I held this same view back when i played Oblivion for 1000 plus hours. That is, main questlines are more like "training wheels" compared to how much exploration, rewards and gameplay compared to the questlines.

I'll have to yeild to the criticsm leveld agaisnt the questlines in Skyrim. I don't think this is an area in which the game shines. However, this would only be a problem for Skyrim if the entire game revolved around questlines. However, i can say that i made a perfect character that was ruled under a set of self-limitions that made the civil war combat some of the best action i've had in Skyrim. However, with that aside, my point is that with the right character build, plus the right vocation you could practically ignore all of the questlines and still spend hundreds of hours in the game just in exploration, building your craft (without obvious exploits, [e.g: making iron daggers to grind up blacksmithing]), ect. However, this kind of gaming experience doesn't come easy. It has a lot of conditions on how balanced you make your character, which i'll save for future post.

Anyhow, my own experience in the game speaks volumes for itself. I've played 400 plus hours and i barely scrathed the surface of the main quest and i haven't finished the college, i.e., mages guild. However, there are those kind of people that are so dependant upon the games questlines that they cant figure out what to do when they are gone. They use one character to finish every quest and they have more "rare" weapons and armor then they know what to do with, lol. I know i was that type of guy when i played Oblivion. Yet i still figured out that there is so much gaming to be had beyond the questlines.

Sometimes i forget about the any of the questlines cause i'm just out wondering the world. Moreover, i've created a balanced character so that everything in the game is still significant.

(NOTE: Most people say the game breaks around level 25 cause of all the loot to be had and the fact that you become over powered. Well with my set of rules i've got going i can say that the game doesn't break, its just your have bad habits that make the game too easy. The rules and habits i'm talking about would need a whole thread to discuss. But i can say for a fact, that if you build your character right, you will still have a balanced game at level 30 and beyond. )


Anyhow, i'm just curios as to how many of you actual realize this fact? If so, then please share. If not, then why is it you can't play the game apart from questlines?

The longer I play RPGs the less interested I am in quests. I make my own quests, find my own adventures. I have a vivid imagination and the stories and quests I make up are more entertaining well-written and fun than any quest I've done recently from Bioware or Bethesda.

To me the main quests in Skyrim and Morrowind are there to get you going if you don't have any other plan or idea. The game tells you that you can set off and explore anywhere and any way you want, but if you don't know where to start, the main quest can get you started. The main quest in Oblivion was for more pressing, giving you the impression that this is what you 'should' start off with rather than what you 'could' start off with.

This. Roleplaying is where its at.