The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[ColtCrazy]

Makes me wish I had a PC. Love the concept of Frostfall. I've dove into a river more than once to take a short cut and would love to have a penalty for that.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

Steam total in Skyrim: 368 hours.

Mine shows about 3 even though I played it for about 90 hours earlier this year. Have not ever seen the need to keep Steam online, which in the case of Civ5, can be a bad thing.

Will be looking to play Skyrim again this winter. I guess to make it feel a little different, I will probably have to force myself to play less optimally (i.e., not being a mage). But then again, I should be looking at the many PC mods to see what would make it play differently.

[Peregrine]

I found Realistic Needs and Diseases to transform my Skyrim experience - just having to keep stocked up on food and water, and have diseases actually be a real problem, was a lot more immersive. Plus, anything you don't like, you can easily modify (for example I didn't like how quickly you got drunk from alcohol, so I changed it to fit my RP alcoholic character.)

For new characters, I highly recommend this page - so many great ideas for out of the box style builds. This link is for the ones that are highest number of likes, but there are other pages with tons of great builds as well.

http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/group/...nk%3ALegendary

[Peregrine]

An example build for my above post - I have been playing this guy for a while - totally different playstyle and a lot of fun so far.

http://theskyrimblog.ning.com/forum/...age=2#comments

[SackAttack]

Doesn't include the DLC, but for Xbox 360 owners who're interested in playing Skyrim: Skyrim Download Card for Xbox 360 Deal of the Day | Groupon

$13.99

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Rank:Legendary - Discussion Forum - The Skyrim Blog

Perfect. Thanks.

[Coffee Warlord]

My new beast of a box arrives Thursday. Finally, FINALLY gonna have to pick this up.

And then immediately download 50,000 mods.

[Buccaneer]

I'm starting to think about playing again. I don't roleplay at all so none of those character builds would suit me but I will have to play differently. I think if I just stay away from Destruction, that'll do it. Thinking fighting more with Archery except that plays just like a mage (distance, targeting). Maybe I'll do a lot more with Shouts and Alteration/Restoration.

Anyway, besides that attributes and skills, how would you go about playing the missions differently? I have done all of the quest lines plus daedric, so I don't know how to do that differently. I'll stay away from the main quest this time but if you are starting out, what would you do and where would you go?

[Buccaneer]

It seems that the start would typically be:
Helgen
Riverwood
WhiteRun
BleakFallsBarrow
WhiteRun
WatchTowerDragon

and you have just done 4 of the 17 main quests. So after you choose the stone, where would you go that would be really different?

[korme]

Playing as strictly an archer was a ton of fun and quite a challenge

[Buccaneer]

Going through the mods now - so far I've added water, terrain, weather plus SkyUI. Does anyone have any experience with Falskaar - a new land 1/3 the size of Skyrim with lots of new quests?

[Peregrine]

Buccaneer - when I started again I was like you, I stayed mostly away from the massively powerful (and boring after a while) destruction on my mage. When I did use it, I tried to only use certain spells, and used some new spell mods that gave me access to some different stuff. I tried to use a lot of Illusion which I hadn't before, and limited Destruction to runes, etc.

As far as a new start to the game, I highly recommend the mod Live Another Life, which lets you choose to start the game in a variety of different ways - it's great for roleplayers but even if you don't do that it gives you some more options.

Alternate Start - Live Another Life at Skyrim Nexus - mods and community

Also for archery I'd definitely recommend the Hunter's Guild - it gives you a series of quests to hunt down various beasts throughout Skyrim - really nice.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/18866/?

[Buccaneer]

Thank you, Peregrine.

[ColtCrazy]

Originally Posted by korme

Playing as strictly an archer was a ton of fun and quite a challenge

That's my preference too. I love archery in this game. I will mix in some conjuration if needed, but I tend to roam without a companion.

[Peregrine]

Bucc, I don't know if you installed Realistic Needs and Diseases which I mentioned before (or are interested in it.) Some other ones I really liked are Get Snowy, which lets snow accumulate on characters clothes and armor (nice effect,) Skyrim Sewers which adds new content in the form of sewer/dungeons to each town, Wearable Lanterns (one of my favorites) which lets you buy or find lanterns which your character can wear on different parts on their body, or even let companions carry for them. I also like Crossbows: Basic Collection which expands the number of crossbows available (introduced in Dawnguard DLC.)

I like using the Nexus Mod Manager to keep track of all of these - you can get it on Skyrim Nexus if you want.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I'm starting to think about playing again. I don't roleplay at all so none of those character builds would suit me but I will have to play differently. I think if I just stay away from Destruction, that'll do it. Thinking fighting more with Archery except that plays just like a mage (distance, targeting). Maybe I'll do a lot more with Shouts and Alteration/Restoration.

Anyway, besides that attributes and skills, how would you go about playing the missions differently? I have done all of the quest lines plus daedric, so I don't know how to do that differently. I'll stay away from the main quest this time but if you are starting out, what would you do and where would you go?

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

It seems that the start would typically be:
Helgen
Riverwood
WhiteRun
BleakFallsBarrow
WhiteRun
WatchTowerDragon

and you have just done 4 of the 17 main quests. So after you choose the stone, where would you go that would be really different?

Shouts & Alt/Resto sounds like a challenging playthrough & fun. I think you'd find archery to be similar to your destro experience, so may not be a change for you. Although, the play through I enjoyed the most was my Archer/Conj character.

As far as the where to go .. Since you've completed all the game already, if you don't roleplay - I think you'll find it difficult to get a much different experience in the game. Not sure what to say there.

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Going through the mods now - so far I've added water, terrain, weather plus SkyUI. Does anyone have any experience with Falskaar - a new land 1/3 the size of Skyrim with lots of new quests?

I downloaded Falskaar, and have had no gaming issues with it outside of the new content (meaning it appears stable). But, I haven't gotten around to checking out the actual mod yet. The screenshots, video, and write-ups are all very impressive though. I guess that kid put some 4,000 hours his self into the project and gathered 100ish people for help with voices, etc. I was actually kind of bummed when he announced things didn't work out with Beth. He (and users) claim it adds 15-20 hours of gameplay, or 40-50 for the thorough/slow player.

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

That's my preference too. I love archery in this game. I will mix in some conjuration if needed, but I tend to roam without 2a companion.

Like I said, this was my favorite run though.

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Bucc, I don't know if you installed Realistic Needs and Diseases which I mentioned before (or are interested in it.) Some other ones I really liked are Get Snowy, which lets snow accumulate on characters clothes and armor (nice effect,) Skyrim Sewers which adds new content in the form of sewer/dungeons to each town, Wearable Lanterns (one of my favorites) which lets you buy or find lanterns which your character can wear on different parts on their body, or even let companions carry for them. I also like Crossbows: Basic Collection which expands the number of crossbows available (introduced in Dawnguard DLC.)

I like using the Nexus Mod Manager to keep track of all of these - you can get it on Skyrim Nexus if you want.

IMO, Nexus Mod Manager is a MUST if you are going to get into the mods.

[Buccaneer]

Spending a lot of time going through the mods (the Top 100 pages at Nexus) picking out a bunch like snow, birds, sewer, HD 2K textures, ruins, climate, better map plus the new quest lines for Hunting and Elsweyr. Got them all activated and popped in a few places to see how they look. Lots of subtle changes, more realistic and sharper but except for the new quests and new UI, not much different.

Then my son and I started going through the lists in detail and saw about 10-15 more mods that he felt were a must-have: extreme dragons, much better civil war, radically new npcs, etc. - all stuff that will change how the game is experienced. Then we stumbled upon this deep into the list.



and this - you recognize this place?



Riverwood.

It's the Tropical mod and it changes all of Skyrim to a tropical/desert/jungle paradise. When we first loaded it up, we were stunned, literally falling out of our chairs. As much as we love snow and mountains, we also love desert and jungle regions in games (esp. Gothic 2/3). To see the area around WhiteRun a really nice desert - sand, scrub brush and WhiteRun with sandstone and adobe walls was awesome. Riverwood was set in a bamboo forest and then popping up to Dawnstar (my son's favorite place) and saw a beautiful tropical beach. It was too much. We did not go into any underground areas or interiors, so I can't speak for them but I'm thinking hard about this - it would be like playing a new game (at least above ground).

[JonInMiddleGA]

Wow !

[ColtCrazy]

That's amazing.

[chinaski]

Looks like Far Cry

[frnk55]

Originally Posted by chinaski

Looks like Far Cry

That was my thought too. It looks nice but doesn't seem like Skyrim.

[Buccaneer]

Doing some more exploring in Tropical Skyrim and came across a deluge of rain somewhere. I don't know if it was the Climate mod or the tropical one. Neat to see. Also it looks like the Tropical mod has replaced all of the animals and monsters. Similar forms like Jungle Spiders instead of Frost Spiders, but new ones as well like Raptors. Haven't experienced a sandstorm yet, nor have I seen the volcanic areas.

[bulletsponge]

all this looks great! im thinking of jumping back in to skyrim and that jungle mod looks great escpecially since i hate the snow terrains. do all these mods work together and what are the primary mods i should look for

im hoping to dl the hunting guild mod, the jungle mod (whats it called and where can i get it?) and maybe some skill point adjuster that i heard about in here.

aww crap just realized i dont have the expack, do all these mods only work with the expansion pack?

[frnk55]

Question. I have about 20 mods going and my load times suck! Sometimes 30 seconds to a minute for like entering a cave or exiting a tavern.

Is it because of the mods? My pc is plenty fast so I do run it almost maxed out.
All I know is it really pisses me off so right now I've been taking a break from it.
Any fixes for load times?

[Buccaneer]

Here's the link to the Tropical mod Tropical Skyrim -- A Climate Overhaul at Skyrim Nexus - mods and community

I have no expansion packs so all of the mods that I have loaded up would work without it. I did notice that some had a Dragonborn (for example) version in addition to a vanilla version.

You would have read the notes about each mod if they talk about incompatibility. For example, the Tropical mod will overwrite any mods that change certain textures. And there's no reason to load a mod like Realistic Snow if you are playing. Also, the order in which you load the mods is important. For example, the big Climates mod is compatible with Tropical (even though that changes weather as well), as long as Climates is loaded after. However, I find the load order in Nexus to be confusing since it loads the .esm mods first then the others, so I don't know how to load Climates.esm after Tropical (an .esp file).

I have about 15-20 mods loaded and see no slow down on entering indoors/underground areas (takes the usual 1 1/2 load screens). However, when I first load the game or from save, it takes 2-3x slower (about 4-5 load screens).

The only mod that I could not run is Deadly Dragons. Activating that crashes the game and prevents me getting beyond the splash screen.

The mods I have loaded are:
Alternate Start
Better Females
Birds of Skyrim
Falskaar
Guard Dialogue Overhaul
High Quality 3D Map (amazingly awesome with the Tropical mod)
Hunting in Skyrim
Moonpath to Elsweyr
No Spinning Death
Climates of Tamriel
Ruins Clutter Improved
Run for your Lives
Skyrim Sewers
SkyUI
Tropical Skyrim (including the two updates)
Unique Region Names
Vilja in Skyrim

I played around with all of these loaded, going to different places including the new areas at the start of the Falskaar and Elsweyr and all seems to work well without any noticeable performance hits. The only one I had not seen yet is the new Hunting quest line.

[Buccaneer]

Here's another shot I took last night showing the new night sky (absolutely spectacular) and WhiteRun with its adobe and sandstone walls

[Peregrine]

Hmm have to say the tropical thing is interesting but not my style - I love the snow and ice in Skyrim - would never go away from that, it's a big part of why I love the game.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Hmm have to say the tropical thing is interesting but not my style - I love the snow and ice in Skyrim - would never go away from that, it's a big part of why I love the game.

I do too. But as I said earlier, I wanted a different experience playing a second time. Killing (by whatever means, it doesn't matter) the exact same things in the exact same places for the exact same quests would be a huge sense of been there-done that. At least now it would feel like a different world, not to mention the new regions of Elsweyr and Falskaar.

[Edward64]

Son is playing the mod Farskaal. He's enjoying it.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Also, the order in which you load the mods is important.

The only mod that I could not run is Deadly Dragons. Activating that crashes the game and prevents me getting beyond the splash screen.

Actually, VERY important. This is most likely the reason you crash when DD is active.

There is a program which puts mods in optimal order - which could help with that (and other future mods you may include in your experience).

BOSS at Skyrim Nexus - mods and community

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I do too. But as I said earlier, I wanted a different experience playing a second time. Killing (by whatever means, it doesn't matter) the exact same things in the exact same places for the exact same quests would be a huge sense of been there-done that. At least now it would feel like a different world, not to mention the new regions of Elsweyr and Falskaar.

Well I think I didn't have as much trouble as I wasn't a completionist on my first run through (actually my first couple.) I missed lots of big quests, including more than one daedric one, so I had plenty to deal with second time around - and since I focused more on doing things my character would do, RP wise, the second time around it didn't seem so much of a rehash.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

Well I think I didn't have as much trouble as I wasn't a completionist on my first run through (actually my first couple.) I missed lots of big quests, including more than one daedric one, so I had plenty to deal with second time around - and since I focused more on doing things my character would do, RP wise, the second time around it didn't seem so much of a rehash.

Yeah, I've heard people playing games like that (even including Civ) but that's the opposite of how I have ever played games. It is me that is playing/winning the game, trying to use my abilities to win most effectively. I have never felt the need or desire to be someone else or to pretend that I am not me.

I did do every quest line, including Daedric, in my first run through but I know that there were places on the map I had not seen or experienced. Now I can re-explore the same world and have it feel like I am in a new land. This was also the reason why I was looking for new quests or quest lines (like Vilja) to add.

[Coffee Warlord]

So yes. I kill my second (first outside of the original quest one) dragon while wandering around the countryside, which was a colossal pain in the ass, considering I'm only like level 8-9.

He finally drops...and I'm eaten by ice wolves as I approach the carcass. Assholes.

(Yay for playing a 2 year old game for the first time!)

[DougW]

[quote=Buccaneer;2862611 This was also the reason why I was looking for new quests or quest lines (like Vilja) to add.[/QUOTE]

If you finish Vilja, and are looking for some more side quests while you're doing your whatevs - there is another solidly built companion mod with voice and deep questline you may want to check out. Her name is Cerwiden, she's a healer/mage - and is very customizable in what you want her to do.

[Peregrine]

I would say Ceridwen is sort of a love her or hate her situation. I loved her questline, but hated how overpowered she felt - at times it felt she was the main character and I was her sidekick - a problem I have with most of the companion mods.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Peregrine

I would say Ceridwen is sort of a love her or hate her situation. I loved her questline, but hated how overpowered she felt - at times it felt she was the main character and I was her sidekick - a problem I have with most of the companion mods.

I can get on board with that. I had her offensive spells off, and all she did was heal/buff. She was still pretty strong. Then I turned her healing spells, to only heal when she was max magicka - that slowed her down a bit and made it more enjoyable.

[ColtCrazy]

Restarted a game. Been awhile since I've played. I've bought a new HD TV since then and HDMI cable for the Xbox so it feels like a completely new game. Playing as an archer while putting a little into melee for dungeons. Won't do destruction at all. Not sure if I'll both with conjuration or not yet. Not far along, just finished Bleak Falls Barrow.

[Buccaneer]

It is amazing to me how much different playing this the second time is compared to my first playthrough. It's not just because I am playing with Tropical Skyrim, even though I am enjoying the landscape immensely (from tropical beaches to steamy, insect-filled jungles to rugged deserts to deep alpine forests to fiery lava fields) - spending a lot more time traveling through it instead of fast-travel. I am focusing solely on archery-sneak-light armor, which is playing very differently than a destruction mage, even with the same quests.

One of the other things I did was to get the Peregrine Highlands mod. It gave me a great looking house situated in the perfect place - just downstream from Riverwood overlooking the WhiteRun valley. I don't have the Hearthfire DLC but this mod brings over a similar, fully-stocked house into vanilla. I figured it was not overpowering to have a house like this at the beginning because the stocked items were not that much different than if I had started at Helgen (I'm using Alternate Start and I chose to start at the inn in Riverwood).

I did start with Vilja but she grew very tiresome and annoying. She, Lydia and I walked from WhiteRun to the Eldergleam Sanctuary (Vilja's first quest) and even though she's fairly strong and fights well, she kept saying how nice it was to have a strong man to help her poor helpless self. She also kept jabbering to Lydia about nonsense and I could feel that Lydia wanted to smack her. So when we got to Eldergleam, I just left her there while Lydia and I continued on to Riften.

The amazing part was in the first playthrough, I finished the main quest at around Level 12 (or thereabouts). I am at Level 12 now and all I got done were the first three big quests of the Thieves Guild (playing smarter and taking my time). I know in this thread I had wondered how I would play this again, knowing that I wanted a different experience, and so far the collection of mods I have are exceeding my expectations. Thanks for the help.

[Peregrine]

Sounds like fun Buccaneer - personally I have found that I can play Skyrim a lot of different ways and it doesn't really get old. A strategy I have been using lately is have each character stay mostly in one "home base" city, work all those quests, slowly explore around the city, and then once it seems mostly done I move onto another.

[Buccaneer]

I am doing very well as a sneak Archer (nearly maxed out on both) but I have also been learning how to use Enchanting and Smithing for the first time. Those are still unclear to me and here are my questions:

1. I obviously did not invest in Smithing early on so I am finding myself with weapons far above what I can improve. It seems the only way to increase in Smithing is to train since it is so cheap, much cheaper than buying ore/ingots and doing it yourself. Is this the right way?
2. If I find myself at around game level 30, I'm using Ebony or Glass weapons. But what's the point of Smithing if when to improve them, I have to be at level 70-80 smithing? Even early on when I was using an Elven bow - by the time I was able to improve it, I had moved on to something better. Rinse. Repeat.
3. Working the Arcane Enchanter for the first time with mixed results. I think I understand the item-enchanment-soul gem combination. So I pick up a lot of filled gems (esp. going through the College quests), go disenchant them and I got...nothing much of use for me. Lots of fortify/absorb health/magic stuff. All I do with those is to enchant items that I can sell for a lot more gold. Are there disenchantments out there that would add to sneak/archery/light armor?
4. I picked up an Ebony Bow from a deathlord. It didn't come with any magical properties so I think I added a simple one to it (absorb 8 health). Can I remove that property and replace it with something better?
5. I finally realize the Recharging thing - I had wondered why some of my earlier magical bows ran out. However, didn't really seem to make much difference with the charge or without. So is it better to go with a basic bow with higher damage (like Ebony) than a lower bow with a magical property? For context, I am at 86 in Archery and playing at Expert level. I can take down even the most toughest creatures (with Lydia's help) in less than 10 shots. Why would I need to bother with enchanting/recharding?
5. I do need gold since I train a lot across several skills. It seems that simply being able to make things (like Elven and Jewelry) and sell them at a good profit is the primary benefit of all of this?

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I am doing very well as a sneak Archer (nearly maxed out on both) but I have also been learning how to use Enchanting and Smithing for the first time. Those are still unclear to me and here are my questions:

1. I obviously did not invest in Smithing early on so I am finding myself with weapons far above what I can improve. It seems the only way to increase in Smithing is to train since it is so cheap, much cheaper than buying ore/ingots and doing it yourself. Is this the right way?
2. If I find myself at around game level 30, I'm using Ebony or Glass weapons. But what's the point of Smithing if when to improve them, I have to be at level 70-80 smithing? Even early on when I was using an Elven bow - by the time I was able to improve it, I had moved on to something better. Rinse. Repeat.
3. Working the Arcane Enchanter for the first time with mixed results. I think I understand the item-enchanment-soul gem combination. So I pick up a lot of filled gems (esp. going through the College quests), go disenchant them and I got...nothing much of use for me. Lots of fortify/absorb health/magic stuff. All I do with those is to enchant items that I can sell for a lot more gold. Are there disenchantments out there that would add to sneak/archery/light armor?
4. I picked up an Ebony Bow from a deathlord. It didn't come with any magical properties so I think I added a simple one to it (absorb 8 health). Can I remove that property and replace it with something better?
5. I finally realize the Recharging thing - I had wondered why some of my earlier magical bows ran out. However, didn't really seem to make much difference with the charge or without. So is it better to go with a basic bow with higher damage (like Ebony) than a lower bow with a magical property? For context, I am at 86 in Archery and playing at Expert level. I can take down even the most toughest creatures (with Lydia's help) in less than 10 shots. Why would I need to bother with enchanting/recharding?
5. I do need gold since I train a lot across several skills. It seems that simply being able to make things (like Elven and Jewelry) and sell them at a good profit is the primary benefit of all of this?

1. Training is obviously the fastest way but an alternative would be to mine your own ore, smelt it into ingots, and then craft your items from that. That process takes quite a bit longer but doesn't cost as much.

2. Some of the vanilla magic weapons have enchantments far better than you will be able to produce yourself, at least for quite a while. Once you are able to improve magical weapons you can really beef up their damage to go along with their enchantment, especially if you can enchant items to increase your smithing skill. I enchanted a blacksmith apron, bracers, ring, and necklace all to improve smithing. Along with my smithing skill I was able to almost double the base damage of "Chillrend". To continue with the Chillrend example, in order to improve that sword you need to be able to smith glass and smith enchanted weapons.

3. You can disenchant to get just about every magical effect in the game. To get it you have to take an item with that power and disenchant it. Of course this destroys the item. Its probably best to disenchant something with a relatively weak enchantment so you're not destroying expensive stuff. When you enchant an item, the power of the enchantment is based on your skill and the quality of soul gem that you use.

4. Once you enchant something that is it. The only improvements you can make after that are through smithing.

5. The trick is to have high damage and high enchantment. This is obviously not always possible, at least not in the start of the game. In the beginning I say base damage trumps magical enchantment. Unless of course you find a rare magical item.

5a. Selling stuff at a profit is good but making jewelry is also a way to increase your smithing skill. You can put useful enchantments on all that stuff too.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I am doing very well as a sneak Archer (nearly maxed out on both) but I have also been learning how to use Enchanting and Smithing for the first time. Those are still unclear to me and here are my questions:

1. I obviously did not invest in Smithing early on so I am finding myself with weapons far above what I can improve. It seems the only way to increase in Smithing is to train since it is so cheap, much cheaper than buying ore/ingots and doing it yourself. Is this the right way?
2. If I find myself at around game level 30, I'm using Ebony or Glass weapons. But what's the point of Smithing if when to improve them, I have to be at level 70-80 smithing? Even early on when I was using an Elven bow - by the time I was able to improve it, I had moved on to something better. Rinse. Repeat.
3. Working the Arcane Enchanter for the first time with mixed results. I think I understand the item-enchanment-soul gem combination. So I pick up a lot of filled gems (esp. going through the College quests), go disenchant them and I got...nothing much of use for me. Lots of fortify/absorb health/magic stuff. All I do with those is to enchant items that I can sell for a lot more gold. Are there disenchantments out there that would add to sneak/archery/light armor?
4. I picked up an Ebony Bow from a deathlord. It didn't come with any magical properties so I think I added a simple one to it (absorb 8 health). Can I remove that property and replace it with something better?
5. I finally realize the Recharging thing - I had wondered why some of my earlier magical bows ran out. However, didn't really seem to make much difference with the charge or without. So is it better to go with a basic bow with higher damage (like Ebony) than a lower bow with a magical property? For context, I am at 86 in Archery and playing at Expert level. I can take down even the most toughest creatures (with Lydia's help) in less than 10 shots. Why would I need to bother with enchanting/recharding?
5. I do need gold since I train a lot across several skills. It seems that simply being able to make things (like Elven and Jewelry) and sell them at a good profit is the primary benefit of all of this?

1. No, that's not right. It's more costly to pay to train. The best way to level smithing was to mine ore yourself (or buy it) and make simple crafts. People used to just smith a million (or whatever) Iron Daggers. The game has been changed a little so that you can't do that as easily. But, still can level up by bumping material. If you are going to go that route, Glowing Ore Veins 300 at Skyrim Nexus - mods and community maybe a good mod for you (I find it a necc. mod). It makes ore veins glow a little. Not overdone - but you can see them. You'd be surprised how much ore you just walk by without the mod.

2. Yes, it's worth it. Especially at higher levels. You can improve your weapons A TON. A top notch smith can upgrade an iron dagger to hit harder than an ebony warhammer. So, even if you find new stuff with upgraded material, your old stuff that you upgrade will be stronger - until you have the skill to upgrade the new, etc.

3. Yes, there are enchantments for just about everything. Although, certain slots can only do certain things. For example Fortify Archery can only be found (or put) on Head, Gloves, Rings, Necklaces. Here is a nice table that details this info : Enchanting (Skyrim) - The Elder Scrolls Wiki. You can find table about 1/2 down the page in a section called : Apparel enchantments

4. No you can't remove properties. (There is a mod that lets you wash items clean of enchantments - but no, unmodded skyrim doesn't allow this.)

5. Enchantments make you stronger. I feel they make you gamebreaking strong - ESPECIALLY if you get to 100 and get the double enchantments. You can make your character 1 shot dragons with enchantments and smithing - & your game gets boring. You can make yourself nearly immune to physical and magic damage - & your game gets boring. You can give your mage gear that makes his magic cost nothing - & your game gets .. .well, you get the idea.

6. Gold. Alot of money can be made by all 3 of the "professions". Overpowered examples : I have an alchemist that can make a potion worth $2000+ - for 1 potion. Easy materials to gather. An enchanter can drop a Banish enchant (with only a petty gem) on an iron dagger, and it'll easily fetch 700g. Once you learn that enchant, you're basically writing your own checks.

[Buccaneer]

Thank you both, that is very helpful.

[Julio Riddols]

I'll finally be getting in on some Skyrim.. Got it for 14.99 used, it should be here by Monday hopefully. Pretty excited.

[Buccaneer]

My initial thought on mining->smelting->crafting was that it seems to be really time consuming. Then I thought about the number of hours I have spent simply hunting for the Hunting Guild mod. Apart from fighting a different way, hunting has been the biggest gameplay change for me and have really enjoyed the loooong hunting trips. Ever had to find four foxes and catch those skittish things (that took 1 1/2 hours of real time to do)? Twice I had to hunt for elk (20 skins and later 10 carcasses), first finding them and then quietly getting off a shot before spooking them. Sometimes I would chase a wounded one through the landscape only to lose it. A good change of pace after a dungeon crawl and good way to level Sneak.

[DougW]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

My initial thought on mining->smelting->crafting was that it seems to be really time consuming. Then I thought about the number of hours I have spent simply hunting for the Hunting Guild mod. Apart from fighting a different way, hunting has been the biggest gameplay change for me and have really enjoyed the loooong hunting trips. Ever had to find four foxes and catch those skittish things (that took 1 1/2 hours of real time to do)? Twice I had to hunt for elk (20 skins and later 10 carcasses), first finding them and then quietly getting off a shot before spooking them. Sometimes I would chase a wounded one through the landscape only to lose it. A good change of pace after a dungeon crawl and good way to level Sneak.

FYI .. The hunting you've done may "hurt" your enchanting. If you choose to keep at enchanting, finding enough soul gems to level it at a decent pace can be a chore. Eventually, you'll want to buy unfilled gems and fill them yourself (with magic or an enchanted weapon). All those animals make for fast soul targets, and the animal respawn isn't very fast.

But, doing the two together .. filling gems while you do your hunting would probably be fun for you. 2 birds, 1 hunt kinda thing .

[Buccaneer]

I've come across only a few bows that would trap souls - is that the only way to capture animal souls manually?

I have dozens of filled gems but no items to enchant. Do I just hang on to those until I pick up some more rings and whatnot?

When I chose a gems as part of enchanting process, sometime it would give me a slider (maxed out to like 38, for example). What does that mean?

[Shepp]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I've come across only a few bows that would trap souls - is that the only way to capture animal souls manually?

I have dozens of filled gems but no items to enchant. Do I just hang on to those until I pick up some more rings and whatnot?

When I chose a gems as part of enchanting process, sometime it would give me a slider (maxed out to like 38, for example). What does that mean?

There is a spell called "Soul Trap" which will trap a soul in one of your crystals. Its kind of a pain because you have to kill whatever your fighting within something like 30 seconds. Its easier just to use a weapon enchanted with Soul Trap.

Different animals/ monsters have different size souls. Animals are small or petty, powerful monsters are large and grand. Black soul gems are able to trap the souls of humans and are the most powerful.

The slider is for swords or weapons that have a charge. The slider is to select between higher damage/ fewer charges or lower damage/ more charges. Stuff like armor or jewelry don't need to be recharged and don't have the slider.

[Buccaneer]

Thanks again, Shepp

[frnk55]

Got the urge to start up again. But I want to make the game a little harder. I'm not talking about mods where you have to eat and drink. That just sounds like a pain in the ass. I could play legendary but I don't know.
Anyone use a certain overhaul mod that is good?