A newbee discourses on running the lower level dungeons...

erliesc · September 2018

I've run thru about 6 or so. My impressions? A lot of stress involved. Seems the usual thing is to run thru them as fast as possible hacking away...I'd guess to get the best drops.

I usually do regular delves alone...using invsibility potions and sneaking a lot. I take my time and collect stuff along the way...looking for chests and the few higher level crafting reciipes that can be found...plus the SHARDS.

My characters are not total wimps..they can't be when delving alone....and I'm probably doing my share DPS wise. But I only follow the front runners since I'm not sure as to which way to go.

Drops I'm getting are not that impressive...I can find better stuff in regular chests and thieves guild drops out in the back country....plus a boatload of materials, etc.

So when do I get to the good stuff that would pay for all the trouble?

Ingenon · September 2018

Running dungeons without getting an undaunted quest will allow you to accumulate the armor and weapon sets that drop in that dungeon.

Once you are level 45, you can get Undaunted Daily Quests from Maj al-Ragath, Glirion the Redbeard and Urgarlag Chief-bane at the Undaunted enclave in your Alliance capital. Doing these will get you keys and reputation. Keys allow you to get a shoulder from one of three chests. I will warn you that it is a random chance, and takes a fair number of keys to get a shoulder that you want. Reputation levels your character in the Undaunted skill line. You may want to read up on this online: en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Undaunted

If you are not interested in group activities, once your are level 45, you can get a daily delve quest from Bolgar. Which will send you to a delve, and you can take your time looking for chests and crafting recipes as you are doing now, and you will get Undaunted reputation for finishing this daily quest, and a small amount of rewards.

snegurd · September 2018

The "valuable" gear acquired from dungeons are either the 5-piece BoP sets or the 2-piece monster sets.

Some great 5-piece sets are available only in specific dungeons (for example, Ebon Armory in Crypt of Hearts or Burning Spell Weave in City of Ash). To get the sets you have to know which ones you want then run the required dungeon.

The monster helms only drop on veteran difficulty and their accompanying shoulders are obtainable through the Undaunted Pledge system (as @jim_1 said). These 2-piece monster sets provide a small edge to your character and some look pretty cool (if you're into that sort of thing).

Once you get to the DLC dungeons other valuable gear like style-motifs and materials can drop as well.

That being said, gear is not the only reason to run dungeons in ESO. The feeling of accomplishment is personally why I love dungeons so much. Working together with friends to defeat content is a lot of fun, and if you are not happy with the "blast through everything" mentality of people farming gear, I'd suggest joining a social PvE guild where you can find a group of regular people to run through dungeons with. That way you can take your time and enjoy the content.

SockFiddler · September 2018

The experience you get while running the lower level dungeons will prepare you for what comes later. Learning how to move, work with a tank and healer, manage trash vs boss, sustain, survive etc... is all important for effective grouping later on in the game.

And while you might not think the loot in these early dungeons isn't that amazing, there are actually some pretty decent sets to be found. They might not be current best in slot, but they'll be easy gets for newly-minted level 50 characters who need something to wear until you can figure out and then farm their ultimate sets.

ESO doesn't go out of its way to hold a new player's hand and explicitly teach you stuff, but when you play with more experienced people, you will learn and raise your expectations accordingly. Equally, if you "pug" (join random groups) dungeons, you'll learn very little. And from the description of your experience so far, I'd guess you're mostly joining random normal groups who do rush through, each person following their own, brief agenda (and, to be fair, you get to a point when you've run these dungeons literally dozens of times and end up doing them almost on autopilot).

To get much, much more out of the game - and to have conversations like this one whenever you like - try joining a social PVE guild as snegurd has already said. Might take a few tries before you find one you like, but eventually you'll stumble upon people who have a range of experience, who can answer your questions and who will group regularly with you to help you access the harder content as it unlocks.

Don't rush through these early days - enjoy them. If delves are where it's at for you at the moment, go nuts. But some of the best moments I've had in ESO have been in groups, tackling content that at first seemed impossible. Enjoy the progression and have fun!

erliesc · September 2018

My level 47 character tried Spindleclutch I and after several trys I got it 95% completed...but got whupped too may times.

So do you have to complete this to join the undaunted? Maybe if I buy the dummies some drinks I'll get in?

I enjoy going after shards even in the group dungeons...sneaking and so forth..now that's a challenge.

Brute force isn't a whole lot of fun...especially if you can't make the grade. I'm using purple armor...gold weapons...and probably the best potions and poisons at level 47....since my main character crafts everything.

Not looking good for me and the undaunted....

Forztr · September 2018

erliesc wrote: »

My level 47 character tried Spindleclutch I and after several trys I got it 95% completed...but got whupped too may times.

So do you have to complete this to join the undaunted? Maybe if I buy the dummies some drinks I'll get in?

I enjoy going after shards even in the group dungeons...sneaking and so forth..now that's a challenge.

Brute force isn't a whole lot of fun...especially if you can't make the grade. I'm using purple armor...gold weapons...and probably the best potions and poisons at level 47....since my main character crafts everything.

Not looking good for me and the undaunted....

No, you just have to walk in and straight back out to complete the initial undaunted quest, no fighting involved. The quest says visit not complete.