With the Elder Scrolls Online getting an exciting new feature that it brings players all together and newly coming edition of Update 12, many people are thinking about trying it out. However, like most MMORPGs, there is a lot you need to learn, experience and do in The Elder Scrolls Online before you can get to do the hardest and most interesting content. While this guide won’t help you master the Elder Scrolls Online, it will help you build confidence, get a better understanding of what is and is not important and, most importantly, know that you don’t need to grind for thousands of hours to be trial ready.
There will be quite a few people playing the Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited when you first begin the game. For the most part, everyone will be around the same level and just trying to explore and learn about the game. Use this opportunity to group up with other players and head through the early dungeons. Not only will you gain experience points to level up, there will also be a hefty amount of loot in each dungeon that will help you gear up your character.
Don't Expect Skyrim
Let's get this out of the way early, ESO is not Skyrim, and by extension it is not like any other single player Elder Scrolls game. It has many similarities, and of course it takes place in the same universe, but you should not come into this expecting the same play styles you found in those games. The freedom you would find in those games isn't here in ESO, you won't be running around killing NPCs on a whim. Exploration has also been toned back quite a bit. You can't freely roam the world either, and you won't suddenly find a Daedric weapon laying around, as that would break the balance of the game.
Character Planning
When first starting the game, you're going to have to select your character. Although there is still a lot of freedom available to you in regards to how you play your character, there are two decisions you won't be able to change, your Race and your Class. For this reason, you should plan ahead a little and find out exactly what you want to play before jumping in. There are 4 classes in the game, and 10 races. You can mix and match however you choose, but also consider taking advantage of the racial traits of certain races to better boost the skills your class receives. For instance, the Dunmer make great Dragon Knights thanks to their bonuses to Dual Wielding and Fire. For more details on how to make the best possible character, check out our pages dedicated to the subjects of Races, Classes and Character Creation.
Find a Weapon
Once you have a basic grasp of the the Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited and your class, you can start finding better weapons and armor. Soon you'll be able to enchant your weapons. For the most part, you should enchant your weapons as soon as you're able to. This helps to maximize your damage output, making fights easier and easier as you level up and obtain new and improved weapons (which you should also enchant).
Combat
Players are also not locked into one singular role in combat, like many other MMOs. A tank for instance can carry a healing staff to help boost his ability to keep his allies alive. When grouping up, it feels like playing Elder Scrolls with friends. You still have all your freedom of being alone, but you have the support of allies nearby. The traditional combat roles of Tank, DPS, Healer are very loose here, and characters can shift between them, or occupy multiple roles at the same time, making combat much more enjoyable.
Close to Home
One of the great things about an MMO is the fact that the world is expansive, and you can generally explore all of it without gaining a single level. Unfortunately, the more you explore, the harder things will be until you've leveled up a bit. Our article on how best to level up will help you get going, but in the meantime stay close to home when you first begin playing. Don't explore too far or you'll end up dying more often than you'd like.
Join a Guild
Joining a guild is a great way to not only level up, but explore with a bit of purpose. Each guild will offer quest lines that feature multiple quests that each have a purpose. In addition to gaining experience completing the tasks required for each quest, you'll earn experience at the completion of the quest, then be able to proceed on to the next quest the guild has to offer. You can also talk to many of the NPCs you come across to get standalone quests that offer experience points and items as well.
Pick up a Horse
When you've leveled up enough to really begin exploring, it will be time to pick up a horse. Unlike mounts in most other games, you can level up your horse in The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited by feeding it. Feeding your horse raises its stats and makes it a better overall mount. This will help you get around better and safer so you can explore to find new locations that offer more quests and loot.
Rolling, Blocking and Stunning
A big part of combat is the title of this section. Simply standing there, as the enemy pummels you, will result in your death. During combat, enemies can use powerful move, which have special animations for you to look out for. The first is a red indicator placed on the ground. This will often be a circle, or a line pointing towards you. These are AoE (Area of Effect) attacks and you should roll out of them. If the enemy started charging up an attack, and white lines appear around them, this is a move you should block. Doing so will stun your foe, and if you follow up with a Power Attack, they will be further stunned. Finally, if you see an attack charging but with red lines around them, this is a channeled move, so you must bring up your block and then attack with it, stunning them, cancelling the move and allowing you to Power Attack to further stun them.
Pick up Items and Skyshards
While on your travels, there are a few things you should be on the lookout for. First and foremost, always have a good amount of lockpicks on-hand. There are quite a few instances in which you'll need lockpicks to access items and areas. In addition, if you see something shining in the distance or hear a ringing sound, it's more than likely a Skyshard. These allow you to instantly level up your skills so pick up as many as you can find.
Collect Information
As with any RPG, it's important to talk to as many NPCs as possible. Some will give you quests while others will offer insight into the area you're in. Until you're familiar with the world of The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited, you'll want to collect as much information as you can, and NPCs are a good source of info. If you get a quest from an NPC it will help to level you up, and you may find additional items and loot along the way.
Test out Classes
The most important tip we can offer a new ESO player is to test out the class you've selected. If you don't enjoy the class, start over with a new one. MMOs take a lot of time and effort, and you don't want to waste that on a class you don't enjoy playing. Even if you've played for a day or two already, it's best to start over instead of playing for months and then deciding you don't like the class.
Leveling Up
Leveling up is a simple process. Basically everything you do contributes to your overall experience. Fill the bar entirely and you level up. Each time you level up, you can raise one of your three base stats:
Health - Increases your total HP pool by 15.
Magicka - Raises your total pool of Magicka by 10.
Stamina - Raises your total stamina pool by 10.
Each level also gives you one skill point. These can be used to unlock new skills. Points can also be used to morph skills. More about that is covered below.
Skills & Skill Morphing
Each Race has their own skills, and each Class also comes with their own individual skills. On top of that, every character, no matter what you play, gains access to basic weapon skills, associated with the different types of weapons. Skills level up over time, the same way your overall character level does. They use the same experience, however when skills level up, they don't reward points, instead they reach a next level and will do more damage.
As your skills level up, you will unlock access to more skills within that specific skill tree. Keep in mind, you won't unlock skills in other trees, unless you first invest points within at least one skill there. Once a specific skill reaches a certain level, you can Morph it. This requires another skill point to be used, but will allow you to unlock special bonuses for the skill.
When first starting out, and picking your skills, try to pick ones that will work well together, well also making sure to not spread yourself thin. It may seem tempting to try and level up everything, but then you will fall into the trap of being a jack of all trades, master of none. To make the most of your skills, only level up 2 weapon skill trees, 1 class skill tree, and your racial skill tree. Extra points should be spread out sparingly among your remaining skills.
Dungeons
A dungeon is an area that people must group up to complete. For most, the first instance of a dungeon will be at level 15. To enter a dungeon, you must first unlock it, usually done through a brief quest. Once this is complete, you can invite friends, or use the Group function in game to find people looking for the same dungeon.
Dungeons typically require 4 people, and take at least 15 minutes, if not more to complete. For doing them, you will receive gold and special, powerful items. Unlike a single player game, Dungeons are designed to be run repeatedly, so you can farm items out of them as much as you want.
Player vs Player or PvP
One of the big draws of ESO is the Player vs Player combat found in the game. To compete in this, you must be level 10, and you need to travel to Cyrodiil using the Alliance function in game. Once there, you can run in, swords in hand and try to fight for your chosen Alliance. Special quests can also be started in this zone, rewarding you with points specific to PvP. For more info about this and everything Player vs Player combat entails, check out its dedicated page, PvP.
If you still a little confused, here is a video about everything you need to know to get started:
Continue your ESO adventure with this guide to finding all of the Skyshards. Then learn about the different classes and the Craglorn! Just like other MMOs, if you don’t have enough time to improve your level, you can use ESO Gold to purchase not only gear and weapons, but also awesome items in game. Of course, you can buy ESO Gold right here in Mmogah, since it’s a so reliable ESO Gold seller that more and more players chose to buy ESO Gold from. If you don’t know how to choose a Safe website to buy ESO gold, you can read this Guide first, you've found which one is the best of those choices! Whenever you need to buy ESO Gold, our Live Chat is 24/7 online.
Helpful Links:
Update 12 of Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Online Alchemy Guide
The Elder Scrolls Online Weapons Skills Guide
10 Recommended Addons for the Elder Scrolls Online
