Can you change the level at any point in the game? It's been a couple years since I've played.
Yes. You can even change it in the middle of a fight. Start -> System -> Gameplay -> Difficulty.
On a serious note, how do you make a companion? I thought 'Raulgh' or whatever his name is was my homeboy, but he keeps taking off, lol.
Here's a list of potential followers. The easiest way to get one is simply to follow the main quest through Riverwood to Whiterun. Kill the dragon, become Thane of Whiterun, and buy Breezehome for 5k gold*. Every time you buy a home, it comes with housecarl who will serve as your follower. Even if you prefer to go solo (to maintain stealth, etc.), followers are very useful as pack mules. Buying a home also gives you an "owned" bed you can sleep in for the Well-Rested bonus (+10% skill leveling rate for 8 hours, improved with a spouse to +15%) and safe storage for your loot.
Since it sounds like you're playing as a warrior-type, you'll also want to join the Companions in Whiterun. They're Skyrim's warrior faction. Completing the quest line nets you one of the best 2h Axes in the game, several powerful followers, and free training in Archery, Two-Handed, One-Handed, Block and Heavy Armor.
Also, Yosilda is the best wife... Just FYI.
Nah, bro. Aela's a
beast between the sheets.
-Full upgraded glass armor, or thieves guild upgraded armor.
-Chilebrand, upgraded
-bow and arrows for days as my weapon of choice
-necklaces and rings to upgrade my carry weight.
It's how I roll.
If you're crafting it yourself, most types of armor can hit the armor cap (567 displayed, 80% DR). So I went with Elven, since (1) it's the lightest set in the game (a full set only weighs 7 lbs); and (2) it requires the lowest perk point investment to hit the armor cap of any set (2 in Smithing and 3 in Light Armor).
Legendary Elven Bow, Battleaxe, Dagger
Armor capped
Magic resistance capped (85%)
80% Spell Absorption (Atronach perk in Alteration + Atronach Stone)
Enchants are mostly Resist Magic, Stamina Regen, and Carry Weight
If you guys haven't played Morrowind and enjoy Oblivion and Skyrim, you should definitely check it out. It's more challenging since the directions that NPC's give you is all you have to go by and no compass telling you where to go. Sometimes it makes for a real headache finding the locations in the wild but IMO it just adds to the game. Creatures aren't leveled to you but I'm pretty sure are preset, meaning you can't walk into any cave at level 1 and clear it out like in Oblivion.
I wouldn't say that the lack of directional guidance "adds to the game". Fast Travel was a huge improvement to the series. I played Morrowind on PC, and once I figured out the console command to just teleport somewhere, my enjoyment of the game increased immensely. If Fast Travel ruins your immersion in Skyrim, just don't use it. Some players rely on the carriage services to get between Holds, and strike out on quests from there.
I never really got into using magic in either Morrowind or Oblivion as I mostly played around a stealth character, but one of the most useful spells they didn't include in Oblivion was Levitate, it allowed for shortcuts scaling mountains, escaping fights, etc.
Bethesda had to cut Levitate from Oblivion (and later, Skyrim) because the cities are instanced. That is, their contents don't load until you enter through one of the city gates, which really cuts down on the resource requirements of the game (which was necessary as Oblivion was the first TES game to be released on consoles). If Levitate was still in the game, you just float over a city wall and see that, well, the city's not really there until you go through a gate.
Another thing that added to difficulty was that the magic bar didn't refill on its own, you had to use potions (or eat ingredients? I haven't played in a long time) to restore magic points.
Yup, no natural Magicka Regen. You had to chug potions in battle, and rest out of battle to recover it. For those who think playing a pure caster in Skyrim is hard, Morrowind would make you cry.
Didn't the enemies scale with the player in the more recent TES games? I think in the older ones you could end up walking into a dungeon that was too advanced and end up getting spanked. I could be wrong there, been awhile since I've played III and prior titles.
That was the biggest problem with Oblivion.
Everything in the game leveled with you. So you'd spend days leveling up, and getting better gear, etc., and then you'd walk back into the very first dungeon and get destroyed by bandits wearing full sets of glass and daedric armor. A fan later released something called Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul on PC which fixed most of Oblivion's glaring issues, including this one. Enemies still leveled with the player, but only within a certain range, and according to different zones (the further you traveled from the Imperial City, the nastier the enemies got). So the bandits in that very first dungeon would be level 5 at the beginning of the game, but would top out at 10-15 if you came back later. Conversely, if you immediately traveled to an Ayleid ruin on the fringe of the map at a low level, you'd probably get one-shot by an Ancient Vampire inside. Totally fixed the game.
Bethesda hired that guy, and he incorporated the same type of thing in Skyrim. Though since the cities in Skyrim are somewhat decentalized, enemies get nastier at higher elevations. So if you run straight to the top of a mountain as a level 1 noob, you're liable to get stomped by a Frost Troll or something. Giants have a static level (30, I think) from the very start, etc.
You can be a strictly weapons type warrior if you want, but the beauty of TES is that you're not confined by any one type of build. You can specialize in one area, be a jack of all trades, or anything and everything in between. I will say that some schools of magic will behoove you if you practice them from time to time. For instance, I find that keeping a low level heal spell handy will save you lots of gold long term. Spells that increase your defense can also be handy. Theres plenty of other spells that can really change the way a battle plays out. For instance, a couple Frenzy spells in a bandit dungeon will cause them to beat each other up, mass chaos! A pure mage player is tough to play for beginners, but it can be really fun playing with spell combinations to see what you're capable of. Illusion and Alteration spells are particularly entertaining....mmmm...Paralyze.
I've found Magic to be sort of "all or nothing" in Skyrim. Casting most spells requires (1) a large Magicka pool; (2) Cost-reducing perks; and/or (3) Cost-reducing enchantments on your gear. A Warrior-type isn't likely to have any of those things. I suppose a melee fighter could level Restoration enough to be able to use Close Wounds in battle, but other than that, the whole "spellsword" concept is hard to execute well, at least on higher difficulty levels.
Morrowind was pretty bad ass. Its been so long since I've played it, I'm not sure I can really compare it to the more recent TES games. I do know that I heavily modded it after I completed the first play through. I remember that you could create some crazy magic items in that game , like a ring that let you run really fast and also float/fly through the air...awesome for traveling. I do remember Morrowind had all those different Dark Elf houses you could belong to, I enjoyed those quest lines.
For those playing Skyrim on PC, some ambitious modders are in the process of
completely recreating Morrowind within Skyrim. I'd be all over that if I had a decent machine.
*If you drop all your money in a container right after you select the dialogue to buy a home, you'll still get the key, but can recover all your gold afterward.
Reps.