Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[TwinJedi]

I figured we need to start a thread on this in the RPG area.

I really had no plans on picking this up, but some of the reviews came in and it looked great so I picked it up at midnight launch. I also picked up the 600+ page guide. I have to say I am a bit disapointed with the guide as I think there is just too much info in it and I just cant seem to find what I am really looking for.

I made it to level 14 over the weekend, and I am really starting to enjoy it now. I have some cool weapons and spells now.

Question:
Where is the best place to get large amounts of money? I saw someone online in my friends list that was a level 4 and had purchased a house already!??! I only have a few thousand. Any tips?

[Wortdog [sherpa]]

I need to pick it up. I also need to decide which console to get it for.

My main Xbox account is still being investigated, so I don't want to start the game on a temp account. Anyone know if one platform is better for the game?

[GerryAtrix]

I'm loving this so far, although I thought the beginning was a little slow. Skyrim has a lot of the characteristics and feel of Oblivion but with definite improvements. I like the new keypad set-up for your quick spells, weapons, potions, etc. It took me a while to figure out that the "Tomes" books were permanent spells and not one time use so I did not have access to some nifty spells as soon as I could have.

I'm not sure about the leveling up since it seems quite different than Oblivion. I think the basic concept is the same: the more you use a given power, craft or abililty, the more it individually levels but I'm not sure yet about how to make the strongest character? In Oblivion I figured out I could get to maximum level in Destruction magic for example by creating a slight damage magika spell and targeting myself...over and over again. This made for a lower level character with high level magic skills for example, which made pure magic (no weapons needed) brutally effective against most anything.

Is the best approach in this game to level up a few key skills or better to be rounded and level things up somewhat evenly?

As with Oblivion, I've run into some enemies early on which totally outclass my character's abilities at this stage (Level 8 or so) and will require some leveling up and new weapons/spells to be able to match up with.....Sometimes, it's best to retreat and avoid at this early stage, but I'll be back!

I can see this game taking a massive amount of hours, since I tend to take my time going through everything in as many places as possible, looking for new plants, every sack and barrel, every dungeon and crypt corner, even going underwater...I should be playing this for months to come....

[Flu]

Yes, this is going to be a huge time sink. I played for about 5 hours this weekend and made it to level 9. I basically explored a single dungeon (Bleak Hills Barrow) in that time.

[Dr Zork]

Do you have to have a certain amount of gold to even be offered a house? The manual says stewards sell houses but the one in Dragonsreach has no dialogue option to purchase a house. I need a house for storage, I'm having to make multiple trips to dungeons to get all the stuff I want because I'm carrying so much stuff around leaving me little extra capacity for loot.

[TwinJedi]

No. I was offered a house, but I did not even go talk to the dude as I know it was 5000 gold. I know that the most expesive house is 36000 with fancy racks and everything to show off your items

[Aronion]

Zork: If the Steward in Dragonsreach isn't offering you a house, then you haven't met some requirements.

I am either a lvl 10 or 11 and learned to steer clear of trolls (they pack a punch) and giants (not a fan when they throw me high into the air). Wraiths are though alone, but I did find a cave with two of them. Quite the fight and one that I won.

Spoiler marked just in case.

Besides the first dragon that you take down in the storyline, I've seen two others. One was circling and I couldn't get his attention, so I let him sail along. The second one, a nasty frost dragon, I went toe-to-claw with solo(I lost my housejarl and haven't been able to find her so I didn't get any backup). I had a sword of consuming which absorbed 10HP with each hit that I used to defeat it. When the dragon was badly injured, he took to the air for another aerial attack when he crashed, instead, into the ground leaving a long, wide furrow.

Once you find a pickax, keep it. You can find areas where you can mine ore. You can then go to an armorer and use their smelter to make ingots.

Anyone else find it strange that there isn't a focus for cooking? Venison and vegetable stew give you great bonuses when eaten.

If you need some quick cash, make some armor or weapons. I've found it to be a great return on investment.

I, too, go through everything that I find. I am not a hoarder in RL, but in-game I sure am. Last night, when I was trying to lighten my load a bit I saw that I had 55 tomatoes. I have enough gold right now for a horse, but think I need to save up for a house. I am finding some great loot that I hate to leave in the dungeons.

All-in-all this is a great game.

[Flu]

I wish that I could get more detailed maps of villages and stuff. I hate feeling like I might have missed a building or a person or a quest.

[WarBeagle01]

I'm liking this game a lot. There are differences with Oblivion, but I'm not so hardcore where I'll get all fired up over it (read some of Bethesda's forums). It's just different. No character classes this time around, use of perks, hands are used differently,etc. I have to say a couple of things I'm not too happy about. Not being able to block unless you have a 2H weapon or a 1H weapon( but the other hand is free) is dumb. Also, the favorites menu is ok, but I like Oblivion's hotkey system much better. I don't mind classes being eliminated, but I think they dropped the ball with eliminating stats and racial strengths. I believe an Orc has the same starting health as an Imperial, Elf, etc. If so, that is really unrealistic. A high elf has no business having the same stamina or health as a Nord or Orc. It really negates the use of races except for a few bonuses and looks.

On the character front, I'm having trouble sticking with a 'class'. I have an Imperial "battlemage", but don't like that the Imperial has no magica-related bonuses like Elves and Bretons do. So I think I may switch. I like how the non use of classes allows each player to make their own class, per say.

[Aronion]

I wish that I could get more detailed maps of villages and stuff. I hate feeling like I might have missed a building or a person or a quest.

Have you tried picking your way through the mountains yet? Just navigating to a spot on your HUD can be a pain. It keeps some realism, so I am not too bugged about it. So far, I've only found one spot I wasn't able to jump out of and had to reload the game.