This one enemy throws off the balance for me. : V

» Fri May 04, 2012 3:50 am

I have a sword and boarder on expert who uses NO smithing, enchanting, alchemy, or sneaking. I use only what I find in the world.

Anyway, it has been very challenging and fun - until the effing Briar Hearts came around. Man, two hits and I am dead even if I block them and I have all the shield wall perks. This one enemy makes me feel like I actually need to change the difficulty setting for them and then set it back afterward. This should not be....or should it?

Opinions please?

» Fri May 04, 2012 2:51 am

Briarhearts are just a pain, it's not just you.

» Fri May 04, 2012 6:04 am

Are you shield bashing? That seems to be pretty effective. No matter what they're pretty tough.

» Fri May 04, 2012 9:54 am

Considering what Briar Hearts are, I think you as a more or less ordinary human should feel outclassed by them. What sort of tactics do you use? I'd advocate the use of Shouts and shield bashes more than simple blocking. The key to taking them down in a straight fight is keeping them staggered.

» Fri May 04, 2012 12:55 pm

Briarhearts are just a pain, it's not just you.

It is weird, I never really noticed how hard they were with my uber-smithed warrior before. Now? I fear them.

» Fri May 04, 2012 10:19 am

Those guys are really tough. High level magic users in general are difficult and when you add in melee combat too? They're tough. They get easier as you level, but when I first came across them they kicked my ass up and down the street all day long. I either used unrelenting force to knock them over and then just slash the hell out of them while they're down or turned down the difficulty. Pathetic, I know. Haha, but I try not to let one person kill me over and over which makes the game no longer fun for me.

» Fri May 04, 2012 12:31 am

Are you shield bashing? That seems to be pretty effective. No matter what they're pretty tough.

Yeah, my only strategy is to shield bash and hopefully disarm them and scoop up their weapon. Even then I sometimes need to use a potion but they are beatable at least. I need more stamina I think.

» Fri May 04, 2012 3:24 am

You could always just be kind and steal their heart away.

» Thu May 03, 2012 11:33 pm

You need to have great armor, a high rating for that armor, and great weaponry. You also need to be high enough level to be competitive - at a gross estimate, I'd say level 20 or higher.

I've NEVER had problems with briarheart. Yeah, they are pretty tough, but a couple of solid hits and they're hamburger meat like the rest of 'em.

» Fri May 04, 2012 12:13 pm

Do you use cooking? Vegetable/Venison/Beef soups. They give you stamina recovery. I think you can go up to 3-4 points of stamina regen per second. Not precents, points. You need only 1 point of stamina to do a bash or a power attack. If nothing changed with the recent patches - I have modded food, so I no longer have that bonus.

You can use this when facing them.

» Fri May 04, 2012 2:40 pm

Whenever I run into an enemy that outclasses me, I give up trying to go toe-to-toe and instead move to hit-and-run tactics. Move in, hit once or twice, and back off when you see them swing for you.

Keep moving, in other words. Oh, and potions can't hurt.

» Fri May 04, 2012 2:24 pm

You should also consider buying paralysis poisons from the caravans and using them against the Briar Hearts. I know you said you weren't using Alchemy, but you aren't using Alchemy if you bought the poison. A little loophole to consider.

» Fri May 04, 2012 4:36 am

Conjure Dremora lord or use the Sanguine Rose and a sword and be prepared to run away until the Dremora engages him, usually take 2 Dremoras. That's my certified chicken method for dealing with them

» Fri May 04, 2012 2:04 pm

You need to have great armor, a high rating for that armor, and great weaponry. You also need to be high enough level to be competitive - at a gross estimate, I'd say level 20 or higher.

I've NEVER had problems with briarheart. Yeah, they are pretty tough, but a couple of solid hits and they're hamburger meat like the rest of 'em.

Yeah, try it without smithing or any other crafting on expert or master. Good luck. I am level 40 btw wearing Ebony armor, Daedric boots, Orcish helmet, Orcish gauntlets, and the Shield of Ysgramor.

Do you use cooking? Vegetable/Venison/Beef soups. They give you stamina recovery. I think you can go up to 3-4 points of stamina regen per second. Not precents, points. You need only 1 point of stamina to do a bash or a power attack. If nothing changed with the recent patches - I have modded food, so I no longer have that bonus.

You can use this when facing them.

That would be awesome except that I am not using any crafting. To be honest though, I have never cooked food in the game.

» Fri May 04, 2012 1:06 am

Opinions please?

Try to pin the down somewhere where you can use the bow to get their health down, then hack 'em to pieces ...
:cool:

» Fri May 04, 2012 7:08 am

Because the battle mechanics in skyrim such as dumb as in oblivion.
Only the few abilities like backstabing or shield bashing makes battles more varied, but its much not enough to make battles dynamic, hard but full of player's skill potential.

» Thu May 03, 2012 11:25 pm

Because the battle mechanics in skyrim such as dumb as in oblivion.
Only the few abilities like backstabing or shield bashing makes battles more varied, but its much not enough to make battles dynamic, hard but full of player's skill potential.

...Come again?

» Fri May 04, 2012 11:22 am

I actually like enemies that have a reputation. Like aww man I really dont want to see you right now lol. Just be happy that there are no wild werewolves in the regular game, now those are the ultimate enemies right there buddy.

» Fri May 04, 2012 2:16 am

I traditionally play a sneak -- sometimes a single knife in the right back can achieve more than a thousand swords. Certainly makes short work of Briarhearts. They have a very high sneak detection though, so on occasion I've had to fight them toe-to-toe -- and let me tell you, that's definitely not fun on a lightly armored assassin. I've found that being agile can get you through the fight though, so long as you stay the hell away from their spin attack! Just weave in and out: Death by a thousand cuts!

» Thu May 03, 2012 10:08 pm

Could you drop to the floor in sneak mode mid combat and just take their heart? lol, I've never tried but it sounds funny.

» Fri May 04, 2012 10:37 am

They are definitely tough but in the real world, there are different levels of everything so I don't think it should all be even-steven in Skyrim either. You'll figure out how to handle them...there are lots of systems and weapons to work with. Good luck.

» Fri May 04, 2012 7:40 am

Could you drop to the floor in sneak mode mid combat and just take their heart? lol, I've never tried but it sounds funny.

Yep, some might consider it a
*sunglasses*
heart stopping experience

» Fri May 04, 2012 1:30 pm

Yep, some might consider it a
*sunglasses*
heart stopping experience

*rimshot*

Briarhearts have a...rather odd... difficulty curve. In the early levels it's almost guaranteed death to fight one straight up, while in the middle ones (say, 20-35) you usually have the advantage, and then at higher levels (40+, basically) they get stupidly hard again (even if you're maxed on armor) unless you engage in excessive smithing of your weapons.

Even when you are maxed-out in every possible way, they can still occasionally one-shot you from full HP with a power attack, especially if they're dual-wielding, due to an error in the order of operations for determining if you get kill-cammed.

» Fri May 04, 2012 12:53 am

stagger the hell out of them, and dont try to tank their power attacks.

» Fri May 04, 2012 3:21 am

My Mage dual-casts chain lightning, and with the impact perk he can stagger them. It's always a struggle, but it sometimes works.
Thief characters can just pickpocket the Briarhearts and watch them die. It works!
Warriors should shield-bash and ensure that they have plenty of armor and healing potions.
Archers should use sneak-attacks and poisons to their advantage, and stay at a range.

And if all else fails, RUN FOR DEAR LIFE!