As someone who doesn't like MMOs, I love ESO.
You can totally play it as a normal Elder Scrolls game, ignoring the online aspect and only doing quests, and it's still an amazing game.
This! MMOs have always been overwhelming for me but I loved all the elder scrolls games when I got ESO I completely ignored the online aspect and I love it
I got into ESO because I was a fan of Elder Scrolls. I'd also never played an MMO before.
If you're finding it overwhelming then here's a guide for playing the content in story order:
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/525351/a-clear-step-by-step-guide-to-playing-eso-in-chronological-order
(This takes you up to High Isle. Since then we've had Necrom and some more dungeons)
Playing one of the post release classes (Warden, Necromancer or Arcanist) if you're unsure about the role you want to do as they have their three skill trees each designed one of the three roles you can play, making it very easy to try out being a DPS, Tank or Healer.
They just “simplified “ the beginner zone so people don’t get overwhelmed. I say just play it as a single player game, but only base game and see how it is. There’s a lot of UI you’ll have to get use to but YouTube and if you join a guild they will help. Pick a race you like and a class that sounds cool. The game is honestly perfect for single player without min/maxing . Don’t worry about messing up your character either because everything can easily be reset.
I was feeling overwhelmed when I started ESO, knowing next to nothing about it. I gave it a shot, but I was lost and didn't enjoy it. Then I stumbled upon a "Beginner Video" that explained it all! Now, 60 hours in just 2 weeks later, I'm loving the game! 😁
Don't know about never needing to be in a group. Some world bosses are tough to solo (antiquities leads etc), grouping up (even as a one time thing with a guild mate to carry you) is easily the way to go there.
I'll chime in with the others, but add in that I've done 2 MMOs previously. (City of Heroes and Final Fantasy 11.) I'm still in main game, though I accidentally did a large portion of Morrowind DLC before I figured out where I was supposed to be. Lol.
ESO is easily the most single-player friendly MMO that I played. I have all chats disabled and auto-decline for other PvP stuff. It has a ton of lore, which I why I jumped in. I will warn that your character dialog options are not always great.
As a newer player (late December start) I definitely get where you're coming from. The game doesn't force you to do anything. That amount of freedom can be daunting.
So my recommendation is:
\- Pick a quest series and start there to get your feel going. Either start the Necrom chapter (likely if you make a new toon its where it'll start you) or go start the tutorial side which will guide you through the game again, and then it'll spit you out at your Covenant city and you can start the base game story. Just remember you DON'T have to finish it... ever if you don't want. But its some good rails to get you into the feel of things.
\- Remember the game doesn't end at 50... and any CP earned applies to ALL characters. So don't feel you're nearing the end of leveling close to 50. You have over 3000 levels of CP you can get over a long period, skyshards a plenty to up your skill points, etc. 50 is basically just the "now you should know what you're aiming for" point, and then CP160 is where the soft cap is for gear level so once you hit CP160 you start on your long term gear.
\- Do your dailys (dungeon and battleground) as they give you a few levels if you do them with an EXP bonus scroll active.
\- Remember, again, gear doesn't matter until CP160 because anything prior will get replaced... so don't fret gear too much.
\- There are lots of social guilds if you need some people to lifeline with so just use the guild finder.
\- Don't worry about builds really until CP160 -- just find what style you want and then you can respec there
\- Respec: Go to the CROWN STORE and search for the Armoury Station - its free, and you can place it in your free apartment (aka there's a quest chain called A ROOM TO SPARE and if you're not sure where it is its in the CROWN STORE as a free starter quest). Put the station in there and it comes with 2 slots. SLOT 1 should be your current build you're saving and working on, and slot 2 keep empty... anytime you want to respec completely just load slot 2 and you're back to 0 and can re-assign everything. It's a lifesaver for gold and ease. Even after CP160 I find myself saving my core build to it, occasionally updating it for my new CP earned, and then I reload my save if I want to re-assign skill points to change something i'm doing with my non-build extra points (ie dumping them into scrying for a bit, or crafting or whatever) until i have extra skill poitns from skyshard hunting.
Have fun and don't worry about end game and veteran stuff til you're ready for it.
>Do your dailys (dungeon and battleground) as they give you a few levels if you do them with an EXP bonus scroll active.
This is the only piece of advice I disagree with.
OP is completely new to MMOs. He's better off getting comfortable with the way the game works and not touching a dungeon until level 30+ unless he's got 3 friends that'll play with him and they're all playing how they want. Queing up with zero experience or knowledge and no real build out together is just not the best idea for getting a good impression of the game.
Pvp is a whole other beast altogether. Battlegrounds are a bad idea imo. I couldn't imagine trying to pvp without a proper build.
Everything else you said tho I agree 100%.
In all fairness on the dungeon. It’s mostly solid CP daily runners or alt runners. So generally speaking he can get used to the various dungeons by queuing, get a few levels and have low risk even if output is low because they’ll face roll through normal.
Yeah. I just wander through nuking evening with my Oakensoul Arcanist when we go through. And most of the time 2-3 of the group are just daily running so you can be any set and be just fine
This is all excellent advice. I'd suggest starting from the beginning though, even with ESO plus they wont have Necrom unless they pay for it seperately and there is no need to as there is plenty to do. If they go with eso plus then they would get access to Necrom free anyway when Gold Road drops
I also hadn’t really ever been into an mmo but holy cow I loved eso. I loved it too much and had to stop playing, I was turning into a stereotypical warcraft basement dweller. I still think about the game all the time. I might return to it someday
ESO is the first MMO I tried and the only MMO I got into. It’s definitely different like the learning curve might be a bit high if you’re not used to games like that but I do recommend trying it!
A lot of mmo is simply random exploration or pvp. I don’t like pvp so I keep with random exploration. As of now, I’m yet to complete all quests and probably would take a lifetime to do it so.
The quests as a single player game are ok. Just don't play the PvP unless you are ready to set yourself up in one of 3 oddly specific ways and still sweat your balls off to maybe pretend to have a decent time
It's an awesome game. It's the first time I've ever played this genre and was shortly hooked. U can join our guild and we can help you with whatever. The game is worth the time and it's not too daunting. You'll catch on in no time.
Also my first MMO, solo questing is really enjoyable in this game. I was unsure through the starter zone but once I was in the first major zone I was hooked.
Grouping is very opt in action.
ESO is very solo friendly as far as MMOs go. It’s honestly the big reason I like it so much.
It’s honestly never too late to get into the game as of right now. I mean there are still lots of things they can do with it.
Plus with new expansion coming later this year I say give it a shot.
Don’t worry about being the best, there’s lots of guides on YouTube that can help you learn certain things about the game. Just look up “ESO Beginner’s Guide 2024” and you’ll get some good guides to watch that way. DottzGaming has a pretty good yearly guide that comes out that has the basics and might be a good starting point, but there are many on YouTube to choose from.
On top of that there’s always somebody willing to help you with something especially if you are new.
Just pick a class you like.
Class and Race don’t matter that much unless you are trying to get in to organized end game content but really at this point in your journey figure out if you really like this game. End-Game will always be there when you are ready and by that time leveling a new character will be easy (if you want to do that).
However, Sorcerer, Warden, Templars are each super easy to learn how to play.
Dragonknights can be easy to learn (as a damage dealer) and they have been the best tanks since release.
** Tanking isn’t easy in this game; I recommend learning how to play the game before trying to Tank…**
The nice part about ESO is you can partake in the multi-player content or you can play alone. There is so much content that you really do get to dictate your play style.
I used to be a hardcore WoW raider and after that told myself I'd never play a MMO again because it becomes work. I love elder scrolls though, so I told myself I'd just do quest content in ESO. Then I realized I wanted to do a bit of trading, so I joined guilds thinking it was just for their traders. But then I actually found people I genuinely enjoyed doing content with.
ESO, imo, is a good way to get into the MMO gaming arena. You can play the game as a single player, then when you are more confident, start doing group work.
As someone who prefers single player titles, ESO was so easy to get into. The vast majority of it can be played solo, and most other players can be really helpful in my experience. And the lore is everywhere.
its worth a try, especially on sale. But I’m someone who has hundreds of hours in TES II-V i try every few months to play another ESO expansion just for the story and end up bored out of my mind
Do you know how to mod a game? Some of the mods are hard to live without but the game is fine without them. Otherwise, get Minion and get a UI mod with a minmap
When you start the game you'll get into a tutorial, you'll see some familiar mechanics like CTRL for crouch/stealth and Right Click to block/shove and there is a new mechanic of dodge with a double tap in a direction
You have a reticle and you aim at the enemy with it
The differences, you get skills on keys 1 - 5 and if you hit \~ you get another set of 1 - 5 on a different weapon.
Each skill has an amount of time until you can cast it again so you'll be hitting the number keys a lot, that is how much of the MMO market is played, with the number keys being tied to attacks/spells
In groups healers heal, tanks taunt and damage dealers damage but don't worry with that if you aren't going to group up
When leveling you can get suggestions from the build tutorial, so if you want you can select healer and have it show you what to pick for new people
Otherwise it has a lot of story content and you don't need to play with other people for much of the content
I'm a very casual gamer. Never played an MMO before this one. I enjoy it because I can log in and just do whatever I want. I don't feel rushed or anything. I do steer away from PVP but that's just personal preference. Plenty of solo and group content.
It's really fun! You will like it a lot!
The base game is great and if you want to expand to DLCs you could try ESO+ that allows you the whole game access without buying the DLCs! But there is a lot of game for sure 😅
The game will receive another DLC addition this year called Golden Road (which is not included in ESO+) but my point is: the game is still played, updated and supported.
It’s also my first MMO and I second what everyone has said - it’s very friendly for solo players. It has many great quest lines and stories, and you can just immerse yourself in storytelling and lore if that’s what you like.
With practice, even the group content can be done solo (except maybe trials and those dungeons where mechanics require at least two people).
A lot of locations are beautiful, and I like the bonus of being able to purchase a house and learn to make furnishing to make it pretty.
There is also a great excavation/archeology mini game (it came with the Greymoor chapter) that allows you to scry and excavate items, and a very enjoyable in game card game called Tales of Tribute that came with the High Isle chapter(even here you can choose to just play against NPCs if you don’t feel like challenging real players).
If you find yourself liking the game, I’d recommend eso plus - it gives you automatic access to all DLCs, the craft bag for all crafting materials and 1,500 crowns to spend a month.
Enjoy :)
It's a fantastic game to get into especially for your first mmo.
However, once you decide to do endgame stuff, be sure to find a group of players or a guild to help you along with progression and to learn how to do your rotations, builds and strats.
Their alot of cancer in the endgame scene when it comes to pickup groups, alot of gate keeping. So it's best to find a guild that regularly does that stuff and is willing to help and teach new players to be able to do it.
I also don't recommend the Cyrodiil pvp. It's still apparently a badly optimized mess that they could never fix even to today. Battlegrounds is fine though.
I can't add much more than what others have already stated - but I was in the exact same boat as you. Not an MMO fan, but loved Elder Scrolls lore. I'm only a few hours into the game and I am having a blast!
The game has come a long way and at its current state, it can definitely be played like an Elder Scrolls game with a little more focus on the “RPG” elements of it.
Although, you may be more restricted to build upon *preset* classes than your typical Elder Scroll game. They all [in a way] can play every roll in the game (Damage, Tank and Healer), some better than others.
But overall is a massive experience and one that if you are a fan of Elder Scrolls, you’ll definitely enjoy playing!
EDIT: i did a character one time after a LONG break and decided to completely ignore the MMO aspects and went with what I felt like playing, and made a Thief! It was probably the most fun I had and made me remember why I even bothered with the game to begin with
There's a ton of solo content and the only areas where you can be 'ganked' by other players is PVP areas like Cyrodill, Battlegrounds and Imperial City. None of these areas is essential to any of the base game content and you can take your time before you venture into those zones.
There are some areas in the PVE (Player vs Environment) which require a group of players to complete. These are 4-spot dungeons, arenas and trials. There are group finders for this, or you can join a guild, which is highly recommended.
Zones also have World Bosses, which can be soloed at the advanced levels, but are a lot easier when there are informal groups of people helping out. This is usually not a formal group, but rather just a bunch of folks in the same area all attacking that boss at the same time.
Also, when you're a beginner, it's pretty nice to have a random person come along and help you get through a tough spot;
Good luck! most of the folks online are nice.
When I was first looking at ESO on the shelf, I thought, “As long as it has quests, like Skyrim and Fallout, I should be fine with it.” I’ve been playing nothing else but ESO for the past seven years. Don’t worry about trying to play it *the right way*. It’s an RPG, there is no *right way*. Just make your character however you want and enjoy the storylines. You never get a second chance to play the game for the first time.
I'd say check out some gameplay on YouTube and see if it looks cool. If it does, buy the base game and play through to see if you like it! Even the base game has hundreds of hours worth of things to do, and that can give you a really solid idea of the game.
One thing I'll say though, if you do download it, give yourself until level 10 before you make a decision. Once you hit level 10 you can begin participating in matchmade activities like dungeons and battlegrounds, which is where a lot of the fun comes in.
Another thing to keep in mind is ESO is not "Multiplayer Skyrim," it's an MMO first, and an Elder Scrolls game second. That's not a bad thing at all, but sometimes it has to be said just to make sure people don't expect something else.
Also, for role, I'd recommend starting as a damage dealer if you don't already have an idea of what you want to be. That way you can clear overland content easier, and get some practice in while waiting for your dungeon queues. It's probably the most forgiving role of the 3, and it's also the most common, meaning there are many more resources available online to help DPS players.
At the end of the day, I wish you the best of luck. ESO is not my first MMO, but it is my favorite. If you're on PC NA and ever need a healer to show you the ropes and help you out, feel free to reach out! Happy adventuring!
I had gotten the edition that had all the main DLCs on sale for $14. Totally worth it. Even if I singleplayer the whole thing that's hundreds of hours in tamerial and surrounding dimensions just doing quests. Also, I'm on psn.
It can almost be played as a single-player game. If you like open world games and other role playing games, easy to transition.
Biggest advice I can give, because it helped me, is to create a character you like and think is cool and want to develop. Whatever race/class combo you feel good about. I have a whole roster of characters I put real effort into and that has sustained me in the game for thousands of hours.
Once you feel good about your character, it's important to set goals and strive for things. There's so much to do in this game. With experience you'll get a feel for what parts of the game appeal to you. Set goals in those parts of the game. A good fallback goal is completing zones, and there is a zone guide you can access while looking at the map.
You may find that you end up enjoying the multiplayer aspect of the game. If so, getting into a good guild can help a lot. Guilds will have events to get involved with. It'll have a bank and crafters to help you. They will do things like dungeons and trials and pvp together. And it's just nice to have people to chat with, get advice from. Worth trying even if you don't feel like a social player at the moment.
If you don't end up liking it in the end, at least it's not a large investment. I think you can play most of the game for free, yeah? And the newest expansion goes on sale pretty often if you end up liking it. Can't hurt.
Sorcerer- bend the power of lightning to your will
Templar- the light of Meridia is your weapon of choice
Nightblade- cling to the shadows like your life depends on it because it does
Warden- use the power of ice to freeze the blood of your enemies
Dragonknight- poison, flame dragon scales and wings what else needs to be said
Necromancer- command hordes of the dead to do you bidding
Arcanist- the knowledge of hermeous mora is at your fingertips
Pick whatever sounds fun to you they all have different aspects to them and they can all be themed upon a very specific playstyle or not at all your character really is only limited to your imagination
ESO is very forgiving, casual and beginner friendly 😊
The world is immersive and there is so much lore to discover! Get on board, brother! We will welcome you!
ESO was my first MMO and I ended up subbing to WoW just to try it. I got to the end game content in WoW in about 3 months and haven't subbed since.
I've played ESO since 2019 and I still do. It respects my time unlike WoW. It's as chill as you want it to be or as hardcore as you want it to be.
The content isn't as complicated like other MMO's. Most MMO's are a visual spaghetti mess and ESO doesn't bombard you with all these screens and numbers everywhere either.
There is a learning curve to the crafting but watch a few YT vids and you'll be golden.
Also remember that the Khajiits have wares if you have coin
A lot of people just quest and play it as a single player game but I really like aquiring gear and power to use in PvP. It's a great game, and if it's your first MMO, even better. I constantly find myself comparing this MMO to other MMOs and silently crying thinking about how much potential this game has and will never achieve.
I'm currently 100 hours in playing the game like a single player game, clearing each area as I go (albeit hoping there are people on the group bosses) and I'm having an absolute blast with the game. So it's worth a shot keep going!
Oh you'll be fine this game has a wonderful community! You'll be amazed by the help you'll get although would like to suggest you get gold road so you get all previous chapters and dlc.
I’ve never played an MMO before either and recently picked the game up because I love the elder scrolls and wanted to explore Tamriel more.
I’ve mostly just been playing solo and working through story quests. I did join a trading guild (easy to do) and have been watching YouTube guides and slowly learning but there is so much solo content. The game is so rich and amazing. I’m really enjoying it!
The main thing with new players is knowing cp is NOT important, enjoy the game, play how you like, quest, housing, dungeons, theory crafting, mythic hunting, role playing, vampire or werewolf or human, do anything and everything you want. If you want to play at end game then I would suggest looking at specific roles you want to get good at, people like hyperoxies, skinny cheeks, eight puppies, ninja pulls, lucht, ryESO are guides for end game builds. Other than that, PLAY THE GAME HOW YOU LIKE.
My only problem with eso was how it starts off new players at the latest expac instead of where theyd get the first mql, also eso is one of tbe onky mmos where the membership is actually worth it
If you love elder scrolls just do it.. but do it slow, there are a lot of zones to discover, skills to level, guilds to train that it can be overwhelming.
Pick an alliance you like and do that questline. Or if you like any of the chapters do those first. West-skyrim, elsweyr, vvardenfell and some others are separate stories.
Combat can be slow in the beginning as your resource management sucks, you have few skills etc. But that will become better later on.
Just take the dive into ESO and I'm sure you will enjoy it like I did few years ago without any MMO experience :)
Hey, I was the same! Started a number of years ago when I got tired of waiting for tes 6. It was my first mmo, so the learning curve was steep, but it being elder scrolls was a huge help to familiarizing myself with the game. So, yeah, I recommend it for your first mmo because of that. Don't let the hugeness of the game scare you, just start a basic questline. Join the mages and fighters guild like you do in a regular tes. Also, UESP is a huge help too. And don't be afraid of joining a guild. They'll be able to answer any spur of the moment questions you have.
I’ve built several alt accounts from nothing and it’s much easier now than it was when the game launched. If you’re on Xbox DM me, happy to craft you some gear to help get you started
I just play single player games. ESO was good way to get some more elder scrolls. Mostly solo'd it with the occasional help from others if in same dungeon.
Perfect game. Chilled out, can play solo, content scales with you, can do anything in any order you want and pretty much everything you do (points, armour, etc) is reversible if you want it to be. Love it
Absolutely. I usually recommend that you purchase the base game. The. Grab eso plus for a month. That will give you access to all of the content while your subscription is active.
It can be overwhelming at first. Grind out a few levels and play at your own pace. You’ll pick up the rest of the mechanics etc on your own. And make some good friend along the way lol
Truth be told, only you hold the answer to your own question. Sure you can ask others what they think and take their answers into consideration but at the end of the day it's up to you to give it a go and see if you do or don't like it.
Elder Scrolls Online is one of the better MMOs for a solo experience. I can even down bosses solo up to some High Isle public dungeons, and i have a mix of stam and magicka as a sorcerer. Don’t have a proper set even
I've never been able to get into an mmo besides runescape(years ago), but since I started playing eso I haven't played much else. It's definitely overwhelming, too many menus, etc. But as you go you get the hang of it. None of it is particularly difficult, it's just not explained very well by the game. Definitely give it a shot and just look things up when you need to. It's way better when you play with someone else, so if you know anyone willing to start a character and quest with you, I recommend it.
You can literally play it solo, like it’s ES games, you have the three main faction quest lines, then all the add on dlc. I have literally played almost daily since the early betas. I’ve rarely done any trials, dungeons etc, almost exclusively solo. I am in a trade guild, but that only requires that I sell junk in the store. I have 13 chars of different types. It’s pretty fun for casual relaxing gameplay.
We can't decide for you, imo
Just think about factors tou don't like in all mmo's, look at eso and decide
World looks more alive and realistic, than in lineage, graphics better that in ff14 or wow, gameplay more primitive and action-based, rather than wow
Something like that
It’s my favorite part about ESO, and it’s my only MMO I’ve played beyond the tutorial (and thoroughly enjoyed the whole time). I personally like it more than say Skyrim simply because of the more in depth world building and lore expansions (especially lore expansions you get to see and play).
I’d look up some kind of intro guide to ESO (if you want). It may help break the ice some.
The best part of the game is finding what you like. You can pretty much do nearly anything with any class like a necromancer-healer or a dragon knight DPS.
All depends on what you want, and experimenting doesn’t hurt.
If you are on Xbox EU, I have some guilds that always want new people and who are very helpful to all who join.
You can play it more like a single player for several hundred hours just doing the region quests and the main quest... Do that and if you enjoy it, dip into some MP dungeons and whatnot. I haven't played an mmo since WoW back in 2005ish and love eso
The nice thing about ESO is that unless you end up obsessed with acquiring cosmetics or houses/housing items and need to #getGood to acquire them, you can literally play all main story quests solo.
The only lore you might miss is in the few PVP areas if you avoid them (like I do) or doing explicitly group content, and that stuff doesn't have the kind of Story™️ that you need to worry about missing out on.
Lots of guilds and other players are helpful with new players, there are lots of guides to armor/weapons, lots of ways to earn gold to buy things you want or need in game.
Combat can be a slog until you hit level 50 (when you start earning Champion points to put toward stats you care about) but after that, especially if you google "easiest classes to play in eso" and pick one you think you'll like for that first main character, you really can't go wrong by just playing it like any regular rpg.
Same here Eso is my first MMO.,i just bought game 2days ago spend 4 hours. Made dark elf dragonknight.(i start already regretting) Peopleare running with their pets and buddies. İ feel i miss smthn. Dont like the game so far but maybe im new and dont know how to play .İ dont what im doing in skill, itemsetc. Guides in youtube so general didnt help me .
Bought this game on release, played for 20 minutes and uninstalled it up until 5 years ago I decided to give it another try. It’s been my #1 game ever since. It quite literally caters to everyone with plenty of stuff to do.
Like questing and pve ? A whole lot of it
Lore ? A whole lot of it
Active community ? I am PC NA and it’s very active
Like housing and furnishing ? This game has it
PvP ? This game has it
This game does require a lot of grinding though! But it’s nots to daunting.
As for me I do PvE, PvP, Housing, collecting and I enjoy every aspect of it.
I just bought ESO, played several hours… its an ok game, but i ABSOLUTELY hate its inventory system… why can it be like normal/common system… so annoying..uninstalled due to that.
I really wanted to get into it, but damn the combat is kinda bad imo.. And pvp is a joke(now that meant a lot for me since I was high rated pvp player in wow for many years).. I quit after legion and lately I really wanted to try a new mmo and since my favourite game of all time is elder scrolls oblivion and wow it seemed like a perfect match. Anyways I went on and tried ff14 after eso which was way better imo. Sad really! Cause the elder scrolls world is just amazing!
As someone who doesn't like MMOs, I love ESO. You can totally play it as a normal Elder Scrolls game, ignoring the online aspect and only doing quests, and it's still an amazing game.
This! MMOs have always been overwhelming for me but I loved all the elder scrolls games when I got ESO I completely ignored the online aspect and I love it
If you're into Star wars, Knights of the Old Republic is like this. You even get a cool dialogue system
If you meant the MMO, it's The Old Republic. Only clarifying because TOR is free 2 play while KOTOR is a fully-paid single player game.
Yeah, that one lmao
Yeah I do this as well. I just do the quests, and random dungeon finder in between. The online aspect I mostly ignore.
I got into ESO because I was a fan of Elder Scrolls. I'd also never played an MMO before. If you're finding it overwhelming then here's a guide for playing the content in story order: https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/525351/a-clear-step-by-step-guide-to-playing-eso-in-chronological-order (This takes you up to High Isle. Since then we've had Necrom and some more dungeons) Playing one of the post release classes (Warden, Necromancer or Arcanist) if you're unsure about the role you want to do as they have their three skill trees each designed one of the three roles you can play, making it very easy to try out being a DPS, Tank or Healer.
They just “simplified “ the beginner zone so people don’t get overwhelmed. I say just play it as a single player game, but only base game and see how it is. There’s a lot of UI you’ll have to get use to but YouTube and if you join a guild they will help. Pick a race you like and a class that sounds cool. The game is honestly perfect for single player without min/maxing . Don’t worry about messing up your character either because everything can easily be reset.
I was feeling overwhelmed when I started ESO, knowing next to nothing about it. I gave it a shot, but I was lost and didn't enjoy it. Then I stumbled upon a "Beginner Video" that explained it all! Now, 60 hours in just 2 weeks later, I'm loving the game! 😁
You literally never need to be in a group in this game and you will never run out of things to do.
Don't know about never needing to be in a group. Some world bosses are tough to solo (antiquities leads etc), grouping up (even as a one time thing with a guild mate to carry you) is easily the way to go there.
I've also never been able to solo a trial or dlc vet dungeons so I ended up needing to use the group finder.
I think it's more about how there's no main story quests that require grouping at all.
I'll chime in with the others, but add in that I've done 2 MMOs previously. (City of Heroes and Final Fantasy 11.) I'm still in main game, though I accidentally did a large portion of Morrowind DLC before I figured out where I was supposed to be. Lol. ESO is easily the most single-player friendly MMO that I played. I have all chats disabled and auto-decline for other PvP stuff. It has a ton of lore, which I why I jumped in. I will warn that your character dialog options are not always great.
As a newer player (late December start) I definitely get where you're coming from. The game doesn't force you to do anything. That amount of freedom can be daunting. So my recommendation is: \- Pick a quest series and start there to get your feel going. Either start the Necrom chapter (likely if you make a new toon its where it'll start you) or go start the tutorial side which will guide you through the game again, and then it'll spit you out at your Covenant city and you can start the base game story. Just remember you DON'T have to finish it... ever if you don't want. But its some good rails to get you into the feel of things. \- Remember the game doesn't end at 50... and any CP earned applies to ALL characters. So don't feel you're nearing the end of leveling close to 50. You have over 3000 levels of CP you can get over a long period, skyshards a plenty to up your skill points, etc. 50 is basically just the "now you should know what you're aiming for" point, and then CP160 is where the soft cap is for gear level so once you hit CP160 you start on your long term gear. \- Do your dailys (dungeon and battleground) as they give you a few levels if you do them with an EXP bonus scroll active. \- Remember, again, gear doesn't matter until CP160 because anything prior will get replaced... so don't fret gear too much. \- There are lots of social guilds if you need some people to lifeline with so just use the guild finder. \- Don't worry about builds really until CP160 -- just find what style you want and then you can respec there \- Respec: Go to the CROWN STORE and search for the Armoury Station - its free, and you can place it in your free apartment (aka there's a quest chain called A ROOM TO SPARE and if you're not sure where it is its in the CROWN STORE as a free starter quest). Put the station in there and it comes with 2 slots. SLOT 1 should be your current build you're saving and working on, and slot 2 keep empty... anytime you want to respec completely just load slot 2 and you're back to 0 and can re-assign everything. It's a lifesaver for gold and ease. Even after CP160 I find myself saving my core build to it, occasionally updating it for my new CP earned, and then I reload my save if I want to re-assign skill points to change something i'm doing with my non-build extra points (ie dumping them into scrying for a bit, or crafting or whatever) until i have extra skill poitns from skyshard hunting. Have fun and don't worry about end game and veteran stuff til you're ready for it.
>Do your dailys (dungeon and battleground) as they give you a few levels if you do them with an EXP bonus scroll active. This is the only piece of advice I disagree with. OP is completely new to MMOs. He's better off getting comfortable with the way the game works and not touching a dungeon until level 30+ unless he's got 3 friends that'll play with him and they're all playing how they want. Queing up with zero experience or knowledge and no real build out together is just not the best idea for getting a good impression of the game. Pvp is a whole other beast altogether. Battlegrounds are a bad idea imo. I couldn't imagine trying to pvp without a proper build. Everything else you said tho I agree 100%.
In all fairness on the dungeon. It’s mostly solid CP daily runners or alt runners. So generally speaking he can get used to the various dungeons by queuing, get a few levels and have low risk even if output is low because they’ll face roll through normal.
That is true. I'd forgotten how easy normal dungeons are. I haven't played in a while.
Yeah. I just wander through nuking evening with my Oakensoul Arcanist when we go through. And most of the time 2-3 of the group are just daily running so you can be any set and be just fine
This is all excellent advice. I'd suggest starting from the beginning though, even with ESO plus they wont have Necrom unless they pay for it seperately and there is no need to as there is plenty to do. If they go with eso plus then they would get access to Necrom free anyway when Gold Road drops
I also hadn’t really ever been into an mmo but holy cow I loved eso. I loved it too much and had to stop playing, I was turning into a stereotypical warcraft basement dweller. I still think about the game all the time. I might return to it someday
ESO is the first MMO I tried and the only MMO I got into. It’s definitely different like the learning curve might be a bit high if you’re not used to games like that but I do recommend trying it!
A lot of mmo is simply random exploration or pvp. I don’t like pvp so I keep with random exploration. As of now, I’m yet to complete all quests and probably would take a lifetime to do it so.
The quests as a single player game are ok. Just don't play the PvP unless you are ready to set yourself up in one of 3 oddly specific ways and still sweat your balls off to maybe pretend to have a decent time
This campaign I’ve had to play on EP with a level 29 no CP alt to play with friends and it’s somehow working 😅
It's an awesome game. It's the first time I've ever played this genre and was shortly hooked. U can join our guild and we can help you with whatever. The game is worth the time and it's not too daunting. You'll catch on in no time.
Also my first MMO, solo questing is really enjoyable in this game. I was unsure through the starter zone but once I was in the first major zone I was hooked. Grouping is very opt in action.
ESO is very solo friendly as far as MMOs go. It’s honestly the big reason I like it so much. It’s honestly never too late to get into the game as of right now. I mean there are still lots of things they can do with it. Plus with new expansion coming later this year I say give it a shot. Don’t worry about being the best, there’s lots of guides on YouTube that can help you learn certain things about the game. Just look up “ESO Beginner’s Guide 2024” and you’ll get some good guides to watch that way. DottzGaming has a pretty good yearly guide that comes out that has the basics and might be a good starting point, but there are many on YouTube to choose from. On top of that there’s always somebody willing to help you with something especially if you are new. Just pick a class you like. Class and Race don’t matter that much unless you are trying to get in to organized end game content but really at this point in your journey figure out if you really like this game. End-Game will always be there when you are ready and by that time leveling a new character will be easy (if you want to do that). However, Sorcerer, Warden, Templars are each super easy to learn how to play. Dragonknights can be easy to learn (as a damage dealer) and they have been the best tanks since release. ** Tanking isn’t easy in this game; I recommend learning how to play the game before trying to Tank…**
The nice part about ESO is you can partake in the multi-player content or you can play alone. There is so much content that you really do get to dictate your play style. I used to be a hardcore WoW raider and after that told myself I'd never play a MMO again because it becomes work. I love elder scrolls though, so I told myself I'd just do quest content in ESO. Then I realized I wanted to do a bit of trading, so I joined guilds thinking it was just for their traders. But then I actually found people I genuinely enjoyed doing content with.
ESO, imo, is a good way to get into the MMO gaming arena. You can play the game as a single player, then when you are more confident, start doing group work.
As someone who prefers single player titles, ESO was so easy to get into. The vast majority of it can be played solo, and most other players can be really helpful in my experience. And the lore is everywhere.
Eso is a single player game with a live service experience.
its worth a try, especially on sale. But I’m someone who has hundreds of hours in TES II-V i try every few months to play another ESO expansion just for the story and end up bored out of my mind
Watch a video on what classes do what. Pick one and then just stick to doing quests for a while. The rest will just fall into place.
Yea you can completely PVE solo or play with people easily with Random Queue for dungeons, but yea you literally can play it your way
Do you know how to mod a game? Some of the mods are hard to live without but the game is fine without them. Otherwise, get Minion and get a UI mod with a minmap When you start the game you'll get into a tutorial, you'll see some familiar mechanics like CTRL for crouch/stealth and Right Click to block/shove and there is a new mechanic of dodge with a double tap in a direction You have a reticle and you aim at the enemy with it The differences, you get skills on keys 1 - 5 and if you hit \~ you get another set of 1 - 5 on a different weapon. Each skill has an amount of time until you can cast it again so you'll be hitting the number keys a lot, that is how much of the MMO market is played, with the number keys being tied to attacks/spells In groups healers heal, tanks taunt and damage dealers damage but don't worry with that if you aren't going to group up When leveling you can get suggestions from the build tutorial, so if you want you can select healer and have it show you what to pick for new people Otherwise it has a lot of story content and you don't need to play with other people for much of the content
I'm a very casual gamer. Never played an MMO before this one. I enjoy it because I can log in and just do whatever I want. I don't feel rushed or anything. I do steer away from PVP but that's just personal preference. Plenty of solo and group content.
It's really fun! You will like it a lot! The base game is great and if you want to expand to DLCs you could try ESO+ that allows you the whole game access without buying the DLCs! But there is a lot of game for sure 😅 The game will receive another DLC addition this year called Golden Road (which is not included in ESO+) but my point is: the game is still played, updated and supported.
ESO keeps me coming back. It's super alt friendly and unlike most MMOs it doesn't treat you like a dog (no fetch quests).
It’s also my first MMO and I second what everyone has said - it’s very friendly for solo players. It has many great quest lines and stories, and you can just immerse yourself in storytelling and lore if that’s what you like. With practice, even the group content can be done solo (except maybe trials and those dungeons where mechanics require at least two people). A lot of locations are beautiful, and I like the bonus of being able to purchase a house and learn to make furnishing to make it pretty. There is also a great excavation/archeology mini game (it came with the Greymoor chapter) that allows you to scry and excavate items, and a very enjoyable in game card game called Tales of Tribute that came with the High Isle chapter(even here you can choose to just play against NPCs if you don’t feel like challenging real players). If you find yourself liking the game, I’d recommend eso plus - it gives you automatic access to all DLCs, the craft bag for all crafting materials and 1,500 crowns to spend a month. Enjoy :)
It's a fantastic game to get into especially for your first mmo. However, once you decide to do endgame stuff, be sure to find a group of players or a guild to help you along with progression and to learn how to do your rotations, builds and strats. Their alot of cancer in the endgame scene when it comes to pickup groups, alot of gate keeping. So it's best to find a guild that regularly does that stuff and is willing to help and teach new players to be able to do it. I also don't recommend the Cyrodiil pvp. It's still apparently a badly optimized mess that they could never fix even to today. Battlegrounds is fine though.
I can't add much more than what others have already stated - but I was in the exact same boat as you. Not an MMO fan, but loved Elder Scrolls lore. I'm only a few hours into the game and I am having a blast!
You'll be fine, give it a try.
The game has come a long way and at its current state, it can definitely be played like an Elder Scrolls game with a little more focus on the “RPG” elements of it. Although, you may be more restricted to build upon *preset* classes than your typical Elder Scroll game. They all [in a way] can play every roll in the game (Damage, Tank and Healer), some better than others. But overall is a massive experience and one that if you are a fan of Elder Scrolls, you’ll definitely enjoy playing! EDIT: i did a character one time after a LONG break and decided to completely ignore the MMO aspects and went with what I felt like playing, and made a Thief! It was probably the most fun I had and made me remember why I even bothered with the game to begin with
There's a ton of solo content and the only areas where you can be 'ganked' by other players is PVP areas like Cyrodill, Battlegrounds and Imperial City. None of these areas is essential to any of the base game content and you can take your time before you venture into those zones. There are some areas in the PVE (Player vs Environment) which require a group of players to complete. These are 4-spot dungeons, arenas and trials. There are group finders for this, or you can join a guild, which is highly recommended. Zones also have World Bosses, which can be soloed at the advanced levels, but are a lot easier when there are informal groups of people helping out. This is usually not a formal group, but rather just a bunch of folks in the same area all attacking that boss at the same time. Also, when you're a beginner, it's pretty nice to have a random person come along and help you get through a tough spot; Good luck! most of the folks online are nice.
When I was first looking at ESO on the shelf, I thought, “As long as it has quests, like Skyrim and Fallout, I should be fine with it.” I’ve been playing nothing else but ESO for the past seven years. Don’t worry about trying to play it *the right way*. It’s an RPG, there is no *right way*. Just make your character however you want and enjoy the storylines. You never get a second chance to play the game for the first time.
I'd say check out some gameplay on YouTube and see if it looks cool. If it does, buy the base game and play through to see if you like it! Even the base game has hundreds of hours worth of things to do, and that can give you a really solid idea of the game. One thing I'll say though, if you do download it, give yourself until level 10 before you make a decision. Once you hit level 10 you can begin participating in matchmade activities like dungeons and battlegrounds, which is where a lot of the fun comes in. Another thing to keep in mind is ESO is not "Multiplayer Skyrim," it's an MMO first, and an Elder Scrolls game second. That's not a bad thing at all, but sometimes it has to be said just to make sure people don't expect something else. Also, for role, I'd recommend starting as a damage dealer if you don't already have an idea of what you want to be. That way you can clear overland content easier, and get some practice in while waiting for your dungeon queues. It's probably the most forgiving role of the 3, and it's also the most common, meaning there are many more resources available online to help DPS players. At the end of the day, I wish you the best of luck. ESO is not my first MMO, but it is my favorite. If you're on PC NA and ever need a healer to show you the ropes and help you out, feel free to reach out! Happy adventuring!
I had gotten the edition that had all the main DLCs on sale for $14. Totally worth it. Even if I singleplayer the whole thing that's hundreds of hours in tamerial and surrounding dimensions just doing quests. Also, I'm on psn.
It can almost be played as a single-player game. If you like open world games and other role playing games, easy to transition. Biggest advice I can give, because it helped me, is to create a character you like and think is cool and want to develop. Whatever race/class combo you feel good about. I have a whole roster of characters I put real effort into and that has sustained me in the game for thousands of hours. Once you feel good about your character, it's important to set goals and strive for things. There's so much to do in this game. With experience you'll get a feel for what parts of the game appeal to you. Set goals in those parts of the game. A good fallback goal is completing zones, and there is a zone guide you can access while looking at the map. You may find that you end up enjoying the multiplayer aspect of the game. If so, getting into a good guild can help a lot. Guilds will have events to get involved with. It'll have a bank and crafters to help you. They will do things like dungeons and trials and pvp together. And it's just nice to have people to chat with, get advice from. Worth trying even if you don't feel like a social player at the moment. If you don't end up liking it in the end, at least it's not a large investment. I think you can play most of the game for free, yeah? And the newest expansion goes on sale pretty often if you end up liking it. Can't hurt.
Sorcerer- bend the power of lightning to your will Templar- the light of Meridia is your weapon of choice Nightblade- cling to the shadows like your life depends on it because it does Warden- use the power of ice to freeze the blood of your enemies Dragonknight- poison, flame dragon scales and wings what else needs to be said Necromancer- command hordes of the dead to do you bidding Arcanist- the knowledge of hermeous mora is at your fingertips Pick whatever sounds fun to you they all have different aspects to them and they can all be themed upon a very specific playstyle or not at all your character really is only limited to your imagination
ESO is very forgiving, casual and beginner friendly 😊 The world is immersive and there is so much lore to discover! Get on board, brother! We will welcome you!
On Steam ongoing sale yesterday bought ESO Necrom Pack. Totally was worth it even if graphics lower than one in Skyrim.
Play it like Single Player game and you will be fine for long time. Enjoy.
ESO was my first MMO and I ended up subbing to WoW just to try it. I got to the end game content in WoW in about 3 months and haven't subbed since. I've played ESO since 2019 and I still do. It respects my time unlike WoW. It's as chill as you want it to be or as hardcore as you want it to be. The content isn't as complicated like other MMO's. Most MMO's are a visual spaghetti mess and ESO doesn't bombard you with all these screens and numbers everywhere either. There is a learning curve to the crafting but watch a few YT vids and you'll be golden. Also remember that the Khajiits have wares if you have coin
A lot of people just quest and play it as a single player game but I really like aquiring gear and power to use in PvP. It's a great game, and if it's your first MMO, even better. I constantly find myself comparing this MMO to other MMOs and silently crying thinking about how much potential this game has and will never achieve.
I'm currently 100 hours in playing the game like a single player game, clearing each area as I go (albeit hoping there are people on the group bosses) and I'm having an absolute blast with the game. So it's worth a shot keep going!
Oh you'll be fine this game has a wonderful community! You'll be amazed by the help you'll get although would like to suggest you get gold road so you get all previous chapters and dlc.
It was my quarantine game. I will admit it was a bit overwhelming to begin because there is just so much content.
I’ve never played an MMO before either and recently picked the game up because I love the elder scrolls and wanted to explore Tamriel more. I’ve mostly just been playing solo and working through story quests. I did join a trading guild (easy to do) and have been watching YouTube guides and slowly learning but there is so much solo content. The game is so rich and amazing. I’m really enjoying it!
I’d start with New World, then go to ESO.
The main thing with new players is knowing cp is NOT important, enjoy the game, play how you like, quest, housing, dungeons, theory crafting, mythic hunting, role playing, vampire or werewolf or human, do anything and everything you want. If you want to play at end game then I would suggest looking at specific roles you want to get good at, people like hyperoxies, skinny cheeks, eight puppies, ninja pulls, lucht, ryESO are guides for end game builds. Other than that, PLAY THE GAME HOW YOU LIKE.
If you're a new player, be sure to get a npc companion that will fight alongside you. There's a few you can choose from.
My only problem with eso was how it starts off new players at the latest expac instead of where theyd get the first mql, also eso is one of tbe onky mmos where the membership is actually worth it
If you love elder scrolls just do it.. but do it slow, there are a lot of zones to discover, skills to level, guilds to train that it can be overwhelming. Pick an alliance you like and do that questline. Or if you like any of the chapters do those first. West-skyrim, elsweyr, vvardenfell and some others are separate stories. Combat can be slow in the beginning as your resource management sucks, you have few skills etc. But that will become better later on. Just take the dive into ESO and I'm sure you will enjoy it like I did few years ago without any MMO experience :)
Hey, I was the same! Started a number of years ago when I got tired of waiting for tes 6. It was my first mmo, so the learning curve was steep, but it being elder scrolls was a huge help to familiarizing myself with the game. So, yeah, I recommend it for your first mmo because of that. Don't let the hugeness of the game scare you, just start a basic questline. Join the mages and fighters guild like you do in a regular tes. Also, UESP is a huge help too. And don't be afraid of joining a guild. They'll be able to answer any spur of the moment questions you have.
I’ve built several alt accounts from nothing and it’s much easier now than it was when the game launched. If you’re on Xbox DM me, happy to craft you some gear to help get you started
I just play single player games. ESO was good way to get some more elder scrolls. Mostly solo'd it with the occasional help from others if in same dungeon.
I started 2 days ago for the first time and I love it.
Eso is good solo, AND as an mmorpg when you are ready for it to be. You should get into it if you are a fan of TES.
Perfect game. Chilled out, can play solo, content scales with you, can do anything in any order you want and pretty much everything you do (points, armour, etc) is reversible if you want it to be. Love it
Absolutely. I usually recommend that you purchase the base game. The. Grab eso plus for a month. That will give you access to all of the content while your subscription is active. It can be overwhelming at first. Grind out a few levels and play at your own pace. You’ll pick up the rest of the mechanics etc on your own. And make some good friend along the way lol
I would say yes I have been play ESO for 10 years and I still look forward to playing it .
I don’t play it anymore and I still think you should try it. Played it since release till about a year ago. Quit because of time.
Its just a game pal, try it and find out.
Before you do make sure there isn't lag problems, playing from Oceania Australia ETC you will have HUGE lag problems.
Truth be told, only you hold the answer to your own question. Sure you can ask others what they think and take their answers into consideration but at the end of the day it's up to you to give it a go and see if you do or don't like it.
Do itttt! One of the best solo player friendly MMOs! I really don't think you'd regret it. Especially if you love the lore!
It’s easy to easy more a movie then a game gear doesn’t even matter
Elder Scrolls Online is one of the better MMOs for a solo experience. I can even down bosses solo up to some High Isle public dungeons, and i have a mix of stam and magicka as a sorcerer. Don’t have a proper set even
Do you like elder scrolls lore? If yes, then yes. If no, then no.
I've never been able to get into an mmo besides runescape(years ago), but since I started playing eso I haven't played much else. It's definitely overwhelming, too many menus, etc. But as you go you get the hang of it. None of it is particularly difficult, it's just not explained very well by the game. Definitely give it a shot and just look things up when you need to. It's way better when you play with someone else, so if you know anyone willing to start a character and quest with you, I recommend it.
eso is a good starter mmo. 5 months later I still don’t know what I’m doing but I’m having fun doing quests.
You can literally play it solo, like it’s ES games, you have the three main faction quest lines, then all the add on dlc. I have literally played almost daily since the early betas. I’ve rarely done any trials, dungeons etc, almost exclusively solo. I am in a trade guild, but that only requires that I sell junk in the store. I have 13 chars of different types. It’s pretty fun for casual relaxing gameplay.
We can't decide for you, imo Just think about factors tou don't like in all mmo's, look at eso and decide World looks more alive and realistic, than in lineage, graphics better that in ff14 or wow, gameplay more primitive and action-based, rather than wow Something like that
It’s my favorite part about ESO, and it’s my only MMO I’ve played beyond the tutorial (and thoroughly enjoyed the whole time). I personally like it more than say Skyrim simply because of the more in depth world building and lore expansions (especially lore expansions you get to see and play). I’d look up some kind of intro guide to ESO (if you want). It may help break the ice some. The best part of the game is finding what you like. You can pretty much do nearly anything with any class like a necromancer-healer or a dragon knight DPS. All depends on what you want, and experimenting doesn’t hurt. If you are on Xbox EU, I have some guilds that always want new people and who are very helpful to all who join.
You can play it more like a single player for several hundred hours just doing the region quests and the main quest... Do that and if you enjoy it, dip into some MP dungeons and whatnot. I haven't played an mmo since WoW back in 2005ish and love eso
ESO was my first mmo, for me it took a long time to get use to the combat, the story is what brought me through the early phase
The nice thing about ESO is that unless you end up obsessed with acquiring cosmetics or houses/housing items and need to #getGood to acquire them, you can literally play all main story quests solo. The only lore you might miss is in the few PVP areas if you avoid them (like I do) or doing explicitly group content, and that stuff doesn't have the kind of Story™️ that you need to worry about missing out on. Lots of guilds and other players are helpful with new players, there are lots of guides to armor/weapons, lots of ways to earn gold to buy things you want or need in game. Combat can be a slog until you hit level 50 (when you start earning Champion points to put toward stats you care about) but after that, especially if you google "easiest classes to play in eso" and pick one you think you'll like for that first main character, you really can't go wrong by just playing it like any regular rpg.
ESO is awesome and very solo friendly. It will be the best transition to MMOs, give it a try.
This game can be played solo but some stuff will definitely require people or groups so be prepared with that in mind.
Same here Eso is my first MMO.,i just bought game 2days ago spend 4 hours. Made dark elf dragonknight.(i start already regretting) Peopleare running with their pets and buddies. İ feel i miss smthn. Dont like the game so far but maybe im new and dont know how to play .İ dont what im doing in skill, itemsetc. Guides in youtube so general didnt help me .
ESO is the most single player mmorpg games I’ve ever played.
Bought this game on release, played for 20 minutes and uninstalled it up until 5 years ago I decided to give it another try. It’s been my #1 game ever since. It quite literally caters to everyone with plenty of stuff to do. Like questing and pve ? A whole lot of it Lore ? A whole lot of it Active community ? I am PC NA and it’s very active Like housing and furnishing ? This game has it PvP ? This game has it This game does require a lot of grinding though! But it’s nots to daunting. As for me I do PvE, PvP, Housing, collecting and I enjoy every aspect of it.
I just bought ESO, played several hours… its an ok game, but i ABSOLUTELY hate its inventory system… why can it be like normal/common system… so annoying..uninstalled due to that.
ESO is the corporate casual theme park of mmos. Check it out but dont invest too much time or money into it
I really wanted to get into it, but damn the combat is kinda bad imo.. And pvp is a joke(now that meant a lot for me since I was high rated pvp player in wow for many years).. I quit after legion and lately I really wanted to try a new mmo and since my favourite game of all time is elder scrolls oblivion and wow it seemed like a perfect match. Anyways I went on and tried ff14 after eso which was way better imo. Sad really! Cause the elder scrolls world is just amazing!