I'm confused with the level syncing content. Please help.

Vhayne

So I just started the game, I think I'm level 8 or 9 atm.  And while I'm having fun, I'm quite confused on what to do really.  Let me give an example.


So upon finishing the starter island, and moving onto the big city (can't remember the name - Aldemeri Dominion - High elves, etc.), I am immediately greeted by the old man ghost guy.  So to the harborage I go.  I finish the quest, then leave, walk around the corner, and he's summoning me to the harborage again to do the next "main story quest".  I've done this like 4 or 5 times now, and I don't see an end to it yet.  But since this is the main storyline.  I am very hesitant to continue doing them at this low of a level.  It just feels like I'd ruin it, AND my rewards since they are leveled as well. 

Obviously, I'm either missing something, or misunderstanding how this whole thing works.  Or they totally ruined the game progression in ESO.  I look at my quest log of around 12 quests and they are all my level.  Apparently they level up with you?  What about the rewards?  I'm sure some quests will give really good rewards (but there's no way to know until you finish it - from what I can tell).  But if I can find my way over to that quest that used to give some awesome epic 2 handed sword at max level, and do it now at level 8, then I just wasted that quest reward on a low level.  I hope I am getting my point across.

I can understand scaling the game world to your level when you are max level, but didn't do all the quests from other factions or zones.  It's just more content you get to experience.  But from a n00b perspective, it's a bit....numb?

Anyway, as I said, I'm still enjoying the game.  I'm just really confused at this right now.  I could use some advice, or maybe even a different way to look at it all from another point of view. 

Sovrath

Just do what you want when you want it. You will also find quests and things to do the more you explore.

As far as rewards, don't worry about that so much as you will get better items from crafters. I think there are specific sets one can get in each area for finishing the area's quests but I'm not clear how that works.

Iselin

The removal of level restriction for the main quest line is a new thing and, I agree, it must feel pretty wacky to new players. Prior to the One Tamriel update they used to happen every 5 levels. But don't sweat the quest rewards in the main story line - they are mostly junk.

The good quest rewards now are the item set pieces you get in each zone for doing some of the more important quests in the zone and also from random mob drops, doing the group dark anchor dolmens, bosses in delves or public dungeons or even unlocking chests in that zone.

The ones in Auridon (the zone where you go right after the starter island) are Queen's Elegance light armor, Twin Sisters medium or Veiled Heritance heavy. Those are the ones you should be trying to collect for their extra set bonuses.

But don't sweat the gear too much as you're leveling since you'll be upgrading it constantly all the way from levels 1-50 and beyond until you have at least 160 champion points (that's as high as gear goes.)

And don't feel like you're "wasting" quests on low level gear that you might want to get later in a CP160 version since quest rewards is only one of the ways of getting that set gear. 

Vhayne

So just to put in in perspective of say WoW, at level 4, I could travel to Northrend and do all of the content there.  The drakes, etc, would all be level 4.  Doesn't that ruin the experience of leveling up so you can access that content? 

I mean, I don't want to be killing a dragon at level 12, when before that same dragon was something that level 50's killed because it was a level 50 dragon before....With of course, level 50 loot. 

From an Elder Scrolls perspective, I understand it a bit.  I mean, in Skyrim, each and every quest, you were excited to listen to the problem, understand the lore behind it, and do the quest because it was "usually" a pretty special experience.  So having access to those quests even after you finished the main storyline and maxed out your character was nice. 

But in ESO, these quests are way more generic in form (because there are just so many of them).  it's just rather confusing.

Iselin

If we were talking about WOW, then yes, because WOW has always been very zone-gated with respect to the "heroic" nature of the types of mobs unique to each zone.

But ESO has never been that way. Each zone except the starter islands has a mix of mundane to exotic beasties with different relative strengths and AI. It goes something like this (from trivial to high):

1. Mudcrabs, wolves, spiders, and other beasts
2. Human or humanoid mobs
3. Daedra (some)
4. Trolls and giants
5. Daedra - the special tougher ones
6. The mini boss in delves (solo dungeons)
7. Large packs in public dungeons (group dungeons although soloable if you know what you're doing)
8. Bosses in public dungeons
9. Dark Anchor Dolmen bosses (at the very end of the dolmen event)
10. World Bosses (with typically one per zone being much tougher than others) and instanced 4-man dungeon mobs and bosses

All zones in ESO always had that mix and that's still the case... and there are no dragons

Mardukk

Iselin said:

If we were talking about WOW, then yes, because WOW has always been very zone-gated with respect to the "heroic" nature of the types of mobs unique to each zone.

But ESO has never been that way. Each zone except the starter islands has a mix of mundane to exotic beasties with different relative strengths and AI. It goes something like this (from trivial to high):

1. Mudcrabs, wolves, spiders, and other beasts
2. Human or humanoid mobs
3. Daedra
4. Trolls and giants
5. The mini boss in delves (solo dungeons)
6. Large packs in public dungeons (group dungeons although soloable if you know what you're doing)
7. Bosses in public dungeons
8. Dark Anchor Dolmen bosses (at the very end of the dolmen event)
9. World Bosses (with typically one per zone being much tougher than others) and instanced 4-man dungeon mobs and bosses

All zones in ESO always had that mix and that's still the case... and there are no dragons

I will say they need con system if there isn't one there already.  Is there one I missed?

Iselin

Mardukk said:

Iselin said:

If we were talking about WOW, then yes, because WOW has always been very zone-gated with respect to the "heroic" nature of the types of mobs unique to each zone.

But ESO has never been that way. Each zone except the starter islands has a mix of mundane to exotic beasties with different relative strengths and AI. It goes something like this (from trivial to high):

1. Mudcrabs, wolves, spiders, and other beasts
2. Human or humanoid mobs
3. Daedra
4. Trolls and giants
5. The mini boss in delves (solo dungeons)
6. Large packs in public dungeons (group dungeons although soloable if you know what you're doing)
7. Bosses in public dungeons
8. Dark Anchor Dolmen bosses (at the very end of the dolmen event)
9. World Bosses (with typically one per zone being much tougher than others) and instanced 4-man dungeon mobs and bosses

All zones in ESO always had that mix and that's still the case... and there are no dragons

I will say they need con system if there isn't one there already.  Is there one I missed?

Yeah, the health bar size and some special chevrons at either end of the health bar.

Vhayne

Ok guys, thanks a ton for the replies.  I'll just keep on truckin and enjoying the game.

gervaise1

And don't worry about running out of quests. Even if you do nothing else but quests - so ignore group dungeons, PvP campaigns and don't sweat the world bosses etc. - and play frequently you might not finish in maybe 6 months.

SaunZ

Don't listen to ANYBODY else... get to level 10 and hit Cryodiil (Blackwater Blade Campaign for under level 50) and run in big pvp groups... it is a freak'n blast and then every million hours or so hope back out to the pve world to let your nerves relax!  ESO pvp in Cryodiil is EPIC!!!   forget that main story line stuff until you hit 50... because leveling is fast and once you hit 50 you have to leave noob Cryodiil for pro Cryodiil and you better not be wimpie!

Sz )

Deftpunk79

Another thing that I like a lot about ESO, is that quests are optional. Yes, some give skill points, ability unlocks, or achievements. Most of them, however, only need to be done if you feel like doing them. You can pretty much level however you want. Once you hit 10, you can go to Cyrodill and pvp, you can run dungeons, or you can just grind zone bosses and dolmens. You really can play any style you want to. My main did pretty much everything in game possible. My alts, I just did what I wanted. My most used alt is a fully geared Healer, who can do any content in the game, and still hasn't finished the main story quests. (She's at the freeing Coldharbour stage.)

XAleX360

Vhayne said:

So just to put in in perspective of say WoW, at level 4, I could travel to Northrend and do all of the content there.  The drakes, etc, would all be level 4.  Doesn't that ruin the experience of leveling up so you can access that content? 

I mean, I don't want to be killing a dragon at level 12, when before that same dragon was something that level 50's killed because it was a level 50 dragon before....With of course, level 50 loot. 

From an Elder Scrolls perspective, I understand it a bit.  I mean, in Skyrim, each and every quest, you were excited to listen to the problem, understand the lore behind it, and do the quest because it was "usually" a pretty special experience.  So having access to those quests even after you finished the main storyline and maxed out your character was nice. 

But in ESO, these quests are way more generic in form (because there are just so many of them).  it's just rather confusing.

Quests in ESO are probably the best you can find in an MMO.

baphamet

Vhayne said:

So just to put in in perspective of say WoW, at level 4, I could travel to Northrend and do all of the content there.  The drakes, etc, would all be level 4.  Doesn't that ruin the experience of leveling up so you can access that content? 

I mean, I don't want to be killing a dragon at level 12, when before that same dragon was something that level 50's killed because it was a level 50 dragon before....With of course, level 50 loot. 

From an Elder Scrolls perspective, I understand it a bit.  I mean, in Skyrim, each and every quest, you were excited to listen to the problem, understand the lore behind it, and do the quest because it was "usually" a pretty special experience.  So having access to those quests even after you finished the main storyline and maxed out your character was nice. 

But in ESO, these quests are way more generic in form (because there are just so many of them).  it's just rather confusing.

people complained that they couldn't go anywhere and do any quest they wanted so that's why it got changed to the way it is now.

in other words, no matter what they do there is a crowd that won't like it.

ste2000

ZOS overlocked the Main Quest and the Guild Quests, and I think they should do something about it, I don't think level scaling was meant for that purpose.
Those quests should still be handed over according to your level in order to give a sense of progression.
I hope they fix this.

As someone mentioned, don't worry about running out of quest, there are more than you can handle and don't worry about the reward gear if you choose to complete the main quests earlier as crafted gear is still the best in game for the most part and it is easy to obtain, particular if you level some crafting professions.

Iselin

ste2000 said:

ZOS overlocked the Main Quest and the Guild Quests, and I think they should do something about it, I don't think level scaling was meant for that purpose.
Those quests should still be handed over according to your level in order to give a sense of progression.
I hope they fix this.

Agreed. There are some legacy artifacts created by the One Tamriel update related to gear, crafting and quest content. The ability to chug the main quest line chapter after chapter regardless of level is one of the more glaring ones.

At least with the Fighter and Mages guild quests you have to travel to a different zone for the next bit, With the main quest line all you have to do is step out of the Harborage, turn a corner and there he is again giving you the next "come to the Harborage" bit.

SaunZ

Iselin, you remind me of The Prophet.


Sz 

Iselin

SaunZ said:

Iselin, you remind me of The Prophet.


Sz 

Hmm... I WAS emperor once, There is that

I rethunk the potentially damaging effect to ESO virgin ears so added the spoiler tag... although of course that's just like telling someone not to look lol

Iselin

Torval said:

Iselin said:

ste2000 said:

ZOS overlocked the Main Quest and the Guild Quests, and I think they should do something about it, I don't think level scaling was meant for that purpose.
Those quests should still be handed over according to your level in order to give a sense of progression.
I hope they fix this.

Agreed. There are some legacy artifacts created by the One Tamriel update related to gear, crafting and quest content. The ability to chug the main quest line chapter after chapter regardless of level is one of the more glaring ones.

At least with the Fighter and Mages guild quests you have to travel to a different zone for the next bit, With the main quest line all you have to do is step out of the Harborage, turn a corner and there he is again giving you the next "come to the Harborage" bit.

Tying quests to levels is a horrible idea. It's about 10 steps backwards. The problem isn't the levels but how those narrative steps are tied together. Level locking quests have never provided a sense of progression. It provides a sense of being arbitrarily gated off from content and that's frustrating.

A good example of arbitrarily gated content are the open world portals to caves, ruins, dungeons, and buildings that are quest related in LotRO. It's a nearly universally disliked "feature".

People want to go explore and focus on what they enjoy and throwing roadblocks in the mix under the pretense of "a feeling of progression" is a bad idea that won't accomplish the goal.

People feel progression when they feel more powerful, not when they can now go through the gate. They may feel the achievement of unlocking it, but it won't feel like their character has progressed in and of itself.

It doesn't necessarily need to be tied to levels but it does need to be spaced out in some way for story telling purposes. Like I said, the Fighter and Mage's guild quest lines are still mostly fine because they are gated by geography and nicely spaced out that way.

With the main quest line it's all happening from the one Harborage and, at least in the AD, you get the next quest literaly around the corner if you take a right out the door and start heading toward the VG docks area - that just feels off to me especially for the most important quest line in the game.

Maybe time-gating it like a daily?

Distopia

Gorwe said:

XAleX360 said:

Vhayne said:

So just to put in in perspective of say WoW, at level 4, I could travel to Northrend and do all of the content there.  The drakes, etc, would all be level 4.  Doesn't that ruin the experience of leveling up so you can access that content? 

I mean, I don't want to be killing a dragon at level 12, when before that same dragon was something that level 50's killed because it was a level 50 dragon before....With of course, level 50 loot. 

From an Elder Scrolls perspective, I understand it a bit.  I mean, in Skyrim, each and every quest, you were excited to listen to the problem, understand the lore behind it, and do the quest because it was "usually" a pretty special experience.  So having access to those quests even after you finished the main storyline and maxed out your character was nice. 

But in ESO, these quests are way more generic in form (because there are just so many of them).  it's just rather confusing.

Quests in ESO are probably the best you can find in an MMO.

Oh lol no. Did you forget TSW or SWTOR? While they are better than a typical mmo quest(with a possible exception of LoTR:O), there is no dispute that those two, well, blow ESO out of the water. They're not even in the same league as those two.

I disagree, SWTOR and TSW are still filled with overly grindy quest objectives,.. While the story lines are good the types of objectives bring the overall experience way down. ESO's questing is more akin to TES games, one objective lots of exploration. 

gervaise1

Distopia said:

Gorwe said:

XAleX360 said:

Vhayne said:

<snip>

Quests in ESO are probably the best you can find in an MMO.

Oh lol no. Did you forget TSW or SWTOR? While they are better than a typical mmo quest(with a possible exception of LoTR:O), there is no dispute that those two, well, blow ESO out of the water. They're not even in the same league as those two.

I disagree, SWTOR and TSW are still filled with overly grindy quest objectives,.. While the story lines are good the types of objectives bring the overall experience way down. ESO's questing is more akin to TES games, one objective lots of exploration. 

To simplistic to say that "Game A has better quests than Game B".

All quest based games have "many quests" and - inevitably - some quests are "better done" than others. And I'm using a very loose definition of "better done" recognising that "personal taste" also comes into play.

@Gorwe mentioned LoTR for example; yep it has some fine story quests but it has a huge, huge number of whack-a-rat grindy quests. So how should it be rated? Do you base it off the "well done" storyline or take an average of all quests. And if you take an average it will be pretty near the bottom of the pile.

And - as you would expect - the same is true of SWTOR, TSW and indeed TESO.

ESO has a superb main storyline. Solid story, great cast of voice actors etc. etc. So to the Guild quests. Are they "better" than SWTORs or TSWs? Individual choice I suspect. All worthy of praise. And should be acknowledged accordingly.

Where ESO stands out, imo, is that it avoids "simplistic" whack-a-rat quests. OK saving alliance X against the forces of evil again, and again, and again eventually becomes repetitive but at least there is some sort of story. And many of the quests are also tied together into a semi-cohesive whole.

Aethaeryn

So can I just go into the game now. . go wherever I want and grab a quest etc.?  Is it that open and leveled to you?

Edit:  The reason I ask is that I started the game over and over again with different friends and guilds that all bailed eventually so when I see the starting areas I throw up a little in my mouth.

Iselin

Aethaeryn said:

So can I just go into the game now. . go wherever I want and grab a quest etc.?  Is it that open and leveled to you?

Edit:  The reason I ask is that I started the game over and over again with different friends and guilds that all bailed eventually so when I see the starting areas I throw up a little in my mouth.

You can go almost everywhere you want (and you're leveled up to the content which is all CP160 everywhere, not the other way around.)

The only exceptions are 4-man dungeons that start unlocking at level 10 and then more unlock as you progress depending on your level, veteran dungeons that require level 50, the upper part of Coldharbour which is gated by finishing a few quests in the bottom half, Cyrodiil PVP that also unlocks at level 10 and maybe another thing or two I'm forgetting.

But you can go to any of the zones in any of the three alliances at whatever level you want in any order you want. Although if story matters to you, the story makes more sense if you follow the breadcrumb quests.

SaunZ

Gorwe said:

Distopia said:

Gorwe said:

XAleX360 said:

Vhayne said:

So just to put in in perspective of say WoW, at level 4, I could travel to Northrend and do all of the content there.  The drakes, etc, would all be level 4.  Doesn't that ruin the experience of leveling up so you can access that content? 

I mean, I don't want to be killing a dragon at level 12, when before that same dragon was something that level 50's killed because it was a level 50 dragon before....With of course, level 50 loot. 

From an Elder Scrolls perspective, I understand it a bit.  I mean, in Skyrim, each and every quest, you were excited to listen to the problem, understand the lore behind it, and do the quest because it was "usually" a pretty special experience.  So having access to those quests even after you finished the main storyline and maxed out your character was nice. 

But in ESO, these quests are way more generic in form (because there are just so many of them).  it's just rather confusing.

Quests in ESO are probably the best you can find in an MMO.

Oh lol no. Did you forget TSW or SWTOR? While they are better than a typical mmo quest(with a possible exception of LoTR:O), there is no dispute that those two, well, blow ESO out of the water. They're not even in the same league as those two.

I disagree, SWTOR and TSW are still filled with overly grindy quest objectives,.. While the story lines are good the types of objectives bring the overall experience way down. ESO's questing is more akin to TES games, one objective lots of exploration. 

It all depends on what you want. ESO left(again) a feeling of "what's the point" to me. I'm really not an explorer. I like to have a clearly defined point and to go towards it. Is one more reason why I like Healers and Supports incidentally: you just do what you do best, almost no thinking required. And lord forbid being "unique", "creative" or something of that sort.

I just can't get into ESO at all.

at least you can get into our ESO forum... that's a start.  we will convert you someday to the greatest MMORPG ever!  and healing in ESO is awesome (my main is healz and it is a blast in pvp and pve!)


Sz 

gervaise1

Gorwe said:

<snip>

It all depends on what you want. ESO left(again) a feeling of "what's the point" to me. I'm really not an explorer. I like to have a clearly defined point and to go towards it. Is one more reason why I like Healers and Supports incidentally: you just do what you do best, almost no thinking required. And lord forbid being "unique", "creative" or something of that sort.

I just can't get into ESO at all.

Although the One Tamriel change means you can go anywhere you don't have to; you can follow a linked story quest for each alliance which basically relates to the fall out of an attack from Oblivion. And - again prior to One Tamriel - this storyline would be punctuated by the "Main Story" line quests that lead to a final showdown.

It is a very long quest chain however. Spans many zones and when you throw in other quests, world bosses, dolmans and so forth you could easily lose sight of the over-arching story line.

(Side point: having managed to save the world working for "your" alliance you get to do it all again - twice. Which is obviously somewhat out of sync.)

As a result of the One Tamriel change however you can now do all the Main Story quests one after the other. You don't even need to do any exploring, just exit the introduction and head for the Harborage. Even if you are not minded to try the full ESO experience again the Main Story quests are very well done.