Ashryn wrote: »

Don't forget to try out the different faces as well.

Different faces?

So I think I've gotten it narrowed down to just going through with Templar for now, and the choice is simply between male or female, I think. I suppose I should mention I'm a bit of an altoholic, so I'll probably get to everything eventually. For the moment I'm just kinda trying to decide on 'main' character. Image of the two possible contenders.

I'm leaning pretty heavily on gear preview here just to get an idea of what looks good.

Welcome to the game. If you're on PS4 NA, once you have an active character let me know if you'd like a free delivery of starter 'goodies' to get you started. I'd be happy to send some basic food, gear and mats to help you start exploring the game systems and skip over some of the early grind.

To your question, ESO is vast now...there's no real place to insist that you begin. So it's really about finding what part of the game you enjoy and exploring that. Here are some basic tips though:

Try to identify a class/race/character to make your "main," one that you focus on and play the most. To do this, create a couple of characters of difference classes and try them out. Play them to level 10-15 to get a sense of how they play. You will never have a full sense of a class from just these early levels because so much will be locked until you're higher level, but you can get a basic idea of their strengths/weaknesses. Classes are totally subjective...there are reasons to love and hate them all. Sorcs are great...but I personally hate playing them just as a personal preference. Starting a few characters can help you figure out what class you enjoy and want to commit to.

Once you have a main, make them your primary focus up to vet level (it won't take as long as it sounds). Once one of your toons is a vet, they will earn champion points that apply to every character on your account regardless of level - so having a vet main makes every character you create in the future stronger. But you don't need to understand the champion point (CP) system beyond that for right now. Some players try to level a whole slew of toons at once. I don't recommend this...it gets confusing and too much work. I find it way easier to focus on a main, then go to work expanding your stable once you have a really good grasp on the game. (You'll discover a lot of time saving techniques, honestly).

Since you like RPG-ing, once you have a main you might try focusing on one of the three faction main quests. Each of these pick up in the starter zone city (Vukel Guard, Davons Watch or Daggerfall.) These major quest arcs follow 3-5 major quests through each of the five regions in each faction. They will teach you the basics of the game, and they award a ton of skill points. Alternatively, you can start with the shorter main quests in North Elsweyr, Morrowind or Summerset, which also award a lot of skill points and are designed for new players. My personal choice is the Aldmeri faction quest that starts in Vukel Guard. It's a solid story that feels like a good introduction into the world. (If you're an RPG-er who is concerned about chronology, the game is designed to go in any order, but technically the main storyline (Soulshriven in Coldharbour) occurs concurrent with all three faction quests and the mage/fighters guild. All six meet up at the point you go to the Hollow City. That was the orig. vanilla base game.)

As to your questions about character creation - you are correct that the races tend to be geared toward either Stam or Magic for each race. As a new player, I recommend planning a character that meshes with their racial passives. Pull up a list of 'racial passives' and it is really obvious which suits each race...if their racial passives offer stam/weapon damage that's stamina, and if they offer magicka or spell damage, magic. Gender does not affect anything other than the aesthetic look of your characters.

A stamina templar (stamplar) is a good choice for a starter character. Play with all the physical weapon lines (dual, two hand, bow and sword/board) and get a sense of them. Work on medium and heavy armor...the first boosts damage, the second boosts defense (more or less). Feel free to explore your class skills freely - try to take stamina morphs when possible, but don't fret a mistake since resetting them is easy enough. Spend skill points freely - there are a bazillion in the game.

You might also consider starting a crafting character if you feel like you're going to do that at all (totally optional). And maybe a 'holding' character to carry collected junk. When you create a character, start working on their mount stats daily - speed for your fighters, and storage space for your crafter/holders. However...there are enough skill points in the game now to make a character a fighter and a crafter with full investment in everything you could ever want from their skill lines. My main is my full crafter, which is just easier for me.