[Volimar]

Yes it is.

That's awesome.

[Audioboxer]

What the fuck have Bethesda been doing for the last month? (angry PS3 owner).

[Martian]

I was not sure whether or not I wanted to buy dawngaurd. But now Im sure, I wont buy it.

Not because I feel let down, but Im angry that again Bethesda has failed PS3 owners(and IM a pc gamer). And come on man, no fucking timed exclusives anymore. No one will buy a 360 anymore and all you do is piss off other gamers

[disappeared]

Is there an NPC in the world who can disenchant/enchant items for me? My archer isn't a magic user/enchanter in the slightest, and I don't want to have to start power-leveling the skill just to get a few bonuses on armor.

What the fuck have Bethesda been doing for the last month? (angry PS3 owner).

What's up? My version has run pretty smoothly for ~50 hours now. Save file is nearing the 7MB mark.

[Dave1988]

What's up? My version has run pretty smoothly for ~50 hours now. Save file is nearing the 7MB mark.

He most probably means the silence from Beth on patch 1.6 for almost two months and then announcing said patch is being incorporated into 1.7.

[Audioboxer]

He most probably means the silence from Beth on patch 1.6 for almost two months and then announcing said patch is being incorporated into 1.7.

Yeah this. If Dawnguard isn't coming/you can't be bothered working on it at least put out patch 1.6.

[McNum]

Hmm, I made me a Kajidt, or how you spell that. Cat-person.

Am I understanding it right that until I find a weapon that does more than 15 damage, I'm better off going bareclawed with them? She packs quite a punch unarmed, more than a steel sword. Since this is a sneaky character, I'll probably end up with daggers for that x15 sneak attack bonus later, but until then, I don't see much point in going anything but bows and claws.

Also, is it worth it to go for some magic on a sneaky character? Illusion might be interesting. Going to grab Clairvoyance in any case. The night vision power is pretty neat, too.

[En Ex]

So we're past 30 days since Dawnguard was released on the 360, but no news on the PC/PS3 version.

What's the holdup, Todd?

[DigitalDevil]

What's up? My version has run pretty smoothly for ~50 hours now. Save file is nearing the 7MB mark.

lol, just wait, my friend.

[RadarScope1]

OK, I am finally jumping in to Skyrim. I plan to set aside much of my Sunday afternoon and evening to dig in to the early game a really get a feel for things before I have to take my first break. I want to soak it in.

My question: how many hours should I plan on spending to do that?

[MrBig]

My question: how many hours should I plan on spending to do that?

The rest of the week.

[Unknown Soldier]

I'm not sure what you mean by this. I'm most definitely finding loads of enemies above level 30. I find creatures all the time that I can't use the Thrall spell on which means they're above level 40. I've gone into some crypts with my level 60 and fought Draugr Deathlord after Draugr Deathlord. What did you mean exactly?

Many enemies go above 30. Giants and Mammoths, Dragon Priests, Elder and Ancient Dragons, Draugr Death Overlords, some vampires, some Falmer and dwarven constructs...even guards go up to 50.

Shit, Legendary Dragons are apparently level 78.

Someone else was telling me that. Clearly they were mistaken. I'm glad for this, since I'm planning on playing this a pretty long time and I might hit a very high level. Ancient Dragons sounds pretty awesome, the regular Dragons I've fought so far are pretty crummy, I had more difficulty killing giants and mages as a sword dual-wielder than dragons.

[Unknown Soldier]

OK, I am finally jumping in to Skyrim. I plan to set aside much of my Sunday afternoon and evening to dig in to the early game a really get a feel for things before I have to take my first break. I want to soak it in. My question: how many hours should I plan on spending to do that?

I've already put about 60 hours into my save file after getting Skyrim from the Steam sale. That includes the time I spent messing with mods though, and also the time I spent not at my PC with a macro AFK-grinding Sneak and Alteration.

No, I'm not actually a mage class. I'm grinding Alteration for the magic resist perk so I can kill mages with my pointy objects. Ufufu~

[disappeared]

Dammit do I hate the Light Foot perk. It's actually useful sometimes using traps against enemies, and the perk completely nerfs it. Nevermind that you HAVE to take it to get Silence and the level 100 perk. Beth made some really stupid "auto-win" decisions with these skill trees.

lol, just wait, my friend.

I don't like the sound of that. :(

Maybe I should dig the 360 out of the closet and just call it a day. I love to main on my PS3 but I'm not liking the sounds of Skyrim fucking up down the road.

[malfcn]

So, according to Pete Hines, Dawnguard doesn't have a concrete release date for the PC and PS3 yet.

Did MS pay for the exclusive? If they paid for 30 days and Bethesda doesn't bother for a few extra months..that'd sting a bit. Or they got their monies worth by somehow actually delaying other platforms.

[insane0hflex]

Did MS pay for the exclusive? If they paid for 30 days and Bethesda doesn't bother for a few extra months..that'd sting a bit. Or they got their monies worth by somehow actually delaying other platforms.

There's a beta patch released for PC right now. I strongly believe that dawnguard will be released within this month, probably announced next week or the week after.

I don't know why they are waiting so long though...many strong games are coming into the market share.

[DanielJr82]

My advice? Start a new character. Creating a new character is one of the things I love in this game, heck, my original playthroughs were all part of the same 'universe', so to speak. Had Wulf the Nord as Dovahkiin, Sul the Dark Elf as Listener, Rolf the Badass Altmer as my mage and Elizabeta the nudist Imperial as Harbinger. Good times. That's an evolution I'd actually like to see games like TES take. Instead of starting a character, you start a world and can drop a new character into it any time you want.

I took your advice and started a new build. Breton, gray looking dude, I named him Merlin White (Merlin from the Arthurian legend for magic prowess, and White from Walter White in Breaking Bad for attitude... he's going to be a badass.)

I think I'll be going into Conjuration and Destruction, a few perks in Restoration for magicka regen. Enchanting will be my craft. I'm already level 6 by doing bounties and some quests. Is that too low to start the College?

Did MS pay for the exclusive? If they paid for 30 days and Bethesda doesn't bother for a few extra months..that'd sting a bit. Or they got their monies worth by somehow actually delaying other platforms.

My guess is that coding for the PS3 is a pain in the ass. They should at least fork over the PC version though, those are the dudes with all the helpful video tips on Youtube. =/

[NBtoaster]

I think Dawnguard will be announced for PS3/PC along with the announcement of more brand new, multiplatform DLC. Like with Fallout 3 Broken Steel etc were announced for PS3/PC along with two more coming DLC planned for everyone.

edit: on second thought at least the first two pieces of dlc are timed exclusive. Maybe we'll be waiting until after that :\

[HammerOfThor]

Anyone know if I get get rid of vampire lord and get werewolf back? If I do that, will I lose all my vampire lord perks?

[Blue Ninja]

Just beat a Legendary Dragon on Master Difficulty.



Fuck yeah. Taking the guy down took some luck, some skill, and some friends in high (or, more specifically, low) places. Minor Dawnguard spoilers ahead:

The character I play with now has had quite a journey. He started off as a main quest playthrough. I finished Dawnguard with him, but after that didn't feel the drive to go back and do the main quest. Part of me wanted to create a new character so I could do the Main Quest and Dawnguard questlines in order. But, since this guy was in the middle of some quests, I quickly realized I could use him to farm some achievements: specifically the Vampire Mastered and Legend ones.

So I did the one thing I had never done before in this game: I set my morals aside and deliberately became a blood-sucking creature of the night. As a Vampire Lord I traversed Skyrim, littering its streets with the drained bodies of the dead. I became powerful. I became hated. Wherever I went, the sun would set. And at last I unlocked my final perk: Achievement Unlocked.

That still left the Legendary Dragon, though. Thorvild the Wanderer, however, was only a measly level 37 warrior. The aforementioned dragons only appear once you hit level 78. So, once again, I did something I had never intended to do with this character: I acquired the Oghma Infinium and boosted my skills until I reached level 81. I decked myself out in the appropriately evil-looking Heavy Falmer armor, forged a dragonbone sword and went hunting. But the Legendary Dragon, it seemed, was an elusive creature. Everytime I reached a new dragon lair, I would find a low-leveled, pitiful being I dispatched after only a few blows. The only challenge I encountered was an Ancient Dragon, but it, too, succumbed quickly to my overpowered sword arm.

Eventually, I had only one dragon lair left on my list. Ancient's Ascent, near the Cyrodiil border. One of the more hidden lairs, but thankfully I had already discovered its location during my earlier roamings. I fast-traveled there and arrived in the dead of night. Ahead, I noticed a dragon sitting atop a Word Wall, steadily keeping its gaze on me. Unfaltering, I stepped forward and let loose a Soul Tear shout. The beast, of whose breed I wasn't yet sure, surged forward and hovered menacingly above me.

At that moment, I noticed the horns and the dark veined wings. This was my target. This was a legendary dragon. I leveled Spell Breaker, warded off its Drain Vitality shout, and took cover behind a piece of Nordic architecture jutting from the mountainside like an old bone. I fired off pot shots at it with my crossbow and got close whenever it landed near my hiding spot. I saved a lot: exposure to the dragon's fire breath meant instant death. After twenty minutes, I had only whittled down a quarter of the beast's health bar. I needed backup.

Luckily, I knew just the guy. I waited until the dragon took flight, aimed at the ground and shouted "DUR NEH VIIR". True to his word, the ancient undead dragon sprang forth from the Soul Cairn and appeared beside me. The Legendary Dragon quickly took notice and prioritized targets. As the two dragons did battle in the air, I loosened every crossbow bolt I had at it. Occasionally, the dragon would retreat to the ground and engage me, only to quickly take off when he realized I, too, had teeth. Durnehviir called forth some minions from the Soul Cairn as he forced the Legendary Dragon down a final time. I charged forward, plunged my sword deep into the Legendary Dragon's mouth...

Only to get roasted when it breathed fire at me. Reload.

I charged forward again, but this time kept Spell Breaker aloft. Bashing the dragon's face aside every time it tried to barbecue me, I eventually managed to drop its health bar to zero. As it let out a final roar, its flesh burned off its bones and its lifeless body slid downhill. I absorbed its soul. Durnhehviir landed beside me, shouted in triumph, and then retreated back into the Soul Cairn. I restored my health, gathered my loot, and took off into the night.

I know I didn't need to beat the thing on Master to unlock the Achievement... But heck, it felt good.

[RadarScope1]

In reading an advice for noobs post on another website, I see something about graphics suffering if the game is installed to the 360 HDD. What's up with that? And has it been fixed or addressed in patching since?

[moojito]

49 hours in, just walked into Solitude for the first time. It's like being in oblivion again!

[exYle]

*snip*

I always did enjoy reading your little Skyrim stories

[Unknown Soldier]

So is there any point in siding with the Imperials or the Stormcloaks. I think both sides are douchebags quite frankly, and seeing as how I'm the Dovakiin bitch, I don't see why I should help either of them. I'm here to save the world, not involve myself in petty political squabbles between two sides who are both equally douchey.

[RedSwirl]

How does the map of the Skyrim area of Elder Scrolls Arena compare to Elder Scrolls Skyrim? I know the shape is probably the same, but did they also try to maintain other things like the names of towns, roads, and other stuff? In fact, how do they each compare in size (I know Arena and Daggerfall are by far the largest ES games).

[Blue Ninja]

How does the map of the Skyrim area of Elder Scrolls Arena compare to Elder Scrolls Skyrim? I know the shape is probably the same, but did they also try to maintain other things like the names of towns, roads, and other stuff? In fact, how do they each compare in size (I know Arena and Daggerfall are by far the largest ES games).

Size-wise, Skyrim in Arena is, I think, completely procedurally generated. The cities and towns have the same names, though. Not sure how it relates scale-wise, but I think Arena's world map as a whole is smaller than Daggerfall's map.

I always did enjoy reading your little Skyrim stories

Just started a new character, been thinking about writing it down. But I doubt I'd get many readers. :lol

[McNum]

There something about this game that has been nagging me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, until I did some of the Dark Brotherhood quests yesterday.

I'm a Mary Sue. Or at least, my characters pretty much have no choice but to be one. I am the chosen of prophecy, the Dohvakiin, the one to defeat the World-Eater. Okay, fair enough, a bit cliche, but it works. I am also the chosen of the Dark Brotherhood, the new leader of the Companions, the new Archmage, the greatest warrior on either side in the civil war or the peacemaker, and while I haven't done the Bard's College or Thieves Guild quests yet, I think I'm seeing a pattern here.

I mean, you'd think that being The Chosen One would be enough, but no. I have to be the Chosen One of Everything. The Dark Brotherhood one in particular bugs me, but the Companions one is almost as bad. I've been a member of those groups for days at most, and suddenly, I'm the most important person ever to them. It gets silly, frankly. There's ego stroking and then there's this.

Now don't get me wrong, it's still a great game, but I kind of wish they'd tone the whole chosen of prophecy thing down just a little. It's fine for the main quest, being the Dohvakiin is pretty fun, but a lot of the sidequests just hand out titles like candy. "Hey new guy! You're awesome! Have position of leadership, even though you'll go away and never return when you get it." Maybe I'm missing something, but it just seems weird. Are there any major sidequests that don't follow this pattern?

[Blue Ninja]

There something about this game that has been nagging me, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was, until I did some of the Dark Brotherhood quests yesterday. I'm a Mary Sue. Or at least, my characters pretty much have no choice but to be one. I am the chosen of prophecy, the Dohvakiin, the one to defeat the World-Eater. Okay, fair enough, a bit cliche, but it works. I am also the chosen of the Dark Brotherhood, the new leader of the Companions, the new Archmage, the greatest warrior on either side in the civil war or the peacemaker, and while I haven't done the Bard's College or Thieves Guild quests yet, I think I'm seeing a pattern here. I mean, you'd think that being The Chosen One would be enough, but no. I have to be the Chosen One of Everything. The Dark Brotherhood one in particular bugs me, but the Companions one is almost as bad. I've been a member of those groups for days at most, and suddenly, I'm the most important person ever to them. It gets silly, frankly. There's ego stroking and then there's this. Now don't get me wrong, it's still a great game, but I kind of wish they'd tone the whole chosen of prophecy thing down just a little. It's fine for the main quest, being the Dohvakiin is pretty fun, but a lot of the sidequests just hand out titles like candy. "Hey new guy! You're awesome! Have position of leadership, even though you'll go away and never return when you get it." Maybe I'm missing something, but it just seems weird. Are there any major sidequests that don't follow this pattern?

It's why I play different characters for everything. Feels a lot better.

[Face it Tiger..]

snip

I like playing my character as an almighty god-dovahking.

Suits me atleast.

[McNum]

I like playing my character as an almighty god-dovahking. Suits me atleast.

Yeah, I get it, it is pretty fun. It's just... I don't know how to express it. It just feels odd in a way. Narratively, at least.

Is there any way to encourage a dragon attack, by the way? I just had a silly idea for a Dark Brotherhood quest solution. But I'd have to finish the main quest to get Call Dragon, so I'm wondering if I can get a hostile dragon to come at me in some way? Using wild dragons for an assassination should be wroth a bragging point or two.

[DanielJr82]

Yeah, I also play different builds for that reason. It just feels more natural, you also get to try out other perks and play the game a different way.

Which is why I have a problem with the Legendary Dragon achievement, you pretty much have to do all the side factions if you want to level up all your skills to even make one of them spawn. Meh. It's funny, because the numerous bugs and glitches haven't turned me off from the game, but the same story recycled over and over does. Want to kill Skyrim for someone? Make them do everything with one build.

BlueNinja, cool story man, but you still cheated. I don't care if you beat the game in Ultra Master Difficulty. :p

[Blue Ninja]

BlueNinja, cool story man, but you still cheated. I don't care if you beat the game in Ultra Master Difficulty. :p

I'd never get it otherwise: fuck getting all my skills up to 100.

[DanielJr82]

Exactly! =P

[McNum]

Yeah, I also play different builds for that reason. It just feels more natural, you also get to try out other perks and play the game a different way. Which is why I have a problem with the Legendary Dragon achievement, you pretty much have to do all the side factions if you want to level up all your skills to even make one of them spawn. Meh. It's funny, because the numerous bugs and glitches haven't turned me off from the game, but the same story recycled over and over does. Want to kill Skyrim for someone? Make them do everything with one build. BlueNinja, cool story man, but you still cheated. I don't care if you beat the game in Ultra Master Difficulty. :p

Yeah that's why I restarted the game with a sneaky archer. No way my knight-type guy would ever join the Thieves Guild or Dark Brotherhood. He's about as stealthy as a sonic boom in a small apartment. My sniper, though, is good at getting away with murder. Literally. Killed someone for a quest in broad daylight with guards patrolling the area. Got away clean. The sneaky-eye thing only got to a little open. And that's at 45 Sneak. Just how good are you at hiding at 100?

[RedSwirl]

Size-wise, Skyrim in Arena is, I think, completely procedurally generated. The cities and towns have the same names, though. Not sure how it relates scale-wise, but I think Arena's world map as a whole is smaller than Daggerfall's map.

But how does the size of Skyrim in Arena compare to the size of Skyrim?

[Blue Ninja]

But how does the size of Skyrim in Arena compare to the size of Skyrim?

So, apparently, and I'm getting this from someone who actually played the game, Arena doesn't have a real map in the sense we're used to. If you leave a city through the gates, you can't actually reach any other city by going on foot, you need to use the fast travel system. So I guess you can't really measure it.

[DanielJr82]

Just how good are you at hiding at 100?

With the muffled movement perk, muffled boots, and at night? You're practically invisible. I've had bandits searching for me and they're literally IN FRONT OF ME and they can't see me. If you get the "Shadow Warrior" perk on top of that, you can stop combat in the middle of a fight. Works with dragons too. It's just a lot of fun, lol. I managed to get to my target in the last mission of Dark Brotherhood without killing anybody else. The place was crawling with guards.

Currently playing a mage build and it's not as fun as my thief/assassin build. =(

I'm still a warrior type of player, though. Always have and always will be. Give me heavy armor, sword, and shield any day.

[789shadow]

I have a question, I suppose. I don't really know how to go about killing dragons without using a bow or magic.

[Volimar]

I have a question, I suppose. I don't really know how to go about killing dragons without using a bow or magic.

Foul language.












You have to wait for them to land or hover low enough for you to reach, it's a pain unless you have (main quest spoiler) the Dragonrend shout that forces them to land. Unfortunately, they sometimes land half a mile away and then take off once you get close enough to hit them.

[McNum]

I'm beginning to see the power of Sneak. I did the Dark Brotherhood quest where you kill the bride at her wedding and I got out of that one in an amusing way.

I'm playing my archer, so naturally, sniping was the name of the game. I found a nice shady spot across from the balcony, waited for the target to come out and start giving the speech, then nock, zoom, release. 3x Sneak Attack damage to the target. Good kill. But! A guard saw me shoot. So I was fined 40 gold for using a weapon in the city... And guard was nice enough to escort me out of the temple and everything, skipping the huge ambush waiting just outside.

How there's a guard who's going to end up feeling real bad about himself if he ever figures that one out...

But how the heck did he see me shoot without putting two and two together that I killed the target?

Also, why didn't I get my bonus? I killed her when she was giving the speech on the balcony. That's not good enough?

[789shadow]

I'm beginning to see the power of Sneak. I did the Dark Brotherhood quest where you kill the bride at her wedding and I got out of that one in an amusing way. I'm playing my archer, so naturally, sniping was the name of the game. I found a nice shady spot across from the balcony, waited for the target to come out and start giving the speech, then nock, zoom, release. 3x Sneak Attack damage to the target. Good kill. But! A guard saw me shoot. So I was fined 40 gold for using a weapon in the city... And guard was nice enough to escort me out of the temple and everything, skipping the huge ambush waiting just outside. How there's a guard who's going to end up feeling real bad about himself if he ever figures that one out... But how the heck did he see me shoot without putting two and two together that I killed the target? Also, why didn't I get my bonus? I killed her when she was giving the speech on the balcony. That's not good enough?

The best way to do that one is to push the stone statue on her from the opposite edge of the balcony it's on, then sneak away on the upper level until you can fast travel away.

[DanielJr82]

Officially only got one last achievement to get (Legendary Dragon). Just finished the College of Winterhold, it was pretty neat. The Thieves Guild is still my favorite faction though. Leveling up the Ragged Flaggon, The Nightingales, Vex and Delvin, fences, the no-kill rule, it's awesome. I seriously think Bethesda put more thought into that guild than the rest. But the College of Winterhold was pretty neat as well. Didn't really explore the Atronach Forge (what's the point of that thing?), and I didn't do a lot of the member sidequests, but maybe I will some other time.

I think next I'll go back to my first build (my warrior) and power level him up to the 70's (he's currently level 61, so it's doable). No glitch for me, I officially decided I won't use it. I'll probably have to re-do all the factions with him, but now that I know what to expect I'll be much better prepared. Any perks I gain from now on will be invested in Enchanting, that perk tree is seriously powerful. Especially when combined with Smithing (got all the perks there). Nevermind looking for gear, I'll make my own legendary enchanted gear.

*Siiiiiiighhhhh*

Still though, I think it's time for a break from Skyrim. Did 250 hours with my warrior, 70 hours with my thief, and just now finished 20 hours with my mage. That's a total of 340 hours across 3 builds; that's two weeks worth of gaming, I'm burnt out. I'll tackle the Legendary Dragon some other time, maybe on the next expansion. For now I think I'll finish up Arkham City or AC:Brotherhood... or get back into Battlefield 3.

[McNum]

Oooh, the Dark Brotherhood quests are getting... spicy.

Kill the Emperor! Yeah, it's totally going to work with a simple poisoning scheme. I'll just slip in, poison his food and slip out of the conveniently open exit door.

...

Pfft! I almost wrote that without laughing. This is going to go so wrong in so many, many ways. I'll try to feign surprise anyway. "Oh no. Someone else ate the poison and the exit is locked. I totally didn't see this coming."

That said, I haven't done it yet, but come on. "Unspoken Plan Guarantee". It's a trope. Something this well planned? Yeah, it's going to go nuts fast.

And had a wonderful NPC moment. A Kadjiit commenting that at least dragons don't attack the roads. While standing not 2 meters away from a dead dragon... that he saw me kill. In the middle of the road. Perceptive, he was not.

[Unknown Soldier]

Steam just downloaded something for Skyrim. Patch 1.7?

[789shadow]

So a bunch of vampires just attacked Whiterun and killed Amren. RIP.

[Topher]

Started an assassin/rogue character a while back for the first time. While it is immensely gratifying to sneak up behind someone and give them a *ahem* very close shave *ahem* I still personally find myself partial to the mage build. I just love magic, even though it isn't without its faults. I hope we get some new spells that are worth a damn in the next DLC releases.

[Snacks the sober sea lion]

I need to find some Deathlords to finish leveling up block. Shield charge is the entire reason I even put points into this tree.

And if only this game had recipe shortcuts. It's like 5 clicks in 5 different places to enchant one item, and the keyboard shortcuts aren't even useful (enter to confirm, R to craft?). I'll still need to enchant numerous iron daggers to get the last 15 levels to 100 enchantment, I even went naked (since I use heavy armor and the steed stone) so I could switch to the mage stone until this is done.

[789shadow]

Something hilarious happened today. Some of you may know the married Imperial couple that can be found traveling around Skyrim with their bodyguard. I first met them with this character traveling from Rorikstead to Whiterun, while complaining about how long it was taking to get to Solitude, which is hilarious in of itself. Well, I was traveling up a back road to Ivarstead when I see the wife floating backwards down the river towards a waterfall, and the husband and bodyguard have been killed by a Sabre Cat. The wife literally just floated down river until she hit a rock at the edge of the falls, and just stood there. I couldn't even find words.

[SeratedBraille]

I need to find some Deathlords to finish leveling up block. Shield charge is the entire reason I even put points into this tree.

Giants should do the trick, I remember levelling up block rapidly by antagonizing them, they're easy to find too.

[Snacks the sober sea lion]

I found two Deathlords with battle axes. The problem was I have Quick Reflexes, so every time one did a power attack, it went into slow motion not just until the end of the attack, but would occasionally last up to 30 seconds. And I couldn't use spells while in slow motion. Just fire arrows and wait for it to go back to normal. So it took 20 minutes longer than it should have.

But because of this, Deathlords are even more of a joke on Adept than most Draugr already are.