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Skyrim, or, How I Ruined My LifeFollow

#702 Nov 25 2011 at 11:45 PM Rating: Good
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idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I get why the early Thieves guild quests are what they are, but I don't like doing them. In Oblivion, it was only stealing from the rich. Now I'm just brutalizing people who are just trying to get by.

I know what you mean. Implying that you will hurt someone's family on the one and destroying someone's most treasured item (though I found I couldn't do it so went with the other option) on the other really sucked. That's just not how I roll.
#703 Nov 26 2011 at 12:02 AM Rating: Decent
Ravashack wrote:
I can agree with what Eske said.

I've killed off 90% of dungeon trash and dungeon bosses I've faced this way, including dragon priests -- Snipe, break LOS from the original firing spot, repeat. You just have to be patient. If they heal themselves? Great, gave you more time to plunk in one or two more arrows and more chances to skill up Archery. The ones I didn't kill this way were the ones from early on before I figured out how to snipe effectively or much later on when I was heavily skilling up Destruction.



I just started a new character to mess around a few days ago and have had a chance to figure out a few tidbits that are handy when playing a sneaky range build. For starters, you can "activate" torches on walls to put them out (you actually take them into your inventory but you can just drop them and they're no longer lit.) This can help with setting yourself up with a space with less light than normal since lighting influences how well enemies can detect you.

Also, if your sneak skill is high enough you don't have to LoS your firing spot...you just have to move far enough away from it that your enemies don't detect you when they run to where you were when you fired.

I mentioned this a bit earlier in the thread, but it bears repeating...you can distract enemies by firing at a spot behind them relative to where you're standing. They'll go to investigate where the arrow impacted which can help you create a larger gap and potentially get an extra shot in before you have to relocate.

Another sneaky trick that would classify more as an exploit than anything else is a way to level your archery to 50 fairly quickly/easily. In Riverwood is an elven dude named Laethal who is part of a quest. If you chose to finish the quest in a way that favors him, you can have him join you as a companion. Not only is this handy for early storage before you've picked up your first house, he's also an archery trainer. The trick lies in the fact that when he's your companion, you have direct access to his inventory. Pay him to train your archery and then tell him you want to store something with him. Take your gold back. Repeat. You can train 5 points to archery right away, and then every time you level up you can train 5 more points up to a maximum of 50.
#704 Nov 26 2011 at 12:47 AM Rating: Good
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MrTalos wrote:
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I get why the early Thieves guild quests are what they are, but I don't like doing them. In Oblivion, it was only stealing from the rich. Now I'm just brutalizing people who are just trying to get by.

I know what you mean. Implying that you will hurt someone's family on the one and destroying someone's most treasured item (though I found I couldn't do it so went with the other option) on the other really sucked. That's just not how I roll.


And poisoning the captain of the guard to put the brewery guy in jail? WHAT? In Oblivion, they made such a point to note that the Thieves guild was NOT the Dark Brotherhood. In Skyrim it's like "Oh we aren't them. Killing people means we can't exploit them for money."

...

I'm actually finding myself disgusted with everyone in game far too often. I get that Bethesda wanted to make it clear how much disorder has seeped into the world since Martin died. But C'MON. I'm finding it hard to figure out why I would want to save any of these ********.

Mage guild? Filled with people with loose morals and way too much power relative to their wisdom. Sure, maybe they aren't killing people, but they are WAY too willing to turn a blind eye to questionable experiments.
Companions? For all their high talk, they are seriously just thugs.
Bard's College? At first glance, nice. But then you learn how often they are always stealing from each other...
Thieves guild? Pretty much the mafia.
Number of Jarls I have met that I have any respect for? 4. Number of those I actually respect? 2.


I haven't joined the Dark Brotherhood, but I imagine they aren't any better (I mean, c'mon).

I get it, I really do. But I think they managed their goal too well. In Oblivion, all the guilds (minus DB) pretty much made you the "good" guy. Or at least the nicer-shade-of-gray guy. That's not false in Skyrim, but it is certainly way less universal. And you need to do way more dirty work to get there. If you don't think the means justify the ends, it can really take the fun out of too many quests.
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#705 Nov 26 2011 at 1:02 AM Rating: Decent
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I did like the Thieves Guild better in Oblivion. It had a much more Robin Hood feel to it, where we protected the poor beggars and fought back against corruption and cronyism. Now it's just "that guy has something nice and we want it, go beat the crap out of him".
#706 Nov 26 2011 at 3:30 AM Rating: Good
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Idiggory, think of it in terms of an interesting story. Sure often times times there is no sugar coated solution to the situation you might find your self in. But the very fact that you are experiencing a visceral reaction to the choices you are confronted with I think reinforces that the story is compelling.

Play, choose the lesser of evils, make those tough choices and try to make your influence on a gritty world as best you can given the circumstances.

/steps off soap box

Also my thief is now higher level than my original SnB toon. Gdamn the Thief guild story line is well fleshed out and more interesting than either the warrior(companions I think) or mage lines. My Dunmer Nightengale just might be the first to save or destroy the world.


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An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

~ Matsuo Basho
#707 Nov 26 2011 at 4:47 AM Rating: Good
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Aurelius:

Breaking LOS was usually the simplest option because of several things:

- I'd fire from near a corner or stairs anyway.
- You can't remove some light sources.
- Gets you started on moving in case there was something else you didn't see that noticed as well. (I had that happen before...)

Yes, at higher skill ranks you don't need to break line of sight anymore...but it's still a good habit for survivability in case you missed something.
Archery was also ridiculously easy to skill up until around the 60s. No idea why.
#708 Nov 26 2011 at 5:07 AM Rating: Decent
Ravashack wrote:
Aurelius:

Breaking LOS was usually the simplest option because of several things:

- I'd fire from near a corner or stairs anyway.
- You can't remove some light sources.
- Gets you started on moving in case there was something else you didn't see that noticed as well. (I had that happen before...)

Yes, at higher skill ranks you don't need to break line of sight anymore...but it's still a good habit for survivability in case you missed something.
Archery was also ridiculously easy to skill up until around the 60s. No idea why.


I do try to break LoS whenever possible...I just noticed today that it wasn't fully necessary as long as I was quick to move away from where I was standing when I fired. It seems that different mob types also have different responses to sneak. Humanoids tend to be pretty dumb about finding you but animals (bears, saber cats, etc.) are a bit less helpless. I also came across a pack of three pit wolves on my other character that were extremely difficult to manage from range relying on sneak and LoS.

I'm still learning the dynamics of how to make the best use of an archery/sneak character. I can see, however, how just sneak + archery isn't going to be enough. It's great for most things but confined and/or well lit spaces involving multiple enemies are pretty much a death sentence.
#709 Nov 26 2011 at 10:14 AM Rating: Good
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Has anyone found a detect life spell? I'm thinking it'll be extremely useful for my thief/sniper, since getting too far into the light to try and find the enemies breaks stealth.

[EDIT]

And I get that they were going for a more visceral story. But it's absurd, to me, that the thieves guild is telling me to go commit murder and frame someone else for it.

Edited, Nov 26th 2011 11:28am by idiggory
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#710 Nov 26 2011 at 10:35 AM Rating: Good
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There is a detect life spell (and shout), but remember that casting magic makes you more noticeable, so you'll want to take that illusion perk to make you a silent spellcaster.

You'll need 50 Alteration to buy the spell.

Edited, Nov 26th 2011 10:38am by xypin
#711 Nov 26 2011 at 11:31 AM Rating: Good
I finished a quest last night that rewarded me with a detect life spell. I can't remember which one it was now though. I do wish you could bind spells to gear like Oblivion. A ring or something with detect life would be nice to wear if I were sneaking around.
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#712 Nov 26 2011 at 11:37 AM Rating: Good
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idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
And poisoning the captain of the guard to put the brewery guy in jail? WHAT? In Oblivion, they made such a point to note that the Thieves guild was NOT the Dark Brotherhood. In Skyrim it's like "Oh we aren't them. Killing people means we can't exploit them for money."
I haven't joined the Dark Brotherhood, but I imagine they aren't any better (I mean, c'mon).

I had real problems with that too but he detects it so he doesn't die.

They need a detect life enchantment because the spell and the shout are pretty crappy.
#713 Nov 26 2011 at 12:03 PM Rating: Good
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Also their is a spoileriffic reason why when you first join the thieves guild things are running wrong.
____________________________
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

~ Matsuo Basho
#714 Nov 27 2011 at 5:22 AM Rating: Good
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I was able to get my wife to start playing. Out of all the games I've ever had her play, this is one I think she might actually be interested in. The only problem is I have the gaming machine and she has some ****** dell inspiron laptop.

Perhaps I'll get her a pc for christmas.

In other Skyrim related news. I've started my journey to 100 alchemy and enchanting to boost a 25% set of smithing armor for ridiculous weapons. I've got my bow up to 188 damage. I'm hoping in a day or two I can break the 200 barrier and push into the 250/300ish range. So far though, my named dagger (forget its name, the 25% crit one) is doing 54 damage. I have the double backstab damage gloves and the 15x sneak perk. It's over 1500 damage a backstab, and I can crit with it, OP!

I do however wish there was a way to reset perks. I'm 46 now and all I wish is I could have been smart enough to not completely fill smithing and just go arcane and up the right side. Now I'm stuck with literally 4 points left and 2/5 and 3/5 alchemy/enchanting perks. I JUST WANT TO FILL THEM TO FULL!

#715 Nov 27 2011 at 6:09 AM Rating: Good
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You are using the PC. Isn't there a console command that let's you do it?
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#716 Nov 27 2011 at 1:47 PM Rating: Good
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I HAVE TO STOP RESTARTING. Seriously, it's becoming a real problem.
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IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people

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#717 Nov 27 2011 at 3:34 PM Rating: Excellent
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So, I accidentally just beat the game. Well, I guess "accidentally" isn't quite the correct term. Nor is "beating the game," as you can continue playing after. I knew I was on the main quest, but I expected it to last a bit longer. I had the same feeling in Oblivion, however, so I guess it makes sense. A lot is still unresolved, and I wonder how the course of events could have changed:

1. I never started the Civil War stuff. Thus, I convened a peace council at High Hrothgar to keep Whiterun neutral until I could capture a dragon and fly to Svongard to stop Alduin. I figure this would be unnecessary if one side or the other had already won.

2. The Blades versus Greybeards thing kinda came out of nowhere. It was like "Oh, council is over. By the way, kill the leader of the Greybeards or we'll never talk to you again." What? I can't help but feel that the Greybeards are a lot cooler than the Blades. Either you get two middle-aged warriors with a cool (but ancient) secret base, or you get 4 priests whose very words shake their mountain base, headed up by a friendly dragon. Not to mention, the Greybeards keep telling me where to go to find Words of Power (perhaps Esbern does as well; I'd assume there's a Blades analog). But Delphine's insistence on killing the Greybeard dragon just goes a bit overboard for my tastes. I didn't do it; is there any penalty or reward for doing so?

3. In Svongard, I got to see Kodlak Whitemane from the Companions, and introduce myself as the leader of the Companions to Tsun. Do you get other options for completing other guilds' questlines? I was also a little disappointed that Kodlak didn't have any cues for me, nor did he seem to remember me. Bah!

4. Ending fight was ridiculously easy. Dragonrend, 5-6 power attacks, and game over. Helps to have amazing gear Smiley: grin.


Finally, I think one of the best perks of enchanting is being able to rename items. All of mine have names I found humorous. A two-handed sword I enchanted is now "Overcompensation." The fine clothing I picked up from the Thalmor Embassy quest is renamed "Foppish Garb of the Nancies." I did give semi-serious names to my normal items though; my Daedric Sword with Fire and Fiery Soul Trap enchants is called "Dark Slayer."
#718 Nov 27 2011 at 3:44 PM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:

[...]


2. The Blades versus Greybeards thing kinda came out of nowhere. It was like "Oh, council is over. By the way, kill the leader of the Greybeards or we'll never talk to you again." What? I can't help but feel that the Greybeards are a lot cooler than the Blades. Either you get two middle-aged warriors with a cool (but ancient) secret base, or you get 4 priests whose very words shake their mountain base, headed up by a friendly dragon. Not to mention, the Greybeards keep telling me where to go to find Words of Power (perhaps Esbern does as well; I'd assume there's a Blades analog). But Delphine's insistence on killing the Greybeard dragon just goes a bit overboard for my tastes. I didn't do it; is there any penalty or reward for doing so?

You get to recruit people for the Blades. Once you give them 3 followers, you can send out dragon hunting parties.



3. In Svongard, I got to see Kodlak Whitemane from the Companions, and introduce myself as the leader of the Companions to Tsun. Do you get other options for completing other guilds' questlines? I was also a little disappointed that Kodlak didn't have any cues for me, nor did he seem to remember me. Bah!

If you complete other quest lines, they're all there as available choices. For example, I had Dragonborn, Archmage, Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood as options.


#719 Nov 27 2011 at 3:45 PM Rating: Good
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LockeColeMA wrote:
So, I accidentally just beat the game. Well, I guess "accidentally" isn't quite the correct term. Nor is "beating the game," as you can continue playing after. I knew I was on the main quest, but I expected it to last a bit longer. I had the same feeling in Oblivion, however, so I guess it makes sense. A lot is still unresolved, and I wonder how the course of events could have changed:

2. The Blades versus Greybeards thing kinda came out of nowhere. It was like "Oh, council is over. By the way, kill the leader of the Greybeards or we'll never talk to you again." What? I can't help but feel that the Greybeards are a lot cooler than the Blades. Either you get two middle-aged warriors with a cool (but ancient) secret base, or you get 4 priests whose very words shake their mountain base, headed up by a friendly dragon. Not to mention, the Greybeards keep telling me where to go to find Words of Power (perhaps Esbern does as well; I'd assume there's a Blades analog). But Delphine's insistence on killing the Greybeard dragon just goes a bit overboard for my tastes. I didn't do it; is there any penalty or reward for doing so?
My "completion" pretty much went the same- but I had done almost nothing else (no guilds, no civil war, etc) despite my 80+ hours of playing on this character... there are too many butterflies in this game. I've heard the Blades have a few extra quests if you join them, but I'm leaving that for my ******* character playthrough since the Blades are well... ****** Also, if the Blades serve the emperor, why can't I just royal-***** slap them into being good?
#720 Nov 27 2011 at 4:30 PM Rating: Decent
idiggory, King of Bards wrote:
I HAVE TO STOP RESTARTING. Seriously, it's becoming a real problem.


I've "restarted" once so far, even though my restart was intended more as an experiment than anything else. It's pretty crazy how fast you can get back to where you were. My first character has just over 40 hours in. My second character has half that, is almost the same level (33 on my new character, 36 on my first), and I just punked my first giant on my new character whereas my first character tried once and ran screaming like a little *****.

I also just killed the first dragon on my new character. I didn't want to progress the story so much as get access to my house. Now I'm going to focus on enchanting and alchemy so I can make a spiffy bow and then head out and focus on guild quests and exploring for a while.
#721 Nov 27 2011 at 5:10 PM Rating: Good
I've been a bit distracted with Star Wars this weekend, but Friday night I got pretty far. I finished the mage quest and enjoyed that quite a bit. Love the robes you get! I just wish they didn't have a hood so I could equip that scary looking mask you get as well. My mage is level 15, and I've gotten Enchanting up to level 45ish. I'm leveling it with smithing so I can make lots and lots of daggers for power leveling enchanting as I get more soul gems and enchants. I also got Impact and some new Destruction spells, and successfully killed two giants while kiting, which was a lot of fun. ^_^

Oh, and the dragon priest you have to kill for the mage college? Holy **** that was hard! I had to do the quicksave several times, and make lots of use of healing myself behind corners, and that spell that exchanges your health for mana. I normally use lightning spells, but it didn't seem to be doing much to her/him/it, so I switched to fire and that helped a lot. Still, I felt pretty damn good about myself when I finally got the ******* dead lol.
#722 Nov 27 2011 at 5:11 PM Rating: Good
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I have 140 hours played now. Smiley: eek I'm on my third toon. I meant to go back to my SnB Nord after my thief and play the main quest line and I still might at some point but the thief toon totally took over. He is just so much fun to play. I've finished the thieves guild now and am working on the dark brohos.

I decided to specifically not take smithing or enchanting very high on my thief becuase my SnB guy got too strong and that's partially what made me bored with him. Not that 30x backstabs with any dagger are not ridiculously strong, but at least I have to kind of set that up first. Stealth assassin build is just really fun to play in this game imho.

I've also worked on my speach some and joined the bards college in an effort to become a filthy rich mafioso boss who can invest in merchants all over the world and fence anywhere. Well at least I thought that might be fun but every time I get a new perk I look at those speech perks and then I spend it on something practical for combat instead. I still might fulfill that roll play dream at some point as well. Although I already have way more cash on this toon than I have gotten on any other and not much to spend it on yet except training when I am near a new shiny perk and impatient.

____________________________
An old silent pond...
A frog jumps into the pond,
splash! Silence again.

~ Matsuo Basho
#723 Nov 27 2011 at 5:33 PM Rating: Good
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For some reason, I can't get the event to happen that starts the quest that lets me ultimately purchase the house in Windhelm. The dialogue option to purchase it from the Jarl's steward is available, but he keeps telling me that the house is unavailable.

Smiley: mad
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#724 Nov 27 2011 at 5:36 PM Rating: Good
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TirithRR wrote:
You are using the PC. Isn't there a console command that let's you do it?


I haven't been able to find a console command for it yet.
#725 Nov 27 2011 at 5:54 PM Rating: Good
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Yeah, I've mostly played TOR this weekend too. Only really played Skyrim before I went to bed. Got an Inquisitor to 10 and my Trooper is at 13. Healing is quite fun in this game, since your resources are more dynamic than typical mana systems and you actually get to do damage as well.

Plus, being a healer as a trooper still means you carry around the massive autocannon.
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IDrownFish wrote:
Anyways, you all are horrible, @#%^ed up people

lolgaxe wrote:
Never underestimate the healing power of a massive dong.
#726 Nov 27 2011 at 5:58 PM Rating: Decent
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Level 53 with over 50k gold (I've got about 50 dragon bones I need to sell, but everyone keeps running out of gold) and I haven't touched the main story. Right now I'm going back and forth between the Dark Brotherhood and the Thieves Guild. I joined the Mage's College but haven't even bothered with the first quest yet. Same thing with the Companions. Every now and then I think I should go Word Wall hunting but keep getting distracted.
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