Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

[cidbahamut]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

All three crafts seem to be a little off in one way or another. I've recently found myself dabbling in Alchemy on every character now that I have a script that lets me auto-discover all the ingredient effects right out of the gate. There's a potion for just about every situation and every character.

[DakAttack]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Crafting was a lot of nonsense. Enchanting was a mage's profession, but was far more useful for non-magic characters. Skyrim was lacking in a lot of ways.

[cidbahamut]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Necroing this thread because I've been dumping absurd amounts of time into the game again.

While in the past I've generally been able to play a combat or stealth character fairly easily, playing a magic focused character was always a chore. Between there being absolutely no scaling and some piss poor spell design it just wasn't something I could get into and stick with. I trudged through the college quest line once and almost immediately shelved the character.

Later on I managed to sink more time into an Illusion based character, but it was still pretty much just a sneak archer that had some magic on the side, and the scaling issue eventually caught up with me. Seriously, why does every single spell and perk in Illusion amount to "increase the level cap so this spell can remain relevant"? It's such terrible design.

However, I think I've finally found the answer. Mods.

On my last character I was trying to play a two-handed warrior but it got stale pretty quickly and I started to get an itch for a Conjurer with a side of Lycanthropy. After digging out the werewolf mods, I figured I'd take a look and see what was available in the way of tweaking conjuration magic. There was one mod that added way too many new summons but had an interesting perk that upped the summon cap to twenty critters instead of just the one. I tried it out for a day and found myself overwhelmed by the excessive number of spells it added and scrapped the whole thing.

Next I went searching for just general magic mods. Something that would change it up enough to make playing as a mage enjoyable rather than an exercise in frustration. On the other hand, I didn't want a generic "here, be a god" mod, which narrowed the search a bit. I ended up picking up the Apocalypse Spell Package, which has a lot of really neat spells that are less than straightforward. Stuff like a cloak spell that will mimic spells being cast by nearby enemies, or the restoration spell that chews through an enemy's health and then spreads to other foes if they cast a spell. There's just a ton of variety on display and it makes me feel like I can finally play as a dedicated magic user without having to fight the game every step of the way. It's now viable and interesting.

[Balfree]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

A bit offtopic, but if some game developers looked at that list you just linked, some games would probably not suck so bad, Firewind

I'm taking some of the hints from there for the game I'm trying to develop.

[Firewind]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Even so, I can be out in the middle of the Mojave, scope in with my rifle and positively identify an enemy. I could open fire and take out that enemy but because the AI is designed to be challenging and not realistic, taking that shot may not be the best idea even if I have every chance to slip away if that shot happened IRL.

It is basically this: Acceptable Breaks from Reality - Television Tropes & Idioms

If I acted like a true sniper in say New Vegas, I would be untouchable as I would be constantly moving around with my spotter to call out targets. But playing AS that in a game would be boring, hence me quoting that trope. So for that reason alone, an enemy being able to at some point being able to zero in on me is not a bad thing. What I want to argue is that it is obnoxious if it happens all the time.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

To be fair, in Fallout sniping without a silencer is asking for people to zero in on you anyway. I think this also because AI reacting to all audio isn't quite as in depth as it could be.

Wearing light and heavy armor and sneaking they seem to have gotten right, with the rustling of heavy armor being more audible. Firing an unsilenced sniper rifle in Red Rock should create confusion and have people scrambling to find you, but instead the loud bang just helps them find you. In a narrow underground passage them finding you makes more sense.

[Firewind]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

I do like how Skyrim has devices and traps set up that you can use to turn on monsters and bandits as stealth characters. Like the oil and burning lamps in the tombs or tripwires that trigger rolling log traps in bandit caves. it is always fun to see a bunch of angry Bandits or Duragar running around and trying to work out what is going on while you stay hidden in the corner of the room.

I do also like how AI is less psychic. In Skyrim I can shoot an arrow or throw an object, or set off a trap or lamp + oil thingy to cause a distraction. In Oblivion or even Fallout New Vegas, if I did that the AI would instantly know where I was unless I broke the game and had 100% Chameleon (Oblivion) or I sniped the mob from way outside of its aggro range (New Vegas).

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Usually I check everything when I enter a dungeon. If its darker, I get the torch out and look harder. Search every enemy corpse and urn, chest, etc.

I started out my dungeon crawling on Zelda, Metroid and Dragon Quest, though, so try/search everything is pretty much the only way I go about it. I'm just glad not all searching entails block pushing and square-hunting like back then.

[Yygdrasil]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

I liked the Shivering Isles Expansion to Oblivion because it added a whole new chunk of the map. Dawnguard, as an expansion, reminds me more of Knights of the Nine.

- - - Updated - - -

The dungeon puzzles are also a step up from the general fare found in Skyrim. Not Zelda caliber puzzles, perhaps, but still thoughtful to say the least.

I agree. Although some of the ones that were in Skyrim still tripped me up from time to time. The solutions to some of them were simple enough, but lacked the necessary hints to guide you to the right solution. One that comes directly to mind is one of the Ancient Nordic Ruins, the final chamber of which was barricaded by a door that said "you do not posses the necessary tokens to activate this door". None of the writings on the walls indicated anything, there were no books... nothing. As it turns out, the "tokens" were 2 weapons uniquely named "Ceremonial Sword" and "Ceremonial Mace". One was found on the body of one of the random Duragars I killed... and the other was hanging on a plaque looking like nothing special at all. If I weren't the type to scour every last container for even so much as 2 gold to salvage, I never would have found either one of them particularly interesting. I only picked them up because I liked their unique names and was intending to display them in my own home. Had I done that and removed them from my inventory... damn... I never would have gotten through that door without the help of some guide.

[DakAttack]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Draugr Deathlord Overlord Jarl

and

Draugr Deathlord Overlord Overjarl

say hi.

[Mezlo]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

I'll wait for a bundled DLC like you suggest. The Dragonborn and Dawngaurd bundle.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Things are a little tougher in Dragonborn (the new enemy types tend to hit harder), but if you've got weapons and skills all maxed out, you still might want crank difficulty up toward Adept and Master.

This DLC (along with the others) isn't available for PS3 yet, though. If I had a PS3 I'd wait and see if there was a bundled deal on the DLC to be honest since PS3 users have had to wait so long for it.

Dawnguard added new areas to the existing world and vampire and vampire hunters were a new fun lens to look at the world through, but it lacked that organic experience of stumbling onto a new objective while following another which TES and Fallout tend to be loved for. Dragonborn brings that sensibility back to the mix and while Solstheim isn't huge, it is quite dense with content to stumble all over and get distracted by.

The dungeon puzzles are also a step up from the general fare found in Skyrim. Not Zelda caliber puzzles, perhaps, but still thoughtful to say the least.

What I do find ridiculous is they felt the need to have yet another tier of drauger deathlords - the Drauger Deathlord Overlord. Because it wasn''t deathy and lordy enough..

[Mezlo]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

So i have my ps3 working better now adn I could download the new content from the online ps3 store, but is the new content really add that much material and add much more of a challenge? I loved the game, but towards the end, with enchanting capped, blacksmith capped, i forget what level i am, but i was a 2 handed fighter, i pretty much just destroyed everything. There really was no challenge left and I had bumped the difficulty up one from the normal level. Again, I'd love to play more if theres alot more content and more of a challenge, I'm just not sure if any of the new DLC adds that or just more lore.

[Omgwtfbbqkitten]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Bought a bow made from the new Stalhrim ore in the expansion, then upgraded it to legendary. It tpales in comparison to my dwarven crossbow, but the ore's arrows are the best in the game so those with a Aruriel's Bow (Legendary) would be pretty badass. If you're interested in the new weapon and armor class made from the ore, you just have to have Ebony unlocked on Smithing.

[Raydeus]

Re: Elder Scrolls SKYRIM

Sounds like a good expansion. Can't wait to see the mods that will spawn out off this when it finally releases on PC.