Is any of your equipment cursed or otherwise giving a negative?

I didn't even know you can be diseased. However I'm a level 8 and haven't really had trouble mowing down trolls.

Oh and I finally found an easier way to beat giants at my current level. If your close to any water source just run into the water and fire either magic or any distance weapons. As they start to walk away jump out and they will chase you back to water then repeat.

I guess giants are scared of water.

I'm sure everything I just wrote is common knowledge. But as I've said before this is my first RPG and I get excited when I stubble into these little things

That was pretty stupid.

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Yep, that pretty much sums up companion behavior in this game.

Glad the only time I've used a companion is when I was forced to. That's pathetic.

No, it had to be a glitch (why didn't anyone sugest that?). As a last resort I got training in single handed. It then showed my correct skill level at 34 (I'm a mage, I don't fight much).

I was wandering around and I happened to see a horse just standing there with his Bandit rider dead at its feet lol. I love how things happen around you even when you are not there.

Just saw this on Reddit, had no idea (spoilered only for size)

I don't understand.

The different designs that are circled represent its respective type of quest...mage, main, side, etc... Essentially you could tell what kind of quest it is if you know which quest line it represents.

Just an interesting observation.

Ah.

Entire Tamriel Landmass Built Into Skyrim

Thanks never knew that. I hope on the guide I ordered there will be a key that also explains it.

OK, now you're just fucking with me.

Because I can't read posts from people I've bloc... damnit!

Seriously. I just realized I could sprint, and I'm a level 28! Left bumper for life!

Just picked this up yesterday and after about 5 hours I can already tell that I won't be playing any other games until at least January or February. I went with high elf but I still haven't decided what I want to do with this character. In 5 hours I've switched back and forth between battlemage, pure mage, and stealth archer with no real upgrade direction. I think I'm around a level 6 or 7 with at least 2 or 3 unspent perks. I guess I'll figure it out sooner or later.

Just skimmed through the thread and it seems like most of you guys had a companion for the golden claw quest, but I did that one solo straight out of River Run. I just killed the first dragon and I still don't have one yet (though I think I declined someone's offer to follow me around for $500). Seems like I just haven't talked to the right people yet.

Not much else to add yet other than I'm a little surprised that some of you don't like the lockpicking feature. It's straight out of Fallout 3 and I have to imagine that if you're having a problem with it then you either don't fully understand how it works or you're moving the controller too abruptly so you keep breaking your lockpicks. I would almost argue that most locks are almost too easy to pick, even at a low skill level.

I'm playing the game without companions, as I always do with Bethesda RPGs. In my experience, they're more likely to get in my line of fire than to actually help.

I used companion once and got mad he was taking all my kills and it took a lot of the challenge away from doing things solo and feeling more accomplished.

Yeah, I roll solo too.

just some observations of a level 42 character 70 plus hours in...

I have split my growth down the middle between one handed and destruction....both are near 90 on my skill tree...

Early on magic was amazing..but by the middle of my development the sword really started to shine...


now it is not even close...I can take people out in seconds with a sword compared to forever with my magic...I have perks on destruction...items that add to destruction...and I still just drain slowly enemies with magic, but a few swings with my sword...dead.....against some later enemies magic is starting to feel under-powered to me...

I do love the flame cloak though...put that bad boy on and go in swinging and you take a group of enemies fast...In fact the flame cloak takes out enemies faster than my fire/electric/ice spells...if I just run up to them with the spell activated they die in seconds...if I was to use the flame spell, I doubt I could take out the same enemy before I die...it almost seems broken in some way...like all my bonuses are effecting flame cloak but taking away from normal spells...

almost done with Dark...good but not as good as the Dark Brotherhood of Oblivion...(though that was one of the best story lines of any game ever)

So for you pure mages out there.. Destro/Conjure are your primary skill trees, and Resto is a secondary tree?

Well... I've only put in about 4 hours thus far but I've done the beginning, did a little wandering, went through a mine that was guarded and occupied by bandits, and did the Golden Claw quest.

I know I'm going to echo what a lot of other people here are already saying about this game but, man I'm floored.

I probably put about 20 hours into Oblivion after it was released, and it was cool and all but I couldn't force myself to play it more than that. Everything felt too disconnected... The combat was really atrocious, the open world wasn't that diverse, the caves and dungeons all looked pretty similar, and the main quest was the most unimaginative main storyline I've ever took part in - Look at me running from Oblivion gate to Oblivion gate, all of which has the (nearly) same exact layout inside! It was uninspired. I also am pushed away by any RPG that punishes me for choosing a gameplay style and not being able to alter my primary or secondary focus.... which is most of them. But there have been some amazing options for me over the years... Final Fantasy VII and VIII, The Legend of Zelda series from Ocarina forward, etc.

Skyrim on the other hand, is the game that Oblivion should have been. The open world actually seems like an open world... it's very diverse, as it should be. The combat is much more refined, enjoyable and at times, even feels rewarding. I can actually switch up my Nord to have some magic skills if I want. The dungeons and caves seem to be diverse as well and not just in and of themselves, but compared to the other ones you'll visit as well. Everything feels unique from everything else in the game, and I know this game will provide me MANY more hours of fun than Oblivion EVER did.

I know the game JUST came out, and even after more than 30 hours, I've still barely scratched the surface, but man, the potential of future DLC (possibly an updated Morrowind) really has me excited.