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

[Balmas]

Spoiler: Chadwick: Loredas, 20th of Hearthfire, 4E201

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I have never been one for introspection. After all, basic training teaches a soldier that when an order comes, it is to be obeyed, instantly, and with a minimum of fuss. Still, as I sit in Candlehearth hall, I feel the need to get my thoughts down on paper. Maybe then the maelstrom of thoughts will settle.

Thirty-five days. By the Nine, it feels as if it's been so much longer. Thirty-five days since I helped my dear Edwinna to board a transport bound to Hammerfell, where she'd be safe from Thalmor inquisition or Imperial reprisals. Thirty-five days since I left that note resigning my command of the Cheydinhal garrison, so I could join the fight for Skyrim's freedom. Thirty-four days since that imperial patrol caught me crossing the border at Bruma.

Much has happened, since that day. Quite by accident, I've become a prominent member of society. Thane of Whiterun. A proud member of the most ancient and respected fighting force in the world. I somehow convinced the Mages of Winterhold of my competence in magic, despite most of that ability residing in the collection of amulets and assorted doodads I've created. I've become a smith to rival Eorlund. I even fell in with a criminal gang in Riften, and am doing my best to subtly sabotage them. All of this, without even touching on that most surprising development.

Dovahkiin. Dragonborn. The Greybeards called me to their temple, voices echoing across the sky, as Talos of old. After passing their trials, they named me Ysmir, Dovahsebrom, Stormcrown. The solemnity of the moment escaped me at the time, and it was only after I left their temple and studied the words spoken that I discovered the burden they placed on me. More than ever, now, my actions carry weight beyond that of a simple Imperial garrison commander.

Mayhaps that's why my thoughts weigh on me so heavily. Thirty-four days of travel, of trials, of learning again how to survive in the homeland I left so long ago. My circuit has taken me through nearly all of the holds of Skyrim--even now, the urge to call them provinces rises in me. I have seen much, and it has been… well, almost a nonchalant affair to slash my way through all that oppose me. I've slain a score of dragons, devoured their souls, and turned their knowledge to greater my own strength. And tonight, I finally took the step that binds me to my chosen course, to Ulfric and his Stormcloaks.

I've known it was what I was going to do. It was why I left Cyrodil. I left Skyrim as a boy to defend my home, my empire, from an Aldmeri threat. And now, having seen that the Empire could not, would not respect the sacrifices made to achieve that defense, I return to defend my birth home. Ulfric promises that we can return to the old ways, we can unite against the meric threat. We can convene the Moot, choose a high king, begin to prepare for war. We free Skyrim from the yoke of the Thalmor death squads, while simultaneously allowing Cyrodil to turn all their efforts towards recovering and rebuilding.

So it shook me to my core when I came back to the Palace of the Kings, and heard Ulfric shouting, "Damn the Jarls, and damn the Moot if it means we hand Skyrim to the elves." Such thoughts seemed… Well, I'll be blunt. I nearly walked, then and there. Already, I avoid killing Imperial patrols if I can. Too easily, my thoughts turn to friendly faces, and how many of these boys may be just like I was at their age: fresh recruits, having joined to protect their home. To see Ulfric Stormcloak blustering about how he'd completely destroy the old ways if it meant being able to fight the Thalmor… I'm not sure how to describe my level of unease. All I could think of was all the imperial propaganda plastered on the walls of the Cheydinhal barracks, about how Ulfric was a fascist, who relies on force of personality to achieve his goals, and who's only in this for power and his own aggrandizement. A traitorous thought ran across my mind that maybe they were right.

I still took the oath, of course. What other option was there? To allow the Aldmeri Dominion to crush any who might even think of worshipping Talos? To let the Thalmor run rampant over my homeland? This war drains both Cyrodil and Skyrim of their resources and troops; it has to end. Still, I felt as if it were with another's voice that I took the oath binding me to Ulfric Stormcloak. Intellectually, I found little different between their oath and the one I'd administered to new recruits so many times; both require fealty and obedience to a leader, their officers, and your fellow soldiers. But while I felt proud to administer that oath, proud to take it in defense of both Cyrodil and my homeland, swearing fealty to Ulfric left me feeling vaguely unclean.

Mayhaps I've just been a soldier for too long. In my heart of hearts, there remains an Imperial trooper who feels that he is committing not just treason, but a blasphemy against everything he stood for these long years. I long for the familiar embrace of Legion steel, and know that I'll not be able to wear it again until this conflict is over; even when the war is won, the shame will probably still keep me from my uniform for a time.

Bah. The thunder of my thoughts has only increased for having written this down. After I finish my stew, I'll turn in for the night. I'll talk to the Aretino lad in the morning, and then it will be time to head towards Whiterun once more; Korvanjund awaits.

[Psyren]

So, who in here plays ESO and how is it? I'm under increasing pressure to roll and I just noticed some cheapo Steam keys for it, but I'm still on the fence. What do people think of the combat, how is the group content, how is the endgame?

[Keltest]

I play it, I enjoy it. Theres two engames to strive for: PvE and PvP. The PvP is really easy to enjoy IMO, the PvE works best if you have a guild or a group of friends (big surprise). The group combat can get a little hectic at first, but once you start figuring everything out I think it works pretty well, with everybody having clearly defined roles that have just enough overlap that a good, say, tank, can help backup heal if you have a new healer, and a good single target DPS can help clear out the minions that the AoE dps should be dealing with (and vice versa).

As an MMO, it is at its most enjoyable if you have friends, but theres plenty of content doable if youre a solo player or are just killing time until your friends get on.

You don't need an ESO plus membership to enjoy the game, but ive been told it is greatly worth it if you play more than casually.

[Inarius]

ESO is a pretty solid MMO and if you like the genre you really should give it a try. Combat wise its somewhere between slower tab target combat like FF14 and high paced action combat like black desert. It leans more towards the actiony side but you don't have to worry about things like i-frames and perfect blocks to avoid damage.

Group content is pretty solid, there's a large amount of 4 man dungeons and a decent amount of 12 mans out there. Most of the 4 mans can be done with a duo or trio if you wind up a friend or two short for the night which worked out pretty well for me since my current gaming friends are in timezones all over the place. Generally speaking the older dungeons are a bit easier while the newer stuff that's released via DLC tends to be a lot less forgiving so there are dungeons to build towards as you gear up and gain more champion points (basically endgame levelling).

Endgame is a bit weird because of level scaling to the point where it really depends on your goals for the game. If you're there for getting high end gear via 12 mans you'll find the game pretty lacking. If you're there to quest you'll find a ton of things to do, The thieves guild and dark brotherhood questlines in particular are pretty fun, though the rewards will be lacking. 4 mans tend to offer a middle ground, there's a lot of them though only some of the gear you get from them is as good as what you can get from 12 mans. There's also a solid pvp zone that's always active and offers either large scale pvp in cyrodil or smaller scale pvp inside the imperial city itself if you're looking for smaller scale skirmishes.

As Keltest mentioned subbing for the game is a fairly good deal because you get full access to all the DLC. It also gives you a crafting bag which is a godsend if you want to do any crafting at all in the game. You'll also get 15 dollars worth of ingame store currency so if you ever intend to buy crowns to get something subbing can be the better option.

[Anteros]

So, who in here plays ESO and how is it? I'm under increasing pressure to roll and I just noticed some cheapo Steam keys for it, but I'm still on the fence. What do people think of the combat, how is the group content, how is the endgame?

I played it for a few months and it's pretty fun to just run around and explore everything. It's basically an Elder Scrolls game with slightly modified gameplay and multiplayer. I don't think there's really much in the way of endgame, but exploring the setting was fun.

[Asmotherion]

This feedback question goes to people who have played both Legendary (or Original Skyrim+a DLC+a Mod) and Remastered on a PC/Laptop:

Questions:
-Has Esbern's Voice finally been unpacked by default? Other major fixes that have been fixed?
-Does the Remastered Edition include or is compatible with the DLCs? If the latter, does it also work with Legendary Edition?
-Compatibility with non-Steam based mods tested?
-Do you believe Bethesda did a better job at upgrading the Textures, Meshes and overall visuals than modders did with various mods?
-As someone who still occasionally plays Skyrim, would you encourage me to remove my Mods and install Skyrim Remastered, or keep my Skyrim experiance as it is, and perhaps try Remastered on an other console/PC?

Thank you for your time. I am just a bit worried about installing it, and regreting it latter on because of loosing my mods and saves over something that would be worth less. Thank you again.

[Triaxx]

Bugfixes in a Bethesda Game? Yeah, no. Actually rather than fixing the audio, there was quite a lot of complaining about it getting worse.

DLC's are packed into the game.

Not all the old mods work, but a lot of them have been tested.

That one's a debate. Some say yes, some say no. I'm firmly in the doesn't matter in the slightest camp.

Special Edition installs into a new folder, so you can have two separate games. Not all the old mods have been ported, or will be ported, but some new ones have popped up. It's your choice. Personally I'd just go new game and not take the risk.

[Balmas]

This feedback question goes to people who have played both Legendary (or Original Skyrim+a DLC+a Mod) and Remastered on a PC/Laptop:

Questions:
-Has Esbern's Voice finally been unpacked by default? Other major fixes that have been fixed?

Man, they're shipping the Skyrim for the switch, seven years later, and they still haven't included the most basic bug fixes.

-Does the Remastered Edition include or is compatible with the DLCs? If the latter, does it also work with Legendary Edition?

The Special Edition includes all the DLC. It's still packaged in the same file format, though, with the DLC having their own .bsa and .esm files.

-Compatibility with non-Steam based mods tested?

Not sure what you're asking here. Do you mean, do non-steam mods work? Yeah, that's fine. I'll note that some mods for Legendary edition will work with Special Edition right off the bat, some you can convert by just changing the master in the creation kit, and some will have to wait until either the mod author or another good samaritan ports it to the special edition. I'm still waiting for Someguy to release his mods for Special Edition, for example, but he says that's not going to happen until he finishes his latest mod, Thirsk Mead Hall Saga.

-Do you believe Bethesda did a better job at upgrading the Textures, Meshes and overall visuals than modders did with various mods?

Oh, heck no. You're always going to be able to find modded textures that are either more detailed or more to your tastes than those provided in the base game. Meshes are largely unchanged from vanilla LE Skyrim. I will note that for the Special Edition, Bethesda changed the color palette somewhat--while you'll still be seeing a lot of browns, greys, greens, and whites, they're much more saturated than in the Legendary version, and you'll alwso have some lovely pastels on sunny days.. Considering just how washed out LE was, I consider that a positive thing.

However, for me, the main draw of the Special edition isn't the improved textures or visuals, since I'm going to be modding that anyway. Instead, the true benefit is the new, 64-bit engine. That lets me use more processing power and more RAM, and the installation is much more stable as a result. The default graphics aren't that special, but you can do more with the Special edition.

-As someone who still occasionally plays Skyrim, would you encourage me to remove my Mods and install Skyrim Remastered, or keep my Skyrim experiance as it is, and perhaps try Remastered on an other console/PC?

The good news is that both Steam and Nexus treat LE and SE as separate games, so you can keep your vanilla save as it is. It's only an issue if you're on an SSD and don't have the storage to spare.

[Kareeah_Indaga]

While we're on the subject of mods for SE, is there any particular trick to porting warpaints over from vanilla to SE? Do they need to be in a different format or is the file structure particularly picky about being added to? I ask because I tried linking them in and now the entire face of the race modified vanishes after a few clicks, leaving creepy floating eyes and mouth and hair and that's it.

[veti]

Thank you for your time. I am just a bit worried about installing it, and regreting it latter on because of loosing my mods and saves over something that would be worth less. Thank you again.

If you've got the disc space and the budget for it, I wouldn't hesitate.

Your old mods and saves will be fine, because it's a whole separate game. As Balmas said, it's only an issue if you're short of space. There are a lot of mods available for SSE in its own right - the full range will probably never catch up with Oldrim, but there are plenty to be getting on with.

I was ambivalent at first, but now I've clocked almost as many hours in SSE as in Oldrim, and I've never really looked back. Most of the old bugs are still there (although stability and loading times are better), but there are lots of little changes that, in my estimation, are far better than any modder came up with. My favourite is how you can actually shelter from snow and rain now - it no longer falls right through arches/roofs/trees/whatever else you might try to shelter under (although, and this is even better, the wind does blow it through).

The colour palette and flare effects make for a greyer, earthier landscape and everyday people - not a bad thing - but that makes the colourful scenes stand out all the more. Fighting a dragon at sunset is a truly beautiful scene.

Enjoy.

[Triaxx]

Me, I'm sticking with Oldrim, since too many of the mods I want are Oldrim only.

[halfeye]

-Has Esbern's Voice finally been unpacked by default?

What is this about? I had a problem with Esbern's sound file, but I thought it was peculiar to my machine, or perhaps to the way I played through that particular run. Or is Esbern't Voice something different?

[Kareeah_Indaga]

While we're on the subject of mods for SE, is there any particular trick to porting warpaints over from vanilla to SE? Do they need to be in a different format or is the file structure particularly picky about being added to? I ask because I tried linking them in and now the entire face of the race modified vanishes after a few clicks, leaving creepy floating eyes and mouth and hair and that's it.

For the curious: looks like it was just the file structure being pickier than Skyrim original vanilla.

[druid91]

So I started playing Skyrim again. Going good old fashioned Thu'um shouting Heavy armored two hander Nord. Though with the addition of using a horse whenever possible. Though some fights simply make that impossible to do practically, like Dragons or dungeons.

[BlueMoon1991]

Hey everyone.
What is your favorite Elder Scrolls game? I have a love for Skyrim but ive always been partial to Oblivion. Its just a really fun and entertaining game!
Also, what do you typical play as when you do play Elder Scrolls and why?
I always go with Argonian :D love the water breathing and resist to diseases!

[Crow]

My favorite was Morrowind. The way they executed the story for the Nerevarine was probably some of the best writing they have ever done for an Elder Scrolls game.

Also, I really enjoyed how you didn't have a quest marker, so you had to rely on NPCs for directions everywhere. "Go past the caldera, off to the west and keep going until you reach a big tree in the shape of Azura. If you reach a big pile of guar dung, you've gone too far."

[BlueMoon1991]

My favorite was Morrowind. The way they executed the story for the Nerevarine was probably some of the best writing they have ever done for an Elder Scrolls game.

Also, I really enjoyed how you didn't have a quest marker, so you had to rely on NPCs for directions everywhere. "Go past the caldera, off to the west and keep going until you reach a big tree in the shape of Azura. If you reach a big pile of guar dung, you've gone too far."

I havent played to much into Morrowind but i do have it! I liked what I did play of it!
I remember when I did first play Morrowind, it felt different to me in some way. And i got really hooked. But had some issues and wasnt able to finish it. I need to get back in to it xD

[Lord Raziere]

My favorite is skyrim cause I actually managed to complete it while both Oblivion and Morrowind I just died a lot and got nowhere.

I typically go orc, since I so rarely get to play orcs in any videogame.

[BlueMoon1991]

My favorite is skyrim cause I actually managed to complete it while both Oblivion and Morrowind I just died a lot and got nowhere.

I typically go orc, since I so rarely get to play orcs in any videogame.

Orcs are pretty freaking awesome. If I am not going Argonian then im going Orc! XD
I wish more gamee actually gave the options to play as an Orc, well actually..anything for that matter.

[LibraryOgre]

The Mod Wonder: Merged in another Elder Scrolls thread; there may be some errant double posts before this, as a result.

[DigoDragon]

Skyrim's the only game in the series I've played so far. I do own Oblivion. Just... still in the box. >.>

So I started playing Skyrim again. Going good old fashioned Thu'um shouting Heavy armored two hander Nord. Though with the addition of using a horse whenever possible. Though some fights simply make that impossible to do practically, like Dragons or dungeons.

I vaguely remember an occasional glitch in Convenient Horses where certain specific dungeons let me call my horse cause the zone was flagged as being an "outside" area. You're a better warrior than I if you can manage a fight on horseback.

[Triaxx]

Light Cavalry tactics, not heavy. Ride up, strike and ride past. Long slashing attacks are your best option. Make them chase you then loop around and hit them again. CH is helpful, since sprinting with a weapon out will knock them down.

[factotum]

I do own Oblivion. Just... still in the box. >.>

Best place for it, believe me, Oblivion was not a good game.

[LibraryOgre]

Best place for it, believe me, Oblivion was not a good game.

While it has some very real problems (level scaling), I disagree that it's a bad game. I find it quite fun and playable... you just have to decide not to level if you can avoid it, so the world doesn't outpace you.

[Caelestion]

Best place for it, believe me, Oblivion was not a good game.

Nonsense. Oblivion had several very real flaws, but all the TES games do and it certainly deserves to be played. The UI is far too large, the faces are hideous and the levelling system needs to be purged with holy fire, but there's countless hours of fun to be found there.

[LibraryOgre]

The UI is far too large

Really curious about this point. What do you mean by that?

[Caelestion]

It's seemingly designed for playing an Xbox from halfway across the room, as on a PC, the subtitles are huge, the compass and HUD icons are larger than necessary and the inventory screen can handle a mere six items at once. The DarNified UI is an essential mod for me.

[Balmas]

I've only ever played the three most modern of the Elder Scrolls titles. (Main titles, I should say; I and my obsessive personality are staying well away from Elder Scrolls Online.)

Both Morrowind and Skyrim are in the top ten of my fave games of all time, but I think that Morrowind has slightly edged out Skyrim for favorite game. In fact, I find that my Skyrim install is increasingly full of mods dedicated to making Skyrim more like Morrowind. The sheer diversity in the world, the wonderful surge of excitement on hearing the majesty of Morrowind's music, the joy of simply wandering around Morrowind's tiny continent, all make it my favorite Elder Scrolls game.

Skyrim is also good, but it's one of those titles where I just put on a youtube playlist on the second monitor and let my brain shut off for a while. It's the game I play when I've had a long day at work, and don't quite have the brainspace for something like Witcher. Gaming comfort food, if you will.

The only one I don’t really like is Oblivion. It's not that it's a bad game. (Indeed, I think it has some of the best written quests in Elder Scrolls history.) The problem is that while it has its good points, the flaws quickly add up. The worst is that it all gets repetitive quickly, which means that I can't play too long without wanting to start play a different game.

Nonsense. Oblivion had several very real flaws, but all the TES games do and it certainly deserves to be played. The UI is far too large, the faces are hideous and the levelling system needs to be purged with holy fire, but there's countless hours of fun to be found there.

Eh, 'countless' is a bit of a stretch, I think.

[Caelestion]

Well, I've literally lost count of how much time I spent playing the game back in the day and that's with Wrye Bash helpfully telling me how many saved hours I had put into each character.

[halfeye]

Skyrim's the only game in the series I've played so far. I do own Oblivion. Just... still in the box. >.>

You are missing something wonderful.

There are issues that should be faced:

1/ Leveling up needs to be dealt with carefully. You can do 5-5-5 with 5-5-luck leveling, that will leave you somewhat overpowered, which is enjoyable, but not as challenging as may be ideal (the default system gives you on average something like 1-2-2, which is not enough, I'm kind of thinking of a playthrough trying to get 3-3-3 or 4-3-4 or something like, I won't be doing that for a while yet if I ever do). I've seen it argued that for a Thief character, the default leveling system works fine (I never play thieves, so it may be true for all I know).

2/ Your allied NPCs don't level as you do, but all the enemies do, so you want to do most of the main quest early, because you need the help of your allies more in that (after the Battle of Bruma is one potential waiting point).

3/ The sigil stones you receive for closing the Oblivion gates stop leveling at level 17, so you may want to wait till then to start shutting ones you don't otherwise have a reason to shut.

4/ There's an issue with save games getting corrupted, it may be only with later versions of the executable, typically shows up at around level 13 to level 17, fires slow down so they don't flicker, there was an easy fix on the web, I don't know if it's still available for download.

I believe Oblivion is the best of the Elder Scrolls games I have played (I don't play with mods).