Elder Scrolls new player =( : V

» Thu May 10, 2012 4:46 am

Hey all, I bought Skyrim the other day because it looked really cool, and i just have a few questions. Let me start by saying this is my first Elder Scrolls game, so i'm probably completely unaware of a lot of little things you all know that would make it a lot easier lol.

Here are my Questions/Issues

1.Why use light armor when heavy is so much better? I am doing a hybrid Ranger/Two handed warrior type character (Mainly points in Archery so far) and looking at the wood elf info and the Archer info, i should be using light armor rather than heavy, and i'm not sure why.

2.Why don't any of the merchants give me near the right value an item says its worth when i try to sell? I have items valued at 2000 gold+ and they will only give me 400 or so. Also, i cant figure out how to haggle or barter.

3.How does this whole soul stone system work? I have figured out how to use them to enchant my weapons and armor but that's it, or do they not serve a purpose after that?

4.What does owning a house give you? I can buy a house in Whiterun now, but its 5000 gold and i didn't want to blow that money on some useless thing, like a horse. I spent 1000 gold on a Horse that i apparently left somewhere and now i have to buy a new one.

Thanks guys, i know these are all probably insanely stupid questions but I'd appreciate the help a lot. I like the game so far but if could just clarify a few things it would make me very happy lol.

Oh, one more question, is it good or bad to run around and do a lot of dungeons before doing main storyline quests? Before i even did the quest to get the first dragonstone i had cleared 19 dungeons and explored to a couple other cities. Just wondering if i shouldn't do this or what, i didn't want to mess anything up.

Again, Thanks for the help to anyone who replies something meaningful to this, i'll be checking it regularly, happy hunting all.

» Thu May 10, 2012 11:09 am

bump

» Thu May 10, 2012 5:23 am

I'll tackle point 2 for you briefly.

Basically you need to level up, in the beginning no one will actually give you what something is worth. In fairness its just economics - try to buy it back and see how much more it is!
You need to level up in speech for one.
As you sell more and more things your speech will improve anyway if you don't want to spend level up points in this area.

Basically in the beginning take the price it says something is worth with a pinch of salt. It COULD be worth that much later in the game.
Also, finally, to scraqe a few extra gold pieces, make sure your selling your gear to the correct people.
Most will buy all your stuff but if its not really thier speciallity there not gonna offer top dollar for it.

» Thu May 10, 2012 11:53 am

1.Why use light armor when heavy is so much better? I am doing a hybrid Ranger/Two handed warrior type character (Mainly points in Archery so far) and looking at the wood elf info and the Archer info, i should be using light armor rather than heavy, and i'm not sure why.

2.Why don't any of the merchants give me near the right value an item says its worth when i try to sell? I have items valued at 2000 gold+ and they will only give me 400 or so. Also, i cant figure out how to haggle or barter.

3.How does this whole soul stone system work? I have figured out how to use them to enchant my weapons and armor but that's it, or do they not serve a purpose after that?

4.What does owning a house give you? I can buy a house in Whiterun now, but its 5000 gold and i didn't want to blow that money on some useless thing, like a horse. I spent 1000 gold on a Horse that i apparently left somewhere and now i have to buy a new one.

Thanks guys, i know these are all probably insanely stupid questions but I'd appreciate the help a lot. I like the game so far but if could just clarify a few things it would make me very happy lol.

Oh, one more question, is it good or bad to run around and do a lot of dungeons before doing main storyline quests? Before i even did the quest to get the first dragonstone i had cleared 19 dungeons and explored to a couple other cities. Just wondering if i shouldn't do this or what, i didn't want to mess anything up.

Again, Thanks for the help to anyone who replies something meaningful to this, i'll be checking it regularly, happy hunting all.

1. Light armour weighs less, is easier to sneak in and lets you move faster. Although those effects can be mitigated by perks it is typically pretty important to sneak (sneak up and get a stealth attack with poison for easy kills) and move fast (run away from melee opponents) as an archer so i think it would be a good choice.
2. It is based on your speech skill and the fact merchants need to make a profit. Typically you wont get more than half the price. Think of it as a used car salesman, he obviously pays a lot less for cars he buys than what he then sells them for. Also merchants only have a limited amount of money, you can see it on the bottom right when you are buying/selling. So they can never pay more than they have, and for expensive stuff you should look for merchants with lots of money and/or invest in the shops using speech perks.
3. If you have an empty soul gem and kill someone while having the soultrap spell active (or the effect from a perk) it captures a soul. Souls are then used to charge your magic items and are needed to enchant. Think of it as the magicka supply for an enchantment.
4. I havent bought a house in skyrim yet, but likely they have little practical use except as storage for stuff you dont want to sell and a free bed. Roleplaying wise it is nice to have a house anyway, and the storage actually is a pretty nice feature.

» Thu May 10, 2012 6:18 am

1. Light armour weighs less, is easier to sneak in and lets you move faster. Although those effects can be mitigated by perks it is typically pretty important to sneak (sneak up and get a stealth attack with poison for easy kills) and move fast (run away from melee opponents) as an archer so i think it would be a good choice.
2. It is based on your speech skill and the fact merchants need to make a profit. Typically you wont get more than half the price. Think of it as a used car salesman, he obviously pays a lot less for cars he buys than what he then sells them for. Also merchants only have a limited amount of money, you can see it on the bottom right when you are buying/selling. So they can never pay more than they have, and for expensive stuff you should look for merchants with lots of money and/or invest in the shops using speech perks.
3. If you have an empty soul gem and kill someone while having the soultrap spell active (or the effect from a perk) it captures a soul. Souls are then used to charge your magic items and are needed to enchant. Think of it as the magicka supply for an enchantment.
4. I havent bought a house in skyrim yet, but likely they have little practical use except as storage for stuff you dont want to sell and a free bed. Roleplaying wise it is nice to have a house anyway, and the storage actually is a pretty nice feature.

Okay thank you =)
What would be an ideal set of light armor for me then? I am at the point in the game with steel armor and dwarven weapons, i just killed the very first dragon

» Thu May 10, 2012 2:43 pm

1.Why use light armor when heavy is so much better? I am doing a hybrid Ranger/Two handed warrior type character (Mainly points in Archery so far) and looking at the wood elf info and the Archer info, i should be using light armor rather than heavy, and i'm not sure why.

A. Sneaking is better in light armour, it requires fewer perks and also you get perk that allows you to dodge 10% of any hits

2.Why don't any of the merchants give me near the right value an item says its worth when i try to sell? I have items valued at 2000 gold+ and they will only give me 400 or so. Also, i cant figure out how to haggle or barter.

A. The amount you are given depends on your speecraft skill. Level this up and take some perks and youll find you get more for your gear

3.How does this whole soul stone system work? I have figured out how to use them to enchant my weapons and armor but that's it, or do they not serve a purpose after that?

A. Once youve enchanted your weaponry you'll need to use them to keep recharging the weapons with enchantments. You capture souls by casting Soul Trap on a creature just before you kill them

4.What does owning a house give you? I can buy a house in Whiterun now, but its 5000 gold and i didn't want to blow that money on some useless thing, like a horse. I spent 1000 gold on a Horse that i apparently left somewhere and now i have to buy a new one.

A. It lets you store stuff easily, plus it gives you easy access to some crafting stations

Oh, one more question, is it good or bad to run around and do a lot of dungeons before doing main storyline quests? Before i even did the quest to get the first dragonstone i had cleared 19 dungeons and explored to a couple other cities. Just wondering if i shouldn't do this or what, i didn't want to mess anything up.

A. It really doesnt matter! I like to alternate quests and dungeoncrawling.

» Thu May 10, 2012 10:31 am

1.Why use light armor when heavy is so much better? I am doing a hybrid Ranger/Two handed warrior type character (Mainly points in Archery so far) and looking at the wood elf info and the Archer info, i should be using light armor rather than heavy, and i'm not sure why.

Speed, and more carrying space. Sure Heavy armour gets no slow down, and no weight, but only at max level. Plus stealth, light armour is quieter.

2.Why don't any of the merchants give me near the right value an item says its worth when i try to sell? I have items valued at 2000 gold+ and they will only give me 400 or so. Also, i cant figure out how to haggle or barter.

Because they're [censored]s who take advantage of you for your low speech skill.

3.How does this whole soul stone system work? I have figured out how to use them to enchant my weapons and armor but that's it, or do they not serve a purpose after that?

You need a weapon with a soul trap enchantment, a soul trap spell, or a bound weapon with a perk. Hit enemy with soul trap, kill them before it runs out, and you trap their soul in a soul gem. Stronger enemies have better souls, and you can use soul gems to either enchant weapons or recharge them.

4.What does owning a house give you? I can buy a house in Whiterun now, but its 5000 gold and i didn't want to blow that money on some useless thing, like a horse. I spent 1000 gold on a Horse that i apparently left somewhere and now i have to buy a new one.

Storage space. Trust me you'll need it, the first Elder Scrolls game I played was Morrowind, and by the time I finished playing I had a house that was filled to the brim with crap that I had absolutely no use for. TES = hoarding simulator.

» Thu May 10, 2012 11:18 am

However, its not necessary to wear light armor when you are a ranger or something. Freedom is the key word. I'm playing as a warrior Nord and wear Light armor for no particular reason and it doesn't ruin the game for me at all.

As for clearing dungeons before doing the main quest: perfect. You can do literally anything you want at any give time. There are lots of players that don't even play the main quest at all.