201 replies to this topic

[DarkJuno]

Aye, PS3 here. So far none of the DLC has wrecked the game and, as of now, it's been smooth and stable since the patch last Spring.

[Chukchi Husky]

I have Skyrim on the PC and Dawnguard made my game crash. Oddly, every mod I tried worked without problems. I'm going to wait until I get Dragonborn before I start again, but at the moment it costs £14.

[frogmonkeys]

so far hearthfire and a daedric quest for the skull of corruption are the only things that make my 360 version start freezing. so I have refused to start that quest and have deleted hearthfire... sigh. I hate having things I know I can't do though!

[DarkJuno]

Arise thread, ARISE.

 

Mostly only because I got back into it again (because you know you're never really done until the next game comes out....) and things amused me. I have to say, whatever fix Bethesda did on the PS3 version really works for me anyway ebcauise my save files are up to 11 - 12 MB each now and I'm still silky smooth, comapred to pre-patch when it got to not even 10 and everything shuddered to hell and back. Have all the DLC though all I've really done was start building my house in Falkreath and started the Dawnguard quest just to recruit Serana and see what she's all about. Said house made it very clear very quickly that it's going to cost a lot of money, so I took my new vampire gal pal out to work on those sidequests while the random attacks of both vampires and Cultists are going on.

 

I rather like Serana, I was worried she'd just be another dark and mysterious vampire girl but she's actually got a pretty good, sarcastic sense of humor and has some nice new quips regarding the weather and the sun, not to mention the typical places companions say stuff. She's also quest important so she can't die, which I like because even if she gets in my way she should be fine, though she's been helpful. I also like that she'll start tinkering around with random things if you take too long to move or are talking with someone, like she'll start messing with Enchanting Tables or sit downr ather then jsut blankly stand there like a statue. Also, I probably need to mention too that they obviously noticed that everyone in the community knows Lydia because they completely overhauled her speech and gave her a ton of new lines. Maybe its just me but she only uses her sarcastic "Sworn to carry your burdens" if you already have her carrying a ton of stuff and is otherwise a lot nicer about it. SHe also has gotten a topn of deadpan snarker comments about the random everyday encoutners in Skyrim, and apparently has even more if you take her with you to Solostheim, so that'll be nice.

 

Anyway, random story. So, the first thing that happens when you isntall Dragonborn is a bunch of cult members in dragon amsks march up to you and threaten you, and after you kill them it triggers the Dragon born questline. If you ignore it, random cultists will continue to harrass you as you travel, like the vampires do for Dawnguard. Thing is, they tend to have arcane users who take control of whatever wildlife is around, so one time I was walking along the road when a bunch of enemy markers popped up on the compass and the attack music started playing....except I didn't see anything. After being really confused for a few minutes and not seeing anyone, I realized that the random mountain goat staring at me was the enemy, and about 3 or 4 more popped out of the bushes and stared at me. For whatever reason, the Cultist decided to attack me with goats, who can't actually do anything to you.

 

Gotta say, that original Dragonborn needs to find some smarter followers.

 

I also mentioned this on Facebook, but due to hoarders' mentality I keep al special armor that belongs to fallen enemies ebcause who knows when it might come in handy. I got the bright diea that it would be neat to use that special armor to decorate my houses and it didn't occur to me 'till I was talking about it to someone that my otherwise heroic character is, essentially, killing people, stripping them naked, then hanging their clothes and armor out as trophies as decoration.

 

Maybe I'm not such a clean cut do gooder after all. <.<

[DarkJuno]

Unless you got it on Steam Sale, I reaaaaaaaally hope no one just ought Skyrim Legendary Edition....

 

Every single Elder Scrolls game ever plus Expansion Packs and DLC with nice maps and a nice box for $79.99.

 

Now that's just a good deal. I'm tempted even if I never play any of them...

[frogmonkeys]

we don't even have a computer but I want that! I may have to get that... someday we'll get a computer... also... just started a ps3 game of Skyrim since that's the only console we ever use anymore. ugh. I always forget how lame it is to start new characters. so. dawnguard or vampire? I never actually did that dlc before.

[DarkJuno]

It kinda doesn't matter, as far as I can tell all the missions are the same, just from the opposite side of the fight. If the idea of being a vampire sounds appealing or you're playing an "evil" character, then side with them. Personally, I went Dawnguard because besides playing as a heroic (though perhaps slightly deranged) character, I'd rather keep her anti-disease werewolfness then going vampire.

[Veteran]

So 4 years later I've got this game!

I'm sort of clued up as to which perks are useful and useless, but what I'm wondering is how should I spread the perks as I level? I want an archer so should I max that out immediately or should I begin improving, say, smithing with my second perk?

I'm also paranoid as to where to store my stuff even after looking on a wiki. 5000 gold for a house can't come soon enough.

[Fin]

Companions offer a little bit of extra storage while you're waiting for the house money.

As for perks, I found myself avoiding a lot of straight out fights while I was playing an archer, so investing heavily in archery might pay off if you're taking a softly softly approach? I managed to get my sneak stat up really high with my archer without even bothering to put any perks in it XD

Before you take any of that advice though you should probably know that my desires were... unconventional. I was playing a build modelled after Link (he was also a sword-and-shield guy) and I spent the whole game in a green tunic, so I basically had no armour stat XD Hence why I picked off so many bad guys from a distance to begin with. By the end of the game I'd gotten really good at sword-and-shield fighting though, playing without armour is kind of a rush.

[Selena]

Welcome to the cool kids club, Vet.

 

 

 

You should probably put your perks into the following: Archery, Light Armor, and Sneak.

 

Sneak's higher level perks aren't all that great, but the first ones are useful. Same with light armor. This way you can more easily take out enemies, which will allow you to loot more quickly and gain hard cash. With that cash, you can buy a house and the crafting goods necessary to dedicate your life to smithing. Because LOTRO made it abundantly clear that you love crafting.

 

Joining the Thieves Guild will help net you some money, too. And give you access to archery / light armor / sneak trainers, should you want to buy experience from them. And some cool equipment when you get to the end of their questline. BATMAN ARMOR.

 

Find and activate the Thief Stone if you haven't yet, since that'll level up your core skills 20% faster.

 

 

 

Smithing and enchanting:

 

Keep any ingots you loot from your enemies, then you can make iron/steel daggers pretty easy. Once you make those daggers, you can enchant them immediately afterwards using some soul gems. Sell them for profit. Buy more crafting materials. Circle of life. You can do this while you quest, or you can wait until you have some money to blow -- then buy a ton of materials and craft a whole bunch of weapons really fast.

 

Used to be that you could make a ton of iron daggers and level up quick, but I think they patched it. Since the patch, I think you have to craft bigger weapons as your skills improve.

 

Once you start crafting en masse, you'll start leveling up in general -- which means CRAFTING PERKS WOO.

[Elvenlord]

I think they made it so the exp you get is related to the value of crafted item.

[Green Goblin]

Also, when you join a guild of some kind, you're typically given access to a room where you can store your crap.  Helps a lot while you're still saving up for your place.

I went full magic in Skyrim, So I was at the College at Winterhold, had my own place in student quarters, eventually became headmaster, married the one other Dunmer there and eventually bought that charming little cottage in Whiterun.

Sneak does offer some REALLY goot benefits to archers, the higher you get.  IIRC, the top thing in sneak gives you the ability to be like temporarily undetectable the instant you crouch down.  And there's another ability in sneak that greatly multiplies damage to enemies when you're undetected, so.....yknow, do that math. 

[Veteran]

Thanks guys!

I need to find those stones again as I activated the warrior one when archery is (errornously?) amongst the thief one. I joined the Companions and I might have forgotton which bed and chest are mine, if any.

One of the hide armours makes me look like He-Man.

Because LOTRO made it abundantly clear that you love crafting.

Once I know what I'm doing I will craft the fuck out of this game.

[Chukchi Husky]

Are you playing on the PC?

[Veteran]

No, 360 legendary edition.

[Selena]

If that's the case, then you'll be offered the chance to start building a house instead of flat-out buying one (via the Hearthfire DLC). Might want to consider that. It's more expensive out of the gate, but you'll also level up your crafting skills while doing it. You can slowly expand it into a big manor with a fuckton of storage areas once you get more money.

 

(You can pretty much shove an infinite number of things in one chest, though -- it's just slow to load if you have thousands of items in there)

[Green Goblin]

Oh, and if you wanna boost your sneak to a ridiculous amount, sneak around at the top of the world and stab the monks when no one is looking.  They're slow but DEADLY powerful though, so put your weapon away before they turn around.  They'll look at you, say "Do'vah Kin" and go back to meditating.  Their health regenerates alarmingly fast too, so you really don't have to worry about killing them.  Your sneak goes through the roof, by sneak-stabbing absurdly strong enemies and getting away with it.  I got mine up to like 90 in 30 minutes.

Edited by Green Goblin, 15 March 2015 - 12:49 AM.

[Veteran]

Holy shit this one blows Oblivion out of the water! Why am I only just playing it now? The world is just so... lived in, it's believable. I love it.

 

First dragon I saw after the mandatory one flew around above me but never engaged so I didn't interact with it. Made me wary of fighting one again. When it eventually happened I liked that it wasn't *too* difficult and the FUS RO (no DAH yet) knocks a fair chunk of health off. I now seek them out. Souls to reap for Nordkind.

 

I've only been to Whiterun and Riften so far and I'm level 15! I sometimes worry I'm levelling too quickly as Elven armour is starting to drop.

 

I don't have a horse. Do I need one? I will dislike spending 1000 gold on something that could die to a dragon's 'hello'. I don't mind running around since notching a crab at 60 paces levels up my archery.

 

I'm not sure yet which side of ze war I'm on. Playing a Nord it'll maybe make more sense to rebel and save the Empire side for another playthrough with a Breton or Redguard.

[Green Goblin]

I played a Dark Elf, but even as a grey-skin (who aren't very well looked upon in Skyrim), I decided to go against the side that was about to decapitate me. 

 

Don't bother with a horse.  It's not that major.  It's just one more thing to worry about dying.  Just run places. 

 

Also, you're about the right level for one of my favorite quests ever.  Go into literally any tavern and I think the quest should auto-start now for you.

[Veteran]

Forgot to also ask: Lydia is available as a companion since I'm Thane but I haven't taken her anywhere with me. Does that matter? I haven't needed her really and would rather not manage her safety to be honest.

[Selena]

You don't have to use Lydia. If you're a sneaky character, companions are more of a hindrance than a help. They're like overgrown babies who always manage to trigger traps and get into trouble. But if you know you're going into a straight up brawl, it can help to have one at your side. You can also take them with you while roaming the land. Because you can give your companion loot to carry. So they're like a big walking backpack of extra storage.

 

If you buy the house in Whiterun, Lydia will move in there and become your personal steward-lady.

 

 

 

Horses: Do the Dark Brotherhood questline and you'll get a free horse. Shadowmere is virtually indestructible. Should Shadowmere die, he should respawn at the place of his death -- or at the Dark Brotherhood sanctuary, in the spot where you get him.

 

Horses are nice to have, but non-essential. But they're really helpful for climbing mountains, as they defy known physics and can climb up impossibly steep ledges.

 

You can always steal one in the meantime, should you need a trusty steed.

[Raien]

I went full magic in Skyrim, So I was at the College at Winterhold, had my own place in student quarters, eventually became headmaster, married the one other Dunmer there and eventually bought that charming little cottage in Whiterun.

 

I got a question about the full magic route in Skyrim. How do you deal with the problem of the magic meter? Whenever I needed to cast magic, the meter drained so fast that it left me open to attack on many, many occasions. It's not so bad in a wide open area but in a cramped dungeon it was a complete nightmare. I did consider the staffs but I didn't find any that released strong attacks. Magic only became bearable once I cleared the final winterhold quest and became archmage, at which point I acquired two items that significantly reduced the drain on the magic meter. And even then it felt like I was barely keeping my head above water.

 

I can't say I particularly like Skyrim (the opening hours were amazing but as repetition set in, I got bored of the grind) but this particular problem always weighed on my mind. I've heard some people online also complain about feeling underpowered as full-magic users but then I read one guy claim he was overpowered.

 

PS: While I'm here, I'd like to recommend a text rpg/adventure for ios/android called Life of a Wizard. It has a similar theme as Skyrim's Winterhold setting where you train to be a great wizard and then go out on adventures, except it focuses more on story choices and you get to see your character grow from childhood through to old age. It was very well written and I was impressed with how the game addressed my choices. If you liked Winterhold, I'd recommend Life of a Wizard as a very good alternative.

[Sir Deimos]

I need to get back to Skyrim. My most recent character was based off of the lich. Every level I put my bonus in magic. My focus has been destruction, conjuration, restoration, and enchantment. My base hp is still only just 100, but through ridiculous enchantments I've gathered a decent amount of survivability. Not to mention the fact that my destruction magic is INSANELY more effective than when I was doing the sword/magic right/left hand combo.

My penchant for raising the dead has also resulted in a hefty conjuration skill. Raising an enemy corpse gets the heat off long enough to recover. As I wanna be a pure mage, all my armor has been enchanted robes. I'm super squishy but somehow have still become a walking death machine. Much like how a lich would actually be.

Edited by Sir Deimos, 18 March 2015 - 02:45 PM.

[Fin]

Yeah, magic only became bearable for me once I got my enchanting maxed out and cracked the system by wearing four pieces of armour that reduced my destruction mana cost by 25% each. Free fireballs!

As for Lydia, yes take her with you, but leave her waiting for you a few rooms behind whenever you do a dungeon crawl. Like Lena says, it's useful to have a companion around for the extra carrying capacity. Also I love Lydia's passive aggressive dialogue delivery. <3

Also GG is right about horses. I remember saving for ages to get one with my Link character, only to have it die after like an hour. Anyway, horse riding feels weird in this game (it's difficult for me to explain, but it just didn't feel to me like you're ridiing a horse), there's no onscreen indication of your horse's stamina which is irritating, and there's no mechanics for equestrian combat. So honestly I always founds horses restricted me more than they freed me in this game.

[Chukchi Husky]

If you had the game for the PC you could fix the problem with horses.

 

http://www.nexusmods...im/mods/14950/?

[Twinrova]

Yeah there's a shit ton of mods available for PA Skyrim, it's a shame you have the console version. I haven't tried it yet (I need to get back into that game x.x) but Benjamin says there's a mod you can get that fixes all the mage stuff and makes it a hell of a lot more viable.

Also Shadowmere is wonderful and I love him and I take him everywhere with me.

[Fin]

I never got Shadowmere, but I saw enough of him in my brother's games that I can confirm his awesomeness.

Also talking about mods reminds me I have the PC version of Morrowind. I should start playing that sometime.

[Veteran]

RIP Belethor the shop keeper.

Goddamn vampires.

[DarkJuno]

It's worth taking Lydia with you to Mournhold when you go there - they took the fans' meme-ing of her one single sarcastic line and ran with it, giving her a bunch of new lines when they did that expansion. Otherwise, while she is one of the stronger companions since she's one of the first you'll meet, it all depends on how good you can get at adapting to her jumping in your way. If you're going magic, then forget about it. If you're a warrior, it's not so bad.

[Fin]

I had to stop taking companions with me into battle once my swordmage got infinite fireballs. Too many accidents.