State of the Game concerning New Players

LegendaryNinja · May 2020

Dear ZOS and ESO Players,

I've spent the last 6 months or so helping new players understand the game mechanics and systems in addition to hearing their thoughts about the game and the environment. Below I will highlight some of the most critical concerns and suggest unbiased ideas on how to correct them. I hope ZOS looks into this for the future.

1. New Players struggle to understand all the concepts behind gear and normally just always aim for gear that is advertised in really popular build videos in addition to gear that is "required" by their groups or Guilds. My opinion is that if a new player does not run desirable sets deemed appropriate by the community they are most often kicked out of group content limiting build varieties and hybrid play styles; I do understand that there is content that has a DPS Wall players must overcome in order to be successful, however, even if a new player that is able to overcome that wall and just takes a little longer (with sufficient DPS) is also kicked out of the group leading to new players feeling discouraged and disliked by the community.

2. New Players find a lot of difficulty selling items in a guild store because of their steep membership prices. I think this is a critical issue because a few deep pocketed guilds monopolize the few places a guild could sell their items from . I'm not sure why ZOS has not incorporated some type of Global market to this date, and why they are so little slots for Guilds to set up Shop. ZOS is only enabling this monopolization. New Players often spend every last Gold piece because of this. There has to be a way that works with both interest; perhaps a Global store with higher selling fees and a way to make more slots available for smaller Guilds to be able to set up Shop reducing the competition and as an effect reducing Trader Guilds membership costs. This has to be addressed.

3. Earning gold outside of trading is really difficult (players should not be forced to steal). Its really bad the amount of gold that a player earns by killing monsters (needs re-balanced). The amount that gear is sold to NPCs should be significantly increased. Also the amount of Gold that is earned for Quests is really bad. I suggest for the sake of balance for bosses in Dungeons to drop a decent amount of gold, with higher amounts in VET and even higher in Trials (not necessarily the mobs). Stealing cannot be the only way to make decent Gold because we as a community must respect Role Players and some of them have certain rules regarding morality. Gear that you buy from other players is expensive (average of 20k gold a piece). This will also help discourage gold sellers.

4. UI should have a marking system (Specially for Console). This is really important in Vet content, even just one option to mark an enemy so the group could see would be great.

5. New Players are really confused about roles. There should be some type of in-game quest to teach some basic mechanics for Healers, Tanks, and DPS. This should be open ended like for example to explain Tanking mechanics and the benefits of Heavy armor and Taunt but not itemization.

I hope this brings light to some issues that are separate from itemization and skill balance. Please, I welcome constructive ideas that could work for the Majority of players. Stay safe everyone!

Adriius · May 2020

Those are all excellent points.

As a new player, I'd like to add that neither I nor my friends have been able to find one Guild Store that we could even see the items or buy from. (We all started at the same time very recently). This has made it impossible to find needed items for trade. We actually like that ZOS foregoes the cookie cutter "auction house" route, definitely is more Role Play-y, but either the Guilds all have their stuff up as private or...dunno, there's really nowhere in game that explains how this works & "guides" on the net all parrot the same obvious facts...something definitely needs to change w/how they function if it prevents said functionality in the first place. I am totally behind making Guild *Banks* private but wares...just no. Totally defeats the purpose.

Definitely agree about the amount of in game gold recieved for Quests. I've never seen gold for Quests earned so inconsistently and at such a trivial amount compared to the amount you have to spend at vendors. The economy *definitely* needs balancing. (I try to stay away from that word in regards to games as it's become subjective, but think it applies here). It's a rather interesting point that you address, because this has been the trouble I've been having recently-I am playing as a Character that does not steal and it's legit irked me that I've been really tempted to lately. That's a first for me, out of the vast number of games I have played, so you definitely aren't off base here.

And, perhaps adding Armour/Weapons to the advisor isn't a bad idea. Would be nice to know what the game recommends as opposed to cookie cutter blogs for those that it could benefit.

Hotdog_23 · May 2020

1. There are a few toxic people in the game same as in life. Generally, I do not run into them to much in game and if I do, I just avoid them as I do in life. New players should do the same.

Sure, some set’s combination is BIS but in the same thought there is a lot of sets that are not considered BIS but work out just fine in the game. New players are not score pushing for leaderboards but when they ever do, they will no longer be new and have learned about the game by then.

Do wish ZOS would add more information in the tooltips of skill to help better explain what kind of damage they are such as direct and what CP’s buff or protecting against this skill. Masel did a awesome guide here

https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/422268/a-comprehensive-guide-on-damage-dealing-in-elder-scrolls-online/p1

2. New players should not be worried with buying stuff from guild traders early in the game life. Just tell them to enjoy playing the game. Overland content is geared to new or casual players thus they do not need super dps to complete it.

Global auction house has been requested numerous times on the forums before but so far ZOS has not chosen to change how things currently work. As a console player I do wish there was some way to search all the store at once and not have to visit each one. The more guild traders they add each year just continues to add to this problem.

3. I think the gold is balanced well in the game for new players. Nothing needs to be changed here. Again, new players should not be buying from guild stores.

4. Not sure I see the problem here but again I have played for years so maybe I am just not seeing the forest for the trees.

5. Zos has added some help here with the Leveling Rewards guide they added in update 17. Also have new players look at the help section which has a lot of info and look here as well

https://www.elderscrollsonline.com/en-us/newplayerguide/character

Stay safe and have fun

Curious_Death · May 2020

yes zeni adds alot of guides - ye ye ... thats why i was writing a poem of few A4 paper to newbies when farming gear ... coz no1 understood dungeon mechanics... and they admit they wouldnt done this without me explaining mechanics...

after few times i prepared some explainations for futhure players... and just copy -> paste.

Eifleber · May 2020

I understand this is mainly anbout new MMO players vs new ESO players (that have played other MMOs before)?

Why do I say this? Because I started playing ESO 6 months ago (as former GW1 GW2 WoW and EVE player) but my issues with ESO are completely different that mentioned in OP.

zvavi · May 2020

5. I mean. A bit long but...https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/524205/the-undaunted-certification-zvavi-is-bored-in-quarantine

3. Problem is, it is player driven economy, therefore the amount of gold in game will dictate prices. Everything gives double gold = all prices will be double of what they are. Quests could give a tiny bit more. Also they could always go mat farm.

2. I mean, in PC EU there are few social guilds I know that don't require anything and occasionally have a trader. And selling in zone chat is 100% an option. so again, invalid concern imo.

4. It is called elemental drain.

1. The real problem is that CP is really new player unfriendly. Not gear. Not other players.

Kalik_Gold · May 2020

1. New Players will need Gear - All MMO's have a Gear Progression system. They can actually achieve gear thru overland / crafting that can get them access to PUG Trials and be kitted for Vet Trials (endgame) in way less time than other MMO's.

2. Selling is an issue non-guilded as there is a glutton of stuff in this game. Decon if its not a hot item and sell the mats or use it while a New Player for research. You can sell thru chat if necessary... if not vendor and move on.

3. You can make plenty gold without a trade guild. Making Gold is easy once at level cap and cp 160... Gold before then is truly unnecessary, besides 250g a day to feed the horse, and bag space. Level cap can be done in less than a month without xp potions/buffs. Basic Horse is free and first bag upgrade. (Example Inferno Mother Sorrow farm loop, 15k an hour easy on trash sells, this is JUST GOLD . If you get an Inferno or other wanted item, sell for more gold). Can also get a useful set for themselves here if Magicka based - or beginner tank.

You don't need a banker/merchant when grinding when new as Imperial City is now free. It is a once click port to a merchant and a banker. When you exit Imperial City you are right back to where you were in Overland, (except if farming delves/dungeons you will be at the entrance).

4. You can self lock one person (white glow). This would be a great feature for a group setting, if team mates can see who another group member has marked locked on.

5. Tanking and Healers (Support) do need better training / tutorials / target dummies that attack in game. I agree this is something you have to learn thru failure it seems in game.

=====
I am all about helping New Players, but the main problem I have had with new players is the damn story is all over the place.

Create a guide system in game, even though they can do any quest in any order, that guides the person through the game. It can be tied into the Zone guide improvements page that was added in the last year.

VaranisArano · May 2020

Adriius wrote: »

Those are all excellent points.

As a new player, I'd like to add that neither I nor my friends have been able to find one Guild Store that we could even see the items or buy from. (We all started at the same time very recently). This has made it impossible to find needed items for trade. We actually like that ZOS foregoes the cookie cutter "auction house" route, definitely is more Role Play-y, but either the Guilds all have their stuff up as private or...dunno, there's really nowhere in game that explains how this works & "guides" on the net all parrot the same obvious facts...something definitely needs to change w/how they function if it prevents said functionality in the first place. I am totally behind making Guild *Banks* private but wares...just no. Totally defeats the purpose.

Guilds can't list items "privately" if they have a guild trader. Everyone can view and buy the listings at guild traders. Are you sure you are looking in the right place?

Most major cities have guild traders. Mournhold in Deshaan and Rawlkha in Reapers March have theirs right by the Wayshrine, so they should be easy to check. The Guild Traders will be wearing tabards for their guild.

When you access the Guild Trader, the trader menu should come up. It'll look black, with a list of options for item categories on the left, and at the bottom of the screen, it will tell you which button to press in order to start a search. On PC, I think its [R] by default. You can search by category, search by name, or if you just push that button, it ought to show ALL the listings.

Once you can see listings, you hover over the listing you want and activate it to buy.

Hopefully this helps you and your friends to be able to buy from guild stores!

Celephantsylvius_Bornasfinmo · May 2020

New players arrive in Cyrodill -> Eyes and mouth wide open -> 'What is this feature lag?'

Danikat · May 2020

Adriius wrote: »

As a new player, I'd like to add that neither I nor my friends have been able to find one Guild Store that we could even see the items or buy from. (We all started at the same time very recently). This has made it impossible to find needed items for trade. We actually like that ZOS foregoes the cookie cutter "auction house" route, definitely is more Role Play-y, but either the Guilds all have their stuff up as private or...dunno, there's really nowhere in game that explains how this works & "guides" on the net all parrot the same obvious facts...something definitely needs to change w/how they function if it prevents said functionality in the first place. I am totally behind making Guild *Banks* private but wares...just no. Totally defeats the purpose.

Nothing listed on a guild trader is private, but traders can have thousands of items (guilds can have up to 500 members, each can list up to 30 items, so there could be 15,000 items on one trader). There's no way to display them all at once and it's unlikely anyone would really want to look through everything they're selling all jumbled together.

So they start with just the blank menu and you have to enter some search parameters before it will show you anything. That can be as simple as picking a category from the list on the right or you can use text search to narrow it down further, or both. Then you push the Search button at the bottom of the screen

I think ZOS assumed that because all the buttons are on screen it's self-explainatory but you're not the first person I've seen having exactly this problem.

codierussell · May 2020

All of those points have nothing to do with ZOS and everything to do with how the community decided to play the game years ago. Stuff like this and new players needing to be taught how ESO works on a player level is why ZOS needs to work on keeping veteran players happy. With no vets there is no one teaching new players.

Starlock · May 2020

LegendaryNinja wrote: »

1. New Players struggle to understand all the concepts behind gear and normally just always aim for gear that is advertised in really popular build videos in addition to gear that is "required" by their groups or Guilds.

To add, this may or may not be the case.

Perhaps new players who care about the streamer scene might orient this way, but there are a lot of players out there who don't engage with that scene. They don't watch "build videos" and may not care to. Many also don't engage with the "hardcore" group PvE/PvP scene where "required" gear would be spoken of at all. This applies to both new and old players.

Overall, I think it's just a good idea to ask a player what their gameplay goals all and what they like doing. Help them play the game how they want to play it. In my experience this typically happens anyway. Jerks are few and far between.

I really like your points about making gold. Every so often I'll see a comment around here about how it is "very easy" to make gold. This isn't the case for me now, much less before I joined any sort of trading guild. You don't make a lot of gold questing. The gold you do make quickly gets sunk into expanding your inventory and bank space, or buying materials for crafting that you don't have (because you're new). The picture is even rougher for players who choose to play without a subscription. And let's not talk about the price of provisioning ingredients in NPC trader stores.

Destai · May 2020

I think the biggest concern/gripe I've heard from friends I've gotten into this game is how overwhelming it is. There's so many quests and other info thrown at them that's not explained in any way.

codierussell · May 2020

Destai wrote: »

I think the biggest concern/gripe I've heard from friends I've gotten into this game is how overwhelming it is. There's so many quests and other info thrown at them that's not explained in any way.

My question would be why is it different now than when all of us started in 2014? Everyone learned together. Now it is much easier as Youtube and Twitch are much larger platforms with tons of information. It is an MMO and all MMOs have a ton to learn at first.

Adriius · May 2020

VaranisArano wrote: »

Adriius wrote: »

Those are all excellent points.

As a new player, I'd like to add that neither I nor my friends have been able to find one Guild Store that we could even see the items or buy from. (We all started at the same time very recently). This has made it impossible to find needed items for trade. We actually like that ZOS foregoes the cookie cutter "auction house" route, definitely is more Role Play-y, but either the Guilds all have their stuff up as private or...dunno, there's really nowhere in game that explains how this works & "guides" on the net all parrot the same obvious facts...something definitely needs to change w/how they function if it prevents said functionality in the first place. I am totally behind making Guild *Banks* private but wares...just no. Totally defeats the purpose.

Guilds can't list items "privately" if they have a guild trader. Everyone can view and buy the listings at guild traders. Are you sure you are looking in the right place?

Most major cities have guild traders. Mournhold in Deshaan and Rawlkha in Reapers March have theirs right by the Wayshrine, so they should be easy to check. The Guild Traders will be wearing tabards for their guild.

When you access the Guild Trader, the trader menu should come up. It'll look black, with a list of options for item categories on the left, and at the bottom of the screen, it will tell you which button to press in order to start a search. On PC, I think its [R] by default. You can search by category, search by name, or if you just push that button, it ought to show ALL the listings.

Once you can see listings, you hover over the listing you want and activate it to buy.

Hopefully this helps you and your friends to be able to buy from guild stores!

Ahh, those were 2 I visited early on but didn't know about hitting "R". Perhaps I'm thinking of Guild Banks that can be private? (Which makes sense). I had gone thru the catgories, thinking they'd refresh, because that's kinda standard lol but they didn't! Thanks for the tip! Case in point a better "how to" in game at least would be helpful because the help Guide doesn't go over this & nothing I read online did either. I *tend* to be really thorough when looking on screen for "hit this, hit that, etc" and still missed this. Thank you, I'll try that!

Starlock · May 2020

codierussell wrote: »

Destai wrote: »

I think the biggest concern/gripe I've heard from friends I've gotten into this game is how overwhelming it is. There's so many quests and other info thrown at them that's not explained in any way.

My question would be why is it different now than when all of us started in 2014? Everyone learned together. Now it is much easier as Youtube and Twitch are much larger platforms with tons of information. It is an MMO and all MMOs have a ton to learn at first.

Many players don't use either of those platforms. When they do, you'll also inevitably run into the problem of finding the wrong kind of information. Outdated videos you don't know are outdated because you're a new player and don't know that such and such was changed in patch whatever. Videos catering to hardcore min-max players when that really isn't your thing in the first place. Videos that contain so much tangential blathering that they're a monumental waste of your time. It goes on.

I remember when games used to come in boxes. And in those boxes, there were these little paper booklets called manuals. Some of these manuals - especially for RPGs - were thick. They offered lengthy, detailed explanations about the game's options and mechanics. The really cool ones also delved into the lore of the world.

Those were the days...

HowlKimchi · May 2020

There are some trade guilds in the guild finder with no membership or upkeep required. Im on one and I still sell all my alch mats and hakeijos at the right price and at a decent time as well.

codierussell · May 2020

@Starlock The main issue is that the game is so large that you could never make a book for it. As for things changing it is somewhat correct. The stuff that newer players need help with like crafting, enchantments, set bonuses, mundus stones, etc are still the same as years ago. I didn't start researching traits for crafting until mid vet levels because there was nothing in the game telling me it was important. I didn't even know about crafting sets and having 5 piece set bonuses until I was probably vet12.

I would tell every new player that starts the same thing that I told my friend who started a few months back, enjoy the game and quest as it is skyrim. Play the game and learn like we did at the start if you don't want to use other platforms to learn.

idk · May 2020

1. New players always struggle to figure out gearing anytime there is an actual choice. It is why I suggest Alcast as a good reference site since he provides different gear examples. Though I will note it is not a bible. He does not actively play all those builds.

2. There is no reason for a new player, of any player, to join a trade guild that requires paying high dues, or any dues at all. I have never paid dues to any guild and am in a good city. This point makes this thread seem more like a hidden AH thread.

Just in case. Zos stated that they wanted a more decentralized social trading system for various reasons including preventing the selling price for more common items to bottom out as they do on a single point trading system. Further, a single site system creates a larger load on the servers which is even greater since we have a much larger player population on each server than major MMORPG titles like WoW and FF14. Last, a single point trading system are also much easier for bots to exploit.

3. Earning gold outside of trading is extremely easy for anyone who is active in-game vs just standing around while talking to guildmates in Discord or wandering aimlessly through the world. Crafting writs provide over 650 gold per writ for a max level character. When you consider that each character can do all 7 crafts they will bring in over 32k gold per week for one character. Most quests they complete will return the same gold in the rewards.

On top of that those writs regularly provide gold upgrade matts the new player could sell for more gold. They can do easy farming of desirable gear at Dolmens, WBs and delves and sell the jewelry. More gold that is easy for a new player to obtain.

4. The UI does not need a marking system. Especially on consoles since consoles have VoIP. There are few fights that could benefit from it and if someone is not recognizing the mechanics they are not likely to recognize a marker. Training wheels do not work well in those situations.

5. I agree that a training system that is role-specific would be beneficial. However, if they are confused about roles they are actually new to MMORPGs and the true basics are pretty each to figure out. Also, heavy armor is actually not required for tanking. Only a taunt is.

While it is good to provide feedback and I am glad to see new players like yourself coming to the game, there are good active guilds that are helpful for new players learning the aspects you mention you find challenging. I suggest you look for one of them.

TropicsDelight · May 2020

I am new to ESO, having started back in March so I would be the target audience.

1. Sort of agree but mostly because there is a complete lack of information on different stats. It affects not only gear but also CP placement decisions. An example I have zero clue how physical resistence compares to damage reduction. Reading outside of all ESO supplied information on the subject (because there is none) leads to max CP totally geared out meta discussions about soft caps and optimization that is way beyond what a new player needs to know. Like how does 105 physical resistence from armor bonus CP actually compare to a 0.3 pervent reduction in physical damage? Do they both strictly only affect melee attacks?

Is there a minimum physical resistence I shoot for and then go for the percent reduction? Because i do not even see percentage of physical damage reduction in my stats, I just see physical resistence. Plus what is physical resistence? What does 14,000 mean? Does that mean the first 14,000 of damage from a physical attack is resisted or is it just a number used in a formula? It is impossible to make informed decisions because there is basically no ZOS supplied information on this in game.

2. The guild trader system is brutal for new players. Not only is it harder for a newer player to find a guild for it, most guilds want high CP level rich players who have a large supply of valuable items to sell, they do not want a noob selling a level 14 staff and a stack of 5 apples. The more I play ESO the less I like the system. It would be far better if it was NPC/ZOS controlled and any player could access the selling function. It could still be regional, I have zero issue with that but trading should be from a single NPC in a city and be open access to buying and selling for all players. There can be a seperate trader in the sewers gor KOS people.

3. This I dont agree with. There is plenty of gold coming in for lower levels. No lower level players are buying 20k gold pieces of armor, doing that prior to 160 CP is insane. I had zero problems with gold amounts and in fact burned off huge amounts of gold buying gear to deconstruct to level crafting all through the lower levels. If anything gold is more if an issue later because ZOS keeps dropping character bound stuff on my character that I cannot bank like skill respecification scrolls and siege weapons crates, character bound potions and poisons, and dye stamps. I opened the siege weapon crates and I can store rach weapon in the nank individually but that makes each crate take up 6 bank slots.

Plus, ZOS for some reason I "cannot" stack different stacks of the exact same potions, why? Like character bound purple tri stat potions that are the exact same. Should these not stack up to 200 units in the inventory? They will not stack, I have 5 inventory slots taken up atm by 5 short stacks of the exact same character bound tri stat potions. The simply "bound" ones all got banked.

4. I hate marking. Yes it makes things easier but it is unimmersive and removes a lot of the need for skill and being more alert. I find marking to be a similar crutch as tab targeting was in WOW, it just makes it easier to pay less attention to the fight and focus more on button clicks. In the long run that erodes the gameplay and makes a MMORPG into a pure speed button clicking fest.

5. Agree completely. At level 50, or 160 CP, or whatever there should be an optional solo instanced questline for each role in each class that gives you each roles meta tool set/skills, briefly tells you generally how that role works, and then lets you do a solo instance with NPC "groupmates" that tests those skills through this practice dungeon.

Right now to learn to be a healer or tank a player can read up and try to figure things out but mostly they are going to need to wing it and learn as they go and we all know how well many of the dungeon crawlers like that. Healing and tankung in other games like EQ or WOW were way narrower and simple in nature, ESO's playstyle for those roles is way less clear. This is apparent from people who complaign about tanks that "just" taunt the mobs to attack them and then stay alive while the healers heal them. Well yeah, from any other MMORPG that is how it was done..

HowlKimchi · May 2020

One big piece of advice I can give newer players is to join social guilds. There are lots of veterans there that are very willing to assist newer players. Ccountry-focused social guilds are even better imo.

ESO's community is very nice outside of pvp, so i say make full use of that and learn as much as you can from those guys.

Eifleber · May 2020

Youyouz06 wrote: »

New players arrive in Cyrodill -> Eyes and mouth wide open -> 'What is this feature lag?'

In my case it was "where is everybody and how am i supposed to find them"?

Hexi · May 2020

People who are too lazy to figure things out on their own will always be useless and clueless no matter how much you turn the game into a MOBA (like WoW has become). It doesn't matter how low the bar is, people who are too lazy to reach it never will.

zaria · May 2020

codierussell wrote: »

Destai wrote: »

I think the biggest concern/gripe I've heard from friends I've gotten into this game is how overwhelming it is. There's so many quests and other info thrown at them that's not explained in any way.

My question would be why is it different now than when all of us started in 2014? Everyone learned together. Now it is much easier as Youtube and Twitch are much larger platforms with tons of information. It is an MMO and all MMOs have a ton to learn at first.

Might be that game is so open now, before one Tamriel you had to follow the quest lines in your zone.
Now its also events all over half the time.

mague · May 2020

The only thing i would change for new players are new icons for prologue quests and new icons for quests inviting to a new zone/chapter (usually after a prologue).

Those who care to learn the endgame of combat and economy learn it from a guild anyways.

Ysbriel · May 2020

First thing i tell new players:

1) Forget what you did in TES5
2) Forget what you did in previous MMORPG.
3) Here we go by the trinity.
4)Lets get you into the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild and Undaunted.
5) This here is Skyreach.
6) Level 15 already eh? Follow me.. This is Cyrodiil, grab this here siege and keep shootin dammit or we are all going to diee!!

Kimba_Do · May 2020

As a long time player, here is my advice to new players.
1. Don't waste gold buying gear while leveling, just wear what you find until you are at level 50 cp 160. Save that gold, as you'll need it later, and buying gear as you level is a waste, since you'll outgrow it so fast.
2. Get Minion add-on manager from here: https://minion.mmoui.com/
3. Get the TTC (tamerial trade center) add-on. Note that this also has an executable file, needed for processing. What this will allow is access to a very useful pricing guide for selling. Using the TTC website search engine that will search all guild stores is a real boon when searching for items, and can save you a TON of running around. TTC search page: https://us.tamrieltradecentre.com/pc/Trade/Search Note that you can use this search without the add-on. Also note that you do need to have some idea what the item you seek is named, although there is an auto-complete function.
4. Using Minion, consider getting the Awesome Guild Store add-on. This adds a lot of functionality to the guild store search functions. Also, Master Merchant add-on is very useful for pricing as well as long as you are in guilds with a store, although currently it is a bit outdated. Important info here: MM pulls pricing info from the SELLING PRICE for items sold in the guild stores of the guilds you are in, whereas TTC shows the ASKING PRICE of items across all guilds. Asking price is not necessarily selling price. You can put white gear up for sale for a million gold, and that is what TTC will then show, but you won't sell it.
5. Finally, until you are max level/max cp, just enjoy the game. Don't sweat the gear, that will come. Don't be afraid to ask for help in zone chat, as for the most part we're a friendly bunch, and very willing to help with what knowledge we have. And, as always in an MMORPG, just ignore the trolls. If you feed them, they will just grow.

DogeRobert · May 2020

I'm not technically a new player but in many/most ways, I might as well be.

As pertains to the point of joining social guilds, I would really like for there to be an in-game Guild Marketplace.
Not for trading, but with a searchable list of all guilds, with an option to search for those open to new members and a description of the guild, its purpose and its terms for membership...

Right now, its not that easy and I've yet to find a social guild, willing to take on a mostly-solo player with limited playtime, who'd love to get into healing dungeons... Alright, the last part helps, but my playtime is limited enough that I cannot promise to be on every week regularly.. And yes, I know that most guilds prefer differently, but that's the point. If I could do a search on requirements (such as fees, playstyle, required availability, etc.), I could narrow down the list to a handful of matching guilds, I could then apply to join.. Win-win for everybody..

As for the part about learning your role, yes please.. I'm all for that and for every role and class.
Healing on a templar is different from healing on a necro, as is DD'ing, tanking, etc..
A DLC specifically aimed at teaching roles for non-VET dungeons would be a godsend.

And I'm pretty sure, you could wrap it up in a good story as well, making it enjoyable to complete for everybody.
Add a basic item-set aimed at the role, you completed the exercises in, so you can jump straight into your role on the easier dungeons, and the package would be complete.. Not BiS or anything like that, but just enough that when paired with the skills you proved to have from completing the training-"story", you'd be able to fulfill your role in the basic dungeons..

Mazra · May 2020

There are two things I wish they'd fix for new players:

1. Starting quest chain
2. DLC prologue triggers

Starting quest chain
I get that you want new players to try out the cool new content they saw on YouTube, or wherever you've been advertising, but having new players start in the latest expansion completely wrecks the story arc of the player character. And I know you can insert yourself into the vanilla prologue manually, but new players won't be doing that. They'll play through the latest expansion and then get knocked into Coldharbour at level 30-ish where they then get to sit through a rather lengthy prologue designed to teach new players how to dodge and interrupt abilities and stuff.

Suggestion:
Just have people choose their tutorial experience at character creation. "Select your tutorial story: _____" Have the Coldharbour tutorial be the "original story" tutorial or something, so new players know which one to pick to get the content in chronological order.

DLC prologue triggers
"Hold, adventurer!"
"Do you know how long I've been looking for you?!"
"Dragons in your homeland?!"
"Finally, there you are!"

Those are just some of the lines I'm greeted with whenever I go to craft and sell stuff while leveling through the first real faction zone (after the tutorial zones). Every. Single. Time. My compass is overflowing with DLC quests, and every time I show up in a town with an inn (or even just a campfire), some dude named Alessio is there to peddle me some kind of prologue quest involving an oracle or something. While I'm already doing the vanilla story. I mean, calm the hell down, man. I'll get to your DLC content once I'm done with the main story, thanks.

Suggestion:
Cool it with the DLC triggers. Put them on a board somewhere for people to pick up if they want. Having NPCs cruise up to me and vomit one-liners in my face when I load into the area makes for great immersion... the first time. The remaining 200 times, not so much.

The_Old_Goat · May 2020

As a player that's been around for awhile, these kind of new players are the ones I would love to meet in game and help out. Unfortunately most of the ones I meet are asking "what's the fastest way to level" or "how do I make lots of gold", rather than asking the right sort of questions and most likely it's my fault for not spending more game time in the starting zones. You guys are offering great advice to them and my only addition would be to find the right guild, it really can make or break your experience in the game. It might take a lot of surfing guilds to find the right one because unfortunately there are more bad guilds than good that actively teach bad habits and tactics.

Olauron · May 2020

LegendaryNinja wrote: »

2. New Players find a lot of difficulty selling items in a guild store because of their steep membership prices. I think this is a critical issue because a few deep pocketed guilds monopolize the few places a guild could sell their items from . I'm not sure why ZOS has not incorporated some type of Global market to this date, and why they are so little slots for Guilds to set up Shop. ZOS is only enabling this monopolization. New Players often spend every last Gold piece because of this. There has to be a way that works with both interest; perhaps a Global store with higher selling fees and a way to make more slots available for smaller Guilds to be able to set up Shop reducing the competition and as an effect reducing Trader Guilds membership costs. This has to be addressed.

3. Earning gold outside of trading is really difficult (players should not be forced to steal). Its really bad the amount of gold that a player earns by killing monsters (needs re-balanced). The amount that gear is sold to NPCs should be significantly increased. Also the amount of Gold that is earned for Quests is really bad. I suggest for the sake of balance for bosses in Dungeons to drop a decent amount of gold, with higher amounts in VET and even higher in Trials (not necessarily the mobs). Stealing cannot be the only way to make decent Gold because we as a community must respect Role Players and some of them have certain rules regarding morality. Gear that you buy from other players is expensive (average of 20k gold a piece). This will also help discourage gold sellers.

2. New players don't need to be in the very top guilds to sell items. There are a lot of guilds without membership fees. I am personally in one of such guilds now and I don't feel the need to sell in Craglorn or something like that. When I was a new player (at launch), I haven't been a member of trading guild at all. There was no need to sell items, there was no need to buy items. I used gold only for repair my quest-given armor.
3. Crafting is a good way to make gold. With Greymoor you can also use antiquity system to make gold. As for gear, you are usually getting dungeon and trial items for free; you are getting craftable items for the cost of mats (or for free depending on your guild); you can get overland and pvp items for free or buy them from guild stores. But before CP160 there is no point in doing so (especially for such price that you have stated). At CP160 player is not really new and can have gold needed.