The Elder Scrolls: How to approach for a beginner?!

[BeeGeenie]

Thanks for the replies people, but anyone have any tips on alchemy and enchanting? I really want to et a little into it, for the sake of fully covering the game

I always "Steal ALL the Soulgems!" and try to get a "Soultrap" enchanted weapon to make enchanting easier.

The likelihood of finding decent alchemy... things (Mortar, Calcinator) is based on your level, and you're most likely to find one in a Necromancer or Vampire infested dungeon.

Also, in oblivion, the weight of a potion is determined by combining the average of the first two ingredients you used to make that particular potion, so don't use your heavy ingredients first.

The problem with enchantment and alchemy is that it requires a lot of busy work and spamming crap potions/enchantments to get your skill up to a good level so you can make the good stuff. It pays to be a hoarder.

 

[Caiphus]

As for your class: Create a custom class and pick the skills that appeal the most to you. I recommend not picking skills that level up without your control - those would be athletics, acrobatics, heavy armor and light armor.

No, no, no - don't do that. Pick the skills you don't want. But yes, pick skills that you can control the levelling of. So absolutely don't get acrobatics or athletics, and don't pick block unless you won't be using shields and so on and so forth. The reason is simple - the game punishes you if you level up too fast - everything else levels with you but due to the obtuse way your character is advancing, one wrong step and you'll be picked off by any bandit in range while no more powerful than a squirrel. Athletics/acrobatics are especially bad as they level up on their own and very fast at that - you can pretty much get ten or so levels just exploring the Imperial City for the first time, at which point you'll be boned.

Eh, I always found not levelling a lot less fun. Skinner box ftw and all that.

The Elder Scrolls games have all got very nifty difficulty settings that you can fiddle with if stuff gets annoying or the game fucks you over for the reasons DoPo listed.

Or if you want to roleplay as Captain Underpants and beat up dragons while naked, you can use the difficulty settings for that too.

 

[Archetypal_Maniac]

I've been meaning to play TES for a long time, even before Skyrim elevated the serious to the top of the hype shelf, but I struggle a little getting into it. I bought Oblivion (in the fabulous BioShock combo, which my friend hadn't played) almost a year ago, but didn't really get any further than Kvatch (where I was saving this Marten guy, or whatever his name is).

I think much of the problem is that I'm kind of compulsive about axploring and collecting. That works out ok in lighter games like Mass Effect and BioShock, but it gets kind of.. tiresome in TES.

Anyways, I guess what I'm asking for is some general tips on how to play; how to effectively use alchemy; how quickly to progress the main plot; whether I should explore dungeons, or wait until they possibly become part of a quest; how to go about gear and weapons etc.

EDIT; I'm on Xbox, so modding is pretty much out of the question. Also; enchanting?! Is it important? Should I be careful not to waste the orbs/stones I collect from the Oblivion gates? Should I wait with enchanting until I get some rare gear that's worth keeping? How does soul gems work? The fact that enchanted weapons have a set number of uses REALLY puts me off..

My character, btw, is a Nord Mage, which seems to prefer destruction magic and blunt one hand weapons. So yeah, kind of a mess.

Also; have they improved the incredibly awkward conversations in Skyrim? I have no words for how horrible the camera angling and character behavior is when speaking to people..

Captcha:
"Which one is hardest?
-Sleeping
-Looking straight ahead
-Sitting down
-Jumping up and down on one leg while chewing gum"

Teh fuk, get your stuff together..

1. Install the game.
2. Play it and learn for yourself.
3. Avoid using guides because they'll funnel your decision morphing you into a boring clone.

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

The way I play these games is to pick my character before hand, and then make goals for what I want that character to do by the end...

For instance my latest character that I am playing now in Skyrim is a pirate. His personality is that he is charismatic, but lives only for gaining treasure. He duel wields Scimitars and focuses on speed, so light armour. He also conjours a pet (Polly the flame atronach at the mo.) So I am working on One-Handed, Conjuration, Speechcraft, Lockpicking, Light Armour and Smithing (So I can upgrade my armours.)

I then looked at the ultimate gear I could get for this set up for my character, and then work my way to it. So I have Dragon Born and want to get the Deathbrand set, so I am working through missions that will get me to the correct level and set up for that... He also uses his rebellious nature to join the Stormcloaks, his quest for riches and glory made him join the companions, and all his decisions are based on getting the most treasure/wealth... even if it involves taking the evil option (However he will get revenge on the evil as soon as he has been paid!) He also has an unhealthy obsession with hating other rival pirates, and does any quest relating to killing pirates or raiding ships!

 

[Gatx]

As for your class: Create a custom class and pick the skills that appeal the most to you. I recommend not picking skills that level up without your control - those would be athletics, acrobatics, heavy armor and light armor.

No, no, no - don't do that. Pick the skills you don't want. But yes, pick skills that you can control the levelling of. So absolutely don't get acrobatics or athletics, and don't pick block unless you won't be using shields and so on and so forth. The reason is simple - the game punishes you if you level up too fast - everything else levels with you but due to the obtuse way your character is advancing, one wrong step and you'll be picked off by any bandit in range while no more powerful than a squirrel. Athletics/acrobatics are especially bad as they level up on their own and very fast at that - you can pretty much get ten or so levels just exploring the Imperial City for the first time, at which point you'll be boned.

Actually, it would be better to use a mod with an an alternative levelling system - try TES Nexus for some. And while you're at it, get the No Psychic Guards mod, too. It's so worth it.

Other than that...I dunno what to say - just explore and do whatever you want, really. It might be better to leave off the main quest for the beginning - do something else.

Leveling was one of the most confusing aspects of the game for me. Luckily there's mods for that.

 

[Edguy]

The way I play these games is to pick my character before hand, and then make goals for what I want that character to do by the end...

For instance my latest character that I am playing now in Skyrim is a pirate. His personality is that he is charismatic, but lives only for gaining treasure. He duel wields Scimitars and focuses on speed, so light armour. He also conjours a pet (Polly the flame atronach at the mo.) So I am working on One-Handed, Conjuration, Speechcraft, Lockpicking, Light Armour and Smithing (So I can upgrade my armours.)

I then looked at the ultimate gear I could get for this set up for my character, and then work my way to it. So I have Dragon Born and want to get the Deathbrand set, so I am working through missions that will get me to the correct level and set up for that... He also uses his rebellious nature to join the Stormcloaks, his quest for riches and glory made him join the companions, and all his decisions are based on getting the most treasure/wealth... even if it involves taking the evil option (However he will get revenge on the evil as soon as he has been paid!) He also has an unhealthy obsession with hating other rival pirates, and does any quest relating to killing pirates or raiding ships!

That's pretty cool, I tend to play RPGs like that as well--only with Oblivion I didn't really have a clue about the mechanics, so i kinda just.. started.

And yeah, leveling system is pretty confusing. Think I have mostly figured it out by now, though.

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

To answer your questions, don't worry too much about saving your Sigil Stones. The one thing Oblivion has no shortage of is Oblivion Gates.

When you kill a creature with a weapon that has Soul Trap OR cast Soul Trap on them and then kill them quickly, their soul goes into the Soul Stone. The stronger the creature, the bigger the soul. Humans always have the best souls, but you can't capture them with a Black Soul Stone. Use Soul Stones to recharge weapons and create magic.

A few other assorted tips for Oblivion:

1) Jump at all times. This will constantly level your Acrobatics skill. In addition, buy every repair hammer you can and repair EVERY item you find. If you don't, you won't be able to repair your enchanted gear.

2) Get lots and lots of shock. The main enemies, Oblivion creatures, are very weak to it.

3) If you want to overpower yourself a bit, don't level too often. You only level officially when you sleep, but you can keep gaining skills at all times. Thus, the enemies won't scale, but your abilities will continue to increase.

4) Kill someone innocent secretly. If you haven't done the first Oblivion gate yet, a really good kill is the lone surviving guard you find there. If done properly, you'll get some message about someone taking note of your kill.

5) Do lot's of Oblivion gates. You can run past most enemies since you instantly escape when you take the Sigil Stone.

6) When you reach the top of a tower, save just before clicking on the stone. The enchantment you get is completely random, so keep reloading until you get something you want. I recommend reloading until you get a shock enchantment.

7) This one is oddly specific, but don't wait to finish Kavatch. I fucked around and didn't get to it until level 15 or so. The thing is, at low levels there's just a shitload of the annoying little Imp dudes. They're weak and the soldiers can handle them. If you wait, however, EVERY SINGLE IMP DUDE becomes a giant fucking alligator demon. The swarm of alligators then proceeds to anally violate the soldiers and anyone who is with them, namely YOU.

8) Last tip: Play Shivering Isles! It's one of the best DLCs ever made.

Good Luck!

 

[Aethren]

Nord Mage... Well, you picked what is probably the most difficult combination in the game, but there are ways to make it work.

1. Go find the legendary sword Umbra. There's an Orc lady with a quest for it in the little village across the water from the sewers exit. It's enchanted with Soul Trap, which will make enchanting much easier.

2. Join the Mage's Guild. Rank up in that by following its quests until you can access the Imperial Library, with its enchanting altar.

3. Put the Main Quest on hold for awhile, there's really no need to rush through it at all.

4. A very easy (but cheesy) way to level alchemy is to gather up ALL THE FOOD. You can make Restore Stamina potions with that, selling them for more than the cost of the food.

 

[Wayneguard]

UESP.NET
http://uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page
Your first and last stop for all questions Elder Scrolls related.





The best advice I can give you is to play Morrowind instead. There's a 50/50 chance you'll flat out despise it but if you are one of the select breed of gamer that can play it, you will fall in love.

As far as your Oblivion character goes, do you have the Knights of the Nine expansion pack? If so, the armor you get through that questline is perfect for a fighter/mage and you can make it scale with level.

 

[layden radeen]

I would just start playing I think skyrim or oblivion is a better start than morrowind because they are better with direction and a little more strait foreword with things like stats and training but above every thing keep playing

 

[rasputin0009]

I've been meaning to play TES for a long time, even before Skyrim elevated the serious to the top of the hype shelf, but I struggle a little getting into it. I bought Oblivion (in the fabulous BioShock combo, which my friend hadn't played) almost a year ago, but didn't really get any further than Kvatch (where I was saving this Martin guy, or whatever his name is).

I think much of the problem is that I'm kind of compulsive about exploring and collecting. That works out ok in lighter games like Mass Effect and BioShock, but it gets kind of.. tiresome in TES.

Anyways, I guess what I'm asking for is some general tips on how to play; how to effectively use alchemy; how quickly I should progress the main plot; whether I should explore dungeons, or wait until they possibly become part of a quest; how to go about gear and weapons etc.

EDIT; I'm on Xbox, so modding is pretty much out of the question. Also; enchanting?! Is it important? Should I be careful not to waste the orbs/stones I collect from the Oblivion gates? Should I wait with enchanting until I get some rare gear that's worth keeping? How does soul gems work? The fact that enchanted weapons have a set number of uses REALLY puts me off..

My character, btw, is a Nord Mage, which seems to prefer destruction magic and blunt one hand weapons. So yeah, kind of a mess.

EDITEDIT; Any gear suggestions for my half-soldier/half-mage Nord? I believe what I'm seeking is one-handed weapons, preferably blunt, and light armor. Obviously not asking for ultimate endgame stuff here, but something that's be available for me, being lvl 4(?).

Also; have they improved the incredibly awkward conversations in Skyrim? I have no words for how horrible the camera angling and character behavior is when speaking to people..

Captcha:
"Which one is hardest?
-Sleeping
-Looking straight ahead
-Sitting down
-Jumping up and down on one leg while chewing gum"

Teh fuk, get your stuff together..

Skip the main quest (or rush it), but check out the guild storylines. Especially the Assassin's Guild questline. You don't even have to be a stealthy character for that questline. I also recommend to not level up your main skills as the game difficulty begins to break late-game (about 15 hours in). And then quickly move on to Skyrim because dragons. I still piss myself when a dragon starts circling in the sky and then I feel so badass when I kill it. Oblivion dungeons do start to feel repetitive quickly, but Skyrim's stay fresh for a long time. And Skyrim conversations definitely fix the Oblivion conversation issues.

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

The fact that everyone says, "Use a mod! It'll be better that way!" seems to indicate to me that the core games are uniformly boring. Experience has also led me to this conclusion, but it does make me wonder why Bethesda doesn't do more to adapt the popular mods into core gameplay for future installments....

 

[Sir Thomas Sean Connery]

The fact that everyone says, "Use a mod! It'll be better that way!" seems to indicate to me that the core games are uniformly boring. Experience has also led me to this conclusion, but it does make me wonder why Bethesda doesn't do more to adapt the popular mods into core gameplay for future installments....

They do that all the time.

Usually in DLC. Dawngaurd, Hearthfire and Dragonborn were all heavily mod influenced.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

I've been meaning to play TES for a long time, even before Skyrim elevated the serious to the top of the hype shelf, but I struggle a little getting into it. I bought Oblivion (in the fabulous BioShock combo, which my friend hadn't played) almost a year ago, but didn't really get any further than Kvatch (where I was saving this Martin guy, or whatever his name is).

I think much of the problem is that I'm kind of compulsive about exploring and collecting. That works out ok in lighter games like Mass Effect and BioShock, but it gets kind of.. tiresome in TES.

Anyways, I guess what I'm asking for is some general tips on how to play; how to effectively use alchemy; how quickly I should progress the main plot; whether I should explore dungeons, or wait until they possibly become part of a quest; how to go about gear and weapons etc.

EDIT; I'm on Xbox, so modding is pretty much out of the question. Also; enchanting?! Is it important? Should I be careful not to waste the orbs/stones I collect from the Oblivion gates? Should I wait with enchanting until I get some rare gear that's worth keeping? How does soul gems work? The fact that enchanted weapons have a set number of uses REALLY puts me off..

My character, btw, is a Nord Mage, which seems to prefer destruction magic and blunt one hand weapons. So yeah, kind of a mess.

EDITEDIT; Any gear suggestions for my half-soldier/half-mage Nord? I believe what I'm seeking is one-handed weapons, preferably blunt, and light armor. Obviously not asking for ultimate endgame stuff here, but something that's be available for me, being lvl 4(?).

Also; have they improved the incredibly awkward conversations in Skyrim? I have no words for how horrible the camera angling and character behavior is when speaking to people..

Captcha:
"Which one is hardest?
-Sleeping
-Looking straight ahead
-Sitting down
-Jumping up and down on one leg while chewing gum"

Teh fuk, get your stuff together..

I would say: head back to Oblivion. Seriously, it's hard to go back to Oblivion after the streamlined combat and such of Skyrim, but it's a great game and its a little bit easier to get through if you have a strategy for what you want to do than Skyrim is.

With that said - the important thing for both games is that you want to know who you want to be when you play them, as a character I mean. Like, for example - how I play them is I play is to decide what kind of person I want to be in this game - you can do this without knowing all that is in the game (I know so I do a more complicated plan) by picking a basic archetype, i.e. sneaky rogue, stalwart warrior, mercenary for hire, serial killer, intellectual, future mover of worlds with cosmic magic power, whatever.

Once you've done that, you know what you're doing in the game. The thing with these games (and these types of games) is that you are defined as much by what you do as much as what you don't do. It is OK to decline or ignore quests. If you are a stalwart warrior, it makes no amount of sense for you to be sneaking into people's houses to steal their trinkets while they are asleep. Be who you've decided to be and follow that inspiration to where the quests that will advance that idea are.

Also - the main quest (and this applies to both games, as does all of the above) is best done sooner rather than later, in terms of the gameplay. The monsters level up as you do, and typically the monsters on the main quest are the most challenging. If you failed Kvatch horribly, it was probably because you were level 15 or better once you got there, in which case it's basically a crap shoot on what kinds of creatures you'll find past the Oblivion gate.

Don't be timid about adjusting the difficulty if you find yourself struggling, you can always turn it back up later when you have a better set of gear or weapon or potions or whatever.

Side lines are great, and you should engage them, but it is very easy to get overwhelmed! Pick what you are doing, do that, and then go collect more things to do, then do them, lather, rinse, repeat.

 

[Mylinkay Asdara]

Thanks for the replies people, but anyone have any tips on alchemy and enchanting? I really want to et a little into it, for the sake of fully covering the game

Alchemy - eat every ingredient before you ever mix it - you learn 1 property from eating it (it might be only occasionally in Oblivion, but it is constant for Skyrim) and that helps a lot. Mix stuff is the only other way to go - guides can be found for what goes with what if you don't want to waste at the Wikis easily in tables.

Enchanting - in Oblivion is based on the spells you know and I remember it being somewhat insane, in Skyrim it is only important if you want to make your own armor and add effects to it - totally optional, you get plenty of nice stuff in game play you might like better, but if you are a do-it-yourself type then yes both Smithing and Enchanting are going to be something you want to do. For leveling Enchanting in Skyrim: use your BS low level soul gems to put petty enchantments on any of the crap gear you intend to sell anyway to get your skill up and then go ahead and sell them off.

 

[AT God]

As for how to approach the games, I have had the same question, I have tried 3 times to playthrough Oblivion and have never progressed through the story, it took 3 tries on Skyrim and I literally had to force myself to play through the story missions just so I could say that I had.

I can tell you some things that I did that I don't recommend, but since I am not a huge fan of the games, (Only played Oblivion and Skyrim) my ideas are probably wrong. In fact I was accused on this forum of playing the game "wrong" which kinda made me realize Skyrim wasn't a game for me.

Anyway, I usually try to complete everything in a game in one play through. While I haven't changed this, one of my friends who loves Bethesda's games recommends otherwise, when we both got New Vegas on launch day, he beat the game 3 times before I beat it once since he loves to play thru multiple times.

With the TES, since there are multiple character layouts, you kinda need to play through the game multiple times to experience everything, I tried to go through the game and check off each skill one by one but when you max out one style of combat, all the other ones become useless, so I recommend mixing combat all the time OR saving magic or melee/bow for different plays.

Also, similar to my completionism, I try to evoke all dialogue options and get every bit of information from the game, which means it takes me hours to get through a single quest, I don't recommend this either. A large amount of the dialogue that isn't from essential people (quest givers) is basically a waste of time. Play through the game first, if you like all the back story, you can play through it again to get better insight, trying to learn everything will make you hate the game and will cause you to quit. I had like 100 hours on one character in Oblivion and had only completed one guild.

Also, get it through your head that you don't need to pick up everything and sell it. These games have lots of items, every enemy drops each part of their equipment and you need to resist picking everything up and selling it. In the beginning of the game you will be strapped for cash but soon after you will have more cash than you know what to do with so don't loot everything you see.

Finally, I still believe you should do all the side stuff before getting bogged down in the story. If you start one quest tree, complete that tree before going to another, but make sure you don't get stuck in a quest tree, no matter how much you might want to explore, keep doing quests, you can always go and run around later.

So really, big picture, I don't like the games because I play them a specific way, my advice would be to do the opposite of what I do which means keep moving.

Note about mods for people who have the PC version:
The mod argument is tricky. First and foremost, don't get mods that extensively modify gameplay, get the ones the FIX THINGS and the ones that make things look better. The UI mods are important, and being huge games, the unofficial patches people make are life savers.

 

[Altorin]

-Nord Mage-

Milk drinker >_>

Yeah, explore as much as possible, dungeons give the best weapons and armor, and in Oblivion you can all but ignore the main quest. In fact, I recommend it, because the Plains of Oblivion are WAAAAAAAAAAY shittier than one would first assume, and it's only useful for pointless potions. And plot, I guess.

Oh, and as for Alchemy, just health potions. You're going to want enough that you have an effective IV in combat, maybe mana pots if you're a mage.

And one last tip, kill someone. Don't make it an obvious thing, prison time is a thing, just secretly kill someone. You'll thank me

The Enchanting Orbs you get from Oblivion Gates are decent.

 

[Phuctifyno]

I haven't read every response, so I'm sorry if I've repeated anybody's suggestions.

What worked best for me, both as introduction to the series and extending longevity of enjoyment: create multiple characters.

This will free you up in many ways. There are all kinds of different play-styles and an array of quests (and guilds) suited to each, so if you're hiking around with one character, it can be very time consuming, confusing, and frustrating (and in some cases, literally impossible) to try to take it all in. By having different characters who each focus on smaller portions of the game, it's easier to get immersed into one specific thing at a time without the shadow of every-other-single-fucking-thing-in-the-game looming over your shoulder, and also you can switch from one to the other if you're getting tired of one thing and want to change it up (without having to physically pull your first character out of whatever it is you were up to).

I've got 7 characters now (who I use across Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim interchangeably) who employ varying degrees of nuance, but as a beginner it would make sense to start with 3. It would be the most direct way to explore the 3 main channels of play-style: Mage (all magic stuff basically, alchemy, enchanting, etc), Warrior (light or heavy armor, combat skills, smithing and weaponry), and Thief (stealth, conversation, archery, assassin stuff).

And if the main quest is important to you, then pick your favorite or most successful character to fulfil it once you're comfortable with the world and mechanics - though really, in a TES game, the main quest is basically just a tour guide.

Most importantly: keep fit and have fun. Participaction!

 

[infohippie]

With that said - the important thing for both games is that you want to know who you want to be when you play them, as a character I mean. Like, for example - how I play them is I play is to decide what kind of person I want to be in this game - you can do this without knowing all that is in the game (I know so I do a more complicated plan) by picking a basic archetype, i.e. sneaky rogue, stalwart warrior, mercenary for hire, serial killer, intellectual, future mover of worlds with cosmic magic power, whatever.

Once you've done that, you know what you're doing in the game. The thing with these games (and these types of games) is that you are defined as much by what you do as much as what you don't do. It is OK to decline or ignore quests. If you are a stalwart warrior, it makes no amount of sense for you to be sneaking into people's houses to steal their trinkets while they are asleep. Be who you've decided to be and follow that inspiration to where the quests that will advance that idea are.

This is the best advice ever for Elder Scrolls games. Their main storyline is usually a bit pants and can be safely ignored unless you feel like progressing it. The best way to play these is to decide on the type of personality and talents you want your character to exhibit, create one along those lines, then go out into the world and just be that character. Take the quests that would suit someone like that and decline the ones that would not. Delve into dungeons as you like, regardless of quests. If you want to settle down and have a home base to return to, buy or build a house. If you would rather be a wanderer, then just do so. Every Elder Scrolls game is much more fun as just a sandbox world to wander and adventure in, than as a scripted storyline.