Right so... (playing on master difficulty)
Been playing Skyrim for... well about 2 weeks tops (about 70h+ in-game time).
I've got 95% of the map explored, and all dungeons cleared which are available to clear (clearing them repeatedly now because catching up with quests and they send me to them).
I'm lvl 47, 1hander/bow/heavy armour masteries at 100, many others within 40-80 range.
The way i played is (cuz i played Morrowind the same way), doing lot of exploring and clearing any dungeons on the way i come across when travelling to quest locations, even if they're irrelevant to the quests i'm at.
By doing that i've levelled so fast and gotten battle skills up quick, and seem to be 15-25 levels above all the quests recommended level.
Now the game seems very dull, even though i've got load of quests to do yet, they all seem so trivial, even killing Alduin was a walk in the park.
I've discovered and cleared most of areas/dungeons the quests send me to now, cause i've cleared them at some point when roaming around, so i just keep re-clearing dungeons over and over again and it's rather boring, only exceptions are the ones that require a key to enter, which you gain only when getting that particular quest.
I'm no roleplayer, i don't care much about the flow/order of quests, but i still think, they should have more restrictions on all the dungeons, at least make 'em hidden on the compass/map until you actually bump into them or quest leads you to it. It's fun do clear them, don't get me wrong, but it advances the character/makes it too rich and powerful too fast, especially for people like me, who can't resist to have a good fight when presented with one (sees a dungeon on compass). So in the end of the day i'm left with trivial quests and poor rewards (like reward gives me some enchanted Steel armor, when i already have enchanted Superior Ebony mail armor.
I know it's my own fault for rushing through dungeons i suppose, but i can't help myself, and the game is built that way that i'm allowed to do that.
I just wish it was slightly harder, more restrictive like: No fast travels on map (only stable rides from town to town, which i suppose would be normal). No PoI (points of interest) on compass apart from quest objectives perhaps, so i have to do the exploring myself not follow the indicators that light up on the compass as i go to quest objectives.
I know it must be there for more casual players that are new to TES perhaps and haven't played previous versions, but give us the option to make it more challenging for those who are very well acquainted to TES gameplay and mechanics, cuz at the moment all i do is mourn in nostalgy how much more complicated and fun Morrowind was back in the day. Played it for 2 years and still was having so much fun cuz of all the stuff to do/exploration and sometimes just senseless wandering around. Here... barely played less than 100h and already bored.

Oh yeah and what's the deal with all the traders selling only cr*ap? Why aren't there something like influencial/rich company etc sort of salesmen that sell stuff like... Ebony/Glass and other high-grade equipment like they used to in Morrowind? I'm stuck with nearly 100k gold and got absolutely nothing to spend it on apart from ingots/ore for smithing/upgrading newly acquired armor/weapon pieces.

Something like this would be nice..... Start the game in Master or add like a new, let say.... Veteran difficulty, which would remove any side-help/tutorials/compass PoI for those that would enjoy achieving stuff without something pointing everything out at every corner.

I hope i'm not the only one here that feels the same way am I?

Maybe any suggestions on mods that would suit my needs? I haven't really tried any of them yet or know whats out there..

P.S. sorry for my bad english and/or grammar, not my native language

Role-play and i'll talk to you,

Define role-play...
I can say: I'm a danger-seeking adventurer that doesn't pass up a opportunity to kill something, be it big or small... there i'm roleplaying...
So what's it got to do with things being too easy?

I call bs on 70 hours in-game, with 95% of the map explored and all dungeons cleared.

My current character is level 41, has 3 skills at 100, most other non-magick skills in the 30 - 60 range, and has barely progressed in any of the major questlines, nor done more than a couple of dozen minor and radiant quests, and has put in a lot more than 70 hours.

I suggest that your problem isn't lack of challenge in the game, but a lack of self-discipline or style in how you play. If you swarm through every location, cave, dungeon etc as soon as you see it, then what you are doing is applying linear fps style gameplay to an rpg, a particularly rich and expansive rpg at that. Taking such an approach is no one else's responsibility other than yours, and it certainly isn't the responsibility of the developers to structure the game in such a way that players are led through the game like a hansel and gretel crumb chase, being handed progressively stronger weapons and gear simply to meet the challenge in the next linear scripted challenge.

Yeah, i definitely see what you mean. Many places do lack a sense of challenge and fear especially at mid to higher levels. Dungeons basically have you kill a path of druagr with trivial puzzles and traps along the way, which eventually leads you back around to the exit. Many dungeons follow this manner and they are interesting at first but the predictability gets fairly annoying IMO. Knowing a trap is going to set off feet from you and it barely doing any damage lets you storm through many dungeons, making them a complete walk in the park. More variety and challenge in some more dungeons would really spice the game up more and keep you on alert even at higher levels.

Hard for me to believe that you are that far advanced on Master after 70 hours in the game and that you've explored 95% of the map. I suppose if you read up about the game for a few hours, and then decided exactly which path to follow, which overpowered items to go get (if not just use console) then maybe what you are describing seems possible. But compared to my experience of the game, just playing it on Adept and not 'power gaming' I cannot imagine it.

start new character on master and play dead is dead that will add much excitement

Not arguing with that, i'm just curious as to HOW am i supposed to play it then, and why are all the things so approachable and achievable, I won't argue that i'm a FPS style of player, but skyrim is also a FPS in a way (fantasy but still). I just want some feedback.

If you ask me, there's no such thing as 'too easy' in an Elder Scrolls game. This is an ARPG, not a first person shooter. There's much more to the game than killing things.

But the developers seem to promote that style of gameplay endlessly... they give you a compass with markers showing all nearby locations, they give you linear dungeons with a quick exit with predictable loot at the end, make almost everything level-scaled so you don't have to worry about going into a too-difficult dungeon which means you can go everywhere at any level, they make merchants be just useful for selling off the stuff you pick up in dungeons, which by the way is only useful for selling. They just make it really easy for you to hit every dungeon on your walk through a certain area with no trouble at all getting through them.

If you tried the same thing in Morrowind, the game would punish you for being too aggressive when your character isn't good enough yet... some dungeons would be too difficult for your level and you would have to find other things to do until you were ready for them.

I think I agree with this OP.

Clearing 95% of the dungeons in 70 hours? Are you SURE there's not more than you think? If this really is true, you must have been running through everything, not doing anything else.

Seriously, I have at least 500 hours and haven't even discovered 95% of the dungeons yet... Granted, I've played several characters, so I've done the same things a couple of times, but even my first character, played for around 180 hours and used FT a lot, maybe saw at most 2/3 of the map, and cleared much less than that.

My advice? Even if you don't like to RP, make a new character with a different playstyle - if you've done warrior, try mage or sneaky thief, or something else, like unarmed or a non-fighter who depends heavily on illusion. Avoid getting OP - you know, you don't have to max crafting and go for the best gear possible, as soon as possible. Limit yourself. And take your time, find the quests first and the dungeons afterwards.

Agree that the introduction of more FPS elements into the game is there, and it is a bit of a detriment to the game.

i agree with everyone else man, you run through the game and do not enjoy the story line of any content of the game, not the main story or any of the guild or even the fun side quest quest stories.

role playing wont make the game harder for you, but try to understand and follow the story, dont just keep hitting "a" (if on xbox) to get the convo over so you can just go where it tells you too, common that is your own fault.

The only thing i can agree on with you is they should have added a "survival mode" type difficulty like they did in Fallout: New Vegas, for those hardcoe players like myself that want a challenge. (this would go with my 2nd suggestion down below)

i have 2 suggestions
- dead is dead = if you die you need to make a new character (have fun)
- take away any type of magika/health/stam potion that restores or regenerates any of those and only use food when OUT of combat, be more realistic your not gunna eat carrots in the middle of a fight, if your gunna die, so retreat and try a new tactics. do not abuse the easy enchanting and smithing skills to get the best of the best early in the game, level them based on the gear you are recieving in dungeons and quest rewards, etc

The game is far too easy without using some self imposed limits.
But when has Bethesda ever made a balanced game?

I have a few comments.

Firstly, it is possible to play withouth HUD, its an option in the option's menu. With this you will have no mini map, health, Mana or stamina bar visible. I think this solves your "seeing every dungeon on mini map" issue.

Secondly, you can place handicaps on your self if you find it far to challenging. For instance only play with iron weapons throughout the game, or as some of the previous posters said, when your character dies it is dead and you need to restart.


And I have a question, did you use smithing and enchanting? because I find that once both are maxed that a warrior does become super OP if you use certain enchantments and would recommend not going crazy on either if you are looking for a challenge.

Edit: was writing as previous poster posted.

Because it sounds too me like your power gaming, use these restrictions
http://skyrimforums.org/threads/skyrim-hardcoe-playstyle.2832/

You should use the weakest items and spells, and avoid abusing the dumb enemies' AI. In other words, role-play an idiot.

I won't deny that the game has a potential flaw in that a player can wander across the map like a locust, but that is the cost of a sandbox type game, with minimal scripted storyline.

That said, the game does provide some direction, although not as much as the scripted storyline types...for example, one path is to follow what's his name the imperial out of Helgen, you then go to riverwood and talk to alvor, alvor sends you to Balgruuf, Balgruuf sends to you such and such and so forth. The game gives you the direction, it's up to you to follow that suggested path, or not. If you do, then the encounters and exeriences you have will be more or less matched to your game level, whereas if you don't follow that guidance you can end up as a mid to high level character going into places with low level opposition, and poor rewards for your efforts.

Eventually, everyone who plays extended periods with their characters, and I'm talking hundreds of hours here, gets to the point where they probably don't loot, won't use any of the gear they do pick up, and aren't approaching the game in a 'task-reward' manner...perhaps not on the first couple of characters they run-through with, but certainly for latter ones they create. Instead, many will have separate sources of income, such as selling off alchemy potions, or enchanted weapons, etc. They will make and use their own gear, rather than buying or looting it. They will collect things, such as having a display of pristine all heavy armours, or one-off armours, or enchanted weapons or such. The game is not so much a vehicle to survive through to the end, or beating all the quests, or even simply finishing it...what it can become is a vehicle where you set your own goals for your character, and you develop in-game interests or pursuits outside of the game's quest/task/goal framework...that is the heart of the Skryim rpg (and should be for many rpg's, in my opinion).

The trick to successful rpg'ing is not to think "I'm going to create XXX type of character and force myself to play in that character", but to allow your character to develop along his or her own lines, and the game provides some loosely structured guidance for the purpose of an initial progressive growth of your character, but at some point you will decide to branch out, and do things in the order you want to do them in, etc. If you decide to do them at all. Skyrim is a game where if you want to go sit in the woods like a hermit, you can...Alduin isn't going to eat the world if you ignore him (although a lot of people in-game will whine at you about it).

A good role playing game will give you a 'system', rather than a structured storyline with scripted path. Back in the glory days of tabletop rpg's (such as the original D&D, Traveller, Aftermath, Twilight 2000, etc), games were generally packaged with two or three different manuals, or sets of 'rules'. One was for players, dealing with character generation, how the game was played etc - the generic stuff integral to the game process. The important other manual was the gamesmaster's manual...and this one provided advice and instruction on how to set up or create the world that the players gamed in...in effect, it allowed the GM's to create the storylines and gaming environment, and allowed them to run the game...this is now done by the game developers, and, to a certain extent, game modders. In some ways we are being sold short, because we simply get handed a creation kit these days and off our modders go...whereas it could be possible to revert to the original table top system, and game developers could provide a simple system for people to create their own games and storylines, in effect their own worlds, within the development framework...with the ease of things such as Steam Workshop or Nexus, it is entirely possible to do this, but it hasn't been done to any great extent, yet. Plus, I would suggest that a lot of players who do use mods don't install quest mods, rather the vast majority add in utilities, extra gear, immersion stuff and improvements.

Regarding Skyrim itself, it's a bit different to, say, Fallout 3. The 'thing' about FO3 was survival, despite the storyline, etc etc. If you could get through it without being mauled up or killed, then you were doing well...as a result of a few players who were taking (and discussing) their dead is dead approach to the game, we saw the introduction of a hardcoe mode for FNV, reflecting a lot of what was discussed among those original players, on these forums. Skyrim doesn't have that same gritty 'you can be killed anywhere, and nowhere is safe' theme that FO3 did...instead, it's about living...not simply being alive in-game, but how you live. And it's this that creates the sort of situation that you (the OP) and lots of others have experienced...the game seems lacking in some or many ways. In some ways that problem gets fixed when you get past your first couple of characters, because that's when players start trapsying around the countryside just for the sake of doing so - no pressure, no goals, no hassles, no real objectives. When you have eventually created an uber-conquering character, it doesn't matter, because conquering isn't the motivation.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticising your's or anyone else's style of play, because the base problem is that the games industry doesn't teach any of us how to roleplay, and it's only through discussing these sorts of things on forums that can exchange ideas and info, and enjoy our games more.

Apologies if I come across as lecturing, don't mean to...

that guild is awesome for making the game a lot harder

Yeah, that ought to work But since i play on PC, i use mods and the best stuff i find and still get my ass kicked

Big-wooley's awesome for stuff like that!!!

At level 47 your character should be powerful. That means that things should be easy.

The alternative is that the world change as your character increases in levels. That way you will always have a challenge. Oblivion did just that to counter claims about Morrowind being too easy at high levels. The Oblivion system was called "level scaling", and it generally got terrible reviews. So basically you either have level scaling or things get easy at high levels.

If you feel the game is dull the solution is to start a new character.

IMO in the long run oblivion scaled dungeons > skyrims

It's a good difficulty for me. I keep it on Adept.

The OP is right, Skyrim suffers from lacking good indepth content. In Oblivion, we had good content, mostly the same look but still it was good content. Morrowind as well, even more so, although difficulty really hurt that game at higher levels. Skyrim suffers from being an inch thick but a mile wide.


I gotta say, I never got bored with Oblivion dungeons even if they did look the same. Enemies scaled means combat won't be a complete cakewalk like it is in Skyrim with it's partially scaled enemies and that means the game won't get as boring as quickly.