I must admit, I've never been very good at playing games. I've never had good reflexes, or hand/eye coordination. For me, stories always came first, which is why RPG's are the mainstay of my video game collection. I've even downloaded the Kindle book the guy made that has the text of all the books in the game. With Skyrim, I find myself in a bit of a dilemma.

Most people are aware of the Paradox of Choice - The fact that when presented with TOO many options, people tend to chose none, or become less satisifed with the choices they've made. Skyrim is the holy grail of choice. From what I've seen, the world is SO massive, and there is SO much story behind everything, I just don't know what to do, where I should go, or what I should focus on. And every time I DO something, I'm always worried that I shouldn't have done this yet, or how is this going to affect the game later because I did this or made this choice.

I've restarted my character several times, and I am only recently getting to the point of meeting the leader of the Greybeards (Keeping statements generic to avoid spoilers). I'm aware of the civil war. I also know from watching other peoples plays on YouTube, that there is a TON of content that through my 20-30 hours of gameplay, I had no IDEA existed. And through all of it, before each time I restart and as I slowly crawl my way back to where I was before, I keep asking myself, "What am I doing wrong?"

For one, is it right that I'm chugging heal pots faster than I can find or buy them? Is there some healing spell that people use (While in combat, mind you) that isn't a hindrance to use for a melee character?

Does anyone make enough money to raise their crafting skills without a dupe of some kind? I tried to do something simple and fitting in the game by chopping wood for HOURS on end. I think I made 10K before I stopped, and with one house purchase and stockpiling materials for crafting, it was gone in a flash. And because I'm trying to advance the main story, I'm not making nearly enough to buy materials I need to even make healing potions, let alone ingots and leather to raise smithing, or gems for enchanting. I harvest everything I see, of course, but it never seems like enough to even make enough healing potions. And does the game basically REQUIRE you to use "Wait for X hours" in order to buy things in a sensible amount of time?

Is it right that no matter where I go, the mobs beat the ever loving snot out of me, even though I'm in heavy armor, blocking half their attacks, chugging pots like a pledge having his first beer, and improving/replacing equipment as much as my smithing allows? (I never play range or magic, due to the afforementioned coordination problems.. I seem to have difficulties hitting the broad side of a dragon with a sword when the damn thing is right in front of me.) I know there are ways to make armor and weapons that let you two-shot just about anything. I don't want to be a god, demolishing everything I see, but is there no balance between challange for a player that doesn't result in a massacre or huge waste of resources, and god mode?

If I do start going on all these side quests, exploring every dungeon I come across (Which is my natural tendency - "Ooooh. Wha'ts that over there?"), or raising my crafting skills, is the difficulty of areas going to be even MORE difficult? I'm having problems now, doing nothing but the basics.. What happens when I raise my smithing to 100 and I gain 15 levels, without any improvement to my combat skills?

Will there be some quests or dialog or something that will become unavailable or drastically different if I complete the main story first? Or worse, become non-sensical?

Power attacks - What? I know I hold down the button, but I hear all this stuff about different types of power attacks.. Do you have to hold them while moving, and the direction you're moving dictates the type of power attack it is? I know there's a perk to do more damage to a target if you hit them while sprinting at them, but how the heck does anyone actually HIT things like that? Seems like every time I try, they just dodge out of the way.

I guess I'm just at a loss as to how to procede. I know some of these issues are purely mechanical, and can't really be answered because it's likely due to my poor coordination, but I just can't shake the feeling that there's always something I'm missing, or I will miss out on if I make a decision. Like there's some grand secret in Elder Scrolls games that I don't know that would make them all make sense.

How do you guys play? What's you're approach? If you were to write a guide on, "This Is How *I* Play Skyrim", what would you suggest?

Money can be easily earned through the crafting skills, and looting. I make most of my money from alchemy and looting dungeons, which works well for me.

Just made a thread about how not to exploit crafting to become a god, http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1320995-my-way-of-not-exploiting-crafting/ thats what I do to play on master.

You have directional power attacks, so if you move the the left or right when power attacking you will do a spin swipe attack. Moving backwards will hammer the ground and forward will run and slash. Thats basically how it works, they all do the same damage (ignoring perks that increase damage from specific power attacks).

You can also use restoration to heal, so you can run away and find an object between you and your enemy, then heal. Or you can use a shield and sword to attack, and a shield and healing spell when you are at low health.

It sounds to me like you need to change your difficulty level. As far as doing things right or wrong... there is no right or wrong. Sometimes you might do something that breaks a (minor) quest (like kill/find something before you're asked to), but you move on and let that quest fall to the bottom. This is not a completionist's game. Just kick back and enjoy the ride, forget about what's going to happen in hour 80 and enjoy what's happening NOW.

Until I learned to apply some tactics to the battle, I was losing health at an alarming rate in this game. If you just stand there and go toe to toe with an enemy, it will not end well for you. However, as you level up in Armor and Attack skills, then the battles will be easier. In the meantime, watch the enemy, they telegraph their attacks and give you plenty of time to back up a step or two. Also, you may find the battle easier in 3rd person as far as moving away and towards an enemy. You don't have to move much to avoid a hit. And, if you attack after they attack, they are easier to hit and damage.

As you say, the story is most important, one thing you could do, if your on PC, is make a god like sword and armor set so that battles are just a diversion. However, that can take away from the game. I can say that it was not until after I met the old guys up on the mountain that the battles got easier for me. It took that long for my skills to buff up.

Dude get out there and hit some dungeons to raise your combat skills. What good is it to craft awesome armor if you cant hold your own in a fight? I dont even touch crafting until level 15 or so...everything I level is combat based in the beginning.

Out of interest, what difficulty do you play on?

From my experience (this is my first ES game) I played the first character through on adept to around lvl 34 or so. I did a couple of the main quests (up to greybeards) and spent the majority of the time being distracted by side quests or exploring.

I think you need to worry less about the consequenses of your actions and just explore around more. At least by wandering around the landscape you'll get a constant practice with your combat of choice.

Think perhaps a game like Skyrim should be approached without any thoughts of 'finishing the game' but instead treat it as you would a film, just let it take you wherever feels most appropriate at the time.

Sure, mistakes will be made. But where's the fun in ticking every box?

You need two things:

- Change your difficulty level, start as novice and keep going up after you start to feel too safe.

- Stop trying to guess how others play. Do your game, on your pace. For me, you are thinking too much and not enjoying the game. Just let your character walk around and see what there is to see. Dont worry if you are doing right or wrong. If you are too weak, ok, you need to find ways to survive. Try to think how your character can do that, not how the others players do it.

Try to be more like this guy http://www.gamesas.com/topic/1320985-horrible-wedding-story/


Sry the bad english.

I'll address this... DON'T level up crafting too early in the game without any combat experience or perks. For me, crafting's sweet spot seems to be about level 20, but it could be different for other people. With level scaling enemies, having a level 15 character with no combat experience/perks whatsoever is just plain suicide, unless you're extreme stealth, but that's another story.

Like all RPG's it's all about momentum. The hardest for me were the single digit levels. After that it got progressively more easy and by the time I reached level 40, it was almost boring.

If you have to ask, you'll never know!

Thank you all for the replies so far.


And I really DO understand this. I try. I know you can't see all/do all in an Elder Scrolls game.

But doesn't it nag in the back of your mind that there's some briliant piece of lore or story that you're missing out on? Something that would make the core story that much better?



And I did that with my first character. I was level 27. Didn't even meet Esbern(sp?) yet. But it constantly seemed to me that despite having high combat skills, I was still getting beat on, so I would raise my crafting skills to make better equipment. This would raise my level even MORE, and as I understand it, making the mobs in dungeons even more difficult. It seemed like a viscious cycle.


I know I need to just PLAY the game. I know I need to learn how to actually fight better. I undestand changing the difficulty setting from the default to something easier would help, but that just seems kind of like a cheap cop out - Like the progression system is designed in such a way that for some people, making the game easier is the only way out, rather than addressing the system itself. Like Combat and Crafting skills shouldn't level you the same way. Why would the game scale the difficulty for someone who has combat experience the same way it scales it to someone who has limited to no combat experience? A master smith doesn't fight the same way as a master swordsman.

Thank you again everyone for your feedback. I'm enjoying this discussion and appreciate the input.

I recommend not buying materials for crafting. Just mine ore, and use the pelts of slain animals for leather/leather strips. That helps to not only make it much cheaper, but to keep you from over-leveling crafting. Alchemy is the same way- just gather whatever you come across, eat samples to see what it does, then craft potions as you have the ingredients for- hit the alchemy station each time you go back to sell. I wouldn't bother with enchanting until later levels. Just disenchant every magic item you find (that you don't yet have the enchant for), and stockpile whatever soul gems you come across. If you happen to find a soul trap enchant, you could start using that to stockpile filled soul gems for leveling enchanting later on, but I wouldn't even worry about trying to level it up until at least 30.

When you loot, skip weapons (at least until you start seeing glass/ebony drops). They are generally far too low in value per weight compared to everything else. Always loot potions, gems, magic items (check to see if you can DE it before selling it), jewelry, scrolls, and of course, gold. If you have the capacity, pick up armor, but leave the weapons. If you're on PC, you can get a mod called QD Inventory, which does the value per weight calculation for you, to make it easier to decide what to take and what to leave. Unless you are decorating your house, leave the books, but take the spells.

By simply not buying crafting ingredients, and by choosing what to loot according to it's value per weight, you should be able to solve your money problems.

You mentioned your lack of Hand Eye coordination. Put me in the same boat. I don't have the twitch skills that come from playing shooters and other games like that all the time. I play slow and steady. However, lowering the difficulty until you learn how to fight is not a cop out. And, I don't mean getting your skills up, but I mean how to move around when in a fight so as to reduce or eliminate damage received and to maximize damage dealt. It has been long time since any enemy in single or two on one combat has ever landed a weapon on me, because I learned when to back up. Now, Giants and Trolls are not an issue anymore. After you get the feel for the battles, then put the difficulty back up.

If it helps, some other human set the difficulty level stock at what they thought it should be. Since this is a single player game, it does not matter to anyone else what your difficulty setting is. So set it to what you think it should be and don't take it as a cop out. You can always move it back up.

-quote- And I did that with my first character. I was level 27. Didn't even meet Esbern(sp?) yet. But it constantly seemed to me that despite having high combat skills, I was still getting beat on, so I would raise my crafting skills to make better equipment. This would raise my level even MORE, and as I understand it, making the mobs in dungeons even more difficult. It seemed like a viscious cycle.-quote-

I would suggest laying off the crafting/enchanting entirely. Just get out there and kill stuff! You will find lots of potions in dungeons, so you should be covered there. Walk places, and maybe not do any of the major quest lines for a while. Just explore, kill and level up like this. Even do it with a new character if you feel that any of your current ones are 'broken'

When I think someone is over-thinking things, I like to quote The Last Samurai movie: 'Too many mind'. I think this applies to you right now

Probably dead-on accurate! And I don't care what anyone else thinks.. I thought the movie was excellent.


Thank you everyone, yet again, for the input.

Stop trying to 'game' the game and just play it.

So you svck at video games, thats ok, its what the difficulty slider is for.

Set it lower, no one has to know but yourself. Don't worry about the cash or the equipment. I won't make 10k on a character until maybe level 20. I've never chopped wood or smithed, and only enchant for charges.

Let go the OCD, and PLAY.

Crazily, I turned off the HUD after seeing it suggestion on a thread on this forum..man the game is fun like that.

It adds to immersion in a variety of ways..the one most important to your question is the fact that you no longer have a compass/"task list" staring at you all the time. You can just let go and do what is in front of you. So yeah, crazy as it sounds i'd reccomend trying it without the HUD. On the XBOX just turn HUD opacity all the way down..there are some problems as it removes the entire interface, no crosshair or anything, so probably archery is out. It's very much a 'hardcoe' mode as you also have no HP bar to monitor..but hey, you'll know your'e dead when something kills you, and it's actually kind of easy to tell whether or not someone is having their way with you bow often they block and stagger you..with melee combat of course.

If you have it on PC i'm guessing there's a better option for turning the HUD off, like mods that do it selectively instead of literally turning off the entire interface.

Anyway, to me the whole quest/marker compass system really messes up the game, a game like this is about blazing your trail, and following clues to a path of adventure, not completing a shopping list.

Have you looked at the Wiki? I'm guessing yes and it can help you. I'd suggest not using it too much though. I overused it for Oblivion and it's better to discover things yourself. When you have a question though about an action like the one about "is there a healing spell" then that's the time to use the Wiki. It'll tell you without too much spoiling. If you have a problem figuring out quests, you can also use the Wiki for that but I'd definitely limit doing that. It can help you at first but then just take off and explore and see where it leads you. It's a huge game but don't worry...you'll figure it all out and there's no wrong way to play....get loose.

Lower your difficulty. There is a one-handed healing spell that every race has from the start of the game, which means you can heal yourself while swinging a one handed weapon. These "sprinting power attacks" you hear of are much further up the one-handed/two-handed skill tree, I doubt you've unlocked them. Potions should be used more as a "OH S%*#" button rather than a way to completely refill your health.

Skyrim is a game with NO wrong options...

if you're finding it too difficult... drop difficulty to Apprentice. It's ok, no one will judge you. Some people are less hardcoe or skilled gamers and that's exactly why the default difficulty is in the middle...

For healing... you should be trying to use resto in combat when possible instead of heal pots.

If you are a sword and board player... then you can swap your shield out for heal spell, and then back to shield after healing. You can map heal to left on dpad and shield to right. As you use heal more often, you'll rank up it's skill allowing you to get the perk for cheaper apprentice spells so you can cast fast heal for less. Fast heal is a 50 point heal (75 point heal with regeneration perk... WORTH IT) in 1 second. Later you'll get close wounds which is 100 point heal (150 with regen perk). Compared to your 25point HP pots... you can see how this can REALLY save you. Heal pots are for EMERGENCY use only... when you can't get a heal off in time you can pause the game with your menu and quaff a few so you don't get whacked.

If you're a 2 hand weapon player... even better. Map bow to right and 2hand weapon to left. Then manually equip heal to left and right hands. Now you can hit left for melee, right for ranged, and hit the hot key for what you have in your hands to sheath current weapon and pull up your last 2 1hand mapping (which you should always have set up as 2x heal). Cast both at the same time to heal 100 (150 w/ regen) hp in 1 sec with 2x fast heal and 200 (300 w/ regen) with close wounds.

Finally there is another perk you'll want in resto... it causes heal spells to restore stamina as well!!!! Once you pick that up... you'll almost never need any potions unless, again, you need to pause for an emergency heal.

To level smithing... hunt. Kill EVERY animal you see and take the pelt. Use tanning rack to turn these into leather and leather strips. Then craft Leather Bracers. Keep a pickaxe with you and anytime you see the mining icon on the compass.... track it down.

That's the beauty of playing several different characters. I played my first character 150 hours before finishing the main quest, and there were still plenty of things to do, and still haven't done with him after another 15 hrs. My current character has just found/explored several areas and learned Words of Power that my main hadn't found. And this character is only 15 hrs into his quest. Just explore and have fun. As far as combat, don't feel bad about having to adopt a hit-and-run strategy. If you don't already have it, learn the healing spell (and healing hands to help any followers) and take off running/healing when you're in trouble, then get back into the fight. 3rd person may help in combat, too.

Combat can be extremely challenging in the early game if you don't allocate some time to leveling your armor and weapons of choice. Many players by now have figured out how easy it is to level smithing and find themselves just starting their adventures in the open world around level 20+, which can be a disastrous choice for someone like you who admits they have trouble with combat. Take it slow, if you don't want to miss anything, or you want to save most of your exploration for higher levels, rest/wait until the dungeons you have explored reset and fight through them again and again until you have a solid combat skillbase.

As for "what to do and when", that's a hard thing to accurately answer. In Oblivion it was relatively "easy" to know when to do things because the only real challenge was to get to level 30 for the highest quality leveled items. In Skyrim, Bethesda learned from that mistake but in remedying it they created an entirely new and potentially overwhelming aspect to their game that can be tough to overcome for new players - ultimate choice. There really isn't a set number of things to do at certain levels. In fact, my only desire in Skyrim is to save as many dungeon cells (ie. first-time visits to game cells to set their difficulty level) as I can, but it's by no means required. Crafting allows you to obtain the best gear in the game, and coupled with alchemy and enchanting, the enchants you can put on that gear far exceeds the in-game equipment (which I'm not sure I like).

In summary, you're bound to feel overwhelmed until you've had the opportunity to learn what's out there, which most players won't do until their 4th or 5th playthrough. My advice, take your time and explore the cities first, meet the NPCs and collect quests, learn their schedules, and enjoy yourself. Read books (which you say you like to do). Many have quests that can be started from simply reading, and many more place markers on the map for future exploration. You'll never be satisfied if you're always wondering what you should save for later.

I think you're taking some of the fun out of it by buying crafting equipment and alchemy ingredients and grinding those skills - half the fun about the crafting skills is finding a vein (or mine with several veins) of rare ore, or picking up a rare alchemical ingredient from a container or a monster, or picking plants yourself and finding out through trial and error what you can make with them.

You don't need to buy ingredients to make healing potions, you can easily find them yourself so you don't need money for that.


Also turn the difficulty down - I have terrible reaction times and co-ordination, but this is a single player game that should be an enjoyable experience and there is no shame in putting the difficulty slider down to the easiest setting if that suits your play style best. That's what I do, I play TES for the amazing exploration and lore, not to have my behind handed to me and reloading over and over, I prefer a more relaxing experience and the difficulty slider allows for that if you are more into story and exploration than challenging combat.

I found myself in a situation where I was spending too much time making potions just to stay alive, and that caused me to level up quickly without increasing any combat skills. Lowering the difficulty for awhile let me keep having fun. Also staying in third person helped with the fighting.

It sounds like you are trying to manage your game too much. If you can, just play and don’t worry about what you might be missing. Like a Choose Your Own Adventure book. You don’t fold down every page so you can go back and try all of the choices you didn’t make. It’s your book. Just have another adventure when this one’s done.

Reading the books helps to flesh out the lore and give more meaning to your actions. There are books to tell you the weaknesses of certain creatures as well.

Exploring and dungeon diving is fun and will help you gain confidence. You will find potions and make money from sellingfound items. If something is too challenging, try a different strategy or come back to it later. If you use the Steed stone, it will give you a greater carrying capacity for loot to sell.

You don't have to power level but do make use of the skills available to make your character viable. My character benefited from upgrading my armor a bit and enchanting it with basic fortify light armor. I also make and use damage health and paralyze potions.

Feel free to experiment and try different things but save first and reload if it doesn't work out.

Once again, just want to say thank you to everyone for the advice and encouragement.

I have restarted (yet again), this time with less of a focus on crafting. A couple of other things I'm doing that's helping my issue, in case anyone is experncing the same problem I was generally having:

1) As multiple people have already stated, don't try to min/max or worry that you won't see everything in every permutation the game has to offer - Quite simply, you can't on one playthrough. This is particularly hard for me, as I am a bit OCD as Oyclo correctly guessed. I suspect this will be an on-going struggle for me.

2) As suggested by Tallenn, be mindful of what you loot. The value of the item versus the weight of it is very important, unless you plan to do a lot of running back and forth to a merchant. I made the mistake in my previous plays of not looting anything except what I needed (Gold, potions, crafting ingredients, gems, and only magic gear for disenchanting). Hide and studded armor are great to loot, and well net you some good coin.

3) I have NOT yet set the difficulty down to apprentice, and the reason is this: In my previous plays, I wasn't a good fighter. Keeping at the normal difficulty level is forcing me to get better. On top of that, I wasn't making full use of magic skills. Be sure to learn to use your buffs and heals while in combat - Relying on potions as I tried to do is ill advised, unless you are REALLY good at combat.

4) Put points into Restoration, particularly the magicka reductions and healing bonuses. It makes a world of difference.

Thanks again, everyone, and have fun!