UESP Forums

While waiting for Elder Scrolls VI to come out, I'm thinking of buying Elder Scrolls Online to get some new ES "fix". But there's one problem: I'm not that much into multiplayer. At one time I played Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory quite much and enjoyed it, but otherwise I've always preferred single player games.

So the question is: Can one play ESO's main quest and most of the other content solo without undue difficulties (I'm prepared to face some, though)? I'm willing to occasionally join other players for clearing tough dungeons, for killing bosses etc., but something like 90 per cent or more of my time I'd like to adventure alone. Can this be reasonably done?

Also, if I were to join a guild to access guild stores and such, how much commitment would that demand? My playtime is rather limited due to a full-time job and leisure activities other than gaming. So I could play mostly on weekeneds and maybe one or two hours in some weekday evenings. Also, long raids at RL time during nights at my timezone are out, since I prefer to maintain a regular sleep schedule. Thus, I'd like to know beforehand if joining a guild would entail other members expecting me to be present at the game regularly.

Lastly, is there a monthly fee for PC players? I recall reading somewhere the game's free to play now, but better be sure.

Otherwise ESO looks quite interesting and enticing, but these questions are the thing which have prevented me from buying it yet. Thanks in advance to anyone who can clarify these things.

Short answers:

Yes, you can play ESO solo.

Different player guilds are different as far as commitments.

No, there is no monthly fee to play.

There's a lot more to it than those short answers, but the longer answers will take a bit if time to explain. I'll post more later.

I played the first several years of ESO, including beta, solo. It is doable. And enjoyable.

This game allows you to partake in adventures with others as much as you'd like. If you want to group up with folks, you can. If you don't want to, you don't have to. Some things might not be immediately accessible to you - but there is enough in terms of quests and adventures to keep you busy solo. But honestly, you could spend hours (and years!) questing, decorating houses, crafting materials, earning achievements, and so much more by yourself. It's incredible.

As for joining guilds: different guilds have different commitment levels. Some big trade guilds demand a certain amount of sales a week, or weekly fees. Some don't care. UESP (PC-North America, at least) has a very laid back guild and we also have a guild store that you don't have to use if you don't want to. I can't speak to the European server.

Personally, I recommend joining a guild. You don't have to do things with them, but, if you ever decide you want to, they are there. That's the beauty of a laid back social guild. When I joined UESP's PC-NA guild, I had played for years solo. I cannot speak enough to how much more fun the game is now that I have people I can group with if I want to, and I've loved getting involved in end-game content like veteran dungeons and trials. I also learned a great deal about how to improve as a player from my guildmates. But, that's just my preferred playstyle. As I said, I played for many years solo and really enjoyed the game. I personally just love sharing that experience with friends, so now, it's even better.

There is only a monthly fee if you choose to subscribe to ESO+. There are some benefits to doing this - increased experience, craft bag access (which allows you to store infinite crafting materials - important, if you like crafting), free access to DLCs upon release, double bank and housing inventory space, and, recently, special sales - but it is by no means required.

I hope you enjoy it if you choose to join us in the Second Era! It's a blast!

Thanks for the info, guys! You've been very helpful. Looks like I have to buy ESO, then, and try it out. I've skimmed some beginners' guides already, and the game looks quite interesting in many aspects and seems to include enough character customization for my tastes. So, to roam Tamriel again I go.

Now only to wait that I've saved enough money to buy a computer that can run it... (I just checked the system requirements and it looks like my current PC doesn't quite cut it). Heh, looks like I only buy a new or "new used" PC when I need to be able to run the latest TES game. This will be the third time.

Before you buy, I recommend looking at the options available-- basically, whether you want to get any DLC expansions and the new "chapter" (Summerset), or just the base game.

When I bought ESO last year, they were having a sale on Morrowind, which at that time was the only "chapter" available. (Summerset is now the only "chapter," and Morrowind has been reduced to a DLC zone-- which ha no effect on its content, only on its purchase requirements.) At that time, by purchasing the Morrowind chapter I also got the base game. In addition to that I went for the "Guilds and Glory" package, which gives you the first four DLC expansions in a discounted bundle.

I don't know what the deals are now, but I'd probably recommend getting Summerset, especially if you'll also get Morrowind and the base game with that. And if you have any interest in heading to Cyrodiil and the Imperial City (which is a PvP alliance war zone), joining the Thieves Guild, and joining the Dark Brotherhood, then I also recommend getting the "Guilds and Glory" bundle.

Essentially, "free to play" means "free to play the content you bought," not "free to play all content in the game." You could certainly have a great time playing just the base game, which contains the Main Quest, the Mages Guild, the Fighters Guild, the Undaunted faction, and several zones from each of the three alliances, plus Craglorn (which is a neutral zone). But if all you buy is the base game then you won't be able to access any of the zones or quests that were added as DLC expansions or chapters-- Cyrodiil and the Imperial City, Wrothgar and Orsinium, Hew's Bane and the Thieves Guild, and the Gold Coast and the Dark Brotherhood, as well as the Clockwork City, Morrowind (or rather, the volcanic island of Vvardenfell, since the mainland portion of Morrowind is in the base game), Summerset, etc.

Note that if you decide not to get specific DLC expansions right now, the various expansions tend to go on sale several times a year, but not all at once-- rather, a particular expansion will usually go on sale during an anniversary celebration for that particular content. There are also several times a year when crown packs go on sale, which you'll want to keep an eye out for. Buying crowns is basically like buying credit that you can use toward purchasing additional DLC zones, pets, mounts, houses, costumes, etc., in the Crown Store. A lot (but not all) of the things which are sold in the Crown Store can also be purchased using "currency" that you acquire within the game, such as buying houses with the in-game gold, or buying the standard mounts with gold, or buying storage chests with writ vouchers, or buying special pets and mounts with crown gems obtained from crown crates, etc. Of course, you don't need to buy any of those other things-- they aren't essential to the game.

In any case, I like to buy crown packs while they're on sale, then save them for when new DLC content is released so I can get the DLCs.

By the way, as far as ESO Plus, getting a subscription (which I haven't done) will give you certain benefits, such as being able to access all available DLC zones and DLC dungeons. However, if you let your subscription lapse then you will lose access to any of that DLC content which you haven't purchased. One of the perks of ESO Plus is that you get a monthly stipend of crowns, and I'm sure a lot of players probably use those crowns for buying the special collectibles such as "cool pets" and "cool mounts." But if you think there will ever be a possibility of letting your subscription lapse then I would recommend using your "free" crowns to purchase the DLC content, even though you can access it via ESO Plus-- because that way you won't lose access to it if you ever lose ESO Plus.

ESO was my first MMO experience and one of my few multiplayer experiences in general. Like you, I bought it to play solo, mostly.
I first disabled the chat then went on to complete my Alliance's storyline and Main Quest ignoring any activity with other players. When I came across world bosses, I'd see if some players were already fighting them or on their way to fight them. If not, I'd continue my way.

I only started interacting more with other players a year ago and I now have a lot of fun doing dungeons and other world events with other players.
Still, I really enjoy questing solo. I also haven't joined any player guild as I don't want that to distract me from my solo playtime.

Hope you enjoy it!

Yes, player guilds-- and friends in general-- can become a bit of a hassle if you prefer to play solo, because sometimes your friends and fellow guild members will start bugging you to help them with something as soon as they see you log in. But they can also be very helpful, as well as a lot of fun. I find that the larger player guilds are less "pushy" as far as just leaving you alone unless you want to join in some activity. But on the other hand, smaller player guilds are more "intimate."

ESO works perfectly well for solo play, but there are some distinct advantages to joining a couple of guilds. Personally I played on and off on the PS4 but never really understood what I was going. I bought the game again in the steam sale for the PC and I've barely played anything else. The addons give you a much easier time of it by adding some quality of life additions. Some guy found me in town, guessed I was a newbie and made me some decent armour and weapons for no other reason than to be nice.

I've found it to be one of the least toxic MMO communities I've ever come across, so that's something in itself!

There are definitely quite a few "toxic" people in the ESO community, and while they might be few in number they tend to stand out like a sore thumb. I have no experience with any other MMO communities, but if ESO's community is one of the least toxic then I'd hate to visit any of the others!

I'm afraid that some of the people who post in the ESO Forum (not here in the UESP Forums, but in the "official" forum) seem pretty toxic to me, if not in their language then certainly in their arrogant and antagonistic attitude.

I'll take the UESP Forums over the official forum any day of the week!

Having read the responses after my last reply, I have to say that now I'm quite looking forward to trying ESO out. It really looks like something I might like. I must do some research about guilds and their respective cultures etc first, though. One or two with looser requirements with expected activity might fit my style quite well (mostly solo, occasional group missions). I don't mind even occasional idiots or bullies, especially since it seems the chat can be turned off.

One more question, though: Is venturing Cyrodiil just for "hardcore" players who know all the tricks, or can a more casual player survive there? Occasionally joining PvP battles there looks like a fun proposition, but that fun would be ruined if it meant constantly dying in the hands of players who have grinded the game full-time. This was a slight problem when I played other multiplayer games years ago, especially Wolfenstein Enemy Territory. Too many obsessively fanatic (and correspondently skilled) players could spoil a match just being too superior, too concentrated on their own killcounts at the expense of team effort and/or exploiting every obscure glitch, whereas the most fun matches were those which had mainly more casual and cooperative players like me. Are there Cyrodiil campaigns in ESO that are geared more towards more easy-going people?

One thing I discovered this week is that I can sneak in Cyrodiil and other players will mostly leave me alone. I don't think that sneaking makes you invisible unless someone is close enough to detect you, because I saw another player sneaking and I was a good distance from them. But I'm not sure how that works; for instance, was she visible to me because she was in the same alliance as me? In any case, sneaking can help you roam around Cyrodiil doing quests without constantly being attacked by other players.

Cyrodiil is different than the other zones, because you can't just teleport to a wayshrine or to your house(s), because fast travel is suppressed and is only possible by using a special network of shrines. You can travel from one shrine to any other shrine in your alliance's network-- which is determined by which alliance has control over which castle or fort-- but to get to some area of Cyrodiil that you want to visit for any reason (to dig up buried treasure you have a treasure map for, or to complete an assigned quest for your alliance, or to discover sky shards, or to complete a quest given to you by some NPC in one of the cities, etc.) you may very well need to teleport to a wayshrine that's a long way from where you want to go and then travel the rest of the way on foot or horseback. And then to get back to safety afterwards you'll need to make it to a friendly wayshrine that's linked up to your alliance's home base.

The Imperial City is another matter, because it's even more dangerous than the rest of Cyrodiil. For one thing, it's crawling with Daedra, including some very powerful Daedra (bosses or whatever). And it's easier to get into the Imperial City than to get out, because your alliance has a home base in the sewers which has rope ladders leading up to each zone in the city, and when you enter the city you're in a safe zone that's elevated above the street level (second story level of a ruined building), but once you jump down to the street level the only way you can get back out is by entering the sewers, and then you have to fight or sneak your way through the sewers-- which are crawling with Daedra as well as players from enemy alliances-- and hope you can make it through the maze of sewer tunnels and safely reach your alliance's home base.

But one good thing is that when you leave your alliance's home base in the sewers to go back out into Cyrodiil, you find yourself teleported back to your alliance's home base in the outskirts of Cyrodiil, and from there you can take a normal wayshrine back to the other zones of Tamriel.

By the way, the best purchase option right now seems to be The a Elder Scrolls Online: Collection. It was on sale during the holidays, but is now back to its regular price of $79.99, so you might want to wait until it goes back on sale-- which might not be for a while.

Admittedly the official forums are a bit ridiculous, but that's gamers for you suppose!

Quite. I took a peek there, and there are some rather strong opinions all around. For instance, they seem to have managed to spark a passionate 100+ message debate about if the player number Zenimax has announced are genuine or a nefarious marketing ploy. Some even hold the the game is dying and the majority of players are bots no matter what anyone says. Still, it's no worse than many other forums. At least they don't seem to resort to foul language and name-calling there all that often.



Well, that amount of money is no objection - in theory. In practice I'm rather stingy, so this is good advice. I prefer to buy games only when they already have some DLCs already out as package deals, so a collection is right up my alley. So I might wait for a Steam sale, since I'll probably buy a new PC in March at the earliest anyway. Thanks for the tip!

Well, now that Elsweyr has been announced, I imagine they'll have a sale around the time that Elsweyr is about to be released, and there's a possibility (however slim) that they might demote Summerset from a "chapter" to "DLC" when Elsweyr is released, like they did with Morrowind when Summerset was released. So you might want to wait until as late as mid-May to see what Bethesda decides to do. (Elsweyr is slated to be released on June 4, but PC and Mac players will get early access to it at the end of May, so if there's a sale leading up to the release of Elsweyr then it's likely to start sometime around mid-May.)

I picked up the standard edition (base+Morrowind) for £7.99 of the Queen's money which is about $10 US in the sale with the view that by the time I waded through all the content it would be time for the next sale. I can't stress enough how enormous an amount of content that is in itself! You're getting a lot of game for not an awful lot of money.

Yes, even if you buy the base game without any of the DLCs or chapters (and for this purpose I'm calling Morrowind a chapter even though it's been demoted to a DLC), you get a lot of content that will keep you entertained for months.

And even if there's no sale going on right now, you can still save money overall by buying the base game now and then grabbing each individual DLC or chapter whenever it goes on sale.

Well, how time flies! It's only yesterday that I finally bought ESO (the base game only at first, to see if I like it). I'm rather excited to try it out - although tired too, seeing how the download unexpectedly took half the night. I already have two ideas for characters: A Nord sword-and-board warrior with a gung-ho style and a Breton thief/assassin type. Any good starting tips for those? Also, I think I'd like to join the UESP guild soon at the EU server. How I go about it?

Go to this page and request to join! https://en.uesp.net/wiki/UESPWiki_talk:ESO_Guild/PC_EU_Requests

There is a Skills Advisor on the left side of the Skills screen (type K to view your Skills). Be sure to click on the settings icon (two gears) and change it from the default "beginners" build to one of the four standard builds based on the dominant role you want to build your character for-- Magicka Damage Dealer, Stamina Damage Dealer, Tank, or Healer. The builds will have colorful titles depending on your character's class-- Sorcerer, Nightblade, Templar, Dragonknight, etc.-- but if you hover your mouse over the titles you can see the Role, Primary Armor, and Primary Stat for each of them. If you set the Skills Advisor to your preferred role, it will advise you as to which Active Skills and Passive Skills it recommends you to spend Skill Points on.

@AKB: Thanks for the link, request to join sent.



Good info, thank you for it! The whole skill line thing is still quite murky to me, despite reading some online guides beforehand. On the other hand, fortunately I'm not aiming for a perfectly min-maxed build, something viable and fun is quite enough. I'll set the advisor on.