Help me enjoy skyrim

[Anathrax]

I really want to enjoy Skyrim. But the combat, the quests, they are just so boring. Is there a better combat mod, or a total conversion mod? How does everyone enjoy vanilla skyrim? Halp.

 

[Epona]

I really want to enjoy Skyrim. But the combat, the quests, they are just so boring. Is there a better combat mod, or a total conversion mod? How does everyone enjoy vanilla skyrim? Halp.

Compared to Morrowind and Oblivion, Skyrim is crap. I haven't been able to enjoy it either and I have had it since day 1.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

This sounds an awful lot like a "I don't like X, I want people to explain to me why X is good so I can tell them they are wrong" thread to me. Maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe OP genuinely DOES want to enjoy the game more and isn't sure how. I remain suspicious.

In case OP is serious...

1. Don't fast travel unless absolutely necessary.
2. Try and design a character around a theme, or a role, rather than grab bagging everything or meta-gaming.
3. Mod up what you can, grabbing such mods as suit your personal tastes. There are plenty of visual mods everyone should look at.
4. Don't take Blacksmithing.
5. Don't take Enchanting.

The "point" of Bethesda RPGs such as Fallout 3, Oblivion and Skyrim is not to chase the tepid quest lines to their completion so much as to inhabit the world. It requires a measure of suspension of disbelief. If you play it like a story-heavy RPG, or a mechanically robust combat simulation, you will be perpetually unhappy with the results.

I think Tom Chick did a good job of capturing both the brilliance and awfulness that is Skyrim/Bethesda RPGs.

There's a point during the main quest in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim when one of the characters wants to show you something a fair distance away. She says that you can either follow her and travel together, or she can meet you there later. This means that even though it's supposedly a time critical plot point -- "We must hurry," she'll say -- the plot point will wait until you're ready. Play it now, or play it later. Whenever you're ready, walk there, or teleport there instantly. No matter what anyone here tells you, time and space mean nothing in Skyrim.

Normally, I'd just fast travel and meet her there. But I?m at the end of a long night of Skyrim, ready to wind down, but not quite ready to stop playing. So I follow her because it's arguably easier than actually saving and powering down my 360. She changes into armor and tells another NPC to mind the inn that she tends. I'm tempted to get my horse, but I don't want to spoil the illusion by riding down the road while she shuffles along on foot. It's nighttime, which adds a touch of intrigue Bethesda can't have guaranteed, since this could just as easily have happened at midday. As she hurries along the road in her awkwardly animated shuffle, she pulls out a torch to light the way. If time mattered, this could be one of those hurried nighttime journeys to get someplace in the nick of time, maybe to warn a king of an invasion, intercede at an ill-fated princess' wedding ceremony, or call off a doomed dawn attack.

As we travel, the NPC has occasional bits of scripted dialogue along the way. She warns me about a notorious bandit hideout up ahead (not to worry, as I cleared it out long ago). She references a river and a city we'll pass. She gives me a few more pieces of information that I would have missed if I'd just fast traveled later. We come across the member of a holy order of warriors fighting a vampire. We join the fray. My sidekick, a cat person mage who's been tagging along for several quests, gets killed here. I consider reloading the game, but decide that to really appreciate Skyrim, I should just let it happen. He should remain dead and become one of the game's many emergent stories, like this hurried nighttime journey to get there just in the nick of time. As dawn breaks, we reach our destination and a scripted scene unfolds, insinuated neatly into the open world like so many of the game's other scripted scenes.


This is Skyrim at its best. When you accept it on its own flawed and often brittle terms. When you look past the FedEx delivery quests, almost all of which come down to going someplace to get a doo-dad. When you let the lore and dialogue and scripting carry you along. When you embrace what it's trying to do instead of scrutinizing what it actually does. When you just let it happen. This is when Skyrim will reward you most richly. Not when you're trying to win, or beat it, or get to the end, or level up, or earn the achievements. Not when you're playing it like a stat-based RPG, or a single-player MMO, or a challenge. Skyrim is putatively a game. More accurately, it's a narrative loom.

Full review: http://www.honestgamers.com/reviews/9740.html

 

[Anathrax]

I'm honestly trying to love skyrim.

 

[Epona]

This sounds an awful lot like a "I don't like X, I want people to explain to me why X is good so I can tell them they are wrong" thread to me. Maybe I'm mistaken. Maybe OP genuinely DOES want to enjoy the game more and isn't sure how. I remain suspicious.

People who pay $60 for a game NATURALLY want to enjoy it.

 

[Professor Lupin Madblood]

Trade it in for a game that was designed by people who actually know what the fuck they're doing.

No, I'm serious. That's what I did and it's worked out very well.

 

[Hero in a half shell]

I think to enjoy Skyrim you have to enjoy Roleplaying, because that's the main strengh of Skyrim.

Come up with a backstory for your character, give them a short history and a summary of personal feelings, prejudices, etc. (I once played a Kahjit with a fear of water, for example, so anything that involved travelling through water was out of the question unless there was no other option.)
Giving them a D'n'D alignment [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29] or roleplaying as a character you know well helps (e.g. play as Batman, or Kratos, or Zoidberg (Why not?) )

Don't use your knowledge of the game to influence your character's actions, let them choose based on the personalities you gave them.

The greatest character I ever made was a wood elf, he was supposed to be a Robin Hood type character; Chaotic Neutral, who had a personal bone with the Thalmor and no Imperial/Stormcloak leanings.
I began by not following the guy at the start, but by going my own way, since I was very independent, and ended up in Falkreath, where I was immediately lambasted by a stormcloak for being an elf, I stole all his possessions and littered them around the town, did some more petty stuff and ended up getting run out of town by the guards.
Went to Whiterun (still hadn't begun the main quest at this point) and met with the companions, joined them because they looked amoral and cool, and ended up getting embroiled in their questline, which led to a lot of massacres of people for very thin reasons, which was quite an evil thing to do. On the search for coin I ended up in Markarth, and helping out a poor dude got lambasted by the stormcloaks (again) so at this point I decided my character didn't like them, ended up killing a guy in self defence and became accidentally complicit in luring a monk to his doom, was told by a possessed lady how much I loved eating people (and I was a Wood Elf, so her prophetic insistence that this was true convinced me I had cannibalistic tendencies) Then I was thrown in jail and had to break out by "becoming an animal" and killing others without provocation, allying with an insane wildman.

From there I realised that my supposed Robin Hood character was actually full on Chaotic Evil. He had killed in cold blood so many times, had massacred large groups of people for very little reason, was cannibalistic and just downright crazy. This happened because I let the character make those choices, and they all turned out to be awful choices. He became my evil playthough even though I had no intention at all of playing a bad character when I made him.

 

[ShinyCharizard]

Spoiler: Snip

I think to enjoy Skyrim you have to enjoy Roleplaying, because that's the main strengh of Skyrim.

Come up with a backstory for your character, give them a short history and a summary of personal feelings, prejudices, etc. (I once played a Kahjit with a fear of water, for example, so anything that involved travelling through water was out of the question unless there was no other option.)
Giving them a D'n'D alignment or roleplaying as a character you know well helps (e.g. play as Batman, or Kratos, or Zoidberg (Why not?) )

Don't use your knowledge of the game to influence your character's actions, let them choose based on the personalities you gave them.

The greatest character I ever made was a wood elf, he was supposed to be a Robin Hood type character; Chaotic Neutral, who had a personal bone with the Thalmor and no Imperial/Stormcloak leanings.
I began by not following the guy at the start, but by going my own way, since I was very independent, and ended up in Falkreath, where I was immediately lambasted by a stormcloak for being an elf, I stole all his possessions and littered them around the town, did some more petty stuff and ended up getting run out of town by the guards.
Went to Whiterun (still hadn't begun the main quest at this point) and met with the companions, joined them because they looked amoral and cool, and ended up getting embroiled in their questline, which led to a lot of massacres of people for very thin reasons, which was quite an evil thing to do. On the search for coin I ended up in Markarth, and helping out a poor dude got lambasted by the stormcloaks (again) so at this point I decided my character didn't like them, ended up killing a guy in self defence and became accidentally complicit in luring a monk to his doom, was told by a possessed lady how much I loved eating people (and I was a Wood Elf, so her prophetic insistence that this was true convinced me I had cannibalistic tendencies) Then I was thrown in jail and had to break out by "becoming an animal" and killing others without provocation, allying with an insane wildman.

From there I realised that my supposed Robin Hood character was actually full on Chaotic Evil. He had killed in cold blood so many times, had massacred large groups of people for very little reason, was cannibalistic and just downright crazy. This happened because I let the character make those choices, and they all turned out to be awful choices. He became my evil playthough even though I had no intention at all of playing a bad character when I made him.

Everything said here is correct. You have to immerse yourself in the world and roleplay your character to get the most out of skyrim.

 

[karma9308]

Like others said, you've gotta immerse yourself. Get a build able house mod and slowly have your character build up a house working hard to get a place to live in the land. Don't fast travel too much. Sometimes it makes the game more enjoyable, especially if you get graphical mods. Also, mods! Head over to the nexus and just find any that please you. My personal favorite is the Majora's mask moon replacer. Sure it takes me out of the immersion a little bit, but when final hour starts playing (music customization also a mod) the landscape just feels too awesome.

Of course, Skyrim just may not be your game. It's ok to not like something.

 

[Risingblade]

Take a walk, don't bother with quests just take a walk and look around. Exploration is really this game's major appeal.

 

[Bobic]

These guys all have nice advice and all, but the real way to have fun at Skyrim is to be a badass viking.

 

[Something Amyss]

I think to enjoy Skyrim you have to enjoy Roleplaying, because that's the main strengh of Skyrim.

Come up with a backstory for your character, give them a short history and a summary of personal feelings, prejudices, etc. (I once played a Kahjit with a fear of water, for example, so anything that involved travelling through water was out of the question unless there was no other option.)
Giving them a D'n'D alignment [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alignment_%28Dungeons_%26_Dragons%29] or roleplaying as a character you know well helps (e.g. play as Batman, or Kratos, or Zoidberg (Why not?) )

Don't use your knowledge of the game to influence your character's actions, let them choose based on the personalities you gave them.

The greatest character I ever made was a wood elf, he was supposed to be a Robin Hood type character; Chaotic Neutral, who had a personal bone with the Thalmor and no Imperial/Stormcloak leanings.
I began by not following the guy at the start, but by going my own way, since I was very independent, and ended up in Falkreath, where I was immediately lambasted by a stormcloak for being an elf, I stole all his possessions and littered them around the town, did some more petty stuff and ended up getting run out of town by the guards.
Went to Whiterun (still hadn't begun the main quest at this point) and met with the companions, joined them because they looked amoral and cool, and ended up getting embroiled in their questline, which led to a lot of massacres of people for very thin reasons, which was quite an evil thing to do. On the search for coin I ended up in Markarth, and helping out a poor dude got lambasted by the stormcloaks (again) so at this point I decided my character didn't like them, ended up killing a guy in self defence and became accidentally complicit in luring a monk to his doom, was told by a possessed lady how much I loved eating people (and I was a Wood Elf, so her prophetic insistence that this was true convinced me I had cannibalistic tendencies) Then I was thrown in jail and had to break out by "becoming an animal" and killing others without provocation, allying with an insane wildman.

From there I realised that my supposed Robin Hood character was actually full on Chaotic Evil. He had killed in cold blood so many times, had massacred large groups of people for very little reason, was cannibalistic and just downright crazy. This happened because I let the character make those choices, and they all turned out to be awful choices. He became my evil playthough even though I had no intention at all of playing a bad character when I made him.

It actually sounds like the whole "Skyrim" part of the game could be done away with entirely to no ill effect.

 

[Something Amyss]

3. Mod up what you can, grabbing such mods as suit your personal tastes. There are plenty of visual mods everyone should look at.

Did you even read what he wrote? Suggesting that he mod up seems to indicate no. I mean, he's asking if there's a way to mod the combat to not be as boring.

 

[xshadowscreamx]

start from one side of the map and just travel to the other side and see what happens.

 

[Joccaren]

I really want to enjoy Skyrim. But the combat, the quests, they are just so boring. Is there a better combat mod, or a total conversion mod? How does everyone enjoy vanilla skyrim? Halp.

There are a TON of Total Conversion and Combat changing mods. A quick search on http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/ will get you all you need to know. My quick search showed up with:
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/9286
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/25210
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/24377
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/10037
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/20428
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/2700
http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/16010

And many more. No idea how any of them work, I'm more into modding it myself with the Creation Kit and getting the results I want as opposed to what someone else thought was a good idea. The CK isn't too hard to learn and I'd recommend it TBH, but if you don't feel up to it W/E.

As for vanilla Skyrim... Lets just say there's a reason I never finished the main quest, even though I am doggedly persistent in playing until I complete a game. It was too boring. People say Roleplay, but as you may have noticed its kinda hard when you are basically a silent protagonist. You can explore, but everything gets samey rather fast. You can fight, but the combat is, TBH, shite.

Mod the game yourself, or use what someone else has done, and then just fuck around in the world rather than trying to actually play the game. Lite roleplaying is the best for it; I.E: Giving your character an overall goal and general personality and then sending them out into the world to do what they want. Or your can mod it and use it as a massive battle simulator once you've got your combat the way you like it by spawning in armies of different factions and fighting it out with them for shits and giggles.

But yeah, I can't recommend modding Skyrim enough. Its nigh on unplayable without it IMO as it excels in nothing. It is the Halo: CE Master Chief of Videogames; an almost blank slate that's got some backstory, and a couple of lines that are fairly free of personality, but otherwise just exists and does what it does.

 

[deathbydeath]

I seem to remember something called "Skyrim GEMS", which I believe is a database of awesome mods that mods everything. I believe it would have what you're looking for. Seriously though, play something else that isn't mediocre on a good day.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

Did you even read what he wrote? Suggesting that he mod up seems to indicate no. I mean, he's asking if there's a way to mod the combat to not be as boring.

Is there a reason you're being confrontational? This "help me enjoy Skyrim" thread has your passions inflamed or something? Settle down.

Yes, I read what he wrote. "Is there a better combat mod, the combat is so boring" is a uselessly nebulous request. I have no idea what it is about the combat OP finds distasteful and boring, and thus I could spend all day listing specific combat mods that do not address his requirements...wasting everyone's time in the process. If the OP wants to find mods that will alter the combat to his taste, he can take himself to the Nexus and look through what is available. He doesn't need me holding his hand.

I provided a small list of things the OP might consider in order to improve his experience. If he finds one of those things redundant, he can just ignore it. Why a third party would stroll through the thread and make a fuss about it is utterly beyond me, but hey...some folks love an argument, I guess.

I'm honestly trying to love skyrim.

I want to believe that, chum, but your OP came off as a tad condemnatory. If you find the core game play agonizingly boring, there's really only so much mods can do. If I came along and made a post reading "Help me enjoy Crap Game #5, I'm trying to like it but it's just so crappy and stupid. Is there a mod that makes it less awful?" would you believe I was "honestly trying to love the game"?

However...I have taken you at your word, and provided you with options. I even had the gall to suggest you look into mods after you already mentioned mods...because I'm a thoughtless, sadistic monster. It's cool though, Zach has your back.

 

[SajuukKhar]

1. GEMS - Gameplay Enhancement Mods for Skyrim - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/23826
2. STEP - Skyrim Total Enhancement Project - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/11

GEMS is for gameplay
STEP is for graphics.

Duel - Combat Realism - http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/2700 is probably the single best combat enhancer mod out there.

 

[bug_of_war]

Honestly, if you don't like it, you wont like it no matter how someone tells you to play. You will just end up getting annoyed more. You have to find something that clicks with you, and then when you explore that, maybe the rest of the game will seem passable or better. This happened with me. When it first came out a lot of my mates were buying it/downlaoding it from Steam and I figured that I enjoyed Oblivion somewhat, so I may as well try Skyrim. I was bored and angry when I first played it because it just didn't click with me, I hadn't played any other Elder Scrolls games but Oblivion, and even then I knew little of the games' lore. So, I stopped playing for a bit. But then one of my friends told me you could become a Werewolf and I figured, "Hey, could be cool". So I started a new playthrough as a Nord, did what I had to do, and then I got Lycanthropy. HOLY CRAP did I start enjoying the game. I could get to places quicker, descimate nearly all enemies, and it made a majority of the missions more fun. For example, the Dar Brotherhood missions became so much more fun because I could plan out an attack on a person that would take the risk of obtaining a bounty away. The more I played, the more I began enjoying the game.

So yeah, if you don't like the game, then you probably wont ever until you can find something that appeals to you as much as being a badass Werewolf.