The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[DanGarion]

I think I'm still only playing the original content. I'm only at level 22.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by lighthousekeeper

anyone get Dragonborn yet? Hoping to see some first impressions before taking the plunge.

Playing it now (well, until I got sidetracked on NBA2k). One of the more enjoyable -- if fairly straightforward -- DLC's in the series I think. Fairly compact location, both my son & I had the same impression of it: felt like playing the Point Lookout DLC from Fallout.

The main DLC storyline seems like it would be fairly short, gotta be a fan of the sidequests/missions in order to get the most out of it IMO.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Having now (finally) completed the Dawnguard DLC, I'll give them credit for doing several things right in it while still absolutely positively hating the way they handled attacks on NPC's

There is actually a mod on the Nexus that eliminates the city attacks. Its probably on Steam too. It won't help if you're on console, but why would you want to play on a console anyway?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Shepp

It won't help if you're on console, but why would you want to play on a console anyway?

Because I'm not into investing major cash on a regular basis to upgrade a computer every 15 minutes when a new game comes out.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Because I'm not into investing major cash on a regular basis to upgrade a computer every 15 minutes when a new game comes out.

This has long since been proved a myth. I mean, you want to run the game in 3D @ max settings(I mean, you will probably still be cheaper if you factor in monitor vs. tv, but still), then yea you will be talking a regular upgrade in the several hundred dollar to thousands range.

But really, my computer from three computers ago will still run games every bit as well as the PS3 will. I still have that computer too. In the time since I bought it I have purchased the Xbox 360 multiple times.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Shepp

There is actually a mod on the Nexus that eliminates the city attacks. Its probably on Steam too. It won't help if you're on console, but why would you want to play on a console anyway?

Because I enjoy playing on my 55 inch TV or while laying in bed, instead of having to go into my office and sit at a computer?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by dubb93

This has long since been proved a myth. I mean, you want to run the game in 3D @ max settings(I mean, you will probably still be cheaper if you factor in monitor vs. tv, but still), then yea you will be talking a regular upgrade in the several hundred dollar to thousands range.

But really, my computer from three computers ago will still run games every bit as well as the PS3 will. I still have that computer too. In the time since I bought it I have purchased the Xbox 360 multiple times.

Not even my son's two year old laptop will run SR (will barely run FO:NV without crashing), Lord only knows he's tried.

Perhaps the distinction is what specs you bought/buy in computers in the first place {shrug} I dunno. All I know is that I haven't owned a computer that would run any relatively current game in years, not even brand new out of the box.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Because I enjoy playing on my 55 inch TV or while laying in bed, instead of having to go into my office and sit at a computer?

That's it for me too. I can lay back on the couch with a beer and play on my 52 inch.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

That's it for me too. I can lay back on the couch with a beer and play on my 52 inch.

Steam does this now too with Big Picture. You can use your Xbox controller too.

[dubb93]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Not even my son's two year old laptop will run SR (will barely run FO:NV without crashing), Lord only knows he's tried.

Perhaps the distinction is what specs you bought/buy in computers in the first place {shrug} I dunno. All I know is that I haven't owned a computer that would run any relatively current game in years, not even brand new out of the box.

IDK? I own three computers that I have bought years apart and they will all run current games at min settings @ atleast 30 FPS. That is comparable to what the consoles will do.

EDIT: My six year old PC will actually go far beyond that, but it was upgraded to a newer GPU.

[dubb93]

For the record I'm not a PC homer. I own the 360, PS3, and Wii too.

[Buccaneer]

Well, I did it, completed all of the major quests lines. I had to finish up the Companions quest, then I did all of the Dark Brotherhood as a Mage Assassin (one-shot, quiet casting fireballs, invisibility and muffle). What an amazing quest that was. Then I took a nostalgic journey back to where it all began at Helgen and went through the long cave and walked the trail to Riverwood. That seemed a lifetime ago when I first did all of that.

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Because I'm not into investing major cash on a regular basis to upgrade a computer every 15 minutes when a new game comes out.

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Because I enjoy playing on my 55 inch TV or while laying in bed, instead of having to go into my office and sit at a computer?

I was only joking about the "why would anyone play on a console" thing. I prefer the PC but everyone has their own taste.

[DanGarion]

Originally Posted by Shepp

I was only joking about the "why would anyone play on a console" thing. I prefer the PC but everyone has their own taste.

I spent the first 15 years of gaming on my computer, I'm past that stage in life...

[Kodos]

So the 360 version of this is superior to the PS3 version if I recall correctly. Right?

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Kodos

So the 360 version of this is superior to the PS3 version if I recall correctly. Right?

That was certainly the case at one point, Bethesda was running into memory problems once saves got large and they weren't able to get the DLC working. I think they've managed to fix that now and all of the DLC is available for PS3.

[Kodos]

Got it for the 360, and finally got to play a couple hours last night. Nice, immersive world. I've never really played an RPG before, aside from a very short attempt with Baldur's Gate that I quickly lost interest in. I think I'm level three right now. Not terribly familiar with the leveling up process. Hopefully I'll have some time to invest in the game, as it seems interesting.

[cartman]

The Skyrim: Legendary Edition strategy guide has more pages than the three Lord of the Rings books put together.

The Escapist : News : Skyrim: Legendary Edition Strategy Guide Might Break Your Bookshelf

[Marmel]

I'm pretty late to the Skyrim party having just picked it up this past weekend. Quick question: Lydia died at the frost troll climbing up those 7,000 steps. It took me so many tries to get past that troll that I didn't care she died and continued on....but now I am having doubts about moving on without her. Should I go back and reload? Is it essential to have her, or can I pick up a new follower soon?

[bhlloy]

There are a lot of new followers you can pick up at any point in the story IIRC. Becoming a Thain of one of the major cities (do a main quest and then at least a certain number of other radiant quests) gets you a free follower, otherwise you can find them around and usually do one big quest for them to unlock.

[mckerney]

They're not really necessary. I don't think I ever used followers except ones that were required for certain missions.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Marmel

Is it essential to have her, or can I pick up a new follower soon?

Honestly, the major benefit of followers is their pack mule capabilities. While I'd mourn Lydia's death (at least a little bit), she's quite replaceable with many opportunities throughout the game.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Honestly, the major benefit of followers is their pack mule capabilities. While I'd mourn Lydia's death (at least a little bit), she's quite replaceable with many opportunities throughout the game.

This.

[DougW]

Yeah, if she didn't die there, she would've died somewhere else. Followers aren't that important, and like JIMG said - their biggest contribution is another 300 lbs or so of loot to carry.

Followers are all over the place, and there are 2 right there in Whiterun waiting for you. (There is a Dark Elf archer chick - Janessa - in the drunken huntsman you can hire for 500g, and a Nord 2H chick - Uthgerd - in the Inn - the Bannered Mare - that will follow you .... if you can beat her up in a brawl).

[Shkspr]

And your callous failure to save Lydia is reason enough to repost this link: The Life and Death of Skyrim's Lydia

[Marmel]

OK, thanks. I didn't really feel like reloading anyway.

As for Lydia, I am proud to say after I realized she was dead, I took all her stuff and left her fresh corpse, naked, on one of the 7,000 steps!

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Marmel

As for Lydia, I am proud to say after I realized she was dead, I took all her stuff and left her fresh corpse, naked, on one of the 7,000 steps!

Sounds reasonable to me

[korme]

I found Illia in a dungeon and she was awesome. She used magic, and I used a bow. We were quite the tandem.

Here's a breakdown of followers, and specific follower traits including the level of which they can ascend to.
http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Followers

[frnk55]

For a follower I use the mod Vilja. Excellent work went into it. Try it out.

[DougW]

If you're playing on PC - there are a LOT of mods for it. Since we're on the topic of followers, Vilja is the most popular and nice, and Cerwiden is a really nice healer companion. There are also mods that allow you to make everyone in Skyrim available as a follower, as well as mods that allow you to have 2,3,4 .. 25 followers at once (and also increase commands you may give them)

There really are a ton of mods, just about anything you think would be a nice change to the game - you can find. (My favorites are the "realistic" ones, such as a mod I have that makes you eat, drink, and sleep at realistic intervals - or lose stats).

Skyrim Nexus - Skyrim mods and community

Feel free to ask if you find the site difficult to navigate, or there is something specific you think you may like.

[Izulde]

I need to crack into the Morrowind and Oblivion mods. Skyrim I'm waiting on until it gets a bit more cheap.

[ColtCrazy]

It was a bit too much work, but I managed to get a couple of the mods onto my Xbox. They are supply mods. One was way too powerful so I didn't like it. The other started you off with the Deadric bow and arrow, but no skills or anything. I just upped the difficulty level so if I'm not careful I can lose half my health to even wolves.

I tend to go without followed, though I do like Lydia's ability to mix it up while I do ranged attacks. But she also gets in the way a lot in close quarters, so once I get up to the mid-teens in range, I ditch followers altogether.

[Peregrine]

I used Cerwiden for a while but to be honest I felt she was way too powerful - I went back to sticking with my in-game NPCs as I feel they don't overwhelm me with powers, etc and I can make the game a bit harder which for me is always a good thing.

[Buccaneer]

Two comments. It always saddens me when I hear people using mods to cheat (including Civ as well) in trying to get something more than what the game provides. Peregrine said it best, it's good to be challenged.

All year long, my son was very eager to play Skyrim for the first time this summer. He piled most of the perks into One-Hander and Heavy Armor and I watched him plow through stuff in a couple of swipes of both swords (usually a mace and swords like the dawnbreaker). No enchantments; no crafting; very little need to pick up anything and ended up going through the motions. He liked some of the twists but he thought the game was boring since it did not follow a story - unlike Gothic which he ended up watching LPs on youtube most of the summer instead.

[Peregrine]

Skyrim can definitely become too easy - my original characters in the game - two handed warrior, mage were both way powerful, so when I started playing it again after a long break, I made characters that were more limited - like a one handed mage who didn't use destruction, and a weapon/shield tank who focuses on defense - I've had a lot more fun with them so far - and cranking up the difficulty level never hurts.

[frnk55]

I know what ya mean when Skyrim gets easy. Typical ES games. But what I did was install EROS which slows leveling, makes enemies more difficult, training is a lot more, etc...

Also I set the difficulty to expert and now the game is more fun so far.

[DougW]

Deadly Dragons is a solid mod for upping difficulty. It has 4 basic tools.
1: set a timer for additional dragon spawns.
2 : Increases the health, damage, magic, stamina, armor for Dragons.
3 : Increases the health, damage, magic, stamina, armor for "Humanoids"
4 : Increases the health, damage, magic, stamina, armor for "Creatures"

they all can be set to your liking. So pumping the game to Master,and increasing 4 quite a bit can get you 1 shot by skeevers.. even with uber armor.

[Buccaneer]

Good to know, thanks.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

very little need to pick up anything

Bite your tongue

That's probably my single biggest enjoyment of games in the genre, I'm all about the scavving.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Skyrim can definitely become too easy - my original characters in the game - two handed warrior, mage were both way powerful, so when I started playing it again after a long break, I made characters that were more limited - like a one handed mage who didn't use destruction, and a weapon/shield tank who focuses on defense - I've had a lot more fun with them so far - and cranking up the difficulty level never hurts.

I agree. I gave up destruction too. I stick to conjuration. It's fun, but not overly powerful at the higher levels. I conjure then use the bow. I suck at close combat so if I can't kill whatever it is before it gets to me, I'm gone. Personally, I love just wondering around, scavenging, and creating stuff.

[Drake]

I'm like the Scrooge McDuck of Skyrim. Even if I'm sitting on 100k+ gold pieces, I'm out there going "Ooh, gold coin. Pick it up. Oh, look! An iron dagger! Pick it up!" I can't pass a dead body without looting the shit out of it. Why? I have no fucking idea.

[GrantDawg]

I'm just getting back in. I keep restarting and recreating characters. I'm just now reloading completely with all the expansions, then reloading mods. Anyone have favorite mods that they suggest?

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I'm just getting back in. I keep restarting and recreating characters. I'm just now reloading completely with all the expansions, then reloading mods. Anyone have favorite mods that they suggest?

Unofficial patch, high quality roads and Vilja a companion mod which is amazing. Just amazing the amount of work that went into it.

I also like Skyrim redone. Now I got the urge to play it.

[ColtCrazy]

Itching to get back in myself. Xbox mods are usually over the top but i might see what's out there as far as just cool game enhancements. Wonder if that unofficial patch ever came to Xbox

[DougW]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

I'm just getting back in. I keep restarting and recreating characters. I'm just now reloading completely with all the expansions, then reloading mods. Anyone have favorite mods that they suggest?

Indeed. I love me some Skyrim Mods . I run (ran) with over 70, and loved most - but I'll just list my very favorites.

"Can't play withouts" :

SKSE Hotkeys : Lets you set up your hotkeys however you want on your keyboard. Cuts down on the pausing to get a potion or switch spells, and makes the game flow more smoothly. Can utilize all keys, and modifiers (T, Shift-T, Alt-T, Cntrl-T can have different things assigned to them.). Especially useful to mages, who would like to use more than the default 1-10 keys for spells, potions, scrolls, armor, whatever.

SkyUI : Other mods use it. Also makes the UI MUCH MUCH MUCH better, and easier to navigate.

UFO (Ultimate Follower Overhaul) : Lets you have multiple companions if you want, and more control over them. Also, lets you control yours (and theirs) horses. I particularly use the "rest" command often. (I'll have a follower, that I want to keep around, but don't want on a particular mission. Rest tells him to chill where he is until I unrest him. Very helpful in dungeons, when you need to do something alone - IE sneaky).

Glowing Ore Veins 300 : Makes the ore (that you can mine) in the game a little more noticeable .. Not to much .. Just right.

My favorites are the ones that bring some extra "realism".
Deadly Dragons : They're dragons, I don't think I should have less trouble with them than a Giant.

Auto Unequip Arrows. : This takes the quiver off your back when you unequip your bow

Realistic Needs and Diseases : Forces penalties for not eating, drinking, or sleeping. Also slight buffs for being well rested, fed, , etc. (at a very realistic rate - IE, you'll need to have 2-3 meals an in game day, 6-8 hours of sleep, and hydrate .. You can change these settings to your liking). Also diseases for sleeping in dirty beds, or eating stale food. What's the point of all that cool food, wine, beds if the Dragonborn never has to eat drink or sleep ?

Frostfall : Jump in a river to get to the other side, then roam around in the snow ? Well, you're gonna be cold. You'll lose stamina, some skills (like pickpocketing). Get too cold, you'll start to move slower and have blurred vision. Get indoors, or build a campfire to warm up. All pretty realistic, and completely customizable settings.

Realistic Running Speed : Changes your run/walk/jog/horse riding speeds to give it a more realistic feel.

Skyrim Perk Enhancements : Some serious changes to the perk system. I get sick of spending my hard earned points on stupid skills (20/40/60/80/100% increase in 1H costs 5 points) .. that aggrevates me. This mod auto levels the "stupid skills", and lets you concentrate on the fun skills. Makes every point matter a little more. (It decreases the rate you get points, so it doesn't get overpowering). Also, changes the trees a little (All good changes IMO).

[Edward64]

My son still goes back to it. He's played through the main quests a couple times now and bought the DLCs. I'm ready for the next Elder Scroll game.

[Buccaneer]

Wouldn't having multiple companions feel like cheating or being overpowering?

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Wouldn't having multiple companions feel like cheating or being overpowering?

It could, but mostly they're just mules and "company". I very rarely traveled with more than 1. That's mostly because they die. I had my difficulty tweaked with a different mod, and they had trouble keeping up. Which actually added some fun strategy .. how to stay alive, AND keep Lydia/whoever alive.

But, mostly, I found it convenient to put them on rest where ever I wanted (usually my house in White Run, or the White Run hotel bar. Just made it easier to go grab so-and-so because I wanted to hang an archer or w/e for some mission. Putting them on rest just keeps them in your "group" .. but chilling where ever - eating, drinking, reading, dancing, w/e they feel like.

Honestly, the best feature to me is the rest, because it's a shout. I just shout it like a power to rest, and they stay relaxed. Saves time from actually opening up the dialog and telling them to wait, then opening it back up and telling them to follow. Awesome in dungeons .. I often would relax them, then go through some puzzle of traps (that they would die on) - deactivate the traps, then shout them out of relax.

It does much more than increase follower limit. More control over what they wear, lets them level up with you (instead of staying at the level you meet them at), follower/horse control .. actually - THIS explains it much better than I can.

[Buccaneer]

Thanks Doug.

[Blackadar]

Steam total in Skyrim: 368 hours.