The Elder Scrolls Online is a standout MMORPG due to its fully-voiced NPCs, breathtaking landscapes, and immersive soundtracks. All those make for an inviting world that's genuinely fun to explore. But with a decade's worth of content and a dedicated community of long-time players, it's natural for newcomers to wonder whether they can catch up and truly enjoy The Elder Scrolls Online in 2024, 10 years after its initial release.
Should You Start Playing ESO in 2024? The answer to this question depends on what you're looking for. But there's no doubt that ESO is incredibly new-player-friendly.
Gameplay
ESO has struck a great balance between its single-player roots in the Elder Scrolls universe and the traditional MMO elements like events and grind-type challenges to keep you consistently playing.
Solo and Casual Play
But if you don't care for the typical MMO gameplay, you will be pleased to learn that the game's overworld is vast and greatly welcomes solo and casual play, though there are pieces of the game where you'll need to bring others.
Community and Socializing
A significant contributor to ESO's success is the game's inviting and helpful community. But you are also encouraged to find your own pace and engage with others when you are comfortable doing so. ESO is an MMO, however, so there is no way to turn off seeing other players. But you can ignore social activities if you choose to.
Do I Have to Catch Up?
There will be some areas of the game that require you to "catch up," but these are typically systems intended for long-term growth that you'd find in other MMOs, like gaining currency, collecting gear, or training intended to increase the usefulness of your horse.
However, unlike similar MMOs, ESO has horizontal level progression, and gear will always drop at your level. Each time you make a new character, you will have to progress to level 50. But once you hit level 50, you reach Champion Point (CP) levels.
The Champion Point System in ESO
CP is shared between your characters, so you can progress your overall level on any character who has hit 50. But even characters under 50 can slot and use Champion Points. The in-game Achievements are also account-wide. Therefore, progress towards completion is combined and shared between your characters.
The maximum character level is 3,600, but the gear cap is and has stayed at 160 for much of the game's life. This stops old sets from becoming irrelevant and helps minimize that feeling of needing to catch up (for both new and returning players).
Combat, Scaling, and Tutorial
Combat
Combat is the same with enemies and even your damage numbers, scaling to your level. There is no level gating. From the start, you can go about anywhere and play with friends despite any level differences. The combat in ESO doesn't have the feel of a single-player Elder Scrolls game. Instead, ESO uses traditional MMORPG elements like combat timers, ideal rotations for using your skills, and a global cooldown before you can use another skill. It also uses the typical Tank, Healer, and Damage Dealer group dynamics.
ESO offers a lot of freedom, like throwing melee weapons or a bow on a mage. However, because of the freedom the game provides, it can be really easy to gear or skill yourself out of your desired role unintentionally.
Scaling
Most players either love or hate the combat system due mainly to the difficulty and scaling. A common complaint among players is that combat throughout the Overland zone content is too easy. This makes for a better initial play experience for new players, but if you complete exclusively Overland content, your character could begin to feel weak or unprepared for group content.
Tutorials
Many of the game's tutorials are text entries in the help files, and harder bosses use visual or speech cues, some of which aren't super obvious. Tutorials for systems or specific content are heavily reliant on the player community, which has created a skill and knowledge gap between casual and hardcore players.
The End Game
If you want a challenge like PvP combat or to put together a team and progressively improve for raiding, there are options for that harder content. In fact, very few have completed some of the hardest titles and completions in the game. There is almost always room to improve or things you can still complete if you choose.
The end game in ESO is what you decide to make of it. There are end-game traders, raiders, PvPers, housing enthusiasts, dungeon crawlers, and players who do a little of everything. You can choose what areas you want to focus on and partake in. The downside to this is that if you are someone who prefers to be directed or needs an objective, ESO doesn't do that, and that freedom can make the amount of content feel overwhelming for some people. The other downside is it spreads the end-game community too thin, making it harder to find a group in the end-game with the same focus as you.
Customization - Character and Collections
Changing Outfit Style in ESO
Customization in ESO has a lot of options like housing and designing your character's outfits. For many players, fashion is the true end game.
Character
You are, of course, able to customize your character at the start of the game. But after character creation ends, you must spend Crowns to alter their physical features like eye color, height, or face shape.
Collections
You can add items to your Collection, like hairstyles and skins that can be applied from your Collection menu. You can add to your Collection via the Crown Store, but also by completing Achievements, partaking in monthly or seasonal events, watching live streams for Twitch drops, and simply logging in.
If you have friends you're joining, pick the same Alliance if you're planning to engage in the Alliance War. This large-scale PvP game mode pits the Alliances against each other, so you'll need to be on the same team or spend Crowns to swap.
It's also important to know that your character is locked into the Class that you pick. There is no way to change it, not even a Crown alternative. So, feel free to do some research and try out different Classes before you settle on one.
The World
Lore
For a pure lore enjoyer, ESO has plenty to offer. Storytelling in the game has peaks and valleys, with some zones standing out in this area. The game is massive, and if you're going from area to area picking up quests, it will be no time before your journal has reached its capacity.
If you like to play games in the order they were written or intended, ESO can be tough to navigate with ten years' worth of content to dive into. But there is plenty to do!
Guilds and Trading
ESO lets you join five Player Guilds at a time and has a player trading system, but it doesn't offer the traditional auction house. The game requires Guilds to bid on control of a physical trader location throughout the world. Shopping in the game often requires trips to different towns and cities to find what you want.
Players on PC will have the option to use add-ons to improve the user experience in various aspects. But console players don't have options for add-ons.
Payment Model
ESO's payment model is pretty fair. The base game is cheap and often given away for free, containing hundreds of hours of content alone. But you also have the option to buy the collection version of an Expansion, which would include the base game, current Expansion, and all previous Expansions.
However, Expansions and DLC are different, which can create confusion when players decide what they want to buy.
Those smaller DLC packs are not included in the collection editions. But they are included as part of the optional subscription. When you're subbed to ESO Plus, you're renting access to all of the content the game offers, excluding the newest Expansion to release.
ESO Plus Benefits
There are also some additional benefits to the sub that are hard to live without if you're someone who is really committed to playing, like the Craft Bag, which holds infinite crafting resources and increases inventory space. But the sub is optional, so you can decide if it's worthwhile for you or not.
The Crown Store
As mentioned, ESO has an in-game shop, too, with a special currency for purchase called Crowns, some of which you'll also receive with a sub. You can use them to buy content for permanent access after your sub ends or to buy cosmetics, horses, houses, furnishings, and other time-saving extras.
Some players are unhappy with the amount of cosmetics sold for Crowns compared to the number of cosmetics earned as rewards. But the game is definitely not "pay-to-win" - it's pay for convenience and to look extra fancy. The time-saving Crown options include things like leveling skill trees, but it's important to note that you need to level these skill trees organically once before the purchase option is unlocked for your account.
Experience Scrolls are also for sale, and these could fall into the "pay-to-win" bucket. But ESO offers free XP boost options, too, often appearing in the rewards you can get daily for signing in and as craftable drinks.
You can also use your Crowns to buy Crown Crates for a chance at flashy mounts and other collectibles. However, the drop rates on the most sought-after items that come out of them are incredibly low.
There is, however, an earned currency called Endeavors that you can get through completing daily and weekly challenges that allow you to buy Crate items without spending. Research your Crown purchases before you make them. Sure, you can buy a Vampire bite with Crowns. But should you? This is an example of an item you can get completely for free from other players simply by asking. Don't waste your Crowns if you don't have to!
Life Left in the Game
As for how much longer the game will be updated – only Zenimax knows the true answer. But with a new Class added within the last year, money is still coming in for them, and continuous updates are still rolling out for this live service game. I'd imagine it will still be around for years to come.
No Cross-Play/Saves/Progression
The game does not currently have cross-play or cross-progression, and any in-game purchases are locked to your chosen server, so try to get a feel for the player base before committing. Console populations are healthy, but the PC population is higher.
Summary
In summary, ESO is very new-player friendly, has a flexible play style, has the potential for much more content to come, and is absolutely worth trying if you're interested, regardless of your platform of choice.
The biggest issue with ESO is player retention. There are tons of new players, but the end-game community struggles to maintain player count due to hard-hitting nerfs, skill gaps, sweeping meta changes, or the inability to find and build groups of like-minded players.
If you give the game a try, don't burn yourself out trying to level quickly to "catch up". ESO leans heavily into adventure, lore, and world-building. It is all about the journey and exploration. Many of the players I see who rush to the end game find themselves struggling or not wanting to stick around.
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