Oops, sorrry, Rider. You are right of course. Funny, I still feel like a newb.

I don't want to presume on your reasons but let me offer this. Buffy came from the game Skyrim and quite disliked the Aldmeri Dominion. She also had reservations our first time in ESO being in that Alliance. But as a Bosmer, that's what she did. She absolutely fell in love with it. The Dominion is at a key point in its history early on and the prospective queen is a heroine that anyone can easily admire for her beautiful vision for the Dominion. That history ultimately thwarted her vision does not detract from what she was trying to do. Bottom line is Buffy felt a strong connection to the Dominion and loved being part of it.

For our second start, we used the Adventurers Pack and started her as a Bosmer in the Ebonheart Pact to try something different. We are currently 80% through that Alliance's quest line and, compared to the Dominion, it is simply doing quests. We feel no connection or much interest in the cause of the Ebonheart Pact.

All of this is very subjective of course and just one elf's opinion. Nevertheless, I thought I would share my experience for your consideration.

I will say that your race seems to have little or no impact on reactions. NPCs do not seem wired to respond any differently regardless of your race.

Hmm, interesting. This one must admit that Skyrim has tainted his view on the Dominion and the Altmer in general. Khajiit has never liked the Altmer, but learning about "The Great War" in Skyrim, along with the despicable way most of them act in game made that dislike a bit stronger. Perhaps with TES:O I will play as an Altmer some time to try and gain some understanding. Also, their gear aesthetic is really cool!

I started a character in each province to get a taste of all three and pick for myself which one I preferred. I have a character in the Aldmeri Dominion, one in the Daggerfall Covenant, and a few in the Ebonheart Pact because overall I liked it the best before One Tamriel. (in One Tamriel patch they took the gorgeous fishing spot I loved and extended the Red Mountain so it takes over double the area it used to, grrrrr.) Ebonheart has the Blackmarsh though, which is terrifying and dangerous to me. (Acadian and Buffy LOVED the Blackmarsh region!)

The Aldmeri is the most gorgeous of the three, but has two provinces that are jungle areas that are terrifying and dangerous - scared me to death! But Acadian (and Buffy) LOVE those jungles!

I loved the look of every bit of the land for the Daggerfall Covenant; most especially the Desert region - but it was loaded with werewolves. The hair on the back of my neck stayed raised the whole time never knowing when I would see one hurtling at me - they are VERY fast. But Haute has two characters there and LOVES it !!!

So each person has their own favorite spot.

Ebonheart Pact is Morrowind and Skyrim. I see so many familiar places from the older TES games I've played - I love it best; but still love many parts of the other two Alliances, especially the Queen you help that Acadian spoke of - she is so easy to care about; and very beautiful.

But this game stuck like glue to the TES lore; so Altmer are (and always have been in the TES realm throughout all the games) snobbish and uppity acting toward all the other races in Tamriel - that is Lore, and so you will hear it in this game too.

You can look up in the Imperial Library online and read about each race and their quirks or traits; appearances; etc. - and that is how you will find them in this game. They have it set so the Altmer's heights can't be adjusted smaller than any other race; the hair colors can't be adjusted to what doesn't match the Lore for that race.

I actually wish they would lighten up on that a bit so we could make our characters to suit our own personal idea of what we want, but they have literally stuck to the Lore in every way in this game. So expect haughty Altmer, lol.

But you can start anywhere and travel to any other Province you want, though it is always best to experience your own Alliance first (there is no hard and fast rule on that anymore since the One Tamriel patch).

Also, because you are allowed 8 characters at any given time and can delete 3 per day = feel free to experiment and find your own niche in the game.

Also don't confuse the Aldmeri Dominion of Skyrim's era with this previous instance. The term Thalmor may also crop up meaning a totally different set of people. Both terms were appropriated to take advantage of their heritage, even if it wasn't a genuine re-creation.

Buffy takes individuals as she finds them regardless of race and can quickly point out numerous examples of characters with beautiful hearts from each race. That said, the Altmer are well-represented by individuals that exude a bit of a superior/entitled air - that is exactly what the Dominion queen (herself an Altmer) is trying to overcome. I note in the Ebonheart Pact that many Dunmer are no less arrogantly condescending.

I don't mean any of this negatively; in fact I enjoy the quirks and characteristics of each race - and they are well-represented in ESO.

Khajiit is very interested in roaming Morrowind again! And Elsweyr! And Hammerfell!



Yeah this one thinks Skyrim seriously tainted his view of the Dominion. Khajiit vows to keep an open mind with TES:O.


It's the haughtiness of the Altmer that Khajiit has never found appealing. It's not an endearing quality to this one.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Dec 2 2016, 07:01 PM

New question:
If one buys the "start as a vampire/werewolf" thing from the Crown Store, can you turn it off and on for different characters? For instance, say Khajiit wants one character a vampire and then the very next character he doesn't want to be a vampire. Will it ask you if you want to make any characters subsequent to buying the vampire pack, a vampire?

Same here, which is why the ones that offended my character with their superior attitude got a little retribution in my character's story, lol.

Oddly enough, the one Altmer character I created in Oblivion for a modding class turned out to be awesome and friendly; as did the Altmer girl I created in ESO! So I think the crappy attitude was a set-up by the developers to make people feel disgusted by certain races.

(sort of like how the media tries to steer the public into feeling one way or another about everything via propaganda, )

Sorry, all I know about vamps and werewolves is how to kill them.

No, each bite that you buy from the crown store is only tied to the character that buys it. New characters will have to buy it again if they want to be a vampire or werewolf. (I just logged on and started a new character to confirm it)

It's also worth noting that buying a bite from the crown store means you miss out on a cool little quest, so unless you're starting as a vampire or werewolf for roleplaying purposes then I'd advise that you save your crowns and contract the disease naturally.

Geez! It's 1,500 for only one character to turn?!

One more reason to read the shirt.

Heh, there are words on that shirt?

So do the smithing "motifs" work the same way? You buy one and it's only good for one character?

I don't know on the motifs. In game when you find a motif book, it is only good for one character. I'm very sure hazmick and mALX will know the answer about motifs that you can buy.

As far as the motif books you find in game, some folks save their duplicates to give to other characters/players.

Once you get going on PC NA, let us know what your player name is so folks like mALX and I can try to 'friend' you.

Ok will do! Thinking about getting the Imperials and running a Dragonknight first.

I think Imperials are a really well-balanced capable race and, although I've not played one, it seems like DKs are pretty tough and hit hard. So. . . such a choice seems like a very solid first char to help learn the game.

Yes, this was Khajiit's thought as well. The Imperials get a bonus to one handed weapons and shields.

Yep, I'm 99% sure that motifs bought from the crown store are only good for one character. Haven't bought one myself so I can't give you firsthand confirmation.

You can find most of the crown store motifs in the game anyway though, it just might take a while to find them.

Honestly I'd recommend NOT buying anything from the crown store that you can't get from exploring in game (i.e common motifs), because it's all pretty expensive and there are new mounts/pets/costumes every month that are much more worth your crowns.

This post has been edited by hazmick: Dec 3 2016, 05:14 AM

Gotcha. Just trying to get as much information as possible so Khajiit doesn't waste money. Thanks for the info!