Can someone help a SkyRim noob?

B

BoostedStang

Weaksauce
Joined
Sep 25, 2011
Messages
64
Hey guys,

Im looking for some help on the gameplay of SkyRim. I had been a long time WoW player and honestly the only other RPG style games I played was a little bit of Dragon Age, etc. What should I expect in Skyrim? Is it purely the story line? The Epic loot? Its purely single player correct ? So you basically choose your own path and how to play? Are there end game bosses? Sorry for the noob questions, but im dying here at work waiting till Friday and the long weekend ahead.
 
BoostedStang said:
Hey guys,

Im looking for some help on the gameplay of SkyRim. I had been a long time WoW player and honestly the only other RPG style games I played was a little bit of Dragon Age, etc. What should I expect in Skyrim? Is it purely the story line? The Epic loot? Its purely single player correct ? So you basically choose your own path and how to play? Are there end game bosses? Sorry for the noob questions, but im dying here at work waiting till Friday and the long weekend ahead.
Click to expand...

Pretty surprised you have never thought of playing Oblivion.
 
BoostedStang said:
I tried it on 360 about a year ago and couldnt look past the dated graphics :(
Click to expand...

Your first mistake was not playing on the PC (where graphics can be greatly updated).
Your second mistake was not paying attention to the story and plot and focusing on the graphics.
 
Lol, yeah I mean, compared to BF3 and probably even Crysis, Skyrim is likely still going to look dated to you.

On the PC that can change, but the game is all about story and gameplay.
 
Assuming you have a PC that can run it, always get an Elder Scrolls game for the PC. The one thing Bethesda does best is community support with things such as mod tools, these extend the life of the game indefinately.

As to your original question, playing these types are games are basically fantasy sandboxes. You create your character, and play the game however you see fit within the confines of thier code. By comparison DA:O was a pretty linear experience, that's not to say it wasn't a great game, but the feeling of exploration was not nearly as amazing.

On the surface most of the elder scrolls have been ok looking games with boring combat, but once you realize the world is pretty damn large and there is so much to explore and do, you can easily overlook the negatives. Skyrim definately looks to be thier best looking game as far as animations and modeling goes, so I'm happy for that. Many people don't really buy these games for the vanilla experience, it's after a few months when the mod community takes over these games start to really shine.

Playing vanilla oblivion now is a painful experience, however I just played through and loved Nehrim which was a total conversion mod for the same game and done much better. Skyrim is going to be legendary on the computer.
 
Yeah, at the time I didnt have the cash to build a rig, but since I did earlier this year for BF3 Ive been expanding my horizons a bit. I definitley can appreciate a rich story/lore, I hope I fall in love with this because it looks like the community support is awesome.
 
You really need to go back and play the other games. Both Morrowind and Oblivion can be completely overhauled in the graphics department. I am replaying Morrowind right now, and loving the hell out of it. I haven't touched Oblivion in a while, but I put more hours into that game than any other by a good margin, so I pretty well know it inside and out by now.
 
I doubt "couldn't look past the graphics" is enough of a reason to have skipped Oblivion, but I would not blame you at all for not playing through it - I bought the CE when it came out, and though I've tried getting into it multiple times since, with mods, it has never really interested me enough. The lackcluster gameplay and story, and the pretty and bloomy wonderland world was too much for me, I guess.

Skyrim should be fun. Animations and artstyle are much improved from Oblivion, and the skill system is improved so it should be no-brainer but rewarding. Dicking around in an immersive winter-world is hopefully awesome (and dicking around to discover adventures and loot, is ultimately the most important aspect of these games)
 
As with all Elder Scrolls games, story is there although its not as deep as what you might see in Bioware games, not as deep NPC's etc...

What drives Elder Scrolls games forward is the HUGE sandboxy world. At anytime you can just screw the mainstory and concentrate on freelance adventuring, finding epic treasures/loot, joining guilds and/or do other sidemissions... (which can be really good. Dark Brotherhood assassins guild in Oblivion was nothing short of amazing) Those alone can draw you in for HOURS before you remember again the existence of the mainquest.

And after going through vanilla version, then there is the modding community that can improve the game further, add more content, better graphics etc... Morrowind is STILL actively played today thanks to modding community, and so are Oblivion and Fallout 3. That has been the beauty of Bethesda RPGs so far and why they directly trade blows with Bioware. Latter may have better, more epic stories and characters but former will definetly outlive them in replay value.

*edit* Now that I think about it as I wrote this, Beth RPGs may be the singleplayer equivalent of MMORPG. Not that I know as I am not MMORPG player and have avoided WoW and such like a plague, but that is the impression I have now.
 
Last edited:
It has a story line, whether you follow it is your decision. You can go adventure anywhere in the world, do a ton of sidequests, chill in dungeons. Should be a lot of mods just like Oblivion. Just get it.
 
BoostedStang said:
What should I expect in Skyrim? Take a look at Morrowind/Oblivion gameplay videos or reviews. That should give you a good idea. There are also a lot of Skyrim gameplay videos that give you a good picture of it. Basically it's an open-ended, open-world first-person RPG.

Is it purely the story line? No, but as with any RPG that is the primary driving force

The Epic loot? Partially, yes. A large part of these games have been exploring and looting dungeons, and apparently in Skyrim there is the highest number of hand-crafted (read: not cookie-cutter) dungeons out of any TES game so far.

Its purely single player correct ? Yes.

So you basically choose your own path and how to play? Yes. There are different classes and "signs" (not sure how that is handled now, I think it's similar) that determine your special skills and attributes. There are also a lot of skills to level up, and with this game you level up skills by simply doing whatever the skill entails. For example, if you lockpick a lot you will level up quickly in the Lockpick skill. If you run and jump a lot, Acrobatics/Athletics...etc. Your character also has discrete levels where you can upgrade skills manually and/or your "base" skills (Strength, Wisdom, etc.)

Are there end game bosses? Not sure about Skyrim, but I'm guessing there's some sort of endgame challenge to face. It's probably not so much a boss battle as you typically think of one, though.
Click to expand...

That work for you?

My knowledge is from many hours of Morrowind/Oblivion and watching/reading a lot about Skyrim.
 
MaZa said:
As with all Elder Scrolls games, story is there although its not as deep as what you might see in Bioware games, not as deep NPC's etc...

What drives Elder Scrolls games forward is the HUGE sandboxy world. At anytime you can just screw the mainstory and concentrate on freelance adventuring, finding epic treasures/loot, joining guilds and/or do other sidemissions... (which can be really good. Dark Brotherhood assassins guild in Oblivion was nothing short of amazing) Those alone can draw you in for HOURS before you remember again the existence of the mainquest.

And after going through vanilla version, then there is the modding community that can improve the game further, add more content, better graphics etc... Morrowind is STILL actively played today thanks to modding community, and so are Oblivion and Fallout 3. That has been the beauty of Bethesda RPGs so far and why they directly trade blows with Bioware. Latter may have better, more epic stories and characters but former will definetly outlive them in replay value.

*edit* Now that I think about it as I wrote this, Beth RPGs may be the singleplayer equivalent of MMORPG. Not that I know as I am not MMORPG and have avoided WoW and such like a plague, but that is the impression I have now.
Click to expand...


Thanks guys, this helps. Is there basically an end game? I guess what Im asking is, when do you know its complete and you've done it all?
 
if it's anything like other elder scrolls games...

there's a main plot, you can follow it or go hog wild off on your own and do whatever. the main quest is only a portion of the actual game content. i'm pretty sure nearly everyone gets hideously side tracked, i enjoy dicking around and exploring far too much.

besides the main quest line, you're free to do pretty much whatever you feel like, be it cold blooded murder or whatever. in oblivion there was actually a large quest line that came out of you killing someone, it was really good. nothing was really stopping you from going off right from the start and coming back 50 hours later as a walking demi god before you even start the actual main plot.


so besides the main quest, it's over when you're satisfied.



also if you want mods, be prepared to wade through some of the creepiest shit you've ever seen in a video game to get to the good stuff. the modding community consists of furries, pedophiles, a combination of the two, everything inbetween, and a couple normal people who actually add meaningful content and not anime wolf dickgirls. i guarantee one of the first fucking things released is going to add either dicks or tits.
 
BoostedStang said:
I tried it on 360 about a year ago and couldnt look past the dated graphics :(
Click to expand...

Elder's scrolls are the best looking games in existence, but you have to play it on PC. You'd be surprised how scaled down games have to be to run on console. It's like the equivalent of porting an xbox360 game to a Ti-83 Calculator.
 
Last edited:
really? the elder scroll games have a story? I thought it was all about he open game play and you can do anything and everything at your own time and pace. And I seem to remember Oblivion having great looking graphics when it was release or am I thinking of something else.
 
kledar586 said:
really? the elder scroll games have a story? I thought it was all about he open game play and you can do anything and everything at your own time and pace. And I seem to remember Oblivion having great looking graphics when it was release or am I thinking of something else.
Click to expand...

They have a "main quest", but you're in no way required to do it.
 
I hate RPGs - but I loved Oblivion. Looking forward to Skyrim after the latest videos with the music and gameplay.. should be as epic and enjoyable!
 
Megalomaniac said:
Your first mistake was not playing on the PC (where graphics can be greatly updated).
Your second mistake was not paying attention to the story and plot and focusing on the graphics.
Click to expand...

I can't fault him very much on the graphics part. ~grin~ Capt. Pickard had the face of a Cabbage Patch Doll. lol.

Still, what mods (graphical especially) do you recommend? I have tried to get into it as well, but reading through the various wiki's it definitely (leveling wise) isn't Fallout/New Vegas. It actually requires you to leveling while actually doing something (~gasp!!~), which could level you far more quickly then you wish. So, any leveling mods that change that would be appreciated as well. I'm waiting on a Steam sale to pickup Morrowind, but I have been trying to get into Oblivion as well. Doing a re-run through Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas right now.
 
Last edited:
BoostedStang said:
Thanks guys, this helps. Is there basically an end game? I guess what Im asking is, when do you know its complete and you've done it all?
Click to expand...


When you have finished the mainquest, you can still keep on playing and do whatever you like, complete sidequests, potential DLC/expansion pack quests etc... Game doesnt stop suddenly and there is so much stuff that you are quite unlikely (maybe even unable to depending what you have done) to do it all on one character, or atleast I get bored before that. You are more likely start to new character and roleplay it differently.

Atleast this was the case with Oblivion and Morrowind.
 
BoostedStang said:
Thanks guys, this helps. Is there basically an end game? I guess what Im asking is, when do you know its complete and you've done it all?
Click to expand...

There is a "main" story line to the game. The first quest you get is normally the first in the main story line. As you play through the game, the plot will open up and you will discover the "conflict" of the story that needs to be resolved. Much like a movie, you will know when the climax happens because it is obvious.

You could probably never "do it all" in one of these games. In addition to the main quest, there will be other long quest lines that you can start by talking to people and helping them out. In addition, there will be short side quests that other NPCs will give you. Even if you did every quest in the game, there will still be a ton of new ares to explore and dungeons to loot, that weren't part of a quest. Really, you are done with these games whenever you stop playing.

The thing most people really like is they can take the game at their own pace. You could easily play this games for hundreds of hours and never touch the main quest. Or you could play through the main quest and never do anything else. You are given direction, but never limited to where you can go and what you can do. If you want to hunt deer in the woods for 40 hours, go for it. If you want to sneak around town and steal from people, have at it. The choice is really all up to you, and that's the appeal.
 
BoostedStang said:
I tried it on 360 about a year ago and couldnt look past the dated graphics :(
Click to expand...
You can stand WoW's graphics, but you can't get past the "dated graphics" of Oblivion? Oblivion looks much better than WoW.. About the only thing that really stands out in my mind that was just plain ugly in Oblivion was some of the NPC's faces, which kind of sucks because you spend a lot of time looking at them.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top