Noob Question: Leveling Skill Lines

mainmanM · March 2018

I'm brand new, level 7 at the moment, and have been told conflicting information about how to level skills. I am an Argonian Warden as I love the idea of a bit of tanking and healing in dungeons/PVP in late game. I am currently just spending points in my main 3 lines (have the 2 basics of each, plus one morph, and intending on getting the Bear Ult in one skill level), but there seems to be a hundred different skills (racial, armour, alchemy/etc.) so I really have no idea how exactly is the most effective way to level up lines faster (more skills on bar is faster?), as well as which lines I should be focusing on first as a Warden?

I also have been told a tank would need stamina, and a healer magicka. I'm not even sure what the difference is, haha.. are they both just 'mana' but magicka more for spells, and stamina geared toward close range skills? The game advised Magicka so I ran with it.

Sorry for the broad question but this game is so different than what I am used to! Thanks! xoxo

Seraphayel · March 2018

Several questions and I will try to answer them as good as I can.

1. Unlocking skills in specific skill lines and placing them in your hot bar increases the experience gain for that skill line - the more skills you "use" of that skill line the faster you will level it up.

2. Focusing first? Depends on what you want to do. Tanking? Sword & Board (or Frost Destruction Staff but that's... challenging). Healing? Restoration Staff. Melee DPS? 2x1hand or 2hand. Bow? Bow.

3. Stamina is the "green" resource bar on the right. You need stamina for sprint, block, roll and for specific stamina skills. Stamina weapons are Sword&Board, Bow and all the other melee weapons. Heavy attacking with stamina weapons returns stamina. Heavy attacking with Magicka weapons restores Magicka. There are only two Magicka weapons, Destruction and Restoration staff. Magicka is the blue resource on the left. Every class skills costs Magicka (unless you morph them into stamina versions what you can do when a skill completes level IV).

Well, we are here to help. So feel free to ask!

witchdoctor · March 2018

First: you cannot mess up a character in ESO. You can change everything, except class and Alliance. So, just have fun for now.

Second: yes, roughly, magicka is for 'spells,' and stamina is for weapon skills. Healers tend to be all magicka, DPS can focus on either depending on if they focus on spells or weapons. (Except staves, staves are magicka). Tanks need a bit of all 3, depending on the class, race, and content.

Other things I think you are asking:

1. Yes, there are many different skill lines. They are opened up in different ways. For now, I'd just focus on having fun. (See above, you cannot mess up a character).
2. You may want to put skills in a weapon. Presumably staff if you are magicka.
3. Yes, the more skills of a line on a bar, the more XP for the line. You can earn XP for a skill even if the weapon/armour isn't equipped. I.E., a staff skill on the bar, even if using a sword, will earn XP.
4. Start training your mount now. Every 2o hours, you can 'feed it' at a stable.
5. Start researching 'traits' for crafting now. You do so at crafting stations in major cities.

Check out the ESO Reddit. Lots of good info in the sidebar links.

Have fun!

Slick_007 · March 2018

just highlight the skill line in your game and it tells you exactly how to level it

CyborgPlatypus · March 2018

Some skill lines are unlocked and levelled in different ways.

Assault and support is by doing pvp

Fighters guild is by doing the quest line and killing daedra and I think undead.

Mages guild is by collecting lore books.

The various crafting skill lines is by deconstructing and crafting.

Undaunted is by doing dungeons and I think delves.

Armor is by wearing armor of that type and getting hit

The rest are just by levelling as normal with skills slotted.

The skills themselves can be levelled by slotting them.

Saphayla · March 2018

Class skill lines require you to have their respective abilities slotted while gaining experience in order to level them up.
Weapon skilllines require you to gain experience while you have said weapon type equipped. Max rank on both is 50.

For both of those, having additional abilities slotted further increases the speed at which the skill line will be leveled up. For example I have three Dark Magic abilities slotted and it's at rank 26, two Storm Calling abilities slotted and it's at rank 23, and one Daedric Summoning ability slotted, and it's at rank 20.
On the other hand, I have two One Handed and Shield abilities slotted as well as two Destruction Staff abilities slotted, but because I use my Destruction Staff a lot more (you can switch weapons instantly once you reach level 15), my Destruction Staff is at rank 26 while One Handed and Shield is sitting at rank 19.

Armor skill lines require you to gain experience while wearing said type of armor. The more pieces you have, the faster the skill line's rank will increase. Because of that, many people recommend having "5-1-1" armor, for example 5 pieces of Light Armor, 1 piece of Medium Armor and 1 piece of Heavy Armor. Max rank is 50.

Legerdemain requires you to pick locks (on chests, doors, etc.) and steal items, preferably by pickpocketing them from NPCs. Once you have some stolen items, you can go to an Outlaws Refuge (they're present in most big cities) and either sell them or launder them. Both actions increase your Legerdemain skill, and laundering items allows you to trade them with other players, put them up for sale in guild stores, and not worry about guards taking them away in case you're caught with a bounty. Max rank is 20.

Soul Magic increases as you progress through the main storyline (the one with the Prophet). Max rank is 6.

Fighters Guild requires you to go through the FG storyline and destroy dolmens and kill Daedra. Mages Guild requires you to go through the MG storyline and pick up lorebooks around the world. Undaunted requires you to obtain achievements in the Dungeons section (press J, then go to Achievements and select Dungeons), by clearing dungeons and getting dungeon-related achievements such as killing 100 named enemies, or healing 10,000,000 health. Note that I'm talking about Public Dungeons and Group Dungeons, not Delves. Max rank on all of these is 10.

Racial skill line has the exact same rank as your character level. Max rank is 50.

Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Clothing, Enchanting, Provisioning and Woodworking have a max rank of 50. To level up Provisioning, use high quality recipes. To level up Alchemy, discover new traits of ingredients and always use the highest level solvent you can. To level up Enchanting translate runes and then ask someone who's a Master Enchanter to create several hundred high quality glyphs for you to deconstruct. To level up Blacksmithing, Clothing and Woodworking, research traits on item, complete daily crafting writs and deconstruct items you find on your travels. Always deconstruct Intricate items, deconstruct green, blue and purple quality items if you have no need for them, don't bother deconstructing white-quality items (unless they're intricate), and never deconstruct, always sell Ornate items. Don't bother with crafting items to level up, it's a waste of materials.