The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

I don't think I played Skyrim correctly because during my initial playthough I kept getting wrecked so I dropped the difficulty which made playing the game way easy and also strange. Now that i've played through Fallout 4 I think I understand how Skyrim is supposed to work with armor crafting and upgrades, things I entirely skipped in Skyrim for whatever reason. I mean, I just honestly never noticed that was a thing you could do or maybe just didn't care?

All that said, i'll be coming back to Skyim at some point and I think i'll do better. I found all the story elements and such to be fun, just not the gameplay and how to stay alive, somehow that didn't make sense to me during my initial playthrough.

I remember getting wrecked in the beginning, too, when I first played. Getting the quest to go see the Greybeards is one of the first. If you go up that hill, you'll get attacked by two or three trolls and they'll kick your ass! I remember the first time I tried and they beat the crap out of me. I read that it's good to be at least level 10 when you go. In my game now, I have just gone up there and I am level 40+ with a full set of Legendary Daedric armor and weapons. Those trolls didn't stand a chance against me.

As for crafting, I think I enjoyed it more in Skyrim than Fallout 4. It's much simpler in Skyrim. Fallout 4 gives you tons of options, which just caused me anxiety. Basically, you need to level up your Smithy skill, by making things. Then you can spend your perk points and are able to craft more, better things. You can also upgrade them. A Blacksmith Elixir will let you increase things by 50% for 30 seconds. I was able to do that for my Daedric gear and it's so sweet!

Oh and Jon, one way I leveled my Smithing skill has been to make jewelry. Whenever I find gold or silver, I grab my precious stones and make the most expensive jewelry I can and then sell it. Also, building a house w/ Hearthfire helps out a lot since you have to make nails, hinges, and locks.

As for the beginning of the game and leveling up so you won't get your ass handed to you, I'm not too sure. There are a lot of quests in the game and a good variety of ways to obtain them. This time around, I was headed to join the Imperials before going to White Run, but I ended up going to White Run anyway and have not yet joined the Imperials (or Stormcloaks for that matter). Still, I've never adjusted the difficulty in Skyrim, but I did have to lower it in Fallout 4.

You used to be able to level up smithing by spamming iron daggers, but they patched that to make low level crafts give you diminishing returns. That was a quick way to get it higher.

One thing I miss from Oblivion is the difficulty slider, so you could really drill into how difficult you wanted it. It wasn't 4 or 5 difficulty choices, it was 100 or so (depending on how many positions the slider had of course).

While playing this game again, I've thought about writing a review on Steam. Pretty much my main thought is that it's a fantastic game, but it's not perfect. There are bugs, many of them, which is sad for a AAA game. Since I've run into a few of them that I couldn't resolve with the command console, I've decided to use another mod, the unofficial patch. Luckily, there's a version that works with SE.

The amount of bugs in this game is also having me think about a difference between AAA and Early Access games, a topic I'm thinking about creating in our forums section. Basically, I think it's assumed that AAA developers have a QA team to squash almost all of the bugs, but Early Access games have a community to help them find bugs.

Also, @Jon, I'm wondering what kind of character you played as. What race and weapon/armor specialization did you go for? I recently watched a video regarding a part of the game showing off a different decision than the one I had made at the time. The player was using a Khajiit and I thought it was interesting watching a Khajiit use Shouts.

I don't remember. My character was female and that's all I remember. I wanted her to be primarily a magic user but that didn't work out too well.

It would be cool to see and hear a female using Shouts.

"...see and hear a female using shouts."

Looks like Quark joined CG! https://i.imgur.com/2Xq01XY.jpg
;)

Youtube is your savior here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhqTWwnwdn8

As for the QA, Bethesda's engines are alway laden with these kinds of bugs. Combine their upgrade->fix->upgrade->fix methods (at some levels, Fallout 4 is still using the Morrowind engine, even though it's obviously been highly upgraded since and has had massive chunks added/removed/replaced over the years), the fact that it started off buggy before that, the weird physics of the engine, and the sheer number of possibilities, and there's no way QA is going to catch all of them.

HOWEVER there were some common-ish bugs from Skyrim that still haven't been fixed in Skyrim SE.

This is still way better than Bethesda's PS3 offerings though, which would crash constantly.

One thing that helps to keep in mind is that Bethesda was AAA-lite, in a sense, until recently. Oblivion is when they started raking in money, and then doubly so with Fallout 3. Skyrim was their first game after expanding operations significantly, and it really shows. Fallout 4 is their second one, and you can tell that while there are bugs in it, there are far fewer than Skyrim.

So I imagine (though I have no evidence for this) that they are getting used to doing things with a budget and getting in good QA, and so on. That's not an excuse but it's something.

Wow, three-year shipping. That's new!

Glad you finally got it though.

Years ago, I backed a project of Jeremy's on Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/499808045/from-the-composer-of-skyrim-soule-symphony-no-1). The project was funded, but has yet to see the light of day (it's been over 3 years now), and appears to be on the back burner as far as Jeremy is concerned, and, unless you follow his Facebook page, you won't get updates, even as a backer (they stopped updating the Kickstarter with any news). The whole thing felt pretty scammy. I'm still hopeful he'll make the album he collected funding for, and hearing that you finally got your product, Jon, is at least slightly encouraging, I suppose.

"DirectSong" sounds like a hip church name lol

"Three year shipping" LOL yeah and I had to pay for shipping too.

Greg: I funded the same project and I think based on that and now this, I don't think I'll order anything from Jeremy again.

Do you notice that the image you used says it's only available to view at their site?

I don't really disagree with having a hard copy of a strategy guide. Searching the Internet may be faster, but it's not always 100% available. Like, what if you're playing and your network goes down for who knows what reason, maybe your ISP is experiencing temporary issues, then what are you going to do? Having a stack of gaming magazines or strategy guides feels impressive (and I think looks that way, too). However, these hard copies are also vulnerable to spills, fire (as you mentioned), etc. Oh and the Internet can not only provide written text, but you can also watch videos of someone doing what you're trying to do. I think it's pretty much a matter of personal preference. I like both, but since Steam has an in-game web browser, I pretty much stick to the Internet as my source.

Aside, why are they releasing a new guide for the Special Edition? Did they not already have a Skyrim guide? I thought the game (for PC at least) was only getting a graphical upgrade. I don't know that they've added anything else to it.

> Do you notice that the image you used says it's only available to view at their site?

ZOIKS! Thanks Greg, I just linked to an imgur image. And the answer is no, that didn't seem to show up for me. Must have been some Internet caching involved or something. Fixed now.

This is a premium hardcover book and comes with a special Dragonborn bookmark but it does look like it has much the same content as the paperback release.

Would be fun if they upscaled the art in the book to be more HD for the upcoming release too

I see the fixed image now, looks good! A hard copy with a sweet bookmark is an added bonus! That's awesome!

That is an interesting idea you have for HD art. :)

> Aside, why are they releasing a new guide for the Special Edition?

Money! :D

Seriously though, if they were ever going to re-release something, this is the time. One of the biggest games ever getting a new release for new people? Time to print more money.

This is the only Bethesda game that I don't have a strategy guide for (since I started playing them, that is), so I might grab it.

It's odd, I've seen (read) or have heard of people saying that they were playing a game on a potato, maybe it was "with" instead of "on." It was my presumed understanding that they were just calling their PC that in a way to say that their PC wasn't up to par.

However, speaking of Skyrim, there's a piece of relevant news I wish to share (see the link below). The most notable piece of news is the second sentence in the link below which states: "We'll likely see Dishonored 2 alongside new Fallout 4 and Doom DLC, but there have also been rumors that the publisher will announce a Skyrim remaster and Wolfenstein 2."

Personally, I don't understand why or how Skyrim will be "remastered." I thought it was already in HD. I know it has some bugs, especially ones involving physics that I've seen for myself. I really enjoyed playing Skyrim at least once on the PS3 and once via Steam. My son also likes to play Skyrim on the PS3. However, I find it hard to imagine Skyrim being remastered. Instead, I want to see Morrowind remastered. That one makes much more sense to me since that game is definitely not in HD or even as graphically intense as Skyrim. I'd also like to see them remaster Oblivion, only because I love that game so much that I think I like it more than Skyrim. Still, I can't imagine an Oblivion or Skyrim remaster since I thought they were just fine. The only reason I can see for remastering Skyrim is due to it's popularity and wanting to cash in on that again.

Let me know what you think about this "rumor." I'm looking forward to Bethesda's E3 conference!

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/bethesdas-e3-conference-will-feature-a-blink-182-c/1100-6440581/

"It's odd, I've seen (read) or have heard of people saying that they were playing a game on a potato, maybe it was "with" instead of "on." It was my presumed understanding that they were just calling their PC that in a way to say that their PC wasn't up to par. "

No you were right.

"Personally, I don't understand why or how Skyrim will be "remastered." I thought it was already in HD."

Quake is in HD if you turn the resolution up high enough. :D

A ton of last gen games have been remastered for this gen (Arkham, Borderlands, COD4). New engines, new lighting, new shadows, and more detailed textures.

I'm with you though. Oblivion or Morrowind would make more sense. BUT it would require more work. The thing with Skyrim is that they can port it to the Fallout 4 engine (they started Fallout 4 development by porting Skyrim to current-gen internally with no plans of a release) and just beef up the textures. It targets the console players who trade in last-gen's consoles for current-gen and want to replay it.

Doing something like Morrowind or Oblivion would require more of an overhaul to make it look modern. As much as I love Oblivion the character models haven't aged well.

Damn, now I want to start another game of Oblivion.

If they were playing Portal 2, I'd be impressed ;). Missed opportunity!

I said the same thing to Katie! The potato jokes beg for this!

Thanks for confirming my presumption. Thanks also for making that rumor make sense. I just thought of HD as high quality, not simply high resolution. I understand your reasoning behind why Skyrim and not the others.

Oh and yes, I feel like playing Oblivion again, too. I also kind of feel like playing New Vegas again, too, since I'm playing Fallout 4.

I'm excited about skywind. But ultimately its gonna be the same thing as these other big mods. Its gonna fall through the cracks. Or never get completed. If you want the best morrowind experience currently you can download the MSGO 3.0 mod and get tamriel rebuilt. But still. I hear people getting excited for skywind for all the wrong reasons. I'm excited to see vvardenfell with this engine. But its not going to be morrowind. Its not going to be the game.

Its funny. My website just started a podcast about morrowind. Spawned largely due to hype over skywind. Which, don't get me wrong, I will play. But morrowind is still the best. And they aren't going to be able to recreate it just right.

I haven't checked out any mods for any TES game. I do realize Skywind won't exactly be Morrowind or even a visually upgraded version, but I'm still hoping it gets completed and looking forward to it. The only TES games I've played are Morrowind, Oblivion, and Skyrim and I think Morrowind is the more difficult one. I ended up buying armor at the beginning and it lasted me for quite a while. I was hoping and expecting to find something better. I can't really recall which races I've played because I've tried a few different ones at least. Some of the quests need certain skills, which I thought made it more difficult. I imagine eventually I'll try again.

I'm glad to see you and others (in other posts) rave about Morrowind and therefore have a strong like for it. Unfortunately, I don't like it as much as Oblivion and Skyrim (both of which I love absolutely). Perhaps that's because I started out on Skyrim. When I play Morrowind it's like I'm looking backwards at an older game with dated graphics. It's kind of like my Diablo experience. I started with D3:Reaper of Souls. I found the D2 Battle Chest at KMart a year or more ago for about $2. I picked it up and tried to play it, but came across that same "dated" hurdle. Of course, I don't believe every game has to have awesome graphics like Skyrim and I know those older games were/are great for the time they were released.

Itbdoes feel dated at times. I would really suggest the MSGO 3.0 mod kit. It honestly makes morrowind look like skyrim on my computer. Although I can't run skyrim on much more then medium graphics. It will still feel a little clunky. And scripted compared to skyrim. But I feel it really brings the game up to speed. Made me enjoy it again. And I'm really a purist about these sorts of things. They make the pack very easy to download and install.

I do love skyrim and oblivion to death. But morrowind is a sandbox. That's the only reason I still play. Haha.

You shouldn't feel bad for looking back and not loving these games like they should. I mean d2 is great. But really the ones that rave have put 2k hours into it and probably still play. Lololol

Ok, I'll have to check that out, hopefully I'll remember. Thank you very much for the mod suggestion. I'm running a year old Alienware PC, which I paid a lot for. So, I can play Skyrim on ultra settings.

Honestly, I can't say which I love more, Skyrim or Oblivion. Those games were love at first play for me. I can agree with you about Morrowind being a sandbox, since it has a construction set. Skyrim seems to fit that as well since you can craft houses. It seems to me that Morrowind was a bit more open-world and therefore the completion of quests seemed more open. Skyrim and Oblivion seemed to have more of a story to them and were more focused on those main quests, even though you could still run away from the main quest line and do others.

Thanks for understanding my point of view on those older games. I'm sure I probably would have appreciated them (Morrowind, Diablo 2, and others) if I had played them closer to their release dates. I'm also aware that Morrowind came out on the original XBox, which I have, so that is tempting to try. Many years ago a friend gave me set of CDs that came with something he got. Morrowind was included in that set (along with the construction set), but I didn't play it for a long time (less than 100 hours I'm sure). It was still a bit dated when I received it, I think. I did decide to get the game on Steam because I was missing the expansion packs.

Morrowind is kind of funny, in a way, because of one of the attribute that increases by jumping. So, when I play the game, I tend to jump all the time until that skill is maxed. Hahaha. I also spent a lot of time on the wiki researching how to complete many of the quests.

What is your favorite kind of character to play in Morrowind (race/class). I pretty much go with some kind of warrior type. However, it seems that this isn't a great idea in Morrowind because many of the quests seem to require magical skills. Since playing Oblivion, I've decided to play Imperial characters. Although, my first Skyrim character, on the PS3, was a Nord. My second, on the PC, was an Imperial and I therefore played the game differently than I had on the PS3 (meaning I allied with a different side).

I'm glad we're having this conversation and I hope others join in. Thanks for the comments!

I just got MSGO 3.0 installed and the game looks so much better! Thanks!

Yes! Glad to hear it man. If you ever want to talk morrowind or have questions. Let me know.

As far as your question about what type of character I play. I've always been partial to argonians in every game. And find myself playing them a lot. But in morrowind I have done every race. Every class for every race. And of course there are going to be some that work better than others just because of a races inherent skill bonuses.
But if I'm want to make a BAMF character I usually find myself going dark elf. Cuz their skills encourage a balanced character with weaopon and armor skills. As well as magic. And magic in morrowind is where a lot of the fun comes in. With spell creation and item enchanting. And potion making. There is no limit to the things you can do. And it makes things very fun once you figure it out. And you can try things just because.

That sounds like a good idea, going with a Dark Elf. I've tried that race before in Morrowind. It seems like a good one since many of the quests in the game require magic. That was an issue I ran into a few times. Since I got the mod installed and tested, I'll jump back in and play as much of it as I can.

i did complete most of the game the first time without any magic. however, it does make things sometimes easier, and more direct. but in my experience there is always a way without magic.

Oblivion is good and if you loved Skyrim, it is work checking out. That said, if you loved Skyrim i'd also recommend Fallout 3.

That said, Oblivion is good but I didn't really enjoy the rift/portal parts. I won't say much more about that because it's somewhat spoilerish BUT the rest of the game is good and I quite enjoyed it. I stopped playing it on PS3 because I became a Vampire and to undo that would have taken hours. So, unless you want to be one, avoid Vampirism :D

Oblivion is awesome, but the leveling system sucks. If you're playing on PC, I highly recommend you pick up a leveling mod. :) A quick google search will turn up several, just pick the one that you think sounds the best. (For the record, this is the one I used: http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/13879/).

Fallout 3 is also awesome! And the change of setting might be nice since you just played one medieval fantasy game. Either way you go I think you'll have fun. :)

Agreed on the leveling mod, but I may (MAY) prefer Oblivion to Skyrim. There's just something magical about it.

Go for it! That's exactly what I did recently. After having played Skyrim and Oblivion on the PS3 and getting a new PC, I decided to play both games again (but on the PC instead). They're great! I pretty much agree with what everyone else has said thus far. I don't recall much of anything that I disliked about Oblivion, except for having to use Repair Hammers, which worked out well anyway. I don't fully agree with WBS about the leveling. I agree and disagree with him. On my first play through, the game seemed difficult as I often died. The second time around was much easier, probably because I was more cautious and knew what was going on. I agree with Travis that Oblivion is "magical." That probably better explains my feelings about the game as I fell in love with it. Fallout 3 is great, but is pretty buggy even on the PC (mine crashed often).

Thanks, i bought the 5th anniversary edition and I'm going to start playing it soon.

I think I see a trend in your gameplay. Warrior in Skyrim, Barbarian in Diablo 3 :)

I tend to play all Elder Scrolls games as sneaky assassin/thief types. I may set out to play a different way, but I always end up back at sneaky.

You do see the trend! =) I did finish Diablo 3 as a Crusader as well.

I lost my companion, Lydia. I think we were separated by my death. Luckily using Fast Travel got her teleported to me. We did stumble upon Labyrinth and were attacked by a Frost Troll. I defeated it since Lydia was fighting it. The second one near by killed me though. I just recently completed the quest to find Red Eagle's sword. Afterwards, we stumbled upon a Bandit's Den and cleared them out. Then I was killed by a dragon. I think I'm level 7, so I'm still going to do more quests to level up before fighting the Frost Troll on the mountain on the way to the Greybeards again.

This post is ugly! I think I should be more like Jon and others and include pictures in my posts. That makes posts look much better. I may see if I can edit this one to add it in.

Off-subject, Vinny might not go to his Mom's this summer. So, I'm going to make sure we have a fun summer and I'm going to order a Wii U. Why order it? Because my Gamestop does not that the bundle that comes with two games (a Mario and a Luigi game http://www.amazon.com/NINTENDO-Console-Black-Deluxe-WUPSKAFP-u/dp/B00GD62JIQ/ref=lp_3075116011_1_6?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1400627705&sr=1-6). I may also order Star Wars on Blu-Ray since he's never seen it before.

Star Wars in HD is something I seriously recommend.

Ordered! Star Wars will actually get here before the Wii U in a couple of days. There are other Blu-Ray editions I want like The Matrix, Harry Potter, and Jurassic Park. Vinny's already familiar with Star Wars, but he's never seen any of the movies. I actually didn't see the original three until I was in high school. They are good movies (I even like Episodes I-III) and I'm sure he'll enjoy them. I was trying to clear his confusion today when he said that Anakin is Darth Vadar's son.

Back on topic, briefly....Finding the pic I added to the top of this post was easy. I'm so delighted that I actually found a Legendary Edition pic. Also, the fact that I only had to copy the URL (from Steam) and paste it in this post was very helpful, it makes adding a pic so easy. So, I am going to start following that practice, since I believe it makes posts look so much better!

I agree Greg, adding an image link or youtube link really do make the posts pop.

=) It only took me almost half a year to realize that. Hahahaha

It's cool. I'm a slow burn too.

The pic does make the post look better :)

As far as play types, I'm usually steer towards some sort of crusader type, attacking and healing. In WoW, I liked being a druid, and in Skyrim I was a one-handed sword plus one handed caster.

But in my recent play through (which I'm still in, but haven't played in a while), I'm working on being a thief-type, but instead of daggers, I gotten to the point where my casting is silent :)

Thanks, Adym! I agree with you on play types, I like something similar. Usually healing is all the magic I use, with occasional others as they are useful. In Morrowind, I found it hard to stick to this type as other spells were needed, such as levitation. Still, I like doing doing as much damage as possible and I also like my defense to be high as well (hence the use of heavy armor).

That's cool that you're playing a thief-type. There are many ways to play, which is cool, but I liked what I originally went with so I decided to stick with it. What do you mean about instead of daggers your casting is silent?

I haven't found out how to use magic in the PC version of Skyrim. I'm going to see if that's a different key to press. Shouts use the Z key. It may be something I may need to use with the Favorite option. I already have my bow and my warhammer as Favorites so that I can switch between them easily. This was useful when I was in a cave and saw some lanterns hanging above some oil on the ground, which I shot down with my bow from a distance to kill the enemies that were coming at me. It was very effective. I also use the bow against dragons while they're flying, although dragons are currently killing me.

In the Illusion skill tree, there's a perk called Quiet Casting that will make it so that your spells won't be noticed by enemies, allowing you to stay hidden whilst throwing spells at them :)

(And I play with a controller on my PC, so I can't help with spells from the keyboard)

Oh, ok, that's cool, I understand now. That does sound pretty handy for a thief. How are you playing with a controller? What kind of controller? Did you find it difficult to remap the configuration to work with it?

I have a Logitech of some sort. Basically a PlayStation type clone. It's been a while since I first tried it, but I'm pretty sure I plugged in the controller and it just worked.

I have the 360 controller for PC that's pretty great(supported in Linux too).

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=xbox%20360%20pc

Seems like the USB model is like $35 and the wireless ones are more. The USB one is nice but the cord is an annoyance. Kind of waiting to see how the Steam Controller feels to see if I want to get a wireless 360 controller.

Wow, Adam, that simple, huh?! As I mentioned, I had some difficulty getting the PS3 controller working on the old PC and I decided against using it. I had to run a program (can't recall it's name at the moment) to emulate the PS3 controller as an XBox 360 controller. Then setting up the configuration was a hassle, I guess because I'm not all that familiar with all the axis configurations.

Jon, did you have the same experience as Adym in using that controller?

I found out that P opens the Magic Menu, which doesn't make much sense because it's on the other side of the keyboard from the other keys primarily used. Like I pretty much said, using a keyboard and mouse is much more complicated than using a controller. I admire the simplicity of using a controller.

My son, Vinny, decided he wanted to play Skyrim, too, so he's playing on the PS3 as I'm playing on the PC. Luckily, I created a profile for him on the PS3, so he doesn't have mess with my saved game. As I'm looking at the TV and then my monitor and comparing the visuals of Skyrim, some how it just seems to me that the PC looks better and is much smoother.

Earlier I mentioned objects and their weird behavior, in which I thought the PC had fewer issues, but I may have been wrong. One of the last times I entered Dragonsreach, a plate went flying across the room and other objects are scattered on the floor. Maybe the characters decided to have a food fight.

I almost defeated the last dragon that attacked me.....I said, "almost." Hahahaha Well, at least Breezehome is mine, although not yet fully furnished.

Vinny's only 10, so he's lucky I'm letting him play Skyrim. I don't have a problem with it, but he's been wanting to play GTA and I won't let him. It's not really the violence that I'm shielding him away from, but the language.

Plugged it in and it just worked? No, I have to tell the game to use the controller after that it works fine.

Hm, well if it worked that simply for you two, maybe it would work for me, too. Maybe I should give it another try.

"some how it just seems to me that the PC looks better and is much smoother."

It absolutely is, objectively. There's a lot more you can do with the visuals with better hardware.

As for the controller, I seriously recommend a 360 controller. It's plug and play, and with a game like Skyrim (and most modern games) you just have to tell it to use the controller and you're done. No remapping necessary.

Yeah, that makes sense, Travis. The PS3's hardware is much older, obviously and is a bit more limited, I suppose. Thanks for the recommendation. "No remapping necessary," that's awesome!

Travis and I have mentioned how we play Skyrim and I'm curious about how the rest of you play, like what kind of character.

Jon, I saw you playing Skyrim earlier and thought maybe I inspired that game play. Hahaha. Then I saw you were playing Fez. I still want to play Starbound some more, but I tend to play one game at a time.

I'm thinking about playing Oblivion on the PC, too. I've only played it through once, last Fall. I enjoyed it, although I wished I cleared more Oblivion portals than I did. Maybe on my second play through I'll clear them all before completing their final destruction. One of my friends said he thinks Oblivion was harder than Skyrim and I agree with him. One big difference is that you have to repair your equipment in Oblivion, but not so in Skyrim. Eventually, this didn't become much of an issue. Visually, Skyrim seems to be much darker, while Oblivion is bright with vibrant colors, which I thought was beautiful. One thing I didn't like about Oblivion was that if you go towards the south, there was a very small portion of the map that you could traverse (shaped like a bottle neck). I thought that was strange. The only real issue I had in the game was with a glitch in which a character I needed to (optionally) talk to ended up some how dying while he crossed a bridge. The game would tell me his location, but I couldn't even find his body. I found out that this is a known glitch. Perhaps I'll be able to provide more details in the future when I play again.

Back to Skyrim, I tried chasing a ghost, a headless horseman, but I wasn't able to catch up to it on foot. I don't recall seeing it previously. Also, I enjoyed having a dog running around with me and my companion, Lydia, but it often got in my way, either blocking my movement or jumping in front of me as I was attacking an enemy. It died once and I reloaded from the last save so I wouldn't lose it. However, it got killed during the Honningbrew Meadery quest and I decided to let it stay dead. It was the second dog I found during this game play.

So, I'm currently working on the Thieves Guild quests. I'm really doing it because I want that Skeleton Key. When I had it on the PS3, I some how forgot that I was supposed to give it to someone to complete a quest. I finally did give it back. This time giving it back is probably one of the very last things I'll do in the game.

Oh and I'm also thinking about getting Fallout 3 and it's DLC for the PC. Unfortunately, I ran into major issues with some of the DLC on the PS3 and my hope is that the PC won't have the same issues. I remember I was unable to finish The Pitt and Broken Steel. The PS3 version seriously lagged on these and I was unable to complete them. As for Fallout: New Vegas DLC, I ran into a bit of the same issue, but it wasn't as bad and I was able to complete them.

(This post was edited to comply with the 3,000 character limitation for comments. Haha.)

I will tell you that Fallout 3 on PC has some issues, but you can work around them. And they may not even affect you. I had no problems, but my wife had to install a couple of fixes. It all depends on your setup. But it WILL work, it just might take adding a new d3d dll to your game folder.

That's cool, Travis. So, Katie got it to work? It certainly sounds like a simple fix. As I said, I couldn't complete some of the DLC for it, which was disappointing. I was able to finish the game, though. I think I only saw two different endings. I played it once, but saved near the end so that I could select a different end-game option.

Fallout 3 (hell, every Bethesda-developed title) is very buggy on PS3. And yes, Katie got it to work. It's fairly simple. It's either editing a config file or dropping in a DLL.

Yeah, I found that out (about PS3 Bethesda titles) the hard way. That's awesome that she got it to work simply.

I defeated Alduin in Sovngarde at level 23. That's about half the level I was when I did it the first time on the PS3.

He only keeps getting harder the more you level up. I hate trying to beat him late in the game.

Actually, I think I was level 24 or 25. Being able to defeat him so easily and quickly in the game kind of defeats the necessity to level up. I still have plenty of quests to complete. I've only spent 45 hours in the game. Lydia is still my companion and I am still neither a werewolf nor a vampire (I really don't want to be either one). Leveling up is likely to get more difficult soon since I'm nearing level 100 on my Heavy Armor and Two-Handed skills. I haven't messed with any other skills. I did spent a perk or two on Smithing, but that's about it. I might have about 5 points to spend on perks and I'm waiting on my two major skills to level up.

Well, I just got the Magus Staff from Morokei. When I fought him on the PS3 it took quite a few attempts to defeat him. This time, he didn't even harm me. Maybe it's because of my level, but I'm not sure. I can't recall what level I was when I fought him on the PS3. My Heavy Armor skill level is 78 (I believe) and my Two-Handed skill is level 99. I haven't been smithing or enchanting like I did during my first play through on the PS3.

It's a balancing act. If you level smithing and enchanting you can make the best weapons and armor in the game, but you're gaining levels without gaining combat or survival skills so everything is going to be harder to kill. BUT once you get dragonscale gear enchanted out the wazoo, you're damn near unstoppable. It's just the mid-levels that are tricky.

But yeah on one character I got to level 81, which means every skill tree is full. You become quite a powerhouse if you perk it out right.

Dragonscale gear was cool, but Daedra is better. Hahaha. I'm wearing a mix of Blades and Steel gear at the moment.

Wow that's a high level! The highest leveled character I've had was 40 something, that was my first character. I didn't play very long on the second one. The one on the PC is technically my third.

I found Skyrim really hard but I didn't smith anything just looted for gear. What I doing wrong?

I've only found a few instances where I thought the game was hard. What kind of character do you play? I haven't spent much time smithing on this PC character of mine, but I did a lot of it on the PS3 character I had (the first one). I just now made some jewelry and increased my smithing skill, but I need to do more because I want the Daedra gear. Jon, have you played Oblivion? I think that game is harder than Skyrim.

Yeah, I did. I stopped playing it on the ps3 when I accidentally became a Vampire. The work to undo that would have been lame so I stopped.

I'm not sure that's happened to me, I think I made it to a shrine quick enough to remove the disease. I just started my Dawngaurd missions, so here's to hoping I'm not turned into a vampire.

Luckily I'm carrying some Cure Disease potions. I've already used one. I also refused to become a vampire when given a choice. Honestly, I don't want to be a vampire or a werewolf. It'd be cool if I could turn into a dragon though. LOL

In Skyrim I did the stuff to become a Werewolf. It wasn't too hard and I don't think there is anything negative about doing that save people say you smell like a wet dog sometimes.

LOL Yeah. I've been asked by a few random people if I'm sick. Sure enough, I had a disease I didn't know about, so I visited the local shrine. This has happened to me at least twice.

So, you didn't answer my question... what kind of character do you play in Skyrim?

Oh. A sword carrying magic user. Not sure if it's that effective, but I had fun playing it for a bit. Hit a pretty large progression wall of difficulty and stepped away from it.

It didn't peak my interest like Fallout 3 for whatever reason. Maybe when the Steam Machine rolls around, i'll play it a bit more from the couch.

One-handed swords? Where was that wall of difficulty you hit? The first one I faced was the Frost Troll on the way to High Hrothgar, but I leveled up a little bit and was able to defeat it. That sucks that it didn't peak your interest, it is an awesome game. As I've mentioned above (when talking to Travis), I'm planning on getting Fallout 3 for the PC when I'm done with Skyrim. I had issues with the DLC on the PS3 and I'm sure that I either won't have the same issues or I'll be able to fix them. I'm also wanting to play Oblivion again, but on the PC this time. I'm really enjoying this new PC! =)

I had problems with that troll as well but kited him and hit him with magic or something and he died. I think that was more because of me being a bit creative than me being actually ready for the fight.

"Dragonscale gear was cool, but Daedra is better."

Dragon armor and daedric armor both reach the armor cap fairly easily with smithing them up to legendary (567, I think-- armor points over the cap don't matter) but the dragon armor is lighter. The dragon weapons are way better than daedric.

Also, that damn troll gets everyone. I've always seen that troll as a gear/level-check. Having trouble? Maybe you should go sidequest some before you try this.

Yeah, that Frost Troll is a pain, but be glad it's not a Frost Giant, those things are much tougher! I read online that the Frost Troll doesn't reflect your level like dragons do, so it's a bit easier at level 10 or so. It's also weak against fire.

Travis, here's what I just read on the page about Dragon Armor:
"Daedric armor has a higher armor rating than Dragonplate Armor at its base value and retains its higher rating even when both armors have been upgraded to Legendary status (but just by a small margin). However, with its lower weight, Dragon Armor is the more suitable choice when lacking proper heavy armor perks." http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Dragon_Armor

Here's what the Daedric Armor page says at the bottom: "Daedric Armor has the highest heavy armor rating in the game. This makes the Dragon Armor perk somewhat inferior in terms of protection." http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Daedric_Armor_(Skyrim)

As for the Warhammers, the Dragonbone Warhammer appears to be only slightly better than the Daedric Warhammer.
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/Weapons_(Skyrim)

Yes those are true statements, however you reach an armor maximum of 567.

So your daedric armor may total up to 800 armor while your dragon armor comes up to 700 armor, but they're both *actually* 567.

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Armor#Armor_Cap

You can get the absolute maximum armor the game will allow you to have with steel armor.

As for the weapons, that's only showing you the base. Smithing them up to legendary will give you more than that in increased damage.

Really what it came down to for me, by the time I could make Daedric stuff I didn't have all I needed, but by the time I could make dragon stuff I had SO MANY DRAGON PARTS and could make the whole set twice over.

I'm definitely playing the game a bit differently this time. The first time, on the PS3, I pretty much went through most of the gear sets. This time, I have a mix of things and I didn't really mess with smithing until a bit recently. I now have Exquisite gear. I've started trying to smith some things to get that skill up. I also started to pay for smithing training. Right now that skill is at or about level 50. With that first character I had I had plenty of stuff, so I made gear for me and my companion. I haven't really worried with my companion's gear this time.

Ok, I just found out about Legendary skills. Once you get a skill to level 100, you're given an option to turn it into a Legendary skill. That means that the skill reverts back to level 15 and you get your perks back that you spent. This is helpful for leveling up your character, since leveling up skills is how to level up your character. I did this to my Two-Handed skill, which I find to be very useful since I only use two-handed weapons. This will help me level up my smithing skill since you can only get 5 skills levels per character level when paying for skill training from a NPC.

I'm now living with poverty in Skyrim. I remember the first time I played the game and wanted to purchase some property and couldn't afford it. Eventually, I had so much gold that I was able to buy every property. However, since I've been paying for Smithing training, I'm poor again. My Smithing skill is level about 86. I'm waiting for it to hit level 90 so I can start making my Daedric heavy armor set.

I feel about mostly finished with the game. I've already defeated Alduin and I joined the Imperial and defeated the Stormcloaks. I've only just begun my Dark Brotherhood missions. I still haven't visited Solstheim, so I have those missions to do as well. The only properties I own are Breezehome (in Whiterun) and Lakeview Manor (near Falkreath). Lakeview Manor is the one you have to buy land for and build. Right now, that house is very basic and hardly has a thing in it other than a work bench and a chest.

Oh and I married Lydia, my first companion. I did this only so that I can earn more gold. I've also been trying to sell stuff like a bunch of jewelry that I've made or collected. Right now, it costs a little over 4,000 gold to train my Smithing skill. I'm inching my way to getting that skill up to level 90. I don't intend to stop there as I want to be able to make a dragon warhammer.

I've also collected all of the Stones of Barenziah except for the one located in Proudspire Manor (in Solitude). I can't afford the 25,000 gold that it costs to purchase that property. Right now leveling up my Smithing skill is more important.

That's a hefty Skyrim life. Did you get it with all the DLC so you can have kids and such?

Yes, Jon, I got the Legendary Edition from Steam that includes all the DLC for only $40. I correctly assumed that Lakeview Manor is part of the Hearthfire DLC, which is the only DLC I did not get for the PS3. I didn't really see much value in it since I already owned every house in the game and didn't need another. This time around, I kind of stumbled upon it as I was completing some quests in Falkreath, which is where I was able to buy the land for Lakeview Manor. After purchasing the land, I went to the location (as it appears as a quest) and found a work bench and a chest with some building materials. After putting up some walls, I had to go get some wood, which I was able to purchase from a local saw mill. I ran out of iron ingots (which is used for nails), so I haven't been able to fully build and furnish Lakeview Manor.

Adopting children seems to become available after you kill the lady at the orphanage in Riften. Doing so also seems to be how you get started with the Dark Brotherhood. Well, after you kill her and then go to sleep, you wake up in an old shack with Astrid telling you that you pretty much stole their contract for that kill. As you speak to a Jarl's Steward about purchasing rooms for your house, one of the options is a children's room. However, since I don't plan to adopt any children, I have not purchased a room for them.

I'm not sure why or how, but I got the possibly incorrect impression that you would have to defend your home from giants, which is something I didn't want to have to deal with, so that's another reason I did not get the Hearthfire DLC on the PS3. Building a house isn't hard at all. At a work bench, you see pieces of the house that you can craft and the materials for each piece. Once you craft a piece the game places it for you. So really, by building a house, you're just crafting the pieces such as walls, doors, etc.

Looking online (http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Hearthfire) at the details of the DLC, there is more to it than just simply being able to purchase land, build a house, and adopt children. Perhaps some time I may spend more time building my home at Lakeview Manor.

Thanks for reading and joining in on this discussion. I thought about creating a new post, but then decided to just continue the discussion here. That's something I enjoy about Cheerful Ghost, being able to write about what I've been doing in the game, not just simply writing a review.

Yeah, continuing the discussion on any game, whenever, it part of what I love about this site too.

Success! My Smithing skill finally reached 90 and I was able to make my Daedric armor and warhammer. I had to do some mining for ebony, but that was easy enough. Now my Smithing skill is level 94. It seems I can't purchase training for it any more. I believe the NPC I was using to do so can only train me to a certain point. So, I'm going to have to continue to make some things to increase that level so I can make my Dragon warhammer. I have plenty of Dragon bones and scales.

I also finished a major Dark Brotherhood contract and received 20,000 gold. I was finally able to purchase Proudspire Manor in Solitude and obtain the final Stone of Barenziah. Now I'm going to go complete that quest.

There is still plenty for me to do in the game, although I probably won't bother with radiant quests (quests that are randomized and constantly repeat).

One more thing, something I really enjoy about Steam is that I can use a web browser while in-game. This has been very helpful for me in finding things or information.

Before I went to Solstheim, I decided to speak to Arngeir in High Hrothgar and find words for Dragon Shouts that I was missing. Oddly, I got the last one he told me about, but the quest is still in my Journal and the pointer still points to the wall where I found it. Skyrim has quite a few of these little nuances.

After doing some missions in Solstheim, I had plenty of gold. I decided to get the new Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary fully furnished. I also decided to fully furnish Poudspire Manor. In doing so, a Children's Bedroom was available for me to purchase along with all other rooms. I decided to get it and since I did, I decided to adopt a child. There are apparently plenty of things you can do with your child like playing games and giving them an allowance. This will give you some "blessings." I haven't done any of that though, nor do I plan to. Although, I didn't plan to adopt any children and I did it anyway. Haha. When you tell the person in charge of the orphanage that you want to adopt, you get to talk to the available children and choose which one to adopt. I chose the only girl there because she was the only girl. She tells you that the boys pick on her all the time. So, I adopted her, but I have not yet visited her in our new home. I should mention that adoption does not seem to cost anything other than the purchase of a Children's Bedroom. I believe you can only adopt a maximum of two children. I also believe that you can only put one child in a bedroom. I don't know if I'll adopt another child.

I've completed some side quests in Solstheim. I now have my own property, which was given to me after I killed the criminal inhabitants. Unfortunately, the dead bodies are still there. I guess it doesn't really matter because I pretty much just use my properties to store all the stuff I find.

When I'm done with Solstheim, I'm planning to go to all of the places that I have not yet visited. I know there is an achievement for visiting so many places, which I've already achieved. I guess I just want to fully explore the world within the game. I believe I did this when I played the game on the PS3.

Oh! Remember when I said I didn't want to become a vampire or a werewolf and I thought it'd be cooler to be a dragon? Well, there's a Shout that allows you to do just that. I haven't tried it out yet, though. The Dragonborn DLC also allows you to train a dragon after obtaining the proper Shout. I haven't done this on the PC yet and I can't recall if I tried it out on the PS3.

I finally reached Smithing level 100! I then created a Dragonbone Warhammer and upgrade it to Legendary (my Daedric Armor is also Legendary). This warhammer is definitely better than the Daedric one, but it's a bit uglier. One thing that I found very helpful in getting my Smithing skill leveled up was to create jewlery and Stalhrim gear. Crafting more expensive items seems to help level up Smithing more than other items.

I have also just finished the main quest in the Dragonborn DLC. I still have a quest I'm working on. I don't believe I will gather all of the East Empire Company Pendants. I think when I'm done with the quest that I'm working on, I'm going to go explore more of Skyrim and visit those areas that I have not yet visited. I have already gotten achievements for exploring areas in Skyrim and Solstheim.

Also, during the final Dragonborn quest, you have to tame and ride a dragon. It's not very difficult to do so, though.

Oh! I last mentioned the property I received in Solstheim after completing the quest in which I killed the inhabitants. I mentioned that the bodies weren't removed. I ended up storing some items in them that I wanted to sell. After completing a quest, I came back to my house to find the bodies were removed, which means I lost all those items I had stored in them to be sold. So, I reverted to an earlier save and chose a different place to store items I wanted to sell.

The Stormcloaks are racist, and Ulfric is a power-hungry child who basically murdered the last king of Skyrim. They don't like the Thalmor and will go to war because of it.

However, the Empire is essentially controlled by the Thalmor, and the Empire doesn't like the Thalmor any more than the Stormcloaks do. They're just biding their time.

A few minor spoilers come next so bail if you don't want to see them.

What's the best thing for the Thalmor? A civil war that fractures the empire, especially if it's really bloody and the deaths are high. If the empire can keep the peace and unify Tamriel, they've got a much higher chance at winning in a future war with the Thalmor. You can find letters in the Thalmor Embassy describing why Ulfric is so good for them, because he's hurting the strength of the empire, allowing them to eventually fully take over.

EVEN BIGGER SPOILER BELOW. SERIOUSLY.

If you kill Ulfric, when you meet him in Sovngarde he's very regretful about what he's done, and sees that he was in error the whole time.

NO MORE SPOILERS AFTER THIS POINT:

In terms of short-term liberty, the Stormcloaks are the best choice. As long as you're human. But is it worth the racism and the murdering?

In terms of long-term stability, the Empire is the best choice.

Huh, thanks for that, spoilers and all.

I want to build a world free of genocide that has some thought to future survival. I dig the rebels from a perspective, but I can't abide by race slaughter.

I saved my game right out side Whiterun, its time to pick my side. Thing is, I am not an Elf, I just don't want them arbitrarily wiped out because some Nords are all upitty about Skyrim. Yes, yes, Skyrim for the Nords... and everyone else. Let's not be crazy here, plenty of Mudcrab infested land for everyone now.

Playing through both sides, I see the Imperials as more occupiers that were only interested in keeping peace, no matter the cost vs the Stormclocks who were fighting for freedom on the surface, but really for power and freedom was a good excuse.

I haven't decided in terms of if I am with the Rebels or Empire. Travis says I need to go Empire because the Rebels are evil, but so far they both seem just as bad as the others. Haven't been down either path very far to be fair.

After unifying Skyrim under both groups, neither one feels more like the "good" guys. But, the Empire feels more politically correct. "Just trying to do our job and keep the peace"

Awesome! I created a new character a few months ago and the last thing I was doing was some of the quests in Solitude, which is not the direction I took with my first character (whom I spent over 300 hours with). I haven't played much further with my 2nd character, probably because other games have grabbed my attention (like Terraria).

I know what you mean. I actually haven't played this character since I wrote this post!

Dude, where have you been? I've missed your writing. :)

Awesome story, as always, Nick. I could never throw in with Ulfric. I saw what his rule was like, how racist he was, turning out non-Nords and especially non-Humans, and how Tullius and the Empire really were just trying to keep it together, hating the Thalmor as much as anyone, but realizing they had little choice. I understand Ulfric's ideas, what he claims to be fighting for, but he's just a kid on a power binge who has lost sight of what's best for the people he wants to represent.

Work, work, work. Real life gets in the way, you know? I've felt the need to do some writing, and finally found the time to do so. I'm hoping to get back into writing more soon. Feels good to write. The soul needs an outlet, ya know? I'm just glad to see i'm not boring, and someone enjoys it.

Yeah. I found myself swept up with the legend, and let down by the man behind it. The sense of wonder this game imbues is countered with these fantastically flawed characters. Though I've come to be disappointed in Ulfric, he still weaves a hell of a story. My wife just broke 100 hours of playing, and just finished the Aetherium wars quest. She informed me that she spent her day off gathering herbs and capturing butterflies, and I can totally see that, with a game like this. It's just. So. Damn. Pretty.

Yes... excellent. Release this just as I get a new, more powerful PC. ;)

I plan on picking this up at some point, but I'm still working through too many other games to justify purchasing it right now. I will be watching Steam sales though.

As for the prima guide... I dunno. I stopped buying players guides when Final Fantasy IX came out and the official guide sucked. By far the WORST. GUIDE. EVER. Since then I just use gamefaqs.

Skyrim: Yeah, now that you have a powerful PC you won't ever be out of things to play. Hell even a mid range PC can play most of the free to play games now. I bet this summer sale the price will drop a bit, but since its brand new it won't be $20... OR WILL IT?

Guides: The last guides I bought were for Twilight Princess & Fallout 3. I was kind of wanting something to read when I wasn't playing the games(before I had a smartphone). They are great guides, VERY well put together. In fact, much better than the guides we had back in the day. Then again, games were a bit simpler, I have the FFVI guide and its quite a bit smaller.

You should have written:

"Legen ... wait for it DAIRY" but you didn't so...

Legendairy is the new Game of the Year, but regardless of what they call it this is good to see. I have the base game and when I exhaust its content will be picking up the DLC or the Legendairy Edition, whichever makes the most sense price wise.

Welp, there's another chink in my not-upgrading-my-computer wall. My PC handles everything I throw at it with *reasonable" aplomb. But it handles Skyrim like Smart cars handle freeways: good enough to get you there, but you never lose sight of how inadequate your vessel is.

Sadly, I'm a video card away from Skyrim goodness. Which, in turn, is a power supply away. Which is a case away, which is a motherboard away, which is aw hell that's a new computer.

My resolve, it weakens.

I have a new PC as of a year or two ago and it runs things very well. Skyrim on full settings with the HD pack is playable but I get a few less FPS than normal. Haven't had any troubles on any other games at all save Diablo III where you go underground and they have all the water effects. I am running on a GTX 400 card that came stock with the Desktop and it works really well. Coolest thing about all that is the GTX 400 is rather low end now so just buying a new desktop PC with horsepower will most likely get your something better than that. :D

I wish the team well on their next endeavor! They shipped a good game here and supported it for a long time. Looking forward to the GoTY wrapping up all the extra bits :D

Oh Travis, this:

http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/04/10/bethesda-will-be-announcing-new-stuff-later-in-2013/

Oh man...I hope its fallout 4. I LOVE the fallout games! I might have to give up on the rest of my life if its fallout 4 in order to get max playtime in.

I KNOW. I SAW THAT. MY BODY IS READY.

I'M FREAKING OUT, MAN! I'M FREAKING OUT!

Spoiler Alert! FALLOUT 5000! Beth is skipping 4996 versions to make the most epic game ever!

/this comment may not actually contain facts

I'm not hinting at anything, but I really wish I could like/favorite/+1 comments right now.

+1 @Blue_Element

Ill add that to the list.

+1 @jdodson :P

:D

I just purchased the dragonborn expansion and was playing it when the soundtrack came on for morrowind/solstheim. This is the first time I've stopped and listened to the music over playing the game cause it was so amazing. The new music to accompany the expansion is absolutely astonishing.

I hope they release the new music in some fashion. Thanks for letting me know, I didn't know the expansions contained new tracks!

There are 4 new tracks and they brought a lot of music from morrowind into skyrim.

No kidding? Using old music is a pretty cool idea. Looking forward to picking it up in some form.