Followers scale in level with the player. It is a set rate and cannot be changed (without mods). They do not recieve experience, but you don't either for the damage they do.
Psiberzerker's Build Clinic
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Psiberzerker
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Of course he is! It's very very difficult, and if I mess up too bad, he's dead, but it's doable, on Master. On Adept, it's a perfectly viable playstyle, and on Novice, you can get away with some more skills, like Alteration, OR Restoration. The point is to limit your level so Destruction is still a viable damage dealer. I'm also Power Leveling him, because he has to do twice as much damage, and therefore gets twice as much XP per fight. The enemies tend to live long enough to get at least a shot in, so I have to Block, and take some to the Armor, but not too often to survive. That is a Master playstyle though, not in terms of game difficulty, but how much you, the player have to know what you're doing. For a novice player, it's a real good trainer for Blocking, and Magicka Management. You don't just run the blue gauge down, because you also have to maneuver, and Block, and you're light enough for Stamina to hold out, but it really helps to know where the easier fights are, and avoid the really dangerous ones.
No. First, you don't get Experience except for the damage you do yourself. Even indirect damage from the Burning effect of Flames, either Bleeding effect, or spells that can turn the enemy against each other don't count. Other skills gain experience in other ways, but the general rule is you get XP in a given skill by using it successfully with a valid Target. If you shoot at one of those straw targets with a bow, no XP. Any NPC (Everyone else in the world) will give you experience for shooting them proportionate to the Damage. Even your follower if accidentally. (Don't make a habit of it.)
Followers are supposed to level with you, but generally don't. I save the really really good ones (Belrand, Jenassa, and Eola for my short lit) Until after at least 25 so I get them at their best. Also, they tend to kill too much at lower levels. The best follower for any given character depends on that character, and the player.
Erik the Slayer, because he's Light Armor, and can sneak, but also uses 2H weapons. You just got the Skyforge Steel Greatsword (SFSGS) so it's better than just selling it. As an Archer, you will usually want someone forward so you don't have to spend so much time running around instead of Shooting. With your Shield out, you'll want to get a bunch of hits in, while still having some Help, so you don't get overwhelmed. Erik can be powerful, but still swings slow, so you can get your hits in too, he's not just going to Pwn every fight, and keep you from leveling your combat skills. (He's also one of the few with Light Armor, and 2H in combination.)
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
So, at higher levels, you can have your follower go ahead, or stay back? Interesting.
Psiberzerker
Author
As soon as you get them, if they're not a Quest Follower. Talk to him, you'll have a bunch of dialog options, including Trade, and you can say "I need you to do something." If you run around like this, and he keeps up, as soon as you enter Battle, direct them to attack someone. Start shooting...
You can also say Wait Here just outside of Detection Distance, sneak foreward, Backstab someone, and when his buddies show up, your follower can catch up, and have your back. This happens randomly with them just following you, but then you can engineer it from the start. Very handy for Support Archers, because you can place them in a convenient spot, start the fight, then kite it over to the field of Fire. You can do some of this with Conjuration too, but you don't get the commands.
You can also have them unlock chests for you, if you aren't working that skill, and get more loot.
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
Great to know.
Psiberzerker
Author
Play around with it. You don't get any Experience from it, but the "Wait Here" trick lets you get your fighting in before he shows up, which is nice if he's overshadowing you, but you still want him to carry stuff, and unlock Chests. With a good follower, you can beat the game without leveling at all.
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
I tried that last night with Lydia. That worked great. She waited where I told her to wait, but I had to make sure she was waiting where she could not engage. I also noticed that there is also a limit on the amount she can carry.
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
Ok,Psiberzerker, time for more beginner questions.... If I join the Stormcloaks, or the Imperial Legion, can I still finish the quest for the other one? Can I complete competing quests is my question, I guess. What about the College of Winterhold, then another story line that conflicts or doesn't agree with that quest/story line?
Psiberzerker
Author
Ok, the Civil War is the only 2 Mutually Exclusive questlines. You can complete Either the Stormcloaks, or Imperial side of it, but there are a lot of similarities, and you can switch sides at 1 point. (When you get the Artifact, take it to the other side.) As an Archer, with at least some stealth, I would start with the Stormcloaks, then decide which side I really wanted to have it when the time comes, because you get a powerful poison for the first mission. Otherwise, it pretty much boils down to which one do you want to kill, Ulfric, or General Tullius. (You saw them arguing in the beginning, but Ulfric didn't get to say much.) They both have unique outfits, Ulfrics are Clothes, and Tullius' is Heavy Armor.
Ulfric's
or Tullius'
or Tullius'
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
Ok, the Civil War is the only 2 Mutually Exclusive questlines. You can complete Either the Stormcloaks, or Imperial side of it, but there are a lot of similarities, and you can switch sides at 1 point. (When you get the Artifact, take it to the other side.) As an Archer, with at least some stealth, I would start with the Stormcloaks, then decide which side I really wanted to have it when the time comes, because you get a powerful poison for the first mission. Otherwise, it pretty much boils down to which one do you want to kill, Ulfric, or General Tullius. (You saw them arguing in the beginning, but Ulfric didn't get to say much.) They both have unique outfits, Ulfrics are Clothes, and Tullius' is Heavy Armor.
Considering your character, you could just skip it entirely, or after you get the poison, and do the Dark Brotherhood instead...Ulfric's
or Tullius'
Is there somewhere I could see what the benefits of both sides are, or is that a huge spoiler?
Psiberzerker
Author
That's basically it, without spoilers. Some nifty looking armor/clothes, and Ice Wraith's Bane (Poison) plus a whole lot of experience fighting massed Soldiers. Save it, then when your leveling has plateaued, but you have a lot of Perks/Stats up to be that effective, then go take on Armies. (With your Archer build, you should be good around 25-30.)
There's a lot more material benefit from the Dark brotherhood. The best horse in the game, good Armor for stealth/assassinations, the most powerful "Dagger" in the game (It strikes at Sword speed, but does the most damage, and works with Assassin's Blade) and the most unfair gamebreaking sword from that one faction. Also a pretty long emmersive Questline (Assassin's Guild) I won't spoil a thing about. Talk to the guards, track down the Aretino boy (In Windhelm, I get Ice Wraith's Bane first) then do what he says. When you get the plate, take a nap, and Enjoy.
If you want Immersion, Power, and are using ANY stealth at all, you can't do better than the Dark Brotherhood.
Psiberzerker
Author
It has no Armor value, it just looks cool, and can be Enchanted.
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
Psiberzerker, the Dark Brotherhood is the Stormcloaks, right?
Nighthiker77
Well-Known Member
The Dark Brotherhood is the assassin's guild, and my favorite faction/questline in the game. I stayed away with my first few characters but now I usually start it as early as I can. The quest rewards are outstanding at low levels and some are even good all through the endgame
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
So, you can start this once you are told about it, even from Riverwood? Or should be a certain level first?
Psiberzerker
Author
They have nothing to do with it, other than both starting in Windhelm, and both good sources of powerful poisons you don't have to make with Alchemy. All good things for an Assassin character, and it sounds like you're getting to the level where you can take full advantage of it. Reap those benefits, and you'll be up to Gamebreaking soon enough...
http://skyrimcalculator.com/#272828 These are the basic perks you need, any you don't have, work toward them. Elemental Protection will provide defense of the one thing you're most lacking. It won't nullify it, but you can survive a bunch of Spellcasters long enough to shoot them down. Wards do nothing to arrows, and their Armor Spells aren't that effective, either. The Atronach Stone might be nice if you're soloing Dragons on a regular basis, but that will come later.
Sneak up, get a Stealth Multiplier with the first shot, and make it count. That guy in full Steel/Imperial with a Warhammer? He can kill you with 1 shot, if you don't do it first. Other Archers, so you can worry abut the Tanks Before they get to you, decide whether to send yours forward. Cover him, and again be the one to decide what order they die in. This is Strategic combat, and the Sword/Board makes you solid in Tactics (The Melee.) Eventually, you might want to experiement with Conjuration. It doesn't take much magicka for what you get out of it, can add another body to the field, and even Carpet Bomb with Flaming Familiar. (We'll probably get to that.)
The great thing about Conjuration is you don't have to worry about Equipment. Magicka Regeneration is an afterthought, because all spells last longer than it takes to recover naturally. This means you can wear whatever else you want (like Assassin's Armor) and if you can cast the spell in the first place, you don't have to invest gear for it. It also has Bound versions of Swords, and a Bow that can't be disarmed, and never run out of ammo. You can smuggle them in anywhere, not to mention dropping powerful summons if you need them.
There's other schools, but I think that one's the best for your character so far.
Psiberzerker
Author
While you CAN, the problem is that with crappy weapons, no Perks in their skills, and rather little damage, you won't level fast enough, and finish the quests with just the gear. not bad for saving, and trying all the builds you can make with all that stuff, but if you do nothing but at level 1 goig in, you probably won't have 5 perk/stat points to spend. I have such a save, but I rebuild all the time.
Better to explore all you can first, then devolve to re-rollitus with the knowledge of where to go, and make it quick. Rushing through the first time ruins the immersion.
Joker
Cook, Wine Taster, Scotch Taster, Adventure Seeker
I think I might do the archer elf to go to the Dark Brotherhood, just to have that to start with.....
