This thread is to gauge the practicallity of the publicized pre-release Dovahkiin build.

First: So, I want to role the Dovahkiin shown in all of the pre-release information and trailers. It is self evident that this Dovahkiin is a Nord and uses some pretty "minimalist" equipment. Is it possible to make it through the majority of 100% game completion and exploration (Minus the TG, DB and WC quests) using this pretty basic equipment without any improvements past (Fine) quality and zero enchantments? Obviously, nothing is impossible, but how practical is this build for an extended playtime?

Pre-Release Dovahkiin equipment:
- Steel Sword
- Iron Helmet
- Studded Armor
- Iron Boots
- Iron Gauntlets
- Banded Shield / Steel Dagger

Second: What skills would a Dovahkiin of this nature focus on? Staying in line with the lore, a Nord Dovahkiin of this nature would be skeptical of the arcane arts, ruling all of those practices out of the question. I would also like to keep trading, looting and smithing/trading exploits at a minimum, a self imposed restriction to stay in line with this role. No forge spamming and whole-selling. I imagine this Dovahkiin is too motivated by Alduin's uprising to worry about spamming daggers and building a vast personal fortune (The latter can come later!).

Third: What Nord character preset would this character be (I assume Preset 1) and what did Bethesda name this character? I can see Bendu Olo in the user's manual, but I thought he was some other person from the lore?

If your attack and defense skills are buffed up and perked up, then you don't need powerful weapons and armor. You may want to wear a ring or necklace that increases your Armor or Weapon skill, but that is optional.

It wont' be easy, but it is not impossible.

I tried to make the Dovahkiin from the trailers with my first character, I messed up with the perks though and I'd like to re-make him, so I'm watching this thread, hopeful for some answers!

Biggest problem seems to be the mix of heavy and light armour. It will negate any set bonuses, even if you max out both armour tree. It would have to be kill before killed character, and I'd say smithing exploit on Skyforge steel sword.

I have this issue with my character. I dress him for looks and it ends up being a mix of light and heavy. Not sure what to do about it.

The pre-release Dovahkiin is totally abusing smithing and alchemy

As a heavy armour melee character in the high levels, if I want a challenge I just don't wear a helment, and a right royal bashing I generally get, too.

I think the original Dovakhin was a marketting ploy...looks cool, but would not get any favours from the game...

I would have thought that a perk to be able to get some bonus for mixed armour styles would have been an obvious final perk in both armour skill trees, or at least an offshoot perk rated at the @100 skill point level. A lot of people do go for the asthetic look...personally, I like steel plate armour, but I dislike wearing the helmet unless I absolutely need to squeeze out those extra armour points, that 'winged victory' biker's helmet just looks silly, and it's full face...hardly what you need for running around the countryside in.

This makes the most sense, but it'd have to be a looted/bought ring/necklace, something that I wanted to avoid.

In the end, I could probably justify saving up 1000 septims just one time. We'll see where it goes!

Edit: Any thoughts on what the stock Dovahkiin character name/preset is, than?

The problem with this build is that, it is EXTREMELY hard to do on later levels unless you improve the sh*t out of the armor, which is a mix of both worst types. I also reccomend making skyforge steel sword/dagger when you can in the Companions.

Looks wise, I'd use the first male Nord, bop the weight into the middle (so he looks more like the live action guy), and give him light brown/dirty blond hair, with Alvor's beard (one of the later one's). Eyes are already the right color (blue), and the hair is fine too (though we never see him without the helmet).

Now, here's a build for him that I threw up, which focuses on shield/sword with dual wielding as back up. http://www.ign.com/builds/the-elder-scrolls-5-skyrim?d=000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000100005000000051101111100000000050111103210000000000000000005

Like I said, not the best build. And I always like the name Jorundr the Wild for some reason.

I honestly don't see the problem with it, its totally viable.

Its not like you're going to hit 81, or even 40... or maybe not even 25 doing just the Main Quest.

Totally doable, and as a matter of fact... yes I'm pretty sure I did that with the first Nord Warrior I created.

Use your points for health, and having a massive pool of that will more than make up for armor rating at low levels. One can't tell if any of the equipment the pre-release Dova is wearing is enchanted either, so if you pick it up... use it? Providing its a piece of equipment he wears.

Block, bash, and shout your way to glory!

I cannot stress how the dynamic of TES is changed, especially at lower levels, with Shouts.

Looks like an Imperial to me.

i anticipate some problems, for that build in some parts of the main quest expecially at the end figthing the dragon priest and Alduin that probably woun't be easy

Wait. Why would ANY Dovahkiin be skeptical of the arcane arts? When he's using the ancient magic of a previously extinct species that enslaved them previously.

Because he appears to be a Nord, and Nords are generally skeptical of magic. Reguardless of the magical origin of the Dragon Tongue.

Well, don't over-emphasize the Nord suspicion of magic. The shouts are admittedly different, though. They're a form of magic that is coming directly from the gods, at least in the case of the Dovahkin.

I would go ahead and work smithing to the limit. It doesn't make you excessively overpowered unless you're working the entire enchanting-alchemy-smithing loop. Used alone, a high smithing skill (and hence well-improved gear) might well be a necessity if you're going with a perk-less base armor (studded, limiting how far you'll be able to improve it) and the bottom-of-the-heap heavy armor, iron, which is also perk-less, meaning once again that you'll be able to improve it only as much as you could other armors that have perks associated with smithing them, like steel, ebony, etc.

So yeah, join the Companions so you can get your hands on a Skyforge steel axe and/or sword (some shots show the Dovahkin with sword and axe instead of sword and shield) and smith the hell out of your weapons and gear. Come to think of it, if you're wearing that getup I'd say go with block and one-handed, rather than dual-wielding one-handed weapons. You'll need a good blocking ability.

Don't waste your leveling on any non-combat skills other than smithing, though. No alchemy, etc. But with what you're going for, I don't think that will be a problem. Heavy armor, light armor, block and one-handed is fairly concentrated, Carry a bow to get dragons to land, but don't take much in the way of perks for it and ONLY use it on dragons, so that you don't level it.

Although, now that I think about it, scratch that last part. Do you wanna play the game, or do you wanna play the game system? Forget about preplanning leveling and avoiding this or that because of leveling. My brain isn't paying attention to what my fingers are typing, and now I'm spouting BS. What's next, me yearning for "efficient leveling"? Work those skills I suggested and the setup you want should be viable. Don't worry about leveling; you're concentrating on combat skills, so you should be fine even with the mix of armor you want to use.

Just a little heads up.

I rolled the Dovahkiin, named him Dovahkiin (Just couldn't name him Bendu Olo, like the user manual) and started the game with only an iron dagger and iron sword.

I'm discovering that this character is completely relevant, fast leveling and not punishingly difficult. (Though I stay on a nice, modest Adept)

However, something about this character seems like an exploit itself... It's a play style I didn't have to develope or strategize, and it's almost a bit uber.

One-Handed, Blocking, and Light and Heavy armor seem to be leveling up so fast, it's nearly spamming me with levels!

I've done nothing out of the ordinary in this early playthrough, I went to Whiterun, dug through some random crypt and saw what was up at the Western Tower and I was level 11 in less than 3 hours. I'm sure there are people who have leveled faster, but for trying not to exploit anything obvious, I am leveling incredibly fast!


EDIT: Perhaps the Dovahkiin I rolled is gaining levels so fast because of the general nature of the skills I'm using. A balance of armors, giving me skill in 2 trees, lightning fast dual wielding combat, or typical sword and board.