OK, so I installed SkyUI and Quality Map mods and the game does look a lot better now.
As soon as I could, I headed north. I ran past a Giant camp(only 1 giant there) and through the mountains to the north.
I really need to get a horse.
Oddly enough, I found Smithing was the quickest skill for me to grind up. I just bought all the leather/leather strips I could find and I made dozens and dozens and dozens (and dozens) of leather bracers.
So, I joined the main quest line and killed(well, kind of helped kill) a dragon. I got my Shout ability and now have that “force move” power. I have visited one other word wall and received another power(storm, I think).
I’m guessing I need to kill another dragon to get a dragon soul to load it in.
Are dragons now wandering the world map? Again, I killed the main dragon and reported back to the leader guy(Jard something). I also did the Golden Bear Claw mission, since I stumbled upon it naturally.
Are dragons out there now?
Yes, dragons can turn up and attack more or less randomly at any time now. (You can also go seeking them out in various locations, and will be given quests to do so.) Random dragon attacks are not all that frequent, though, and dragons are not so hard to kill as you might expect. Get yourself a good bow (and arrows) and build up your archery skill. Hit them with an arrow a few times and they will land, and you can steam in on foot to finish them off.
In my experience so far (I am further on in the game than you, but still not all that far) dragons have a bit of a tendency to turn up when you arrive in medium sized settlements like Riverwood and Morthal. I have never yet seen a dragon try to attack bigger cities like Whiterun, Markarth, Windhelm or Solitude, or any of the tinier settlements (except Kynesgrove, but that was when I was specifically questing for a dragon near there). They will occasionally just attack you in open country, though.
Hmm, there is a point in the main mission where dragons either aren’t roaming freely, or are extremely rare. After which Dragons are pretty much everywhere. You’ll get quests to kill them regularly, and you’ll find them roaming around form time to time.
I believe that happens after you kill the first dragon, but it might not happen until you visit the grey beards atop that huge mountain.
Iron daggers ( 1 iron bar + 1 leather strip ) is traditionally considered the easiest/cheapest way to grind that skill. And yes it is probably the easiest skill to max ( enchanting is another one ). But do beware - grinding it up to 100 immediately before you have time to improve your combat skills can lead to the game being ( temporarily ) a difficult slog as opponents scale above your ability to handle them safely. Usually the game is very easy, but this is one way to inadvertently make it kinda difficult.
Correct, for the most part.
Oh, good lord, yes. Random dragon encounters will start to build gradually in frequency. But eventually they’ll be as thick as fleas on a dog - you won’t be able to stick your nose out of a doorway without another one popping up and bellowing up a storm. It gets almost ridiculous, but at least there is an in-game justification of sorts :D.
Plus you will become aware of permanent spawning points where you will find words of power and their dragon guardians ( the dragons re-spawn eventually, not the WoP of course ).
BTW, dragons quickly become a bit predictable and easy to take on. If you’re playing on Pc, I’d recommend the Dragon revamped mod. Gives dragons random abilities - some will spit out lighting, fire, ice, etc. Their AI is also enhanced, and they are tougher suckers overall.
Dragons will not attack the “inside” areas of the main towns: Solitude, Markarth, Windhelm, Whiterun, and Riften. Any outside area of the cities or villages are fair game. Hope they don’t murder too many villagers. Yes, their random attacks get old fast.
Smithing is easy to grind. Not nearly as easy as Alchemy in Oblivion, though. Bad idea to “tag” the easy ones in the earlier TES games.
I thought they fixed that in a patch. I know they fixed the iron dagger exploit. The game seems to calculate the skill level up by the value of the finished item. So for grinding smithing I used jewelry. Once I got the transmute spell and cleared a few Dwemer ruins I had all the jewels and raw materials I could ever need for making necklaces and rings.
Mahaloth, the Storm Call shout is not particularly useful with one out of three words unlocked. And you’ll find Unrelenting Force is not particularly unrelenting or forceful until you get the full Fus Ro Dah. Fortunately, the Greybeards will give you the rest of this shout for free as you progress. Enjoy ragdolling some bitches!
My favorite is when dragons attack the mage college. Especially during the hours where all the NPCs are changing rooms. That thing goes down FAST.
I use the Deadly Dragons mod. It makes them tougher, adds new types, and is configurable; you can make them even tougher, make them attack in numbers, etc.
Ah! I played it on the Xbox, so I couldn’t say. I did think it was a bit silly at the time.
OK, so I have played the following games preceding this one:
- Elder Scrolls II
- Elder Scrolls III
- Elder Scrolls IV
- Fallout 3
- Fallout: New Vegas(which I really consider Fallout 4 or the “true” 3).
And, wow, Skyrim is amazing. I’ve modded it a bit now to fit my needs/desires and I have to say, I’m loving the game. I’m not typically dazed by early game stuff, but I am seriously impressed with Skyrim now. I just went to get the “horn” or whatever for the Greybeard guys and found the note instead.
It’s hard to explain, but I am really impressed with what I’ve seen so far. And I was greatly underwhelmed by Fallout 3(I actually played New Vegas first). Anyway, it’s a good game and I’m really impressed, including the new leveling/upgrading system.
There’s a bandit camp north of Whiterun that has a Transmute spell book. It’s a nice, little way to turn iron ore into silver ore and silver ore into gold ore.
I’ve had a nice, little industry of crafting rings and enchanting them with pretty soul gems. It puts some gold in my pockets, and levels both smithing and enchanting.
There is a reason this thread got so long ;). As many little little nits as one can pick with it ( and there is a fair number, some correctable on the PC ), it still stands as probably the most immersive fantasy rpg world created to date. New Vegas comes close, but Skyrim is just a great place to wander off randomly into the wilderness.
Dude, the Dark Brotherhood storyline was great.
I’ll admit it, they got me. I assume the emperor assassination would be a decoy, so when the initial one turned out to be a decoy, I was stunned when the Night Mother asked me to continue with the assassination and kill the real emperor.
I didn’t believe the game would actually have me kill the emperor and didn’t believe it would happen until, well, it did. I was stunned.
My favorite quest progression storyline in any Elder Scrolls game.
If you haven’t done it yet ( and aren’t the sort to systematically do all of the guild quests ), I’d also recommend the thieves guild quest as being quite strong - it is fairly long and immersive. By contrast a lot of people find the fighter’s guild ( Companions ) and mage’s guild ( College of Winterhold ) storylines thematically weaker as well as shorter, though they are still entertaining enough IMHO.
Anyone tried the Skyrim Redone mod? I’d like a revamped Skyrim experience similar to what OOO did for Oblivion - it wasn’t new but it felt like it was.
I did the Mages’ guild and am in the middle of the thieves one now. I will likely skip the fighter’s guild in this game.
Keep in mind that there’s a Word of Power (for Fire Breath) only accessible by that questline, and it’s also the only way to become a werewolf. So if you are interested in either of those things you might want to run their missions up until then. Both are pretty early on, anyway.