I really like this game and I want to keep on playing, but it's insane how bad I am. Even on Adept. Normal NPCS cause me a ton of trouble, and I hate exploring right now as everytime I go, I see a dragon and get owned even at a level 15, when I hear level 6s beating them Can you guys give me any advice on how to kill a dragon as a two handed weapon warrior. Also, how to stay alive and kill a bit better in general.

Vary your tactics. Try different things. That is the fun of RPGs

Exactly what I do to.

Putting points into health each level up is handy to. Mines at 150 currently. With a heal spell, equipped and health potions hotkey'd it makes for an easier go.

P.S.

Keep in mind there are enemies out there you simply should avoid at all cost earlier on.

Get better gear.

The NPC were not just making a general comment about your sword. They meant it. Iron in this game is a VERY poor choice for gear. Get some steel.

i occasionally find myself getting whooped up on as well. bears seem to kick my butt unless i have plentiful health potions, though I've never head problems with dragons. I haven't fought one solo yet and I've killed 5 or so. the NPC tends to aggro it and I only take an occasional fire ball to the face. also steam centurion wtfpwned me.

I have a new Sanctified Dwarven Greatsword with 32 damage that seems pretty good. It's just surviving now. Or killing a dragon.

Im not sure if you are familiar with the general mechanics of TES games?
just in case I'll give you some pointers:
-level isnt as important as the relevant skills you have at each level, for exemple if you are a two handed warrior using heavy armor, its very important to make sure your core offencive and defencive skills do up as you gain levels, thos being two handed, heavy armor and block (tho I heartily encourage the use of a shield if you are using heavy armor, and light armor if you are using two handers or dual weild).
having a lvl 10 warrior with those skills under 30 is worse than having a lvl 5 warrior with those skills between 20-25, because mobs get higher skill buildups as you gain levels
-secondly its important to have good gear for a warrior, having steel rather than iron early on, or having a superior set to the enemies you are up against help tons, just dont over level smithing so much that the combat spells get left behind.
-use consumables, particulary early on when characters are them ost vulnerable due to lack of options (perks, skill lvls, gear etc)

try to understand whats going on, if you take too much dmg or die, try to understand what hapened and how to work around it, I havnt tried two handers yet, but in previous game they were good for hit and run tactics cuz they have extra range and damage (hence why I recommend light armor, cuz of the extra speed and perks that help your stamina regen/supply)
also use power blows to stagger weaker armor foes, especially casters who will be the ones who hurt you them ost.

stock up on health potions and maybe invest in some healing spells?

So I have level 40 in heavy armor. Is it too late to switch to light armor?

I just started playing (10 hours in) and so far game seems far easier than oblivion but I mean some parts can be challenging. But really with a little thought every encounter seems do-able. One trouble I had was a giant who would 1 hit kill me but eh just snuck past him lol...

It wasn't this way in OB but it seems to me if a guy has a shield out and he's in the middle of blocking a good power attack will stagger them. I do this with a one hander though but they get staggered and fall back which leaves them open to a flurry of axe to the face, which is tons of fun for me

I guess I just need better tactics.

Reading all of this should solve your problem.

Heres what you do, for the most effective way of leveling then when you create your character
Decide what kind of X you'll be using
Combat (magic, archer, One handed, Dual Wield, Weap and Shield, 2 handed) i recommend using 2, for example magic for long range, 2 handed for close up. with dual wield u have no defense.
Armor (light, heavy, none (i recommend using some tho)) with none you run faster but get lot less protection. i recommend light armor for you.
Sub-Skills (Enchanting and smithing is what i recommend for someone casual like you, but you also have Pickpocket, alchemy, speech, lockpicking, sneak, )
If-Magic, then what trees you'll be going down
Destruction - Offensive spells like fireball
Conjuration - Summoning spells like summon skeleton or reanimate corpse
Restoration - Healing magic, it gives you or others hp, stamina and kills undeads
Alteration - Buffs, like shield or resist fire.
Illusion - Illusion, like something to make your opponent hallucinate, lake say, fear, calm, frenzy (makes em attack random targets)

I recommend no more than 2 or 3 schools of magic for you.

if you level too many skills you level up too fast on skills that don't affect your combat and therefore... you die on harder opponents..


Or since you're so bad, lower difficulty may just make it easier for you. also read. READ!!. read what your race description is. like Dark Elves resist fire, get bonus to sneak and destruction magic. and orcs get berserk power to use once per day.

Lastly, in hard boss fights use tactics, don't just rush in balls first and say "hit me in my face!"
If you can hide behind objects so spells, or arrows dont hit you and dodge for the love of god, use your shield if your using one, every time after you strike and use potions. use potions, health potions work like a charm.

Basic stuff you might not know about
Bash = Hold up your shield and attack without lowering it. this will bash and usually stagger your opponent
Favorites = In your inventory or magic menu press F to favorite things and Q to enter your favorite menu in combat or out of it.
Key Bindings = In your favorites menu (Q) press number keys 1-8 to key bind objects
Bow has an alternate attack which is punch (but its pretty useless)
You use Z (same button as dragon shout) to use powers.
Use Potions
Use Scrolls
Smithing can make your armor and weapons better than anything you will ever find out in the wilderness.
You can wear 1 ring and 1 amulet.
You need to get perks to combine spells.
You can cast your spell twice instead of combining them by left clicking first and then right clicking instead of doing both at the same time.
Loot pelts (to make leather) loot ores (to make ingots) loot alchemical ingredients if you're an alchemist. but don't loot invaluable items like fur armor or iron sword that will weigh you dn
To learn new magic you need to buy/loot spell tomes and then read them in the book section of your inventory
In your inventory press C to zoom in on items and hold down your left mouse button to turn it
Use C to auto-walk
use caps lock to toggle walk/run
use R to draw/seathe your weapon (you should know that)
use F to toggle first/third person mode (should know that too)
use J to access your journal, and in map mode use L to access local map.
After you kill a dragon and absorb its soul it doesn't automatically unlock your shuots, you need to press R to unlock it and can see the souls down in the lower right of your screen.
To view your active effects go to the magic menu and go to active effects to see illnesses/diseases/general bothersomes/buffs.
You can cure diseases by praying at altars.


I think i'm out of stuff to suggest.

i just gave you a guide how to play... use it. and by the way, read books, it wont make you better at the game but you'll understand the lore better, and why this guy hates this guy, and also the books are good very good some of them, i read through the real barneziah V1-5 and i think its one of the better books i've ever read!, the books in this game are no joke.

I was having a similar issue, then i noticed people kept commenting on how sick i looked. After a brief trip to my neighborhood shrine of Talos, i was cured of the disease i did not know i had and became far more proficient. I still like to avoid dragons and giant mobs though. So look into any possible diseases you're carrying around.

Thanks that will help a lot, but what advantages does light armor have besides mobility and more stamina? If that's it then wouldn't heavy be a lot better for a noob?

Its lighter.. thats what it has.. btw i edited this a bit since i thought of new stuff to add in.
Basically i had a problem where i was using heavy armor, then i got to the dwarven armor and it weighed like almost all i could carry.
now i'm light armor and not looting just everything, only things i need and things with more than 200 value (later in the game this value will probably move up to 500 and maybe even all the way up to 1000)

In addition to all i've said, let me add... don't cheat.. .don't ever cheat. it'll make your gameplay experience worse, only cheat when you have no choice (say bugs, likse i once forgot to autosave, but my game quicksaved just before i died so i used an invincibility cheat for a second to not die, then took it off, or like say you need to finish a quest but the quest is broken so it doesn't finish, and you need to manually add the journal entry)

Trust me i learned this from playing morrowind and oblivion, cheats make the game from being an epic game, to just being a rather fun game that gets boring after a short while (cheat and you'll play the game for maybe a month at most, don't cheat and you'll be playing it for years. only use them in absolute emergencies and don't learn cheats till you actually have to google them to get past said emergency.)

Thank you. Im thinking of specializing in:
Smithing
Two Handed
Archery
Block
Light Armor

And I have no clue what else.


I'm also a level 15 and have been using all this a bit besides light armor.

what you said sounds pretty nice actually, but i don't think specializing in block will help you when you're 2 handed. maybe you'll block a bit better but the block perk tree is more generally for the shield i think. maybe replace that block with sneak and i'd say you're good to go. (sneaking and attacking while undetected gives 2x dmg)

I play on expert (hardest?) ...


I can kill dragons named Dragons...


however, dragons come in Small Medium or Large, Fire, Ice, or Ice Dedicated .....


full hp Ice Dragon Chomps me one gulp.


So i invested in a bow and 300+ arrows (arrows weigh nothing)


.... rocky terrain. and you dont need 30+ hps.....


In Real Life...


feel the fear. (then go play with god mode dragons vs giants)

like valium.

I'll add in what skills i'm levelling

One Handed
Light Armor
Block
Destruction
Conjuration
Smithing
Enchanting

additionals
Speech (inevitable auto levels as you buy/sell and i think also as you takl to people)
Lockpicking (also inevitable with all the locked chests and doors around)
Archery (out of mana fighting dragon, what to do)

This is getting me through the game on expert mode and conjuration, is making my life a lot easier, i'm using flame atronach and a companion i get early in the main quest, the flame atronach gives me more than double my damage output, and the companion sometimes takes aggro for me so i don't have to be taking all the damage, really really nice team i've got set up. i'm kind of forced to do enchanting because for mages you need like magicka restoration effects which are usually only found on robes and such in the base game so i'll have to enchant my armor to make it good for my spellcasting tradition.

this is sort of if put to class, a spellsword.

and @ above comment. master is hardest difficulty (i can't imagine...)

god mode really breaks this game just as much as it breaks doom 3. which is, completely.

Thanks for the help guys. I have actually been doing a bit better. Just need to learn to fight against other enemies with 2H weapons,

those are the only ones, plus theres a disadvanatge that you obviously know, its that you take more of a beating (less armor) but honestly 2 hander is all about the range and the brute forece (raw burst damage), and for that having more stamina so you can sprint more (also needed for the strongest sprint attack perk) and use power attacks more often.
in the lower difficulties heavy armor and 2 hander works too, just less stamina means less power/sprint attacks, means less damage AND less staggers to your enemy and harder time doing hit and runs cuz you are slower.
you are only a noob until you learn, and even in heavy armor you should keep some speed on your feet and avoid taking unacessary hits, for exemple my 17 nord warrior is heavy armor + shield + sword and he cant afford to take all blows even against weaker mobs, even weaker mobs power attacks blast through your armor and damage you alot, and thats where the shield and its awesome perks come in, but nvm that since you are 2 hander.

ps: to asnwer both questions "is it too late to change armor" I'm afraid so, starting to put some skills in light armor now would inevitebly increase your level and future areas mobs level with it, meaning you could be fighting a mob that is the same level as you, with it having its primary weapon skill and armor at say 50 and your primary armor at something like 30? and an even lower block, not to mention the wasted perk points.
and the second question "wouldnt it be better heavy armor for a noob", answer is yes, heavy armor still allows you to move, and make power attacks, only not as much and for people who dont have the hang of it even less, so ye, if you are practising it, doing so with heavy armor is best until you get to the stage that you say "hey" if only I was faster/had more stamina" thats when you got the hang of it and prly should reroll
also 2 hander is also harder to master than shield and sword, the shield gives you incredible offencive and defencive capabilities at the expense of range and damage

You're way off. The new level scaling system makes skyrim far more difficult than oblivion at lower levels.

Reroll as in restart the game?

Maybe not if you play at novice lol. otherwise that guy is a troll.

And yes you need to restart, or lower your difficulty since you're this far in those are your only 2 options.. i'll recommend restarting for you cus playing at lower difficulties isn't really as fun with what we've given you in here you shuold be more than able to handle normal difficulty