Hello everyone. I am NOT here to bash the game. I am here so you guys can convince me to keep playing when I can't level up any more.

I am going to start by saying I have played a ton of RPGs and am not new to the genre. What makes these games so attractive to me is leveling up my character and finding loot. I am completely addicted to levels and loot. As I play more of Skyrim I am beginning to think I am going to reach a point soon where I can no longer level up.

Also, I have a HUGE issue with how you are REQUIRED to level up unwanted skills. Character choice works fine in the beginning, but as you level up choice goes away and you become seriously limited. More on this later. For now I will talk about character leveling.

Almost all of the RPGs that I have played gave experience for questing itself. Not skill use, but completing quests. Since Skyrim gives you ZERO exp for questing, your only means of leveling up is by using skills over and over. That works fine in early levels, but as one progresses it really breaks down and limits gameplay.

I am now almost at a point in Skyrim where going on quests and playing the way I want will not level me up much at all, if any.

I am at the following levels:

conjuration: 100 (by grinding Soul Trap)
smithing: 100 (by grinding iron daggers)
alteration- 100 (by grinding Detect Life)
destruction: around 68 (by grinding nothing because you can't)
enchanting: around 65 (from enchanting daggers)
alchemy: 50-ish (just started working on this)

My character is a High Elf mage (obviously). My 1-handed, 2-handed, blocking, etc are all really low (in the early-mid 20s). Sneak is 30-ish because I snuck around while someone was asleep. I have picked every lock I come across (140+ hours of Fallout 3 gave me lots of practice) so I am at like level 35 in lockpicking.

My character level is 42. I've barely started the main quest (almost done with the Mage College). By the time I get to 50-55 I will be at 100% of all magic/alchemy related skills. That will mean I will not be able to level up my character (and get more skill points) at all because everything mage-related will be maxed out. Since I play these games to level up, why would I want to keep on questing with no reward at all??? I would understand if I hit a hard level cap that could be raised (as was in Fallout 3) or if questing gave super-unique loot. However that is not the case. I can quest and quest using my magics and not gain a single experience point because they are all at (or near) 100. I could play another 50-100 hours questing and killing dragons yet gain no more skill points. I am now being penalized for reaching a certain point and that is not right.

So what do I do if I want more skill points?? Here is where the other problem comes in. Now I am FORCED to learn melee/blocking/pick pocketing/ etc, to earn more EXP and gain extra skill points. These are things that a mage has no business learning. I don't want to have a high 1-handed skill. I don't want to pick pocket. Light/Heavy Armor? I don't need any armor at all because I have 100 in Alteration so my defense is fine.

So it looks like I am going to get to a point soon where I will have a choice. Either start learning skills I don't want to or run through the main quest and leave so much of the world behind. I could just play and try to do everything, but just can't see myself questing for hours and hours while gaining no levels at all.

Thoughts?? Someone please tell me I'm doing it wrong or that they are working on some kind of DLC that will help characters like mine add levels somehow.

Thanks!

Here's a tip

Don't use grinding... level up normally... you can play through the entire game that way.

Grinding breaks the leveling system and gets you to your characters "max level" before you should be.

also... you look like a mage... why not use some illusion and resto?? Increase your repertoire of spells ffs

Ditto, grinding is the absolute worst thing to do in Skyrim. Play and advance naturally--you'll wind up facing the same obstacle, just later in the game.

You don't have to "grind levels" to play the game. Noone is forcing you to be a certain level.

To a large degree, you created your own dilemma by "by grinding *". Your point is mute in an open ended RPG such as this one. The when you "max everything but there is still something to do while not being able to advance the skills I like" would come up regardless sooner or later. You just got yourself there by "grinding *"

Just play the game, do what you want to and go have fun. Finish this run and if you are in the PC, get ready to add some mods. If not on the PC and the game is no longer fun, it might be time to move on to some other character, or play-style or game.

You don't need to max out every skill. There's no reason to hit level 81. Once you've leveled up the skills you use frequently in battle and your crafting skills to 100, you're pretty much done.

First off you are not "required" or "forced" to do anything. Second, TES games have always been skill based leveling, dont expect it to change. Its not like it is something new to Skyrim (although it is a bit different). If you dont like it stick to the Fallout series.

Fallout 3 had a hard level cap at 30. What did you do when you hit the cap in that game? Elder Scrolls has always put skills above levels. You don't have to raise skills you aren't going to use. You don't need to hit level cap. It's possible you are almost max level for that particular build.

Same problem as the other thread. Misdefinition of 'required'.

Hi,

I've leveled two characters to a decent level now, one a sneaky archer and the newer of the two a pure mage. I too have hit the point (sooner with the mage) where I'm having to do things other than just play to level up.

My archer was fun, I'd sneak and stick arrows in people and creatures - that levelled me up. Not any more. Same for my mage, I've maxed destruction just through playing and my summoning is very high too, so very soon I'll stop levelling by just playing too.

I'm actually at the point where I don't want to use my most powerful abilities because they have no ability to enhance my character.

I think it would be good if you could go over 100 in say one or two skills, so you can keep levelling while staying in character.

As I'm one for doing nearly every side quest (easily distracted me) and staying in-character during them (archery / sneak or destruction magic / summoning) I do get to fairly high levels rather quickly.

For my archer I also dabbled with Smithing to give me some great light armour and enhanced bow - this suited my character well. However my Mage is zero armour (a challenge to play this way) so I'm starting to dabble with enchanting now. However, for this play-style at least, enchanting is a bit of a grind potentially. I've simply done some very basic magicka enchants on clothing items (no armour) but the rest of my gear is already enchanted. Additionally, I don't really use staffs so I'm not naturally boosting enchanting via recharging stuff. Ironically my sneak archer was at 54 enchanting and I've never even looked at that, purely from using enchanted bows.

So yeah, I'm doing things now for the sake of levelling and not for the purpose of fun and roleplay. Shame.

Scoob.

Every time I read this, I think back to Phantasy Star's Fish Men. There was a point were you could stroll a beach endlessly and keep getting Fish Men. Challenging at first, they offered the most XP per HP. A friend used them to "grind" his levels and then complained later on when the game seemed "easy". Geez. Do you "grinders" really find it fun spending hour after hour spamming actions? Just to level? And then you complain that there's no more fun? Why? Because you wasted 20+ hours performing fairly boring mindless actions over and over and over again? Why would you do that in the first place? I mean, the game is there to play. It boggle my mind that you'd chop wood for your first 10 playing hours just to get enough gold to spam daggers for another 10 hours all to make dragon armor before you actually do any questing, experience any amount of the Skyrim world, at all. Seriously. You can't clean stables for hours on end and then complain when you smell like horse manure. Just play the damned game. Or not. OR, go back to where you learned that you HAD to grind to live... you know... that MP world... Oh, I've been there. It's decidedly NOT a satisfying RPG experience.

Leveling up is optional. No one forced you to hit the level up arrow and allocate perks.

Since everything in the world is leveled around you, what exactly did you level up for?

Also, you purposely ground your skills to max level, then complain they are at max level??? You did this to yourself.

Here is a motto that I think some people should learn when it comes to playing TES games: Level up to play. DON'T play to level up.

Just need to add...

You guys are looking at it like this...

Man, WOT was a great fantasy series, it had like 400 levels (chapters), much better than LOTR, which only had like 120.

Dude, so your level 400 in WOT reading and only level 120 in LOTR reading?

Yeah, WOT is SO much better, right?

Tchya.

Essentially, you're doing the same thing, reading a book for the number of chapters, celebrating after every chapter you finish, and completely disregarding the story.

AGREED that grinding breaks things somewhat, but without it I would still be in the same boat. I would be only using conjuration and destruction magic with a hint of restoration and alteration. Without grinding, those would be the only skills I would really ever use and they would be VERY SLOW to level. Then I had to think about $$. I have spent the entire game pretty much broke. Every coin purse has 21 gold in it, and bounty rewards are a whopping 100 gold. None of that is gonna make me rich, so I start grinding smithing. Then I realize I have to grind enchanting to make $$ off smithing items. I need skill points to give me perks, and the only way to get them is to grind. Playing without grinding would leave me with a very weak character, and no money to boot.

I was already getting to a point where it took forever to level up because I was killing low level random baddies. I then found a few dungeons where the creatures killed me in one hit. So I then leveled up and went back . I killed the baddies more easily only to find no real loot at all.

In Fallout 3 (and many other RPGs) I would grind by QUESTING. That makes it totally worth my while to dig out new locations and quests. Skyrim throws that on its ear because simply questing doesn't give results. Skill grinding is a lot more necessary.

PS: This post could have been more thought out but I am at work. Hopefully this makes sense.

Why should a focused character be at the same level as a jack of all trades character who mastered every skill?

While I agree that the OP messed up by grinding, he does still have a point. This IS going to happen eventually, anyway. Even just playing normally, you eventually get to the point where the skills that you use in your every day play style are maxed, and you can no longer level unless you break your RP and change your play style.

Fortunately, you really don't need to continue leveling to "finish" the game for any particular play style or RP standpoint. However, the issue remains that if you are the kind of person that enjoys Role Play and/or sticking to a specific play style, AND also likes to level all the way to cap, you're screwed. There's just no way to do it.

I'm pretty sure the game can't be considered to be "forcing you" to learn unwanted skills. Or that you are required to learn them, so please, lets not go throwing those words around, it makes one seem to be suffering from a bad attitude and poor understanding of the game. Especially if you grinded to get the skills you wanted high quicker then you would have if you had let them progress at a but more of a normal pace.

Just don't learn the unwanted skills. Put this character on hold for a bit if you want to play them more when DLC/mods come out, start a new character and try a different play style and don't grind or if you do don't then complain about the fact your grinded skills are so high.

And - you seem to place and unduly high amount of importantance on "gaining levels". "What, play through the story, experience quests etc while gaining no levels? Are you crazy?"


Worth saying again - no you aren't. Rare is it to find an cRPG that lets you level infinitly, especially if you grind in single player. Most of them have the means to achieve that, so by your reasoning most of them must be penealizing players for pushing there characters hard to reach certain levels before they normally would via natural progression through the game.

How about you play the game for fun, not for reward. You do a quest, because the gameplay is enjoyable. Because the story is fun. Because the action is epic. Not because you'll gain an extra level.

If you want that type of game, play an MMO. Also don't grind and break the game.

Well alrighty then. I appreciate the warm welcome. It looks like I just need to stop playing Skyrim and find another game.

Thanks for your replies.

Note: Nice WOT reference. I could go on about that but will refrain.

That's why there is a "soft" cap at level 50. I'm at level 47 as a dual-wielding/archery assassin, and I haven't been grinding or doing magic or anything like that. It's totally possible to play the game normally and reach the soft cap using your main skills.

A gazillion times no.

Play the game and enjoy the trip. See level-ups as something that just happens, don't let it be a goal in itself.

Exactly what I was going to say here. It is the OP's choice to grind like this and nothing to do with the game. I hate it when people blame the games and not themselves. These are some of the reasons why people like Bethesda keeps taking away our frikkin choices. Because people can not refrain themselves from using and exploiting the game mechanics and then complain about it. I just see a really sorry future of games. Where you have no more choices and the companies send someone to your house to hold your hand while you play, so you don't exploit or make mistakes....LOL

Well said.



Well said.


If on'y the game forced

I did as well.

Or would have left you with a character who was having an interesting time leveling/questing, instead of one who did it the townie way. Sounds like you played more of a merchant than a mage to me, I have no idea what business a mage might ever have swinging a smithing hammer.