I am playing my first Skyrim character and actually got it right the first time. I actually enjoy playing the character and would not think of resetting and starting over. I want to take this first character and max him out. I am level 36 so fara and am about half done with the MQ and civil war piece. Mainly just walk around with Golldir (picked him up as a companion around level 30).

Will try.

Good tips.

Bah, It's a curse I tell you. It's like this game dares us to fail. To just wipe the slate and have fun again. Personally I think it's because the game lacks in high level content and maintaining a sense of achievement.

It goes like this. You start off at level one, barely escaping Helgen with your head intact. You delve into the intricacies of your character's skills and find pleasure in beating Bleak Falls Barrow even if it is for the 10th time. Somehow the fact that you're "new" in this world makes it interesting again. You slowly level up and generally have fun as you slowly master your chosen skills and crafts. Enemies become much easier to beat and you relish in your growing power. Then one day you walk up to a giant and kill him before he can lift a toe. Dragons become more and more irritating because it takes longer for them to land than it does to kill them. Dragon priests seem like glorified Draugr drag queens and you can open your own exotic rug shop with all the sabre tooth tiger and snow bear pelts you have collected. You look at your combat skills and realise they're at 100 already and fully perked. Your secondary skills are more than halfway but you have the perks in them you wanted most. With a start you realise you're only level 30. You wonder if you shouldn't maybe finish the main quest or start the civil war quest to find some sense of purpose. Then suddenly you think how much fun it could be to play a barbarian with no magic talent and no clue what a soul gem is. Or maybe a Witcher type character, combining magical traps and swordsmanship to defeat foes. Yes that could definitely work. You feel a pang as you think about the countless hours already spend on your current character but the connection is lost. There is just no challenge left for him any more and the thought of aimlessly wondering the world crawling though one Dwemer ruin after another just doesn't seems as appealing as it did when you started. Perhaps a change in pace will be good after all.

So you start off at level one, barely escaping Helgen with your head intact...

Edit: And yes, you've switched over to Master about 4 characters back.

Since you skip crafting... you may consider getting the +50% chance of special loot perk in Locksmithing....

will make the game more of a looting game than what you're experiencing (which is just make ur own epic gear for everything )

It does take 5 perks to get there, and only 2 are any good (+gold and +loot) but you'd be dropping those in smithing or enchanting anyways.

My characters so far:

Norcross Serrius, Level 37 Imperial Spellsword.

Alimar Esbere, Level 35 Bosmer Archer.

Oden Krios, Level 31 Nord Warrior.

Cyrus Nevar, Level 21 Redguard Nightblade.

It took me two months to get over it. To not make an OP character and enjoy the game fully. Two weeks ago I finished my first DMYC playthrough (Do as much as you can) with my Breton Mage and had +150 hours logged into him. Now I'm working on my Khajiit Assassin. I currently play on Adpet, once I do a DMYC playthrough on each of the ten races I intend on bumping up to expert and playing DiD and no fast travel.

If you're playing on Xbox I would just copy your latest save to the cloud. I don't if PSN has that but if they do and you're playing on playstation i'd do the same. That way you don't lose your character forever. Or even copy it to a flash drive.

That's pretty close to how I feel about all Bethesda games. Which is mostly okay since I still prefer them to other games. In Skyrim, in the early 30's you get Ebony and Glass weapons & armors. After that, there's only Daedric. I will be looking for level rebalancing mods after the CK comes out that makes access to high level gear appear at higher levels. -Or some other way of generally slowing things down so there's still new gear out there to find. I really like the gradual acquisition of better items in the game. I just want it to last longer.

Mine so far:
Dunmer - lvl44 Spellsword. PL'ed enchant & smith and broke the game. He's shelved
Nord - lvl 32 2hand warrior. Just got bored of 2hand combat
Redguard - lvl 31 Assassin. Still playing him. He's going to contract Vampryism (intentionally) to boost his necro and illusion arts.
Bosmer - lvl 24 Arcane Archer.
Altmer - lvl 22 Pure Mage (one of my funnest characters actually. Playing the mage "properly" All schools, no armor)
Orc - lvl 26 Sword & Board
Brenton - Lvl 7... Paladin/Spellsword (without destro) Replacing my Dunmer I think
Khajiit - Lvl 2 pure thief... just haven't had as much interest in robbing Skyrim blind... but this is the char to do it on.

Mine so far:

Girl Orc: Dual wield sword fighter. Abandoned due to being too godlike. No Smithing or Enchanting though. Just the right Perks with the right gear.
Dude High Elf: Illusionist/Conjurer/Sneak. A fun, challenging build. No armor or enchanting.
Dude Khajiit: Pure pacifist sneak. WAY fun character build. And he's so darn cute too.
Dude Nord: Two Handed, Axe wielding barbarian. Fun while it lasted, but this one only got to level 27 before I started itching for something else.
Dude Argonian: Alchemist/Alteration. A very fun combo. At level 31 and still going!
Next: Probably a dark elf chick with daggers and some odd combination of restrictions to keep it challenging and fresh.

I start new characters but I keep the old ones I like also. Presently I'm playing four in rotation and just about ready to start up another. Each character is very distinct form the others. In Oblivion I have six characters but its on hold while I obsess on Skyrim.

I know what you mean. For me it's because "low-level" items become too unplayable and I fall out of my role. I know that sounds a bit silly, but it's impossible for me to continue a character once my choice equipment becomes a burden to play with.

I wish there was a practical way for weapons and armor to "scale" to your ability level when you acquire them. Personally, I love the iron gear. The weapons and armor seem practical for the locale, they look nice and "realistic", and they fit my role. But by time I hit level 20+ the term "pig sticker" really applies as the gear falls out of statistical practicality and loses all of its utility value.

I do understand that steel (or the like) is a technological advancement over iron, but that shouldn't entirely negate the usefulness of the items.

I tried reforging my gear with improved smithing skill, too, but the results remain the same. ):

I have multi-itis. I usually start a character and get to the 30s, then start another, etc.

I have 4 characters now, level 43 and below - the other 3 are all in the 30s. I change to another one each day. Play different quest lines, different skills, etc.

Lot of dungeon crawling, really enjoying the game.

PS: Had 10 level 80s in WoW lol.

If you suffer from this, play Dead is Dead games. You'll restart plenty of times, and you start caring a lot more about your characters. This cured it for me.

I know I've been pretty critical of Skyrim so far and it's not because I don't like the game or TES in general, but because I love the series so much that it's disappointing to continually see it watered down more and more with each new game. All that said, even through my criticism and disappointment, I still haven't suffered from restartitis yet...2 characters totalling roughly 300 hours (still working on the second one)

I feel your pain....I have played 5 different characters up to level 50+. So i understand how you feel.

I just recently stopped playing Skyrim...i went back to Oblivion which i haven't played in awhile.

I will say this....i haven't played Oblivion in over a year...and it really showed me some of Skyrim's shortcomings.....Oblivion is the last Elder Scrolls game with Extended Character Customization.....Attributes, Major and Minor Skills, etc.....it gives you a much deeper character...which holds your interest a lot longer.

I got Skyrim on release 11-11-11 and its now Feb 6ths and the game has lost my interest already....When Oblivion came out...it held my interest for close to a year....because it had much more Extended character Customization then Skyrim has.....once you peel off the shiny paint from Skyrim(the graphics are fantastic i must say) you will see the depth of the game is not enough to keep you enthralled longterm...atleast not for me.

not to mention they "removed famy and infamy" and this was a big part of "whats missing" from skyrim....In Oblivion...the more good deeds you do, the more fame you get...the higher your fame, the better disposition NPC will have towards your character/race. Infamy, the more infamy you have..the more NPC don't like you...if your Infamy is high the guards will even call you a murdering piece of trash and threaten to kill you if you don't keep your blade sheathed.....its the whole feeling that being a good guy and being a bad guy has advantages and disadvantages that are just gone from Skyrim. For exmaple, if your a bad guy...you will deemed unworthy to wear the Crusaders Relics....thats just one example.

Skyrim is leaning more towards an Action Hack and Slash in a 3d environment with some RP elements....the role playing elements they removed(Attributes, Major skills, Famy/Infamy, and Classes) was replaced with a perk system that focus more on action and fighting....

and i may be in the minority here, but Dragons vs Oblivion Gates....i'll take Oblivion Gates....there is more depth.....

With random Oblivion Gates you have choices:

1. Ignore the gate run past it and do whatever you want.
2. Kill the enemies guarding the gate, and move on leaving the gate alone.
3. Kill the enemies guarding the gate, and then enter the gate and close it.

with random dragon encounters...you have one choice...kill it....and you get some dragon bones and garbage loot.

Then we get into Smithing(which IMO ruins the fun of the game...i quit using smithing because it makes the game too easy)

No matter what level your on, your character is the only character IN ALL OF SKYRIM that knows how to improve his gear and create new stuff...no one else does.

Most enemies such as Bandits wear studded, hide, leather and fur...they neve rupgrade anything...every once in awhile you will run into a high level Bandit Cheif wearing Steel Plate/Orchish, and even Ebony....Ebony is kind arare though...Steel Plate is seen around level 30+

What fun is it to always fight the same guys wearing and using trash equipment...most bandits are still using Hunting Bows at level 40....i mean....really...

In Oblivion...the Bandits and Mauraders actually you know...get better equipment as the game goes one...its more real...it shows the Bandits have had some success looting and robbing and etc to get what they got....or else why would they be bandits if they haven't looted anything? made money to get better stuff?

The Elder Scrolls series has always been heavily based on the notion: "If you want the best equipment, you have to go out and find it or loot it"...in Skyrim...you cna just craft 5,000 iron daggers and suddenly your blessed with the knowledge to make Daedric...

The Smithing System in Skyrim would have been great IF instead of having it as a skill or a perk, it was level dependent and actually required you to complete a quest for a blacksmith or find some book that actually "shows your character" how to craft such weapons...or to have that knowledge taught....i guess under this assumption, if i change 5,000 tires on my car, i become a master mechanic and can build my own engine from scratch...the smithing system in this game was poorly thought out.


I just don't consider skyrim the RPG in the sense Morrowind and Oblivion were...Oblivion had changes from Morrowind, but they were not as drastic...they didn't outright remove classes and Extended character customization from Morrowind to Oblivion...there are things i miss from Morrowind that are absent in Oblivion...but my word..in skyrim they completely gutted Extended Character Customization...the leveling System makes no sense...you should only level by increasing the Skills you focus on and use the most...if I used two-handed, block, archery, and heavy armor the most, then levling lock picking or speech should not count towards my level up....thats the biggest thing that annoys me...because it takes away your control of leveling....

maybe i want to stay level 12 for awhile...but Skyrim forces you to race through levels as fast as possible like there is just ahuge big rush to get you to level 50....i don't like the fact the game puts me in such a big rush...but its downright imposible to play Skyrim and "level when i want to level"


also, let look at the Champion of Cyrodiil vs the Dragonborn. The COC is just a prisoner, a man, elf, orc, etc. He has no special powers. He has no special blood. He is not some person annoited by the gods to do great things(even though Uriel suggests you are) You are merely a man or woman. you have no super powers...you cna't shout...if you can cast spells so can many others it don't make you special. you can wield a blade just like anyone else. how does the COC win the day? He wins through the sheer self determination of a man/woman...by never giving up, always looking at the positives in life, by believing in the power of hope...hope is how the COC saves the day. The Dragonborn on the otherhand...he has the blood of Akatosh...therefore he is more then a man.....The COC had to watch his friend Martin Septim Sacrifice himself for the greater good because as mere men....they were not gods...the COC won on hope, hard work, never giving up, and believing in him/herself...much like our men and women in uniform....The Dragonborn gets his destiny handed to him....even if you don't find another word wall outside the mainquest..the Greybeards just give you Unrelenting Force...all 3 words make this the best shout in the game...clear skies...Dragonrend...these are all just given to you after completing a quest...its not the point that you had to complete a quest...its the point that it makes you like a god. Somewhere...Skyrim and Bethesda lost the idea...that men and women are supposed to be mortal..they are supposed to face hardship, insurmmountable odds(like the COC faced at the Battle for Bruma where many brave men and blades died...and they died as mere fighting men fighting for a future free of the tyranny of mehrunes dagon...not as men with gods blood, not as men with super powers, just men) that shows how valor and human courage, and hope can prevail....t

he Dragonborn just shouts....the Champion of Cryodiil rallied normal men to do great things, to stand for something they beleived in...to do things they never thought they were capable of...to win the day as men....not as a man with Akatosh's blood...just men....The Battle of Bruma seems very much like the Battle of Agincourt during the 100 years war..where Henry the V was outnumbered and still was able to win the day against all odds...you just never get that feeling from Skyrim....that feeling of really making a difference.....


Please don't get me wrong, I am not trying to be hard on Skyrim. I like Skyrim. i have enjoyed it. It was totally worth the 60 bucks i paid for it. I will probably play it again in a few months. I will be buying the DLC first day. I have just taken it as a game that stands on its own. Its gives us a perk system, and better graphics is the trade off for stripping out character customization and controlled leveling. Its still a good game though....I have just noticed so far while playing Oblivion it seems like a different expereince...it seems so much more "relaxed" im not rushed to level up in Oblivion like Skyrim does.

I will say though...the day the DLC releases for Skyrim im taking a day off and getting it first day!

Still on my same character i started 11/14. don't want to put the story down. Wouldn't mind a restart as a mage though..

I get to level 15, go do the Discerning the Transmundane quest, and then glitch to 81 and have fun with whatever I feel like mastering and proceed to just start over. I got to level 64 without glitching during my first play-through, but just got bored with my character.

I only get restart-itis if I haven't played the game in a while

I had the same problem restarting after many things become obsolete. I solved the entire problem by stoping crafting and only using what I find. Now im lvl 44, still having a blast, still tons of room to grow with my gear, hence what I find still has great value. Try this your next play through and it will take way longer to lose any sense of adventure.