PC Newbie ... forced to cheat

[Al in SoCal]

Hey All,

Looking for advice on how to avoid situations like this:

Currently level 6 going through the College of Winterhold quests - on 2nd quest "Under Saarthal" and read a quick quide about it which said to leave my companion because it's difficult to take her along. Didn't really question that - but when I got to the end - the draedur (spelling?) wight was way too powerful. I figured I would go back and retrieve my trusty companion but there appeared to be no way back! So instead I was going to load a game where I hadn't dismissed her yet, but that was many .. many saved games back - so I wandered around for about 30 minutes couldn't find a way around a door of bars that had cut me off from the early rooms so my only option was to use the kill command in the console.

Has anyone else run into these "trapped" areas - are there lots in the game? I want to be prepared if there are. Now I feel my game is *tainted* - lol....

Didn't want to cheat. Any advice other than to simply save more?

 

[Kairee Blackblade]

I wouldn't say that there are lots of them, but there are a few. Some are due to being locked in as you were. Others are because you have to jump off a ledge or down a hole and can't get back up the way you came in. My suggestion if you find yourself in that position again is to adjust the difficulty down to novice so you at least have a chance of getting out alive. You can always shift it back up once the battle is over.

 

[Al in SoCal]

Interesting - I didn't even know there were options like that! I'll lookup where to change it.

Thanks!!

 

[Dagmar]

Interesting - I didn't even know there were options like that! I'll lookup where to change it.

Thanks!!

Yes, there is a difficulty level setting and if you set it to the easiest setting it will double your damage against enemies and reduce their damage to you by 50%.

It's generally a good idea to save frequently not just because of situations like this but because reloading a prior save is the most common and simplest solution to dealing with game bugs as you encounter them. I always save a game before I take a quest or enter an area zone as those times are typically the best times to reload a game in case I encounter a quest bug afterwards.

 

[SaveVsBedWet]

Hey All,

the draedur (spelling?) wight was way too powerful.

These guys are very annoying. Of this there can be no doubt whatsoever.

Dr. D'Irsei's tactic, since the most annoying thing about the boss draughrs for her early on was the Fus Roh Dah they get and also the disarm, is to stay ranged where possible and if you have the freezing shout (can't remember what it's called right now), use it when he tries to close the distance (which he will if you are peppering him with offensive spells and/or arrows). If he manages to close and you don't have that shout, Fus Roh Dah him when he closes in so he has no opportunity to swing or shout himself, and then pelt him with violence with the least stamina sapping heavy hitting weapon you can.

War axes are good for that, as are any one handed swords. At level 6, you probably don't have dual wield, powerful daggers, many artifacts or serious enchanted items, or a ton of stamina to keep swinging anything two handed. But if you can control the distance, and can go to a disabling shout if you find yourself disarmed, you should do well.

Oh, and if you have a healing spell, put it on the quick key list and have it ready in your opposite hand. It is much better to have to switch over from that to an offensive spell mid battle than the reverse, because damage comes quickly and if not healed, things get ugly even more quickly.

 

[Raine]

I typically like to save frequently, as my game is riddled with bugs, seeing as its a free, cracked download. I find that works best too, in situations like these as well where I accidentally lose my follower, or if I make an accidental kill. (My blade loves blood a bit too much)... Anyways, as was already stated, you could always try lowering the difficulty level of the game, and then putting it back where you had it at the end.

And don't worry, you aren't the only one that doesn't like the Draugr's. The only thing they could possibly be good for is Dead Thrall... If that even works.

 

[Mahone]

Hey, want to know an easy way to kill those? use paralyze, then attack with a sword, then repeat, its very easy on master.

 

[Kairee Blackblade]

And don't worry, you aren't the only one that doesn't like the Draugr's. The only thing they could possibly be good for is Dead Thrall... If that even works.

Oh, they're very useful for killing invasive bandits. Whenever I've got cutthroats wandering around in a draugr-infested ruin, I like to shoot an arrow near some of the sleeping dead guys. It's not usually enough to alert either enemy to my position (since my sneak is so high), but inevitably catches the attention of the bandits. Then draugr sees bandit, bandit sees draugr, draugr rips bandit to pieces...fun!

 

[MushroomGenius]

Hey, want to know an easy way to kill those? use paralyze, then attack with a sword, then repeat, its very easy on master.

Use Paralyze?! Dude, she's level 6 and just started the Mage College questline.

 

[SaveVsBedWet]

That's why I suggested the Frost shout that immobilizes enemies until they are hit again. Most people should have this by level 6; Dr D'Irsei did. It is obtainable very shortly after Fus Roh Dah from what I remember, and either of these can be effective at buying time, and distance, both of which an inexperienced player with a low health minimal enchantment character needs badly against any shot calling monsters.

But the premise is sound. Anything you can do to gain time to hit an enemy multiple times in melee without immediate fear of retaliation tilts the odds in your favor. You can't go blow for blow with these types until you raise up your armor, damage, and healing considerably and hopefully also have enchantment enhancement.

Plus I'm pretty sure there are both attack and damage bonuses when swinging on stumbling or frozen targets. Plus greater chance for critical strikes.

 

[MushroomGenius]

That's why I suggested the Frost shout that immobilizes enemies until they are hit again. Most people should have this by level 6; Dr D'Irsei did. It is obtainable very shortly after Fus Roh Dah from what I remember, and either of these can be effective at buying time, and distance, both of which an inexperienced player with a low health minimal enchantment character needs badly against any shot calling monsters.

But the premise is sound. Anything you can do to gain time to hit an enemy multiple times in melee without immediate fear of retaliation tilts the odds in your favor. You can't go blow for blow with these types until you raise up your armor, damage, and healing considerably and hopefully also have enchantment enhancement.

Plus I'm pretty sure there are both attack and damage bonuses when swinging on stumbling or frozen targets. Plus greater chance for critical strikes.

Not that I disagree with your strategy, it is sound, but I don't think it's feasible for a new player at level 6 unless playing on a low difficulty.

The three word walls for Ice Form are in Saarthal, Frostmere Crypt, and Mount Anthor.

Saarthal is a quest-locked dungeon which is opened during the Under Saarthal quest that the OP is talking about. The Ice Form word wall is obtained only AFTER clearing the main dungeon.

Mount Anthor is a Dragon Ruin near the Shrine of Azura, for a new player it's doubtful they would explore way up to the Shrine of Azura this early on. It's possible, but unlikely. Not to mention there IS a dragon there... (unless you didn't do Dragon Rising of course, but Skyrim newbies tend to start them immediately after entering Whiterun).

Frostmere Crypt is located way up north by Dawnstar. The end boss in Frostmere is the Pale Lady, a named Wispmother, again, pretty difficult for a newbie.

What you advised is good advice going forward and a lesson learned for the OP who mistakenly left his/her follower behind, but as something they could have done different, it's unlikely.

 

[Bad-People]

I for one don’t fault people for cheating in video games, nobody get’s hurt and… the power… THE POWER!

 

[SaveVsBedWet]

Not that I disagree with your strategy, it is sound, but I don't think it's feasible for a new player at level 6 unless playing on a low difficulty.

The three word walls for Ice Form are in Saarthal, Frostmere Crypt, and Mount Anthor.

Saarthal is a quest-locked dungeon which is opened during the Under Saarthal quest that the OP is talking about. The Ice Form word wall is obtained only AFTER clearing the main dungeon.

Mount Anthor is a Dragon Ruin near the Shrine of Azura, for a new player it's doubtful they would explore way up to the Shrine of Azura this early on. It's possible, but unlikely. Not to mention there IS a dragon there... (unless you didn't do Dragon Rising of course, but Skyrim newbies tend to start them immediately after entering Whiterun).

Frostmere Crypt is located way up north by Dawnstar. The end boss in Frostmere is the Pale Lady, a named Wispmother, again, pretty difficult for a newbie.

What you advised is good advice going forward and a lesson learned for the OP who mistakenly left his/her follower behind, but as something they could have done different, it's unlikely.

Ahh, okay. Yes it is Ice Form I was talking about. Saarthal sounds really familiar. Is that the archeological dig site you get sent to where you and other students from Winterhold College end up looking for some artifact or whatever? I guess I didn't remember exactly when Dr. D'Irsei got that shout after all. It was pretty early though all things considered - at least for her. 25+ levels ago you forget things!

Well, there's still the first Fus Roh shout then at least? I know you can get to that without much trouble before Ice Form, and it was early enough to where the good Dr. had to hike half way around the mountain range to avoid that Ice Troll that had me reloading probably 10 times on the way up to see the Greybeards. Those were the days...

Either way, and even if he hasn't gone up to get Fus Roh yet, his strategy (in my opinion) should still be to do anything he can to control the distance between himself and the draughr until he can exploit close in. The worst for me was being disarmed so close to the draughr that I had no time to either pick up the weapon, equip an offensive spell, switch to a shield, or draw another weapon without getting walloped. And once that happens, there's nothing for it except to start up with the healing, which takes even more time and leaves no real opportunity for defense or attack. Newbies just can't last that long trying to heal faster than they bleed out.

 

[perkecet]

I typically like to save frequently, as my game is riddled with bugs, seeing as its a free, cracked download. I find that works best too, in situations like these as well where I accidentally lose my follower, or if I make an accidental kill. (My blade loves blood a bit too much)... Anyways, as was already stated, you could always try lowering the difficulty level of the game, and then putting it back where you had it at the end.

And don't worry, you aren't the only one that doesn't like the Draugr's. The only thing they could possibly be good for is Dead Thrall... If that even works.

dead thrall only works on npc's.
is there a reason to go around telling people you pirate software?