Topic: WRUP - What are you playing?

[RossRoy]

If I understand it right, discovered locations are locked to whatever level you were when you discovered them. That way, if a fight is too hard, you can leave and come back later, and you should be able to finish the fight.

But chances are you might see higher level Trolls as you progress.

There's also the concept that easy enemies will stay easy. Oblivion has a scaling problem because of that. In the end game, you could cross path with Bandits that were wearing full daedric enchanted armor .. which doesn't make sense at all! They are bandits! They should be low level fodder compared to you.

As I read somewhere today: I am the Dragonborn damnit! I shouldn't have to put up with this shit! (don't remember what he was talking about)

[Achim]

If I understand it right, discovered locations are locked to whatever level you were when you discovered them. That way, if a fight is too hard, you can leave and come back later, and you should be able to finish the fight.

But chances are you might see higher level Trolls as you progress.

There's also the concept that easy enemies will stay easy. Oblivion has a scaling problem because of that. In the end game, you could cross path with Bandits that were wearing full daedric enchanted armor .. which doesn't make sense at all! They are bandits! They should be low level fodder compared to you.

This is what I had heard, just wasn't sure what it was So, if that is how it is, then the trolls I met yesterday should be killable after I progress a little on. If I meet troll later on, they will have scaled up to my level. Makes sense and should be better than that Oblivion style.

As I read somewhere today: I am the Dragonborn damnit! I shouldn't have to put up with this shit! (don't remember what he was talking about)

Damn right!

[RossRoy]

Well, I can confirm now that the bound sword scales! Is it from Conjuration or One-Hand skill? I don't know. But it's always a cut above anything I've found so far damage wise.

On the other hand I found out something quite perplexing yesterday. As you know, i like to have Lydia follow me around. Now, she probably got with me when I was around Level 8ish. Keep in mind I am now level 16. I started noticing something strange. Lydia is starting to get pummeled like ragdoll during fights. And it's been happening more and more. She goes down fast now. kinda like she way underleveled. So I searched a bit on the web about followers and stuff. What do I find? Follower don't scale/level! Is it a bug? Is it a design choice? I don't know. But followers have their skills and stats set when you first find them, and stay there. So if you start feeling like your follower is getting weaker and weaker? Yeah, it's just not leveling with you.

Yesterday, I fast travelled, only to come face to face with a Wispmother which promptly started assailing me. I was already having a hard time with her, then I noticed Lydia go down after like 2 or 3 hits. Then what do I hear? "Rooaaarrrrr!" ICE DRAGON! Shit! Me? Alone? Against both a wispmother AND a dragon? Anyway, long story short Lydia died, but I prevailed over both the dragon and the wispmother. Thanks Flame Atronach!

I did reload though.. and managed to keep Lydia alive through the fight by taking it away from her. Because I found that followers will yield when they are almost out of health, and enemies will ignore them and go after you. So if you are far from your follower, that will draw the aggression away from them and they will recover. If however you are fighting in close quarters and your follower takes damage while in the yielding state (kneeling down), they will die. Just a little something to keep in mind if you want to keep your followers.

[Sharpy]

Just got skyrim 2day for the 360 , gunna start it 2moz , kent wait!

[RossRoy]

Just got skyrim 2day for the 360 , gunna start it 2moz , kent wait!

Hope you have a blast - I sure am! 

Just fought my first "Blood Dragon" today - and it was a crazy fight! The dragon started attacking me normally, so i fought back. After I hit him a few times, it lost interest in me and flew off. Then I saw it plummet down to attack something in the distance. I ran over, to see it fighting Bandits, which were fighting Sabre Cats! The dragon swooped in, attacking everyone and everything in its path! So I just sat back, took out a few bottles of mead, and watched the spectacle! The dragon prevailed, killing all six bandits and the two sable cats. So I moved in and finished it off. Then I hear a roar behind - Cave bears charging at me! Three of them. Promptly dispatched them. Looted everything: Bandits, Sabre cats, Bears and Dragon.

Just your typical, average day, in Skyrim 

[Achim]

Well, I can confirm now that the bound sword scales! Is it from Conjuration or One-Hand skill? I don't know. But it's always a cut above anything I've found so far damage wise.

I just bought it from yesterday; it's a bit weird that you cannot see any stats. I have yet to try it, because I was too tired and had to stop playing. (Once Double Vision kicks in I usually turn off )

But followers have their skills and stats set when you first find them, and stay there. So if you start feeling like your follower is getting weaker and weaker? Yeah, it's just not leveling with you.

I could imagine it's by design. Kind of forcing you to switch out followers later in the game to keep things fresh. Goes against the general idea though that you can do what you want, so it may be a bug after all.

Anyway, long story short Lydia died, but I prevailed over both the dragon and the wispmother. Thanks Flame Atronach!

I saw that the Jarl's mage also sells that Atronach thing, but have to get more money to buy it. At least I can conjure a sword now and will test it later today.

I did reload though.. and managed to keep Lydia alive through the fight by taking it away from her. Because I found that followers will yield when they are almost out of health, and enemies will ignore them and go after you. So if you are far from your follower, that will draw the aggression away from them and they will recover. If however you are fighting in close quarters and your follower takes damage while in the yielding state (kneeling down), they will die. Just a little something to keep in mind if you want to keep your followers.

Unless you make her wait at home for the rest of the game, I don't see how you can keep her the whole time. You will still level up more, making the gap between you two bigger and bigger...

Here's a thought... Maybe she will level up if you send her away and then later catch up with her again...? You know, choose that dialog choice about parting ways, then re-hire her as a follower...?



Sharpy, hope you like the game as well. Share you're stories here"

[Sharpy]

So far im impressed  extremely nice to look at!!I reckons im gunna get a touch addicted to this lol.so much better then the previous (oblivion) in my opinion.It took me awhile to decide what race to go for at the start , I opted for the Nomad in the end.Only a lvl 5 at mo , but that will so change ,I can see myself 4gettin to go sleep 2nite lol  .happy gaming fellow town folk of skyrim

[RossRoy]

[...]so much better then the previous (oblivion)[...]

Tell me about it. I tried so hard to like Oblivion. But I found it a chore to play. Skyrim feels much more natural, more intuitive. And it's much more beautiful than Oblivion could ever hope to be (at least without mods )

http://multi.systemlink.me/2011/06/skyrim-vs-oblivion-graphical-comparison.html

[Sharpy]

^Nice Link!!Skyrim is a big step forward from Oblivion, just look at the difference in character details lol .id 4got how bad oblivion looked.

[Achim]

I haven't played much of Oblivion myself. But it is a few years old now and when compared to other games from the same time period it doesn't quite look like a sore thumb. Fallout 3 was already quite a few steps above it and with Skyrim they advanced their capabilities even further.


I must say, boss fights (I guess that's what they are, those guys that wait at the end of most dungeons ) remain tough. Just met another one yesterday who was killing me with two hits, so eventually I got lucky once, running around screaming like a little girl and blasting as much fire as I could. Luckily Lydia had worn him down a bit already I always fail to remember mid battle that I could halt the game and heat some food or drink some portions, which is also why all those poisons stay mostly unused :slap head:

In another fight it was three enemies against the two of us; one archer, two swords guys. No chance. Then I backtracked a bit to find a good spot and "sniped" them from a safe location; luckily they always forget after a few seconds that they were just under attack

[RossRoy]

There's something to be said about approach in Skyrim. For dungeons, it doesn't really apply, because they are mostly linear, and when you get to the final room, there's not much control over what's there.

But yesterday, I was on my way to Markarth for a quest (the quest is called: A Night to Remember .. I'll let you figure it out! hahaha)

Anyway..

I was on my way to Markarth, and I found a little bandit camp, so I decided to clear it out. The camp was surrounded by rock. So I strafed and jumped and slipped and jumped and eventually made it to the top... only to be promptly dispatched by the gazillion bandits that were just waiting for me, while Lydia was still trying to figure out what a rock is. So I reload, redo the trek to that bandit camp, and decide to walk around it and see if there's a better approach. Ugh! Should've done that before! What do I find? Single point of entry, a bridge leading to a fence. Guarded by 2 bandits, who demanded I pay a toll. Ah! Like I'm giving anything to a bandit. Quickly dispatched these two. Which brought down 2 more who came to see what was all that fuss. Walk up to the camp, what do I find? The same guys who killed me so easily weren't so brave now that they were only 3 against me, instead of 7.

And I had Lydia to watch my back this time!
(yeah, she still sucks, dying way too often and too easily but what can I do? I like the girl and she's been loyal since day 1)

[RossRoy]

Wow! I think I just had my most intense battle yet!

I was exploring, East of Whiterun on my way to Witchmist Grove. Then I saw a dragon head on my compass and thought "yay! new shout"! Now, I also found that word walls are often protected by a dragon. Which is cool, I found a few effective and fun techniques to defeat dragons (try shield bashing while the dragon is shouting )

Anyways, I kill the dragon, rather easily. I start walking towards the wall to learn the shout, when I a tomb opens and a undead arises. No big deal, these a usually some form of Draugr and easily killed ..

How wrong was I .. Never have I wished I had brought ALL my heal potions with me, instead of leaving some at home ..

What came out of the tomb was an enemy called "Krosis".. Whatever he was, I have no idea. All I know, is I had to leave the battlefield four times at least, just to regroup and heal. My atronach was useless. Lydia was her usual self, meaning yield all the time. All I could do was hide behind a pillar, and take potshots at it with my bow. But I'm no archer! My character SUCKS with a bow! (can't even stealth kill a deer! despite the x3 bonus!)

Now, I'm a mean machine with my "Dwarven Shield of Eminent Blocking" (Block is 30% more effective) and my trusty bound sword. But that guy, Krosis, is a BEAST. I have a nice axe, which does 30dmg + 25 frost dmg to health and magicka, so I thought I'd use that, seeing as he was flinging Fireballs at me all the time (and Shouting!). Didn't help (found out later why .. I'll let you discover why for yourself )

And you know what? All that time .... I completely forgot to use shouts!!! (and I have a few good ones now that would've helped immensely!)

I'm hopeless 

[Dragonfire]

I've played WoW more recently.  I've gotten my gnome mage up to level 31.  I took advantage of some daily quests tied to holidays that pay a decent amount of experience and those helped me level her like 7 or 8 levels total for the Halloween ones and now the Thanksgiving ones..and I didn't even do all of the available ones every day of the events either.

[Achim]

But yesterday, I was on my way to Markarth for a quest (the quest is called: A Night to Remember .. I'll let you figure it out! hahaha)

A Night To Remember is in my log. I got drunk in Whiterun and woke up in Markarth and hike there the quest started. But trying to o some older stuff first. ...and right now I'm in Thailand, so no Skyrim until Thursday or even Friday...

But yes, the approach to a battle can make all the difference. When I have trouble, even with a boss, I specifically try to find new options to try. Like the conjurer I was fighting yesterday, who I could only defeat after adding magicka blocking poison to the bow (which I decently leveled, can one-shot le level guys when hidden).

Had a dragon circle over me for ten minutes yesterday but couldn't find a spot where he would feel motivated to attack me. Dragon souls don't get stored, so right now I have a shout waiting to be activated...

Haven't met a Krosis yet. But I know that attacks can happen after reading the shout; got swarmed by Draugrs recently after reading the last one.

And I am hopeless myself, know what you mean. Need to use potions and shouts more

I think with Skyrim I finally understand what playing WoW feels like...

[RossRoy]

Dragon souls don't get stored, so right now I have a shout waiting to be activated...

They don't?? I think they do .. you have the "in stock" until you choose what shout to unlock .. or maybe I'm mistaken, but I seem to remember having 2 or 3 souls awaiting shouts to unlock.

------

Anyways, there's a big design flaw in Skyrim. Basically, it goes something like this:

Me, level 7 or so, have just killed the first story Dragon...
Jarl of Whiterun - You should go see these guys without delay, they don't ask to see someone too often, it must be important!
Me - Sod it! I'm joining the Companions and going to explore a bit! They can wait!

... a few levels later ... 28 to be precise ...
Me: Uhmmm Maybe I should go see what these guys want after all.

... walking along the path to Ivarsread ...
Me: Oh! A cave! Let's see what's in it!

At that pace, I'll never finish this game!