Whats with the topic? ''Why hate on MQ?'' No one is hating the Main Quest, everyone will explore i guarantee that

Just because I don't want to do the main quest right away doesn't mean I hate it. I'm very much looking forward to it actually. But I much prefer roaming around doing side quests and generally exploring, while I still know there is an overall goal for me to achieve. I like to know the world still requires my help. Once I complete the MQ then everything else feels rather shallow in comparison, there doesn't feel like theres much reason for me to still be here other than to kill for the fun of it. So basically if I leave the MQ till last, or go very very slowly through it, it allows me to enjoy the rest of what the game has to offer that little bit more.

Oblivion's MQ was kinda standard, i agree. But Fallout 3 had a great MQ, i loved it, first growing up in the vault (Favorite Character Creation... EVER... so far), then later chasing after your dad into the scary war torn city of Washington D.C, to end up locked in battle with the Enclave.

I have a good feeling about Skyrim's MQ, but as you said Side quest and funner, and have more content in them. I don't play TES games to beat the story, in fact i don't play Bethesda games to beat the story. You start out following a path, and eventually get side tracked. Thats what i love about Bethesda games, the fact that you are not forced to do anything. You can go anywhere at level 1.

I cant wait for the main quest. It just looks like so much fun, what with the new animations, voice acting, attention to detail, MQ-related factions (Stormcloaks and Imperial Legion) and of course Dragons, and of course the darker - more emotional - story, I just cant wait to get tucked in, looks like so much of an improvement since OB's MQ.

It's not hate for me. I just like RP'ing better than playing quests for the most part. Granted quests are a part of it, but unless I am RP'ing the main character of the game (Dovaclean) then I'm going going to be playing the main quest.

I'll be holding off on it for a bit as I'm going to be playing a evil nord barbarian.. so obviously he wouldn't care enough to save anyone or anything .

Personally, while I wasn't a big fan of Oblivion's main quest, I did like Fallout 3's main quest. I feel that Bethesda learned from the complaints about Oblivion's main quest and did a better job with the narrative in Fallout 3.

I won't go into detail, but after watching the beginning of Skyrim, I'm positive Skyrim's main quest will have the best narrative, the best voice acting and best overall quests/side-quests of any Bethesda game.

Having said that, before I dive into the main quest for Skyrim, I'll spend a fair amount of time exploring, leveling up and just doing my own thing.

With Morrowind, I got svcked into the MQ. One reason was that I wasn't fully aware that I could just abandon it anyway. I always felt this urge to get back to my task and finish the next step. In Oblivion, though, I had learned better. I only did the main quest once, and I played OB for ... just.. ungodly amounts of hours. Well over a thousand I'm sure.

The MQ in Oblivion was a little bit disappointing. The plot was good, but the player had to fill in a lot of gaps on their own as far as character development, and even in some cases it seemed like the story just jumped from one point to the next without bringing the player along with it.

And then there's the fact that, once you've done it... you've done it. Sometimes it's more fun to let it loom as something cool to try in the future.

I will do MQ when i feel like it, mix it up a bit. No need to rush it. In Oblivion it was the first thing i finished because of the stupid level scalling system. If you did it at a high level it was really annoying.

It's a quest like any other, only it stays in my quest log from the beginning of the game all the way to the end.

(Yes, I feel that once I've saved the world, everything else is just a footnote. In an action movie, once the final bad guy is defeated, there's about 30 seconds of celebration before the credits roll - you don't see a 45 minute sequence of the hero saving a cat stuck up a tree after that. The end of the MQ is effectively the end of the game.)

So I kind of have to pace myself to make sure I'm seeing all the content I want to within the "time limit" the MQ gives me, while still not abandoning the MQ itself. Kind of like eating all the different parts of a meal at parallel rates so you end with the last bite of your burger, then the last handful of fries, then the last slug of your soda; instead of drinking all your soda at the beginning and then spending the rest of dinner being thirsty. Know what I mean?

I just hope that the MQ isn't high-pressure. I too felt like an idiot in Oblivion when Martin is like, um, demons are destroying the world, maybe we better do something about that, and I'm all, well, maybe later. If I see a giant dragon biting the world 24/7, I'm going to feel very out of character if there's a clear path to stop him but I choose not to take it so I can see the game. Morrowind did a good job though. It even forced you at times to go do your own thing. I hope Skyrim draws from M's example in that regard.

I must've played Oblivion for about 300 hours on various characters, completing the Arena, Mages Guild, Fighters Guild, Dark Brotherhood, Thieves Guild and Knight of the Nine quest-lines before progressing to the point where you have to sacrifice a daedric artifact. The story is mostly the same in Morrowind, though I never actually completed the main quest there (my computer broke down when I was just ready to enter Red Mountain). In Fallout 3 I got through the main quest quicker, but I found most of the side quest more fun. In terms of main quests, I think New Vegas was a little better structured, but if found the side quests less engaging (but I loved Old World Blues).

A part of it may have something to do with the progression in the guilds. Rising through the ranks and ending up with a title like Arch-Mage or Master Thief, a long with some additional benefits, is a cool way to integrate your character into the world. Sure, you'll run into a guard praising you as the hero of Kvatch from time to time, but the enchanted armor set you get was sort of... meh.

My characters MAJOR flaw is that he a procrastinator, he's intends to save the world...just later on..when convenient.

I tend to blast through the MQ first off. Then delete the save once I'm done and start a new "proper" character who takes his time. They tend to do the MQ last.

To this effect I may need to mod an alternate start (did this for Oblivion so I could stumble into the MQ, rather having it forced and ignored). Of course that'll be in few years once building a PC to run Skyrim on ultra becomes cheap.

No hate on the MQ
Some of my characters will do the MQ, others won't
I haven't decided on which character I'm playing 1st so I don't know if she will do it or not

Because Rolf the Uber and Im-Leet support it.






That or the main quest restricts your character to one role.

Because if I start the MQ dragons will appear, and sometimes I'd like to be able to walk around the wilderness without the fear of being attacked by one.

True, that's something to take into consideration.

im not hatin i just want to do the other stuff first

Yeah I like to end on a high note. To use Oblivion as an example - "Great, I'm the Champion of Cyrodil, now I am going to go and join the Fighters Guild" just doesn't do it for me. I save the main quest for when I'm running out of other stuff to do and quit the game/finish with that character after the main quest is finished and I've saved the world.

I like doing a part of the MQ, and when my char is decently leveled go and explore A LOT, once i've done tons of quests, exploring, etc. finish the mq.

I'm kind of not a fan of main quests in Bethesda games anymore.

I just know my character is going to die of radiation poisoning for no good reason or have Martin come in and steal the glory.

In all likelihood, this time my character's gonna have his heart torn out and thrown into a volcano.

No thanks.

Don't care much about the MQ: I'll do it when I feel like doing it and won't do it if I don't feel like doing it. Besides, in some cases, a few side quests or some of their solutions have been available only prior to the MQ in TES games. From a roleplay point of view, several of my past chars first tried to get away from authority prior to even thinking of making contact with authority unless caught in by the events (and in Oblivion I hated being called Champion all the time by total strangers whom I've never met so several times in Oblivion I said screw the Amulet of Kings and joined the DB or the thieves instead...my lawful chars did the opposite ).

In short, it depends on the story, my char's background and my mood of the moment (and, if replaying the game, on how interesting the MQ is and what are its effects).

I always follow the main quest, especially when there is a sense of urgency involved. However, I do allow myself to get sidetracked alot, whenever it's okay to do so. For instance, in Oblivion, after the party reached Cloud Ruler Temple, I would spend days doing other things while Martin researched and Jauffre ran other assignments with the Blades (or so one would imagine).

I figure the same will happen in Skyrim, once you get to learn what the hell is going on and become errand boy, dragged all the way across the map, there will be plenty of breaks to take sides in secondary conflicts, assist other people and rescue damsels in distress.

But doing the MQ until when you're very high level is almost as bad as doing every side quest as the hero of the land. Balance is what works best for me.

By the way, I don't think Oblivion's MQ was terrible. It was overly ambitious for what the engine could handle. They should have spent more time developing those characters and making you care about their fate, instead of trying be so epic all the time. More political intrigue, more shades of grey instead of everything being so good vs evil. I don't think people would be so upset by Martin stealing the show if any sense of companionship had been constructed from the beginning. But at the end Martin ended up like the deus ex machina and the amulet of kings a poor man's Macguffin.

This time I'm hoping for characters that travel with you, go through the same pains you do, instead of the whole go champion attitude that made Oblivion feel like an one man's army against the enemy. The Blades were wasted potential. The guilds just sat there, indifferent to the whole turmoil. All in all, the world felt completely out of synch with the player's actions.

And I REALLY hope they have written out any attempt to have epic scale battles and city invasions represented by a dozen NPCs and barricaded streets. They look cheap and poorly executed with today's tech limitations.

In an open world rpg people don't like having their hand held. Now, it is required to do a little bit here and there to guide the player and make it friendly as well as implement an actual STORY to the game.. but people like their freedom, that is the main reason we all love TES

He pretty much spelled it out for you man. Also what is the point of going against Dragons that are matched to your level at level 1?!?! When you could wait till at least level 10 or 15-20 before starting the main quest and actually have it challenging. Not to mention by that time you will know what kind of player you are and have some cool perks! I would like to be able to block elemental damage with my shield then take on a dragon like the whole KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR VS. DRAGON!!!!!!