How do I level or at least make the game less tedious?

Oldman_Blackdragon · April 2014

I'm at level 8 and so far it's been one errand after another. I would love to just go into a burial mound or dungeon and just explore and loot and kill, but no so far every quest is "Hey go do this chore for me and get 1/2 a point of xp." I did the starter island and I would say about half the quests I found there were interesting the other half boring. Then moved on to the next zone and I realized after awhile all I was doing was trying to finish the quest so I could move on to the fun part. I swear I'm getting no xp for doing quests and very little for killing monsters. Crafting is fun but its starting to lose it's shine.

I guess I'm looking for more of a Skyrim experience and I'm getting a Baulders gate/wow go do another chore for no reason experience. Can anyone help me have fun?

Ri_Dariit · April 2014

This one gives Oldman advice, yes? Do not worry about experience and leveling, game is made to explore and have fun. If one cares about finishing, one will not have fun, only care about the end. Ri'Dariit has fun, and agrees that some quest share similarities, yet spent yesterday 4 hours just to find treasure on map. Did Khajiit level? No, but Ri'Dariit cared not, but had fun. Point is clear and simple even Oldman can emulate. If you play game you play to have fun. Don't play to win, to finish or to be better, just play for fun. The moment you think about anything besides fun, it is no longer. Regarding your desires for burial mound or dungeon, waiting for two more levels, and you will be fine exploring and surviving. First 10 years always tough. Tough like crocodile Ri'Dariit encountered yesterday after running into M'aiq.

Allumis · April 2014

Its a tough one, generally speaking MMO's have always been quest driven and have boundaries to guide you (you wont find a sandbox experience here), the best advice I can give is go an explore a little, collect crafting materials, find lore books, special crafting stations, I believe each main map after the starting two has 6 dungeons to explore, theirs dark anchors to investigate if you start trying and looking for these things you tend to forget when you're given quests that occasionally go along side them.
You wont get that great sandbox stumble upon something really cool feeling you get in Skyrim however theirs still lots to explore and things to get yourself stuck into. Once you're level 10 you'll be able to step into Cyrodiil too which is a whole new dynamic to the lands of Tamriel.
Lastly take advantage of it being an MMO! Meet people, join a guild and use that to enhance your game play and to make it more enjoyable!

mutharex · April 2014

I am playing it exploring and to me it feels very TES like but I suppose like in every thing, you find what you looking for

Shaun98ca2 · April 2014

I don't know if your trying to get the "story" out of the quest or simply finish it as fast as possible. The quests themselves I find VERY interesting but as for the actual task attached yea looking at that its ALWAYS going to be VERY BLAH kill this kill that click this click that activate gather.

Try to get more involved in what the quest story is telling you then the actual task of the quest.

To me this is way better than WOW fetch to bare arses. There you don't even bother to read the quest texts cause its reading time consuming and just not as engaging as the story being told to you.

You can grind to endgame and skip the story all together or complete ONLY the main story and find other stuff to keep yourself entertained till its time to move the main story further.

Sorry cant really give much help better than that.

Thybrinena · April 2014

The first set of 20 levels could be described as linear but that is typical of MMos in general and some are even calling for more linerarity as certain things are not clear. However, I'm quite confident you'd fine the second set of 20 levels quite different, and for the better. Hang in there, it is worth it

Brittany_Joy · April 2014

The reason why you are mainly talking for the first few quests is because you are low level and weak. Once you gain more levels and become stronger is when the quests become more difficult and more fights happen.

I advise that you listen to the fully voiced dialogue provided in ESO to get involved in the story and don't expect to be a badass at level one. Also the game encourages exploration by awarding a good amount of exp and items. So go explore and PvP once in awhile to keep things fresh and fun.

Rosveen · April 2014

If you get no exp from quests, you overleveled them. But I'm almost sure there are no quests you can overlevel at 8, so you're getting at least some exp. It isn't very fast. You wouldn't want to jump half a level after every quest, would you?

My advice: stop following quest markers. Drop all you're doing, pick a direction and start walking. There are points of interest and public dungeons that no one will direct you to, there are random encounters on the road, caves with not much more than a skyshard or a special crafting station. You'll find quests too, sure, but you won't feel that you're there just to finish them - rather that they're a side objective you happened to pick up while exploring.

Gaudrath · April 2014

Also, nothing stopping you from doing your own thing. For example, I frequently just grab a bow and go out in the wild to hunt stuff and explore. You can find all sorts of interesting things to do. Hidden quests even. You can climb mountains, you'd be surprised at how many places actually allow you to scale sheer cliffs by jumping from one narrow ledge to another.
Then there are dynamic events. Did you know that on occasion clumps of Daedra will drop out of the sky, out in the wild? No, not at Dark Anchors, just in the middle of a forest.
Then there's treasure hunting. Fishing. Gathering. Skyshard hunting, you can find vague tips at their location in your achievements tab.

Hey, sometimes I just walk around a forest. So far I've seen exactly one other person walking, and trust me, it's a great way to experience the art in the game and peel your mind off the rush (I'm a working person and I don't have all day to play, so it's not a question of having time for such things).

And of course, the big momma of emergent fun and content - the Alliance War.

So if you don't feel like doing quests, take a break and do your own thing.

mutharex · April 2014

Yeah, I spend hours going around exploring,gathering,looking for chests or hidden dungeons and I never get bored and if a quest pops up in an organic way, I'll follow it. Otherwise, I just live off the land....

undeadnotseeb14_ESO · April 2014

Find some caves to explore, sure they are not all that big, but most do not have quests tied to them. They simply consist of a handful of enemies, normally one Skyshard, and one mini boss. It can be fun if you slow the game down and enjoy your time playing, do not feel that you have to be the best at something, there are people already level 50 out there. Just have fun and immerse yourself in the world around.

Rastaban · April 2014

Oldman_Blackdragon wrote: »

I'm at level 8 and so far it's been one errand after another. I would love to just go into a burial mound or dungeon and just explore and loot and kill, but no so far every quest is "Hey go do this chore for me and get 1/2 a point of xp." I did the starter island and I would say about half the quests I found there were interesting the other half boring. Then moved on to the next zone and I realized after awhile all I was doing was trying to finish the quest so I could move on to the fun part. I swear I'm getting no xp for doing quests and very little for killing monsters. Crafting is fun but its starting to lose it's shine.

I guess I'm looking for more of a Skyrim experience and I'm getting a Baulders gate/wow go do another chore for no reason experience. Can anyone help me have fun?

Just get to level 10 and then go to Cyrodiil. It may help make things a bit more engaging or exciting for you.

I think ESO is missing some of the best aspects of Skyrim. It's not like you can sneak around, level stealth, steal things, break out of jail, rile up guards and fight them endlessly, get a contract to kill someone, or even lockpick your way around, like Skyrim. There are no dragons either, sadly. No player homes to own or build, or a place to keep your things. No children to adopt, no children running around. No companions to hire, to accompany you. Killing chickens doesn't agitate anyone. You can't even change your appearance. I don't know about the option for vampires/werewolves but it seems like you have to slog through most of the levels before you get that option and even then, not sure if it compares in any way to Skyrim. Add to that very few to no mods. ESO has the setting but I'm not sure if it really has the content... yet.

I think unless you are deep into PvP in Cyrodiil, or you can have fun with those quests, running errands and somewhat monotonous fighting and grinding levels, this game is going to get old quick. The only temporary solution I've found is to play with other people and make it about time with them. Playing solo, in my experience, makes me want to sign out.

mutharex · April 2014

@Rastaban‌ you can't level stealth but you can improve it with passives. A lot of the other things you mention are supposed to be added in the next patches (A Crime and Punishment system with player bounties for example). Or you can use /feedback in game to ask for them

Oldman_Blackdragon · April 2014

Thanks for all the feedback, maybe I will just start ignoring the quests and wander. I probably should give it until level 10. After that maybe leveling won't seem like such a priority for me.

metaldrummer1962b14a_ESO · April 2014

1) Enjoy the story
2) Enjoy the scenery
3) Do the quests
4) Explore
5) Do PvP
6) Craft
7) If none of the above work for you then go back to WoW

spawn10459 · April 2014

Leveling is really really really slow in this game. been on for 2days game time and im not even level 20 and i explored and did every quest in the first 2 zones and found every skyshard.

GuinevereDeNoir · April 2014

"Playing solo, in my experience, makes me want to sign out." Then sign out. Nothing shameful in admitting that this MMO is not for you. What would you expect from us, other players who enjoy it: to convince you? Surely we can't convince you to enjoy it if you can't. ESO is made especially for those who enjoy exploring and story-driven questing. If anyone is bored with this easily, then it's not their game.

mutharex · April 2014

spawn10459 wrote: »

Leveling is really really really slow in this game. been on for 2days game time and im not even level 20 and i explored and did every quest in the first 2 zones and found every skyshard.

I have been on my new character since launch day and I am only level 9 and I think I am leveling too quickly...

deamor666eb17_ESO · April 2014

The best advice I can give you is that try to forget that you're actually leveling.
You are in no rush to level 50. Try to enjoy the game instead of concentrating on leveling.

Leveling should be a journey, not a task.
Once I stopped caring about the levels I really started to like to just play the game.

Gohlar · April 2014

Oldman_Blackdragon wrote: »

I'm at level 8 and so far it's been one errand after another.

Welcome to ESO! Dungeons open up at 12, but the monsters inside don't grant exp.

Enjoy the endless questing! Remember, lack of choice is a feature in ESO. Isn't is great?

Vikova · April 2014

Oldman_Blackdragon wrote: »

Thanks for all the feedback, maybe I will just start ignoring the quests and wander. I probably should give it until level 10. After that maybe leveling won't seem like such a priority for me.

I think part of it may be not getting into the story or alliance details of your quests. Even the quests that tell me to go talk to so and so I enjoyed, because I was curious as to why I was going to talk to that person and what about. I'm a dork like that.

But as others said, progression is fairly slow paced in this game. PvP at 10, secondary weapon/hotbar at 15, and dungeons can help add new angles for you.

Gohlar · April 2014

RakeWorm wrote: »

PvP at 10, secondary weapon/hotbar at 15, and dungeons can help add new angles for you.

Just remember that dungeons and PvP will not give you any meaningful exp.

mutharex · April 2014

Gohlar wrote: »

RakeWorm wrote: »

PvP at 10, secondary weapon/hotbar at 15, and dungeons can help add new angles for you.

Just remember that dungeons and PvP will not give you any meaningful exp.

Apparently they are approaching this 'problem' with the adventure zones, Trials and leaderboard. Do the world events give you xp?

soalrism · April 2014

if you cant find fun by yourself, then beter leave....

Vikova · April 2014

soalrism wrote: »

if you cant find fun by yourself, then beter leave....

All of the wrongs and incorrects.

Lazarus_Long · April 2014

@Oldman_Blackdragon‌ I will agree that the "Step and Fetch" quest motif is over used. That said, get out and explore! There is nothing binding you to the towns. I highly recommend getting out into the world and getting you butt kicked by a few different mobs at least 3 levels above you. It'll change the way you view your skills, your tactics, and maybe the world. Talk to NPC's that don't offer quests or sell things. You might be surprised by what you learn. Also, if you are out exploring and see a torch icon on the map it's worth while to check it out. Join the mages guild to hunt lore books, the fights guild to hunt daedra and undead, and the undaunted to hunt achievements.

Just remember that is not the traditional TES game in a lot ways. The devs had to make compromises to turn it into an MMO that stayed balanced.

Melian · April 2014

From my experience, if you simply wander around and check out whatever looks interesting (there are lots of mini dungeons and such scattered around), you'll complete the quests connected to those places and get lots of exploring experience, too. The breadcrumb quests don't really matter; you can pretty much enter a quest chain at any point.
I do remember level 8 seemed particularly slow for all my characters, though, for some reason.

mcatchlovb16_ESO · April 2014

It's too bad you can't lvl in pvp at all anymore

Vikova · April 2014

Melian wrote: »

From my experience, if you simply wander around and check out whatever looks interesting (there are lots of mini dungeons and such scattered around), you'll complete the quests connected to those places and get lots of exploring experience, too. The breadcrumb quests don't really matter; you can pretty much enter a quest chain at any point.
I do remember level 8 seemed particularly slow for all my characters, though, for some reason.

I think this is because the story really takes off around level 8. So there is a lot of talking/dialogue at that point.

Gaudrath · April 2014

Gohlar wrote: »

RakeWorm wrote: »

PvP at 10, secondary weapon/hotbar at 15, and dungeons can help add new angles for you.

Just remember that dungeons and PvP will not give you any meaningful exp.

Heavens forbid that we should play the game for, what's it called... fun? Was it fun? I can't remember. I've been treading hamster wheels for so long...

You get your vaunted exp from quests and exploration. Dungeons don't give exp because people would grind their faces off then complain they have no faces left.

Funny thing that - in this game you have means to skyrocket your experience via quests that are easily and quickly done 90% of the time, have no grindy requirement (you know, the famous "Bring me 200 boar tusks and 500 sheep eyes! And 10 titan noggins!") and are actually varied and do not always boil down to fedex/gather/slaughter varieties.

But no, it seems some would rather grind and grind and grind ad nauseam, spend 4x as much time for the same amount of experience and consider it time well spent. Strange indeed.

pysgod1978b14_ESO · April 2014

Also, some random NPCs that are not tagged will either give quests or point a location out on the map. They went with both a little bit of Skyrim and a little bit of Morrowind/Oblivion style with some randomness thrown in from drops.