The whole thing seemed rushed after Blackreach. If anything, they should have found a way to fully integrate the dragon story with the civil war line, and given the whole thing more meat and a proper sense of urgency and danger in my opinion.

But Sojo I was given the option to talk to either Esbern or Agrenir when Paarthurnax gave mention of how to get a particular artifact. actually where I may be sorely mistaken I believe the game gives you several chances to confide in the blades or the Grey beards in about of Handful of aspects during the MQ.

The ending WAS epic. First of all, going into Sovngarde- that was a kick. Maybe you had to be playing a Nord to feel how important that was. And then after the battle, having the dragons confer with Paarthurnax and then circling... resolution with Paarthurnax and Odahviing... JFC, what do people want?! If all you care about are long cutscenes, go play a JRPG.

Whiners gonna whine. and whine. and whine. and whine some more.

AFTER talking to Parthanaax - you can choose to consult with any or all. The actual decision to take sides doesn't happen until you're asked to slay Parthanaax, when your character really should have already done so. My problem is until that point, you're still playing along with both factions to advance the plot, when it really makes no sense to do so. They're diametrically opposed to each other. The Blades were and are again dragon stayers, with strong connections to the Empire, not to mention bitter foes of the Thalmor. The Greybeards are pacifistic isolationists who abhor slaying dragons, although they'll grudgingly go along with killing Alduin. The MQ should be redesigned so your character takes sides BEFORE meeting Parthanaax, which would also impact how that encounter would go. I find it really odd that the MQ is designed so that your character milks both factions for all they're worth before pushing your character to decide. It's ultimately meaningless, and how it's handled is an absolute farce.

How about characters you actually care about, a real threatening situation, a non-copy+pasted impossible to lose final battle, and an antagonist that is actually more than a cardboard generic evil dragon_01? That can't be too much to ask can it?

Start a fight with a greybeard , see just how pacifist they are.They are inhabiting the throat of the world , one of the pillars that upholds this plane of existence.It is also the last one the Thalmor can physically see and attack if given the chance.A wise general marshals his forces and makes sure his true capabilities are left largely unknown to his many prospective enemies.Besides what do you expect of the greybeards?Maybe they'll all run to their secret cave chutes and descend on the world in giant shouting mechanical cat robots and then form into VOLTRON?These guys can't even speak normally without causing earthquakes and tremblings , you aren't the most powerful being in this game , sorry to disappoint you , even if they weren't flagged as essential they'd chew you up and spit you out like a mosquito.The way of the voice is the code they follow , you may want to brush up on exactly what that is before you deem them weak pacifists.As to their opinion of maybe the world is meant to end , well , it IS meant to end.That's the sole reason Alduin exists.It was not a coincidence that their founder chose this place to build his retreat.

As to the main quest being a letdown , yeah I feel that too because everything up to the ending was really good.Stepping into the hall of heroes and seeing ysgramor in person was pretty exciting until you realised he was canned and started repeating stuff , but still cool.Having to fight Tsun to gain entry was another good addition to a hall filled with the best heroes the world could field.Maybe the letdown is just that all this awesomeness , the din of battle , the challenges you overcame , the sights no other living mortal has dared to see , just kind of.... ends.

I too was probably more expectant of some even more epic stuff , maybe like this . http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sraqNvbC7oo
But alas , the iphone hadn't been invented and there is no way the people of skyrim could know of my deeds , so I'll quietly rest in my personal knowledge of what was done on that day.

never going to happen dude, every and all enemies are ment to be beaten and die, look at deathwing for WoW oh hes sooooo badass but you never see him at all during the cataclysm unless some random flyby or the quests in twilight highlands which dont engage you with deathwing, an overall bad antagonist. same goes with the lich king

Meant to be beaten is not the same as being handed to you on a silver platter.

At what point did I say they were weak, hm? I stated they were pacifistic isolationists, which is fine and dandy if you agree with their philosophy. My characters don't, and should have the option to immediately part ways. If the Greybeards truly believe the world is meant to end, then they're hardly concerned with maintaining this plane of existence. Lorewise a swift arrow or poison can do what direct confrontation can't; gamewise, the Greybeards have trouble with even a werewolf.

I understand you are used to play fps with clearly defined boss and *levels* and you believe you have gone through the levels and wiped the game clean... but .... spoiler ... you havent

the so called main quest is clearly an introduction to your dragonborn status, and a fight with a legendary dragon, but that doesnt mean no sequel(s) is(are) planned especially if you paid attention to that vomited monologue .... and why what when doh !!! fush ro dah ! and well is someone being manipulated or what and are you a toy of the thalmor and so is ulfric and everyone else

seriously, between the thalmor, the dragons, the magical anomalies and the red year, the whole scene is a recipe for disaster

the other big question, you claim to be godly and all, but did you play at plaster difficulty without cheat or explot, or did you just oghma infinitum your way on novice difficulty

* If you're saving these people's lives, you're gonna want to believe that you like them. *
the ordinary peoples of skyrim I have no trouble loving
many of the upper class bufoon you got to be slightly deviant to even be able to talk to without vomiting
ulfric ..... tullius .... thalmor ..... blades ..... dark brotherhood ... thieves guild .... all a bunch of %%%%
only the mage guild seemed nicer ... within reason
and then I took an frost wall in the knee

SERIOUSLY WTF?! Dude ok judging by today's standards *may* be a valid reason to dis a classic that said it would be like saying that neanderthals were pointless but without them we wouldn't be here ergo without Chrono Trigger, FF I, FF II, etc. and all the other *Archaic* rpg's would you be playing Skyrim, Fallout or Mass Effect?
I doubt it, C.T. and the rest defined the term RPG which is applied to any game that uses a leveling system these days. Show some respect for Skyrim's elders. Peace

Chrono Trigger is the most overrated game of all times, and I played it when it came out in the mid 90s. There are many better JRPGs out there; yes, including FF7, which many of you hate.

The ending was rubbish but anything before that was rather nice IMO.



P.S. I cry blood every time someone calls something WORST EVER. Like the person above me called some game MOST OVERRATED OF ALL TIMES. Completely nonsensical statements, with no statistical proof. I support the magic letters "IMO" replacing nonsense like WORST, RUINED FOREVER.

Have you heard? BGS's writers svck.

In terms of prophecy plotlines, they used one in Oblivion, where Uriel Septim believes that you are part of a prophecy concerning the end of the Third Era.

Skyrim's main quest wasn't as bad as others. It is more of a distraction then anything else; how many people actually go and finish the main quest when they boot up the game? I'm not saying that you completed in a hundred hours in, I'm saying that you did nothing but play the main quest and did nothing else, did not get distracted. I don't think that's a whole lot of people; main quest acts as a backdrop to whatever you do in Skyrim.

Just beat the Main story myself...I don't see what you all are having issues with...I really think you guys are too nit picky...
I went into it thinking of all the things you all said...and wow...you all are totally off..or rushed it/didn't listen or read the quest.

They leave most of this up to the Dragonborn, which is how it should be..if they wrote any more into it...like they did the blades...you'd..not have any choices at all.

---EDIT---
TO ADD,
Stats:
Race: Nord
Level 24
Diff: Adept
Gear:
Dwarven Armor (Epic)
Elven Boots and Gloves (Flawless)
Dwarven Greatsword (Epic)
Ring of Stam Recovery
Amulet of Kynnereth (Spell check),
Ancient Nord Helmet (Flawless) <---Favorite Helmet in the Game specially for my physical fighter characters.

No Spells, Just Shouts.
Healing and Stamina Potions that I found or bought

It was fun....You all are too picky...seriously...

Things you got to do in the Main Quest:
Escape Prison with a Dragon flying about destroying [censored]
Choose a Side to Assist
Help a Jarl or I guess Jarls could be considered Kings? Or Mayors?
Kill a Dragon and be Recognized
Learn Cool Moves with in Shouts
Speak and Learn about the History of Skyrim
Kill Zombies While dungeon Diving
Crash a Party
Kill Snobby Thalmor
Re-Connect with the Blades by Going into the Sewers of Riften, and find a Wise Elder Blade
Find out about some things that went down that weren't really explained For the White Concordat to come about
Learn More Shouts
Talk to an Awesome Dragon, who teaches you more powers
Search for the Elderscroll and ACTUALLY USE IT this time (Never played any Elderscrolls before Morrowind...so yea)
Track down and TAME Odaving, Talk to another awesome dragon...and gain an ally
Kill Multiple Dragons, WHILE Killing Zombies as well...Zombies + Dragons?!? Nobody liked doing this on the way to the temple?!? Seriously?
Go to Valhalla-IMEAN-Sovengarde Thor Style, meaning you didn't have to die to go there. Their area looked awesome, the Dragon Bone Bridge looks pimp!
Destroy the Boss and make a decision on what to do with the New Leader of the Dragons.


The Multiple Dragon Fights I had were down right intense thanks to Restless Draugrs, Draugr Wrights, and Scourges.

well why do you keep on playing games made by beth then, go and moan to somebody who cares, the forums were not made to just slate everything about it....sorry if i got that wrong, i grew bored of oyur both halfway through

Well I love this game, I really do, but I have to agree the MQ was a let down. I agree it really didn't take you to very many places, unlike Morrowinds when you have to unite all the houses and tribes. I also agree the final battle was terrible. Once I actually just stood there and let the three nords fight the boss, I just stood there and watched. THAT SHOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE. Seriously the story of who the final boss was is ok. The location for the final battle was ok. But the battle itself was just so bad. Just another 'kill the dragon' battle, only this time with three Nord helpers.

But I keep playing. Other factions, other places to see. Although the quality of the faction quests is another matter.

gee...somebody did take there skooma!

Not even close to the worst main quest ever in an RPG, Sacred 2 has that title.

idk if its the worst, but sure is the shortest

there's lots of other stuff to do tho

Did you play Rage? Although it isn't an RPG, it gets my vote for worst ending of any game that I've played in my 26 year gaming career. I even knew ahead of time that the ending was awful and it still surprised me how bad it was.

Highlight below if you don't mind minor Rage "spoilers".

The final fight is some of the easiest trash mobs in the game, so easy you don't even realize it's the final fight. It's the first time I've ever said to myself, "that was the end of the game?" The story builds up a villain that you never see and builds up a war that never happens. The most memorable fights in the game come at roughly the halfway point and then the story becomes almost non-existent afterwards.

Yeah, I heard Rage's ending was shockingly lame.

This.

Pure win.

Guess you never played Neverwinter Nights 1.

The plot and the background was excellent. Sadly, the actual questline didnt live up to it. The problem is that nothing actually happens. Even in Oblivion stuff happened, and there were other stuff besides fetiching. What I really hated is that there is really no point where you feel like the badass Dragonborn. Yes you get shouts...but nothing happens that makes you feel heroic. Not even fighting Alduin. They shouldnt just pit you against him until his health goes down. More stuff should have happened. Also, cool stuff like dragons skeletons coming back to life and Alduin giving them flesh happens randomly and you gotta be at the right place at the right time, which means its impossible to see.