For example, if you want to be a magic based character a lot of people will say "Bretons are the best for magic" Or "High Elves are the best for magic".Same goes for pure melee classes."If you are going pure melee go orc or redguard".You even hear people say " Nords are the best overall if you want to do melee and magic" or khajits and argonians are the best assassins/thiefs in the game".I really don't understand why I see a lot of people do this. Even a friend told me today " I wanted to be an archer so i chose a wood elf".

Really? I don't think some people understand that any race can be any class.I can be a wood elf melee or a high elf melee and do the same as I would if i was an orc or redguard melee character.I do know that each race gets different starter skills at the beginning but that doesn't mean you cant be any race to be whatever class you want.Those starting skills don't last forever.

Yeah some races will be more suited for certain classes, for example Orc's berserker rage would go well with a pure melee or +50 magicka bonus high elves get would go nice with magic/mage type players.But really a wood elf if you wanna be an archer? I don't get it.Im not bashing on anyone who does this but, im just wondering why do people do this? For starting bonuses that will only benefit you for a short while very early in the game?

Its traditional.

uughh messed up on the title, should be "Why do a lot of people choose their race because of the class they wanna be"

Thematically pleasing?

I always like to be a Nord no matter what, lol.

>Nords are the best overall if you want to do melee and magic

Uhhh what?

I always pick Dunmer because of my love for the Dunmer, and the fact that with a Dunmer I'll have an easy time doing anything because they are the jack-of-all-trades race among the elves.

yeah i hear people say this all the time lol.

Lack of imagination, roll playing?

My main in Skyrim is a Nord because I wanted to be a Nord Dragonborn who saved his homeland from Alduin and also joined the Stormcloaks. I didn't do so for any racial abilities or traits, though the frost resistance has been useful.

Items, potions and enchanted equipment can easily make up for any advantages/disadvantages one race may have over another when playing as a certain "class".

By the way, my Nord is quite an effective archer, when he's not bashing enemies with his shield. Screw the Bosmer.

I think many who pick a race based on class want to be "in character", more than they think that they must be a specific combo just to be effective.

Ugh, my breton don't use magic (enchanting at best) and he's a DW warrior with a few stealth skills, and I had a nord assasin and an orc spellsword. I don't let the race dictates what kind of character I wanna do.

min-maxers?

The fact that in previous games, your race actually meant something.

Im making an orc main that will do it all.The great thing about this game is that you can basically be anything you want to be.About 30-40%of the perks are kind of useless meaning you can pretty much do melee, archery and magic effectively by going though and getting the right perks.

same here

Pretty much this, the race and class selections in the previous game either made the game easier or harder i.e. in Morrowind a nord mage is possible but prepare to die A LOT

I think there's a lot to this idea. My guess is that game systems like Dungeon and Dragons and other systems with rigid/raceclass restrictions have encouraged some players to think in these terms. And sometimes it's just hard to break free of ideas we've held for a long time.

But on the other hand, as marinw says, other players may pick specific races for roleplaying purposes.

This ^ and Role-play.

In old TES, like pretty much all fantasy RPGs/MMOs, choosing a certain race meant a very specific set of skills and pre-disposition to certain abilities.

Instead, Bethesda decided to strip the races of their unique qualities, and now I play a male Orc assassin named Lurk that uses illusion magic and I hate myself for it.

Let's not forget stripping the Altmer of their traditional weaknesses to all things magic and elemental and turning them into living mana batteries.

Damn Bethesda and them pushing the Pro-Mer agenda.

My Nord does it all. He uses sneak+archery in dungeons mostly, but uses sword and shield when enemies are in melee range. When facing skeletons, he'll save his daedric arrows and cast fireball or use firestorm sometimes when surrounded.

Dunmer master race.

But yea the primary reason I play Dunmer is because yay Dunmer and that I won't hate myself for picking something thats uncharacteristic for the race since the Dunmer are again one of the races in TES that were designed to be fantastic at everything.

Pfft. Dunmer are jumped up Orsimer. Tainted by Daedra.

lol

Daedra that helped them make the only political system that has yet to fail in Tamriel

My current character is a Breton Paladin who is proficient with sword & shield, as well as crossbow, with only intermittent use of restoration magic.


This.