Need help choosing first character

Flanar · February 2015

Hello,

I just bought the game a few days ago and I was wondering if anyone else can help me in choosing my first character.

I prefer playing Ranged (non-magical) or on the front lines. If I am on the front line, I like being a little tanky but still dealing decent amount of damage.

Just to give an idea, I love playing Guardian in GW2 and Warrior in WoW.

Any idea which class here can relate?

Thank you

olsborg · February 2015

Id make a ranger type char then, nightblade with bow and maybe 2h or dual wield. Its quite fun;)

Rosveen · February 2015

Aside from already mentioned nightblade, a dragonknight would work nicely. Bow + two-hander with Green Dragon Blood and a shield from Brawler. A similar templar build is possible, but it would have a more magicky feel.

MorHawk · February 2015

Yeah, if you want tankiness that can still do some solid damage both ranged and melee, DK is a solid choice. Bow in one slot and a melee set in 2nd. I go S/S for raw tanky goodness, but as above 2H is no slouch at the tankses either.

Flanar · February 2015

Thank you for the feedback so far.

Are these two characters popular with dungeon groups?

LunaRae · February 2015

Hi Flanar,

You can play any class as a ranged class, but it might help if you look at the skill trees for each class

http://teso.mmorpg-life.com/eso-skill-calculator/dragonknight/ - to see other classes just click on their class name at the top of the page. All classes have access to the weapon skill lines, such as the bow. I'd think you'd have an easier time getting started if you tried dragonknight or Templar though.

Rosveen · February 2015

Flanar wrote: »

Thank you for the feedback so far.

Are these two characters popular with dungeon groups?

Yes, they are. DKs typically as tanks or damage dealers, nightblades as damage dealers and off-heals (but you can build it tanky too). As LunaRae mentioned, any class can play ranged, they just have different flavors - though I wouldn't recommend sorcerers here, their stamina builds are currently weaker than other classes. ZOS has made some strange decisions.

Google Deltia's Gaming, he has a few insightful articles about skills and classes. You might find a build you like. Tamriel Foundry should be useful too.

Flanar · February 2015

Thank you everyone.

I have few more questions. I am not even sure if the following exists but if they do:

1. Which server should I choose? I will mainly be doing PvE
2. Which Race should I choose? (If there's a difference in their working and power and lore or racial skill)
3. Which alliance should I choose? (I have the exploration something version so I think I can choose any alliance on any character)

Kragorn · February 2015

1. There are only 2 servers, one for North America and one for Europe, you'd be far better choosing your local one than basing your choice on population profile.

2. If you're a min/maxer you need to decide on class/build then the min./maxers will tell you what race to play ... if you're not that way inclined then racial skills really aren't game-breakers. Racial Skills are going to change next week and maybe still further down the road so for min/maxing you need to take that into account.

For non-min./maxers ESO like most other RPGs is setup that all races can be all classes and any racial weaknesses can be mitigated largely by gear and/or consumables so choose the race you like or because of its faction (see 3).

3. Unless you have the Explorer's Pack (which you can only buy in third-party stores, ZOS haven't sold it since launch day) you can't choose your faction directly, your faction is determined by your race (see 2)

.

This is a decent site for researching racial/class skills, though there are of course others:

http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Racial+Skills

Flanar · February 2015

Kragorn wrote: »

1. There are only 2 servers, one for North America and one for Europe, you'd be far better choosing your local one than basing your choice on population profile.

2. If you're a min/maxer you need to decide on class/build then the min./maxers will tell you what race to play ... if you're not that way inclined then racial skills really aren't game-breakers. Racial Skills are going to change next week and maybe still further down the road so for min/maxing you need to take that into account.

For non-min./maxers ESO like most other RPGs is setup that all races can be all classes and any racial weaknesses can be mitigated largely by gear and/or consumables so choose the race you like or because of its faction (see 3).

3. Unless you have the Explorer's Pack (which you can only buy in third-party stores, ZOS haven't sold it since launch day) you can't choose your faction directly, your faction is determined by your race (see 2) .

This is a decent site for researching racial/class skills, though there are of course others:

http://elderscrollsonline.wiki.fextralife.com/Racial+Skills

Thank you for the answer. I am glad to know that Race does not really matter. Do they have different lore though?
I do have Explorer's Pack.

Kragorn · February 2015

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

Flanar · February 2015

Kragorn wrote: »

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

What do you think will be the best way to proceed now? I will hate to change characters just at the start. I was thinking of playing Dragonknight.

Rosveen · February 2015

Kragorn wrote: »

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

People meticulous about their lore know "that it is always foolish to think of whole races sharing like minds." (lore quote, see?

) Khajiit do what they want to do for a variety of reasons and no, they don't all agree with the same ideology. They don't necessarily all want to follow an Aldmeri queen or even their own political and spiritual leaders. Some might be completely disinterested in the war, some have lived in High Rock or Skyrim for years.

Flanar, if you're interested in TES lore, UESP is a pretty good starting point. Here's a page about races. There are more than just the 10 playable races; some are extinct, some live on another continent, some you'll even get to meet in ESO. Alternatively, just play the game, listen to NPC dialogues and read an in-game book every once in a while, you'll get immersed in no time!

Cuyler · February 2015

Flanar wrote: »

Kragorn wrote: »

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

What do you think will be the best way to proceed now? I will hate to change characters just at the start. I was thinking of playing Dragonknight.

For Dragonknight go with Dunmer (Dark elf) race - Has increased fire damage and the DK does almost all fire damage. Khajit also has increase crit chance but that won't be as important in 1.6.

Imperial or if you can or redguard if you want to be more tanky.

Altmer or Breton if you want better Magicka management.

Dekkameron · February 2015

Cuyler wrote: »

Flanar wrote: »

Kragorn wrote: »

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

What do you think will be the best way to proceed now? I will hate to change characters just at the start. I was thinking of playing Dragonknight.

For Dragonknight go with Dunmer (Dark elf) race - Has increased fire damage and the DK does almost all fire damage. Khajit also has increase crit chance but that won't be as important in 1.6.

Imperial or if you can or redguard if you want to be more tanky.

Altmer or Breton if you want better Magicka management.

Altmer also has the bonus to elemental damage of which fire is one.

I actually use a Orsimer DK as a stamina twohanded/bow user and it seems to work well enough.

Cuyler · February 2015

Dekkameron wrote: »

Cuyler wrote: »

Flanar wrote: »

Kragorn wrote: »

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

What do you think will be the best way to proceed now? I will hate to change characters just at the start. I was thinking of playing Dragonknight.

For Dragonknight go with Dunmer (Dark elf) race - Has increased fire damage and the DK does almost all fire damage. Khajit also has increase crit chance but that won't be as important in 1.6.

Imperial or if you can or redguard if you want to be more tanky.

Altmer or Breton if you want better Magicka management.

Altmer also has the bonus to elemental damage of which fire is one.

I actually use a Orsimer DK as a stamina twohanded/bow user and it seems to work well enough.

Yes Altmer has the elemental however the total percentage is smaller spread over the elements whereas a dunmer has all into fire. From a min/max perspective dunmer will always be superior for the DK damage.

Daveheart · February 2015

Cuyler wrote: »

Dekkameron wrote: »

Cuyler wrote: »

Flanar wrote: »

Kragorn wrote: »

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

What do you think will be the best way to proceed now? I will hate to change characters just at the start. I was thinking of playing Dragonknight.

For Dragonknight go with Dunmer (Dark elf) race - Has increased fire damage and the DK does almost all fire damage. Khajit also has increase crit chance but that won't be as important in 1.6.

Imperial or if you can or redguard if you want to be more tanky.

Altmer or Breton if you want better Magicka management.

Altmer also has the bonus to elemental damage of which fire is one.

I actually use a Orsimer DK as a stamina twohanded/bow user and it seems to work well enough.

Yes Altmer has the elemental however the total percentage is smaller spread over the elements whereas a dunmer has all into fire. From a min/max perspective dunmer will always be superior for the DK damage.

Altmer also has the bonus to elemental damage of which fire is one.

I actually use a Orsimer DK as a stamina twohanded/bow user and it seems to work well enough.[/quote]

Yes Altmer has the elemental however the total percentage is smaller spread over the elements whereas a dunmer has all into fire. From a min/max perspective dunmer will always be superior for the DK damage.[/quote]

With the removal of the softcaps, it's possible for the spell damage portion of the equation to come out on top from the Dark Elf passive, but the High Elf damage boost is on the total damage for elemental attacks and not just the spell damage component. The spell damage / magicka ratio for the damage calculation doesn't always come out with the Dark Elf passive being the best. For many abilities, High Elf will come out on top. We're talking a few damage points per 10k now though, so it's small potatoes compared to player skill.

That being said, for everything OP has requested, Dark Elf is still the better choice. It has a stamina bump as well as the fire resist component. It's far more versatile and can be helpful if he wants to try Vampire ever (though I'd probably avoid that with a PvE focus).

As for which alliance to choose, are you in or near North America or Europe? It's really up to you, but figuring that out first will at least give someone the chance to talk about the current state of each alliance.

Cuyler · February 2015

Daveheart wrote: »

Cuyler wrote: »

Dekkameron wrote: »

Cuyler wrote: »

Flanar wrote: »

Kragorn wrote: »

There's a lot of lore in ESO simply due to the fact that the TES franchise is over 15 years old. In-game each faction has its own leveling zones with unique stories in each but there's little to nothing that your race determines within that context.

Having the Explorer's Pack is great then, it allows you freedom .. however, from the pure perspective of lore a Khajiit, say, wouldn't be part of the Daggerfall Covenant and so would be consider 'lore breaking' by those who are meticulous about their lore.

As for Racial Skills, they're a help certainly and if you choose a race based on your class choice then you'll have slightly better stats when naked, but nothing that gear can't largely overcome.

Note that Update 6 next week changes a lot of battle mechanics so most theory-crafting around right now is in a state of flux when it comes to "best" decisions.

What do you think will be the best way to proceed now? I will hate to change characters just at the start. I was thinking of playing Dragonknight.

For Dragonknight go with Dunmer (Dark elf) race - Has increased fire damage and the DK does almost all fire damage. Khajit also has increase crit chance but that won't be as important in 1.6.

Imperial or if you can or redguard if you want to be more tanky.

Altmer or Breton if you want better Magicka management.

Altmer also has the bonus to elemental damage of which fire is one.

I actually use a Orsimer DK as a stamina twohanded/bow user and it seems to work well enough.

Cuyler wrote: »

Yes Altmer has the elemental however the total percentage is smaller spread over the elements whereas a dunmer has all into fire. From a min/max perspective dunmer will always be superior for the DK damage.

Daveheart wrote: »

Altmer also has the bonus to elemental damage of which fire is one.

I actually use a Orsimer DK as a stamina twohanded/bow user and it seems to work well enough.

Yes Altmer has the elemental however the total percentage is smaller spread over the elements whereas a dunmer has all into fire. From a min/max perspective dunmer will always be superior for the DK damage.

With the removal of the softcaps, it's possible for the spell damage portion of the equation to come out on top from the Dark Elf passive, but the High Elf damage boost is on the total damage for elemental attacks and not just the spell damage component. The spell damage / magicka ratio for the damage calculation doesn't always come out with the Dark Elf passive being the best. For many abilities, High Elf will come out on top. We're talking a few damage points per 10k now though, so it's small potatoes compared to player skill.

That being said, for everything OP has requested, Dark Elf is still the better choice. It has a stamina bump as well as the fire resist component. It's far more versatile and can be helpful if he wants to try Vampire ever (though I'd probably avoid that with a PvE focus).

As for which alliance to choose, are you in or near North America or Europe? It's really up to you, but figuring that out first will at least give someone the chance to talk about the current state of each alliance.

Agreed. Either way Dunmer or Altmer you're going to have a good DK for DPS.