Chronic Reroll Syndrome

[Katastrophe]

If this is in the wrong section, I apologize. I was debating between here and the help forum but because this is more an "out of game" issue, I opted for here.

Hello everyone. My name is Kat, and I suffer from CRS.

For the past few days, I've been scouring the internet for a cure for this disease. I have owned Skyrim since it's launch for the Xbox 360. I have purchased Dawnguard. I have spent countless hours playing this game and yet, to this day, I've never completed a single major quest line. Why? Because I've never gotten past level 30 before I make a new character. This is extremely frustrating. I want nothing more than to have a character I can fully roleplay and enjoy in Skyrim, yet I almost immediately grow bored and want to change things up.

I think this is mostly because I'm so picky. I feel like I simply must play on either Expert or Master, because otherwise I feel like a demi-god and I lose immersion. However, when I play on these difficulties, I almost always find myself leaning towards some sneaky archer build which I find to be completely broken, even on Master. I also think that as far as the main quest goes, a sneaky archer doesn't exactly fit the main quest. I also tend to impose certain rules upon myself to add to the immersion. I always ban fast travel, but on some playthroughs I've gone as far as to forbid myself from using weapons and armors I find or can purchase in shops, claiming them to be either "off balance" or "a poor fit" or "damaged and bloody".

I need help. I know that somewhere in my thick skull is a character I can enjoy, but he's bogged down by stereotypes and the sheer abundance of possibilities. I've read just about every build posted here and nothing really jumps out at me. I've thought of it all, from a greatsword-wielding "Nord Smash!" character to a tricky Argonian assassin to a Breton who aspires to become a Greybeard. Nothing feels right.

Does anyone else suffer from this? How did you overcome it? This is incredibly frustrating and I'm at wit's end!

 

[Tyrone]

I somewhat mildly do, I admit, but I think I've managed to overcome most of it:

Doctor Tyrone's Guide to overcoming CRS

Step 1 - Pick your favorite race, this can be dependant on what you like appearance-wise or lore-wise. Many people do not have a favorite race, so just design a character on all 9 races and pick which one you think looks best. Picking a race for their attributes can make you fall into CRS again.

Step 2 - Decide who your character will be lore-wise. Will he be a noble paladin, a cocky warrior, etc. I've found immersing in a character can beat CRS, so design is crucial. I read that you cannot think of a good idea for what to be, so just be a simple character at start, and delve into him/her as your game progresses. Think of one word you want to describe your character as, and be that word.

Step 3 - Decide which skills you will invest in ahead of time, on the spot characters can get messy

Step 4 - Pick a main quest line, and just go through it. It'll be tough, but keep yourself on track and do it all.
The Dark Brotherhood questline ending is really good, without spoiling anything.

Step 5 - Repeat Step 4 on another questline, force yourself throught it. After 2 questlines I am usually stuck to that character, which might work for you

Step 6 - Roleplay your character, choose decisions in quests based on what your character would choose, not for the gear. My first guy is just not fun anymore because I based decisions on gear.

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

I went through this trouble in Oblivion. Luckily I found that khajiit assassin feels natural to me. But you're just the person I wrote this for.

Style Development ~ A Guide On How Develop Your OWN Style And Build | Skyrim Forums

 

[Psiberzerker]

I'm a sufferer of Mulligan's Disorder, (The same thing under a different name.) When I first got it, I had a new build every day, sometimes more. Mostly just to try out different combinations, and see what works best. Then, I discovered that the most fun part of the game (for me) is the early/lower levels, before you're gamebreakingly overpowered, and Destruction is still effective. I've also gone the other way, stuck with 1 character, and done Everything I could find. (The original Elbereth systematically killed Every Singel Draugr.) And now, I'm back to trying different combinations to try, and revitalize the game with a unique build that I haven't tried yet. I pretty much succeeded, with Bound Bow, and Block, but have 4 different versions of that build, with different armors, I'm sticking with none other than the Targe.

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

Mind you immersion never has been an issue for me. I just let my actions form a personality for my character early on in the beginning and make that my character as well as looking at what kind of person would use the skills I've chosen. If I'm a "nord smash" build as you put it I like to pick the speach options that are kind of brick headed. My first characters personality was based on my own in real life as well as what I found was the right play style for me (which is more of a sneaky dagger and bow assassin mixed with a little bit of thievery). And I am still playing that main since day one of release. Stop worrying about who your character is and for your first enjoyable character base it on yourself and what style of play you feel fits you the most. Let those come together and form your characters personality.

 

[Katastrophe]

Thank you both. Squirrel, I actually read that thread earlier on one of my searches. It's one of the things that brought me here, oddly enough.

As far as the races are concerned... I'm so incredibly mixed, but I'm trying to focus just on appearance/lore rather then their actual abilities. For instance, I love the Orc ability, Berserker Rage, but I can't stand playing an Orc. Something about that underbite... I honestly probably enjoy Argonian the most... I think one character I rolled had some sort of backstory that he was actually part (a very small part) Dragon... might've tried to mix it with Hist lore or something but I digress. My issue is that damnable tail. It's clipping with the armor has always bugged me.

Beast races (and those tails!) aside, Dunmer have appealed to me. It's what I'm playing now. Or trying to... oh, it's a struggle. I just always find myself falling back on Seph's assassin style, shown here. This was the character I leveled the farthest and had the most fun playing. But once I hit around level 30, it got very boring, very quickly. With sneak and archery maxed (or near maxed), I was able to one shot everything (dragons and such excluded, obviously) without any sort of enchantment/smithing trickery. I could be crouched ten feet in front of someone in broad daylight and he'd be oblivious. And this is on Master difficulty, mind you... the beginning was quite interesting because on that difficulty, combat is pretty much a flow chart.

Are you detected?
No - Kill everything.
Yes - Die immediately.

But even so, there are and were certain instances where I couldn't use my style. Possible spoilers for the main Markarth quest (I forget the name, the one with the Foresworn conspiracy [that's probably the name])... when you're looking for clues, you enter N's house and talk to him... no matter what I did, everyone in that house and their grandmother became hostile. Maybe I was a very low level... but I got wrecked. Just absolutely slaughtered. My only course of action was to immediately run from the house and hide in the city until they lost me, and then shoot arrows into their back as their AI told them to return home and wait for me. I totally lost my immersion and hated myself for furthering the quest the way I had.

Perhaps I really was under leveled. Perhaps Master difficulty combined with a stealth build just makes that damn near impossible. I don't know, but it leads into my other major complaint with that style - it's strictly one-dimensional and I have no idea how to develop it. I see a lot of assassin builds talk big about poisons and blah blah blah... I never used them. Maybe a paralysis potion but I found the extra DPS from poisons was useless. Or maybe my Alchemy just sucked? Who knows. I find myself always leaning towards trying to play "Assassin's Creed: Skyrim", the addition of crossbows really only making that harder to resist. But when it comes to expansion beyond just the sneak and archery tree, many builds have done this - see Demon Hunter and Crypstalker - but none really fill that void. Most recently I've examined adding in some one handed (for those encounters that can't be stealthed) as well as Destruction (mostly for Ruins to set traps to lure enemies into).

Edit: As far as immersion specifically goes, I have a few issues.
1. Anything less than Expert/Master makes me feel god-like.
2. Master is still negated by stealth archer build.
3. 300 lbs carrying capacity at start is insanely high and it promotes me being a hoarder. Seriously, you should see my book collection. I could open the "Library of Tamriel" out of my home. It also means that I could purchase all of Skyrim by level 20 because I'm that stupidly rich.

When it comes to playing out a character and developing a backstory, I've been roleplaying for nearly a decade (wow, I feel old now...) and have been writing for well over a decade (although my grandma swears I wrote my first story at age 5, picture books don't count). My issues are more... mechanical, I guess.

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

Thank you both. Squirrel, I actually read that thread earlier on one of my searches. It's one of the things that brought me here, oddly enough.

As far as the races are concerned... I'm so incredibly mixed, but I'm trying to focus just on appearance/lore rather then their actual abilities. For instance, I love the Orc ability, Berserker Rage, but I can't stand playing an Orc. Something about that underbite... I honestly probably enjoy Argonian the most... I think one character I rolled had some sort of backstory that he was actually part (a very small part) Dragon... might've tried to mix it with Hist lore or something but I digress. My issue is that damnable tail. It's clipping with the armor has always bugged me.

Beast races (and those tails!) aside, Dunmer have appealed to me. It's what I'm playing now. Or trying to... oh, it's a struggle. I just always find myself falling back on Seph's assassin style, shown here. This was the character I leveled the farthest and had the most fun playing. But once I hit around level 30, it got very boring, very quickly. With sneak and archery maxed (or near maxed), I was able to one shot everything (dragons and such excluded, obviously) without any sort of enchantment/smithing trickery. I could be crouched ten feet in front of someone in broad daylight and he'd be oblivious. And this is on Master difficulty, mind you... the beginning was quite interesting because on that difficulty, combat is pretty much a flow chart.

Are you detected?
No - Kill everything.
Yes - Die immediately.

But even so, there are and were certain instances where I couldn't use my style. Possible spoilers for the main Markarth quest (I forget the name, the one with the Foresworn conspiracy [that's probably the name])... when you're looking for clues, you enter N's house and talk to him... no matter what I did, everyone in that house and their grandmother became hostile. Maybe I was a very low level... but I got wrecked. Just absolutely slaughtered. My only course of action was to immediately run from the house and hide in the city until they lost me, and then shoot arrows into their back as their AI told them to return home and wait for me. I totally lost my immersion and hated myself for furthering the quest the way I had.

Perhaps I really was under leveled. Perhaps Master difficulty combined with a stealth build just makes that damn near impossible. I don't know, but it leads into my other major complaint with that style - it's strictly one-dimensional and I have no idea how to develop it. I see a lot of assassin builds talk big about poisons and blah blah blah... I never used them. Maybe a paralysis potion but I found the extra DPS from poisons was useless. Or maybe my Alchemy just sucked? Who knows. I find myself always leaning towards trying to play "Assassin's Creed: Skyrim", the addition of crossbows really only making that harder to resist. But when it comes to expansion beyond just the sneak and archery tree, many builds have done this - see Demon Hunter and Crypstalker - but none really fill that void. Most recently I've examined adding in some one handed (for those encounters that can't be stealthed) as well as Destruction (mostly for Ruins to set traps to lure enemies into).

Edit: As far as immersion specifically goes, I have a few issues.
1. Anything less than Expert/Master makes me feel god-like.
2. Master is still negated by stealth archer build.
3. 300 lbs carrying capacity at start is insanely high and it promotes me being a hoarder. Seriously, you should see my book collection. I could open the "Library of Tamriel" out of my home. It also means that I could purchase all of Skyrim by level 20 because I'm that stupidly rich.

When it comes to playing out a character and developing a backstory, I've been roleplaying for nearly a decade (wow, I feel old now...) and have been writing for well over a decade (although my grandma swears I wrote my first story at age 5, picture books don't count). My issues are more... mechanical, I guess.

I know how hard it can be for a stealth character. I find rounding it off by having reasonable one-handed for dual-wielding swords and a decent light armor skill helps increase survive-ability to them. This should stop them from gaining this unbalance which we both despise.

 

[Spiral Power!]

I haven't read the rest of the thread but I'll offer this:

Remember when RPing that no real person acts characteristically; real people act situationally. Don't forget that your character needs to change over time, not stay exactly the same.

This was just another reason for me to pick up the PC version, as I can use showracemenu to alter my character over time. For example, my first character was a heavy warrior named Adonis. As the Harbinger of the Companions, he was a very strong fighter, but when he encountered Morokei, his first Dragon Priest, he knew that his current strength would not be enough.

So he joined the Mage's College in Winterhold. Why? To learn Restoration magic. This eventually landed him as Arch-mage. A heavy warrior...becoming Arch-mage. And it made sense, because his motivations were sound.

As well as his character changing, his appearance changed as well. When I started the game, he had short hair and some stubble. After joining the Companions, he had a good shave and grew his hair ou some. Later, during his time in the College, he grew a bit of a beard and cut his hair to look more respectful.

As he wandered the lands for years, I altered his compexion to make him look older, grew his hair out some, and gave him a larger beard. Then as Dovahkiin, by the time he first fought Alduin atop the throat of the world, he was an old man, with very long hair and a very large grey beard.

But when he went to Sovngaard, his youthful vitality was restored, and he was thrown back to a much younger state, also changing his hair color to that of golden blonde, and he kept the long hair and beard, losing the wrinkles as well. This is the Dragonborn who participated in the Civil War.

Keep changing it up, nothing wrong with that, and even less wrong with changing up the same character.

 

[Psiberzerker]

I haven't read the rest of the thread but I'll offer this:

Remember when RPing that no real person acts characteristically; real people act situationally. Don't forget that your character needs to change over time, not stay exactly the same.

This was just another reason for me to pick up the PC version, as I can use showracemenu to alter my character over time. For example, my first character was a heavy warrior named Adonis. As the Harbinger of the Companions, he was a very strong fighter, but when he encountered Morokei, his first Dragon Priest, he knew that his current strength would not be enough.

So he joined the Mage's College in Winterhold. Why? To learn Restoration magic. This eventually landed him as Arch-mage. A heavy warrior...becoming Arch-mage. And it made sense, because his motivations were sound.

As well as his character changing, his appearance changed as well. When I started the game, he had short hair and some stubble. After joining the Companions, he had a good shave and grew his hair ou some. Later, during his time in the College, he grew a bit of a beard and cut his hair to look more respectful.

As he wandered the lands for years, I altered his compexion to make him look older, grew his hair out some, and gave him a larger beard. Then as Dovahkiin, by the time he first fought Alduin atop the throat of the world, he was an old man, with very long hair and a very large grey beard.

But when he went to Sovngaard, his youthful vitality was restored, and he was thrown back to a much younger state, also changing his hair color to that of golden blonde, and he kept the long hair and beard, losing the wrinkles as well. This is the Dragonborn who participated in the Civil War.

Keep changing it up, nothing wrong with that, and even less wrong with changing up the same character.

I do this too, aging my character over time, adding Scars, sometimes even losing an Eye to commemorate pivotal experiences. One Hunter kept the eye of his first Sabercat, which took one of his. I was playing 3rd person (another situational thing) and when it pounced, the slashing claw just happened to strike him right in the face. That had to hurt!

 

[Haru17]

This is weird, I have the opposite problem. I'm a colossal completionist and I always do EVERYTHING on one character (hence my signature). I always play a Bosmer one hand / archery sneak-theif. I try to be a Nightblade even, but I can never get a handle on spells. In addition to this singularness of my class I can never find the motivation to reroll. I'm curious, how do you all manage your save files? it'd get confusing for me.

 

[Psiberzerker]

I'm curious, how do you all manage your save files? it'd get confusing for me.

I take a picture when I save, posing with a flamecloak, crouching with the sword up in a block, and so forth. i also remember what I name them.

 

[Haru17]

I take a picture when I save, posing with a flamecloak, crouching with the sword up in a block, and so forth. i also remember what I name them.

That's smart! So do you name them on PC? I haven't figured out how to do that on an xbox

 

[Squirrel_killer-]

This is weird, I have the opposite problem. I'm a colossal completionist and I always do EVERYTHING on one character (hence my signature). I always play a Bosmer one hand / archery sneak-theif. I try to be a Nightblade even, but I can never get a handle on spells. In addition to this singularness of my class I can never find the motivation to reroll. I'm curious, how do you all manage your save files? it'd get confusing for me.

I also have that issue. I need that 100% or as close as is possible on my main. Once I found what play style worked for me I have become hell bent on doing EVERYTHING possible on my main. I do make extra characters to view the other possibilities where I am forced to choose. But otherwise I am drilling away with my main.

 

[Psiberzerker]

That's smart! So do you name them on PC? I haven't figured out how to do that on an xbox

Name the character, right after you pick out the look. What, they don't have the Character's name/race/level in the save menu?

 

[Katastrophe]

Squirrel_killer-: I mean, I do/did put spare perks into Light Armor and the such. I don't like to save perks unless I've actually planned the build out, step-by-step. This is the "build" I was planning on using:


77 / 80 Perks
Archery
Overdraw (5/5) -> Eagle Eye -> Steady Hand (1/2) -> Power Shot -> Quick Shot -> Bullseye
Sneak
Stealth (5/5) -> Muffled Movement -> Backstab -> Deadly Aim -> Light Foot -> Silent Roll -> Assassin's Blade
One-Handed
Armsman (5/5) -> Fighting Stance -> Hack and Slash (3/3) -> Dual Flurry (2/2)-> Critical Charge
Light Armor
Agile Defender (5/5) -> Custom Fit -> Unhindered -> Wind Walker -> Deft Movement
Alchemy
Alchemist (5/5) -> Poisoner -> Concentrated Poison -> Snakeblood -> Purity
Smithing
Steel Smithing -> Elven Smithing -> Advanced Armors -> Glass Smithing -> Dragon Smithing + Arcane Smithing
Enchanting
Enchanter (5/5) -> Insightful Enchanter -> Corpus Enchanter -> Extra Effect
Pickpocket
Light Fingers (5/5) -> Night Thief -> Poisoned -> Cutpurse -> Misdirection
Destruction
Novice Destruction -> Apprentice Destruction -> Rune Master


This build was more or less just supposed to be about assessing the situation and proceeding from there. The rune traps for luring larger groups (like built in oil slicks)... The pickpocket perks were mostly for fun... I thought it'd be amusing to sneak behind someone, steal their weapon, then animation assassinate them with it and then leave it on the ground beside them, covered in blood.

wandervon: This appeals to me greatly and I've seen/read some narrations that did this. Masterful. But I don't think my machine could handle Skyrim, to be honest... "/

Haru17: I don't have an issue keeping track of them, but I also never really have more than one. When I reroll, I typically save over the previous character...

 

[Haru17]

Name the character, right after you pick out the look. What, they don't have the Character's name/race/level in the save menu?

I guess I haven't looked at it close enough, lol.

 

[Psiberzerker]

Which isn't to say I never accidentally save over characters. I've lost countless builds that way, but it's just another excuse to start over from Helgen, and build it better this time!

 

[Katastrophe]

So taking the previous advice, I'm taking a look at all the races... posting my opinions of each below.

Altmer - Without the Thalmor being a joinable faction, I feel like playing Altmer right away kills the civil war questline unless you play as a turncoat or as someone helping the Empire just to further the interests of the Thalmor. Plus, I feel like 9/10 Nords in Skyrim would just cleave you in two if you were ever out in the open and alone... Skyrim can be a dangerous place. Visually, they're alright... statistically, hello mage.

Argonian - Lore wise, again, I feel like you're forced into Empire unless you're playing as Ulfric's personal tool, considering how he's treated Argonians in particular. Visually, I think they're awesome, except for the tail. It just feels so stiff and the way it clips armor hurts me. Statistically, they're not bad. Histskin would be good to activate, run away, and turn to fight - keep the pace faster.

Bosmer - Their lore is kinda... screwed up when you look into it. I always feel like I should be some sort of hunter, living off the land when I play one. Aside from that, visually, they're your typical elf. Statistically, I think they're bloody useless. I've never used their ability. Maybe in the early levels to, I dunno, calm a bear? But after that 60 seconds, your furry friend is going to maul you to pieces.

Breton - I've heard word that, statistically, Bretons are the best race because their 25% magic resistance is huge, combined with their ability. Perhaps they could be useful... I don't really know. I don't know their lore, really... and honestly, if they are the 'best', I feel like that might cheapen my experience. As far as their abilities, obviously Dragonskin is good, the stat bonuses are again geared towards more of a mage (with a silver tongue?).

Dunmer - Again, lore issues, but not as bad as Argonians. These are my favorite of the elves and probably rank up their in my personal favorites. I like the ability but not so much the stat bonuses. Can you tell I typically never use magic?

Imperial - Snooze city. I don't know why, but I've always felt like TES has been like "Never played before? Roll an Imperial!". I just don't want to play one... there's nothing unique about them. Sorry.

Khajiit - I love my cat, Cocoa. I like Khajiit. Again, there's the tail issue... the unarmed strike is only good for the (Brawl) options and when you can't have a weapon. Night-Eye is useless for me... I can see just fine at night without it. Their stats, however, are spot on for an assassin-type character. I just can never seem to make the Khajiit look good, and I just can't get into their character...

Nord - For Skyrim, I feel like Nord is just... lame. It'd be like playing a Dunmer in Morrowind or an Imperial in Oblivion... you just blend into the crowd, here. Aside from that, visually, they're humans. Statistically, they're not bad.

Orc - Dat underbite. Best ability in the game for melee though, by far. Love it.

Redguard - They were nothing special until I read into their lore, specifically this. Very informative and a great read. Wish all the races had stuff this in-depth.

If I had to break it down, I'd probably say Redguard, Argonian and Dunmer stand out the most to me.
Visually, it's Argonian > Dunmer > Redguard
Lore, it's Redguard > Dunmer > Argonian
Ability... it's tough and depends on the build, but I'd say Argonian > Redguard > Dunmer

 

[Spiral Power!]

I think you may be thinking too much about race. Maybe you should first think of the character concept, then match a race with it.

For instance, if you are doing the Stormcloaks, you probably don't want to pick a high elf. If you are doing Imperial however, it most likely won't matter.

And sometimes a character will just grow on you because no matter how weird he was, my heavy warrior vampire high elf was just awesome

 

[Katastrophe]

Character concepts... I have so many. D:
I'm honestly just leaning towards sucking it up and focusing on an assassin build and just trying to flesh it out with more rounded out skill placement as well as heavy-RP. What I like to do for heavy-RP is let Ralof and the other Stormcloaks clear out Helgen - I literally do nothing, take nothing but gold and an iron dagger, and then after I get out, run (or swim) to Whiterun and take the carriage to a random city. However, then I don't encounter any dragons... and that's half the fun. I would have to play through Bleak Falls Barrow and kill the first dragon in order for them to randomly appear... I suppose I could get one of the two followers in Riverwood to clear BFB and the dragon for me, but that'd take forever and rob my character the experience of BFB.

The joys of console gaming...

When it comes to character concept, I really liked my Redguard, Aluzar. Long story short, there was a style of Sword Singers that were masters at one-on-one combat and using tricks (rune, poisons, etc) to take out larger crowds before engaging. When the Blades were hunted down and disbanded, this style disbanded and utilized a "rule of two" (ala the Sith from Star Wars) to keep it alive. Aluzar killed his father to become Grandmaster and has since been on his Walk About. The only thing I really liked about that was being the last practitioner of a style reduced to a "rule of two".

Although I really wish Skyrim had polearms... is a lance too much to ask for!?