Overwhelmed New Player

Breidr · November 2015

Recently bought the Imperial Edition from Bundle Stars after doing some looking into this game. Reasonable B2P with DLC [ESO+ was a bit underwhelming, but it's the same as buying crowns more or less]

I like the way the game handles and the lack of action bar ""bloat" that have turned me off from most MMOs due to my limitations. I've played through the tutorial a few times with different characters to get a feel for things, but I find the game as a whole overwhelming. I haven't played an Elder Scrolls game in over 10 years, and only one at that. I had a copy of Morrowind on XBox and was able to play in with copious amounts of help from cousin. I pretty much just "right triggered" things to death as a Nord because I liked the story, but character development confused me.

I like this game. I like the setting, I like the ideas behind it, but I just feel... lost. I have no idea how to build a character despite doing a lot of reading over the holiday weekend while I was AFK. This game has Tanks and Healers, but I can't wrap my head around how that would work given the combat style. I can't wrap my head around more than just RT swings and LT blocks.

I'd hoped I could beseech some players to give me some pointers on where I can go and what I can do. Questing has been fun so far, but I haven't done much because I don't have a "main" yet. Cyrodil looks interesting, but I'm not sure I could compete. I've been using a controller to help me get a handle on the game. It's easier to manage than a mouse and keyboard, at least to me, but that may hamper my effectiveness in-game, which is why PvP scares me a bit.

If I had to pick favorites, I'm leaning towards Nord agina, with Imperials pulling a second. Dragonknight and Templar seem interesting as well. If I had to pick one it would be a Nord Dragon Knight. I tend to have 2 characters so I can switch between the two and keep things fresh, but with there not being any PvE faction differences, I don't know if I will do that here. It looks like it is best to focus on one character right now.

So let''s just start with a Nord Dragon Knight. I've just rescued the prophet and have leveled up. I have spent no stat or skill points. Where does a new player go from here?

ostrapz · November 2015

What kindof playstyle do you want to go for?

Breidr · November 2015

ostrapz wrote: »

What kindof playstyle do you want to go for?

I was originally thinking of going 2-Handed with a shield on Switch, but it seems that ranged is ""easier" when it comes to some things, so I am rethinking that.

I was leaning towards a melee build using the Nord's durability, but it seems that is the tough option.

ostrapz · November 2015

Well i have never used a dk but nord is a good race. Id recommend you dont pvp for a bit so you can learn game mechanics and skills. A few key things to learn early on. First train your skills, they are nowhere near as powerful until you morph them and max their lvl. Which leads to the next point of attribute point distrubution. This game is interesting in that your moves damage( or sheild power ) scales off of attribute. For example your 2h will do more damage with higher stamina. Dk is interesting from what i hear because of magicka being its main source of damage as well as sheilds, with a bit of moves scaling off hp. So balance your stats early on a bit evenly , after you find which moves you like then you can redo your points based on whether you like magicka or stamina more. Keep in mind most moves either give you a buff or ives your opponent a debuff, which you want to spread your choices so you slow, weaken, and increase damage on opponent instead of 4 or 5 moves that all slow someone down. An range is nice but damage is favorable for melee, and dks are much more up in your face playstyle

Sharkano · November 2015

You will want to level up different skill types and armor types as you go, so just remember that if you have something on your bar (even if you don't use it) it levels that attribute up. For example, if you have a dual wield skill on your bar as you get experience it will level up dual wield skill line. Similarly with armor. If you wear a piece of medium it will level medium up. The more you have on bar or have on (armor), the faster the skill line goes up. Goo luck and welcome.

AverageJo3Gam3r · November 2015

Don't worry about end game power. Mess around with a character for a bit. Purchase any skills that look interesting. You mentioned Templar, that will be a little more forgiving because you can get a heal as soon as you have a skill point to spend that is actually the best heal in the game. Speaking of skillpoints, lookup an online guide for where to find sky shards. You can never have enough skillpoints.

If you're like me, you'll spend your entire first character figuring out what you like, then you'll end up leveling up another character with the end game in mind. Also, don't worry about buying the "wrong" skills. There are shrines where you can pay gold to reset all your skill points.

Nestor · November 2015

Breidr wrote: »

I pretty much just "right triggered" things to death as a Nord because I liked the story, but character development confused me.

It may help to look at your character functionally rather than a user of skills and gear. First thing to understand, that outside of Trials for competitive times and 1v1/1vFew PvP, almost any build can be made to work in the game. Unless you are chasing intimate PvP or Trials times, anything can prevail, well, almost anything.

So, what do I mean by functions? Skill rotations are how your going to do damage and or heal in this game, weapon attacks are fillers to be used in between skills. So, pick and choose skills that provide the function you want. For example, on Slot 1 I put my "Booster" skill, like Inner Light that increases my Crit Spell Chance. You could also use something like Entropy or Power Surge that increase damage. On my second slot, I use an opening skill, usually one that gives damage over time, but also can give a boost to the next skill being used or skills that snare or entrap my opponent. The third slot is my damage spam skill that I tend to use over and over again. The 4th slot will take either another damage skill or a shield or protection skill. The 5th slot I use for some kind of healing.

The functions you layout are up to you, you may have a different set or combo than I have laid out above. However, once you have an idea of the functions, then pick the skills that fit that function. You may find different combos of skills or functions to be more effective, but that is all in experimenting. This also helps when using characters from different classes, as they all tend to have the same functions to choose from. You just worry about the functions you have defined for each skill slot, not necessarily the skill in that slot. You might want to have mostly ranged combat, you might want to get up close and personal with the mobs, you might want to dance around the mobs firing off attacks as you position yourself. That part is all up to you*

Most of the damage you do in the game comes from using skills, not weapon attacks. However weapon attacks are used in between skills to preserve your resource pools. You may have heard of this as "Weaving in Light/Heavy Attacks" and Animation Canceling can come into play doing this too. However, get your skill/function rotation working for you, then you can weave in weapon attacks, and once you get comfortable with that, start animation canceling.

*The key to this game is to be Mobile, Agile and Hostile. This means moving around, blocking, dodging, staying out of the red circles, etc. So, even one who gets toe to toe is going to move around and circle the mob.

Spacemonkey · November 2015

Don't try to be competitive. It's not why you bought the game right? You said so yourself, you really like the story etc...

Try out new skills and get the ones that appeal to you (could be just for animation reasons) - get whatever armor you want. And learn to play.

Come level 30-40, you'll have a pretty good idea of how to become better, and at least if you need to come on the forums at that point to ask how to be competitive, you won't be lost by what we tell you : )

Nestor · November 2015

Also, I want to add, that while leveling, try out all the different weapon classes that you think you might use in order to get them leveled to 38 or so. Same with armors, wear at least one of each type (Light/Medium/Heavy) until your armor skills are leveled into the 40's or even better at 50. This way you can change out builds, skills/functions and rotations without grinding once you reach the VR Ranks.

Of course some of my characters are pretty much Destro Staff characters and that is all they use, but I do have two characters that are fully skilled in all weapon lines other than Restro Staff (for some odd reason, none of my characters use a Restoration Staff).

Waffennacht · November 2015

It does seem overwhelming but that's because there is so much combat and the game doesn't hide content behind starting walls.

You can jump right into questing, crafting, just killing etc.

I started off a PvE player primarily. I didn't PvP at all for the first 3 months of game play. Just take your time, things will all start coming together.

For PvE almost all builds can do well, especially early game. You'll get the feel for it quickly.

Your starting choices are fine, you may make alts down the road, don't fret if you feel like you wanna change.

You'll find lots of advice on the forums. Find anything difficult just ask

Uneed2Stop · December 2015

Honestly dude everyones replies about builds and stuff are great so take the advice, but i will go ahead and say DONT EVEN WORRY about your character build and stuff right now. Chill and enjoy the game. Quest, explore. Do whatever you want build wise. All that stuff will come naturally to you as you level up and get more into the game. Because if you focus to much on 'top builds" for end game then you will end up just wanting to rush through everything and not take your time to take a breather and just enjoy the beauty of the game. I know lots of people like that. They complain about 'grinding' and how annoying it is simply because they are trying to just rush through. None of it is grinding if you take your time and enjoy it like i did!

. I hope you have a great eso experience

EllieBlue · December 2015

Well, looking back when I was a newcomer and totally clueless on how, why, where, what, when in ESO, I wished that I had joined a friendly, casual, social pve guild. Its so easy to ask a pool of people of various level in one place where many would be able to help with all my questions anytime I have one. I think its also much more fun being able to interact with others at times when things get a bit too much. Not to mentioned getting help with world boss, dolmens, dungeons etc.

So, my 2 cents will be.. find a decent social, casual pve guild and just go with the flow of the game. There are quite a lot of such guilds advertising in Guild recruitment section.

Enjoy ESO.. been playing from the beginning and still enjoying it.

Cheers!

Jitterbug · December 2015

Some good advice in this thread. Nice, guys.

I'll just chime in, mainly because I love these beginner help threads. Don't know why.

Put 1 skill from each of your class lines on your bar so they all level up as you go.

Collect materials and either use them for leveling your crafts or sell them.
On the same note, gear you pick up can be deconstructed to level up your crafts or be sold straight up.

The Dragonknight does not start off all too flashy, and really doesn't come into its own before you've played for a little while, so don't discourage if it feels a little tough at first.

And most importantly, ask. In game or here on the forums. Someone is always willing to help with even the smallest things.

Vonovosi · December 2015

1st of all to repeat what was said above is join a guild (or guilds, you can join up to 5 player guilds) That is one of the best way to get access to a lot of good resources, both in terms of items and knowledge. Trade guilds are actually very good in this respect, I should know I am in 4 of them. They tend to be large, full of active long-time players, but many have some small requirement to retain membership (usually no more than logging in once every 7 days or buying/selling 1000g worth of merchandise weekly) In addition they are a great way to make some in-game gold. There are many good guilds out there that are more than happy to help out new players. and don't be afraid to ask questions, this game has an incredibly helpful and supportive community.

Don't be afraid to try different skill/armor/weapon combos out, respecting is not expensive and by the time you get to max level you will have enough skill points to have mastered more than a few skill lines. You really won't have a "build' until you've reached level 30ish. As you become more familiar with the basic mechanics of the game, you will be able to get more detailed advice from more experienced players. I've played all 4 classes up to vet16 at least once and can attest to the fact that there are many ways to approach each class, it's mostly just a case of finding out what you enjoy playing and fits your play style. IMHO a stamina build with 2-hand and sword n board or bow can be played very well as a DK, Templar or nightblade. I've played some combo of those weapon skills on all 3 of those classes and had a lot of fun with them. I have been playing since the beta and still enjoy experimenting with different play styles. In fact I just respeced three of my skills on my vet16 stamina NB (master of 2-hand, dual-wield, and bow) yesterday for 3 skill morphs that I haven't tried before and am having a blast.

As far as your apprehension about tanking/healing/dps roles, that distinction is mostly for group content (which is some of the best in the game by the way) my advice is maybe avoid the tank role until you get a better grasp of the in-game mechanics, as you might encounter some frustration from playing that role in group content. But definitely do the group dungeons they are loads of fun and it is a great way to make in-game friends and see how other players play the game. You will pick up on the tank/hlz/dps thing as you play, all players have to do a little of all 3 roles as solo through the game and all 4 classes have the ability to perform those roles to some extent.

For PvP, the best advice I can give is keep a sense of humor about the situation. I once heard a podcaster talking about PvP say he laughs when he gets killed in Cyrodil, that is probably the best way to approach that content. It's not the end of the world. I mostly do PvE content but have had some truly epic experiences in Cyrodil. it's like any other part of the game, you need to become familiar with the mechanics and see what works for you. Even if you never set foot in Cyrodil there is more than enough content to keep you busy for a long time.

Most of all have fun in the game. Don't pay any attention to the haters out there. Like i said above this game has a great community, but there are always some people who just want to drag you down, but they are in a small minority, much fewer than any other MMO I have played. This easily the most beautiful MMO I have played, so don't stop exploring, there is always something around the corner to enjoy. One cool thing about MMO's is that people play them in a lot of different ways, check out everything and see what you enjoy.

Pheefs · December 2015

Always have some filled Soul Gems of your level, and then don't care if you get killed a bit.

Its worth repeating, Stay Out Of The Red Circle.
or as the joke goes, "don't stand in the stupid!"

Whatever style of play you choose, you will need to make at least slight adjustments from PvE to PvP.
(for example, on my Bow bar I like 'poison shot' in PvE but I switch it for 'snipe' in PvP)

& it doesn't hurt to get a little over level for the PvE map you are on, it drastically changes the learning curve when you are consistently two levels above almost everything you encounter.

& lastly, Scouting Missions and operating Siege Engines are both a great way to get started on the Cyro Map.

Have Fun!

Breidr · December 2015

I've been having a blast on my Nord DK. I don't know if I'm doing it right, but since I have health racials I've been pumping stamina and I've bought a skill from each tree. Fiery Grip is so much fun.

Once I get a grip I want to have a stable of Ebonheart Pact characters and find a guild.

I was also thinking of fulling out the other class with an:
Argonian Nightblade
Dunmer Sorcerer
Imperial Templar

Going full filthy casual with this game. If anybody has any recommendations when it comes to casual PvX guilds on EP, let me know.