Hi i just started this game, its a fantastic game. But i am simply over whelmed with the vast world and the content that is in this game. The furthest i managed to get was to the town of "river wood" Where they teach you the fundamentals of some of the crafting tutorials which was nice. I was able to interact with some town villagers to learn more bout the history of their town. I really love the immersion in the elderscrolls, its like nothing ive ever experienced before in a video game. Truly awesome role playing experience.

Anyways as a noobie to the world of skyrim and elder scrolls in general this being my first elder scrolls game. I was wondering if any of you can give me some tips on where to start out at. I am barely just a lvl 1 and pretty much everything seems to kill me. I do how ever have some pretty decent armor and weapons, their what the imperils had during the raid at felgen. So they outclass most of the stuff i can get at riverwood already. I figured it would be like fable where you can kill citizens real easy. Well that's not the case as most of the town villagers slaughter me. Though i guess that's understandable me being a lvl 1. But the monsters i seem to be able to kill are the wolfs outside.

Don't mean to drag onto this conversation so i'll get straight to the point, since the quests are not marked by lvl difficulty it is sort of challenging to know which quests i should start with for a new player entering this vast world. Its quite overwhelming and im sure alot of you guys think, oh its no big deal, but this is my first elder scrolls game so its quite a new concept to me but i really love it. So does any of you have any tips of any area's that i should explore around river wood or quests to pick up for novice players so i can get my feet wet. I did see this area called "northskybound" watch. But those guys just slaughtered me to pieces every time i got close so i am assuming that is a higher lvl area.

It would be nice to have like a guide for quests based on lvl difficulty to look at so you kind of get an idea what you can do in the game, like most mmos are separated by regions of difficulty, this game is kind of spread out everywhere so its a bit different.

Aside from the dragon that ransaked Felgen, i have yet to see another one out in the world. But yeah i kind of just started this game so not very far lol.

I can see my self pouring probably over 300+ hrs into this game, its just huge. Took me 3 hrs alone just to get past the intro prologue and kind of discover riverwood to its full extent. I did one quest that involved a love triangle with two npcs, but thats bout it so far.

Oh and i have a Redguard and im trying go for a battle mage arche type. Kind of a hybrid sword and sorcery type mage.

A good thing to do might be to go to local inns and ask if they have any work. That will typically get you sent to a small bandit camp where you won't have too much trouble.

Thanks, i been taking up on some of the jobs like wood chopping to earn gold. But right now im pretty broke and i can't afford much anything, after i did the tutorials.

If you talk to the people inside the Riverwood Trader, they will give you a quest that leads you to Bleak Falls Barrow, a pretty entry-level dungeon that lets you get your hands on some nice items and lets you battle a gang on bandits and mummies that provide good training. You can also make your way to Whiterun, where a lot of quests are available for you.

Also, be happy you haven't encountered a dragon yet, it will take you to at least level 10 until you will stand a chance. Good luck adventuring!

My advice is to heed the geography of the land and understand the scaling a bit. Some enemys scale with you, eg: bandits will scale based on your level and are capped at a certain level, but you will not find overly strong bandits for your level. However, there are some enemies which are scaled beyond your level right from the get go and may want to be avoided early in the game. Geography comes into play when it comes to some of these enemies. Eg: Frost trolls will be found in higher elevations and are tougher at lower levels so they should be avoided unless you are feeling adventurous or have some tactics in hand.

This little quote sums it up fairly simply: "some locations are set independently of the player's level and will not be reasonable for the player to attempt to take on at a lower level, whereas other areas will have enemies and loot set according to player level at the time of the player's first entry into the location. In the second case, the enemies will stay at that level determined by the player's first entry, meaning that a player returning to a location visited early in the game will be able to clear the location of foes with greater ease."
http://elderscrolls.wikia.com/wiki/The_Elder_Scrolls_V:_Skyrim#Enemy_Leveling_System

And some more comments on levelling: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Leveling#Effects_of_Leveling

Small jobs in the town of white run normally have easy to do tasks, my advice is to focus on the bandit missions for now ie: bounties for the jarls to take care of bandits in the area.

Wow fast replies, thanks for the help. I'll check into that bleak falls barrow quest.

Another good spot to warm-up on is the mine right outside Riverwood. Great for a few skill-ups, ore, and a bit of treasure, before you tackle Bleak Falls. There's no quest to take you there, but it's nice for stretching out your sword-arm or warm up your spells and sneaks.

Edit: Don't forget to bring a pick axe.

Alright ill check it out, what is the name of the place?

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Embershard_Mine

Yeah, enemies for the most part are scaled to your level in Skyrim. In other words, you could technically go to most places in the world and things will for the most part match whatever level you are at.

Of course there are exceptions. Dwarven ruins and Falmer will always be slightly above level (I think their min level must be somewhere around 10-15 or so), so they are a very bad idea to try and fight early on. Same thing goes with Frost trolls, or frost varients of anything (AKA the most snowy it gets you have a higher chance of running into harder things). Other stuff like Bears will be pretty hard to fight early on, and Giants/Dragonpreists are always somewhere close to level 30 no matter what, so they'll pretty much slaughter you low level. I'm pretty sure Foresworn are at least level 5-10, but I can't say for sure - by the time I went to the area they were in I was a decent level already. Foresworn might use the same level logic as bandits (see below), but I think they are made to be slightly harder too.

Things like Skeevers will always be low level, same with wolves. Ice wolves are slightly higher level.

Stuff like Bandits, Draguer, Wilderness Mages, and etc will always pretty much match you level wise, with some minor adjustments. I.E. you will never run into Briarhearts early level or harder bandits.

Now the thing is, when you first visit an area it "locks" the general enemies to a certain level. So if you go into Bleak falls barrow at level 1, you'll always have level-1 draguer spawn there even after you return when you are level 30. However if you first go there at level 30, you'll find a mix between low level draguer but also level 30 draguer.

I think Winterhold makes a cool intro area. [edit] If you're a mage, of course. But some of the way is designed gives a good intro to your most common enemy.

Oh i see well that is interesting to know, does this apply to NPC enimes. Because i know there is a ton of enimes in the game you have to kill that are NPCS as well. I am guessing this rule doesn't apply to that though. Its interesting to note that some of the imperials that you had to kill in the prologue of the game were easy as pie but yet the regular villagers of riverwood kick my ass lol. Just wanted to point that out, very strange. In any case do the npcs have their own set lvls or are they scaled to your lvl as well cause im guessing they are not since nearly every one of them kill me.

the way to go as a mage is to take the carriage to winterhold and do the college questline, because you get some sweet amulets and a nice hoodie

I believe NPC's are based on classes and have stats that those classes have: http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Classes

As for HP, MP etc. I believe they are scaled upon acceptance of the quest (much like how the radiant quest system works)

Here's what I do (I know it's boring, but I'm a bit OCD):
1). Sell everything I hoarded in the intro. Do smithing tutorial in Riverwood.
2). Get Bleak Falls Barrow quest from the trader shop. Don''t go there yet!!!
3). Chop wood. There's an axe on the bench behind the mill. There's no excuse to be broke between the wood and the hoard.
4). Do Embershard Mine. It's a great starting dungeon. Plus there's a whole bunch of iron ore to be mined there. (PS: If you're on PC, get the mod titled "Glowing Ore Veins 300), at www.skyrimnexus.com. Veins are notoriously difficult to see normally. The wiki says there are 2 veins in EM; I found 7 thanks to the mod, lol).
5. Now go to Whiterun and get the Bleak Falls Barrow quest from the mage in Dragonreach. Yes it's the same place as 2. I like to consolidate quests whenever possible.
6. Head back to Riverwood and spend the night in the inn. If you sleep for 8 hours, you get a well-rested buff, which it makes it easier to level up in skills.
7. Head to BFB and kick butt! You should be between lvl 3 and 5, if not more by then.

Haha yeah i found that the bleak falls barrow kicked my ass, even when had sven as a follower, he died rather quickly. I didn't even get that far in either. I did how ever go to the ember shard mine and that place was actually pretty easy. I cleared it out in a matter of minutes. Do enimes like respwn on this game, like i can go back into that mine clear it out again to grind up lvls, cause so far that seems to the be only place i located that i can actually handle.

Also this is very bothersome but i run into weight issue this early in the game where i have to sell my items or get rid of what i carry. is their way in this game to like store your items in like a bank or something, so you can come back to them later. That would be nice if such a feature existed. Because they really don't give you much room to carry armor and weapons, cause i only have 300 weight maximum.

But anyway, ill head on up to white run and see what is up their finish my first main quest at least. I doubt i will be able to handle BFB unless i some how lvl like 3 lvls or something. So far ive fought a few wolfs, turned in like 3 quests and cleared out enbershard mine and ive only reached bout 3/4 to lvl 2. lol. This is indeed a large game if the lvl cap is 80 like everyone says. Good god.

OH and no and im playing on the playstation 3, no the pc.

Ok how do you mine Ore? I am assuming you have to buy a pick axe some where, how do you know which are mines, im sorry im so new to this game.

oh one more thing, if im going for like an battlemage type build hyrbird, i should stay away from stuff like heavy armor or still armor right?

Enemies do respawn in caves and will be level locked upon discovering them. EG: You enter a bandit cave at level 1 it is tagged at level one and if you were to visit that cave again you would have the lowest possible types of bandits in there even though you are a higher level the second time around.

As for weight, learn how to pick up items that are value vs weight (hint: ingredients can be extremely profitable, low weight and can make expensive potions). There is also a special guardian stone that will increase your weight by 100 pts (try to find it). Theres also perks in your preferred armor of choice where your armor type will weigh nothing (I believe sneak perks have this as well). Theres also the option of having a follower carry your extra stuff in case you become over weight. But loot prioritization is key and looking at weight vs coin value.

OK so basically sell most of the stuff you do not need. its not like regular rpgs where you have to hold onto every single item you get. You have to prioritize, i get it.

I am guessing i can't upgrade any perks or skills until i lvl up. Cause i have noticed i haven't been able to do nothing as far as upgrading perks in the game yet.

Really important loot that is needed for quests can't be dropped anyway so don't worry about hoarding (unless you love to hoard which many of us do lol). Its the micromanaging that some people crave, and finding efficient ways of looting and selling.
Everything you do levels up skills which as a whole contribute to your character level. Once you level up you can choose magic, health or stamina increase and receive one perk point per level to assign to any of those skills you wish. More level you have in a skill such as stealth the more perk options you will have to choose from. The trees act the same in mmo's, where you need the previous skill before it and a certain proficiency in the skill.

Edit: i have no idea why this thing keeps double quoting >.>

Ok here is kind of where im trying to head with my build.

My race is Imperial I am trying to create a warrior/mage hyrbrid. I hear those are the most strongest builds during end game. Because you have the right amount of protection with the armor + you have the restoration and destruction abilities that keep you alive the longest.

I figure creating this build i would go with illusion, and perks in heavy armor. For my main focus on weapons, i would use staffs or spells or supplemented by a one handed sword. I don't need any two handed swords or anything that requires two hands, because i have to be able to utilize my spells on the fly, especially restore. Since an imperil has a high racial attribute for destruction as well as heavy armor, i figured that would be the best well rounded race for a warrior/mage hybrid class.

as a few hints, and regarding some of your questions, every time you level you get one perk point. you cant unlearn so either use it with foresight or amass a few before allotting them. Also, every 10 point to stamina you add at each level up will add 5 to you max weight but if you are going mage stamina is't your first priority.

Ignore 'end game' and 'builds'. I have found no matter how you build or play you will find a way to make it viable and strong later in the game and at level cap. End game is relative and can be at level 15 for those that find no entertainment in the game or think that main quest is it. This is the game how you want it so build the way you want to play with no fear of being a gimp later on.

Warrior mage is common and useful in any situation with a bit less future planning, focus on one type of favorite magic for perks, choose an armor type and stick to it to maximize its potential with perks and get some good early game benefits. Obviously one handed weapons is another tree to perk up given your playstyle. Granted some types of characters are more challenging then others but once you know the tactics its cake for anyplaystyle.

Edit: Oh and good idea with the staff/sword route, that can free up mediocre destruction magic perks to be used in another style, illusion in your case.

Yeah i im not really concerned bout running into issues in late game, but there is one thing you have to take into factor when creating builds, if you want the highest most proficient build in the game, you have to cross reference the race with their ratial abilities and build a character based on those higher racial attributes if you want to maximuse the full potential of any character.

That is really the only thing i was looking at right now. Because that is something you have to take into consideration, because its not like you can change race mid game.

like for example if you wanted a character in end game with the absolute highest attribute of spell power in the game, then you would pick the High elf, since they have the highest makica rating and regen. So naturally they are the born race of mages in skyrim.

Just don't over think it. You have a class you want to go with, you chose your race based on its traits in relation to their planned role. You have a good way to offset less destruction perks with a staff so you can invest in a more tactical based magic and get more out of your game rather then burn then slash. You are set to go with a great plan, the only decisions you may want to think about is how far you want to take the enchanting and smithing in this game. Maximizing and using the 'loop' (some consider it an exploit) will affect you by making you so overpowered you might as well play with god mode enabled.

Yeah, I think topherman said it best with "don't over think it." You really can't go wrong with the game. You just get into the world, wander around, and there's always something to discover. Planning your perks from a roleplay aspect, or a preference aspect is a good idea, but even if you blow a perk or two on something to try it out isn't the end of the world. Simply playing, and exploring will yield more than enough materials and wealth for your character to be pretty powerful and have fun.

Keep in mind, this isn't a game so much about achieving quests as it is simply experiencing the world that the gang at Bethesda have created. You don't get experience from turning in quests, and quest reward items can even be lacking compared to something you might find in a chest on your travels. Experience is gained by actually using skills, so quests come secondary, more as along the lines of "here's something you can go do to work on your skills," but with a little structure and storyline. Talk to everyone, some will have dialog options that lead to little things to do, others that lead to big things to do. Some are just entertaining to talk to, and don't have anything, and yet others are entertaining and don't even appear in the world until after you've done something specific. Yeah, I'm talking to you, Wabbajack.

Lastly, everything you're seeing and experiencing will be different the next time you play. Not dramatically different, in that Embershard Mine and its bandits isn't going anywhere, but subtly different. I'm on a 4th character, and within the first 5 levels I encountered 4 things around Riverwood and Bleak Falls Barrow that I didn't see or experience with my previous 3 characters. Details are everywhere, from how a tree fell over to strange skeletal arm sticking out of a pond. Get in game, get those dogs pounding the ground, and you'll see a ton of really neat and fun stuff.