Well I played about 5 games Dead is Dead. 4 out of 5 characters they died. In one I gave up on him thinking I knew what I was doing and started over again. Well I keep dieing all the time. I guess my problem is I think I am playing a level above 15 or close to 20 when in fact I am only level 5 or so.

Haven't played for a while and started today and keep dieing all the time. Well I am sick of dieing and starting over again. So when ever I die instead of starting over again, I made a "penance" I need to do. I basically follow the path that we were in the cart. I followed the path all the way to the end was surprised to see a wall with a door that will not open. I guess this leads to Cyrrodill. (spelling?)

I feel I cheated myself since this was suppose to be a Dead is Dead character so I stopped playing. I don't think I can do this again, but I want to try and make my character live as long as possible.

In my last game it was quite fun. I can't use any armour or weapons that I don't make. I can only use mage clothes since I can't make them. Thing is, I thought the game was so easy, I would kill the bandits so easily but then was shocked the Bandit Leader would kill me in 3 hits. So I guess I didn't level effeciently.

So one more time I will be playing an Altmer. Just love them and the ability to regenerate magika if I need it once a day. (now is it once a day so when 24 hour game time I can use it again, or do I have to sleep? I don't sleep so hard to guage when I get to use it again.) So I am not so sure if I should restrict myself to using weapons and armour again since I found the game too hard against Dragons, (became boring just hitting him with a Dagger) and getting killed way too fast against Boss Monsters.

I play on the 360. So how can I make the game a bit easier for me (without turning down the difficulty level). Last game I put alot of points into staminia so I can Sprint longer and carry more loot. I guess I should be putting more into health. Thing is I don't want to be a Warrior strong since I love casting magika, but I don't want to get 2 or 3 hit killed so fast. Also what perks should I be taking to become a better magic user?

I like using one handed weapons so I can cast healing or attacking spells. Should I be trying to use calm/what ever they are called spells so a stronger enemy stops attacking me? Houw would I go by doing that? One limit I do set myself is I don't buy magic spells, only use the ones when I find a book, not buy one. Only spell I bought was calm, but I find I can't cast it since I level up to fast. So how can I use the Calm spell better? What other spells am I missing/forgetting to use to get out of battles that are too tough for me?

I don't think I will make another Dead is Dead charcter since I hate repeating the begining again. So doing things differently from the begining will make the game fell different for me now. So I can't wait for your tips and suggestions.

Thanks for taking the time to read.

What is dead is dead? I think I know the concept, once you die your character is gone, right? Are you forcing yourself to play this way? If so, why? It will make you hate the game.

The reason I play this, is I actually get a RUSH playing the game. When getting out of combat and surviving with only a few health points left, is exhilerating knowing that if I die, that is it, no restarts. When in my last game I didn't want to start over, I made the "penance" walk. That can take a while to do and it's like a rebirth because it's following the same trail you da when you are in the wagon in the begining of the game. It really makes combat exciting knowign that if you die it's over or now, the Penance Walk needs to be done once I get out of combat.

Knowing if I die and I will just restart, makes dieing kind of moot, so I tried the Dead is Dead. Thing is I keep dieing to early and often now that I do not like the Dead is Dead anymore. At least I tried it.

I just want to make this character now, see how long I can keep him alive before he dies, but will keep continuing to play him but up until I die the first time, it's a game, how long I can keep him alive. It's a game within a game now for me.

So need help in keeping him alive as long as possible before he dies the first time. Then once he dies, I want to see if I can keep him alive even longer the next time.

Try an archer.

I may not play dead id dead, but of all my characters, the ones who use sneak + bow tend to live a lot more. fire from a hidden position, and when the enemies start looking for you, move. Repeat the pattern and you can kill almost anything without problems.

For other characters....

Warrior: Fortify your health as much as you can to avoid one shots....they tend to get really annoying, and in a DiD may cause broken monitors. Skill up block, will allow you to live more. Avoid mages like the plague, a mage can kill a warrior easily if you are not prepared(magic+ element resist are a must). Dont be afraid to drink dozens of potions, warriors always get more damange that other builds.

Mages: Illusion is your friend, invisibility will allow you to escape any predicament. Impact will help you a lot.

Sneak: the easiest builds to play DiD, high sneak + archey will let you live a long time. Paired with illussion, will make you very hard to kill. Dont let yourself be discovered, if discovered run away and try again later.

And also: Run. If you see something out of your league, run like the wind, and dont get back till you're stronger.

I have tried Bows. Thing is once I get one hit, they are apon me before I can even switch my weapons. I can never get in a second shot. Never took any perks in the Archery tree. Maybe I should put some in there then.

I try to run, but get 2 or 3 hit killed. Never tried invisibility. Guess it's hard when I have the restrictions I only use spells that I find and not buy. Maybe it's time to change that. So if I am in the middle of combat, can I cast invisibility and they can't see me unless I attack again? I am so use to Morrowin/Oblivion where they will still see you.

Damn. I`m hardcoe, but still too scared to do DiD yet...

LoL, dead is dead. I'm like the complete oppisite. For me, player starts at level 100, with 1000 health, magicka, stamina, and carryweight, all perks, my choice of spells, and a follower (Muiri) with the exact same. Master difficulty and dead means reload, although I never die. I put way too much work into this character to worry about that much realism. Not fast traveling is enough for me.

I know what you mean SFBryan. That is why now if I die, I do not make a new character anymore, but will do a "Pennance Walk". Follow the path as we started the game. At least I found the door that leads to Cyrodill. I wonder if this will be used in and upcomming DLC.

Stealth archery is the way to go. My stealth archer was on master difficulty, banned from magic and companions. When my sneak level wasn't the best, I'd fire one (maybe two) arrows and have to retreat a distance and re-engage. I wore light armor with 0 perks so it was "run or die" if I was seen. The trick is to retreat before you're discovered.

I think I know exactly what you mean. Glad I WAS using a cheap external keyboard and not my laptop's keyboard.....

argonian with sword'n'board, heavy armor and magic resist enchants + his racial.


you won't die.

I don't think I could ever do "dead is dead".

I'd hate to put hundreds of hours into a character and abandon them because of some cheap death. I get attached to them, and want to see them just dust themselves off and get revenge on those who killed them the time before.

I also have a habit of starting over in my games, and it's always nice when I finally stick with a character and get to see what the end of the game, or the later portions of the game are like. I hate always being low level when I keep restarting, as the fun abilities and better equipment start showing up later on.

The people who claim that Skyrim is too easy (not me), even on master difficulty are generally stealth archers. Just aim for one shot kills, or as much damage in one hit as possible, and avoid being seen. Shoot enemies from a good distance, and if they come after you, usually moving away while using stealth makes them forget all about you quickly, if you've found a nice, dark spot to hide in.

Knowing when to give up and run away is just as important as caution when playing DiD. Archery is the way to go, IMHO. Hence, the Archery tree is important. I play a Bosmer Archer that is climbing the Archery, Sneak, Alchemy, and Light Armor trees. When I hit roadblocks on those (insufficient skill level to advance), then I'll perk up on One Handed, or just save the perk.

I think that maxing out one tree early give you the most power. It doesn't really matter which one, although archery is the most efficient.

I haven't played a DID character, but for my games I have found the most survivability from a 'pure' character. If you use sword and board JUST use that. Don't mix it up with destruction magic or alteration or lockpicking.

Yeah, get the stealth tree up to *3 bow sneakshot, and fill your archery tree to the max, and you will one shot kill just about anything. Supplement this with light armor tree to make yourself tougher to enemy bowshots, Conjuration for bound bow (easier than carrying an extra bow just to fill soul gems) and the occasional Atronoch for distractions, and Smithing (Light armor side up to dragon armor) and Enchanting (to make +damage enchants for archery) and you will feel like Zeus, raining lightning bolts on your enemies, even if you're using Iron arrows.

Oh, and take Faendal as a follower. Always nice at low levels to have an archery trainer following you around (not really a spoiler, I'm sure almost everyone has met him and tried him at least once...)

Archery
Sneak
Enchanting
Smithing
and maybe One Handed perked for dual wielding when you can withstand enough hits.

Have fun.

Play as a warrior orc.

Berserker Rage makes orcs the strongest warrior race, IMO.

Thank you guys for your tips. I never took any followers in any game. I guess I will have to consider this. I just keep reading they get in the way alot. The one time I sort of had a follower is when I had to take someone for a quest and they just kept getting in the way of combat, so never bothered with a follower after that.

Please keep them coming.

Ehm, yeah... Doh!

If you want to play a mage, are sick of dead is dead, but still want a rush, I would say you might as well play pure mage with all points in Magicka, plus sneak. Fights go kind of like this for example... you cast muffle and invisibility, and sneak into the room and find some darkness. Then you cast say Frost Rune and summon a Frost Atronach so the enemy rushes towards it and hits the rune. The atronach won't be hurt by the frost damage. Then you cast say Fear and Paralyze. Then throw Ice Storms into the mix. Normally they will focus on the atronachs, but if not, use Become Ethereal or run around a corner and go invisible, and they should turn back to the atronach. It is still exciting because you can get one-shotted at any time, but of course dead is dead is kind of pointless for a 100 health character.

Getting 3-shotted by a bandit chief is pretty normal if they catch you and you don't have a shield... The thing is not to get caught...

Focus on whatever combat skills you are going to use rather than crafting at the beginning of the game. Making yourself a couple of armors straight out of Helgen power levels the enemies you will face, while your magic and melee are still weak. Once you've got some perks in combat, then start your crafting.

Faendal makes a good follower for an archer because he is also an archer. Don't give him any meele weapons and he's usually content to stand back and shoot. Plus until your archery reaches 50, he can train it up.

Your answer is right there. Do turn down the difficulty! You can always turn it back up once you know how to skill your character. It really is pointless if you cannot find an entry into DiD to begin with.

As a suggestion, try making a heavy armor melee character. If you keep dying, as you say, you might as well go offensive, tank and kill before you get killed.

Play how you like just lower the difficulty it ONLY effects damage in/out, not every build can be played at master or even adept difficulty, just svck it up, who cares if you play on easy its your game bro just have fun, its better in the end than playing a character you dont like or grinding skills and exsploiting op mechanics.