Hey guys,

So just some basic stuff I couldn't find/be bothered finding..sorry if it's all been answered already/is redundant/whatever.

1) Guilds - you can, if I'm not mistaken join a mage and fighter replacement guild + DB and thieves guild. Is the 6th faction the Imperial Legion since there is the whole civil war and whatnot?

2) Shield/weapon blocking - so I gathered there is no blocking/deflecting/whatever with 2 weapons (seriously fantastic decision considering that is precisely the point of real-life dual-wielding, though I get the logic in-game + in real life nobody wields 2 axes) but is it still as before with actual weapons being totally useless and shields only partially useless? Seems to me I'll have to wait for a mod that will add timed but 100% blocking, huh? It was done nicely for one mod in Oblivion where shields blocked ALL damage after apprentice but took the dmg themselves hence it paid to improve shield skill to not have them breaking all the time.. now with no durability that idea is off I guess so it just leaves timed blocking.

3) Are two handers again as useless as customary in ES games? Eg. you can't heal yourself without switching, they're slow, their blocking blocks little damage and MOST IMPORTANTLY (this is the question really) do they still do barely more damage than one-handers or have they been beefed up a bit?

4) Anyone figure out how to customize race starting skills in the construction set? In fact, is it even out yet? I know it doesn't really make much of a difference but meh, I always like tweaking those to my sense of realism, whatever that is x)

5) Alchemy - is now tasting stuff the only way to determine ingredients or is it like before only a solution when you're low-level and later on (with perks) you can unlock and see right away more effects? And is it the same "start with 1 up to 4 effects" thing?

6) Is combat still a slug-fest or are enemies deadlier yet more fragile, leading to a more fun and dynamic combat system?

7) Related.. how viable is dodging etc? Any special manouvers? Or is it shield or gtfo?

8) How are enchanted items handled? Soul gems etc.

I'll add more if I can come up with them .. thanks in advance!

Ok, here I go.

1. Stormcloacks and imperial legion are the political factions you can join. Then there's the 4 classic ones. I don't know if there's any guilds besides that.

2. Shields actually get new uses through perks too. There's a perk that halves any elemental damage you take when your shield is up, and a perk for really effective blocking against arrows. Also I'm pretty sure blocking with shields is still very useful.

3. No, they're not useless. They're actually ridiculously powerful. Even on expert difficulty they deal some serious damage. Also, by pulling both triggers at the same time you punch your enemy with the handle of your weapon. If you time it while they attack, it'll knock them back opening them up for a powerful attack.

4. Such a mod will probably be out in no time.

5. At the start you can't see any effects. By tasting, it reveals the first effect. What's new is that you can now create potions from ingredients that you don't know the effects of. If it turns into a useful potion, those effects are automatically revealed. And then there's of course alchemy perks.

6. Common enemies are actually quite fragile, though that might be because I've been using a nord using two handers and an altmer using dual destruction. Anyways, fights against normal enemies won't quickly turn into a slugfest, but fights against higher level enemies or bosses will.

7. Dodging is possible, but not easy. Also, you walk backwards slower now too, so it may involve turning around and sprinting a little.

8. Enchanting is done at an enchanting altar that are placed throughout the game. Firstly, you have to learn an enchantment. You do this by disenchanting an item. It will destroy the item, and you will learn the enchantment that the item had. Then, with a soul gem and a new item you can enchant something new.

Awesome man, thanks a lot for that! All fantastic news for my nord character to-be (always start my first play-through of a new ES game with a local). Seems like imperials will get the boot my first time around, can't not be a nationalist/racist/whatever x) Just tough to choose weapon style now, seems all 4 (2 handers, dual, shield and archery) seem utterly awesome now.. probably will settle for 2 handers and a bow, true berserker style.

I'm also playing with 2hander + bow now. Works quite well, although for me the bow damage still pales in comparison with 2hander damage. But that also has to do with my 2hand skill being around 35 and my archery skill just having hit 20.

One note on imperial vs. stormcloak, not all nords are on the stormcloak side. Actually, it's pretty much split in half throughout the province. But I'm pretty sure almost all imperials are on the imperial side of course. You don't have to choose a side btw.