For the past week or so I've been playing an Orc warrior character and having a great time with it. I've done the companion quests, a little bit of the main quest and a lot of adventuring, smithing, brawling at orc strongholds and inns, etc. One thing I noticed about myself as I'm getting higher in levels (35 at the moment) is my favor of the lower level heavy armors over the higher levels I now have easier access to. I've been through a set of basic iron armor, three sets of steel armor (each improved greatly over the other), and just went back to smithing another new banded iron set. I have plans to make Nord Hero armor, but beyond that, the other armors just don't appeal to me. Not even the Orc armor (I have a full set) interests me. I feel like the other armors are too fancy and advanced looking and make my character stick out like a sore thumb, and I lose that "adventurer" feel.

I've also been sticking to steel weapons, and improving them frequently, and currently don't have any intention of switching to higher level weapons. When it comes down to it, I guess it doesn't matter because with the right enchantment and smithing abilities, any weapon or armor can be good. I was wondering if anyone else is like me, and just generally prefers the overall aesthetic and "adventurer" feel of the simpler armor types. I know I'm not the only one. This also applies to light armors. I'm about to start a new character that only uses fur, for the same reasons.

On a side note - I wish the higher level armors had different variations kind of like lower level armors do. I wonder the reason for why they don't. Different variants keep it interesting IMO. If there was a style of ebony armor that looked a bit more functional and outdoorsy (Like, i've been in and out of several dungeons slaughtering giant spiders and the undead all day) I'd probably use it. Anyone else feel the same?

Btw, I'm on xbox, so no mod options.

It almost seems like the majority of players prefer the lower level armors. I'm in that camp. They look more functional and slightly worn. The higher level sets look too neat and ornamental. Too bad they don't have some high level variants that look a bit more functional.

I like the look of most of the armor sets in Skyrim. I completely get what you mean though,and I go for role play over stats when making my choice, so I often end up with lower level gear.

Having said that, my Dunmer battlemage does look sweet in full Ebony (I really liked the look of the ebony armor by the way).

I have to agree and this is one of the reason I don't mind the game being "unbalanced" or "easy" as some people call it. In past games, for my warrior characters I have always just worn the best armor available then never gone back to the lower level armor mainly because I couldn't. In Skryim I can beef up the lower level armor to a usable level and use many different types.

I hate the way Bethesda created Skyrim, where there are almost no limitations(in terms of class skills, etc.). Sure it means that you can enjoy the game with the character that you really love, without worrying about starting stats and such, but because of how limitless the game is, it's so incredibly easy to break the game and destroy everything on the screen.

Its called choice. If you break the game its because you chose to break the game. You can just as easily not break the game. Don't blame bethesda for the choices you make.

I also like to mix armor sets, but they have created a dumb perk that makes you get armor bonus if you have a full set equiped (it destroys originality in my opinion even though i don't have to use that perk). They should really try do something about this

I would really like the iron helmet without the horns