The Elder Scrolls V: Skyri- FUS RO DAH

[Mr Escalator]

Well, the main thing is that it seems like not too many people invest in the Alteration perk line, despite it being really good, in favor of just going Smithing/One-Handed/Enchanting/x/x. So, as far as magic resistance goes, you're really just looking at 25% from Breton and 25% from the Lord Stone since we can't expect everyone to have that shield or even use shields. Well, in addition to any miscellaneous items to boost resistance to it (Spellbreaker is ridiculous, btw, just got it earlier today!) as well as potions.

Hitting the 80% cap is hard unless you do invest far enough into Alteration, in which case you'll be sitting pretty versus magic users I don't doubt. The big thing about NPC magic users vs players is that a player's destruction doesn't scale in damage based on the skill's level whereas the NPC's damaging spells scale with their level. As such, I find spell casting enemies to be tougher than anything I can just outmaneuver or has attacks that are easily blocked. The toughest enemies for me, before I passed the mark of "really ridiculous elder scrolls character" that is in every TES game were the Dragon Priests, specifically Krosis. Dragonskin + natural resistance really helped while fighting a dragon and him (and my summon he stole!).

but I agree Breton isn't the best. I think Orc is just a step ahead of everyone else. Breton can probably be put around the same level as Argonian/Altmer/Redguard, but I don't care too much about rating things.

IDK you could be right, but I lovvvvvvvvve that regen.

Oh god, I know it. Histkin makes me really happy after how Argonians have been in previous TES games. I've watched my brother's sneaky Argonian character win out in some pretty tough spots with it, though I keep having to remind him of it.

Sort of a jump on topic, I really like whole Empire vs Stormcloaks with a Thalmor backdrop. Bethesda really handled making both sides "Grey" really well. That said: Imperials or Stormcloaks?

Imperials for me.

 

[Zacchaeus]

If there ever was a time to use this gif...

Histkin comes in handy in almost all occasions, while I haven't used waterbreathing once in my entire playthrough of skyrim yet. (I only ever managed to need it in oblivion once. I actually wait for 24h when i use histkin in dungeons because i'm damn sure i'll need it again.

I really don't get the "joke or serious" response, that's not a gif, and Histskin blows, or maybe it just seems that way thanks to the massive swarm of glitches I encountered today.

My Skyrim experience had been very clean and bug-free until today when I found approximately 8 different glitches, some of which were pretty serious (like making me die instantly, freezing the game) so I'm pretty unsatisfied right now

 

[Hipmonlee]

While feeling out my character, I quickly realised she was a devoted follower of Talos, and therefore supported the stormcloaks, but that reminds me

Hide

I need to murder Ulfric

Also when do you ever support the empire in a struggle with rebels.

BTW I finished the main quest. Final battle: even easier than morrowind's?

 

[billymills]

My first time playing elder scrolls so I didn't exactly think everything through. I've pretty well just concentrated on destruction (pure mage), looking a bit into other magics and smithing/enchanting like everyone else. I'll probably look into conjuration and alteration, and leave illusion for a later character.

With impact, I can defeat pretty much anything easily 1 on 1. The problem being I can't usually do enough damage to kill in 1 round of magicka.

Hide

Morokei took forever to beat as I have no resistance whatsoever, though two of the items you get for beating him make other dragon priests very easy in comparison. +200% magicka regen makes healing nearly costless.
I had to basically hit Morokei 2-3 times with impact lightning and then hide for magicka to regenerate as he could 2-hit me easily.

I'm argonian and have never really found a purpose for Histkin (I also have no clue how to activate it).
If I need the extra health, it probably just means I'm approaching the battle incorrectly.

 

[FlareBlitz]

Imperials or Stormcloaks?

I'm roleplaying my character as an amoral anarchist assassin (alliteration!), so I haven't picked either side. They're both full of naive idiots controlled by power hungry lunatics. I slaughter any imperial/stormcloak encampments I come across.

From a metagame perspective, I do miss the opportunity to do their quests :( Oh well, guess my next character will choose one or the other.

 

[Hipmonlee]

The stormcloak quests are not particularly exciting tbh.

 

[Eraddd]

Ugh, is there anyway to finish the third quest for the Thieves guild (the one where you sneak into the estate, burn the hives, and steal from the safe) without a good level of Sneak? I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to go in and slaughter everyone.

 

[Hipmonlee]

Well that was gay, it turns out this time he really was immortal..

 

[vonFiedler]

Sort of a jump on topic, I really like whole Empire vs Stormcloaks with a Thalmor backdrop. Bethesda really handled making both sides "Grey" really well. That said: Imperials or Stormcloaks?

The more I learn about the Thalmor the more the Stormcloaks being casually racist doesn't strike me as being "Grey", it strikes me as being a really weak thrown-in reason to support the Imperials. Especially when you consider that the Altmer's beef with Talos has everything to do with him being human, hell they went to war to prove their superiority as a race and the Stormcloaks just want independence.

Do none of the Thalmor realize that in the Elder Scrolls all the gods are real, can be communicated with, and even give out blessings? They might as well disbelieve in the Daedra. It's all really kind of silly under scrutiny.

There's also the flip-side to the blessing coin, by banning the worship of Talos the the Thalmor are not only risking the wrath of one god, but potentially their entire pantheon.


@Eraddd
Yes, you can run in and slaughter everyone.

 

[BurningMan]

With impact, I can defeat pretty much anything easily 1 on 1. The problem being I can't usually do enough damage to kill in 1 round of magicka.

Really?
wich spells are you using and how much magicka do you got? I am 37 got 472 Magicka and 200 Health and i still use the apprentice Fire Spell the damage output isn't that much lower compared to the Expert/Adept and it costs much less magicka so i can fight even 2 Giants without runing out of magicka .
Oh and when you get Enchanting on 100 its possible that you can cast 2 Spell Schools completly for free with the fortify Destruction/Conjuration etc. enchantings given that you use Grand Soul Gems (Not that hard if you got the "Black Star").


On the whole Imperials vs. Stormcloaks thing, i fought for the empire but i think its sad that you couldn't join the Thalmor some how (or at least do some quests for them), especially if your a Altmer its kinda confusing that they don't tread you better given that your a part of the "superior" race.

 

[billymills]

Really?
wich spells are you using and how much magicka do you got? I am 37 got 472 Magicka and 200 Health and i still use the apprentice Fire Spell the damage output isn't that much lower compared to the Expert/Adept and it costs much less magicka so i can fight even 2 Giants without runing out of magicka

Level like 20 something with ~300 magicka. I can beat a giant easy but a fire dragon will take quite a few rounds to take down. Most bosses take at least 1 recharge period.

 

[Al_Alchemist]

Melee: Argonian (again, histkin is broken because it means you can't die in combat.)
Magic: High elf (Highborn + 50 magic)
Stealth: ??? (I'm guessing the classes that have stealth bonuses? IDK i rarely if ever use stealth)

Fortunately histkin balances out enough on master difficulty imo, but that might just be because two-handed warhammer is a bit meh for me.

On the best Stealth race, other than the obvious early skill boosts, race hardly matters mid-game to late-game wise.

Vampire stealth characters would probably appreciate Dark Elfs Resist Fire 50% to help alleviate their fire weakness, while if you plan to use spells (illusion) occasionally, High Elfs could also be good. Especially since invisibility is a 293 magicka cost spell when without reduction.

Once you unlock the Shadow Warrior + Assassin's Blade perk in Sneak, however, nothing matters anymore. You can even double the damage multiplier to 30x for daggers with Armsman from One-handed.

Nah bretons can't be #1 because its ridiculously to resist magic in this game. Enchantments, perks, etc.

EX: Lord Stone (+25% magic and physical resistance)
3 perks in magic resistance (+30%)
Shield of Ysgramor (+20% magic resistance)

Don't forget the Agent of Mara ability. UESP says resist magic is capped at 85%, while damage reduction is at 80%.



Also if anyone can help me test the resist fire/frost/shock mechanic, I'd appreciate it.

Since learning about the resist magic cap, I've been trying to see if there was a cap for resist fire/frost/shock in the game, but I haven't found anything online on it, nor are my characters high enough to find the items right now.

Hide

If resist element 100% was attainable I was thinking of using heavy armor for my stealth character to utilize Otar's mask (30% resist fire/frost/shock) and enchant boots, necklace and maybe a ring (if I want to spread out my two enchantment slots perk), to be immune to elemental magic in just three to four items, then fill the rest with fortify healing/stamina rate or skill.

Unless I can abuse the alchemy/enchanting fortify gear/potions feedback loop enough to get resist fire/frost/shock to 100% on their own, since they already come at 70% iirc o-o

 

[PK Gaming]

Imperials for me, Storm cloaks are the trash of Skyrim imo.

I really don't get the "joke or serious" response, that's not a gif, and Histskin blows, or maybe it just seems that way thanks to the massive swarm of glitches I encountered today.

Oh don't take it personally I was just joking around. Histkin is a really top tier ability, I don't understand why you think its crap. You should use at it around 50% life when dealing with a mob, using it near death isn't a good idea.

Lol nice vid Al. I can't be arsed to test resist fire/frost/shock limit but i'll look around.

 

[Al_Alchemist]

Thanks PK. Also, is anyone else using followers/mules right now? I need to find another good one, preferably a good mage or sneak character.

I recently enjoyed abusing Faendal in my game until I got to level 50 in archery and he couldn't train me anymore. Also, I made the unfortunate mistake of handing him an enchanted greatsword and he ruined my sniping fest at a witch infested hill when he decided it was such a great idea to charge at them flailing around, making the horde rush at me throwing those high level explosive fireballs incinerating us -.-

 

[Lamppost]

Imperials for me, Storm cloaks are the trash of Skyrim imo.

BS, you have to go with the underdogs. FRONTRUNNER

 

[Myzozoa]

Obviously my character is a rogue mage anarchist, can't be havin with Imperials, Stormcloaks arent any better but they cause enough trouble for me to hang with them for a while.

 

[Justin8649]

Ugh, is there anyway to finish the third quest for the Thieves guild (the one where you sneak into the estate, burn the hives, and steal from the safe) without a good level of Sneak? I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to go in and slaughter everyone.

There is a sewer entrance which leads you directly to the safe. I didn't go in that way though. I didn't even use sneak. It was basically just Mercenaries all over the place. I went in the front door and killed every single one of them and it had no effect on the quest outcome.

 

[Furosuto]

This looks like an awesome game. I hope I can get it soon!

The argonians look like the most boss race out of them all. But what is this histkin ability I keep on hearing about? How do you unlock it?

 

[Mr Escalator]

The more I learn about the Thalmor the more the Stormcloaks being casually racist doesn't strike me as being "Grey", it strikes me as being a really weak thrown-in reason to support the Imperials. Especially when you consider that the Altmer's beef with Talos has everything to do with him being human, hell they went to war to prove their superiority as a race and the Stormcloaks just want independence.

I'll get to the Thalmor a little bit later in the post. Of the two sides, Stormcloaks and Imperials, both have a lot of reasons not to support one or the other while there is a compelling reason to support one of the two (the Thalmor).

I don't see the light racist tones of the Stormcloaks to be the main knock against them because, as you mentioned, it's a far more casual thing when compared to the Thalmor and not an all together compelling reason not to support the Stormcloaks. The big thing, in my eyes, is that the independence movement is undermined by the would-be high king, Ulfric. While I find I would normally side with the revolutionaries, the more I found out about the whole affair with Ulfric it just turned me off to him and his movement. First off, most people know about the dossier the Thalmor have on him that you come upon in the main story and how it explains that he is strictly an asset to their war effort and arguably a straight up plant before the Markarth incident. Aside from that, his power grab at Solitude I feel is a big deal, as Elsif herself states that High King Toryg would have supported him had he brought it to them, but he opts to waltz in after training with the Greybeards for 15 years to shout him down and stab him in effort to get the crown. All while the threat of the Thalmor looms over the Empire as a threat to mankind Ulfric decides now is the best time to fracture the country. Not to mention Ulfric can hardly run his own city what with the murderer still on the loose in Windhelm and his complete dismissal of the Grey Quarter is unsettling.

So, while the Stormcloaks don't seem that bad, my character just can't find himself supporting Ulfric's attempt at the crown in favor of helping the imperials from fracturing in half. What hurts the Thalmor the most is if one side wins decisively and in a short time, and I feel the Empire united is a bigger threat than both of the countries being separate and weakened.

Do none of the Thalmor realize that in the Elder Scrolls all the gods are real, can be communicated with, and even give out blessings? They might as well disbelieve in the Daedra. It's all really kind of silly under scrutiny.

The Thalmor have this big thing against Lorkhan stealing away their connection to the spirit plane and that hatred bleeds over to mankind itself, and, more specifically, one of Lorkhan's avatars Tiber Septim (aka Talos). They don't really fear the Nine Divines because the 8 divines are the Aedra. Essentially, the Aedra are the same thing as Daedra with the main distinction being that the Aedra sacrificed the majority of their power to create the Mundas (the mortal plane) and the Daedra opted not to and kept the full breadth of their power.

So, I imagine that the Thalmor don't worry about reprisal because the Nine Divines aren't known for great feats of retribution like the Daedric Princes are known for and thus consider making the Empire concede the divinity of Talos strictly a good thing to them.

Fuck the Thalmor. So many Nazi parallels can be drawn with their goals and actions (aka the purges going on in Valenwood of Bosmer).

So tl;dr I definitely feel that Imperials vs Stormcloaks is a morally grey issue, and the obvious antagonists are the Thalmor.

 

[iDunno]

Ugh, is there anyway to finish the third quest for the Thieves guild (the one where you sneak into the estate, burn the hives, and steal from the safe) without a good level of Sneak? I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to go in and slaughter everyone.

Are you stuck at that part where you need to get the key from the estate owner? I just gave up sneaking around him successfully. I killed the guard outside his door and then attacked him. It was an EXTREMELY hard fight though since the guy is pretty much ridiculous for being just an estate owner. However, none of the other guards were alerted so I got out safely. If you are stuck before there, get some Invisibility potions. I made a ton using charus eggs, vampire dust, luna moth wings and nirnroots I've found lying around. If you have low alchemy you could get around 10 seconds to 18 seconds of invisibility time each. I got detected when I was outside, but by a huge coincidence a dragon just happened to pass by so I let it kill all the guards while I set the hives on fire. Also when you burn the hives, be really careful. It is extremely easy for the fire to spread if the hives are too close together.

 

[Eraddd]

Are you stuck at that part where you need to get the key from the estate owner? I just gave up sneaking around him successfully. I killed the guard outside his door and then attacked him. It was an EXTREMELY hard fight though since the guy is pretty much ridiculous for being just an estate owner. However, none of the other guards were alerted so I got out safely. If you are stuck before there, get some Invisibility potions. I made a ton using charus eggs, vampire dust, luna moth wings and nirnroots I've found lying around. If you have low alchemy you could get around 10 seconds to 18 seconds of invisibility time each. I got detected when I was outside, but by a huge coincidence a dragon just happened to pass by so I let it kill all the guards while I set the hives on fire. Also when you burn the hives, be really careful. It is extremely easy for the fire to spread if the hives are too close together.

Heh I think I messed the hives since i was using the Hag's staff to burn everything, and I had guards swarming me, while there was a dragon right next to me. Might have burned more than one hive...

Edit: I mean more than three hives.

 

[iDunno]

well I guess you can still hope that you burned 3 at most since that was the amount you had to burn lol

 

[blarajan]

Got it today. Played it today. Holy fuck it was awesome. I just killed my first dragon, and it was great. I'm level 10.

This game is fun, it looks beautiful, and HOLY FUCK IT LOOKS BEAUTIFUL.

ps, to everyone starting a new character. When you're escaping with the other prisoner after you kill two guards, the other prisoner stands there and says "Unlock that gate." Well...take this opportunity to beat the shit out of him. He doesn't fight back, and it levels you up. My one-handed increased to 32 and my sneak to 52 just punching the shit out of him for 20 minutes. I got to level 9 this way, before I even left the building.

 

[BenVdd]

All these methods of quick leveling seem stupid. If you wanna exploit it to get easy levels just give them to yourself thru the command line.

But I guess those tedious methods are what makes it justifiable in your eyes.

 

[vonFiedler]

Why not just set the difficulty to novice while you are at it.