Skyrim for the Unwashed Console Masses

I think the quick menu thing is related to how many items you have in it. Also this seemed faster before uninstalling.

I'm level 19, about 16 hours played. I've made some progress in the main quest, and some in the Thieves Guild.

Starting to regret a few misspent Perks. I think it's sound to pick 2-3 trees early that you plan to max out and drop perks only into them. My guy is a thief/archer sort, and to max out Archery, Sneak, and Light Armor will take up 37 of my 50 (assumed) perks.

merphle wrote:

I can't bear to continue the main quest line before I finish all of the side-quests I've accumulated first, out of worry that I'll lose access to the side-quests, or something.

As I understand it, ending the main quest doesn't lock away any content, but progressing in the Imperial vs. Stormcloak civil war quest line might, since if you commit to one side you can lose access to towns controlled by the other.

Also, I can say from personal experience that it's a good idea to progress along the main quest at least long enough to meet the Greybeards before moving on to too much side stuff, because that unlocks some sweet Shouts and the random dragon encounters that are the key to unlocking even more.

Sheazy wrote:

Also, the combat just felt...bad. This is probably because I'm coming to this fresh from Dark Souls which had, in my opinion, near-perfect combat. But this just felt like running around like crazy and swinging my sword at everything. I hope this gets better, or I get used to it.

What route are you going, combat-wise? I've been going mostly sword-and-board, and I find that adds at least a little bit of depth when you have to time your blocks, shield bash to stagger enemies opening them up for a quick flurry of strikes, etc. It's still never going to compete with a game with any kind of focus on combat-- deep combat it just plain never what Elder Scrolls games have been about-- but it's at least a little more interesting than the floaty, swing-your-sword-like-mad combat I got out of going shieldless in Oblivion.

Or you could always specialize in archery or magic if you feel like that might be more up your alley.

So how are you all picking perks? I generally prefer the ones that grant extra abilities over the ones that increase damage or health by some amount. The silent-roll perk on the Sneak tree is a great example of adding abilities that are otherwise absent. Of course I had to make an exception for the 15x backstab modifier-- just too awesome to ignore.

I'm going magic so right now the the 1/2 magicka cost and dual casting perks are very useful. Although I have been getting the extra damage on the Destruction line as I figure that's effectively reducing magicka cost as well.

gtnissanfan wrote:

So how are you all picking perks? I generally prefer the ones that grant extra abilities over the ones that increase damage or health by some amount. The silent-roll perk on the Sneak tree is a great example of adding abilities that are otherwise absent. Of course I had to make an exception for the 15x backstab modifier-- just too awesome to ignore.

Early on I think I picked some bad perks but lately I have been focusing on the Archery ones. I have put a few into sneak and speachcraft and one into lockpicking as well. I kind of want to put some into Enchanting but I am still level 15 in it. Being able to enchant something twice would be nice though. I am thinking a respec option would be really nice in this game though.

Rykin wrote:

...I am thinking a respec option would be really nice in this game though.

With training and use bonuses, you can shift focus to enchanting. Enchanting will add awesome buffs to all your equipped items. By the time you figured out the ins and outs you will be set to level quickly. Buy as much training as you can afford with each character level and you can be level 30 enchanting in no time. It is not a respec, but the end result is similar. It is not wasted time either, since enhanting is good income and extremely useful in battle for all archetypes.

I

gtnissanfan wrote:

So how are you all picking perks?

I'm only level 9, but so far I'm focusing on archery (got the zoom plus time slow), destruction, and stealth/sneaking (just a single point in this so far).

On the subject of reloading: I managed to kite a giant away from his 2 pals and take it down, but had to reload because a random named civilian got killed in the process and I've no idea if he's necessary for any quests or whatnot, so I figured it was safer to go back. A shame because it took me on the order of ten deaths to take down that one giant. Oh and that first level of the force push shout? Protip: giants are completely unfazed by it.

I really wanted to give weapons and heavy armor a try, so I built an Orc Beserker. Not only does he look badass in his horned helmet and full armor, but he is devastating with weapons when in a Berserker Rage. This guy is definitely a dragonslayer, plus crafting your own enchanted weapons is a very satsfying non-combat endeavor. I have forgoten all about my mage, although I will dabble in Warding magic and adding poison to an already enchanted weapons is brutal in battle.

It only took me twenty hours to figure out how I want to play the game.

I picked up the strategy guide for this and this is the biggest strategy guide I have ever seen! I mean this is like the New York phonebook! Not sure why I got it, but I'm sure it will come in handy if I get lost or just want some background info on a sword or such.

RSPaulette wrote:

So, not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but I've had a couple of hard-locks on my 360-Slim, which is less than a year old at this point.

To be fair, I've experienced the same with Oblivion during my mammoth run this past summer and, I want to say, maybe with some of the Fallout games, too -- though that was on my old pre-RROD Elite. On all of the above, they were also at the tail end of a long, multi-hour run, and didn't hard-lock on me on the last few hours, either.

While we're discussing console-specific issues.

Apropos of none of the above, my CE Guide arrived today, and man! I thought the Oblivion guide was intimidating. This thing's a doorstop -- I love it.

I just wanted to say that I've been getting hard locks on my 1 year old slim, as well. But I've had none at all on my 2 year old arcade model.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I'm level 19, about 16 hours played. I've made some progress in the main quest, and some in the Thieves Guild.

Starting to regret a few misspent Perks. I think it's sound to pick 2-3 trees early that you plan to max out and drop perks only into them. My guy is a thief/archer sort, and to max out Archery, Sneak, and Light Armor will take up 37 of my 50 (assumed) perks.

Smithing might be more helpful to put perks in than Light Armor. You can improve armor and weapons, and I'm pretty sure once you get it leveled up, the bonuses towards armor are more than what you get from the light armor perks.

Greg Kasavin's Skyrim Marathon is now on Giant Bomb. Here is part 1.

I had an interesting AI event recently: I was approaching a town and the guard stopped me, saying that I had to pay a toll to visit. As he was mentioning "toll" he took out his weapon and ran towards me. I panicked, thinking the toll would be paid in my own blood (as a stealthy character, I'm horribly outmatched with I get jumped by surprise). He (and his guard buddy) then ran right past me towards another NPC and proceeded to beat the snot out of him. I had to wait for them to saunter back to the gate to let me in after I paid the actual monetary toll.

Anybody go throught the Companions Questline? I have a question because I think my game glitched. Thanks.

skeletonframes wrote:

Anybody go throught the Companions Questline? I have a question because I think my game glitched. Thanks.

I haven't gone down that path, so I'm of no help, sorry.

On the topic of stealth attacks while hidden: If I'm dual-wielding daggers (assume identical damage on each), is it better to
a) power attack with one hand
b) power attack with both hands
c) quick attack with one hand
d) quick attack with both hands

I have the 15x perk if that matters Also assume no additional perks for dual-wielding. By power attack I mean holding down the trigger, quick attack is a single quick tap on the trigger. Since power attacks take stamina, I won't use them when hidden unless you get additional damage.

heavyfeul wrote:
Rykin wrote:

...I am thinking a respec option would be really nice in this game though.

With training and use bonuses, you can shift focus to enchanting. Enchanting will add awesome buffs to all your equipped items. By the time you figured out the ins and outs you will be set to level quickly. Buy as much training as you can afford with each character level and you can be level 30 enchanting in no time. It is not a respec, but the end result is similar. It is not wasted time either, since enhanting is good income and extremely useful in battle for all archetypes.

Enchanting isn't too hard to level up, especially the early levels. Doubly so if you want to want to do both smithing and enchanting.

Spoiler:

Just buy all the iron ingots + leather straps you can and make as many iron daggers as possible - smithing levels up very, very quickly. Then enchant the daggers with petty souls and whatever enchantment you have handy.

I have to say I am very pleased with my orc shaman/battlemage. I'm in handcrafted orc heavy armor, enchanted with magic regen and reduction to destruction costs. I typically fling spells until my mana runs dry, then bust out the axe and shield. Initially I had trouble deciding between 1H and 2H weapons, but the shield ended up making a lot of sense and being a lot of fun too.

I'll echo the comment above mine that timing a shield bash in order to stagger an enemy is a lot of fun, and critical for succeeding with 1H weapons.

But my favorite perk so far is Impact, just past Dual-Casting in the Destruction tree. It staggers an enemy if you hit them with a dual cast spell. I was on the fence for a while and didn't get it right away, but it is truly awesome.

skeletonframes wrote:

Anybody go throught the Companions Questline? I have a question because I think my game glitched. Thanks.

I have, yes. Hit me.

hbi2k wrote:

As I understand it, ending the main quest doesn't lock away any content, but progressing in the Imperial vs. Stormcloak civil war quest line might, since if you commit to one side you can lose access to towns controlled by the other.

If this is true, then I am not a happy bunny :/.

Nicholaas wrote:
skeletonframes wrote:

Anybody go throught the Companions Questline? I have a question because I think my game glitched. Thanks.

I have, yes. Hit me.

Spoiler:

After Kodlak dies, what do I do? Everytime I go back to Jorvvaskr he's still dead on the ground and no one gives me another quest. Is this glitched or did I miss something and am not doing what I'm supposed to?

Warriorpoet897 wrote:
hbi2k wrote:

As I understand it, ending the main quest doesn't lock away any content, but progressing in the Imperial vs. Stormcloak civil war quest line might, since if you commit to one side you can lose access to towns controlled by the other.

If this is true, then I am not a happy bunny :/.

Well, it's just hearsay; I haven't actually gone too far down that quest line. Anyone who has, please jump in and clarify for us.

skeletonframes wrote:
Nicholaas wrote:
skeletonframes wrote:

Anybody go throught the Companions Questline? I have a question because I think my game glitched. Thanks.

I have, yes. Hit me.

Spoiler:

After Kodlak dies, what do I do? Everytime I go back to Jorvvaskr he's still dead on the ground and no one gives me another quest. Is this glitched or did I miss something and am not doing what I'm supposed to?

Spoiler:

Did you get the quest to wipe out the Silver Hand? If you've done that, try going to the Skyforge. There should be a funeral for Kodlak.

Didn't get that quest. Damn. I knew something seemed off. Oh well, I'll finish that storyline in my next play-through.

Thanks for the info.

skeletonframes wrote:

Didn't get that quest. Damn. I knew something seemed off. Oh well, I'll finish that storyline in my next play-through.

Thanks for the info.

Yeah, not really sure what went wrong. Maybe make sure it's active in your quest log?

It's not. That's what tipped me off at first. Then, the people around we're stuck in 'person is busy' mode. Have been for about 10 hours of gameplay. Something seemed wrong. Not a big deal.

skeletonframes wrote:

It's not. That's what tipped me off at first. Then, the people around we're stuck in 'person is busy' mode. Have been for about 10 hours of gameplay. Something seemed wrong. Not a big deal.

You could always try cleaning your system cache.

The amount of content in this game is baffling. Just so much game for the money, this is really one of the best games I've ever played, period.

Okay I have to say that I am impressed with the job Bethesda has done on this game. I am 30+ hours in and I just had my first lock-up. Definitely not your standard Bethesda bug fest. There are some minor things and good lord do dragons and other creatures have some wonky AI at times, but really nothing compared to Oblivion either before or after all the updates.

It is on a single DVD. Amazing.

So can I just say how awesome it is that the weapons don't degrade when you use them? At least I hope not. There's no status bar telling me my mace is about to break, or that my armor is losing effectiveness.

If I don't have to carry 50 of everything I use a lot of, or a million tiny hammers, that's more room for loot! Thanks Bethesda!

I guess that balances the fact that it's not possible to level up your carrying capacity anymore. At least not that I've found yet.