Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

[Undefeated]

Any idea on the cheapest high street price of this? Have a Game, Gamestation, HMV and Asda within walking distance. Asda have it priced up at £39.99 now (was £37.99 the other day!) - so would hopefully like to save a couple of quid on that if possible!

[Broker]

Quick question, if I'm enchanting a weapon to use Soul Trap and I set it to the maximum charges but they have to die within one second, that will trap the soul if it's a massive sword and I cut them down and kill them with it, right?

[Teeohbee]

Soul trapping is a little easier now I find thanks to the fact that enemies will drop to their knees when really low on health. Allowing you to swap out to your soul trap weapon and strike them down!

Is there any other option when they fall down and beg for their lives? I've always finished the job but what happens if you don't?

[Teeohbee]

Quick question, if I'm enchanting a weapon to use Soul Trap and I set it to the maximum charges but they have to die within one second, that will trap the soul if it's a massive sword and I cut them down and kill them with it, right?

Yep, make the finishing blow with the slow trap weapon and that 1 second is all you need!

[davejm]

Some PC news...

New AMD Catalyst drivers are out (11.11). Mixed performance reports at the moment, with some people saying they're seeing better framerates and others saying they've switched back to 11.10 after trying them. They don't have Skyrim specific optimisations at this stage (they're still working on those) but worth a try. I've seen rumours of leaked 11.12 drivers too.

Some useful mods for people using the 360 pad...

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=310#content

Allows hotkeys 1-8 in the favorites menu to be used from the keyboard while using an Xbox 360 controller with Skyrim.

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=332

Expanded 360 Hotkeys - maps dpad to 8 hotkeys

[Yewone]

My best tip for Soul Trap is to enchant one of your bows and keep it as a spare in your inventory. Makes trapping creatures WAY easier!

I can now trap certain human souls as well. Was quite rewarding finishing a particularly troublesome dungeon boss off with my dual wielded bound weapons and soul trapping him in the process!

[Flub]

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!

Is there any other option when they fall down and beg for their lives? I've always finished the job but what happens if you don't?

Last night the one I left alone got up and regenerated back to full health.

[Strangelite]

Diplomatic Immunity / Thalmor Embassy (Main quest line) - Spoilers follow,

Okay, I think I've hit a really significant arseache problem. I've been levelling up my character slowly and doing the main quest just in case it was a bit like oblivion (Where the gates didn't open till you hit a certain part, I figured it might be the same with the dragons)

And now I'm on this f**king mission.. Thalmor Embassy, where you've given some guy "the equipment you think you'll need for a sneaky sneaky mission" - so I gave him loads of stealth potions, some lock picks, and my sneaky kill bow... And that's it.. I figured taking my heavy armour in a sneaky sneaky mission would be a hindrance, (and seen as I was going to just sneak around like a mofo and never get detected - I wouldn't need it anyway)

Now, My levels are all pretty much around the 20 to 30 mark, (stealth being something I'm not concentrating on as that was my character in Oblivion and I want something different in Skyrim) - I've then got into the mansion, gone all the way through to the torture dungeon, and alerted only a few guards (who I've promptly dispatched)

but now I'm 'counter attacked' because my cover is blown, and it's spawned about 6 or 7 really BAD ASS guards, a wizard that can spawn a fucking big storm demon, and I've got a cocking bow that is next to useles, no armour, and no potions that would help me win a fight. I'm currently cowering under some steps hoping against hope that their AI backs down from "very pissed off" to "as pissed off as trapping your willy in a book"

I've got no chance, and I was wondering if anyones done this bit and how the fuck did you get the key to the trapdoor, free the prisoner and survive without alerting anyone?

I might reload my earlier save take all my equipment and go in swinging swords like a fucking nightmare.

[csuzw]

Does anyone know what exaclty the scaling is based off in this game? I'd heard it was based off your highest level of perk but that seems unlike given loads of people talking about power levelling smithing to make the game easier. Then again maybe certain skills like the crafting ones are ignored for purpose of scaling. Or perhaps it's just based off level but again that doesn't really fit with the smithing thing.

[Flub]

Diplomatic Immunity / Thalmor Embassy (Main quest line) - Spoilers follow,

Okay, I think I've hit a really significant arseache problem. I've been levelling up my character slowly and doing the main quest just in case it was a bit like oblivion (Where the gates didn't open till you hit a certain part, I figured it might be the same with the dragons)

And now I'm on this f**king mission.. Thalmor Embassy, where you've given some guy "the equipment you think you'll need for a sneaky sneaky mission" - so I gave him loads of stealth potions, some lock picks, and my sneaky kill bow... And that's it.. I figured taking my heavy armour in a sneaky sneaky mission would be a hindrance, (and seen as I was going to just sneak around like a mofo and never get detected - I wouldn't need it anyway)

Now, My levels are all pretty much around the 20 to 30 mark, (stealth being something I'm not concentrating on as that was my character in Oblivion and I want something different in Skyrim) - I've then got into the mansion, gone all the way through to the torture dungeon, and alerted only a few guards (who I've promptly dispatched)

but now I'm 'counter attacked' because my cover is blown, and it's spawned about 6 or 7 really BAD ASS guards, a wizard that can spawn a fucking big storm demon, and I've got a cocking bow that is next to useles, no armour, and no potions that would help me win a fight. I'm currently cowering under some steps hoping against hope that their AI backs down from "very pissed off" to "as pissed off as trapping your willy in a book"

I've got no chance, and I was wondering if anyones done this bit and how the fuck did you get the key to the trapdoor, free the prisoner and survive without alerting anyone?

I might reload my earlier save take all my equipment and go in swinging swords like a fucking nightmare.

Take everything you normally use in a fight. Including your armour. There doesn't seem to be any limit. Once you get past the initial bit and move on into the actual meat of the quest you're going to be doing a lot of fighting. Let's face it they have to design that sort of quest to be doable by any type of player and not just the ones who rock up in full thieves guild armour and a necklace of "You can't see me dipshit. Eat my X15 dagger"

Reload.

[SpagMasterSwift]

This game.

Being a Redguard I was naturally very interested when I found a bunch of my people being turned away from Whiterun, SPAGGLEHORN is getting sick of this persecution tbh.

So I decide to help them out and track down the woman they are after working in the The Bannered Mare. I'd actually gone in there to kick some guys arse for bothering one of the local ladies, so finding Saadia was a bonus. After she pulled a knife on me I started to like her and it must be said she has a fine pair of breasts. I could see a long future ahead, a house, children even, so decided to help her by hunting down my own people in a near by cave. I would be her hero, I would take away the pain.

After my brothers beat me to death a few times I decided that in fact solidarity should be the order of the day, I'd help the cause and lead the traitorous Saadia into a trap by the stables of Whiterun. If you can't beat them...

As I lied to her I could feel the conflict in me, as we ran to the stables everything in me was shouting to stop...but I did nothing. Then the paralysis spell was cast on her and I had traded my soul for 500 gold pieces. Why didn't I kill him then and there?

SPAGGLEHORN isn't fit to wear the pointy helmet of Schwarzenegger.

I presume there is a hidden morality gauge in this game, but the lack of a blatant swingometer from good to evil is really effective. Not being told whether you did the right thing or not leaves you questioning your actions and ultimately deciding by how you feel. Today I feel crappy. I did a bad thing.

[Talk Show Host]

Some PC news...

New AMD Catalyst drivers are out (11.11). Mixed performance reports at the moment, with some people saying they're seeing better framerates and others saying they've switched back to 11.10 after trying them. They don't have Skyrim specific optimisations at this stage (they're still working on those) but worth a try. I've seen rumours of leaked 11.12 drivers too.

Some useful mods for people using the 360 pad...

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=310#content

http://www.skyrimnexus.com/downloads/file.php?id=332

I tried those mods but it seems I have to set the shortcuts first with my keyboard and then reload and switch to the controller?

Also, how do you pause in the game? It's supposed to turn on and off some modded graphic settings (when you mod them in of course).

[Strangelite]

Take everything you normally use in a fight. Including your armour. There doesn't seem to be any limit. Once you get past the initial bit and move on into the actual meat of the quest you're going to be doing a lot of fighting. Let's face it they have to design that sort of quest to be doable by any type of player and not just the ones who rock up in full thieves guild armour and a necklace of "You can't see me dipshit. Eat my X15 dagger"

Reload.

Noted, Definitely gonna reload after struggling with it this morning.. Cheers..

[Cosmic_Guru]

I've found my soulmate at last - step forward J'Zargo a fellow apprentice mage and light fingered son of a bitch . We are made to be together but in their infinite wisdom Betheseda have ruled Khajiit marriage out of bounds. Now, in five years time in ES VI I expect this NPC to a) recognise my nefarious past and make an appropriate comment and b) have a behaviour routine which walks the talk, i,e I should find him stealing stuff out of those naive mages rooms just like I do.

And what is it with mages and pockets? They don't have any? Never seem to have anything to pickpocket that's for sure. I suppose it's all just left lying around in their rooms.

Wow, talk about scaling, the first mage guild quest was probably a doddle for level 1 types with a few dozy draugh wandering around - not for me - I had a full on level 40 Draugh deathlord with 2H ebony greatsword and some killer shouts - disarm and push back I think. Really nasty fella.

Then the next quest was clearing out a roge mages covern and it's seemingly not scaled at all - loads of apprentice mages which go down in one stealthy arrow shot and even the end boss was easy to deal with. So, its very varied which is great since it adds to the uncertainty before you go into the dungeon.

I've got close on 20 available enchantments now and a growing stock of common and grand soul gems - one of the biggest steps forward has been to take this process out of the aracane province of mages and to make it accessible to all.

[XBOKS]

So, uninstalled the game from my 360 last night and played it from the disc - it does look a little sharper all round.

I had two other questions - firstly, I'm playing as a Nord. I think the player's guide said there's no point to wearing heavy armour for Nords as they have light armour bonuses? Is this right? And is anyone else rocking a Nord warrior?

Secondly - in terms of playing the game, is it a good idea to burn through the main quest and then explore everthing else afterwards? Or will I miss out on a lot doing that?

Only about 5 hours in, as you can tell...

[Cosmic_Guru]

The quest stats screen says I've done 1 Dark Brotherhood mission, but I'm pretty sure I've not! Not even a member.

There is one encounter on the road close to Whiterun which counts as a dark brotherhood quest even if you have got nowhere near following up the rumours on this subject. Details

there is a jester with the world's most annoying voice with a cart carrying a coffin which he claims contains his dead mother - the local farmer wants him away

[csuzw]

So, uninstalled the game from my 360 last night and played it from the disc - it does look a little sharper all round.

I had two other questions - firstly, I'm playing as a Nord. I think the player's guide said there's no point to wearing heavy armour for Nords as they have light armour bonuses? Is this right? And is anyone else rocking a Nord warrior?

Secondly - in terms of playing the game, is it a good idea to burn through the main quest and then explore everthing else afterwards? Or will I miss out on a lot doing that?

Only about 5 hours in, as you can tell...

Use whatever armor you want. I've got a Nord warrior that uses heavy armor. You will start at a slightly lower skill due to them getting a bonus with light armor but you'll catch up quickly and the max is still 100 regardless of where you start.

Same goes for the questing, do what you want. I didn't start the main quest until level 20 and I've been flitting between quest chains every since (now 38 and still not got very far on main quest). Other people have completed the main quest in as little as 2 hours. As far as I'm aware you won't miss out on anything whatever approach you take. There are no time limits on anything so don't feel you have to rush.

[Cosmic_Guru]

I had two other questions - firstly, I'm playing as a Nord. I think the player's guide said there's no point to wearing heavy armour for Nords as they have light armour bonuses? Is this right? And is anyone else rocking a Nord warrior?

Secondly - in terms of playing the game, is it a good idea to burn through the main quest and then explore everthing else afterwards? Or will I miss out on a lot doing that?

Only about 5 hours in, as you can tell...

Nords start with 5 points more in LA than HA but that's nothing over the course of the game - so feel free to switch over and play how you wish.

As for what to do and in what order, there is no simple or right answer to this, unless you are specialising heavily as a mage, fighter or thief in which case it makes sense to start the relevant guild (or Companions for fighters) quests early doors since you typically get handed free gear with good perks from the get go, have access to guild chests to store your stuff in and can help yourself to guild supplies.

Advancing the main quest gives you access to more dragon shouts and causes dragons to spawn across the world so if you want to avoid fighting dragons at all, don't speak to the Jarl in Whiterun.

Otherwise, do as you want - set a marker for a far corner of the map and walk there, spend hours smithing and enchanting, break into every house in the town and rob the occupants blind, creep through dungeons sniping bad guys, the choice is yours. I love mixing things up so no two gameplay sessions are the same.

[SqueakyG]

I presume there is a hidden morality gauge in this game, but the lack of a blatant swingometer from good to evil is really effective. Not being told whether you did the right thing or not leaves you questioning your actions and ultimately deciding by how you feel. Today I feel crappy. I did a bad thing.

I was wondering if there was any kind of morality gauge -- I'm too used to Bioware games. It's a nice refreshing feeling of freedom knowing that the game isn't telling me I'm a hero or a villain. I don't feel forced to stay on the "good" or "evil" path, as with Bioware RPGs, where indecision about good or bad deeds just makes your morality points cancel each other out. Skyrim just lets you... roleplay.

I find that in conversation I always fail Persuades but I always succeed at Intimidates, so I wondered if there's a background stat for that kind of thing. Or maybe the robes I'm wearing make me look scary? I don't know.

[Hello Goaty ♥]

I dont know if its been said already, but I find the Magika/Health/Stamina bars a lot more forgving in Skyrim.

They depleted like crazy in Oblivion and you found yourself running across the map constantly using Restoring magic whilst trying to build yourself up.

The forgiving-ness of the bars leads to a lot more successful combat.

[Teeohbee]

OMG THIS GAME!

[poppa_f]

This game.

Being a Redguard I was naturally very interested when I found a bunch of my people being turned away from Whiterun, SPAGGLEHORN is getting sick of this persecution tbh.

So I decide to help them out and track down the woman they are after working in the The Bannered Mare. I'd actually gone in there to kick some guys arse for bothering one of the local ladies, so finding Saadia was a bonus. After she pulled a knife on me I started to like her and it must be said she has a fine pair of breasts. I could see a long future ahead, a house, children even, so decided to help her by hunting down my own people in a near by cave. I would be her hero, I would take away the pain.

After my brothers beat me to death a few times I decided that in fact solidarity should be the order of the day, I'd help the cause and lead the traitorous Saadia into a trap by the stables of Whiterun. If you can't beat them...

As I lied to her I could feel the conflict in me, as we ran to the stables everything in me was shouting to stop...but I did nothing. Then the paralysis spell was cast on her and I had traded my soul for 500 gold pieces. Why didn't I kill him then and there?

SPAGGLEHORN isn't fit to wear the pointy helmet of Schwarzenegger.

I presume there is a hidden morality gauge in this game, but the lack of a blatant swingometer from good to evil is really effective. Not being told whether you did the right thing or not leaves you questioning your actions and ultimately deciding by how you feel. Today I feel crappy. I did a bad thing.

I literally finished that quest this morning before work!

I did the exact inverse of you - was planning to sell her out as she was pretty rude to me, then was just about to sign on the dotted line with the Redguard guy when I had a crisis of conscience about joining a team of 6 big guys go and beat up a lone woman, so at the last minute I switched and slaughtered all of the Redguards in the cave. Just felt like the right thing to do

[Cosmic_Guru]

I dont know if its been said already, but I find the Magika/Health/Stamina bars a lot more forgving in Skyrim.

Well it all depends on the situation - I have rarely seen a more devastating poison than that spit out by the Chaurus Reaper. Also,

First mages guild quest in Morrowind - go and collect a few mushrooms.

First mages guild quest in Skyrim - go and kill a Draugh warlord LOL.

But, I take your point, the contrast is significant - recharging helps of course, and if you go back further to Morrowind the comparison is even greater - that first fighters quest where you have to kill a few rats in a basement, you could get about 2 sword swipes in before running out of stamina - there was some Xbox cheat code I recall which involved hitting combinations of white and black button to replemish it.

[CrispinG]

i have no inclination to play this at all now the main quest is done. i was so into it but now it feels like anything else i do in-game would be redundant. i tried making a new character but got bored very quickly this time, and my mage is a

stage 4 vampire;

I can't go anywhere without being attacked by ignorant peasants. I might try sneaking into a house in Riverwood to feed or something. i hope i didn't lose my mage when I made a new character. this has been an irrelevant post.

[SpagMasterSwift]

when I had a crisis of conscience about joining a team of 6 big guys go and beat up a lone woman

SPAGGLEHORN shamed.

[locke_211]

There is one encounter on the road close to Whiterun which counts as a dark brotherhood quest even if you have got nowhere near following up the rumours on this subject. Details

there is a jester with the world's most annoying voice with a cart carrying a coffin which he claims contains his dead mother - the local farmer wants him away

Interesting. I didn't believe him and shopped him to the law.

[Space Gibbon]

There is one encounter on the road close to Whiterun which counts as a dark brotherhood quest even if you have got nowhere near following up the rumours on this subject. Details

there is a jester with the world's most annoying voice with a cart carrying a coffin which he claims contains his dead mother - the local farmer wants him away

I did that quest, helping out the jester.

That's a Dark Brotherhood quest? How did you find out? I suppose he is wearing their colours. Creepy fucker.

[Broker]

Yep, make the finishing blow with the slow trap weapon and that 1 second is all you need!

Thanks!

[Strangelite]

<snip drivel>

Glad to hear you've finished it.. Now take it back to the shop for a trade in and GTFO.

It'll help everyone else in this thread loads...

Have you considered there may be players who didn't know you can become a vampire? It's called a spoiler tag for a reason.

Edit: As Handsome Light Brown very correctly pointed out.. Spoilered my spoiler in a spoiler tag.

[SpagMasterSwift]

Hey Stranglelite - some people may have him on ignore...talking about spoilers is just as bad dont cha know...