Morrowind/Oblivion
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arcthemonkey
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Well, considering the fact that if you are a master of Heavy Armor there are literally NO downfalls, of course you will end up in heavy armor - if you level it.
But Prex, I was thinking - I too thought the game was too easy at first. I was frustrated that closing oblivion gates mostly involved me running quickly past everything that didn't drop good loot, and killing the things that did in one blow. I played through my first time like this on PC, and I hated the game.
When I played it again, I scooted my difficulty bar higher and higher until I found a sweet spot. I like to play about 3/4-4/4 of the way up. I don't kill much of anything with one hit, or even two, and I really have to be careful that I don't get hit by stray fireballs. Even with 99+ Str and a powered up Sword of the Crusader, enemies take some effort to burn down, and their attacks smart to boot. I've found myself being forced to open combat with ranged attacks, just to get that critical damage. Even at level 19-ish, with scores of HP, and Str, combat requires a bit of effort.
I dunno, turning up the difficulty made the game for me.
But Prex, I was thinking - I too thought the game was too easy at first. I was frustrated that closing oblivion gates mostly involved me running quickly past everything that didn't drop good loot, and killing the things that did in one blow. I played through my first time like this on PC, and I hated the game.
When I played it again, I scooted my difficulty bar higher and higher until I found a sweet spot. I like to play about 3/4-4/4 of the way up. I don't kill much of anything with one hit, or even two, and I really have to be careful that I don't get hit by stray fireballs. Even with 99+ Str and a powered up Sword of the Crusader, enemies take some effort to burn down, and their attacks smart to boot. I've found myself being forced to open combat with ranged attacks, just to get that critical damage. Even at level 19-ish, with scores of HP, and Str, combat requires a bit of effort.
I dunno, turning up the difficulty made the game for me.
eharper256
Member
They've done that; its called Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall. Morrowind was the first one to focus on a specific area of Tamriel.Speedpaws":2a1czx9g said:
I really liked Oblivion. Though I played Morrowind to its conclusion; I often found myself lost and bewildered, and turning clipping on in order to move faster through the Ashlands and other daft areas. The addition of Fast Travel was pure genius. And though loads of people moan about the homing compass; you can't deny it made things SO MUCH more convienient.
That said, the base levelling up system is cack. You have to pick skills you don't want as your primaries; and then grind-power-level the minors in order to get reasonably good stats. Thank god for KF's levelling and/or the Balor levelling system.
Also, the dodgy sneak system and the psychic guards who are always 5+ levels above you make being a criminal rather difficult. Again, thank lord for mods like Attack and Hide.
Finally, Goldbrand is haX and mutilates everything in one stroke; and they've made it so single blade + shield is the only really viable weapon combo. Blunts lag seriously behind, two-handed weapons are cack, and you can't even do spears or two-weapon fighting.
But nevertheless, I still like it. There's some really imaginative quests; like the dreamscapes one and some of the hilarious Daedra shrine objectives; which only get better with Knights of the Nine and The Shivering Isles.
eharper256":o74hu2yr said:
Really? I've played through the game equally well using multiple weapons. The strongest ones I've ever used were ranged. Of course, I usually play more of a ranger-type class. I love sneaking up behind people and shooting an arrow into their head that explodes!
arcthemonkey
Sponsor
I thought all the extended quest sequences were extremely well done, I just wish there were more of them.
I have to complain about Knights of the Nine though - the Divine Crusader armor is among the best of the game, can be upgraded, and you can EASILY get the entire set before level 2.
Also, I don't think people really understand just how powerful a mid-level+ mage is in Oblivion. Get yourself a kickass staff, make a couple strong spells (with a 1 second soul cap on em) and your enchanted items never run out, and you can take enemies down in just a few hits even on harder difficulty settings in the end of the game. Sword+Shield is nifty, and I agree it has potential to be the strongest (Nothing out damages a sword sneak attack) but the other weapons aren't bad by any means. My brother kicks ass with two-handed weapons - I can't do it, but he manages just fine.
eharper, I don't really agree with what you said about the leveling system. I mean, if you insist on having SUPERB stats, then yeah, you have to manipulate the system a bit, but natural leveling works fine too. My first character was a redguard with one of the premade warrior sets. By the time I was level 15-ish, I'd maxed Endurance and Strength, and made a fair amount of headway into willpower and agility. I had just about all the stats I needed to be a warrior, and I did it by putting 2-3 into my stats when I leveled. Struggling to get +5s every single frikkin time makes the game tedious
I have to complain about Knights of the Nine though - the Divine Crusader armor is among the best of the game, can be upgraded, and you can EASILY get the entire set before level 2.
Also, I don't think people really understand just how powerful a mid-level+ mage is in Oblivion. Get yourself a kickass staff, make a couple strong spells (with a 1 second soul cap on em) and your enchanted items never run out, and you can take enemies down in just a few hits even on harder difficulty settings in the end of the game. Sword+Shield is nifty, and I agree it has potential to be the strongest (Nothing out damages a sword sneak attack) but the other weapons aren't bad by any means. My brother kicks ass with two-handed weapons - I can't do it, but he manages just fine.
eharper, I don't really agree with what you said about the leveling system. I mean, if you insist on having SUPERB stats, then yeah, you have to manipulate the system a bit, but natural leveling works fine too. My first character was a redguard with one of the premade warrior sets. By the time I was level 15-ish, I'd maxed Endurance and Strength, and made a fair amount of headway into willpower and agility. I had just about all the stats I needed to be a warrior, and I did it by putting 2-3 into my stats when I leveled. Struggling to get +5s every single frikkin time makes the game tedious
eharper256
Member
Yeah; I suppose, in retrospect, I try to make sure my character is powerful in all areas. I suddenly turn into bit of a powergamer...strangely, when it comes to Oblivion, heh...
I usually never bothered with Soul-trap; its a pain holding onto that many gems; I just used to go and raid ayleid ruins for those ace Varla stones instead. As a bonus, Welkynd stones could be sold for a good profit too. (Since potions are generally better, and lighter, for restoring Magicka.
As Venetia says, you can do a mixed marksman/blader; a Ranger if you will, and my best character was indeed similar to this; a cool jack-of-all-trades Breton with Block/Blade/Marksman/Illusion/Sneak/Alteration/Light Armour. Its just the basic levelling system doesn't let you do a Merchant or Sneaky Archer or Clerical mage very well. You HAVE to routinely use melee attacks to keep your strength up; or become ace at Destruction and keep alive that way.
Yeah; but then it really gives good characters a nice reward for a change- considering how Daedra armour is previously the most powerful in the base game; and the best blade is a gift from a Daedra Prince, its nice to see the Nines care enough to give you a l33t haX set of armour too. I'll agree that wearing the entire set gives you some kinda silly bonuses. (Yay, +40 to Restoration and an Expert level Heal Other spell for 40 magicka!) I wondered what you meant when you said it could be upgraded, (thinking: "But all unique stuff upgrades!") but then I remembered that I always play with Quest Award Leveller. Generally, what I do is take the boots, gloves, and maybe the sword, and leave the rest on the stand. The Boots' 'make wildlife not bother you' power is awesome.arcthemonkey":brgk58yu said:
Yeah; with Goldbrand and the Spell-Breaker Shield at level 23 I took down Mankar Cameron in 5 swings. And they weren't even power attacks or sneaky hits. You have to think you're already doing 18-20 normal damage; and THEN 40 fire damage and 50% weakness to fire on top with that sword. Each hit gets more powerful because of that...which is just dirty; really...arcthemonkey":brgk58yu said:
I usually never bothered with Soul-trap; its a pain holding onto that many gems; I just used to go and raid ayleid ruins for those ace Varla stones instead. As a bonus, Welkynd stones could be sold for a good profit too. (Since potions are generally better, and lighter, for restoring Magicka.
Oh yeah, its fine if you're a warrior type class. The problem is when you level up because you just got 10 levels to Alchemy or Sneak or Illusion. Sure; you can get +5 to agility/intelligence/personality; but the monsters just got stronger, and you...well...didn't. My first character, a Bosmer who was basically a stereotype sneaky elf, got routinely pwned in the Oblivion plane because though his Agility and Personality was in the high 80's, his strength was still only about 45-ish (due to 1 per level from not using Blade etc.) and so he no longer had the power to Sneak-Attack and kill in one hit. So, also thanks to the dodgy sneak system, I suppose, he proceeded to get pwned by six Dremora Kynvals after loosing one arrow. You just can't hold them off with a basic Glass dagger and a Blade skill of 27 when they're like Level 18...arcthemonkey":brgk58yu said:eharper, I don't really agree with what you said about the leveling system. I mean, if you insist on having SUPERB stats, then yeah, you have to manipulate the system a bit, but natural leveling works fine too. My first character was a redguard with one of the premade warrior sets. By the time I was level 15-ish, I'd maxed Endurance and Strength, and made a fair amount of headway into willpower and agility. I had just about all the stats I needed to be a warrior, and I did it by putting 2-3 into my stats when I leveled. Struggling to get +5s every single frikkin time makes the game tedious
As Venetia says, you can do a mixed marksman/blader; a Ranger if you will, and my best character was indeed similar to this; a cool jack-of-all-trades Breton with Block/Blade/Marksman/Illusion/Sneak/Alteration/Light Armour. Its just the basic levelling system doesn't let you do a Merchant or Sneaky Archer or Clerical mage very well. You HAVE to routinely use melee attacks to keep your strength up; or become ace at Destruction and keep alive that way.