OK ill just run through the basics:

1: xp come from killing enemies and completing quest, mostly. this experience will affect your level and skill/skill-line level. The PvP Campaign have a secondary experience that is called alliance point, those will increase only your rank in pvp and let you buy useful siege weapons etc.
Crafting xp is relevant only to one crafting profession: deconstructing a sword will increase only blacksmith; this xp only affect your level in the crafting professions.

2: you will level up only the skill that you have on your bar when you kill enemies and complete a quest, don't know exactly how the xp affect skills.

3: when you hit 50 you probably have almost completed the main story that i will not spoiler here.
When you reach Level 50 you'll start levelling veteran rank (you will be still level 50 and will not gain any attribute point) but your softcap will increase and you will be able to wear stronger gear.
There are 12 veteran rank that take a lots of time to get through by questing.

4:You will need to complete the main story to be able to enter the other alliances.

5: No, you get a skill point when you collect 3.

6: Sorry do not understand this.

7: No, veteran rank player are level 50. every veteran rank is one zone so you could say that 5 veteran rank are 40 levels +/-

8: Just by gaining xp.

9: Not known at this moment but i don't thing that there will be so much difference from what these zone are now.

mhoover.shopub17_ESO wrote: »

Could someone please explain the leveling process like I'm five?

1. Where does XP come from? What about PVP xp? Or Crafting XP?
2. How do the skills on my hotbar interact with XP?
3. What happens when I hit lvl 50?
4. What if I'm not done with the quest line from the starting faction when I hit 50?
5. Do I get a level when I find a skyshard?
6. How does Vetran rank equate to the other factions and doing them over?
7. Is it 50 levels per Vetran rank?
8. How do you get to Vetran rank 10?
9. The Vetran ranks are going away, right? When is that happening and how will that affect playing the three factions?

If there's a guide that answers all this, I'd appreciate a link, please. Most of what I've been able to find has barely scratched the surface but it's more complicated than it was in other MMOs.

1. XP comes from killing foes within seven levels of your own, also from completing quests, and exploring. PVP also provides xp, but I don't PVP so I can't talk about it.
Crafting XP is different, it only affects your crafting level, not your actual level, and is earnt by crafting, deconstructing and researching.
2. Skills in your hot bar earn experience so they can level up, also with class skills the category levels up too (ie Aedrix spear, or Daedric Summoning).
3. If you have completed the main quest you start earning Veteran levels(I think).
4. You wait until you finish it before earning Veteran levels (I think).
5. No, you get a skill point when you find three.
6. I believe that as you go up Veteran levels, you are able to equip better gear.
7. No, twelve at the minute (I think) but they are supposed to be scrapping it.
8. Veteran missions, dungeons and Craglorn.
9. yes, and don't know.

Just to add some clarifications and corrections to what has already been said.

1. Where does XP come from? What about PVP xp? Or Crafting XP?

You also get crafting/skill line XP from reading Skill Books and as part of quest rewards. What you actually get is a level boost in those skill lines. Protip: scan every bookshelf.

5. What happens when I hit lvl 50?

You enter the Veteran Ranks at "VR1." When that happens, for the time being at least (see question 11), you stop getting XP for ANYTHING. What you get is "Veteran Points" which advance your veteran level. You can still get Skill Points (from quests, Skyshards, etc) but you don't get Attribute Points like you did when you were leveling.

6. What if I'm not done with the quest line from the starting faction when I hit 50?

Finishing the FACTION quest is what gets you into Coldharbour (i.e., saving King Emeric or Jorunn or Queen Ayrenn and defeating the forces of Molag Bal in Tamriel). Finishing the MAIN quest (defeating Molag Bal) is what gets you into the other factions to quest. You should normally finish the FACTION quest at around level 43-45. The initial quests in Coldharbour are level 41.

8. How does Vetran rank equate to the other factions and doing them over?

You're not doing anything over, not in less you have alts in the other factions. Each veteran rank corresponds to a faction zone, roughly. All the mobs in a zone have the same level as the zone, except Cyrodiil, where they are all VR 5. For instance, suppose you're a Pact character, VR 4. Assuming you went to Daggerfall as your first VR alliance, you're probably questing in the Alik'r Desert, which is the 4th Covenant zone (the starting zones are actually part of zone 1).

When you finish the MAIN quest and hit level 50, you'll meet Cadwell, and he will give you a set of objectives for each zone in the other two Alliances. This is called "Cadwell's Almanac" and it will appear as an additional tab in your Journal window. Doing these quests will theoretically advance you through the Veteran Ranks properly. You also need to do Dolmens, Delves, Dungeons, World Bosses... and whatever else you're interested in.

9. Is it 50 levels per Vetran rank?

There are no levels in Veteran rank. You're level 50 the whole time; your basic attribute settings never change, though your gear and passives can modify them within certain ranges, called the "soft cap" you've probably heard about. You have access, however, to better gear, more powerful weapons, stronger potions, enchants, etc, and you continue (by applying Skill Points) to advance your Skill Lines. It becomes instead of a "Level Chase," a "Gear/Skill chase."

You don't have to do all the quests in each zone in order to advance in VR.

11. How do you get to Vetran rank 10?

By accumulating enough Veteran Points, through completing Cadwell's Almanac quests and other things previously mentioned. 10 zones, 10 veteran ranks. Simple.

12. The Vetran ranks are going away, right? When is that happening and how will that affect playing the three factions?

Wrong. The veteran ranks are NOT going away.

The Veteran Points, however, ARE. They are going to be replaced with standard XP (experience points), so that the questing reward system won't have a discontinuity caused by suddenly switching point systems.

It remains to be seen whether this will be anything more than a cosmetic change. It's doubtful that it will have any effect, EXCEPT (caps important here) that a "Champion Points" system will be introduced. Those in the Veteran Ranks will be able to earn Champion Points and use them account wide to build out a whole new set of skill lines organized around the Tamriel Zodiac (similar to the system in Skyrim). We don't know all the details yet.

I hope that helps.