Im not sure what level you are but mages wear enchanted gear, bandit bosses wear enchanted gear, and wield enchanted weapons, as do vampires and other assorted "non-named" bad guys. Usually the "boss" has the enchanted gear. You will also find a lot of it in chests, ya know, where people keep things safe so it doesn't get damaged or stolen.....

You are not the only adventurer/merc, nor the only Mage, miner, enchanter, or customer.

Well, I do fell like it, foes have enchanted stuff? great, how about friends, guards or anyone else for that matter? but that's just details, the thing is, in the lore aspect the gameplay fails.

So what is Skyrim in the end? just an open game were you travel and buy your enchanted ebony gear at the nearest blacksmith while he gets later killed by a Dragon because he was wearing only clothes? is that supposed to be immersive?

Ebony is rare! but you can purchase 5 ebony ingots in every blacksmith, Draedra stuff is nasty, but Arcadia sells an heart, where did she got it? oh, just roleplay your favorite story about it! riiiiight, Bandits in full Drae...oh wait, that was in Oblivion, in Ebony armor? just think he robbed/killed/smithed it !

I guess with a little bit of imagination (and a little bit of ...) everything is just fine & peachy, screw coherency.

disreguard my last i read it all wrong

Scaling shops to your level is a terrible idea. Come to think of it, anything that causes the world to revolve around you is a bad idea (except completing things that leave consequences good or bad).

Perhaps a good guideline to follow for the next game?

Wouldn't that fit in nicely with your "that [censored] expensive" argument? Also, guards have uniforms, you think a hold is gonna spend the gold to enchant every uniform, hell no, most of 'em still rock iron weapons, I'd expect the Karl to upgrade in that before enchanting the armor.

I agree rare items should be that rare. I fan go buy like six to ten ebony ingots from a smith. I cannot say about Daedra hearts I buy one on occasion and its very rare.

I do see enchanted weapons and daedric and ebony gear in all merchants inventories. Also pretty much all merchants carry the exact sane things as eachother pretty much and they carry everything you can find in the dungeons.

That's cause it's a game. Gameplay always trumps "lore". (Twisting up gameplay to match what people write/etc tends to screw things up. My best example probably won't mean much to many, but the Battletech/Mechwarrior tabletop games got amazingly messed up by trying to match the crazy stuff that got written in the expanded universe novels.)

If the blacksmiths are going to sell ebony, it should be there from level 1. If they are capable of it then they would be making it. That Avenicci chic has had her shop for awhile. She has made way more than 200 iron daggers, she is level 100 Smithing. So it makes no sense that just because your character is low level she magically can't make Ebony, but after you level up then VOILA she has Ebony for sale.

Level scaling is lame. The game is fun but level scaling is completely lame.

You're complaining about level scaling. Honestly, its worse when a game doesn't have shops selling high-end gear, because then there's no reason to spend money at all.

Ebony Armor is like a Cadillac - It's "rare", but you can find a dealer pretty much anywhere. So, why don't more people have them? Because it's bloody expensive!

You're acting like Ebony Armor is far more rare than it really is.

There's actually a good reason shops are scaled to the level of the player - Are you not aware of the economic impact a high-level adventurer has on an economy? Shop inventories revolve around you because you are a market that demands to be filled. If you were a blacksmith, and someone practically was rolling in money had a high chance of walking through town, wouldn't you try to offer him something he'd be interested in?

Ebony Daggers are 200 Drakes - They have been so since Daggerfall.

Anyway - The reason shops scale their inventory with you is because they're eager for your patronage. It's kind of like playing the lottery. There's a big financial risk in acquiring the rarer outfits and items, but if you do succeed in selling one to an Adventurer, you're pretty much made for life - Or would be, if your next goal wasn't suddenly to try and repeat that successful sale.



Why should it be there from the beginning? There's no market for the Ebony until there's a level 30 or so Adventurer wandering around with hundreds of thousands of drakes to his name. Everyone else in the world considers 1000 gold to be a small fortune. A 100,000 Gold reward is considered the fitting reward for saving an entire kingdom. 50,000 Gold is enough to buy, fully outfit, and maintain a mansion


The economy and shops have to change when an Adventurer of the Dragonborn's calibre come along. In fact, it's more unrealistic that they don't scale to your level. We're talking someone who's purchasing power exceeds that of a small country.

Due to the caravans, High-value items can be moved effectively. It's likely that the high-value items you get in stores aren't even made or purchased by the vendor - They're likely merely "Borrowed" with a security deposit from the source.

A shame Banking was removed from the series, it would really help eliminate a lot of these concerns.

No, not really, only if the developper is running out of ideas.




One would believe that the best equipped ( and trained of course) army would win a war or at least keep ennemies at bay, even if money would be a problem don't you think that a few small echantments on gears & weapons of the guards wouldn't hurt the Jarls finances.

Since we're mentioning enchanting stuff, I kinda find odd that the most recent TES game is always a little less "magical" than it's predecessor...

I totally disagree. The gameplay should match the lore it leads to a deeper level of commitment to the gameplay on the devs and players part. Coherency and lore are right up there with a consistent ruleset and character building mechanics in an RPG in my opinion.

This whole gameplay trumps lore is a mythical mind control double speak from developers that fans have latched onto. It's all just to make their jobs easier and make the game more user friendly.

I agree if a blacksmith is going to sell ebony they should always have it. Not every blacksmith should be able to smith ebony it should be something only a few of them fan do and they should not have a huge multitude of it every time you go to buy some.

Merchants should each have unique items to sell and it should not natch other merchants inventories and it should not match all if the loot you get in dungeons either.

First, there are daedra (Dremora, clanfear, ogrim, etc) and DAEDRA (Azura, Boethia, etc)
Any decent conjurer can call daedra

Now should shop carry daedra hearth, frost salt, and even haggraven claws ...
Especially replenish then every 2 days or so

I don t think so. This is a mistake they repeated over and over in recent games
The good stuff should be earned

And if some guy wear a suit of glass armor, he better be escorted by an army
An the other hand, tulius and ulfric wear crap, ulfric is shown as clothing while it should be armor
Tulius armor is total [censored]

personaly I think even thalmor patrols should be escorted by a squad of a dozen bosmer scouts with their pet wolves
and possibly a few bounded attronach

I mean, seriously ... why are they walking arround like easy picking like that
secret death wish

anyway I always find it ridiculous when I m attacked by a glass clad thief that isnt wise enought to surround himself with armed thugs and at least one trusted wizard if not 3

good stuff shouldn t be thrown away for free

another thing that annoy me is you walk in ebony mines as if it was a windmill, no guards, no bounty, no nothing
go ahead and sweat a little and go away with the loot
why are those miners even working for their boss

and the equipment of guards in general is subpar
tulius should have ebony clad bodyguards, glass clad scout and a whole plattoon of lesser soldiers
along with some mages and priests
instead when he finaly leave windhelm to return to solitude, he walk arround
totaly careless about dragons

the same can be said for ulfric

( you think a hold is gonna spend the gold to enchant every uniform, hell no, most of 'em still rock iron weapons)

while we just walk into their mines and craft ourselves godly equipment
got to wonder what their wizards do all day
why are those troopers not using potions crafted by the wizard or the local alchemist
or at least carry a load of salmon steak

But the reason that trade in Dwemer artifacts was highly restricted was because no one could make them. The only way to get them was to raid a Dwemer ruin. After 200 years of even more people looting Dwemer ruins, and Red Mountain erupting in the province that had the most numerous Dwemer ruins they should be even rarer than they were back then. Anyone and their grandma should not be able to learn how to forge them.

Hmm, now that you mention it, yeah. Nobody should be able to make new dwarven armour (including the player). That is a contradiction to the lore. Damn it William Hartnell, you've ruined my game now!

Just because someone sells it doesn't mean they made it - WIth high-value gear like Ebony and enchanted items, it's probably moved around among merchants at a fraction of it's cost as a Security deposit. Once it's sold, that cash goes back down the line.


Actually, after 200 years of looting dwemer ruins, and Red Mountain blasting the metal all over Tamriel, Dwarven Metal's more common than ever. Dwemer metal is conserved - it can just be re-forged into new things.

I take it you've not read "Heavy Armor Smithing"? Or even tried smithing it in game? That explains how "New" dwarven armor is made - by re-forging the metal. Before lobbying a complaint, please play the game.

Furthermore, the Armor Smithing perks are not gained from training - They are divine gifts from the Aetherius (Hence them being selected through the Constellations). For all we know, it's the Dwarves themselves telling the player how to craft Dwarven weapons and armor.

Oh goody, another pointless argument. Ah, what the hell I'll play.

Forget the economy. Forget the friendlies and the baddies and everything else. I know it's hard but do try. Okay now ask yourself this. What if I wanted to roll a heavy armour duel wielding assassin with Alchemy as my only craft. So eventually I do a certain quest that provides a certain piece of Ebony armour. Now I would like to complete the effect by getting matching Ebony pants, socks and boots. What? Shops don't sell Ebony armour because nobody in this world should rightfully be able to afford it? Mobs don't drop them because no right thinking criminal would fight with the best armour he's got? Are you insane? You want to force me to take up Smithing because "you gotta stick with the lore"?

But luckily for me the shops do sell them so I'm able to get my Ebony pants, socks and boots. Sure would be nice if I could get some boots with a muffle enchant on. Huh? Shops don't sell enchanted armour because not one blacksmith in Skyrim have leveled their enchanting skill to 100? Not one blacksmith uses an college enchanter's services to try and make some extra gold? I'm forced to take up enchanting too? What sort of messed up game is this?

People like having a choice and we all understand that to get a choice we have to sometimes overlook certain things. This is where imagination should come in. Since you're so set on immersion I'm sure you must have some imagination.

Well yes if course. It should not be as common as it is tho. Everybody has very rare and powerful gear in my game its far to common. Sure some things will be in circulation, but not all merchants should have the exact sane enchanted ebony sword of shock. Then you got blacksmiths with lockpicks. Then there is general merchants with multitudes of soul gems, sure its a general merchant they would probably have some or everything but they have like two or three emty grand soul gems empty, and they have two filled grand soul gems. The rare items are far to common.

Let's not forget malachite and Glass armour

1: malachite is a semi precious stone (A green rock for jewelry) Skyrim's malachite mimicks its apearance (swirling patterns, colour, texture) and so is meant to be malachite

2: Glass in skyrim is not glass, but a stone, it is called glass? Unlike morrowind what had RAW GLASS

3: Glass armour is 90% moonstone with 10% malachite- No glass at all .

I understand what you are saying. Your reasoning is in line with the way the game plays. It also happens to be one of things I disagree with. The gameworld revolving around the player is yawntastic.

It's bad enough that I could gather both armies from the Stormcloaks and Imperials and kill them all outright in one scuffle and barely dent my reserves of potions ...

BGS should make smaller scale stories, smaller scale econmies and smaller scale worlds because they obviously can't make such an epic level adventure with any believability.

The game is still fun but it is absurd on so many levels.

Said lockpicks aren't actually lockpicks. They're precision tools that can easily be re-purposed to open locks. Magic and enchanted items aren't as rare as you seem to think they are. But, they cost a lot to "move".

General stores selling soul gems? Are you buying them? If so, that explains why they keep getting bigger and better ones. Or, because of your presence, they're expanding their lines in hope of getting you to part with your cash by offering filled soul gems - It just makes business sense for them to go out of their way to acquire an item that offers that kind of windfall.

Rissad and his caravans play a big roll in Skyrim.


This post doesn't really make any sense. I've never played an RPG where my character didn't become a One-Man army with the purchasing power rivalling the GDP of a small kingdom. In fact, the granddaddy of all RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons, was BUILT with this mechanic in mind in terms of balance. http://www.myth-weavers.com/wiki/index.php/Epic_6

I know you can smith it in the game, that's why I made my comment. I haven't read that book yet, no. I was remembering previous games lore about lost techniques of Dwemer smithing, though in hindsight,that might have just refered to the Animunculi. (Rule 1, The Doctor lies - shakes fist at William Hartnell)


Ahh, my faith has been restored. (Even though that later explanation would mean we now know what happened to the Dwemer - boo hiss!)


Edit: Book now read, it's the metal we can't replicate, not the armour. That's cleared up at least.

Risad and his caravans don't even know that my Khajiit is a Khajiit.

I started to buy Daedra Hearts at level 25 at the Alchemist in Riften. Gold isn't difficult at all to get. Almost every time I visit, they have one or two for sale.

OP I think you meant to say "consistent" - "Replying to Bethesda should make the gameplay more CONSISTENT with their lore"

Also, the lore for the Elder Scrolls has changed with time for a long time. It's part of the series.