Skyrim

[WalksWithChrist]

My son plays Fallout, and he told me. I repeated it without checking.
Here is a wiki quote:

While wandering around Whiterun a guard might randomly say "Let me guess. Someone stole your sweetroll." This is an obvious reference to Fallout 3 during your 10th birthday party when Butch attempts to muscle you out of your sweetroll.
​

Oh yeah!! I do remember that.

 

[Timothew]

I work with my mother selling fruits and vegetables, it's fun most days but alot of hardwork

I like that kid.

 

[Chilaha]

Is this game really as good as everyone is saying?

 

[SithDoughnut]

Is this game really as good as everyone is saying?

It's not without its faults, but it's still really fun.

 

[Timothew]

Is this game really as good as everyone is saying?

I think it is.

 

[Starpuppy]

I like that kid.

that kid is annoying, i would love to cast some mute spell on her

 

[abysmul]

Is this game really as good as everyone is saying?

No game is perfect, but this game is truly one of the best games so far. High replay value too.

IMHO

 

[Timothew]

that kid is annoying, i would love to cast some mute spell on her

Did you try casting an arrow into her?

 

[WalksWithChrist]

Is this game really as good as everyone is saying?

No game is perfect, but this game is truly one of the best games so far. High replay value too.

IMHO

This is a good response. I've played six characters so far I believe. And the game is still fun. I don't play every game every published, but I have been gaming for a long time. Since Pong. I am selective in what games I play since there are so many stinkers out there. I can safely say this is one of the most awesome games I've ever played.

I love it.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

I love Skyrim, and I have at least 200 hours in it, am on my 9th character, but still haven't found the perfect progression formula. I've played as a Nord, High Elf, Breton and Imperial, followed innumerable quests to completion, as well as getting well over level 50 with a High Elf battlemage, a Breton Shadowcaster, a Nord enchanter/champion, and to about level 30 with an Imperial assassin.

As frustrating as some of that has been, I believe I'm close to engineering a good formula for a 45:35:25 mage/stealth/combat character.

I can just get lost in Skyrim, and sometimes I'll just let the game run and watch the night sky like a wallpaper on my desktop.

If there was only one complaint that I had about gameplay, although there are some glitches otherwise the point, it would be that it is too easy for me to dual cast magic and run backwards and just paint a group of enemies with chain lightning or fireball. On top of that throw in my enchantments that allow me to cast any destruction spell at 10% of its cost, I have literally made that character a magic gatling cannon.

Anyone like reading the book scattered around? Some of my favourites are The Monomyth, Lunar Lorkhan, Black Arts on Trial, Response to Beros Speech, and Boethiahs Proving.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

I love Skyrim, and I have at least 200 hours in it, am on my 9th character, but still haven't found the perfect progression formula. I've played as a Nord, High Elf, Breton and Imperial, followed innumerable quests to completion, as well as getting well over level 50 with a High Elf battlemage, a Breton Shadowcaster, a Nord enchanter/champion, and to about level 30 with an Imperial assassin.

As frustrating as some of that has been, I believe I'm close to engineering a good formula for a 45:35:25 mage/stealth/combat character.

I can just get lost in Skyrim, and sometimes I'll just let the game run and watch the night sky like a wallpaper on my desktop.

If there was only one complaint that I had about gameplay, although there are some glitches otherwise the point, it would be that it is too easy for me to dual cast magic and run backwards and just paint a group of enemies with chain lightning or fireball. On top of that throw in my enchantments that allow me to cast any destruction spell at 10% of its cost, I have literally made that character a magic gatling cannon.

Anyone like reading the book scattered around? Some of my favourites are The Monomyth, Lunar Lorkhan, Black Arts on Trial, Response to Beros Speech, and Boethiahs Proving.

I read a few of the book on my first playthru. But now when I play, I'm a bit more constrained for time, so I skip reading the books. They are very enjoyable.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

Ahh...time constraint. I have never known that phenomena, and certainly I am in the exceedingly small minority that can claim that. I've had entire sessions of Skyrim where I just do crafting and trading, and repeating. Good way to level up early on.

 

[Crujir]

Started a new character finally. Taking the full assassin approach. Illusion, poison, and other cool things. Probably gonna be a dual wielder. I think I'm going to integrate him as an important character in my story later.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

Yeah, alchemy is important for any character really. But deathbell + salt pile (Slow) and anything that inhibits stamina regen is important.

My favourite dual wield combo for an assassin is: right hand = dagger and left hand (yes, left hand) = sword. The reason for that is because the default standing power attack with a duel wielded sword/dagger is a quick, straight thrust.

If the left hand holds a sword then there is an impressive advantage of reach and speed to the power attack, and the fact that it can knock enemies off balance and be followed up by a dual wield attack (regular or power) makes it deadly against humanoids.

Of course, Illusion magic, especially with the Silent Casting perk is very useful for the stealthy character. You can cast any School of magic spell (not just Illusion) silently with it. Imagine: silent dual cast incineration. It lols me to think of it.

Bowmanship is also a favourite stealth skill of mine. I've got the reflexes and the trajectorily accurate eye to make really difficult shots against moving enemies. It took me awhile to get good with it, and I learned the most when I practiced on running foxes in the Falkreath region. Learning to do blind reflex shots through the underbrush does wonders for self confidence too! Also, steady hands reduces the difficulty of Legolas quality by alot

 

[Starpuppy]

I just started, a lvl 10 Breton Mage but i am having some issues training

been running around away from Bandit chiefs near whiterun. I dont know why my enchating been so lousy, 2% magicka regen from a spell that can do 20% regen

anyway, its been real fun, i just went to Maclkarth (the city in the mountains of SliverBlood) Beautiful place

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

@Starpuppy: There are two main factors that determine the quality of any enchanted item, whether it be a weapon, armour piece, or jewllery.

1. The most direct impact at any time is from the soul gem used to create the item. There are two things to consider here: The first is the quality of the soul gem (petty, lesser, common, greater, and grand). The second is the quality of the soul in the gem (the same thing, petty, lesser, common, greater and grand). The gem itself can be bought or found, and they can be bought either filled, or not filled. I like to buy grand soul gems with a grand soul in them to act as my personal enchanted equipment.

A good way to train for enchanting (AND smithing at the same time! ) is to make alot of iron daggers (15-30). Iron daggers are very cheap to make. Then go out into the wilderness and fill petty soul gems with petty soul monsters and animals (Deer, wolves, skeevers, basic draugr, mud crabs, etc.), or buy petty soul gems that are filled from a merchant.

The best place to buy soul gems of any type is at the College of Winterhold, once you become a student there. Every trainer there (except the enchantment trainer) sells magic type items, which includes soul gems. Then just take the iron daggers to an enchanting table and make some enchanted daggers!

The type of enchantment determines its level of monetary worth. Soul trap and elemental damage enchantments are low value. Absorbtion (absorb health, magicka, stamina), banishment (very uncommon to find that type of enchantment early game), and paralyze enchantments are much higher value. The point of making high value enchanted items is that you can just go and sell the daggers and pull in a lot of money, which is more money you can go spend on soul gems, iron ingots and leather/leather strips to just repeat the process!

2: The second main factor in determining the outcome of enchanting is the skill level of the enchanter (from 1-100) and the perks that are in the enchantment skill constellation in the skill tree screen. The centre path of the tree are the ones you want to make great enchanted items. The first star can get 5 perks which make you 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and then 100% better at making any enchantments. The next star up only takes one perk to get the maximum benefit, and it allows you to increase the quality of skill enchantments by 25%. Then the next star up from that increases basic statistic effects (health, magicka, stamina) by 25%. The final star in that line is the best one. It lets you add two seperate enchantments to ANY item, and the power of both enchantments remains at full potential, not just cut in half because there are two.

In conclusion, enchanting is a steep hill to climb at first, but it is profitable both to the characters power, and for the pocketbook!

Enjoy!

 

[WalksWithChrist]

Ahh...time constraint. I have never known that phenomena, and certainly I am in the exceedingly small minority that can claim that. I've had entire sessions of Skyrim where I just do crafting and trading, and repeating. Good way to level up early on.

Some of my time constraint is self-imposed. I am trying to get serious about going back to school, so I break off more time to read.

Started a new character finally. Taking the full assassin approach. Illusion, poison, and other cool things. Probably gonna be a dual wielder. I think I'm going to integrate him as an important character in my story later.

I thought about doing a character like that. But it goes against my basic play style too much. I might do it anyway!

Yeah, alchemy is important for any character really. But deathbell + salt pile (Slow) and anything that inhibits stamina regen is important.

My favourite dual wield combo for an assassin is: right hand = dagger and left hand (yes, left hand) = sword. The reason for that is because the default standing power attack with a duel wielded sword/dagger is a quick, straight thrust.

If the left hand holds a sword then there is an impressive advantage of reach and speed to the power attack, and the fact that it can knock enemies off balance and be followed up by a dual wield attack (regular or power) makes it deadly against humanoids.

Of course, Illusion magic, especially with the Silent Casting perk is very useful for the stealthy character. You can cast any School of magic spell (not just Illusion) silently with it. Imagine: silent dual cast incineration. It lols me to think of it.

Bowmanship is also a favourite stealth skill of mine. I've got the reflexes and the trajectorily accurate eye to make really difficult shots against moving enemies. It took me awhile to get good with it, and I learned the most when I practiced on running foxes in the Falkreath region. Learning to do blind reflex shots through the underbrush does wonders for self confidence too! Also, steady hands reduces the difficulty of Legolas quality by alot

haha I love a bow, but my reflexes are like mud sometimes. I was trying to shoot some goats and deer last night and got frustrated at how bad a shot I am! It was pretty funny. I finally shot the goat and nailed him right to a boulder. Then I walked over and there were arrows littering the whole area.

I just started, a lvl 10 Breton Mage but i am having some issues training

been running around away from Bandit chiefs near whiterun. I dont know why my enchating been so lousy, 2% magicka regen from a spell that can do 20% regen

anyway, its been real fun, i just went to Maclkarth (the city in the mountains of SliverBlood) Beautiful place

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!

If you're a mage, you really have to join the College of Winterhold for training.
The College of Winterhold - The Elder Scrolls Wiki
The questline there is fun too.

@Starpuppy: There are two main factors that determine the quality of any enchanted item, whether it be a weapon, armour piece, or jewllery.

1. The most direct impact at any time is from the soul gem used to create the item. There are two things to consider here: The first is the quality of the soul gem (petty, lesser, common, greater, and grand). The second is the quality of the soul in the gem (the same thing, petty, lesser, common, greater and grand). The gem itself can be bought or found, and they can be bought either filled, or not filled. I like to buy grand soul gems with a grand soul in them to act as my personal enchanted equipment.

A good way to train for enchanting (AND smithing at the same time! ) is to make alot of iron daggers (15-30). Iron daggers are very cheap to make. Then go out into the wilderness and fill petty soul gems with petty soul monsters and animals (Deer, wolves, skeevers, basic draugr, mud crabs, etc.), or buy petty soul gems that are filled from a merchant.

The best place to buy soul gems of any type is at the College of Winterhold, once you become a student there. Every trainer there (except the enchantment trainer) sells magic type items, which includes soul gems. Then just take the iron daggers to an enchanting table and make some enchanted daggers!

The type of enchantment determines its level of monetary worth. Soul trap and elemental damage enchantments are low value. Absorbtion (absorb health, magicka, stamina), banishment (very uncommon to find that type of enchantment early game), and paralyze enchantments are much higher value. The point of making high value enchanted items is that you can just go and sell the daggers and pull in a lot of money, which is more money you can go spend on soul gems, iron ingots and leather/leather strips to just repeat the process!

2: The second main factor in determining the outcome of enchanting is the skill level of the enchanter (from 1-100) and the perks that are in the enchantment skill constellation in the skill tree screen. The centre path of the tree are the ones you want to make great enchanted items. The first star can get 5 perks which make you 20%, 40%, 60%, 80% and then 100% better at making any enchantments. The next star up only takes one perk to get the maximum benefit, and it allows you to increase the quality of skill enchantments by 25%. Then the next star up from that increases basic statistic effects (health, magicka, stamina) by 25%. The final star in that line is the best one. It lets you add two seperate enchantments to ANY item, and the power of both enchantments remains at full potential, not just cut in half because there are two.

In conclusion, enchanting is a steep hill to climb at first, but it is profitable both to the characters power, and for the pocketbook!

Enjoy!

I found enchanting pretty baffling for a while. Then I camped out one day and read a guide on how it works. That helped a lot. It's not exactly intuitive.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

"Some of my time constraint is self-imposed. I am trying to get serious about going back to school, so I break off more time to read."

Its good you're striving for that goal. Reading is undervalued these days, what with movies, t.v. and games abounding around every corner. I balance that side of me out with extremes (ironic, yes).

My fiction loving side of me finds satisfaction in games, and good games at that. (Movies and t.v., except for a small minority of titles are just so vapid and vacuous that it makes me sad that so many absorb them to no end)

My knowledge seeking side goes after historical accounts of important events, and textbook style knowledge compilations.

"I thought about doing a character like that. But it goes against my basic play style too much. I might do it anyway!"

One of the great things about the ES series and Skyrim is that play styles can be blended or optimized. I like the stealth/magic, magic/combat, and combat/stealth styles. I know exactly how the mechanics of the game works, so I can envision my character at peak potential before I make the choices in how to advance.

"haha I love a bow, but my reflexes are like mud sometimes. I was trying to shoot some goats and deer last night and got frustrated at how bad a shot I am! It was pretty funny. I finally shot the goat and nailed him right to a boulder. Then I walked over and there were arrows littering the whole area."

Best way to learn to use a bow skillfully is to understand the 3 basic priniples of bow usage (aside from damage/enchantments, etc.) in Skyrim

1. Learning to anticipate the time it takes to fully draw the bow is imperative. Even if your target is in plain view and you can plan the shot by eye, if you don't draw the bow properly the arrow won't get the needed thrust, or worse, the target moves and you need to replot the trajectory.

2. Understanding how parabolic trajectory comes into play when considering your relative height to your target. When you are above your enemy, the arrow follows a more predictable path due to gravity and velocity. When you are below your target you need to aim further above him because the arrow will fight against gravity, and the arrow will arc more intensely even over a shorter flight path.

3. Anticipating the targets movement is absolutely crucial. Begin by restricting your shots to enemies that are charging straight at you, or are standing still and unaware of your presence. When a target is moving laterally in front of you, an additional component to hitting it comes into play: your targets speed vs your arrows speed. It becomes a distance + velocity + targets velocity formula. It is hard to make the correct judgement at first, and the farther the target moving is from you the harder the shot because the margin for error drops dramatically.

The best way to get better at Skyrim bowmanship is to invest in the Eagle Eye (Zoom) perk and the Steady Hands perks (Slows time down while zooming by 25% for the first perk, then 50% for the second.)

"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.

 

[WalksWithChrist]

"Some of my time constraint is self-imposed. I am trying to get serious about going back to school, so I break off more time to read."

Its good you're striving for that goal. Reading is undervalued these days, what with movies, t.v. and games abounding around every corner. I balance that side of me out with extremes (ironic, yes).

My fiction loving side of me finds satisfaction in games, and good games at that. (Movies and t.v., except for a small minority of titles are just so vapid and vacuous that it makes me sad that so many absorb them to no end)

My knowledge seeking side goes after historical accounts of important events, and textbook style knowledge compilations.

"I thought about doing a character like that. But it goes against my basic play style too much. I might do it anyway!"

One of the great things about the ES series and Skyrim is that play styles can be blended or optimized. I like the stealth/magic, magic/combat, and combat/stealth styles. I know exactly how the mechanics of the game works, so I can envision my character at peak potential before I make the choices in how to advance.

"haha I love a bow, but my reflexes are like mud sometimes. I was trying to shoot some goats and deer last night and got frustrated at how bad a shot I am! It was pretty funny. I finally shot the goat and nailed him right to a boulder. Then I walked over and there were arrows littering the whole area."

Best way to learn to use a bow skillfully is to understand the 3 basic priniples of bow usage (aside from damage/enchantments, etc.) in Skyrim

1. Learning to anticipate the time it takes to fully draw the bow is imperative. Even if your target is in plain view and you can plan the shot by eye, if you don't draw the bow properly the arrow won't get the needed thrust, or worse, the target moves and you need to replot the trajectory.

2. Understanding how parabolic trajectory comes into play when considering your relative height to your target. When you are above your enemy, the arrow follows a more predictable path due to gravity and velocity. When you are below your target you need to aim further above him because the arrow will fight against gravity, and the arrow will arc more intensely even over a shorter flight path.

3. Anticipating the targets movement is absolutely crucial. Begin by restricting your shots to enemies that are charging straight at you, or are standing still and unaware of your presence. When a target is moving laterally in front of you, an additional component to hitting it comes into play: your targets speed vs your arrows speed. It becomes a distance + velocity + targets velocity formula. It is hard to make the correct judgement at first, and the farther the target moving is from you the harder the shot because the margin for error drops dramatically.

The best way to get better at Skyrim bowmanship is to invest in the Eagle Eye (Zoom) perk and the Steady Hands perks (Slows time down while zooming by 25% for the first perk, then 50% for the second.)

"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.

I've been working on my bow skills today! I haven't played my thief for a while, so my reflexes got rusty. I just got done hunting and I nailed two goats...two shots, two kills! I pretty much know those archery rules already. Just for me, it's a matter of practice. My primary right now is sword and shield so the bow skill is lacking. And yes, those perks make *all* the difference!


Also, grinding (casting over and over again) Muffle is a quick way to boost your Illusion skill. I only tested that briefly, but it works.

 

[Deusmaximaerror]

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