[Gaming] Elder Scrolls 5 - Dawnguard is HERE!

Midas Magic is a pretty popular magicka boosting mod. Tons of neato toledo exploderama spells there.
Yeah, that's the one I didn't like. It's neat to fool around with, I just don't like how over the top it goes. I like mods that enhance the original content without overpowering it, just personal preference.
 
I mixed that choose your own starting path mod with a mod that undoes a lot of the scaling of the world and adds a lot of enemies from other Elder Scrolls games. It's basically the ultimate masochist mod collection.

Basically made most of the choose your own paths completely unplayable. Just gonna go outside and I've been one shot by a frost wyrm thingy. Ok, that starting area is borked. Lets try this one. I'm a forsworn and, nope, whatever the fuck that was that spawned right next to me is impossible to kill and it one shots me before I can even start running.
I'm not sure that you had to do anything special in order for that to happen. I chose the necromancer option and it started me in Blackreach, right inside a house guarded by a dwarven sphere that kicks my ass if I open the door.
 
Allegedly Morrowind in the Dragonborn DLC will be roughly half the size of Skyrim itself. That sounds more like an expansion than just another DLC.

I'm debating whether to buy any DLC or wait for an eventual GOTY edition. Largely I'm not wanting to hog my PS3's precious hard drive space with extra stuff that could just be on a disc. On the other hand, the DLC will all be 50% off the week it comes to PS3 to make up for the delay, so it'd be the same price as divvying up some GOTY edition. That, and my orc is going to be a werewolf soon, so I wouldn't mind having the werewolf tree from Dawnguard, and I know my wife would like to make a vampire that doesn't suck.
 

fade

Staff member
I just started this game. In Fallout/ES, I tend to play as a stealthy sniper. I'm trying something different this time. I'd like to be some sort of mage. I'm leaning toward conjuration and illusion. Any suggestions?
 

GasBandit

Staff member
I just started this game. In Fallout/ES, I tend to play as a stealthy sniper. I'm trying something different this time. I'd like to be some sort of mage. I'm leaning toward conjuration and illusion. Any suggestions?
Yeah, suggestion: Go back to being a stealthy sniper.

Magic use is actually kinda weak in skyrim, many people have complained about it.

Conversely, stealth/bow gets ridiculously overpowered very quickly.

If you wanna do something different, go melee. Sword and board is pretty rewarding.
 
Yeah, suggestion: Go back to being a stealthy sniper.

Magic use is actually kinda weak in skyrim, many people have complained about it.

Conversely, stealth/bow gets ridiculously overpowered very quickly.

If you wanna do something different, go melee. Sword and board is pretty rewarding.
Alternatively, go for a dagger wielding, stealthy illusionist. Illusion magic is incredibly powerful.

My vampire character was a dagger wielding assassin that used illusion (and some conjuration) to great extent.
 

fade

Staff member
Yeah it seemed like illusion could be very powerful, and the perks tree on the summoning side of conjuration looked really tough, too.
 
Magic works fine if you get some mods. Basically, there's a point when any two-handed spell will stagger an enemy. This is the point when you never have to worry about fighting humans or animals again. Just make sure you get high enchant to make some bad ass Destruction cost reduction armor and you'll be fine.
 

Dave

Staff member
I like conjuration as well. If you do it right you'll never be injured, especially after it hits 100 and you can summon two daedra lords...
 
I've actually had fun RPing characters in addition to their themes. For instance:

-Dual sword-weilding blademaster who lived out essentially the plot of Inigo Montoya
-Greatsword/two-handed axe/warhammer berserker who screamed random gibberish (random dragon shout) whenever he'd run into battle and kill anything in his line of sight
-Stealthy sniper who had OCD and kleptomania and had to steal everything that wasn't nailed down in any building he went into.
 
Magic works fine if you get some mods. Basically, there's a point when any two-handed spell will stagger an enemy. This is the point when you never have to worry about fighting humans or animals again. Just make sure you get high enchant to make some bad ass Destruction cost reduction armor and you'll be fine.
People only feel magic is weak because they always go for DESTRUCTION magic. I feel destruction is the weakest, and unless you really want to be the emperor and throw lightning (which, admittedly, is pretty cool) the other magics are all far better.
 
Man, if I had a nickel for every time I started a character and cleaned out every item from Bleakfall Barrows... It would take about 4 trips to get everything of any value.
 

fade

Staff member
Okay, I've made it to level 21, high sneak, and high illusion. Really, really, really trying hard not to find this game tedious. Maybe I'm just tired of video games or something.
 
Okay, I've made it to level 21, high sneak, and high illusion. Really, really, really trying hard not to find this game tedious. Maybe I'm just tired of video games or something.

Maybe the game just isn't for you.

Maybe you've no more adventure in your soulless heart.
 
Okay, I've made it to level 21, high sneak, and high illusion. Really, really, really trying hard not to find this game tedious. Maybe I'm just tired of video games or something.
There are different kinds of video games.

Perhaps you need something that's less a playground and more either a game for the sake of gaming (like a Mario game or Donkey Kong Country Returns) or an experience/movie type of game (Bioshock Infinite, The Last of Us). These are more goal-oriented games, be they for gameplay/challenge or for story. Skyrim isn't about goals and quests. It's something you soak in. That's tough to do (and not really ideal) when you have a busy life, kids, etc.
 

fade

Staff member
For the record, I liked Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3. Especially Fallout 3. It seems like Skyrim took another step further into the sandbox. Skyrim seems to offer me less attachment to my own character, if that makes sense. The Dragonborn feels like more of a generic cupie doll. It's also just possible I'm finding the idea of a civil war less compelling than the invasion of basically Hell.[DOUBLEPOST=1373074602][/DOUBLEPOST]I feel like I should point out, too, that this doesn't mean I don't like the game. I'm finding the artwork gorgeous, and overall it's fun. It can be both fun and tedious.
 
For the record, I liked Morrowind, Oblivion, and Fallout 3. Especially Fallout 3. It seems like Skyrim took another step further into the sandbox. Skyrim seems to offer me less attachment to my own character, if that makes sense. The Dragonborn feels like more of a generic cupie doll. It's also just possible I'm finding the idea of a civil war less compelling than the invasion of basically Hell.[DOUBLEPOST=1373074602][/DOUBLEPOST]I feel like I should point out, too, that this doesn't mean I don't like the game. I'm finding the artwork gorgeous, and overall it's fun. It can be both fun and tedious.
Wait, there was a civil war?

Oh... oh, you mean the 'main quest' storyline. Haha, yes, quite quaint. I never paid attention to that, I spent all of my time becoming the world's best archmage/assassin/thief/werewolf/vampire/vampire hunter (sometimes at the same time)

You're an assassin, right? Have you joined the dark brotherhood yet? If not, do that, and then check back with us. (if you don't know how, you should have heard a rumor about a boy trying to contact the dark brotherhood, go investigate that).
 
Wait, there was a civil war?

Oh... oh, you mean the 'main quest' storyline. Haha, yes, quite quaint. I never paid attention to that, I spent all of my time becoming the world's best archmage/assassin/thief/werewolf/vampire/vampire hunter (sometimes at the same time)

You're an assassin, right? Have you joined the dark brotherhood yet? If not, do that, and then check back with us. (if you don't know how, you should have heard a rumor about a boy trying to contact the dark brotherhood, go investigate that).
I loved this quest line for the dark brotherhood.
 
Wait, there was a civil war?

Oh... oh, you mean the 'main quest' storyline. Haha, yes, quite quaint. I never paid attention to that, I spent all of my time becoming the world's best archmage/assassin/thief/werewolf/vampire/vampire hunter (sometimes at the same time)
Well, there's the main quest (which I won't spoil) but the Civil War was separate to that. They can interact a bit at one point in the main quest, but other than that, they are separate. Both "major" questlines though of course.
 
Well, there's the main quest (which I won't spoil) but the Civil War was separate to that. They can interact a bit at one point in the main quest, but other than that, they are separate. Both "major" questlines though of course.
They have to interact. You are forced to at least do something about it if you want to continue the main quest.
 

fade

Staff member
Oo, I found something I like. I dropped perks into sneak, conjuration (summoning), illusion, and archery. Now I just drop summons into the enemies and snipe from the shadows. That's fun. Kind of a combo of my old style and the new stuff I wanted to do.
 
I had to build an emergency computer when my old gaming rig failed this week... and it won't handle Skyrim. :(

I have not played for 4 months, but it is the thought that counts.
 

fade

Staff member
I think I'm restarting.

I power-leveled some skills just to see what they were like, and it was a stupid thing to do. It worked on Oblivion, but it doesn't work on Skyrim because there are no classes. Especially the magic trees. The higher perks often just charge up the lower ones, so there's no real benefit to power leveling.

Also, I kind of want to try a straight-up warrior. I've never tried that before--really on any RPG because they usually play boring. But there's enough variety in this game that a warrior might be fun?
 

GasBandit

Staff member
Being a warrior type in Skyrim is pretty fun. I personally liked sword/shield, but just about anything works. After you level it up some, you'll start learning the stuff to do with your mouse to maximize your chances of getting an instant kill/decapitation, and that becomes the "game" of fighting instead of worrying about winning/losing the match. Sure, you can win any fight... but can you win it with a badass animation?
 
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