Wood Elf - Good Or not?

[Limorkil]

What race you pick only makes a little bit of difference for the first few levels. The only facts about what difference each race makes are these IMO:

 

Fact 1 : The various skill and stat bonuses that the races receive only make a difference at the start, for the first 6 levels or so. You can raise any skill or stat very quickly by using it. This is particularly true of weapon and armor skills.

 

Fact 2 : Bretons and especially High Elves make the best mages because they have bonuses to magicka. This is true throughout the game because you cannot match those advantages with other races (except by a mod or cheat).

 

Fact 3 : Special abilities are not a significant factor when choosing a race because most of them can be matched by spells later in the game. The best special abilities are those that cannot be matched or are hard to match, such as the extra magicka mentioned in fact 2 and the redguard adrenaline rush. However, the special abilities can make a big difference at the start.

 

Fact 4 : Redguards, Nords and Orcs are much better fighters than other races AT THE START because they have more strength and endurance. They also have weapon and armor bonuses. After the first 6 levels or so, this advantage has more or less vanished because any race can have good skills and stats by then.

 

Fact 5 : Stats and skills all even out and most special abilities can be matched by spells, but the appearance of your character and the sounds he/she makes in combat last forever (unless you use a mod or code). It is much more important to choose a character that you like the look and sound of than it is to choose one that has bonuses you like (except the bonuses mentioned in fact 2).

 

Given the above facts, you can look at the wood elf as follows:

- Weak melee fighter at the start because of low strength and endurance

- Spell casting abilities are worse than a high elf and breton, but pretty much on par with any other race.

- Has higher thief skills at the start of the game, which is handy but nothing amazing.

- Much better with marksman weapons than any other race, at the start.

- Appearance is debatable and a matter of taste. I dislike the default male/female wood elf models but I dislike them less than than most other races. With the most recent NPC Replace mod, which improves character faces/hair, I think wood elves are one of the best looking races.

- I hate the sound the wood elf female makes when hit in combat. She sounds like a cat when someone stands on its tail. I would definately change that in TESCS before I played a wood elf, if possible.

 

Utimately, all that really matters is which race best fits the image of your character that you have in your head.