The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[PurdueBrad]

I'm realizing that my warrior needs to get a bit better with the bow and arrow to try and get a couple cheap shots in prior to the arrival of hordes of enemies. That's going to be my next focus. Any tips would be appreciated.

The place that is kicking my butt currently (I'm level 11) is the mission for the Gray-Beards (I think, but maybe it is the other clan) where I'm trying to get a guy out of jail. Sheesh.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by DataKing

In Bethesda games my companions inevitably become little more than mules.

This, or at least a mule that adds functionality similar to what a mobile turret would provide. A reasonably well-armed mule if you will.

To this point though I'd be lying if I said that having a companion that can't be killed (only knocked out to this point at least) isn't a handy distraction at times.
I haven't run into a case where I thought they made a difference in combat beyond saving me some time & effort though.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Icy

Is Skyrim really much better or would Oblivion with all expansions be a similar experience?

FWIW, I was a huge Oblivion fan - shares responsibility with Fallout 3 for getting me back onto consoles after years away - but so far Skyrim is at the very least its equal & in some ways might be superior. Too early for me to be willing to make that call absolutely though.

I will say that I think Skyrim would be at least a little easier to pick up & play from scratch (i.e. no Elder Scrolls experience) than Oblivion was.

[CrimsonFox]

My guess too is if you play Skyrim, you won't want to play Oblivion except to hear Patrick Stewart speak.

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

FWIW, I was a huge Oblivion fan - shares responsibility with Fallout 3 for getting me back onto consoles after years away - but so far Skyrim is at the very least its equal & in some ways might be superior. Too early for me to be willing to make that call absolutely though.

I will say that I think Skyrim would be at least a little easier to pick up & play from scratch (i.e. no Elder Scrolls experience) than Oblivion was.

The whole enemies level up as you level up killed it for me...perhaps if I had purchased the PC version and modded I would've been fine but way too many pitfalls if you upgraded your character in the wrong skills.

I /want/ to face risks where the enemy is far better, it lets you know where you stand...I hate the idea of wandering everywhere and always meeting your equal.

For instance, I was doing a couple of missions for one Jarl and realized I was way out of my league...but seeking stolen books for one mission was a cakewalk at my characters level...it wasn't tedious, it was okay, these guys are novices, I'm going to have fun taking them out.

Whereas the hard missions I needed great care in what I was doing...I still managed to offset death but by super stealth and deciding ultimately that I couldn't proceed further because I didn't have the skills to do so...kind of like going up against the Deathclaw quarry (in New Vegas), you either knew you could do it, or you knew you had to wait on it a few levels.

But back to my point with Oblivion it killed the game in my opinion. But that's just my opinion.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Qwikshot

But back to my point with Oblivion it killed the game in my opinion. But that's just my opinion.

Didn't bother me really so pretty much any combat was a challenge for me for about the first 100 hours or so. Was the first combat of this type I'd done without the aid of VATS in years.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

To this point though I'd be lying if I said that having a companion that can't be killed (only knocked out to this point at least) isn't a handy distraction at times.

Your companion can die in Skyrim. At least mine did during a boss fight.

[tyketime]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Your companion can die in Skyrim. At least mine did during a boss fight.

Alas, my first character also saw the untimely death of a companion, And truth be told, I actually felt a little bad about it. I did avenge the death, but still...

[CrimsonFox]

That's the thing I hate most about companions. THey aren't smart. They don't have hit points or combat sense. If you WERE ThAT Companion, you could survive, so why can't he/she/it?

At LEAST it should let you heal him/her/it.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

At LEAST it should let you heal him/her/it.

Mine accepts healing spells just fine as far as I can tell. Was definitely possible in Oblivion.

[korme]

Be wary of traveling far west off the main roads, west of Dragonsreach and the watch towers. It's mammoth zoo out there. At one point, my follower, 2 companions on a mission with me and myself were flanked by 2 mammoths, a giant, and a dragon all at once. Guess who won? The restart button.

[korme]

Also, somewhere along the way on this mission, Delphine has decided to fight me. She's the reason we're headed to a certain area, so even fighting back I can't kill her. Any way to possibly offset this without having to reload an OLD save?

[Peregrine]

What the companions need is some equivalent of the wheel from F:NV - it sucks not to be able to tell them to be aggressive, or use melee weapons instead of ranged.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I'm realizing that my warrior needs to get a bit better with the bow and arrow to try and get a couple cheap shots in prior to the arrival of hordes of enemies. That's going to be my next focus. Any tips would be appreciated.

The place that is kicking my butt currently (I'm level 11) is the mission for the Gray-Beards (I think, but maybe it is the other clan) where I'm trying to get a guy out of jail. Sheesh.

Yeah, that was the point at which I restarted my game, having decided that I had learned what I was doing enough to justify doing so. I haven't taken on that mission again yet (just reached L10 again).

However...I did find something called the Lunar Forge. I need to figure out how to use that.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by korme

Also, been playing as a stealthy archer. Thoroughly enjoying the ability to sneak around dungeons and caves and etc., picking people off.

Me also. Seems to be a fun way to play by the number of people leaning that way. I love picking people off from a long distance.

[bhlloy]

That's how I played in oblivion and it was a blast. I think when I finally pick the new one up I'll go for a stealthy archer with some decent conjuration skills, that sounds like a fun combo to me

[sabotai]

Started a few new characters to mess around with magic and melee. The character I've been playing has been a rogue character, staying in the shadows and picking people off with my bow. That's how I played Oblivion and Fallout (to a degree - rifles and trying to snipe people). I never really got far with magic or melee characters, but so far (first few levels) I like them.

One thing that's fun for magic users is to put Spark in both hands and pretend that you're Emperor Palpatine.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

That's how I played in oblivion and it was a blast. I think when I finally pick the new one up I'll go for a stealthy archer with some decent conjuration skills, that sounds like a fun combo to me

You guys would definitely love Thief The Dark Project and THief 2: The Metal Age then

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Mine accepts healing spells just fine as far as I can tell. Was definitely possible in Oblivion.

I was just speaking in general terms of most RPGs really. Not that one specifically. I didn't know at all whether it did or not.

[EagleFan]

You guys are much quicker than I am, that's for sure. Almost up to level 5 after my run through the cave for the shopkeeper and his sister.

Was told by people that I don't look well. Drank a potion that cures disease and so far haven't heard it since. Is there a way that I can tell if I am diseased? Other than people telling me that is.

Just walking around in that world is beautiful. Climbing the mountain in a snowstorm to get to that cave was amazing. Taking me forever as I keep snapping screenshots.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

You guys are much quicker than I am, that's for sure. Almost up to level 5 after my run through the cave for the shopkeeper and his sister.

Was told by people that I don't look well. Drank a potion that cures disease and so far haven't heard it since. Is there a way that I can tell if I am diseased? Other than people telling me that is.

Just walking around in that world is beautiful. Climbing the mountain in a snowstorm to get to that cave was amazing. Taking me forever as I keep snapping screenshots.

Check your magic menu, active or current effects at the bottom. There are also some shrines that can heal diseases too.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Check your magic menu, active or current effects at the bottom. There are also some shrines that can heal diseases too.

Thank you

[Thomkal]

Just in case you hadn't seen and are interested, the Midweek Madness sale for Steam this week is Oblivion-75% off for the next 40 some odd hours.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Just in case you hadn't seen and are interested, the Midweek Madness sale for Steam this week is Oblivion-75% off for the next 40 some odd hours.

You got my hopes up you bastard!

[SackAttack]

So I can craft Elven armor now.

Or could, anyway, if I could find some *#!@ing Quicksilver.

[Thomkal]

heh no sorry Skyrim is not going 75% off for quite a long time I think

[Izulde]

I might pick up Oblivion for that price if it's still there when I get home. That way I can have the PC goodness with the mods.

BTW, is the 360 controller supported for Oblivion's PC version?

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Izulde

I might pick up Oblivion for that price if it's still there when I get home. That way I can have the PC goodness with the mods.

BTW, is the 360 controller supported for Oblivion's PC version?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Co...er_for_Windows

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

heh no sorry Skyrim is not going 75% off for quite a long time I think

Skyrim is still crushing everything else in terms of players on Steam, so it's safe to say it's selling very well and they'll be able to keep it at full price for a while. Right now I think it's got more people playing than the rest of the top 10 combined.

[sabotai]

Just got a bit of a reality check with my mage. It seemed to be easy. Just shoot my "force lightning" and every drops super quick.

That was until a bandit thug ran at me with his two handed sword and, even though I had full (110) health, cut me down.

[EagleFan]

I usually don't pick up the game guides but did for this game. The problem is that I can;t access it. Did anyone else pick up the Steam game guide? If so, are you having any luck with it? I click on the link and continually get that the servers are busy, try again later.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by sabotai

Just got a bit of a reality check with my mage. It seemed to be easy. Just shoot my "force lightning" and every drops super quick.

That was until a bandit thug ran at me with his two handed sword and, even though I had full (110) health, cut me down.

Yeah, the zweihander stuff will kick your ass even in melee. Every time I've died, it's been because I got whacked with a big ol' bastard sword.

Folks wielding a one-handed weapon I have a much easier time with.

[Bigsmooth]

Originally Posted by tyketime

what's the general consensus on using followers/companions? Do you use them all the time, or do you sometimes work through a quest chain on your own?

I basically leave mine at the front door with the "wait here" command when entering a cave or fort. That way I can get all of the experience points by killing the bandits and have the follower be a mule to carry all the loot!

[SportsDino]

Originally Posted by tyketime

I'm thinking of creating a mage today to see if the experience feels different than my warrior.

My second character (my first sellsword died in an unfortunate incident with giants) is a necromancer mage, playing on Expert.

Playing without armor can be brutal, but the gameplay is fairly interesting, but I'd say harder than a warrior (particularly at the start). The game buffs you with some good magicka gear in the starter dungeon though to make it possible.

Efficient play is more important, any use of sword should be a power attack, dart around a bit to avoid taking hits, and in my case use zombies or familiar to clog up the enemy while you run a bit away to get off your next burst of flame. Early on you can get a lot of alchemy ingredients for resist fire, brew a couple of those for the first dragon fight. Leave armor and weapon on zombies, you should be able to find the ash piles easy enough with the glow effect on them. Naked zombies don't last too long I've found.

A follower would probably be a good idea, I didn't find get one (until the obvious one post dragon) and boss fights hurt. Luckilly I grabbed all the free loot in the starter village, so I had carry weight to burn anyway.

If anything, mage is easier than other games because the magic interface is so much more awesome with dual weilding and continuous casting.

[SportsDino]

Originally Posted by Bobble

Good tip. I think that only gives you the first effect, though. I know you can also find/purchase recipes. I'm wondering if there's anything else that reveals effects. Getting a high enough level like in previous versions?

One of the perks in alchemy gives you two effects for eating ingredients, but it seems too expensive for the cost.

Rare ingredients are hard to deal with, too much risk to burn them just to learn... but that is the actual art of alchemy, so I like the game mechanic although it gets weaker with repetition (once you know effects from a playthrough you will probably generally recall them in your next game). Burn plentiful ingredients against each other to see what you can find out, save rare ones until you get a house, build up a giant collection, and are willing to experiment. Or buy the game guide which lists everything out.

[RainMaker]

I hate you all for making me order this today. I was planning on holding off but just can't.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Bigsmooth

I basically leave mine at the front door with the "wait here" command when entering a cave or fort. That way I can get all of the experience points by killing the bandits and have the follower be a mule to carry all the loot!

I need to do that. I just learned (the hard way) that giving your follower loot to carry is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, hey - bonus carry weight.

On the other? If the loot you give them is better than what they've got, they WILL equip it.

"Hey, asshole! Stop burning the charges on that thing! You're not going to hit the...oh, you asshole. You got yourself killed. Who's going to carry all that shit NOW?"

[Crapshoot]

Note to self - I am not prepared at level 2 to take on Giants. All I see is my body bouncing 30 feet in the air.

[CrimsonFox]

They had to have put those Giants so close to the beginning just to see people bouncing high in the air!

[CrimsonFox]

DId anyone here find the Vampire right off the bat?

[CrimsonFox]

and no I don't have the game and he's not the ONLY vampire I'm sure. But after watching 1000 people demo 15 minutes worth of the game, only 1 person found and killed it.

I don't even know where it is.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Note to self - I am not prepared at level 2 to take on Giants. All I see is my body bouncing 30 feet in the air.

You can say it with me. Giants suck. C'mon.

[SportsDino]

If you are interested in trying out vampires:

Spoiler

Broken Fang Cave along one of the roads from Whiterun to Rorikstead has at least two vampires, if your the fast travel hating type and want to clean up your infection I can tell you the best bet is to return to Whiterun. I didn't make it to the next major city in time (course I am easily distracted).

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I hate you all for making me order this today. I was planning on holding off but just can't.

welcome to the cult.

[Simbo Klice]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

So I can craft Elven armor now.

Or could, anyway, if I could find some *#!@ing Quicksilver.

There's a quicksilver mine in the northeastern most city where you can mine about 5 ingots worth of ore. Also, there's a quicksilver ore spot just to the left of the back way out of the Companions' Underforge.

I don't really play many RPGs but this is one awesome game. I started out as a Redguard and mostly just 2-hand bulled my way through the first few quests, but a few Giant uppercuts have convinced me that sometimes getting your bow and using the high ground is a better tactic. My most recent love has become pickpocketing though. Went all the way from level 11 to level 14 just pickpocketing people around Whitehall. (Note: I cheated hard, saving before I went in for the attempt and reloading if they caught me.)

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Simbo Klice

There's a quicksilver mine in the northeastern most city where you can mine about 5 ingots worth of ore. Also, there's a quicksilver ore spot just to the left of the back way out of the Companions' Underforge.

I don't really play many RPGs but this is one awesome game. I started out as a Redguard and mostly just 2-hand bulled my way through the first few quests, but a few Giant uppercuts have convinced me that sometimes getting your bow and using the high ground is a better tactic. My most recent love has become pickpocketing though. Went all the way from level 11 to level 14 just pickpocketing people around Whitehall. (Note: I cheated hard, saving before I went in for the attempt and reloading if they caught me.)

I only just left the first major hold (and that was on accident, as I accepted a quest I didn't /think/ would take me out of that city, but, uh...wha' happen?).

So it might be a while before I get that far.

OTOH, that second major hold? Has some creepy-ass quests so far.

[korme]

Originally Posted by CrimsonFox

DId anyone here find the Vampire right off the bat?

My roommate acquired vampirism at level 15 and ended up restarting because by stage 4, you can't go out during the day and every city attacks you. no fun

[Bigsmooth]

Finished that quest where you trick the redguard woman into going to the stables outside of whiterun to get caught by the kemata (think that's his name) dude. After he paid me my prize I simply killed him after he turned his back to me and then killed the hotty too. Nice loot! Kemata gives up 2 nice blades.

[cody8200]

This game seems unfathomably big. Almost overwhelmingly so. I am 12 hours in and haven't finished half of the quests at the first big city. 8 more cities to go afterward...crazy. That's not to mentioned all of the stuff outside of the cities. I have never seen a game with this much content and I have played Fallout NV, Oblivion and Fallout 3 for over 100 hours each.

[korme]

I officially cannot beat Alduin's Wall as a Level 11 guy. Throwing my hands up in the air, time to do some side quests and get better