This would be something I'd like to see, something with a lot more bite. An extra couple of difficulty increases would add so much and It would be like playing a brand new game.

Expert + non smithed weapons.

Doesn't help, I go master with non-smithed weps. Because when youve played hundreds of hours you know exactly what items, perks, stones etc to use and how the enemies behave limiting your weapon damage isn't a solution to the lack of difficulty.

You could say well you've played hundreds of hours in the game so of course you should be super powered, trouble is I'm only halfway through the quests so I would like the difficulty curve to last a lot longer.

If you're playing on console then your only option is to gimp yourself more. Don't even Smith your armor etc.

More difficulty levels could be patched to the game, but if you want more difficulty in other ways then the PC version with mods is the only choice.

Examples of things I found too easy / casual:
- Enemy Dots in Compass show you where enemies are.
- Sneaking. Also Eye Indicator tells you if you're spotted.
- Instant Healing Potions. You can stop time and drink an infinite amount of them.
- Lockpicking. No perks needed at all.
- Traps don't do much damage, and they're marked with easily spottable symbols.
- Dungeons and nights are brightly lit. No need for torches or lighting spells.

These and many other things are only changeable with mods.

Well at the moment I only use Bow and Illusion magic and wear a Belted Tunic with Boot and Gloves with a Mage's Hood. My armour rating is nonexistent. Bug fixes are gonna take forever so release a patch that ups the difficulty and I would forget about some of the bugs as all my concentration will be used up trying to survive.

You can build a powerful character and you can build a weaker character, you can even build a wimp if you want to.

This game is as challenging as you make it. It is all in character choice.

Well the only way I can make my character any wimpier is by making him a pacifist, and I'm pretty sure I'd die very quickly.

I do wish Beth would release a "wtf"-difficulty where you could spend an afternoon on slaying a mudcrab while wearing über armour and the best weapons etc. just to shut people up...

I doubt that. It takes less effort to develop a character that is challenged by the game than it is to grind an uber character. Just think, no more time spent at the Smithery making things you won't use, no more time spent at the Enchanting table making things you don't need, no more time mixing ingredients for potions you won't drink. Just play the game and it will kill you on a regular basis.

That's my point thought. I don't want to play the game and die, I want be challenged. All I use is Bow and Illusion with potions for health. I think you should be able to use the functions that are available to you without being overpowered. You should be able to have the best of both worlds.

If you're on PC, use the mods Wars in Skyrim and Deadly Dragons. I promise you you'll get the challenge you're looking for.

Console only.

Did you really just write this? I can't even wrap my head around this statement.

So it should just almost kill you? I don't get it

http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1343124-idea-new-playstyle/page__fromsearch__1

I'm 60 hours in now and i will say it is challenging but not impossible. I assure you, you need to know the game very well to play this mode.

Galdur's is actually pretty good this time round.

Well yeah, if you played a game that killed you all the time you'd stop playing it. You want it to be challenging enough that you'd get our butt kicked, but not stupid that you die everytime you meet a bad guy. You want to wear the best armour and have the best weapons and still feel I could die If I take on these bandits. And actually have think about your game approach.

So you want the illusion of difficulty but still don't want to die often. Basically you want the fights to last longer?

Not at all. The only way to make the game harder is to place restrictions on yourself, you can't have the best armour or weapons because you become a walking god. All I'm saying is I want to play the game as it was supposed to be played and it not become so easy after awhile of playing. A difficulty level harder than Master. I stop playing the game after level 30 on most of my characters as there just too powerful, even if there is still more to do.

So it's not that the game isn't difficult enough it's that you are overpowered?
And you don't want to limit yourself?

So if they patched the game in a way that would allow you to wear the best gear and use the best spells etc but make you weaker it would be okay?

I never said to not take steps to protect your character through tactics and strategy. But, you play the game differently as a weak character than you do as a strong character. Some people think it is a revelation to play without the compass. It is more of a revelation to play a character that the game can kill if you don't pay attention to what is going on and be careful.

I'd be happy yes. Because then I'm not compromising the way I want to play the game. I am the best that I can be, but instead of being an overpowered super hero, I'm still able to play the game and feel challenged. But I'm not wanting to be weaker, just the enemies get harder.

But what's the difference between being weaker and the enemy's being more difficult?
If you don't want to die often it's difficult (badum-tisch) to make the game challenging without people, like yourself, complaining about them dying too often.

I think it's hard enough O.o

Difficulty pertains to a lot more than just how much damage you deal and how much damage enemies deal. This is why Master difficulty is not enough. The AI needs to be improved. There need to be larger encounters, more frequent encounters, ambushes, etc. The enemy tool kit needs to be MUCH larger and better AI. The fact that I can side step and dodge every attack with easy never so much as investing in Block or caring about my Armor value is a problem. It is ridiculous to say that you have to basically fight without Perks and naked to receive any sort of challenge. It isn't even a challenge, it just takes longer to kill stuff. We should be able to make our character how we want and not be forced to gimp them. We should have enough flexibility in the difficulty to make for a more or less challenging experience.

This is what I've been saying. Glad someone agrees with me.