General Malaise "vs." reading comprehension ; also some talk of skyim and the elder scrolls (4 Viewers)

[NCCommish]

Love being years behind the times....

I finally got a PS4 last week - the VR system (which is very cool) got me re-energized to play some games, I haven't played much of anything since the early days of PS3.  I have this game arriving from Amazon today.  From everything I read, I'm going to have to fight to preserve my marriage once I get into it.  Any helpful hints/tips for a first-timer?  Mods and all that stuff are way beyond my ken (and I assume apply to the PC version anyway) but are there any helpful hints in terms of character build or first steps/quests that will "grease the skids" for a born-again RPG nerd?

Actually mods apply to consoles now. But Sony is being  **** abotu certain things so the mod energy is all on the Xbox side.

Everyone plays differently. And you can start however you like. And you can change direction anytime you like. I personally go sword in one hand magic in the other.For destruction I like fire and lightning. For conjuring I am dabbling in atronachs and summoned weapons.  Since it is Skyrim and the world is cold I find that ice magic is less effective against most monsters. Now you can get a shout that literally freezes an enemy, that works good.

I will say racial considerations can be somewhat important. First go through maybe you go human as they are fairly balanced jack of all trades. For a magic user who likes to one hand Breton are good and have magic resistance. I like Dark elfs personally for my magic warrior builds they get 50% resistance to fire, really helps with a lot of battles. Khajits make great thieves and assassins. High Elfs if you want to go pure wizard. I ignore Argonians as there isn't enough poison or water to make them worthwhile to me. Nords are great as straight warriors.

But really you can make a khajit pure wizard if you want. All up to you.

 

[KarmaPolice]

Love being years behind the times....

I finally got a PS4 last week - the VR system (which is very cool) got me re-energized to play some games, I haven't played much of anything since the early days of PS3.  I have this game arriving from Amazon today.  From everything I read, I'm going to have to fight to preserve my marriage once I get into it.  Any helpful hints/tips for a first-timer?  Mods and all that stuff are way beyond my ken (and I assume apply to the PC version anyway) but are there any helpful hints in terms of character build or first steps/quests that will "grease the skids" for a born-again RPG nerd?

My main advice to anybody (and I didn't follow this) is for the first time just play - don't go online, don't find out tips to max your archery or how to turn iron to gold right away, don't worry about a specific build.  Set out, enjoy the amazing world of the game and embrace getting killed early and often.  Maybe if you are hitting dozens of hours and not getting anywhere, not able to kill more things, have 0 money, maybe then start poking around and asking questions. 

Only practical advice is save, save, save.  Multiple times I have wandered around outside for a good hour+ only to get killed and lose what I did.  Another thing I did is what I did with Fallout - I did a hard save as I got out of the cave at the beginning and into Skyrim that I didn't save over.  Sure, you'd have the same race/name, but I like having the starting off point from there to go in a different direction/build instead of going through the beginning intro again. 

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

Since it is Skyrim and the world is cold I find that ice magic is less effective against most monsters.

True but ice magic is the best against bad guys were are tanks since it also damages their stamina.

 

[NCCommish]

True but ice magic is the best against bad guys were are tanks since it also damages their stamina.

Good point. But with my play style that includes a lot of ranged attacks it isn't as big a deal mostly to me.

 

[joker]

What's the story with getting a skill up to 100/Legendary and then having to start all over again? Can someone unpack that?

 

[Bigboy10182000]

What's the story with getting a skill up to 100/Legendary and then having to start all over again? Can someone unpack that?

The purpose of making a skill Legendary is to allow it to contribute to increasing character level again. I believe the level cap is like 80 (im not sure) and it became insanely hard to reach that after you had 100 skill in certain skills

 

[joker]

The purpose of making a skill Legendary is to allow it to contribute to increasing character level again. I believe the level cap is like 80 (im not sure) and it became insanely hard to reach that after you had 100 skill in certain skills

Thanks. Does the skill still count as if it was 100 (i.e. do you keep your perks in the skill so you can make sweet armor/pick hard locks/cast crazy spells/etc.)? Or do you have to legitimately start over?

 

[-arcK-]

My dilemma is that Im level 62 now and have been a sneaky archer/ one-handed guy for so long that its kind of boring.

I've put in over 1,000 hours on this game, and I really want to do something different this time. My characters always end up as thief/archers, who then transition into being gods at everything because I complete every quest given to me and start training them in skills I don't use or care about, all in the lust to acquire MOAR skill points.

This time around I want to use roleplaying to restrict my character builds. I'm thinking my first will be an orphaned child who was raised by a powerful wizard that grew weary of war, and thus changed his name and went into hiding to have a family and enjoy a peaceful life. My character, having grown up in a small village, has a soft spot for the average citizen who is always at the mercy of kings and politics. He now wanders to new regions, looking out for the common people and aiding them in their endeavors. He is naturally suspicious of those in power, and although he may see the Stormcloaks as the lesser of 2 evils, it will take something tragic to motivate him to get involved in the civil war.

He was secretly trained in magic by his father, and is now a battle mage, and will be restricted to using only offensive magic and enchantments, no restoration. He only wears heavy armor, and if something somehow makes it past his magic onslaught, will have no qualms about finishing them off with fisticuffs. The only weapons he will use will be conjured ones. He does not sneak nor know much about alchemy.

But this won't happen until there is a UI mod made available, as The Tick mentioned earlier. Looks like it will be a couple months before the SKSE (?) script enabler is ready, and then look out! But another thing I really want this time is some type of loot randomizer. I really hate the tiered approach, where you know that anything less than daedric is crap. I'd like a system where the weapon/armor/enchantment values are random, on any piece of loot. I want to always be excited when opening a chest, knowing that it's possible to get a crappy ebony bow but a really great pair of leather boots (that my first character can't even use). That would really go a long way to extend the gameplay for me... Anyone know of a mod like that?

 

[Hawks64]

I like them too.  My dilemma is that Im level 62 now and have been a sneaky archer/ one-handed guy for so long that its kind of boring.  I wanted to transition to a destruction/ conjuration mage but it's been a bit cumbersome with having to re-level smithing and enchanting all over again so I can make a decent set of mage gear.

IIRC there is a way to reset all of your perks and give you the points back so you can do just that.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Thanks. Does the skill still count as if it was 100 (i.e. do you keep your perks in the skill so you can make sweet armor/pick hard locks/cast crazy spells/etc.)? Or do you have to legitimately start over?

You legit start over and all the perks go back you to.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

IIRC there is a way to reset all of your perks and give you the points back so you can do just that.

Really?  I thought the only was to legendary that skill tree?

 

[Hawks64]

Really?  I thought the only was to legendary that skill tree?

Might be confusing it with a mod....not 100%

 

[Evilgrin 72]

My main advice to anybody (and I didn't follow this) is for the first time just play - don't go online, don't find out tips to max your archery or how to turn iron to gold right away, don't worry about a specific build.  Set out, enjoy the amazing world of the game and embrace getting killed early and often.  Maybe if you are hitting dozens of hours and not getting anywhere, not able to kill more things, have 0 money, maybe then start poking around and asking questions. 

Only practical advice is save, save, save.  Multiple times I have wandered around outside for a good hour+ only to get killed and lose what I did.  Another thing I did is what I did with Fallout - I did a hard save as I got out of the cave at the beginning and into Skyrim that I didn't save over.  Sure, you'd have the same race/name, but I like having the starting off point from there to go in a different direction/build instead of going through the beginning intro again. 

Great stuff and I'll definitely do the bolded, great idea.  Thanks everyone.

 

[Mile High]

Really?  I thought the only was to legendary that skill tree?

Could be wrong and probably am but can't you reset your skills using a black book after you kill Myrick or what even that guys name is.

 

[Bigboy10182000]

Could be wrong and probably am but can't you reset your skills using a black book after you kill Myrick or what even that guys name is.

I just found this online:

Perk points can only be reset with the Dragonborn DLC and only after completing the DLC. Each skill tree you wish to reset the perk points on costs one dragon soul.

 

[NCCommish]

I enjoy enchanting and smithing and don't really see either as a grind - they're just part of the game for me. Even though I wear light armor I always take the heavy smith perks because I want the stronger bows. By the time I got the Nightingale bow I could make a stronger one from ebony myself. With my archery buffs on apparel I've taken down a dragon with 4 arrows. My archery isn't maxed out yet and I haven't gotten into the top two materials for weapons so I can certainly see one-shotting a dragon eventually.

I've never really exploited the smithing the way I should. I need to do a better job with that.

 

[Scoresman]

I've never once done any crafting in Skyrim.  I feel like the game is already too easy.  

 

[GregR]

What's the best ways to level Enchanting again?  Used to be banish but they nerfed that, what is the go-to enchantment now?  I forgot I made enchanting and smithing legendary and now I need it leveled again, damn it.

The more the final enchanted item is worth, the more your skill increases. So just go down through the enchantments, find the one that gives the most money, and do that. It was Banish in the original game as you mentioned, don't know what it is in SE.

Also the item's original cost factors into the final enchanted cost. So don't enchant iron daggers if you can be enchanting dwarven bows instead that will be worth a lot more with the same enchantment.

Dwarven bows are actually one of the good ones to go for, since you can get tons of dwarven ingots from each dwarven ruins dungeon crawl, and the bow doesn't take many to make it and has decent value.

 

[Hawks64]

The more the final enchanted item is worth, the more your skill increases. So just go down through the enchantments, find the one that gives the most money, and do that. It was Banish in the original game as you mentioned, don't know what it is in SE.

Also the item's original cost factors into the final enchanted cost. So don't enchant iron daggers if you can be enchanting dwarven bows instead that will be worth a lot more with the same enchantment.

Dwarven bows are actually one of the good ones to go for, since you can get tons of dwarven ingots from each dwarven ruins dungeon crawl, and the bow doesn't take many to make it and has decent value.

That got "fixed" you don't get more XP or skill progress based on strength of the enchantment or cost of the goods enchanted. I just went through this last night, a gold diamond necklace enchanted with a black soul gem was worth the exact same XP as using a petty soul gem.

 

[NCCommish]

So I had to unplug from the internet to play. It says there is an update available but it keeps failing. I pulled the mods in case that was it but now I just don't have the mods and no update. Sucks.

 

[Hawks64]

So I had to unplug from the internet to play. It says there is an update available but it keeps failing. I pulled the mods in case that was it but now I just don't have the mods and no update. Sucks.

I had a really odd issue today, kept crashing in the under keep in Markarth. Was getting worried that mods were causing it but I hadn't added any new ones. I finally rebooted the xbox and an update appeared for Skyrim SE. Applied it and then everything was fine. Have you tried to do a full reboot of the console and apply the update?

 

[NCCommish]

I had a really odd issue today, kept crashing in the under keep in Markarth. Was getting worried that mods were causing it but I hadn't added any new ones. I finally rebooted the xbox and an update appeared for Skyrim SE. Applied it and then everything was fine. Have you tried to do a full reboot of the console and apply the update?

Rebooted several times it fails before it starts downloading.

 

[Hawks64]

Rebooted several times it fails before it starts downloading.

Wow that sucks, Xbox or PS4?

 

[NCCommish]

Wow that sucks, Xbox or PS4?

XBox

 

[Hawks64]

XBox

Have you tried signing out and trying to launch the update while signed out? Not sure if that will actually work or not though.

 

[Mile High]

Maybe try searching that to see if it's happening to others.

 

[NCCommish]

Have you tried signing out and trying to launch the update while signed out? Not sure if that will actually work or not though.

Not yet.

 

[NCCommish]

Maybe try searching that to see if it's happening to others.

Couldn't find anything

 

[jwb]

I've never once done any crafting in Skyrim.  I feel like the game is already too easy.  

It's as easy or as hard as you want it to be, really.

If you make a pre-defined ruleset for your character, and roleplay, it can be hard. My current sneak archer is level 30, and can still get killed by almost anything if they get too close. This is because I'm playing dagger only for H2H weapon, no perks in one-handed (he's an archer, not a swordsman), and leather-ish armor only (other stuff is too bulky). I do a lot of sneaking and backstabbing - he's taken out entire forts without being seen, and he's blundered a backstab and died almost right away.

Just my .02, but I find playing this way much more fun. 

 

[jwb]

So I had to unplug from the internet to play. It says there is an update available but it keeps failing. I pulled the mods in case that was it but now I just don't have the mods and no update. Sucks.

same here. 

 

[NCCommish]

same here. 

Well that does make me feel a bit better, at least it isn't just me. Sorry you are having a problem though.

 

[buddyboy]

Well that does make me feel a bit better, at least it isn't just me. Sorry you are having a problem though.

I'm having the same problem too.  Very disappointing, I was really looking forward to playing tonight.

 

[NCCommish]

I'm having the same problem too.  Very disappointing, I was really looking forward to playing tonight.

I'm playing I just unplugged from the network.

 

[joker]

So I have Skyfall Estates but can't find Gibson or Olivia in the Bannered Mare.  Any advice on where to find him or her? 

 

[NorvilleBarnes]

My main advice to anybody (and I didn't follow this) is for the first time just play - don't go online, don't find out tips to max your archery or how to turn iron to gold right away, don't worry about a specific build.  Set out, enjoy the amazing world of the game and embrace getting killed early and often.  Maybe if you are hitting dozens of hours and not getting anywhere, not able to kill more things, have 0 money, maybe then start poking around and asking questions. 

Only practical advice is save, save, save.  Multiple times I have wandered around outside for a good hour+ only to get killed and lose what I did.  Another thing I did is what I did with Fallout - I did a hard save as I got out of the cave at the beginning and into Skyrim that I didn't save over.  Sure, you'd have the same race/name, but I like having the starting off point from there to go in a different direction/build instead of going through the beginning intro again. 

Great advice. There were times I wish I had done a hard save before entering a cave/fort/etc there are times when you can get trapped.

My three for new players:

Never trust a "cleared".

Always look behind the waterfall.

Accept any drinking challenge 

 

[Hawks64]

So I have Skyfall Estates but can't find Gibson or Olivia in the Bannered Mare.  Any advice on where to find him or her? 

Why do you need them? There is a chest under the bridge that has the deed and key.

ETA - if you are planning to get married or adopt kids don't bother with Skyfall until a mod is ported over that lets you mark it as your home. If you don't you'll be in the same situation I was in, can't make it a home for a spouse or kids. I wound up building Lakeview Manor again.

 

[Hawks64]

Having an issue with Falskaar, I started it and saved about 1/4 in. Trying to load that save and all sorts of weird #### is happening. No video, half the sound isn't working. Won't load at all. Hope I don't have to revert to a save before Falskaar....would suck not being able to complete it since it looks pretty cool.

ETA got it to finally load and it keeps crashing out, sucks...guess I have to forget this mod.

 

[Hawks64]

FYI to anyone trying to use Falskaar, I had to revert 4 hours of play since it appears that once I was in Falskaar the game went sideways. Tried multiple times (10 for those counting at home) to get it load and work but it would inevitably crash), so gave up and disabled it.

 

[joker]

Why do you need them? There is a chest under the bridge that has the deed and key.

ETA - if you are planning to get married or adopt kids don't bother with Skyfall until a mod is ported over that lets you mark it as your home. If you don't you'll be in the same situation I was in, can't make it a home for a spouse or kids. I wound up building Lakeview Manor again.

I have the deed and key,  but thought I needed to find Gibson to build it out since it's a blank space right now.  I have a few other homes that will allow adoption,  just thought I'd try Skyfall to see how it is 

 

[Hawks64]

I have the deed and key,  but thought I needed to find Gibson to build it out since it's a blank space right now.  I have a few other homes that will allow adoption,  just thought I'd try Skyfall to see how it is 

Oh you got the buildable one...my mistake. I used the fully built one.

 

[joker]

Didn't know they had a fully built one.  Guess I can look for that one   too

 

[KarmaPolice]

Can you randomly get turned into a werewolf, or do you specifically have to try to go that route?  I remember once after a battle with vampires I must have taken a spell that caused vampirism, but don't remember seeing anything like that for werewolves.  Of course I have never encountered one in battle, but didn't know if random wild wolves would give you a form if they bit you or something. 

 

[Hawks64]

Can you randomly get turned into a werewolf, or do you specifically have to try to go that route?  I remember once after a battle with vampires I must have taken a spell that caused vampirism, but don't remember seeing anything like that for werewolves.  Of course I have never encountered one in battle, but didn't know if random wild wolves would give you a form if they bit you or something. 

IIRC it's related to the Companions quest....don't think you can become one randomly.

 

[Homer J Simpson]

IIRC it's related to the Companions quest....don't think you can become one randomly.

This is correct. 

Although I have an animals/creatures mod that has had me run into a couple of werewolves out in the world. 

 

[Buddy Ball 2K3]

anyone try the leather crafting mods for the xbone? 

 

[Hawks64]

anyone try the leather crafting mods for the xbone? 

I've tried a lot of the different armor crafting mods, not this one specifically I am using the craftable Thief armor.

 

[NCCommish]

Man this board kind of sucks on phones.

Anyway I had forgotten how tough these dwarven dungeons can be. Got killed looking for Magnus staff. Luckily I wasn't too far in. But was out of time. Try to get back later this evening.

 

[Ignoramus]

Man this board kind of sucks on phones.

Anyway I had forgotten how tough these dwarven dungeons can be. Got killed looking for Magnus staff. Luckily I wasn't too far in. But was out of time. Try to get back later this evening.

I hate the new board almost as much as I hate the Falmer.

 

[IrishTwinkie]

I upped my difficultly level. Things were getting stale. I, um, might need to re-think this a little. On my way to Labyrinthian and a Blood Dragon encounter is basically right in my path. Every time I've gotten him to fight he ends up chomping off my head and casting my lifeless body aside. Restart, run back only to lose my head again. I had to stop playing as I was getting ticked off.  Lost count how many times he rag dolled me. 

I don't have stagger, either from bows or destruction spells... not sure how I am going to hold him off. The battlefield is wide open, no place to duck and hide when he lands and comes stomping after me. 

 

[Mile High]

I upped my difficultly level. Things were getting stale. I, um, might need to re-think this a little. On my way to Labyrinthian and a Blood Dragon encounter is basically right in my path. Every time I've gotten him to fight he ends up chomping off my head and casting my lifeless body aside. Restart, run back only to lose my head again. I had to stop playing as I was getting ticked off.  Lost count how many times he rag dolled me. 

I don't have stagger, either from bows or destruction spells... not sure how I am going to hold him off. The battlefield is wide open, no place to duck and hide when he lands and comes stomping after me. 

Keep moving, try to keep from being in front of him.