I want to make something perfectly clear about starting out in Skyrim. There is NO best way to begin your adventures. Each play style requires certain skills and leveling to make the most of your time, and to keep you from turning into a stealth archer for every save. That being said, there are things you should never do early in the game. The most egregious error made early on is reading skill books or doing favors that increase a skill. One exception to this rule is Speech leveling. But do the speech checks first then collect skill books. I digress, it’s time to get a move on with the real best way to begin a save in Skyrim.
There isn’t a best race in Skyrim. Some are better, but there isn’t a perfect race. Depending on the play style you choose, it might be more beneficial to use a specific race. If you aren’t sure what race to choose because you’re unsure of how you want to play, I recommend Breton or Nord. Why those two? Passive attributes. Bretons have a 25% resistance to all magic. Nords have a 40% resistance to frost, which a majority of enemies in Skyrim use in combat.
The passive attributes are more of a factor in selecting a character build over starting skills. If you’re a stealth archer or stealth assassin, magic resistance may not be a factor. If you’re into alchemy, perhaps waterbreathing might be an option worth exploring to easily collect significant amounts of Nordic barnacle for super potions. Maybe you’re an upfront, teeth to teeth warrior who needs lots of stamina regeneration to perform power attacks or double the damage of those attacks. Maybe unarmed combat is something worth trying. Maybe you’re a vampire hunter who would benefit from disease resistance. Maybe you’re playing survival mode and everything I just mentioned no longer matters. There are lots of factors that might influence you into choosing a specific race. Ultimately, it comes down to who you want to play as. For me, I pick Bretons around 90% of the time. Combine their passive abilities and 90 minutes of time, you’ll be resistant to all magical attacks by 40%. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
So, you’ve picked a race now it’s time to make a plan of attack. Archery, melee, magic, a mixture, vampire, werewolf. This is where the rubber meets the road. What’s your plan? The most spectacular appeal of Skyrim that makes it so replayable are the character choices. But in order to keep every character from turning into a stealth archer you need a hard plan. That is how you best start your character. Make a plan and stick to it. Be hard on yourself. Perhaps make a spreadsheet and map out your perks. Abide by that document and only make changes to the order perks become available. Never place perks in skills outside of your plan. Are you going to be a two handed, light armor warrior who hates magic? Then don’t put points in magic. Want to be something other than a stealth archer? No sneaking, no stealing, no archery equipment. Can’t be an archer without weapons. Don’t even loot those items. There is plenty of money available in Skyrim.
Like so many people, I started playing Skyrim as a stealth archer. And like many people, I played that way for years. I never used magic, never used alchemy, never used a two-handed weapon. Always had followers in my way. Now, after years of playing, I rarely use stealth archery. Once I broke free on my chains to stealth archery, I quickly found I enjoyed the war hammer to be awesome. Then it was Destruction magic, then my favorite play style with a shield and one handed. I’ve recently found the glorious fun of Illusion magic combined with Conjuration. I can just as easily play a melee only warrior as I can a mage or thief or assassin. I can play as a vampire or werewolf in any combination of build types. All this is possible because I don’t make errors with build choices, and I stick to the plan. I’m working on a prototype that only engages in outdoor combat while on horseback. And indoors won’t be using sneak. Looking at a legitimate unarmed build, late game (level 65-70) werewolf, and a guy who only uses a fishing pole. But I only ever played as a stealth character most of these builds wouldn’t even exist.
Another concept people tend to struggle with when starting a new save is being patient. What’s your hurry? An open-world RPG is meant to absorb you fully. Cuddle you in a warm blanket. Erase the trials of real life. Why would you want to hurry those things? Take your time. If the only thing you do for ten levels is build a Hearthfire house or collect flowers, then do it. To tie patience with bad advice from seemingly thousands of quick start guides on the internet, I categorically oppose using skill books before you’re within a certain threshold of your build. And you should never use skill books without Scholar’s Insight from the Black Book The Winds of Change. Why get one training if you can get two? And you should always get the well-rested bonus before reading any skill books. If you need a follower to collect books for you, then do so. Use the correct Standing Stone, even two standing stones if you have the Aetherial Crown with the Lovers Stone stored in the crown. Maximize your profits, folks. Use skill books when skill leveling is much more difficult. Simple math: Warrior Stone (20%) plus Lovers Stone (15%) plus Well-Rested (10%) is a 45% bonus to Warrior skills. And that’s per level. Nearly 3 full levels per skill book with Scholars Insight. Need I say more? Although it
an exception, you could read skill books that don’t level your character’s chosen skills, but you could fall into danger by leveling up a skill you always fall back on. Best just to avoid temptation until your build is complete, if then.
I’ll post accompanying videos with each post as I go through given tips and tricks that will be useful.
No comments:
Post a Comment