Requiem for a Skyrim character

[Varen_Tai]

So I have been playing Skyrim on and off for about 4 years now. I'm not one that makes a ton of characters, I pick a build I like and focus on it.

He was a mage, maxed out on Destruction, Enchantment, Alchemy, Summoning, Smithing, with high skills in all magic and light armor.

I had created armor from dragon scales with double enchantments that allowed me to spam destruction and summoning with virtually no mana cost. Completed a ton of quest lines, lots of magic items, houses, etc.

You get the picture.

I logged in for the first time to play him in about 6 months, and he's just... gone. My stepkids also play Skyrim on my account, so their characters were there, but my mage with tons of hours logged is gone completely. No saved games, no hint that he ever existed.

I get that this happens sometimes, but I don't understand how Steam could lose my character so completely.

*sigh*

I've halfheartedly began a new Stealth Archer (heard these are the best builds, even though I luuurrrrved my mage), but I hate the idea of building all the skills and alchemy reserves and everything back up to where they were.

Just venting to folks who will feel my pain.

[The Glyphstone]

You mentioned other people have access to your account. Is there any possibility they accidentally deleted your character somehow?

[Winthur]

You could check for the saves in the Steam Cloud or rightclicking on the savegame folder and clicking "Restore Previous Versions".

[Varen_Tai]

You mentioned other people have access to your account. Is there any possibility they accidentally deleted your character somehow?

Possible, but not likely. They are pretty computer savvy teenagers and they wouldn't have done it on purpose.

You could check for the saves in the Steam Cloud or rightclicking on the savegame folder and clicking "Restore Previous Versions".

Oooo, gonna try that right now! Not holding out much hope because I have no clue how long ago he was erased, but it's worth a shot!

[LibraryOgre]

I've halfheartedly began a new Stealth Archer (heard these are the best builds, even though I luuurrrrved my mage),

Stealth Archers are 100% the best builds for people who like Stealth Archers.

My, I like a Spellsword with a lot of Conjuring. I miss Morrowind and walking around in just clothes, then using a custom spell to summon daedric armor, weapons, and allies.

[Spore]

I can't find my Argonian Archmage of the College anywhere either. Nor my Orc Berserker. =/

[PopeLinus1]

I can't find my Argonian Archmage of the College anywhere either. Nor my Orc Berserker. =/

I can't find my Stealth 100 character,

[Varen_Tai]

Stealth Archers are 100% the best builds for people who like Stealth Archers.

My, I like a Spellsword with a lot of Conjuring. I miss Morrowind and walking around in just clothes, then using a custom spell to summon daedric armor, weapons, and allies.

That is certainly true. I meant I heard that Stealth Archers have the highest DPS, though I certainly didn't care about that when I made my Destruction and Conjuring spamming mage.

I can't find my Stealth 100 character,

I haven't had a chance to test the saved files I found yet due to a wedding and a child running away (safely found!) all in the last few days, I'll keep everyone posted in the next couple of days if it worked!

[Winthur]

I haven't had a chance to test the saved files I found

Oh hey, my suggestion worked? Well, hopefully you didn't lose (much) progress anyway. I think that if the saves are corrupt you can still potentially fix them somehow.

[Varen_Tai]

Oh hey, my suggestion worked? Well, hopefully you didn't lose (much) progress anyway. I think that if the saves are corrupt you can still potentially fix them somehow.

Yay, this totally worked! My wizard has returned and just took down an elder dragon without breaking a sweat. It's nice to be back. Two dremora lords, Serana, and my follower, plus lightning storm that barely costs me any mana. It's a beautiful sight.

Now, I need to find Barbas again - I lost him somewhere and didn't finish his quest. He's handy to have along - the more indestructibly immortal followers, the merrier!

[Destro_Yersul]

Was it in a cave? Broken Oar Grotto? There's a known bug where followers can get stuck in there.

[Varen_Tai]

Was it in a cave? Broken Oar Grotto? There's a known bug where followers can get stuck in there.

It has literally been over 2 years since I lost him. I have no idea where I left him else I'd be able to go there and get him back. ;)

[Rodin]

It has literally been over 2 years since I lost him. I have no idea where I left him else I'd be able to go there and get him back. ;)

And now I'm imagining your follower just sitting in a cave as the seasons pass and "I Will Wait For You" plays in the background.

[Varen_Tai]

And now I'm imagining your follower just sitting in a cave as the seasons pass and "I Will Wait For You" plays in the background.

LOL!

And since Barbas looks like this:



I can also imagine he's sitting there thinking, "He told me to stay! So I am staying! Who's a good boy? WHO'S A GOOD BOY? I am! I'm a good boy! Yes, I am! I can't wait until he comes back! He'll tell me I'm a good boy!"



EDIT: Why did the picture not show up? I put this link in the proper brackets.

https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki...ile=Barbas.png

[KillianHawkeye]

You need to use the image's real URL, not the wiki page's picture viewer of the image.

Like this:

Spoiler

Show

[Destro_Yersul]

It has literally been over 2 years since I lost him. I have no idea where I left him else I'd be able to go there and get him back. ;)

Check Broken Oar Grotto first, if you have it on your map. It's North of Solitude, I think. Don't take any current followers inside.

[Mikemical]

It doesn't matter what you build, everyone eventually becomes a Stealth Archer in Skyrim.

My Orc Barbarian that used Destruction + Rage to double his DPS because Skyrim's code is funny like that? Stealth Archer.
My High Elf Necromancer that was on his way to becoming a powerful Lich? Stealth Archer.
My full plate-wearing, vampire-hunting, sword-n-board Redguard? Stealth Archer.
My Khajiit monk that gave everyone facial reconstructive surgery with his bare knuckles? Stealth Archer.

It's quite jarring when the only way to actually progress in the game seems to funnel down to "crouch, hide, and pick off enemies one by one".

[LibraryOgre]

It doesn't matter what you build, everyone eventually becomes a Stealth Archer in Skyrim.

My Orc Barbarian that used Destruction + Rage to double his DPS because Skyrim's code is funny like that? Stealth Archer.
My High Elf Necromancer that was on his way to becoming a powerful Lich? Stealth Archer.
My full plate-wearing, vampire-hunting, sword-n-board Redguard? Stealth Archer.
My Khajiit monk that gave everyone facial reconstructive surgery with his bare knuckles? Stealth Archer.

It's quite jarring when the only way to actually progress in the game seems to funnel down to "crouch, hide, and pick off enemies one by one".

The only time I am a stealth archer is when I am sneaking out of Helgen and run into the bear. Then I shoot the bear with poison.

[Winthur]

It's quite jarring when the only way to actually progress in the game seems to funnel down to "crouch, hide, and pick off enemies one by one".

Maybe to you, but Skyrim isn't that hard.

[veti]

It's quite jarring when the only way to actually progress in the game seems to funnel down to "crouch, hide, and pick off enemies one by one".

While there is some truth in that, there are more ways than one of picking off your enemies. For instance, Illusion is a very fun way of whittling your enemies down to one, then you can finish off the last one with your choice of means.

I find my characters are mostly defined by what skills they avoid. It's completely possible to never use a bow at all. Or stealth for that matter.

[Lord Raziere]

While there is some truth in that, there are more ways than one of picking off your enemies. For instance, Illusion is a very fun way of whittling your enemies down to one, then you can finish off the last one with your choice of means.

I find my characters are mostly defined by what skills they avoid. It's completely possible to never use a bow at all. Or stealth for that matter.

Dude, I have modded Skyrim with Smilodon and Ordinator put in mods that put in hax enemies to have even harder fights, charge into every battle with a one-handed weapon while being a vampire in light armor, or fight with no armor, or go full unarmed and unarmored and I STILL win most of my fights and get through the game without that much trouble. even my stealth characters are melee ones who slit throats. while my only "archer" is a dwemer automatic crossbow wielder charging into battle in a full suit of dwarf armor killing people like a sci-fi super soldier in an FPS, they're not stealthy at all. most playthroughs I just sell all my bows because they're so slow they're useless to me.

I'm kind of convinced all you people playing stealth archers are cowards.

[Rodin]

It is possible to screw yourself lategame by the usual Elder Scrolls "picked the wrong the stats to level". My first character was a cutthroat thief and I had to finish the game never alerting an enemy. If I didn't one-hit backstab kill and the alarm went off, I could not take any enemy that faced me. I wound up sneaking through the entire final dungeon and only beat Alduin by save scumming.

I always wind up as a stealth archer for a different reason. I love sniping, and I love stealth gameplay. So every character starts out as a noble attempt to be something else, but I inevitably wind up sniping from the shadows.

[Spore]

It is possible to screw yourself lategame by the usual Elder Scrolls "picked the wrong the stats to level". My first character was a cutthroat thief and I had to finish the game never alerting an enemy. If I didn't one-hit backstab kill and the alarm went off, I could not take any enemy that faced me. I wound up sneaking through the entire final dungeon and only beat Alduin by save scumming.

I know that feeling. 8/10 of my thieves are hopelessly lost when I do a few hours of stealing, lock picking and sneaking because suddenly bandits hit like a truck and have nearly infinite HP.

I am always in complete awe how good Mercer is with his two blades when I finished up the thieves' guild though he should just be decent at attacking (and life leech), he is always one of the harder obstacles in the games. But I have yet to play a thief character without save scumming.

[veti]

I'm kind of convinced all you people playing stealth archers are cowards.

You say that like it's a bad thing. From where I sit, it's just common sense to avoid getting hurt if you can.

[Lord Raziere]

You say that like it's a bad thing. From where I sit, it's just common sense to avoid getting hurt if you can.

yeah in real life.

but you can action hero your way through all of skyrim without much problem. why bother with common sense in a fantasy any more than you need to?

[Kaptin Keen]

yeah in real life.

but you can action hero your way through all of skyrim without much problem. why bother with common sense in a fantasy any more than you need to?

If all you care about is efficiency, I'm sure someone can easily code a mod to play the game for you. Ultimate efficiency: Beat the game while watching the Gilmore Girls reruns.

I can't speak for everyone else, but I have fun sneaking about, shooting enemies in the eye from 100 paces, and watching them run about like headless chickens trying to figure out what happened. I think having fun is an allowable component of playing games.

[veti]

yeah in real life.

but you can action hero your way through all of skyrim without much problem. why bother with common sense in a fantasy any more than you need to?

I have a specialllevel of contempt for action heroes who make a habit of charging barefaced at the enemy armed with nothing but a twenty year old loincloth and a maniacal gurn. Nothing breaks my suspension of disbelief faster than a "hero" who's so confident of his own superiority, he doesn't even try for tactical advantage.

I want to play a hero. Not an idiot.

[Lord Raziere]

I have a specialllevel of contempt for action heroes who make a habit of charging barefaced at the enemy armed with nothing but a twenty year old loincloth and a maniacal gurn. Nothing breaks my suspension of disbelief faster than a "hero" who's so confident of his own superiority, he doesn't even try for tactical advantage.

I want to play a hero. Not an idiot.

And nothing is more boring than a hero who faces no danger at all because they hide and never get hurt. well have to agree to disagree, especially since such tactical disregard is a matter of relative degree for what kind of combat you want to portray.

[Winthur]

I like how veti and Kaptin Keen are questioning the logic and the intent behind Lord Raziere's preferred playstyle while justifying their opinion with "some people just like to have fun" and "willing suspension of disbelief", yet the whole discussion arose from the idea that Skyrim is somehow insurmountably hard to progress in if you don't play it safe from stealth and distance.

All the guy seems to say is that Skyrim would be really boring if that were really the case and every playthrough defaulted to stealth archer, or if everyone's sensibilities on what is fun or whether realism is important had to be the same.

[DragonMF]

I also think that stealth archer is what you always become xD
At least in my case that is how I usually would end up