Noob Issue: Spreading myself too thin

[OgdruJahad]

Hey there fellow Skyrim-players that are undoubtedly more experienced than I am.

I'm having an issue even starting this game. It's not a technical thing, it's an "I'm an indecisive and paranoid weirdo" thing. I'm wanting to start a Dark Elf character, because they're awesome, and I looked in the Official Strategy Guide which said that the Dark Elf's ideal play-style is a hybrid of the Mage and the Thief styles.

This sounds awesome to me, because I love magic and I love a bit of the sneaky-stabby gameplay. My only concern is that going with that I'd be spreading my character a bit thin across too many bases.

Cause from how I figure it I'd need points/perks in Destruction, Illusion, Sneak, One-Handed, Lockpicking and Light Armour, and that's not even counting the potential for a bit of building up in Archery, Enchanting and possibly even Smithing.

So I turn to a group of people who I'm certain are experts compared to me to search for assistance or guidance on creating this character in a way so he wouldn't be a complete failure.

And yeah, I did sign up here for the strict purpose of making this thread. I have nowhere else to turn since all my other Skyrim-playing friends are just playing straight brute-force warriors and are sinking all their points into one or two areas. Not really the brain trust, on any given issue. Not to insult people who play warriors, I'm just insulting my friends.

 

[Rayven]

Moved to General Discussion.

You may try to utilize the search bar on the upper right of your screen and look for a particular build you'd like to try. If you look in our Guides and Tutorial section, you'll find a lot of content contributed by our members that addresses all kinds of builds and playing styles. I'd start with "mage assassin" or similar and see if any of the material helps you out. If you can't find anything that suits you, let us know and we'll try to address specific issues.

Welcome to the forums!

 

[XbSuper]

I think you actually have a pretty good idea for your character build already. I would, however, suggest skipping lockpicking, as even with no skill, you can pick master locks, provided you understand the method. Other than that, destruction, illusion, sneak, one handed, and light armor, should give you a pretty formidable Mage assassin. I would also recommend, leveling your 1H and light armor first, as this will give you a base to fall back on if things get too hairy.

 

[ConfusedPenguin]

Fear not , my future fellow Skyrim addict. Help is at hand.

I assume since your going down the stealth route ( An admirable choice, i salute you kind sir ) that you will be wanting to join either the Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves guild, or perhaps both? ( i don't recommend that ! ). Well in joining these factions you will be given your uniform , and these items will boost your performance in the stealth skills, even illusion! I.e Sneak is 25% better. So you don't have to worry about that.

However, perhaps you are a lone wolf and prefer to conquer the world by stealth solo and you do not wish to join a faction? Well since your character will be a mage, you could enchant the items yourself to give them these bonuses!
Best of luck to you and your adventure in the lovely place we know as Skyrim.

 

[OgdruJahad]

Fear not , my fellow future Skyrim addict. Help is at hand.

I assume since your going down the stealth route ( An admirable choice, i salute you kind sir ) that you will be wanting to join either the Dark Brotherhood or the Thieves guild, or perhaps both? ( i don't recommend that ! ). Well in joining these factions you will be given your uniform , and these items will boost your performance in the stealth skills, even illusion! I.e Sneak is 25% better. So you don't have to worry about that.

However, perhaps you are a lone wolf and prefer to conquer the world by stealth solo and you do not wish to join a faction? Well since your character will be a mage, you could enchant the items yourself to give them these bonuses!
Best of luck to you and your adventure in the lovely place we know as Skyrim.

I had planned to join the Thieve's Guild, yes. Most likely (if I can join both) gonna try my hand at the Mage's College in Winterhold too. Their magical training in particular will be very useful to me

Thank you for the tip kind adventurer.

 

[ConfusedPenguin]

I wouldn't recommend joining several factions ( Becoming leader of I should say) on the one character,kinda ruins the experience I think, one guild for one character I always say. But hey hoh , I shalln't dictate to you how you should go about your adventure.

 

[XbSuper]

I wouldn't recommend joining several factions ( Becoming leader of I should say) on the one character,kinda ruins the experience I think, one guild for one character I always say. But hey hoh , I shalln't dictate to you how you should go about your adventure.

I agree with this to some extent. However there are certain guilds (such as TG, and DB) that compliment each other quite nicely. I would suggest these 2, as well as the college, since the college isn't really a faction, just a questline. Also, I've found the MQ to be more fun with a pure warrior build, so maybe do it with a different character. But as I already said, it's your game, play it the way you like.

 

[OgdruJahad]

On second-ish thought, I might make my character a stealth-archer with some skill in Illusion. Then I could focus my skill-set a bit more.

Plus I always did like playing a sniper in other Bethesda games (ah Fallout 3...) so I know how the basic play-style works to great effect.

Of course for that, I suppose Wood Elf would be the best class, but I'm really not crazy about the Wood Elves' appearance...

I'm never even going to end up playing the game at this point, I'm just going to be agonising over what character I would by playing the game with.

 

[Rayven]

Stealthy archer is my favorite. Just remember, there's no VATS in Skyrim so that can take a bit to get used to if you're familiar with Fallout.

I went into my stealth archer character with the intention of adding magic, but other than the occasional healing, I never really got that deep into it.

 

[OgdruJahad]

Stealthy archer is my favorite. Just remember, there's no VATS in Skyrim so that can take a bit to get used to if you're familiar with Fallout.

I went into my stealth archer character with the intention of adding magic, but other than the occasional healing, I never really got that deep into it.

You can use VATS for sniping in Fallout? I always just did it by eye.

The more I think about it the more Illusion magic just seems kind of like a novelty to an archer. You know, throw a Fury in there to mess up their ranks for giggles.

Ah to hell with magic, I'm most likely just going to go with a stealth archer. Trouble is, while the Wood Elf would obviously be the best race for that I'm really not big on Wood Elves. Much prefer Dark Elves for a sneaky-stabby character but they get no bonus to Archery at all.

Though Khajiit do get a +5 to both Archery and Sneak, plus bonuses to One-Handed, Lockpicking and Pickpocketing. Plus they can see in the dark while presents certain obvious advantages... damn decisions!

 

[Rayven]

Honestly race doesn't matter all in all. You could be an orc archer in heavy armor and be just fine. It makes a little difference in the beginning but not over time. I found I used the shouts as the activated ability far more than any racial skills.

I sniped by eye as I got into Fallout as well (not so much in the beginning but I never really play shooters of any kind). If you can do that, you'll be fine as an archer in Skyrim. You do have to sometimes aim "off" your target in some instances. I'm sure you'll work it out though. The concept of "range" is also quite different between the bow in Skyrim and the sniper rifles in Fallout. Satisfying either way, though.

 

[ConfusedPenguin]

I agree with this to some extent. However there are certain guilds (such as TG, and DB) that compliment each other quite nicely. I would suggest these 2, as well as the college, since the college isn't really a faction, just a questline. Also, I've found the MQ to be more fun with a pure warrior build, so maybe do it with a different character. But as I already said, it's your game, play it the way you like.

Yeah I see your logic in this , but personally I disagree. I'm not saying the way you play is wrong don't get me wrong everyone can play it their own way. I just don't like mixing Thieves guild and Dark brotherhood together , as one frowns upon the idea of killing , and the other gets excited over it. But yeah like you said with the College of Winterhold , totally agree with ya there.

 

[OgdruJahad]

Honestly race doesn't matter all in all. You could be an orc archer in heavy armor and be just fine. It makes a little difference in the beginning but not over time. I found I used the shouts as the activated ability far more than any racial skills.

I sniped by eye as I got into Fallout as well (not so much in the beginning but I never really play shooters of any kind). If you can do that, you'll be fine as an archer in Skyrim. You do have to sometimes aim "off" your target in some instances. I'm sure you'll work it out though. The concept of "range" is also quite different between the bow in Skyrim and the sniper rifles in Fallout. Satisfying either way, though.

Okay, Dark Elf stealth-archer-thief it is then (that's a mouthful...). Now just to make him look sufficiently dark and shady.

 

[Ironclad]

Jack-of-all-trades is ok, I had a very powerful guy. Not hot on pickpocket, a few novice spells, great one-H, ace archer, fine lockpick.

Just enjoy it, try something purer later on.

 

[imaginepageant]

I would, however, suggest skipping lockpicking, as even with no skill, you can pick master locks, provided you understand the method.

Ditto. The Lockpicking tree is the most useless one in the game. I have not put a single perk into it and I can pick master-level locks with a bit of patience and a dozen or so lockpicks. Just pick up every lockpick you find when looting, and grab a few from general stores when you can, too.

Most likely (if I can join both) gonna try my hand at the Mage's College in Winterhold too. Their magical training in particular will be very useful to me

This is a big misconception about the college. The only magical "training" it really gives you is a free ward spell when you first speak to Tolfdir. Everything else, you need to purchase - either as a spell tome or in training - just as you would anywhere else. Now, you technically do have to "join" the college at a certain point in the main questline, but all this does is grant you access to the college; you don't need to do any of the quests associated with the college to get the benefits of the trainers and merchants within it.