Elder Scrolls Online: A Guide for the SWTOR Player

ESO for the SWTOR Player guide

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Star Wars: The Old Republic is a wonderfully immersive MMO-RPG and is just about impossible to beat as far as cinematic story-telling goes. I won’t be leaving that game until last call. However, after a few (or six) years playing one game exclusively, I was ready to add something else to my roster. Last year I dabbled in a few primarily single-player RPGs such as Tomb Raider, the Mass Effect series, Dragon Age Inquisition and others. I also tried my hand at a very different type of game in Divinity: Original Sin II, which has a robust multiplayer experience. I never got that far in D:OS2 though, in fact,  I never progressed beyond the starter world because I got sidetracked by a little property called The Elder Scrolls Online.

I started playing ESO in October, due mostly to the fact that two of my good friends, Alise and Wil, were already playing and Alise, in particular, was certain that I would enjoy it. I had actually tried ESO in Beta back in 2013 and had been…unimpressed. I didn’t know what I was doing or how to progress, the movement/camera options were different and I decided, probably prematurely, that it wasn’t for me. By prematurely, I think my friend Mox and I lasted for about an hour. I never played any of the single-player Elder Scrolls games (Skyrim, Oblivion, etc.) so I was not invested in the world of Tamriel.

Fast forward to October 2017 and I was ready to try again. I have found that while I like playing games solo, I still prefer to be surrounded by people. So I needed a game that has lots of company around and opportunities to group but also has a good story and challenging quests for solo adventuring. ESO fit the bill perfectly.

I was really happy to add a second game to fill in the times when I don’t feel like SWTOR, but these days ESO is getting at least equal time to my main MMO. The games complement each other well in terms of strengths and shortcomings and playing the two of them has given me the best of both worlds. Each can be played as a subscriber for perks or free-to-play (ESO requires initial game purchase and you must pay for DLC if you are not a sub.)

Since a lot of my SWTOR friends are ESO-curious and seem to have many of the same questions that I did when starting, I thought it might be nice to make a little guide to help new players dip in. ESO is a bit different from SWTOR and the ways things work here are not always intuitive to the seasoned Old Republic player.

For this getting-started guide I will be releasing several short videos on my YouTube Channel covering game basics that I hope will help the SWTOR vet or new MMO player navigate Tamriel. The first couple are published and you can subscribe to the channel if you like so you can see new videos as they come out.

Update April 3: This short series is now complete and you can view my videos plus three beginner videos I highly recommend from expert Elder Scrolls Online content creators in the playlist below!

Video Playlist