The Elder Scrolls XIV: Good? Bad? I'm the one with the Thu'um!

[Rynjin]

Never even heard of it. I'm a pretty low-mod person, mostly using a few quality of life mods to cover things I dislike... like one to make people run from dragons and vampires, another to fix the transmutation order for Transmute, and the ability to adopt way too many children.

I find werewolves to be fun... I go in a big arc from northwest Falkreath until I'm raged to near Whiterun, eating bandits.

Moonlight Tales is to werewolves what Belua Sanguinare was and Sacrosanct is to vampires: a mod that makes it feel like the transformation into a monster that needs to feed on humans actually matters to a character.

It expands the perk tree Dawnguard added, gives your human form some extra minor abilities (and a weakness to silver), optional toggles to have mandatory full moon transformations or other intermittent ones that randomly force you into werewolf mode (you get juuust enough warning to potentially flee to the outskirts of a town before you pop if you're close to the exit), and other options like being a werebear, having different colorations/skins, or having werewolf hunters come after you.

Basically it's one part immersion, one part overhaul, one part expansion of the whole werewolf system.

Also it gives you an at-will Night Eye power in both forms. =p

[DigoDragon]

I think that one cave with the Snow Elves who's name I cant remember (dark-something, I think) is the darkest. I know it is deliberately darker than most other caves in the game.

I had a lighting mod that made caves in general pretty darn dark to where Night Eye was one of my most valued assets. Only downside was that it made a lot of house interiors pretty dark too. It was nice in some player homes, but taverns felt too moody with it.

[veti]

I had a lighting mod that made caves in general pretty darn dark to where Night Eye was one of my most valued assets. Only downside was that it made a lot of house interiors pretty dark too. It was nice in some player homes, but taverns felt too moody with it.

Yep, I've tried at least three different lighting mods, and none of them seems to get it right. I think they maybe calculate raw relative light intensity, but without making allowance for eyes adjusting.

Tamriel has two moons, both of them bigger than ours. On top of that, Skyrim also has the aurora, and snow to reflect all that light. I should think most nights are pretty dazzling. Certainly you shouldn't need to resort to artificial lighting outdoors except on rare occasions.

And indoors - taverns and houses should be cosy, not gloomy. If my house were that dim, I'd get another lamp.

[Triaxx]

Balmas turned me on to Vivid Weather's, and that combined with Expanded Towns and Cities gives me dark caves, and well lit if not super bright inns.

[Admiral Squish]

I just upgraded from a laptop to a PC with a real graphics card and everything, and I'm looking for suggestions for skyrim mods dealing with textures, effects, and such, the sort of beautiful things my old computer couldn't handle.

[Triaxx]

Strap into SMIM and Vivid weathers. Add in Immersive Armors, and aMidianborn's Textures. Your game is now beautiful. Everything else is optional.

[Spore]

Remember what I said about embracing the curse and go killing in population centers. Uh....maybe don't do that? Where is the Psyjic Order's time magic when you need it? Ah well, they are dead now. Also remember the nice opening shot you get of Ravenrock when you first visit it in the Dragonborn DLC? Imagine a nice big blood moon hanging over it and being a werewolf, transforming on the boat, visible to EVERYONE except the people currently sleeping.

Well, the settlement has a few less Redoran Guards now and I have a bounty. I do not want to buy off the bounty since it's pretty weird RP-wise that they would let you being a werewolf just slide under the rug. Then again, we are talking about Dunmer houses here. There's nothing more happening than a dunmer mage wanting to get a few samples if he or she dares.

[Aeson]

Well, the settlement has a few less Redoran Guards now and I have a bounty. I do not want to buy off the bounty since it's pretty weird RP-wise that they would let you being a werewolf just slide under the rug. Then again, we are talking about Dunmer houses here. There's nothing more happening than a dunmer mage wanting to get a few samples if he or she dares.

I think you're getting Redoran confused with Telvanni, there - and even then, I don't think that House Telvanni would shrug off a werewolf wandering around eating people just because some random Dunmer mage wanted samples, if only because the people to whom the Masters and Magisters leave the day-to-day governance of their towers and the associated settlements probably wouldn't stand for it. The mage would need to be someone of significant, if local, influence, or perhaps even the local Master or his Mouth.

[Triaxx]

That said, if you were to get in good with a powerful member of another house, they might be willing to let it slide for the sake of politics. Provided you paid the fines of course.

[halfeye]

I was playing Oblivion yesterday and I noticed something.

I think I have been told that the items that raise skills still work when the skills in question reach their maximum level.

I have alchemy at the level 100, and I went to make a potion, then I tried making the same potion while wearing a base ring of alchemy (alchemy plus 6) and the display said it would come out at exactly the same strength. I didn't actually make the potion either time, so I suppose it's possible that the actual results will vary, but is this usual, do skill caps apply so hard that they cut off the power of power-up items?

[Divayth Fyr]

Yes, alchemy in Oblivion is coded in such a way that the effective cap is 100 skill. Also - if the UESP is to be trusted - there is literally one fortify alchemy effect in the entire game that actually works - the bonus in Frostcrag Spire's lab.

[Triaxx]

UESP is probably the only source worth trusting, since they dig into the games using the Construction Set/Creation Kit.

Though the ring 'works' only because it's Fortify Skill, not Fortify Alchemy. So it has no effect when worn at 100 points.

[factotum]

Yes, alchemy in Oblivion is coded in such a way that the effective cap is 100 skill.

Presumably in order to avoid the easy exploit that was possible in Morrowind, where you could make a potion of Fortify Intelligence, drink it, make a stronger one, drink that, and so on for as long as you had ingredients, thus being able to make arbitrarily strong potions.

[T.G. Oskar]

Well, I'm getting close to retire my first Skyrim character. Did the main quest already, and also Dawnguard (helped the Dawnguard, of course - I still need to get some of the ancient Dawnguard equipment, tho), so all there's left is to beat Miraak.

Achieved the second step of REAL! ULTIMATE! POWEEEER!! ...which is taking Enchanting to 100. With Ahzidal's equipment, all I need is the Black Book with the secrets to modify Enchanting, and get Alchemy to 100 (passing through the initial improvement perks on the way) to finish the quest.

Funny thing, though - Miraak had an appearance kill-stealing a dragon I didn't even knew was there while I was selling the tons of potions I did on Falkreath, and said something along the lines of "can you imagine, getting your soul drained that way?" ("Uh, yeah - don't like that. Went to the Soul Cairn and had the terrible experience. That's why I have 21 Soul Husks always on the ready!") and "I'm getting one step closer to ultimate power..." ("Yeah, me too - who would have known Alchemy gave so much power...?") Poor Miraak, he's so misguided, thinking that his special Shout will give him ultimate power, when all he needed to do was to mimic Ahzidal. Tsk tsk tsk.

So, since I'm really getting close to have nothing (of relevance) to do, I figure it's time to ask which should be my second character. Right now, I'm narrowing it to two options:

• One is to go full Mage, but no idea about the race. Probably Altmer, because...you know, elves and magic and so forth. No Companions' quests, yes to Vampire Lord powers, and maybe a stint on Thieves' Giuild and Dark Brotherhood.
• Another is to go Khajiit. They have a reputation for beng thieves, right? He'll be full Thief, going for Archary and Dual Wield (and Illusion - poof, Ninja!), and definitely going with Thieves' Guild and Dark Brotherhood quests.

Which sounds more fun for you?

[Sajiri]

So, since I'm really getting close to have nothing (of relevance) to do, I figure it's time to ask which should be my second character. Right now, I'm narrowing it to two options:

• One is to go full Mage, but no idea about the race. Probably Altmer, because...you know, elves and magic and so forth. No Companions' quests, yes to Vampire Lord powers, and maybe a stint on Thieves' Giuild and Dark Brotherhood.
• Another is to go Khajiit. They have a reputation for beng thieves, right? He'll be full Thief, going for Archary and Dual Wield (and Illusion - poof, Ninja!), and definitely going with Thieves' Guild and Dark Brotherhood quests.

Which sounds more fun for you?

Considering thieves and mages are always my favourites, I cant really choose one of the other. You could always do a magic thief though

[T.G. Oskar]

Considering thieves and mages are always my favourites, I cant really choose one of the other. You could always do a magic thief though

Well, of course (I did mention it'd go through Illusion magic), but I meant specialization. Either a Thief with a little bit of magic (Illusion) or a Mage with a little bit of Thief (maybe Pickpocket), but trying to specialize in both would take so much time, I could finish the game twice while doing so. Also, it'd determine my choice of race (don't wanna do another J'zargo - either a Khajiit Thief or a Mage from any race...even Breton, if necessary, though that'd be two Bretons already); I mean, I could go Argonian Mage for all I care, and fluff that the Argonian is a pretty literal Dragon-Born (from a very ostracized race, even!), but I could also go a boring Altmer mage who hates the Thalmor with a passion that'd make the Daedric Princes blush.

Spreading thin, though...

[Sajiri]

Well I'm doing a magic thief right now (well, more like magic infiltrator). Bound swords and bow, illusion for sneaking, some restoration/alteration for survivability. Of course this is using ordinator and a few magic mods (I get a lot of use out of the forgotten magic spells with this build). I have destruction pretty high because I intended to go pure mage to begin with, but I find myself in melee with a sword a lot now so destruction probably isnt that necessary, but there are some nice ordinator perks for having a weapon in one hand and a spell in the other. Im wearing robes which makes it a lot more interesting too, as even though I can run in and destroy everything, if Im not prepared I can just as easily get destroyed in return. Focusing on enchanting early on with no use for alchemy or smithing yet has made some of my lower skills more powerful once I can enchant all my clothing. (Admittedly this build would be a lot better if I wasnt playing with a gamepad so I could use hotkeys)

Otherwise I've also played a magic thief both with ordinator or vanilla perks playing like an arcane archer which was a lot of fun. I recall there was a really good build online somewhere for that too.

[Temotei]

Conjuration is my favorite school for stealthy characters. Just get enough Illusion to get silent spells and then, if your sneaking isn't enough or is kind of risky, summon something behind peeps and sneak by while they fight it. Good stuff.

[Spore]

Conjuration is my favorite school for stealthy characters.

Ah, yes. Reminds me of the time my DM found it appropriate to hide a Fire Elemental in a trap. In a wooden shop. with precious merchandise. I _was_robbing the place but I just thought this was stupid.

As you can imagine I have a problem immersing myself in a stealthy summoner (not that I haven't done this myself).

[Triaxx]

Altmer pure mage is almost too easy. Personally I enjoy playing against type. Nord Mage, Altmer Thief.

[DigoDragon]

Altmer pure mage is almost too easy. Personally I enjoy playing against type. Nord Mage, Altmer Thief.

I had fun playing a sword-&-board khajiit "paladin" with a delusion of grandeur. Game was cut short due to a computer failure, but up until then it was interesting/challenging to try not to use stealth. I think Lydia ended up being the Sancho Panza to my somewhat Don Quixote train of thought.

[LibraryOgre]

Has anyone else run into the problem where, if you kill a dragon at a named spot (i.e. Go back to Bonestrewn crest), the dragon will, for some reason, not have a soul for you to devour? I've had this happen a couple times, now.

[Spore]

Altmer pure mage is almost too easy. Personally I enjoy playing against type. Nord Mage, Altmer Thief.

It is Skyrim. I have recently cut down on my difficulty scale because it makes the game not more entertaining but tedious when a mere bandit has the resilience of a small mountain. It also somewhat ruins my immersion when I do scratch them in professional gear (heavy Imperial set) while a drunk corsair can chop me to pieces.

I try to play to a job (i.e. Vampire Hunter, or Thief, or Knight) and modify the 'job' with what the race would be skilled with. A Khajiit 'knight' would probably don Light Armor and try with equal fervor to block hits or not get hit at all. An Imperial Knight would train Restoration Magic while a Altmer would pacify people with Illusion and enchant their gear.

This way, my Khajiit Archmage is an illusion expert while my Breton archmage is more of a summoner. The Orc harbinger is a walking tank with Wuuthrad while the Nord harbinger is a dervish with two onehanded weapons. My Argonian assassin is a poison master while my Khajiit assassin loves his unarmed attacks.

Question: Is there a race you almost never - or at least seldomly - pick? Mine is Wood Elf. Even before I knew they are ritualistic cannibals I just found them incredibly dull. You could be a dark elf (without the incredible over-the-top matriarchal society and a god for-the-evulz), you could be a high elf that is an expert in all things magic. Or you know. You could be a savage, eating people because you are the actual anti-vegetarian.

[halfeye]

Has anyone else run into the problem where, if you kill a dragon at a named spot (i.e. Go back to Bonestrewn crest), the dragon will, for some reason, not have a soul for you to devour? I've had this happen a couple times, now.

I've had it happen (i.e. the body of the dragon just sat there dead), I didn't notice it was related to anything in particular, but it could be.

[Triaxx]

That's one glitch I've never seen. Something I'm actually glad of.

Breton's are the one race I've never actually played. They hold no interest to me, being the 'perfect' race. Powerful wizards, capable fighters, good thieves. There's no downside to them and that irks me.

I tend to ignore racial preferences for the character's personal choices. If my character wants to be a Khajiit clanking around in full plate with a two-hander, that's what's coming stomping across the field.

The Scratch damage issue is why I play with Wildcat, which vastly boosts the damage you do, as well as what the enemy does. But also wipes out the stupidly high-buffs they get for being AI controlled.

[Sajiri]

Question: Is there a race you almost never - or at least seldomly - pick? Mine is Wood Elf. Even before I knew they are ritualistic cannibals I just found them incredibly dull. You could be a dark elf (without the incredible over-the-top matriarchal society and a god for-the-evulz), you could be a high elf that is an expert in all things magic. Or you know. You could be a savage, eating people because you are the actual anti-vegetarian.

I'm going to admit, I havent played with the majority of races. In morrowind I played a wood elf. In oblivion I played...a wood elf, until I started modding, then I think I always used mod races. Skyrim has been a mix of nord (because skyrim), wood elf and breton, and for a while I tried mod races (specifically ningheim since it was nordish). ESO...wood elf.

Huh, didnt realise until just now I apparently really like wood elves.

[Balmas]

Lessee... I've played an Altmer, a khajiit, a Breton three times, an orc twice, and most recently a Nord.

I don't think I'll ever play an Argonian, simply because their racial powers are boring to me. I mean, hooray, I can breathe underwater. That'd be brilliant, if only there were anything worthwhile to be found in a non-Morrowind game. And a once-a-day health potion isn't exactly fantastic.

For the same reason, I've never played as an Imperial. They just feel like the white-bread, vanilla option, whose racial powers amount to "You'll be even more stupid rich than your average stupid-rich Elder Scrolls Protagonist" and "calm spell."

[Spore]

Lessee... I've played an Altmer, a khajiit, a Breton three times, an orc twice, and most recently a Nord.

I don't think I'll ever play an Argonian, simply because their racial powers are boring to me. I mean, hooray, I can breathe underwater. That'd be brilliant, if only there were anything worthwhile to be found in a non-Morrowind game. And a once-a-day health potion isn't exactly fantastic.

For the same reason, I've never played as an Imperial. They just feel like the white-bread, vanilla option, whose racial powers amount to "You'll be even more stupid rich than your average stupid-rich Elder Scrolls Protagonist" and "calm spell."

I might suggest installing Imperious Races then. In there each race has their own regen rates for Stamina, Magicka and Health and Argonians regenerate additional stuff the lower it goes. It meshes well with their lore of being resilient types that just go on and on and on. Nords have weaponized racism in there (bonus damage to certain races at 10/20/30), Imperials can really pinpoint their focus. They can improve and decrease attributes/resistances/skills on 10/20/30 like the following: +50 to two attributes, -50 to one attribute (you can do +50 health, +50 stamina, -50 stamina to net you +50 health), +25% to two resistances and -25% to one (same principle) and finally on 30, +20 in three skills, -10 in three other (a racial bonus so no easier unlocks here). It is vanilla, yes, but highly customizable.

Spoiler

Show

Maybe your Imperial has grown up in Skyrim and endured countless winters and other threats. But the cold and poor nutrition has made his mind numb. He ignores cold and storms but fire has become an alien concept to him. And finally, he how knows why Nords prefer armor made from hide rather than cold metal (+light, -heavy), he hunts for food instead of bartering with locals (+archery - speech) and he is good at foraging for himself but never understood the art of smithing (+alchemy, -smithing).

On another note: I tried ESO on a free weekend for half an hour. It was boring but I feel that was no fair assessment. When do you get to pick your class and/or skills? How does the game do its f2p model? Is it EA/Bioware style that you have subscription PLUS cash shop? Is it Black Desert Online that you buy the game and the cash shop for visuals and almost required for PvE/PvP?

[Sajiri]

On another note: I tried ESO on a free weekend for half an hour. It was boring but I feel that was no fair assessment. When do you get to pick your class and/or skills? How does the game do its f2p model? Is it EA/Bioware style that you have subscription PLUS cash shop? Is it Black Desert Online that you buy the game and the cash shop for visuals and almost required for PvE/PvP?

I admit I havent got too far in ESO because of a lack of any friends playing but I can answer what I know. You should have picked a class when you created your character, but that only unlocks 3(?) specific skill lines, otherwise you have access to every skill line in the game. You have to do things to unlock other skills, either by questing (in the case of the guilds) or equipping something like a bow for archery skills to be leveled.

I think the cash shop was mostly convenience stuff that you dont really need, other than the DLCs. I havent got around to any of the DLCs yet so I havent bought them, but from what I've read some of them are things you'll do once then never return to them. Since there's so many DLCs now though, it might be better value these days to sub for a month or two (as you have access to all the DLCs while subbed), play through them, then only buy the ones you'd go back to afterwards. I think they also give you some crowns (for the cash shop) whenever you're subbed as well, so while there is a subscription and cash shop, they seem to throw you a lot of bones so you dont have to do both at the same time. If you're a f2p player, you can drop some money on the cosmetic/convenience stuff and/or the dlcs. If you subscribe, you get access to all the dlc's and can gradually afford some stuff from the cash shop without the need to pay anything extra on top of the sub cost.

[Triaxx]

Argonian's have always had a weird niche in Elder Scrolls. Oblivion's water ways meant being an Argonian was a perfect race for a thief who could steal, run out and disappear into the water. In Skyrim, there's a small handful of areas where being an Argonian is useful at all. The one quest for Maven where you need to fetch a quill underwater, or exploring the underwater shipwrecks to the north in the sea of ghosts. (It's got a name but I can't recall it.) That said, I played an Argonian Knife-fighter who also focused destruction for cloak spells. Very dangerous at close ranges.

Imperials on the other side, are kind of the perfect character for a thief. That vanilla everyperson shape of who they are, combined with the naturally greedy power, and the ability to talk their way out of trouble, means that you can get away with things you wouldn't normally be able to attempt, while also being able to easily loot all the chests for a lot more gold than normal.