Enemies should NOT be able to execute you.....Ever.

The concept of the player being able to execute an enemy is smart. What it does is, it allows a player to easily kill enemies in situations where a few regular attacks would would have done the same job. However, Bethesda thought it'd be real clever, to take that same concept, and apply it to the enemy.

Why does this break the game? Well, take this situation. I am fighting a bandit chief who is wielding a two handed axe while I am using a one handed sword and a shield. All it takes for me to kill him, is to block when he attacks, and then follow up with a counter attack, shield bashing when I can etc etc. What really happens however is I run up to the bandit leader, shield bash him once, follow up with an attack, then return to guarding with a raised shield. Now it's his turn to attack me, He does a power attack, my shield is now lowered, blam he executes me.

This RUINS gameplay and it really makes me wonder who the hell at Bethesda thought that this was a good idea.

So, dragons shouldn't be able to smash you into the wall in all their glory?

They are supposed to be feared.

Maybe you should swallow some your pride and lower the difficulty.

it does not break the game. The AI's are just getting critical hits on you when your health is low so they get an execution moment. You want the gme to be easier or something?

The executions help make the world feel more brutal. You're in the world, you are subject to it. Besides, it is fun to know that a powerful opponent can demonstrate their superiority against your inferiority. It makes you think before rushing in and being humiliated.

I've been death blow'd by NPC's at maximum health (I'm a mage with 100hp), it svcks.

[sarcasm]It just svcks that I'd ever have to reload. Why did they make it so my character could die, anyway? That's no fun. Somebody done dropped the durn ball![/sarcasm]

Reading the OP, my esteem for them just went up a notch.

Well, I figure that's because you've got only 100 health and you probably aren't wearing a scrap of armor. There's always tradeoffs. You have low health and no defenses because you're putting all your effort into offense, and you're probably as a consequence dealing tons of damage.

You just gotta put up with a glass jaw to get it.

Cept I am only playing on expert, I have all my steel gear upgraded and I have more than half health. Enemy executions aren't the same as normal attacks. An enemy can follow up IMMEDIATELY with an execution after my guard is lowered. I'd be more understanding if I was executed with my shield not raised, but I am not even given the chance. Good gameplay is suppose to be rewarded, yet Even on normal difficult some dungeons have a SINGLE bandit that can requires 10+ tries in order to defeat, simply because he is able to execute me when ever,

They only exicute you when their attack would have killed you normally anyway. If you are constantly getting executed, then its because you are weak.

It sounds like you have horrible tactics when it comes to using a sword and shield, it's all about timing. Stop complaining and learn how to play the game, or lower the difficulty to novice. If you're doing everything right tactic wise then when you level up put more into health and stamina when you level up.

I have never run into anything like this, and I'm only playing one skill level lower than you, at Adept. You must not be putting much into health or something. Some bandit bosses can be tough at lower levels, but I have never ever seen a bandit leader take out over 50% of my health in one shot. Not by a country mile.

Now Elder Dragons, on the other hand...

Enemies can be difficult and I am fine with that so long as I can defeat them with fighting tactics such as blocking, staggering and avoiding hits. What the executions actually do is make it so that as long as I am withing range of this powerful enemy, he gets to hit a "you are dead now" button, that I can neither dodge or block.

I understand how executions work. My dislike of them is due to the fact that you are forced to stand there and watch your character die, unable to block or back step.

Well, look at it this way. All it means is that your blocking isn't perfect. Should you really be able to block every single attack at all times? Given that the execution means that you were already low enough in HP that one more attack would kill you anyway, it just means he got past your block.

Block isn't foolproof, in other words, for either you or the enemy.

You do know enemies only execute you when their attack did enough damage to simply kill you, right?

It's just a special little animation, if you remove the animation you still would have died.

What he's saying is that the execution animation happens even if he were blocking at the time and would have blocked the blow. I.e., he's saying, "Yeah, I was down to fifteen HP and the next blow would have killed me if it connected, but I was blocking, and that should have saved me. Unfortunately, if the other guy gets an execution randomly, it's gonna kill you even if you were blocking and would have stopped a regular blow." At least that's the gist of what I'm getting from it.

I can see the frustration, I suppose - he's in a close-fought battle, he's only one shot away from dying, but so is the other guy. The other guy starts his swing, so the player brings his shield up to block with the intent of following up with a killing blow against the enemy - and then the execution animation overrides his block and the bandit's blow gets through, killing him."

In that sense, I guess I can see the gripe, despite my earlier sarcasm. It would be annoying to have a battle you were likely to win, but have an execution animation change the outcome to a loss by overriding your block. That said, it does cut both ways.

Then moral of the story, make your Block better. Your Shield shouldn't be an indestructible life saver 100% of the time.

Well, granted. It does add an appropriate element of luck to the battle - I guess I'm just sympathizing. I can certainly see the source of frustration, after getting the rhythm of battle down, fighitng a close-fought battle, both of you are one hit away from death, so you wait for the guy to start a swing, you keep your shield low to draw him in, he starts the swing, you raise the shield to block, and to hit him while he's staggered from your block, and kill him - except BAM, bad luck undoes your careful mastery of the rhythm of the fight, and the bandit gets to ignore your block and kill you.

I get it, it makes sense to have some random factors in a fight - they exist in every war that's ever been - I'm just sympathizing with the man's legitimate frustration. I can't sarcastically dismiss it out of hand like I originally did, now that I understand what he's referring to.

But is it actually a random factor?

The animation only triggers if the attack was going to do enough damage to kill you. I've taken damage while blocking before against various enemies. The player should die if enough damage is dished out to them.

As far as the game is concerned, the attack "already happened" so its playing the execution animations. Basically your shield did nothing anyway. Since blocking doesnt prevent all the damage. You cant step away, because as far as the game is concerned, you are already dead, and its rubbing that in your face.

Theres a reason I never attack a dragon head on, and instead opt for attacking the sides. Less damage taken, smaller chance he can use his breath attack on me, and no chance he can chomp down on me and throw me like a rag doll.

If you are constantly getting executed, then you need to reevaluate your plan of attack or leave and return when you wont die so quickly.

This.

Again, just because you have a Shield doesn't mean it's going to save your life 100% of the time.

1. This is one way for 2H'd weapons to be different from 1H'd weapons.

2. Don't run up to someone with an enormous weapon and just expect to block it.

I rather like the player executions, gives one a little more appreciation for 2H'd weapons.

I understand where you are coming from, but its rather hard to justify player v mobile (NPC) executions... and then discount mobile (NPC) v player executions.

A soldier on a battlefield runs up to a mounted minigun, he's got a chance but...

He's gonna have to learn not to run straight up the middle.

I agree, enemies shouldn't be able to kill you with finishing moves. One time I was fighting a bandit with a two handed weapon, and my strategy was to dart in, hit him, and then move out of the way before his slow weapon could hit me. But then his finisher kicked in, and I was frozen in place, unable to dodge out of the way like I normally would have, while he killed me.