Topic: WRUP - What are you playing?

[RossRoy]

Did you get some good loot from the house?

That's the worst thing. No I didn't. Other than a few ingredients I had never seen before.

[Dragonfire]

Hmmm... that stinks.  And it makes it even odder that such tough thugs were sent after you for doing it.  Unless there was something really good hidden away somewhere.

[Achim]

Awesome story about that battle. But they Sid you had something, not necessarily mention you killed the old lady? You said they accused you of taking something's yet you say you didn't get any loot, strange...

Now that you have been to that dungeon, how did you go about killing tse "Restless" dudes...? I ended up sneaking by them, as several attempts to kill them failed

Both my previous characters, when I got to Whiterun, I had more than enough for the house + decoration (about 2000 more). Best way to make money? Smith - Enchant - Sell. Also contributes in raising all three skills too! (be careful - gaining too many levels from non combat abilities may make the game a bit harder).

So you think if you level non-combat up too quickly, the game thinks you are high-level overall and sends more powerful enemies...?

[RossRoy]

Awesome story about that battle. But they Sid you had something, not necessarily mention you killed the old lady? You said they accused you of taking something's yet you say you didn't get any loot, strange...

I did take the stuff from the house, but only after killing the old lady.

Now that you have been to that dungeon, how did you go about killing tse "Restless" dudes...? I ended up sneaking by them, as several attempts to kill them failed

I hack'd and slash'd them all. What I found was that after 2 or 3 got up to attack, I noticed they were a bit different from those that wouldn't wake up. So what I did was use sneaking, get the sneak attack bonus from the bow, and since they take a few seconds to actually get, it gave me time to switch to my sword, and hack them to oblivion! Faendal's arrows helped a bit too

So you think if you level non-combat up too quickly, the game thinks you are high-level overall and sends more powerful enemies...?

Yes. The game scales on your level, not your skills. So if you end up leveling up through alchemy, enchanting, speechcraft and smithing, you get "stronger" through levels, but not any better at combat. Yet the game will still level up your enemies the "proper" way.

--

You know how you said you had to try magic at some point? Well after that fight against the thugs, I was a bit depressed at that character and thought I would go berserk burning everyone in the village as retaliation for not helping me.. I can tell you this: Magic is awesome!!

I think I'm gonna go battle mage after all!

[RossRoy]

Knevel The Tongue (in Volunruud).. man! Insane fight! Took me about 15 tries to finally work a strategy that worked .. basically running like a sissy summoning Flame Atronach like crazy!

What a hero I am ..

I was Level 12 by the way .. you also get a new Shout there, so it's worth it

EDIT:

Oops.. Make that Level 14 (I came out Level 15)

[Achim]

Yes, magic seems to kick all sorts of behinds... You can lower the magicka needed for spells through perks and depending the enemies you can see which type of spells works best. Like, the first dragon (story based) spits fire, so my fire spell didn't do much, obviously, but when I switched to sparks he was going down fast...

So you now started for the thrid time...? Hope 3 will be the charm and you will be satidfied with you mage's performance.

I tried enchanting stuff last night, but since I am still low level it didn't sell particularly great. Also, I need more souls to enchant more stuff. I will simply do more side missions today, getting some rewards and at least more loot to sell. I want that house in Whiterun. I am level 7 so far, but I did hardly play this weekend.


At least I finally completed Uncharted 3 entirely last night (Platinum trophy), so I don't feel compelled to play that anymore. Now only want to share gaming time with Saints Row 3.

[RossRoy]

So you now started for the thrid time...? Hope 3 will be the charm and you will be satidfied with you mage's performance.

I didn't restart per se, I just reloaded a somewhat earlier save (before I looted the dead lady's house), and stopped focusing on combat perks and more on magicka with destruction and conjuration. So far, other than with freak Knevel, I'm kicking ass!

Basically, a fight goes like this: Cast Stoneflesh (raises armor rating, since I'm not only waring robes), Summon Flame Atronach (these kick ass flinging firebolts all around) then run around like a sissy picking off targets with whatever is most effective between Fire/Oce/Sparks (basically Fire for raw damage, Ice if I need to control stamina, Sparks against mages).

Dragons are ridiculously easy so far if you remember to use the right kind of destruction spell..

You know, it's really saddening that I now have discovered five different shouts, but the game only sent 2 dragons at me so far (the first story one, and one that was protecting one of the shouts I found).

[Achim]

I still need to learn more spells and try to remember how to use them efficiently, especially those non-destructive ones, like summoning a zombie or healing myself during battle. But again, I am only level 7 so far.

(basically Fire for raw damage, Ice if I need to control stamina, Sparks against mages).

Is Ice "cheaper" than the others? Or is this just so that enemies slow down and you have time to regain your magicka?

[RossRoy]

(basically Fire for raw damage, Ice if I need to control stamina, Sparks against mages).

Is Ice "cheaper" than the others? Or is this just so that enemies slow down and you have time to regain your magicka?

I haven't noticed if the enemies slow down really, but Ice does drain stamina, so you have less power swings to contend with. It also hinders archers somewhat, but usually, they don't have heavy armor, so they get killed before the stamina drain really affects anything.

I'm mostly using Fire all the time really, unless I'm against a fire resistant foe.

I've also found there's a big problem with Apprentice level (2) spells ... you have to aim them properly because they are projectile based! No adjusting aim while firing, as opposed to the Novice level (1) spells. Then, when you get to Adept level (3), they have area effect so it isn't too bad if you miss. Haven't got any Expert (4) or Master (5) yet, so I don't know about those

The Dual-Casting & Impact perk can really turn the tide of battle when Impact decides to work (on Destruction), but I probably wouldn't survive most battles without my trusty Flame Atronach.

[Achim]

I've also found there's a big problem with Apprentice level (2) spells ... you have to aim them properly because they are projectile based! No adjusting aim while firing, as opposed to the Novice level (1) spells. Then, when you get to Adept level (3), they have area effect so it isn't too bad if you miss. Haven't got any Expert (4) or Master (5) yet, so I don't know about those

I seem to remember another game where the middle level of a power was the most difficult to handle. I think it was the inFamous games...

The Dual-Casting & Impact perk can really turn the tide of battle when Impact decides to work (on Destruction), but I probably wouldn't survive most battles without my trusty Flame Atronach.

Atronach is the name of the particular spell? I only have basic fire, frost and spark spells now, but certainly enjoyed burning through some human enemies in a dungeon with the fire.

[RossRoy]

The Dual-Casting & Impact perk can really turn the tide of battle when Impact decides to work (on Destruction), but I probably wouldn't survive most battles without my trusty Flame Atronach.

Atronach is the name of the particular spell? I only have basic fire, frost and spark spells now, but certainly enjoyed burning through some human enemies in a dungeon with the fire.

The name of the spell is "Conjure Flame Atronach" (or something close to that). If I remember correctly, you can buy it from the court wizard in Whiterun (Farengar)

[Achim]

I am still such a noob.

Had my first free roam encounter with a dragon. Took me 20 attempts to take him down, ended up saving half way though. The event was clearly triggered by the environment, not entirely random; each time I died he reappeared. Will have to learn to run to the tail end more efficiently, and the better use of food throughout the battle. One time, I killed the dragon the exact moment he killed me Very satisfactory when he finally goes down

[RossRoy]

From what I understand about random Dragon encounters is that there are "dragon spawning spot" and then a random Yes/No whether you will actually encounter the dragon or not.

I remember when I was walking to a certain spot for a quest for the Companions where I knew I already had a follower waiting for me over there, so I didn't bring my usual follower with me (Lydia). I ended up crossing the spawning spot, all by my own self. So I sprinted out of there, hoping the dragon would follow me, until I could meet up with Farkas (who was to be my follower for said quest).. alas the dragon lost interest in me 

[Achim]

Oh, I had Lydia with me too; I think alone I would have run away eventually. But no matter how much fire there was, she seemed to survive (at least longer than me). Had she died, I think I would have restarted the battle.

BTW; my encounter was in the forrest. On the one had it was good, as the dragon had only certain spots where he could land and I only needed to worry to get behind him (with Lydia takng most of his breath at the front). On the other hand it is also dangerous as the forrest ground occasionlly limits the escape. I was on my way to visit some dudes on the mountain and the trigger point was on the forrest path.

That reminds of my first random encounter with a dragon. I was walking along the marshes around Whiterun and heard a dragon. I looked up and sure enough he was swooping in majestically, but not overly interested. Then I got mauled by a sabre tiger

Also encountered a group of crazy witches. One of those shot fireballs at me (like you described them). I had to give up, not powerful enough yet to even get close and those fireballs are really devastating to my health


Raised my first zombie yesterday too and he even did a kill for me. That sure will come in handy...


There is a lot of factions in this game Companions, Imperials, Ulfric's guys (forgot the name), but also Battle-Born vs. Grey-Mane and there may be more later...? It is almost hard to keep track and you are always asked to ally with one of them.

[RossRoy]

Sabre cats .. I hate those! By the time you realise he's there, you already lost 3/4 of your health!

Yeah, there are a lot of factions, but most fall in 2 camps: Supporters of the Imperial or Supporters of the Stormcloak.

You know, I was watching a video earlier today and it reminded me of something crucial .. I need to use Shouts more! I always forget about them, but they can be a life saver in certain situation! And they pack quite a punch too!

It's probably the same situation as I had when I played Splinter Cell .. I don't use the shouts now, because what if I actually need it before it's recharged? In Splinter Cell, I always finished levels with countless gadgets because I never used the best ones in case I might need them later in the mission..