The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[Victor]

I like crushing all the foes at once with the side sweep.

[Vahnati]

Yeah, the cleave is pretty nice when you're getting mobbed. I just wish the paralyzing strike wasn't fucking retarded, half the time you end up backing away from an enemy and hitting air -.-

[Mighty Hatman]

I was a bit disappointed they kept the same mechanism for doing different attacks.

[Vahnati]

Same, but ultimately, I kind of expected it. Oblivion was a step up from Morrowind in combat mechanics and whatnot, but Skyrim is really only a polished version of that step up. I can't complain because I do enjoy the game, I just can't say I wasn't expecting it from the get go, unfortunate as it is. Hopefully, the next installation is another step up.

[Sir Legendhead]

One handed probably have higher DPS since two handed are so slow. It feels pretty awesome to crush your foes with one powerful blow to the head with a gigantic hammer though.

The one-handed finishers don't occur as often, which makes it more satisfying when they do. While I was using the larger hammer it did those nearly every time and I almost got bored with seeing them. It's the difference between an "OH SHIT!" moment and "oh. It happened again."

Besides my current weapon makes my guy look more like Thor. The animations work well for him. I especially like the spinning backhand power attack. It just looks so comic-book.



^ not even the real Thor but w/e, hopefully it illustrates my point

[Abomination]

Started a new game on harder difficulty, made a Breton mage. Gonna focus on illusion and summoning magic and see how it goes. Anyone know why the game is a bit choppy and stutters when I move in first person view? I'm playing on my big screen TV with Steam's big picture mode.

[Sir Legendhead]

I really don't know anything which would apply specifically to the PC version because I'm on Xbox. However my first character was a Breton who specialized in conjuration. A few things I learned about that class, typing them out just to get my brain kick-started for the day -

Dual bound swords are kind of a hassle because you have to cast two separate spells to get them both equipped. A dual-cast will only create one with a longer duration than normal. If I were to do it over again, I'd spend more time leveling the bound bow and especially the two-handed battleaxe.

Also, I've mentioned this before but the Dremora Lord ability is way overpowered. If you use that you're going to spend the majority of your time watching the game play itself. I'd go with something less powerful as a distraction, like Flame Atronachs. They work well for drawing enemy fire with their own ranged attacks and incidentally, their character models are among the best looking in the game.

Uh...that's about all I can think of at the moment. The funny thing is, I did a 110 hour playthrough with my mage and still don't know what determines the damage output of bound weapons. Not sure if it's based on conjuration, relevant weapon skill, or some combination of those two and possibly another thing. And like I said, feel free to take or leave any of this based on what you find useful. Basically I just felt like typing stuff.

[Josh Derocher]

The only attack I ever really use is the dual-wielding power attack. It's all I need to kill everything. I've got two legendary dragon-bone swords enchanted to also deal chaos damage.

[Brightside]

Started a new game on harder difficulty, made a Breton mage. Gonna focus on illusion and summoning magic and see how it goes. Anyone know why the game is a bit choppy and stutters when I move in first person view? I'm playing on my big screen TV with Steam's big picture mode.

Like this? Some people mention some fixes there.

[Sir Legendhead]

The only attack I ever really use is the dual-wielding power attack. It's all I need to kill everything. I've got two legendary dragon-bone swords enchanted to also deal chaos damage.

Do you get kill animations frequently with yours? I only had it happen once with bound swords but then again, what you're using probably has a far higher DAM. And yeah, even then they were incredibly effective, especially while using the slow time shout.

[Abomination]

I really don't know anything which would apply specifically to the PC version because I'm on Xbox. However my first character was a Breton who specialized in conjuration. A few things I learned about that class, typing them out just to get my brain kick-started for the day -

Dual bound swords are kind of a hassle because you have to cast two separate spells to get them both equipped. A dual-cast will only create one with a longer duration than normal. If I were to do it over again, I'd spend more time leveling the bound bow and especially the two-handed battleaxe.

Also, I've mentioned this before but the Dremora Lord ability is way overpowered. If you use that you're going to spend the majority of your time watching the game play itself. I'd go with something less powerful as a distraction, like Flame Atronachs. They work well for drawing enemy fire with their own ranged attacks and incidentally, their character models are among the best looking in the game.

Uh...that's about all I can think of at the moment. The funny thing is, I did a 110 hour playthrough with my mage and still don't know what determines the damage output of bound weapons. Not sure if it's based on conjuration, relevant weapon skill, or some combination of those two and possibly another thing. And like I said, feel free to take or leave any of this based on what you find useful. Basically I just felt like typing stuff.

I actually just scrapped my pure mage, because I got a lovely gamebreaking glitch that prevented me from moving on with the main quest line. I don't know if it's my PC or some of the mods that are causing me gray hairs with this game, I had no issues with the 360 version. But anyway, I just got mad and made a female nord with a big two-handed axe instead. Fuck it. Plus the summoning aspect wasn't nearly as entertaining than I thought it would be, it's basically just another follower that gets on your way all the time.

Like this? Some people mention some fixes there.

Ah yes, the borderless windows thing did the trick. Thanks!

[Sir Legendhead]

I actually just scrapped my pure mage, because I got a lovely gamebreaking glitch that prevented me from moving on with the main quest line. I don't know if it's my PC or some of the mods that are causing me gray hairs with this game, I had no issues with the 360 version. But anyway, I just got mad and made a female nord with a big two-handed axe instead. Fuck it. Plus the summoning aspect wasn't nearly as entertaining than I thought it would be, it's basically just another follower that gets on your way all the time.

I had one glitch on 360 and it almost cost me the Oblivion Walker achievement. Erandur, the guy who was supposed to take me into Nightcaller Temple, went in ahead of me and locked the door behind him.

:/

Fortunately you can get two Daedric artifacts from Hircine later, so I was able to make that balance out. And you can do conjurations without the skill because some staffs have it as well. I started finding them all over the place once my level got high enough.

As far as the Thor guy I'm using now, it's all about the hammer and the lightning obviously. I'm looking forward to seeing the higher level destruction spells because ironically enough, my mage never even had those.

[Abomination]

I had one glitch on 360 and it almost cost me the Oblivion Walker achievement. Erandur, the guy who was supposed to take me into Nightcaller Temple, went in ahead of me and locked the door behind him.

:/

Fortunately you can get two Daedric artifacts from Hircine later, so I was able to make that balance out. And you can do conjurations without the skill because some staffs have it as well. I started finding them all over the place once my level got high enough.

As far as the Thor guy I'm using now, it's all about the hammer and the lightning obviously. I'm looking forward to seeing the higher level destruction spells because ironically enough, my mage never even had those.

Coincidentally I just did the Hircine quest and the game got its hooks into me now. I forgot how nice it is to randomly stumble into something awesome and unexpected, after having to repeat the nonsense quests for the umpteenth time.

The combat is odd, though, I'm pretty much oneshotting most things in Expert difficulty. I do die pretty quick too, but the enemy rarely gets even a chance to hit me.

[Sir Legendhead]

Coincidentally I just did the Hircine quest and the game got its hooks into me now. I forgot how nice it is to randomly stumble into something awesome and unexpected, after having to repeat the nonsense quests for the umpteenth time.

The combat is odd, though, I'm pretty much oneshotting most things in Expert difficulty. I do die pretty quick too, but the enemy rarely gets even a chance to hit me.

I'd compare it to...oh let's say Witcher 2 for instance...now there's a game where I went through a linear and fixed storyline in thirty hours, then lost interest while still in the beginning of my New Game +. The funny thing is, even after 140+ hours, I'm just now getting to the point where I have to repeat quests in Skyrim. Haven't bought any of the DLC yet either. I still have quests remaining for my first character as well.

And the second playthrough I started gets more awesome every time I play it. I like to imagine my version of Thor to be the new incarnation of Talos, the last Nord who became a God. It makes the preacher in Whiterun sooo much more entertaining.

"Talos is here! He fights for us though we do not see Him!"

The whole time Thor is standing right next to the guy, like "yeah, what he said".

Plus the Talos worship aspect of the campaign goes along with what Vikings have been known to do in reality, as pagans who have fought against the influence of the Catholic empire. Even after all these centuries, we still have men over there who will burn down Christian churches in the name of Thor. Not saying we should be doing that here in the states, but...y'know. It adds an interesting layer of social relevance to the story.

[Tarvu]

Did Thor ride Dragons?

[Sir Legendhead]

Did Thor ride Dragons?

He had a chariot pulled by two goats. But yeah, the Skyrim version can ride dragons. It's up to the player to fill in the blanks so why not. Accusing this game of bad writing is like complaining about the empty dialogue in a book of Mad Libs.

[Tarvu]

I know right? Gotta love it.

[Sir Legendhead]

I know right? Gotta love it.

So you think they changed their minds about the DLC being 50% off today? XBL has them listed at the same price as always and gamefaqs says the notice has been pulled from Major Nelson's blog.

(btw I'm quoting this post because I don't feel like looking up the one where you mentioned the sale earlier)

----

Then I went back to do linky things anyway.

The game download will be on sale and the DLC will be 50% off for a week next Tuesday on Xbox Live. So if you play on Xbox 360 and do not have any of the three DLCs get on that shit.

Bethesda 19-Feb to 25-Feb
Skyrim Varies by region
Oblivion Varies by region
Knights of the Nine DLC 200 (50% off)
Shivering Isles DLC 600 (50% off)

Eh w/e. I already got the game free from a guy named Bulkmailer on an awesome little site called Dtoid. So screw your supposed "deals", Mister Nelson. >:/

[Tarvu]

Apparently that post originally listed them as being on sale but was later changed. Sucks.

[Abomination]

I'd compare it to...oh let's say Witcher 2 for instance...now there's a game where I went through a linear and fixed storyline in thirty hours, then lost interest while still in the beginning of my New Game +. The funny thing is, even after 140+ hours, I'm just now getting to the point where I have to repeat quests in Skyrim. Haven't bought any of the DLC yet either. I still have quests remaining for my first character as well.

And the second playthrough I started gets more awesome every time I play it. I like to imagine my version of Thor to be the new incarnation of Talos, the last Nord who became a God. It makes the preacher in Whiterun sooo much more entertaining.

"Talos is here! He fights for us though we do not see Him!"

The whole time Thor is standing right next to the guy, like "yeah, what he said".

Plus the Talos worship aspect of the campaign goes along with what Vikings have been known to do in reality, as pagans who have fought against the influence of the Catholic empire. Even after all these centuries, we still have men over there who will burn down Christian churches in the name of Thor. Not saying we should be doing that here in the states, but...y'know. It adds an interesting layer of social relevance to the story.

I've made probably about...a dozen new characters in Skyrim and stopped after completing the first few quests. That's why I was so sick of getting that fucking golden claw and doing the main quest things, but I'm over those now.

And I do love your idea of playing as Thor, by the way. My character is just a prick who will literally do anything for laughs/money. I've met five different daedric princes so far, and have just done whatever they wanted me to do so I can get a shiny new item.

Spoiler!

I killed a dog. I killed a sweet, talking dog that looked like the dog I have in real life just to get an axe...which I don't even use. I've eaten people. And I'm continuing to do so, because I'm too lazy to drink a potion. It's pretty fucked up.

I've put close to 20 hours into my new character now, I don't even wanna work out the math on how many hours that is per day. It's misty outside and the first thing that popped to my head was to check if my fps was still okay. That is not...acceptable...and I've only visited two towns so far! I still have both DLC and all the rest of Skyrim to go through!