I came back to ESO after a long break and even as someone who's completed Caldwell's Gold and all the early DLCs, I found it confusing and overwhelming. Add to it that prologues usually aren't really worth all the traveling and fetching and I can see some of them being wildly confusing to new players with all the zone changing some of them require.

When I started paying, what got me hooked was how well-done the Coldharbour tutorial and the beginner zones were. It made sense, it felt like you were genuinely being guided into the game and it wasn't overwhelming. And since I've been back, I've seen a lot of newer players who after doing the Wailing Prison quest say how much they liked it compared to whatever Chapter tutorials they had originally done. They really need to give new players the option to just do the original progression.

And the prologue quest givers, I don't know, maybe make it clearer they're later game content?

Alliance and starter zones always have questions from new players about which quest they should start, and getting overwhelmed by so many of them.

Having DLC quests, especially if you haven’t finished the main quest and to see Sai or Lyris hanging around must be very confusing for new players.

BejaProphet wrote: »

2. I come to Vulkhel Guard for the first time. What do I find? People offering me quests for every piece of content ZOS has ever created. Are you kidding me?? I’ve got quest starters there from a DLC and the prelude to the same content in a few cases??? How is any new player meant to sort out this mess? And that with you not 25 quest slots..

Yup! This! When I started about three months ago I was so lost because of this. I actually had to start over multiple times to learn how that worked, cus it’s super overwhelming and had me all over the place.

It’s like, dude I just wanna be a noob and start in my noobie zone and do noobie quests. Heck I actually still get confused about some quests not knowing it’s the start of a prologue/ dlc quest. But I learned by force to start it and if it’s taking me somewhere far, cancel it lol. OR just check google for that quest before I do it. 😊

Elvenheart wrote: »

Iccotak wrote: »

THIS is how you hook a player into the game, all the other starts were lackluster and had Zero direction.

https://youtu.be/jY6070A_hi8

This was wonderful! I have been playing since beta and I don’t remember this. They should have never stopped using this!

Exactly the same here! When my brother and brother-in-law started playing the game (because I bought them the game), the start of their journey was confusing as well. My brother-in-law barely got passed the tutorial, and retired at lvl 13.. I had to complete the tutorial for my brother, which was about 13 years at the moment. Overwhelmed, he retired at lvl 27

Even though TESO's storylines variety is good, all of them feel disconnected. New character experience, old character experience... If you're playing for plot and lore, you will be disappointed or at least confused.
You will be forced to create stupid theories like I did. Here, here, the latest one here on reddit - all of these texts feel like stupid attempts to find a truth about TESO's broken continuity and accept is as a "serious lore".
However, more I delve into this, more I understand that TESO is more like a bunch of stories told by a very bad narrator, no matter if it's an Elder Scroll itself or this Khajiit who opens Crown Crates. I mean, VERY BAD. Where are all the writers? It's their job to explain all these things, not mine, not ours! We buy the base game, it's story DLCs - and get no clear answer on what happens in there! It's completely not okay.

I agree with original post. Just yesterday, I was doing quests in Western Skyrim and ran into several brand new players who were totally confused. Since the current tutorial exits them to Western Skyrim, that's where they started game play. I suggested to all of them: (1) Go do the prison-escape quest/tutorial; then (2) go to the training island for their alliance.

I played the new tutorial for Update 30 on the test server (PTS). I like the new tutorial, and think it does a good job orienting new players to game-play (how-to). At the end of the new tutorial, the new player is given options to go to one of the three training islands, or to go to one of the DLC zones. I'm all for giving folks options; but I would like to see the NPC quest-giver for the prison escape also appear first-thing on the training island. That way, the new play completes the new tutorial, and then is tempted to complete the original tutorial next (to learn the back-story).

A pause to remember: I am so very, very, very, very, very glad that I was able to play ESO as it was (as originally designed) at launch (early access on March 30, 2014), before "One Tamriel." First, the PvE content was much, much harder at launch, which made it more challenging and, therefore, more fun. At launch, there was a systematic progression to the PvE content that guided the new player through learning the game and to learning Tamriel.

March 30, 2014: I exited the prison (original tutorial quest) and found myself in the main city in the first Zone of my alliance. I took a boat ride to the training island and did not leave until I had completed all the quests and content. (It is obvious that the training island was specifically designed to learn game-play.) I then returned to the first zone of my Alliance and completed all the quests and content. Then on to the 2nd Zone, the 3rd Zone, the 4th Zone, and the 5th Zone, completing all quests and content and group dungeons when eligible. Enemy level (difficulty) originally increased Zone to Zone to Zone, so the challenge (and the fun) increased. Now, with "One Tamriel" enemy difficulty is the same in all Zones.

While progressing, I also did the quests in the Main Quest sequence when I become eligible to do so (every 5 levels, I think it was). In the original game, we could not fight Molag Bal in the Main Quest until level 45. Now, in One Tamriel, we can start the Main Quest immediately, and finish by level 15 or so. Also in the original game, we had to defeat Molag Bal in the main quest to be able to move to the Zones of the second alliance. And we had to complete Cadwell's Silver to move to the Zones of the third Alliance. Craglorn, when it was introduced, was for top-level (VR10) players only. The delves of Cryrodiil were also VR10, if I recall correctly.

That's more than enough remembering. In short, at launch, ESO was carefully designed to move the new player into the game . . . systematically developing knowledge, skills, and abilities, as content got harder and harder and harder. "One Tamriel" ended that progression, as it also ended enemies getting harder and harder. The original post is correct: Currently, there is nothing in-game that gives hints to the new player about a best-progression to learn the game, in fact, there are elements that make the new player more confused.

There is, of course, a lot of benefit to the current approach, as it allows players to have fun in their own way at their own time and their own speed. It also allows long-time, highly-experienced players to skip a lot of content they don't want to do again. Case in point: When the game first launched, it took me over 80 hours of game play to get to level 50. Now players do it in 1 to 2 hours. Those players just want a new characters, without the bother of repeating systematic development.

One thing that might help: Move the NPC quest giver who introduces the Guild Finder system from "The Reach" to the training island and the first Zone of the each alliance. Perhaps the NPC quest giver could suggest the new player to join a Social guild or PvE guild to get help with the game?

I really like the new tutorial (with Update 30). I think the developers did a great job with it. Hopefully, they add even more ways in the future that might better orient new players, and reduce the confusion. I agree with original post about maybe relocating the NPC quest-givers for DLC content out of the main city of the first alliance Zone.

The really frustating is that if you start a new character, you only get the current 'Choice of the current Module' starter.

What is the point of generating all the other intro-quests whch then vanish one a new one arrives?
This is wasting resources for something that only has a limited window of opportunity.
One would have thought that ZOS would have worked this out years ago but obviously they have not or consider it as marketing the 'latest Module'.

There is the odd case where an intro can be started but the majority of cases no chance.

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Malborn66
PC-EU

Soooo.... the point of this is a lot of players are upset because .... we are NOT being told what we have to do, and when we have to do it ..... correct? We have freedom of choice and that's ... bad. ... ?

I might agree, IF the volumes of information that exist about ESO and being a beginner did not exist. Anyone who starts in on a brand new game without doing some research on it, just so they have an idea of what they are doing at the start.... should not complain if they get confused.

IMHO

Crazyprophet wrote: »

danno8 wrote: »

AlnilamE wrote: »

I agree with the OP.

But not being able to use wayshrines until you lost your soul would be a bit annoying.

If there is a link between losing your soul and the ability to use wayshrines in the story somewhere I have missed it on my many, many playthroughs.

I doubt simply ignoring this inconsistency would cause any extra confusion especially relative to the current nightmare of prologue/DLC/Chapter quest givers and phased NPC's that actively ruin immersion or spoil storyline.

Re the wayshries: it's more obscure lore from a book if I recall. Basically there's a theory that all the wayshrines, which are shrines to the divines in one form or another, are connected on some sort of spiritual level that people could in theory access to form a vast teleportation network.... But only if that person was to unbind their soul from Nirn. Which we sorta did.

So, if we complete the main quest and get our soul back we can no longer use wayshrines. No going back to Coldharbor, and no DLC like clockwork city or Summerset... even if you bought them.

I'm thinking whoever wrote that lore book needed medical attention.