In my quest to find another MMORPG, I realized I did not make a beginner’s guide to one of my favorite MMOs, The Elder Scrolls Online, as there are still many people just discovering Tamriel. If you’re new to Elder Scrolls Online (ESO) and playing on a PC or laptop, you’re in for treat. Let’s walk through the basics of getting started, how to remove your UI and take screenshots like a pro, player housing and more.

System Requirements for ESO

Before jumping into ESO, make sure your PC or laptop can handle it. ESO is fairly easy on PCs, though, after years of patches and updates, it’s a very big file.

Minimum Requirements:

• OS: Windows 7 64-bit

• Processor: Intel i3 540 or AMD A6-3620

• RAM: 3GB

• Graphics: DirectX 11 GPU with 1GB VRAM

Recommended Requirements:

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit

• Processor: Intel i5 2300 or AMD FX4350

• RAM: 8GB

• Graphics: DirectX 11 GPU with 2GB VRAM

Starting Areas

After customizing and creating your character from one of the ten races and three factions, you will start in the tutorial area, which is The Wailing Prison in Coldharbor. After completing the tutorial by escaping Coldharbor, you will be sent to a beginning area of the faction you chose.

Aldmeri Dominion: Khenarthi's Roost

Daggerfall Covenant: Stros M'Kai

Ebonheart Pact: Bleakrock Isle

The starting areas further your training and help familiarize you with the game's mechanics, lore, and basic quests. Take your time to explore, complete quests, and familiarize yourself with the controls and interface.

Questing

While all quests contribute to your character's development and offer valuable rewards, I strongly advise you to follow the main quest’s storyline. Also, focus on completing the main questline for your alliance, as well as guild quests for the Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and Undaunted because they unlock more abilities.

Leveling

Like most games, you level up by gaining XP from completing quests, defeating enemies, exploring, and participating in various activities. Each level-up grants you attribute points you can use to increase Health, Magicka, or Stamina and skill points to unlock or improve abilities.

Don’t forget to read books and documents that are lying around. Not only are they great pieces of the story, but they also give some XP.

Weapon and Stats Builds

Your choice of weapon and stats build will depend on your preferred playstyle and role in a group. Here are some general guidelines:

Magicka Builds: Focus on Magicka-based abilities and weapons like staves (Destruction and Restoration). Allocate attribute points to Magicka and enchant gear to increase Magicka and spell damage.

Stamina Builds: Focus on Stamina-based abilities and weapons like bows, daggers, and swords. Allocate attribute points to Stamina and enchant gear to increase Stamina and weapon damage.

Tank Builds: Prioritize Health and damage mitigation. Use heavy armor and one-handed weapons with shields. Allocate attribute points to Health and enchant gear to increase Health and resistances.

Healer Builds: Focus on healing abilities and Restoration staves. Allocate attribute points to Magicka and enchant gear to increase healing effectiveness and Magicka regeneration.

Experiment with different builds to find what works best for you and your playstyle.

Champion Points

Once you reach level 50, you will begin to earn Champion Points (CP). CP are you can earn by gaining experience. Use CP in the Champion Point system, which is divided into three constellations: Warfare, Fitness, and Craft. Champion points allow you to further customize and enhance your character's abilities. Champion Points are also shared across all of your characters. So, when you level one character to level 50 and earn 1300 CP then make another character, your second character will have 1300 CP waiting for them once they hit level 50.

Dungeons

Dungeons in ESO are group-based PvE instance that give valuable rewards. There are a three types of dungeons:

Public Dungeons: Open to all players and can be completed solo or with others.

Dungeons: An instance for groups of four players and require coordination and strategy. There are two types of dungeons you can queue for:

• Normal dungeons unlock at level 10 and gives players a way to earn loot.

• Veteran dungeons are designed to be challenging and offer better rewards.

Trials: Large-scale group content for 12 players, offering some of the game's most challenging encounters.

Gathering Resources for Crafting

You will need to gather resources for crafting weapons, gear, jewelry, and food. While exploring the world of Tamriel, you will find ore, wood, plants, and runestones that can be gathered for crafting.

Crafting Professions

ESO has seven crafting professions. Crafting in ESO allows you to create your own gear, potions, and other items. There are several crafting professions:

Blacksmithing: Weapons and heavy armor

Clothing: Light and medium armor

Woodworking: Staves, bows, and shields

Enchanting: Glyphs to enhance gear

Alchemy: Potions and poisons

Provisioning: Food and drinks

Jewelry Crafting: Rings and necklaces

PvP

Admittedly, I am not well versed in PvP in ESO. However, here’s a quick breakdown. Player vs. Player (PvP) combat in ESO takes place in Cyrodiil, the Imperial City, and battlegrounds:

Cyrodiil: A large open-world PvP zone where the three alliances battle for control of keeps and resources. Participate in large-scale battles, capture objectives, and complete PvP quests.

Imperial City: A smaller PvP zone within Cyrodiil, offering both PvE and PvP content. Fight against other players and NPC enemies to earn Tel Var Stones, which can be used to purchase powerful items.

Battlegrounds: Fast-paced, team-based PvP matches for small groups. ESO has different  in different game modes, such as Capture the Flag and Deathmatch, to earn rewards and experience.

Guilds

You can join up to five guilds in ESO. Joining more than one guild in ESO can give you a plethora of benefits, including access to guild stores, shared resources, and group activities. There are several types of guilds:

PvE Guilds: Focus on PvE content like dungeons, trials, and questing.

PvP Guilds: Focus on PvP content and organized group activities in Cyrodiil and battlegrounds.

Trading Guilds: Focus on trading and commerce, providing access to guild stores for buying and selling items.

Social Guilds: Focus on building a friendly community and organizing social events.

Role-playing Guilds: RP guilds can focus on any of the above, but with one caveat—people in the guild assume the roles of their characters and acts out their interactions with each other and the game.

Removing Your UI for Clean Screenshots

ESO is such a beautiful game. Of course you want to take screenshots without the clutter of your UI. Here’s how to hide the UI:

1. Press Alt + Z to hide the UI.

2. Press Alt + Z again to bring it back.

If you have your Nvidia overlay enabled, this may not work. Instead, try this:

1. Hit ESC < CONTROLS < User Interface

2. Set up the keybind to hide your UI.

Taking Screenshots on PC and Laptop

Taking screenshots in ESO is relatively easy. Although, depending on whether you are playing through Steam and if you are playing on PC as opposed to a laptop, setup can take a few minutes.

Steam Users:

1. Press F12 to take a screenshot.

2. Access your screenshots via the Steam overlay or your Steam library.

Non-Steam Users:

1. Press Print Screen (PrtScn) to capture your screen.

2. For laptop users, set up your keybinding for Screenshot in CONTROLS < User Interface.

Images are usually saved in your ESO Live folder in Documents.

Crowns

Crowns are the premium currency in ESO and are purchased with real money. They can be used to buy various items from the Crown Store, including cosmetic items, mounts, pets, experience scrolls, and more. Keep an eye out for sales and special offers in the Crown Store.

Player Housing

One of my favorite features of ESO is player housing. Player housing in ESO allows you to own and decorate homes throughout Tamriel. There are three types of homes, Staple Home (small apartments and houses) Classic Home, and Notable Homes or large manors. Decorate your home with furniture, trophies, and other items that you can find throughout your travels. You can purchase homes crowns and some can be purchased with gold or even be earned through in-game achievements. Homes are shared across characters, as well, which is great for fast travel.

The Elder Scrolls Online is one of the best MMORPGs, with a vast world, immersive story, and lots of adventure for solo players and social players alike.