I'm not even sure if it truly was the ending. I entered Sovngarde, killed Alduin (a little too easily, the bridge guard was tougher), watched Paarthurnax lead the dragons away, and it all felt amazingly epic. What happened afterwards, however...

Basically, I climbed down from the Throat of the World feeling all triumphant and proud. Reached High Hrothgar, not a soul in sight. Ok, that's a bit odd, maybe they're all at Whiterun. That's where I was last at, after all. I travel to Whiterun and these are the first things I hear:

"Ugh, you smell like a wet dog." (So I've been sweating, I've only been fighting for several hours straight.)
"Hands to yourself, sneak-thief!" (I'm a hero, not a thief?)
"You let a captive dragon go, I'll never understand." (Uh, I rode that dragon. You know, to save Tamriel. No? Ok.)

Pretty much everyone I talked to at Whiterun/Dragonsreach didn't give a [censored] that I just saved the world, or even wondered what happened after I rode off on a freaking dragon's back. It was like nothing had happened.

I tried talking to the Blades, they just gave me crap about not killing Paarthurnax. (After much deliberation, I climbed the mountain determined to kill him just for the sake of not missing out on Blades quests. When he started talking about redemption I just couldn't do it! Amazing how Bethesda makes you feel for characters, even ones that aren't humanoid.)


I'm thinking, as was pointed out multiple times throughout the main quest, the population at large didn't know about Alduin's return. It makes sense that they wouldn't mention it. However, I didn't even get so much as a pat on the back from the people involved! I would have at least accepted a sword, armor, or some character's dialog saying "thanks for saving us." Is it because I didn't kill Paarthurnax? What happened with the temporary peace treaty now that its basis has been taken care of?


Finished the main quest feeling triumph, turned into dejection. I'm starting to feel like the main quest is all in the character's head... "I killed Alduin. No, really, guys! Why won't you listen?!"

I got more ending satisfaction out of the Thieve's Guild today...

Yeahhhhhhhh, kinda weak at the ending. i think bethesda was leaving room for expansion packs continuing the storyline.

That's because it isn't an ending. Also.
"Ugh, you smell like a wet dog" <--You're a werewolf
"Hands to yourself, sneak-thief!"<--Either in the thieves guild, or have a sneak/pickpocket skill level above 50.
"You let a captive dragon go, I'll never understand." <--Guards are asstarded. One of them says: "You know, I've been thinkin'. Maybe I'm the dragonborn an' just don' know it yet."

Yeah, I was kinda disappointed with the ending. Sovngarde was cool and all the dragons at the Throat of the World was neat too, but after that there really isn't anything. At least with Oblivion you get some cool armor and the statue of Akatosh (right?) in the Imperial City. I have gotten a comment about me riding on the dragon though, it was positive, but I can't remember what it was sadly. Your more rewarded for doing the guild questlines for God's sake. I mean at least with them you usually get a special room or something. You'd think the Blades would be ecstatic, or the Greybeards, or someone!

Same thing happened to me when

So, yea, right now I'm having a hard time with this. I actually just came to the boards to check and see if I had even finished. I don't get anything? Nobody even cares? The only confirmation that I got that I was even done with the main quest was that the quest arrows went away. So... that's it? It's over and back to business as usual?

Daaaamn that's weak. I wouldn't have even bothered with it if I knew that to start with. What's the point of doing a questline that has no point?

Are you freaking kidding me with that ending?! I mean yeah, I save the world and have the honored waiting for me after I die. I don't get anything? There's no body to loot, no chest, not even a few dragon bones or scales? You listen to what's his face and watch all those dragons fly away (which I'm assuming means from this point on I NEVER get to fight another dragon?) and then hear nothing further about it?

I love this game and will continue to play (only level 30 after all) but really Bethesda? I wasn't expecting a parade or anything but...

u get ur very own pet dragon...

what more do u want...?

Yea, Odahviing is a great reward when he actually decides to fight and not uselessly circle high above the clouds. So is the Sovngarde hero who manages to connect one out of five axe swings and dies faster than I can blink. How can a petty bandit last longer in a fight than a spirit hero of Sovngarde?!

I was expecting something a bit more... cinematic. At the very least the Greybeards, Blades, and Jarl of Whiterun should gather around you and bow before Dragonborn, slayer of Alduin. Like Oblivion's ending. Something to acknowledge that, yes, you just preformed a legendary feat. I want to hear bards in taverns singing of my deeds. Instead, everyone involved appeared to care less that the plan worked and life as they knew it could continue to exist. The Jarl of Whiterun just gave me the default greeting and dialog options when I talked to him after riding off on a dragon in his very own palace. Could you be any more indifferent than that?!

The game in the end was so dull I am actually considering not bothering with it.

There has been no storyline in the game that I felt was epic and in the end it has gotton to the stage where I am just doing quest for the sake of doing them, rather than any quest having any meaning.

I agree, they ending seemed pretty... eh, not great.

O.o I found the ending quite excellent. You dont need a reward for the main quest since you gain a LOT just following it.

I definitely enjoyed seeing my old companion leader in sovengarde when I visited. Also the sights of the dragons (as stated) at the end. Besides I have a lot of faith(or if there's a synonym for it, that'd be better) in Beth's DLC plans.

I mean - going to "Nord Heaven"
-Fighting with the the warriors of the voice
-fighting a battle with Alduin
-Fighting the countless dragons and the double elder dragons + dragon priest!? omg epic fun battle.

The only thing I could ask for would have been more epic music through the entire last journey.

and this is all my opinion. :3

The lack of a cinematic video doesnt bother me in the least, i know they would have been forced to remove an entire questline in order to make space for it. However they could have easily included some kind of recognition, like in oblivion where the black horse courier published an article every time you completed an important quest. Something like that would have problably taken 30kb or so.

While they claimed many things they were not able to live up to their claims.

For some reason I thought I was going to be able to return to Sovngarde's hall so I ran straight for the three heros because everyone was telling me to hurry. After the battle when the bridge guard gave you the option of delaying your return, the hall's doors were locked with a key. I didn't get to take in any interesting details like that, barely got to see what the place looked like.

After the main quest the Greybeards are in the big meeting hall in High Hrothgar

It's not much but they do give you a pat on the back...

Ya the ending svcked IMO as well. IMO there should've been an option where we could serve under Alduin maybe? Seems kind of fun.

yea, i agree with op

It's not that there needed to be a video, or even a reward. However, there needed to be a defining moment where you were like "Yes, this is the end. I have won. It's over." There was nothing like that. Argenir seems to be the only human being in Skyrim that realizes you finished the main quest. That, and he doesn't even seek you out about it, you have to go find him. It's the most deflated ending to any game I've played.

This, exactly.

I got some dialouge from the Blades after the MQ. They said they were worried about me and they heard about me flying away on Odaviing. I told them I beat Alduin and Esbern thanked me and said he never thought he'd see this day. Then they proceeded to lecture me on how I still have Paarthurnax to kill if I want them to interact with me. So I left and I doubt I'll ever come back to their run-down HQ.

Most people don't know it's Alduin. All they know is you flew off with a dragon and came back a few days later.

In fact, the dragons are still burning stuff down.

I can't shake the feeling this was done on Purpose and Vanilla Skyrim is only the Beginning of the Dragonborn's story, I mean SURELY Bethesda couldn't have not considered this, it's not a matter of opinion but a fact that the ending is pretty much nothing.
So I'm really looking forward to Expansions.

I was really shocked at how hollow the ending was. I've beat every ES game and typically enjoyed the endings. With everything that I went through up to the end point in Skyrim, especially after completing all of the guild quest lines first, I was expecting something rather extravagant; but, when I downed Alduin, I got a fancy looking flight of the dragons and a reminder of my ultimatum to betray the key people who made everything possible from one of the nastiest characters in the game, Delphine. I think the people of Skyrim should have focused their efforts on ridding the world of her before focusing on the war and the dragons. No seriously, the very first time I met her in the game, her personality was so horrible that I wanted to kill her right where she stood.

I have a feeling that Delphine will become a key villain in one of the future expansions; this could be the only rational reason why the main story line ended with such a sour note. Perhaps the cannon choice was to spare the dragon and with that Delphine unleashes her hatred for the world that has persecuted her and left her in some dusty old ruins with a babbling crazy man. Her only drive is unrelenting hatred; that to me is definitely a formula for a diabolical antagonist.

I could see the dragons working to become peaceful and she creates an order of corrupted blades bent on sabotaging any sort of co-existence with drakes and humans.

So I just beat the MQ and after seeing Paarthurnax fly away, having heard him say he basically misses Alduin, I watched all the other dragons fly away eagerly waiting to be approached by a gray-beard, or a blade, or...a dragon. Hell, to be honest I had no idea what to expect, seeing as I found many of the plot twists unpredictable. After waiting 5 or so real life minutes, I waited several hours ingame using the wait feature and found that nobody came to talk to me, and nobody was going to give me anything.

There is something I just don't understand about this. I kill the WORLD EATER...and in return, my boon is....nothing? Nobody even mentions that I killed him, they just kind of comment on my ear-hair. The blades can go svck it if they think I was going to kill Paarthurnax, and so I understand them not giving me any weapons, armor, enchanted ring or necklace, or power...but Paarthurnax just going, "good job you dike, now I'm going to go cry about Alduin and try to yell at some dragons to see if they follow me, Peace." Is just SO underwhelming.

This is like being stood up on a date. I was left on top of a mountain dumbfounded looking at a wall. Great I thought, time to go to the forums.

Seems like there really is nothing else to find with the MQ. And I see some of you postulating that perhaps there is going to be some DLC to extend it, as in the case of FO3. All I have to say to that is.....

That would be a load of BS. I get that they would like to offer us more and we have to pay for it, fine. But I would have no way of getting around the feeling that Bethesda just didn't have time or the ability to finish the game as they wanted, and so they are just shoving out the late work and making us fork over more money for it. I would not buy that DLC, I wouldn't even accept it for free. I'd rather PAY a modder to do that work. And they do that crap for free generally.

So rant off.

I am disappoint. Time to reroll a stealth-theif I suppose....and also time to ignore the MQ, seeing as it offers NO useful items, powers, or boons.