General Malaise "vs." reading comprehension ; also some talk of skyim and the elder scrolls (2 Viewers)

[TxBuckeye]

Ice Wraith. Not really tough but really hard to hit since they move fast! If you have perked your archery enough you can slow down and zoom in either 25% or 50%, that's very helpful with these guys IMO.

I can NEVER hit those with my bow. And I have time slowed by 50%. I think the main issue is I am just not sure where to aim. These guys are probably about 50% of my one-handed leveling as they are the only enemy I just go straight to a sword the minute I see them.

 

[TxBuckeye]

Finally finished all of the achievements. Fun times! I think my wife will be happy to have me back after 400+ hours played.

Wife + 400 hours does not compute. Pretty sure if I had 400 hours in this game, I'd no longer have the wife. I know, I know, "fair trade." But I'm pretty sure I want to keep her around....

 

[Hawks64]

Ice Wraith. Not really tough but really hard to hit since they move fast! If you have perked your archery enough you can slow down and zoom in either 25% or 50%, that's very helpful with these guys IMO.

I can NEVER hit those with my bow. And I have time slowed by 50%. I think the main issue is I am just not sure where to aim. These guys are probably about 50% of my one-handed leveling as they are the only enemy I just go straight to a sword the minute I see them.

I tend to wuss out a bit and will Aura shout as I am coming up on a new place I haven't been to before so I can tell what I am up against numbers wise. Then I sneak up and snipe snipe snipe. By the time they find me they are almost dead and only need one more shot.

 

[NCCommish]

Finally finished all of the achievements. Fun times! I think my wife will be happy to have me back after 400+ hours played.

Wife + 400 hours does not compute. Pretty sure if I had 400 hours in this game, I'd no longer have the wife. I know, I know, "fair trade." But I'm pretty sure I want to keep her around....

Game has been out a while though. I can easily see myself spending a total of 3-400 hours but spread it out over time and we are talking an hour or so each evening with some longer play on weekends. Of course we don't have kids so our time is much more our own and I have more free time than a lot of you do.

 

[Hawks64]

Finally finished all of the achievements. Fun times! I think my wife will be happy to have me back after 400+ hours played.

Wife + 400 hours does not compute. Pretty sure if I had 400 hours in this game, I'd no longer have the wife. I know, I know, "fair trade." But I'm pretty sure I want to keep her around....

Yeah mine is getting pretty pissed about me playing so much, I think I have to take the next few nights off or she might get really pissed off.

 

[The Hank]

Finally finished all of the achievements. Fun times! I think my wife will be happy to have me back after 400+ hours played.

Wife + 400 hours does not compute. Pretty sure if I had 400 hours in this game, I'd no longer have the wife. I know, I know, "fair trade." But I'm pretty sure I want to keep her around....

Yeah mine is getting pretty pissed about me playing so much, I think I have to take the next few nights off or she might get really pissed off.

We're in the same boat here.I often suggest to her buying a new book on her Kindle so that keeps her occupied for a few days while I get in some quality Skyrim time while the baby is asleep.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

BTW fought my first poisonous dragon today Dragon floats down in front of me, blasts me with the flame breath, I'm shooting arrows into the flame, kind of watching my health and suddenly see the status "You are poisoned." Sweet, this is new. Dragon floats back down, resume normal combat except when he flies up I'm still taking a little damage. Finally kill the dragon and I'm STILL taking damage. Turns out a freaking spider - out in the wild, not in a spiderwebby cave - is biting my ### right at the moment the dragon is in my face.

I ran into my first spiders the other day. I was walking through tall grass and all the sudden the something bad music is playing and I am taking damage. But I don't see anything. So I'm looking for where the arrows are coming from when Lydia finally catches up and starts killing things on the ground, that's when I saw the spiders. There were a bunch of them.

Spiders suck, but the things I really hate are the Chaurus. Those things can just suck it.

I ran into something weird the other day maybe you guys know what it was. I was walking through a snowy region and all of the sudden I was under attack from this mostly transparent "snow worm". Very tough, took Lydia and I out several times. Never did kill it. Just reloaded and went wide around where it was spawning.

Those are Ice Wraiths. You can kill them, but if you're early in the game they can kill you quickly.

They also drop decent stuff. Ice wraith essence (basically a frost resist potion) and ice wraith teeth, which can be used a few potions.

 

[MasterofOrion]

How tough are the random dragons you come across? I saw one last night flying overhead when I was behind Dragonsreach. The terrain was terrible if I needed cover, and I'm only level 11 so I watched him circle overhead for a while then he flew around the castle. I hopped on an abandoned bandit's horse and chased after it but couldn't catch up/find it again. I figured if it was just me and Lydia fighting it, we'd both get slaughtered, but was hoping he'd stick around close enough to where I could pull him to some guards and we'd have a little additional backup, but no dice. Kind of disappointed that I missed the chance to fight him.

It seems that dragons scale to your level. So any time you run into one, it should be somewhat of a fight but not impossible. Granted, I play a wussy magicky type who started out throwing fireballs and then hiding. Once you get some gear that protects you from the right element (fire/frost/shock) you should be able to stand your ground, take a couple of licks, and heal while he starts circling again.

Dragons will attack you at the worst possible time. The is a dragon on top of a mountain from winterhold. It attacks you in a long canyon with no place to hide. To defeat him you need to take lots of frost protection, fire protection and healing potions and run a lot. Then you have to use some kind of ranged attack to hurt him.Dragons are usually easy to kill at early levels and late levels. For some reason mid level caratures have a tougher time.

 

[TxBuckeye]

Game has been out a while though. I can easily see myself spending a total of 3-400 hours but spread it out over time and we are talking an hour or so each evening with some longer play on weekends. Of course we don't have kids so our time is much more our own and I have more free time than a lot of you do.

That's true. I do tend to forget it was out awhile before I finally dove in. I have no kids at home, ours are all grown. But I only play when she isn't around (working out an hour after work or running an errand, whatever), so I tend to be an hour here, an hour there. It takes awhile at that rate to add up to 400 hours though! I doubt I even have a hundred yet. Never actually looked though. Not sure where to look!

 

[hooter311]

Finally finished all of the achievements. Fun times! I think my wife will be happy to have me back after 400+ hours played.

Holy cowSo how do expansion packs work. Im assuming there will be some. I am very content right now since I finished the main quest. Now Im just going along, doing what i like

Assuming they will follow the method they used with Oblivion and Fallout -- every 2 months or so you'll get the option to DL an expansion pack from xbox live. it will cost around $10. It will open up new quest/storylines that will take you a couple days to finish.

From what I've read they are going to be pretty extensive, but probably another 3-4 months before we see the first one.

 

[NCCommish]

Game has been out a while though. I can easily see myself spending a total of 3-400 hours but spread it out over time and we are talking an hour or so each evening with some longer play on weekends. Of course we don't have kids so our time is much more our own and I have more free time than a lot of you do.

That's true. I do tend to forget it was out awhile before I finally dove in. I have no kids at home, ours are all grown. But I only play when she isn't around (working out an hour after work or running an errand, whatever), so I tend to be an hour here, an hour there. It takes awhile at that rate to add up to 400 hours though! I doubt I even have a hundred yet. Never actually looked though. Not sure where to look!

I don't want to know really. I'll just guesstimate.

 

[Pots]

This is something else I haven't figured out yet. I've learned a bunch of new shouts, but how do I unlock the 2nd and 3rd words of each shout?

 

[TxBuckeye]

Dragons will attack you at the worst possible time. The is a dragon on top of a mountain from winterhold. It attacks you in a long canyon with no place to hide. To defeat him you need to take lots of frost protection, fire protection and healing potions and run a lot. Then you have to use some kind of ranged attack to hurt him.Dragons are usually easy to kill at early levels and late levels. For some reason mid level caratures have a tougher time.

One thing I found that seems to help a lot, the Marked for Death shout. I only have two of the three words but, even with that, I start every dragon battle with a Marked for Death blast and it seems to become a race for me to kill the thing before some random guard is able to take it down! Ever since I began using that shout, dragon battles have become quite easy.

 

[TxBuckeye]

This is something else I haven't figured out yet. I've learned a bunch of new shouts, but how do I unlock the 2nd and 3rd words of each shout?

You have to find the walls, just like with the first word.

 

[TxBuckeye]

I don't want to know really. I'll just guesstimate.

You are a wise man. I imagine the same is likely true for me. I sure as hell wouldn't want to have the wife see me looking at that number. I'd get one of those "Uh huhs!" along with an eye roll and an "I told you you played that damn game to much" under her breath...

 

[Pots]

This is something else I haven't figured out yet. I've learned a bunch of new shouts, but how do I unlock the 2nd and 3rd words of each shout?

Each shout has 3 locations.* There isn't any designation among them of first word, second word, third word. So whichever location you find first, you get the first word. Then once you find 1 of the other 2 locations, you'll learn the next word. Last location, third word. So just keep trucking and finding shouts and eventually you'll find ones that match. For all words of a shout, except some ones you get in the Main Quest, to unlock them once you've learned them you have to spend a dragon soul that you get from killing a dragon.* Except a couple of rare exceptions where all 3 parts of the shout are in 1 location, but ignore those.

Thanks that explains things. This may be one thing I might use a guide for since I don't want to go through 40 caves to complete a specific shout I like

 

[Hawks64]

Finally finished all of the achievements. Fun times! I think my wife will be happy to have me back after 400+ hours played.

Holy cowSo how do expansion packs work. Im assuming there will be some. I am very content right now since I finished the main quest. Now Im just going along, doing what i like

Assuming they will follow the method they used with Oblivion and Fallout -- every 2 months or so you'll get the option to DL an expansion pack from xbox live. it will cost around $10. It will open up new quest/storylines that will take you a couple days to finish.

From what I've read they are going to be pretty extensive, but probably another 3-4 months before we see the first one.

That would be awesome for me, terrible for my wife. She already regrets buying this for me and is calling herself a Skyrim widow Definitely going to take a few days off, or at least tonight and Friday.

 

[Hawks64]

* Except a couple of rare exceptions where all 3 parts of the shout are in 1 location, but ignore those.

Why would you ignore those?

 

[Pots]

* Except a couple of rare exceptions where all 3 parts of the shout are in 1 location, but ignore those.

Why would you ignore those?

I think he means to ignore those as the exception, not the rule to finding all 3 words of power.

 

[Kirby]

Ice Wraith. Not really tough but really hard to hit since they move fast! If you have perked your archery enough you can slow down and zoom in either 25% or 50%, that's very helpful with these guys IMO.

I can NEVER hit those with my bow. And I have time slowed by 50%. I think the main issue is I am just not sure where to aim. These guys are probably about 50% of my one-handed leveling as they are the only enemy I just go straight to a sword the minute I see them.

I aim for the back of the head.

 

[hooter311]

Game has been out a while though. I can easily see myself spending a total of 3-400 hours but spread it out over time and we are talking an hour or so each evening with some longer play on weekends. Of course we don't have kids so our time is much more our own and I have more free time than a lot of you do.

That's true. I do tend to forget it was out awhile before I finally dove in. I have no kids at home, ours are all grown. But I only play when she isn't around (working out an hour after work or running an errand, whatever), so I tend to be an hour here, an hour there. It takes awhile at that rate to add up to 400 hours though! I doubt I even have a hundred yet. Never actually looked though. Not sure where to look!

I don't want to know really. I'll just guesstimate.

Your saved games should have a clock beside them, that is hours played.

 

[Foosball God]

This is something else I haven't figured out yet. I've learned a bunch of new shouts, but how do I unlock the 2nd and 3rd words of each shout?

You have to find the walls, just like with the first word.

And you need to use a dragon soul to unlock each one of the three words in the shout.

 

[Kirby]

Any secret tips on where to get refined moonstone or moonstone ore? I just unlocked elven smithing but now I can't find any moonstone to smith elven gear. I've been to a couple smiths with not much luck. How often do their inventories refresh?

I found some to the left of Rorikstead... the place was called something sinkhole. I'll check when I get home.

 

[modogg]

I rented this game a month ago, but had to return it 2 days later because i got around 3.5 hours of sleep a night, and was late to work both days i had it. I gave in the other day and got it off of ebay, and just took my wedding picture off of our living room wall to hang the map up that I got with the game

 

[The Gator]

I rented this game a month ago, but had to return it 2 days later because i got around 3.5 hours of sleep a night, and was late to work both days i had it. I gave in the other day and got it off of ebay, and just took my wedding picture off of our living room wall to hang the map up that I got with the game

 

[NewlyRetired]

I love this thread

Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

 

[hooter311]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

 

[shadyridr]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

 

[Cold Dead Hands]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

Hoot, explain this please.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

You can heal yourself with potions if you don't want to go with magic.

 

[hotdogcollars]

May have already been covered here, but where do you pick up Lydia as a follower?

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

Hoot, explain this please.

Yeah, I have enchanting at 100 and the perk tree to the top on the two right forks. Need more info here.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

You can heal yourself with potions if you don't want to go with magic.

cool. Some related questionso potions take up weight and/or are they are difficult to find/purchase? Can potions be a "hot" button so that I can access in middle of battle?

 

[The Hank]

May have already been covered here, but where do you pick up Lydia as a follower?

Spoiler

Talk to Jarl of Whiterun, complete all the tasks (including dragon slaying) and he will appoint you as Thane, with Lydia as your "Housecarl" a.k.a Companion

 

[AcerFC]

I love this thread

Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

What do you mean by thisIm level 23 and I have put all into magicka, a few into health and none into stamina

ETA: I missed the end of the page and didnt realize its been asked a few times already.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

explain please

 

[Foosball God]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

You can heal yourself with potions if you don't want to go with magic.

cool. Some related questionso potions take up weight and/or are they are difficult to find/purchase? Can potions be a "hot" button so that I can access in middle of battle?

Potions weight 0.5 lbs so they can really add up. They are not hard to find and if you use alchemy you can make them yourself. Unfortunately I end up carrying around a ton of potions just in case I need to use them in some special situation (i.e. waterbreathing, etc) In general I never run into the situation where I HAVE to have it, so I'm just carrying around a bunch of weight for no good reason.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

You can heal yourself with potions if you don't want to go with magic.

cool. Some related questionso potions take up weight and/or are they are difficult to find/purchase? Can potions be a "hot" button so that I can access in middle of battle?

most (all?) potions count as .5 carry weight / encumbrance. the less-healing potions are all over the place to steal, but work on getting your alchemy up so you can make them yourself. Pretty much when you're running around Skyrim, harvest any plant/animal part you come across. You can buy them if you want to, but in the long run its much easier to make them.

 

[Copeman]

I try staying away from magic of any kind. I use potions and food to heal myself. I pick up as much food as possible. I cook alot of stuff.

 

[hotdogcollars]

May have already been covered here, but where do you pick up Lydia as a follower?

Spoiler

Talk to Jarl of Whiterun, complete all the tasks (including dragon slaying) and he will appoint you as Thane, with Lydia as your "Housecarl" a.k.a Companion

did all those (i think). But do i have to go find here somewhere?

 

[Hawks64]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

You can heal yourself with potions if you don't want to go with magic.

cool. Some related questionso potions take up weight and/or are they are difficult to find/purchase? Can potions be a "hot" button so that I can access in middle of battle?

most (all?) potions count as .5 carry weight / encumbrance. the less-healing potions are all over the place to steal, but work on getting your alchemy up so you can make them yourself. Pretty much when you're running around Skyrim, harvest any plant/animal part you come across. You can buy them if you want to, but in the long run its much easier to make them.

All too often I am right at my carry weight and am trying to figure out what the hell I have that's so heavy and then look at my potions list that's like 200+ items.

 

[Hawks64]

May have already been covered here, but where do you pick up Lydia as a follower?

Spoiler

Talk to Jarl of Whiterun, complete all the tasks (including dragon slaying) and he will appoint you as Thane, with Lydia as your "Housecarl" a.k.a Companion

did all those (i think). But do i have to go find here somewhere?Not that I remember, once you complete them she's right there and then never freaking leaves Hate walking into my house and go upstairs to see her sitting at the table in my room.

 

[Joseph]

May have already been covered here, but where do you pick up Lydia as a follower?

Spoiler

Talk to Jarl of Whiterun, complete all the tasks (including dragon slaying) and he will appoint you as Thane, with Lydia as your "Housecarl" a.k.a Companion

did all those (i think). But do i have to go find here somewhere?

Spoiler

I think she's standing next to the door between Dragonsreach and Whiterun waiting for you

 

[hotdogcollars]

May have already been covered here, but where do you pick up Lydia as a follower?

Spoiler

Talk to Jarl of Whiterun, complete all the tasks (including dragon slaying) and he will appoint you as Thane, with Lydia as your "Housecarl" a.k.a Companion

Spoiler

did all those (i think). But do i have to go find here somewhere?

Spoiler

I think she's standing next to the door between Dragonsreach and Whiterun waiting for you

ah, maybe i missed a task. Will have to check during tonights session I get home from work and just completely rush through working out, dinner, and a shower. All so i can get a few extra minutes of time in on this game. Dammit, knew this would happen to me.

 

[TxBuckeye]

All too often I am right at my carry weight and am trying to figure out what the hell I have that's so heavy and then look at my potions list that's like 200+ items.

This was me. Then I decided to drop almost everything in to my chest except healing, stamina and magik regen, and then a protection from each type of damage. To be honest, I rarely use any of them, healing being the most often used. For tougher battles, Protection From ... potions can prove invaluable though.I am toying with the idea of loading up every potion I have in to my inventory, going in to a corner of my house, and then in one fell swoop, dropping each and every one of them just to see what the pile looks like.

 

[hooter311]

I love this thread Is it important for most characters to make sure you have enough magic skills/points/perks to heal yourself or are their enough other ways to heal yourself in the game that if you don't want to use magic you don't have to waste any leveling on it?

If you max your enchanting you can cast magic for free. I regret what few points I had already put into it. I leveled something like Stamina 6: Health 3: Magicka 1 ratio.

explain please

With my enchanted gear on and alchemy at 100 my Fortify Enchanting potions are +31% Enhanting.With enchanting at 100 and drinking a potion I am able to craft gear that is "XXX magic cost 28% less to cast"You can enchant your helmet, armor, necklace, and ring with it. Effectively making magic cost zero. The magic meter doesn't even show on screen with this gear on.Now with 100 enchanting I can combine magic so I have basically 3 sets of those 4 things I carry, hence all the stamina. I have Illusion/Alteration on one set, Illusion/Conjuration on another, and Destruction/Restoration on the third.

 

[TxBuckeye]

I usually don't like "spoilers" but in this case, I'll ask since I'm trying to determine if it is worth the hassle.

I got a minor side quests to collect ten fire salts for a blacksmith. If this is specific to only one blacksmith, then you likely know who I am talking about. My questions are:

1) Do you get any good perks for completing this? Like better blacksmithing at that location, or maybe some free blacksmithing skill increases? i.e. Is it worth doing other than to get it off my stupid quest log?

2) If it is worth the effort, where is a good place to get these dang things? In all my wanderings since I received that quest, I have found exactly THREE, which I then accidently used at the Alchemy table. Since then, I have managed to purchase TWO more, putting my grand total at TWO.

 

[hooter311]

I usually don't like "spoilers" but in this case, I'll ask since I'm trying to determine if it is worth the hassle.I got a minor side quests to collect ten fire salts for a blacksmith. If this is specific to only one blacksmith, then you likely know who I am talking about. My questions are:1) Do you get any good perks for completing this? Like better blacksmithing at that location, or maybe some free blacksmithing skill increases? i.e. Is it worth doing other than to get it off my stupid quest log?2) If it is worth the effort, where is a good place to get these dang things? In all my wanderings since I received that quest, I have found exactly THREE, which I then accidently used at the Alchemy table. Since then, I have managed to purchase TWO more, putting my grand total at TWO.

Spoiler

There all kinds of these quests that pop up, I haven't found one worth it yet.

 

[Crazy Canuck]

Dragons will attack you at the worst possible time. The is a dragon on top of a mountain from winterhold. It attacks you in a long canyon with no place to hide. To defeat him you need to take lots of frost protection, fire protection and healing potions and run a lot. Then you have to use some kind of ranged attack to hurt him.Dragons are usually easy to kill at early levels and late levels. For some reason mid level caratures have a tougher time.

One thing I found that seems to help a lot, the Marked for Death shout. I only have two of the three words but, even with that, I start every dragon battle with a Marked for Death blast and it seems to become a race for me to kill the thing before some random guard is able to take it down! Ever since I began using that shout, dragon battles have become quite easy.

I've found Slow Time is really helpful. I only have 1 word, but I shout it when the dragon lands and get a couple extra swings with Volendrung. It's usually enough to kill it in one landing.

 

[Kirby]

I usually don't like "spoilers" but in this case, I'll ask since I'm trying to determine if it is worth the hassle.I got a minor side quests to collect ten fire salts for a blacksmith. If this is specific to only one blacksmith, then you likely know who I am talking about. My questions are:1) Do you get any good perks for completing this? Like better blacksmithing at that location, or maybe some free blacksmithing skill increases? i.e. Is it worth doing other than to get it off my stupid quest log?2) If it is worth the effort, where is a good place to get these dang things? In all my wanderings since I received that quest, I have found exactly THREE, which I then accidently used at the Alchemy table. Since then, I have managed to purchase TWO more, putting my grand total at TWO.

Only if you are trying to become a thane by helping the citizens.