» Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:29 pm
OP, if you are running a tank character (it sounds like you are), then you really can't rely on weapon/armor drops from loot to upgrade your character. For a tank, the Smithing Skill and Perk Tree are going to be your best friends. You need top of the line equipment for your character to survive because you are going to be a front line character who takes a lot of hits. In order to deal out damage by the bucketful like you will want/need to be doing, you need to have a high Smithing Skill, and the Perks spent to go along with that rank.
This is one of the only conceivable way s for your character to survive.
Also, smart spending of Perk points in the Skills of Heavy Armor and One-Handed/Two-Handed is a necessity. Don't spend a Perk point on increasing Axe damage if your character is a primary Sword user, it'd be a wasted point as you will never get the benefit of the Perk. Spending in Heavy Armor is the same way, and the Block Skill Tree will very much save your life numerous times.
Hope this helps a little.