Difficulty

[thomriis]

The enemys AI is certainly not worth clapping your hands for, But if you use skyui and deadly dragons you can just boost your enemies stats to insane levels.

 

Being level 91 and delivering 8000-12000 damage AAAAH EPIC BATTLES :thumbsup:

[AsHdRoN]

i say expert is the right level of difficulty. anything less than that is not challenging at all

and anything above that is just a waste of time and alot of effort

[thomriis]

Expert is a waste of time when you reach LV. 50

[Lord Garon]

Since my earlier post, I've since learned how easy the game becomes once you've learned to exploit the rather limited A.I. For example, you can get a couple of Stealth perks and kill most enemies with arrows, because the A.I. is too poor to find you or bother looking for you for more than a few seconds.

 

So, yeah, the game is hard . . . until you learn how easy it is. Then it's just sad.

 

Its hard to find a mod that puts "intelligence" in the AI and doesn't change a lot of other stuff as well. I have a Skyrim Unleashed/SkyRE game which nerfs sneak and the mobs do look for you longer. I could recommend either or both these mods, but SkyRE is no longer supported by the author and has a few bugs. SkyRE also allows your character to become much more powerful. I would say both together are about equal to Master difficulty in vanilla, but with a lot more player options.

 

Deadly Dragons is mandatory, IMHO. Take it off "Vanilla" setting and dragons are something to watch out for, as they should be.

 

Of course, the ultimate mod for pure difficulty doesn't even call itself a difficulty mod; its a "roleplay" mod. Requiem makes it hard just to get out of Helgen. Actually, it makes it hard just to WEAR heavy armor. I play hardcore and start over if my character dies, but I cannot do that in Requiem cause I die all the time. That kinda "breaks immersion" for me: Requiem is too hard for the way I like to play. I have a savegame at level 11, but it took me forever to get there by tip-toeing around Skyrim, with a heavy 2-hander. If you want a "difficult" Skyrim, try Requiem. :devil:

Edited January 24, 2014 by Lord Garon

[SirGalahad]

I suppose it isn't difficult I am after, but smarter. As kleinstaff wrote on the first page, it's just plain stupid to have low-level enemies one-hit your high-level character just because you went up a level in difficulty.

 

It's one thing to tweak stats to make enemies appear tougher. Any knucklehead can do that—I should know, because I did it in Morrowind. It's an entirely different beast, however, coding the A.I. to climb up over rocks to reach you, to flank, to use cover, to heal comrades, to cast defensive countermeasure spells, to run away, and so on.

 

Would be great to have an A.I. overhaul that doesn't change everything else about the game. Too many modders go overboard in their enthusiasm.

[Lord Garon]

The old ERSO AI mod added a little tweak to AI. Its gone from the Nexus, but you could google for it. Duke Patrick's Combat mod was pretty good, but it did change other stuff. Its gone, too.

 

Smarter AI takes a lot of good scripting. I guess that's the main limit and why most mods just tweak settings. Deadly Dragons is really good, because you can BELIEVE a dragon is simply OP. Its hard to BELIEVE that that half-naked, partially fur clad bandit, can not so much dish it out, but simply just take it. Even a dull mace is gonna hurt on bare skin. It ruins the immersion of "better" armor and smithing.

 

For a couple other reasons as well, my favorite characters are mages. I don't have to "pretend" as much about relative armor and weapon strengths. Running around in cloth robes is bound to be dangerous no matter how you look at it. Not so "frustrating" when your toon is squishy (for fairly good reasons) from the get-go.

 

I have no doubt, though, that a good AI overhaul (only!) would be File of the Month. Instantly.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Lord Garon

[RatcatcherOfKvatch]

The great AI debate is how much a 'bot should use its omniscient detection to cheat in order to increase its apparent intelligence as if it weren't cheating. An AI that could sneak up behind you would be pretty cool, but an AI that could always sneak up behind you because it always knew your exact position and facing would maybe be not so fun.

 

So in unrelated news I've been away playing X-Com, for no reason other than I mentioned it in another thread and remembered how freaking cool it is. I just saved every civilian in Singapore with no casualties AT NIGHT without using any alien technology. (The rocket troops had plasma pistols but never unholstered them.) I'm thinking I'm probably done with X-Com, but in a good way, kind of like Skyrim. There is only one mountain left to climb: Lord Garon's "Legendary Permadeath Pure Mage Challenge".

 

Is the new X-Com any good?

[DONKENFAP]

RPGs and 'difficulty' don't usually last long together since leveling just makes you more powerful. It's a difficult design balance, some games like Dark Souls handle it pretty good, but even Dark Souls becomes easy once you pump your stats enough.

 

I would like to try something like Hexen\Heretic in an open world setting. No levelling or stats, just in-your-face violence, blood, guts, and magic. If I could ever be arsed I would mod Skyrim to de-level everything, remove level ups and have damage dictated just by equipment and maybe perks\rewards. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. with the old Redux mod was basically that kind of experience, a bloody brutal good time too. If anybody ever wants to try it out here ya go http://stalker.filefront.com/file/STALKER_REDUX_VERSION;79878

[SirGalahad]

I have all the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games; been waiting years to play them.

 

I may be quitting this character (I've only had two) and starting over with P.I.S.E. (or do I want ASIS, instead?) and Deadly Dragons, as once I hit level 40, the difficulty dropped steeply—on Expert, that is. I simply cannot just switch to Master or Legendary, something that affects damage but not A.I.

 

I want an experience more convincing, something just short of actually walking out the house with an axe and bad intentions.

Edited January 31, 2014 by SirGalahad

[KanesGhost]

I think it has a lot to do with your in game choices also, not just AI and damage meted out.

 

I play on 'Expert' with 'Duel Combat Realism' and 'Stealth Skills Rebalanced' for AI improvement and 'Deadly Dragons' and 'Sleeping Dangers - Sands of Time' for challenge.

 

But I feel what I choose in game has just as greater an impact as the above mentioned mods...maybe more so. I play a Light Armored stealth Poisons Archer, he sounds OP for simply being a stealth Poisons Archer, but is far from. His a squishy, uses no Magics at all....that includes no Enchanted Items (save one Sabre cat summon ring for distraction purposes for Sands of Time Boss encounters and Deadly Dragon swarms) and no Restoration, no Healing or Skill Buff Potions, the Stealth Skills Mod ensures stealth always a challenge, no companion and no vanilla over time health restoration....And the Duel Combat Mod ensures standing on rocks and such shooting at your opponents doesn't work, they all move to cover and stay in cover until your vulnerable again, aka getting off the rocks.

 

In regards to healing I use two Mods, Living off the Land and Skyrim Bandages...and personal rules are he can not apply during battle, he must break out of battle and get somewhere safe to apply and wait for the benefits before he can re-engage his opponents....is a tedious procedure and so I find is much easier to just not take damage...I do use Mods that 'realistically' enhance his agility, such as dodging, etc... plus a lot of vanilla game Bow Bash and the Sneak Tree Roll (melee's most of the time with Bow also).

 

Playing this way, I find I cannot just charge into battle and there's no just wiping everyone out in his path no matter his level....it all takes planning and constant awareness of what's around him (environmental advantages and disadvantages and any other nearby NPC's), what all of his opponents are doing at all times, their positions, activities, etc...I can't afford him being flanked (DCR), surrounded, cornered or being exposed to Archers, Mages and Dragons lines of fire....Gotta be constantly on the move and fighting off the back foot....A little Mod called 'You Are Being Followed' helps out too, you can't use a loading door to escape battle, your opponents now follow you through....I also use Bear Traps and Fire and Oil Arrows in interior spaces and bait opponents to follow my Dovahkin back to or into his traps....Personally I find this game style choice keeps the game a challenge for me and always interesting, never a dull or OP moment... :happy:

 

Playing Perma-Death helps too, is very good incentive not to die... :ohdear:

Edited February 1, 2014 by KanesGhost