# The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim post-release thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 10, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540 "2011-11-10T22:09:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 55
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1081 "2011-12-19T15:55:46Z")
I’m doing the warrio/mage bit, too, and going for 50% mana and 50% health. Stamina, I feel, is a waste much of the time since it’s so easy to get back. And while it’s very nice, it’s a vital life saving goody the way mana and health are. I do use the Gauldur amulet, though. ---
**Author:** ![Omi\_no\_Kami](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Omi\_no\_Kami](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omi_no_Kami)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1082 "2011-12-19T16:01:03Z")
I’m trying warrior mage as well, and I basically focused on mana until I started dying too quickly, then hit up some health. At level 21ish I believe I have about 300 mana and 200 health, and that seems to be working well. Has anyone tried a heavy shield in one hand, spell in the other? That seems like it’d be handy, since two-handed casting is so inefficient. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1083 "2011-12-19T16:12:21Z")
Since we’re talking about mages: does anyone have any tips for using ward spells? I never seem to activate them at the right time and end up with no mana just when I need the spell. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1084 "2011-12-19T16:21:27Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > Yup. There does seem to be a maximum you can boost things to, but it’s hard to tell exactly what it is. IIRC, it’s well above +200% for those. Thank you! Figured but wanted to double check. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1085 "2011-12-19T18:08:51Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Since we’re talking about mages: does anyone have any tips for using ward spells? I never seem to activate them at the right time and end up with no mana just when I need the spell. My tip is: use an actual shield :). Seriously though, those spells are ridiculously mana-hungry (though they miiiight become useable if you specialize in their school, I guess). They’re kinda useful when some mage is shooting hundreds of damage points of firebreath at you from across a big room or when a dragon is being coy and you’re a melee guy, but other than that they’re really not worth it. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1086 "2011-12-19T18:17:10Z")
> [@Raza](#): > > I think I’ve encountered a calculation bug (or at least I can’t imagine this is on-purpose): > > Smithing skill 100. I enchant a ring, necklace, and outfit with Fortify Smithing 25%. I go to the forge wearing my normal gear (not +smithing) and I see that a crafted Daedric battleaxe would have a base damage of 90. After putting on my smithing gear, the same weapon if crafted would have a damage of 72. Using just one piece of +smithing gear gives the same result. > > Perhaps it is a glitch affected by me already being at 100. > > XBox, patch 1.3. One or more of your regular armor pieces has a Fortify Two-Handed enchantment on it, doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1087 "2011-12-19T18:51:11Z")
I’ve been playing Rift for a few weeks, but next to Skyrim, Rift looks like RPG-lite. Plus, Skyrim and everything in it is mine, all mine! Years ago I played Oblivion (PC), that huge mess of a game, tangled with mods to make it run right. Managing the mods became such a chore that I quit playing, even though I had bought the DLCs and was really looking forward to Shivering Isle. Skyrim seems to be working fine just as is, which is hugely reassuring, but playing it also makes me homesick for my unfinished Oblivion. I’m wondering if anyone has had any luck playing Oblivion bareback, on Windows 7. If I ever complete Skyrim, I might want to play the content I never finished in Oblivion. Yesterday I killed a chicken in Riverwood. I was then attacked and killed by guards and townspeople! Good times… ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1088 "2011-12-19T19:02:30Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Since we’re talking about mages: does anyone have any tips for using ward spells? I never seem to activate them at the right time and end up with no mana just when I need the spell. There’s a perk which lets you actively aborb mana from spells cast into your shields. That should make them infinitely more viable. However, you’re completely right otherwise - they’re such mana drains as to be an active hindrance. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1089 "2011-12-19T19:04:40Z")
> [@Kobal2](#): > > My tip is: use an actual shield :). > Seriously though, those spells are ridiculously mana-hungry (though they miiiight become useable if you specialize in their school, I guess). They’re kinda useful when some mage is shooting hundreds of damage points of firebreath at you from across a big room or when a dragon is being coy and you’re a melee guy, but other than that they’re really not worth it. Thanks, I didn’t see the value in them, but thought it was just me. Another spell that is over-rated is Dragon Hide, IMHO: it only lasts 30 seconds, but takes a really long time to cast, so that by the time you have it halfway cast, you are already riddled with arrows. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1090 "2011-12-19T20:06:43Z")
I got the early entry invite to Star Wars: The Old Republic, so I played that all weekend. There was plenty of Skyrim humor in the General chat. “I used to be a Jedi, until I got an [weapon hit of choice] in the knee…” “Know what I say to those Imperial scum? FUS ROH DAH!” ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1091 "2011-12-19T20:12:11Z")
Here you go…[SW:TOR FUS Ro Dah!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpwSpYNqEM&feature=related) There is one they fear… (that music just goes well with Star Wars…it’s so epic) -XT ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1092 "2011-12-19T20:20:51Z")
If anyone is interested in what the words of the song actually mean, [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7oUk9WizNc&feature=related) is a YouTube video here (yeah, I’m bored here waiting for the client to meet with me). -XT ---
**Author:** ![Raza](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/raza/32/213_2.png) [@Raza](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raza)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1093 "2011-12-19T20:41:26Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] First off, do you have the perk for Daedric crafting? [/quote] Yes; otherwise, I would not be able to select it in the crafting interface. > [@gorsnak](#): > > One or more of your regular armor pieces has a Fortify Two-Handed enchantment on it, doesn’t it? No, but I misspoke: I was comparing war axes, rather than battleaxes as I originally wrote. So, it is a 1H weapon. I think I see what you’re getting at, gorsnak. If, say, my normal gloves have +25% 1H damage, then I put on my gloves o’ smithing, I’d naturally see a reduction in estimated damage value. Assumedly, then, after creation if I put back on my 1H +damage gloves I should go back to (or above) the expected value. I’ll have to experiment. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1094 "2011-12-19T20:52:41Z")
I think **smiling bandit** was talking about the grindstone inteface, not the forge. You don’t need the correct smithing skill to improve weapons/armor, but if you do you can improve it better. List [here](http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Smithing#Item_Quality) ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1095 "2011-12-19T21:06:13Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Here you go…[SW:TOR FUS Ro Dah!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpwSpYNqEM&feature=related) There is one they fear… > > (that music just goes well with Star Wars…it’s so epic) > > -XT Bioware sure put together some beautiful cinematics. 🙂 You’re right about the musical score being fit for both settings. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1096 "2011-12-19T22:07:39Z")
I just read that I should have held onto the Dragon Bones and scales I got early in the game. Is it important enough that I should go back 5 or 6 hours of play time to recover them? ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1097 "2011-12-19T22:17:01Z")
> [@wonderlust](#): > > I just read that I should have held onto the Dragon Bones and scales I got early in the game. Is it important enough that I should go back 5 or 6 hours of play time to recover them? They are used in making heavy (the bones) and light (the scales) armor, through smithing. Do you smith? (You don’t need more than 20 of either, I think, to make a full suit, including “improvements” on the workbench.) ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1098 "2011-12-19T22:30:22Z")
I’ve hoarded every last bone and scale so far and I just reached 100 smithing yesterday. So far I’ve only finished smithing and enchanting Lydia’s first set of heavy armor, but I’m next. I have enough raw materials to make us each a different set of dragon armor for pretty much any occasion. I have to say that her ebony-encrusted chest is much nicer to look at than the dragonbone uni-boob, though. ---
**Author:** ![wonderlust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonderlust/32/7237_2.png) [@wonderlust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonderlust)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1099 "2011-12-19T23:07:20Z")
Thanks, sounds like I don’t need to go back. I’ll hold onto them in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Illuminatiprimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/illuminatiprimus/32/11520_2.png) [@Illuminatiprimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Illuminatiprimus)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540/1100 "2011-12-19T23:14:53Z")
> [@xtisme](#): > > Here you go…[SW:TOR FUS Ro Dah!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEpwSpYNqEM&feature=related) There is one they fear… > > (that music just goes well with Star Wars…it’s so epic) > > -XT I’ll see your Star wars FUS RO DAH and raise you a [dub step FUS RO DAH!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=KbOKry8-xfQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540.md?page=54) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim-post-release-thread/602540.md?page=56)