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Amazing game, but people misunderstand how levels work...
Tolmos
Member UncommonPosts: 141
So one thing I wanted to touch on here, that no one had told me and I noticed a lot of people don't know, is how levels work in ESO. This ends up causing people to get frustrated because they have something in their head that isn't true, and find out really late in the game that's the case.
There are 3 tiers to leveling in ESO:
Tier 1: Levels 1-50
-This is where all your fun story stuff and normal leveling takes place. Level 50 is NOT endgame. Not even close; not by a longshot. So far, the most common number I have heard referenced is that 1-50 is roughly 1/3 of the total progression to the end of Tier 2. So don't rush to 50 thinking "Oh boy, I'll be done!". No, that's not how it works. (NOTE: thanks to the "Battle Level" system, you will likely be more powerful in PvP BEFORE level 50 than after, at least until the latter parts of Tier 2. From 1-49, your character is upscaled to match other players. This stops at 50, and suddenly you are worth only the gear you are wearing. So as odd as it sounds... you will be massively more powerful in PvP at 49 than 50. They are working to fix this, but you have been warned).
Tier 2: Veteran Ranks 1 - 14
-Up until recently, this was basically the meat and potatoes of endgame progression. After you hit level 50, you start working on the veteran ranks. Here is where you start getting your high end gear, etc etc. If the "1/3" number is true, then you can call these levels 51-150. Lots going on here, and lots to do. This is your progression to "end-game".
Tier 3: Enlightenment (aka Champion Points)
-These are a little more complicated, but extremely important to understand. You begin attaining champion points at level 50. You gain 1 champion point for every 400,000xp you gain. The current cap on Champion Points is believed to be ~3,000-3,600 points. It is supposed to take years to get to that point, but some hardcore grinders and botters have allegedly already hit 1,000+. No proof of this, though. Other players claim the maximum attained thus far is ~300.
Champion points are account wide, meaning that the points you attain on your max level are also available on your lower level characters. Each character gets it's own pool, so if you get 2000 total on your main you can spend 2000 on him as well as 2000 on each alt. This does mean Champion points affect low level PvP as well, for high level characters making alts.
CP is meant to be a gearless progression, allow characters to basically level up without needing new gear each time. The total difference in power adds up to be +25% to damage, regens, shield, etc as well as increasing base health, stamina and mana pools (before anything else is calculated)
Anyhow, that's the skinny of it. Level 1-50 is the first progression, and the shortest. VR1-14 comes next and is middle of the road on how long it takes. CP takes much longer but is EXTREMELY rewarding. Lots of grinding with this. But it is all worth it. A fresh level 50 vs a geared VR14 would get trashed. A geared VR14 with minimal CP vs a geared VR14 with 3600 CP would get trashed.
Good luck in ESO!
Comments
rpg/mmorg history: Dun Darach>Bloodwych>Bards Tale 1-3>Eye of the beholder > Might and Magic 2,3,5 > FFVII> Baldur's Gate 1, 2 > Planescape Torment >Morrowind > WOW > oblivion > LOTR > Guild Wars (1900hrs elementalist) Vanguard. > GW2(1000 elementalist), Wildstar
Now playing GW2, AOW 3, ESO, LOTR, Elite D
Thanks for the detail, Tolmos! I do love me some account level bonuses in my "endgame"...
It does create a conundrum for us altoholics, where we're compelled to run the other 2 regions of content with our high lvl character, rather with a brand spankin' new race and class. But I've never been one to look down on having a REAL choice as opposed to gear grind, gear grind, or gear grind...
My only dilemma is that with my first character, I somehow managed to miss about 3 levels of content from my home region, which pits my lvl 47 vs VR1 content. That and some various underpowered gear issues. I suspect I'll find some way to manage.
Weird. I'm in DC and I have a level 47 that is about 2/3 through Bankorai, and I have nearly all of Coldharbour to finish. I imagine that I will hit 50 before considering the other alliance content or Craglorn. There are also several private dungeons that I have yet to finish.
What alliance do you play in?
Having been my first time through the game, there are probably some areas I've missed along the way. I started in the Ebonheart Pact. My second toon is a Daggerfall at about 43 level. Still have most of coldharbour to do and the fighter's guild, so I think that one's about on track.
Wonderful post, Tolmos.
It's certainly not like other MMO's and I think the biggest issue is that people keep asking for change but then actually want more of the same. Either way, I think ESO is by far one of the best MMO's available right now.
BOYCOTTING EA / ORIGIN going forward.