I really do respect all of what you said and this is the beauty of this forum. We can express our opinion based on the question made by the OP. First off, I am not playing in PC but Playstation 3. Second, I am not trying to convince anybody here but just giving up my opinion. Of course that if somebody disagree or think I am not right, he or she will state I am not right about my opinion. Everybody plays the game the way they like, but let’s for a second assume that you create your combat style using all the game resources and I do create mine, using also all the game resources too.
When I say, using all game resources, I mean, using Alchemy and Enchanting. If you do not use those skills, then you are not using all the game resources. It is like going into combat ( Skyrim is a combat field by the way ) without the best weapon, or the best armor, or the best training. But let’s assume, that you are using all the resources and I am also doing so as well.
You create a dual sword warrior and thru alchemy and enchanting, you increase everything. Using the alchemy loop, you made this warrior, very powerful. On the other side, I do create my shadow warrior as I do have it right now. We go against each other, result : you are dead !
It is not easy to accept we are wrong but it is wise to accept it because that is the way to learn in this life and if we are humble to accept our mistake or to accept that we are wrong, we are showing how mature and humble we are.
I don’t think that if you pair two enemies, a sniper and a let’s say, a navy seal, this last one will make it alive in real combat. Nothing beats a sniper. They are simply masters in : camouflage, stealth, surviving, shooting, melee combat using mostly knives, marksman using pistols, topographers, etc. They are alone with their spotter against an entire army. They are capable to do that because .... : they are not seen, they are undetectable and once they choose their right spot, they will kill you and you will never see it coming.
Assuming that in Skyrim two powerful warriors can face each other using those resources, I honestly don’t see how you are capable to defeat your enemy if you are not able to see him / her. For some, this is not a combat style and let me tell you, you are wrong ! It does not matter what you do in combat because your final goal is to kill your enemy and escape alive. How you are going to do that is not the question as far as you fulfill your mission.
In Skyrim, your goal is to defeat your enemy and if you can defeat him in one single hit, much better and there is not other out there in Skyrim capable to do so than a shadow warrior.
Thru alchemy and enchanting, I increased everything to thousand percentages of power : all my skills were at 100%, my armor was with 500 thousand fortify health and Stamina; my hood was 500 thousand fortify magig and mag regeneration; my boots with the same amount with one-handed, my gloves with destruction magic and conjuration, my necklace and ring enchanted as well to resist magice, etc, etc. and with that setup, I use my destruction magic on opponents playing Adept - expert, and guess what : even when I was capable to cast my lighting storm spell, I was not killing that fast.
On the other hand, I used the same amount of alchemy / enchanting to develop my new character : this time, I focused on sneaking and archery, light armor and one-handed. With this setup, I don’t need magic at all, but I am completely invisible and undetectable, and it does not matter if I am in the open or cave, day or night; they are not able to see me at all and the only one who can detect me are dragons or couriers ( what a pity ). So, I am not talking here for nothing, I do talk after I have tried everything out there and that is why, with all my due respect to others in this forum, I still believe that nothing beats a shadow warrior and it is a combat style by the way. Whoever denies this, probably you should ask a military expert if a sniper is a combat style and you will get a very iced “yes”.
Now, if you do not use alchemy / enchanting to power up your character, again, you are not using all of the resources out there to go into combat. I bet my life that whoever goest into a real combat, will never underestimate to use all of the resources. On the contrary, you would like to be more powerful than your enemy because simply my friends, not one wants to die; it is a human nature and what we really want is not just the challenge, but to challenge and face our enemy, from a better standpoint so we can defeat him faster and stay alive longer.
Last but not the least, this is my humble opinion. I do respect what you all guys said and the way you play but I would like to see you developing several combat styles using Skyrim resources to the max to find out what do you have to say after you have tried everything. If I am wrong, I do apologize in advance and I will change my opinion, I do promise you that. Prove me wrong ! Just my 2 cents ....
