The MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) can be a tough nut to crack, especially for returning players or newcomers. We want to share some really silly beginner mistakes that we made ourselves and that you can easily avoid.
The Elder Scrolls Online is a very versatile game with many DLCs and addons. If you haven’t played for a few years or are just starting out, it’s easy to lose track. Finding the start of the main quest can already be a challenge.
I, MeinMMO author Larissa Then, played ESO for the first time in beta. Then I took a break for several years, and when I returned, everything felt new to me. I just jumped in without really reading up.
As a result, I made some really silly beginner mistakes that I want to share with you. Some of these also happened to my guildmates and not just to me.
1. Spending too much gold on travel
This is the mistake: In ESO, there are various wayshrines on each map. You can use them to travel from point A to point B. This allows you to travel quickly, aside from the loading times.
If you teleport from the middle of the map to a wayshrine, you have to pay a fee. The more frequently you travel this way consecutively, the more expensive it becomes. In the beginning of your ESO career, traveling a lot can really add up in gold. Unless, of course, you avoid this silly mistake unlike I did.
This is how it should be: You can also travel for free to a wayshrine of your choice. All you need to do is go to the nearest wayshrine on your map and click on it. Then the map opens and you can head to a previously discovered location. This way, you save money even if you have to travel several times in a row.
And since the wayshrines are easily accessible almost everywhere, it doesn’t really take much more time. Otherwise, you can also travel for free if you teleport to a group or guild member.
2. The stats must all be evenly distributed
This is the mistake: In ESO, you have three different stats that you can skill: health, stamina, and magicka. In other MMOs, these attributes are often distributed as needed.
You might take care of your health, but also focus on your stamina and mana. At least that’s what I thought at first, and I distributed my stats relatively evenly.
This is how it should be: In ESO, however, this is less sensible. You typically pick one stat. There are different roles: tank, damage dealer, and healer. We from MeinMMO will tell you which classes are best suited for which role. If you choose the tank role, please play tank as well. The fake tanks in ESO are annoying.
If you want to play healer now, you only invest in magicka. As a DD, you choose either a stamina or a magicka-oriented build. Distributing points across all three stats is usually pointless.
3. Only skills that deal damage are important
This is the mistake: I am a big advocate of damage-over-time and self-heal skills. However, some members of my guild reported that in the beginning, they thought only pure damage attacks were worthwhile.
If the enemies are quickly defeated, there’s no need for healing or damage-over-time – logically.
This is how it should be: The races and classes in ESO are very versatile. You can play nearly any weapon and armor well with any class, and all roles are theoretically possible.
This gives you a wide range of attacks. But you should always be mindful of not just dealing a lot of damage but also maintaining good survivability.
Especially in longer fights or when a lot of damage is coming in, like during the new Harrowstorms that my colleague Jürgen Horn finds cooler than dragons, this is very important. At least if you’re playing them in small groups. A proper self-heal can help keep you afloat when no healer is present or is busy elsewhere.
4. Every piece of equipment must be maxed out
This is the mistake: In ESO, you can build your own equipment or ask your guild members what they can craft for you. Otherwise, you can of course also get armor and weapons dropped in large quantities.
Usually, your equipment is then exquisite or superior, two of the lowest rarity levels. In ESO, however, you can upgrade items. This can go up to a legendary level. The higher the level, the more materials you need for success.
Of course, I thought at first how great it would be if the dropped or crafted equipment were epic or legendary. Then you waste countless materials on an item you’ll soon replace anyway. Of course, I never reached Legendary.
This is how it should be: For your leveling phase, the first rarity levels are definitely sufficient. Only after level 50 and CP 160 should you seriously consider upgrading your equipment to legendary.
Find a nice guild member who can make you leveling equipment. There are sets with the “Teaching” ability that grant you increased experience gain. These items are not expensive to craft for the leveling phase, and you should have no trouble getting them.
5. Spending several weeks in first-person
This is the mistake: An absolutely avoidable and all the more amusing mistake happened to one of my guild members. He started ESO and somehow ended up in first-person perspective. He spent several weeks without switching to third-person.
This can of course be intentional for some. However, my colleague somehow fell into this and simply didn’t know that he could change it. Most players play MMORPGs from a third-person perspective, so it’s how many also play ESO.
This is how it should be: If you enjoy playing from the first person, that’s perfectly valid. However, if you actually prefer an outside view, you can easily change the camera mode with a key press.
The default keys for this are:
- V on PC
- Press the down arrow key on PS4
- Press down on the D-Pad on Xbox One
Now you know about my newbie mistakes that make me think today: “Were you actually stupid?” My guild members and I talked about this topic over voice chat and laughed a lot about ourselves. How about you? Have you made silly mistakes at the beginning, or did you jump in as a pro gamer right away?
