LE An idea for Smithing

[scrutio]

Major update post #19

 

Loving the game so far. The depth on it is great, the characters are well defined and the stories are far more interesting than Oblivion.

 

I'm slightly disappointed by the Smithing feature though. I just don't get the point of it, you can collect the metal ore to make weapons which are readily available everywhere in the world. Yes you can sharpen your blades or improve your armour but once you do it always stays like that and there is no reason to sharpen it. I just don't see the incentive in doing it. Yes you'd be able to make daedric weapons and armour if you followed all the way through the perk tree, but you'll probably find those well before you get there so why would you need to then make them.

 

It could have been done really well. If I was a master Smith and I had the tools, materials and talent then I'd want to create something more unique. Maybe the following would have been cool:

 

1. You can find/buy books that teach you different weapon/armour design, i.e. a book on Nord designs would give you 2 or 3 standard weapon/armour designs to choose from in the 'create new item' menu. You could find books for elven designs, or orc designs or any other type of unusual designs from either very good Smiths or book stores. Obviously the more rare the book the more expensive.

 

2. An extra perk tree could have been added for 'improvements' to weapons/armour. Currently the perk trees are just for being able to use different materials but if you had 3 separate perks for improving the items then maybe you could add different features to improve it.

 

For example creating a 'jagged edge' on a sword (similar to that on the dark elf dual wielding daggers) would rip flesh better so would give you a bonus against creatures

Being able to use a second material for the leading edge of the blade would mean that you could use a rarer material to improve the leading edge which would give you a bonus against armor since it is sharper. This would mean for example you could make a Steel sword with a silver leading edge. It wouldn't be as good as a silver sword but would be a steel sword that is better against armour.

 

3. You could use jewels (or gold) that you randomly pick up (and can find no use for) to embelish your weapon/armour, increasing the value and making it more unique. I never know what to do with those jewels that I pick up or are lying around other than sell them for money. But after a while the value they have is just not worth picking them up and selling them. Maybe in a similar way you could be taught about different embelishments by smiths or from books, or simply have different options for each stone/gold etc. Like making a gold handle, or embossing gold elven writing on the blade, or adding rubies in the heart of the sword. Even having to collect certain gems for certain designs or embelishments would go half way there..

 

 

 

I just think it would make so much more of the Smithing part of the game and I'd actually think about adding perks so that I could make some cooler unique items.

 

Imagine making a standard steel sword. Then imagine making a steel katana with a jagged silver leading edge, gold elven text down the blade and a diamond at the handle. You'd need a lot more items to make it for sure, but it would then be something I'd want to keep in my inventory rather than something I can just find readily in the world.

 

I guess it would be quite a lot of effort to go to just for this feature as it would mean a series of 'stock' designs plus a series of embelishments that would lead to almost endless combinations of items and endless graphics. But I'd imagine Bethesda would have been able to do it reasonably easily considering the amount of depth in other areas (every single cave being uniquely designed for example). Even if the embilishments were added sort of like the decals in Forza Motorsport where you can twist, shrink etc and then stamp it onto the item it would give the endless items.

 

Maybe some day someone will be able to make a cool mod with this sort of thing, but I think it would take a lot of effort for a solo modder and it'd be tough to keep the right feeling of the items within the awesome world that Bethesda has created.

Edited April 9, 2012 by scrutio

[roleplaya69]

i support this 100%

[Klaleara]

In all honesty, its quite known that a mix of enchanting and smithing is insanely overpowered.

 

However, I would like more use out of smithing, sense I have absolutely no need for it now.

[scrutio]

In all honesty, its quite known that a mix of enchanting and smithing is insanely overpowered.

 

However, I would like more use out of smithing, sense I have absolutely no need for it now.

 

You mean that if you sharpen the weapon and then enchant it, it'll be too powerful?

 

Maybe the balance of the weapons and armour just need to be better balanced, but it'd still be great to have a useful smithing system which is actually worth using.

[FireBat2469]

Its a sign that someone out there has to make this mod...I had the same thought

However you were able to express it much better than I could....

Your Idea of books solves the problem of the more complicated part of try to design your own weapon, or harder yet, the modder allowing you to do so

 

I hope quite a bit of attention is put towards this topic as smithing does seem to be getting some attention

[scrutio]

Its a sign that someone out there has to make this mod...I had the same thought

However you were able to express it much better than I could....

Your Idea of books solves the problem of the more complicated part of try to design your own weapon, or harder yet, the modder allowing you to do so

 

I hope quite a bit of attention is put towards this topic as smithing does seem to be getting some attention

 

Yes I like the ideas in your thread, I just think that drawing from scratch would be incredibly hard to do and make it look good enough to fit in with what is already there. Obviously the Elder Scrolls has a lot of lore and there is plenty to turn to in order to get the right sort of shapes and designs for the weapons and armor that I think being able to unlock new 'base designs' would be an easier way to go especially if you are then going to have options like adding a jagged edge because in a free system it would need to be able to detect the edge every time to make the edge on the sword. I think either books of possibly an NPC teaching you directly a particular type of weaponry/armor would be the easiest way to deal with it (although there would be less options it will still be greatly increased and with the embelishments and enchantments it would give a vast amount of options).

 

I like the idea of improving arrows that someone put in your thread too.

 

I hope somebody has the ability to do this kind of thing as it would really open up the smithing part of the game and the items would become far more interesting (people would even be sharing with each other the nice items they created).

[Lineoutt]

I wouldnt really say this is a mix of enchanting, thats still separate right? And yea as long as power wise its within reason then I say absolutely. I think maybe just a tad stronger (1hit weapons are no fun at all) but the smithing would be mostly in the value and unique appearance. Also naming them, but that goes for all craftible things and I think you mentioned it but im tired and mostly scanned.

 

It would be killer to have a unique sword that you put lots of effort into and would make smithing a lot more compelling.

 

PLUS ONE

+1

[scrutio]

I wouldnt really say this is a mix of enchanting, thats still separate right? And yea as long as power wise its within reason then I say absolutely. I think maybe just a tad stronger (1hit weapons are no fun at all) but the smithing would be mostly in the value and unique appearance. Also naming them, but that goes for all craftible things and I think you mentioned it but im tired and mostly scanned.

 

It would be killer to have a unique sword that you put lots of effort into and would make smithing a lot more compelling.

 

PLUS ONE

+1

 

Yes it is seperate from enchanting (although no reason why you can't enchant a smithed item). I only mean that improving the item could offer some small bonus in particular situations, like a sword with a harder material for the leading edge would have a small bonus against armor.

 

Obviously making an interesting as well as functional item is the intention, rather than simply making the same iron sword from the same iron ore every time. Even the different smiths in the different areas of Skyrim make identical weapons.

[Unleashin]

Yes well, iif you HAD the daedric talent, you can then UPGRADE THEM, from what you would normally get as a drop, and normally, if you are that high, it would be well over DOUBLE what they originally were.

[scrutio]

Yes well, iif you HAD the daedric talent, you can then UPGRADE THEM, from what you would normally get as a drop, and normally, if you are that high, it would be well over DOUBLE what they originally were.

 

OK, I don't know because I haven't got that far into it yet. I'm sure you are right but is it worth investing all of those perks on something which for a long time is not worth doing. Even then I guess they would still look the same, so you still have the issue that every Smith in the whole of Skyrim uses the same materials to make the same items. Seems a little odd to me. Again, if I had the talent, I'd want to create something unique, even if it didn't have double the function.