If you want to experience the original story path this guide gives you the path including all dlc.
I started ESO in Aldmeri Dominion in late August and I find the quests enjoyable from a solo perspective and the main questline is good.
I just reached lvl 50 after four maps and there is a lot of game left in just the base game so you dont need to purchase any of the newer expansions unless you have a special intrest in it.
I will say the expansions are really good - a cut above the base game. But they’re not important to own until you are ready to explore them.
You can play for a few hours and decide if you like the crafting aspect of the game. If you do, then I advise you to subscribe for a month since that gives you the unlimited crafting bag where all your crafting materials go when you gather them. You can subscribe for a month and then stop. After you stop the bag will not be able to be added to, but everything in it will stay there and when you craft stuff will get pulled out of it.
ESO is a great game and you certainly can play like it’s a single player experience. I’ve played through a couple of times starting from zero and it’s always been a lot of fun.
Thank ALL of you for helping me get started. I will use these suggestions to get my feet wet and check back with you once I have started in with any questions I have.
This. This is a great summary of ESO. I started in April and is still playing the Base game today. I didn’t have to go with the monthly sub (ESO+) nor did I get any DLC yet. The Base game itself is rich with tons of quest and storyline and once, in a while, I do go into PVP zone (called Cyrodill) to have some fun. Overall, it is a pretty good game as a standalone solo play and brings tons of value to the mere $10 (one time cost during Steam sales) you have to pay for it.
One time, they gave out a one week free ESO+ trial and the way they give this is a click of a button in-game. No credit card info is required. In that one week, I went to two DLC zones and was amazed at the content, both the story and the quality of graphics improvement. One day, when I am done with the Base game, I will get a couple of DLCs on sale to explore.
I have actually finished the main quest, but there’s so much to do that I feel I am only just getting started, 6 months since I started playing.
I’m sure you know all of this by this point, but just in case:
Purchasing the game via steam or wherever gives you Chapters (Greymoor, Morrowind, etc.). But you do NOT get the corresponding DLC that is part of those Chapters. Those can only be purchased via the in-game store with ‘Crowns’, or by unlocking them via an ESO+ subscription.
EDIT: And because it can be so confusing, I forgot to also mention - you can get all the Chapters up-to-but-not-including the latest (Greymoor) just via the ESO+ sub. Greymoor will be added to ESO+ upon release of the next Chapter (ie., ~June 2021)
I know each DLCs are separate eg Summerset, Orsinium, Greymoor, Morrowind. What I wasn’t clear, until you mentioned it, is that they ARE RELATED! You mean from a story point of view right? No wonder Markath, the latest DLC, is the “end” of the Dark Heart of Skyrim saga… I presume it starts with Greymoor and ends with Markath. There’s more?
I think they’ve started doing that a bit more with the last couple of expansions - Elsweyr-the-expansion is Northern Elsweyr, and then the (smaller) DLC zone is Southern Elsweyr, and Greymoor is Western Skyrim and Markarth is, y’know…Markarth (and I assume some surrounding stuff). I haven’t gotten quite far enough to see how extensive the ties are in those two.
I will say that the Thieves’ Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Orsinium and Murkmire DLCs are all pretty solidly standalone in terms of their main storylines (and the sidequests nearly always are) except I think you run into a few recurring NPCs from the main game in sidequests. The storyline order guide suggests that Orsinium bridges the original game and the first couple expansions, but I don’t remember there being much more than a hint or two tying it to overall chronology. Morrowind, Clockwork City, and Summerset are all arcs dealing with an alliance of Daedric Princes in that chronological order, but you will have dealt with whatever major crisis is at work in each storyline by the end of the Chapter or DLC.
If you care about playing the story in chronological order, here is a great guide on what to buy if you aren’t just doing ESO+ (well, and what order to play them even if you are!):
I am commencing my before game studies via the info yawl provided! Over the years I could tell this game has a goodly # of folks who enjoy the game, here at QT3, based on the # of posts here.
Ironically, I don’t actually play ESO at the moment, even though I have a copy of the ‘Gold Edition’ from years back (pre-Chapters). I’m in GW2 at the moment, because I’m trying to avoid a subscription. I’ll cave eventually though, hence why I know all these details…
So I was thinking of trying this out again…I haven’t played in ages. If I already own Morrowind and I have almost enough crowns on my account to buy another expansion, which would y’all recommend? I guess it’s just Summerset and Elsewyr available, no way to buy Greymoor?
Right, the latest expansion always needs to be purchased with real money.
I would probably go for Summerset.
A month of subscription comes with crowns right? If it’s more than 800, I might go ahead and sub for a month and get Summerset, then.
Yes, you get 1650 crowns per month. If you’re actually going to play the game the sub is a great idea. Note the subscription comes with every DLC (but not the latest expansion) so you won’t need to pay for anything in crowns.
Ohh, does that include the bigger expansion packs like Summerset? If so, cool then, I’ll probably try that.
Yes it includes everything other than the latest expansion pack. You also get 1650 crowns per month, the unlimited craft bag, and a 10% XP buff. It’s worth subscribing while you actually play the game.
This notably includes the thieves guild and dark brotherhood DLCs, which gets you access to thieves’ troves and the instant assassination skill.
Definitely doing that then, thanks!
Reddit would recommend Orsinium.
The way I look at it is that if you see yourself needing crowns, maybe for some good looking costume or gears, it is better to go with sub for that one month as it opens up all the DLCs AND you get 1650 crowns to buy whatever you need. One month is a lot of time to play and finished one or two, or maybe three DLCs.
Edit to add that the unlimited craft bag from the ESO+ is a definite time saver. That way, you don’t have to worry about the crafting stuff you picked up and don’t need to waste time sorting out your limited inventory space.
They would be correct.