The right way to play this game

King4MyQueen · September 2019

Dear ESO Companions,

First thing first: if you don't have any patience to read this long text, just jump to my final question!
I need you to help me answer a stupid but crucial question: how am I supposed to play this game?
I bought ESO a couple of years ago, the basic version ... and I played it just a couple of weeks.
I don't remember so much of that first experience, but for sure I do remember how was the adventure organized: depending on the Alliance, you had a starting point (like Khenarthi's Roost for the Aldmeri Dominion) and you could evolve your pg/story. The starting point was depending on the Alliance, and I know it very well because I started a character for each alliance.
Now I rediscovered this game after 2 years... I liked it, and I decided to buy Elsweyr (and thus Morrowind and Summerset).
But now I am confused about how I should evolve my adventure!
I started a new character, a Necromancer from the Aldmeri Dominion.
The starting point was set in Elsweyr, not in Khenarti's Roost ... so I had the feeling that the game was somehow "suggesting" me to start my journey from the latest dlc.
This actually looks strange to me, I would have expected starting from the base storyline and then doing Morrowind - Summerset - Elsweyr in sequence.
I didn't listen to the "suggestion" of the programmers: I went back to Khenarti's Roost and I am following the base storyline ( just finished Auridon...).
Looking for info in the Internet, I found out it was the same if you bought the game with Summerset: a new character was starting from Summerset.

So, after reading my long text I am asking you:
How am I supposed to play this game, for example with an Aldmeri Dominion character?

Khenarthi's Roost, Auridon and so on --> Morrowind --> Summerset --> Elsweyr

or ...

Elsweyr ... (?) ... and the rest, in some undefined order?

Thanks a lot

Artemiisia · September 2019

if you're talking about the order of how things got released and the games history

Then after you're done with your own faction along with mages guild, fighters guild and undaunted questlines, and killed the big bad Molag Bal, then in the old days the other two factions got opened through cadwell, where you would do cadwells silver and then cadwells gold, you can see them under J ingame.

After that craglorn got released, first and last so far only group content map, some progress was even locked behind entering without all group members having the same quest, painful to say the least. It was also here we got our first taste in trials, AA and HelRa.

Now with one Tamirel you can have fun doing w/e the wind blows ya

beadabow · September 2019

It's open-ended, you can play it however you want! That's the beauty of it. I have 18 characters on the NA pc, the first one (and many long since deleted) were pre-Morrowind characters. The latest is an Elswyr character. I have run through most of the pve content on just about all of them. The latest character started in Elswyr. Like you described, I skipped that to and started with both the main quest (Soul Shriven) and faction quest (Ebonheart Pact). After Bleakrock Isle, Bal Foyen and some of the Stonefalls EP quests, I went to Summerset, started on it to get the Psijiic skill line guild quest, and have been simultaneously doing the Main quest in parts. Confused yet? Ha ha ha. Again, you can play however you want. Happy hunting!

If anything though, I recommend getting Unduanted Guild quest started when you hit level 6 just to do the daily delves- as this skill line takes the longest to level IMO, and is nice to have once you finish it. You only have to enter the dungeon (Eldenhollow I) and can leave to complete the requirement - if you don't feel like fighting.

If you want to level unduanted faster, get with a group of friends (or fellow guild members) and share the daily delve quests. The daily dungeon quests aren't shareable though. Just Bogrul's quests.

DarcyMardin · September 2019

You can do it any way you like, but to my mind it makes more sense if you do it the way you’ve planned above — following your character’s alliance story first, along with the main quest (The Prophet and the Companions). Next you could do the Cadwell’s silver and gold storylines, which take you through the two other alliance quest lines and give you additional skill points. After finishing those, there is a certain amount of continuity gained by following the DLCs and chapters in roughly the same order as they were released. Elsweyr being the last one.

You can jump around among the various storylines, and that’s certainly what I’ve done with my alts, but for my first character I followed the original narrative. I think this made the entire story a lot more coherent.

VaranisArano · September 2019

This guide goes through the various story arcs in order of their release. https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/413807/what-order-should-i-do-esos-story-arcs-a-guide/

Beyond that, you can chose for yourself whether you want to start in the new content in Elsweyr, go back to the beginning and start the Planemeld arc with the Main Quest and faction quests for AD, or do the Daedric Wars storyline beginning in Morrowind.

King4MyQueen · September 2019

Thanks a lot for all the info.
I would have a couple of questions related to your Answers:

1 You said I have to do both Mage + Fighter Guild storyline. Am I really supposed to do the Fighter Guild quests, even if I am a caster (Necromancer)?

2 I just finished Grahtwood. Now I have the possibility to evolve the adventure in Greenshade or in Craglorn ( through the quest "The star gazers"). Where should I go? I actually don't understand so much this "Craglorn" zone, I've looked for info in Google and it seems a bit disconnected from the rest, so I would continue with Greenshade.

3 World Events and Bosses: should I always do them before leaving the zone? Every zone I am always in the situation that I finished all the zone quests, all the skyshards, the striking locales ( with a little help

) etc ... but I rarely manage to complete World Events and Bosses, cause I play always alone, I am lonely wolf. Do they have any relevance in the storyline, or it's just for equipment and leveling?

Thanks, I would have other questions, but I don't want to bother you

VaranisArano · September 2019

King4MyQueen wrote: »

Thanks a lot for all the info.
I would have a couple of questions related to your Answers:

1 You said I have to do both Mage + Fighter Guild storyline. Am I really supposed to do the Fighter Guild quests, even if I am a caster (Necromancer)?

2 I just finished Grahtwood. Now I have the possibility to evolve the adventure in Greenshade or in Craglorn ( through the quest "The star gazers"). Where should I go? I actually don't understand so much this "Craglorn" zone, I've looked for info in Google and it seems a bit disconnected from the rest, so I would continue with Greenshade.

3 World Events and Bosses: should I always do them before leaving the zone? Every zone I am always in the situation that I finished all the zone quests, all the skyshards, the striking locales ( with a little help ) etc ... but I rarely manage to complete World Events and Bosses, cause I play always alone, I am lonely wolf. Do they have any relevance in the storyline, or it's just for equipment and leveling?

Thanks, I would have other questions, but I don't want to bother you

Its no bother!

1. You can always skip questlines that you don't feel fits your character. Fighters Guild will reveal some lore for Meridia, Ayleids, and the Planemeld, which adds some depth to the Coldharbor arc of the Main Quest. Completing the quest also unlocks the crafting station for the Kagrenac's Hope set. If that interests you, its worth a go. If it doesn't, I'd suggest at least joining the Fighters Guild to unlock the skill line in case you later decide you want any of the skills. The skill line will level up as you kill daedra and close dolmens.

2. As you guessed, the Aldmeri Dominion quest continues in Greenshade. Craglorn is a stand-alone area that used to be blocked off for lower level characters, hence why there are carts in any of the alliance capitals that travel there. Craglorn can be completed at any point you want.

3. World Bosses are just for equipment, leveling, and achievements. Delves tend to have short quests, often fetch quest style. Public dungeons usually have a stand-alone quest. Dolmens and Abyssal Geysers are continual world events that grants equipment, items, and are a good source for EXP.
If you want to do World Bosses, sometimes you can ask for help in zone chat. For DLC or Chapter zones, you'll want the help of a group, so its nice if you have the daily quest for that WB to share.