OK, I'm a silver surfer, and I'm not much good at combat. What can I BE in this game?

LadyLethalla · January 2021

I'm not quite 50 but it is so refreshing to see people of such stature enjoying this game!
I played a lot of Assassin's Creed Brotherhood multiplayer, around about 10 years ago and the attitude there was "ewwww, you're OLD".
My closest friends in ESO include a guy a little older than me, a (relatively new) grandmother and a guy in his early 30s, which I still think is wonderful that he likes to hang out with us.

So I just wanted to say, THIS is why I love ESO. Now if only I could get my husband to play...

Jaimeh · January 2021

OP, continue to level, and get a build that suits your character, ideally with buffs for all stats, so you can have survivability while being able to do some fighting. You don't mention in the post which class you are playing, but magsorc and magNB are very friendly for all types of content, plus magNB has the advantage of cloak, so you can sneak past any mobs in your questing that you might not want to engage in (unless of course you need to fight them for the objective). There's plenty of guides out there for new player friendly, easy sorc or NB builds. Then settle on having skills that suit your playstyle, but make sure to have a shield and a self heal. Having decent gear (and also food and mundus buff) along with helpful skills can make a big difference, and will help you move around during exploration. Besides questing, there's antiquities, housing, farming and trading guild, fashion customization... You mentioned you didn't want to delve into pvp and pve, but you definitely can if it's something you eventually want to experience, and you don't have to be great at combat to do so: for example, there's guilds that specialize in slow, story-mode dungeon runs, for players who like to explore the story and might not be necessarily great at combat and mechanics, those would be really nice and stress-free places to start for PvE. As for what role, it comes down to what you enjoy the most, but if you want something less combat-intensive tanking or healing might be the best bets. For PvP, there's no prerequisites, besides being level 10 and you can jump into Cyro or Battlegrounds, and although they are combat-intensive, you can still experience them if you want to, and just don't be disheartneted if you wipe. There's PvP guilds for new players as well, and it'd definitely better to be in a group in overland Cyrodiil as a new player, because that way you can also learn how stuff works there, with sieging, etc. The game can be played at many levels and from many angles, and you can experience a lot of things without having to be a certain way.

Mancombe_Nosehair · January 2021

Just invited you to a nice social guild. They are very helpful and friendly.

ArchMikem · January 2021

If it wasn't said yet you can be a Trader. Join a big Trading Guild and start selling things. Some of the easiest to sell items are crafting materials and gear set pieces that are highly sought after like Mothers Sorrow weapons or any other currently wanted set.

Norith_Gilheart_Flail · January 2021

Honestly, you are old enough to determine what you get enjoyment out of. Continue what you are doing, as you are level 29 you have barely scratched the surface of the nuances the game provides and no one is going to be able to tell you how to play a game where you yourself feel you are well rounded or suited to your niche.

Sylvermynx · January 2021

@Ilkuul - there's one thing I think no one has actually addressed. As you get higher in levels, the amount of boosted combat ability you have reduces. Here's the deal: at level 3, when you have generally finished the tutorial, when you go out into the world, you are actually leveled to CP 160 by the game itself. This begins to decrease over time. And by the time you are at level 50 with your first 10 CP - you're going to think the world has ended when it comes to killing something.

My shock with my first 50 was probably comical (my sister who used to play did laugh). I went from around level 30 or so, able to reliably kill one gem mobs even with my very high ping (and my lack of knowledge at that time of the combat system) to 10 CP when I couldn't kill a troll - of course, I was in heavy armor at that point (because I had some idea of tanking as I had in WoW and RIFT *shakes head*) so the troll couldn't kill me either. Half an hour (yeah....) later I gave up and swam away to get out of combat....

It affects me more than many because of my "not wonderful" connection. But it's definitely something to keep in mind.

huntgod_ESO · January 2021

Buy an MMO mouse like the Logitech g600, Razer Trinity or Corsair Scimitar, offloading your rotation to your thumb will make a huge difference to your play.

Seriously, makes a big difference.

Eirinin · January 2021

Hack the Minotaur has some fun, one bar, builds. Look into sorcerer, as I've found that an easy solo class that allows me to run around and do well against most enemies. It has some self heals, and if you use pets, they keep the focus of the enemies, so you aren't going to take as much damage.

One fun aspect of the game is the financial side of things. Consider joining a traders guild. You can make many thousands in gold every week selling flowers and plants used in alchemy. Depending on how you feel about harvesting materials (I find it relaxing to run around and pick stuff off the ground lol) it can be very profitable, and things sell for me within a day. A few hours of harvesting a few times a week, at a chill pace, can net me 40k+ in gold. Plus the guild I'm.in does raffles and games and is good about helping with questions about game play. So perhaps something like that could bring more social interaction without you feeling like you need to be great at battle.

Another great type of group is the home builders. There are some lovely people who use this game as a giant dollhouse and lego building kit. They create amazing structures and there is a whole subsection of the game that is more Bob the Builder and not He-Man.

Iarao · January 2021

Ilkuul wrote: »

Confession time! I'm a golden oldie trying to play a young person's game. I've done my best, but I've had to accept I'm never going to be much good at combat (that's in PVE, never mind PVP!). I enjoy the crafting system, but would like to do a bit more than "just" crafting. I like the quests, and collecting skyshards and applying skill points (with advice from a friend), and I LOVE exploring Tamriel (in areas where the mobs aren't too overpowering). With help from the friend I mentioned I've reached lev. 29. (We started at the same time, and he's already above CP160!)

So my question is, from you highly-experienced long-timers, what can I 'BE' in this game? Are there areas of involvement where someone like me could play a truly useful role, say in supporting others? Or some kind of solo endeavour I could pursue that would give satisfying rewards?

I really like this game, and would hate to give it up. I'd just be very grateful for ideas on what kind of realistic goals, within my slightly limited capabilities, I could pursue?

Thanks for your input!

i dont know how golden you are, but i am as well, and i have an eso friend who is 83! i would recommend a ranged toon. something like a pet sorc heavy attack build, which is pretty easy to play (i call mine a one bar wonder), does nice damage, and it will let you play solo very easily. a tank has high health and you can usually just beat the enemy down over time, but it will take time. pet sorc is a better deal, imo. alcasthq.com has a pet sorc build.

if you are pc-na, send me a friend request and mention the forums. name is my @ name.

Ilkuul · January 2021

Davor wrote: »

Dang. I got nothing. I guess I am really starting over. So before I do, I am wondering, does alliance matter? I always chose Aldmeri Dominion. So if you are not in that alliance, what are you in so I know what race to look at and see what class to be.

Hey Davor, how is it going? I had a chat with my son today, and he was all in favour of the three of us teaming up when you're able to get started on the EU server. A trio would work quite well: I could be the healer, he would be the damage-dealer, and you could be a damage-absorbing tank—if that's OK with you (we can discuss it). We also thought maybe we could all start with new High Elf or Wood Elf Templar characters, and do the initial quests in the Aldmeri zones (he and I have been based in Vvardenfell till now). That would follow the advice given in this thread, and would be fun for us, as we haven't done much so far in that beautiful part of Tamriel…

I did try to add you as a friend (@Davor), but it said the account didn't exist. Maybe you've used a different name on the EU server. Anyway, let me know when you’re ready to link up. I'm contactable as Ilkuul and my son is SteveyP777.

As far as voice chat goes, my son suggests if you're not already on Steam you could open an account there just for the chat function, if nothing else. It's very clear and reliable. Just leaves the interesting problem of how to align our different time zones! But I'm sure we can find a way around that.

Looking forward to giving this a go!

Ilkuul · January 2021

Mancombe_Nosehair wrote: »

Just invited you to a nice social guild. They are very helpful and friendly.

Hey, thanks Mancombe! I accepted the invite, and look forward to finding out more about the guild.

I'm afraid I missed this whole 3rd page of the thread—didn't realise it had run over—so apologies for the slow response!

FrancisCrawford · January 2021

Ilkuul wrote: »

FrancisCrawford wrote: »

… I use a mouse with extra buttons, and have programmed the most comfortably accessible button for swap. You can do similar things for dodge, crouch, grab-synergy, and so on. The Logitech G300 series is cheap and good for that approach.

What I can NOT do well is fight and move simultaneously. That's a horrible lack in PvP, and limits me in tougher PvE content as well. Perhaps a new mouse with more buttons will help, but that remains to be seen.

Yes, my son has a multi-buttoned mouse and swears by it. Maybe I need to try that. I also struggle with bar-swapping, as well as fighting and moving at the same time—so I would also need a mouse with lots of buttons! Thanks for that suggestion.

Hi again.

I would encourage you strongly to get comfortable playing with two skill bars. That way you can have one destruction staff bar and one restoration staff bar and do well as a healer in any normal-mode dungeon in the game.

And if you have so much as one extra button on your mouse that's easy to use, then bar-swapping becomes easy to do.

Ilkuul · January 2021

ArchMikem wrote: »

If it wasn't said yet you can be a Trader. Join a big Trading Guild and start selling things. Some of the easiest to sell items are crafting materials and gear set pieces that are highly sought after like Mothers Sorrow weapons or any other currently wanted set.

Thanks, ArchMikem—the suggestion had been made, but I appreciate your endorsement. I'll look into it!

FrancisCrawford · January 2021

Anyhow -- on area where it would be hard for you to get as good as younger players would be in avoiding damage. This suggests you should favor classes and builds that are good at self-healing. The most obvious are magicka templar (with Breath of Life) and magicka sorcerer (with the Twilight Matriarch). Those are also the easiest with which to heal in dungeons.

These days I also really like the magicka warden, with Dampen Magicka to stop incoming damage while Lotus and other skills refill my health. The sorcerer (with Critical Surge) and templar (with Puncturing Sweeps) have great ongoing self-healing as well.

Also, pet classes (warden with bear or magicka sorcerer) have two advantages:

The pet commonly takes damage from an enemy who would otherwise hit you.
If you can't find an enemy, your pet may see it first.

If you play a stamina build, slot the heal Resolving Vigor at all times.

Ilkuul · January 2021

Jaimeh wrote: »

OP, continue to level, and get a build that suits your character, ideally with buffs for all stats, so you can have survivability while being able to do some fighting. You don't mention in the post which class you are playing, but magsorc and magNB are very friendly for all types of content, plus magNB has the advantage of cloak, so you can sneak past any mobs in your questing that you might not want to engage in (unless of course you need to fight them for the objective). There's plenty of guides out there for new player friendly, easy sorc or NB builds. Then settle on having skills that suit your playstyle, but make sure to have a shield and a self heal. Having decent gear (and also food and mundus buff) along with helpful skills can make a big difference, and will help you move around during exploration. Besides questing, there's antiquities, housing, farming and trading guild, fashion customization... You mentioned you didn't want to delve into pvp and pve, but you definitely can if it's something you eventually want to experience, and you don't have to be great at combat to do so: for example, there's guilds that specialize in slow, story-mode dungeon runs, for players who like to explore the story and might not be necessarily great at combat and mechanics, those would be really nice and stress-free places to start for PvE. As for what role, it comes down to what you enjoy the most, but if you want something less combat-intensive tanking or healing might be the best bets. For PvP, there's no prerequisites, besides being level 10 and you can jump into Cyro or Battlegrounds, and although they are combat-intensive, you can still experience them if you want to, and just don't be disheartneted if you wipe. There's PvP guilds for new players as well, and it'd definitely better to be in a group in overland Cyrodiil as a new player, because that way you can also learn how stuff works there, with sieging, etc. The game can be played at many levels and from many angles, and you can experience a lot of things without having to be a certain way.

Thanks Jaimeh, you packed a lot in there! I really appreciate the suggestions and will need some time to process them! My character's a Templar, by the way, and my son has been helping me to develop him as a solo player, using something similar to Hack the Minotaur's one-bar builds. But I like the wide range of activities you suggest, and want to try out more of them.

Davor · January 2021

Ilkuul wrote: »

So we're not too worried about mixing alliances. If we're looking to help and support one another, though, it might help if you also had a Templar. We've looked quite extensively into Templar stuff (especially my son), but we don't know much about the other classes.

Let me know when you’re set up, and we can get connected. It might not be today unless it's within the next hour—it's just gone 11 pm out here.

Sorry for the late reply. Spent time with my wife for once.

It's 9:00am here as of me writing. I never really played a templar. I will go ahead and make one. What would you expect from a templar? Only reason I ask is I thought any role could be anything. I like the idea of templar, just want to make sure if you looking for a healer or what not so I can have an idea on how to play him.

*edit*

GAH! I thought I gave my name. Sorry. My real name is Davor, used it on the Bethesda forums since the Morrowind days.

Sadly someone got that name when ESO came out. I use HsojVvad as my name when I can't use Davor.

HsojVvad try that out. Going to make a character now.

Ilkuul · January 2021

Sylvermynx wrote: »

@Ilkuul - there's one thing I think no one has actually addressed. As you get higher in levels, the amount of boosted combat ability you have reduces. Here's the deal: at level 3, when you have generally finished the tutorial, when you go out into the world, you are actually leveled to CP 160 by the game itself. This begins to decrease over time. And by the time you are at level 50 with your first 10 CP - you're going to think the world has ended when it comes to killing something.

My shock with my first 50 was probably comical (my sister who used to play did laugh). I went from around level 30 or so, able to reliably kill one gem mobs even with my very high ping (and my lack of knowledge at that time of the combat system) to 10 CP when I couldn't kill a troll - of course, I was in heavy armor at that point (because I had some idea of tanking as I had in WoW and RIFT *shakes head*) so the troll couldn't kill me either. Half an hour (yeah....) later I gave up and swam away to get out of combat....

It affects me more than many because of my "not wonderful" connection. But it's definitely something to keep in mind.

Wow! Thanks for that warning, Silvermynx! No, I certainly didn't know that. But forewarned is forearmed—to some extent, at least!

Ilkuul · January 2021

Iarao wrote: »

i dont know how golden you are, but i am as well, and i have an eso friend who is 83!

Yikes! At 72 that puts me in the shade. There's hope for many fun years of ESO yet!

i would recommend a ranged toon. something like a pet sorc heavy attack build, which is pretty easy to play (i call mine a one bar wonder), does nice damage, and it will let you play solo very easily. a tank has high health and you can usually just beat the enemy down over time, but it will take time. pet sorc is a better deal, imo. alcasthq.com has a pet sorc build.

Thanks, I may try that for a future toon. The one I'm very involved with at the moment is a Templar, and, yes, with my son's help I've developed a single bar that's similar to the ones proposed by Hack the Minotaur.

if you are pc-na, send me a friend request and mention the forums. name is my @ name.

Sadly, no, I'm on PC/Mac EU. But thanks for the thought!

Ilkuul · January 2021

Eirinin wrote: »

Hack the Minotaur has some fun, one bar, builds. Look into sorcerer, as I've found that an easy solo class that allows me to run around and do well against most enemies. It has some self heals, and if you use pets, they keep the focus of the enemies, so you aren't going to take as much damage.

One fun aspect of the game is the financial side of things. Consider joining a traders guild. You can make many thousands in gold every week selling flowers and plants used in alchemy. Depending on how you feel about harvesting materials (I find it relaxing to run around and pick stuff off the ground lol) it can be very profitable, and things sell for me within a day. A few hours of harvesting a few times a week, at a chill pace, can net me 40k+ in gold. Plus the guild I'm.in does raffles and games and is good about helping with questions about game play. So perhaps something like that could bring more social interaction without you feeling like you need to be great at battle.

Another great type of group is the home builders. There are some lovely people who use this game as a giant dollhouse and lego building kit. They create amazing structures and there is a whole subsection of the game that is more Bob the Builder and not He-Man.

Thanks for those ideas, Eirinin. Quite a few people have recommended Hack the Minotaur, so I'll definitely see how his ideas can improve my existing single bar (I have a second, but never use it!). I also like the trading and home building aspects of the game, so may keep those as reserve strings to my bow.

Ilkuul · January 2021

Davor wrote: »

Sorry for the late reply. Spent time with my wife for once. It's 9:00am here as of me writing. I never really played a templar. I will go ahead and make one. What would you expect from a templar? Only reason I ask is I thought any role could be anything. I like the idea of templar, just want to make sure if you looking for a healer or what not so I can have an idea on how to play him.

Sorry, I didn't see this reply! Overlooked the 3rd page of responses. See my later reply further up…

GAH! I thought I gave my name. Sorry. My real name is Davor, used it on the Bethesda forums since the Morrowind days. Sadly someone got that name when ESO came out. I use HsojVvad as my name when I can't use Davor.

HsojVvad try that out. Going to make a character now.

Oh, sorry! I forgot, you did give your game name! Will try and link with you now…

Ilkuul · January 2021

Davor wrote: »

HsojVvad try that out. Going to make a character now.

Have just sent you a friend request in that name.

spartaxoxo · January 2021

Hello,

My father is in a similar situation as you are. One thing that enabled him to play more solo oriented is that he plays classes with good self heals like Templar and Pet sorc. If you're not really invested in healing and just want to solo some things, you can try making one of these and just avoiding vet content. He always asks for help in his guild and many are welcoming of older players.

Another thing I would advise is heavy attack builds. Because they heavy attack more often they are lighter on the Twitch reflexes. He even can solo many of the non-DLC content with those heavy attack builds!

Good Luck!

ImmortalCX · January 2021

Someone point him to a heavy attack build.

Something like Sunderflame, and fill all his skill slots with passive bonuses. Then all he has to do is heavy attack.

He can learn to use other skills over time.

Ilkuul · January 2021

spartaxoxo wrote: »

Hello,

My father is in a similar situation as you are. One thing that enabled him to play more solo oriented is that he plays classes with good self heals like Templar and Pet sorc. If you're not really invested in healing and just want to solo some things, you can try making one of these and just avoiding vet content. He always asks for help in his guild and many are welcoming of older players.

Another thing I would advise is heavy attack builds. Because they heavy attack more often they are lighter on the Twitch reflexes. He even can solo many of the non-DLC content with those heavy attack builds!

Good Luck!

Interesting to hear your father's in a similar situation. My character's a Templar, so, yes, I do have good self-heals. Thanks for the suggestion of using a heavy attack build—I'll need to look into that.

Ilkuul · January 2021

ImmortalCX wrote: »

Something like Sunderflame, and fill all his skill slots with passive bonuses. Then all he has to do is heavy attack.

Thanks—I'll follow that up.

Charon_on_Vacation · January 2021

Ilkuul wrote: »

Confession time! I'm a golden oldie trying to play a young person's game. I've done my best, but I've had to accept I'm never going to be much good at combat (that's in PVE, never mind PVP!). I enjoy the crafting system, but would like to do a bit more than "just" crafting. I like the quests, and collecting skyshards and applying skill points (with advice from a friend), and I LOVE exploring Tamriel (in areas where the mobs aren't too overpowering). With help from the friend I mentioned I've reached lev. 29. (We started at the same time, and he's already above CP160!)

So my question is, from you highly-experienced long-timers, what can I 'BE' in this game? Are there areas of involvement where someone like me could play a truly useful role, say in supporting others? Or some kind of solo endeavour I could pursue that would give satisfying rewards?

I really like this game, and would hate to give it up. I'd just be very grateful for ideas on what kind of realistic goals, within my slightly limited capabilities, I could pursue?

Thanks for your input!

i did send you a message, feel free to add me.

Ilkuul · January 2021

Charon_on_Vacation wrote: »

i did send you a message, feel free to add me.

Hey, thanks, but I think you must be on the NA server? I'm on EU. I tried to add you, but it said "Account not found". I'd have liked to link up in-game, but it looks like it's not possible.

validifyedneb18_ESO · January 2021

add me, @validifyed on eu if you want, getting back into the game after a half-year hiatus, always happy to answer questions or run daily normals

Ilkuul · January 2021

validifyedneb18_ESO wrote: »

add me, @validifyed on eu if you want, getting back into the game after a half-year hiatus, always happy to answer questions or run daily normals

Thanks, I'll be happy to take you up on that!

FrancisCrawford · January 2021

ImmortalCX wrote: »

Someone point him to a heavy attack build.

Something like Sunderflame, and fill all his skill slots with passive bonuses. Then all he has to do is heavy attack.

He can learn to use other skills over time.

That begs the question of how to farm dungeon gear. Let's not get too gimmicky here.