I usually play for a couple of levels until I figure out what I'm doing and then I start over and do it the way I wished I had.Do a little research on the Wiki about the basics or just read the beginning of the game guide if you have it.There is a wealth of information out there or you can just come back here and read the posts.You can usually find your answers and if not just ask.

Hey....everyone's gotta start out at some point, right? The closest I've played, (I think) to this kind of genre is when I played a Zelda game at my friends house....if the two are even similar at all. Are they?

As you may have gathered from the previous comments, there is nothing in particular you should be doing.

Basically TES games (and other Bethesda games like Fallout 3) are very different than "normal" games. What these games do is set up a huge detailed world for you to role play in. You can do whatever you like. You can just wander around exploring. If you run across something interesting you can follow that. Like maybe a Guild, or someone asks you for help. If you want your character to be good then maybe help people out. If you want your character to be bad/evil, then maybe steal stuff, or listen to rumors about an assassin's cult.

You can continue the Main Quest. The next step should be in your Journal. But I usually defer the Main Quest in Bethesda games.

If you don't like exploring the wilderness, a good way to find something to do is to go into an Inn and listen to rumors or talk to people.

It's all about freedom to do what you want. Good luck, and I highly recommend saving often and keeping a bunch of saves around.

Actually I'd have to disagree with "go explore". My advice, press "j" and select what's in your journal (one at a time to avoid having too many guide markers). Then follow the compass/guide markers. Do what the quests ask of you. As you go, you will visit places/towns. Talk to people and you'll get more quests. Do the ones that are closer (preferably within the hold*) and then work your way outwards to the farther ones.

*The map is divided into territories called "Holds" and each hold is ruled by a Jarl who can be found in that hold's major city shown as a shield shaped icon.

Now the reason I say this is because I have encountered too many bugs with the quests where I couldn't advance because I had already been through a particular dungeon,cave, etc. and cleared it out. Even after waiting the 30 in game days and the place reset.

You don't need to read a guide to start the game, just play. You might make some wrong choices in the beginning, but your chracter don't need to be perfect.
So just go out and talk to people, and they will give you lots of quests before you know it.
Figure out how you want your character to be a mage with spells, a thief or more likely a melee focused character (since it's your first game of this kind, and you have chosen a nord) who need a weapon and some armor. When you level up the first time, you should look through the skills there to get an idea on what you can choose (f.ex one-handed weapons and two-handed weapons are different skills)
You have probably started the game on the default difficulty, adept, which ean you will get some challenges and die a few times, but most of the times be able to beat your opponents. Save often and if your opponent seem way to strong for you, it's no shame to retreat and return when you are stronger.

Otherwise just go out there and do what you want: talk to people in the cities, check the landscape (stay away from giants) and explore the caves, fortresses etc. Maybe find a pickaxe to do some mining.
If you like the style of the game you will have +100 hours of playing in the most impressive looking game I've seen.

You do what you want to do, when you want to do it.

Some people adore this straight away, for others the concept seems quite difficult to understand at first. It's a totally different experience to any other game, I know.

Okay, so this game is nothing like the legend of Zelda?

No. Not at all.

The Zelda games are very linear, you follow a story line from the beginning to the end exactly how the game is made to be followed. Then the game is over.

In Elder Scrolls games, you can go off and do whatever you want to do. Bring up the journal (start menu if you're on a console) and look at what quests you have in it and see if you want to do any of them, or just don't and travel, explore, and find things you want to do. The whole deal with the dragons is the Main Quest, which is the line of quests that is the staple of the game. Maybe you want to do that first to get into the game, and if that's the case then right now you should have the "Talk to Jarl Balgruf in Whiterun" (or something) objective in your journal, and if you activate it you will get a marker on your map which tells you where to go.

For example, I'm 85 hours in, and I've:

Completed about 15 or so side quests out of the hundreds that are in the game.
Been to less than half of all the dungeons and locations.
Progressed a bit in four of the seven main quest lines.
Not completed a single quest line.
Completed about 60 miscellaneous tasks out of literally an infinite amount.

What have I done in 85 hours then? Explored, taken in everything, done some quests, progressed in skills. You can play this game and complete every quest in 10 hours if you like. But that's not playing an Elder Scrolls game.

This. Just take a deep breath, immerse yourself in the events and let your character "figure it out" as you'd have to if you were stuck in a strange place. You'll have great fun.

This this this!


Also OP, ignore the elitists. This is the only place they're "cool" so just indulge them and let them have their moment.

- Do the Main Quest
- Just Explore everywhere
- Find Lots of Loot and sell it
- Buy a house to put all your stuff
- Get as many side missions as you can and start doing them
- Get the best weapons/armor you can find
- Join the Thieves Guild
- Join the Dark Brotherhood
- Talk to Inn-Keepers and find some quests
-etc

Note (just because I had a friend get frustrated because she did this): you don't have to pick up every plate, can, or broken piece of whatever you see, even inside a Dwemer ruin.

Haha, that's very good advice.

Imagine it's you in the game. Not a character made for you, you as you are now. Imagine what you would do in real life after finding yourself in the circumstances your game character is in. Once you have your head in the game, play it by ear.

My first action was to head to the pub, get drunk and then in the morning I usually find the night before I've robbed a house, murdered a goat and married an Orc. And in the game...

Okay thanks everybody. I've never played a game where you're given this much freedom before, so I think I just got overwhelmed haha.

I'd say become familiar with the menus and HUD, as lacking an understanding of those things is really the only thing I imagine could lead to someone being "completely" lost.

Yeah tomorrow morning I'm going to start it again, I'll follow what you guys are saying.

I am new also and I just wandered around and played with things. The cool thing about this game is you can go in sereval directions at once. Not like Diablo or one of those where you have to chose a path and stay with it. Dont try to finish the game it is the path not the finish line.

well said brother!

OP imagine like when exploring levels on halo but its one massive never ending level, thats how i got into rpg's.

I won't tell you how to play it, because there's no wrong way to play. It's okay to feel lost; I think you're sort of supposed to feel that way when you start your first Elder Scrolls game. I started this series with Morrowind, and when it turned me loose, I was completely lost. But you'll learn quickly.