The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

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?"

Yeah, that's why I only give them armor and weapons I want them to equip. I usually stick them with all of my books, ingredients and misc stuff.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by 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

I've kind of run into a wall as well right now with a couple of the quests I've been working in terms of the quality of my character. I'm grinding out some side quests to develop in order to tackle the bigger quests. I have taken out four dragons but am struggling with Ice Trolls and the quest to free Thoran (sp?) so just grinding for a while.

[PurdueBrad]

dola- I also need to eventually man up and screw with a giant. After reading everyone's experiences with them I've avoided them like the plague but I guess I should eventually charge one.

[CleBrownsfan]

Anyone try The College of Winterhold Quests yet? I've finished a few of them and I'm up to the Staff of Magnus quest and I'm started to wonder if I need to gain a couple more levels because I am getting my ass kicked in this one. I'm at level 9 and I've been able to finish the series of quest prior to this one with ease.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

dola- I also need to eventually man up and screw with a giant. After reading everyone's experiences with them I've avoided them like the plague but I guess I should eventually charge one.

Finding cover is the key! Get to either a high spot they can't reach, or in between tight trees.

[korme]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

dola- I also need to eventually man up and screw with a giant. After reading everyone's experiences with them I've avoided them like the plague but I guess I should eventually charge one.

Famous last words

[thesloppy]

Whatever a blood dragon is, me and him don't get along.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by korme

Famous last words

Probably. Although the most important thing I learned today is that if you're walking along and several people warn you about wolves then the last thing you need to worry about are the wolves.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Probably. Although the most important thing I learned today is that if you're walking along and several people warn you about wolves then the last thing you need to worry about are the wolves.

I had that exact same experience. Even as he was talking, I was smirking, thinking to myself "yeah, right.....just wolves."

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Finding cover is the key! Get to either a high spot they can't reach, or in between tight trees.

Or under the narrow opening beneath a bridge

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

Probably. Although the most important thing I learned today is that if you're walking along and several people warn you about wolves then the last thing you need to worry about are the wolves.

7,000 steps?

[lighthousekeeper]

i'm at level 11 and don't feel like i've done any quests yet.

[SackAttack]

Fuck spriggans, offhand. Between spriggans and giants, a dragon fight feels like a respite by comparison.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Fuck spriggans, offhand. Between spriggans and giants, a dragon fight feels like a respite by comparison.

Yep.

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

7,000 steps?

[JonInMiddleGA]

The second dragon (not counting the one at Helgen to start the game) was a disappointing wuss.

[Grover]

Just took out the dragon outside of the Western Watchtower. That was fun.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

The second dragon (not counting the one at Helgen to start the game) was a disappointing wuss.

The first dragon I fought after that in my current save was an actual challenge. Still not to the point of 'oh shit spriggans and giants,' but I had to work for it.

Partly because I can't figure out how to sprint, and so I get roasted by flames if I don't have cover.

[SackAttack]

Oh, dola. In case you wonder, city guards will attack you for trespassing.

In case you're REALLY curious, if your mule doesn't follow you when you leave the area of trespass, they'll attack the mule, too.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Partly because I can't figure out how to sprint

Left bumper on 360

[Grover]

note to self: avoid giants and mammoths.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Left bumper on 360

Sweet! Thanks. That's actually the one button I hadn't tried. I knew RB was tied to shouts/powers, so I guess I figured LB was similarly attuned.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Ice wraiths suck.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Ice wraiths suck.

Are they those invisible bastards that pop up out of nowhere while you're walking along?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Are they those invisible bastards that pop up out of nowhere while you're walking along?

Pretty much. Kicked my otherwise having-a-good-night butt big time.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by Izulde

Are they those invisible bastards that pop up out of nowhere while you're walking along?

Yessir. There are some gnarly critters in Skyrim. I don't get why the townsfolk are freaking out over the dragons.

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

Anyone try The College of Winterhold Quests yet? I've finished a few of them and I'm up to the Staff of Magnus quest and I'm started to wonder if I need to gain a couple more levels because I am getting my ass kicked in this one. I'm at level 9 and I've been able to finish the series of quest prior to this one with ease.

After about 100-150 deaths I finally finished the College quest series. I got a sweet "gift" in the end so I guess it was worth it

[Mota]

I haven't made it to the College Quest series, but for some reason I think of the movie Superbad when imagining what it will be about.

[Qwikshot]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Whatever a blood dragon is, me and him don't get along.

Just ran into one this morning, he and a Giant battled to near death and I picked off the dragon while it was low on health. And I got a Giant's Toe out of it too!

[Peregrine]

Have you guys run into the Falmer yet? Pretty ugly customers, especially since some of them are nasty spellcasters.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Fuck spriggans, offhand. Between spriggans and giants, a dragon fight feels like a respite by comparison.

About 3000x yes. Spriggans freak in wipe me the hell out. Last night I had a quest where after you get what you need, a sprigan pops up. I was low on potions and after getting my ass handed to me about 20x I decided to see if I could just run out of the area. Thankfully it worked. I had some guy with me who wanted to tag along on the mission. He wasn't with me when i came out and I did not go back to look for him. Give me a flipping dragon anyway of the week.

[MikeVic]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Have you guys run into the Falmer yet? Pretty ugly customers, especially since some of them are nasty spellcasters.

Yes, I've been having a pretty easy time as a one-handed/shield warrior. But there was one cave I went in to that had falmers, some poison bugs, and some frickin' huge metal monster. I died a few times in there, and still think I beat the metal monster out of a glitch or luck. He just stopped attacking. It would shoot steam at me that drained my health like crazy, quickest health draining I've seen yet.

[Grover]

Just got Beast Form from the Companions. Awesome.

[CleBrownsfan]

One thing I feel is odd is you don't get any XP for completing a quest...

[PurdueBrad]

Originally Posted by CleBrownsfan

One thing I feel is odd is you don't get any XP for completing a quest...

I was thinking the exact same thing. There are a couple quests, albeit side quests, that I completed without any fighting and, outside of gold, no other real bonus. I would've thought there would be at least some token amount of XP.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I was thinking the exact same thing. There are a couple quests, albeit side quests, that I completed without any fighting and, outside of gold, no other real bonus. I would've thought there would be at least some token amount of XP.

There is no such thing as XP.....some quests rewards will include the giver 'teaching' you a skill, which is as close as the game gets.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by PurdueBrad

I was thinking the exact same thing. There are a couple quests, albeit side quests, that I completed without any fighting and, outside of gold, no other real bonus. I would've thought there would be at least some token amount of XP.

See, I see it as an organic growth system.

Think of it like this. You've been tasked to retrieve the Mighty Ancient Family Heirloom from the Really Bad Guys.

Okay, so you go do that. And in the course of doing that, you engage in some stealthy behavior to try to avoid the sentries. You improve your stealth abilities. At some point, stealth doesn't work any longer - maybe you knife someone in the back, but another guard hears it and sounds the alarm, and so it's time for combat, the victorious resolution of which results in improvement to your ability to wear heavy armor, or engage in two-handed combat.

Eventually, you've successfully retrieved the Mighty Ancient Family Heirloom and the Really Bad Guys are carrion fodder. What, really, is the simple act of handing over the Mighty Ancient Family Heirloom going to do for you that the actions you took to retrieve it in the first place did not?

Not a thing.

'XP' is a bludgeon, derived from the pen-and-paper RPGs. "Here's some points, now that you've done Whatever-It-Is. Spend them to craft your character." You can, thereby, shape the character to be what it is you want it to be, but there isn't necessarily a link between where you're taking the character, skill-wise, and how you've played the character up to that point (unless your GM is the demanding type).

A game like Skyrim, you are not going to learn the really good sneaking stuff unless you spend lots of time sneaking around. given that, what's the point of 'here, have some additional advancement toward your next growth plateau' for the arbitrary fact of having returned the Mighty Ancient Family Heirloom at some point or another post-retrieval? I mean, you might've gone off and done another five quests before going "Oh, yeah, I'm supposed to bring this back." Who knows?

As far as XP as a quest reward makes sense, it does so in a linear game where there is a strict delineation from Point A to points B and C. That's not the case here.

Just, uh, my two cents.

[JetsIn06]

Didn't see this posted, but Oblivion is on sale on Steam, GOTY Edition for $4.99

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JetsIn06

Didn't see this posted, but Oblivion is on sale on Steam, GOTY Edition for $4.99

Scroll up a few pages.

[CleBrownsfan]

Thanks for the post SA - that makes sense to me

Anyone know if there any decent mods out there yet?

[PurdueBrad]

Yeah guys, definitely like the explanation/way to look at it.

[thealmighty]

What better, Steam or box?

(sorry if answered on page 1 or 2, but life is short...)

[JonInMiddleGA]

First, a random question that isn't connected to the SA quote/comment I'm going to mention afterwards.

What the heck is the "Gift of Charity" that's referenced when you give a beggar a coin? I don't see anything listed anywhere that explains what that's doing for you & I haven't seen anything like a karma system, so what does that actually mean?

Now, onto another item (just didn't feel like a dola here I guess)

Originally Posted by SackAttack

A game like Skyrim, you are not going to learn the really good sneaking stuff unless you spend lots of time sneaking around.

I don't disagree with your description of how "XP" is being handled in Skyrim at all, but the quoted part of your comment jumped out at me as being a weakness of both Oblivion and now Skyrim.

It feels as though there's benefit to things that really shouldn't be beneficial, sneaking gets a boost -- and appears to be the same boost -- regardless of whether there's anyone around to catch you. I occasionally find myself crouched/sneaking at times when I really don't mean to, walking through a town between shops or whatever, somewhere I've just clicked into crouch without realizing it basically ... and suddenly I find out that my sneaking skill has gone up a level.

I know, I know, it's the same kind of metagaming that could be done with the old Acrobatics skill in Oblivion just by jumping everywhere you went. It can be a cheap way to level, you're only cheating yourself, blah blah blah, I know all that & I agree with that interpretation to a fair degree. But isn't that a weakness of the leveling system to some extent? And is it an area where we might someday see an evolution that takes context into consideration more?

Better question maybe: is this an area where we gamers really want to see a more sophisticated evolution?

[MizzouRah]

This game has game of the year written all over it, damn is it immersive.

I could sit on a couch for hours and play it.. too bad I have do get up and do things with the family.

[bhlloy]

I don't think that's entirely correct Jon, pretty sure in oblivion your sneak went up way faster if you were actually sneaking around someone and avoiding detection. I think that is a pretty solid model (you can practice something and get slowly better but you get much better if you were actually putting it into practice)

I think the skills vs xp and the pacing of them are a huge strength of the games. Sure you can put a paperweight on your spacebar and spam the hell out of your acrobatics skill but if you were going to go to that length to cheat you could just use the console anyway

[BYU 14]

Finally got to have an extended session since I had to take 4 comp hours from work today or lose them.

Went from level 3 to level 8 in 4 hours of playing. The caverns on the Golden Claw quest are amazing, I spent almost 2 hours in there because I wasted a lot of time just looking at the surroundings.

Ran into a Sabre Tooth heading to kill a Bandit thief and it was not pretty, used my command animal ability the second time by him

I really love the fact that there are areas of danger again that you just plain need to avoid as I already have a sense of fear I never had with Oblivion when going to new places.

Realizing that Archery and Sneak are valued skills.

[Izulde]

Shit, I forgot to do the Oblivion steam special. It's over with now.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

What the heck is the "Gift of Charity" that's referenced when you give a beggar a coin? I don't see anything listed anywhere that explains what that's doing for you & I haven't seen anything like a karma system, so what does that actually mean?

I think the gift of charity adds 10% to your speech skill....I can't remember if I saw that during the loading tips (which has a surprising amount of important info) or under the 'current conditions' of the magic wheel.

Regarding the stealth power-leveling, I do that as well...but I don't consider it a cheat/exploit, whereas I did acrobatics, simply because it causes you to travel half as fast while you're exploring (and you can't run), so there is an actual risk/cost to sneaking, whereas jumping around like an idiot didn't seem to affect your travel rate/effectiveness at all. Likewise, I can imagine a hunter/thief creeping around in real life situations, even if he doesn't think he's being actively watched, whereas nobody is gonna jump their way to the store to get a workout. I think they've shored up some of that a bit.

...however, I do still pick pretty much every lock I come into contact with, without regard to where it leads, and that doesn't seem very natural.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I think the gift of charity adds 10% to your speech skill....I can't remember if I saw that during the loading tips (which has a surprising amount of important info) or under the 'current conditions' of the magic wheel.

Regarding the stealth power-leveling, I do that as well...but I don't consider it a cheat/exploit, whereas I did acrobatics, simply because it causes you to travel half as fast while you're exploring (and you can't run), so there is an actual risk/cost to sneaking, whereas jumping around like an idiot didn't seem to affect your travel rate/effectiveness at all. Likewise, I can imagine a hunter/thief creeping around in real life situations, even if he doesn't think he's being actively watched, whereas nobody is gonna jump their way to the store to get a workout.

I think it might be 10 points to your speech skill. I'm finding the rule of thumb with anything is to go to the Magic menu and look at effects. Some of the temples give you pretty nice effects.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I think it might be 10 points to your speech skill. I'm finding the rule of thumb with anything is to go to the Magic menu and look at effects. Some of the temples give you pretty nice effects.

Spoiler

I was happy to discover an alter to Talos in one of the towns that cures all your diseases. Considering how often I seem to pick up mystery diseases (and never have any potions), that was a huge relief. I had completed a quest for a priestess of Talos though, so that may be a requirement to get the benefits, for all I know.