I wanted to play Dawnguard a second time, so I decided to make a list of some quest involving caves, dungeons, barrows and cairns before diving deep into Dawnguard. So, it is a mystery to me why I can clean out eight caves, dungeons, barrows and cairns combined –as well as kill two dragons in the process and not level up once in that time? Eight items crossed off of my list and I still haven’t leveled up?!? What’s up with that?

You care about leveling up or maybe about how amazing it was ?

Well, what level were you when you started?

What skills are you focusing on? Which ones were you leveling up in the dungeons?

This isn't World of Warcraft. You level up by using your skills, not by completing tasks.

First off, there was absolutely no need to be so condescending.

So, let me just say this, perhaps you will understand, but then again maybe not. I have well over 11 hundred hours of play time in Skyrim and the most levels I have ever achieved is Level 25. I have friends who are currently at level 75. As for what skill or skills am I working on, they are currently Marksman, One-Handed and Sneak skills. Now after all that I didn't level up until the ninth quest.

Please allow me to apologize for starting this thread. It was an obvious mistake on my part. Thank you.

The only thing I can think of, if you are level 25 with 100 in marksman, one handed, and sneak (or very close in those at least) then its simply because you are using skills you have already mastered and thus cant level anymore. You would have to use a tow handed weapon, or block, or magic, or something else.

Leveling is not based on EXP. Your level increases by using skills. If you're constantly using your main skills that are already at 100, you will not level up. You will have to use another skill if you wish to level up more.

I have had some slow levels also. Manly with archery being used. When I am killing everything with archery sneak attacks in one shot there isn't a lot of skills being used apparently. I'm not getting hit, not sneaking very long, arrow kills in one shot, etc. Can make for a long level up.

This.

Once you get into the 20s/30s, leveling up is slower, and if you're only focusing on 3 skills, I'd imagine that you're already maxed out in at least one of them.

It doesn't matter how many quests you do. Experience is based on use of your skills.

Wow..I didn't start to slow down leveling until about level 55... use some more skills and learn something new, it might actually be fun. I never really was inclined to play with magic until I found conjuration..

Actually in this new game I am at level 16 and I sneak everywhere to try and get SNEAK leveled up. There are times when I just say, "The heck with it." And, open up the console and type "player.SetAv Sneak 100." And, be done with it.

Ok. And are you still confused about why you're having trouble leveling up?

No! It's just a darn slow process that annoys the heck out of me. I have risen to level 25 and my sneak, one-handed and marksman is still exceedingly low and no where near 100.

The truth be known, with over eleven hundred hours of play time I have only completed the main quest twice. The final battle is as boring as a box of rocks. I get more satisfaction out the final battle with Ancano, that the final main quest fight. Speaking of Ancano after i finish that fight I get the feeling like the game is over for me. (Roaming around Skyrim after that searching caves and the like just isn't fun for me. No sense of accomplihment.) Fortunately, in Dawnguard the final battle is worth playing again.

It seems like you may be new to the Elder Scrolls series. The games have never been about the final battle. They're about the journey you choose to take.

Now, it sounds like your problem is entirely different than what you previously described. Leveling in this game is designed to slow down as you level up, so that when you're at a higher level, you will need to level up more skills, or you'll need to keep leveling your primary skills to a higher level. If you're already level 25, and you're focusing on low-level skills, then you won't be making much progress towards leveling by leveling those skills. For quick leveling, you generally want to focus on 4-5 primary skill sets, then focus on leveling those up.

Which is why I don't play on a PC, lol. Because I'd be doing the same thing
I did notice that, on the PC version I also own, when I force my skills up like that it doesn't affect my character level. I went "console command happy" one day and put all my skills at 100 thinking that would level me up. At the end I was still level 1

Sounds like good old fashioned burn-out to me.
Perhaps stepping away for a bit would do you some good. Focus on another game, or just something else entirely, then come back to Skyrim with a fresh point of view. Instead of "doing what you usually do" when you set out, pick a different area to explore, or set some kind of goal like "I'm going to discover and clear every single dungeon, shrine, or location that exists in this Hold." ...and then go for it. Levels be damned.

A watched pot never boils my friend.

I know what you mean, I've started to slow down and it's getting agonizing trying to pick which perk to get when I know I wont get another for a while. Still that's part of the fun. I am about twice your level though (49) and it's only slowed down recently (Like as I've been in the 40's). If you are going for the sneaky type you could go around towns and pick some pockets. Getting that to 100 was actually very quick for me and that helped me level up a lot. Just try and steal high value items that still have a good chance of you getting it. You could also start smithing to improve your weapons so your sneak attacks are that much more effective. Or illusion to distract and deceive. Just try and find another skill or skills that complement your play style and level them up while you're at it.

Thanks, but I am not an explorer.

I like being a duel wield swords-woman who utilizes sneak, destruction and restoration magic more or less to keep myself alive. I only started using marksman when Dawnguard came out. At this particular game the leveling up started to slow down at level thirteen. Even now, when I get attacked by a dragon I only get one use of a fireball spell, for example, and my magicka is gone. Then, by the time I take a potion to increase it the dragon has already flown away out of range. Very frustrating.

Incidentally, I did go away from Skyrim for awhile until Dawnguard came out on PC and then I came back. The only other game I have that I enjoy playing is Dragon Age Origins.

It sounds like you might be misunderstanding how some of the mechanics work. For example, if you are using Destruction spells, then the only way a fireball would totally drain your magicka is if you weren't perking Destruction and weren't putting points into magicka (when leveling or through enchanted gear). And then it would be incredibly inefficient for you to use Destruction spells, because you haven't created a character that's well-suited to magic.

My advice would be to figure out what type of character you want to have before creating one. Then focus on the skills you want to use at the beginning. Don't focus on unimportant skills early on.

Okay, so then since I won't play anything but a duel wield swords-woman then I should just concentrate on the One-Handed perk and nothing else. (And, use the console to fill my pack full of health potions.)

Incidentally, I have seen some videos on You Tube where people would, for example, when trying to up their sneak skills, would hide in the shadows as the NPC wonders around looking for you and all the while you sneak skill levels? Doesn't seem much different than me using the console to achieve the same thing.

Well you'll still find that your leveling progress plateaus very quickly if you only focus on one skill. But you're going to wear armor, right? And why not look into Alchemy or Enchanting? And you can still use a bow for ranged kills.

And yes, you can level Sneak by just hanging out around other characters while sneaking. It isn't particularly fun. And again, I think you're kind of missing the point of an Elder Scrolls game. The game isn't like World of Warcraft. If you're looking to just grind a character up to the highest level, then you're playing the wrong game. The Elder Scrolls series has always been about experiencing the world, not about grinding skills.

Well then I digress. Alchemy and enchanting is my forte. Incidentally, I have never played WOW, because I abhor multiplayer games of any kind. I will tough it out and as the song says, "I'll do it my way."

Completely missed the spirit of what I was suggesting.

First, if you keep using the maxed skills, you won't progress. If you have a high level character, you need to use unmaxed skills a LOT more to level them them. I've a level 74 character, and it has taken me several hundred hours to improve my neglected two-handed skill. This is a counter-balance to grinding skills, in some way.

Being console happy is not going to make this game fun. I did it in Morrowind and it ruined everything. I got disgusted with myself and lost interest in the game.

This game is suppose to be a challenge. Giving yourself everything by typing a command is not what this game is about. You need to have patience and know the mechanics of the game. If you have difficulty playing stealth, then go pick up the thief stone. I leveled my stealth abilities so fast, it wasn't even funny.

Like other people mentioned, if you magically granted yourself 100 sneak through the console, no matter how much more you try to sneak at level 13 or whatever, you will never get any experience points, which leads you to leveling up.

At the rate you're playing, you might as well just console grant yourself max level.

I started at lv 55 and got to lv 56 though it was slow. I really didn't try anything new and already had 100 on most of it. I think I max'd out lockpicking and archery.

But I did it for the personal experience.