The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Catch-All

The dragons can be terribly unbalanced, though, depending on skills and level. I can pretty much tear anything apart with my bow, and I have the best Elven armor in all the land, but about two and a half full frost/fire breaths from a dragon will end me.

Heh heh heh Just got my first Adept Conjuration spell: Summon Frost Anteroch. Finally a melee pet!

I'm level 20, and have 12 perk points just waiting. I'm pretty sure I want to be a Master Conjurer but it almost feels like cheating. So I'm keeping the points in reserve. Any one else in the same boat I am? Destruction is good but I'm waiting to see which of the Adept spells are better before I decide on Fire/Frost/Lighting.

Am I just overthinking it too much? Also has anyone else abused the pressure plate trap that causes a bladed door to slam into you? I've caused myself so much self damage just to increase Restoration to 41 right now. My goal is to get to 60 and get that 50% magic regen perk.

Spoiler:

To level Illusion really really fast, just buy the muffle spell and cast it. initially 2 casts is enough for a level. And you can chain cast it mana allowing. Now to find that Invisibility spell.

zeroKFE wrote:

How on earth are you guys getting close enough to dragons to finish them with a cinematic kill? Even when they are limping around and I manage to get at their side they seem to eat me before I can finish them with melee. And on that note, how the hell do you even begin to fight dragons as a melee only character?

Incidentally, my biggest regret about going bow and magic is that I pretty much never get to "celebrate" a tough kill that way. A little slow-mo cinematic action after a good sneak attack one shot bow kill wouldn't hurt too much, would it? :P

Here is an instructional guide:

I actually pulled of a cinematic kill on one with my mage character just by going full on hero mode when my companion was about to go down.

Um... As a melee only? They land occasionally, and I don't stand near the mouth. Then I hit it with my sword, and eventually, it dies.

Duoae wrote:
Montalban wrote:

I know this thread is moving fast so here's a bullet list for your convenience:

Ah! So someone else found that mask too. Did you figure it out yet? I'm still working on that. I liked the nearby maze too but felt like i missed something once i got to the big fight.... Tried to figure out if i messed the test up but not sure.

I found that mask from a boss I stumbled into on the top of a mountain. Is there more to it? Nearby maze?! What? I sense some investigating in my near future.

Michael Zenke wrote:

As long as we're sharing ...
Dragonriding:

IMAGE(http://cloud.steampowered.com/ugc/630730982018627948/21AF9EDF2C9BE827D8FA35F33B64941AA819C040/)

Are you standing on his jaw? His JAW? The animations can still be a bit janky sometimes, but the ones they got right are really right. Amazing.

I find the dragons easy in melee but I'm playing on whatever the default difficulty setting is, wearing heavy armor and a shield, and usually carrying a ton of resistance potions. Shield bash is really useful - one bash will stop their bite attack or shut them up whenever they try to shout at you. The shield perk that cuts magic damage in half while blocking means you can just raise your shield when they shout at you from the air. Also I'm a Nord, so the frost resistance really helps against ice dragons.

Montalban wrote:
Duoae wrote:
Montalban wrote:

I know this thread is moving fast so here's a bullet list for your convenience:

Ah! So someone else found that mask too. Did you figure it out yet? I'm still working on that. I liked the nearby maze too but felt like i missed something once i got to the big fight.... Tried to figure out if i messed the test up but not sure.

I found that mask from a boss I stumbled into on the top of a mountain. Is there more to it? Nearby maze?! What? I sense some investigating in my near future.

Oh cool!! I'd best say no more. I think i lucked out by finding the story part first.

NSMike wrote:

Um... As a melee only? They land occasionally, and I don't stand near the mouth. Then I hit it with my sword, and eventually, it dies.

Crazy. Being heavily armored and whatnot must confer some amount of resistance to the one hit eating attack, or maybe the dragon I was experimenting with was particularly strong.

In any case, it still goes against my general philosophy in virtual life: why get close enough to be punched in the face when you can kill something from 40 yards away.

zeroKFE wrote:
NSMike wrote:

Um... As a melee only? They land occasionally, and I don't stand near the mouth. Then I hit it with my sword, and eventually, it dies.

Crazy. Being heavily armored and whatnot must confer some amount of resistance to the one hit eating attack, or maybe the dragon I was experimenting with was particularly strong.

I only got eaten once when my health was really low, so I think it's just like any other special kill animation.

I only got eaten once when my health was really low, so I think it's just like any other special kill animation.

Quite possibly. I have very low health in general -- almost all my level ups go into magic and stamina since health can very easily be restored, better living through chemistry (and magic) and all that -- so this particular dragon maybe was doing enough damage in one hit to chew through more than half my health.

I have to agree,I haven't found the dragons to be a huge problem actually. Maybe it's because I'm a 2-handed Nord in Heavy Armor? I'm also not shy with the healing potions, but I will stand right in front of a dragon's face and slash away until it's over.

There are apparently more powerful dragons as well though, and I think I've only met the standard stock so far.

So dual weilding axes might not be a good idea against dragons?

I have really just gotten to whiterun so I haven't fought any yet... been dual weilding axes and using flame or spark on the side when I thought they were advantageous.

I currently am sheildless and have almost no skill with my bow...Any suggestions for my first dragon... he's waiting for me at home right now.

tanstaafl wrote:
Shawnosaurus wrote:
TheHipGamer wrote:

This aggression, you know, it will not stand.

Ha, that sounds like a good time! I have as yet to get involved in choosing a side, but the stormcloaks feel like the good guys to me.

It's a bit more complicated than that, of course.

If you talk to various people and read some of the books you will find that the Cryodill Empire has suffered a bit over the last 200 years. They recently lost a war to the Aldmeri Dominion (and excuse me if I butcher some of these names). Apparently parts of Hammerfell and Morrowind (at least) are now controlled by the Aldmeri.

One of the conditions of the cease-fire between the Empire and the Dominion was that the Empire had to give up the worship of "false gods", specifically Talos. (Talos being the ascended first Septim emperor). Since Talos was from Skyrim he's the local god and so the locals are upset at the Empire for telling them they can't worship their own god anymore.

So the Stormcloaks are upset because the Empire is interfering with their freedom of religion. The Empire is upset because support for Talos may start a new war with the Dominion.

Also, if you go to some of the Stormcloak controlled cities you will discover that the Stormcloak's attitude towards most elves (if not all non-Nords) is a bit less enlightened. (At least one city (forgot which one; it's east of Whiterun) has an Elven "slum" that sounds a lot like the Elven Alienages in Dragon Age.

What I think is interesting is that all of this is basically a side quest in the game. They could have made the Skyrim/Empire civil war the focus of the game; here it's basically just background.

Stormcloaks, Empire -- pshaw. This one has no use for politics.

(I think the backstory is fascinating, and as a long-time ES fan, am rooting for the Empire. Qa'Dokhu the Khajiit, though, he (a) was about to be executed by those racist, hairless pigs, and (b) doesn't like to be patronized by elves.)

IMAGE(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14017123/QaDokhu.jpg)

Is anyone having issues with the sword clipping through when they do a finishing move? I'm running Ultra High but having this problem.

Regarding the civil war and Talos - Another thing to keep in mind: There is a very real and demonstrable relationship between worship of a certain god and that god's level of power in the Elder Scrolls universe. Losing worshipers is a big deal for a god, not just for the worshipers.

Sort of like what Stargate did with the Ori, only not as lame.

Faceless Joe wrote:

Is anyone having issues with the sword clipping through when they do a finishing move? I'm running Ultra High but having this problem.

Graphical settings have very little to do with the animations. There's definitely a lot of issues with that sort of thing in Skyrim.

From what I can tell the animations are all the same regardless of the model you use it on.

Falchion wrote:

Hmm...I guess as a ESDF user I'm screwed when it comes to adding things to my favorite list while in the menu. Tried all the keys and nothing works while I have F bound to Strafe Right.

It's a hack, but how about this?.... Straight-up remap the keys with autohotkey...

skyrim.ahk
-------------------------------------------

#SingleInstance force ;Only allow one instance of this script to be running

;Make ESDFG press WASDF
e::w ;press e, send w (move forward)
s::a ;press s, send a (move left)
d::s ;press d, send s (move left)
f:: d ;press f, send d (move left) <---remove the space before the "d" (used to avoid forum smiley)
g::f ;press g, send f (set favorite)

-------------------------------------------

TheHipGamer wrote:

(I think the backstory is fascinating, and as a long-time ES fan, am rooting for the Empire. Qa'Dokhu the Khajiit, though, he (a) was about to be executed by those racist, hairless pigs, and (b) doesn't like to be patronized by elves.)

Oh, definitely agree. It would take a lot to convince my character to support the side that tried to execute them without a trial with no reason. I was liking the background because it's a lot more interesting than the usual rebels good/empire evil dichotomy (though I will point out that the Stormcloak view that the Empire threw the Nord god under the bus to save themselves is probably perfectly valid).

Montalban wrote:

Regarding the civil war and Talos - Another thing to keep in mind: There is a very real and demonstrable relationship between worship of a certain god and that god's level of power in the Elder Scrolls universe. Losing worshipers is a big deal for a god, not just for the worshipers.

And given that Talos was Tiber Septimus, the first Cryodill Emperor, there is probably a reason that the group that was until recently at war with the Empire might like to see what was basically their founder lose power...

Also, Solitude is way cooler than Windhelm.

emyln wrote:

Am I just overthinking it too much? Also has anyone else abused the pressure plate trap that causes a bladed door to slam into you? I've caused myself so much self damage just to increase Restoration to 41 right now. My goal is to get to 60 and get that 50% magic regen perk.

Spoiler:

To level Illusion really really fast, just buy the muffle spell and cast it. initially 2 casts is enough for a level. And you can chain cast it mana allowing. Now to find that Invisibility spell.

I'm pretty sure this sort of behavior is a time-honored Elder Scrolls tradition.

FedoraMcQuaid wrote:

Also, Solitude is way cooler than Windhelm.

Oh? Guess I'll have to play through again in Solitude. I'm not allowed in at the moment due to a conflict of interest.....

Katy wrote:
emyln wrote:

Am I just overthinking it too much? Also has anyone else abused the pressure plate trap that causes a bladed door to slam into you? I've caused myself so much self damage just to increase Restoration to 41 right now. My goal is to get to 60 and get that 50% magic regen perk.

Spoiler:

To level Illusion really really fast, just buy the muffle spell and cast it. initially 2 casts is enough for a level. And you can chain cast it mana allowing. Now to find that Invisibility spell.

I'm pretty sure this sort of behavior is a time-honored Elder Scrolls tradition.

In Morrowind, I remember repeatedly climbing up to the top of a lighthouse and jumping off to level up a certain skill.

Katy wrote:
emyln wrote:

Am I just overthinking it too much? Also has anyone else abused the pressure plate trap that causes a bladed door to slam into you? I've caused myself so much self damage just to increase Restoration to 41 right now. My goal is to get to 60 and get that 50% magic regen perk.

Spoiler:

To level Illusion really really fast, just buy the muffle spell and cast it. initially 2 casts is enough for a level. And you can chain cast it mana allowing. Now to find that Invisibility spell.

I'm pretty sure this sort of behavior is a time-honored Elder Scrolls tradition.

I was disappointed that my constant jumping is not rewarded anymore.

Nightmare wrote:
Katy wrote:
emyln wrote:

Am I just overthinking it too much? Also has anyone else abused the pressure plate trap that causes a bladed door to slam into you? I've caused myself so much self damage just to increase Restoration to 41 right now. My goal is to get to 60 and get that 50% magic regen perk.

Spoiler:

To level Illusion really really fast, just buy the muffle spell and cast it. initially 2 casts is enough for a level. And you can chain cast it mana allowing. Now to find that Invisibility spell.

I'm pretty sure this sort of behavior is a time-honored Elder Scrolls tradition.

I was disappointed that my constant jumping is not rewarded anymore. :)

Ah yes, the good old days of hopping up and down the stairs to the Temple of Vivec

I'm still not sure if shield bashing levels the Block skill, but sometimes I'll burn my entire stamina bar bashing an enemy to death just in case.

As far as I can tell so far, the Stormcloak position is basically that Nords are awesome and everybody else should get the f*ck out of Skyrim. Is that about the just of it?

If that's the case, my wood elf should probably side with the Imperial Army.

Oh, by the way, when somebody in Markrath asks you do investigate an abandoned house with him, don't do it when you're about to go to bed. You will not sleep well.

Oh no! The sad end to the tale of Mr. Jumbles. Beware lest some foul necromancer espies the potential in his corpse and the stalking begins anew, with a risen Mr. Jumbles.

iaintgotnopants wrote:

As far as I can tell so far, the Stormcloak position is basically that Nords are awesome and everybody else should get the f*ck out of Skyrim. Is that about the just of it?

If that's the case, my wood elf should probably side with the Imperial Army.

There is a certain amount of that. There are a couple of Stormcloak cities where the elves are definitely less than welcome.

Of course, everyone still hates the Argonians.

iaintgotnopants wrote:

Oh, by the way, when somebody in Markrath asks you do investigate an abandoned house with him, don't do it when you're about to go to bed. You will not sleep well.

Yeah that's a creepy one, especially if you finish the quest chain. I got a cool mace, but I don't feel good about what I did to earn it.