So... I'm nearing an end to my first playthrough... and, like in every game of this type, I felt the need to make him as high a level as possible... I'm about 25% of the way between 79 and 80 right now, and boy is it tedious. But I... just... can't... stop...

Anyway, once this is done, I'm going to do a couple "quicker" playthroughs where I do more roleplaying. When you try to max all your stats, the RP element gets completely lost, and I miss it. So I'll do a Nord Stormcloak who uses almost only 2H and Heavy armor and some smithing, a Khajiit Thief with sneak & archery and alchemy, a Breton mage with magic & enchanting...


But my quesiton is, what's a good ending level for a character (and also, how many skills should be at or near max to hit this level?). I want a decent amount of perks, and to be able to get most of the highest level items & enemies... but I don't want to be fighting ancient dragons every time like I am now, or have to grind away at some random skill to get enough perks to flesh out my main trees. What's the general opinion around here?

81 is the mathematical level cap, so, aim for that.

it's also not a lot of fun, because I'm at 79 right now. I'm thinking somewhere in the 40s maybe?

The level cap is at 81, so go for that since you're close to it anyway.

[edit]
Or did you mean for another character? In that case: anything you like. As you said, you want to role play this game, so just roleplay and don't think about numbers and stats that much.

You may not be done all you want to have done at level 40....just keep playing on the roleplay ones until you feel they are ready to retire. Aiming for a specific level is a bit too restricting on your character IMO.

the game stops scaling at lvl 50... so best is stopping there


edit: to the one above: you can do everything without lvling at all

edit2: don't you have to lvl like all skills to get to 81? that would be impossible for me. but on the other hand...i would also never do all quests with the same character

Don't stop....
Ignore your level. Just play your character. The game is designed for a 1 - 50 range, but the mathematical cap is 81. The idea is that if you just play your character how you want to play him/her (a mage, assassin, warrior, etc.) leveling up the skills that you are likely to use will get you to a level where you can handle lvl 50 mobs. Just play the game, do the quests, if you want to stop and start over then just stop and start over.

I tried sticking with one character but with too many quests locked up due to bugs, I started over. I was doing great with my second character when I thought I would go for a dead is dead character. I'm just lvl 15 and still going strong. Each time I completely delete my previous saves. This time I will probably stick with this character as long as I don't die. They may come out with expansions and I'll want to take a veteran character through.

I'm stopping at 82

Not entirely correct, as you have to be level 20 for some quests.

Use some trainers to help you the rest of the way

I just go to 44, I cannot imagine another 37 lvls...

I don't look at the game as a level thing anymore. You are most likely to be around level 45 or so with a specialized character anyway. Some of my chars have caped at level 47. They are fully built and there is still 60%-75% of the map left to explore with them. I really don't start enjoying the game until my char is built. It's fun building one, yes. But that is just the beginning.

I can't set a target of 70 or 80, and say I'll play to that level, quit and say that's it. The games ends when I feel I have exhausted that character. Some characters take 1000 hrs and some 200.

Pending how you approach the combat mechanics and perk selections, the game can be as breezy or as brutal as you want. Even with a fully built char. I have characters that I consider to be maxed out / fully built and still have 10 perk points in the bank.

Thanks for the responses.

These are more along the lines of what I'm asking... I don't really want to miss out on a lot (some is probably okay), and I don't plan on worrying much about numbers, but it would be nice to know what level I "need" to hit to be playing the "full" game conent.

81 is the max, but I think you will have a few points left over (gonna end up being two-handed, looks like)... but, yeah, like I've said, it's gotten tedious. Pretty much only doing it at this point as a personal challenge so I'll have one max-level character, lol

Haha, not much help once you get around the high 70s... it requires SO much to level up that the trainers just don't get you that far. 77 Two-Handed, 80 One-Handed, 81 Block... that's all I've got left on my way to 100s... but damn it seems like a long way off!

Thanks, good answer...

You want a really fun game?

Don't take ANY crafting skills. I did this with a character and it was vastly more fun. Reasons being:

• Reduces your grinding immensely.
  
• No more blacksmith/alchemist fast travel loops around the map.
  
• Just walk from one place to another enjoying the view instead of worrying about picking every flower and catching every butterfly on the way
  
• even though you don't get as high level, enemies don't get as high level either so you aren't losing out too much
  
• loot you find in dungeons and daedric artifacts now feel more awesome
  
• you won't be tempted to break the game with some lame potions of smithing or whatever.
  
• You have to be more strategic in your potion use
  
• no mining

Just forget about the levelling and do whatever feels natural.