High Population Cities and the Culture They Cultivate

GuyNamedSean · September 2018

So, as an Xbox player, I really only get to interact with the Xbox community. I know that on Xbox we really only have two cities that you're guaranteed to find people assembling and chatting. Riften and Vulkhel Guard. I'm not exactly sure why it's those two cities, but I have my theories.

Unfortunately, those cities are also "renowned" for their culture. Both are widely known amongst Xbox players to be overflowing with trolls, goofballs, duel-addicts, and pretty much anyone else who doesn't have a social guild but needs that social interaction.

What I'm wondering is what cities have thriving communities on other platforms and what those cities are like. Does anyone have interesting stories about their system's community hotspots?

weedgenius · September 2018

How did I know this would be a thread about Riften and Vulkhel Guard?

Katahdin · September 2018

Not sure about Vulkhel Guard, but Riften is or was before housing, the RP Capitol of the game

Mister_DMC · September 2018

Weird, vulkel guard is only full of new players and Max CP trolls that want to duel new players. Riften is empty. Craglorn is the trials hub and money carry scene. Rawlkha is the crafting huh and my usual hangout. Wayrest, Mournhold and Elden root are the big trader cities and dungeon lfg hubs. Ps4 NA.

starkerealm · September 2018

Katahdin wrote: »

Not sure about Vulkhel Guard, but Riften is or was before housing, the RP Capitol of the game

Still is on PC.

Yeah, this is weird though. On PCNA, the major hotspots are Belkarth, Mournhold, Rawl'kha, Eldenroot, and Wayrest, though not exactly in that order.

weedgenius · September 2018

The strangest thing happened to me in Vulkhel Guard yesterday. I was running through while doing Fighters and the main quest on an alt and some dude was /yelling racial profanities. I /yelled "reported" and laughed to myself and kept going. Then like 5 minutes later I got a message from the account with 4,100 gold attached saying something to the effect of "Thank you for doing something about his temper. This is all the money he has, take it." LOL.... what?

I felt guilty because I didn't actually report him

but also NOT guilty because, I mean, it came from the account of the dude screaming racial profanities.

BTW Should I send the gold back guys?? I still feel kinda bad... lol

Just another day in Vulkhel Guard

edit: Here's a picture lol

Imperial_Voice · September 2018

I believe Riften sort of ended up in this position because at launch there were a disproportionate amount of EP players (Coming off the heels of Skyrim for Nord players and Morrowind nostalgia for Dunmer) and the storyline just sort of funneled all the high level EP players directly into Riften and since it was the most well equipped city at the time they stayed there as the main EP hub.

Katahdin · September 2018

starkerealm wrote: »

Katahdin wrote: »

Not sure about Vulkhel Guard, but Riften is or was before housing, the RP Capitol of the game

Still is on PC.

Yeah, this is weird though. On PCNA, the major hotspots are Belkarth, Mournhold, Rawl'kha, Eldenroot, and Wayrest, though not exactly in that order.

Those hot spots make sense.

All major guild store hubs and Crag=trials hub

weedgenius · September 2018

Mister_DMC wrote: »

Weird, vulkel guard is only full of new players and Max CP trolls that want to duel new players. Riften is empty. Craglorn is the trials hub and money carry scene. Rawlkha is the crafting huh and my usual hangout. Wayrest, Mournhold and Elden root are the big trader cities and dungeon lfg hubs. Ps4 NA.

Huh... on PS4 NA Reaper's March is empty and Riften is most definitely as OP described (although OP does't touch on all the racism and homophobia).

DMuehlhausen · September 2018

Hmm on PC NA it's the 3 capital cities and they are always crowded.

Even a lot of other side cities there are quite a few people.

Enemy-of-Coldharbour · September 2018

For many of the reasons listed above, when in cities I put on my virtual 'blinders' and get in and out as quickly as possible.

Sirvys · September 2018

GuyNamedSean wrote: »

Unfortunately, those cities are also "renowned" for their culture. Both are widely known amongst Xbox players to be overflowing with trolls, goofballs, duel-addicts, and pretty much anyone else who doesn't have a social guild but needs that social interaction.?

I believe the word you were looking for is "notorious".

GuyNamedSean · September 2018

I feel like I'm partially responsible for Riften becoming what it is on Xbox. Back when the game came out, I led regular marches from Davon's Watch up to Riften so people could be introduced to Skyrim. I started that on the second day of the game and there was no one there. Didn't take long for it to be very populated.

BretonMage · September 2018

I think many of the high population cities are like that. I've seen/heard trolling in Daggerfall and Wayrest as well.

I love big cities in real life, but I have to say they're quite different in ESO. In ESO I tend to breath a sigh of relief when I get to idyllic little towns like Fell's Run.

starkerealm · September 2018

Katahdin wrote: »

starkerealm wrote: »

Katahdin wrote: »

Not sure about Vulkhel Guard, but Riften is or was before housing, the RP Capitol of the game

Still is on PC.

Yeah, this is weird though. On PCNA, the major hotspots are Belkarth, Mournhold, Rawl'kha, Eldenroot, and Wayrest, though not exactly in that order.

Those hot spots make sense.

All major guild store hubs and Crag=trials hub

Crag is, or was, a pretty major trading hub on PCNA. It trends towards high value, endgame items. Which is kind of weird, because most guild stores don't specialize, in any meaningful way.

Imperial_Voice wrote: »

I believe Riften sort of ended up in this position because at launch there were a disproportionate amount of EP players (Coming off the heels of Skyrim for Nord players and Morrowind nostalgia for Dunmer) and the storyline just sort of funneled all the high level EP players directly into Riften and since it was the most well equipped city at the time they stayed there as the main EP hub.

Back at launch, players tended to congregate at their final alliance cities. So, Riften, Rawl'Kha, and Evermore. The Undaunted Enclaves ended that, and basically killed Evermore and Riften as trade hubs.

Weirdly, Riften was not the original PCNA RP capital that it is now. Used to be you'd run across them in Sentinel and Wayrest a lot. Now it's Riften. I guess they were chased out of the others by PvPer harassment, but honestly, not sure. It's weird.

Ashryn · September 2018

I would agree with Belkarth, Mournhold, Rawl'kha, Eldenroot, and Wayrest being active places for crowds to congregate on PC NA. However...you should also add to that Alinor. Alinor has become a hot spot, especially with crafters (since all the crafting stations & the daily writ delivery area are very close together).

Cadbury · September 2018

weedgenius wrote: »

Huh... on PS4 NA Reaper's March is empty and Riften is most definitely as OP described (although OP does't touch on all the racism and homophobia).

In my experience (PS4 NA), all three factions starting area (Auridon, Glenumbra, and Stonefalls) are like what the OP described. Riften only has occasional flare ups.

GuyNamedSean · September 2018

What's interesting is the only cities on Xbox that you can ever really find people talking in are Riften and Vulkhel. Davon's Watch occasionally has people, but everywhere else is almost completely dead.

DragonRacer · September 2018

weedgenius wrote: »

The strangest thing happened to me in Vulkhel Guard yesterday. I was running through while doing Fighters and the main quest on an alt and some dude was /yelling racial profanities. I /yelled "reported" and laughed to myself and kept going. Then like 5 minutes later I got a message from the account titled "Thanks" with 4,100 gold attached and inside it said something to the effect of "Thank you for doing something about his temper. This is all the money he has, take it." LOL.... what?

I felt guilty because I didn't actually report him but also NOT guilty because, I mean, it came from the account of the dude screaming racial profanities.

BTW Should I send the gold back guys?? I still feel kinda bad... lol

Just another day in Vulkhel Guard

That's hilarious. Sounds like an ESO-playing parent came in and saw/heard what went down, probably sent the kid off to time-out and then rewarded you with their kid's character's gold. LOL

Feric51 · September 2018

That's why I stage all my characters in Marbruk, Greenshade. Decent population flow through there, but mostly quiet on area chat (at least when I actually bother to un-mute it). It's been my "home" city for 2 years even though I have every wayshrine unlocked, been everywhere, etc. It just feels like a quaint little village.

Jinchuu · September 2018

GuyNamedSean wrote: »

What's interesting is the only cities on Xbox that you can ever really find people talking in are Riften and Vulkhel. Davon's Watch occasionally has people, but everywhere else is almost completely dead.

Elden Root tends to pick up late afternoon and early evening EST, I don't really bother going to the other cities because they're full of weirdos (racist, homphobic, xenophobic etc. spam in Riften and people trying to cyber in Vulkhel are why I never go there unless I absolutely have to).

weedgenius · September 2018

DragonRacer wrote: »

weedgenius wrote: »

The strangest thing happened to me in Vulkhel Guard yesterday. I was running through while doing Fighters and the main quest on an alt and some dude was /yelling racial profanities. I /yelled "reported" and laughed to myself and kept going. Then like 5 minutes later I got a message from the account titled "Thanks" with 4,100 gold attached and inside it said something to the effect of "Thank you for doing something about his temper. This is all the money he has, take it." LOL.... what?

I felt guilty because I didn't actually report him but also NOT guilty because, I mean, it came from the account of the dude screaming racial profanities.

BTW Should I send the gold back guys?? I still feel kinda bad... lol

Just another day in Vulkhel Guard

That's hilarious. Sounds like an ESO-playing parent came in and saw/heard what went down, probably sent the kid off to time-out and then rewarded you with their kid's character's gold. LOL

@DragonRacer I know right? It was crazy. I edited my first comment to include a screencap lol.... just bizarre

geonsocal · September 2018

Feric51 wrote: »

That's why I stage all my characters in Marbruk, Greenshade. Decent population flow through there, but mostly quiet on area chat (at least when I actually bother to un-mute it). It's been my "home" city for 2 years even though I have every wayshrine unlocked, been everywhere, etc. It just feels like a quaint little village.

not for long - me and the family are packing up now...howdy neighbor

DragonRacer · September 2018

weedgenius wrote: »

DragonRacer wrote: »

weedgenius wrote: »

The strangest thing happened to me in Vulkhel Guard yesterday. I was running through while doing Fighters and the main quest on an alt and some dude was /yelling racial profanities. I /yelled "reported" and laughed to myself and kept going. Then like 5 minutes later I got a message from the account titled "Thanks" with 4,100 gold attached and inside it said something to the effect of "Thank you for doing something about his temper. This is all the money he has, take it." LOL.... what?

I felt guilty because I didn't actually report him but also NOT guilty because, I mean, it came from the account of the dude screaming racial profanities.

BTW Should I send the gold back guys?? I still feel kinda bad... lol

Just another day in Vulkhel Guard

That's hilarious. Sounds like an ESO-playing parent came in and saw/heard what went down, probably sent the kid off to time-out and then rewarded you with their kid's character's gold. LOL

@DragonRacer I know right? It was crazy. I edited my first comment to include a screencap lol.... just bizarre

I mean, it’s gotta either be that or multiple personalities. LOL

FloppyTouch · September 2018

Craglorn is very busy on xb na too

Sylvermynx · September 2018

I'm happy with Vivec City. The crafting area's a nice tight circle, the stable and wayshrine are close.... A tight crafting circle is important since I run it on 9 girls daily!

Oh - VERY close banking too!

Tasear · September 2018

PC NA

Craglorn
A place of adventure and annoyed farmers. You can find people pugging trials here from nCR to vMOL. Other times, you see people out a window only cause they didn't want to take stairs.

Riften

There seems to always be duels here, some roleplayers and werwolves wandering around here.

Garthwood
Occasionally dance parties and questions about what is the meaning of life.

Aurdion
A bit of polictics, dolemen fair train, and lots of guild notices

Rawkla: reapers march
There's emote battles or fashion show off on pride rock. Also lots of trading going on in zone like. Come here to go shopping and quick access to bank.

Riverspire
There's seems to be abudance or Sorcs and boss farmers

Allkir
Dolmen farmers and some lvl farming locations

Desshan
Always a rowdy bunch, with more pledge offers then the other main cities

Wayrest
Don't go here often, but I feel like it attracts the city like people based on what I see in zone yet. There's also some murders wandering around.

Morrowind: vivec

Easy place to do writs and bg merchant close by.

Bal foyen

Not much here but starting off it a great place to live, with lots of players enjoying the closest stations and bank near house. Its got lots more, but never leave anything important in safedespit here.

runagate · September 2018

Tasear wrote: »

Garthwood
Occasionally dance parties and questions about what is the meaning of life.

Worst theme park idea ever

Hoolielulu · September 2018

weedgenius wrote: »

The strangest thing happened to me in Vulkhel Guard yesterday. I was running through while doing Fighters and the main quest on an alt and some dude was /yelling racial profanities. I /yelled "reported" and laughed to myself and kept going. Then like 5 minutes later I got a message from the account with 4,100 gold attached saying something to the effect of "Thank you for doing something about his temper. This is all the money he has, take it." LOL.... what?

I felt guilty because I didn't actually report him but also NOT guilty because, I mean, it came from the account of the dude screaming racial profanities.

BTW Should I send the gold back guys?? I still feel kinda bad... lol

Just another day in Vulkhel Guard

edit: Here's a picture lol

I suppose temper is in quotes because using the word racist made them uncomfortable?

Rex-Umbra · September 2018

Daggerfall xbox na also usually has that vibe music bsing and duels. Wayrest lots of dueling by Undaunted.

seherrons · September 2018

I'm on PS4 EU and Vulkhel Guard always appears to be the main hub for dueling players, too. I actually don't think I've ever seen any other city/town with so many players wanting to battle it out

Also I don't play the game listening to the zone voice chats, but in terms of the actual zone text chats, Stormhaven has had a few... uh... memorable tales to tell in the past. Speaking of Stormhaven actually, I tend to see more players queuing up at the guild traders in Wayrest than I have in either Elden Root or Mournhold.

But in terms of people just being people and goofing off, I see lots of crime sprees and people giving the guards their daily 30 mins of exercise in Vivec City, as well as the occasional flute/lute/drum off between players by the bank. If you're lucky, you may also be just in time to catch first row seats to watch the group of sorcs somehow managing to teleport themselves on top of that large tower thing next to the blacksmithing station in Vivec City as well

Bless 'em.