Random Difficulty Spikes

[scottym23]

So I've been playing Skyrim for quite some time and have noticed a randomization in the difficulty of some enemies in seemingly random locations, and I was wondering if anyone else noticed this and/or has an explanation. On my current character i'm using I play on adept difficulty and am pretty far into the game. When I invade a fort there are some enemies that do hardly any damage and I can take them out in one to two hits, but then there are also other enemies that do a ridiculous amount of damage (almost one shotting me) and can take hits like a rock without even being phased by my attacks. Granted they are a varying degree of bandit with the latter one being a tougher opponent, there shouldn't be THIS much variation in difficulty, especially on adept. I'm a pretty high level with some very nice gear and weapons, yet I still can randomly be obliterated by some overpowered enemies that as far as I can tell shouldn't be kicking my ass the way they are. Also in some forts I'll be fighting these extremely easy bandits, and then there will be a fire mage who basically one shots me with his fire ball spell which he can rapid fire. Is adept harder than I thought, or could it possibly be a mod I've downloaded that's artificially increasing the difficulty of enemies?

[Lord Garon]

Yep. Your enemies level with you and there are difficulty jumps at cetain levels. Some locations are also harder than others.

 

I spent a lot of time early on trying to figure out Skyrim's leveling system. Higher level bandits are dangerous, period. And mods can generate insane enemies. But, yes, you can be 1-shot at higher levels on Adept; I have taken over 250 damage from a single hit many times. By archers, no less. I could not find a good middle ground; it was either all-out, purposeful melee leveling, or the cowardly mage.

 

Don't get frustrated; without "spoiling", I'll just say that higher level bad guys can deal a lot of damge and have high armor skills. You are not doing anything "wrong" and haven't really "missed" anything. The game "cheats" a little to make up for the overwhelming advantage that a player has, whether the player actually uses that advantage or not.

 

You can be "high level" with low combat skills. Trainers are your friends. Smithing will get your quality up. Tactics are extremely important for characters without really specialized skills. For instance, trying to fight the fire mage at range is going to be a losing proposition without the right enchantments, potions, or spells. Rush him/her (I mean actually sprint); mages are weak in melee. The opposite is true for bandits; take them at range, if possible. The game is also designed for followers; if you don't have one, you're at a severe disadvantage in a hard fight. Tank up your follower (give them good armor and weapons) and let them distract or soften up a hard target. Followers are also good "radars" and can sense unseen enemies.

 

If you didn't purposely level a specialized character, you will always be at a disadvantage against some enemy; the game builds specialized bad guys. The secret is learning your enemy's weakness and exercising good tactics against them. And, I found out, using things you don't normally use can make a big difference; scrolls, potions, shouts.

 

As Farengar says, "Your brain is your most powerful weapon." If you want "hardcore" advice, post a question in the Spoilers forum.