someone please explain skyrim to me

H

herfalerf

Gawd
Joined
Jul 17, 2010
Messages
698
the other day i bought skyrim. i thought it would be a nice game to test out my new SB build. now i havent picked up an elderscrolls title since morrowwind. i just never really understood the games at all. the complete lack of direction makes it difficult to know what you should be doing in the game.

now im having a really good time playing but there are some things that just dont make sense to me. first off when i was creating my race it kept showing me recommended classes for my race, yet nowhere could i see any option to select class. the character progression system in the game is not really explained very well. weve got skills that improve as we use them and talent points to allocate every level, but does it matter where i put them? do i make my own class up? ive been training archery, stealth, and light armor mostly and playing as an archer.

also the difficulty of each quest is not apparent in the quest log. ive had some quests where ill spend an hour running through a cave or whatever killing monsters only to find that the last boss absolutely wipes the floor with me. i finally managed to clear shimmermist cave by my stupid housecarl lady got killed and i cant figure out how to rez her.

im also running into some other weird stuff. i just completed the trial to become a companion and the leader told me to go to skyforge and get a weapon from eorlund or whatever. well the eorlund guy isnt there. according to the wiki he can be killed in dragon attacks but i dont think the dragon actually attacked the town. i find this to be a pretty big flaw if important npcs can be killed randomly.

am i doing something wrong? i really want to like this game but right now it just feels like a hassle since i have to completely start over so i can figure out how to keep the stupid housecarl and eorlund alive this time. i would just go back to previous saves but i have no idea when eorlund was killed. arg.
 
umm the skill base system hasn't really changed that much since Morrowind, there are no predefined classes. The enemies I believe scaled to your level but boss fights, especially early can be a challenge. Oh if your follower die, umm that's it for them they don't come back. Only quest/game essential followers are immortal. Good news is there are tons of followers in this game so you can pick up another chick.
 
There are no classes. You level up every skill by using htat skill. Increasing skill points in any skill counts toward your character level. You put the perk points into whatever abilities you want to, generally the ones you think you use the most or will get the most fun/benefit out of.

The difficulty of mobs is generally explained by their name. Things liek Draugr Deathlord, Master Vempire, Bandit Chief indicates its one of the harder types of that enemy. As you level up these enemies will get somewhat less difficult.

The NPC at the forge you were looking for might just not be there at that time. Most NPCs have a scripted daytime schedule, they walk around, go to places, sleep, just like they were really living their life. You need to be there when he is also there to talk to him.
 
alright thanks ill try sleeping and then coming back. yeah i was kinda expecting the no predefined classes thing, i just wish they would provide some explanation. i only played morrowind for a few hours. in that game you got to pick your class but i just became frustrated when i found that the class i chose and no real bearing on anything. i felt justified in my decision later on when a friend who had beaten the game a few times told me that my chosen style of play (archer/assassin) wasnt really viable end game.

it looks like archery is viable in skyrim, although maybe not as powerful as some other builds, so i will stick with it.
 
The elder scrolls games have always been about doing whatever the heck you want. Want to be a goody paladin type guy? Go for it. Want to mass murder everyone in the world - you can do that too. That's generally the appeal of these games for a lot of people, but it's also a bit of a turnoff as well.

Me personally, I enjoyed Morrowind. However, I kinda hated Oblivion. The problem with these open style games is that there's a lot that can go wrong (oops I went somewhere I shouldn't have, killed that dude, and now I'm screwed). Furthermore, there's always this question of levels. Do you fix the levels of the mobs in the dungeons? If you do that - you're kind of scripting the adventure. However, if you go for the "game levels with you" mentality found in Oblivion - well, it sounds nice but doesn't work out so well in practice.

I personally am enjoying the hell out of Skyrim. It's found a nice balance between fixing the instances and leveling the world alongside you. Also, as a general rule - you can pretty much do whatever you want with no real consequences. It's just how the game is built. No onto your questions.

1) what you should be doing - basically whatever you want. If you're looking for a more traditional rpg game - just follow the main storyline. If you hit a boss that's too hard - go do something else and get some levels, then come back
2) there's no "picking a wizard" at character creation. If you're playing a bow using guy, you'll be good with the bow and not so good with a sword. Your levels increase as you increase your individual skills.
3) levelling - each time you level, you put points into increasing either your health, stamina, or magika. That's it. You also get a perk. Spend the perk on whatever you want. personally I LOVE the perk system. It's not so esoteric (if I pump this stat I get more strength which translates into xyz...) If you enjoy using the bow - put some points into the archery tree.
4) I don't think you can gimp yourself by spending perks in the wrong place - there's plenty to go around. You certainly won't be maxing things out to the nth degree - but I don't think the difficulty of the game is so hard where you absolutely need ideal builds. That said - it's kind of silly to pick up bow perks if you never ever use a bow... ;)
5) Difficulty - ya I've run into that too. Every once and a while you find this guy that just mops you up. Part of the challenge/enjoyment in the game. I've beaten some tough encounters I really shouldn't have won by doing strange things. Using scrolls of mayhem, hiding behind trees, etc. It's interesting to me how you think of a silly thing "I wonder if this will work" and oftentimes it does.
6) if Lydia is dead then you inadvertantly killed her. Sorry, this isn't an MMO where people respawn. Death = death. She's gone - you'll have to find another friend ;)
7) Skyforge guy. Might be a bug. In my game - the shop owner of warmaiden's just dissapeared. I know for a fact he's not dead - he just blinked away and it's like he's dead now. Or maybe he's stuck int he world somewhere. Ya, it's annoying. Bethesda has a history of things like this being buggy. If you're on the PC, sometimes you can find a console command to respawn the guy or something. Some people get uppity over "cheating" with the console - but I see it as fixing a bug - or undoing something that's ruining your fun (aka killing Lydia by accident). It's a single player game - you're not hurting anyone - do what you want ;)

I wouldn't start over unless you want to. there's plenty of other people in the world to travel with, and they should be just as good. If you're totally po'd over it - I'd google it a bit - there's got to be a way to fix just about anything via the console...

my 2 cents
Kongar
 
You can hit T to wait a few hours if enemies are not around... that's what i do when the NPC i want to chat with is not where they belong.

Also as others have said, don't worry about your companions dying. There are soooo friggin many, it's nuts. Just get a new one, or grab a dog, or hell--buy a horse, they'll fight for you too lol
 
herfalerf said:
alright thanks ill try sleeping and then coming back. yeah i was kinda expecting the no predefined classes thing, i just wish they would provide some explanation. i only played morrowind for a few hours. in that game you got to pick your class but i just became frustrated when i found that the class i chose and no real bearing on anything. i felt justified in my decision later on when a friend who had beaten the game a few times told me that my chosen style of play (archer/assassin) wasnt really viable end game.

it looks like archery is viable in skyrim, although maybe not as powerful as some other builds, so i will stick with it.
Click to expand...

The class you picked in Morrowind DID have bearing. You could only level up based on your major and minor skills. The others did nothing for your levelling. Skyrim, you just level whatever suits your fancy at that moment.
 
archery + sneak is a lot of LOL one shot one kill on trash mobs. bosses are a different story.
 
kledar586 said:
archery + sneak is a lot of LOL one shot one kill on trash mobs. bosses are a different story.
Click to expand...

Sneak....sneak...sneak,oh...a guy.... Thwip....ugh (dead)" what was that".... Sneak....sneak... "guess it was just my imagination"

Lol
 
Thor said:
Sneak....sneak...sneak,oh...a guy.... Thwip....ugh (dead)" what was that".... Sneak....sneak... "guess it was just my imagination"

Lol
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Sometimes i feel like they hold back on the AI because they don't want it to be too hard, but seriously. How is this guy's buddy being dead in his imagination? If they see a dead guy, they should start clearing the room checking for whatever it was that just killed him.
 
chockomonkey said:
Sometimes i feel like they hold back on the AI because they don't want it to be too hard, but seriously. How is this guy's buddy being dead in his imagination? If they see a dead guy, they should start clearing the room checking for whatever it was that just killed him.
Click to expand...

that thought has occurred to me many times lol
 
The best way to avoid being stuck in progression or losing an important character is to save .. like its going out of style. I save about every 10-15 minutes because thats the progression I'm willing to live with being lost for random reasons.

I can't even begin to describe how often I tell people who get stuck in Skyrim that , the more you save the safer you are. Its a chore I know but this is Elder Scrolls , probably one of the least "stable" series of games ever made .. its a fantastic series without a doubt but Bethesda has obviously put its focus into content and not polish.
 
kledar586 said:
that thought has occurred to me many times lol
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i cannot wait to see what modders can do with the AI once they have the proper tools.

I really want:

-Dragons that will prioritize the player,
-NPC's which will seek out hidden threats
-NPC's with better threat meters, recognizing who's nuking them.
(One atronarch should not be able to tank 6 dudes, while i'm sitting off to the side pummeling the entire group with fireballs.)
 
chockomonkey said:
Sometimes i feel like they hold back on the AI because they don't want it to be too hard, but seriously. How is this guy's buddy being dead in his imagination? If they see a dead guy, they should start clearing the room checking for whatever it was that just killed him.
Click to expand...

Yeah, at least in Deus Ex:HR, you had to HIDE the body you just took down. If another guard saw a body, they'd sound the alarm.

That said, the guards definitely didn't seem to mind the room getting progressively lonelier. Do employees of PMCs really just vanish from their assigned postings that often? I mean, what's the last guy thinking in the room? "Huh - everyone else is gone. Wonder if there was a surprise party I didn't get the memo for? Or, wait, yeah - they all had that new Thai place at lunch. I WARNED them about that joint...*sigh*, well, I guess it's just me 'til they get back..."
 
herfalerf said:
finally managed to clear shimmermist cave by my stupid housecarl lady got killed and i cant figure out how to rez her.
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Sometimes your companions will go back to your house (if you bought one) or possibly where you met them..Did you try looking there?
 
If your companion died it is because you killed her. It is pretty easy to do because they like to step in between your just loosed arrow and the target, or your just swung sword, etc.

I have two or three missions that cannot be completed due to bugs. This is my only real complaint with the game.
 
It's basically a fantasy Norway simulator.
Nah, but it really is a great sandbox environment filled with more stuff to do than you can shake a dagger at. It's a make-your-own-moments type game. Sure you could follow every quest and finish the game in a couple days... or you could go bandit hunting as a werewolf or yell a troll off a mountain top or why not strip off all your armor/weapons and fist fight a giant. I've had much more fun doing what I wanted to rather than mindlessly following quests.

if you are playing on the pc:
find lydia's corpse
hit the ~ key and type
a2c94.resurrect

she is now alive.
 
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