Complete noob - How can i enjoy this game (no troll)

[malchyor]

Guys,

Just picked up this game for Christmas, sat down with it for an hour and tried like hell to like it. But.....instead i walked through the main quest start, ran through the tunnels and it left me out in this mountain-like area. What's there to do now? I've got no idea how to access any spells i may have, how to switch out weapons outside of accessing my menu via looting corpses, etc.

Keep hearing that this is the greatest game of all time, but trying to play it is both difficult and boring at the same time. I'm trying to pick up on the story and actually care which side i should choose, but know nothing about either side, except for the fact that one of the factions had planned on killing me prior to even starting up the game.

What happened to adding a tutorial into a game, or at the very least a quick, "here's what's going on: You're an unlucky guy who was scooped up as part of a raid by imperial forces when looking for a rebel cell. As a result of no oversight on the raid, they've decided to kill you too. This whole Imperial versus Rebel thing started when the current king was assassinated and this rebel group was scaped goated into the responsibility"???

I mean, is that even accurate as a story, cuz that's what's been gleemed so far in the few overheard discussions.

Just looking for a quick re-cap on what this game is about and what i (guess) i should have already picked up on, in terms of how to level my character, quests to take, etc.

cuz right now, i neither know nor care (but desperately want to - it's like not understanding this whole justin bieber thing...am i just too old to get it?)

 

[Garrison]

The tutorial is a little more open ended then Oblivion, where they basically walked you through the motions in the form of an intro dungeon before releasing you into the wild. In Skyrim, following the trail when you emerge will take you to the Stones and then continuing on down the path will lead you to Riverwood, your first town. Simply talk to everybody along the way and quests and story lines will begin to emerge.

The game will appeal to those who enjoy an open-ended, explore the world at your own pace and basically do whatever the heck you want. I've spent hours upon hours simply walking through the wilderness, harvesting plants and enjoying the countryside. Those who enjoy a more fast pace and/or linear approach to their gaming may find the game lacks appeal and will feel bored at not being directed. I have friends who detest TES for these reasons.

 

[malchyor]

The tutorial is a little more open ended then Oblivion, where they basically walked you through the motions in the form of an intro dungeon before releasing you into the wild. In Skyrim, following the trail when you emerge will take you to the Stones and then continuing on down the path will lead you to Riverwood, your first town. Simply talk to everybody along the way and quests and story lines will begin to emerge.

The game will appeal to those who enjoy an open-ended, explore the world at your own pace and basically do whatever the heck you want. I've spent hours upon hours simply walking through the wilderness, harvesting plants and enjoying the countryside. Those who enjoy a more fast pace and/or linear approach to their gaming may find the game lacks appeal and will feel bored at not being directed. I have friends who detest TES for these reasons.

How do you harvest plants, for instance? And why would this be a good idea?

I'd love to learn both this, and why it'd be a relevant activity to participate in, but as of yet, just have no idea.

Is there just not a place to go and have this all explained? Or do you really just have to walk by somebody talking about it out of hand, on accident?

 

[xSuoiveDx]

There is a source of information on guides and tutorials here....
http://skyrimforum.com/forums/skyrim-guides-and-tutorials/


Or here .......
http://guides.gamepressure.com/theelderscrollsvskyrim/

Did you read the small manual that comes with the game that usually helps with the basics or you could try your local games shop got a more in depth manual.

 

[malchyor]

Thanks. Will go study, I guess (though, to be honest, I wish I could just play). First reply was correct - This may just not be the game for me.

 

[Justus]

what platform are you playing on? you have two menus. one for quests,map and saving(pause menu/Start button) one for weapons,magic,leveling. this is (B) on 360. from there you can equip/unequip weapons etc. harvesting plants is good for potions and selling things. alchemy is a part of the game that can really help later on. instead of buying potions you can make them. poisons too. :-) Im a noob myself. I had to restart because I pissed off the merchant in Riverwood and i couldnt get away from him.

 

[xSuoiveDx]

Thanks. Will go study, I guess (though, to be honest, I wish I could just play). First reply was correct - This may just not be the game for me.

I just learnt as I went along, there a literally hundreds of quests & side quests. There is no limit as to what you can do, so I just explored, I mined all types of Ore, made jewellery, armour, weapons, potions, etc and sold most of it to merchants and I made a lot of money in the process.

Before giving up completely I suggest you just cruise along & explore the world of Skyrim.

I've been playing Skyrim since the 16th November & have logged over 600 hours & I haven't done all of the quests. I'm still learning as I go, if I run into a problem that I can't solve I come here to Skyrim Forums & find the answer or solution or a way around it if possible.

 

[ItsBenniBlack]

this is where people mess up with this game they dont understand that its an RPG/ADVENTURE game its not a scripted action game, there are things set in place for certain quests but eveything else is up to you and the world is big

 

[Oblo]

How do you harvest plants, for instance? And why would this be a good idea?

I'd love to learn both this, and why it'd be a relevant activity to participate in, but as of yet, just have no idea.

You can harvest plants by finding them in the wild growing out of the ground and/or on structures. You can also "ingredients" on animals. You use these ingredients (you call them plants but they fall into a category called "ingredients" because they can be eaten and used in alchemy) to make potions. Potions are useful for helping out during battle as well as protecting you from certain elements of nature such as fire and ice. You can also use them to make poisons that will give your weapon the power of draining health, slowing down enemies, and even paralyzing them.

I hope I helped and I also hope this answered your first question.

Good luck trying to enjoy Skyrim. It probably shouldn't be too difficult.

 

[ftl]

Guys, "here's what's going on: You're an unlucky guy who was scooped up as part of a raid by imperial forces when looking for a rebel cell. As a result of no oversight on the raid, they've decided to kill you too. This whole Imperial versus Rebel thing started when the current king was assassinated and this rebel group was scaped goated into the responsibility"???

I mean, is that even accurate as a story, cuz that's what's been gleemed so far in the few overheard discussions.

The game isn't doing a bad job, because what you picked up is pretty much correct. Not exactly right, but close enough, and I think if that's what you've learned then the game is giving you the information you're supposed to have.

You're right, though, that there's no tutorial about how to actually play the game - the basics of the controls were never explained. What platform are you using? I had to look these things up in a menu too.

I don't think it takes much 'study' - take a look at the help menu (accessible by pressing escape) or this wiki page (I just googled for it): http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Controls .

On a PC, the basics to know are:
tab to open a menu that lets you access your magic, the map, your skills, or your inventory. There's also individual hotkeys to access those. (M, I, P, /)

Caps lock to make the default be 'run' instead of 'walk'. Shift to toggle manually.

Left click or right click to use whatever's equipped in your left or right hand, respectively. Left and right click on a weapon or spell in your inventory to equip it into your left or right hand.

J to access your Journal to see what quests you have. You'll always have at least one, so you can always have at least one goal. You'll pick up many, many, many more if you keep playing, but I'm not one of those types that will advocate just walking out into the wilderness - I had more fun with this game by picking quest lines to do (though of course I took sidetracks when I saw interesting things...)

 

[skooma is good]

lol you sound like a call of duty player... you should stick to your mindless run and gun shooters

 

[HaxAras]

I Have A Hard Time getting Into Games Too. What I Do Is Watch A Let's Player, Do A Let's Play For A While Then Get A Feel Of How Things Are By Watching.

 

[Beodix]

Actually, when you enter the Fort with either the Stormcloak or Imperial Soldier they give you a mini tutorial on almost everything. They introduce attacking, blocking, picking locks, archery, sneaking amoung others. The only thing they don't show you is magic and how to manage your favorites. You learn that from playing around. Maybe give the game another try and try to keep an open mind about it.