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After more than a year after playing it last, I started playing Skyrim after an unhealthy bout of Oblivion.

Boy, is it good.

My character in Oblivion was a Nord called Bjorn Windhelm so, of course, in Skyrim I had to play a Nord called Bjorn Windhelm II (hooray for creative names!). I joined the Stormcloaks (of course) and decided to join the Dark Brotherhood etc after the main quests.

I really tried to RP in the beginning, riding my pony everywhere, working for my money instead of being a punk and selling everything of worth that I found in a dungeon. But boredom got the best of me and I used fast travel (the shame!). I didn't min-max anything, I played using what the character would actually know. I finished the two main questlines far too quickly, sadly. One of the weird things about the game is that despite being one of the greatest warriors in the land, saviour of the world etc etc bandits will attack you for no real reason.

I had forgotten how fun the game was. I think I actually prefer it to Oblivion. The world is much larger and more exciting, with ice wastes in the north and lush vegetation in the south, dual wielding attacks, hard boss battles, levels actually mean something and the fact that there is no "Good" or "Evil" in the main factions (except the Thalmor, they're still donkey-caves).

But I dare everyone to replay the game as a different character, it's really fun, even if you do know how things end.

I played trough the whole sorry mess once, and never again will it blight my computer. The first two hours where okay I suppose but anything after that was a mere rinse and reapet drill in my mind, oh and the bugs killed it for me. but then again I hated Oblivion and its game style I must add

I have.....5 characters at the last count, all varied from each other on some way or another (whether it just be weapons specs, or actually playing the character differently). By this point (having just bought and started the DLCs) i have done every other quest from both sides (i think, there might be some minor ones i have done the same way every time just...well, just because ) and i still love the game.

It's too short imo. And the fact that it's hard to know which quests are worthwhile and which ones are boring/unplayable when you accept them means you waste a lot of your time.

Never really finished Skyrim, I keep trying out new characters (because of a new mod or three) and always manege to overwrite my previous save game....... Absolutely love the sheer scale of the game though, every time I have found something different in each play through (i use the words "play through" loosely)

I currently have 3 characters on the go, a stereotypical Orc who's all heavy armour and 'Must bash', a dual magic wielding Khajit(sp?) and a sneaky beaky Wood Elf thief/archer. I've been playing it for 6 months now on my iMac, and I still havnt completed all the main story quests! I keep getting sidetracked by doing silly things, like spelunking for treasure or antagonising Giants and Mammoths....

Between Skyrim and Football Manager, it's a wonder I get anything done at all (I have 100+ hours on Fm13 and a good 50 hours on Skyrim)

Anyone considering replaying skyrim should take note of a couple things for more fun-ness. [compiled based on normal difficulty]

1. VEGETABLE SOUP: Scour the land for tomatoes and Leeks! Vegetable soup gives you unlimited shield bashes and power attacks for 12 minutes. It is indispensible for warrior players. Making vegetable soup adds a surprising amount of fun to the game as it means you search the farms and food vendors for precious leeks, and check all those beige barrels for potatoes, tomatoes and cabbages. Also it is great for RP as you'll have to travel to the inns and wilderness camps for cook fires. Beef stew and Venison stew are similar, venison adds another good RP element as it means you have to hunt deer.

2. ONLY MAGICKA POTIONS! Ignore stamina, health, poison and buff potions, these clog up your inventory and really break immersion. Magicka potions are the only ones that make sense to me. Rely on restoration magic for healing. Obviously this also adds a hearty challenge to the combat. The second part of this is drinking potions 'on site', if you see one on a table just drink it. Be it a buff or healing/stamina potion. It's probably worth picking up the Smithing and Enchanting potions i'll admit.

3. WALK ONE WAY: If you start a quest dont fast travel to the location (or use 'nearest fit' fast travel), only use it on the way back (to use borderlands parlance: 'turn in' a quest). Not fast travelling opens up alot of the immersive content, however it is tedious to do on simple fetch quests.

4. MATCHING SET: Find the armour you like and stick with it, i love the 'Ancient Nord' set, it's absolute crap but i love wearing it. Again this adds challenge to the game. Another thing to consider here is smiting: Only get the smithing perk you need for your favourite set. I usually just make do with steel.

5. GAMEBREAKERS: Avoid maxing smithing and enchanting early on, i recommend chipping away at smithing but only to 60 (magic perk) before you have your two main combat skills maxed (~level 30). Enchanting is 'end game' content (level 40+), i would even recommend not 'disenchanting' items as it ramps up your skill fast, store them instead.

6. MIN MAX: Don't [persuade]/[intimidate], Dont read irrelevant skill books, Dont pick locks, Dont sell stuff unless you really need money, Dont disenchant things and dont stand in fire for a laugh (seems to up your destruction for some reason). Feel free to eat ingredients though, this ups your alchemy so slowly it makes no difference. Also if for some indiscernable reason you like 'Clairvoyance' this is also incredibly rubbish at upping skill so fill your boots. On a related note avoid the temptation to pick up every ingredient you see, maybe only pick up mudcrab chitin, hawk feathers, charred skeever (cure disease) and Spriggan sap (smithing +ultra rare), glowing mushrooms (smithing).

I agree with all that, except the not picking locks thing. I don't know how someone could get anywhere without lockipicking.

It was fun but no matter what style you spec into you end up breaking the game.

Stealth = oh I can 1-shot everyone and sneak right up to someone from the front without them noticing.

Combat = Chain shield bash kills every boss in stupid quick time.

Magic = Get conjuration or destruction to 100 and just faceroll the rest of the game.

I loved Elder Scrolls and Skyrim was a nice game, it was just far too easy, I guess to cater to the Modern Warfare Generation.

I'll admit it was easier to ignore locked chests/doors in oblivion as 9/10 had absolutely nothing useful in them. I remember unlocking a 'hard' gate to find a 'very hard' chest in it. The chest contained bonemeal.

In skyrim it's possible to get by only unlocking novice or apprentice. Any higher, there's usually a key or its just gold.

 Perkustin wrote:
Anyone considering replaying skyrim should take note of a couple things for more fun-ness. [compiled based on normal difficulty]

1. VEGETABLE SOUP: Scour the land for tomatoes and Leeks! Vegetable soup gives you unlimited shield bashes and power attacks for 12 minutes. It is indispensible for warrior players. Making vegetable soup adds a surprising amount of fun to the game as it means you search the farms and food vendors for precious leeks, and check all those beige barrels for potatoes, tomatoes and cabbages. Also it is great for RP as you'll have to travel to the inns and wilderness camps for cook fires. Beef stew and Venison stew are similar, venison adds another good RP element as it means you have to hunt deer.

2. ONLY MAGICKA POTIONS! Ignore stamina, health, poison and buff potions, these clog up your inventory and really break immersion. Magicka potions are the only ones that make sense to me. Rely on restoration magic for healing. Obviously this also adds a hearty challenge to the combat. The second part of this is drinking potions 'on site', if you see one on a table just drink it. Be it a buff or healing/stamina potion. It's probably worth picking up the Smithing and Enchanting potions i'll admit.

3. WALK ONE WAY: If you start a quest dont fast travel to the location (or use 'nearest fit' fast travel), only use it on the way back (to use borderlands parlance: 'turn in' a quest). Not fast travelling opens up alot of the immersive content, however it is tedious to do on simple fetch quests.

4. MATCHING SET: Find the armour you like and stick with it, i love the 'Ancient Nord' set, it's absolute crap but i love wearing it. Again this adds challenge to the game. Another thing to consider here is smiting: Only get the smithing perk you need for your favourite set. I usually just make do with steel.

5. GAMEBREAKERS: Avoid maxing smithing and enchanting early on, i recommend chipping away at smithing but only to 60 (magic perk) before you have your two main combat skills maxed (~level 30). Enchanting is 'end game' content (level 40+), i would even recommend not 'disenchanting' items as it ramps up your skill fast, store them instead.

6. MIN MAX: Don't [persuade]/[intimidate], Dont read irrelevant skill books, Dont pick locks, Dont sell stuff unless you really need money, Dont disenchant things and dont stand in fire for a laugh (seems to up your destruction for some reason). Feel free to eat ingredients though, this ups your alchemy so slowly it makes no difference. Also if for some indiscernable reason you like 'Clairvoyance' this is also incredibly rubbish at upping skill so fill your boots. On a related note avoid the temptation to pick up every ingredient you see, maybe only pick up mudcrab chitin, hawk feathers, charred skeever (cure disease) and Spriggan sap (smithing +ultra rare), glowing mushrooms (smithing).

This is some cool advice! For Matching Set, I used the Stormcloak armour one got at the beginning of the game and kept it . . . until I got Officer armour! Since I was a higher rank, I used that armour - of course!

I made a hunter the last time I played it. He could only make money off of what he hunted and skinned and so on. So he wore furs and such. It was a total blast, Id spend hours stalking and hunting animals and not even realizing how far away from towns Id get. The wilderness in Skyrim seems to just go on forever

 ExNoctemNacimur wrote:

 Perkustin wrote:
Anyone considering replaying skyrim should take note of a couple things for more fun-ness. [compiled based on normal difficulty]

1. VEGETABLE SOUP: Scour the land for tomatoes and Leeks! Vegetable soup gives you unlimited shield bashes and power attacks for 12 minutes. It is indispensible for warrior players. Making vegetable soup adds a surprising amount of fun to the game as it means you search the farms and food vendors for precious leeks, and check all those beige barrels for potatoes, tomatoes and cabbages. Also it is great for RP as you'll have to travel to the inns and wilderness camps for cook fires. Beef stew and Venison stew are similar, venison adds another good RP element as it means you have to hunt deer.

2. ONLY MAGICKA POTIONS! Ignore stamina, health, poison and buff potions, these clog up your inventory and really break immersion. Magicka potions are the only ones that make sense to me. Rely on restoration magic for healing. Obviously this also adds a hearty challenge to the combat. The second part of this is drinking potions 'on site', if you see one on a table just drink it. Be it a buff or healing/stamina potion. It's probably worth picking up the Smithing and Enchanting potions i'll admit.

3. WALK ONE WAY: If you start a quest dont fast travel to the location (or use 'nearest fit' fast travel), only use it on the way back (to use borderlands parlance: 'turn in' a quest). Not fast travelling opens up alot of the immersive content, however it is tedious to do on simple fetch quests.

4. MATCHING SET: Find the armour you like and stick with it, i love the 'Ancient Nord' set, it's absolute crap but i love wearing it. Again this adds challenge to the game. Another thing to consider here is smiting: Only get the smithing perk you need for your favourite set. I usually just make do with steel.

5. GAMEBREAKERS: Avoid maxing smithing and enchanting early on, i recommend chipping away at smithing but only to 60 (magic perk) before you have your two main combat skills maxed (~level 30). Enchanting is 'end game' content (level 40+), i would even recommend not 'disenchanting' items as it ramps up your skill fast, store them instead.

6. MIN MAX: Don't [persuade]/[intimidate], Dont read irrelevant skill books, Dont pick locks, Dont sell stuff unless you really need money, Dont disenchant things and dont stand in fire for a laugh (seems to up your destruction for some reason). Feel free to eat ingredients though, this ups your alchemy so slowly it makes no difference. Also if for some indiscernable reason you like 'Clairvoyance' this is also incredibly rubbish at upping skill so fill your boots. On a related note avoid the temptation to pick up every ingredient you see, maybe only pick up mudcrab chitin, hawk feathers, charred skeever (cure disease) and Spriggan sap (smithing +ultra rare), glowing mushrooms (smithing).

This is some cool advice! For Matching Set, I used the Stormcloak armour one got at the beginning of the game and kept it . . . until I got Officer armour! Since I was a higher rank, I used that armour - of course!

For my last play through I would have a set of town guard armour for travelling between towns while carrying out tasks for the Dark Brotherhood, only changing when I neared the target

If you're gonna play it again, I'd recommend modding the hell out of it. Any kind of texture enhancement, visual upgrades, sound upgrades, gameplay overhauls...this stuff really can breath new life into the game.

I accidentally deleted my Nord save that I was pretty far on in. Now I have I'm playing as a Kajiit that is in the Thieves Guild on Master difficulty. Go ahead, I dare you to play on master difficulty as a low level character who stumbled upon 3 giants and two mammoths. Just try it, some of the boss levels are piss easy, but when you have a ton of grunts swamping you, it can be so infuriating.

I think turning it up to master is the best way to play after you've played through once. Adds a lot of challenge and replay value as well as ensuring you think your actions through. Some of the bosses, especially on the DLC become an absolute nightmare however.

I think skyrim is a pretty bad game. It takes "cool" ideas and then poorly implements them in a medicore storyline and setting.

Playing skyrim just made me realialise how bad betheasda is at making games.

 illuknisaa wrote:
I think skyrim is a pretty bad game. It takes "cool" ideas and then poorly implements them in a medicore storyline and setting.

Playing skyrim just made me realialise how bad betheasda is at making games.

Do you really believe that?

I started a new playthrough with the Frostfall Hypothermia, Hunters Life, and Camping Kit mods... making it so you take negatives and I think eventually die from over exposure to cold, but can set up camps in the wilderness. I made the mistake of waiting outside for six hours in a snowstorm and came out at a negative 50 to magicka, health, and stamina as well as a movement loss. I had to go to the nearby Inn and huddle around a fire. Definitely adds a new dimension as I am now very fearful of entering water.

 Lord Bingo wrote:

 illuknisaa wrote:
I think skyrim is a pretty bad game. It takes "cool" ideas and then poorly implements them in a medicore storyline and setting.

Playing skyrim just made me realialise how bad betheasda is at making games.

Do you really believe that?

Yes I do.

For example take a look at thieves guild. How many thieves there are in the thieves guild? Just 1. Not a single quest is about stealing something (there is one about piracy) and in the end you kill the only thief in the thieves guild.

The only good things about the are environmental design (which isn't utilized at all during gameplay) and alchemy (the mechanics, not perks).

MarsNZ wrote:
It was fun but no matter what style you spec into you end up breaking the game.

Stealth = oh I can 1-shot everyone and sneak right up to someone from the front without them noticing.

Combat = Chain shield bash kills every boss in stupid quick time.

Magic = Get conjuration or destruction to 100 and just faceroll the rest of the game.

I loved Elder Scrolls and Skyrim was a nice game, it was just far too easy, I guess to cater to the Modern Warfare Generation.

I never consider myself a "hardcore" gamer in the slightest, but TES really are laghably easy. Duel casting Fire Bolt is all you need to complete the entire game. You don't need any other spells, even the higher levels of destruction spells are completely useless since they cause slightly less damage for 10 times the mana cost.

With the exception of a few strong bosses when you're very low level, combat in Skyrim really is laughably easy. And this is from someone who fails tutorials

You forgot about bows...it's just hilarious how you can one-shot people pretty early on if played right. Get high stealth + high archery and faceroll hard

All I can say is that every time anyone has a serious issue with Skyrim... there is a mod that fixes it. Make enemies tougher, check. Make stealth more realistic, check.

I really do feel bad for people who bought it on console though, it's like paying the same price for 1/3 of the game that the pc players got.

 illuknisaa wrote:

 Lord Bingo wrote:

 illuknisaa wrote:
I think skyrim is a pretty bad game. It takes "cool" ideas and then poorly implements them in a medicore storyline and setting.

Playing skyrim just made me realialise how bad betheasda is at making games.

Do you really believe that?

Yes I do.

For example take a look at thieves guild. How many thieves there are in the thieves guild? Just 1. Not a single quest is about stealing something (there is one about piracy) and in the end you kill the only thief in the thieves guild.

The only good things about the are environmental design (which isn't utilized at all during gameplay) and alchemy (the mechanics, not perks).

Whut, did you skip over all the dialogue with everyone else and somehow ignore the sidequests?

People saying Skyrim is bad ... OK ...

I have been wanting to do a new playthrough of Skyrim for a long while now but I am waiting for a GotY edition so I can nab all the DLC at once.

Well, people have different opinions about games. I love Skyrim because the world is just so detailed and you can tell that the designers put so much thought into even a simple mountain pass - it leads you to a majestic view of lakes, mountains and rivers.

Corpsesarefun wrote:

 illuknisaa wrote:

 Lord Bingo wrote:

 illuknisaa wrote:
I think skyrim is a pretty bad game. It takes "cool" ideas and then poorly implements them in a medicore storyline and setting.

Playing skyrim just made me realialise how bad betheasda is at making games.

Do you really believe that?

Yes I do.

For example take a look at thieves guild. How many thieves there are in the thieves guild? Just 1. Not a single quest is about stealing something (there is one about piracy) and in the end you kill the only thief in the thieves guild.

The only good things about the are environmental design (which isn't utilized at all during gameplay) and alchemy (the mechanics, not perks).

Whut, did you skip over all the dialogue with everyone else and somehow ignore the sidequests?

I could write a long post but this guy does it so well:
http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=14422

And sidequests are super boring fetch quests (sure some of them had stealing but I also walked up to a guys house, walked right in, grabben the thing I was suppose to "steal" and walked out while the owner was watching)

Manchu wrote:People saying Skyrim is bad ... OK ...

I have been wanting to do a new playthrough of Skyrim for a long while now but I am waiting for a GotY edition so I can nab all the DLC at once.

People saying Skyrim is good... OK....

I have really hard time finding the actual good things about skyrim. Alchemy and environmental design being the only ones in my oppinion. There are bunch of things which are improved from ealier bethesda's games but that doesn't make them good.

I can argue that the game doesn't even have melee weapons, only bows, magic and extremely short ranged guns with glitched animation and 3d model.

Again: that's your opinion. This is a thread about people having a great time re-playing a game that is, in our minds, an amazing game.

 illuknisaa wrote:
I have really hard time finding the actual good things about skyrim.

Statements like this are why we can't have nice things have the internet.

Anyway, I've been planning my ... third? fourth? re-play of Skyrim for some time now.

My first character was a churlish Nord bandit who joined Ulfric against the Empire for the same reason a hyena follows a wounded gazelle. This was pretty well the only way I could justify a character joining the Stormcloaks given their tremendous racism. My second character was an Imperial and clearly sided with the Imperials. I actually developed the concept here on Dakka (maybe with some of you reading this now) of playing a paladin considering how many "bad guy quests" there are in Skyrim. The idea was that he'd focus on Speech, Restoration, Heavy Armor, Block, and of course One-Handed. My goal was to roleplay him as a pure and noble good guy for as long as possible. He eventually fell (hard) during Namira's quest. Skill-wise, the effect was a trending away from Restoration to Destruction. Wearing the Ebony Mail of Boethiah was the perfect touch for my anti-paladin.

Unfortunately, I played Skyrim on PS3 so I still haven't gotten Dawn Guard -- I thought that DLC would make for a really interesting chance at redemption/temptation to greater evil for my anti-paladin.

I think my next play through will focus away from the main conflicts of the game, away from the plots of men and mer, so I will probably go for Khajiit or Argonian. On the other hand, I've yet to play Skyrim as a Dunmer and they are my favorite of the Elder Scrolls races since I started playing these games with Morrowind.

Please go back to Halo, JRPGs, or whatever it is you play instead of bashing a series of critically acclaimed and commercially successful games that are so beloved by the fanbase that each game's replayability (from Morrowind) onwards has been dramatically increased by what is likely the largest modding community in PC gaming.

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/mods/11163 looks fun