Question about Civil War before I start it

[Barcelonic]

Im just about to embark on the Civil War questline and am confused about how it mixes in with the Main Story.

My main question is will I still have Lydia as my follower after I sack Whiterun with the Stormcloaks? Will she even fight her own people with me? After all she is the housecarl they gave me and i am thane on whiterun and have a house there. Will Lydia turn against me?

Its kinda important cus she's my mule lol. She's got a lot of my stuff plus I've done a lot of enchanting for her stuff and bought her good armor & sword so if i'm going to lose her it'd be a shame but I need to know so I can move my stuff somewhere safe until i can reecruit a new follower

Also if i do lose Lydia i have an other question - can some followers carry more weight than others? I'd probably go for the one who can carry the most lol

Thanks

 

[Andante]

To the best of my knowledge, Lydia will still remain loyal to you and still be in your service. Even if the Jarl she was loyal to is no longer in power, she should still hold true her vow of loyalty to the Dragonborn. You may technically lose the title of Thane of Whiterun in the shift of power, but getting it back can sometimes be as simple as asking the new Jarl. He may require that you complete the usual requirements of assisting 5 citizens of the hold to earn your title back but, spending a lot of time in Whiterun, you may have completed those requirements already.

In general, yes, some followers have higher (and lower) levels of stamina, which can affect how much they are able to carry. Though, Lydia is for the most part a very efficient pack mule. If you order her to pick up items or loot, rather than picking them up yourself, then handing them to her, she can essentially carry an infinite amount of items, regardless of weight. Just make sure you order her to do this after you've given, or equipped to her any sort of new armor, as being over encumbered can affect how and if at all, she will equip better armor and weapons.

 

[Barcelonic]

Thanks Andante!

Looks like I'll be turning on WWhiterun now then - the only town i can call home lol
But I always go for the underdog there's no way im being Imperial in this thing.

I just realised though that there is still one quest from Aela to do to get Totem powers so will probably do that first as I've already done a few with her to get to this point - plus i should be able to summon wolves apprently which souns pretty cool.

Then I'll take the city lol. Great game - most games like this you wonder when they're ever going to end. In this Im wondering when its ever going to begin lol

thanks again for that Andante. I don't suppose you could help me with one more... Lydia is supposed to wear heavy armor but i give her light whereever possible so she doesn't give me away when i'm doing my stealth thing and sneaking around - does the sound of her armor alert enemies too and is this right or could i switch her to heavy without stealth penalty?

Thanks again man

 

[M'aiqaelF]

I just realised though that there is still one quest from Aela to do to get Totem powers so will probably do that first as I've already done a few with her to get to this point - plus i should be able to summon wolves apprently which souns pretty cool.

do you have to complete all the minor quests for the companions to summon wolves? On my higher lvl build I completed the main companions quest where you are able to decide if you want to cure yourself of lycanthropy but did not gain an ability to summon wolves.

 

[Barcelonic]

do you have to complete all the minor quests for the companions to summon wolves? On my higher lvl build I completed the main companions quest where you are able to decide if you want to cure yourself of lycanthropy but did not gain an ability to summon wolves.

Each of the companions has "work" for you. Whomever you choose there are three quests to complete to finish that Companion's questline. These are referred to in the guidebook as Radiant quests. As far as I know once you've done all 3 for one of them you can choose another companion and do theirs as well, but the one that gives you the option of different werewolf powers is the 3rd/final quest Aela The Huntress gives you.

So in short if you want the Totems do three quests for Aela The Huntress.

(If you've already done all the Companions' Main quests Im not sure if this will still be possible but I don't know just go see her and find out i guess

 

[M'aiqaelF]

i'll have to try it w/ my new build b/c Aela died in my first

 

[Barcelonic]

i'll have to try it w/ my new build b/c Aela died in my first

There are a few powers you can have i believe but Summon Wolves looks the best to me.

(Btw if you' happen to be playing on PC you can use console command to resurrect Aela in your first game.)

 

[M'aiqaelF]

good to know...i can't bring her back b/c i'm on xbox

 

[Barcelonic]

good to know...i can't bring her back b/c i'm on xbox

OK well anyways the quest name for it is "Totems of Hircine"

 

[Necromis]

have you checked inside jarvo...someone else had her resurrect on her home and be in there because she is a main quest required person. Though it could be a different scenario as she died while he had her as a follower.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

I've checked jarvo many times b/c that happened w/ vilkas for me (he was lost while a follower), she died and unfortunately I had one of her quests open at the time and now am unable to complete it

 

[Andante]

Thanks Andante!

Looks like I'll be turning on WWhiterun now then - the only town i can call home lol
But I always go for the underdog there's no way im being Imperial in this thing.

I just realised though that there is still one quest from Aela to do to get Totem powers so will probably do that first as I've already done a few with her to get to this point - plus i should be able to summon wolves apprently which souns pretty cool.

Then I'll take the city lol. Great game - most games like this you wonder when they're ever going to end. In this Im wondering when its ever going to begin lol

thanks again for that Andante. I don't suppose you could help me with one more... Lydia is supposed to wear heavy armor but i give her light whereever possible so she doesn't give me away when i'm doing my stealth thing and sneaking around - does the sound of her armor alert enemies too and is this right or could i switch her to heavy without stealth penalty?

Thanks again man

Lydia is absolutely notorious for her very low sneak skill. She will almost always alert nearby enemies if you attempt to sneak with her. Heavier armor is technically "louder" or harder to sneak in, so her heavy armors is doing her no favors, but it is her class. So, with her very poor sneak skill, she's probably going to be an unsuccessful sneak regardless of what armor she has on. The best course of action to take is to ask her to wait behind while approaching enemies you don't wish to alert and try to take them out yourself. If you end up alerting them, just run back toward her and she'll help defend.

 

[Barcelonic]

Lydia is absolutely notorious for her very low sneak skill. She will almost always alert nearby enemies if you attempt to sneak with her. Heavier armor is technically "louder" or harder to sneak in, so her heavy armors is doing her no favors, but it is her class. So, with her very poor sneak skill, she's probably going to be an unsuccessful sneak regardless of what armor she has on. The best course of action to take is to ask her to wait behind while approaching enemies you don't wish to alert and try to take them out yourself. If you end up alerting them, just run back toward her and she'll help defend.

oh thats cool, so she'll defend even in 'wait' mode? Good idea, thanks

I've just found out it was too late to do that Comapnions quest so i couldn't get the Summon Wolf power but its OK i had loads of fun just now doing my first siege. Lots of enemies to kill and the next time i wnt back to whiterun it was pretty much business as usual. Now it feels like a strategy game where i can sack cities and conquer Skyrim lol

Will i now be attacked on sight in towns loyal to the Imperials?

 

[Curious Mew]

This is sorta off-topic, but you want to avoid switching followers as much as possible. Everytime you switch them, your follower's carry weight drops. Eventually, they will only be strong enough to carry a carrot. There are ways around this bug, such a telling your follower to go and pick the item up off the floor, but because you have to do this individually to each item you want your follower to pick up, it can be very annoying.

In general, yes, some followers have higher (and lower) levels of stamina, which can affect how much they are able to carry. Though, Lydia is for the most part a very efficient pack mule. If you order her to pick up items or loot, rather than picking them up yourself, then handing them to her, she can essentially carry an infinite amount of items, regardless of weight. Just make sure you order her to do this after you've given, or equipped to her any sort of new armor, as being over encumbered can affect how and if at all, she will equip better armor and weapons.

I read somewhere that if you overpower them with too many items, it will freeze up the game. While probably not the best solution to over-encumbrance, it does work.

 

[Andante]

oh thats cool, so she'll defend even in 'wait' mode? Good idea, thanks

I've just found out it was too late to do that Comapnions quest so i couldn't get the Summon Wolf power but its OK i had loads of fun just now doing my first siege. Lots of enemies to kill and the next time i wnt back to whiterun it was pretty much business as usual. Now it feels like a strategy game where i can sack cities and conquer Skyrim lol

Will i now be attacked on sight in towns loyal to the Imperials?

No, you won't be attacked on sight in Imperial-loyal cities. Though, if you come across any Imperial camps in the wild, or forts inhabited by Imperials, the soldiers there may become hostile toward you. On my first play through, when I sided with the Imperials, Stormcloak soldiers were very wary of me when I passed their camps. Instead of welcoming me in as a potential recruit like usual, I couldn't get close, and if I tried they'd threaten me. Provocation results in hostility. So be careful of that.