frustrated

[Mr_Gone]

please forgive this total newb question ... is this game supposed to be so difficult or is it just me?? i have just started playing TES, have reached level 7 and am finding it just as difficult as when i was lvl1 (ie i am finding my self having to flee from almost EVERYTHING). I have installed the levelling mod so the monsters dont level up with the player ... still no love. this is extremely frustrating. any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated

[chris 07]

Mods like that give npcs and creatures a set level. In other words they could be really hard to beat until you reach level 20 or so depending on which mod you used. So just carefully go through the game and eventaully you'll be kicking but. :)

PS: Dont worry if you have a noobish question. Most questions are and either way it'll get answered. ;)

[ninja_lord666]

Simply put, almost all games are the same way. The beginning is extremely difficult as you have no skill, crap equipment, and little money, but by the end, you'll walk around in your expensive armour killing everything with nary a glance, and you'll haul you loot onto your dragon horde that you can't spend on anything. I have yet to see a game that is only mildly difficult at the beginning and mildly easy at the end.

[chris 07]

Simply put, almost all games are the same way. The beginning is extremely difficult as you have no skill, crap equipment, and little money, but by the end, you'll walk around in your expensive armour killing everything with nary a glance, and you'll haul you loot onto your dragon horde that you can't spend on anything. I have yet to see a game that is only mildly difficult at the beginning and mildly easy at the end.

Try racing game or sport games. no change at all unless you change it.

[Oruboris]

Do you understand the leveling system? If not, you may be sort of a 90 pound weakling of a level 7.

 

You level when you have 10 skill bumps in your major skills.

 

You get a bonus point for every 2 skill bumps, major/minor doesn't matter. You can get no more than 5 bonus points in any attribute category, and only increase 3 attributes per level.

 

So for fastest developement of a character, you want 10 skill bumps in each of 3 categories, and you don't want too many bumps outside those categories, since those will earn you no reward.

 

Sounds rather anal, but the best policy is to choose the categories to improve that level, and make a little chart to track the accompanying bumps.

 

This means your total attributes will increase by 15 each level. Without a plan, you won't come close.

 

You have to be very careful NOT to level too soon, and check how many bumps are left 'till your next level. You often need to switch from a 'major' weapon to a 'minor' one to hold off a leveling bump, or buy time to practice some skill where more bumps are needed.

 

It's actually a good idea to keep all this in mind when you choose your major skills: too many from any one category will almost garantee pre-mature leveling.

 

Oh, its also very hard for spell casters at the beginning...

[Malchik]

Oblivion gets harder as you progress without a levelling mod. It is not so much that individual encounters are more difficult, though they are, but the frequency of such encounters increases. Of course there are ways round it, like becoming invisible or having 100% chameleon (equivalent to tgm). With 100% sneak you can by-pass most things. Morrowind was criticised for getting too easy as you progressed and Ob was designed to change that. Unfortunately what most gamers want is something between the two where general encounters get easier as experience is gained but a number of very difficult battles remain, especially in the 'final' quests of the main and faction groups.

 

Mind you, I am surprised you have any difficulty at levels one and two!

 

Two tips - set difficulty to low while you first come to understand the game (not for too long) then start a new game on default. Also select major skills you won't normally use. That way you can level up when you feel ready to do so. It is possible to complete everything except 13 Daedric quests without going over level 2.

 

If you install a levelling mod you need a very different strategy, levelling up much more quickly. But be advised atm levelling mods do not apply to the Shivering Isles expansions. If you race to level 30 in Oblivion you'll find SI a bit of a shock!

[larsi_899]

What race, skills, and birth sign do you have?? i wouldn't fight a powerfull creature if you're a lvl 1 ;) they will butt-F*** you :P start by going to the arena, great place for getting you skill up + money :)

if you are a small time cheater press the § button and type F,eks player.setav*your skill* 100

to become master in that skill, but i wouldn't recommend it cheating make the game boring :)

[SickleYield]

So for fastest developement of a character, you want 10 skill bumps in each of 3 categories, and you don't want too many bumps outside those categories, since those will earn you no reward.

 

Sounds rather anal, but the best policy is to choose the categories to improve that level, and make a little chart to track the accompanying bumps.

 

Oh, its also very hard for spell casters at the beginning...

 

Not necessarily. My mage character did so well at low levels that I budded two others off her to use as mages of different races. I made a custom birth sign that was like Sorcerer with light armor and blunt weapon, and chose the sign of the Atronach. I didn't really powerlevel any skills, I just got a couple of cast-on-touch destruction spells and went to town on whatever I ran into (cast on touch gets you more damage for the same magicka than cast on target). I also started making potions early and often.

 

I don't powerlevel most of the time. I don't have to, because I've chosen useful major skills. The character now has high Willpower and fairly high Intelligence (major skill in Alchemy) and her strength is around 60 at level 12. This isn't a problem because she can cast pretty good feather spells and make even better feather potions.

 

Alchemy alone can make the game ridiculously easier if you choose a major skill in it, choose a mage-oriented class and birth sign, and made a custom class that adds a lot of points to it. Bonuses of any other skill can be imitated and sometimes surpassed once Alchemy is leveled up enough.

[Vagrant0]

When in doubt, make a class where all the major skills aren't related to the combat skills you plan to use, but still have good coverage of attributes. If you have blunt as a major skill, use bladed weapons. If you have light armor as a skill, wear heavy armor when fighting. That way you can get those skills you need to survive high enough to kill things, and level through other skills which aren't as necessary (like armorer, athletics, alteration, alchemy, speachcraft, mysticism, illusion). Just be sure to train skills related to intelligence and endurance early so you have enough health and magicka.

 

It may not be as good late in the game, and require the same sort of leveling management, but it should make the power gap less and give you a chance to learn how to use everything you can.