Skyrim

[Starpuppy]

"That's a very interesting city, and beautiful. I was completely blown away by the majesty of Skyrim the first time I crossed the bridge outside Riverwood. Breathtaking!"

Yes, Markarth is quite beautiful, built by the Dwemer before they vanished after the Battle of Red Mountain.

There have been multiple extraordinary visual occurances I have scene in Skyrim, it always shows me something new when I sit down to play it again. First it was the salmon leaping out of water to swim upstream via small waterfalls. Second, it was the pineneedles being whipped about by the wind. Third, it was the way the water looked when it rains. Fourth it was the streams in Whiterun that run from Dragonsreach down to the city gate. Fifth, it was the aurora borealis that happens every couple days, and the way that the aurora colours the stone and metal of cities, and even the rocks of the mountain. Sixth, it was looking at High Hrothgar for the first time and seeing the winding and billowing clouds that wrap it.

I could go on and on about it, lol.

"If you're a mage, you really have to join the College of Winterhold for training."

Another good way to train magic is to conjure a atronach, familiar, etc. and the hit it with destruction magic, etc. It gives experience to multiple skills.

Is there any cities that are equally scenic? The first time i was in Whiterun, i had a deja vu feel of WOW(Orgimaar), as it was wasteland and barren all around.

This is the first time i am playing Bethesda games without fast leveling, i dont want waste time just to keep conjuring Bound Sword, Skyrim is too beautiful to play "cheats", its still better to level up by going on adventures

Thus, i was wondering if there is a place where i could train freely?

I am now in Whitehold Mage college, Destruction 35, Conjuration 32 and Restoration of 27-28?

Leather Armor (+2% magic regen), Leather Boots, a Novice Hood of Magic(+30 magic), a Amulet of Akatosh(I think, 25% Magic Regen) and a Ring of Destruction (-30% mp required for destruction spells)

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

"Is there any cities that are equally scenic? The first time i was in Whiterun, i had a deja vu feel of WOW(Orgimaar), as it was wasteland and barren all around."

Hmm...Interesting question. I find that all of the villages, towns and major towns are beautiful in their own way. So I guess I could do a little rundown of the ones that come to mind for me.

Windhelm comes to mind first. It is scenic not because of the natural beauty of the area, for it is surrounded by tundra. However, inside the city, the stonework of the walls, streets and buildings is wonderful. Windhelm is the oldest city in Skyrim, founded by Ysgramor himself after he crossed the ocean from the continent of Atmora with his 500 companions. It is a stark city, and it represents the current Jarl, Ulfric Stormcloaks passion for a return to the old ways of Skyrim. It also has a more prominent racial tension than the other cities, since many Nords are unwelcoming to the Dunmer (Dark Elves) that came to the city after Red Mountain erupted in their homeland of Morrowind.

Solitude mixes many of the great aspects of city building. Solitude sits atop a massive arch that can be seen when approaching it from the southern marshes with ease. It is gigantic, it looks as if the city is reaching for the clouds. Solitudes city planning is probably the best in the game. The merchants dominate the first stretch of road leading into the city, which then forks in two directions, one leading to the residential district, Bards College and the Blue Palace. The other fork leads to the Imperial Legion fortress and the Temple of the Divines, which is a handy place to visit for the blessings that can be given from there.

Falkreath is surrounded by a lush, verdant forest full of life, which is starkly contrasted by the very large cemetary that houses the bodies of Nord warriors and even their most glorified enemies. The shops are typical, a blacksmith, general trader, and an alchemist. It is one of my least explored areas, so there is not much else I can say about it.

Morthal is beautiful, but small, and with very little merchant presence in the town. The marshes of the land meander through the town itself, and most of the buildings are on platforms to prevent flooding.

Dawnstar is stark, and in an unforgiving climate. It is built on a small inlet of the sea, and the town is like a crescent moon surrounding it, expanding from the docks. There is an alchemist and a blacksmith. There are also two mines there, which is how the town survives.

Riften is...well, interesting, but not too beautiful in my opinion. The forest surrounding it and the lengthy river leading to it are great sights, but in the town itself the people are not happy. There is much corruption there, and money is considered more important than people by the groups vying for power there. It does however offer ample opportunity for trading, as there are at least 7 different merchants there.

Since you've been to Winterhold to join the college, I can only assume that you've seen the unforgiving climate. Winter certainly holds on to that town dearly.

"Thus, i was wondering if there is a place where i could train freely?"

I'm not entirely sure what you mean by freely. Trainers always charge a fee for training. Certain quest givers do not give physical reward for completing the task, but instead give a skill increase to a particular skill.

I know you mentioned that you don't want to "cheat" and keep casting a spell, but there is a way to "freely train" with conjuration magic. Summon a creature, any type, and assuming it survives the first 3 or 4 hits you land on it, it will then become hostile. Any skill you want can then be trained on it, or as a result of its attacks.

"
Leather Armor (+2% magic regen)"

Have you considered using robes to boost magic regen and reduce spell cost? The mage armour spells can certainly make up for the loss of armour rating. In fact, the mage armour perks in the alteration skill tree doubles, then triples, and then quadruples the bonus given by the mage armour spells as long as the player is wearing no physical armour. (shoes and non armour gloves can be enchanted to provide the character with the missing clothing slots)

 

[WalksWithChrist]

I guessed you knew the mechanics of Skyrim archery. I just wanted to include that summation just in case anyone else needed that kind of advice.

Ahh...The sword and shield, the classic combination. I enjoy dual wielding in certain circumstances, but sword and shield is the jack of all trades set up, works against basically anything but dragons and certain powerful two handed weapon wielders.

Hahaha, yes, muffle is the ultimate early illusion training tool since you don't need to cast it on anyone in order for it to count towards skill increase. I've cast that spell a 100 times in a row with magicka regen potions on just to do it.

I'm considering starting a new character in Skyrim tonight, I kind of want to give Reckoning a break, as good as it is for the moment.

I've played quite a few styles of Skyrim characters, but I'm not sure what I want to do this time. Hmm...Any suggestions anyone for an interesting primary disciplines mix? Nothing is too outlandish for me to try in Skyrim, really.

I haven't even beat the game yet...I just get to the point where I start over because I'm a perfectionist and I've disliked my character progression.

Hmm...I haven't played as any beast folk yet (I don't know why, I just don't feel interested in playing as one), or orc, or dark elf and wood elf (which is wierd because my favourite Oblivion and Morrowind characters were dark elves and wood elves). But every other race I've played at least once. As a person with a Varangian heritage, I couldn't say no to playing as a Nord at first! XD

I'm really enjoying just focusing on sword and shield...with a little bow of course.

Try an Orc! With a Battleaxe!! Very satisfying I must say.

So was playing a Nord with a broadsword...aww yeah.

I did finish Skyrim with my first character. It's well worth it! I never did finish Oblivion. For similar reasons as yourself and also...Oblivion Gates were too much of a pain for me.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

Orc with an ebony battle axe with two handed skill perks and racial power Berserker (double damage dealt, half damage recieved) would be awesome.

I'm not prejudice against any of the ES races, I like them all for the qualities that they exemplify, but I'm not much of a barbarian culture sympathizer. Ancient Gauls etc. are different to me. Its just that Orcs are so...hmm...Primal. I love their qualities (fearless, valiant, excellent smiths, solitary, lack of vanity), but their flaws (intolerance, arrogance, daedra worshipping history) make me leery.

I'm interested in maybe starting a Dunmer or Bosmer character. Male mage perhaps, female assassin maybe.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

Orc with an ebony battle axe with two handed skill perks and racial power Berserker (double damage dealt, half damage recieved) would be awesome.

I'm not prejudice against any of the ES races, I like them all for the qualities that they exemplify, but I'm not much of a barbarian culture sympathizer. Ancient Gauls etc. are different to me. Its just that Orcs are so...hmm...Primal. I love their qualities (fearless, valiant, excellent smiths, solitary, lack of vanity), but their flaws (intolerance, arrogance, daedra worshipping history) make me leery.

I'm interested in maybe starting a Dunmer or Bosmer character. Male mage perhaps, female assassin maybe.

Female assassin...I might do one of those on my next playthru.
I haven't even used poisons yet, so that's just one thing I can try that's new to me. My last thief use a bow primarily but hardly used her dagger at all. I want to flip that.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

Ahh. The stealth style of play has been one of my favourites of all time. Ever since MGS on the PS1.

Poisons...Hmm. I haven't used them hardly at all either, but I know alchemy very well (its my secondary source of income as a trader, smithing and then enchanting is my primary source.) . Initially poison reagents are easy to come by, but they are often very weak. Basic poisons are also very low value, so I never made much, since I could turn those same reagents into regen or skill buff potions. But, there are powerful poison types available: Magicka regen poison, stamina regen poison, fear poisons, paralysis, slowed movement, etc. All very useful. The trick is learning which enemies are highly resistant to poisons so the plan of attack isn't derailed (sometimes by panic at the failure of used poisons even! XD). Some enemies that are highly resistant to poisons are Falmer, undead, atronachs, ghosts (obviously XD), Argonians and Bosmer.

I find that daggers are best used as a melee + magic combo. Even a shield can be incorporated (as long as its light, because the weight of armour affects detection by enemies.). The sneak skill tree in the skills menu has an amazing perk at the end of the right fork. Assassins Blade it is called and it turns a dagger (and only dagger) sneak attack into an 18X damage strike (plus critical damage). It makes any enemy you can sneak up on into a one hit kill. As an example, it turns a dagger which does 50 damage (which is not only possible, but should be strived for, even as a medium-high quality dagger such as elven or glass) into 900 damage. I can't even think of many enemies that can withstand 900 damage, unarmoured.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

Ahh. The stealth style of play has been one of my favourites of all time. Ever since MGS on the PS1.

Poisons...Hmm. I haven't used them hardly at all either, but I know alchemy very well (its my secondary source of income as a trader, smithing and then enchanting is my primary source.) . Initially poison reagents are easy to come by, but they are often very weak. Basic poisons are also very low value, so I never made much, since I could turn those same reagents into regen or skill buff potions. But, there are powerful poison types available: Magicka regen poison, stamina regen poison, fear poisons, paralysis, slowed movement, etc. All very useful. The trick is learning which enemies are highly resistant to poisons so the plan of attack isn't derailed (sometimes by panic at the failure of used poisons even! XD). Some enemies that are highly resistant to poisons are Falmer, undead, atronachs, ghosts (obviously XD), Argonians and Bosmer.

I find that daggers are best used as a melee + magic combo. Even a shield can be incorporated (as long as its light, because the weight of armour affects detection by enemies.). The sneak skill tree in the skills menu has an amazing perk at the end of the right fork. Assassins Blade it is called and it turns a dagger (and only dagger) sneak attack into an 18X damage strike (plus critical damage). It makes any enemy you can sneak up on into a one hit kill. As an example, it turns a dagger which does 50 damage (which is not only possible, but should be strived for, even as a medium-high quality dagger such as elven or glass) into 900 damage. I can't even think of many enemies that can withstand 900 damage, unarmoured.

Yes. I got that Blade perk with my thief, but never really explored how to make good use of it. I plan on remedying that!

 

[The-Doctor]

I skilled up as a khajit (night vision and claws!) sneak assassin and thief and the assassin blade is worth the effort in taking out some of the tougher opponents if you can sneak up on them. THough I'm also quite handy with a bow at a distance I prefer to be up close and personal when fulfilling a dark brotherhood contract.

In terms of "free Training" if you get a companion who is a trainer too you can pay for them to train you then ask for your gold back (unethical I know!) the game lets you.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

I skilled up as a khajit (night vision and claws!) sneak assassin and thief and the assassin blade is worth the effort in taking out some of the tougher opponents if you can sneak up on them. THough I'm also quite handy with a bow at a distance I prefer to be up close and personal when fulfilling a dark brotherhood contract.

In terms of "free Training" if you get a companion who is a trainer too you can pay for them to train you then ask for your gold back (unethical I know!) the game lets you.

I discovered that trick by accident with the bow trainer from Riverwood. I paid him to train, then gave him some equipment and noticed my money was in his inventory!
Cha-CHING!
Free training!

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

Wow! Faendol the Bosmer in Riverwood?! I didn't know that! XD Interesting. The only caveat is that you can only train 5 times per level, but I WILL look into that. (It might be a little bit of a cheat, but I'll just give him the money back in the end, I think. Besides, I'm now on my 10th character. I have to streamline character progression somehow.)

I started a new character this morning. A Nord, and I spent a lot of time making him look like me this time, since I have Varangian features anyways, it was easy. That will definitely help me bond better with my character, since it used to be that I would just get tired of my imperfect style of play and start a clean slate. (Now only if I could lose a little weight and be that muscular, in real life XD )

Hmm. The maximum level attainable is 81. And there is 251 skill perks. I am going to be very careful this time about selecting perks. To do so, and make use of some writing, I will actually document some of the very noticeable things that I come across (without storyline spoilers of course). I am also trying to create a concrete list of skills to work on at the expense of nearly all others. I think that I'll be flexible in the amount of points that I put into each one, so that there will probably be certain perks not attained in each, and frees up some for later on to use on others.

This is what I have so far. (Tentative list based on an 10 major skills maximum, roughly 8 perks per skill and 2 minor skills with roughly 5 perks per skill. Yes, my math is bad)

1.One Handed, 2. Sneak, 3. Archery 4. Restoration (Restoration is a perfectly valid school of magic! - Colette the mage ), 5. Enchanting, 6. Smithing, 7. Block (I am a fan of shield + magic, and ward + magic), 8. Destruction, 9. Light or Heavy armour (Haven't decided yet), 10. Illusion (To complement my weaker stealth skills)

Speech (will have fewer perks to make up for some other more intensive skills), Alchemy (Will also have fewer perks, I mainly just want Green Thumb XD )

In other words, its a tri-disicpline character. I perfected the balance in Reckoning, and I'm hoping I can use that experience with that game to help me with Skyrim.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

Wow! Faendol the Bosmer in Riverwood?! I didn't know that! XD Interesting. The only caveat is that you can only train 5 times per level, but I WILL look into that. (It might be a little bit of a cheat, but I'll just give him the money back in the end, I think. Besides, I'm now on my 10th character. I have to streamline character progression somehow.)

I started a new character this morning. A Nord, and I spent a lot of time making him look like me this time, since I have Varangian features anyways, it was easy. That will definitely help me bond better with my character, since it used to be that I would just get tired of my imperfect style of play and start a clean slate. (Now only if I could lose a little weight and be that muscular, in real life XD )

Hmm. The maximum level attainable is 81. And there is 251 skill perks. I am going to be very careful this time about selecting perks. To do so, and make use of some writing, I will actually document some of the very noticeable things that I come across (without storyline spoilers of course). I am also trying to create a concrete list of skills to work on at the expense of nearly all others. I think that I'll be flexible in the amount of points that I put into each one, so that there will probably be certain perks not attained in each, and frees up some for later on to use on others.

This is what I have so far. (Tentative list based on an 10 major skills maximum, roughly 8 perks per skill and 2 minor skills with roughly 5 perks per skill. Yes, my math is bad)

1.One Handed, 2. Sneak, 3. Archery 4. Restoration (Restoration is a perfectly valid school of magic! - Colette the mage ), 5. Enchanting, 6. Smithing, 7. Block (I am a fan of shield + magic, and ward + magic), 8. Destruction, 9. Light or Heavy armour (Haven't decided yet), 10. Illusion (To complement my weaker stealth skills)

Speech (will have fewer perks to make up for some other more intensive skills), Alchemy (Will also have fewer perks, I mainly just want Green Thumb XD )

In other words, its a tri-disicpline character. I perfected the balance in Reckoning, and I'm hoping I can use that experience with that game to help me with Skyrim.

Yes, Faendol. I was on my third playthru before I realized he could be a companion. Now he's a favorite! He looks great in fur armor, the one that gives the men a bare chest. Then put a necklace on him. Stylin!!!

Have fun with your tri-character. Sounds like fun to play. I'm still working on my Lady Imperial. I decided to equip her with light Imperial Armor and stick with it. For fashion sake. lol She's a lot of fun so far.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

I used Faendol's training to his limit. I have 50 archery now in the first few hours of playing a new character.

Also, although I'm quite good at alchemy, I never noticed a really, really, really good combination of reagents that are mostly very easy to find. Its so simple: Blue Butterfly Wing + Blue Mountain Flower = Fortify Conjuration (I think) and Damage Magicka Regen. I had no alchemy perks, very low skill (15 I think) and no alchemy skill enchantments on and it came to be a value of 303 before haggling.

I know of a few more of those trainer companions, and I'll be striving to get them enlisted soon. First though I want to do some side quests, and skill reward quests.

I have decided to go with heavy armour. Balgruuf gave me a suit of Elven armour, and it looked ridiculous on my male Nord. So, I imagine glass would look even more out of place. Just like Alvor the smith from Riverwood said the first time I met him "Iron or steel is what you need. Leave that fancy Elven stuff to the Elves.". I'm just pondering how to incorporate heavier armour into a viable suit for sneaking. Maybe...maybe light chest armour and heavy gauntlets, greaves, and a helmet, with a cuirass in reserve for when I'm detected.

I tried out a two handed weapon or two today, and Reckoning has defintely prepared me for better heavy weapons usage. I may or may not go with two handed weapons as a major skill. Dual wielding and shields just seem a much better idea for me right now.

I think I will put magic on the backburner for now. I may eliminate one of the schools from my skill list too. If I make good enough potions, it would balance out my lack of magical prowess.

Haha, I was able to get a new dialogue with Farengar today, I told him upon meeting him that "I think that you are burning that essence of Spriggan sap". Then it turned into an alchemy conversation, lol

 

[Starpuppy]

ugh..my mage is like pulp, i was at the excavation site and met a restless drugar and i died to it..two slashes and down

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

@Starpuppy: Are you invested in Alteration at all? Mage armour gives massive armour rating bonuses for a full minute at least. Restoration magic wards also add to armour rating. When I first started out as a mage, I always kept one hand on significant healing spells, things like Fast Healing and Close Wounds. Its instant surgery, lol.

If all else fails, use shields! XD Just watch out for enemy power attacks when you block because most of the damage will sail straight through it as if you weren't blocking.

...Hmm...Also, magic relies much upon using knowledge of your enemy before attacking. Against draugr, try to invest in Turn Undead spells. Also, any enemy that will just fully charge at you can be slowed by any Ice damage spell so much that you can command the battle, as long as he/she/it doesn't have a bunch of friends after you as well.

 

[Starpuppy]

@Starpuppy: Are you invested in Alteration at all? Mage armour gives massive armour rating bonuses for a full minute at least. Restoration magic wards also add to armour rating. When I first started out as a mage, I always kept one hand on significant healing spells, things like Fast Healing and Close Wounds. Its instant surgery, lol.

If all else fails, use shields! XD Just watch out for enemy power attacks when you block because most of the damage will sail straight through it as if you weren't blocking.

...Hmm...Also, magic relies much upon using knowledge of your enemy before attacking. Against draugr, try to invest in Turn Undead spells. Also, any enemy that will just fully charge at you can be slowed by any Ice damage spell so much that you can command the battle, as long as he/she/it doesn't have a bunch of friends after you as well.

I am using Oakflesh +60 armor rating for 1 minute along with a Fire atronach

I invested on fire/ice/lightning bolts books (those you have to charge up)

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

I'm assuming you mean apprentice level Destruction magic.

Oakflesh does work, but a mage is truly all about damage output and not withstanding damage. Fire atronachs are good for early level characters but there is disadvantage to using them. The enemy A.I. will usually always attack someone that is engaging them in melee, so the attention of it is taken off of you so you can pound it with spells from afar. A fire Atronach though uses a ranged fireball attack 95% of the time, so the enemy hardly notices it if you seem like more of a threat and are closer. Do you have any companions to help you in your travels, like a mercenary from any of the cities? For players new to the game they can be a life saver (Jenassa from Whiterun, who hangs around at the Drunken Huntsman saved my character at least a dozen times when I first started playing).

Apprentice level Destruction magic is good at range, but for an early character they are energy intensive. The novice level spells are good in close quarters because of the status effects they impart on the enemy and because of the fluidity of the attack, it doesn't require the best aim. If you go with two handed destruction magic, I recommend the Impact perk. It staggers almost every enemy when a destruction spell is dual cast. It can stagger dragons, thats how useful it is. An attack like that is key to a mage because it keeps the enemy at a distance.

 

[Starpuppy]

I have Jenassa from Whiterun after i became Thane but shes just a inventory chst

 

[Zereaux]

This is a great game

 

[Timothew]

This is a great game

I know! I just started my third play through, this time as an Orc - metal worker.

I'm still finding new stuff, I found an Orc Village and a headless horseman.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

I have Jenassa from Whiterun after i became Thane but shes just a inventory chst

I really liked her actually. Her and Faendal from Riverwood are my favorites so far. And that Azura dark elf chick...what's her name.

I know! I just started my third play through, this time as an Orc - metal worker.

I'm still finding new stuff, I found an Orc Village and a headless horseman.

I saw the headless horseman too!! What a cool touch that was.

The only race I haven't played so far is Argonian, and I'm gonna skip that one I think. I'm playing a Bretton battle mage right now and he's quite fun. I'm focusing less on Destruction and more on basically all the other magic schools. He's an excellent Wizard killer!!