Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[footle]

Jesus, I just opened the map that came with this. There's NINE regions ?

WHAT. Its enormous.

I've just spent most of the evening hunting down a powerful magic artefact, against necromancer and demonic types who all seemed that little bit overpowered (I'm level 16, sneaky archery destruction guy still, but lacking in armour, sense or high skill levels in anything). Then decided to make my way across to a dungeon on the other side of the map, got sidetracked by a bizarre looking island, then wandered into Dawnstar to get hit by what sounded like another four quests in as many seconds.

I've been deliberately ignoring proper sounding quests in towns.

27 hours in.

I think this game might take a while.

[Guest]

I wonder if I've had these textures issues; maybe I have I don't know? Looks fine to me.

Sometimes "out in the field" the further away it can look a bit crappy, but I thought this was just the limits of the 360...

[El Spatula]

Can I gay marry my Flame Atronach? She's awesome, and it would be a great marriage. Summoning when heeded? Perfick!

[JoeK]

I stumbled across a birth of a Dragon last night. I then proceed to tart it up a bit

[kiroquai]

Has anyone been to Falkreath, Dawnstar or Morthal? They're the only places I've yet to have any reason to go to, except for the museum notice for Dawnstar.

Falkreath and Morthal were the first two major towns I visited as it turns out , and I have been to Dawnstar too. Quests aplenty in all three!

[Yiggy]

You could try making stuff that you don't want to use but are easy to make.

Yes this works. Make sure you pick up every pelt going to make onto leather. Then pick the lowest material leather item and make loads of them. You get a smith level

For every 2-3 you make. It's just going about it the right way.

[Guest]

Oh wow; I didn't realise..

There were specific kill animations on dragons if you hit them right! Awesome!

[Space Gibbon]

Yes this works. Make sure you pick up every pelt going to make onto leather. Then pick the lowest material leather item and make loads of them. You get a smith level

For every 2-3 you make. It's just going about it the right way.

Iron dagger's just about the easiest thing you can make. One leather strip and one iron ingot. Activate the Warrior stone, and rest beforehand to get the 'Rested'/'Well Rested' skill bonus, and you can easily raise smithing.

[Space Gibbon]

I still feel like I'm really missing lots of info that I should have by now. I know nothing about armour or weapons really and haven't done any smithing? Is it important? What does it do? I'm level 36 I think, enjoying it lots but slightly frustrated that there's so much I don't understand about it or that seems unnecessary.

It's very simple - the blacksmith lady in Whiterun can give you a basic tutorial on smithing. It lets you forge your own weapons and armour, or improve the ones you already have. You just need the right materials, and you can find out what those are by going to the forge - it tells you.

[Guest]

Iron dagger's just about the easiest thing you can make. One leather strip and one iron ingot. Activate the Warrior stone, and rest beforehand to get the 'Rested'/'Well Rested' skill bonus, and you can easily raise smithing.

Isn't that a waste or iron? Leather is much easier to come by; I've made lots of boots.

Anyone know where you go mining/etc?

[Yewone]

... and that's Lydia dead! With a few slayed dragons under our belts we got cocky however

Dragon Lord Krosis

proved too much for her to handle.

She did her job though, providing enough of a distraction to allow me to survive and take all the sweet loot. Im sure my new mask will help ease the pain of her loss!

EDIT: Thought it was only fitting to lay her to rest near the dragon shrine where she fell: (excuse crap photo quality, wish I was playing the PC version)

See, what other games have you ending up doing this kind of shit!?

[Mr.Crowley]

I found a sweet elvish warhammer which led to some deliciously gruesome finishing moves. I'm literally knocking people's heads off.

[CactuarBill]

A dragon attacked me outside my home. Me and the village guards managed to take it down. Thankfully my wife was working in the mine when it all went down.

Oh and one more thing; I hate cave bears.

[Mr Ben]

This game really looks amazing. I mean look at this:

From the Dead End Thrills site here

84+ hours in and I've only been to 2 Major cities, and even then not done a lot of quests. The scope of the game is incredible. So far, I'd have to say this is goty for me, but I am a huge fan of rpg games, so that's a given. Just wish there were more hours in the day!

Edit: Just found more pics on Flickr here.

[robdood]

I still feel like I'm really missing lots of info that I should have by now. I know nothing about armour or weapons really and haven't done any smithing? Is it important? What does it do? I'm level 36 I think, enjoying it lots butt slightly frustrated that there's so much I don't understand about it or that seems unnecessary.

Also, see the help menu

[deerokus]

The blacksmith in Riverwood gave me an excellent tutorial on smithing as soon as I arrived there at the start of the game. Shows how much this game can vary that others seem to have got it elsewhere or missed it entirely.

You don't really need to bother with it at all, I haven't. While on the other hand you could theoretically play the game solely as a travelling blacksmith/weapons dealer. It might not be all that fun, but you can do it.

I've claimed my first victim in the murder spree I've decided to go on in Windhelm. See ya later, Viola Giordano.

[Space Gibbon]

So I decided to test out how marriage works in this game (mainly to see if you could have multiple spouses...you can't, sadly). So I married Ysolda from Whiterun, who's a bit of a babe. Lydia came to the wedding, and I saw her leave Riften, but no sign of Ysolda heading back. I went home to my house in Whiterun and for once there was no one in - neither of them had made it back yet. I waited, and Lydia showed up, but no Ysolda. I waited for a day and a half, and nothing. Is she dead, I wondered...killed by wolves on the road? Then I checked the Whiterun local map, and saw Ysolda had a house behind the alchemist's shop. I had to break in to the place, and had to fob a guard off with the 'I'm the Thane' routine so he wouldn't arrest me. Sure enough, Ysolda was in bed, and when I spoke to her she asked where we ought to live. Couldn't we have had this conversation back in Riften, I wondered. Anyway, we head back to my place, and by this time Lydia's taken up her usual spot in the marital suite. Ysolda sits down on the chair just outside the door, no doubt wondering what I've got another woman in the bedroom for. She just sits there eating bread, refusing to sleep even though it's 3am.

I hope Lydia doesn't watch us when we finally shack up.

[Monkeyboy]

I found a book about a legendary sword, so set off with Lydia to find it. It's been such an epic trek so far. Found some really beautiful looking dungeons -- seriously, Bethesda have really knocked it out of the park with some of them -- and at one point, it felt as though we were both at the ends of the earth... the dead of night, rain, mist, trudging down through a mountainous valley, ominous forts looming high above us on craggy outcrops, and then around the corner a tiny inn in the middle of nowhere. So we settle down for the night.

When I awake...

I hear the landlady screaming. I run out to see what's going on. Turns out the inn is haunted by a friendly ghost!

God, I love this game.

[Dimahoo]

I'm a bit confused by the weapon stats. Like a Sword will do +8 damage and a mace will do (say) 7, but is prehaps lighter. But the stat marker at the bottom shows a +2 (in green) on the damage.

Now i'm fairly new to RPG's really. The last one i sank anything into was Faery Tale Adventure (yeah, on the Amiga).

Anyway, this is something else and certainly my game of the year because its portrays the truest and best definition of gaming immersion. And i love that.

[Space Gibbon]

I'm a bit confused by the weapon stats. Like a Sword will do +8 damage and a mace will do (say) 7, but is prehaps lighter. But the stat marker at the bottom shows a +2 (in green) on the damage.

Now i'm fairly new to RPG's really. The last one i sank anything into was Faery Tale Adventure (yeah, on the Amiga).

Anyway, this is something else and certainly my game of the year because its portrays the truest and best definition of gaming immersion. And i love that.

The thing at the bottom will compare the item to whatever you have equipped right now, and for weapons, specifically what you have equipped in your right hand.

[Space Gibbon]

I've claimed my first victim in the murder spree I've decided to go on in Windhelm. See ya later, Viola Giordano.

As if Windhelm needed another serial killer.

[Guest]

The quests in this really are fantastic. It just shows up how cookie cutter and dull the Oblivion ones were. Those Mage quests where someone is talking to someone about something and she/he is annoyed/get a book/blah blah all the same old crap.

Ill met by moonlight was a great quest I thought. I mentioned it earlier yet it has stuck with me. I feel that I've hardly scratched the surface of the game so far...

There doesn't seem to be many/any real downsides to drinking. I stole, and drunk, a good 40 or so meads and wines earlier. Nothing happened at all!

[Rudi von Starnberg]

The Wabbajack is the best fucking thing ever.

I need to get into enchanting purely to keep it charged.

[Broker]

Walked into a giant camp and cut two of the fuckers down with my greatsword earlier. Couldn't kill their three mammoths at once though, had to run away. I'm going to the dragon nests and killing the bastards solo now.

Finally finished my set of Daedric Armour and upgraded it all to legendary. I'm going to finish the companions quests next, then learn more enchanting and maybe try to find a decent wife. I've unlocked awesome perks in heavy armour, two handed and have the enchantment ones to get as well, it's making the choices when I level up really hard.

Whilst my smithing us at 100 and I've unlocked all the perks for it I don't feel I've achieved my goal of being the finest blacksmith in Skyrim as I can't supply enchanted weapons and armour yet.

Can you get Lydia to change into armour you give her? she's been sat in my room in Whiterun doing nothing for weeks.

[edargyle]

.

Skill tree conundrum: It feels like whenever I try to use any blacksmith equipment there's nothing to do... I never have the right stuff, and I can't improve my weapons/armour because they're all magical and that needs a perk. But that perk is at Blacksmith level 50... which I'll never reach because I can't do any blacksmithing! Hmm.

Kind of the same for enchanting: I can't enchant anything worth a damn until I have some enchanting perks, but I'll not be able to get enchanting perks until I've done lots of enchanting.

so just some quick advice on these two comments cos it was causing me a few issues,

1. with blacksmithing you can easily gain points by using the skin of animals you kill to make leather. You should be able to make leather armour as a result.

2. I missed the smelting kiln thingy you use to turn Ore into ingots which you need to create metal pieces. Not all blacksmith areas have smelting things mind.

just following those two points above should help you level enough to make steel and then more valuble items. If i need raw materials, head for a mine and make sure you have a pickake handy.

3. as for enchaning, I don't really understand the problem. you start of as a poor enchanter but the more you use it, the better you get. I've been making jewelary as a blacksmith, pretty easy to do and then doing crappy enchants on the rings and such to help upgrade blacksmithing and enchanting at the same time.

not sure if this helps or no - but by doing this I've been getting close to the magical LV60, upgrade magical items goal I've been working towards

[Jamin]

... and that's Lydia dead!

EDIT: Thought it was only fitting to lay her to rest near the dragon shrine where she fell: (excuse crap photo quality, wish I was playing the PC version)

See, what other games have you ending up doing this kind of shit!?

Very fitting. I wish I had given my Lydia a proper send off. Tempted to go back to the Camp she perished at and she if her body is still there. What is the button to 'drag' and 'lift' corpses etc? I haven't noticed being able to do it on 360.

[snowbind]

If you press and hold A you can pick things up and drag them around.

[NecroMorrius]

Guys, go into the catacombs at black reach, and you'll be in a dungeon within a dungeon within a dungeon

Black reach is insanely gigantic, I've been exploring it for three hours.

[Unqualified]

Level 7 wood elf named Clint.

Amazing game, I've explored a dungeon, done a few quests, killed a dragon, climbed a massive mountain to talk to some old dudes and I'm HOOKED. This game is everything I hoped it would be, brilliant. It's actually BETTER being offline as I would probably have no social life whatsoever, I already denied a bootycall tonight because "I have to be up early and stuff."

[Sardan]

I find a horse pointless for my play style so far, I keep getting off to pick flowers and it takes longer to get there constantly getting on and off my horse than if I simply ran all the way.

The one good thing about a horse is you can move quickly (and fast travel) while overburdened with loot. That makes quite a difference if you are taking all the armour and weapons from your vanquished foes to turn into gold.

However I did punch my horse in the face! I was having a brawl with an Orc chieftain and he moved round over to where I had left my horse and I accidentally targeted my horse with a left hook!