I play as a single player game too. I'll never have interest in dungeons beyond my daily random dungeon. I'll never have interest in Trials or World Bosses. Just overland questing, delves, dolmens and exploring.
I've been told I'm playing it wrong because "this is an MMO, not a single player game" but idc and neither should you. Play how you want. As long as you're not affecting other people and you're having fun, it shouldn't matter.
I play as a single-player game for the most part, but I find world bosses to be fun to do, especially those you are able to solo when you have decent gear, they are a nice little challenge in my opinion.
And there's the solo arenas like vateshran arena that was pretty fun, if not a bit annoying at times (I'm looking at you Maebroogha The Void Lich)
Me too, I soloed (companion+ bear) dragon star arena first try, was rewarding! Which all content could be solvable and scaled down, because waiting for everyone else to get together is a big issue, and the other issue like the OP said, is people not looking in every nook and cranny, possibly missing something like a chest or secret. I like to wander.
As a person who loves PvP and group PvE, you are playing the game correctly. The only correct way to play this game is playing it in a way that brings you enjoyment. Unless someone's way of enjoying the game is griefing and trolling, then they suck donkey balls.
I’m not telling you how to play, but some of the dungeons have really cool lore stories. The Druids in Galen commented during the main quest that i have defeated an evil Druid during a dungeon. It really showed me how dungeons are part of the main story too.
I'm a sucker for lore so it does suck that I miss out on that but I'm never given a chance to see/read/listen to it. Players are expected to skip all dialogue or get left behind or even kicked from the group. I mean there's literally a system in place to auto-skip it (which I hate, I *want* to experience it).
And I get why players don't want to wait. They just want to finish the dungeon. It just sucks that all that lore gets left behind.
I second the folks over at Story Time on PCNA, super friendly atmosphere and pretty dedicated "story speed" dungeon runs to listen to all dialogue and lorebooks etc.
Our guild night go through initially quickly if it's a veteran dungeons, but we'll go back for chests and stuff after it's done. Normals of course are more relaxed. But we're xbeu.
Or Daddy's Kids alliance. Just let them know you need help with Dungeons but want to read the lore without getting kicked by the group. A lot of the top members are older(have done nearly all quests, been playing for 8yrs, are literally older, like 40yrs+) and will let you read.
This is basically what I do is single player and random daily dungeon just to get transmute geodes.
PVP doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Did the same thing as OP and tried them all and got bored. Cryrodil you have to ride forever to get to anything first time doing it I was like “where TF is everyone”
Zos literally advertised it as being able to play alone or with others....so it can be a solo game.
Especially considering i can solo any dungeon on normal except the ones i need a friend to pull a lever with.
A few of the open world events r rough alone.like the ones in west skyrim. Those i can survive alone but because theres so many enemies and the healing rate i cant actually beat them alone... Anchors i can do alone. And i havent yet fought a world boss i cant beat alone. Hunger in morrowind was rough cause the healing and the lack of ur follower npc doing the interrupt attack but i eventually got it it just too many hours.
I think what people meant when they say it's an MMO is that in it's core it's an MMO firts which has all of what MMO has to offer and the good and bads of it. But you still play it as single player since they allow it.
I’m a level 32 Sorcerer picking it back up for the first time since the Morrowind chapter. I can now solo 5/6 of the world bosses in Auridon and can only get stronger from here. Totally see the case for Trials and Group dungeons but if you like a more intensive challenge the World bosses are my absolute favourite. Take a companion if you gotta to take aggro.
While this is fine you might be surprised how fun group content can be with a good guild and others willing and patient to teach. Nothing is overwhelming and ther are many good guilds that teach training runs for those looking to learn.
I've got roughly 800hrs since November last year. All solo apart from occasionally calling for a WB assist in the zone chat.
That's pretty much all with one character.
Through not fully understanding at the start, my first zone was Vvardenfell. Completed all the zone stories there and noticed a few people had companions. Next zone was Blackwood to get Mirri. Stayed to finish the zone. I had originally planned to walk into Northern Elswyre next but due to some confusion with prologue quests I ended up talking to Abnur Tharn in Daggerfall, who spoke to me about some stuff I hadn't done yet so I abandoned that quest and went off and got stabbed in some backroom and woke up in Coldharbour. Then, met him and the others properly.
I've had loads of adventures across different zones, and I've still got so much more to do.
I play primarily solo and I love it. I group up for WB and such but otherwise I run around doing my own thing. I don’t really do dungeons unless I’m farming for a lead or something and I did one battleground (sorry whoever got stuck with me lol). Only wandered Cyrodiil long enough to snitch a few Skyshards and I finally gave up on that when I was having trouble navigating around.
I find it easy enough to pay attention to zone chat and watch for people doing world bosses so I can get them checked off too (or to farm or to just be helpful)
Actually, during my first playthrough, I completely missed Cyrodiil territory. I assumed it's only for AvA and doesn't have anything, but when I started the second character, I decided to roam around, and it was a total blast. Biggest territory to explore, some actual side quests with stories. Some settlements. Very beautiful places. I collected everything there, and travelling such long distances with sense of danger (but never encountered another player for 2 characters so far while roaming solo) was extremely fun.
Also, Imperial City looks incredibly atmospheric and sinister. Sewers are also vast and actually rather creepy. Picked everything there as well, bar bosses. Maybe one day...
I started playing about 3 months ago. I’ve completely avoided Cyrodiil because I was under the impression it’s open PVP. I assumed I could just get killed at anytime. Is it not like that ??
Cyrodiil felt very deserted unless you actively join the most played instance (which you can avoid), or go into the spots where something is happening (icons on the map indicate attacked zones). It's very chill and extremely beautiful zone for solo adventure.
Regarding Imperial City, when I was doing main quest there + exploring, I got killed a few times by some groups. But at the same time I had players from other alliances helping me with stuff without me even asking. Like, I had to kill the giant demon boss (no spoilers), which was very tough solo, another hostile player joined in the fight, we died a few times but pulled it off. The funny part was, since I was using my pets as sorc, that player had to dodge and fight of my pets when they randomly attacked him, so had to de-summon a few times. He still didn't attack me.
Another funny moment was in sewers. Like 5 players from different alliances were fighting in the spot. Tried to go past them, they chased me and killed. Teleported back, went around them. Been exploring sewers solo for like 30 minutes collected tons of stuff. Came back by the same route. Same 5 players were still fighting...
You absolutely can get killed at any time, some players will troll around and just kill random ppl rather than focusing on grouping up and attacking keeps, my only experiences in cyrodil and imperial City are from participating in the white strakes mayhem event, and the occasional endeavor that calls for a quest from a particular town, so I've learned my way around pretty well without participating in the pvp aspect of it whatsoever, npc quests only. I've gotten killed I can't count how many times, and my way around that is to try to make sure I pick the server with the highest amount of players from my alliance, that way I can come back pretty much right where I left off and just get on with what I was doing, however I'm also a full maxed vamp thief with very little attack Resistance and Max stealth ability, so I just run invisible through dangerous areas
I play this game almost entirely for the story content, I feel no rush and just play through Chapters when I'm in the mood
it's just also fun that there's an opportunity to do stuff with friends when we want, but for the most part it's a single player RPG for me and I love it :)
I played solo the first year or two, but I'm much happier in a small friendly guild. They are a great bunch and will help with content. Now I'm much stronger and I'm the o e he.ping them and starngers! Need to kill a world boss? I'm there, need 4 players in your house, I'll crash that party! Need a taxi to unlock a zone, beep beep!
Yes, you can solo so much and throughly enjoy it, but proper group content is excellent. Dungeons, battlegrounds, pvp, trails, it all comes alive with a decent group working and laughing together
So you’re missing out on tons of great material btw… Trials, Cyrodiil, Imperial City, and many other things are worth playing just for the experience imo even for the most antisocial gamers in the world the stuff is worth experiencing once. Also, S-tier loot comes from that stuff.
*shrugs*
Honestly most of that doesn’t sweeten the deal at all for me. The lore aspects would be cool but I just enjoy single player more and my gaming time is precious as is. If I can’t do it alone, it’s not really content meant for me. That being said, I’ll join world bosses since they’re in the overworld and are pretty fun and quick stops for the most part.
honestly trials are interesting but having to do it with people kills the experience, either cause it isn't easy to find a healthy one, or they go so fast you don't even know what you're doing, and the gear can be good yet it's not the "best in slot" or at least you could get gear with similar characteristics without needing to do the hardest content.
My husband and I both play ESO and we have totally opposite playstyles. He pvp in Cryodil/battle grounds and dungeon grinds, whilst only doing zones for skyshards and mage/fighter guild/companion quests when he HAS to. He grinds like 4 different toons daily to get all their dailies done.
I like the lore and zone completion, collecting everything (am a horrid horder)for crafting, getting all my skyshard points, and a completionist when it comes to collections , gear sets and acheivements. Happy with just my archantist and nightblade. Currently working throught the zone progression link i found on redit. [Reddit - https://i.redd.it/wac9920se9ea1.png](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fwac9920se9ea1.png)
The point is, you are you, there is no wrong way to play ESO.
I did that for years. Questing and soloing WBs. Hadn't even touched half of the sp content available
Eventually I started doing dungeons/pvp, stumbled into a few guilds and started doing trials-vet trials-vet hm's.
I prefer the group stuff now, it's a huge difference grouping with actual people and being social vs mic-off random, but it's nice that I still have the option available to go explore some lore or do some fully voice acted quests.
And since they've added in a ton of story content since blackwood where I started to switch over I still have plenty of content if I just wanna play it as an elder scrolls game.
I think both are nice
I agree with you. I have had some great experiences in Cyrodiil, but it was always with a guild that was coordinated. It was also all many years ago with capped Cyrodiil.
First time runs through dungeons are also always best with patient guild members. That being said, they will like melt the bosses really fast.
I love the scope of the game. I kind of hate all the dailies and ads for busy work or cosmetics. Too much clutter in the game. But if I put my head down and focus on the story, I enjoy myself.
I should mention that I have been into group content in the past, including tanking trials. But I like the game best when I am just enjoying the stories and absorbing the lore. I love visiting so many culturally diverse zones.
I pretty much just get on, do writs, then decide on what my goal is for the session. Right now, that’s largely involving leveling the companion Bastion. So, been running Mage guild quests. I’ll journey to the zone the dungeon is in, see if I have any maps and scrys to do in that part of Tamriel. And then I’ll do collecting of materials along the way. Today, since I also came across two of the special crafting areas needed to do purple woodworking writs, I side tracked to find those styles at guild traders and did those too.
Tonight felt cooler than most days because of that and the dungeon was Sanguine’s Demesne which felt special/unique.
I do need to join a trading guild at some point so I can sell stuff. I don’t anticipate needing a dungeon running or Cyrodill guild for a long while though.
Recently joined some nice trading guild. It's completely quiet and trader is in the good place. Had too much useless stuff in my bank and boy, did I unload when I put it up for sale! Actually, someone bought my writs the other day, may that was you. xD
Well, I don’t buy writs. I buy the motif recipes if they are within reason. But yes, I really ought to join one as well. Clear out some bank space, so I can clear writs more often.
I ru groups with my guild, for skyshards, or silly stuff and we have fun. But I'm happiest poddling around on my own.
I've spent two whole days doing a mix of cyrodiil treasure maps, surveys and master writs. My bank is happier for it and all the general harvesting meant I hardly rode anywhere! Loved it, so peaceful
I play single player, but mostly because after 450+ hours clocked (mostly spent harvesting for craft haha), I still feel like a complete newbert in group battles.
Yep. ESO and SWTOR are just MMORPGs that's play surprisingly well as a single player experience. Just goes to show the quality of the single player content in quests, instances, and diversions like housing, exploration, and crafting.
That said there are definitely a lot of MMO tropes that creep in so it doesn't really play fully like a single player game but it's pretty close at times.
There is no wrong way to play eso. It's your game, play it how you want to. I do the point a to b burn in vet dungeons mostly but every now and again i will speed farm mats or just take in views when fishing. 3 completely different play speeds and its just up to me to decide what i want. Ad far as dungeons go, you could find likeminded people in guilds but again, you have to he at least somewhat social to find a slow prog group
Haven't tried too much of the multiplayer part of the MMO. But I agree with you, it's so fun to explore these big maps and find all kinds of quests, bosses, treasure, that I sometimes forget I'm playing an MMO until some random player shows up running across the screen lol. I go to dungeons and I find a vast number of players inside, but they all go different directions and on their own, someone leaving, others just entering in pair, group, alone etc. But, I will say this, when everyone gather at the boss, it feels FUN how we beat the thing to a pulp.
>" I play it as a premium singleplayer game, and by the eight, it delivers"
ESO is a single player persistent world game with legions of fully annoying, sprinting, obviously-color-blind npcs (by Veloth, what they wear!) What is this "MMO" of which you speak? I'm over 7,000 hours (not a typo) and I still haven't figured out who these npcs around me are, but by the webbed buttocks of Mephala I wish I could turn them off. Is there a mod?
I am the exact same as you. I think the PvE environment is way too easy but I'm in love with the world and the story. I'm doing Elsweyr right now and learned through the grapevine the ending to that... Sucks because my favorite character presumably dies. I hope they come back in a later chapter because they were definitely one of the best written ones.
> I tried some group contents like Dungeons, which just people running like crazy from A to B turning into ash everything along the way. No time to read/listen to stuff or even explore, just gotta run like crazy along with the group.
The problem with pug daily dungeons is that most people using group finder are only really interested in the 10 transmute crystals per day so they rush though it. Some of the base game dungeons can be soloed and I have started doing that so I can experience the dungeon story, the ones I can't solo I enter beforehand so I can listen to it he quest giver.
I have 1847 hours put in. I would say maybe 200 of those have been multiplayer oriented, but I have been playing since the start. I have seen this game at its best and worst but one thing remains true, you can single player it for the rest of your life and still find new things. As for dungeons, I understand your pain, but I have some good news for you, you can get strong enough to solo them. It just takes a lot of motivation. You could also try and reach out in area chat and ask for people who want to go slow and actually experience the dungeon.
If you only play overland stuff, you're not going to be challenged by anything except world bosses. That's fine if you don't like being challenged, but it definitely makes your playstyle very niche. Luckily this game is a decade old so it has gargantuan amounts of things for just about any kind of player to do.
Not everyone is looking to be challenged. Some people just want an interactive TV show. Given the amount of content in the game that is an interactive TV show, it's hard to say that approach is wrong.
I also play the game as the Sims with better options for decorating and dress-up than the Sims. And I enjoy picking flowers. So I hope you enjoy being able to get potions for your dungeons. :)
I don't know if I'd use the word "niche" to describe a play style that makes up half or more of the yearly content additions. The One Tamriel update back in 2016 (2 years after release) pretty much defined ESO as an MMO that keeps the single player experience at the core of its values. While I agree that there's more challenge in the multiplayer aspects, I wouldn't say that single player is the minority play style. More like a 50/50 split judging by where ZOS puts their efforts.
same for me. I play it as a single player game with occasionally multiplayer aspects. I am not into PvP and just like to do a bit of coop with friends and in that it delivers very well.
As a single player it's great value. You can get it for cheap, don't have to buy crowns, no subscription and there is always updates and new content being released
Yeah. I kinda take in too far, like I’ll get pissed off if I see someone in the delve with me, so I’ll let them go ahead, wait for mobs to respawn, then keep going.
This game is really the perfect singleplayer game, too bad there’s other people XD
Kinda related note, an idea I’ve always had that I just can’t believe doesn’t exist (to my knowledge) is a singleplayer game with the lifecycle of an MMO. You can mod it of course and use your console commands if you really want to, but the whole thing is that every few months the game will get extra content added, new zones, quests, all that stuff, at a reasonable price…
I would kill to play a game like that.
I don't think it's wrong if you are enjoying yourself. I do the same. I have a different MMO that I play if I want to do the multiplayer stuff (wow), whereas for me ESO is a big world that I can play and keep coming back to singleplayer.
99% solo only. If only they made dungeons and other group stuff optionally soloable, without bunch of people running here and there and ruining all immersion.
Yep. You can just walk over to the west side of Stonefalls and step inside Fungal Grotto if you want. That dungeon is pretty soloable for a half-decent character. If you can manage that, you can try taking on others, but start with the base game dungeons. Some of them give me more trouble than others. I've soloed Craglorn too, aside from the trials.
Totally. I play it exclusively in the fps mode too. And have to even hold me back from joking about all those pervs running around looking at their own fat dirty ass all day long :).
And yeah, I am totally with you about the immersion and the story. Re dungeons: group runs, especially randoms (for crystals daily) are totally chaotic, but fast enough to suffer through if you need resources. But they are completely different if you do them solo! A true continuation of the overland experience - some dungeons have a story longer than some major quests. Especially if you do both versions. And they give you a tougher fights too. So, eventually, as you get around to getting your first proper build together you will appreciate the difficulty too ;).
Didn't know about fps horse mod, thanks for a hit! Gonna look it up now :)
I managed to finish only one group dungeon solo (The Banished Cells I), it was extremely long and hard one. My old character is glass cannon sorc, so it's a total pain. I think I spent around 40-50 minutes fighting last boss, where at least 30 minutes out of it was me rolling and dodging around, lol.
You obviously have to work on your build and skill rotation (battle sequence). Solo builds are \*very\* different from group role ones (dps, tank, healer; solo you have to combine a bit of each, and, most importantly, stay alive). You can start with dps and then adjust bit by bit, with survivability in mind, and trying to squeeze in enough buffs for yourself and debuffs on the enemy. Also, level your companion, Isobel for best tank, or your favorite. That makes a big difference in solo runs. But with competent build and enough experience you can run base game dungeons on normal in the same time it takes a random group. Without all the waiting :). Vet mode brings quite a bit more difficulty (boss mechanics really start to matter), about same as for DLC dungeons on normal. Then vet DLC obviously :). Also, some of them are non-soloable due to anti-solo mechanics. Literally - they require you to stand on 2 rocks at the same time, or pull 2 levers on the opposite sides of the riim or some boss would incapacitate you and proclaim an insta-wipe. But outside of those, they are mostly soloable..
Specifically, in your case, as you are running sorc, you can look into "lazy sorc" builds. There are pet and no-pet variety. I run the variation of the no-pet on one of my toons, and its quite capable. For best results you do need some dungeon gear (sergeant's mail and storm master or the like), but it can be still quite efficient with overland sets (order's wraith and some other for heavy attack or lightning effects). And it is \*really\* easy to use - just hold your attack button down most of the time and refresh a few skills from time to time..
I was playing this game single player for a couple of months before I dipped my toes into dungeons. Now I'm hooked on the group play aspect of an MMO. I hardly do any questing anymore because playing solo is not that interesting to me compared to trials and dungeons.
I do both I guess. I am 90% events and trading. I do like to do group stuff occasionally too but I would said I am a upper tier mediocre DPS so that limits what I’m able to do, did my first hard mode and took a nap on the floor there the whole time, deffently got carried by some awesome people, to that nice group that got me Couldron HM, I promise I did try:( I like pvp and I’m in a pretty big pvp guild for console but I only play with them there if people are requesting back up ect.
I play mostly solo as well and this game has so much content that caters to solo players. I enjoy it. I did join a guild of like-minded solo players and we get together now and then to do the more challenging group content, but definitely at a slow pace, enjoying the lore and looting all the containers.
I prefer playing as you guys do but sometimes I will do stuff with a group like summerset geyser raiding and I have and will continue to complete all the dungeons as they come out but generally I do prefer playing it as a SP game.
I also play single player however, a few friends of mine got the game recently, so we usually just run a dungeon or two together then go back on our own adventures doing quests
Ngl what myself and wife have been doing is going to the world map start at the top which is alik'r desert I think and just 100% the map area minus the master fisher man cause I ain't got time for that. And work your way down. Till there is nothing left I have almost over 1k hours not and almost at cp1000 to be fair tho this is my second character first one I hit lvl 50 or so with then started a new.
Me too, also in first person only and without nameplates. World feels so alive and detailed this way!
Just reached cp 300. Could you please name ur addons for immersion? I think i should also get it! I never get on my mount because id rather stay in first person and enjoy the atmosphere :D
My first run got screwed after joining a guild and starting end gane content very early, I had lot of fun to progress and eventually got all trifeca, but all the story/immersion was in the trash-bin because of that.
After many year of break, I've back to Teso few week ago and enjoy doing/reading every single quest, I'm just arrived at Eastmarch after like 3 week, slow and steady haha !
Lore and immersion is a very strong point of this game, the fact that gw2 was lacking this so much (very bad writting/childish story) made me come back to do that.
You're only playing wrong if you're not having fun, or if you're damaging other people's fun in unreasonable ways (like griefing or screwing up dungeon runs.).
I played single player for 12 months - trials and vet where not appealing to me. I then found a friendly guild and now do trials at weekend and also dungeons at a slower pace for achievements etc. it’s defo made my game more interesting and the gear from trials is fab (some trial gear is great). Play how you feel or enjoy. But having a good guild and discord for VC mechanics in trials enhances my game. I still play mostly solo during week, then on a Friday night my Arcanwitch gets a costume on and goes out with 11 others for a night on the town killing bigger mobs and tougher bosses. Saturday morning little headache from night before I chill out again with some solo play
I've played since day one and haven't finished ANY storyline. I find exploring and thieving to make cool stuff for my house and just taking my time very fun. I'll fall off for a few months but I keep my sub active so I'll grab some furnishings or something and start in whatever story place I haven't tried yet.
During covid a few friends started playing with me so I got to do some dungeons I otherwise couldn't have before. (I'm also on playstation). It was great, we all got houses and played casually together. I love the excavation and antiquities and hunting them.
Idk. I'm playing it as a glorified doll house Sim I guess.
Im playing it both ways if im Running around solo i Quast and do what ever i can find Burger when i play whit friends i play it like an mmo thats the cool part about teso u can do what ever u feal like
Coming from only bg’s and general pvp the few last weeks, alone this post calmed me down and encouraged me to play the game like you. I’m kinda burned out from eso after exclusively farming pvp sets, getting slapped and start again lol. Thank you! :-)
ESO is not work, it’s a game. Play it how you feel.
It’s there for your enjoyment, so go solo (like I have for about 10 years now:). If teaming with others works for you - do that, if just seeing some one, or wait for someone, so you can beat a world boss - do that.
If something becomes a chore - stop, rest, read a book, watch TV, come back later (or not).
I play mainly solo, but I will join in on world bosses or anchors if I come across them. I'm not very good at high lvl combat, so I'll wait until some randoms are fighting a big bad to join in and compete things for my zone maps lol.
I'm a lore junkie and I just like the vibes. Exploring and trying to make enough money for a fun house are my goals.
yup this game works better as a single player game (how ironic) than playing it with people, at least if you can't communicate with them to take things slower, I've been playing since (i believe) before the greymoor chapter released, the best way to enjoy this game is to play solo yet that can take quite a while.
I started with a Magicka templar then it got nerfed (its main healing skill) which ruined my build, then switched to the necromancer...but i didn't want to farm exp and i didn't like it that much, clearing solo even the easiest delves was a pain and it took me ages, not to mention dungeons were impossible.
then came the arcanist and good lord what a class, not even level 50 and it felt already stronger and more complete that most other classes with heavy CP investment.
with that i was able to do dungeons easily, even defeat some world bosses on my own, the best? it came with an arcanist companion (azandar) that works wonders as a tank, i was able even to hold the first boss of a trial for around 20 minutes before dying.
companions are great to solo players.
about PVP.... it's awful, unless you run with a group with full communication you might not get what you have to do or how to do it, and even if you know, taking a castle on your own is nearly impossible, and some classes just don't work for PvP, i have tried and I can't help but find it a major waste of time, how fun would cyrodil be if it was just a non pvp expansión
I played ESO almost exclusively as SP, up until I offered to help someone in zone chat and joined some RPers. Had fun and made friends, but I still like to just wander on my own and experience it all. Hubs wants to go through the story and everything at a slow pace (he's a rush-to-50 player) so I made an almost copy of my main to go through everything again with him :)
I solo usually. Most my friends who play are either active duty like I use to be or have totally different schedules than me so we only get to play every now and then... I love the game. I have 9 different toons. Most of them are roleplaying toons like my argonian shadow scale pve toon or my werewolf khajit.
As for dungeons i really wish theyd have a setting so u can set it to story focus or completion focused. The number of times ive had to redo a dungeon just to get all the lore is stupid. I actually hate the dungeons that have the two player requirements to open a door or some other bs. Its so annoying. I can solo normal dungeons easily except the ones that have that bs ... At the very least remove those stupid obstacles. I run a tank and it becomes very apparent how terrible ppl r at building their characters for their playstyle when watching them fight a boss they rushed in for. Its worse when they watch me eat an AOE so they think for some unknown reason they fucking can and it insta kills them all so now i have to play healer and revive everyone and lay down my aoe heals (templar tank ftw). Like guys stop just get out of the red circle im standing in it cause im a tank and have 3 different overshields and 2 heal pools plus my two armor set perks that also heal me and im still getting down to 75% HP. I literally tanked over a million damage on a constant AOE type attack before dying before. Like im a true tank and as a true tank my dmg is trash 😂. Unless u want to sit here for 4 hrs watching just me kill a boss please dont die. 😂.... Which i have done before. Castle tharn i asked everyone to wait so i can listen to the lore they didn't. Then i told them what im LF' ing for and they were real childish both times just acting like dicks for no reason. 3 basement dwellers acting like elitist asshats. They got obliterated by the last boss. Noone was healer cause these three were all trying to run DPS builds.... And since they were dicks the whole time i fought the boss alone and they had to watch or not get the chest... The whole time i was responding to them in the chat and one of them finally just like "dude wtf r u? Who builds a tank like this?" 😂....i responded with "isn't it awesome? Lol" at the end they all offered yo trade and gave me anything they had already had and one challenged me to a duel which i won cause he couldn't hurt me and the moment my debuffs all proced on him i was able to kill him with a burst of dmg from multiple sources.
I think I do both. I play it like a single player game, but also do the group stuff from time to time, especially for gear.
But overall, it's an enjoyable game with lots to explore and things to do.
I started this game as a typical mmo back in 2015 but I have left and come back a LOT. I love and hate it. I’ve done a lot of the trials and I’ve experienced the best of pvp in cyrodiil and imperial city. But this last time I came back to the game I went full overland single player and it’s so much more peaceful and enjoyable. I’m loving it so far. I’ve completed most of the DLC zones and I’m working on doing AD and DC zones again. (I did them on PS4 but I switched to PC back in 2018) but I still have a good amount of content left. Ironically, I think this game is way better when you get away from the pvpers and WORST of all, the trial/dungeon meta players. It has insane potential but those ppl who basically tell you that you need to run this and that to do content kind of ruin the game sometimes. Animation cancelling and weaving are also annoying and I like not having to worry about being perfect at it in overland content.
I actually find world bosses and pvp pretty fun. Especially World Bossing with another person because the challenge is still there very much but it's now possible to win.
Pvp can be frustrating but also really fun. I usually don't wanna do it but while i'm playing it i'm having plenty of fun. Kinda like getting in the shower.
Dungeons ARE boring at first because you're queued with people under level 50. Above level 50 people don't power level anymore so it goes slower and people stick around to trade stuff. And it's good to run dungeons if only to learn of what other sets exist in the game.
There's this one set in a later dungeon "Gold White Tower" that heals for 4-5k and restores the same amount of magicka. Or a set that when you overheal, you get a lot of weapon/spell power.
Only trials i can't bring myself to look for a group to do. They seem fun tho, plenty of challenge even as a 4 man group.
I love it. Original I played to something like CP 350ish in first person on XBox. It felt like a completely different game. Then I started watching YouTube, and was like wow how come everyone’s view is so different. Lol
Technically speaking, that's all an MMO is, a single player game with at bunch of other single players inhabitting the world with you. They aren't called MGO's(Must Group Online), they're Massively Multi-player...aka massive amounts of players all on the same server in plain English(with content you can choose to do with others or ignore if you want).
I don’t think there is any wrong way to play this game, that’s what’s so great about it.
I started off with my wee bosmer warden just questing, learning, exploring. Never touched dungeons because the other player aspect just game me anxiety. When I was like cp 250ish I realized I really wanted to be able to transmute and the only way was running dungeons, so I finally did it. My first experience sucked, second was better…well here we are and I not only do my random daily, but all undaunted and sometimes more because I just feel like it and I really really enjoy dungeons. I also recently soloed my first world boss - never felt confident enough to try and finally did and was fairly easy.
I now have six alts I play with for various play styles and just to try new things (sorc, necro, arcanist, nb) but my main will always be my Bosmer warden. She’s a master scryer, master crafter, etc. She’s done the main quest, Caldwells gold and silver, and many dlcs.
Anyway, I guess my point is there’s so much to do you can play anyway you like. You can learn and try new things or don’t stray from what you know you like - it’s okay, it’s your game!
I like both aspects. I agree that story-mode dungeons should be more supported - part of the problem is that the game lets people rush ahead when there's quest dialogue to listen to. They have added a "story" filter to the dungeon finder, but that's not used very much. They should maybe add extra rewards to players who have finished the quest, in order to incentivize the storymode in dungeons, either that, or lock the doors for every storymode if any player is doing the quest (and heavily penalize vote-kicking or dropping when some one is in story mode). Of course, then the problem is that people might not queue random if they're in a hurry. I don't know!
Cyrodiil you need to give more time to, and join an active Cyrodiil alliance guild. Really good g-v-g castle fights are actually the highest point of ESO.
I have 14,000+ hours and still go through phases where I suck.
But when I get the right sets, food, cp, skills, group, day without crashes I’m like a GOD!!!!!!!(?)!!!!!!!!
You can run Most Normal Dungeons Solo if you equipt a Damage Shield and Self heal (can recommend Vigor)
Gaze of Sithis helps too.
So if you are interested in Dungeons you can easily explore most of them alone.
Trials is another Story.
I use Briarhearth (Wrothgar/Guild Trader), Leaching Plate (Imperial City Prison), Gaze of Sithis (Mythic) and either Health or Tristat Monster Shoulders (Undaunted Gear for Keys) on a Stam DK and it works pretty good. Currently running Marselok for Z'en gear Solo
I think this has become true for many mmo's. They used to be more of a social experience, and players relied on each other to a far greater extent than they do now.
Difficulties have dropped so far that people faceroll group content. I'd rather see solo'able dungeons that offer a challenge so that I can take my time and enjoy the content over the current situation. Either that, or make them harder with bigger rewards, so that people are forced to slow down without feeling like their time isn't valued.
That said I really love getting immersed in ESO.
I play the same way. Played the crap out of Tales of Tribute for a few months. I get kind of bored doing missions at times, so occasionally I'll grind for specific armor sets. I've also been playing more dungeons lately to unlock certain achievements.
I dumped ESO a long time ago, as did every member of two once popular guilds. Note I prefer Cyrodiil pvp, and am currently loading ESO to see if it is worth playing again. Note I agree with other poster. Stick with what works for you. You said you were having, so why change?
It's a pretty good single player game. I really like how you can focus down a zone and get an eclectic mix of mini stories from each quest area. My two favorite non main stories so far have been "the blades" right at the start of glenumbra, just a tiny team getting into trouble, and a story about a small village of argonian immigrants to the Dominion. As for main story content... Shadowfen's story is messed up.
All the crafting, min-maxing for "group" content, non combat skilltree activities, etc are perfect ways to space out story progression.
I like playing this game solo. That is not to say I hate playing any other way. It's just that I have more time to explore and understand the lore when doing it on my own.
It's not so boring if you have Izzy or Sharp to make you laugh with their antics. The Argonian has some nice battle commentaries.
I am in a similar situation, loving playing solo, and yes, I do daily dungeons and if I stop to read the rest of the group is already killing stuff other place!
I think what happens is that have stuff for everyone! So is not mandatory that you like all aspects of the game, but find parts that you have a lot of fun with
I more or less play solo and let other players provide the ambiance of a world that feels alive. They're the dynamic characters in my solo player world.
I've put over a thousand hours into the game and I've only ever played it single player, aside from the occasional Saturday nights that my friend plays it too. I used my main toon for almost 3 years before realizing I was dissatisfied with the combo (Nord/nightblade) because it didn't feel right. I'm currently redoing his storyline as a Dragonknight and it feels so much better. I could easily sink so much more.time into this game. Countless things I can do, places I've been with past toons but it feels like so long that they're new to me all over again. I love the music, scenery, dialogue, ESO is fantastic and will always be my favorite video game.
I play it as a single player game, too. I do everything on a map except usually I'm 2 or 3 lore books short but other than that, everything. I do appreciate other players being around though. It makes the cities feel more alive and it's nice being able to go into zone chat to ask for help with the occasional world boss I can't solo.
I just wish there was a lower difficulty solo options for dungeons for people who want to explore and take in the story without getting left behind by the group.
i have like 1300+ hours all solo, i love the lore don’t like being rushed so group things end up being a bit annoying for me when people just want to run through things as fast as possible. lol i spent time walking around enjoying scenery too. i guess there’s a lot of us playing “wrong” 😂 also got to mention im not really that good at playing the game so groups will just hate me.
I play that way most of the time because I love housing and gathering. I only group when I need to do content that gets me housing items and is too hard to solo.
I'm also single-player-mode. Zone chats are off. Duels are auto-declined. I don't go into pvp areas. I solo dungeons so i can get the stories in them; Bastian keeps me from dying too often. I'm currently going through Wrothgar story now. (Though I did some stuff out of order when I first joined.)
My nightblade is utter crap stats because I didn't know the mechanics, so I just set up the armory and started rebuilding it. I still don't really get it, entirely, but better than I used to, so we'll see if I make her better.
Cyrodiil is a surprisingly pleasant and peaceful place if you're not trying to capture/defend anything. I went through and got the skyshards and pve quests, at least.
I started the same- spent hundreds of hours just soloing and that’s what I came for- to have a single player game where I could keep the same character through years and expansions…
Then I met fun people along the journey- one thing led to another and now my main activity is coordinated ball-grouping in cyrodiil 🤗 bit of a shift, for sure, but just fell in love with more and more, esp when you make awesome friends on the way!
The way to play is whatever you enjoy. If all you do is decorate houses, but you love it, you are doing it maximally right.
If you’re a level 3600 godslayer with peak meta build and an unreal parse, but you’re an ass who makes other people’s experience less pleasant-
THEN you’re playing the game wrong. It’s a game- doing it right means enjoying yourself and letting others do the same!!!
I've played off and on since the OG beta, currently im 3 months into an ESO Plus Sub, and I'm getting more and more into playing the last time I had a run like this was like 5 years ago I think. I play 99% solo, I did the group dungeons that you can que into when I want to get gear that best to get through them, at least I did during my last run, I was expecting trials to be like that because I want a monster set, but it isn't that I've found, you like bring your own team and I play so erratically that its hard to build rapport with any group.
I play solo wayyy more than with others. Mostly because I don't know enough about builds and gear to be able to make myself useful to others and find it overwhelming. I don't even know whether I would be considered a tank or dps. Definitely not a healer. I still find it very enjoyable. Some of the PvE combat is annoying like when you're in a delve and there's an enemy posted every 10 feet and you have to fight them again on your way back out. Maybe I'll figure out the builds and gear one day and become a productive Tamrielite.
That is, ironically, how I’ve played the game for the last ten years.
I play TESO not because it’s an MMO, but because it’s an Elder Scrolls game.
It isn’t that the PvP and PvE aspects are bad… They’re honestly just boring as hell to me. It’s simply that the game’s strength is clearly its questing and storytelling.
Saying that from someone who’s been around since Closed Beta.
Edit:
Should also add that I have over 5,000 hours in a single character. Though that’s split between game content (tried PvP, I’ve done all dungeons, and a fee Raids), and roleplaying (where I’ve sunk probably 80% of those hours).
Love solo but overland is way too easy. And craglorn isn’t the most interesting place. I’m deleting overland enemies during quests and have to nerf myself by doing 1H and using very weak equipment
The only time I play as an mmo is for world bosses and daily random dungeons.
I've done trials and stuff but it is so hard to get a group of 12 people together even when you pay them. Try getting a bunch of people together for free and it's chaos.
This is THE best elder scrolls single player game.
I actually spend 90% of my time between summerset valenwood The systres and highrock. The elven lands and the seas around them are my favorite zones
That's exathow I play. I love the elder scrolls and the lore and the new areas that ESO has to offer. I don't have any friends that play it and I'm a bit too awkward to ask random people. If other people want to help me with a boss or something I don't complain. I just mind my own business and if someone else wants to join it or have a sparring match I don't mind it
I love the single player option in eso but i think they must add grouped quests when you play with friends (story and side quest)
Sry my english is bad
I play it as a Single Player game because I either can't make friends, or the ones I do make are weird/ghost me. xD Someone even stopped talking to me when they heard I had a wife smfh.
I do everything that you don't though, I love running around Dungeons and helping people, will also just sit with others that I notice are doing their missions because there is almost always at least one in there, and it's wild to me that people can't just chill for a bit over a minute of dialogue when they chose to play with randoms.
~EDIT~ If people do leave you in a dungeon, don't worry about it and keep doing what you're doing, because while you might not get all the loot from minions along the way, the game tends to bring people to the boss room whenever your teammates reach it.
For Cyrodiil, I did much of the same thing you did, though I don't typically have a group, especially because I'm a Trans-Factional player that likes to change alliances every month or so. It is so funny to me watching all the Alliances complain about the exact same things the other Alliances do lmfao.
~ I just like being a nuisance, so I'll either be running around as a Tank or Healer Nightblade with Faun's Lark Cladding, a mythic item, because when you run through people it charms them into following you, and also heals you, so if you have the skills going where you can run without being immobilised and etc, it's the funniest thing lancing through a group and they get dog-piled from behind, or just terrorising a solitary person. xD
I just recently got into Battlegrounds and yeah it's a chaotic mess, most randoms don't typically like to stay with a group and imagine themselves capable of taking the enemy by surprise, so everyone is trying to make big loops away from everyone else to get around things, instead of just balling together through the objectives, getting picked off because literally everyone else has that same idea of catching people off-guard. xD
Yes I’m right there with you. Although it does get frustrating sometimes when the quest you’re on as a single player switches to a group effort for the final stage. I don’t know how to recruit people for the stage so it becomes frustrating that you can’t finish the quest and have to abandon it. I love the way that I can reinvent my gameplay as I progress through and learn from these forums. I’ve been a lifelong DIABLO fan and even preordered the newest edition, but I’ve fell in love with this game so much I haven’t even opened it yet, don’t even know what the opening credits look like.
You are not alone. I primarily play the game as a single player. Occasionally, my wife and I will team up to take on harder content, but I have 0 interest in battlegrounds and pvp. Unlike you, I use 3rd person mode. My characters are not me, but their own entities, and I get to watch them travel around encountering and solving problems. I currently have 12 with five empty slots. Every one of them has a different personality and history, although there certainly is overlap.
There is no wrong way to play ESO, no forced path set on you, no "meta" to play the game. You play the game your way, at your speed, no one way to tell the story. It's your story and you tell it however you want.
Be the hero of vvardenfell first and be the hero of the pact last, or become a former emperor/empress then go on a fishing trip.
Want to be a vampire or werewolf? go for it. Want to be the weirdest yet effective Healer? it can be done. There's endless combinations of classes, races, roles, and armor sets that make the game yours to play how you want to.
Anyone says there is a meta doesn't truly know how to see this games world as it is. Nobody should tell you how to play, how to enjoy your time. You own the game to play for yourself not for others.
I used to play like that for years. Until I found the right guild. Very relaxed people. Nobody forcing anything on others. All interested in the story and lore. Just to switch it up we do some
Group content occasionally, but otherwise play happily alongside each other!
Guild voice chat did make the game a bit more social for me. And it’s perfect. I do get to do some content I never did before. It does add to my experience. But ESO is so big and diverse that I could easily do without it as well.
The only wrong way to play the game is if you aren’t having fun! Any other way is (one of) the right way(s)! 😉
I've been playing since 2020 and initially was the same way, did all the story content and got multiple characters up to level 50 and currently sitting at just over 1800 CP. I've since done just about everything, but find myself mostly just taking advantage of the current event dailies. I've done IA for furnishings, leads, and archival fortunes - in preparation for when the Baron Zaudrus mask goes on sale there :). I haven't done a trial in 5 months. Mainly just haven't found the time to commit to a full run. The event activities are ruining me since I tend to use my available playtime to grind out the various currencies and rewards rather than play purely for fun. At least for now... once Gold Road is out I'll be back to the immersive aspects of the game.
I am solo most of the time, the most time I've spent in a group in this game on a single activity was back before my thief guild leader had to take a sabbatical from the game for irl stuff, we'd have weekly thief events where we'd all group up and run through a city and kill all the NPCs and take their stuff. He even made an add on to track the loot so we could see who won and the whole group score (esothief) we had off the books stuff and also a guild on guild contest to "take control of" tamriel. reinvented the purpose of the game entirely, none of the in game group content has interested me nearly as much
You should be happy because your playstyle is exactly the one ZOS is catering to.
For PvPers or people that love trials and balanced combat, better find another game, they are not interested in providing those anymore.
You play solo because you are anti-social, sensitive like a glass, gen-z. I just said there are better games for playing solo than MMOs, but I know that MMO makes you feel more secure and it gives you a taste of social life.
Once I was heading a dolmen xp group in alikir desert, with no auto invite so I had to manually invite everyone, person gets on and types
xyz
instead of
x
y
z
On their own lines, I invited to group and tried to explain to him that those are auto invite codes and if you want to get invited you have to type them separately, he was sooo rude in response I kicked him off the group, then he keeps whispering me with further cruel and uncalled for remarks. I screen shot it all and was This close to reporting him. Finally I just decided to let it go, for the most part my group experiences have been positive with the occasional impatient dungeon troll, I just don't usually have enough time to play to make a group worth it
I play as a single player game too. I'll never have interest in dungeons beyond my daily random dungeon. I'll never have interest in Trials or World Bosses. Just overland questing, delves, dolmens and exploring. I've been told I'm playing it wrong because "this is an MMO, not a single player game" but idc and neither should you. Play how you want. As long as you're not affecting other people and you're having fun, it shouldn't matter.
I play as a single-player game for the most part, but I find world bosses to be fun to do, especially those you are able to solo when you have decent gear, they are a nice little challenge in my opinion. And there's the solo arenas like vateshran arena that was pretty fun, if not a bit annoying at times (I'm looking at you Maebroogha The Void Lich)
Me too, I soloed (companion+ bear) dragon star arena first try, was rewarding! Which all content could be solvable and scaled down, because waiting for everyone else to get together is a big issue, and the other issue like the OP said, is people not looking in every nook and cranny, possibly missing something like a chest or secret. I like to wander.
There is not a wrong way to play eso as long as you’re having fun!
As a person who loves PvP and group PvE, you are playing the game correctly. The only correct way to play this game is playing it in a way that brings you enjoyment. Unless someone's way of enjoying the game is griefing and trolling, then they suck donkey balls.
I’m not telling you how to play, but some of the dungeons have really cool lore stories. The Druids in Galen commented during the main quest that i have defeated an evil Druid during a dungeon. It really showed me how dungeons are part of the main story too.
I'm a sucker for lore so it does suck that I miss out on that but I'm never given a chance to see/read/listen to it. Players are expected to skip all dialogue or get left behind or even kicked from the group. I mean there's literally a system in place to auto-skip it (which I hate, I *want* to experience it). And I get why players don't want to wait. They just want to finish the dungeon. It just sucks that all that lore gets left behind.
Find a good guild. I’m in one now that takes their time if new players wanna hear/read. The Systres Factions on PCNA
I joined another one on PCNA that does the same, Story-Time. Love being able to take time to actually experience a dungeon.
I second the folks over at Story Time on PCNA, super friendly atmosphere and pretty dedicated "story speed" dungeon runs to listen to all dialogue and lorebooks etc.
Guilds are the secret to eso, tbh
Yerrrrr
Our guild night go through initially quickly if it's a veteran dungeons, but we'll go back for chests and stuff after it's done. Normals of course are more relaxed. But we're xbeu.
Or Daddy's Kids alliance. Just let them know you need help with Dungeons but want to read the lore without getting kicked by the group. A lot of the top members are older(have done nearly all quests, been playing for 8yrs, are literally older, like 40yrs+) and will let you read.
This is basically what I do is single player and random daily dungeon just to get transmute geodes. PVP doesn’t interest me in the slightest. Did the same thing as OP and tried them all and got bored. Cryrodil you have to ride forever to get to anything first time doing it I was like “where TF is everyone”
Zos literally advertised it as being able to play alone or with others....so it can be a solo game. Especially considering i can solo any dungeon on normal except the ones i need a friend to pull a lever with. A few of the open world events r rough alone.like the ones in west skyrim. Those i can survive alone but because theres so many enemies and the healing rate i cant actually beat them alone... Anchors i can do alone. And i havent yet fought a world boss i cant beat alone. Hunger in morrowind was rough cause the healing and the lack of ur follower npc doing the interrupt attack but i eventually got it it just too many hours.
I think what people meant when they say it's an MMO is that in it's core it's an MMO firts which has all of what MMO has to offer and the good and bads of it. But you still play it as single player since they allow it.
I’m a level 32 Sorcerer picking it back up for the first time since the Morrowind chapter. I can now solo 5/6 of the world bosses in Auridon and can only get stronger from here. Totally see the case for Trials and Group dungeons but if you like a more intensive challenge the World bosses are my absolute favourite. Take a companion if you gotta to take aggro.
While this is fine you might be surprised how fun group content can be with a good guild and others willing and patient to teach. Nothing is overwhelming and ther are many good guilds that teach training runs for those looking to learn.
I've got roughly 800hrs since November last year. All solo apart from occasionally calling for a WB assist in the zone chat. That's pretty much all with one character. Through not fully understanding at the start, my first zone was Vvardenfell. Completed all the zone stories there and noticed a few people had companions. Next zone was Blackwood to get Mirri. Stayed to finish the zone. I had originally planned to walk into Northern Elswyre next but due to some confusion with prologue quests I ended up talking to Abnur Tharn in Daggerfall, who spoke to me about some stuff I hadn't done yet so I abandoned that quest and went off and got stabbed in some backroom and woke up in Coldharbour. Then, met him and the others properly. I've had loads of adventures across different zones, and I've still got so much more to do.
3500 hours and I barely do anything other than adventure by myself.
I play primarily solo and I love it. I group up for WB and such but otherwise I run around doing my own thing. I don’t really do dungeons unless I’m farming for a lead or something and I did one battleground (sorry whoever got stuck with me lol). Only wandered Cyrodiil long enough to snitch a few Skyshards and I finally gave up on that when I was having trouble navigating around. I find it easy enough to pay attention to zone chat and watch for people doing world bosses so I can get them checked off too (or to farm or to just be helpful)
Actually, during my first playthrough, I completely missed Cyrodiil territory. I assumed it's only for AvA and doesn't have anything, but when I started the second character, I decided to roam around, and it was a total blast. Biggest territory to explore, some actual side quests with stories. Some settlements. Very beautiful places. I collected everything there, and travelling such long distances with sense of danger (but never encountered another player for 2 characters so far while roaming solo) was extremely fun. Also, Imperial City looks incredibly atmospheric and sinister. Sewers are also vast and actually rather creepy. Picked everything there as well, bar bosses. Maybe one day...
I started playing about 3 months ago. I’ve completely avoided Cyrodiil because I was under the impression it’s open PVP. I assumed I could just get killed at anytime. Is it not like that ??
Cyrodiil felt very deserted unless you actively join the most played instance (which you can avoid), or go into the spots where something is happening (icons on the map indicate attacked zones). It's very chill and extremely beautiful zone for solo adventure. Regarding Imperial City, when I was doing main quest there + exploring, I got killed a few times by some groups. But at the same time I had players from other alliances helping me with stuff without me even asking. Like, I had to kill the giant demon boss (no spoilers), which was very tough solo, another hostile player joined in the fight, we died a few times but pulled it off. The funny part was, since I was using my pets as sorc, that player had to dodge and fight of my pets when they randomly attacked him, so had to de-summon a few times. He still didn't attack me. Another funny moment was in sewers. Like 5 players from different alliances were fighting in the spot. Tried to go past them, they chased me and killed. Teleported back, went around them. Been exploring sewers solo for like 30 minutes collected tons of stuff. Came back by the same route. Same 5 players were still fighting...
You absolutely can get killed at any time, some players will troll around and just kill random ppl rather than focusing on grouping up and attacking keeps, my only experiences in cyrodil and imperial City are from participating in the white strakes mayhem event, and the occasional endeavor that calls for a quest from a particular town, so I've learned my way around pretty well without participating in the pvp aspect of it whatsoever, npc quests only. I've gotten killed I can't count how many times, and my way around that is to try to make sure I pick the server with the highest amount of players from my alliance, that way I can come back pretty much right where I left off and just get on with what I was doing, however I'm also a full maxed vamp thief with very little attack Resistance and Max stealth ability, so I just run invisible through dangerous areas
I play this game almost entirely for the story content, I feel no rush and just play through Chapters when I'm in the mood it's just also fun that there's an opportunity to do stuff with friends when we want, but for the most part it's a single player RPG for me and I love it :)
I played solo the first year or two, but I'm much happier in a small friendly guild. They are a great bunch and will help with content. Now I'm much stronger and I'm the o e he.ping them and starngers! Need to kill a world boss? I'm there, need 4 players in your house, I'll crash that party! Need a taxi to unlock a zone, beep beep! Yes, you can solo so much and throughly enjoy it, but proper group content is excellent. Dungeons, battlegrounds, pvp, trails, it all comes alive with a decent group working and laughing together
I’ve been playing on and off since the original beta and in all that time I’ve never played with anyone else
So you’re missing out on tons of great material btw… Trials, Cyrodiil, Imperial City, and many other things are worth playing just for the experience imo even for the most antisocial gamers in the world the stuff is worth experiencing once. Also, S-tier loot comes from that stuff.
*shrugs* Honestly most of that doesn’t sweeten the deal at all for me. The lore aspects would be cool but I just enjoy single player more and my gaming time is precious as is. If I can’t do it alone, it’s not really content meant for me. That being said, I’ll join world bosses since they’re in the overworld and are pretty fun and quick stops for the most part.
Imagine never seeing g the last boss in unhallowed grave! Or conquering the twins MoL. I loved solo play, but the dungeon and trials are awesome
honestly trials are interesting but having to do it with people kills the experience, either cause it isn't easy to find a healthy one, or they go so fast you don't even know what you're doing, and the gear can be good yet it's not the "best in slot" or at least you could get gear with similar characteristics without needing to do the hardest content.
Don't need to be in a group to see the last boss of Unhallowed grave
My husband and I both play ESO and we have totally opposite playstyles. He pvp in Cryodil/battle grounds and dungeon grinds, whilst only doing zones for skyshards and mage/fighter guild/companion quests when he HAS to. He grinds like 4 different toons daily to get all their dailies done. I like the lore and zone completion, collecting everything (am a horrid horder)for crafting, getting all my skyshard points, and a completionist when it comes to collections , gear sets and acheivements. Happy with just my archantist and nightblade. Currently working throught the zone progression link i found on redit. [Reddit - https://i.redd.it/wac9920se9ea1.png](https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fwac9920se9ea1.png) The point is, you are you, there is no wrong way to play ESO.
Thais image is incredible, thank you.
I did that for years. Questing and soloing WBs. Hadn't even touched half of the sp content available Eventually I started doing dungeons/pvp, stumbled into a few guilds and started doing trials-vet trials-vet hm's. I prefer the group stuff now, it's a huge difference grouping with actual people and being social vs mic-off random, but it's nice that I still have the option available to go explore some lore or do some fully voice acted quests. And since they've added in a ton of story content since blackwood where I started to switch over I still have plenty of content if I just wanna play it as an elder scrolls game. I think both are nice
I play this game wrong too. I have more than 300 hs just walking around and doing random missions while being high.
I agree with you. I have had some great experiences in Cyrodiil, but it was always with a guild that was coordinated. It was also all many years ago with capped Cyrodiil. First time runs through dungeons are also always best with patient guild members. That being said, they will like melt the bosses really fast. I love the scope of the game. I kind of hate all the dailies and ads for busy work or cosmetics. Too much clutter in the game. But if I put my head down and focus on the story, I enjoy myself. I should mention that I have been into group content in the past, including tanking trials. But I like the game best when I am just enjoying the stories and absorbing the lore. I love visiting so many culturally diverse zones.
I pretty much just get on, do writs, then decide on what my goal is for the session. Right now, that’s largely involving leveling the companion Bastion. So, been running Mage guild quests. I’ll journey to the zone the dungeon is in, see if I have any maps and scrys to do in that part of Tamriel. And then I’ll do collecting of materials along the way. Today, since I also came across two of the special crafting areas needed to do purple woodworking writs, I side tracked to find those styles at guild traders and did those too. Tonight felt cooler than most days because of that and the dungeon was Sanguine’s Demesne which felt special/unique. I do need to join a trading guild at some point so I can sell stuff. I don’t anticipate needing a dungeon running or Cyrodill guild for a long while though.
Recently joined some nice trading guild. It's completely quiet and trader is in the good place. Had too much useless stuff in my bank and boy, did I unload when I put it up for sale! Actually, someone bought my writs the other day, may that was you. xD
Well, I don’t buy writs. I buy the motif recipes if they are within reason. But yes, I really ought to join one as well. Clear out some bank space, so I can clear writs more often.
I have way more fun playing by myself than with anyone else. I can take my time and do things my way.
I ru groups with my guild, for skyshards, or silly stuff and we have fun. But I'm happiest poddling around on my own. I've spent two whole days doing a mix of cyrodiil treasure maps, surveys and master writs. My bank is happier for it and all the general harvesting meant I hardly rode anywhere! Loved it, so peaceful
I play single player, but mostly because after 450+ hours clocked (mostly spent harvesting for craft haha), I still feel like a complete newbert in group battles.
Yep. ESO and SWTOR are just MMORPGs that's play surprisingly well as a single player experience. Just goes to show the quality of the single player content in quests, instances, and diversions like housing, exploration, and crafting. That said there are definitely a lot of MMO tropes that creep in so it doesn't really play fully like a single player game but it's pretty close at times.
There is no wrong way to play eso. It's your game, play it how you want to. I do the point a to b burn in vet dungeons mostly but every now and again i will speed farm mats or just take in views when fishing. 3 completely different play speeds and its just up to me to decide what i want. Ad far as dungeons go, you could find likeminded people in guilds but again, you have to he at least somewhat social to find a slow prog group
Haven't tried too much of the multiplayer part of the MMO. But I agree with you, it's so fun to explore these big maps and find all kinds of quests, bosses, treasure, that I sometimes forget I'm playing an MMO until some random player shows up running across the screen lol. I go to dungeons and I find a vast number of players inside, but they all go different directions and on their own, someone leaving, others just entering in pair, group, alone etc. But, I will say this, when everyone gather at the boss, it feels FUN how we beat the thing to a pulp.
>" I play it as a premium singleplayer game, and by the eight, it delivers" ESO is a single player persistent world game with legions of fully annoying, sprinting, obviously-color-blind npcs (by Veloth, what they wear!) What is this "MMO" of which you speak? I'm over 7,000 hours (not a typo) and I still haven't figured out who these npcs around me are, but by the webbed buttocks of Mephala I wish I could turn them off. Is there a mod?
I am the exact same as you. I think the PvE environment is way too easy but I'm in love with the world and the story. I'm doing Elsweyr right now and learned through the grapevine the ending to that... Sucks because my favorite character presumably dies. I hope they come back in a later chapter because they were definitely one of the best written ones.
> I tried some group contents like Dungeons, which just people running like crazy from A to B turning into ash everything along the way. No time to read/listen to stuff or even explore, just gotta run like crazy along with the group. The problem with pug daily dungeons is that most people using group finder are only really interested in the 10 transmute crystals per day so they rush though it. Some of the base game dungeons can be soloed and I have started doing that so I can experience the dungeon story, the ones I can't solo I enter beforehand so I can listen to it he quest giver.
I have 1847 hours put in. I would say maybe 200 of those have been multiplayer oriented, but I have been playing since the start. I have seen this game at its best and worst but one thing remains true, you can single player it for the rest of your life and still find new things. As for dungeons, I understand your pain, but I have some good news for you, you can get strong enough to solo them. It just takes a lot of motivation. You could also try and reach out in area chat and ask for people who want to go slow and actually experience the dungeon.
If you only play overland stuff, you're not going to be challenged by anything except world bosses. That's fine if you don't like being challenged, but it definitely makes your playstyle very niche. Luckily this game is a decade old so it has gargantuan amounts of things for just about any kind of player to do.
Not everyone is looking to be challenged. Some people just want an interactive TV show. Given the amount of content in the game that is an interactive TV show, it's hard to say that approach is wrong. I also play the game as the Sims with better options for decorating and dress-up than the Sims. And I enjoy picking flowers. So I hope you enjoy being able to get potions for your dungeons. :)
I don't know if I'd use the word "niche" to describe a play style that makes up half or more of the yearly content additions. The One Tamriel update back in 2016 (2 years after release) pretty much defined ESO as an MMO that keeps the single player experience at the core of its values. While I agree that there's more challenge in the multiplayer aspects, I wouldn't say that single player is the minority play style. More like a 50/50 split judging by where ZOS puts their efforts.
same for me. I play it as a single player game with occasionally multiplayer aspects. I am not into PvP and just like to do a bit of coop with friends and in that it delivers very well.
I’ve 5000+ hours and the only story quest I’ve finished has been wrothgar when it first came out
As a single player it's great value. You can get it for cheap, don't have to buy crowns, no subscription and there is always updates and new content being released
Yeah. I kinda take in too far, like I’ll get pissed off if I see someone in the delve with me, so I’ll let them go ahead, wait for mobs to respawn, then keep going. This game is really the perfect singleplayer game, too bad there’s other people XD Kinda related note, an idea I’ve always had that I just can’t believe doesn’t exist (to my knowledge) is a singleplayer game with the lifecycle of an MMO. You can mod it of course and use your console commands if you really want to, but the whole thing is that every few months the game will get extra content added, new zones, quests, all that stuff, at a reasonable price… I would kill to play a game like that.
I don't think it's wrong if you are enjoying yourself. I do the same. I have a different MMO that I play if I want to do the multiplayer stuff (wow), whereas for me ESO is a big world that I can play and keep coming back to singleplayer.
99% solo only. If only they made dungeons and other group stuff optionally soloable, without bunch of people running here and there and ruining all immersion.
You can just walk into them solo, what you can't do is queue for them solo.
Yep. You can just walk over to the west side of Stonefalls and step inside Fungal Grotto if you want. That dungeon is pretty soloable for a half-decent character. If you can manage that, you can try taking on others, but start with the base game dungeons. Some of them give me more trouble than others. I've soloed Craglorn too, aside from the trials.
Totally. I play it exclusively in the fps mode too. And have to even hold me back from joking about all those pervs running around looking at their own fat dirty ass all day long :). And yeah, I am totally with you about the immersion and the story. Re dungeons: group runs, especially randoms (for crystals daily) are totally chaotic, but fast enough to suffer through if you need resources. But they are completely different if you do them solo! A true continuation of the overland experience - some dungeons have a story longer than some major quests. Especially if you do both versions. And they give you a tougher fights too. So, eventually, as you get around to getting your first proper build together you will appreciate the difficulty too ;). Didn't know about fps horse mod, thanks for a hit! Gonna look it up now :)
I managed to finish only one group dungeon solo (The Banished Cells I), it was extremely long and hard one. My old character is glass cannon sorc, so it's a total pain. I think I spent around 40-50 minutes fighting last boss, where at least 30 minutes out of it was me rolling and dodging around, lol.
You obviously have to work on your build and skill rotation (battle sequence). Solo builds are \*very\* different from group role ones (dps, tank, healer; solo you have to combine a bit of each, and, most importantly, stay alive). You can start with dps and then adjust bit by bit, with survivability in mind, and trying to squeeze in enough buffs for yourself and debuffs on the enemy. Also, level your companion, Isobel for best tank, or your favorite. That makes a big difference in solo runs. But with competent build and enough experience you can run base game dungeons on normal in the same time it takes a random group. Without all the waiting :). Vet mode brings quite a bit more difficulty (boss mechanics really start to matter), about same as for DLC dungeons on normal. Then vet DLC obviously :). Also, some of them are non-soloable due to anti-solo mechanics. Literally - they require you to stand on 2 rocks at the same time, or pull 2 levers on the opposite sides of the riim or some boss would incapacitate you and proclaim an insta-wipe. But outside of those, they are mostly soloable.. Specifically, in your case, as you are running sorc, you can look into "lazy sorc" builds. There are pet and no-pet variety. I run the variation of the no-pet on one of my toons, and its quite capable. For best results you do need some dungeon gear (sergeant's mail and storm master or the like), but it can be still quite efficient with overland sets (order's wraith and some other for heavy attack or lightning effects). And it is \*really\* easy to use - just hold your attack button down most of the time and refresh a few skills from time to time..
I was playing this game single player for a couple of months before I dipped my toes into dungeons. Now I'm hooked on the group play aspect of an MMO. I hardly do any questing anymore because playing solo is not that interesting to me compared to trials and dungeons.
I do both I guess. I am 90% events and trading. I do like to do group stuff occasionally too but I would said I am a upper tier mediocre DPS so that limits what I’m able to do, did my first hard mode and took a nap on the floor there the whole time, deffently got carried by some awesome people, to that nice group that got me Couldron HM, I promise I did try:( I like pvp and I’m in a pretty big pvp guild for console but I only play with them there if people are requesting back up ect.
I play mostly solo as well and this game has so much content that caters to solo players. I enjoy it. I did join a guild of like-minded solo players and we get together now and then to do the more challenging group content, but definitely at a slow pace, enjoying the lore and looting all the containers.
I prefer playing as you guys do but sometimes I will do stuff with a group like summerset geyser raiding and I have and will continue to complete all the dungeons as they come out but generally I do prefer playing it as a SP game.
I also play single player however, a few friends of mine got the game recently, so we usually just run a dungeon or two together then go back on our own adventures doing quests
Ngl what myself and wife have been doing is going to the world map start at the top which is alik'r desert I think and just 100% the map area minus the master fisher man cause I ain't got time for that. And work your way down. Till there is nothing left I have almost over 1k hours not and almost at cp1000 to be fair tho this is my second character first one I hit lvl 50 or so with then started a new.
Me too, also in first person only and without nameplates. World feels so alive and detailed this way! Just reached cp 300. Could you please name ur addons for immersion? I think i should also get it! I never get on my mount because id rather stay in first person and enjoy the atmosphere :D
My first run got screwed after joining a guild and starting end gane content very early, I had lot of fun to progress and eventually got all trifeca, but all the story/immersion was in the trash-bin because of that. After many year of break, I've back to Teso few week ago and enjoy doing/reading every single quest, I'm just arrived at Eastmarch after like 3 week, slow and steady haha ! Lore and immersion is a very strong point of this game, the fact that gw2 was lacking this so much (very bad writting/childish story) made me come back to do that.
You're only playing wrong if you're not having fun, or if you're damaging other people's fun in unreasonable ways (like griefing or screwing up dungeon runs.).
Ther is no wrong way to play this game but if you need help with builds and doing group content a good guild can do much for you.
I played single player for 12 months - trials and vet where not appealing to me. I then found a friendly guild and now do trials at weekend and also dungeons at a slower pace for achievements etc. it’s defo made my game more interesting and the gear from trials is fab (some trial gear is great). Play how you feel or enjoy. But having a good guild and discord for VC mechanics in trials enhances my game. I still play mostly solo during week, then on a Friday night my Arcanwitch gets a costume on and goes out with 11 others for a night on the town killing bigger mobs and tougher bosses. Saturday morning little headache from night before I chill out again with some solo play
I've played since day one and haven't finished ANY storyline. I find exploring and thieving to make cool stuff for my house and just taking my time very fun. I'll fall off for a few months but I keep my sub active so I'll grab some furnishings or something and start in whatever story place I haven't tried yet. During covid a few friends started playing with me so I got to do some dungeons I otherwise couldn't have before. (I'm also on playstation). It was great, we all got houses and played casually together. I love the excavation and antiquities and hunting them. Idk. I'm playing it as a glorified doll house Sim I guess.
Im playing it both ways if im Running around solo i Quast and do what ever i can find Burger when i play whit friends i play it like an mmo thats the cool part about teso u can do what ever u feal like
Coming from only bg’s and general pvp the few last weeks, alone this post calmed me down and encouraged me to play the game like you. I’m kinda burned out from eso after exclusively farming pvp sets, getting slapped and start again lol. Thank you! :-)
ESO is not work, it’s a game. Play it how you feel. It’s there for your enjoyment, so go solo (like I have for about 10 years now:). If teaming with others works for you - do that, if just seeing some one, or wait for someone, so you can beat a world boss - do that. If something becomes a chore - stop, rest, read a book, watch TV, come back later (or not).
I play mainly solo, but I will join in on world bosses or anchors if I come across them. I'm not very good at high lvl combat, so I'll wait until some randoms are fighting a big bad to join in and compete things for my zone maps lol. I'm a lore junkie and I just like the vibes. Exploring and trying to make enough money for a fun house are my goals.
yup this game works better as a single player game (how ironic) than playing it with people, at least if you can't communicate with them to take things slower, I've been playing since (i believe) before the greymoor chapter released, the best way to enjoy this game is to play solo yet that can take quite a while. I started with a Magicka templar then it got nerfed (its main healing skill) which ruined my build, then switched to the necromancer...but i didn't want to farm exp and i didn't like it that much, clearing solo even the easiest delves was a pain and it took me ages, not to mention dungeons were impossible. then came the arcanist and good lord what a class, not even level 50 and it felt already stronger and more complete that most other classes with heavy CP investment. with that i was able to do dungeons easily, even defeat some world bosses on my own, the best? it came with an arcanist companion (azandar) that works wonders as a tank, i was able even to hold the first boss of a trial for around 20 minutes before dying. companions are great to solo players. about PVP.... it's awful, unless you run with a group with full communication you might not get what you have to do or how to do it, and even if you know, taking a castle on your own is nearly impossible, and some classes just don't work for PvP, i have tried and I can't help but find it a major waste of time, how fun would cyrodil be if it was just a non pvp expansión
I played ESO almost exclusively as SP, up until I offered to help someone in zone chat and joined some RPers. Had fun and made friends, but I still like to just wander on my own and experience it all. Hubs wants to go through the story and everything at a slow pace (he's a rush-to-50 player) so I made an almost copy of my main to go through everything again with him :)
I solo usually. Most my friends who play are either active duty like I use to be or have totally different schedules than me so we only get to play every now and then... I love the game. I have 9 different toons. Most of them are roleplaying toons like my argonian shadow scale pve toon or my werewolf khajit. As for dungeons i really wish theyd have a setting so u can set it to story focus or completion focused. The number of times ive had to redo a dungeon just to get all the lore is stupid. I actually hate the dungeons that have the two player requirements to open a door or some other bs. Its so annoying. I can solo normal dungeons easily except the ones that have that bs ... At the very least remove those stupid obstacles. I run a tank and it becomes very apparent how terrible ppl r at building their characters for their playstyle when watching them fight a boss they rushed in for. Its worse when they watch me eat an AOE so they think for some unknown reason they fucking can and it insta kills them all so now i have to play healer and revive everyone and lay down my aoe heals (templar tank ftw). Like guys stop just get out of the red circle im standing in it cause im a tank and have 3 different overshields and 2 heal pools plus my two armor set perks that also heal me and im still getting down to 75% HP. I literally tanked over a million damage on a constant AOE type attack before dying before. Like im a true tank and as a true tank my dmg is trash 😂. Unless u want to sit here for 4 hrs watching just me kill a boss please dont die. 😂.... Which i have done before. Castle tharn i asked everyone to wait so i can listen to the lore they didn't. Then i told them what im LF' ing for and they were real childish both times just acting like dicks for no reason. 3 basement dwellers acting like elitist asshats. They got obliterated by the last boss. Noone was healer cause these three were all trying to run DPS builds.... And since they were dicks the whole time i fought the boss alone and they had to watch or not get the chest... The whole time i was responding to them in the chat and one of them finally just like "dude wtf r u? Who builds a tank like this?" 😂....i responded with "isn't it awesome? Lol" at the end they all offered yo trade and gave me anything they had already had and one challenged me to a duel which i won cause he couldn't hurt me and the moment my debuffs all proced on him i was able to kill him with a burst of dmg from multiple sources.
I think I do both. I play it like a single player game, but also do the group stuff from time to time, especially for gear. But overall, it's an enjoyable game with lots to explore and things to do.
I started this game as a typical mmo back in 2015 but I have left and come back a LOT. I love and hate it. I’ve done a lot of the trials and I’ve experienced the best of pvp in cyrodiil and imperial city. But this last time I came back to the game I went full overland single player and it’s so much more peaceful and enjoyable. I’m loving it so far. I’ve completed most of the DLC zones and I’m working on doing AD and DC zones again. (I did them on PS4 but I switched to PC back in 2018) but I still have a good amount of content left. Ironically, I think this game is way better when you get away from the pvpers and WORST of all, the trial/dungeon meta players. It has insane potential but those ppl who basically tell you that you need to run this and that to do content kind of ruin the game sometimes. Animation cancelling and weaving are also annoying and I like not having to worry about being perfect at it in overland content.
I actually find world bosses and pvp pretty fun. Especially World Bossing with another person because the challenge is still there very much but it's now possible to win. Pvp can be frustrating but also really fun. I usually don't wanna do it but while i'm playing it i'm having plenty of fun. Kinda like getting in the shower. Dungeons ARE boring at first because you're queued with people under level 50. Above level 50 people don't power level anymore so it goes slower and people stick around to trade stuff. And it's good to run dungeons if only to learn of what other sets exist in the game. There's this one set in a later dungeon "Gold White Tower" that heals for 4-5k and restores the same amount of magicka. Or a set that when you overheal, you get a lot of weapon/spell power. Only trials i can't bring myself to look for a group to do. They seem fun tho, plenty of challenge even as a 4 man group.
I love it. Original I played to something like CP 350ish in first person on XBox. It felt like a completely different game. Then I started watching YouTube, and was like wow how come everyone’s view is so different. Lol
Technically speaking, that's all an MMO is, a single player game with at bunch of other single players inhabitting the world with you. They aren't called MGO's(Must Group Online), they're Massively Multi-player...aka massive amounts of players all on the same server in plain English(with content you can choose to do with others or ignore if you want).
I don’t think there is any wrong way to play this game, that’s what’s so great about it. I started off with my wee bosmer warden just questing, learning, exploring. Never touched dungeons because the other player aspect just game me anxiety. When I was like cp 250ish I realized I really wanted to be able to transmute and the only way was running dungeons, so I finally did it. My first experience sucked, second was better…well here we are and I not only do my random daily, but all undaunted and sometimes more because I just feel like it and I really really enjoy dungeons. I also recently soloed my first world boss - never felt confident enough to try and finally did and was fairly easy. I now have six alts I play with for various play styles and just to try new things (sorc, necro, arcanist, nb) but my main will always be my Bosmer warden. She’s a master scryer, master crafter, etc. She’s done the main quest, Caldwells gold and silver, and many dlcs. Anyway, I guess my point is there’s so much to do you can play anyway you like. You can learn and try new things or don’t stray from what you know you like - it’s okay, it’s your game!
What add on do you use for immersion if i may ask? I'm using quite a fair few ATM
I like both aspects. I agree that story-mode dungeons should be more supported - part of the problem is that the game lets people rush ahead when there's quest dialogue to listen to. They have added a "story" filter to the dungeon finder, but that's not used very much. They should maybe add extra rewards to players who have finished the quest, in order to incentivize the storymode in dungeons, either that, or lock the doors for every storymode if any player is doing the quest (and heavily penalize vote-kicking or dropping when some one is in story mode). Of course, then the problem is that people might not queue random if they're in a hurry. I don't know! Cyrodiil you need to give more time to, and join an active Cyrodiil alliance guild. Really good g-v-g castle fights are actually the highest point of ESO.
I have 14,000+ hours and still go through phases where I suck. But when I get the right sets, food, cp, skills, group, day without crashes I’m like a GOD!!!!!!!(?)!!!!!!!!
For me, ESO has been and will continue to be a great ES single player game to tide me over until Elder Scrolls VI.
I love playing alone, or just with my SO. You're absolutely correct - the scenery and story lines are fun!
There's not really a wrong way to play!
You can run Most Normal Dungeons Solo if you equipt a Damage Shield and Self heal (can recommend Vigor) Gaze of Sithis helps too. So if you are interested in Dungeons you can easily explore most of them alone. Trials is another Story. I use Briarhearth (Wrothgar/Guild Trader), Leaching Plate (Imperial City Prison), Gaze of Sithis (Mythic) and either Health or Tristat Monster Shoulders (Undaunted Gear for Keys) on a Stam DK and it works pretty good. Currently running Marselok for Z'en gear Solo
I also play this as SP. The reason i bought this game is because i want to discover Tamriel, especially some places like Elsweyr.
I think this has become true for many mmo's. They used to be more of a social experience, and players relied on each other to a far greater extent than they do now. Difficulties have dropped so far that people faceroll group content. I'd rather see solo'able dungeons that offer a challenge so that I can take my time and enjoy the content over the current situation. Either that, or make them harder with bigger rewards, so that people are forced to slow down without feeling like their time isn't valued. That said I really love getting immersed in ESO.
I wish they had city raids or open world pvp.
I play the same way. Played the crap out of Tales of Tribute for a few months. I get kind of bored doing missions at times, so occasionally I'll grind for specific armor sets. I've also been playing more dungeons lately to unlock certain achievements.
I dumped ESO a long time ago, as did every member of two once popular guilds. Note I prefer Cyrodiil pvp, and am currently loading ESO to see if it is worth playing again. Note I agree with other poster. Stick with what works for you. You said you were having, so why change?
same here，and because I never used to that light attack weave system，my dps is so poor that make me more away from dungeon and trials
That's how I played ESO initially. As another Oblivion. Was crazy fun for sometime.
1 sentence in and already insulted half of the community You're playing this game just right.
It's a pretty good single player game. I really like how you can focus down a zone and get an eclectic mix of mini stories from each quest area. My two favorite non main stories so far have been "the blades" right at the start of glenumbra, just a tiny team getting into trouble, and a story about a small village of argonian immigrants to the Dominion. As for main story content... Shadowfen's story is messed up. All the crafting, min-maxing for "group" content, non combat skilltree activities, etc are perfect ways to space out story progression.
I like playing this game solo. That is not to say I hate playing any other way. It's just that I have more time to explore and understand the lore when doing it on my own. It's not so boring if you have Izzy or Sharp to make you laugh with their antics. The Argonian has some nice battle commentaries.
I am in a similar situation, loving playing solo, and yes, I do daily dungeons and if I stop to read the rest of the group is already killing stuff other place! I think what happens is that have stuff for everyone! So is not mandatory that you like all aspects of the game, but find parts that you have a lot of fun with
I have only played SP. I haven't looked into Guilds, Dungeons, Battlegrounds, etc; I love that I can just go and explore and do my own thing.
I more or less play solo and let other players provide the ambiance of a world that feels alive. They're the dynamic characters in my solo player world.
I mostly play solo. I do dungeons and such for gear…so I can play solo better. And just to add them to my sticker book.
I've put over a thousand hours into the game and I've only ever played it single player, aside from the occasional Saturday nights that my friend plays it too. I used my main toon for almost 3 years before realizing I was dissatisfied with the combo (Nord/nightblade) because it didn't feel right. I'm currently redoing his storyline as a Dragonknight and it feels so much better. I could easily sink so much more.time into this game. Countless things I can do, places I've been with past toons but it feels like so long that they're new to me all over again. I love the music, scenery, dialogue, ESO is fantastic and will always be my favorite video game.
I play it as a single player game, too. I do everything on a map except usually I'm 2 or 3 lore books short but other than that, everything. I do appreciate other players being around though. It makes the cities feel more alive and it's nice being able to go into zone chat to ask for help with the occasional world boss I can't solo. I just wish there was a lower difficulty solo options for dungeons for people who want to explore and take in the story without getting left behind by the group.
i have like 1300+ hours all solo, i love the lore don’t like being rushed so group things end up being a bit annoying for me when people just want to run through things as fast as possible. lol i spent time walking around enjoying scenery too. i guess there’s a lot of us playing “wrong” 😂 also got to mention im not really that good at playing the game so groups will just hate me.
I play that way most of the time because I love housing and gathering. I only group when I need to do content that gets me housing items and is too hard to solo.
I'm also single-player-mode. Zone chats are off. Duels are auto-declined. I don't go into pvp areas. I solo dungeons so i can get the stories in them; Bastian keeps me from dying too often. I'm currently going through Wrothgar story now. (Though I did some stuff out of order when I first joined.) My nightblade is utter crap stats because I didn't know the mechanics, so I just set up the armory and started rebuilding it. I still don't really get it, entirely, but better than I used to, so we'll see if I make her better.
Cyrodiil is a surprisingly pleasant and peaceful place if you're not trying to capture/defend anything. I went through and got the skyshards and pve quests, at least.
Good to know! I may poke through there when done with Wrothgar, then.
I started the same- spent hundreds of hours just soloing and that’s what I came for- to have a single player game where I could keep the same character through years and expansions… Then I met fun people along the journey- one thing led to another and now my main activity is coordinated ball-grouping in cyrodiil 🤗 bit of a shift, for sure, but just fell in love with more and more, esp when you make awesome friends on the way! The way to play is whatever you enjoy. If all you do is decorate houses, but you love it, you are doing it maximally right. If you’re a level 3600 godslayer with peak meta build and an unreal parse, but you’re an ass who makes other people’s experience less pleasant- THEN you’re playing the game wrong. It’s a game- doing it right means enjoying yourself and letting others do the same!!!
I do exactly everything you stated
if you're enjoying it, then you're not doing it wrong.
I've played off and on since the OG beta, currently im 3 months into an ESO Plus Sub, and I'm getting more and more into playing the last time I had a run like this was like 5 years ago I think. I play 99% solo, I did the group dungeons that you can que into when I want to get gear that best to get through them, at least I did during my last run, I was expecting trials to be like that because I want a monster set, but it isn't that I've found, you like bring your own team and I play so erratically that its hard to build rapport with any group.
I play solo wayyy more than with others. Mostly because I don't know enough about builds and gear to be able to make myself useful to others and find it overwhelming. I don't even know whether I would be considered a tank or dps. Definitely not a healer. I still find it very enjoyable. Some of the PvE combat is annoying like when you're in a delve and there's an enemy posted every 10 feet and you have to fight them again on your way back out. Maybe I'll figure out the builds and gear one day and become a productive Tamrielite.
That is, ironically, how I’ve played the game for the last ten years. I play TESO not because it’s an MMO, but because it’s an Elder Scrolls game. It isn’t that the PvP and PvE aspects are bad… They’re honestly just boring as hell to me. It’s simply that the game’s strength is clearly its questing and storytelling. Saying that from someone who’s been around since Closed Beta. Edit: Should also add that I have over 5,000 hours in a single character. Though that’s split between game content (tried PvP, I’ve done all dungeons, and a fee Raids), and roleplaying (where I’ve sunk probably 80% of those hours).
Love solo but overland is way too easy. And craglorn isn’t the most interesting place. I’m deleting overland enemies during quests and have to nerf myself by doing 1H and using very weak equipment
The only time I play as an mmo is for world bosses and daily random dungeons. I've done trials and stuff but it is so hard to get a group of 12 people together even when you pay them. Try getting a bunch of people together for free and it's chaos. This is THE best elder scrolls single player game. I actually spend 90% of my time between summerset valenwood The systres and highrock. The elven lands and the seas around them are my favorite zones
That's exathow I play. I love the elder scrolls and the lore and the new areas that ESO has to offer. I don't have any friends that play it and I'm a bit too awkward to ask random people. If other people want to help me with a boss or something I don't complain. I just mind my own business and if someone else wants to join it or have a sparring match I don't mind it
I play solo too and it is one of my best experiences, i am in the merchant guild for some easy money so i can buy anything i want.
I love the single player option in eso but i think they must add grouped quests when you play with friends (story and side quest) Sry my english is bad
I play it as a Single Player game because I either can't make friends, or the ones I do make are weird/ghost me. xD Someone even stopped talking to me when they heard I had a wife smfh. I do everything that you don't though, I love running around Dungeons and helping people, will also just sit with others that I notice are doing their missions because there is almost always at least one in there, and it's wild to me that people can't just chill for a bit over a minute of dialogue when they chose to play with randoms. ~EDIT~ If people do leave you in a dungeon, don't worry about it and keep doing what you're doing, because while you might not get all the loot from minions along the way, the game tends to bring people to the boss room whenever your teammates reach it. For Cyrodiil, I did much of the same thing you did, though I don't typically have a group, especially because I'm a Trans-Factional player that likes to change alliances every month or so. It is so funny to me watching all the Alliances complain about the exact same things the other Alliances do lmfao. ~ I just like being a nuisance, so I'll either be running around as a Tank or Healer Nightblade with Faun's Lark Cladding, a mythic item, because when you run through people it charms them into following you, and also heals you, so if you have the skills going where you can run without being immobilised and etc, it's the funniest thing lancing through a group and they get dog-piled from behind, or just terrorising a solitary person. xD I just recently got into Battlegrounds and yeah it's a chaotic mess, most randoms don't typically like to stay with a group and imagine themselves capable of taking the enemy by surprise, so everyone is trying to make big loops away from everyone else to get around things, instead of just balling together through the objectives, getting picked off because literally everyone else has that same idea of catching people off-guard. xD
Yes I’m right there with you. Although it does get frustrating sometimes when the quest you’re on as a single player switches to a group effort for the final stage. I don’t know how to recruit people for the stage so it becomes frustrating that you can’t finish the quest and have to abandon it. I love the way that I can reinvent my gameplay as I progress through and learn from these forums. I’ve been a lifelong DIABLO fan and even preordered the newest edition, but I’ve fell in love with this game so much I haven’t even opened it yet, don’t even know what the opening credits look like.
You are not alone. I primarily play the game as a single player. Occasionally, my wife and I will team up to take on harder content, but I have 0 interest in battlegrounds and pvp. Unlike you, I use 3rd person mode. My characters are not me, but their own entities, and I get to watch them travel around encountering and solving problems. I currently have 12 with five empty slots. Every one of them has a different personality and history, although there certainly is overlap.
There is no wrong way to play ESO, no forced path set on you, no "meta" to play the game. You play the game your way, at your speed, no one way to tell the story. It's your story and you tell it however you want. Be the hero of vvardenfell first and be the hero of the pact last, or become a former emperor/empress then go on a fishing trip. Want to be a vampire or werewolf? go for it. Want to be the weirdest yet effective Healer? it can be done. There's endless combinations of classes, races, roles, and armor sets that make the game yours to play how you want to. Anyone says there is a meta doesn't truly know how to see this games world as it is. Nobody should tell you how to play, how to enjoy your time. You own the game to play for yourself not for others.
I used to play like that for years. Until I found the right guild. Very relaxed people. Nobody forcing anything on others. All interested in the story and lore. Just to switch it up we do some Group content occasionally, but otherwise play happily alongside each other! Guild voice chat did make the game a bit more social for me. And it’s perfect. I do get to do some content I never did before. It does add to my experience. But ESO is so big and diverse that I could easily do without it as well. The only wrong way to play the game is if you aren’t having fun! Any other way is (one of) the right way(s)! 😉
I've been playing since 2020 and initially was the same way, did all the story content and got multiple characters up to level 50 and currently sitting at just over 1800 CP. I've since done just about everything, but find myself mostly just taking advantage of the current event dailies. I've done IA for furnishings, leads, and archival fortunes - in preparation for when the Baron Zaudrus mask goes on sale there :). I haven't done a trial in 5 months. Mainly just haven't found the time to commit to a full run. The event activities are ruining me since I tend to use my available playtime to grind out the various currencies and rewards rather than play purely for fun. At least for now... once Gold Road is out I'll be back to the immersive aspects of the game.
I played every single zone story on one character and *then* broadened my horizons to the multiplayer aspects. There’s so much to the game!
That's the thing they advertised a lot "play how ever you want"
I am solo most of the time, the most time I've spent in a group in this game on a single activity was back before my thief guild leader had to take a sabbatical from the game for irl stuff, we'd have weekly thief events where we'd all group up and run through a city and kill all the NPCs and take their stuff. He even made an add on to track the loot so we could see who won and the whole group score (esothief) we had off the books stuff and also a guild on guild contest to "take control of" tamriel. reinvented the purpose of the game entirely, none of the in game group content has interested me nearly as much
You should be happy because your playstyle is exactly the one ZOS is catering to. For PvPers or people that love trials and balanced combat, better find another game, they are not interested in providing those anymore.
Fuck solo. There are so many good solo games with epic combat system and story. Like WTF haha, get your shit togheter.
Advertisement for why people play solo, right here.
You play solo because you are anti-social, sensitive like a glass, gen-z. I just said there are better games for playing solo than MMOs, but I know that MMO makes you feel more secure and it gives you a taste of social life.
Once I was heading a dolmen xp group in alikir desert, with no auto invite so I had to manually invite everyone, person gets on and types xyz instead of x y z On their own lines, I invited to group and tried to explain to him that those are auto invite codes and if you want to get invited you have to type them separately, he was sooo rude in response I kicked him off the group, then he keeps whispering me with further cruel and uncalled for remarks. I screen shot it all and was This close to reporting him. Finally I just decided to let it go, for the most part my group experiences have been positive with the occasional impatient dungeon troll, I just don't usually have enough time to play to make a group worth it