If you were new to the game

Snipress · October 2018

I wish there was a thread like this when I first started this game. I've learned everything the hard way lol.

Sevn · October 2018

Can't narrow it down to just one, but a few points of emphasis I'd have focused on from day one:

Start research process right away, crafting is very important and useful for many things.

You will NOT make a ton of gold doing quest. I was almost completely demoralized trying to scrap up 10k for my 1st mount. It was WEEKS before I even got close to that amount and ended up buying a mount from the CS. Fastest/easiest way to make gold is, for me, stealing and fencing. I can make 25-35k in about 35minutes or so, so wish I'd known that.

Do NOT visit the forums. You will be so turned off by all the overblown whining it will start to affect how you view the game. It will prevent you from even trying dungeons and pvp for at least a year.

Azkure · October 2018

Play the game the way you want to.

Honestly, if you want to sit in a city or town and steal everything, you can! Or if you want to murder everything that moves, go for it! If you only want to grind to max level and don't care about the "side-content", you can...I'd say you're missing a ton of amazing content, but, hey, play the way that you want to.

Also, experiment with different builds.

Don't just use a cookie-cutter build or something you read about how it is flavor of the month or has been min/maxed. If you want to play something off the wall, go for it!

jlb1705 · October 2018

If you're committed to playing this game (not in "try it and see if I like it" mode) then pony up for the ESO+ subscription. Inventory management is a pain, but especially at lower levels when bag/bank slots and the gold to increase them can be hard to come by. The crafting bag and double bank space make inventory management much easier, especially if you're crafting. I was on the fence about quitting the game four months in, and trying out the sub is what changed my mind.
Start researching traits right away. I started playing 14 months ago and I just started researching my last piece earlier this week.
Read as much as you can. Watch videos. Just make sure to check the timestamp on any information you're taking in. A lot of the stuff you need to know at earlier levels is old information. Some of it has changed, some of it has not. A lot of the current information and discussion about the game doesn't focus on what new players need - a lot of the player base started the game a few years ago and have lost touch with what it's like to be starting off on your first character. Most of the forums are toxic, but this sub-forum (Players Helping Players) and the Player Guides one are helpful and the people who read and respond in those are generally kind and understanding. I wish I had asked more questions here early on.
Embarassingly, I wish I had known wayshrines were used for fast travel. Starting off in Morrowind, I can't tell you how many times I counted on silt striders, boats, and caravans to get where I was going. I kinda miss the immersion of doing that, but it was a real PITA that I'm glad to avoid now.
Play how you want. Know the meta and how skills, gear, and buffs synergize not so you can have a cookie cutter min-max build, but so you can make your own informed decisions about how to set up your character to play well but still have fun and match your style.

jainiadral · October 2018

TIL that weapons only restore stamina, not magicka. I had no idea this was the case

My next alt is a magden and I had her using one hand/shield-- glad I read this before I started doing much more than exploring Glenumbra with her

Get crafting certified ASAP if you're interested in crafting at all. You'll get a plethora of mats, and it'll speed the leveling process a lot. Also being able to craft at level is a good stopgap for when you have no money and are getting terrible drops.

Learn to open chests and open every single one you come across. They're decent money, some crafting mats, weapons/armor and a boatload of XP.

Stealing is great money. Probably a good third of what I have banked now comes from looting the ships outside Daggerfall.

FrostFireSpirit · October 2018

I started back in 2014 and things were different then, however If i were new now i would also try and level crafting as soon as possible, also i would have planned ahead to what i was researching first rather than just picking whatever i had available, Infused and Nirnhoned i would have got out of the way first.

Join some guilds as well, social, trading, pvp/pve ones.. even if you don't plan on staying in them you can use the members to fast travel to places you haven't been to yet.

Make sure you choose the right alliance as you can't change it.

Always feed your horses.

Don't bother making any gear legendary quality until you are 160 cp.

Race and name can be changed but cost 3k crowns.

And for me personally, don't try and follow a build guide right away, get to know each skill line, and how you want to play, they were my favourite times, not worrying about your armour and just chucking on whatever i found as long as it increased my stats, just make sure you have 1 piece light,1 medium and 1 heavy to level them all at the same time.

MattT1988 · October 2018

* Start researching crafting traits straight away. Even if your not sure if you want to craft yet, researching traits is a massive time sink and if you change your mind and decide to do crafting a bit later on, you'll absolutely appreciate the head start.
* Deconstruct, sell or research all the gear you don't use. Your leveling up so there's no reason to keep it if your not going to use it straight away.
* Feed your horses, like the researching its a massive time sink and you'll want to get a head start on it early.
* Don't spend crowns on backpack and bank upgrades. There is a merchant that sells them for gold and the first few are cheap as chips.
* You unlock a second skill bar and weapon slot at level 15, keep that in mind.
* Group dungeons unlock at level 10, only three of them start with and they are pretty easy ones. You unlock more incrementally as you level up. Once you hit level 10 I'd recommend queuing for a random daily dungeon every day, each dungeon has a quest in it that gives you a skill point the first time you do it, plus it gives a massive XP boost, also for someone at low level you can sometimes learn some good lessons in those dungeons about how to play, depending what kind of group you get.
* Also at level 10 you unlock PVP. I don't do a lot of PVP so I can't tell you too much about it, but if your into PVP, pick the under level 50 campaign and give it a go, but be prepared to get annihilated early on, its got a steep learning curve.
* Find a few good guilds to join. There's a heap that are very friendly and helpful towards new players.
* Most importantly, don't feel pressured to rush through things, take your time and have fun.