, and just learning what they all do will take a very long time. As far as skins or cosmetic stuff goes, you have complete control over how your armour looks - just collect crafting motifs and style pages and create your unique look.

Splat_86 wrote: »

I have subscribed to ESO+, i don't know if i'm wrong or not, but with ESO+ i do have access to the DLC's or do i need to also purchase them from the store?

With ESO+ you have access to all the DLCs, as well as a crafting bag which gives you unlimited storage for crafting materials. You also get double bank space, double house slots for your houses so you can fit more decor items in, (you didn't ask about housing, but it's there and quite complex.) I think the best way to look at ESO+ though, is not that you're paying for the game: you're buying crowns every month, and getting a whole lot of extra benefits. Buying just crowns costs you more, and all you get is crowns.

If you're playing mainly on PC-EU send me a friend invite (@cyberjanet) and I will help you get started. I do have a guy on PC-NA but the time zones may not work out well, but I suppose you could mail questions.

DestroyerPewnack

^ Great answers.

If you are on PS EU, you can add me. My ID is the same as my username here. I can help you get started, and get you into a few trading, PvE friendly and even PvP guilds.

The most satisfying things about this game to me are the combat system and the build possibility and variety.

The least satisfying thing is Cyrodiil lag. Cyrodiil is the open world PvP zone in the game.

Here are also some great YouTube channels you can subscribe to, to help you get started:
Deltia's Gaming
Alcast
Xynode Gaming
Hack the Minotaur
Dooma
And I'm sure others can recommend more.

Kessra

Splat_86 wrote: »

As a big fan of the genre, i love the grind either it is in crafting, leveling, character progression etc...Does ESO have any of that? I'm asking because a couple of people have told me that the game is super easy and that the character progression isn't that great, if that's true or not i can't possibly know because i really don't know that area of the game or the systems that the game has to make the player feels rewarded or that progression is worth the time investment.

It all depends on what you consider a grind and what not. Compared to other MMOs I feel ESO is less of a grind and more like do whatever you want and enjoy the game. As of recently, ESO has a collections system where you can "recreate" set items that you obtained once. As there are over 500 sets currently in the game, completing the "sticker-album" will for sure take some time and some grind.

You also have an achievement system you might try to complete, which leads you to all aspects of the game and that can be a grind as well. Just try to reach level 50 in PvP will for sure take you ages, besides some other server-related issues ZOS is currently working on ATM.

So, depending on what kind of grind you want, I think ESO has something to offer while IMO not feeling that long-winded as in other MMOs. I.e. Guild Wars 2, crafting your ascended gear, and I'm not even talking about epic stuff, will take you a couple of month if you don't buy gold for real money to buy all the ingreediences of the auction house. Also, in New World you chop whole forrests just to level your crafting which feels exhausting very quickly.

Splat_86 wrote: »

My fear is that, and i have heard that the game's lore and story is very good, being fully voiced it helps in that regard i guess which is awesome, i really want to enjoy the story but as i mentioned at the start of this sentence my fear is that all the hours dedicated to the story and to leveling would come to feel irrelevant because the end not being good.

ESO has some good stories to tell. Just don't make the mistake and expect all of the quests to be top-notch. There are plenty of mediocre quests out there and after leveling your n'th toon you most likely will skip the talking and click through to get the whole thing done faster.

Experiencing the lore in dungeons however may quickly lead to an enrage as most people nowadays almost expect you that you already have done that content way to many times. Here a quick note at the start of the dungeon that you are new to the game and want to listen to the NPCs talking should be done else some people might vote to kick you from the group for not participating in the killing stuff.

Splat_86 wrote: »

I played FF14 for over 600 hours and for example the crafting in that game feels like it's own game within the game, it's own adventure on the other hand and with time as expansions went on i felt like crafting in WoW felt useless or at least irrelevant, now i don't ask for it to be meta in ESO but crafting can be worth for someone that wants to get into that aspect of the game?

Leveling your professions may feel a bit odd as in blacksmithing, tailoring, woodworking and jewel-crafting you mostly level by deconstructing things rather than creating stuff. There are for sure some valid craftable sets to start with, i.e. if you want to play a caster you most likely want to craft Julianos or as melee Hundings Rage till you run enough dungeons/trials that you can replace these items with better ones.

What might block you at the beginning is that certain sets require a certain number of traits to be researched first before you are able to craft those items. And researching, especially the last trait of an item, i.e. a fire destruction staff, may take you a month. The first trait is researched in like a couple of hours and each further trait doubles the time basically. You can spend some skill points to reduce the time needed to research though those passives require you to have a certain amount of level in that profession, which at the beginning you have to work on. Researching all of the 9 traits per armor or weapon type may feel like its own time-limited grind. You may reduce that gind by buying some items off the ingame crown-store though.

In regards to the relevancy of the craftable items, usually these are good for starter builds. You don't need to necessarily craft them on your own as you can ask a friend/guild mate if he can craft those items for you. If you have special requirements on which style the items should look like you probably have to reach out for a master-crafter (one who knows (almost) all styles) and this one might charge you on that service. Oh, and becoming a master-crafter is a grind on its own

Splat_86 wrote: »

Regarding trading is there any way, an auction house, where players can trade with each other or post items to sell for the public demand? If so, is it possible to have a good income of trading? Can i sell to other players the items, gear, potions etc that i get from spending time crafting?

Unlike most MMOs out there, ESO does not have one centralized auction house, or city wide auction house as in New World. Instead, every guild can bid for a certain trading spot in a zone per week. The guild with the highest bid will be able to place their guild trader there who offers the items guild members placed with him for sale. Prices of items therefore vary notably from guild trader to guild trader. Each zone has multiple spots for such guild traders and roaming around those zones and checking out the different guild traders might reveal some goodies you might snatch and resell in one of your 5 guilds.

You of course can also directly trade with others, if you prefer that way. Most trading guilds will charge you for being in that guild and use their services. The guild itself just receives a percentage based comission fee if you were able to sell one of your items. So it is more or less in the interest of the trading guild that you sell as much as possible. Therefore people who were not able to sell enough items or that were not able to be online for some time will usually get kicked out rather quickly.

Splat_86 wrote: »

I have noticed that there are raids or trials (?) in ESO also world bosses, is there good rewards from that content for the players who chose doing them? I noticed that there are skins in this game through the store, this is kind of concerning to me as normally games that have this kind of cosmetic, skin stuff going on usually has the best looking gear available in the store...is that the case here or you can get good looking gear and weapons by simply playing the game?

Except for certain limited stuff, i.e. trader and banker companions, the the two items to increase your inventory space by 5 each or some costumes, almost everything can be obtained in the game. Certain motifes and styles are usually offered after enough players had the chance to farm theim in game for some time.

In regards to trials, there are a couple of reasons why you want to do trials. You have unique sets only obtainable within that trial but also certain collectables like a skin for beating the hard mode on veteran difficulty or clearing the whole dungon on veteran difficulty, with hardmode in a certain amount of time without anyone in your group dying throughout the whole trial. This is more or less considered to be the hardest thing you can do as sometimes people will just die to easily. The skins you can only obtain in trials are not offered in the crown-store. So people running arround with those skins will show off their achievments that way. This is more or less similar to ancient WoW where people in T2 gear showed off in Orgrimmar or Ironforge while the majority of players were still in blue gear.

Splat_86 wrote: »

I have subscribed to ESO+, i don't know if i'm wrong or not, but with ESO+ i do have access to the DLC's or do i need to also purchase them from the store?

With ESO+ you have access to the DLC zones, yes. Though dungeons of these zones will only be accessible via the dungeon finder tool if you reached veteran level and obtained at least 300 CP. Before you have to build you group yourself and travel to the dungeon and enter it that way.

Note however that ESO distinguishes between DLCs and Addons. I.e. Summerset is part of an addon, a yearly expansion to ESO if you will, and DLCs are content releases roughly every 3 month. Addons have to be purchased regardless if you are ESO+ or not.

FeedbackOnly

Housing counts for crafting and I say that is always growing.

Kessra

FeedbackOnly wrote: »

Housing counts for crafting and I say that is always growing.

Sure, though you also need the patterns to be able to craft housing items. And plenty of them require you to have a certain crafting level in certain professions.

And not everyone is into housing. Currently, besides the 8 chests and the DPS dummies you can put into your house there isn't that much useful stuff housing can be used for. Sure, one may put all the copyable crafting tables there, which is a grind on its own, or buy some of those mundus stones, but seeing that we have really huge houses and then seeing what we are allowed to actually place there is a bit ... meh.

There are people out there which did an incredible job in decorating their homes but in the end it is just a time sink that may or may not receive the attention it deserves. It would be cool if people could "earn" some gold by having people visiting their homes. In that way they could benefit from their accomplishments a bit. Just think of a guy who put in the effort to collect all crafting tables. There are enough "leachers" out there who port to his home instead of having to roam the zones. That guy doesn't really benefit from those leachers at all. Guilds could work on a "guild home" that way to reinvest the gold earned by members regularly visiting that home into new housing stuff or spend them on guild events or the like. There are plenty of possibilities here. I'd also love to see some guild perks in the future so that guilds can actually specialize on PvP, PvE, social-aspects, trading, ... that would more or less boost the guild aspect of the game, but that is an other story to tell.

Tandor

Welcome OP, the only point I would add to the above posts is a single piece of advice - take your time and enjoy the journey. This game is really best savoured by those who enjoy the whole levelling experience rather than rushing to "endgame" which they then complain about endlessly.

Splat_86

Tandor wrote: »

Welcome OP, the only point I would add to the above posts is a single piece of advice - take your time and enjoy the journey. This game is really best savoured by those who enjoy the whole levelling experience rather than rushing to "endgame" which they then complain about endlessly.

Hello Tandor and thank you for the welcome, i do hope to settle in into the ESO world.

So people complain about the endgame? Whys is that because it isn't that great or there isn't any?

phaneub17_ESO

ESO+ gives you access to all DLC content except the year's "expansion" content which would be Blackwood until next June when it gets swapped into a DLC and a new "expansion" takes its place. The benefit here is you gain 1650 Crowns for each month of ESO+ you subscribe, when it expires if you like any DLC you can wait until they go on sale and buy with the Crowns you got while subbed is the cheapest way to do it.

LashanW

Splat_86 wrote: »

So people complain about the endgame? Whys is that because it isn't that great or there isn't any?

PvE endgame is very good in this game imo (saying as someone played endgame for ~2-3 years). That's where you get to really get the most out of the combat system. But it's not easily accessible.

Endgame is mostly 4-man "dungeons" or 12-man "trials". They are separate areas from mainland. And they have a normal mode and a veteran mode (different between them is night and day, especially in DLCs) and also a "Hard mode" available in veteran modes. Dungeons are easily accessible as there is an automated grouping tool for it. But trials don't have one. That means to really get into trials you need to be in a trial oriented guild. (most of them on PC also use Discord for organizing and voice comms during raids). There's also addons that greatly improve your experience in endgame (a few of them are considered mandatory by some guilds). Your choices in playstyles and build will also get limited if you aim to go far in endgame (I personally didn't find it a problem, but some people don't like it). But endgame imo is very rewarding (both in terms of dropped gear and satisfaction)

Basically you can't get far in PvE endgame until you find like minded people (via guilds). Solo PvE endgame is very limited in this game.

Splat_86 wrote: »

I'm asking because a couple of people have told me that the game is super easy and that the character progression isn't that great, if that's true or not i can't possibly know because i really don't know that area of the game or the systems that the game has to make the player feels rewarded or that progression is worth the time investment.

Super easy is how I would describe majority of the content here (overland and questing) for an experienced player. But it probably won't be super easy for a brand new player. But there is an endgame as I explained before and that has appropriate levels of challenge.

Crafting and trading is definitely worth it. Character progression is kinda different, there is no endless level/gear grind here. Gear has a hard cap of (lvl 50- CP160) which can be reached fairly quickly. After that you can take it slow as you won't outlevel things you find after that. Combat in this game is mostly affected by player skill rather than gear and abilities imo, so there's always room to improve, even after you find the "best" gear.

But I have to say, once you get used to endgame, rest of the game can feel trivial. That is why some people suggest not to rush.

JKorr

Crafting has its own sort of grind; researching traits.

You do have to research each trait for each piece of gear/weapon. Learning Reinforced on shoes/light armor won't cover Reinforced on sabatons/heavy armor, for instance. Starting your research as early as possible is a good idea. Each trait you research for a piece of gear or weapon takes about double the time of the piece before. The first traits will be done in a few hours, by the time you get to the 9th trait it will take about 30 days to complete. Jewelry is about the same. There are passives you can get by using a skill point that will allow you to research more than one thing at a time; it helps to speed things up a bit. Once you've learned all the traits you can always respec and get those skill points back.

It really is pointless to rush through content. If you like the stories/lore/background of the Elder Scrolls, rushing through everything will not make the game more fun. Find yourself a few good guilds with helpful people, do some trading, and enjoy the game. If you aren't having fun and enjoying yourself, there's not much point in playing.

oddbasket

Short grind:
-level to 50
-level skills
-collect skill points

Ongoing grind:
-Champion Points (Complementary system where you earn and spend points after hitting max level 50)
-gear collecting (can be recreated from sticker book so you don't have to horde gear)
-crafting recipes collecting (buff foods and housing furnishings)
-style motifs collecting (they are used much like glamours to change your appearance)
-crafting materials hording
-achievement hunting

Time gated (takes months):
-Researching gear traits
-mount training

ZOS_Kevin

Just wanted to echo, great answer @cyberjanet. And thank you for sharing those content creators, @DestroyerPewnack.

Appreciate everyone in the thread giving a prospective player your insights.

Vaoh

Lots of great answers here! The one thing I will add is that you do not have to worry about class or race.

Classes each have unique abilities which help them to accomplish every role very well. Races amount to giving stat buffs to you. Some stats of course favor one type of build or another, but overall you don’t need to worry about this unless you’re trying to minmax as much as possible.

I can’t speak for other MMOs but the minmax situation in this game is that it is almost totally unnecessary unless you are pushing #1 Leaderboard scores or the absolute hardest content in the game. Find what you like/what suits your playstyle and stick to it. There are tons of ways to play which will still let you complete just about everything this game has to offer

master_vanargand

Splat_86 wrote: »

Hello everyone.

You probably can see that my account was created a few years ago but i never got into ESO, i just played the game for 11 hours which honestly in a MMORPG is nothing at all.
I have started playing again yesterday, i got bored and done with what used to be my main MMORPG and now i'm looking for a fresh new experience, a new world to dive into adventure and stories but i need to know if ESO is worth to spend time into it.

As a big fan of the genre, i love the grind either it is in crafting, leveling, character progression etc...Does ESO have any of that? I'm asking because a couple of people have told me that the game is super easy and that the character progression isn't that great, if that's true or not i can't possibly know because i really don't know that area of the game or the systems that the game has to make the player feels rewarded or that progression is worth the time investment.

My fear is that, and i have heard that the game's lore and story is very good, being fully voiced it helps in that regard i guess which is awesome, i really want to enjoy the story but as i mentioned at the start of this sentence my fear is that all the hours dedicated to the story and to leveling would come to feel irrelevant because the end not being good.

I played FF14 for over 600 hours and for example the crafting in that game feels like it's own game within the game, it's own adventure on the other hand and with time as expansions went on i felt like crafting in WoW felt useless or at least irrelevant, now i don't ask for it to be meta in ESO but crafting can be worth for someone that wants to get into that aspect of the game?

Regarding trading is there any way, an auction house, where players can trade with each other or post items to sell for the public demand? If so, is it possible to have a good income of trading? Can i sell to other players the items, gear, potions etc that i get from spending time crafting?

I have noticed that there are raids or trials (?) in ESO also world bosses, is there good rewards from that content for the players who chose doing them? I noticed that there are skins in this game through the store, this is kind of concerning to me as normally games that have this kind of cosmetic, skin stuff going on usually has the best looking gear available in the store...is that the case here or you can get good looking gear and weapons by simply playing the game?

I have subscribed to ESO+, i don't know if i'm wrong or not, but with ESO+ i do have access to the DLC's or do i need to also purchase them from the store?

I'm really sorry for the long post and numerous questions, but having spent time in another MMORPG that i used to love to at the end see all the time feel like it was all for nothing and to feel that player time and investment isn't respected i need to make sure that ESO, far from being a perfect game or even the most popular MMROPG out there, is to this day worth to try and even make it my new home.

I wish you all a great day.

FF14 is an endless hell.
Welcome to ESO of heaven

Splat_86

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Just wanted to echo, great answer @cyberjanet. And thank you for sharing those content creators, @DestroyerPewnack.

Appreciate everyone in the thread giving a prospective player your insights.

Hello Kevin New player here...I'm looking forward to explore the world of ESO.

Watchdog

Welcome (back) to ESO.

My most important advice would be to join a good social guild. It will make your life in the game so much more enjoyable. If you are on the PC-EU server, feel free to check the link in my signature.

Tandor

Watchdog wrote: »

Welcome (back) to ESO.

My most important advice would be to join a good social guild. It will make your life in the game so much more enjoyable. If you are on the PC-EU server, feel free to check the link in my signature.

That's entirely subjective. Guild membership is really only necessary in ESO if you want to trade, or participate in regular group content without the unpredictability of random groups. Social guilds definitely add something for those who play MMOs for social reasons, but many do not.

Sarannah

Splat_86 wrote: »

I'm really sorry for the long post and numerous questions, but having spent time in another MMORPG that i used to love to at the end see all the time feel like it was all for nothing and to feel that player time and investment isn't respected i need to make sure that ESO, far from being a perfect game or even the most popular MMROPG out there, is to this day worth to try and even make it my new home.

Welcome to the game!
To address your concern: All your effort in this game is never wasted. ESO does not have expansions like in other MMO games, so all gear remains the same level. And new gear added also is that same level, same with crafting materials(never get outdated). So even if you wear gear from years ago, it is still viable. It may not be the top tier meta, but it will function great still.

There is much to the endgame as well, you just have to figure out what you like! Or if you like everything.

Enjoy the game!

Splat_86

Watchdog wrote: »

Welcome (back) to ESO.

My most important advice would be to join a good social guild. It will make your life in the game so much more enjoyable. If you are on the PC-EU server, feel free to check the link in my signature.

Hello Watchdog and thank you so much for reaching out.

One of the parts i love about MMORPG's is the social part that they can grant a person, especially when looking for a guild and actually joining one, in World of Warcraft when i went back to try Vanilla Classic and then Burning Crusade Classic for the first time, it took me a few weeks to find the right guild for me, a guild where one can just relax, have fun but also seek progression, maybe i'm old fashioned but i believe that these 3 elements can perfectly go hand to hand.
I was very sad when the guild i was in in WoW Classic and TBC came to an end, that and the fact that i have not been happy with the way things are within the game itself as a whole and with the company i decided to leave, i unsubscribed months ago, since then i have been trying to fid a new MMORPG to which i could dedicate my time to, i have to admit that after knowing the existence of Lost Ark a few weeks ago i'm really excited for it and waiting for it but i want to have another game on the side, a lot of people manage to play more than one MMORPG at the same time and i wish to do the same, if not an MMO then at least a single player.

I have looked at some videos, of course that in some people were comparing different mmorpg's and recently i have seen and read people's comments and opinions about the comparisons between ESO and Guild Wars 2...sometimes even some more abrasive opinions about which one is better. Personally i believe that despite having similarities they both are different in many ways and both game shave stronger and weaker points.

I know that ESO gets a lot of praise for it's story, the quests being fully voiced is a big plus, i have heard people even on videos say that the combat may feel a bit clunky compared to Guild Wars 2 for example, i don't know if it's true, how good the combat feels in ESO but if the raids and dungeons or even world bosses feel amazing or great fights i will take that over clunky combat as a trade off .

I wish to know more about ESO, especially the end game if it's worth it, the leveling and the time until i can start doing dungeons and raids/trials, and what i mean by worth i mean if the boss fights are good overall and if there is enough content to keep one entertained for many hours?

I noticed that there are mounts in ESO most of them through the store...that was kind of a let down since i'm one that thinks that gear, weapons and even mounts should be a reward to the player for his time and effort invested into the game and not just by swiping the credit card, but i guess that these days business works that way or at the very least let some of the mounts be obtainable in the game as rewards for some epic quest, world bosses or even raids and sell skins at the store, i would prefer this option but that's me.
Having played Skyrim, i think that a dragon would be badass to have but I'm not against the fact that flying mounts aren't a thing in ESO, i have played New World for many hours and i loved to just run around on foot around the map and there was some teleport points we could pick up so it wasn't a big deal.

I played WoW for years, little by little i was feeling let down by some of the decisions they made in the game, the lack of quality in the story telling just kept going downhill over time, especially after Pandaria but i loved it until Cataclysm, Pandaria was OK, there is crafting in WoW but feels more like an extra chore than a reward for the player time and investment and if feels outdated and irrelevant, for example in FF 14 crafting feels it's own experience, it's own adventure, i just hope that in ESO crafting can offer at least some kind of worth either by crafting for my own purpose or just if i want to sell things to others.

I'm really sorry for the long reply, for all the questions it's just that for years i only played WoW as an MMORPG, it's true that it's hard to let the game go but i think i'm in the good way, for numerous reasons i just can't keep playing a game that despite being one of my all time favorites, doesn't deserve either my attention or money, i also can't open my wallet and time to a company that doesn't respect player's time.
Can ESO be my new home? I sure hope so, i went through other games like FF14, SWTOR but one thing that's getting my attention in ESO is that it has or seems to have darker stories, like the daedric stuff, maybe some quests around vampires and werewolves and other darker gloomy stuff? I don't know.

Again, i apologize to you and everyone that went through my posts, i'm just being careful about the game i'm choosing to jump into because as you can see i was already disappointed one time at a game that i used to love and still do, that's why i'm hesitant.

I could always ending up playing Runescape

Tandor

I'm afraid that there's only one way to find out if a particular game is the right one for you, and that is by playing it. Everyone can chip in with their experience and opinion, but they're not you. If you play a game for as long as you enjoy doing so, then there's nothing lost whether that is for a month or a decade. The only way you lose out is if you persist in playing beyond the point where you're enjoying it (and getting value for both your time and your money), and I never have understood why some players do that.

Ilsabet

One of the main things that differentiates ESO from other MMOs (FFXIV being the only other major one I have experience with) is that there is no one linear storyline or forced progression through expansions, so it's hard to define what "endgame" even is. In XIV, I guess it's catching up to the end of MSQ and then doing the current tier raids. But in ESO, there's nothing to really "catch up to," since the entire game is your playground. You can think in terms of leveling, which mostly involves getting your CP 160 gear and unlocking/leveling whatever skills you want to use, and then racking up CP for whatever passives and perks you want. Or you can pick out what type(s) of gameplay appeal to you most, and focus on those. (Or just go with "fashion is the true endgame.")

Combat in ESO is very fluid and mobile, largely because you aren't forced to stand still to cast your abilities. It's also not based on tab-targeting, which can make things more chaotic, but gives you less to have to fumble with. (As a compare-contrast, I enjoy healing in XIV because the targeting system makes me feel like I have more control over what I'm doing, whereas when I heal in ESO I feel like I'm just tossing stuff out and hoping it makes a difference. But in general, I really like how relatively streamlined ESO combat is, so I can focus more on the actual fights rather than spending the entire time staring at my hotbars and being peeved when my casts get interrupted because I have to move.)

The massive range of build diversity is another big selling point, since you can mix and match gear sets and equipped skills. So you can refine your preferred playstyle, or try out different builds, or swap between builds for different types of content. There can be a bit of a gear chase, but it's not as pronounced as games like WoW or XIV where you have to be in the latest gear for your class/job if you want to have a chance of performing well. Here it's more like you pick out gear sets that will help you succeed at doing what you want to do, and you get the ones you can feasibly get, and it's up to you if you want to meta-chase every time something changes.

As far as the fights themselves, there's kind of a wide range of difficulties and mechanics. Most normal dungeons can be facerolled by reasonably equipped/skilled players, and the jump up to vet dungeons can be a rude awakening when you're used to just burning through mechanics on normal. But if you're interested in a challenge, that's where the vet and vet HM content comes in. The hardest group content comes with its own ecosystem of specialized guilds and progging and achievement-hunting, which may or may not be your cup of tea. Mechanics themselves can be kind of interesting and occasionally fun, but they're not anywhere near as involved as what I've seen in XIV. (Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've been experiencing what I'd call "mechanics fatigue" in XIV lately, where it seems like I'm expected to know detailed mechanics for dozens of fights so I don't end up on the ground as soon as I walk in. It gets draining when all you really want to do is clear story content.)

You can start doing normal dungeons at level 10, and then more will gradually unlock along the way to 50, at which point you can start doing the vet versions. People will probably have various opinions on how many CP you should have for various vet dungeons and trials, but CP 160 is a standard benchmark for gear, and then you can see what you're comfortable with as you continue to build up your CP assets.

Crafting in ESO isn't the minigame it is in XIV, but it's still worthwhile to pursue. There are viable crafted sets, and it's satisfying to be able to make whatever you need yourself. Since you mention looking good, I'd say one of the biggest benefits to being a crafter is being able to learn style motifs, which will give you more options for putting together your look with the outfit system. Getting costumes and swag from the crown store is nice, but I'd say there are enough in-game options (and ways to get crown store stuff without spending real money) that I've never felt like I had to throw money at my appearance.

I find it interesting that you say you enjoy grinding, because a lot of people don't, and one of the common complaints I see is about ZOS introducing grindy systems like certain skill lines and ways to get swag. But it seems like you also want to feel like you're getting something worthwhile out of your time and effort, which is totally understandable and also super subjective, so it's hard to say what you're going to find worth going for. Like someone mentioned the gear stickerbook system, which is absolutely something you can work toward and feel the satisfaction of filling it up, but if you're not going to use 95% of those gear sets, you may or may not feel like it's actually practical to do. But if you're looking for stuff to do, ESO has plenty of it, whether it's catching ALL THE RARE FISH so you can rock the Master Angler title, or decorating a bunch of houses so you can show off screencaps or get in on a housing tour stream, or knocking out achievements for dyes, or flexing in pvp, or any number of things just cuz you can. ("Because I can" being a strong personal motivator in my case.)

Sarannah

Crafting in ESO basically comes down to crafting furniture, and to gain master writs. Completing master writs gives you writ vouchers, which you can exchange to the merchant in grahtwood's main city(east bridge). You can also use writ vouchers to get all the crafting stations for in your home, so you do not have to go out into the world to complete or make certain crafted sets.

Though most mounts, pets, etc are in the crown store, you can still get certain mounts, pets, dye's, and titles when completing certain achievements. Press "J" ingame, go to the achievement tab of your journal, and have a look around. When an achievement has a reward, it is shown at the bottom of the achievement, usually as a small treasure chest.

You can also gain certain pets by collecting runebox fragments in specific locations, or by killing specific bosses.

Nightowl_74

I would say that ESO's grind is more in the vein of collection than progression or completion, in contrast to much of the FFXIV grind. My own personal experience with crafting here is that it's not similar, while there are hurdles to cross I know what you mean about it being a "game within the game" and ESO doesn't really have that same aspect in crafting or (in my experience) other areas. I do enjoy crafting here but the system is much simpler.

However, if you have any interest in housing, ESO eclipses FFXIV in that area. I know you didn't mention it and the nature of any comparison is subjective but my opinion as someone who subscribes to both games is that housing, quests, open world in general, and solo accessibility, are the areas where ESO shines. Crafting and gathering, games within the game, and all the little QOL odds and ends, are where FFXIV shines.

There are much darker storylines, more gruesome mobs, and...well, there is actually an element of horror within ESO's world. You won't find that in FFXIV, although some players do insist that the implicit horror of certain situations means they're thematically "dark". I find the argument kind of absurd but that's the closest you'll get to anything scary in FFXIV.

I'm ambivalent regarding how many of the cosmetic and "fluff" items are in the crown store. It's more fun to earn that sort of thing in-game, yet the hybrid subscription system and the fact that you're given a certain amount of crowns every month with plus, does make ESO an altogether different animal.

On endgame and combat there are a lot of people with more informed opinions than me because I'm strictly casual in ESO and far from hardcore in FFXIV.

JKorr

Moving around in ESO isn't difficult.

There are mounts. There are wayshrines. There are boats. There is traveling to any guildmate or person on your friend list. Porting to any house you own. Porting to any house of any friend/guildmate that is open to you. As a last resort, you can travel to any wayshrine from anywhere if you pay the "toll".

zaria

JKorr wrote: »

Moving around in ESO isn't difficult.

There are mounts. There are wayshrines. There are boats. There is traveling to any guildmate or person on your friend list. Porting to any house you own. Porting to any house of any friend/guildmate that is open to you. As a last resort, you can travel to any wayshrine from anywhere if you pay the "toll".

You can also travel to other players in guilds you are member of. This even works for public dungeons and delves.
This is an pretty useful tricks.

MEBengalsFan2001

If you are new first thing to do is get into a PVE or crafting guild. Next is see if anyone in the guild can craft you training gear. I believe these two things will make the initial part of the game easier. Training gear should be level 4 or 6, than level 10, 16, 22, 28, 34, 40, 46 and CP 10, CP 20, CP 30, CP 40, CP 50, CP 60 etc.. up to CP 150. After that you won't need training gear and you can than work with your guild to get appropriate gear for your character build. However, CP goes all the way up to 3600 but the gear stops going up after you hit CP 160.

As for guild, you can have up to 5 of them. If you plan on being a crafter, start immediately. Also, since you can have 5 guilds I recommend that you have at minimum 1 PVE guild, 1 PVP guild, 2 trader guild (or guild that keep traders active), and if you want create your own guild with your smaller group to have a shared bank.

As for priority of things..get to LEVEL 50 and CP 160 first. While doing this complete as much of the standard overall content you can. Usually if you do the main story of the three fractions that should get you to around 100+ Skill Points and CP 160+. After that you can than focus on other things.