Is game start too easy?

[bishop212]

I just decided to start a new game after playing a battlemage. I have bunch of mods loaded including Deadly Dragons and PISE.

 

I start a new game and want to build an archer/assassin character but play it with some set rules to have a realistic and challenging experience. I just finished the Golden Claw at Bleak Falls Barrow only equipped with the initial armor and steel sword and basic bow. I have to say that I felt that the game felt much too easy even with PISE. Also, the first dragon at Whiterun was also way too easy.

 

Can someone confirm that the game start is always too easy or is it the PISE mod that might be causing this AI behavior?

I did select a female Imperial as my character and not sure if this is making the game start too easy. I am playing at Expert level.

 

Thanks.

[Sader325]

So... you complain the games to easy and you aren't even playing on master?

 

 

1) You're playing on expert, your whole arguments invalid.

 

2) That being said, the games still easy even on master.

[thompsonar]

You tried out any of the combat overhauls? Is that included in PISE, I've never used it so I don't know.... then again I haven't used any of the combat overhauls either.

 

But I know they're there.

 

 

And yeah turn up the difficulty (wouldn't that be your first step anyway)?

Edited April 10, 2012 by thompsonar

[bishop212]

I will switch to Master.

 

I guess I did not ask my question correctly. I remember when I first time I played Skyrim the game seem harder at the start so I was just trying to confirm if that is the case. I just can't recall. Maybe I have gotten better with the game dynamics. It just feels like this start is just too easy.

[blaa.nOx]

PISE + Deadly Combat + Master = you won´t complain about the game being too easy for long. The start? Maybe... would be kind of frustrating if you couldn´t do *anything* at the beginning though.

For extra challenge use unlevelled world

http://skyrim.nexusmods.com/downloads/file.php?id=6206

Edited April 10, 2012 by blaa.nOx

[RedRavyn]

One of the things you're experiencing is that the game is no longer "new" to you. My first time with every scenario gives me an adrenaline rush, because I don't know what to expect, and I remember how challenging the game was for me on my first playthrough. Now I'm on playthrough #9. I keep retiring my old characters because the game ceases to become challenging for me at higher levels. The ability to craft and improve weapons/armor and to create enchantments on them that generally surpasses everything the opposition can have just sucks all the fun out of the game after about level 35.

 

Sure, I can up the difficulty to Master, but that just makes the game cheat more than it already does. I'd rather see the Adept-level opponents fighting smarter -- not fighting bigger. Were that the case, I wouldn't have ebony weapons and dragonscale armor with dual enchantments (and Smithing and Enchanting up to 100, to boot).

 

I love the low-level play, when I place restrictions on my character. I played my last one through level 35, using no enchanted gear at all, and mostly just exploring, rather than grinding through all the primary questlines, and I had a blast. Then I started enchanting my gear and the fun went away.

 

This time around, I didn't even make/improve a matched set of leather armor before heading to Bleak Falls Barrow. I'm going in with Imperial light armor, Imperial swords (experimenting with dual-wielding this time around), hunting bow (found off one of the bandits, there), just the potions I've managed to scavenge, and just a few spells, rather than everything I could buy in Riverwood. It's more fun. I've actually managed to get killed twice, and I haven't even reached the point at which I have to use the dragonclaw. That hasn't happened to me in the last six playthroughs and both deaths were becaue I was dealing with the situations as I would have with better gear. Old habits die hard, I guess.

 

Player knowledge can be a deadly advantage to the player. I'm constantly finding myself re-equipping just before an encounter I know I'm going to have. There's no more casual strolling into the thick of a fight. I know most of the quests by heart, now. I know how to prepare for them, even though the first time through I was clueless. I know how to take advantage of the game, itself. I find myself deciding on a long-range strategy before I ever enter a dungeon because I know exactly what I'm going to find there, and where it is. I know the best tactics to use to defeat the bosses. I love it when I stumble upon a dungeon I haven't seen, or meet someone with a quest that I know nothing about.

 

Right now, the only fixes to the player knowledge issue are mods that make enemies more dangerous. Be careful though. Some of them will make you feel like a rank newbie, again.

[bishop212]

Thanks all.

 

RedRavyn - I think you summarized my sentiments exactly.

 

I decided to restart my level 35 character and not finish all of the quests just so I would have some surprises left. I am also trying to play it like real life with lots of restrictions. I think some of the difficulty mods help in limiting you to exploit the game and that is helping. Overall, the game was designed for the masses and it will always have limitations. I guess this is what mods come into play.

 

Cheers.

[NoobusExtremus]

The ability to craft and improve weapons/armor and to create enchantments on them that generally surpasses everything the opposition can have just sucks all the fun out of the game after about level 35.

 

Sure, I can up the difficulty to Master, but that just makes the game cheat more than it already does. I'd rather see the Adept-level opponents fighting smarter -- not fighting bigger. Were that the case, I wouldn't have ebony weapons and dragonscale armor with dual enchantments (and Smithing and Enchanting up to 100, to boot).

 

This time around, I didn't even make/improve a matched set of leather armor before heading to Bleak Falls Barrow. I'm going in with Imperial light armor, Imperial swords (experimenting with dual-wielding this time around), hunting bow (found off one of the bandits, there), just the potions I've managed to scavenge

 

 

Just because you can do a thing, doesn't mean you have to do a thing. If people want a challenge, then they can do as you started to do...use basic equipment instead of uber refined/enchanted gear. :thumbsup:

Edited April 11, 2012 by NoobusExtremus