The OFFICIAL Anandtech Forums TeS V: Skyrim Thread

[cytoSiN]

well, look at it this way--if certain NPCs weren't invulnerable, then I would have completely broken the game/story on my attempt to murder Ulfric the first time I saw him, around level 20 or so. One argument is, fine, great. a large questline you can't complete and a bit of the main quest is changed near the end. Just something to consider on a second playthrough.

another argument: it's too fucking easy to kill this super important guy. You can just waltz right up to his throne, the leader of the rebellion, and kill him without being slowed down. Either way, you have immersion problems.

The funny thing, I tried killing

Spoiler

Delphine before she had revealed her real identity.

It's quite funny to see seemingly inconsequential NPCs who are, for some reason, immortal. Of course, she kept her barmaid outfit, but proceeded to pull out an array of nasty looking daggers, swords and bows to defend herself, lol.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with all of this. All I'm saying is that I liked the Morrowind approach better. In other words, let me kill Ulfric if I want to, but as soon as he dies, give me a popup that tells me I've just irrevocably broken the world, and ask me if I want to revert to 10 seconds ago. It worked quite well in Morrowind. In fact, iirc, I didn't even have to go back to a previous save (which may have been hours beforehand if I was dumb enough not to spam F5 like a mental patient in a TeS game). Maybe it wouldn't work as well with the Skyrim AI, but if they got it working years ago, you'd think it would work here.

As for stabbing everything you come across, it's a pretty fun way to play once you've already beaten the game and become bored of the quests. In Morrowind, after beating the game after 200+ hours on my first playthrough, I rerolled and killed literally every living thing I came across. Still had the same fun exploration/leveling/lootfest, but without any dialog.

 

[zinfamous]

As for stabbing everything you come across, it's a pretty fun way to play once you've already beaten the game and become bored of the quests. In Morrowind, after beating the game after 200+ hours on my first playthrough, I rerolled and killed literally every living thing I came across. Still had the same fun exploration/leveling/lootfest, but without any dialog.

yeah, exactly. I tend to be very noble on first playthroughs, or at least--as long as possible. When i started picking up the Daedric artifacts, I found that I much preferred having them over the concern that some piddly dude I helped at level 2, that will never matter in my life as the savior of Skyrim, or the world of Skyrim in general...is simply less valuable than that cool new stabby toy that this demon is offering to me.

You definitely find yourself leaning more towards the evil side by mid game, but I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that there aren't really substantial consequences for not being a murderous bastard. Most people will still consider you quite noble and wonderful, despite having laid waste to a little village not too far away.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Most people will still consider you quite noble and wonderful, despite having laid waste to a little village not too far away.

Well duh. How would you react if someone who just laid waste to the town next to you rolled into town. Are you calling him out to his face? Congratulations, you just got everyone in your town killed. Seems that people have a lot more reason to kiss your ass if you're willing to slaughter everyone they know for no reason.

Come to think of it, that's not a bad strategy. The next time that bitch at Radiant Rainment gives me shit, off with her head! That'll show her.

 

[zinfamous]

Come to think of it, that's not a bad strategy. The next time that bitch at Radiant Rainment gives me shit, off with her head! That'll show her.

Her head is already resting on my nightstand in Solitude.

 

[RavenSEAL]

So I face my first elder dragon...

Note to self, do not melee.

 

[zinfamous]

So I face my first elder dragon...

Note to self, do not melee.

really?

shield bash and such. anyway, the 2nd one will be a cakewalk.

 

[Gheris]

really?

shield bash and such. anyway, the 2nd one will be a cakewalk.

Zinfamous is on the money. The most annoying part of the Dragon fights for me is before the dragon starts to land. As soon as he lands it's shield bash, slash, slash, slash. Once you get the hang of it the dragon's are a cakewalk.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Dragon fights can be tough depending on what kind of character you are. One-handed sword with shield is a pretty good combination of offense and defense, but until the dragon lands, you're basically just covering up and waiting. Two-handed weapons are harder since you still have to wait for the dragon to land but blocking is far less effective. Archers can hit the dragon in air but are vulnerable to any attack. Dual-wielders of one-handed weapons are totally screwed until the dragon lands. Ultimately, I find magic to be the best against dragons. You can hit them in the air, you can hit them when they land, and you can run like hell to avoid getting fricasseed, not to mention the huge benefit of the impact perk in stopping a dragon's attack dead.

Seeing as how I'm currently playing as a two-handed brute, yeah, dragon battles kinda suck until they land. Until he's within striking distance, I'm basically just target practice for him.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I FINALLY got a decapitation kill last night. I've put 150-200 hours into the game and I hadn't seen one, so I was figuring something was wrong with my game. To be fair, my first playthrough was a destruction mage/sneaky archer, so I wouldn't be seeing any decapitations most of the time.... But finally, as an orc with a giant battleaxe, I managed to separate someone's head from their shoulders. It was especially satisfying as it was

Spoiler

Erandur in the Waking Nightmare quest. Vaermina tells me to kill him, and I figure she's lying, but the quest had broken on me twice before that and I had to use the console to advance it, so I was frustrated and figured, "meh, fuck that guy." Couple beast strikes later, I buckle him with a shot to the gut, then cleave him executioner-style. His body fell off the dais but his head came to a stop right at my feet. It was immensely satisfying.

 

[zinfamous]

I think dragon fights are tough early on for any character, until you start putting skills into your main offensive set, or blocking if that is part of your build. I've found I was a bit OP for dragons earlier on than I was playing as a mage, but it could also be that I've been playing mage on Master, warrior was 2 levels below that most of the game.

Impact with destruction is quite huge--especially vanilla. problem is damage is still rather poor, so it takes a lot longer--and until you have dual-enchanted gear that keeps you at zero mana use for your destruction spells, there's still a bit of kiting and regenerating, or quaffing potions.

I've been using that updated destruction magic mod and I like it quite a bit--damage on destruction actually levels with your skill, and some of the perks are changed a bit--instead of adept/expert/master perks simply reducing cost, it actually raises cost a small percentage, while dealing extra damage for spells at those levels. Impact effect is also reduced to 50% of your casts, so I think it's a good balance.

Seeing as how you can run around casting any and all destruction spells plus those of another field for zero cost without modding the game, I think that re-balance is a good thing.

I suppose it is somewhat disappointing that casters are somewhat underpowered, and generally uninteresting in Skyrim (limited spell diversity and usefulness in vanilla)--but I do get it.

This is Skyrim, after all--home of big sword swinging and skull smashing Nords. Mages are generally distrusted everywhere you go, so you wouldn't expect a lot of influence for that style in this world. As I understand it, Magic was far more important in Morrowind, where you would expect such a thing to be the case, right?

I've had Midas magic installed since I began this character, but I've barely used them. Most are simply too costly for little damage improvement. It doesn't matter as much when you get unlimited casting, but they are now overpowered by my vanilla spells, since Midas Magic doesn't scale with my destruction magic mod.

Though, some of them are quite fun, albeit unfinished--the master level pure beam of concentrated energy spell is fun as shit to cast, although it seems to be less effective than my expert and adept level spells.

 

[zinfamous]

I FINALLY got a decapitation kill last night. I've put 150-200 hours into the game and I hadn't seen one, so I was figuring something was wrong with my game. To be fair, my first playthrough was a destruction mage/sneaky archer, so I wouldn't be seeing any decapitations most of the time.... But finally, as an orc with a giant battleaxe, I managed to separate someone's head from their shoulders. It was especially satisfying as it was

Spoiler

Erandur in the Waking Nightmare quest. Vaermina tells me to kill him, and I figure she's lying, but the quest had broken on me twice before that and I had to use the console to advance it, so I was frustrated and figured, "meh, fuck that guy." Couple beast strikes later, I buckle him with a shot to the gut, then cleave him executioner-style. His body fell off the dais but his head came to a stop right at my feet. It was immensely satisfying.

haha, awesome. I was getting those very, very soon after purchasing that perk. What I really like about it is that you will sometimes get an instant kill shot even if the target isn't low on health. I need to start trying battleaxes more. For some reason, I gave Lydia a Legendary, dual enchanted ebony greatsword, which she was using to great effect. As soon as a pick up a deathlord's ebony battleaxe--not upgraded, of course--and hand it to her to mule for me, she equips it, despite half the damage output, slower attack rate, and no added effects.

wtf man?

I've found dual-wield decapitations to be the most satisfactory, though.
:thumbsup:

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I've been using that updated destruction magic mod and I like it quite a bit--damage on destruction actually levels with your skill, and some of the perks are changed a bit--instead of adept/expert/master perks simply reducing cost, it actually raises cost a small percentage, while dealing extra damage for spells at those levels. Impact effect is also reduced to 50% of your casts, so I think it's a good balance.

Does the increased power of destruction spells also apply to weapon enchantments (ie fire, frost or shock on a weapon)? I've heard mixed reports but it seems like in Vanilla, any destruction perks down a particular increased damage line will affect the strength of enchantments as well; is that the case in the mod, and does it increase as you level up?

 

[zinfamous]

Does the increased power of destruction spells also apply to weapon enchantments (ie fire, frost or shock on a weapon)? I've heard mixed reports but it seems like in Vanilla, any destruction perks down a particular increased damage line will affect the strength of enchantments as well; is that the case in the mod, and does it increase as you level up?

I have no idea as I haven't really looked at it, and I don't remember this being in the mod description and notes. I skipped the frost/lightning enchantment perks, but I'll take a look at what it shows for max enchanting with fire.

Would it show a higher percentage on the enchantment if this were the case, or is it something one has to calculate when receiving actual damage on the equipped piece?

 

[Rhezuss]

Do the Block skill affect blocking with a 2 handed weapon?

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Would it show a higher percentage on the enchantment if this were the case, or is it something one has to calculate when receiving actual damage on the equipped piece?

My understanding is that it will show higher on the weapon, and it will effect all weapons with the enchantment, not just weapons that were enchanted after leveling. I seem to remember my custom enchanted weapons doing 76 elemental damage per hit with level 100 destruction, level 100 enchanting and all the perks up the middle path (but not the 25% bonus increase to weapon enchantments). I could be mistaken about that number though...

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Do the Block skill affect blocking with a 2 handed weapon?

Yes, as do the perks in the blocking skill tree unless they specifically mention a shield (Shield Charge, Elemental Protection and Deflect Arrows).

 

[Markbnj]

I FINALLY got a decapitation kill last night. I've put 150-200 hours into the game and I hadn't seen one, so I was figuring something was wrong with my game. To be fair, my first playthrough was a destruction mage/sneaky archer, so I wouldn't be seeing any decapitations most of the time.... But finally, as an orc with a giant battleaxe, I managed to separate someone's head from their shoulders. It was especially satisfying as it was

Spoiler

Erandur in the Waking Nightmare quest. Vaermina tells me to kill him, and I figure she's lying, but the quest had broken on me twice before that and I had to use the console to advance it, so I was frustrated and figured, "meh, fuck that guy." Couple beast strikes later, I buckle him with a shot to the gut, then cleave him executioner-style. His body fell off the dais but his head came to a stop right at my feet. It was immensely satisfying.

I get them fairly often, seems to happen more when the opposing creature is lower level and being dominated. It's funny that sometimes right afterward the head and body are reunited, and sometimes the head remains separate.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Is anyone having trouble with archery since the latest patches? My character was quite a high level archer, and one of my favorite things was to use sneak and archery. Now the archery seems totally borked. Sometimes the arrow goes where the cursor is and sometimes is falls way short. And sometimes the bow fires early and just keeps on shooting like a semi automatic when you hold the fire button down. I wondered why I was suddenly unable to kill anything or even cause damage with the bow. So I shot at a statue in Whiterun with no enemies around and zoomed in all the way. About half the arrows went where the cursor was and the rest fell short about half-way to the target.
And it seemed totally random. The shots would go where they should for awhile then fall short for awhile, etc. The game is not really fun at all anymore since I started having this problem. Has anyone else had this happen, or is it some kind of glitch in my game? I tried loading a old save and still have the same problem.

 

[dust]

I'd love some .50cal arrows for decapitation purposes:sneaky:

 

[Beev]

Is anyone having trouble with archery since the latest patches? My character was quite a high level archer, and one of my favorite things was to use sneak and archery. Now the archery seems totally borked. Sometimes the arrow goes where the cursor is and sometimes is falls way short. And sometimes the bow fires early and just keeps on shooting like a semi automatic when you hold the fire button down. I wondered why I was suddenly unable to kill anything or even cause damage with the bow. So I shot at a statue in Whiterun with no enemies around and zoomed in all the way. About half the arrows went where the cursor was and the rest fell short about half-way to the target.
And it seemed totally random. The shots would go where they should for awhile then fall short for awhile, etc. The game is not really fun at all anymore since I started having this problem. Has anyone else had this happen, or is it some kind of glitch in my game? I tried loading a old save and still have the same problem.

I use archery pretty much exclusively and I have not had this problem. It sounds terrible, though.

 

[shortylickens]

Do the Block skill affect blocking with a 2 handed weapon?

Yes, but you dont gain as much benefit per skill point, nor does the skill advance as quickly as it would with a shield.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I use archery pretty much exclusively and I have not had this problem. It sounds terrible, though.

Yea, it pretty much spoils the entire game. Fortunately, I finished nearly all the quests I was interested in.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I use archery pretty much exclusively and I have not had this problem. It sounds terrible, though.

Looks like I found the problem. Apparently it was my mouse. I switched to another mouse and the problem seems to have disappeared. Very strange since the old mouse had been working without problem in several other games, and earlier in Skyrim.

 

[OCNewbie]

Looks like I found the problem. Apparently it was my mouse. I switched to another mouse and the problem seems to have disappeared. Very strange since the old mouse had been working without problem in several other games, and earlier in Skyrim.

That was the first thing that came to my mind, mouse button not being pressed down long enough (either by fault of your finger or a borked mouse).

 

[Markbnj]

Is anyone having trouble with archery since the latest patches? My character was quite a high level archer, and one of my favorite things was to use sneak and archery. Now the archery seems totally borked. Sometimes the arrow goes where the cursor is and sometimes is falls way short. And sometimes the bow fires early and just keeps on shooting like a semi automatic when you hold the fire button down. I wondered why I was suddenly unable to kill anything or even cause damage with the bow. So I shot at a statue in Whiterun with no enemies around and zoomed in all the way. About half the arrows went where the cursor was and the rest fell short about half-way to the target.
And it seemed totally random. The shots would go where they should for awhile then fall short for awhile, etc. The game is not really fun at all anymore since I started having this problem. Has anyone else had this happen, or is it some kind of glitch in my game? I tried loading a old save and still have the same problem.

It's possible when trying to fire quickly, or when you interrupt firing by pulling up a menu, to get the UI into a state where the button up/down are reversed. I would think quitting out and restarting would fix that, though. As for the arrow falling short, it's important to hold the bow until fully drawn, and it takes a half second or so past where it appears fully drawn (you'll hear it creaking).