Got the game Thursday at midnight: current time played: 28 hours.

I'd say it's crack.

My thoughts:

1) I started off with a sneaky type character and was tearing shit up in the Theives' Guild and Dark Brotherhood but the moment you start trying to do the main quest you get your ass handed to you by dragons. It's just like in Deus Ex, you can sneak all you want but then you have to fight a boss where all your sneakiness is worthless. Annoyed the shit out of me.

2)So I rerolled a pure mage, and have done a mix of exploration and progressed the main quest. You must not wait too long to progress the main quest. I went up to high hrothgar at level 7 and there was no dragon attacking me on the way up. No snowy sabre cats either.

3)The shouts are invaluable as well and just doing the Graybeards gives you like 3 free shout upgrades. Having level 3 Unrelenting Force helps a ton. Ethereal is the best for fighting dragons (or pretty much anything since you just go invincible and regen magicka for 10 seconds).

4)I can't remember the name of the amulet but it's +30+30+30 and the quest leading up to it was bitchin'. Fight like an army of ghosts.

5)The moment I take the Mage Armor talent (no armor and your armor spells double in effectiveness) I get a light armor mask that gives an additional +100% magicka regen. Oh well.

6)The depth and breadth of the side quests is ridiculous. "Ok, so I'm going under the College to talk to this energy being, and what's this? A daedra gauntlet in the middle of a circle with 5 dead bodies surrounding it?" I love being on one quest and finding the start of 3 more while I'm at it.

7)The only factions that conflict (that I've found so far) are the Stormcloaks and the Legion. When I joined the stormcloaks my "Join the Legion" quest failed. My next character will be Legion, obviously.

8)I'll go back to my sneaky dude and get the ranger talent and a lot of arrows. I think that'll help with dragons.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 9:23 AM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 9:19:19 AM

i def got my ass handed to me on my way to the greybeards by a snowy sabre cat. my housecarl didn't do a damn thing as i was getting pummeled which pissed me off cause she was right behind me, not like she was way far back or something. but no dragons encountered on my way up. i've only encountered one dragon so far and that was part of the main quest which gave me the shouting power and made me aware i was dragonborne.

good to know stormcloaks and legion conflict. i havent decided who to join yet, any benefits from one to the other?

11/14/2011 9:33:58 AM

Quote :

"I got to play about 20 minutes of this over the weekend and had a few (hopefully quick) questions: 1) I didn't notice anything in the menus that would suggest that my sword and armor were degrading with use. Did they get rid of that whole repair subsystem?"

Yes, no more repairing. Now you can craft armor/weapons and improve armor/weapons.

Quote :

"2) I leveled my lockpick skill and went up a character level. Lock picking wouldn't have been a Nord's major skill so I guess the two aren't related like they were in Oblivion... meaning you only character level up once you level a set number of major skills. I only got as far as choosing between magika, health, and stamina then seeing the constellations to choose from. I guess 'll have to read up on how the leveling process works. I know that whole system where you got screwed out of stat points because you failed to level certain minor skills before leveling up is gone. I guess the assumption now is that all your skills level with use, as always, and the requirements for leveling your character are?"

It seems to me that they've completely refined the skill up system to where if you practice something a lot, you will be good at it. Starting out it seems you are innately good at something based on your race, but if you keep working on a skill then you will be good at it. It might be dumbing the game down, but I really like it. Each level you get a perk point that you can save and you increase your health, magika, or stamina.

Quote :

"I'll have to read up on perks as well. I didn't get much time with the game, but it looked like constellations lined up with skill proficiencies. It make me think the perks were something lame like a quick +1 to one of your skill proficiency levels."

The perk/talent trees give your character special abilities in each skill area. You can level up smithing or enchanting all you want and get good at it, but on top of that you can get perks that influence your abilities. For instance, you have to get perks in the smithing tree in order to be able to craft dwarven gear, and eventually dragon gear. Some perks in enchanting allow your character to get more charges out of soul gems or have more effective fire enchantments.

Quote :

"3) I only talked with one trader in that short time and I didn't see how/if barter or speechcraft factored into the equation. You just sold the item for the set price. I may have missed something since I was rushed."

They seemed to have taken bartering out of the game completely. On the other hand, I believe your speechcraft skill gives an innate bonus to buying/selling prices and of course factors into persuasion/intimidation. Your speechcraft increases whenever you sell stuff.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 9:39 AM. Reason : asdf]

11/14/2011 9:39:09 AM

Quote :

"It seems to me that they've completely refined the skill up system to where if you practice something a lot, you will be good at it. Starting out it seems you are innately good at something based on your race, but if you keep working on a skill then you will be good at it. It might be dumbing the game down, but I really like it. Each level you get a perk point that you can save and you increase your health, magika, or stamina."

Which makes stealth+archery blow chunks because you're killing normal bad dudes in one hit (slower skill ups) and archery is worthless in non-sneaky combat. (though I'll report back after the ranger talent. ) Actually, Ranger is Archery 60. Fuck that. Rerolling sneaky dude and not putting a single point in Archery.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 9:48 AM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 9:47:38 AM

11/14/2011 10:29:00 AM

In reference to the Sneaky Characters getting their arses handed. I have a wood elf archer. My sneak is such that my bow does 3x damage from sneak (and my bow is strong as shit because they are the best archers) and a dagger attack while hidden does 15x. I now have a Khajit follower that is better at sneaking that Lydia was.

Lvl up your LIGHT ARMOR and you won't die as often. I use a mix of sneak and 1 handed with shield or magic depending. I haven't had too much trouble.

Followers really help in fighting a dragon, they get the dragons attention and you can snipe from afar then bash the shit out of them.

anyone know where you can find a mine for quicksilver and moonstone..trying to smith that elven armor



[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 10:58 AM. Reason : mining]

11/14/2011 10:57:38 AM

i also have the 3x/15x sneak bonuses. but they still do jack against a dragon. i'll probably keep playing the character up since i enjoy the thievery, but definitely tempted to roll into a different character between what i've been picking up and running into

11/14/2011 11:00:04 AM

I am just delving into side quests. I am nearly 15 and have not gone to the shout people, nor windhelm. I am still doing whiterun quests though ive been sent somewhere else due to a drinking contest so now im digging into that city's quests.

The 'House of Horrors' quest spooked the shit out of me

11/14/2011 11:01:40 AM

Man, those shouts are so good though. Just hike up the mountain and do the graybeards shit and then go on side quests.

Quote :

"Followers really help in fighting a dragon, they get the dragons attention and you can snipe from afar then bash the shit out of them."

I think this is how the game is intended, honestly. Which again goes directly against playing a sneak character.

Quote :

"anyone know where you can find a mine for quicksilver and moonstone..trying to smith that elven armor "

I've found quicksilver ingots in dungeons and moonstone veins in dwermer ruins.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 11:22 AM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 11:13:53 AM

anyone know if Silver Hand is joinable? i wanna kill the dogpeople

11/14/2011 11:22:50 AM

^fuck you I am a dog people

11/14/2011 1:11:35 PM

as am I

What does well rested give you? I have to imagine 100% disease resistance is better?

11/14/2011 1:16:43 PM

For the people playing pure builds, does it get boring? I'm thinking about making a pure tank and a pure mage, just to see if it's easy mode. Anyone playing Master difficulty instead of Expert?

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 1:19 PM. Reason : -]

11/14/2011 1:19:10 PM

hah, I am on Adept I think, whatever the default is.

11/14/2011 1:29:45 PM

same here. i want to have fun and not stress out more than usual so i'm keeping it at the default. i understand wanting a challenge and all but the game is still supposed to be fun.

11/14/2011 1:32:10 PM

I'm playing a redguard and switching between dual wielding and sword & board. Not using any magic except the default healing spell in between battles. Loving it so far, especially the dw power attacks.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 1:34 PM. Reason : lvl 22]

11/14/2011 1:34:50 PM

^^^^^ if you are well rested your skills increase faster for like 8 hours

Just a few observations, im doing a sneak/ranger 1 handed battle mage type, it is unbelievably satisfying to sneak and 1 shot someone with a bow or slit their throat from behind, and while sneaking may not help with dragons, I don't know how I would be killing them without the bow. Also you can change difficulty at any time, even the middle of a fight

After 3 straight days of playing, I am at work today and going through withdrawals

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 1:40 PM. Reason : $$$]

11/14/2011 1:38:36 PM

^ oh word well that sounds better actually haha

I am pretty much straight up sword and board with some archery mixed in.

I have no magic outside of shouts (which I need to make myself actually use)

Also I love sneaking up on an objective so I can be in melee before they realize im there and bashing them with my shield before the killing blow. Sneaking with heavy armor is fun

This game, I think, would benefit greatly from an 'armory' type feature similar to WoWs where you can check out your buddy's build and progress etc. I would be very interested in seeing everyones choices but am limited to what people type out and share.

^ also try working from home with your gaming PC 2 feet from your work PC

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 1:46 PM. Reason : *]

11/14/2011 1:44:39 PM

Yeah, maybe I'll stick with stealth+archery but pickup a summon or a companion to deal with dragons or other shit you can't sneak up on.

Sucks that I have to raid tonight instead of play Skyrim. LOL

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 1:56 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 1:56:15 PM

A dragonborn never has to raid! Sounds like a job. Skyrim beckons.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 2:01 PM. Reason : -]

11/14/2011 2:00:50 PM

If I wasn't the legendary staff recipient I'd blow it off in an instant. I feel obligated.

11/14/2011 2:09:33 PM

Oh, just remembered my other question... when I played I constantly was swapping from bow to sword + shield. Is there a hot swap button, because in the very short time that I played I was already getting annoyed with

sneak
shoot bow, ok now they're on to me
menu
swap weapons to melee
kill
menu
swap weapons to ranged

It was getting so old I just decided to forgo using the bow.

11/14/2011 2:17:11 PM

on PS3, hit D-Pad "up" button and that will show all your favorites...while doing so, the game pauses

11/14/2011 2:19:06 PM

This was on a 360, but I imagine it would be the same/similar.

11/14/2011 2:21:59 PM

Crap, every time I think I'm done asking questions...

In Oblivion everyone knew which items you had were stolen. Steal an apple in one town, travel across the entire map, and everyone in that town somehow knew that apple was stolen. Is that (IMO) bug still present in Skyrim?

11/14/2011 2:33:00 PM

I don't think so. I think each city's guards only care about what you took from that city. I had stolen a shitload of stuff, then I stole a horse from Riftin and got caught, but they only fined me like 50 gold and didn't take any of my stolen property.

11/14/2011 2:36:00 PM

as far as i know, if an item is stolen, it's marked as stolen (on the item inspection). IIRC only specific npc's will buy fenced goods. not sure if it's the same in skyrim though.

11/14/2011 2:37:02 PM

from the UP/Down D-Pad menu, you can also select 2 favorites for the Right/Left.

Just open up the up/down, select a spell or weapon and hold right on the dpad and it will click

Now I hit right on the d-pad and my bow pops up, hit left and magic/dagger pop up.

I would highly suggest leaving followers outside when you go in a dungeon or in a room in the dungeon you can run to and fetch them.. If you are sneaking around and an enemy gets in radius, they will go aggro...they don't understand being a sneaky sneaky boy

11/14/2011 2:42:03 PM

Careful though, some items (not sure which) are important to the people and they'll notice you stole them later. Instead of telling the guards they send mercenaries to jump you.

11/14/2011 2:45:07 PM

I went with two-handers and I'm not exactly blowing through things. I went battle maces as it seems like the most reliable sustained damage and dropped some points in to Restoration for "oh shit" moments. I am finding it hard to stay alive even with some points invested in to Heavy Armor as well. I seem to get hit with criticals a lot or something. I drop from 50% to 0 more than I would like, even without finishing moves from mobs. I've leveled Stam and Health pretty evenly. I have to do some final fights a few times to get through them and it's rare that I get through a tough fight without eating all of my food, drinking all of my pots, and blowing my mana load on heals. I had to fight the saber up to the greybeards like 5 times before I got through him and I just had to sprint past the troll. With 2hers the tough stuff is pretty impossible and lower level mobs are just hilarious to fight. Whack a mole. Anyone going with two-handed? Any tips?

11/14/2011 2:46:45 PM

anyone got good ways to get money. I feel like i'm always short. I craft and sell my goods and sell dragon bones...but i need more money to buy things

11/14/2011 3:07:28 PM

^^Like every other Bethesda game, backpedal, backpedal, backpedal. Swing hit, then back up before the guy can hit you back. Also, use the spells that buff your armor.

I also imagine having a follower or a summoned dork will help you as well so the bad guy has something else to focus on.

^What the hell are you buying that you can't afford it selling dragon bones or don't find in a dungeon?

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 3:27 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 3:20:58 PM

I'm going 2hander + heavy armor.

I guess it depends on what you're trying to take on? I'm Lvl 9; I have done the main quest line up through where I'm supposed to go talk to the Greybeards, but I haven't gone yet. I've been bouncing around Whiterun doing as many side quests as possible. Most of what I'm fighting are Bandits, and they die in 1-2 swings.

I've put all my perk points into the 2-Hander tree, and the Heavy Armor tree. I think I'm 3/5 in Juggernaut (+60% armor from heavy armor) and like 3 or 4/5 in the bottom 2-Hander tree (which should be +2h damage).

I've also dumped my points in a 2:1 ratio, Health:Stam.

The only dungeon that I've had trouble with is the Shimmermist Cave (part of the Companions quest line). The mobs in there took some time to kill, and I definitely needs heavy healing either during or after the fights. I still haven't cleared it yet.

11/14/2011 3:23:08 PM

Quote :

"I also imagine having a follower or a summoned dork will help you as well so the bad guy has something else to focus on."

Her name is Lydia. She never dies and is sworn to protect you.

11/14/2011 3:25:26 PM

I like mine better.


and I can't wait for Dremora Lords and Storm Atronachs as well.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 3:32 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 3:30:17 PM

Quote :

"I guess it depends on what you're trying to take on? I'm Lvl 9; I have done the main quest line up through where I'm supposed to go talk to the Greybeards, but I haven't gone yet. I've been bouncing around Whiterun doing as many side quests as possible. Most of what I'm fighting are Bandits, and they die in 1-2 swings. "

Get a follower before you go see the graybeards.

11/14/2011 3:36:02 PM

2 issues with whats been mentioned:

1- I'm running out of shops to sell to. i keep returning to the Riverwood Trader and they dont "replenish" their gold. And I never purchase weapons/armor from shops - always cheaper to raid bandits for me.

2- I had Lydia as a follower but then I did the Companions quest with Farkas and it notified me that he "replaces my current follower". After the quest he returns to Jorravskjr, now I have no idea where Lydia went. how do I get her back? she's got some of my gear plus I miss her complaining about being sworn to carry my burdens

11/14/2011 3:54:26 PM

Yeah, I'm trying a 2-hander build right now, and I don't think it works as well as a 1handed tank mage. My stamina is completely gone after 2 swings, and since I'm using 2 hands, I can't just heal myself as I fight and swing. I'm wondering if light armor would be a better choice, allow more stamina to swing and kill, before having to heal.

I wonder if wearing a shield and casting with just one hand is a worthless approach for a Tank Mage? Just go straight magic, but wear heavy armor + shield.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 3:58 PM. Reason : -]

11/14/2011 3:55:56 PM

I think it takes like 48 in game hours for vendors to replenish gold. Also, I've read that lydia has a house somewhere in Whiterun.

11/14/2011 3:56:38 PM

for me, the General Goods store in Whiterun is NEVER OPEN. I was in the hall of hte dead adn took the key to the general store from a coffin. I guess the owner died and now I can't sell my shit there....fuck.

^^^I buy moonstone and quicksilver to make elven armor because I haven't been able to find it anywhere to mine it.

Just ordered the limited edition hard cover guide from B&N for $23...its backordered, but will ship on the 30th...can't wait for that...will have all alchemy recipes and mine locals and hidden locals....

DISCOVER ALL THE THINGS!!!

11/14/2011 3:58:01 PM

^ i'm going out tonight to pick up the game guide from Best Buy. i'm not getting the hardcover version, not worth it in my mind. but i want it exactly for the locations of all the goodies hehe

i really gotta figure out how to get some better armor than steel stuff. i believe i am level 8/9 so i imagine finding it won't be easy yet until i progress more? i need better weapons too. i'm using all enchanted stuff constantly and i cant find soul gems fast enough to replenish.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 4:08 PM. Reason : .]

11/14/2011 4:06:53 PM

Quote :

"anyone got good ways to get money. I feel like i'm always short. I craft and sell my goods and sell dragon bones...but i need more money to buy things"

I saw this posted on fark. I haven't read it though:

http://www.iheartchaos.com/post/12789795965/how-to-get-unlimited-gold-in-skyrim-hurry-and

And of course if you're on the PC version, just command window yourself some gold to save time.

[Edited on November 14, 2011 at 4:11 PM. Reason : -]

11/14/2011 4:07:53 PM

Quote :

"Careful though, some items (not sure which) are important to the people and they'll notice you stole them later. Instead of telling the guards they send mercenaries to jump you"

I accidently stole from teh guard's barracks in Whitehall. The guard came to arrest me but "turned a cheek" in I am in favor with the jarl. Climbing to meet the greybeards, however, I got jumped by some mercenaries. One of them had a note to "teach me a lesson" from the city guard.

11/14/2011 4:27:09 PM

^That seems like a huge pain in the ass to me, especially considering that hardly any vendors would buy that book anywhere near 50g and you'd soon run out of vendors who buy gold. Still, I guess unlimited gold is still unlimited gold

I don't get why Lydia is so hard to kill for mobs. I've definitely had her die once or twice, but it was to trolls or giants each time. Even when she has a two hander she's a beast. I'm not really complaining, its just irritating that she can live for so much longer than me . I've started giving her good weapons and improving/enchanting her armor. I expected her to just die like a little bitch like most following NPCs but she's a tank.

Where do you start the Companions quests? Is that the Fighter's Guild? I've heard about the Mage's College, and I assume that's the Mage's Guild. If you also happen to know how to save Lydia during that Companion follower glitch that'd be appreciated as well for future reference

11/14/2011 4:32:01 PM

Quote :

"i really gotta figure out how to get some better armor than steel stuff. i believe i am level 8/9 so i imagine finding it won't be easy yet until i progress more? i need better weapons too."

get your crafting skill up....I craft elven armor/weapons and enchant them.

Also, buy the SOUL CAPTURE spell from the mage in white run...cast it, kill something within a minute and now your soul gems in inventory are filled and ready to enchant

11/14/2011 4:35:39 PM

Going pure mage. I left the main quest just after getting whiterun. I went way to winterhold and enrolled in the college and I've been there ever since learning to be a mage. That was 25 hours of playtime ago. And I'm still getting quests from there.

If you haven't seen the college go now.

11/14/2011 4:37:16 PM

I found Lydia sitting in Dragonbreach at the table. She will return there I believe until you buy a house, then she goes there.

11/14/2011 4:44:45 PM

^^Yeah the College questline is badassery.

Hell every questline is awesome. Dark Brotherhood, Thieves' Guild, Stormcloaks, jesus fuck I can't wait to see the *MAIN* quest play out.

11/14/2011 4:47:13 PM

Whats the downside of joining the companions?

11/14/2011 4:49:04 PM

There's a downside?

11/14/2011 4:50:28 PM