Skyrim's dungeons are the weakest of the past 3 games. : V - Skyrim

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 2:44 am

Everyones mentioning Blackreach xD But I loved Pinewatch man! I just stumbled across it and found the note, looked for the button and I was like o.o

Pinewatch is amazing as a discovery, but if u get the quest to go there the quest marker giving away all the secrets and mystery makes it [censored] dullsville

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:17 pm

There are different types of pyramids f.e step pyramids, bent pyramids with different kinds of interiors. Not to mention other kinds of graves like mastabas or the various types of rock tombs.

There may be different types of pyramids (like skyrim has falmer or draugr dungeons) and have different interiors, but I would probably guess that you look at the interior and you see hieroglyphics. Probably in every tomb, pyramid, etc..... hieroglyphics everywhere time after time after time. Kind of like what the OP was getting at. Might be different layouts (but with secret exit to the start) but they feel the same.

And I think Skyrim has handled dungeons better than the previous two games, especially OB.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 7:20 pm

So.... Your saying that seeing and exploring a copy-paste Ancestral Tomb every 5-10mins is better?..... *not sure if troll....*

Yes, as per the rule of dunmer-poop-never-smells, everything in Morrowind is always better...

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:24 pm

So.... Your saying that seeing and exploring a copy-paste Ancestral Tomb every 5-10mins is better?..... *not sure if troll....*

Morrowind had a lot of cool dungeons to explore,obviously you never played the game for more than five minutes.That's not my problem.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:59 pm

i don't even concider Red Eagle's Fury to be a unique wepon it's a ancient nord sword the enchantements on it are fairelly easy to get earlly game

The nice thing is the upgrade to Red Eagle's Bane after you complete the connected quest.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 5:23 am

Morrowind had a lot of cool dungeons to explore,obviously you never played the game for more than five minutes.That's not my problem.

Ive logged a couple hundred hours onto it~ There were 'some' cool dungeons, but 75% of it was bloody Ancestral Tombs.... Skyrim's dungeons are much more refreshing, even though Draugr ruins get kinda old, but atleast it doesnt have that mega copy/paste feel like it used too with Oblivion and Morrowind.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 9:30 pm

I wish some of them were actually dark or had dark parts in them. There really isn't much use for a torch in this game unless I turn down the brightness.

if you can see eevrythign with out a ligth source on your character your brightness is to high lower it till its hard to see or make out walls covered in shadows with out a light source when in darkened caves

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:04 am

I guess I feel the different dungeon layouts are wasted for the most part when they still feel copy pasted because the entire place looks the same as the last one. I'm referencing the draugr architecture. When the walls, floor, and enemies are identical to the last dungeon I was in, I don't really appreciate the different layout. It may be in part due to the better graphics available now. In Morrowind every cave felt different to me based on the layout. I could find that further in the cave was a semi flooded room with a wooden platform for smugglers to sleep on. I could find lava pools and sixth house abominations. I didn't notice the reused cave wall texture. In Skyrim it is very noticeable when the dungeon has the same lighting atmosphere and wall textures and enemies.

Probably a lot of this, Morrowind walls was so blurred you did not notice it, but if you have an detailed texture with features you will notice it repeats.

Only weakness in Skyrim is that the dungeons are pretty linear.
Hand placed unique loot is an general bad idea at least if it's very good, people get an walktrough from the net on how to get this items then complains that the game is to easy and to repeatable.
Respawn time was increased to 10 days so people should not farm Rockmilk cave and complain that all dungeons looked the same.
Problem in Oblivion was that some dungeon features repeated to often,

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 10:17 pm

Another reason I feel Skyrim has weak dungeons is the lack of hand placed amazing loot like the artifact rings in Morrowind that you could stumble upon in burial urns. In Skyrim you can find, if I recall correctly, around 13 gold and maybe a gem in urns. Hand placed artifacts gave the dungeons a sense of uniqueness and adventure. You never knew if this dungeon you just found might have an artifact lying around. All the artifacts in Skyrim are recieved through quests afaik. Also in Morrowind there were hidden daedric items and other valuable things lying around and not just randomly generated in the boss chest.

Sorry to hack your post up, but there are good hand placed items. That and a far few nicely leveled boss chests in areas that require leaping, falling, swimming, exploration.
Not saying I disagree with you on everything.
One other thing though I found Oblivion and Morrowind the same with enemy fatigue.
Just about every game ever played, only so many times you can face a foe before it gets boring.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:18 am

It is my opinion that Skyrim's dungeons are the worst out of the last 3 Elder Scrolls games. There are a few reasons I believe this.
The first reason is Draugr. I hate draugr dungeons. It seems like 80% of Skyrim dungeons is going through yet another draugr dungeon that looks the same as all the previous ones and has the same looking enemies with different names. I understand that draugr are to be expected in Skyrim but there are just way too many draugr dungeons. Also the dungeons are so linear. Fight through a bunch of weak draugr while following the only obvious path until you find a hard draugr. Kill it and look for your loot chest and then leave by way of the secret exit.

Another reason I feel Skyrim has weak dungeons is the lack of hand placed amazing loot like the artifact rings in Morrowind that you could stumble upon in burial urns. In Skyrim you can find, if I recall correctly, around 13 gold and maybe a gem in urns. Hand placed artifacts gave the dungeons a sense of uniqueness and adventure. You never knew if this dungeon you just found might have an artifact lying around. All the artifacts in Skyrim are recieved through quests afaik. Also in Morrowind there were hidden daedric items and other valuable things lying around and not just randomly generated in the boss chest.

When I play Skyrim I get the urge to just sprint through dungeons until I reach the end because I know the only good stuff will be in the boss chest. Also because I hate draugr and don't want to waste time swatting them. Anyways I feel like this game is a step backwards in the dungeon department. Feel free to post that you disagree and why but don't make any attacks at me because of my opinion. I am not a Skyrim hater. I am just a bit disappointed with parts of this game that could have been better. Btw Morrowind is my favorite game out of the three.

I preffer Skyrim's dungeons to Oblivion's, however (for the reasons you state) they still don't compare to Morrowind's.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 3:38 pm

Hand placed unique loot is an general bad idea at least if it's very good, people get an walktrough from the net on how to get this items then complains that the game is to easy and to repeatable.

Solution to that is easy, just design some pieces of unique whatever and make their appearance random. Set some parameters on potential location, player required level, whatever seems fitting. Then the guides simply say "clearing dungeons gives you the chance to win awesome item xyz, get out there and do some exploring!".

I'm also of the opinion that they need to put leveled dungeons in. There are plenty of non major quest line related dungeons that could be turned in to leveled dungeons with high end loots. Being able to do anything whenever you want is great and has It's place but its also fun to build up strength so you can accomplish something you couldn't do before.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 2:18 pm

What? The dungeons are THE brightest point of the game. Skyrim carries over MANY of the failures of Oblivion but the dungeons are top notch. It is THE one sole reason I played Skyrim for 500 hours. I certainly didn't play it for its indepth character development or NPC interaction. Exploring the dungeons were pretty much the greatest and most entertaining thing this game offered. They were great.

Oblivion dungeons were so generic that I found the game unplayable.

This.

Also, to everyone saying Blackreach is empty, are you sure you were in Blackreach and not some other bland dungeon?

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:43 pm

Did you even play Oblivion? Do you remember any of the million goblin dungeons that were exactly the same?

There weren't millions of goblin dungeons in Oblivion. And many of the dungeons in Oblivion had very unique features (except for the ones in the Planes of Oblivion which were randomly generated).

Skyrim dungeons look a bit different, mostly due to the streams and vegetation in caves. They also have some better backstories than Oblivion. But I see the OP's point about Draugr dungeons.

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 12:05 am

There weren't millions of goblin dungeons in Oblivion.

He was being facetious...

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:14 am

I think the dungeons are a lot better than Oblivion's, which were very samey. I do miss the unique loot found in the Morrowind dungeons, but on the whole I think the Skyrim dungeons are the best in the series.

I am playing an assassin, so I just sneak attack the Draguer.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:11 pm

Go ahead and create your own dungeon, if you're playing skyrim on the PC that is.
For those who wants darker dungeons just download the Realistic Lighting mod.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:05 pm

This.

Also, to everyone saying Blackreach is empty, are you sure you were in Blackreach and not some other bland dungeon?

Blackreach is an amazingly beautiful lake that's one foot deep.

Seriously tho, it looks amazing but what is so great about it once the wow factor wears off? I went there once, looked around, thought it was beautiful, then took off and haven't even considered going back, there ain't [censored] to do there.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 11:09 pm

Blackreach is an amazingly beautiful lake that's one foot deep.

Seriously tho, it looks amazing but what is so great about it once the wow factor wears off? I went there once, looked around, thought it was beautiful, then took off and haven't even considered going back, there ain't [censored] to do there.

I found plenty to do down there, then again I was on that quest.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 5:43 pm

That's like saying the pyramids in Egypt are all the same, why didn't they have a different layout each time they build one.

They did, so did every tomb in the Valley of the Kings. If they didn't have confusing, complicated layouts filled with traps and dead-end passageways then we wouldn't have any royal relics at all. Tomb robbers like our wonderful player characters in Skyrim were rather prolific. In some places, they still are.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:32 pm

If they didn't have confusing, complicated layouts filled with traps and dead-end passageways then we wouldn't have any royal relics at all. Tomb robbers like our wonderful player characters in Skyrim were rather prolific. In some places, they still are.

Could you confuse them with tombs from movies?

Look at the layout of Tutankhamun's tomb:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KV62

Even the most linear Skyrim dungeon is more complicated...

» Sun Jun 10, 2012 3:31 am

There weren't millions of goblin dungeons in Oblivion. And many of the dungeons in Oblivion had very unique features (except for the ones in the Planes of Oblivion which were randomly generated).

Yeah, the dungeons of Skyrim are just as repeptitive as the ones in Oblviion. Differences are that unique features of Skyrim are much more visible (such as the main chamber of Lost Knife Hideout :drool:

) and Skyrim camourflages the repetitive parts better.

Burial chambers of every Nord Tomb looks the same, and there isn't much difference betwen enemies either. The only visual difference between Draugr, Draugr Scourge, Draugr Deathlord and Draugr Deathking Murderboss is the length of the horns of their helmets :lmao:

Sol Skyrim does dungeons better visually than Oblivion, but Oblivion's dungeons had somewhat better layouts, if only because everyone of them didn't have emergency exit. I haven't played enough Morrowind to compare them to that :shrug:

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 6:38 pm

I am going to have to play the nostalgia card on the Morrowind fans.Morrowind certainly had a few interesting ones(The nord burial ship one was outstanding) but by and large they pale in comparison to Skyrims.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 9:17 pm

Could you confuse them with tombs from movies? :wink:

Look at the layout of Tutankhamun's tomb:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KV62

Even the most linear Skyrim dungeon is more complicated...

Tutankhamun's tomb was never intended to be Tutankhamun's tomb. He died young, so they had to improvise and put him in an unfinished tomb designed for someone else. Despite this, the tomb still had hidden, walled-up rooms. And was buried. Not Indiana Jones, and not the most exciting game, but not the same as every other burial chamber in Egypt.

And when did I ever say Egyptian tombs were more complicated than Skyrim's? I like Skyrim's dungeons.

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 4:44 pm

Nothing svcks more in an open-world game than hand-placed loot. Why? Because you have no incentive to explore those dungeons which you know don't contain any loot that interests you. So you quickly learn to make a circuit to pick up all the overpowered crap and break the game. With random loot, every dungeon gives you a chance at an upgrade, so you are completely free to explore.

Defintely. While I understand that finding hand placed loot in some places makes people happy it also deadens the game, because once you`ve found it, that dungeons finished or as said above you learn to cherry pick around unrealistically.

With random dungeons and placement you never quite know what you`ll get (realistic) and every dungeon is always refilled by stuff and new bandits (realistic). I always like coming round to an old cave I`ve been to before and wandering `I wonder if new bandits have chosen to make their hideaway here?`

And cavern size? A cavern can be any size anywhere because they`re NATURAL FORMATIONS. So, sorry, but if you wander into a huge cavern and there`s nothing in it, well bad luck, that`s just how the cards were dealt!

» Sat Jun 09, 2012 8:21 pm

Tutankhamun's tomb was never intended to be Tutankhamun's tomb. He died young, so they had to improvise and put him in an unfinished tomb designed for someone else. Despite this, the tomb still had hidden, walled-up rooms. And was buried.

And when did I ever say Egyptian tombs were more complicated than Skyrim's? I like Skyrim's dungeons.

True, but others don't look much different.

Anyway, maybe I misunderstood your post, but it sounded as if ancient royal real-world tombs generally are huge mazes with deadly traps, which is usually not the case.