I've searched about five or six pages back and saw nothing directly relating to this, so apologies if this has been discussed before.

I was browsing the Tamriel Foundry website earlier and came across a thread that dealt with how people who played predominantly single-player RPGs were going to be destroyed by MMO veterans (in terms of PVP, but I also imagine it partially applies to PVE - i.e. one player does all the work whilst the other dies a lot and gets no loot), accompanied by insults and immaturity. Many people noted that there would be "barely anyone who had played the TES single player games and no MMOs", so "it wouldn't matter that much."
Well, unfortunately, I'm one of those people who have zero experience with MMOs. I'm not massively keen to hear I'm going to be 'destroyed', and even more put off to hear of how potentially immature the community can be - the reason why I give FPSs a very wide berth and stick to more civilized games like Torchlight 2, Civilization V and Anno 2070. The only game remotely comparable I play is Dota 2, and the community there is surprisingly friendly. That's very fast paced so I'm hoping that will help me in ESO.
So basically, I have a few questions for the community:

1) Is it going to be very difficult for a SP RPGer to adapt to ESO? I understand I'm not going to be able to pause and glug potions and playing in first person is probably unwise (a major blow for me, I much prefer it to third person), but what about mechanics? Is it going to be lots of complex button mashing (i.e. in a particular order?)

2) Can a person who plays with perhaps a limited group of friends or alone enjoy PVP or do you have to be part of a large guild to survive?

3) What advice would you give a first time RPG-er as an old hand at MMOs? Should I be on constant look-out for backstabbing stealth characters or am I relatively safe in an open area? What should I prioritize on - my attack or defence? Is it all about hotkeys and spur-of-the-moment or is it more tactical then that?

Thanks

1) ZOS has taken many steps to make gamers of your kind comfortable. There are less action slots than any other MMO I can recall, PvP is relegated to a single optional area, and with the help of phasing your PC can actually make an impact on their own gameworld.

Being successful in combat is also more about observing the actions of co-op partners than sticking to an ability rotation and tracking your DPS.

2) From what I hear of Cyrodiil I'd bring a few buddies if you're looking to PVP... It is a warzone after all

3) "Pulling" is often a very important mechanic in MMOs; it involves attacking one or two enemies at a time to avoid dealing with groups. It's a big deal in both solo and co-op play if other MMOs are any indication of TESO's approach.

That said, your ranged attacks or "taunt"-like skills will be very useful for this.

Just a quick question (don't mean to be rude or anything), did you view any of the interviews? Most of them are all located on the top of the page with a sticky. They know that lots of ES fans haven't played any mmos and want it to feel like a ES game to them too.

If you want to get a feel for what PvP may be like in ESO I posted a topic about this a while back. This comes from 5 years of playing a game that the PvP in ESO will be a lot like and that game was Dark Age of Camelot. The reason it will be like that game is the lead developer for ESO is Matt Firor and he was one of the devs responsible for the award winning three faction war in DAoC, and he has said the war in ESO is based on that three faction war in DAoC. Be sure to scroll down the first page of this post to get the defending relics post I made. You will see that the war in Cyrodiil will be a real team affair and that team might be as large as 200 players per side or as small as a normal group of 5 to 8 players.

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1435172-elder-scrolls-raidshere-is-what-you-can-expect/page__fromsearch__1