I'm rerolling again...

[Twiffle]

It seems you have lots of company! For me, the problem is that I know where things are, and what I need to do, so I find myself going through the same sequence of events. For example, if I go to Riverwood I know that I can get Faendal as a follower, and he can train me n archery. In order to make my character behave more like a totally naive player on my first playthrough, I make decisions depend on a die roll. Which way do I go at a junction, who do I follow, do I accept a quest? All these are no longer based on my previous experience, so I always end up on a different game path, sometimes with disastrous results, other times offering entirely new experiences.

'Roll a Dice' now that is so cool, great idea, Skyrim with Craps,
Seriously though, how do you do that i would love to know,

 

[Baelor]

I am in your exact same boat. Love your journals btw.

I have also played since launch day, have done roleplaying and set play restrictions, and keep making new characters @ around level 20-25.

I am wondering now if I am just getting bored with the game? I prefer sword and board, but have several stealth characters, and I agree, it is incredibly easy, even on Master.

I just rolled a 2H sword character, but have yet to do anything with him other than make it out of Helgen. I am thinking of taking a week or two break from the game.

I wish I had more advice for you. I just wonder if, like me, you are growing a little board with the game. Skyrim is the best game I've ever played. I love the openness. But I guess there are limits to how long you can run around clearing dungeons, fighting dragons, etc.

 

[Baelor]

Also, whenever I Decide to play on my new 2H sword guy, I am doing Dead is Dead. Have you tried that?

 

[TomatoThief]

Basically, I'm just curious as to... what to do to enjoy this game. I almost feel as if the game is too open in that I feel like I just can never settle on anything because everything is just so viable and awesome, but at the same time, it can all get over powered. I'm constantly lurking the Skyrim Blog for build ideas and really like a lot of them... the issue is that most are either full roleplay builds or are either so focused on the end game that trying to get there becomes an incredible chore.

Sounds like you are not too keen on role playing, which is where nearly all my personal satisfaction in Skyrim is derived. You keep mentioning how easy the game is. I suggest that instead of trying to make the game harder, you handicap your real life ability. Set a fifth of 1800 Tequila on your desk. Take a shot every time one of the following things happens:

• You level up
• A guard takes an arrow to the knee
• You disenchant an item
• You drink a potion in combat (one shot per potion)
• Belethor offers to buy one of your relatives
• You create a potion that includes Giant's Toe as an ingredient
• You purchase training from an NPC
• Lydia glares at you like she wishes you were a woman
• You block a giant's attack, or shield bash a giant
• Any enemy allows you to feather it while you stand on a 2ft high obstacle
• You kill something while sneaking
• You swim for any length of time in frigid water while wearing armor
• You sprint up a 60 degree mountain slope on horseback
• A Nord displays superstition
• A draughr triggers its own trap

You won't make it out of Bleak Falls Barrow.

-TT

 

[Katastrophe]

Also, whenever I Decide to play on my new 2H sword guy, I am doing Dead is Dead. Have you tried that?

I've used alternate rules like... if I die, I fast travel to the nearest town (only time I fast travel) and sleep/wait at the inn for a few days. If you look at my blog, I believe I post an even more drastic version... like you have to empty your inventory except for 10% of your gold and a dagger into a barrel and consider it stolen/mugged.

Sounds like you are not too keen on role playing, which is where nearly all my personal satisfaction in Skyrim is derived. You keep mentioning how easy the game is. I suggest that instead of trying to make the game harder, you handicap your real life ability. Set a fifth of 1800 Tequila on your desk. Take a shot every time one of the following things happens:

• You level up
• A guard takes an arrow to the knee
• You disenchant an item
• You drink a potion in combat (one shot per potion)
• Belethor offers to buy one of your relatives
• You create a potion that includes Giant's Toe as an ingredient
• You purchase training from an NPC
• Lydia glares at you like she wishes you were a woman
• You block a giant's attack, or shield bash a giant
• Any enemy allows you to feather it while you stand on a 2ft high obstacle
• You kill something while sneaking
• You swim for any length of time in frigid water while wearing armor
• You sprint up a 60 degree mountain slope on horseback
• A Nord displays superstition
• A draughr triggers its own trap

You won't make it out of Bleak Falls Barrow.


-TT

Are you trying to kill me?

And no, I'm very keen on roleplaying... which is why I try to avoid such OP elements in the game. I mean, in any roleplay, if I shot someone with an arrow, they wouldn't give up and blame the wind after a few minutes of searching. That really kills the emersion for me. The self-imposed rules I tend to impose are usually just restrictions... like I said earlier in this post, I have a blog of them if you're interested. They basically involve the standard eating/drinking as well as taking time to make items and learn spells to prevent grinding.

I've also swam from Riverwood to Whiterun and taken the carriage to another major town and started from there. I really like starting from Solitude, actually. I think the game should've started from there - coming off a boat into the strange, new (to you) land. You immediately see an execution. The main quest should've been more stretched... but I digress.

 

[Silk Zither]

Take a break from skyrim (or any video games entirely) for the next 6 months!

Sounds like you are not too keen on role playing, which is where nearly all my personal satisfaction in Skyrim is derived. You keep mentioning how easy the game is. I suggest that instead of trying to make the game harder, you handicap your real life ability. Set a fifth of 1800 Tequila on your desk. Take a shot every time one of the following things happens:

• You level up
• A guard takes an arrow to the knee
• You disenchant an item
• You drink a potion in combat (one shot per potion)
• Belethor offers to buy one of your relatives
• You create a potion that includes Giant's Toe as an ingredient
• You purchase training from an NPC
• Lydia glares at you like she wishes you were a woman
• You block a giant's attack, or shield bash a giant
• Any enemy allows you to feather it while you stand on a 2ft high obstacle
• You kill something while sneaking
• You swim for any length of time in frigid water while wearing armor
• You sprint up a 60 degree mountain slope on horseback
• A Nord displays superstition
• A draughr triggers its own trap

You won't make it out of Bleak Falls Barrow.


-TT

lol, this is ridiculous!

 

[DdraigGwyn]

'Roll a Dice' now that is so cool, great idea, Skyrim with Craps,
Seriously though, how do you do that i would love to know,

uh, I pick a die and roll it on the table.

 

[Katastrophe]

uh, I pick a die and roll it on the table.

You're blowing my mind right now, man.

Edit: On topic, I've given some thought on both backstory and hat you've all been helping me think about here. The first is that I actually really liked the Assassin's Creed/Skyrim cross-over plot. I don't want to make it an actual cross-over, but would rather weave the elements of Assassin's Creed into The Elder Scrolls narrative. Also, I thought about the character and like Rown said, maybe the reason I keep drifting back into a stealth archer build is because that's what I'm supposed to play - I just never flesh out enough or give it enough depth. In truth, it was that build that got me to 30ish before I gave up. I remember when doing a quest in Markarth, I went inside to confront 'N'. This forced encounter was nearly the death of my. I had to run all around Markarth before I lost them and could start using stealth to kill them. The loss of stealth made me useless and I hated it. I've tried building upon it and it always just feels... never thought out.

Oh, add some combat skills. Now I'm just a warrior with a bow that crouches a lot.
Oh, add some Illusion spells. Now I'm just letting the AI fight themselves. Snooze.

So... I think I'm just gonna add a bit of everything. A focus on Archery and Sneak, but also investing some points in magic (in the event I'm detected for Illusion spells, Runes for traps, Alteration for more armor, etc), some one handed as a last resort, and your staple of Alchemy for poisons and the such. I might be privy to making this into a journal via my blog, using the hardcore rules I posted (found here). Not a daily thing, or anything with too much detail. Literally a journal.

 

[Rown]

I'm glad you are excited about the character again! Hope the journal happens, but if not it would be cool to see what he/she looks like

 

[Dagmar]

Have you ever tried a combat archer instead of a stealth archer? It's a polar opposite strategy to stealth archery with, no hiding, open mobile ranged combat with a high rate of fire and lots of bow bashing. After a while you never even have to touch a melee weapon in combat.

You could also try the archetypical Harbinger. The constraints for the build are based on your character's distrust and disdain for magic (a common trait shared by all of the Companions) and value for Nord and Companion traditions. You only use Skyforge Steel or Nord Hero Weapons and can only use armors made with Leather, Iron, Steel and Corundum. You use no spells or scrolls and no enchanted items other than an Amulet of Talos, and Wuuthrad or the Shield of Ysgramor. If you want to make it harder you also don't use Alchemy or potions.

 

[Katastrophe]

I'm glad you are excited about the character again! Hope the journal happens, but if not it would be cool to see what he/she looks like

If I could draw or played on PC so I could have custom mods... "/
That's why I'm a big supporter of the Craft Skill Cycle trick to get "god items". Not to make one hit kill swords or anything, but the ability to hit the armor cap (or get damn close) while using any armor set... it makes things look nicer. And when I plan builds, I notice that around level 60 or so, I have maxed out what I wanted to... /shrug

I wish they'd release mods as DLC for the 360 version - just a clothing pack, for crying out loud. Or the ability to disenchant armor without destroying it so you can give it new enchantments. Nightingale Armor, I'm looking at you...

Have you ever tried a combat archer instead of a stealth archer? It's a polar opposite strategy to stealth archery with, no hiding, open mobile ranged combat with a high rate of fire and lots of bow bashing. After a while you never even have to touch a melee weapon in combat.

You could also try the archetypical Harbinger. The constraints for the build are based on your character's distrust and disdain for magic (a common trait shared by all of the Companions) and value for Nord and Companion traditions. You only use Skyforge Steel or Nord Hero Weapons and can only use armors made with Leather, Iron, Steel and Corundum. You use no spells or scrolls and no enchanted items other than an Amulet of Talos, and Wuuthrad or the Shield of Ysgramor. If you want to make it harder you also don't use Alchemy or potions.

I think that combat archer is a little... silly? I mean, the point of a bow is to use it as a range. This kind of sounds like the DemonHunter build though. But I don't know of many archer characters in fiction that used their bow in CQC. I mean, even Legolas had swords. Although I vaguely remember a few CQC moments with his bow...

Archetypical characters tend to get stale. Maybe that's why I get tired of stealth archers. I mean, they're easily one of the most popular build styles due to their high effectiveness, especially on Master difficulty. It's like when you hear a song you really like, so you play it over and over until you hate it. Story of my life.

 

[Dagmar]

I think that combat archer is a little... silly? I mean, the point of a bow is to use it as a range. This kind of sounds like the DemonHunter build though. But I don't know of many archer characters in fiction that used their bow in CQC. I mean, even Legolas had swords. Although I vaguely remember a few CQC moments with his bow...

I have no idea whay you would equate combat archer with not using a bow as a ranged weapon. By definition if you're firing the bow you're using it as a ranged weapon. The difference between a combat archer and a stealth archer is that you're not a sniper and the concept that it's silly because it's a ranged weapon is akin to saying the concept of an infantryman with an assault rifle in open combat is silly because of the existence of recon snipers. A combat archer uses mobility and fast accurate fire to maintain sufficient distance to inflict damage while staying out of melee range and uses the stun from bow bash to regain it when needed. The cinematic version of Legolas was constantly using his bow at all ranges. The man was absolutely fearless about getting in the face of the enemy with his bow and arrow regardless of numbers or size:

Archetypical characters tend to get stale.

I'm not talking about archetype by combat build. I'm talking about archetype by roleplaying profile to dictate restrictions that make the game harder not easier. There's nothing easier about playing a character who uses no magic or almost no enchanted items. It makes it significantly slower and harder to build damage resistances on a melee combat character, and on Master difficulty setting sword damage effectively becomes capped at less than 45 points per regular attack and 91 points with power attacks. It makes combat with Dragons that have over 3000 health points and 600 points of damage per melee attack and 200 points of magic damage per second with each breath attack a good challenge.

 

[Rown]

This dead is dead thing has finally got my intrigued. mabye I'll post here when I have a good idea of the character im going try DID with first.

 

[Katastrophe]

/snip

You're speaking about things that aren't anywhere near viable until end game, or even remotely fun. I've used my bow in "combat" quite a few times, but mostly only in the early game. Bashing when a wolf jumps at you to cancel, or at least reduce, it's attack and then using a quick arrow to finish it off is fine and dandy. The idea that I'm going to stand my ground a rotate punching a handful of Draugr with my bow and quick shotting them is absurd, especially on master difficulty. In later levels, on my old character, I could maybe get away with such tactics, on rare occasion. My Archery was high enough (if not 100, I forget), my bow was strong enough, and my enchants were good. I still couldn't do what you're suggesting, not without stealth for the 3x damage. Now maybe if you follow the DemonHunter build and include traps to soften your enemy first, then yeah, you can get away with. If you notice in the video, Legolas one shots everything. If you can do that without stealth, or even 2-3 shot, this is viable.

And I suppose you could go heavy into the roleplay aspect as a way to gimp your character, but aside from a faction or racial thing, I'm not really sure what would be viable. The Companions are probably my least favorite guild, actually. Interesting, but not my cup of tea.

This dead is dead thing has finally got my intrigued. mabye I'll post here when I have a good idea of the character im going try DID with first.

With how long Skyrim is, and just how easy is to misjudge a height or randomly get shanked by a Frost Troll... I couldn't do strict DID. I would play in the safest, most prudent way ever. I mean, we're talking full blown "I will summon a thousand Atronachs to kill you for me before I come within 1000 meters of you" levels of safety. My suggestions was, if you're doing a "must sleep" thing, do an actual hard save only when you wake up. If you die, restart from that point. Or you could, as I suggested early, just punish yourself by tossing your inventory in a barrel for it to be lost. I've done that on a playthrough and you'd be surprised how small your active inventory becomes. I started keeping my best gear at home, using it only for big missions. I only left home with maybe 1000 gold, a handful of potions... you really start to adventure on a budget when you can risk losing it all.

 

[Twiffle]

Just an observation I thought about last night, and it will probably ruffle a few feathers.
It has occurred to me that we have lost the essence of the game, it has now become a game of levelling all we seem to do now is leave Helgen with our Architypical character in mind, then we proceed to do the quests/tasks we have done countless times to perfect the character into a perfect build,
EG, i can leave Helgen go to Riverwood and after visiting around 5 close locations and a small quest i could be at level 7 with 5-7000 gold before i got to Whiterun, not including Bleakfalls, or the Archery glitch
or even sneak trick in Embershard.
So basically we have complicated this game so much we have (i include myself) lost sight of what we have in our hands. We have changed a wonderfully crafted GAME called SKYRIM, into a levelling challenge, the pursuit of a perfect character without actually playing the game and enjoying it anymore, as in life we make mistakes, well dont you think old Dova will make mistakes, we dont seem to just leave Helgen with our character in mind and just PLAY and enjoy the game as Bethesda meant it to be,, pure enjoyment. Yes.. Yes i know the levelling system is so exploitable for EG Illusion muffle, but IMHO thats because we seek perfection instead of playing SKyrim as a game of fun and see what happens anymore, Hands up how many have spammed Illusion muffle to level, , instaed of just cast, cast again when it wears off and others as well, just a levelling game not an RPG to be enjoyed, if we make a mistake, so be it, it actually may become fun again. . .

Just my thoughts, make of them what you like, but no insults please, TY

 

[DdraigGwyn]

Just an observation I thought about last night, and it will probably ruffle a few feathers.
It has occurred to me that we have lost the essence of the game, it has now become a game of levelling all we seem to do now is leave Helgen with our Architypical character in mind, then we proceed to do the quests/tasks we have done countless times to perfect the character into a perfect build,
EG, i can leave Helgen go to Riverwood and after visiting around 5 close locations and a small quest i could be at level 7 with 5-7000 gold before i got to Whiterun, not including Bleakfalls, or the Archery glitch
or even sneak trick in Embershard.
So basically we have complicated this game so much we have (i include myself) lost sight of what we have in our hands. We have changed a wonderfully crafted GAME called SKYRIM, into a levelling challenge, the pursuit of a perfect character without actually playing the game and enjoying it anymore, as in life we make mistakes, well dont you think old Dova will make mistakes, we dont seem to just leave Helgen with our character in mind and just PLAY and enjoy the game as Bethesda meant it to be,, pure enjoyment. Yes.. Yes i know the levelling system is so exploitable for EG Illusion muffle, but IMHO thats because we seek perfection instead of playing SKyrim as a game of fun and see what happens anymore, Hands up how many have spammed Illusion muffle to level, , instaed of just cast, cast again when it wears off and others as well, just a levelling game not an RPG to be enjoyed, if we make a mistake, so be it, it actually may become fun again. . .

Just my thoughts, make of them what you like, but no insults please, TY

I totally agree, which is why I started to use random choices at key points in the game. Now I can't plan on going through the Riverwood scenario you describe since half the time (Heads or Tails), I don't go to Riverwood at the start.

 

[Baelor]

With how long Skyrim is, and just how easy is to misjudge a height or randomly get shanked by a Frost Troll... I couldn't do strict DID. I would play in the safest, most prudent way ever. I mean, we're talking full blown "I will summon a thousand Atronachs to kill you for me before I come within 1000 meters of you" levels of safety. My suggestions was, if you're doing a "must sleep" thing, do an actual hard save only when you wake up. If you die, restart from that point. Or you could, as I suggested early, just punish yourself by tossing your inventory in a barrel for it to be lost. I've done that on a playthrough and you'd be surprised how small your active inventory becomes. I started keeping my best gear at home, using it only for big missions. I only left home with maybe 1000 gold, a handful of potions... you really start to adventure on a budget when you can risk losing it all.

I think that is what makes Dead is Dead so interesting though. If your character in Skyrim was real, he wouldn't say "I am going to leave my good armor at home in case I die on this mission." Going out in the wilds is risky. Clearing out a dungeon is risky. Yes, you would take extra precautions, but I've heard people say playing a strict DiD campaign really gets their adrenaline going sometimes.

This is the only type of playthrough I haven't tried in Skyrim. I've done pretty much everything there is to do. I really think when you are constantly re-rolling characters and unable to decide which build you like, some boredom may be setting it. That's why I think a change of pace with a different style playthrough (ie. DiD) is a good idea.

I am taking a break from Skyrim this week and plan to start a DiD campaign this weekend.

 

[Katastrophe]

I think that is what makes Dead is Dead so interesting though. If your character in Skyrim was real, he wouldn't say "I am going to leave my good armor at home in case I die on this mission." Going out in the wilds is risky. Clearing out a dungeon is risky. Yes, you would take extra precautions, but I've heard people say playing a strict DiD campaign really gets their adrenaline going sometimes.

This is the only type of playthrough I haven't tried in Skyrim. I've done pretty much everything there is to do. I really think when you are constantly re-rolling characters and unable to decide which build you like, some boredom may be setting it. That's why I think a change of pace with a different style playthrough (ie. DiD) is a good idea.

I am taking a break from Skyrim this week and plan to start a DiD campaign this weekend.

Hm, we'll see... I do hope you plan on sharing that campaign.

Personally, I don't even start from Helgen any more. I go through Helgen, sometimes doing stuff, sometimes not. I usually limit what I take, to some degree, except I take all the gold I can. Then once I get to the Guardian Stone (sometimes picking one, sometimes not), I jump into the river and swim to Whiterun. Then I take a carriage and go some place else and start.

Solitude is one of my favorite places to start Skyrim from, hands down. Windhelm and Dawnstar also make good logical spots, as all are connected to the sea in some manner. Falkreath is another nice one. But Solitude is just... I think the game should've started from there. The game obviously seems to favor an Imperial victory in the civil war quest line, so that makes sense. You arrive and there's an execution going on...

Personally, I would've had the game start on a boat arriving there. You're just some person who comes to Skyrim, be it as a mercenary or a treasure hunter or whatever. It'd start you off in a bit of a roleplay questline like "Head to Solitude", then maybe something like "Inquire about the execution" where you learn more about the civil war. Eventually, you're led to Blackwater Crossing and that's where you get ambushed and taken to Helgen, or a different (closer) location.

 

[Baelor]

Hm, we'll see... I do hope you plan on sharing that campaign.

Personally, I don't even start from Helgen any more. I go through Helgen, sometimes doing stuff, sometimes not. I usually limit what I take, to some degree, except I take all the gold I can. Then once I get to the Guardian Stone (sometimes picking one, sometimes not), I jump into the river and swim to Whiterun. Then I take a carriage and go some place else and start.

Solitude is one of my favorite places to start Skyrim from, hands down. Windhelm and Dawnstar also make good logical spots, as all are connected to the sea in some manner. Falkreath is another nice one. But Solitude is just... I think the game should've started from there. The game obviously seems to favor an Imperial victory in the civil war quest line, so that makes sense. You arrive and there's an execution going on...

Personally, I would've had the game start on a boat arriving there. You're just some person who comes to Skyrim, be it as a mercenary or a treasure hunter or whatever. It'd start you off in a bit of a roleplay questline like "Head to Solitude", then maybe something like "Inquire about the execution" where you learn more about the civil war. Eventually, you're led to Blackwater Crossing and that's where you get ambushed and taken to Helgen, or a different (closer) location.

I might consider making another journal on here. I feel bad though. I've started two and just stopped keeping up with them. This one in particular though may be cut short without me deciding to stop keeping it up

I think I like your idea btw. I don't think I am going to start out in Riverwood. Since my character will be an Imperial, Solitude seems a logical choice. We will see this weekend.

 

[Katastrophe]

I might consider making another journal on here. I feel bad though. I've started two and just stopped keeping up with them. This one in particular though may be cut short without me deciding to stop keeping it up

I think I like your idea btw. I don't think I am going to start out in Riverwood. Since my character will be an Imperial, Solitude seems a logical choice. We will see this weekend.

I'm debating whether or not to try a new playthrough in a novelized format, like my other ones, or a 1st personal journal format... Hm. But I know what you mean. I feel bad for the ones I started and then gave up on... although in honesty, they were abandoned more so because of a shift of priorities then a lack of interest. Work and other things came up and I just never found the time. By the time I remembered them, it was gone.

But I'm really trying to flesh out the backstory on this one. It goes back all the way to the First Era. xD