The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by mckerney

I love being able to deal 1020 damage on a backstab with my dagger.

6x sneak attack perk?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

6x sneak attack perk?

Assassin's Blade perk that gives 15x sneak attacks with daggers, Shrouded Gloves that double backstab damage, and a Epic Glass Dagger that deals 35 damage

[Buccaneer]

I guess I'm glad I rarely do swordfighting. Took down one of those bastards with one shot of an Incinerator fire throw. Lots of perks in Destruction though.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I guess I'm glad I rarely do swordfighting.

Similar results, three swings & no more Elder Dragon.

Epic Ebony Sword + 5 perks in one-handed damage + 50% one-handed damage from ring/necklace combo + 20% 1-h damage from Ebony Gauntlets of Wielding = lay down bitch

[RainMaker]

You guys need to roll with Daedric swords.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

You guys need to roll with Daedric swords.

Daedric hearts have been very scarce in my game (through lvl 41), I've got three saved up after making my armor but I'm kind of hoarding them atm.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

You guys need to roll with Daedric swords.

I roll with Dawnbreaker (which I guess counts as a Daedric sword). I haven't crafted my own yet, although I think I only have one or two hearts anyway.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Daedric hearts have been very scarce in my game (through lvl 41), I've got three saved up after making my armor but I'm kind of hoarding them atm.

Yeah, they are real scarce. Been looking for another to make a bow.

[Buccaneer]

No, what I meant was that I don't like swordfighting and avoid it. My point was that I was only at level 18 or so and was strong enough to easily take down an overlord or guardian. Kinda put all of my eggs in one hand, sort of speak, which have always been my style.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

No, what I meant was that I don't like swordfighting and avoid it. My point was that I was only at level 18 or so and was strong enough to easily take down an overlord or guardian. Kinda put all of my eggs in one hand, sort of speak, which have always been my style.

Once I was able to forge a Glass Axe fighting got a lot easier. A full set of Dark Brotherhood armor and a couple perks in light armor really helped too.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

Yeah, they are real scarce. Been looking for another to make a bow.

You will be pleased with the result I assure you

[ColtCrazy]

So a quick question about concentrating on paths when leveling. My character is a lvl 19 wood elf. I have been putting it mostly into stealth, archery, and destruction but have put a little in others. Is it better to spread out a little while making sure you have a few high categories or should I go all out on just 2-3 things?

[JPhillips]

Stealth/archery needs all the damage bonus levels. After that you can spread things out a bit.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

So a quick question about concentrating on paths when leveling. My character is a lvl 19 wood elf. I have been putting it mostly into stealth, archery, and destruction but have put a little in others. Is it better to spread out a little while making sure you have a few high categories or should I go all out on just 2-3 things?

From what I've read, the conventional wisdom seems to be that you're better off focusing fairly narrowly.

My own take is a little different I guess. My question would be "what do you want to put it in"; i.e. what perk do you see available to you that you really really want? For example, most of my perks have gone into non-combat skill trees (alchemy, smithing, speech) because those are the parts of the game that I enjoy most. I perked archery far enough to get the zoom-in ability, I've done all five steps of the first Heavy Armor perk (to reduce getting my ass kicked), I've done all of the first steps available to me(4/5 so far) that involve making my sword pretty beastly. Through level 41 (or 42, I forget) I really haven't had a moment where I've thought "damn, I wish I hadn't taken Perk A".

There's no real time pressure with Skyrim that I see, no competitive aspect of it, my advice would be pick what seems like something you can't live without/would love to have and go with it.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

From what I've read, the conventional wisdom seems to be that you're better off focusing fairly narrowly.

My own take is a little different I guess. My question would be "what do you want to put it in"; i.e. what perk do you see available to you that you really really want? For example, most of my perks have gone into non-combat skill trees (alchemy, smithing, speech) because those are the parts of the game that I enjoy most. I perked archery far enough to get the zoom-in ability, I've done all five steps of the first Heavy Armor perk (to reduce getting my ass kicked), I've done all of the first steps available to me(4/5 so far) that involve making my sword pretty beastly. Through level 41 (or 42, I forget) I really haven't had a moment where I've thought "damn, I wish I hadn't taken Perk A".

There's no real time pressure with Skyrim that I see, no competitive aspect of it, my advice would be pick what seems like something you can't live without/would love to have and go with it.

Thanks. I'm good with my archery skill, got eagle eye and the steady skill and at least 2 levels of the first skill. I need to focus on my light armor because I can't take much one-to-one damage. Stealth is what I have been focusing on because the 3x damage for archery (after the backstab one) is extremely handy to have.

[SportsDino]

For maximum perk efficiency you may consider not choosing a perk when you first level up, just exit without selecting a perk. Your skill levels are measured at selection, so you can store a perk (or many perks) for when you hit requirements.

When leveling starts to slow down (which can be early in the game if you play specialized concept characters) selecting perks in between levels gives you something to do, and also lets you pick perks that best fit character design rather than 'best available'.

[BigDPW]

I have 5 perk points I haven't spent yet. I have used a lot in sneak and archery as I have a similar character to yours. I am still debating about what to use the rest in and will just wait to use them later. I am essentially maxing out the perk tree in the two main skills as I finally reach the level requirements to do so. I have spent a couple on light armor though since I usually role with the thieves guild armor so far and never do heavy armor.

[ColtCrazy]

Yeah, I haven't stuck any in heavy armor. I am thinking I may end up putting some in alchemy since I've finally figured it out and I'm having a lot of fun doing that.

My only issue with my character is my sneak and archery can have its drawbacks in catacombs when I get a lot of Droughr coming at me. As long as I have my ice form shout, I'm usually ok though.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Yeah, I haven't stuck any in heavy armor. I am thinking I may end up putting some in alchemy since I've finally figured it out and I'm having a lot of fun doing that.

My only issue with my character is my sneak and archery can have its drawbacks in catacombs when I get a lot of Droughr coming at me. As long as I have my ice form shout, I'm usually ok though.

That can suck early on, but I am to the point now where if I can get back into a dark nook quickly they will walk right past me. Also, don't know if you are doing this already, but look for them lying down in the crypts, if you pick them off in this condition it is pretty much a sure kill.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

That can suck early on, but I am to the point now where if I can get back into a dark nook quickly they will walk right past me. Also, don't know if you are doing this already, but look for them lying down in the crypts, if you pick them off in this condition it is pretty much a sure kill.

Yeah, with that 3x bow sneak attack, I love it when I can get a straight shot into a crypt. Anything to help thin out the numbers. I had been dying fairly regularly in crypts until I sorted that out and got better with the bow. The only time I've died recently was when my stupid companion kept tripping a trap and I got nailed by a spiked door! lol I'll have to try to dark nook as well.

Just can't believe how much this game has sucked me in. Even my wife, who hasn't played a game at all since the previous Zelda game came out a couple of years ago, wants to start her own game.

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Yeah, with that 3x bow sneak attack, I love it when I can get a straight shot into a crypt. Anything to help thin out the numbers. I had been dying fairly regularly in crypts until I sorted that out and got better with the bow. The only time I've died recently was when my stupid companion kept tripping a trap and I got nailed by a spiked door! lol I'll have to try to dark nook as well.

Just can't believe how much this game has sucked me in. Even my wife, who hasn't played a game at all since the previous Zelda game came out a couple of years ago, wants to start her own game.

Don't get me started on companions, LOL. I make them stay back now if I have one with me and do my sniping. Then if things get hairy I retreat to where I left them so thay can help.

I died too many times when they went rushing in and aggroed 5 or 6 baddies.

[ColtCrazy]

hahaha. I had to do that once, asking him to move away so I could sneak up enough to get some shots on an ice troll before it came charging. They do seem to have a tendency to find every single trap trip there is!

Any companion better than others? I have access to Lydia, Erandur, and Araena. Currently using the last one, just like that both of us can create the flame atronach. Makes for a potent foursome.

[Buccaneer]

I really liked J'zarno, I think he leveled with me on Destruction. The best use of companions I found during combat was watching my back since I play in first-person.

[Crapshoot]

Related to Marakath - this was fascinating to me:

Spoiler

At the same time as you have this high level civil war going on, you still have the Reach rebelling against the Nords! I chose to help out the Forsworn, and I think seeing the overall picture is what made me decide to finally pick sides in the overall Civil War - I think I'm going to take the side of Empire, because the Nords are a little too Stormfront-esque for me. What have people generally chosen to go with?


Its fascinating eh? The Empire vs The Aldmeri, within Skyrim, Imperials vs Stormcloacks, with the sub-section of Skyrim, another layer of civil war!

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Related to Marakath - this was fascinating to me:

Spoiler

At the same time as you have this high level civil war going on, you still have the Reach rebelling against the Nords! I chose to help out the Forsworn, and I think seeing the overall picture is what made me decide to finally pick sides in the overall Civil War - I think I'm going to take the side of Empire, because the Nords are a little too Stormfront-esque for me. What have people generally chosen to go with?


Its fascinating eh? The Empire vs The Aldmeri, within Skyrim, Imperials vs Stormcloacks, with the sub-section of Skyrim, another layer of civil war!

Spoiler

I haven't even touched any of the civil war stuff yet. I'm pretty sure I won't side with the Stormcloaks though, the whole, "Skyrim belongs to the Nords!" thing seems like it would be unkind to a vampire from Breton after everything is over. But then again, I'm not sure how much the Imperials like me after the whole assassinating the Emperor thing, so my mind isn't completely made up.

[korme]

Illia, who I found in the Darklight Tower, is the best companion I've had, by far

[mckerney]

I haven't played with a follower at all, except for one quest where it was required. Really didn't enjoy it as it didn't go well with my stealth style of gameplay.

[BigDPW]

I really like having Mercurio (found at the Bee and the Barb in Riften). He is a sneaky mage skilled in destruction and restoration. While he still gets me into fights I would rather not be in occasionally he does a better job at staying hidden than Lydia. I usually give him some light armor so he can still sneak and when he gets too close will stand a chance against our foes while I attack from a distance. Even when he jumps into the fight I can usually stay hidden and still get my sneak bonuses on my archery shots and occasional dagger shots. He did go missing one time and I had to go back and hire him again. He is particularly useful when I come across bears and ice trolls. I could probably dungeon crawl without him for the most part though. I do have him stay back and sneak forward in some dungeons and will run back when I am in trouble for him to engage like was mentioned above.

[JonInMiddleGA]

A question for those that have played with several different followers:

Is the carrying capacity the same for all of them or do they vary from one to the next? I haven't investigated that much (only used two followers, both were housecarls), have vaguely assumed that their load capacity was based on my own.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

A question for those that have played with several different followers:

Is the carrying capacity the same for all of them or do they vary from one to the next? I haven't investigated that much (only used two followers, both were housecarls), have vaguely assumed that their load capacity was based on my own.

Is there a limit? It seems like I haven't been to town lately an Araena is carrying several sets of dragon bones and scales as well as all the heavy armor and weaponry I've found. Maybe she's not quite at my limit (340), but she'd have to be pretty close.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Is there a limit? It seems like I haven't been to town lately an Araena is carrying several sets of dragon bones and scales as well as all the heavy armor and weaponry I've found. Maybe she's not quite at my limit (340), but she'd have to be pretty close.

Definitely a limit, trying to add an item once it's reached gets you a message (text, top of the screen, on 360 anyway), wording escapes me at the moment though.

Meanwhile, I Google and find this possible bug with the carrying ability allegedly being reduced (at least on PC) every time you switch followers.
skyrim - How much can my follower carry? - Gaming - Stack Exchange

[chinaski]

This is always handy for the companions... minor spoiler i guess...

Spoiler

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Aly8njaU3H1adGJYTlJaUnRxRUN2RnM5MkxPaU1mQkE#gid=0

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

Related to Marakath - this was fascinating to me:

Spoiler

At the same time as you have this high level civil war going on, you still have the Reach rebelling against the Nords! I chose to help out the Forsworn, and I think seeing the overall picture is what made me decide to finally pick sides in the overall Civil War - I think I'm going to take the side of Empire, because the Nords are a little too Stormfront-esque for me. What have people generally chosen to go with?


Its fascinating eh? The Empire vs The Aldmeri, within Skyrim, Imperials vs Stormcloacks, with the sub-section of Skyrim, another layer of civil war!

Ok, I guess I don't understand this. Are you pretending or something? If not, with what limited exposure I had, I found that who "I" was didn't make any difference. I think I chose a Breton but don't really remember. I used whatever mis-matched armor I found, so between that and my "race" as well as the type of follower I had, no one cared at all. I was simply a dragonborn. Is there some quest lines where you chose a side and make enemies? If so, how does that affect the outcome? I mean, is there a quest line where one side (whatever the sides are) takes over all of Skyrim by you liberating all of the cities?

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I mean, is there a quest line where one side (whatever the sides are) takes over all of Skyrim by you liberating all of the cities?

Pretty much.

Spoiler

Although I think you only fight inside/around two of the actual cities, on the Imperial side of the questline (I dunno about those damn Nords)

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Ok, I guess I don't understand this. Are you pretending or something? If not, with what limited exposure I had, I found that who "I" was didn't make any difference. I think I chose a Breton but don't really remember. I used whatever mis-matched armor I found, so between that and my "race" as well as the type of follower I had, no one cared at all. I was simply a dragonborn. Is there some quest lines where you chose a side and make enemies? If so, how does that affect the outcome? I mean, is there a quest line where one side (whatever the sides are) takes over all of Skyrim by you liberating all of the cities?

Yes. I haven't finished the conflict so won't say, but I don't think its a spoiler to say that the Civil War is a major sub-thread that you can choose to further one way or another.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Ok, I guess I don't understand this. Are you pretending or something? If not, with what limited exposure I had, I found that who "I" was didn't make any difference. I think I chose a Breton but don't really remember. I used whatever mis-matched armor I found, so between that and my "race" as well as the type of follower I had, no one cared at all. I was simply a dragonborn. Is there some quest lines where you chose a side and make enemies? If so, how does that affect the outcome? I mean, is there a quest line where one side (whatever the sides are) takes over all of Skyrim by you liberating all of the cities?

You are able to help either side no matter who you are, but if you're roleplaying your character and are a non Nord you might have some reservations about helping the Stormcloaks due to what I've seen of their attitude towards other races. Perhaps I shouldn't be too judgmental being my character kills people for both revenge and money, has tortured people to find to location of treasure, and feeds on the blood of the innocents while they're sleeping, but I wish there was a third faction I could side with.

[Crapshoot]

Originally Posted by mckerney

You are able to help either side no matter who you are, but if you're roleplaying your character and are a non Nord you might have some reservations about helping the Stormcloaks due to what I've seen of their attitude towards other races. Perhaps I shouldn't be too judgmental being my character kills people for both revenge and money, has tortured people to find to location of treasure, and feeds on the blood of the innocents while they're sleeping, but I wish there was a third faction I could side with.

I think that's what makes it so compelling, no? There isn't one easy good side that's noble and blah blah blah - both sides in fact have a lot of scummy people, and a lot of people with would-be noble causes. I'm at level 34, and I still haven't picked a side because of exactly this dilemma; I'm leaning Imperial only because I feel the Empire's theocratic approach was in the interests of self-preservation, and I feel like an Empire under civil war is an empire that is easier for the Thalmor to divide.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Crapshoot

I think that's what makes it so compelling, no? There isn't one easy good side that's noble and blah blah blah - both sides in fact have a lot of scummy people, and a lot of people with would-be noble causes. I'm at level 34, and I still haven't picked a side because of exactly this dilemma; I'm leaning Imperial only because I feel the Empire's theocratic approach was in the interests of self-preservation, and I feel like an Empire under civil war is an empire that is easier for the Thalmor to divide.

Eh, I'm not so sure. It makes me not even want to bother with the civil war aspect of thing.

[Radii]

Newbie questions, this is my first Elder Scrolls game and I just started playing (just hit level two on some side quest in a bandit cave)

1) In the first little village I found the smith and did some initial smithing things, found my quest guy, happened to find the tavern and rumors form the barkeep opened up a few other side things... but I got turned around after that and have no earthly idea how big the village is or how much of it I explored... will the game generally point me to everything I need or do I need to be super meticulous about finding every individual in town and talking to them to avoid missing major parts of the game? The map doesn't seem to zoom in to a town layout and it seems super easy to just get turned around and potentiallly miss a huge block of the land, any tips on that kind of exploring?

2) Are the lines in each skill tree pre-requisites for advancing, or can you save up and skip the early stuff entirely? For example the opening of the 'sneak' tree has 5 levels of stealth and then branches to backstab and something else... do I need to max stealth to open up the rest of the tree?

3) I gather that I can have a weapon/shield/magic spell in each hand and that's all I have available. Is there an easy way to switch? Right now I have a mace in my right and fireball in my left. Is there a way to macro to one button "switch from fireball to heal" or "switch from this axe to heal" without going through the menus each time?

4) Does light armor vs heavy armor (or the weight of your gear in general) have an impact on anything as long as you're underweight? I'm the cat race and plan on doing rogue-ish things, intuitively I'm wearing light armor just b/c I'm used to that being the thing to do for rogues. Does it actually functionally matter in the game?


I've seen some posts about mods and UI stuff... as a brand new player to this series, is there anything I should want to set up ASAP that everyone uses?

Thanks!

[mckerney]

1. If you get a quest you are able to set the quest as active and a map marker will point show you where you need to go, and if you can also fast travel there or fast travel to the nearest location you've explored. If you want the map to zoom in to the towns there's a mod for that (though really it's just changing settings in the .ini file). Alternatively you could use this mod that give a more detailed overview map and change .ini settings for how far you can zoom in (I believe there are instructions for this in the link).
You won't be able to miss out on main story quests because you haven't gone to the a certain location without being prompted. As far as missing something other than the main quest, you'll just have to keep exploring. I've played over 60 hours, done maybe two quests from the main story line and I feel like I've hardly explored much of the world. There is a lot to do.

2. They early points on the skill tree are prerequisites, but you may still want to save your skill points instead of using them right away. You will want to level up your health/magicka/endurance as soon as you can though.

3. You can hit "F" while highlighting a spell or item to add it to your favorites. You then hit Q to bring up your favorites and then you can highlight an item on your favorites menu and hit 1-0 to set up a hot key. Another option is to open your favorites menu and switch from there while the game is paused (sometimes more useful if you're using magic and want to set up R/L hand). For the inventory I highly recommend the SkyUI mod (in addition to the Nexus Mod Manager linked on this page) for the inventory/trading menu and then Categorized Favorites Menu for a much better favorite menu.

4. From the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages (I had to look this one up, I had no idea what the real differences were in Skyrim, I just chose light because it's what I always do):

Advantages of Light Armor relative to Heavy Armor:

• Lighter and less movement penalties.
• Less noisy and easier for sneaking.
• Unhindered perk (worn light armor is weightless) is available 20 levels earlier than Heavy Armor's Conditioning.
• Uses less stamina when sprinting.
• Stamina recovers faster with Wind Walker perk.
• Can be faster than the enemy (i.e. easier to run from a fight to recover from damage.)
• The lighter weight allows for the carrying of multiple suits of armor, each fine-tuned for specific enemies and situations, without drastically taking up encumbrance. Trying the same with heavy armor would leave little to no extra carry weight.
• Fully mastering the Light Armor tree requires two fewer perks over Heavy Armor (10 total points versus 12), allowing for more growth in other skill trees.

Disadvantages:

• Much less protective in the early game. However, later on, with high support skills, both armors are able to reach the protection cap. This may no longer be possible with future updates that address "exploits" and "balance" issues.
• Bare fist (unarmed) attacks are less powerful without Fists of Steel, though at present this perk only uses the base value of the armor, not the upgraded value. This may or may not be intentional.
• Weight and movement penalties from heavy armor may be compensated for by the Steed Standing Stone, though bear in mind the opportunity cost: a person in heavy armor using the Steed Stone's conferred abilities wouldn't be equal in the sense that a person using light armor would still have a free choice of Standing Stone.
• Sneak's Silence perk muffles heavy armor (though it also muffles light armor).
• Deft Movement only negates melee damage, whereas Reflect Blows reflects it, and the magnitude is the same for both. (NOTE: Mechanics for Reflect Blows is in dispute, see talk page for the discussion).
• While Glass Smithing can be reached for one less perk point, Daedric Smithing creates better weapons.

[mckerney]

As far as recommended mods, first you should absolutely get the Nexus Mod Manager. It will let you easily download, install, and remove mods from the Skyrim Nexus site. There will be Steam integration that lets you do this eventually, but for now you need the NMM. You will also need the Skyrim Script Extender, extract it to *\Steam\steamapps\common\skyrim folder and then run Skyrim with a shortcut to skse_loader.exe. Or you can launch SKSE through the mod manager. Using SKSE to load Skyrim will still load it in Steam.

So far the only mods I've found that are really necessary for to help game play basically goes over what I covered in my last post. SkyUI and Categorized Favorites Menu don't fix all the problems with the Skyrim UI yet, but they're a great start. Quality World Map is helpful too, but take a few tweaks to zoom to town level. This will also help by making road signs legible.

Other than that it's mostly graphics mods, so none of them are really must haves. Skyrim HD replaces some of the awful texture quality Skyrim has. Xenius Character Enhancement is a compilation of several mods that improve the quality of character models. There are also options for better lighting, better water and one that may help improve performance.

Another that might be interesting if you're playing stealth is adding the ability to craft your own arrows.

[Radii]

awesome, thanks!

[Buccaneer]

I have some dumb questions. Since I had finished the Main Quest, can I continue onto other quests? Will there be no more dragons then? And would everyone know what I did?

Aslo a question for those that are playing with a keyboard/mouse on a PC (if there are any). We had found that it was a two-person operation, particularly during big fights. I had to keep my fingers glued to the arrow keys and left/right mouse buttons while my stepson managed the hot keys (and shouts). I don't know how it would be possible to take my hand off of the arrow keys and go find the 4 key (in a dark room) in order to drink more potions. Perhaps map those to something more close by?

[Lonnie]

Bucc,

I finished the main quest and now just started other quest lines, so yes you can keep going. The dragons keep coming though. You need the souls to add shouts. I don't think anyone really treats me different because of it.

As far as keyboard layout. A lot of people use WASD as arrow keys and they are right under the numbers so it makes it easier to switch. Also you can hit Tab quickly to pause and select something. I am a rebel and use EDSF because that leaves my hands in the home keys so I can touch type if I am chatting with someone. Something I started way back in Quake.

I believe the default keyboard can use either arrows or WASD.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I have some dumb questions. Since I had finished the Main Quest, can I continue onto other quests? Will there be no more dragons then? And would everyone know what I did?

Aslo a question for those that are playing with a keyboard/mouse on a PC (if there are any). We had found that it was a two-person operation, particularly during big fights. I had to keep my fingers glued to the arrow keys and left/right mouse buttons while my stepson managed the hot keys (and shouts). I don't know how it would be possible to take my hand off of the arrow keys and go find the 4 key (in a dark room) in order to drink more potions. Perhaps map those to something more close by?

http://skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=88

You can also use the improved favorites mod I linked above, pause combat ny opening the favorites menu and use a potion that way. Mod not required for this, but it makes it a lot easier.

[JPhillips]

I use WASD and just tab to the menu and do it that way. It isn't quick, but it pauses combat and allows me to drink whatever potions I might need.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Lonnie

Bucc,

I finished the main quest and now just started other quest lines, so yes you can keep going. The dragons keep coming though. You need the souls to add shouts. I don't think anyone really treats me different because of it.

As far as keyboard layout. A lot of people use WASD as arrow keys and they are right under the numbers so it makes it easier to switch. Also you can hit Tab quickly to pause and select something. I am a rebel and use EDSF because that leaves my hands in the home keys so I can touch type if I am chatting with someone. Something I started way back in Quake.

I believe the default keyboard can use either arrows or WASD.

I don't know why I missed that, my brain must translate arrow keys into WASD. Yes, it is best to use WASD (or ESDF if you're more comfortable with it). All the other key bindings are based around using WASD. You can use the arrow keys and rebind, but even then there aren't enough keys around the arrows to use most commands you would want to have access to quickly.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by mckerney

Interface Hard Coded Key Tweaks at Skyrim Nexus - Skyrim Mods and community

You can also use the improved favorites mod I linked above, pause combat ny opening the favorites menu and use a potion that way. Mod not required for this, but it makes it a lot easier.

Thanks, that will help a lot.

[Radii]

I haven't played a lot today but I did take the time to get some of the key mods mckerney mentioned set up, I like the UI and favorites quite a bit, good stuff!

[ColtCrazy]

Spent the entire weekend remodeling the living room so haven't had a chance to play much lately. I'm on to my third partner, another mage. A younger woman, I can't remember her name. She's in a tower near Meraketh. Seems pretty cool. Still sifting through the numerous miscellaneous quests before doing the main ones. Just a fun game to wonder around.