Getting through Skuldafn for a sissy - any advice?

[ToniPrufrock]

So I was getting a little bored and decided that I would try to finish the main quest and go to Skuldafn - and holy hell I was not ready!

I ended up using up all my potions, and essentially ended up running around everywhere screaming like a sissy and trying to avoid getting killed and get to the end, only to be foiled by a clusterf**k large group of draugrs while I was trying to work out the first puzzle. Not exactly the most dignified way to go.

I faced 2 dragons from the offset outside, each of which refused to go near me unless they had a whole posse of Drauger deathlords and wights and whatnot. The leap up in difficulty was huge as soon as I touched down in Skuldafn and within moments I had exhausted my supply of potions and soulgems to charge my weapons up with.

Methinks I shall have to reload and try again later when I'm better prepared if I can, but I shall have to face it all eventually. Does anyone who had completed the main quest have any tips?

 

I am playing on a PS3 and am a level 42 Khajiit in nightinggale armour who's primary skills are sneak and archery. However in fighting normal combat I use one-handed and restoration magic for the other. My conjuration spells never seem to last long.

Sneaking did prove effective...until the damn dragons turn up. Which alerted everyone to me. Fighting the dragons was next to impossible when the Draugrs teamed up and started summoning storm atronachs.

 

 

but that's enough of my moaning. Does anyone have any tips? They'd be much appreciated.

 

Ta ;)

Edited April 17, 2012 by ToniPrufrock

[BrettM]

Stealth archery works great there for me. It takes a long time, but I find I can sneak around and pick off most of the draugr one at a time without much problem, especially using the Eagle Eye perk to get some good long-range shots at them. At your level, you ought to be able to take out a Deathlord with a couple of sneak shots, or even one-shot them if you have the triple-bow-damage sneak perk.

 

One thing that helps is to not go until dusk to maximize your sneak potential. If you arrive in daylight, just crouch as soon as you dismount and use the T key to wait for dark. You should be far enough away from the first foes to do that, or have enough room to back away until you can wait. (One of my characters was so sneaky the dragons wouldn't even notice him at all in the dark. I finally had to shout a quick "Fus" to get their attention so I could get the battle started. After I had taken out all the nearby draugr, of course. :))

 

You ought to either be able to pick off a couple of the closest dragur before the first dragon shows up, or be able to engage that dragon far enough away not to draw the attention of the draugr.

 

What sort of bow and arrows are you using, and what enchant do you have on the bow? My light-armor characters are very fond of the elven bow, which has a nice weight/damage ratio and can be improved to the max with only a couple of perks invested in Smithing. Use the best arrows that you can get a good supply of right now, which should hopefully be Ebony, or at least Glass. (Elrindir in the Drunken Huntsman is the best source of arrows in all of Skyrim. He often carries 40 or more of the best arrows that a merchant will offer to a character of a given level.)

 

I like using Shock damage + Stamina damage enchants on my bow, because it has the best all-around utility against all types of foes. If you don't yet have the Dual Effect enchanting perk, just go with the Shock damage. Fire damage would be better against the draugr, but the dragons are likely to be resistant to it, and they are your worst worry.

[ToniPrufrock]

Hi Brett, and thanks so much for the advice.

I've got the eagle eye perk and pretty much rely on it. Good tip about the darkness, I think I shall have to reload, stock up and do that. Especially since my main problem was that a dragon swept in straight away. lol

And (somehow) I completely missed Elrindir. I've been getting the arrows from the Solitude Fletcher's mainly, and they only ever seem to stock dwarven and elvish arrows and all of one ebony arrow every time I go in.

I have two main bows: an ebony bow charmed with soul capture and the nightingale bow that (when fully charged) will do 20 points frost damage. My enchanting isn't high enough for that perk, I think. Or I've spent my perks elsewhere. But a shock damage bow would probably do well, I think I'll take your advice and try to craft one.

Because of not being able to get better arrows I've been relying on dwarven ones and elvish ones, but I do have the 3 x damage bonus on sneak shots since my sneak is at 98.

[RedRavyn]

I've done this three times, each time differently.

 

The first time I just engaged the enemy in a full-frontal assault once my sneak advantage was eliminated when my cover got blown. It was a long, tough, drawn-out fight that saw me making many strategic withdrawals. You can lead the dragons farther away from their spawn points than you can the draugr. If this happens to you then take advantage of that. You don't have to fight everyone at the same time by staying in the vicinity. I used my bow to advantage against the draugr, hitting them from as far away as I possibly could, so that they couldn't fight back. My weaponry, as I remember, was a fire-enchanted bow and a frost-enchanted bow. I had custom-enchanted armor for both fire and frost resistance, and I had ranged attack spells. I also went in with all the filled soul gems I could muster, as well as all the potions (healing potions, poisons, and marksman/sneak potions) that I could make.

 

The second time I sneaked my way past everyone! I was actually rather proud of that, since I didn't really think I could do it, but I used gear that improved my stealth abilities, potions, and even a muffle spell. I went in after dark, and even then stayed to the shadows and used cover extensively. I took my time. If I was almost detected (when the sneak eye starts opening up) I'd stop, maybe hide, and wait until it flat-lined before continuing. It took a long time, but I made it through without a single engagement.

 

The third time I wasn't prepared to do battle and my Stealth wasn't high enough for me to be comfortable trying to sneak my way through, so I did an end-around. I didn't even know if it was possible at the time, but I discovered that you can climb the cliffs above the temple and then drop down, thereby bypassing all the enemies. Don't ask me to describe the path I took, because I have no idea. It was a lot of trial and error, trying to find a navigable path, but it can be done. If you try that, save frequently. Get caught on the cliffs by the dragons and you're toast (or an ice-sickle).

[magiii]

grow some balls.

[ToniPrufrock]

grow some balls.

 

But balls are so weak and vulnerable.

 

Anyway, thanks to you all guys for your help. Much appreciated ;)

(I've got a bit of my ego back after slaughtering the dark brotherhood and finally getting my 100% sneak bonus, so I think I'll be returning to it soon)

[Tom2681]

I made it through Skuldafn with a LVL 13 barbarian once, in expert mode.

No magic, just good smithing, good enchantments & all perk points put in two-handed and heavy armor.

 

But I understand how a sneaky type might have more trouble. Even at LVL 40+.

[ToniPrufrock]

I made it through Skuldafn with a LVL 13 barbarian once, in expert mode.

No magic, just good smithing, good enchantments & all perk points put in two-handed and heavy armor.

 

But I understand how a sneaky type might have more trouble. Even at LVL 40+.

 

Nice :)

My very first character was a tank and she'd have done fine in it - two handed and heavy armour. Alas, she got accidentally deleted a while back so never got the chance :wallbash:

[kevkiev]

While going through Skuldafn a couple nights ago (twice - loved it so much I had to redo) I thought to myself a couple times "glad I'm a high-level god of death". Especially with the might dragons 2 mod (super mighty version), it was nice to have a bit of a challenge again but, geez, it would have been a b***h a few weeks ago.

 

As has been mentioned, stealth archery can really give an edge. Most if not all the outside draugrs can be picked off from a distance. (I find nothing's quite so satisfying as a long distance archery hit, aiming well above the target's head and seeing the arc of death eventually find its mark :devil: ) Climbing up that big arch in front of the temple provides a nice vantage from which you can pick off the draugr deathlords that are hanging around the level that has the portal to sovengarde (and I thought it was just a really cool thing to do).

[Brandy1123]

I think you used too many perk points in making a jack of all trades instead of a dedicated player of few skills with high ability in them

 

Archery, Stealth, One handed, Restoration, and Conjuration. More then likely Light Armor, possibly shield (as you said one handed not dual wield) and a Craft/Merchant type skill too. Way too many areas to invest your valuable and rapidly fleeting perk points. A stealth archer has no need for restoration and conjuration. With a never ending supplies of health potions available everywhere, restoration is not even needed in the game.

 

I do play on master level with wars, harder dragons and a few other difficulty increasing modifications. Its not to say you are not able to complete the game as your character stands, but it will reduce her or his effectiveness.

 

In every dungeon, there are things or terrain features you can use to your advantage. Be it a tree, an elevation, an urn, a hole or crack in the wall, another monster, Lydia, even closing a door to regroup. Most critters will not traverse water or open a closed door. Shooting your bow and immediately egressing from the area until your stealth kicks back in is the primary way to use your stealth skill. They cant hit what they can't see or detect. Play with objects and see what blocks line of sight or prevents mesh navigation to your present location. Trust in your sneaky sneaky skills and you will find more coin in your pocket, more mead to drink, and more tails to tell on your next visit to the nearest Inn.