I find Skyrim kind of... boring.

[Siege_TF]

It would have been better if food and drink were more important (the only worthwhile food is cooked mudcrab legs and th spouse's homecooked meal). Give the thief and/or warrior playstyles something like the survivalist skills from Fallout New Vegas. As it stands my character eats whatever food is on the corpses he makes, which is my mind is just to stop him from looking like a Drugar, and more recently then he turns into a werewolf and eats the corpses after the area is cleared (don't have the werewolf perks to actually go through a large group of bandits as a werewolf yet).

But it's the little things like eating to make my character not starve in spite of the fact that he can't is one of the things that makes the game. Calling it boring is like calling Minecraft boring. A bit part of the game is what you make of it.

Oh, and having certain shouts as dialouge options would have been REALLY nice too.

 

[thehermit2]

I got this game when it first came out and then it sat largely un-played on my hard drive for a year before I finally got into it (not the game's fault, I started doing physical therapy for a shoulder injury right after I got it). It is a beautiful game, but the physics kind of sucks and the quests are often buggy and formulaic, even when they aren't radiant quests.

Every once in a while there will be a quest with a story that just kind of sucks me in. The Frostflow Abyss stands out in my mind as one of the better story quests in Skyrim. You enter the Frostflow Lighthouse and find a scene of bloody carnage. The quest is to investigate the killings, which you do by finding journals scattered first in the lighthouse and then in the Frostflow Abyss connected to it. Gradually through journals the story of what happens to the occupants and how they met their end unfolds, and the story wraps up with you making a symbolic gesture to put the family at rest, which gives you a nice bonus power. Ignoring the journal-story, this is yet another boring dungeon crawl, but with it you get the impression that you have made a difference in this hyperviolent world.

There was another one, I won't say which exactly, where you enter a cave to find a hidden bandit town that is being attacked by falmers. Both sides are your enemy and you can sneak and watch them butcher each other and take out the winners, or just wade into the fray and butcher both sides. You can descend into the falmer caves, releasing captured, hostile bandits as distractions, and eventually clean out both sides and find a boss chest or dragon word or something. But then, just as you are about to leave, a party of bandits walks in bragging of their latest score and calling for ale only to see the carnage and cry "What happened here!?!" Not the best story, but it was a funny surprise.

After I did the Dark Brotherhood storyline in Skyrim, which I thought telegraphed the ending a bit much but which was still pretty decent, I realized I hadn't done the Dark Brotherhood story from Oblivion and went back to play that. It is amazing how much more refined Skyrim is over Oblivion. It is prettier, the interface is better, the storytelling is more polished, and the physics, while still broken, are significantly improved. I remember loving Oblivion when I was first playing it, but now it looks five years older than it is, and I ended up fast-travelling through most of the story. Skyrim has its problems, but I look forward to Bethesda doing another one.

 

[RobDaBank]

Here I am, head of all guilds, Thane of all holds, home owner of many homes, millionaire, master blacksmith, herbalist, enchanter etc, and yet EVERY time I enter Whiterun "Do you get to the Cloud District very much? Oh what am I saying, of course you don't"...

"Do you know who the Fus-Ro-Dah I am?"

 

[skywolfblue]

I find Skyrim kind of... boring.

That's because it is.

Boring Combat. Forgettable Characters. Clunky AI. It's dull as a "game".

It's a pretty scenic hiking simulator though.

 

[briankoontz]

Skyrim, like all Elder Scrolls games, is a largely empty world. The NPCs are boring like they always are, just like they are in GTA and that boringness really stands out in a game which has some pretentions toward simulation.

Many of us have thought that by this time in the development of game technology and design that there would be far better AI and thus far better NPCs, and Skyrim shows us just how disappointing the industry is in this respect.

 

[IamLEAM1983]

Going into Skyrim with the idea that you'll hundred-percent it with a single character is absolute madness. The trick to TES games is to role-play your way through whatever side-quests fit your character's goals or archetypes, or the general concept you have in mind. If you play Skyrim with the intent of "winning" the game, you'll get bored out of your mind within five minutes.

So don't roll an Archer and then pick up the College of Winterhold questline unless that's explicitly part of your build. Don't try and uncover every single item and location on the map. Keep several sets of saves.

I've got one Main Quest Only dude, one Thieves Guild Only dude - essentially one character per main side-quest, plus one character per expansion. I don't allow myself to play a god on two legs that goes around solving everyone's problems. I don't min-max and I invest my Perk points where I want to.

The end result can be a horribly broken mess - but at least it's entertaining.

Oh, and mods help immensely. Falskaar and Wyrmstooth are absolute must-have quest mods.

 

[Verrik]

Yeah, I have to admit, as much as I love the Elder Scrolls games, they can be kind of boring or get boring after a short while. It's just, the only real thing Skyrim has going for it is the huge game world. Sure it looks good (especially with mods) and there's a lot to explore, but at the end of the day it's all just, meh.

The story in Skyrim is certainly nothing special, I really can't form any sort of attachment with any of the characters (what, with their 5 voice actors and all), the combat is fine but I've seen games do much much better (Kingdoms of Amalur anyone?). So really, Skyrim is just a mediocre game with a wide open world overall.

I don't know, some people can probably explain it better, but that's how I feel.

 

[Verrik]

Really what I wanna see is a game that combines the best of Skyrim, Dragon Age, and Kingdoms of Amalur. Like, Skyrim's open world; the way Bioware does its dialogue, story, and character interactions; and Kingdoms of Amalur's combat. Something like that.

Again, someone can probably explain my idea better, but a game like that would be awesome.

 

[LadyMint]

Along the same line as some others in this thread: One of the things that keeps the game interesting for me is keeping a character journal. All in the voice of my character. I'm not trying to be a completionist or jack of all trades, I'm just exploring and doing quests based on my character's personality, then taking the time to write about it. Also I have a few friends who are playing the game and we like to share our different experiences.

 

[Clive Howlitzer]

That isn't very crazy, the game mostly is boring. There isn't a lot of depth to the world and it shows. It is only after you mod the shit out of it that it starts to take steps towards becoming a decent game. The actual in-game quests are boring as fuck in my opinion. The game is a lot more interesting if you install a ton of immersion mods, and just create your own fun.

 

[KoudelkaMorgan]

I prefer just about everything in Oblivion over Skyrim. The exceptions being I like Skyrim's leveling/skill system way more than the other which forced you to hop like a spaz for hours, punch out your own skeletons, and swim into a wall etc. every time you wanted to level up so that you actually GOT better stats. Also not having Goblins with like 4k HP that break all your armor in 2 hits at end game is preferred.

Not needing to repair stuff is also preferred.

And I like the graphics in Skyrim better, even if its wasted on a lot of rocks ice and snow. Skyrim Trolls > Oblivion Trolls and so on.

I miss having my hands full with weapons/shield AND still being able to use magic. Magic that I created.

Skyrim's magic is very sad, which makes me very sad Q_Q

Shivering Isles > all Skyrim DLC from what I've seen of it.

Damned Oblivion gates > Random dragon attacks

I actually liked the plot in Oblivion, I barely noticed it in Skyrim. And knowing that avoiding it prevents dragon attacks I always avoid it now, and it also means that I won't get the DLC which requires them. Or the one that allows vampires to murder all the npcs.

But I never found it terribly boring. If I did, I wouldn't have made like 50 characters and repeated the same content over and over.

 

[Raggedstar]

I actually just finished playing some Skyrim. Keep in mind I'm playing on PS3 and this is my first Western RPG so I have no point of reference. I also haven't completed the main story (I arrived at Solitude yesterday, clocked in maybe just shy of 20 hours) and I downright suck at it sometimes.

While I do have fun with Skyrim and respect it's scale and beauty, I do agree with all the criticisms in this thread. The plot and characters aren't that engaging, the quests are pretty boring, and I find the combat very awkward. But I love the wilderness and finding new places (also I don't have any dragon-slaying games, especially none that has me do it as a kitty decked out in armour). So I like it, but I do see how it's rather dull.

Also, only glitch I got was the game freezing two days ago. Just thought I would toss that out since I'm downright amazed yet depressed at the same time. Everyone gets backwards dragons and flying horses but me

 

[SadisticFire]

I completely agree with everything you just wrote, Shinji.

In fact, after logging close to 250 hours in "Skyrim", I started playing "Fallout: New Vegas" and was blown away by the differences!

Characters that don't recite the same dialogue! Quests that can be solved multiple ways! Quest that don't involve running into a subterranean place, killing things and fetching some McGuffin! And most importantly, the sense that the player's actions actually impact the game world!

How were these basics overlooked when developing "Skyrim"?

Because it wasn't made by the same team. New Vegas was made by Obsidian using the Gamebryo engine.(The engine that Bethesda makes open world RPG's with.) But anyways

Yeah skyrim is pretty boring, it gives a lack of responsive world and lack of direction. I only felt better when I was getting a mod to build a house, and I built it, then got bored. There just isn't really much to do. I also found out that the mining and wood chopping is the most stupid thing ever. I feel like one of the developers went "HEY MINECRAFT IS POPULAR IT HAS TREE CHOPPING AND MINING". But eh.

And people keep say "Roleplay". That's severely limited in my opinion a someone who does paraRP(But cannot fucking get anymore RP because everyone around me seems to be dropping out) there's almost no breathing room. The world doesn't respond, it expects you to do things with a very limited amount of tactics, and is overall just kinda saddening.
Merchants have a mysterious bag of holding that only they can access.
Some pointless characters are unkillable despite seemingly the game making you want to kill them.
Fucking children can't die.
Marriage is weak."***** MAKE FOOD. ***** GIMMIE MONEY"
You can't really change opinions. "ENTIRE VILLAGE HATES WIZARD. Can't change their opinion despite you knowing wizard's coo')
I wanna say Fallout 2 has more options, but that's my fallout 2 slut speaking, but eh, the stories I hear is pretty cool. Selling your wife to slavers and driving down a town in a car shooting it up isn't an option you get much in games anymore.

 

[Mikejames]

As a dungeon crawler it's pretty fun, but as an real RPG it falls flat on it's ass.

The world of Skyrim feels sorta lifeless and empty despite all the nice-ish visuals. And NPCs blurting out the exact same dialoge everytime when you pass them feels like you're in a nordic version of Westworld. It would've been better if they didn't say anything unless you spoke to them first. "Mead, mead, mead... Would it kill them to get some beer. Stupid bees and their stupid honey."

And nothing story-related you do seems to have any impact on the public at all. Again, the worst example is when you become head of the Dark Brotherhood, and the Thieves Guild treats you like some whipper snapper when you apply, eventhough these two organisations have extremely close ties.

The Mojave Wasteland in New Vegas felt way more brimming with life than Skyrim despite it being, well, a wasteland.

Pretty much covers it. I was absorbed at the start, but once I got used to the environments the exploration began to feel hollow, and everything just started to boil down to an endless amount of fetch quests.

I'm prone to speaking through nostalgia goggles and realize that Oblivion was far from perfect, but I can't help but compare the unique variety of quests it had in comparison.

 

[Aidan(Roland)]

Now I know some may kill me and some may actually agree with me but I must confess that I do find Skyrim kind of boring.

So do I. So much so I made a video about it on YouTube, and now I get called a fag three times a day.

My issue isn't even with the boredom so much, but more the way in which you have little to no sense of character identity (no real reason to play in third person, can't see your self in the equipment menu, people don't treat you any differently), and the fact that combat depth was far reduced from Oblivion. The dual wield system seems to have more options at first, but when you really look at it there are so many weapon/magic combinations from Oblivion you can't do anymore (eg. no magic/bow, no magic/two handed, no magic/sword n shield).

 

[ryessknight]

I love skyrim personally but i can see why people might find it boring. Its fun for awile but you can burn through its content alot faster then past elder scrolls. I still pop it in to my 360 every now and then to play around with charactor builds but after beating it and all its sides and dlc on my main nord i dont play it as much as i used to.

 

[Verrik]

I prefer just about everything in Oblivion over Skyrim. The exceptions being I like Skyrim's leveling/skill system way more than the other which forced you to hop like a spaz for hours, punch out your own skeletons, and swim into a wall etc. every time you wanted to level up so that you actually GOT better stats. Also not having Goblins with like 4k HP that break all your armor in 2 hits at end game is preferred.

Not needing to repair stuff is also preferred.

And I like the graphics in Skyrim better, even if its wasted on a lot of rocks ice and snow. Skyrim Trolls > Oblivion Trolls and so on.

I miss having my hands full with weapons/shield AND still being able to use magic. Magic that I created.

Skyrim's magic is very sad, which makes me very sad Q_Q

Shivering Isles > all Skyrim DLC from what I've seen of it.

Damned Oblivion gates > Random dragon attacks

I actually liked the plot in Oblivion, I barely noticed it in Skyrim. And knowing that avoiding it prevents dragon attacks I always avoid it now, and it also means that I won't get the DLC which requires them. Or the one that allows vampires to murder all the npcs.

But I never found it terribly boring. If I did, I wouldn't have made like 50 characters and repeated the same content over and over.

Yeah, overall I liked the guild quests in Oblivion better. At the very least I think the Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood were done WAY better in Oblivion as far as their stories go. In Oblivion, you really felt more like a thief. Stealing from the rich, helping out the beggars, and that last quest was amazing! And the Gray Cowl was just plain awesome. In Skyrim, I just felt like a thug. Although the hideout was better in Skyrim I think.

In Oblivion, the quests for the Dark Brotherhood were far more interesting. Like you had one quest, that in order to get the bonus for killing the guy, you couldn't attack anyone or be seen by anyone. And that WhoDunnit? quest was fun. Then at the end you find out you've been killing off the members of the Black Hand one by one. In Skyrim, it's basically just, go here, kill this guy and then come back.

The Mages Guild in Oblivion, while not WAY better than the Arcane University in Skyrim, I still liked it better. At least I got to make my own spells and that Alchemy box was very useful.

The Fighters Guild. Meh, didn't like it any more or less than the Companions. The Companions might have a bit of an edge since you can become a werewolf, but the Fighter's Guild story was just a little more interesting to me.

And last, but not least, The Shivering Isle. Not a guild quest I know, but man! That was an awesome DLC, and still beats any DLC in Skyrim in my opinion (Sorry Serana, but Sheogorath wins).

 

[RaNDM G]

Vanilla Skyrim lacks the engaging story and color of Oblivion, and I was disappointed Bethesda didn't give the continued support the game needed to stay fresh. The developers really rely on the openness of the game and the capability of the modding community to continue generating new content, but I feel the reliance on the community really held Skyrim back in terms of polish.

It's still a fun romp, but I can only enjoy it in short bursts.

 

[Bruenin]

I actually got off from playing Skyrim. Keep in mind I'm playing on PS3 and this is my first Western RPG so I have no point of reference. I also haven't completed the main story (I arrived at Solitude yesterday, clocked in maybe just shy of 20 hours) and I downright suck at it sometimes.

While I do have fun with Skyrim and respect it's scale and beauty, I do agree with all the criticisms in this thread. The plot and characters aren't that engaging, the quests are pretty boring, and I find the combat very awkward. But I love the wilderness and finding new places (also I don't have any dragon-slaying games, especially none that has me do it as a kitty decked out in armour). So I like it, but I do see how it's rather dull.

Also, only glitch I got was the game freezing two days ago. Just thought I would toss that out since I'm downright amazed yet depressed at the same time. Everyone gets backwards dragons and flying horses but me

You 'got off' from playing Skyrim?

OT: I had fun with Skyrim at first then I got a little bored and that was the end of that. The most fun I had was making an arcane archer, but the magic system made me sad. I was hoping for some more variety in spell casting