Dungeon noob here, advice needed

AngryUSAman · June 2018

So, I have never done a dungeon in ESO yet. I have done dungeons in many other MMOs, but never ESO. I have a couple of max level characters, a MagSorc and a Stam DK. I have put doing this off intentionally mostly because of anxiety over my own performance. I've got weaving down and I want to queue as dps since I understand this role to have the least amount of responsibility. I'm looking for tips on how to better prepare myself to get into doing dungeons. Guildmates have said Fungal Grotto I is a good starting dungeon. If anyone wants to suggest a different dungeon that's fine or if anyone knows a guide that deals with how to go about the learning process, I'd love to see it.

BejaProphet · June 2018

Que for dungeon finder and select every dungeon that has a 1 following it. The absolute biggest advice I can give you is to be willing to be crappy so that you can learn to be good. So much of dungeons is about actually knowing the dungeon. You WILL do poorly to begin with. But it won't be nearly as hard as you fear. Your goal every dungeon is not to be good, its to learn learn learn. Ignore the jerks. Joining a friendly guild that knows you are learning is another good option.

The learning process goes in a simple loop...

Fail---->analyze and learn---->Fail a little less

MarleyRain · June 2018

Yeah fungal grotto 1 would be good to start or spindleclutch 1, both the easiest beginner dungeons. I wouldn't be worried at all going into these I go in as soon as I hit level 10. The only way to know is to dive in, then you'll be like dang I was worried for nothing. What platform? I'd be happy to run with you.

Iselin · June 2018

The dungeons unlock gradually as you level and the order that they unlock in is a fairly good guide for the progressive difficulty.

Since you're already max level Qing randomly at that stage is likely to place you in one of the more difficult version 2s or worse, the DLC dungeons if you have ESO+ or bought those DLCs and all of those DLC dungeons are quite a bit harder.

It may take longer if you Q for specific dungeons instead of randoms (and you won;t get the extra rewards for randoms) but for you as someone new to dungeons it'll be worth it.

You can Q for more than 1 though and that will increase your chances of getting in a group faster. Just make a week of it and Q for all the 1s for dungeons that have a 1 and a 2 and don't be shy about letting people know that it's your first time in a given dungeon and ask them to let you know if there are any special trick fights you should know about.

And remember to stay close to the group and don't kite things that aggro on you away from them - always kite toward the tank not away from him/her. Also... a lot of heals in the game are area or cone heals that the healers will place near or aim at the tank. That's where you want to be if you want heals.

AngryUSAman · June 2018

I'm playing on PC in NA, @AngryUSAman so feel free to add me to friends if you don't mind a total noob in your dungeon group

I may attempt my first run later tonight (possibly around 7 p.m. central time or around 2 hours 20 min from now)

dtsharples · June 2018

This guy is a bit of a legend for taking the time to make all of these.

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/405939/all-about-mechanics-dungeon-guide-series

As said already, start with the Number 1 versions of each dungeon, they tend to be a little easier.

And don't worry about your performance, most people are genuinely OK and not ***-bags.
If you are feeling overly worried, tell the people when you join the dungeon that you have to take the dungeon quest, that way they will know that you are new.

Also, you mention that you are in a guild, the best advice I can honestly give, is to do Dungeons with your Guildies - they will be much more patient and understanding than some random in a dungeon finder queue.

AngryUSAman · July 2018

@dtsharples Thanks so much for the helpful guide! This should totally prepare me for what is coming before I even queue.

Raammzzaa · July 2018

You can find a list of all dungeons that can be completed solo in a post on this site. When I was brand new, I soloed a few just to get an idea of what they were like. Obviously much faster with a group, but maybe helpful for you too.

Soella · July 2018

I would suggest to have a self heal and don't rely on healer. Helps in pugs a lot.

Can you solo so named group event in public dungeons? If yes - you are more than OK for normal dungeons.

AngryUSAman · July 2018

Yes, I have done about 12 of the group events in public dungeons solo on my Magsorc. I have run 4 dungeons so far and in one group the leader said we could have done veteran instead with the group we had. I assume I did pretty well because of that but my dps is not as high as I would like it to be. I can hit 60k or higher for aoe but for single target I am struggling at around 15k dps. I use the mystic build on Alcast's site and I have the "beginner gear" listed there.

Thunderknuckles · July 2018

Man, my group of older players would be more than happy to help you. Totally serious. We do, however, play laaaaaaate. How late do you tend to be on?

AngryUSAman · July 2018

Well, I normally play early in the day and tend to go to sleep at or before midnight central time. If you will be running something earlier for some reason let me know about it and I'll do my best to go with you.

FrancisCrawford · July 2018

Some thoughts:

Start out by queuing in normal mode, obviously, and stick with that plan until you're a lot more comfortable.
Start out by queuing for the day's pledges when they're among the easier ones.
For Maj's pledges, easy/non-easy is simple to judge -- are they a "1" or are they a "2"?
For Gilrion's pledges, the hardest are Blackheart Haven and Selene's Web. Don't mess with those until you're a lot more comfortable than you are now.
You could consider going into some of the easiest ones solo to look around and get your feet wet. Banished Cells 1 and Fungal Grotto 1 are the two obvious candidates. Most people would say FG1 is the easier of the two, but I think BC1 is, and I think my wife @DarcyMardin agrees.
Magica sorcerer is a lot easier than stamina anything. Reasons include that you're ranged, and that have Empowered/Hardened Ward. I favor the Empowered morph, because you can cast it on cooldown and have enough magicka to do other things.

And now the biggie: Healing is a very, very good option. I've healed many non-DLC dungeons on a magicka sorcerer, and also White-Gold Tower. Consensus elements of a healing sorcerer build start:

One restoration staff
One lightning staff
Twilight Matriarch on both bars for the burst heal
Elemental Drain on the destro bar because healers are expected to provide that
Elemental Blockade on the destro bar because healers are expected to provide that, and it does great damage
Liquid Lightning, because it's powerful, and because it's a good habit to get in because in more advanced groups than you'll play in for a while, giving synergy opportunities is important.

Healers disagree as to which restoration staff skills they do or don't love. I run Mutagen (or the other morph) always, which is a particularly easy choice to make because I've farmed a set of Spell Power Cure. Even so, I like Healing Springs for semi-emergency situations. I think Healing Ward is underrated and Combat Prayer is overrated (in 4-person groups).

Ditto ultimates. Personally, I'm a strong believer in the LIght's Champion ultimate, but think Aggressive Warhorn is overrated in 4-person groups. I often just use Thunderous Rage when healing.

AngryUSAman · July 2018

@FrancisCrawford Thank you for the suggestions and insights into healing. I have been wanting to try out healing, but I was thinking of doing it on my Breton Magplar since he is currently level 41 and, from what I've heard, that race/class combo can be the strongest healer in the game. I was going to level him to 50 as mag DD and then switch him over to healing once he hits 50. How easy is healing on a templar compared to Magsorc healing?

FrancisCrawford · July 2018

AngryUSAman wrote: »

@FrancisCrawford Thank you for the suggestions and insights into healing. I have been wanting to try out healing, but I was thinking of doing it on my Breton Magplar since he is currently level 41 and, from what I've heard, that race/class combo can be the strongest healer in the game. I was going to level him to 50 as mag DD and then switch him over to healing once he hits 50. How easy is healing on a templar compared to Magsorc healing?

I've healed on all five classes. They all work.

Drilling down, Templars' advantage in healing is quite debatable:

Breath of Life is the canonical burst heal in the game. But the Twilight Matriarch is in most people's opinion even better. And I commonly use Healing Ward (a resto staff skill) over Breath of Life.
Channeled Focus is nice for sustain, but other classes have their own sustain advantages, so again that's not a big deal.
Minor Mending (down from Major Mending some time in the past) is nice, but most guides will tell you the numbers don't matter much, and I agree.
I'm sure Ritual of Retribution/Extended Ritual is very valuable at times, except that I don't know whether Efficient Purge is as good or better. The reason I don't know is that I've only healed 26 different dungeons, and the need for purging hasn't come up, although I suspect it might arise in one of those (Ruins of Mazzatun) had I done it in vet mode.

However, I still in the past have preferred Templar, and paradoxically the reason is that it has the best "damage" rotation for healers. Assume your destruction staff bar, irrespective of your class, features Elemental Blockade, Elemental Drain, and a non-class ultimate. That leaves three other slots. On a Templar, I usually fill those slots with:

Luminous Shards, which is the best "battery" skill in the game and also does decent damage.
Purifying Light, which with a decent group does strong damage and also provides a heal.
Reflective Light, which does decent damage and also provides small personal and group damage/healing buffs.

That's the best hybrid damage/utility rotation I've come up with for any class.

Merlin13KAGL · July 2018

You're overthinking it. Just jump in.

You're going to run into the occasional ***, regardless of how well or poorly you do. It just comes with the territory.

Sparr0w · July 2018

Difficulty goes:

Anything ending with a 1 (FG1 is the easiest)
Anything un numbered that's not a DLC dungeon
Anything ending in a 2 (these are the same as the 1 variants but with a lot more mechanics)
DLC dungeons

Honestly any 1 dungeons on normal are a cakewalk. If you have 1 form of self heal you could probably solo them.

Un numbered ones need a semi decent group, the main difference is stuff hits harder and some have mechanics

the 2 ones have a lot more mechanics so expect a couple wipes if you dont have a good group

DLC ones are the hardest ones, some have 1 shot mechanics, some have mechs that require coordination with the rest of your group. Being honest I'd say 1 dungeons and un numbered on vet are easier than DLC dungeons.

AngryUSAman · July 2018

Merlin13KAGL wrote: »

You're overthinking it. Just jump in.

You're going to run into the occasional ***, regardless of how well or poorly you do. It just comes with the territory.

To be fair, I have done four dungeons so far, but when I first posted this I wanted to be as prepared as I could for the experience beforehand. I tend to enjoy reading guides and doing research before playing a game that requires a build, strategy, or any sort of forethought.

Of those dungeons that I did, no one was rude to me yet so maybe I got lucky, or else the community in general is made up of mostly cool people.

Thanks to everyone who has posted in this thread. You have helped me a lot.