Quest markers and new players

Northwold

I started ESO five years ago and a week ago is the first time I made a new character. I hadn't forgotten how difficult it is for a new player to understand what's going on, but I'd assumed it had improved somewhat since "back in the day" when there wasn't even a different quest marker for main and zone story quests compared to all the others, and the zone guide didn't exist.

But I have to say that for a new player it is still very close to unfathomable.

I walk into Daggerfall and every inch of my compass is filled up with arrows. There are, I think, four or possibly five main quest / zone story / DLC story markers, all using the same symbol. There are at least as many black arrows again.

I walk into the mages guild and four different people have markers above their heads, all black arrows, no indication of which gives the underlying guild quests.

I barely understand what's going on and I've been playing the game for years. It looks like it's still nightmarish for new players and that it would still be very, very easy to pick up a quest completely out of order that would wreck the story sense of the main or zone quests (when I first started, I managed to kill the Glenumbra big bad before I had even started the Glenumbra quest, and I had married off the Silvenar before I'd even met him (in the chronological sequence of the Dominion story), which left a huge gap in the main quest later on and I didn't know where to go to pick it up).

At a bare minimum, does the game not need more variety in the quest marker symbols, or to add colours to those symbols?

The main quest needs a different marker from the zone stories. Guild main quests need a different marker from run of the mill side quests. Out of sequence quests possibly need to be marked in a different colour (possibly burgundy?) to warn players that playing them right now might damage a bigger story later. And quest givers handing out DLC quests need to be marked with another marker again. At the moment Lyris Titanborn is sitting in the middle of the ground floor of the Daggerfall fighters guild trying to give me the Greymoor prologue and looks like the primary questgiver, not for Greymoor, but for the fighters guild itself, because the ACTUAL primary questgiver is upstairs with a generic black arrow over their head.

I really think the game would benefit from some playtesting with players who have never played it before. It's exceptionally difficult to understand what's going on when you start.

Danikat

I agree. This has been asked for several times but unfortunately it hasn't been changed.

There is some indication after you accept a quest because they'll go into different sections of the quest journal, but again that's only really meaningful once you've got enough experience with the game to know what those sections mean (like that Prologue quests are introduction to a DLC or chapter and nothing to do with the area you picked them up).

At the very least I'd like them to give prologue quests and others which are not part of the zone you're in a different quest marker like they did with main story quests and dailies.

Ideally I'd also like them to swap some of the NPCs and initial quest dialogue so it doesn't cause story conflicts. It's very jarring for example to be told by the Prophet that we have to find a way to reach Abnur Tharn in Coldharbour and it will be extremely difficult, then have an NPC contact me to say Tharn wants to meet (in Tamriel) for a chat about his plans to end the Three Banners War, then find him hanging around the Mages Guild. (I'm pretty sure that last one is a bug and he's not supposed to be there before or after a specific main story quest, but I can't remember the specifics.)

RisenEclipse

Oh this game is awful when it comes to being new player friendly. I can't imagine what it's like now with various npcs hollering for help for different DLCs, and being surrounded with icons for zone quests on top of it. The new tutorial quest is supposed to help with that (I haven't gone through it myself, and always just skip), but it really doesn't help people navigate the various quest givers once they are actually in the game. Unless the person looks up a guide for it, they're going to be overwhelmed pretty quickly.

Marcusorion1

Without a decent progression guide or some previous game knowledge, it is overwhelming for new players. It's fine to have as many options coming out of the tutorial but without a guide of some sort, it's very easy to get lost ( literally and figuratively ).

I used to enjoy creating a new toon to help a friend get a start in the game and help them whilst being at the same levels. Now, I can't do that - any fresh character has certain achievements and various quest options ( doors/cellars, etc ) that are story specific are not available.

Vhale

I thought about this issue, Why not have a bard in the city to "gatekeep" all the DLC and prologue quests? The bard could talk to players and give them the option to be sent to various people or NPCs. So all of that quest material would not be lost, just, hrm, paused, behind a single speaker. Would help reduce arrow clutter.

Northwold

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Vhale wrote: »

I thought about this issue, Why not have a bard in the city to "gatekeep" all the DLC and prologue quests? The bard could talk to players and give them the option to be sent to various people or NPCs. So all of that quest material would not be lost, just, hrm, paused, behind a single speaker. Would help reduce arrow clutter.

I think it's getting to the point where something like that's becoming necessary. I also think it wouldn't hurt to have a plain English (non lore) explanation that there are many different quests, these are what the types are, the game has a main quest, each zone has a story quest but some zones' stories are linked together. I mean, it's unwieldy, but the game IS unwieldy so there's no point in pretending it isn't.

Further, if an NPC is the starter for a zone quest, DLC quest or whatever, if they're not going to use better icons, then I think they need to break the fourth wall and label that NPC as Name... GREYMOOR QUEST STARTER, or whatever. I have no idea who Alessio someone is, but they're really, really keen to give me a quest that probably isn't the quest I should be doing right now. And I've been in Daggerfall all of 20 seconds when the game tries to send me to Wrothgar.

Northwold

Also, having just saved King Cassimir from assassination in Daggerfall (it's the zone quest where you're not provided with an immediate follow-up marker and have to find it) more issues with how confusing the setup has become have come up -- that quest now needs an automatic follow-up marker!

I'm sure pre DLC it was easier to find, but it sure wouldn't be now if I didn't know to look it up, when I'm deluged with main story markers for the wrong zones! Eurgh.

ArchMikem

One thing I liked from TES:V, quest givers didn't have markers, you would just stumble into quests by just talking to people.

In ESO it's like "TALK TO THIS PERSON RIGHT MEOW".

Scaletho

Totally agree. ESO "do any quest you want" creates a real mess, and new player often lost the chance to understand the amazing lore of the game. They also lost the opportunity of enjoy a deeper immersion in the game.

Uvi_AUT

Agreed. The New Player-Experience is horrible. Its even horrible when starting a new character. There is no clear direction to anything. You have to rely on Roadmaps in Forums to know how to approach the story for it to make even the slightest bit of sense.

WiseSky

I would love if each type of Quests had a special marker, maybe one day

Alekero

Its been ages since ppl asked devs to AT LEAST implement different color for DLC\prologue quest. Not to mention different icon or DLC prefix.
Seems like QoL for a newcomers is not an option for devs. Same goes to quality of new expansions and nerfs what worked well.
But they can delete criticism well here...

Monte_Cristo

They could put an option in the settings to hide quests based on releases. Or an option to hide expansion quests til you've done base game ones.

Everest_Lionheart

The amount of quest markers in capital cities is a bit overwhelming especially for the new player. You could easily start 4 DLC’a before you meet with the benefactor if you aren’t careful. They could just as easily indicate which quest line or zone the starter quests point to once dialogue has been initiated.

Unless you are following some kind of guide playing the wrong quest can cause a player to miss out on certain dialogue or jumble up the lore in a weird way as was my experience when I started my ESO journey in Elsweyr. I had no idea who Abnur Tharn or Cadwell were. I had to piece the relationship together later.

stevenyaub16_ESO

Yup it's terrible design for new players. They just shove all DLC quest starters in starting zone which is ridiculous. Should have them spread out to make the game more new player friendly but zos won't listen.

And also remove those prologue quests from the cash shop and put them in the world instead.

WiseSky

Monte_Cristo wrote: »

They could put an option in the settings to hide quests based on releases. Or an option to hide expansion quests til you've done base game ones.

In Part 10 of this list there is explanation for that.

Took me some time, but the settings are there.

katanagirl1

WiseSky wrote: »

Monte_Cristo wrote: »

They could put an option in the settings to hide quests based on releases. Or an option to hide expansion quests til you've done base game ones.

In Part 10 of this list there is explanation for that.

Took me some time, but the settings are there.

I don’t think we have those options on console. At least they are not familiar to me, I am not in the game right now.

WiseSky

katanagirl1 wrote: »

WiseSky wrote: »

Monte_Cristo wrote: »

They could put an option in the settings to hide quests based on releases. Or an option to hide expansion quests til you've done base game ones.

In Part 10 of this list there is explanation for that.

Took me some time, but the settings are there.

I don’t think we have those options on console. At least they are not familiar to me, I am not in the game right now.

Part 10 is in Game - Settings for Immersion and should apply to Console and PC.

Please let me know if its not true as such

zaria

RisenEclipse wrote: »

Oh this game is awful when it comes to being new player friendly. I can't imagine what it's like now with various npcs hollering for help for different DLCs, and being surrounded with icons for zone quests on top of it. The new tutorial quest is supposed to help with that (I haven't gone through it myself, and always just skip), but it really doesn't help people navigate the various quest givers once they are actually in the game. Unless the person looks up a guide for it, they're going to be overwhelmed pretty quickly.

This, go to an starting city on an alt who has done few quests and you get overwhelmed, its also npc and note who will point you towards various prologue quests and dlc quests all over the game.