Elder Scrolls V - Part 6

[X Knight]

So how do you guys play? Do you do everything with one character or do you create multiple characters?

Right now I have one character but the game is losing something b/c he is god-like and the game has gotten too easy. There is a lot I still want to do and haven't seen but I'm thinking I need a new character.

My current character is a savage nord barbarian/shaman type. He's head of the Theives Guild, Dark Brotherhood, and Companions. War Hero of the Stormcloaks. Werewolf. Member of the Mages College and Dawnguard. Maxed out or close to it in conjuration, destruction, restoration, light armor, one-handed, archery, sneak, pickpocket, armor crafting, and enchanting. He's also equipped with legendary enchanted dragonscale aromor and enchanted dragon-bone weapons.

I tend to just play one character at a time.

and the character I usually create is a paragon, noble, atlruistic female holy knight/paladin/battle maiden type character. I tend to gravitate towards classic sword-and-board warriors. But, in a game like Skyrim, where there are no class restrictions, I like to throw in some magic as well to create a battle mage.

For that, I play as a Breton, but that's also because I find the Breton female models in CC the prettiest.

I've just started my character again. Right now, I'm focusing on building up her melee attributes. but I'm mixing in some Destruction, Restoration, and Alteration magic in as well to create the Paladin build.

Weapon-wise, I'm going for Dawnbreaker as my main sword. Haven't decided on a shield yet. Armor-wise, something knightly like Steel Plate.

I'm going to side with the Imperials and with the Dawnguard when I get that DLC.

 

[Balthus Dire]

thanks.

so, when you add it all up, what price range am I looking at to build a Hearthfire home?

Depends on your trades. My guy was a high level blacksmith so I had tons of iron ingots and crap lying around. If you're going to buy them, though, it'll obviously add cost.

Otherwise you'll just be buying crazy amounts of saw logs, which I think are 250 gold for 20 of them or something.

I had just over 100k when I bought my Hearthfire lot and by the time it was 100% complete I was sitting at around 92k.

 

[James]

So how do you guys play? Do you do everything with one character or do you create multiple characters?

I have a habit of creating a new character every now and then, but mostly I stick to my 2-3 main characters. I prefer to create a character with their own story, and base their actions around what they do. I rarely use magic, always lean toward straight weapons. The bash of a shield the weapon animations are a ton of fun too.

Honestly, as much as I love my first character and despite the amount of time I've put into him -these days he feels like a trial run for my third character, who I've easily had the most fun with.

 

[Iceman]

hey guys, I've been following your advice and I've been more discerning when it comes to looting. not looting everything in sight and looking for good-high value-weight ratios. and selling my junk often.

I must say........so far it's working!! lol

I've managed to keep my carry weight down to a reasonable level and I racked up a good amount of gold early on ( well, faster than I did before ).

Haha, it's good that our mistakes can help someone out later on! t:

Don't know if you saw my earlier comment but you can offload a lot of equipment onto your companion when you are near to the limit and unable to fast travel. I kept forgetting and unnecessarily dropping stuff but it was really useful when I remembered.

 

[X Knight]

Depends on your trades. My guy was a high level blacksmith so I had tons of iron ingots and crap lying around. If you're going to buy them, though, it'll obviously add cost.

Otherwise you'll just be buying crazy amounts of saw logs, which I think are 250 gold for 20 of them or something.

I had just over 100k when I bought my Hearthfire lot and by the time it was 100% complete I was sitting at around 92k.

thanks.

Haha, it's good that our mistakes can help someone out later on! t:

Don't know if you saw my earlier comment but you can offload a lot of equipment onto your companion when you are near to the limit and unable to fast travel. I kept forgetting and unnecessarily dropping stuff but it was really useful when I remembered.

ah......I must've missed that tip. thanks!!

I haven't progressed enough in the story yet to acquire companions.......so I will keep that in mind.

but, what happens if the companion dies or gets lost......will you lose whatever stuff you gave him/her?

 

[Balthus Dire]

If they die you can loot their body.

 

[James]

Are the invincible on the easiest difficulty?

Oh, and Samwise, speaking of difficulty -if the game is becoming too easy, trying upping the difficulty in the settings. I found the same thing with my first character, almost everything was going down in one or two hits, even dragons only took a three or four slices to put down. It was far too boring, after I put the difficulty up a level it became a lot more interesting.

 

[Iceman]

thanks.



ah......I must've missed that tip. thanks!!

I haven't progressed enough in the story yet to acquire companions.......so I will keep that in mind.

but, what happens if the companion dies or gets lost......will you lose whatever stuff you gave him/her?

Yeah, as Balthus said, you can loot the body (as long as you know where they died). If you're worried, give them top level stuff but not unique items.

You can get companions from right near the start. Like as soon as you go to Riverwood for the first time you can get Faendal (or the other guy he's having a dispute with) as a companion. I actually used him quite a lot during the first half of the game. Just pick the conversation options that lead to something along the lines of 'follow me/come with me' (can't remember exactly).

 

[James]

My First Companion:

My first companion was Erandur, the elf from Dawnstar. He's a cool dude who I met by chance, we traveled together for quite a long time.

 

[ProjectPat2280]

My first companion was Lydia, she was eaten by a dragon. Then it was that chick from Solitude, also eaten by a dragon. By that point i was strong enough that i could handle just about anything on my own and have never had a 2nd thought about having another companion. I work best alone.

 

[Paladin-Hoss]

My very first companion was Lydia.She's the first companion i rncountered in the game.

I've betrayed Faendall the first time.

After that, i think i've recruited Aela and Jordis. This was the first couple of months after Skyrim had first came out, so there were no mods back then.

 

[Iceman]

Faendal survived a long time. Lydia, his temporary replacement died (I may have killed her by accident). I'd heard Jzargo was one of the best companions so I took ages trying to find him & get him as a companion, then he died 1st mission (didn't realise till much later). My character is a Khajit so it was pretty cool having 2 of them but not to be I guess. Mjoll the Lioness, not sure what happened there but had her quite a while. Aela for a few missions. Now it's Serana probably till the end of the game unless there's someone amazing in Dragonborn.

 

[Balthus Dire]

If the companions were handled like New Vegas where they can be downed during combat but not killed, I'd have been way more inclined to use them. But, I took Lydia on one mission and she stepped in front of my Fus Ro Dah and died lol.

I never took another companion again.

 

[The Squirrel]

Yeah, the companions in Skryim are really a step backwards from New Vegas. Oh well, there always hope for the next Elder Scrolls.

 

[X Knight]

If they die you can loot their body.

Yeah, as Balthus said, you can loot the body (as long as you know where they died). If you're worried, give them top level stuff but not unique items.

You can get companions from right near the start. Like as soon as you go to Riverwood for the first time you can get Faendal (or the other guy he's having a dispute with) as a companion. I actually used him quite a lot during the first half of the game. Just pick the conversation options that lead to something along the lines of 'follow me/come with me' (can't remember exactly).

ah, thanks.

I didn't know you could recruit a companion so early in Riverwood.

 

[Iceman]

Yeah, the companions in Skryim are really a step backwards from New Vegas. Oh well, there always hope for the next Elder Scrolls.

What are they like in New vegas?

I've got a big wishlist for Elder Scrolls VI. One of the best games out there but so many ways it could be improved!

 

[Balthus Dire]

Every companion in New Vegas has their own unique questline tied to their character and they are all (for the most part) great, rewarding stories.

Also, when you take them out with you, the companions are unable to be killed in combat unless you play on Hardcore Mode. Instead, when they take enough damage to cause them "death," they're simply downed and unable to fight until the combat ends, after which they get up again.

Makes it a lot more enjoyable IMO because you don't have to worry about whether or not they're gonna walk in front of you right as you swing your giant ass warhammer causing you to smash their face in.

 

[Iceman]

Does sound better. I'd like to get to know my companions a bit more personally, Mass Effect style. Also getting killed off randomly seems a bit pointless. Especially when I've done it by accident. Wish there was a safe mode like Fable.

 

[James]

Does sound better. I'd like to get to know my companions a bit more personally, Mass Effect style.

That's exactly what New Vegas did. Each follower not only had a personal quest, but they had a lot of cool dialogue, opinions on things, reactions to various quests and locations and their own neat back stories. They were genuinely well rounded characters, which is why I was so surprised/disappointed with Skyrim's one dimensional followers.

I can appreciate that the two games were put together by different developers -expecting the same thing from Skyrim as we got in New Vegas is kind of unreasonable, but at the *very least* I expected Skyrim's followers to top the followers from Fallout 3. Instead the card board cut outs in Skyrim seem like a huge step backwards from Fallout 3, which is really strange considering they both came from Bethesda.

 

[Fading]

My first companion was Lydia, she was eaten by a dragon. Then it was that chick from Solitude, also eaten by a dragon. By that point i was strong enough that i could handle just about anything on my own and have never had a 2nd thought about having another companion. I work best alone.

Same, though my companions never got ate by dragons....you're a horrible leader, or a dragon eating fetish person.


I think it boils down to my playstyle. I like to hide in the shadows, take someone out with an arrow, then hang back Batman style while they freak out. Taking them out one by one. If they find me I switch to my swords. I was the same back in Oblivion.

The AI just isn't there yet for me to justify bringing them along, I do much better solo. If I bring AI along, and try this tactic, they charge into a group of enemies after the first arrow. Meaning I have to charge in too to protect them.

By the end, Skyrim becomes too easy anyway, and I have to up the difficulty. So, IMO, the extra help isn't really needed. The only time I'd probably think about it is as a mage in earlier levels. Even then only because it saves time on summoning a familiar or atronarch.

 

[Havok83]

My first companion was Lydia, she was eaten by a dragon. Then it was that chick from Solitude, also eaten by a dragon.

LMAO! Sorry but thats friggin hilarious

 

[Godzilla2000]

Yeah, the companions in Skryim are really a step backwards from New Vegas. Oh well, there always hope for the next Elder Scrolls.

Hmm...if you give them pretty decent end game gear they do fine though. I've tested out Cicero (My fave.), Lydia and Argis the Bulwark. Cicero excels at duel wielding and is unkillable. Lydia and Argis haven't gotten in my way and have actually been helpful. J'zargo is a pretty pro magic user especially if you give him stuff that bumps up his magic. He's great if you want a long distance magic wielder.

 

[Havok83]

Cicero....I killed that annoying fool when the oppurtunity presented itself

 

[X Knight]

yeah, with ES VI, I hope they make the story with your character ( and companions ) more personal. like, give us some personal backstory quests, based on what race we select.

I liked in Fallout 3, your character did have some kind of backstory. that made the story a bit more personal to me.

 

[Paladin-Hoss]

That's exactly what New Vegas did. Each follower not only had a personal quest, but they had a lot of cool dialogue, opinions on things, reactions to various quests and locations and their own neat back stories. They were genuinely well rounded characters, which is why I was so surprised/disappointed with Skyrim's one dimensional followers.

I can appreciate that the two games were put together by different developers -expecting the same thing from Skyrim as we got in New Vegas is kind of unreasonable, but at the *very least* I expected Skyrim's followers to top the followers from Fallout 3. Instead the card board cut outs in Skyrim seem like a huge step backwards from Fallout 3, which is really strange considering they both came from Bethesda.

I agree that out of all beth games, the companions in NV are by far the best. They are definitely my favourite, as you can probably tell from my avatar...lol!

But fear not, i think they've learned their lesson if Serana is any indications.