Newbie questions? Please help us out.

N0TPLAYER2 · August 2015

Hello. I recently got this game, and me and a buddy have played it non stop for three days now. I recently finished Skyrim (went back a few months ago, and 100% achievement completed it just a couple of weeks ago) and this is a huge step up in the right direction.

To say I am totally addicted is an understatement.

I have a few random questions, if anyone can answer these, I would appreciate it. Please forgive me for rambling, but learning this game is a huge undertaking and I have a lot of questions.

Ok here we go

I just hit level 13, which I know is nothing special. But once I hit 10, it unlocked a lot of content. Me and my buddy are definitely interested in the group caves! Here's where I'm confused.

He is a level 17, and has the first group cave (grotto?) as a mission. I do not yet.

Should I wait until I have it as a mission, before using the find group option and tackling it? Also, is doing it that way (finding a group) count towards the mission completion? Or is it that it counts in the single player game towards the mission, but the group option is something we can do anytime? Would it be easier or harder to do it as a mission vs using the group option?

Obviously I am confused about this, so any help would be great. These caves and big/long fights are what we're looking forward to as friends playing together.

Next question. How does pvp work? When entering cyrodil (sp?) is it just everyone is fighting everyone? Or are there set destinations to go to and activate a multiplayer match?

What about the alliance wars? Is it truly like 100 vs 100? In the trailer it shows massive wars. If that's real this will be my favorite game of all time.

Also (again forgive my rambling) when I started I made a character. Then my buddy and I couldn't join up because of the race I was. So I bought the upgrade to allow any race any alliance. Could I switch? Or did I have to make a new character? That's what I did, but would like to know for future reference if I can switch at anytime with that upgrade available?

In the same vein, are alliances restricted to certain parts of the map? Everything I am doing now is on the northeast part of the map. I think I'm realizing that each alliance is tied to a 3rd of the map. Is this right?

Also, when they add in dlc like imperial city, will everyone have access to it? Or only a specific alliance?

How will that work? We buy the dlc and it fills in new sections of the map? Anyone know how many new sections are planned for the future? And or which ones?

Is dlc bought through crowns? I have 1500 I am saving to use towards dlc and hopefully I can.

Again, thanks for any help. There is SO much to learn with this game, I felt dropping all my thoughts here would give me the best feedback Vs trying to google each specific answer.

Thanks in advance! Any other tips for newbies would be greatly appreciated!

Any links are appreciated too. I'm happy to learn, and is one of my favorite parts of these types of game, learning and mastering the insane amount of things to do!

corwinDA · August 2015

Now that your lvl 10 you can do the first three dungeons of the game and with your friend as long as you two are within 5 levels of each other you will both gain xp off the dungeon. If you are not getting a pull throught the dungeon witb a high level then definitely get a full 4 man group.

Next as for pvp there's never a bad time to go in just look at the war your going into as there are veteran campaigns and non veteran. You will be scaled if you go veteran but understand with no gear sets and champion points on your toon expect to be sombodies lunch and it may take from your over all experience of pvp.

So far we know the next two dlc Imperial Capital which adds a lot of new pvp content and some pve with a vet cap going to 16. Then the ork home world dlc with the removal of vet ranks all together.

Kozer · August 2015

On the pvp thing..If you do start to pvp...Find a group of people and role with them. You don't need to join their group but its safety in numbers out there.

Also one of you should grab the speed boost from the assualt tree. That thing is a time saver.

psicorpb16_ESO · August 2015

Ouch !
'Caves' or 'delves' can be completed at any level as long as you can get to them obviously, if your friend started as a different 'alliance' then you can't play together until you reach 'vet lvl (50+)' if you're in the same alliance (starting zone) then you can play it all together (make a party and then 'travel to xxxxx')
No you can't switch if you're in a different 'alliance' you or you're friend would need to make an Alt

Cyrodil isn't everyone against everyone , it's 'pact' versus 'pact' which you choose when you first enter (I think, I don't do PVP)
100v100 doesn't really work due to lag but from what I've read on forums at the right time of day it can be fun.

Yep anyone can play the DLC IC if you either pay for ESO+ or buy the DLC with crowns , I think you are auto levelled (in a way) when you enter , once it's released of course.

So yup each alliance starts in their own part of the map and then can join up when you reach 'vet lvl'

Hope this helps a bit , if I'm wrong about anything someone will be along sharpish to correct me

TyCobbBA365 · August 2015

That's a lot of questions.

For starters, you should try and grab the quest before heading into the dungeon or cave. I think you get the Fungal Grotto quests as part of the Undaunted quests which are given around the taverns. If you group, you may want to be the group leader to do the quests. The caves/dungeons levels correspond with the group leaders level. If you are trying to build some experience, then have your buddy as the group leader so the cave will set for his level.

When you first enter Cyrrodil, there are quests that you can pick up. These will walk you through the introduction of PVP. The quests usually start with killing 20 of a certain type of character or traveling to an enemy location. You can also capture locations like forts or mines. Capturing the fortresses are where you would have huge battles because you can have some people using siege equipment. Usually you will have guilds that coordinate trying to take a fortress or something along those lines.

With having the DLC you can choose any race, but you still have to choose one of the three alliances to play as. Each alliance runs quests through different parts of the map. Ebonheart is in the Northeast that includes Stonefalls, Windhelm and THe Rift. I don't think you can switch alliances. You declare the alliance you want to play as when you are first building the character.

From what I've seen, Imperial City will be open to all 3 alliances, although the features may be different for the different alliances. You will be able to buy the DLC through the crown store.

Nestor · August 2015

You don't need a Quest to go do the Group Dungeons. You just need a Group. The group does not need to be close to each other in level, but it helps to get the most mob experience and loot. We frequently run dungeons with VRs and leveling in the same groups. The VRs get the Champ Points, skill points and boss loot if they have not done the dungeon and the leveling folks get all the benefits.

All that being said, it is better to run a group dungeon with a group that is near to each other in level as the challenge is fully experienced. Then again, face rolling a group dungeon is fun too.

Where your friend got the quest from is by talking to the Undaunted in the first town you come into. Look for a trio of oddly named NPCs in the local Tavern they can get you started. I would recommend joining the Undaunted before you do any Group Dungeons or the Group Boss in a Public Dungeon as you gain Undaunted rank by doing this content.

psicorpb16_ESO · August 2015

Oh I missed a bit , you can do the 'caves-delves' anytime but it won't count as the quest unless you have the quest too, quite often the quest giver is just inside the Delve , but not if its part of a story scenario obviously. No harm in doing it then going back when you have it.

negbert · August 2015

You can pick up the quest for the group dungeon from the undaunted. You will find them in a bar in the starter city. Talk to all of them and they will give you 3 map markers for the first 3 dungeons (you can do the dungeons in the other alliances). Once you have the map markers you can teleport into the dungeon with your group from a wayshrine so there is no need to go and stand outside it. Once you have finished the first one you return to the undaunted to complete their quest. I think the first one is available around level 12 so you will be fine. Each group dungeon awards you a skill point and a fair chunk of xp the first time you complete it so it is worth doing them all at some point. The group finder will show you which dungeons are available for your level. The skill level of the dungeon will be set to the level of the group leader so you might want to consider which of you has the crown. Be warned though that using the group finder can take ages to find a full group. You can go back and do the dungeons at any level. At level 45 you will unlock pledges which will give you a quest to do a specific dungeon and will give you an extra reward for doing it.

Pvp covers a massive area and current battles will highlight on the map. It is worth making sure you have a mount before you try getting anywhere. There is a tutorial that will guide you though the basics. You will need to choose a home campaign (the non-vet would be a good one to start with). There can be massive battles but these tend not be very fun as it causes massive lag and the game can become non-responsive. I usually see 30x30 at top which is pretty hectic as it is. Try looking for a group to join as people tend to snipe you if you are on your own.

It is not possible to change factions. If you want to play together with your friend then you must be in the same faction. Each faction has 5 main zones and 1 or 2 started zones. These cover areas belonging to the 3 races that comprise that faction. You will be able to play through all the areas with a single character as the other alliance zones are unlocked later in the game.

The imperial city is accessed from the current Cyrodiil map (pvp) but access will depend on which keeps are owned by your alliance in that campaign but you will not be kicked out if you are already in. Once you start playing pvp you will see see that keep ownership tends to be pretty fluid in most campaigns.

They are saying that new DLCs will come out quarterly. Orsinium will come out towards the end of the year and will be a new pve zone (like the current alliance zones).

anitajoneb17_ESO · August 2015

psicorpb16_ESO wrote: »

Ouch !
'Caves' or 'delves' can be completed at any level as long as you can get to them obviously, if your friend started as a different 'alliance' then you can't play together until you reach 'vet lvl (50+)' if you're in the same alliance (starting zone) then you can play it all together (make a party and then 'travel to xxxxx')
No you can't switch if you're in a different 'alliance' you or you're friend would need to make an Alt

Cyrodil isn't everyone against everyone , it's 'pact' versus 'pact' which you choose when you first enter (I think, I don't do PVP)
100v100 doesn't really work due to lag but from what I've read on forums at the right time of day it can be fun.

Yep anyone can play the DLC IC if you either pay for ESO+ or buy the DLC with crowns , I think you are auto levelled (in a way) when you enter , once it's released of course.

So yup each alliance starts in their own part of the map and then can join up when you reach 'vet lvl'

Hope this helps a bit , if I'm wrong about anything someone will be along sharpish to correct me

Yes, sorry but you're very wrong in saying that players form different alliances can play together when they reach level 50+. That incorrect. You can NEVER group up nor play with nor even SEE players from other alliances, ever ever, UNLESS you're in a PVP area (Cyrodiil, IC) but in that case you're plain enemies and can only play against each other, not together (wellI guess it's technicallypossible to "play together" but that's touchy since you can "friendly fire" your buddy anytime). Anyway, to sum it up, there NO "playing together" nor grouping with anyone who's not in your alliance. You can be it the same guilds, trade and talk, but you can't see each other in any PVE area whatsoever.

And you don't choose your alliance when you enter Cyrodiil, you choose it once and for all upon character creation, and as of now, there's no turning back on that.

anitajoneb17_ESO · August 2015

deleted - double post.

negbert · August 2015

Later in the game you can access the other alliance's zones but they will be populated only with players from your own alliance.

They are talking about making it so that you can do dungeons with players from other alliances some time in the future but currently there is no way to form a group with someone outside of your alliance.

QuebraRegra · August 2015

Kozer wrote: »

On the pvp thing..If you do start to pvp...Find a group of people and role with them. You don't need to join their group but its safety in numbers out there.

Also one of you should grab the speed boost from the assualt tree. That thing is a time saver.

Wanna have fun?

Join a non-vet campaign where yer faction is equal to the other factions present (for the moment) in terms of numbers of players.

Do the tutorial... Move to a castle with a lot of action and ask in area chat for a group invite.. Join group, listen 2x as much as you talk. Have an awesome time until you lvl to VR1. Lather rinse repeat.

UrQuan · August 2015

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

psicorpb16_ESO wrote: »

Ouch !
'Caves' or 'delves' can be completed at any level as long as you can get to them obviously, if your friend started as a different 'alliance' then you can't play together until you reach 'vet lvl (50+)' if you're in the same alliance (starting zone) then you can play it all together (make a party and then 'travel to xxxxx')
No you can't switch if you're in a different 'alliance' you or you're friend would need to make an Alt

Cyrodil isn't everyone against everyone , it's 'pact' versus 'pact' which you choose when you first enter (I think, I don't do PVP)
100v100 doesn't really work due to lag but from what I've read on forums at the right time of day it can be fun.

Yep anyone can play the DLC IC if you either pay for ESO+ or buy the DLC with crowns , I think you are auto levelled (in a way) when you enter , once it's released of course.

So yup each alliance starts in their own part of the map and then can join up when you reach 'vet lvl'

Hope this helps a bit , if I'm wrong about anything someone will be along sharpish to correct me

Yes, sorry but you're very wrong in saying that players form different alliances can play together when they reach level 50+. That incorrect. You can NEVER group up nor play with nor even SEE players from other alliances, ever ever, UNLESS you're in a PVP area (Cyrodiil, IC) but in that case you're plain enemies and can only play against each other, not together (wellI guess it's technicallypossible to "play together" but that's touchy since you can "friendly fire" your buddy anytime). Anyway, to sum it up, there NO "playing together" nor grouping with anyone who's not in your alliance. You can be it the same guilds, trade and talk, but you can't see each other in any PVE area whatsoever.

That's true for now, but ZOS has said that this will be changing incrementally - starting with being able to group with members of other alliances for group dungeons using the LFG tool. I don't know what the timeline is for the introduction of cross-alliance grouping though.

N0TPLAYER2 · August 2015

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I will go through and absorb each one.

One clarification would be helpful. Some have said I can do the grotto cave now, which does appear to be the case.

But, my buddy who is only 5-6 levels ahead, has it as a quest mission, and I do not. We were waiting until I get the quest to do it together, so I don't do it, then get the quest, then do it again.

I didn't realize he may have gotten the quest inside, and I may wait forever if I never enter until I get the quest, which would happen if I never entered in the first place

I want to say thanks for being kind to us newbies and not assisting us, and not trolling on us for sucking. We realize we are noobs, and realize I could ask even more questions, but I tried to keep it from getting ridiculous. I'm the type who gets hooked on one game only at a time and play it for a long time, learning and discovering everything about it. And never having played a true mmorpg before, there's a lot to take in.

Thanks! Keep the advice/tips coming. They are much appreciated.

Nestor · August 2015

N0TPLAYER2 wrote: »

One clarification would be helpful. Some have said I can do the grotto cave now, which does appear to be the case.

But, my buddy who is only 5-6 levels ahead, has it as a quest mission, and I do not. We were waiting until I get the quest to do it together, so I don't do it, then get the quest, then do it again.

I didn't realize he may have gotten the quest inside, and I may wait forever if I never enter until I get the quest, which would happen if I never entered in the first place

Every Group Dungeon has one or two "interior quests" that you get when you get inside the Dungeon. One of them is the Main Quest for the Dungeon and gives the skill point and blue loot drop. The other one, if there, is just for fun.

The quest you get from the Undaunted is different.

You can repeat the Group Dungeons as often as you like, you can do the quests or not the first time through or the 20th if you skip the quests each time.

Just go talk to the Undaunted because IIRC, you just have to find the dungeon to satisfy the quest objective, but it has been so long since I have done that quest I can't remember, and it's probably changed since then.

And, don't worry about your friends levels, you are both in the range you need to be do do the First Tier Group Dungeons. Group up, find two more, hopefully one is a healer and go to town.

Note a Healer is not mandatory, but it really helps unless you have the chops to burn the bosses down quickly.

RyuLevone · August 2015

You can go into and through the cave whenever you want, but to get whatever specific quest your friend has you're going to have to find the person he talked to, to get that same quest. Now, if he did get a certain quest inside the cave specifically, just go in the cave and, again, find the same person he talked to, to get the quest. The quest isn't just going to appear for you at a certain level or time.

What's the name of the quest your friend has?

Techlisp · August 2015

This is what PvP is like on PS4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSm6nvIxts4 And it isn't even a busy server [Haderus EU].

psicorpb16_ESO · August 2015

anitajoneb17_ESO wrote: »

psicorpb16_ESO wrote: »

Ouch !
'Caves' or 'delves' can be completed at any level as long as you can get to them obviously, if your friend started as a different 'alliance' then you can't play together until you reach 'vet lvl (50+)' if you're in the same alliance (starting zone) then you can play it all together (make a party and then 'travel to xxxxx')
No you can't switch if you're in a different 'alliance' you or you're friend would need to make an Alt

Cyrodil isn't everyone against everyone , it's 'pact' versus 'pact' which you choose when you first enter (I think, I don't do PVP)
100v100 doesn't really work due to lag but from what I've read on forums at the right time of day it can be fun.

Yep anyone can play the DLC IC if you either pay for ESO+ or buy the DLC with crowns , I think you are auto levelled (in a way) when you enter , once it's released of course.

So yup each alliance starts in their own part of the map and then can join up when you reach 'vet lvl'

Hope this helps a bit , if I'm wrong about anything someone will be along sharpish to correct me

Yes, sorry but you're very wrong in saying that players form different alliances can play together when they reach level 50+. That incorrect. You can NEVER group up nor play with nor even SEE players from other alliances, ever ever, UNLESS you're in a PVP area (Cyrodiil, IC) but in that case you're plain enemies and can only play against each other, not together (wellI guess it's technicallypossible to "play together" but that's touchy since you can "friendly fire" your buddy anytime). Anyway, to sum it up, there NO "playing together" nor grouping with anyone who's not in your alliance. You can be it the same guilds, trade and talk, but you can't see each other in any PVE area whatsoever.

And you don't choose your alliance when you enter Cyrodiil, you choose it once and for all upon character creation, and as of now, there's no turning back on that.

Oops, very sorry for the misinformation, my bad. Thought I grouped up with peeps with my first vet alt, must have been in same alliance I guess, was a while ago.

Once again , humble apologies and thanks for the correction. (I'll crawl away and hide in my hole reading up on the facts)

UrQuan · August 2015

Note: I started typing this post up a couple of hours ago, but got pulled away by work. It saved a draft, though, so I'm going to finish and post it because I think it's still relevant even after the posts that have been added to this thread in the meantime.

@N0TPLAYER2 that's a lot of questions (nothing wrong with that), and it looks like people have already answered most of them. I think it might be helpful to be clear on some terminology, though, because otherwise you might get confused by some of the responses.

Specifically, you refer to "caves" and I think that term might cause some confusion, because it's not a term the game uses, so people might think you mean one thing and answer based on that, when you actually mean something else. So here are the terms for the different things that people might think you mean when you say "caves":

Delves: these are the minor caves that you can find throughout the zones. There are numerous delves in each zone. They can be done solo quite easily, and each has a boss that you need to kill in order to get the achievement (and one-time completion XP) for completing it, as well as a skyshard to collect somewhere inside. Delves sometimes have a quest giver inside (often in the form of a note to read), but the completion of the quest is typically done somewhere else in the zone, and most delves don't have any associated quests in any case. Note: if you start going to Cyrodiil (the PVP zone) the delves there are a bit different, as most of them have more than one boss that you need to kill for completion.
Public Dungeons: there is one public dungeon per zone. Public dungeons can be done solo if you're experienced or have a build that is well designed for dealing with large groups of enemies (mobs - if you're not familiar with the terminology a mob is a generic non-boss non-player enemy), but they are intended to be done in a group of 2 or more players. Each public dungeon has 2 quests associated with it (the quest givers are usually inside, but are sometimes just outside), one of which gives you a trophy as a completion reward. Public dungeons have high mob density and respawn rates, so if you're doing them solo you'll be doing a lot of fighting just to move through the dungeon. Each public dungeon has 5 (or more? I can't remember if any have more than 5) normal bosses that can be found throughout it (although sometimes you might have to wait a long time for a particular one to spawn), and has an achievement associated with killing 3 of them, and another achievement associated with killing all of them. Each public dungeon also has a group challenge boss (most of which can be done solo if you're experienced - I can only think of 1 that absolutely requires at least 2 players) which you can get to spawn by completing a prerequisite (usually this prerequisite is killing the mobs present in a specific area within the dungeon). Killing this group challenge boss grants you an achievement and a skill point. Each public dungeon also has a skyshard.
Group Dungeons: there is one group dungeon per zone. Group dungeons cannot be done solo (unless you're an absolute top tier player with top tier gear and an awesome build - even then some have mechanics that would require more players), and are intended for a group of 4 players, typically made up of 1 tank (a character who can survive a lot of damage, and taunt the most threatening enemies to keep them focused on him instead of the other party members), 1 healer (whose primary job is to heal everyone else in order to keep them alive) and 2 DPS (damage-per-second: their job is to do as much damage as possible as quickly as possible to kill the enemies). A group dungeon is instanced to your group: this means that only players who are grouped up will encounter each other inside - you'll never see another player inside who you are not grouped with, as they have their own instance of the dungeon. The mobs and bosses within the group dungeon are scaled to the level of the group leader (although each group dungeon has a minimum level for them that they won't ever drop below). Each group dungeon has a quest associated with it that is picked up just a little bit inside. Completing this quest (which typically means killing all of the bosses in the dungeon) grants you a skill point. Each group dungeon has large groups of mobs that do not respawn, but which are large enough and powerful enough that they typically require a group of players to defeat (without getting killed, anyway). each group dungeon has multiple bosses to defeat, each of which has its own special fight mechanics that make each of these fights much more challenging than boss fights in delves, public dungeons, or non-dungeon quests. Eachgroup dungeon also has a lore book in it that can be picked up to advance your mages' guild skill line. Group dungeons can be repeated as many times as you like, but you'll only get the quest and skill point for it the first time (when you're level 45+ you can get daily Undaunted Pledges that are quests to go and kill the bosses in a particular group dungeon, though). many of the group dungeons also have a veteran version that can only be accessed if all member of the group are VR1+. The vet version has its own quest, its own story (which is a continuation of/sequel to the story of the normal version of the dungeon), and its own set of bosses, all of which are different from those found in the non-vet version. Vet dungeons are a signficant jump in difficulty over non-vet.

I hope this is helpful

waterfairy · August 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

Group dungeons can be repeated as many times as you like, but you'll only get the quest and skill point for it the first time (when you're level 45+ you can get daily Undaunted Pledges that are quests to go and kill the bosses in a particular group dungeon, though).

What about the special item that the final boss drops, can you get that more then once for the same group dungeon? It seems to scale to your level...I got the Blessing of the Keepers for level 17 even though the group leader I was helping was level 11 and he got the same helm for his level.

UrQuan · August 2015

Vigarr wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

Group dungeons can be repeated as many times as you like, but you'll only get the quest and skill point for it the first time (when you're level 45+ you can get daily Undaunted Pledges that are quests to go and kill the bosses in a particular group dungeon, though).

What about the special item that the final boss drops, can you get that more then once for the same group dungeon? It seems to scale to your level...I got the Blessing of the Keepers for level 17 even though the group leader I was helping was level 11 and he got the same helm for his level.

Items such as the Blessing of the Keepers helm are quest rewards for completing the dungeon's quest, so although they scale to your level when you complete the quest, you can only receive them once (per character). Once you hit level 45 and can start doing daily Undaunted Pledges, though, each pledge that you successfully complete will give you a key that you can use to unlock a special chest at the Undaunted Enclave in order to earn a reward. What you get is random, but some of the possibilities are considered to be some of the best items in the game. Once you start earning these keys it's worth holding on to them until you're max level, because your rewards from the chest will be scaled to your level at the time you use the key (not at the time you earned it).

waterfairy · August 2015

UrQuan wrote: »

Items such as the Blessing of the Keepers helm are quest rewards for completing the dungeon's quest, so although they scale to your level when you complete the quest, you can only receive them once (per character). Once you hit level 45 and can start doing daily Undaunted Pledges, though, each pledge that you successfully complete will give you a key that you can use to unlock a special chest at the Undaunted Enclave in order to earn a reward. What you get is random, but some of the possibilities are considered to be some of the best items in the game. Once you start earning these keys it's worth holding on to them until you're max level, because your rewards from the chest will be scaled to your level at the time you use the key (not at the time you earned it).

Thanks for the info, it's been so long since I've done the dungeon that I thought the boss dropped it but I remember the quest now.
I thought the pledges were a vet level thing...are there any prerequisites to getting these pledges? Must I have already completed the dungeon to get the pledge?

psychojudge · August 2015

N0TPLAYER2 wrote: »

He is a level 17, and has the first group cave (grotto?) as a mission. I do not yet.

Wasnt the first group cave a quest from the undaunted?

That you complete by simply getting there and talking to the keeper.

You may correct me if a am wrong about this

UrQuan · August 2015

Vigarr wrote: »

UrQuan wrote: »

Items such as the Blessing of the Keepers helm are quest rewards for completing the dungeon's quest, so although they scale to your level when you complete the quest, you can only receive them once (per character). Once you hit level 45 and can start doing daily Undaunted Pledges, though, each pledge that you successfully complete will give you a key that you can use to unlock a special chest at the Undaunted Enclave in order to earn a reward. What you get is random, but some of the possibilities are considered to be some of the best items in the game. Once you start earning these keys it's worth holding on to them until you're max level, because your rewards from the chest will be scaled to your level at the time you use the key (not at the time you earned it).

Thanks for the info, it's been so long since I've done the dungeon that I thought the boss dropped it but I remember the quest now.
I thought the pledges were a vet level thing...are there any prerequisites to getting these pledges? Must I have already completed the dungeon to get the pledge?

When you hit level 45 you'll receive an Undaunted Enclave invitation in the mail (you probably have to have already become a member of the Undaunted to get this, but you should really do that by the time you're level 10-15 anyway) - this invitation sends you to the Undaunted Enclave for your alliance (for DC it's just outside Wayrest in Stormhaven, for AD it's just outside Elden Root in Grahtwood, and for EP it's just outside Mournhold in Deshaan), where you'll talk to a member of the Undaunted who will explain the pledges to you. Completing this mini-quest gives you a key as a reward that you can use immediately to unlock one of the special Undaunted reward chests (I don't remember if the key you get from this intro is a bronze key or a silver key), and allows you to begin doing pledges.

There are 2 types of pledges: regular pledges and veteran pledges, with the difference between the two being the type of dungeon that they send you to (the regular pledges always send you to the regular versions of the dungeons, even if they will be scaled to VR14 or whatever based on who is in your group, while the veteran pledges always send you to a vet version of a dungeon), as well as the rewards for completing the pledges (more on that later). This means that between level 45 and hitting VR1 the only type of pledge you can do are the regular ones, because you don't have the option of doing a vet version of a dungeon until you are at least VR1. The pledges change daily, and can be picked up from quest givers at the Undaunted Enclave.

Picking up a pledge doesn't require you to have already completed that dungeon before, and the days pledges are the same for everyone. This means that on any given day there will be a lot of people looking to group up for 2 specific dungeons (one regular, one veteran) depending on what the pledges are for that day. So if you happen to notice that the daily pledge is a dungeon you've never done before, you're in luck because it should be easy to get a group together to run it!

Each pledge requires you to go and kill the main bosses in the dungeon, but there are also optional quest goals that can be completed to gain a greater reward. For the regular pledge the basic quest is to kill the main bosses in the dungeon (this will give you a bronze key when you go back to the Undaunted Enclave to turn in your quest), and the optional goals are to kill all of the other bosses in the dungeon (this will give you a silver key instead of a bronze key - depending on the dungeon these optional bosses may be in your way anyway, so you'd typically kill them to get to the main bosses, or they may be easily skipped if you just want to kill the main bosses). For the veteran pledge the basic quest is to kill the main bosses in the dungeon (this will give you a silver key), and the optional quest is to kill one of the main bosses under certain conditions that make the fight more difficult (for example: one boss fight has an area with a protective aura that you can hang out in to avoid much of the damage, and the optional step in the pledge is to kill that boss without entering the protective aura - completing the fight in that particular way will give you a gold key instead of a silver key).

One thing to keep in mind when doing a pledge for a dungeon you haven't yet completed the quest for is that you'll have 2 sets of quest markers in the dungeon - one set for the pledge and one set for the dungeon quest. Don't forget to make sure you do both! On one of my characters I've still got the dungeon quest for Veteran Darkshade Caverns active because I was so focused on getting the gold key for that pledge that I forgot that I had the dungeon quest active as well, so I forgot to do the last step and collect my skill point... I kept the quest active rather than abandoning it in order to remind myself that at some point I've got to go back and do it

UrQuan · August 2015

psychojudge wrote: »

N0TPLAYER2 wrote: »

He is a level 17, and has the first group cave (grotto?) as a mission. I do not yet.

Wasnt the first group cave a quest from the undaunted?

That you complete by simply getting there and talking to the keeper.

You may correct me if a am wrong about this

That should be the quest that inducts you as a member of the Undaunted. The quest giver for this is a member of the Undaunted in a tavern in the first major city of your alliance (Daggerfall for DC, Vulkhel Guard for AD, and Davon's Watch for EP), who will challenge you to go and enter the first group dungeon (Spindleclutch for DC, Banished Cells for AD, and Fungal Grotto for EP), and return to them. When you return (note: you don't have to actually complete the dungeon - you can enter it and then immediately leave if you want) you will get a little ceremony to become a member of the Undaunted. This unlocks the Undaunted skill line.

Enodoc · August 2015

N0TPLAYER2 wrote: »

In the same vein, are alliances restricted to certain parts of the map? Everything I am doing now is on the northeast part of the map. I think I'm realizing that each alliance is tied to a 3rd of the map. Is this right?

Also, when they add in dlc like imperial city, will everyone have access to it? Or only a specific alliance?

How will that work? We buy the dlc and it fills in new sections of the map? Anyone know how many new sections are planned for the future? And or which ones?

Is dlc bought through crowns? I have 1500 I am saving to use towards dlc and hopefully I can.

Don't think anybody's answered these yet... sorry if I missed it.

Yes, each alliance is restricted to different parts of the map; see the Interactive Map. Once you finish the Main Quest you are able to enter another alliance's territory, but you still won't be able to group up with players from that other alliance.

Access to DLC will depend on the DLC itself. For Imperial City, for example, there may be some "Campaigns" (PvP instances) where every alliance has access, and there may be some where an alliance will only have access if they control a certain number of keeps in Cyrodiil.

Yes, DLC will fill in different sections of the map. Currently, there are three known sections in production; Imperial City, in the middle of Cyrodiil; Wrothgar/Orsinium, north of Stormhaven; and Murkmire, south of Shadowfen. Also in production are the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood, which will add new content in smaller places that are either parts of the existing zones, or don't feature on the main map. Based on an early map of Tamriel, there are potentially 20 new zones that they could add, including Wrothgar and Murkmire.

Yes, DLC is bought with Crowns. Imperial City will cost 2,500. You also gain access to DLC if you are a member of the ESO optional premium service, ESO Plus. However, if your ESO Plus expires, you lose access until you either re-subscribe, or pay the Crowns.

mrskinskull · August 2015

N0TPLAYER2 wrote: »

Wow, thanks for all the replies! I will go through and absorb each one.

One clarification would be helpful. Some have said I can do the grotto cave now, which does appear to be the case.

But, my buddy who is only 5-6 levels ahead, has it as a quest mission, and I do not. We were waiting until I get the quest to do it together, so I don't do it, then get the quest, then do it again.

I didn't realize he may have gotten the quest inside, and I may wait forever if I never enter until I get the quest, which would happen if I never entered in the first place

I want to say thanks for being kind to us newbies and not assisting us, and not trolling on us for sucking. We realize we are noobs, and realize I could ask even more questions, but I tried to keep it from getting ridiculous. I'm the type who gets hooked on one game only at a time and play it for a long time, learning and discovering everything about it. And never having played a true mmorpg before, there's a lot to take in.

Thanks! Keep the advice/tips coming. They are much appreciated.

If you are on PS 4 na servers and have ebon heart pact characters send me a friend request and I can help you through some dungeons.
Best of luck either way.

SanderBuraas · August 2015

N0TPLAYER2 wrote: »

Hello. I recently got this game, and me and a buddy have played it non stop for three days now. I recently finished Skyrim (went back a few months ago, and 100% achievement completed it just a couple of weeks ago) and this is a huge step up in the right direction.

To say I am totally addicted is an understatement.

I have a few random questions, if anyone can answer these, I would appreciate it. Please forgive me for rambling, but learning this game is a huge undertaking and I have a lot of questions.

Ok here we go

I just hit level 13, which I know is nothing special. But once I hit 10, it unlocked a lot of content. Me and my buddy are definitely interested in the group caves! Here's where I'm confused.

He is a level 17, and has the first group cave (grotto?) as a mission. I do not yet.

Should I wait until I have it as a mission, before using the find group option and tackling it? Also, is doing it that way (finding a group) count towards the mission completion? Or is it that it counts in the single player game towards the mission, but the group option is something we can do anytime? Would it be easier or harder to do it as a mission vs using the group option?

The Undaunted quest is for the first group dungeon. You get this in the first town, in a tavern. Group dungeon quests are obtained inside the group dungeon Group dungeons scale to the group leaders level - and you need four players to complete it, normally.

Obviously I am confused about this, so any help would be great. These caves and big/long fights are what we're looking forward to as friends playing together.

Next question. How does pvp work? When entering cyrodil (sp?) is it just everyone is fighting everyone? Or are there set destinations to go to and activate a multiplayer match?

Open world pvp. There are keeps, outposts and resources to capture - and elder scrolls to obtain. These benefit your alliance. You enter Cyrodiil by entering the alliance war menu, choosing a home (and guest) campaign and enter queue for teleportation.

What about the alliance wars? Is it truly like 100 vs 100? In the trailer it shows massive wars. If that's real this will be my favorite game of all time.

Sometimes there are large battles. Often smaller encounters. There are also trains or zergs that run around and use area of effect spells to demolish anyone in the way.

Also (again forgive my rambling) when I started I made a character. Then my buddy and I couldn't join up because of the race I was. So I bought the upgrade to allow any race any alliance. Could I switch? Or did I have to make a new character? That's what I did, but would like to know for future reference if I can switch at anytime with that upgrade available?

You currently can not switch alliance. You did the right thing by creating a new character in the same alliance as your friend.

In the same vein, are alliances restricted to certain parts of the map? Everything I am doing now is on the northeast part of the map. I think I'm realizing that each alliance is tied to a 3rd of the map. Is this right?

You can only access your factions land - until you reach a certain point in the main quest and is able to travel to the other alliances, though you are not able to meet or group up with members of other alliances. (Currently, as there has been talk of cross alliance interaction)

Also, when they add in dlc like imperial city, will everyone have access to it? Or only a specific alliance?

Imperial City is located in Cyrodiil. Members of all the alliances can enter, though through different entrances. Dlc located in another zone, we are unsure whether they are shared by alliances or not - as we haven't had any yet.

How will that work? We buy the dlc and it fills in new sections of the map? Anyone know how many new sections are planned for the future? And or which ones?

When you have ESO Plus membership, or own the dlc, you will be able to access the zone. We know of several dlc zones and areas that are planned; Orsinium, Murkmire, Clockwork City, Abah's Landing and Mephala's Realm. We also have Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood coming up.

Is dlc bought through crowns? I have 1500 I am saving to use towards dlc and hopefully I can.

Dlc can be accessed through having ESO Plus membership or purchasing it in the crown store.

Again, thanks for any help. There is SO much to learn with this game, I felt dropping all my thoughts here would give me the best feedback Vs trying to google each specific answer.

Thanks in advance! Any other tips for newbies would be greatly appreciated!

Collect lorebooks, as they advance your Mages Guild skill line. Also collect skyshards, as three grant you a skill point. There are addons for these, if you play on computer. Again, if you play on computer, I highly suggest you download ESOLauncher and SweetFX. These rid of fog and provide a tiny saturation boost, to mention a few. Click this for download.

Any links are appreciated too. I'm happy to learn, and is one of my favorite parts of these types of game, learning and mastering the insane amount of things to do!

waterfairy · August 2015

@UrQuan
Insightful as always...thanks again.

UrQuan · August 2015

Vigarr wrote: »

@UrQuan
Insightful as always...thanks again.

That's what I'm here for! Well, that and sweetrolls...

N0TPLAYER2 · August 2015

Thanks for all the help! Some of these seem silly now, but you helped me grasp the game much better. Thanks again!