Some random questions about Skyrim

[Babri]

It has been a while since I am playing Skyrim. There were few things confusing me so I want them to be cleared up.

 

1. 
    
   
2. Swords, axes & maces/hammers have critical bonus, bleeding damage & ignoring armour perks respectively. So what are they good against ? For example what is better at killing dragons, what is better at killing dragon priests or dragaur overlord & what works best against large number of weak opponents etc.
   
3. I have heard that one-handed + shield is > two-handed. Is that true ? Is there a fix for that ?
   
4. Smithing leveling is based on quantity rather than quality of things crafted which is rather dumb. Is there a mod to fix that. Similarly enchanting seems a bit broken.
   
5. Is an Assassin build the same as a thief ? How useful do u consider it to put perks in lockpicking & pickpocketing ?
   
6. The Steel Plate armour perk seems to be a bit out of place. Does somebody else feel that ?
   
7. I am trying to be a thief/assassin type character in the next game. Would u recommend me to become a vampire to boost my sneaking & illusion skills ?
   
8. For a thief/assassin should I go for dual wielding or a sword & shield ?
   
9. What are the recommended magics for warriors & thiefs/assassins ?
   
10. How much do u value lightning attacks ? I feel that the good thing about them is that they are instant so they are great for long range but enemies have very HIGH magicka making it less useful for attacking mages.
    

Please answer these questions if u know the answer. I'll add more later on. :-)

Edited January 30, 2012 by Babri

[sagitel]

1. against humans (especially heavily armored ones) maces are the best and non human axes. but if you use a shield to i say go with sword rather than axe.

2. i cant say if its true or not. i finished a game with 2h and 1h-shield and both was good enough

3. no idea

4, it is. except for the pickpocket and lock picking which isn't used in assassinating. and it is somehow useless to spend perk points in pickpocketing or lock picking. (lock picking is less useless. and in my opinion the only good perk in pickpocketing is big pockets, iguess its the name.)

5. i don't feel like that

6. hmmm, i'm against any diseases but i think its not necessary. you can be a good assassin and not be a vampire.

7. you should go for both! i know its sounds stupid and impossible. but when your assassinating go for dual wield (not both weapons but a weapon and life detect or if you in a tomb dead detect) and if your detected use sword& shield to fight.

[tetradigm]

1: everything is effective against everything. just hack at it till it dies. nothing seems to make any difference in the speed things die.

2: shield usage is useless.

3: seems right to me, that way you cant just make some beast armor and power level your smithing, instead you make about 200 iron daggers for next to nothing and level it...ooh wait, thats not supposed to be so easy. maybe well be lucky and get a mod for it, dunno if there is one yet.

4: i dont throw anything into lockpicking for the simple fact that picking expert locks at the beginning of the game is pathetically easy. pickpocket however gives you an extra 100lbs, which i speed my way to as fast as i can always.

5: are you talking about the perk to make steel armour? seems like a good idea to me.

6: no. you should never become a vampire except to do the quest to not be a vampire, and make sure you get married first or youll forget to feed and then NEVER BE ABLE TO FEED AGAIN, because everyone will attack you, and wake up when you sneak into the room to attack you.

7: if you plan to use sneak attacks then just stick with the sword and shield, since a dual wield power attack only gets the damage bonus on the first hit, draining your stamina and making you wait a moment, where as if you have only one weapon you can continuously attack at the weapons max speed, and sometimes do it quick enough with certain daggers that youll get in 2 sneak attacks. only dual wield if you plan on rushing into a group of enemies and destroying everyone in 3 seconds.

[Babri]

1. against humans (especially heavily armored ones) maces are the best and non human axes. but if you use a shield to i say go with sword rather than axe.

2. i cant say if its true or not. i finished a game with 2h and 1h-shield and both was good enough

3. no idea

4, it is. except for the pickpocket and lock picking which isn't used in assassinating. and it is somehow useless to spend perk points in pickpocketing or lock picking. (lock picking is less useless. and in my opinion the only good perk in pickpocketing is big pockets, iguess its the name.)

5. i don't feel like that

6. hmmm, i'm against any diseases but i think its not necessary. you can be a good assassin and not be a vampire.

7. you should go for both! i know its sounds stupid and impossible. but when your assassinating go for dual wield (not both weapons but a weapon and life detect or if you in a tomb dead detect) and if your detected use sword& shield to fight.

1) Hmm... Ok. So what is the best use of swords then ? Multiple enemies of moderate strength ? And do Hammer armor bonus work against Draugr Overlords ?

5) I said that because to get Steel Plate Armour you have to go through light armour perks which is odd. I like Steel Plate because of it looks but Ebonic & Daedra are even more awesome. :P

7) That sounds resonable. Two daggers for stealth or a sword & shield for unexpected attack.

More questions. (I am updating the OP)

8. What are the recommended magics for warriors & thiefs/assassins ?

9. How much do u value lightning attacks ? I feel that the good thing about them is that they are instant so they are great for long range but enemies have very HIGH magicka making it less useful for attacking mages.

Edited January 30, 2012 by Babri

[chanchan05]

1. Its entirely preference. Personally I don't see any point in this question unless you plan on switching weapons based on enemy which is, again pointless. Maces bonus for example work well against Draugr because they have armor (bigger damage than sword or axe), but don't work on beasts like cats or bears since they don't have armor. Sword and Axe effects work on anything, and are faster than maces. The time it takes you to land 2 hits with a mace, you've already landed about 3 sword hits But as mentioned above, it really doesn't matter what you use.

 

2. Not true. As shown above someone thinks shields are useless, others swear by it. It's all preference. Some guys like to just hack away, drink pots or cast a healing spell then hack again. Then there are the more methodical fighters, they feint, bash with shields, interrupt enemy power attacks to stagger opponents and land their own attacks. Sort of like real life, not everyone fights the same way.

 

3. Isn't that normal for almost every game?

 

4. Another good perk in pickpocketing for assassins is reverse pickpocketing, for poisons. Easier to kill without incurring bounty.

 

5. Someone told me that you don't need that perk to get steel plate, but not sure.

 

6. No. It doesn't matter and IMO vampires have too much problems.

 

7. dual daggers and a bow. Maybe bring a sword.

 

8. Illusion -> calm, fear, pacify and related spells, muffle and invisibility. Then there's the choice of one of three rewards at the end of the Thieve's guild quests which makes hiding easier if you pick a certain one. Alteration is also good for more survivability since you'll be using lighter armor, and then the atronach perk.

 

9. lightning attacks are best for me due to the magic drain, and since they are using magic as you drain it, it will run out quickly. However I don't recommend destruction spells on a thief or assassin, since you should be silent and undetected. Stick to bows, and just enchant it.

[babis8142]

My turn!

1. it really doesn't matter. Pick which one you think it's the most awesome. I've picked the warhammer perk for two handed and since then I've sticked to warhammers. The critical (swords) is good too if you attack normally without power attack. I power attack a lot so maces and warhammers are better for me; since I use power attacks I deal more damage with them.

2. you said that one handed + shield is better than two handed right? Well two handed is a pretty good skill. And if you use heavy armor and smithing you don't need to block. But really, don't use smithing, enchanting or alchemy they break the game. I have to use equipment without smithing them at all so that the game will be a bit more challenging.

3. yes it's based on how many you make and not how much value they have. Very bad idea! Someone must fix it! I'd say remove the ingots and leather from blacksmiths' inventory and make it with value and smithing will be fine.

4. well an assassin is nothing like a thief. A thief tries to avoid all combat doesn't even go in dungeons, and only carries a dagger as a last resort. An assassin is all about killing through stealth. It's mostly a role play issue though. In Skyrim they would be very similar. I mean who can resist sneak attacks?

5. it's totally out of place! why should I invest in elven perk if I want Steel plate armor? They couldn't put them in with orcish or dwarven why put them with light armor?

6. I would recommend you to become a vampire. They help in sneak and illusion and provide you with some cool powers. Especially if you have a mod that makes the game darker, vampires' night eye will make it easier to see in those dark dungeons. It's a bit annoying to be one, you constantly have to worry about day/night cycle, what level of vampirism you are in but it's a good aspect of the game. After all if vampires existed in real life they would be annoyed too! It comes with the territory as the expression says.

7. I'd say dual wield. Keep a dagger in one hand and a sword in the other, so if they discover you you'll be able to fight without using favorites, menus or hotkeys at all.

8. for a warrior I'd recommend restoration, and maybe conjuration for bound weapons. For assassins I'd recommend illusion (for obvious reasons like invisibility), restoration is always useful, alchemy for poisons and maybe some alteration to help you protect yourself when you'll need to fight. If you invest in illusion casting the spell will be silent so they won't hear you coming.

9. good against mages/necromances and everything else using spells. Especially casters that throw ice spikes at me really piss me off, I move like a snail. If you hit someone with lightning it destroys their magicka although I haven't done a mage with pure destruction just as a secondary skill on my warrior and only when I'm up against weak opponents.

 

well anyway that's it. It was kinda long but hey, you asked right?

[TimF]

1. Swords, axes & maces/hammers have critical bonus, bleeding damage & ignoring armour perks respectively. So what are they good against ? For example what is better at killing dragons, what is better at killing dragon priests or dragaur overlord & what works best against large number of weak opponents etc.
   

 
Both the critical and bleeding damage depend solely on the weapon type and material, providing slight increase in damage. Maces perk seems to be impressive, however, few armored foes in game are also poorly armored, making it much less useful. So far, the axes' bleeding seems to be the best on its' own, but there are other more important factors to chose a weapon then these lousy perks (like weight, attack speed, reach, stagger chance).

I have heard that one-handed + shield is > two-handed. Is that true ? Is there a fix for that ?

Two-handed has very own playstyle, which involves depending on great reach, being able to damage all the foes with one swing, and high stagger chance.

Is an Assassin build the same as a thief ? How useful do u consider it to put perks in lockpicking & pickpocketing ?

Lockpicking&pickpoketing are useless as they are now. The loot from locked chests is cheap, and you get much more gold from crafting and turning in loot.

I am trying to be a thief/assassin type character in the next game. Would u recommend me to become a vampire to boost my sneaking & illusion skills ?

Absolutely. The main boost, however, is an illusion skill, which allows you to use it against anyone you want and don't care about keeping your level low (still, won't work if you plan on going all the way to 81) Also, sneaking in daylight is lame even without vampirism, you will be detected on sight.

For a thief/assassin should I go for dual wielding or a sword & shield ?

Dual wielding, with a pair of daggers and with a bugfix for daggers.

What are the recommended magics for warriors & thiefs/assassins ?

Illusion for thiefs/assassins, enchanting for everyone, conjuration as an alternative for archer types.

How much do u value lightning attacks ? I feel that the good thing about them is that they are instant so they are great for long range but enemies have very HIGH magicka making it less useful for attacking mages.

The best, due to not being able to miss with them, best master spell, and a rarity of anyone resistant to them. Fire is close second.

Edited January 31, 2012 by TimF

[JDHolmes]

I'll take a shot too

 

1. weapon types variances? I haven't noticed a big difference. Personally, I like swords they are faster and I like war axes. For me, maces are too slow and when I had troubles maintaining health, it was usually because of maces being slow. I've used all types of 2 handers also and I just am not fond of them. Slow, no real big damage that one would think you would get by such slow weapons. So now, I basically use a good sword. Mine are epic or exquisite. I also do dual wield on occasion with a skyforge war axe with fire damage and a skyforge dagger with soul trap. I carry my dragon sword, an ebony health drain sword, and the two mentioned above. However, I generally use my bow the majority of the time and seldom even need a sword.

 

2. I have a great shield, but seldom use it. My standard now is to use my one hander and heal at the same time. The healing adds more than the shield mitigates. This is also a large reason I don't use two handers. I can hack and heal at the same time.

 

3. Smithing and enchanting. Smithing is very important to me. I didn't powerlevel it though it is 75 and I'm 40. This permits exquisite and epic. My bow is base 98 damage plus the enchant (fire). My enchanting is only 40ish, so I didn't powerlevel that either but do use it on everything.

 

4. You can use plate before you can craft it. You can improve it before you can craft it though not as much.

 

5. thief/assassin - I started one toon as a thief, but have never used those skills. Goes against my nature so I'm a poor theif and I don't do the brotherhood stuff either. So, I'm a bad resource for that.

 

6. vampire? Never done it, don't intend to.

 

7. dual wield or sword and board? Haven't noticed a difference.

 

8. Magic for warriors? Heal. Destruction is too wimpy at lower levels to be of much help on a warrior. It's gotten me killed more often than helped me. My shouts are important also. I've tried to use oakflesh (buffs) before heavy hitters, but I didn't notice any difference in how long it took me to die. A particularly difficult fight was two dreadlords before going to kill the big dragon. Magic for warriors is about supplementals and should probably not be used as primary. Health and stamina are more important than magika and your magika pool will be very low as a result and won't be able to cast high magika cost spells.

 

9. Never used lightning attacks as my magika pool is too small at 180 to cast one lightning spell.

[Babri]

1. Its entirely preference. Personally I don't see any point in this question unless you plan on switching weapons based on enemy which is, again pointless. Maces bonus for example work well against Draugr because they have armor (bigger damage than sword or axe), but don't work on beasts like cats or bears since they don't have armor. Sword and Axe effects work on anything, and are faster than maces. The time it takes you to land 2 hits with a mace, you've already landed about 3 sword hits But as mentioned above, it really doesn't matter what you use.

 

2. Not true. As shown above someone thinks shields are useless, others swear by it. It's all preference. Some guys like to just hack away, drink pots or cast a healing spell then hack again. Then there are the more methodical fighters, they feint, bash with shields, interrupt enemy power attacks to stagger opponents and land their own attacks. Sort of like real life, not everyone fights the same way.

 

3. Isn't that normal for almost every game?

 

4. Another good perk in pickpocketing for assassins is reverse pickpocketing, for poisons. Easier to kill without incurring bounty.

 

5. Someone told me that you don't need that perk to get steel plate, but not sure.

 

6. No. It doesn't matter and IMO vampires have too much problems.

 

7. dual daggers and a bow. Maybe bring a sword.

 

8. Illusion -> calm, fear, pacify and related spells, muffle and invisibility. Then there's the choice of one of three rewards at the end of the Thieve's guild quests which makes hiding easier if you pick a certain one. Alteration is also good for more survivability since you'll be using lighter armor, and then the atronach perk.

 

9. lightning attacks are best for me due to the magic drain, and since they are using magic as you drain it, it will run out quickly. However I don't recommend destruction spells on a thief or assassin, since you should be silent and undetected. Stick to bows, and just enchant it.

1. 
    
   
2. I know but I just wanted to know what are the advantages/disadvantages of weapons in terms of how easily they can defeat different enemies. Personally I think Swords are better against numerous weak to moderate foes or fast attackers while Warhammer is good against heavly armoured foes & axes are good for slaying dragons, animals & unarmoured targets.
   
3. Hmm... Probably depends on playstyle though.
   
4. It is too gamey & stupid. Bugged & flawed mechanic in my opinion.
   
5. Just started a thief player. I am focusing on pickpocketing & locpicking. I've started feeling that it is more about roleplaying than anything else.
   
6. You may only find them in rare treasures then (I did) but still u can't improve them that well. So u need to invest in Light armour perks to get Steel plate which is quite odd.
   
7. Thanks for the tip.
   
8. You need that perk if u need to make the armour yourself & improve it greatly. U may find it in a treasure rarely (like I did) but I think that perk is out of place.
   
9. Hmm... Good to know that. I hope someone just mods vampires then. Do u know about any mod that make vampires useful ?