RyCo1983
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But I have an A-shirt, a high school football t-shirt, and an smelly old flannel on...
Wait...now I'm shirtless!
Love me!
Skyrim
- Thread starter IrishinSyria
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But I have an A-shirt, a high school football t-shirt, and an smelly old flannel on...
Wait...now I'm shirtless!
Love me!
ulukinatme
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People love them some Skyrim I guess
I know it's a bit late to answer your question, but are you sure you gave the bartender some items to hold for you before the party? Before the quest began you were supposed to give him some key items you couldn't live without, like armor, some weapons, potions, etc. It shouldn't have been all your equipment, just what you needed for the mission. Once the mission is complete, Delphine should have the rest of your gear.
I also have some words of wisdom for you. Follow these guidelines for happy Skyrim playing:
1. Save, and save often.
2. First learn rule numba one
3. After every 30 saves or so make a brand new save file. Occasionally you may run into a scenario like you did above, and you may find that it's not as simple as going back to an autosave as those may have saved progress past the point you need to reload from. Then you're really screwed being on a console since you can't use PC commands to fix it. If you have a separate save file from an hour prior however, you may be able to reload from there and not lose everything.
4. Try not to rush through that main story line. While theres nothing preventing you from knocking out the main quests first and coming back for side quests later, I find that the side quests are where much of Skyrim's enjoyment lies. If you're entirely focused on completing the main story you may find your disappointed given that it's not all that long.
5. Be sure to do the Daedric quests. One starts in the Bannered Mare in Whiterun. Another starts on the streets of Solitude, look for a crazy man. There are others, but those will get you started.
6. Join the Stormcloaks, don't side with those Imperial assholes. Don't forget, they wanted to chop your head off!
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koonja
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Not late at all. I'm re-doing it here in a bit. I honestly don't remember. I remember going into my inventory when the lady said 'you'll have to find something to wear'. I put on 'party clothes' and went in. I didn't double check to see what was missing because I didn't expect everything to be taken from me, just that I had to wear my party clothes inside.
From there, it happened like I explained. I escaped through the back door with the bartender, he told me to grab my things in the box but there was nothing there. I'll pay closer attention this time.
ulukinatme
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Before you talk to Delphine and get shuttled to the party, you should have talked to a man in the bar located in Solitude. He requests you to give him whatever items you can't live without, those are the items he will smuggle in for you to use.
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koonja
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I'm going to take your advice and slow down because I honestly don't remember that part. I'm rushing through the game. I'm trying to get better at magic because I'm getting slaughtered in fights. I went to the school for magic and learned a useful defensive spell, but they wouldn't show me anymore at the time.
ulukinatme
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Are you focused primarily on magic? If you try to be a jack of all trades (Especially in the beginning) you'll find that you're not a master of any particular combat skills while your enemies will be. For the first 10-20 levels it's best to focus on leveling just a few different skills like Block/One Hand Weapons/Heavy or Light Armor/Sneak or Speech. The more you diversify, the weaker you'll actually be as you level up. It's fine to specialize in magic for combat, just don't try balancing melee weapons too at first.
Take some time to clear some dungeons and do some smaller quests. They'll help you train your skills and allow you to acquire more wealth and better gear. As your magic skills improve you'll get access to better spells. From skill levels 0-25 you'll find vendors with Novice spells mostly and maybe a few Apprentice spells. 25-50 you'll find vendors start offering Apprentice spells and an occasional Adept spell, etc, etc. So, the higher your magic skills start going, the more spells become available. If you get close to maxing out a spell school you'll be able to go on a quest to unlock Master level spells. Some of those can pack a good wallop.
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koonja
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The only current spells I used are 'Clairvoyance' to help my find objectives, and for combat I've been using 'flames'. It's worked so far, so I haven't deviated from it.... But I feel like I'll have to find at least one more destruction spell. Oh, also, I've just learned 'restoration' which is very useful.
ulukinatme
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Wait, you use flames and only flames for combat, or you use flames in conjunction with a melee weapon or bow? Just trying to get an idea why you said you're struggling in combat. If you're strictly a Mage when it comes to fighting, you definitely want some more spells. Frost spells are good against people with 2 handers as it saps their stamina (Preventing those nasty power attacks) as well as their health and it slows them down. Lightning spells will drain another Mage's mana so they can't cast, and of course it will take their health too. Fire spells are good for anyone due to the little bit of extra damage.
If you're going the pure Mage route, don't forget other spell schools that can help you. Conjuration will allow you to raise a skeleton or elemental to tank/take damage for you. Illusion can be helpful by way of Fury spells (Make a bunch of enemies attack each other) or allow you to turn Invisible. Alteration isn't always considered very powerful, but it can allow you to cast Armor spells to take damage better, or Paralyze enemies (Very useful). Restoration of course allows you to heal without using a potion, or mess with Undead enemies (Which there are plenty of in Nord dungeons). You don't need to use all these spell schools, but adding one like Conjuration can make battles easier.
Of course, if you're primarily a melee fighter and you're just using that flame spell on the side, disregard what I said above
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koonja
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Wait, you use flames and only flames for combat, or you use flames in conjunction with a melee weapon or bow? Just trying to get an idea why you said you're struggling in combat. If you're strictly a Mage when it comes to fighting, you definitely want some more spells. Frost spells are good against people with 2 handers as it saps their stamina (Preventing those nasty power attacks) as well as their health and it slows them down. Lightning spells will drain another Mage's mana so they can't cast, and of course it will take their health too. Fire spells are good for anyone due to the little bit of extra damage.
If you're going the pure Mage route, don't forget other spell schools that can help you. Conjuration will allow you to raise a skeleton or elemental to tank/take damage for you. Illusion can be helpful by way of Fury spells (Make a bunch of enemies attack each other) or allow you to turn Invisible. Alteration isn't always considered very powerful, but it can allow you to cast Armor spells to take damage better, or Paralyze enemies (Very useful). Restoration of course allows you to heal without using a potion, or mess with Undead enemies (Which there are plenty of in Nord dungeons). You don't need to use all these spell schools, but adding one like Conjuration can make battles easier.
Of course, if you're primarily a melee fighter and you're just using that flame spell on the side, disregard what I said above
I'm really, really bad at this game so far. What I do in combat is strictly a constant flame. Once my magika runs out, I either run around until it's restored or try to kill them off with my axe. I desperately need to get to the college. Is there a school besides winterhold?
ulukinatme
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No, Winterhold has the only magic college in Skyrim, however every hold has at least one Mage I believe that will sell you spells. Usually the Mage is in the same castle/house as the Jarl. For instance, in Whiterun theres a Mage called Farengar in the room on the right of the entrance hall. He'll sell you spells of all kinds up to your current skill level. Same with Solitude, theres a Mage that's usually right next to Jarl Elisef. You can purchase spell books from any of them. Theres really no need to go to Winterhole for more spells unless you want to. As far as I know, all spells except for the Master level ones can be purchased from any court wizard in any of the holds.
Since you primarily appear to be a Mage in combat, definitely look at purchasing other spells to assist you as I mentioned above. Frost spells are good against two hand wielders, Lightning spells are good against other Mages. Be sure to augment your Magicka by purchasing/finding rings, necklaces, robes, and other items that will increase your Magicka, increase regeneration, will reduce the cost of Destruction spells (That helps a lot), etc. Make sure you're picking Perks that help you cast. For instance, Apprentice Destruction Perk will cut the cost of all Apprentice Destruction spells by half, making them a better choice than your Novice Flame spell usually.
Make sure you always have a decent Follower with you too, since you seem to be mostly a Mage. Someone that wields a shield well, like most of the housecarls, will allow them to take damage for you while you stay back and cast spells. Be sure to give them good weapons and armor as well to help keep them alive longer.
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koonja
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I went with Axe because it has so much more damage.
ulukinatme
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Spells are fine, as is the axe. No need to train another range weapon if you're already into Destruction. In fact, Destruction can become a bit overpowered once you get access to the Double Casting and the Impact Perks. Impact will stagger just about any opponent when you Double Cast a spell like Lightning Bolt, it will even stagger Dragons. You're basically invincible in 1 on 1 fights then.
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koonja
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This is how I see what you guys are telling me:
But seriously though, thank you for the help. I'm going to get through this Thalmor level, then just do odd missions and go to school until I have a grasp of what's out there and what I can do.
But seriously though, thank you for the help. I'm going to get through this Thalmor level, then just do odd missions and go to school until I have a grasp of what's out there and what I can do.
RyCo1983
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The Mages that sell you the spells should have some good spell casting gear, focus on gear that increases your overall magicka, magicka regeneration, and spell effectiveness for whichever type of spells you focus on (destruction it seems).
Wouldn't hurt to do the winterhold questline. Not sure what the level requirement is.
Wouldn't hurt to do the winterhold questline. Not sure what the level requirement is.
ulukinatme
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This is how I see what you guys are telling me:
I blame my long winded rambling.
ulukinatme
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No level requirement I believe. The Winterhold College is kind of a let down though, at least compared to Oblivion's Mage Guild. You do get a couple Mage items as part of the quest that will help you out, so it's worth doing the quest line at any level if you're a Mage.
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koonja
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Ok, how do I know if I'm a mage? I picked the default character (guy that looks like Brad Pitt in Troy).
RyCo1983
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Your primary attack and defensive techniques are magic.
Therefore, you are a mage. Perhaps a Battle-Mage...
The Winterhold Questline gives you the Arch-Mage robes.
From the Elder Scrolls wiki:
Archmage's Robes offers a 15% reduction on all spells cast, +50 Magicka and +100% Magicka regeneration.
These are the highest all-around enchantments available for magic-oriented characters. Regular enchanted robes or armor do not reach the height of these attributes, nor do they equal the combined enchantments it provides. However, each individual enchantment on the robes are out-ranked by expert and master robes for those specialized in one school of magic (e.g. Master Robes of Destruction).
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gkIrish
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The funny thing is that I'm at level 45 and I literally just completed this mission today. I'm not really sure what determines how good your enemies are but I suggest you start doing more "miscellaneous" missions before you go through the main story line. You can begin those by talking to random people in the towns. I tend to exhaust my "miscellaneous" missions before I do more main storylines.
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koonja
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Yeah, I'm paring back from main stories as soon as I get out of this one alive. Going to learn more spells and hopefully make some allies.
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Briefly touching on a bunch of subjects here, so buckle up:
Tolfdir teaches you Lesser Ward as part of the College of Winterhold's quest line, but there are very few spells you learn that way. To learn the vast majority of spells in the game, you have to purchase a spell tome from a magic-oriented vendor and then read that book.
Regarding Lesser Ward, that type of spell can be pretty challenging to use well. To have any effect, you have to equip and cast it (which may be a problem if an enemy surprises you), and you need to be facing toward the attack (what if there are multiple enemies?) Not to mention that it drains your Magicka very quickly.
Absolutely this. You seem to be relying on both Destruction and One Handed to generate your offense, which is preventing you from being effective at either of them. Pick one offensive tree (Archery, One Handed, Two Handed, Destruction), one defensive tree (Heavy Armor, Light Armor, Alteration), and one utility tree (Sneak, Block, Conjuration or Illusion), and make sure that most of your skill gains are coming in those three primary skills.
It's important to note that increasing one of your magic skills simply decreases the cost of casting spells in that school. For example, increasing your skill in Destruction will decrease the cost of casting all Destruction spells (thereby allowing you learn and cast more powerful spells), but it doesn't increase your damage unless you go buy and learn those more powerful spells.
Flames is one of the weakest Destruction spells in the game. Every player starts with it, and it only deals 8 damage per second at a relatively short range. If you plan to rely on Destruction magic, you should at least learn Firebolt, and perk for Augmented Flames, Dual Casting and Impact.
In theory, yes. In practice, lots of enemies in Skyrim are resistant to Frost (Nords are the most common humanoid, any type of creature with "Snow" or "Frost" in its name, etc.) So it's dangerous to default to "Frost for melee enemies".
Again, this is probably how it was supposed to work, but in practice, most Mage-type characters have significantly more Magicka than Health, so you'll kill them long before you drain their Magicka bar. It's also the least Magicka-efficient of the three damage types. The main benefits of Shock damage are that: (1) it connects almost instantaneously, so enemies can't really dodge it; and (2) very few enemies are resistant to it.
Fire is where it's at. Most Magicka-efficient, extra damage, and effective against almost everything. You'll need to switch to a different damage type against Flame Atronachs, Dark Elves, and half of the dragons you'll encounter, but that's about it.
At your level, the spells you'll need to learn next can be purchased from any of the court mages-- Farengar in Whiterun, Wylandriah in Riften, etc. Once you get to Expert level spells (purchasable at skill level 65), you'll have to go to the College, but before then, you can find them all over the place.
Impact is pretty much required for anyone relying on Destruction, especially on higher difficulty settings.
Until you run out of Magicka, which happens very quickly.
Sort of. Magicka naturally regenerates at 3% per second out of combat, and 1% per second in combat. So until you've got a large Magicka pool, Fortify Magicka is significantly better than Magicka Regen. For instance, with 100 Enchanting skill and all the relevant perks, the max level enchants for both of those effects are +62. If you're sitting at the base 100 Magicka, you regen 1 Magicka per second in combat, and the max level Magicka Regen enchant will increase that by 62% to 1.62 Magicka per second. But a max level Fortify Magicka enchant will increase your Magicka to 162, which also increases your in combat regeneration to 1.62 Magicka per second (1% of 162); Magicka Regen becomes more competitive as your Magicka increases, but I'd gear for Magicka over Magicka Regen until you're sitting at around ~350 Magicka, at least.
Then again, both stats become pretty weak once your Enchanting skill reaches 100 and you create a custom set of gear to zero out the Magicka costs of your two most important spell schools.
Alamo touched on this, but your character is a "mage" if you play him like one. What he looks like makes no difference.
Tolfdir teaches you Lesser Ward as part of the College of Winterhold's quest line, but there are very few spells you learn that way. To learn the vast majority of spells in the game, you have to purchase a spell tome from a magic-oriented vendor and then read that book.
Regarding Lesser Ward, that type of spell can be pretty challenging to use well. To have any effect, you have to equip and cast it (which may be a problem if an enemy surprises you), and you need to be facing toward the attack (what if there are multiple enemies?) Not to mention that it drains your Magicka very quickly.
Absolutely this. You seem to be relying on both Destruction and One Handed to generate your offense, which is preventing you from being effective at either of them. Pick one offensive tree (Archery, One Handed, Two Handed, Destruction), one defensive tree (Heavy Armor, Light Armor, Alteration), and one utility tree (Sneak, Block, Conjuration or Illusion), and make sure that most of your skill gains are coming in those three primary skills.
It's important to note that increasing one of your magic skills simply decreases the cost of casting spells in that school. For example, increasing your skill in Destruction will decrease the cost of casting all Destruction spells (thereby allowing you learn and cast more powerful spells), but it doesn't increase your damage unless you go buy and learn those more powerful spells.
Flames is one of the weakest Destruction spells in the game. Every player starts with it, and it only deals 8 damage per second at a relatively short range. If you plan to rely on Destruction magic, you should at least learn Firebolt, and perk for Augmented Flames, Dual Casting and Impact.
In theory, yes. In practice, lots of enemies in Skyrim are resistant to Frost (Nords are the most common humanoid, any type of creature with "Snow" or "Frost" in its name, etc.) So it's dangerous to default to "Frost for melee enemies".
Again, this is probably how it was supposed to work, but in practice, most Mage-type characters have significantly more Magicka than Health, so you'll kill them long before you drain their Magicka bar. It's also the least Magicka-efficient of the three damage types. The main benefits of Shock damage are that: (1) it connects almost instantaneously, so enemies can't really dodge it; and (2) very few enemies are resistant to it.
Fire is where it's at. Most Magicka-efficient, extra damage, and effective against almost everything. You'll need to switch to a different damage type against Flame Atronachs, Dark Elves, and half of the dragons you'll encounter, but that's about it.
At your level, the spells you'll need to learn next can be purchased from any of the court mages-- Farengar in Whiterun, Wylandriah in Riften, etc. Once you get to Expert level spells (purchasable at skill level 65), you'll have to go to the College, but before then, you can find them all over the place.
Impact is pretty much required for anyone relying on Destruction, especially on higher difficulty settings.
Until you run out of Magicka, which happens very quickly.
Sort of. Magicka naturally regenerates at 3% per second out of combat, and 1% per second in combat. So until you've got a large Magicka pool, Fortify Magicka is significantly better than Magicka Regen. For instance, with 100 Enchanting skill and all the relevant perks, the max level enchants for both of those effects are +62. If you're sitting at the base 100 Magicka, you regen 1 Magicka per second in combat, and the max level Magicka Regen enchant will increase that by 62% to 1.62 Magicka per second. But a max level Fortify Magicka enchant will increase your Magicka to 162, which also increases your in combat regeneration to 1.62 Magicka per second (1% of 162); Magicka Regen becomes more competitive as your Magicka increases, but I'd gear for Magicka over Magicka Regen until you're sitting at around ~350 Magicka, at least.
Then again, both stats become pretty weak once your Enchanting skill reaches 100 and you create a custom set of gear to zero out the Magicka costs of your two most important spell schools.
Alamo touched on this, but your character is a "mage" if you play him like one. What he looks like makes no difference.
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koonja
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You know better than me, but arrows with like 8 damage points? I'll pass.
ACamp1900
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They upgrade quick, you take no damage yourself and you often get a sneak bonus... I'm telling you... in caves and such, it's the only way to fly... I rarely use swords and such.
Once you get there I would use the Flame Astro. Spell too... it too is a great way of inflicting much damage without putting your character in harm's way.
I've taken out entire enemy camps/caves with nothing but a few arrows and a spell or two... all while taking no damage myself at all.
Once you get there I would use the Flame Astro. Spell too... it too is a great way of inflicting much damage without putting your character in harm's way.
I've taken out entire enemy camps/caves with nothing but a few arrows and a spell or two... all while taking no damage myself at all.
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koonja
Guest
I will take it into consideration. Seriously considering restarting as an elf maybe and getting really good with a couple of things. I know I haven't finished much of the game, but GKIrish said he's a 45 and I'm a 9 and we just finished the same mission.... That does not make sense. I feel like I've gone too far for what little I know.
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The arrow's damage gets added to the bow's damage when you shoot something. If you want to be able to fall back on a weapon for when you've drained your Magicka, Archery would be a good choice. It allows you to stay at range, which is helpful if you're wearing mage robes and relying on a summoned Atronach to tank for you.
But I'd advise you to keep the hybridization to a minimum. Skyrim is way more fun when you put some limits on your character; force yourself to find solutions within your preferred playstyle (Warrior/Mage/Thief.)
wizards8507
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I'm glad Coon sucks worse than I do. I've leveled Smithing quite a bit while making all the building materials for Lakeview Manor (Hearthfire DLC) so I have way better amour than I have any business wearing at level 20. I can look dragons and just about any enemy in the face while they blast with with ice, fire, shock, whatever, and it barely makes a dent in my health bar because my armor is imbalanced in relation to my enemies.
*SPOILER QUESTION*
I'm trying to hold off on playing the "main quest" for awhile, but I'm not sure which of the quests is the "main" one. Picking one or the other, would you guys recommend that I hold off on the civil war story line or the Dragonborn story line?
*SPOILER QUESTION*
I'm trying to hold off on playing the "main quest" for awhile, but I'm not sure which of the quests is the "main" one. Picking one or the other, would you guys recommend that I hold off on the civil war story line or the Dragonborn story line?